Daniel Newnan

Who was Daniel Newnan?

Daniel Newnan was an American politician and military commander.

Born in Salisbury, North Carolina in 1780, Newnan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1796 and 1797. He was commissioned as an ensign and second lieutenant in the Fourth United States Infantry on March 3, 1799, promoted to first lieutenant the following November and resigned on January 1, 1801. He was adjutant general of Georgia from 1806 to 1817. During the Creek War, Newnan commanded a group of Georgia Volunteers, he fought the British at the Battle of Fort Peter. After the war, he lived on a plantation near McDonough, Georgia, and was commissioned a major general over the third division of the Georgia Militia in 1817.

From 1823 to 1824, Newnan was the superintendent over the Georgia State Penitentiary and from 1825 to 1827, he served as the Secretary of State of Georgia. Newnan was elected as a Jacksonian Representative of Georgia to the 22nd United States Congress and served one term from March 4, 1831, until March 3, 1833, as he lost his bid for reelection in 1832 to the 23rd Congress. He died near Rossville, Georgia, on January 16, 1851, and was buried at Newnan Springs, Georgia.