William Jasper

1750 -1779

Career: Revolutionary War hero killed at the siege of Savannah; he was mortally wounded while retaking his regiment's flag which had been captured by the British. Jasper was a genuine patriot, although much of what is known of him comes from the writings of Mason Locke Weems (who invented the cherry tree story about George Washington); it is unclear how much of Weems' story is historically accurate. Randolph County was re-named in Jasper's honor in 1812, though later another Georgia county would be named Randolph.

Links:

This Day in Georgia History December 10 (see 1812)

William Jasper Statue

Biography from Our Georgia History

American Heritage Article on William Jasper and John Newton

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

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