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HISTORY OF GEORGIA,

FIRST DISCOVERY BY EUROPEANS

TO THE ADOPTIOH OF THE

PRESENT CONSTITUTION

MDCCXCVIII.

REV. WILLIAM BACON" STEVEN'S, M.D., D.D.,
FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF BELLES-LETTRES, HISTORY, ETC., IN THE UNIVERSITY
OP GEORGIA, ATHENS.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. IL

PHILADELPHIA:
PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO.
1859.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859,
BY WM. EAOON STEVENS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

C. SHERMAN Ic SOK, PKINTERS,
Corner Seyenth and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia.

CONTENTS.

BOOK THIRD.
GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
CHAPTER IV.
PAQI
The New Gotebnor, James Wright,  17
CHAPTER V.
The Stamp Act in Georgia,  36
CHAPTER VI.
Legislative Troubles,  57
BOOK FOURTH.
GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
CHAPTER I.
Dawnings of Liberty — Indian Troubles, Etc, .... 75
CHAPTER II.
The First Battle in Georgia,  100
CHAPTER IIL
Southern Expeditions,  138
CHAPTER IV.
Southern Invasions — Capture of Savannah, .... 160

xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V. PiOE
Battles of Kettle Creek and Brier Creek, .... 181
CHAPTER VI.
Siege of Savannah,  200
CHAPTER VIL
Siege op Augusta,  240
CHAPTER VIII.
Evacuation of Savannah,  268

BOOK FIFTH.
GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
CHAPTER I.
Establishment ot State Government,  290
CHAPTER II.
Executive Troubles and Legislative Movements, . . . 338
CHAPTER III.
Revising the Constitution — General Clarke's Settlement, . 384
CHAPTER IV.
Settlement op Indian Affairs,  410
CHAPTER V.
Yazoo Speculations,  457
CHAPTER VL
The Constitution op 1798, and Conclusion, .... 497
Index,  507

PREFACE.

More than eleven years ago the first volume of the
History of Georgia was given to the public.
It was then expected that the second and concluding
volume would follow within a year or two, and most
of the copies of the first volume were kept back from
sale, with the hope that the work would be soon com
pleted, and both sent out together.
My removal from Georgia in 1848, at what I deemed
the emphatic bidding of God's providence, and the toil
and time required in the care of one of the largest
city parishes, rendered it almost impossible for me to
find sufficient leisure to prosecute those researches
which could be conducted only in Georgia; and hence
delay succeeded delay until years had passed. While
thus almost despairing of bringing the work to a
conclusion, the Georgia Historical Society, through a
committee, of which Bishop Elliott was chairman,
urged me anew, and in the most generous manner, to
resume my half-suspended labors, and to permit the
work when done to be published at the expense of the
Society. Cheered by this confidence, I addressed my
self with renewed diligence to the task, and the result

xiv PREFACE.
is now laid before the public. But for the request of
the Georgia Historical Society, made to me through
an honorable Committee in 1841, I should never have
commenced the work ; but for the material of books
and manuscripts which their archives and influence
opened to my research, I could not have prosecuted
my labors ; and but for its long-continued confidence
and its late resolutions of encouragement and regard, I
should not have been able to complete what I began
under such auspices.
The delay, however, has not been without its bene
fits. It has enabled me to bring to my pleasing task
greater historic materials, and a more matured judg
ment ; and thus, perhaps, I have written with more
soberness, accuracy, and propriety than I should have
done had I finished the work ten years earlier.
As the volume has been written mostly from manu
script materials, and as I have but rarely based my
statements on the authority of published works, I have
deemed it unnecessary to specify every source from
which the body of the text is derived, especially as
they could not be referred to by the general reader.
In the preparation of this History I have had access to
the Manuscripts and printed Journals of the Governors,
and Committees of the Council of Safety, the Provincial
Congress, the Executive Council, the two Houses of the
Assembly, the Conventions of the State, the Meetings
of Indian Commissioners, and other public bodies.
I have consulted the private papers and letters of

PREFACE. XV
many who took a prominent part in the affiiirs of Geor
gia, together with the manuscript documents obtained
by the Legislature from the State Paper Office, the
Board of Trade, and the British Museum, in London.
Manuscript notes of former historians, private jour
nals of eminent men, order-books of general officers,
and the oral or written reminiscences of old soldiers
and settlers, have affiarded me much light and aid.
The ground over which I have travelled has, in all
instances, been re-examined in the light of original
authorities, and thus has been more thoroughly ex
plored than on any previous occasion.
Those who have attempted to write a history from
original manuscript material, will fully understand the
labor of poring over thousands of pages blurred and
faded by age and stains, and the difficulty of adjusting
the often discordant materials, and framing out of the
mass a true and readable history.
To those who have never attempted such a task, no
description will ever convey an adequate idea of the
toil and trial.
Having prescribed to myself at the beginning of my
work a definite historic period, I stop there, though it
leaves the work in the midst of a most interesting
state of public affiiirs. It has been my aim to trace
the great current of events from the settlement of
Georgia to the adoption of the Constitution of 1798,
and in order to keep the volume from swelling beyond
its proper dimensions I have been obliged to omit

xvi PREFACE.
many interesting personal and collateral events, which,
however, would have led me aside from the main
channel of my History.
To the many friends who have, by the loan of papers,
and by kind suggestions and encouraging words, aided
me in this work, I tender my special thanks. Espe
cially are such thanks due to I. K. Tefft, Esq., of
Savannah, in whose library the idea of writing this
History was conceived; in whose rich collection of
autographs and manuscripts I obtained the material
for many of my most interesting pages ; in whose un
tiring zeal to serve me I have found an invaluable
helper ; and to whom I here tender the gratitude of a
heart which, for more than a quarter of a century, has
ever found in him a true and generous friend.
For the excellent Index to this volume, I am indebted
to the kindness of my nephew, the Rev. Wm. Stevens
Perry, M.A., for which I return my sincere thanks.
Grateful to God, who has enabled me to complete
this work, I commit it to the citizens of Georgia, con
scious indeed of its imperfections, yet happy in the
assurance that it is written with the single desire to
display the truth, free from all personal or political bias,
and in the hope that it will prove a reliable, and there
fore an enduring history of a colony, — the youngest
and the weakest of the old thirteen ; of a State, — one
of the greatest and most influential of the confederated
sovereignties which make up the American Union.
Philadelphia, Oct. 1, 1859.

HISTORY OF GEORGIA.

BOOK THIRD.
GEORGIA ILNDER EOYAL GOVEENMENT.

CHAPTER IV.
THE NEW GOVERNOR, JAMES WRIGHT.
On the 11th October, 1760, Lieutenant-Governor
James Wright arrived in Georgia.
This gentleman, whose subsequent career forms so
interesting a portion of our history, was descended
from the ancient family of Wright of Kilverstone,
whose possessions in the county of Norfolk, England,
date from Henry VIII. His grandfather, Sir Robert
Wright, Knight, was Chief Justice of the Court ot
King's Bench, in the time of James II, and presided
in that capacity in the celebrated trial of the seven
Bishops, in 1688. His grandmother was the daughter
of Matthew Wren, Lord Bishop of Ely (nephew of
Sir Christopher Wren).

18 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
James Wright was born in South Carolina, of which
province his father, the Honorable Robert Wright, was
Chief Justice. At an early age he was appointed
Attorney-General of his native colony, an office which
he retained twenty-one years, discharging its duties
with ability and diligence.
In many respects he was peculiarly qualified for his
new position, as Lieutenant-Governor of Georgia : his
American birth, his long residence in Carolina, his
familiarity with colonial aiFairs, his business habits and
legal acquirements, pointed him out as one who would
secure the confidence of the Georgians, and administer
the government with dignity and prudence.
Governor Ellis left Savannah on the 2d November,
1760, and the commission of Mr. Wright was imme
diately publishedjVAvith the usual formalities.
The General Assembly met the day following, and
in his opening speech he called the attention of both
houses to the dangers to which the province was ex
posed, from the Creek Indians, who were rendered
insolent and threatening by the partial successes of the
Cherokees in Carolina, and by the intrigues of the
French at Mobile and the Alabama Fort. He also
spoke of the defenceless state of Savannah, of the
necessity of finishing the fortifications already begun,
and of erecting such other as the exigencies of the
times required.
The entire military strength of the colony, at this
time, consisted' of two troops of Rangers, three small
Regiments of militia, and a detachment of fifty men
from South Carolina; the whole number, from the sea-
1 MS. Documents from Board of Trade, ix, 78.

GOVERNOR JAMES WRIGHT. 19
board to Augusta, and from the Alatamaha to the Sa
vannah, including alarm-men and superannuated citi
zens, did not exceed eleven hundred men. Of this
force only one-half could be considered as effective
troops ; and those who might be relied upon were so
badly provided with arms and ammunition that they
could give but slight protection in time of danger.
The removal of the seat of government to Hard-
wicke, which had received the favorable notice of
former Governors, was discouraged by Mr. Wright,
who argued, that if the object of a removal was to
obtain a more central position. Hard wicke was too
near; while, on the other hand, a removal there would
be very disadvantageous to the present capital, which
was conveniently settled for intercourse with the In
dians and for trade with South Carolina. The project
was therefore abandoned, and the attention of the As
sembly was directed to enlarging and strengthening
the city which Oglethorpe had founded.
The death of George II occurred on the 25th
October, 1760; the official intelligence of it did not
reach Savannah until February, 1761, when, in conse
quence, the Assembly was dissolved, and the Governor
in Council ordered, as was customary on such occa
sions, writs of election to issue for a new Assembly, to
meet on the 24th March following. Funeral honors
to the late sovereign were paid on the Oth February,
and, on the day following, George III was proclaimed
King in the most solemn manner, with the utmost civil
and military pomp which the Province could display.
It was the only time this ceremony of proclaiming a
King was witnessed in Georgia.
The first session of the third General Assembly met

20 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
in March, 1761, and the Governor, in his opening
speech, congratulated them on the happy accession of
the young King to the throne of his grandfather.
The speech called forth a loyal echo from both houses,
and they proceeded to business, resolving "to make it
their study^ to promote his majesty's service, and pay
all due obedience to his loyal commands."
But little business of historical importance was
transacted by this Assembly. The principal object of
desire was that the King should approve of the act
passed on the 1st of May, 1760, for stamping, imprinting,
issuing, and making current, the sum of £7410 in paper
bills of credit, and for applying and sinking the same.
To secure this purpose, both the Council and lower
House addressed the Governor, intreating him to use
his good offices with the Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations, that they would please to in
tercede with his majesty for his royal approbation and
allowance of the same. This act was essentially
necessary to the trade and commerce of Savannah,
which greatly suffered for lack of more pecuniary
facilities than the limited supply of sterling money or
colonial currency permitted. Though Governors Rey
nolds and Ellis had, under legislative sanction, issued
paper bills of credit to a small extent, yet Mr. Wrio-ht
assured the Board of Trade' that, at the time this last
act was passed, the entire currency for trade, Indian
affairs, and other purposes, amounted to only about
£5500, which sum was being annually reduced, by
calling in and sinking a certain per cent., according to
the original intention of the acts. The Governor ac-
2 MS. Journal of Council in Assembly, 457.
^ MS. Documents, ix, 97.

