William Barnett (March 4, 1761 – April 1832) was an American slave owner,[2] politician and soldier.
William Barnett was born in Amherst County in the Virginia Colony on March 4, 1761, to Nathaniel and Susanna (née Crawford).
[5] At the start of the American Revolution, Barnett and his brother returned to Virginia to fight under Marquis de Lafayette and were participants in the surrender of Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown.
[6] Barnett returned to Elbert County, Georgia, after the war and settled on the Broad River.
After his congressional service, Barnett was appointed in 1815 as a commissioner to establish the boundaries of the Creek Indian reservation.