Nancy Hart

Nancy Hart
Nancy Hart, as depicted in an 1865 book
Born	Around 1735 North Carolina, British America
Died	1830 Henderson County, Kentucky, United States
Occupation	Spy, Housewife
Spouse(s)	Benjamin Hart
Children	Two daughters and six sons

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 outsmarted Tory soldiers and also killed some outright. Stories about her are mostly unsupported by contemporary documentation, and it has been impossible for researchers to entirely distinguish fact from folklore.

Although explicit details concerning most of her life are unknown, Nancy Ann Morgan Hart is believed to have been born in North Carolina around 1735, in the Yadkin River valley. (Some researchers think that she was born in Pennsylvania). She married Benjamin Hart of that area. His extended family's descendants included such famous later political figures as Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and Kentucky Senator Henry Clay.

During the early 1770s, Nancy, Benjamin and their family left North Carolina and migrated into Georgia, settling in the extremely fertile Broad River valley of the northeast Piedmont area. There she drew on her many frontier skills, including hunting, shooting, and herbalism.

Hart was well connected through family ties to other prominent figures in early American history. She was a cousin to Revolutionary War general Daniel Morgan, who commanded victorious American forces at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781.