Button Gwinnett was born in England about 1735. After coming to this country, Gwinnett tried his luck and failed as a businessman. He then tested the waters and became a politician and was elected to the Georgia Assembly. He fought hard to wrest control of the Georgia Assembly from the elitist “city” party, mainly from Savannah.
The Assembly appointed him to represent Georgia at the Continental Congress. Along with Georgia’s other representatives, Lyman Hall and George Walton, Gwinnett voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence.
Returning to Georgia, a long-standing feud erupted between Gwinnett and brothers Lachlan and George McIntosh. When Gwinnett was elected governor, George McIntosh was the only member to vote against him.
Gwinnett, as president of Georgia’s Revolutionary Council of Safety, assumed command of the army and ordered an attack on the Loyalists in St. Augustine, Florida. The expedition in Florida, led by Lachlan, was a miserable failure. Lachlan placed full blame for the disaster on Gwinnett, publicly calling him a “scoundrel and a lying rascal”.
Gwinnett challenged Lachlan to duel which was fought on May 16, 1777. Both men were wounded but three days later Gwinnett died from his wound.