Stephen Heard (November 1, 1740 – November 15, 1815) was an American planter, politician and military officer who briefly served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

and was sometimes called "governor". Born in Virginia, Heard fought in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

in the Virginia militia under

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, then with his father and brother moved to the Georgia colony based on a land grant for such service, and built two forts in Wilkes County called "Fort Heard". 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 ...

Heard served as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the Georgia militia under Lieutenant

John Dooly Colonel John Dooly (1740–1780), born in Wilkes County, Georgia, was an American Revolutionary war hero. He commanded a regiment at the Battle of Kettle Creek in 1779 and was killed at his home by Loyalist (American Revolution), Tories in 1780. ...

. He fought with Gen.

Elijah Clarke Elijah Clarke (1742 – December 15, 1799) was an American military officer and Georgia legislator. Career Elijah Clarke was born near Tarboro in Edgecombe County, Province of North Carolina, the son of John Clarke of Anson County, North Caro ...

at the

Battle of Kettle Creek The Battle of Kettle Creek was the first major victory for Patriots in the back country of Georgia during the American Revolutionary War that took place on February 14, 1779. It was fought in Wilkes County about from present-day Washington, G ...

where he was captured but escaped. Voters elected Heard to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

, where he served from 1779 to 1795 (the war officially ending in 1783). Heard's Fort was designated the seat of government for Georgia on February 3, 1780 and remained such until 1781, then developed into the town of

Washington, Georgia Washington is the county seat of Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. Under its original name Heard's Fort, it was briefly designated as the state capital during the American Revolutionary War. It is noted as the place where the Confederacy ...

(still the county seat). Fellow llegislators elected Heard as the state's executive, where he served from May 24, 1780, until August 18, 1781. One source records Heard as resigning as president in 1782.

Early life

Stephen Heard was born in

Hanover County, Virginia Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse. Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region. History Located in the wester ...

on November 1, 1740, to John Heard Jr. and his wife Bridgett Carol Heard, wealthy tobacco planters. Heard's paternal grandfather, John Sr., was his immigrant ancestor on that side, arriving about 1720 in Virginia from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Heard's parents were each born and raised in Virginia, where their families were planters. All four of Heard's grandparents were part of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

Protestant Ascendancy The ''Protestant Ascendancy'', known simply as the ''Ascendancy'', was the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland between the 17th century and the early 20th century by a minority of landowners, Protestant clergy, and members of th ...

of Ireland. Stephen was brought up in Virginia and received his primary education there. This was the limit of his formal education.

French and Indian War

With the outbreak of the

in 1754, Heard left school in search of honor and adventure in the army. Along with some of his brothers, Heard enlisted in the Virginia colonial regiment under the command of

, then a colonel. Heard drew from this experience of warfare in the frontier in his later military service. During the war, Heard was promoted by Washington to the rank of captain. Heard served with Washington at the

Battle of Jumonville Glen The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair, was the opening battle of the French and Indian War, fought on May 28, 1754, near present-day Hopwood and Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. A company of provincial ...

Battle of Fort Necessity The Battle of Fort Necessity, also known as the Battle of the Great Meadows, took place on July 3, 1754, in what is now Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement, along with the May 28 skirmish known as the Battle of Jumonville ...

, Braddock Expedition, and the

Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, ea ...

. Heard also served under Washington on the Virginia frontier (in what is today the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

from August 1755 until early 1757 as part of the Virginia regiment's war against Native American forces in that region. Heard also served directly under Washington during the

Forbes expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...

. This military collaboration led to a lifetime friendship between the two men. Heard named one of his sons George Washington Heard in his commander's honor. Heard was one of few Virginians to take part in the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

and the only (known) Virginian to take part in the

Battle of Signal Hill The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. A British force under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst (British Army officer), William Amherst recapture ...

Between wars

Following the war, the Heard family received a land grant of 150 acres for their service in what is today

Wilkes County, Georgia Wilkes County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,593. The county seat is the city of Washington. Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and co ...

