Josiah Tattnall (c. 1765June 6, 1803) was an American planter, soldier and politician from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

. He represented

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from 1796 to 1799, and was the 25th Governor of Georgia in 1801 and 1802. Born near Savannah, Georgia, at

Bonaventure Plantation Bonaventure Plantation was a plantation founded in colonial Savannah, Province of Georgia, on land now occupied by Greenwich and Bonaventure cemeteries. The site was , including a plantation house and private cemetery, located on the Wilmington ...

in the early 1760s (he was the first native-born Georgian governor after the state was admitted into the Union) to Mary Mullryne and Josiah Tattnall, he studied at

Eton School Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

before joining

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

's troops at Ebenezer during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. After the war, he was elected brigadier general of the 1st Regiment in the Georgia Militia. He helped to rescind the Yazoo land fraud of 1795.Smith, p. 344. He died in Nassau, New Providence.

Early life

Tattnall was born in 1766, to Josiah and Mary Tattnall ( née Mullryne), at

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

. His father had inherited the plantation upon his marriage into the Mullryne family — its 1762 founder being Colonel John Mullryne. Mullryne, who also built the third Tybee Lighthouse in 1773, established a small family graveyard on the grounds, which eventually formed the nucleus of the present-day Bonaventure Cemetery. Bonaventure was one of the largest structures in the colony of Georgia. Tattnall and his family left Georgia at the outbreak of the

. After living in the Bahamas for six years, the family later moved to England, where Tattnall attended

. Although firm in supporting the British crown, he was unwilling to take up arms against the colonies and refused an appointment to the British navy.

Revolutionary War

Around 1782, the Tattnall family returned to Georgia. Josiah Tattnall joined the Continental Army under General

, helping remove Savannah from British rule. After the war, Tattnall bought back a portion of Bonaventure from

John Habersham John Habersham (December 23, 1754 – December 17, 1799) was an American merchant, planter, and soldier from Georgia. He was the son of loyalist official James Habersham, the younger brother of patriot leader Joseph Habersham. They were bo ...

and continued his interest in the military. He commanded the Georgia militia in 1787 and led troops against the

Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsGeorgia General Assembly from 1795 to 1796. He was a member of the

Jeffersonian Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

national party, as most Georgia politicians (including such notables as

John Milledge John Milledge (1757February 9, 1818) was an American politician. He fought in the American Revolution and later served as United States Representative, 26th Governor of Georgia, and United States Senator. Milledge was a founder of Athens, Ge ...

, William Stephens,

Edward Telfair Edward Telfair (1735 – September 17, 1807) was a Scottish-born American Founding Father, politician and slave trader who served as the governor of Georgia from 1786 to 1787 and again from 1790 to 1793. He was a member of the Continental Congres ...

Abraham Baldwin Abraham Baldwin (November 22, 1754March 4, 1807) was an American minister, Patriot, politician, and Founding Father who signed the United States Constitution. Born and raised in Connecticut, he was a 1772 graduate of Yale College. After the ...

George Troup George McIntosh Troup (September 8, 1780 – April 26, 1856) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. He served in the Georgia General Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate before becoming the 32nd Govern ...

, William Bulloch, and, later,

William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...

) were during this time. He was also a Jacksonian, a follower and supporter of James Jackson. Tattnall and Jackson both opposed the

Yazoo land scandal The Yazoo land scandal, Yazoo fraud, Yazoo land fraud, or Yazoo land controversy was a massive real-estate fraud perpetrated, in the mid-1790s, by Georgia governor George Mathews and the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia politicians sold large ...

, the massive real estate fraud led by Georgia governor George Mathews and the General Assembly that rocked early Georgia politics. Jackson resigned his position as U.S. senator to return to the Georgia General Assembly, where he and Tattnall led the campaign against the sale of the Yazoo lands. After the Rescinding Act of 1796 was passed, Tattnall was elected by the General Assembly to take Jackson's Senate seat, where he served from 1796 to 1799. After serving in the U.S. Senate, Tattnall returned to Georgia and to his beloved Bonaventure. He was elected

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, but only served for one year. During his administration, the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(formerly Franklin College) moved to its present campus in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, and the Hawkins Line was run by

Benjamin Hawkins Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite ...

, establishing Georgia's northern border with the Cherokee Nation. Tattnall wrote a letter to President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

in 1802, seeking guidance on the situation. The Western border with the Creeks was yet to be solidified, as evidenced by a letter from the Justices of the Inferior Court and Justices of the Peace for Camden County, Georgia, on June 12, 1802. They wrote on behalf of the inhabitants of the county regarding the recent removal of U.S. troops from stations in the area. They note that Camden County is a frontier county that is exposed not only to attacks from the sea, and from Spanish settlements to the south, but also to attacks by neighboring Indians, and they express concern that the area is no longer defended against the Indians.

Death and legacy

Tattnall was married to Harriet Fenwick, originally from Charleston, South Carolina. The couple had several children, but only three lived to adulthood. Their son, the third

Josiah Tattnall III Commodore Josiah Tattnall (November 9, 1795 – June 14, 1871) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812, the Second Barbary War and the Mexican–American War. He later served in the Confederate Navy during the American C ...

, was a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

officer for more than fifty years and a navy officer for the

Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Tattnall is buried in the Tattnall family plot
section E, lot 1
, alongside his wife, who preceded him in death by a few months, at Bonaventure Cemetery. Georgia's Tattnall County was named for him, as was Savannah's Tattnall Street.

References

;Specific ;General *Smith, Gordon Burns, ''History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume One, Campaigns and Generals'', Milledgeville: Boyd Publishing, 2000. ASIN:B003L1PRKI.

External links

Brown, Russell K. "Josiah Tattnall (ca. 1764-1803)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/josiah-tattnall-ca-1764-1803. Retrieved on 2009-05-23 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tattnall, Josiah 1766 births 1803 deaths People educated at Eton College American militia generals United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state) Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Continental Army soldiers Politicians from Savannah, Georgia People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States