Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Gwinnett, Button 1732-

A signer of the Declaration of Independence; born in England about 1732; was a merchant at Bristol, and emigrated to Charleston, S. C., in 1770. He settled on St. Catharine's Island, off the coast of Georgia, in 1772. Cautious and doubtful, he took no part in political affairs until after the Revolutionary War was begun, when he became active in the patriot cause. He was chosen a Representative in Congress in 1776, where he voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1777 he was president of the provincial council of Georgia, and by hostility to General McIntosh excited the resentment of the latter, who challenged Gwinnett to fight a duel. He accepted the challenge, and on May 15, 1777, was mortally wounded, dying on the 27th.