Hart, Nancy Morgan (1735?-1830?), was a famous frontierswoman of the American South. She won recognition for her support of the patriots during the American Revolution (1775-1783).
Nancy Morgan was probably born in 1735, in either North Carolina or Pennsylvania. She grew up in North Carolina. Her birth name was Ann, but she was usually called Nancy. Some early accounts of her life say she stood about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and had red hair. She married Benjamin Hart, whose family had come to North Carolina from Virginia. The couple had eight children. The family settled in South Carolina and later moved to northeastern Georgia . Nancy Hart became known locally for her expertise in herbal medicine and for her skill with a rifle.
Hart and her husband were strong supporters of the patriot cause during the American Revolution. Benjamin served in the Georgia militia (citizen army). According to a popular story, Nancy disguised herself as a dimwitted man to spy on Tories —that is, American supporters of the British. Hart was said to have participated in the patriot victory at Kettle Creek, near her Georgia home, in 1779.
A famous story associated with Nancy Hart concerns the capture of a group of six Tories. The Tories had come to her family cabin in pursuit of a patriot leader. According to legend, the Tories killed a turkey belonging to the Harts and demanded that Nancy cook it for them. Nancy directed a daughter to alert the neighbors. She then stole the men’s weapons as they ate and drank. When the men realized what Nancy had done, she shot two of them. She held the rest of the party at gunpoint until the help summoned by her daughter arrived. Then the surviving Tories were hanged.
After the war, the Harts moved to Brunswick, Georgia. Benjamin died there. Nancy Hart later lived in Clarke County, Georgia, and in Kentucky. She died in Kentucky around 1830.
Hart County, in northeastern Georgia, is named for Hart. The Georgia legislature created the county in 1853. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), a group of Georgia women formed the pro- Confederate Nancy Harts militia in honor of Hart. Another Nancy Hart, Nancy Hart Douglas, served as a Confederate spy in present-day West Virginia during the war.