GOVERNOR JAMES WRIGHT. 21
cordingly represented to the Board of Trade that,
unless the new act and emission were allowed, " they
should really be involved in very great difficulties."
The King's Solicitor, Sir Matthew Lamb, made no
objection to the bill, and the money was put in circu
lation. The importance of fortifying the island of Cockspur
early forced itself upon the attention of the Governor,
" not only as being necessary in time of war, for the
protection of trade and of the province, but also useful
in time of peace, for enforcing a due obedience to our
laws." Accordingly, what Captain De Brahm, the en
gineer, employed for the purpose, called a " redoubted
caponiere," was erected on the south side of the island,
while a small battery of three eighteen-pounders only
was deemed sufficient to protect the channel on the
northern side. About the same time, " to prevent all
clandestine trade and his majesty's enemies from being
supplied with provisions," the Governor, by the advice
and consent of his Council, declared and established
Sunbury to be a port of entry, and appointed Thomas
Carr collector, John Martin naval officer, and Francis
Lee searcher; which officers were approved by the
Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs.
On the 20th March, 1761, the King conferred upon
Mr. Wright full executive powers, with the title of
Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief. This promo
tion was deserved, for the zeal which he had displayed
in advancing every interest connected with Georgia,
and for the distinguished ability which marked his
intercourse with the Indians, during a period when
the slightest imprudence would have involved the
people in the horrors of a savage warfare. His com-

22 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
mission — such was then the slow transit between the
two countries — did not reach Savannah until the 28th
January, 1762, when it was published with the usual
formalities. The regiment of militia, commanded by
Colonel Noble Jones, was drawn up in Johnson Square,
and, after the commission was read, fired three volleys,
which were answered by the cannon from Fort Hali
fax, and by all the ships in the river. In the evening,
the Governor gave a ball to the ladies, " at which there
was the most numerous and brilliant appearance ever
known in the town."'' Nearly every house was illu
minated, and the chronicle of the day declares that
"there never was an occasion on which the joy and
satisfaction of the people were more apparent." But,
while the Governor, by his approved abilities and un
sullied integrity, was securing the confidence and affec
tions of the people, there were sources of disquietude
around him, which demanded wisdom, prudence, and
unquailing firmness. The first sore trial to his pa
tience, was the conduct of William Grover, the Chief
Justice of Georgia. This person had been appointed
to his distinguished station by the Earl of Halifax,
during the administration of Governor ElHs; but, fail
ing to agree with the Governor, he absented himself
from the Council board, and began that peculiar course
of conduct which gave such just offence to the Go
vernor and the whole province. After waiting a suffi
cient time to ascertain whether he would resume his
seat in the Council, the Governor sent to require his
attendance. This he refused to do, and shortly re
signed his seat; and, declining all intercourse with
* South Carolina Gazette, February 20, 1762.

GOVERNOR JAMES WRIGHT. 23
the executive, he directed the whole force of his offi
cial and personal character to thwart and derange the
course and counsels of the government. The Go
vernor, in a very temperate manner, laid the case
before his Council, and, after a full investigation, they
unanimously declared,^ "That Mr. Grover's conduct
has been and is dishonorable, partial, arbitrary, illegal,
indecent, and not consistent with the character, duty,
and dignity of his office," and recommended his suspen
sion until the pleasure of the King was known. He
was accordingly suspended, and a memorial was sent
to the Board of Trade, setting forth that he had in
trigued with the Assembly, and hindered the course
of legislation — that he was illegal, arbitrary, and op
pressive in his judicial acts; — in short, that his con
duct, in every respect, seemed exceptionable — deroga
tory to his station and prejudicial to the honor and
interest of both his majesty and the province in which
he was the great law-officer of the crown. These
complaints were amply substantiated, and, the Board
of Trade concurring in the view of the Governor and
Council, the King removed him from office in March,
1763. The mal-conduct of Mr. Grover produced serious
effects on the legal and legislative condition of the
province. He was the first Chief Justice of Georgia,
and his position as the law adviser of the executive
and the supreme legal authority in the province, de
manded of him a conduct consonant to the eminence
of his rank and the dignity of his profession. In so
small a community, the character of a Chief Justice
' Documents Board of Trade, x, 8.

24 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
must have an important influence in moulding the
legal proceedings of the colony, and in shaping, in
deed, the moral character of the community. It was
truly unfortunate that Georgia's first Governor (Rey
nolds) and first Chief Justice (Grover) should have
been men so unworthy of their station, and so derelict
to their high and responsible trusts. Their conduct
retarded, to a great extent, the advancement and
prosperity of the province.
Another source of anxiety to the Governor, was the
fluctuating and uncertain state of the Indian affairs.
The French, before the declaration of war, on the 17th
May, 1756, and especially since, had spared no effort
to instigate the Creeks and Cherokees against the
colonists, and thus harass, if not effectually extirpate,
the southern plantations. The aim of the French
seemed to be to involve all the colonies in a general
Indian war. By means of presents of warlike stores
and flattering speeches, they at last succeeded in effect
ing a rupture between the Cherokees and the English,
which resulted in a tedious and wasting war, which
was only finally quelled by Colonels Montgomery and
Grant, at a vast expense of treasure, suffering, and
blood. In this war South Carolina, North Carolina,
and Virginia were the chief sufferers, as Georgia,
through the unwearied assiduity of Governor Ellis,
was saved from ruin — for he not only calmed the
Creeks and pacified the Cherokees, but dissuaded them
from their base designs, and engaged them to a strict
neutrality.* Mr. Wright aimed to pursue towards the Indians
the same mild and judicious course; and had the wise
^ Adair's History of American Indians, 256.

GOVERNOR JAMES WRIGHT. 25
counsels of- Governor Bull and himself been followed,
a rupture might have been avoided.
The emissaries of the French, however, were unre
mitting in their efforts to detach all the southern In
dians from the English interests ; and it required all
the talent, patience, and boldness of which Wright
was master, to counteract their arts and bring them
to act in concert as allies of the British crown. The
Spaniards pursued a course similar to the French ;
encouraging the savages in their interest to acts of
massacre, and deeds of incendiarism worthy of their
cruel and relentless nature.
Dangers from both these powers menaced the colony
several years; while to counteract them, and secure
tranquillity to the weakest and most exposed of the
thirteen colonies, Mr. Wright was compelled to rely
for defence, not so much on arms and military strength,
as upon the prudence of his measures, the wisdom of
his counsels, and the firmness of his conduct. These
did not fail him in the time of trial, and with them he
was enabled to secure peace, and pave the way for
those future benefits which resulted from his well-
planned administration.
By the Peace of Paris (February 10th, 1763) he
was somewhat relieved from these vexing troubles, for
though that treaty was stoutly opposed in England, as
"premature and inconclusive," yet to the American
colonies it proved an invaluable blessing. By the sixth
article of this treaty, it was stipulated that the west
ern boundary line between Great Britain and France
should be the middle of the Mississippi River, and by the
twentieth article his Catholic majesty of Spain ceded
to England the Floridas, and all that Spain possessed

26 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
on the Continent, to the east or southeast of the Mis
sissippi, except the island of New Orleans. This re
moval of the Spanish rule from St. Augustine and
Pensacola, and of the French from the Alabama Fort
and Mobile, relieved the colony of some of its most
grievous troubles, those which were fomented by the
rivalry and jealousy of these national enemies of our
religion and government.
Another great advantage to Georgia incidental to
this cession of territory was, that Florida was divided
into two provinces, and was erected into two separate
English governments, with a full colonial establish
ment in each; thus leaving Georgia no longer the
southern and western frontier, but protected on her
lower boundaries by the new colonies of East and West
Florida. Not only had enemies been dislodged, but
friends had been introduced in their place; and it
now possessed security from its three potent enemies,
the French, the Spanish and the Indians, which it
had never obtained before. The effect was most salu
tary : inhabitants flocked in, lands were taken up and
cleared, new settlements projected, trade was enlarged,
wealth increased, and a day bright with many promises
of future aggrandizement dawned upon the long ha
rassed and afflicted colony. But though the formida
ble European enemies of the province were removed,
the Indians in their interest, who occupied lands ceded
to the crown, still remained. For the purpose of ap
prising them of the change, as well as to secure their
amity and confidence, the Earl of Egremont, then
principal Secretary of State for the Southern Depart
ment, wrote, by command of his majesty, to the Go
vernors of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,

GOVERNOR JAMES WRIGHT. 27
and Georgia, directing them, together with Captain
Stuart, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, to hold a
congress with the Creeks, Cherokees, Catawbas, Chick
asaws and Choctaws, at Augusta., or elsewhere, as they
should deem expedient.
In opposition to the views of the other Governors,
who wished to hold the congress in South Carolina,
Governor Wright suggested that it would evince the
confiding trust of the English in the tribes, as well as
secure a larger attendance of the chiefs and warriors
from their various towns, if they met at Augusta,
which, after some delay, they agreed to do, as most of
the Indians positively refused to go to South Carolina.
The necessary arrangements having been made, the
session of this novel yet important congress opened at
Augusta, on Saturday morning, the 5tli November,
1763. There were present on the part of the English
government, James Wright, Governor of Georgia;
Arthur Dobbs, Governor of North Carolina; Thomas
Boone, Governor of South Carolina; Francis Fauquier,
Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, and Captain John
Stuart, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the South
ern District. On the part of the Indians, there ap
peared twenty-seven chiefs of the Upper and Lower
Chickasaws, two of the Choctaws, nine of the Upper
and Lower Creeks, fifteen of the Cherokees, and one
of the Catawbas, accompanied by their squaws and
friends, making in all about seven hundred Indians.
After seven persons had been sworn in as interpre
ters. Governor Wright opened the session, by observ
ing, " that the day was fair, and hoped that the talks
would not prove otherwise ; that the several Governors
had pitched upon Captain Stuart to deliver their sen-

28 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
timents ; that they were agreed upon the declarations
to be made to the Indians ; and desired them to pay
attention to what Captain Stuart uttered, as they were
the words of all the Governors." Accordingly, Captain
Stuart began his talk to them as friends and brothers,
assuring them, that " no conference was ever intended
to be more general, none more friendly;" for now, "at
a time when he has nothing to apprehend from any
of his enemies, the King of England opens his arms
to receive his red children," doing it " the rather at
this juncture, as he knows the insinuations and false
hoods which have been formerly circulated among you
by the perfidious and cruel French." He then pro
ceeded to tell them that, having defeated and humbled
that nation, as also the Spaniards, " the King had now
given peace to both nations ; and to prevent the revival
of such disturbances, by repetition of such dangerous
proceedings, and for this purpose only, he insisted in
the treaty of peace that the French and Spanish should
be removed beyond the river Mississippi, that the In
dians and white people may hereafter live in peace
and brotherly friendship. It will be your faults if this
does not happen, for we are authorized, by the great
King to give you the most substantial proofs of our
good intention and desire to live like brothers with
you." He also assured them that all past offences
should be buried in oblivion; that they should be
plentifully supplied with goods; that justice should be
done them on all occasions, and that the forts ceded to
the English by the French and Spanish should be em
ployed for their protection, assistance, and convenience.
To this exposition of Enghsh views the Indians re
plied on the following Monday and Tuesday, and, after

GOVERNOR JAMBS WRIGHT. 29
mutual explanations and promises, a treaty for the
preservation and continuance of a fair and perfect
peace and friendship between his most sacred majesty
George III and the several kings, head men, and war
riors of the Chickasaws, Upper and Lower Creeks,
Choctaws, Cherokees, and Catawbas, was concluded on
the 10th November, and the congress adjourned, under
a salute from the guns of Fort Augusta.''
The results of this treaty were beneficial both to the
Indians and to the colonists. It insured protection to
the former, and tranquillity to the latter ; and, by the
further acquisition of territory, so enlarged the bound
aries of Georgia, as to afford ample tracts" of land to
the new settlers, who were now daily flocking to the
colony. Among the applicants for lands within the newly
acquired territory, were Denys Rolles and the Earl of
Eglintoun. The former gentleman was the brother of
Lord Rolles, Baron of Stevenstone, one of the most
distinguished families in Devonshire, and who sat in
Parliament for the county of Devon.
In the beginning of 1764, this gentleman, in com
pany with William Reynolds, an Elder Brother of the
Trinity Hou^, Colonel George Buch, Captain John
Buch, and Dr. Robert Willan, petitioned the Board of
Trade for a tract of land, "from the Georgia line on the
north to another line southward, to be drawn parallel
to the equator, from two miles below the forks of the
Apalachicola River to the Alatamaha, to be bounded

' Journal of the Proceedings of the Southern Congress, at Augusta, in
1763. Printed at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1764; only fifty copies
printed.

30 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
on the west by the first, and on the east by the last of
these rivers."^
They proposed to build a town on the south side of
the Alatamaha, and a larger one, designed for the capi
tal, was to be erected on the Apalachicola. Their
objects were to cultivate silk, indigo, and cotton ; to
collect ship timber, and especially knees of live-oak,
and naval stores ; to open a more easy communication
with the Creeks than by way of Augusta, and a freer
access to the Gulf of Mexico than by the dangerous
route round the kejs of Florida. Mr. Rolles purposed
to go over himself to superintend the first embarkation
and planting of this new colony, and solicited that a
regular government, with proper courts of justice,
might be appointed ; at first, to be supported by the
crown, vesting the proper powers in the petitioners as
proprietors, in the same way as was formerly done in
Pennsylvania and Maryland:
This plan not meeting the approbation of the Board
of Trade, the petitioners made a request to the Earl of
Hillsborough, and the other Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations, for the grant of Cumberland
Island, on the coast of Georgia, " for the purpose of
raising cotton, silk, oil and wine, and such other com
modities as may be hoped for in a warm climate."
This also was denied ; and the failure of such plans in
their inception prevented the still deeper reverses and
miscarriages, that must have attended the putting in
operation schemes so ideal in their design, and so ex
pensive in their construction.
Not six months after the application of Mr. Rolles,
* Board of Trade, x, 68.

GOVERNOR JAMBS WRIGHT. 31
Alexander Montgomerie, the tenth Earl of Eglintoun,
with others, presented a petition to the King in coun
cil, setting forth,' that "your petitioners, Alexander,
Earl of Eglintoun, and others, are willing to introduce
into these provinces 100,000 settlers, viz. : 10,000 the
first five years, and 18,000 everj' five years after, till
the whole is completed, at their own expense, for the
property of the soil only, the crown reserving the
entire jurisdiction, with power to order and direct the
proprietors to give what grants your majesty shall be
pleased to signify to them by your Secretary of State
or the Lords of Trade and Plantations.
" 1st. We most humbly beg that one of the royal
family will be graciously pleased to be at the head of
this great and expensive undertaking.
" 2d. We are willing to oblige ourselves to comply
with the terms of your majesty's late proclamation for
encouraging the settlement of that country.
"3d. We desire our legal grants of lands already
made in these countries may be confirmed, and that
the proprietors may be restrained from making grants
to any one person exceeding five hundred acres
(except to such as have greater allowance by your
majesty's proclamation), which grants to contain in
dispensable terms and conditions of cultivation, and
to subject the new settlers to no higher quit-rents than
what is at present paid in those provinces.
"4th. We will give full and sufficient security to
pay into your majesty's exchequer, free of all charges
and deductions, one shilling per annum for every one
hundred acres that is already and may be hereafter
9 Board of Trade, x, 137.

32 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
granted away : provided, such quit-rents be not ex
acted or payable till fifteen years from the date of the
respective grants.
"And all these conditions we will be obliged to per
form, upon a penalty of the resumption of the grants,
and the loss of whatever we may have laid out pre
vious to the forfeiture, together with any other security
that may be judged necessary for the performance of
this task, particularly against a monopoly of the lands,
by being subject to such directions respecting grants
as your majesty shall from time to time signify to us
by your Secretary of State and Lords of Trade and
Plantations, whereby we shall be as much under the
control of your majesty's Government as the present
Governors and Councils of those provinces, or any
other part of the Continent of America, who are now
vested with a power of granting lands under your
majesty's commissions and instructions; and we are
also ready to submit to any other measures for the
true and reasonable interest of the colony and mother
country, which can be contrived so as to make the one
grow and flourish under the protection and superin-
tendency of the other."
This strange petition succeeded no better than those
of Mr. Rolles. Had the request been granted, the
scheme could never have been carried out, as it em
braced conditions which it was next to impossible to
fulfil. The tragical death of the Earl shortly after put
a sudden termination to a plan as Utopian as it was
impracticable. The extension of boundaries by the recent treaties
made it necessary to revoke the former letters patent
to Mr. Wright as Captain-General and Governor-in-

GOVERNOR JAMES WRIGHT. ,33
Chief of Georgia, and accordingly a new commission
to him received the great seal at Westminster, on the
20th January, 1764, extending his authority over the
new territory included within the extended limits of
the colony.
Relieved now from the maraudings of the French
and the Spaniards ; in peace and amity with most of
the adjacent Indian tribes ; its boundaries enlarged on
the one side to the Mississippi, and on the other to the
St. Mary's, and protected on the south by two new
English colonies, Georgia occupied a position which it
had never before attained. Its population, though
small, was substantial and industrious; its agricultural
resources were rapidly increasing ; its commerce called
into requisition several thousand tons of shipping ; its
Indian trade was large and productive, and it was pre
sided over by a Governor who knew its best interests
and who closely studied to advance its welfare. The
province rose in importance day by day, and was fast
becoming what its founder intended it should be, noble,
vigorous, and flourishing.
But just as Georgia had attained this longed for
position, and was beginning to realize the benefits for
which its wise Governor had so diligently striven; just
as the clouds which had hung round its morning hours
broke away, and the sun of peace and prosperity shone
out with its gladdening light ; another and a darker
cloud rose in the opposite horizon, small indeed at the
first, as that which the prophet saw from the top of
Carmel, but one which was destined to cover the colo
nial firmament with blackness, and pour forth the
storms of revolution and civil war.
Fortunate was it for Georgia that it had thus been
VOL. II. 3

34 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
consolidated and strengthened by these flanking colo
nies, and by this Indian treaty : but for these, it
must necessarily have been swept away in the first
irruption of the invader ; for there was no subsequent
period, prior to the Revolution, when the colony could
have thus girded up its strength, because dissension in
council, opposition in politics, uneasiness among the
people, and rebellion to government, soon absorbed the
public mind and engaged the energies of the people.
It was a fortunate thing, also, for all the colonies, that
before they were called upon to enter into contest with
the mother country, the other enemies on their fron
tiers had been silenced and removed ; and, furthermore,
that in the very treaties which removed them, were
contained germs of dissatisfaction with Great Britain,
which, when the war of the Revolution did come,
caused the Indians to rank themselves as our friends
and allies, against the power which had stripped them
to such an extent of their American possessions.

CHAPTER V.

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA.

The colony of Georgia presents itself to the his
torian under two aspects : one, as it respects its own
internal affairs, and the other, in its relation to the
other colonies and to the parent state. Up to this
time, we have considered Georgia as a province by
itself, and have confined ourselves to its history alone;
we must now look at its other aspect, and examine its
historical connections with its sister colonies and the
mother country. Hitherto, the only ties which bound
it to the provinces which skirted the Atlantic coast
were those of continental interest, and the derivation
of governmental powers through the same common
source, the King and Parliament of Great Britain.
But other links were soon forged, which were to
bring into yet closer union the leading colonies of
North America, and to exhibit these it is necessary to
merge, for a time, the narrative of Georgia in the
common history of our American confederacy. The
liberty which we now enjoy was not the sudden disen-
thralment of a nation from monarchical rule, eifected
in the heat of political excitement, by men acting
under, the impulses of fevered passion. The seeds of
that liberty had been brought by the colonists from

3G GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
their fatherland— they had been scattered broadcast
from the Kennebec to the Alatamaha— they had taken
root and sprung up, and the Revolution was the fruit
of their long but effective germination.
It would not come within the province of this his
tory to trace the progress of free principles in America,
yet a brief review of their development is necessary
to a full understanding of the revolutionary history of
Georgia. It is not saying too much to declare, that the fun
damental doctrines of civil and religious freedom were
better understood in the American colonies than in
any other portion of the globe. Their several charters
conferred upon them rights and immunities which they
cherished with peculiar tenacity, and which strength
ened them in that spirit of liberty which manifested
itself so often during their colonial existence. From
the time that the Virginians, under the wise adminis
tration of Sir George Yeardly, in 1619, gave the New
World the first example of representative legislation,
onward to the eventful epoch of American independ
ence, the leading principles of political liberty were
boldly proclaimed and firmly supported. Of these
principles, that which recognized resistance to taxation
without representation, was the first developed, and
the soonest tested.
When Virginia capitulated to the commonwealth of
Cromwell, in 1652, it was expressly stated in the deed
of surrender, that no taxes or customs should be levied,
except by their own representatives.
When the " West India Company" attempted to tax
the inhabitants of New Netherlands (now New York),
the province drew up a remonstrance, which declared,

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 37
" We, who have transformed the wilderness iftto fruitful
farms, demand that no new laws shall be enacted, but
with consent of the people;" and they refused to pay
them. When the tyrannical Lovelace insisted upon taxing
the people of New York, even for the ostensive pur
pose of defence, seven villages entered their protest to
an act which took from them the rights and privileges
of Englishmen ; and, though the votes of these towns
against this arbitrary decree of the Governor were, by
his order, publicly burned in the streets of New York,
yet the spirit which cast them remained unchecked.
The efforts of Sir Edmund Andros, in 1688-9, to
levy a tax at the pleasure of himself and council,
though seconded by imprisonment and fines, resulted
in a revolution which overthrew his government, and
reinstated on its ruins their old and equitable charter
rights. Not only did the attempt to tax the colonists with
out representation provoke resistance, but legislative
enactments were passed, declaring, with all the em
phasis which charters and laws could give, that taxa
tion without representation was contrary to the rights
and privileges of Englishmen, and subversive of the
liberties of the people.
The frequent agitation of these measures implanted
in the minds of the colonists the clearest ideas of their
rights as subjects and as men, and prepared the way
for resisting, on a broader arena, the flagitious schemes
of Parliament in 1765.
One of the results of the English Revolution of 1688,
was the recognition of that principle which Magna
Charta, signed at Runnymede nearly five hundred

38 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
years before, had dimly shadowed forth, that property
could not be taxed, but with the consent of its proper
representatives; and the royal Assembly of New York,
catching the spirit of this fundamental principle, re
solved, three years a/ter, that no tax whatever shall
be levied on his majesty's subjects in the province, or
on their estates, on any pretence whatever, but by the
act and consent of the representatives of the people in
General Assembly convened. The act, indeed, was
rejected by King William, and severe taskmasters were
sent over to discipline them into obedience, but the
very efforts to eradicate or coerce this spirit, only
caused it to take deeper root and acquire greater
strength. In 1696, a pamphlet appeared in England, asserting
the power of Parliament to tax the colonies, and re
commending the plan; but it was immediately an
swered from this side of the Atlantic by several
replies, which denied the right and reprobated the
design. It is indeed remarkable, when the tendency
of the Americans to self-government was so early dis
covered, that a different course was not pursued, rather
than those oppressive subjugating measures, which the
common experience of humanity should have taught
the Cabinet could only result in resistance and aliena
tion. As far back as 1701, the Lords of Trade publicly
declared, that "the independency the colonies thirst
after is now notorious;" and in 1705, it was openly
published in England, that " the colonists will, in pro
cess of time, cast off their allegiance, and set up a
government of their own ;" and yet that same year a
memorial, urging a direct tax on the colonists, was

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 39
transmitted by a royalist to the Lords of Trade ; but
both the Board and the Ministry wisely suffered it to
pass unnoticed. In 1728, Sir William Keith sug
gested to the King to extend the duties of stamps
upon parchment and paper, already existing in Eng
land, to the plantations in America ; but the plan of
the ex-Governor, as also a similar suggestion made to
Walpole in 1739, received no serious consideration
from the high officers of state. Mr. Pitt, indeed,
meditated a plan for the raising of a revenue from the
Americans, and towards the close of 1759 wrote to
Governor Fauquier, of Virginia, announcing his design ;
but, on receiving the reply of the Governor, which
represented the disturbance it would occasion, he was
induced to relinquish his scheme.
At the ratification of peace, in 1763, the American
colonies were all loyal provinces, reposing in peace and
prosperity, under the guarantee of chartered rights
and the plighted faith of the English government;
but their quietude was of short duration.
The late war, which Great Britain had engaged in
principally at the solicitation of the colonies, and for
their defence, had cost the nation over three hundred
millions of dollars ; which, added to its already over
grown debt, made the condition of its finances despe
rate. How to reduce this debt, and at the same time so
to reduce it as not by new and large taxation to create
alarm among the people, already laden with most
onerous imposts, called for all the skill and ingenuity
of the fiscal minister. Under the pressure of these
circumstances, it was resolved to carry into effect what
had so long remained a mere speculative scheme. The
way for this had been already prepared, by the resolu-

40 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
tion of the House of Commons, in March, 1764, by
which the members determined, almost unanimously,
that they had the right to tax America. The declara
tion of their right was soon followed by a vote de
claring that it was expedient, and the resolve of expe
diency was in a few days succeeded by an act carrying
out the asserted right, commonly known as " The
Sugar or Molasses Act."
The spirited remonstrances which this act and de
claration drew forth from the colonists did not deter
the ministers from enlarging their plans for gathering
a revenue from America; and accordingly, on the 22d
March, 1765, George Grenville's bill, entitled "An
Act for granting and applying stamp duties and other
duties in the British Colonies and Plantations of Ame
rica,." etc., received the assent of the King.
This plan was suggested to Mr. Grenville, it is said,
by Mr. Huske, a native of New Hampshire, but who
then represented the town of Maiden in Essex, in the
House of Commons, and who proposed by this means
to raise £500,000 per annum from the colonies. This
man, a nephew of the distinguished General Huske, is
represented as " a flashy, superficial fellow, who, by
stock-jobbing and serviUty to the Townshend family,
raised himself from poverty and obscurity to a seat in
Parliament ;" and the first use which he made of his
position was to injure the Country which gave him
birth. But the idea is not altogether his own ; for it
has been asserted, by one' who possessed great know
ledge of state secrets, that Grenville " adopted from
Lord Bute a plan of taxation formed by Jenkinson,"
1 Walpole's George III, ii, 28.

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 41
the first Lord Liverpool. The plan, by whomsoever
devised, was adopted by the Ministry, and George
Grenville's bill, intituled "An Act for granting and
applying stamp duties and other duties in the British
Colonies and Plantations in America," etc., embracing
fifty-five resolutions, received, on the 22d March, 1765,
the assent of the King.
The Assembly of Virginia, the only provincial legis
lature in session when the news of the passage of the
act arrived, immediately passed resolves, denying the
right of Parliament to tax the colonies. Nearly every
province echoed the sentiment of the Old Dominion.
The Assembly of Massachusetts, foreseeing the im
portance of union among the aggrieved colonies, ad
dressed a circular to each of the Assemblies, soliciting
the formation of a general congress, to meet in New
York, ou the first Tuesday in October, 1765.
As soon as Mr. Wylly, the Speaker of the Commons
House of Assembly, received the letter, he dispatched
expresses to the ' members, and sixteen members —
nearly two-thirds of the entire number — responded to
his call, by convening in Savannah, on the 2d Septem
ber, 1765. This body replied to the Massachusetts
resolutions, by a letter intimating their hearty co-ope
ration in every measure for the support of their com
mon rights; but, through the influence of Governor
Wright, they were prevented from sending delegates
to the proposed congress. How far he had succeeded
in calming the excitement which began to appear con
cerning the Stamp Act, may be inferred from his as
sertion to the Earl of Halifax, under date September
20, 1765, "that everything in the province is well
and doing well at present."

42 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
The Assembly met on the 22d October, and on the
28th, an order was made, requiring their Committee
of Correspondence to lay before the house the commu
nications between their agent, William Knox, and
themselves; and the result was, that the lower house
"resolved to give instruction to their Committee of
Correspondence to acquaint William Knox, agent for
this province, that the province has no further occasion
for his services." Not that they found aught objection
able in his correspondence, but they believed that he
could not act independently for them, when he was at
the same time Crown Agent for East Florida; and they
took especial objection to his pamphlet, entitled " The
Claims of the Colonies to an Exemption from Internal
Taxes imposed by authority of Parliament examined;"
in which he defended the proceedings of Parliament,
and supported its most obnoxious measures. Had
Mr. Knox considered what was due to the colony he
represented, he certainly would not thus have ob
truded himself in a controversy, which, on the side he
advocated, compromised the very privileges and liber
ties of Englishmen. But, like others in that day, he
wrote for advancement, and his promotion, not long
after, as "Under-Secretary of State," was doubtless
the reward of his devotion to ministerial designs.
John Campbell, Esq., the Crown Agent for Georgia,
also published an octavo tract of over a hundred pages,
on the " Regulations lately made concerning the Colo
nies, and the Taxes imposed upon them." From him
nothing better was expected ; it was quite natural that
he should kiss the hand that fed him ; but that Mr.
Knox, who had resided in Savannah, and held high
offices in Georgia, and who was supposed to be devoted

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 43
to the interests of the colonies, should take the part
he did, was not only unlooked for, but was regarded
first with amazement, and then with indignation.
As the time drew near when this act was to take
effect, the spirit of the people became more excited,
and occasions were not long wanting, in which it was
fully manifested.
On the 26th of October, the anniversary of. his ma
jesty's accession, the Governor ordered a general
muster in Savannah, which drew together a large
concourse of people, and in the evening there was a
great tumult, occasioned by burning the effigies of
several obnoxious persons, having first paraded them
through the streets with insulting mockery. The
Governor, by proclamation, condemned such proceed
ings; and this, having no effect, was in a few days fol
lowed by another, " against riots and tumultuous and
unlawful assemblies." This also was unheeded ; and
the Governor himself declared, that " from that time
the spirit of faction and sedition increased."
The act was to take effect from the 1st November,
1765, yet, as neither the papers nor distributing officer
had arrived, the Governor, by advice of his Council,
on the 31st October, stopped the issue of all warrants
and grants for land, and gave "let-passes" to the ves
sels, certifying the non-arrival of any stamped papers
or officer in the province, while at the same time he
wrote to the Board of Trade : —
" I am, my lords, under great difficulty with respect
to the Stamp Act, not having received the act of Par
liament, or one scrape of the pen about it ; nor is any
stampt paper or officer yet arrived here. I fear, my
lords, there has been an omission somewhere, relative

44 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
to this matter, which embarrasses me greatly. The
moment I receive the act, it shall be punctually ob
served, to the utmost of my power; but am very sorry
to acquaint your lordships that too much of the rebel
lious spirit in the northern colonies has already shown
itself here ; indeed, for many months past, stimulated
by letters, papers, etc., sent them from the northward
to follow their example."
On the 5th of December, his majesty's ship Speed
well, Captain Fanshawe, with the stamps, arrived in
the river, and the papers were secretly transferred to
Fort Halifax, and placed under the care of the com
missary ; for the " Liberty Boys," as they were then
termed, had entered into an association to prevent the
distribution of the papers, and to compel the officer to
resign as soon as he arrived. To oppose these mea
sures. Governor Wright summoned all his energies,
and labored day and night, in public and in private,
and, by his commanding influence, ably seconded by
his Council, was partially successful. Secret meetings,
however, were often held, all business was stopped, and
the province remained in a state of anxious agitation.
Burdensome as the Stamp Act was felt to be by all
the colonies, it was peculiarly oppressive to Georgia.
" The annual tax raised here," says the excellent
James Habersham (President of his majesty's Council,
a true loyalist, but a true patriot), " for the support of
our internal policy, is full as much as the inhabitants
can bear; and suppose the stamps produce only one-
eighth of what they would in South Carolina, it would
amount to as much in one year as our tax laws will
raise in three ; and perhaps we have not five thousand
pounds, in gold and silver, come into the province in

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 45
five years, though the act requires it in one. If this
is really the case, as I really beUeve it is, how must
every inhabitant shudder at the thought of the act
taking place, which, according to my present appre
hension, must inevitably ruin them." It was not pos
sible, therefore, for the Georgians to remain passive
under such exactions; for not only was the tax oner
ous in itself, but the act which levied it involved a
question, on the issue of which depended the liberty
or the slavery of America. It is a just remark of the
profound Locke, " Men can never be secure from ty
ranny, if there be no means to escape it, till thej' are
perfectly under it ; and therefore it is, that they have
not only a right to get out of it, but to prevent it ;"
and to prevent' it the colonists were determined, or to
perish in the attempt.
On the 2d of January, 1766, about 3 p. m.. Cap
tains Milledge and Powell informed the Governor that
nearly two hundred "Liberty Boys" had assembled
together, threatening to break open the fort and de
stroy the papers. The Governor immediately ordered
the two companies of rangers, numbering fifty-four
men, to attend him, and marched to the fort, took out
the stamps, placed them in a cart, and, escorted by the
military, conveyed them to the guard-house. The
people looked on in sullen silence ; but it was a silence
which gave the Governor so much alarm, that for
many days he kept a guard of forty men over his
house, and during four nights was in such anxiety and
fear, that he did not remove his clothes.
The next day, about ten o'clock, the Governor, by
preconcerted signals, was made acquainted with the
arrival of Mr. Agnus, the stamp distributer, at Tybee,

46 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
and, fearing* the rage of the citizens, immediately de
spatched an armed scout-boat, with two or three of
his particular friends, who, with much secrecy and a
charge to allow him to speak to no one, brought him
to the Governor's house, on the 4th, where he took the
required oath. But a few days' residence here, even with
a guard mounted night and day, convinced Mr. Agnus
of his insecurity, and in a fortnight he left the town.
Nor were these feelings confined to Savannah. The
whole province was aroused ; parties of armed men
assembled in various places; society was convulsed,
and its tumultuous heavings threatened general ruin
and desolation. Then was exhibited in an eminent
degree the zeal and energy of the Governor ; and such
was his resolution and weight of character, that for a
time all rebellious proceedings ceased ; so much so,
that he wrote, on the 15th January, 1766, "Every
thing, at present, is easy and quiet, and I hope peace
and confidence will be restored in general." A few
days served to dissipate this hope. About the 20th,
menacing letters were sent to Governor Wright. Pre
sident Habersham was waylaid at night, his new and
well-stored house was threatened with destruction, and
he was obliged to take refuge in the garrisoned mansion
of the Governor. Towards the close of January, a
body of six hundred men assembled within a few miles
of the town, and intimated to the Governor that, unless
the papers were removed, they would march to Savan
nah, attack his house and fort, and destroy the stamps.
Immediately he sent the papers down to Fort George,
at Cockspur Island, and placed them in charge of the
rangers. But even this was not deemed sufficient
security, and on the 3d of February, they were once

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 47
more removed, and deposited on board the man-of-war
Speedwell, which had brought them to the colony.
The next day the town was again alarmed, by the
appearance on the common of between two and three
hundred men, with arms and colors, clamorous for the
redress of their grievances. The company of rangers
was ordered up from Cockspur, and all the regulars
and volunteers, together with a party of marines and
seamen from the Speedwell, were marshalled for the
defence of the town. For several hours the state of
affairs was critical, and suspense added its harrowing
influences to the trepidation of alarm. By evening,
however, nearly all the provincials had dispersed,
though a few at night burned an effigy of the Go
vernor, holding in his hand the offensive circular of
Secretary Conway, of the 24th October, 1765.
The situation of Mr. Wright was one of singular
trial and difficulty. The province was on the verge
of civil war, and one act of indiscretion would have
plunged it into its ensanguined horrors. The whole
military force of the colony consisted of two troops of
rangers, of sixty men each, and thirty of the Royal
American Regiment — in all one hundred and fifty men,
officers and privates ; who were distributed in five
forts widely separated, and totally inadequate to sus
tain the executive authority. With this handful of
soldiers, the Governor had to contend with faction and
disloyalty, and so inefficient did he deem them, that he
was on the point of writing to General Gage and Lord
Colville for support.
On the arrival of the stamps there were between
sixty and seventy sail in port waiting for clearance,
and the necessities of the case seemed so urgent, that,

48 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
though the people refused to use stamps for any other
purpose, they consented to employ them to clear out
their ships, by which means the port was opened,
though the courts remained closed, and every species
of judicial business was suspended. Such a course
gave great umbrage to the other colonies, and par
ticularly to South Carolina. Governor Wright was
termed by the Carolinians " a parricide," and Georgia
" a pensioned government," which had "sold her birth
right for a mess of pottage, and whose inhabitants
should be treated as slaves without ceremony." Nor
did they stop at invectives ; they resolved " that no
provision should be shipped to that infamous colony,"
Georgia ; " that every vessel trading there should be
burnt;" and that "whosoever should traffic with them
should be put to death ;" and these were not idle
threats ; for two vessels, about sailing for Savannah,
were captured before they had cleared Charleston bar,
were taken back to the city, condemned, and, with
their cargoes, destroyed.
But the injustice of these measures towards Georgia
will be evident, when it is remembered, that through
the irresolution of Governor Bull, the port of Charleston
itself was open, under pretence that no stamped papers
could be had, when in fact they were lodged, by his au
thority, in Fort Johnson, whence, overawed by the popu
lace, he dared not remove, nor did he dare to use them.
Charleston, also, was a city of many thousand inhabi
tants, and its Governor hesitating or timorous ; while
Savannah had hardly as many hundreds, controlled
by a chief magistrate whose energy and decision could
neither be wearied by importunity, nor daunted by
danger. Georgia, therefore, did not deserve the re-

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 49
proach which Carolina cast upon her; for everything
which a province similarly situated could do,-was done ;
and she rested not from her efforts until the repeal of
the act, and a change of ministry brought with them
temporary quiet and repose.
The course of Governor Wright, during these diffi
culties, was approved by the King ; and though it
was reported at one time that his conduct had given
offence to his majesty, who had resolved to send over
a Lieutenant-Governor to supersede him, yet the Earl
of Shelburne assured him that this was untrue, " the
King having no thought of recalling or superseding
him." The displacement of the obnoxious ministry in June,
1765 ; and the repeal of the Stamp Act, February
22d, 1766; removed, for a time, some of the causes
of colonial discontent; and order and approval took
the place of anarchy and opposition. The official an
nouncement of this repeal was received by the Governor
on the 6th of July; and he immediately by proclama
tion convened the General Assembly, which met in
Savannah on the 16th of the same month.
Addressing the Assembly, the Governor said : " I
think myself happy that I have it in my power to
congratulate you on this province having no injuries
or damages, either of a public or private nature, with
respect to property to compensate, and that you. Gen
tlemen of the Assembly, have no votes or resolutions
injurious to the honor of His Majesty's Government,
or tending to destroy the legal or constitutional depen
dency of the Colonies on the Imperial Crown and Par
liament of Great Britain, to reconsider; I say. Gentle-

50 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
men, these are points that give me, and I dare say
must give you, the greatest satisfaction.
"When you consider the papers I shall now lay before
you, I am persuaded your hearts must be filled with
the highest veneration and filial gratitude, with a most
ardent zeal to declare and express your grateful feel
ings and acknowledgments, and to make a dutiful and
proper return, and show a cheerful obedience to the
laws and legislative authority of Great Britain."
To this the Commons' House of Assembly returned
the following answer : " We, His Majesty's most duti
ful and loyal subjects, beg leave to return your Excel
lency our sincere thanks for your affectionate speech.
Hopeful as we were that no occasion would have
offered of calling us together till the usual season of
our meeting, yet it is with the highest pleasure and
satisfaction, and with hearts overflowing with filial
affection and gratitude to our most gracious Sovereign,
that we embrace the opportunity now presented to us
of expressing our most dutiful acknowledgments to the
best of kings for his paternal and princely attention
and regard manifested to his faithful subjects in these
remote parts of his dominions, in graciously conde
scending to lend his royal ear to their supplications,
and removing from them those evils they lamented.
Nor can we sufficiently venerate and admire the mag
nanimity and justice of the British Parliament in so
speedily redressing the grievances by them complained
of." " We cannot, indeed, but felicitate ourselves in that
we have no injuries or damages, either of a public or
a private nature, nor any votes or resolutions deroga
tory to the honor of his Majesty's government, or tend-

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 51
ing to destroy the true constitutional dependency of
the Colonies on the Imperial Crown and ParUament of
Great Britain to reconsider."
" We will immediately proceed to take into our most
serious consideration the papers laid before us by your
Excellency, and we shall upon all occasions be ready
to testify our loyalty to our king and firm attachment
to our mother country."
Both Houses also united in the following loyal
address to the king, couched in terms of almost abject
servility, yet not exceeding the usual character of such
papers at that period :
" To the King's most excellent Majesty, the humble
address of both Houses of Assembly of the Province
of Georgia. Most Gracious Sovereign :
" We, your Majesty's loyal subjects, the Council and
Commons of your Majesty's Province of Georgia, in
General Assembly met, beg leave to approach your
royal person with hearts full of the most dutiful affec
tion and gratitude. Influenced by principle and ani
mated by your Majesty's exemplary justice and pater
nal care in redressing the grievances of your faithful
subjects in these remote parts of your wide-extended
empire, with the deepest sense of your Majesty's royal
clemency and goodness, we humbly offer to your most
sacred Majesty our sincere thanks for the repeal of the
late Act of the British Parliament, commonly called the
American Stamp Act. Nor can we sufficiently admire
the magnanimity and justice displayed by the British
Parliament on this occasion. Permit us, dread sire,
while we endeavor to express our gratitude to the best
of kings for affording us so speedy and necessary relief,
to assure your Majesty that we shall upon all occa-

52 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
sions strive to evince our loyalty and firm attachment
to your Majesty's sacred person and Government, being
truly sensible of the advantage derived to us from the
protection of our mother country ; and that it is, and
ever will be, our honor, happiness, and true interest to
remain connected with and dependent on the Imperial
Crown and Parliament of Great Britain upon the solid
basis of the British Constitution. That your Majesty's
Illustrious House may continue to reign over a free,
loyal, and grateful people, to the latest posterity, is,
most gracious sovereign, our constant prayer, unfeigned
wish, and our most sanguine hope."
Order once more prevailed, and the various avoca
tions and pursuits of industry were resumed with dili
gence and success, as will fully appear from a compa
rison, in a few points, with the condition of things some
years back.
During the first quarter of a century of the colonial
existence of Georgia, there was not even a wharf at
Savannah. The few vessels which traded there were
landed alongside of the bluff, and their cargoes dis
charged upon the sandy bank of the river.
The first wharf built in Savannah was constructed
in 1759, by Thomas Eaton, under the direction of
John G. Wm. De Brahm, Surveyor-General of the
Southern Provinces of North America, and an engineer
of distinguished attainments. De Brahm says, in his
report upon the Province of Georgia, that he advised
the builder " to drive two rows of piles as far asunder
as he desired his wharf to be wide, and as far toward
the river as low-water mark, secure their tops with
plates, and to trunnel planks within on the piles. This
done, then to brace the insides with dry waUs of stones

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 53
intermixed with willow twigs. In the same manner
to shut up the ends of the two rows with a like front
along the stream, to build inside what ceUars he had
occasion for, then to fill up the remainder with the
sand nearest at hand, out of the bluff or high shore of
the stream under the bay."
" This plan," he says, writing many years later,
" has been followed ever since to this day.'"
The next year, 1760, the number of vessels which
entered at the custom house, was forty-one, but in
1766, there were one hundred and seventy-one.
The population in 1760 was 6100 whites and 3600
blacks; but in 1766, notwithstanding the ravages of
the small pox, two years before, there were 10,000
whites and 8000 blacks.
There were no manufactures in the colony, for they
were rigorously disallowed in all the provinces ; but
commerce and agriculture were carried on with much
zeal, and with the reward usually attendant upon all
well-directed industry. Governor Wright, who had
travelled extensively through the province, speaks en
thusiastically of it, as " the most flourishing colony on
the continent ;" and in a letter to the Earl of Hillsbo
rough, he assured him, that " it was certain, beyond a
doubt, that this province has, must, and will, make a
rapid progress, and in a few years will make as con
siderable a figure as most on the continent." Address
ing the Earl of Shelburne, he thus forcibly states the
advancing condition of Georgia :
" On Governor Ellis's departure from hence, on the
2d of November, 1760, I took upon me the govern-
' De Brahm's Province of Georgia, p. 45, Wormsloe, 1849.

54 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
ment of this province ; and at that time, my lord,
from the returns of the militia officers and the best
information I could get, the Avhole number of white
people throughout the province, men, women, and
children, amounted only to 6000 (and I had after
wards reason to think there were uot so many) ; of
which number there was about sixty men belonging
to his majesty's independent companies, and two troops
of rangers, consisting of five officers and seventy pri
vate men each, and the foot militia amounted to 1025;
and now, my lord, by a very careful inquiry from every
part of the province, the white people amount to 9900,
or say 10,000j of which 1800 are effective militia.
We have still the two troops of rangers; but the inde
pendents are broke, and we have only thirty Royal
Americans. " When I came, the return made me of negroes in
the province amounted to 3578, but which I soon
found greatly exceeded the real number then in the
province ; and now, my lord, we have at least 7800.
" In 1760, they exported, as appears by the custom
house books, only 3400 lbs. of rice, and in 1765,
though a short crop, 10,235 lbs. In the year 1761,
we loaded only 42 sail of sea-vessels; and the last
year we loaded 153, and, on an average, of much
greater burden.
" Our crop of rice this year will be short for the
quantity planted, owing to the excessive rains and
inundations that we had in the spring and fore part of
the year.
" The Royal Americans and rangers here, my lord,
garrison and do duty at seven different places, viz. :
20 of the Royal Americans at Port Augusta, about

THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA. 55
150 miles by land up this river; also, 30 of the
rangers in the town of Augusta. The other 10 Royal
Americans are at Frederica, about 80 miles south of
the town. 25 rangers at Fort Barrington, on the Al-
tamaha River, about 65 miles from hence; 15 at Fort
Argyle, on Ogeechee River, 20 miles from town ; 19
at Fort George, near the entrance of this river ; and
the rest here at Savannah. So that your lordship sees
how they are scattered about ; but I conceive it to be
the most useful manner in which such an handful of
men can be employed here.
" We have no manufactures of the least conse
quence : a trifling quantity of coarse homespun cloth,
woollen and cotton mixed; amongst the poorer sort of
people, for their own use, a few cotton and yarn stock
ings ; shoes for our negroes ; and some occasional
blacksmith's work. But all our supplies of silks,
linens, woollens, shoes, stockings, nails, locks, hinges,
and tools of every sort, etc., etc., etc., are all imported
from and through Great Britain. We have no kind
of illicit trade carried on here, and our whole strength
and attention is emplo3'ed in planting rice, indigo, corn,
and peas, and a small quantity of wheat and rye, and
in making pitch, tar, turpentine, shingles, and staves,
and sawing lumber and scantling and boards of every
kind, and in raising stocks of cattle, mules, horses,
and hogs ; and next year I hope some essays will be
made towards planting and making hemp. And every
thing here, my lord, is going on extremely well, and
the people in general well disposed, except some few re
publican spirits, who endeavor to inculcate independ
ency and keep up jealousy and ill blood, a small spe
cimen of which your lordship will perceive by the

56 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
inclosed paper. I think it is my indispensable duty
to give your lordship every information that may tend
to his majesty's service, or that his ministers ought to
know. Your lordship may be assured I shall perse
vere in my utmost endeavors for his majesty's service,
and that I shall, in every respect, discharge my duty
as I think a faithful servant and an honest man ought
to do.
"The spirit that prevailed here, and our transac
tions with respect to the Stamp Act, your lordship
may see by my letters to Mr. Secretary Conway.
Amazing to think, what a propensity to faction, sedi
tion, and almost rebellion, there appeared, ^ven in this
infant colony; although I must do them the justice to
say, they did not think of it till spirited on by our
northern neighbors, who never let them rest or gave
them time to cool."

CHAPTER VL

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES.

The restoration of order by the repeal of the Stamp
Act, was, as Governor Wright well expressed it, " but
a temporary calm." On the 6th of January, 1767,
Captain Philips, commanding the Royal Americans in
South Carolina and Georgia, wrote to the Governor,
stating the barrack necessaries he required, and desir
ing to know where he could procure them. The Gov
ernor sent the letter with a message to the Assembly,
on the 20th, but the House replied " they humbly
conceive their complying with the requisition would
be a violation of the trust reposed in them by their
constituents, and founding a precedent they by no
means think themselves justifiable in introducing,"
and the Governor finding them inflexible, and that
compliance with the terms of the " Mutiny Act" was
to be expected, had the mortification to transmit their
proceedings to His Majesty's ministers.
This Act of Parliament for quartering troops upon
the Americans, and making them answerable for the
means of their subsistence and transportation, was but
another phase of the plan of taxation, and under what
ever form such a principle was avowed, it could never
be countenanced or sustained by Americans.

58 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
The British Constitution solemnly guaranteed to
every man the property which he had honestly ac
quired ; and left the disposal of it to his own choice,
with which neither corporations nor government could
interfere without his consent, expressed by himself, or
his accredited representative. If the Americans could
be taxed without their agreement by any laws, of what
ever name ; or if soldiers could be quartered in their
houses without their consent, it was a palpable viola
tion of the indefeasible birthright of a British subject;
and justified the language of the Massachusetts As
sembly to their agent, that, "if they were taxed with
out representation, they were slaves." It was in truth
making the Americans " tenants at will of liberty,"
a tenure from which they were liable to be ejected at
any moment, and which reduced them from the condi
tion of free subjects to a state of ignominious vassalage.
Nor would the condition of things have been much
altered, had the King and Cabinet been of a lenient
temper ; it was the principle which the colonists con
tended for; and they justly reasoned, with Cicero, that
though the sovereign did not oppress and tyrannize,
the condition of his subjects was still miserable ; that
he had the power if he but exercised his will.
This repudiation of the Mutiny Act was followed by
a refusal to comply with a clause appended, at the sug
gestion of the Governor and Council, to two bills grant
ing ferries, and providing for the free carriage of post
men according to the Statute 9th Ann. ch. 10, sec. 29,
because they would not seem to adopt or submit to an
Act of Parliament.
When the Assembly displaced Mr. Knox as agent
of the colony, the Governor desired the House to

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 59
appoint Mr. Cumberland ; but they refused, and gave
the place to Mr. Samuel Grath, agent for the Province
of South Carolina ; but the Governor and Council de
clined to recognize him, and used their influence to
prevent his being accredited as agent by any of the
Boards in London. In this they were right, and the
lower House of Assembly wrong ; for certainly it was
impossible that the same agent for contiguous pro
vinces, between which, causes of altercation sometimes
arose (and in the present instance were actually pend
ing), could be impartial to either without meeting
opposition from both. But such was the zeal of the
Commons for the upholding of their prerogative, that
no consideration weighed when a compromise of that
was required. Having thus thwarted the Governor,
and in a variety of ways evinced their contempt of
the authority of Parliament, they presented a peti
tion to the Governor desiring " that he would dissolve
them," thereby hoping that by the new election which
would ensue, a still larger majority of liberal delegates
would be returned, the political strength of the existing
House being seven " Royalists" and eighteen " Liberty
Boys." These proceedings were immediately represented to
the King; and in reply, the Earl of Shelburne, his
majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Southern
Colonies, wrote to Governor Wright : " It is scarce pos
sible to conceive to what motives to attribute a conduct
so infatuated, in a province lately erected, which has
been so singularly favored and protected by the mother
country." " And I have it," says the Earl, " in com
mand from his majesty, to inform you that he expects
and requires the Commons House of Assembly of

60 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
Georgia will render an exact and complete obedience,
in all respects whatever, to the terms of the Mutiny
Act." To punish the Assembly for their conduct.
General Gage withdrew all the troops from the pro
vince, thus leaving the fort unmanned, and the settle
ment without defence.
This was a chastisement, as arbitrary as it was
severe; but it was a two-edged sword; for while the
people complained of it, as exposing them to the mercy
of their slave population, and the attacks of the In
dians, whose hostile intentions had already been
strongly evinced, the Governor also lamented the
measure, as cutting him off from the only means
whereby to enforce his majesty's authority; and so the
matter, at the next session, was mutually and happily
adjusted. While, however, Georgia, in common with other
colonies, suffered under the evil legislation of Parlia
ment, she had grievances peculiar to herself, which
greatly increased her opposition to the mother coun
try. To facilitate the operations of trade, provincial
paper, to the amount of £7410, had been issued by
act of Assembly, in 1761, which bills were current at
par, both in Georgia and Florida. The merchants and
traders, finding this sum insufficient for mercantile pur
poses, now petitioned both houses for relief " from the
want of a sufficient currency in a province where, by
the pecuUar situation of its commerce and produce,
they are precluded from the advantage of receiving any
quantity of bullion, or retaining what little they may
receive." It was proposed, therefore, to recall the old
emission, and issue new paper to the amount of
£20,000. But the Governor, though he thought the

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 61
present bills of credit too limited, also thought that
the sum of £20,000 was too large, believing that
£12,000 would meet the emergency; as every hundred
pounds more of paper currency than is really neces
sary for the daily or common occurrences, would prove
injurious, by depreciating its value and increasing the
rate of exchange, and would prevent the circulation of
sterling money, and produce a fictitious wealth, which
the intrinsic condition of the colony could not by any
means support. His counsel, however, was unheeded ;
the question was made tributary to the absorbing one
of parliamentary wrongs, and both the upper and lower
house presented a petition to the King for the relief
desired ; but his majesty refused their prayer.
On the 25th March, 1765, the Assembly passed an
act " for the better ordering and governing of Negroes,"
etc., and the following year, "An Act for encouraging
Settlers to come into the Province." Both these
laws were founded on strong necessity — the security
of the province greatly depended on the former; and
its prosperity and increase on the latter; but, when
sent over for royal approval, both were disallowed.
The Governor, as well as the Assembly, was astounded
at this unlooked for result ; and the Governor, who
declared, that " without the negro law no man's life
or property would be safe a moment," was compelled
to disobey his instructions, and frame a new bill with
a different title, but with the same provisions.
Operating on minds already excited, these refusals
of the King to sanction laws enacted for the extension
of trade and commerce ; and for the protection, pros
perity and increase, of the colony; irritated the
people to an intense degree ; so much so, that the Go-

62 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
vernor declared, " that though he had hitherto kept
the Assembly within tolerably decent bounds, yet that
he had lately discovered more than ever a strong pro
pensity to be as considerable and independent, as they
term it, of the British Parliament, or of the sove
reignty of Great Britain, as any of the northern colo
nies." The necessity of sending every law to England for
confirmation, before it could be made operative in the
province where it was enacted, was a serious hindrance
to legislative action in many of the colonies ; and not
only in the cases just mentioned, but in many others,
was this requirement felt to be a sore grievance, and
a cause of great disquietude. When the Assembly
enacted a law, it must first receive the approbation of
the Governor.; if vetoed by him, there it ended ; if
approved, he sent it to England, to be examined by
the King's Attorney, who made his report to the
Lords of Trade ; if this Board approved it, it was sent
for confirmation to the King's Council; if it passed
the ordeal of this body, it received the sign manual of
the King, and became a law. It was then returned
to the Board of Trade, thence sent to the Crown
Agent, who despatched it to the Governor ; thus caus
ing sometimes a detention of two years, from the pas
sage of an act by the Assembly, before, having gone
this tedious circuit, and escaped the chances of five
negatives, it returned ratified by the King.
On the 11th of April, 1768, Benjamin Franklin was
appointed Agent "to represent, solicit, and transact
the affairs of this province in Great Britain ;" and a
committee of both houses was appointed to correspond

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 63
with him. This committee consisted, on the part of
the Council, of James Habersham, Noble Jones, James
Edward Powell, Lewis Johnstone, and Clement Mar
tin ; and, on the part of the lower house, of Alexander
Wylly, John Mulryne, John Smith, Noble Wimberly
Jones, John Milledge, John Simpson, Archibald Bul
loch, William Ewen, and Joseph Gibbons.
The fame of Franklin had extended over Europe.
His dignified manners, his profound knowledge, his
grand discoveries in physical science, and his uncom
promising support of colonial rights, conspired to render
him the best representative which Georgia could select
for that critical period. During five years he repre
sented Georgia at the several offices in England, and
was her undaunted champion in every hour of danger
and of trial.
The onerous enactments of Parliament, by which
duties were laid on paper, glass, painters' colors, and
teas imported into the provinces ; the establishing of a
general civil list throughout North America; the de
manding that quarters and other barrack necessaries
should be furnished to troops ; and the restraining the
New York Assembly from passing any act, because it
had failed to make this provision for the soldiers sta
tioned there, drew forth from nearly all the colonies
petitions, remonstrances, and addresses.
On the 11th of February, 1768, the Massachusetts
House of Representatives, through their Speaker, ad
dressed a circular letter to the several provincial As
semblies, stating the condition of American grievances,
and soliciting a union of petitions to the two houses
of Pariiament and to the King, having, as they ex-

64 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
pressed it in the close of their letter, " firm confidence
in the King, our common head and father, that the
united and dutfful supplication of his distressed Ame
rican subjects wiU meet with his royal and favorable
acceptance." When this circular reached Savannah, the Assem
bly had adjourned; but Mr. Alexander Wylly, the
Speaker, replied to it, " as a private person," and
stated that " the Assembly had instructed Dr. Frank
lin to join with the Agents in soliciting a repeal of
those acts, and in remonstrating against any of like
nature in the future." The Assembly again met on
the 17th November, and chose Noble Wimberly Jones
Speaker, the late Speaker not being present. The
Governor, in his opening speech, remarked : " I have
observed, in your Gazette of the 31st of August, a
letter from your late Speaker to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives of Massachusetts, acknow
ledging the reception of a letter, dated 11th February
last, assuring him, that when the Assembly meets, he
will lay the same before the House. I am to acquaint
you that his majesty considers that measure to be of a
most dangerous tendency. I have it in charge to en
deavor to prevail on you not to give any countenance
to that letter ; but, if I should find any disposition in
you to give any countenance thereto, it will be my
duty immediately to put an end to your sitting."
For a time the ordinary business proceeded without
interruption, and such laws were passed as the neces
sities of the colonies required. But on Saturday, the
24th December, 1768, after aU the bills of the session
were prepared for the Governor's assent, prior to ad
journment, Mr. Wylly laid before the House the letter

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 65
from Massachusetts, and also a letter from Peyton
Randolph, Speaker of the Commons House of As
sembly, Virginia. Both of these were ordered to be
entered on the journals, and they then adopted the
following resolutions :
" Resolved, That from the inherent right of the sub
ject to petition the throne for redress of grievances, a
right allowed and confirmed by the Act of William and
Mary, the said letters' do not appear to the House of
a dangerous or factious tendency, but on the contrary,
in the opinion of this House, only tend to a justifiable
union of subjects aggrieved, in lawful and laudable
endeavors to obtain redress by an application founded
upon and expressive of duty and loyalty to the best of
kings, a becoming respect for the Parliament of Great
Britain, and an equitable and natural affection for our
mother country, and arises from the tender and com
mendable attention of those colonies to the natural
rights and liberties of the British subjects in America,
and to which they are undeniably entitled upon the
happy principles of our constitution.
" Resolved, That copies of this resolution be, by the
Speaker of the House, transmitted to the Speaker of
the House of Representatives of the Province of Massa
chusetts Bay, and to the Speaker of the House of Bur
gesses in Virginia, and that they be acquainted by him
that this House approves of the measures by them
pursued to obtain redress of our common grievances,
also of the method by them taken of communicating
these measures to the other provinces of the continent.
"Ordered, that the several proceedings and resolu-
' Letters from the Assemblies of Massachusetts and Virginia.
VOL. II. 5

