When Governor George R. Gilmer of Georgia was in Congress, in 1828-29,
the members were very anxious to attract the notice of General Jackson,
who had been elected President. A proposal was made to fill the vacant
niches in the rotunda with paintings descriptive of the battle of New
Orleans and the general's other victories. Governor Gilmer offered as an
amendment a resolution to fill one of the niches with a painting of Aunt
Nancy Hart wading Broad River, her petticoats held up with one hand,
a musket in the other, and driving three Tories before her, to deliver
them up to Colonel Elijah Clarke.
Governor Gilmer's proposition was a more sensible one than he intended
it to be. Georgia has perpetuated Aunt Nancy's name by calling a county
after her; but the Republic owes something to her memory.
TWO SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.
The pen of the historian is not always as impartial as it should be. It
has its spites and prejudices; and it frequently happens that the men
who wield the pen with which history is written, have their whims,
their likes, and their dislikes. It is certain that two of the hardest
fighters in the War for Independence--two of the most distinguished
officers that Georgia gave to the cause--have had tardy justice done
to their valor. The names of these men are General James Jackson and
General Elijah Clarke. The independence and the individuality of these
men stand clearly out in all the records that we have of them, and it
is no doubt true that these qualities made them to some degree unpopular
with those who inspired the early chroniclers of the Revolution in the
South. Neither of these officers was capable of currying favor with his
superiors, or of doing injustice to the humblest of his comrades. They
were not seekers after the bubble reputation, but had their minds and
all their energies bent on liberating Georgia and her sister Colonies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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