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General John Twiggs (June 5, 1750 – March 29, 1816) served as a leader in theGeorgia Militia during theAmerican Revolutionary War.Twiggs County, Georgia was named after him.
Twiggs was born inMaryland in 1750, and his family moved to St. George's Parish inGeorgia in 1751. His parents' names are unknown. Biographical sketches placed him in Georgia in the 1760s accompanying the family of David Emanuel Sr., who had migrated from Maryland, Pennsylvania, or Virginia to St. George's Parish (later Burke County).[citation needed] He married Ruth Emanuel, the sister ofDavid Emanuel, who served under Twiggs in his unit and later becameGovernor of Georgia.[citation needed] Twiggs had six children with the most notable beingAmerican Civil War GeneralDavid E. Twiggs. Another son was USMC MajorLevi Twiggs.
Twiggs served as a lieutenant in a militia company raised in St. Paul's Parish (current-dayRichmond County, Georgia), and he was promoted to captain on June 3, 1774.[citation needed] He led a company that was commanded by Colonel Samuel Jack during the Revolution. Twiggs was later promoted to colonel, then brigadier general (August 18, 1781), and finally major general (September 8, 1791).[citation needed] John Twiggs led Georgia forces against both the British and the Cherokee in the backcountry.[citation needed] He spent all of 1782 helping to drive the British out of Georgia and quell their Creek allies.[citation needed] As a result of his efforts during this period, Twiggs became known as the "Savior of Georgia."[citation needed] He was wounded in a battle inCamden, South Carolina;[citation needed] however, he continued to serve in the military after the Revolution.[citation needed] After the war, he remained active on a variety of political and military fronts, statewide and in and around Augusta, including involvement in theYazoo land fraud.[citation needed]
In 1783 Twiggs continued his public service with an appointment as a state Indian commissioner and concluded land cession treaties with the Creeks.[citation needed] He was promoted to major general of militia in 1792 and conducted an expedition against the Creeks in 1793, and led the troops that compelled the abandonment of Elijah Clarke'sTrans-Oconee Republic rebellion in 1794.[citation needed] He was involved in the suppression of a suspected slave revolt in 1810.[citation needed]
Twiggs participated in the commission that selected the site for theUniversity of Georgia inAthens,[citation needed] served as a trustee to that institution,[citation needed] and contributed money for the building of the initial UGA Chapel on its campus.[citation needed] He was also appointed Justice of the Peace forBurke County, Georgia in 1782 and served as astate Senator from Richmond County in 1791.[citation needed]
Through a series of land purchases partly comprised confiscated Tory land that was awarded to him, Twiggs built Good Hope Plantation, which stretched over 1,500 acres throughout Richmond County and intoAiken County, South Carolina.[citation needed] A tobacco farmer, he left seven slaves to his wife when he died. He died at his plantation in 1816 and was buried there.[citation needed]