Who is Button Gwinett?
- katellashisadventure
- May 16
- 6 min read
Button[1] Gwinnett’s exact birthdate is unknown, but he was born in 1732 in Gloucestershire, England to Reverend Samuel and Anne (Eames) Gwinnett. Not much is known about his early life and it is unknown what type of education he received. He was the son of a clergyman, so it is probable he had some type of classical education.
On April 19, 1757, he marries Ann Bourn, in Staffordshire England. She was the daughter of Aaron Bourn, and they have four children together.[2] Their first child, Amelia, was born in 1758, followed by Ann, who was born in 1759. Their third child, Elizabeth, was born in 1762 and dies in 1786. She married Peter Belin, on March 26, 1779, and they had no children. Their final child, another daughter named Ann, was born in 1764. The children’s births are recorded in the registry of the Collegiate Church in Wolver, Hampton.[3] Nothing is known about what happened to his wife or three of his four children though we do know they died as children.
Gwinnett begins his business career by partnering with his in-laws, in a grocery business, in England. This leads to exporting goods from Britain to the colonies, just prior to the 1760’s. He also invested in a brig, called the Nancy, but he lost it, due to large debts that were accumulated. The brig was seized and sold to cover those debts. Debt would be a lifelong problem for him as he was known to have borrowed heavily and lived on credit.
In 1765, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to be a trader. He then sells all his merchandise and moves on to Savannah. He had borrowed money to come to America but never repaid the loan and then he borrowed more money to become a merchant. His ventures, in Charleston and Savannah, both fail, but it does not deter him. In October of 1765, he buys St, Catherine’s Island, in Georgia, to set up a plantation. The island is about 36 square miles in size, and he buys slaves to help run the plantation, but once again fails in his endeavors. He would lose this property, to creditors, in 1773.
The one good thing that came out of this venture was meeting Lyman Hall, who would later describe Gwinnett as, “Whig to excess” in a letter to Roger Sherman.[4] Through this meeting, Gwinnett develops a deep interest in politics but does not initially believe independence from Great Britain will be successful. He was worried about his family and business connections, back in England, feeling the march towards independence would come back to haunt him.
From 1767 till 1768, he was a Justice of the Peace and then a member of the Georgia Colonial Assembly. This was the most political service he would have over the next five years as his life was plagued with financial problems. He purchases additional property but loses it to creditors. However, he was able to continue living in his home on St. Catherine’s Island, and does so for the rest of his life, even though he lost the property surrounding the home, to creditors.
In January of 1776, he attends the meetings of the Georgia Council of Safety and was elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He arrives in Philadelphia, on May 20, 1776, and immediately takes part in the debates, on independence. Adams would note, “Hall and Gwinnett are both intelligent and spirited men, who made a powerful addition to our Phalanx”.[5] While he does engage in the spirited debate, he was not a major player in Congress. He votes in favor of independence on the second of July and signs the engrossed document on August 4, 1776. He leaves Congress, later that same month, and returns to Georgia.
Upon his arrival in Savannah, Georgia, he has ambitions to be the general of the Georgia troops, but General Lachlan McIntosh was appointed instead. General McIntosh and Gwinnett would be lifelong enemies. Gwinnett would adopt measures during his political tenure designed to embarrass his sworn enemy. Those measures included having officers tried before an executive council. Gwinnett does become Speaker of the House, in October of 1776, and helps to draft the first Georgia constitution, as well as, preventing the state from being absorbed into South Carolina. It is alleged that he helped design the Georgia State Seal.
On March 4, 1777, Governor Bulloch dies, and Gwinnett was commissioned President of Georgia. [6] He was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Georgia Army. As Governor, he receives a letter from John Hancock, which told of George McIntosh’s treasonous behavior, which included supplying the British with rice. George was the brother of General McIntosh and was also a member of the first Provincial Congress, and the Committee of Safety for Georgia. President Gwinnett ordered General McIntosh to arrest his brother. This only adds fuel to their feud. Gwinnett also directs the Council of Safety to draft a militia and recruit volunteers for a campaign against the British. He enlisted General McIntosh to lead the expedition, and the idea was to cut off British supplies to the garrison, at St. Augustine’s. This expedition was bungled by Gwinnett and an inquiry was held which exonerated him.
Unfortunately, this incident cost him the election in May of 1777, and effectively ends his political career. That same month, on May 1, General McIntosh calls him, “a scoundrel and lying rascal”[7] in an address to the Georgia General Assembly. Gwinnett challenges the general to a duel and they meet on May 16, 1777, with their seconds. They stood about 12 feet apart and Lyman Hall later described the event saying:
“they were placed at 10 or 12 foot Distance, Discharged their pistols nearly at the same Time – Each Wounded in the Thigh, Mr. Gwinnett’s thigh broke so that he fell – on which (tis said) the General Asked him if he Chose to Take another Shot – was Answered. Yes, if they should help him up, - (or words nearly the same)- the Second Interposed – Mr. Gwinnett was bro’t in, the Weather, Extrem Hot – Mortification came on – he languished from that Morning (Friday) till Monday Morning following & Expired”.[8]
General McIntosh was also wounded, but he recovered from his wound and was brought to trial where he would be acquitted. Upon his acquittal, General Washington orders General McIntosh to Valley Forge, for fear of Gwinnett’s allies taking revenge.
Button Gwinnett dies from a gangrene infection in his leg, on May 27, 1777. Gwinnett has no surviving descendants, as three of his children died young and the fourth reached adulthood but died without issue. It is unknown what happened to his wife after his death. At the time of his death, he was insolvent. The exact location of his grave is unknown because Union soldiers camped in the cemetery where he was buried and vandalized or destroyed the gravestones. In the 1950’s, a history buff claimed to have found Gwinnett’s remains and they were sent to the Smithsonian, but the results were inconclusive. The city of Augusta then demanded Savanah give them the remains, so they could be interned with the other signers, but Savannah refuses to give them up. The city raised money to build their own memorial, while the bones stayed in an oak casket, in the guest room of the history buff who found them. In 1960’s, they were reinterred in the original cemetery. One eulogizer, at the reinternment ceremony, said, “We no longer need to ask ‘Button, Button, who has Button?’ Button has been found”.
[1] There is some debate on whether his name is really Button or if it was Bulton. Some historians have suggested that his name is actually Bulton and he just crossed both the l and the t when he signed the Declaration. Still others suggest that his entire name is a pseudonym and that his real name is unknown. This would not be a stretch since many debtors and prisoners were sent to Georgia and he was known to have financial troubles.
[2] One writer, William Montgomery Clemens, asserts in 1931 that Reverend Goodrich and John Sanderson give no proof as to their assertions of his marriage and subsequent children. However later biographers have disproven this writer.
[3] Barthelmas, Della Gray. The Signers of The Declaration of Independence: A Biographical and Genealogical Reference (Jefferson, NC, London: McFarland, 2003)
[6] This title is just another variation of for governor or chief executive.
[7] Barthelmas, Della Gray. The Signers of The Declaration of Independence: A Biographical and Genealogical Reference (Jefferson, N.C.; London: McFarland, 2003)
[8] Healey, George H. ALibrary Notes: The Noyes Manuscript of Button Gwinnett.@ Cornell Library Journal, issue 8, 1969, 61
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