a night in March 1782, by some accounts, five men rode up to the Treutlen home. They demanded for Treutlen to come outside, but he refused. The men then set fire to the home, forcing Treutlen, his wife and children to come outside. The men seized Treutlen and killed him in full view of his family. Other accounts of Treutlen's death are considerably different as to the details of the attack. Some versions even place his death in South Carolina, not Georgia, and give a later date (late 1782 or early 1783), but there is no dispute that he died by some kind of mob violence. Historians continue to speculate about what person or group was behind the killing and what was the motive. Some contemporary accounts claimed Treutlen was killed by Tories angry about the American victory in the Revolutionary War. Others blamed the killing on South Carolinians who resented his opposition to merging Georgia into South Carolina during the war. There was also speculation at the time that the motive was a purely personal grudge. The multiplicity of accounts and theories of his death indicates that there was never a consensus about the cause of the event. Legacy Treutlen County is named after him. See also List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States References Further reading Edward J. Cashin, "'The Famous Colonel Wells': Factionalism in Revolutionary Georgia," Georgia Historical Quarterly 58 (supplement, 1974). James F. Cook. "Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004"; 3d ed. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2005. Harvey H. Jackson, "Lachlan McIntosh and the Politics of Revolutionary Georgia"; Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1979. Edna Q. Morgan, "John Adam Treutlen: Georgia's First Constitutional Governor, His Life, Real and Rumored"; Springfield, Ga.: Historic Effingham Society, 1998. Helene M. Kastinger Riley, "John Adam Treutlen: The European Heritage of Georgia's First Governor"; Greenville, S.C.: Sagas Publishing, 2000. External links John Adam Treutlen (1733-1782), New Georgia Encyclopedia John Adam Treutlen, National Governors Association John Treutlen, Our Georgia History John Adam Treutlen historical marker American people of German descent Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) American indentured servants People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution People of Georgia (British colony) 1734 births 1782 deaths Independent state governors of the United States German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Treutlen County, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Independents Assassinated American politicians People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) History of Effingham County, Georgia