. Stephen, his brother Barnard, and their father John, moved there with their families. This land was near the mouth of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

in an area that Britain had not yet acquired from the occupying Creek and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Indians. Because of this, the family constructed Heard's Fort as a defensive post for travelers from Native American attacks and the wilderness. The Heards also built a second fort about eight miles north of the first fort, which was also named after the family. Heard's Fort was completely finished in 1774. Others settled near it and in 1780 it was designated as the city of

. For a time during the Revolutionary War, Heard's Fort served as the temporary capitol of

Revolutionary War

When the Revolutionary War broke out, Heard immediately joined the patriot cause. He was joined by fellow Georgians

Nancy Hart Nancy Morgan Hart (c. 1735–1830) was a rebel heroine of the American Revolutionary War, noted for her exploits against Loyalists in the northeast Georgia backcountry. She is characterized as a tough, resourceful frontier woman who repeatedly ...

, and

, who also lived in Wilkes County. Georgia residents were very divided on the issue of independence. Throughout the war, the patriots faced a strong Loyalist resistance. In the winter of 1778 while Heard was away fighting, a group of Tories stormed his house and burned it down. They forced his wife Jane, and their adopted daughter out into a snow storm; the women died from cold exposure. Despite the death of his family, Heard continued to fight in the revolution. He participated in the

, where he was involved in the most violent and dangerous part of the fight. According to one source, Heard set himself apart by "encouraging his men and leading them to points of danger and vantage." Heard was captured by British Loyalists at Kettle Creek in what was his last battle of the war. Although scheduled to be executed, he was freed through a ruse by

Mammy Kate Mammy Kate was a woman enslaved by Stephen Heard (1740–1815), the future Governor of Georgia. She lived in what was then Wilkes County, Georgia, now Elbert County, Georgia. In an 1820 letter, she was said to be the "biggest and tallest" Bl ...

, whom he subsequently freed. After the war, Heard became a politician as well as planter. The new state of

elected him as

; the position was later known as

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 ...

. He served from May 24, 1780, until August 18, 1781. One source records Heard as resigning as president in 1782. Heard had been elected to the

, serving from 1779 to 1795. As their terms were short, he was allowed to keep his position while serving the short period as governor. As partial payment for his patriotic service, Heard received a land grant of more than 6,000 acres inland near the Upper Savannah River and the Georgia/South Carolina border and about 30 miles from what had been Fort Heard, but had become

. He established a plantation he called "Heardmont". In 1790, Wilkes County was split and Heardmont was in

Elbert County, Georgia Elbert County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,637. The county seat is Elberton. The county was established on December 10, 1790, and was named for Samuel ...

, across the river from

Abbeville, South Carolina Abbeville is a city and county seat of Abbeville County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located west of Columbia and south of Greenville. Its population was 5,237 at the 2010 census. Settled by French Huguenot settlers, it was ...

. At the Georgia Constitutional Convention in 1795, Heard was one of Elbert County's delegates. Heard and two other men decided on the location of Elberton, the county seat in 1803. Although Heardmont disappeared long ago, the Stephen A. Heard Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution obtained ten acres, which includes the former house site as well as the cemetery.

Family life

Heard's first wife and daughter died during the American Revolutionary War. He remarried, to Virginia-born Elizabeth Darden, who bore five daughters and four sons. Heard became a leading advocate for educating women, on the board of trustees for

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establ ...

in North Carolina, dedicated to educating women.

Death and legacy

Heard died at his home, Heardmont, in

, in 1815, at the age of 75. A historical marker commemorates his former home near Middleton, near Elberton. Stephen Heard is the namesake of

Heard County, Georgia Heard County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,412, down from 11,834 in 2010. The county seat is Franklin. The county was created on December 22, 1830. Heard ...

Notes

Sources

National Governors Association

New Georgia Encyclopedia

External links

* * *
Gov. Heard's Grave
historical marker
Gov. Heard's Home
historical marker 1740 births 1815 deaths People from Hanover County, Virginia People of Virginia in the French and Indian War Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) American slave owners American people of Irish descent {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub