Bulloch, Archibald, 1730-1777

Archibald Bulloch (January 1, 1730 – February 22, 1777) was a lawyer, soldier, and statesman from Georgia during the American Revolution. He was the first governor of Georgia. He was also a great-grandfather of Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, and great-great-grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.

Born in Charleston in the Province of South Carolina, he completed preparatory studies and studied law. After being admitted to the bar, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the South Carolina militia. The Bulloch family moved to the Province of Georgia in 1758, where in 1764 Bulloch moved to Savannah. He was elected to the colonial legislature in 1768. Bulloch was an early supporter of the revolution in Georgia as a member of the Friends of Liberty. He served as President of the 1st and 2nd Provincial Congresses of Georgia, and was a delegate in 1775 to the Continental Congress. Bulloch would have been a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but decided to return to Georgia to aid the revolution there.

In 1776, Bulloch fought under the command of Colonel Lachlan McIntosh in the Battle of the Rice Boats and the Battle of Tybee Island. On June 20, 1776, he was chosen to be the first President and Commander-in-Chief of Georgia under the state's temporary republican government. When he signed the state constitution on February 20, 1777, his position transferred from president to governor of Georgia. He was thus Georgia's first chief executive under a proper constitutional government, but the third chief executive in all. Just two days after signing the state constitution, Bulloch died in Savannah while preparing to defend against the British invasion of Georgia. There is some speculation that he was poisoned, although this has never been proven. He is buried in Savannah's Colonial Park Cemetery.