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

Go to Famous Georgians page