66 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
tions respecting the said letters be published in the
Gazette of this province, and that the clerk do furnish
the printer with a copy of the same."
Governor Wright had used every means to prevent
their countenancing " the Boston letter," expostulating
with the leading members, and according to his own
idea, had " clearly convinced them of the absurdity of
it." He was quite surprised, therefore, when informed
that similar resolves had been entered on their journal,
for so quietly had it been effected, that the Governor
said, " everything was prepared and done before I
could prevent it." He immediately repaired to the
council chamber, and summoning the Commons House
to attend, made them a long and earnest address, in
which he uttered the prediction, which time has not
verified, " that if America was to become independent,
from that day you may date the foundation of your
ruin and misery."^ He then, " by virtue of his
Majesty's authority and in his name, dissolved the
Assembly." Anticipating this dissolution, the Commons House
had previously drawn up the following address :
To the King's most Excellent Majesty.
The humble address of ihe Commons House of Assem
bly of the Province of Georgia, 2ith December, 1768.
Most Gracious Sovereign :
Your dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons House
of Assembly of Georgia, with the greatest humility beg
leave to represent to your sacred person the grievances
this province labors under by the late Acts of the Par
liament of Great Britain, for Raising a revenue in
America.
^ Board of Trade, xiii, 98.

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 67
Equally attached by interest, principle, and affection
for our mother country, we readily acknowledge a con
stitutional subordination to its supreme Legislature, at
the same time, with inexpressible concern, we much
lament that by their imposition of internal taxes we
are deprived of the privilege which with humble defe
rence we apprehend to be our indubitable right, that
of granting away our own property, and are thereby
prevented from a ready compliance with any requisi
tion your Majesty may ptease to make, and which to
the utmost extent of our small abilities, we have
hitherto always most cheerfully obeyed.
From your Majesty's equity, wisdom, and truly
paternal regard for the rights and liberties of your
subjects, however remote, we flatter ourselves with and
firmly rely upon redress in this our unhappy situation,
and as we of this province experience your Majesty's
particular countenance and protection in our present
infant state, for which we are impressed with the
deepest sense of gratitude, so we most earnestly hope
we shall also experience in general with our sister
colonies on this occasion fresh marks of your Majesty's
royal justice and attention to the supplications of your
distressed subjects.
We beg leave to assure your Majesty that none of
your numerous subjects can or do more ardently wish
and pray for a continuance of your most auspicious
reign, and that your latest posterity may happily rule
over a free, grateful, and loyal people, than your faith
ful Commons of Georgia.
By order of the House.
N. W. Jones,
December 24th, 1768. Speaker.

68 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
This address was sent by the Speaker to Benjamin
Franklin, who was requested to concur with the other
"agents of the American colonies in endeavors to
obtain a repeal of those acts of ParUament so grievous
to his Majesty's loyal subjects of the Continent, and
destructive of that harmony which ought, and they
earnestly wish may, subsist between our mother coun
try and its colonies."^
This address Franklin presented to the King,
through the Earl of Hillsborough ;* but his majesty
objected to the transmission of it, through any other
channel than that of his Governor, as irregular and
disrespectful, and directed the Earl to signify to Go
vernor Wright that, because "it does, both in the
letter and spirit, deny and draw into question the
authority of Parliament to enact laws binding upon
the colonies, in all cases whatsoever, he disapproved
of it, being firmly resolved to support the Constitution
as by law established, and not to countenance any
claims inconsistent with its true principles."
Governor Wright dissolved the Assembly : but this
act being expected and prepared for, produced no
excitement. The representatives of the people felt
that they had done their part, in placing the letters
of the Massachusetts and Virginia Assembly on their
journals, and in passing resolves and addresses express
ing their sympathy with the former, and their deter
mination to support the true principles of English
Uberty. The affairs of the colony, thus temporarily
disturbed, soon resumed their usual tranquil state, and

^ MS. copies of Letters of Franklin, furnished by Hon. Jared Sparks.
* State Paper Office, iv, 127.

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 69
the rapid progress of the province, in every respect,
was quite observable.
But the legislation of Parliament was still directed
towards sustaining, in their most extravagant extent,
the prerogatives of the crown, and pursued, for this
end, a course as impolitic for Great Britain as for
America : and thus the colonists, finding that their
respectful appeals to the throne and to Parliament
were unheeded, resolved to redress themselves.
One of the primary measures adopted for this pur
pose, was a suspension of all commercial dealings with
Great Britain, except for such articles as were abso
lutely and unequivocally necessary. Such non-inter
course could not fail of producing disastrous results
in the mother country, the prosperity of which was
so intimately connected with the colonial trade. Mr.
Grenville, first lord of the Treasury, asserted, that
"every inhabitant of the colonies employs four at
home." " It was American trade," said the Earl of
Chatham to the Peers, " which triumphantly carried
you through the last war;" and the eloquent Burke
declared in the House of Commons, "that what
ever England had been growing to, by a progressive
increase of improvements brought in by varieties of
people, by succession of civilizing conquests and civil
izing settlements in a .series of seventeen hundred
years, you shall see as much added to her by America
in a single life." It was hoped, therefore, that the
withdrawal of such important resources, and the mi
sery consequent on such a procedure, might work that
change in the Ministry, which all the petitions and
remonstrances had failed to effect. This plan was
suggested as early as April, 1768, by the Boston mer-

70 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
chants; but the Assembly of Virginia, in June, 1769,
was the first legislative body which adopted resolves
of non-importation, which, ere long, were sanctioned
by the other colonies.
On the 16th of September, 1769, a meeting of the
merchants and traders of Savannah was held at the
house of Mr. Alexander Creighton, at which they re
solved, "that any person or persons whatsoever, im
porting any of the articles subject to parliamentary
duties, after having it in their power to prevent it,
ought not only to be treated with contempt, but also
as enemies .of their country." Three days after, a
larger meeting was convened, with the Hon. Jonathan
Brvan, one of the Governor's Council, in the chair; at
which the same subject was renewedly canvassed, and
resolves of non-importation, mostly similar to the other
colonies, unanimously passed. One of the resolves,
based on the sentiments of the Bostonians in 1765,
was to abolish mourning at funerals, as the black stuffs
used for such purposes were of British manufacture.
For the part which Mr. Bryan took in this meeting,
he was, by command of the King, displaced from the
Council, and thus became the first object of royal ven
geance in Georgia. Carrying out into detail the fun
damental principle, that there should be no taxation
where there was no representation, the Assembly, in
1769, inserted a clause in the annual tax-bill, exempt
ing the four southern parishes from taxation, because
they were allowed no members in the legislature, and
this decisive stand produced, in due time, the required
writs of election for the vacant parishes. There was
a constant struggle between the Governor and the As
sembly ; the former, asserting that they arrogated to

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 71
themselves the prerogatives of Parliament — that they
exercised indecorous privileges, and usurped authority
which the royal instructions never invested in that
body ; and the latter, claiming to be the sole legisla
tive body, the only exponents of constitutional rights,
and the only depository of political power — declared
that they would be under no executive dictation, and
submit to no infringement of their rights. Twice had
the Governor dissolved the Assembly; but the time
had now arrived when a new agent of royal power
was to be employed in humbling their pretensions to
the supreme control of the colony.
At the opening of the Assembly in 1770, Dr. Noble
Wimberly Jones, one of the morning stars of liberty
in Georgia, was unanimously elected Speaker; but the
Governor put a negative on his election, and sent the
House back to make a new choice. This proscription,
which was designed as a rebuke to Dr. Jones, was
more honorable to him than the commission which
authorized it ; and ranked him at once with Otis, nega
tived by Sir Francis Bernard ; and with Hancock,
negatived by Hutchinson. To them, the intended
stigma, though for the moment mortifying to personal
ambition, was like the honorable wound of the soldier,
the proud scar of a contest, which rescued almost a
hemisphere from thraldom. The Assembly resented
this insult to their elective franchise; and passed a reso
lution complimenting Dr. Jones, and declaring, " that
the sense and approbation this House entertain of his
conduct, can never be lessened by any sUght cast upon
him, in opposition to the unanimous voice of the Com
mons House of Assembly in particular, and the pro
vince in general." And they furthermore resolved :

72 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
"that this rejection by the Governor of a Speaker
unanimously elected, was a high breach of the privi
leges of the House, and tended to subvert the most
valuable rights and liberties of the people and their
representatives." This bold assertion was termed by
the Council, a " most indecent and insolent denial of
his Majesty's authority;" and the Governor, on the
22d February, 1770, dissolved the Assembly.
At a meeting of the Council, on the 2d July, 1771,
Governor Wright laid before the board a letter from
the Earl of Hillsborough, stating that the King had
disapproved of the conduct of the late legislature, and
approved the course of the Governor in dissolving that
body. He further informed the Council, that he had
his Majesty's permission to visit England ; and on the
10th July, he left Savannah, on his voyage thither.
On the 13th July, James Habersham, the President
of the Council, took the customary oaths of office, and
entered upon the gubernatorial duties which devolved
upon him during the absence of Mr. Wright. Mr.
Habersham was a man whose thorough knowledge of
the colony, whose long experience in public affairs,
whose pure and upright character, and whose great
firmness eminently fitted him for this responsible
station. But the part which he was called to act by
the royal mandate was exceedingly repugnant to his
generous nature. His orders, however, were impera
tive, and compliance was unavoidable. In consequence
of the resolutions of the last Assembly, which denied
the authority of the Governor to negative their choice
of a speaker, the king commanded Mr. Habersham j:o
signify his disapprobation of their conduct, and that he
should, for the purpose of renewedly testing the ques-

LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES. 73
tion, and to compel them to obedience, negative who
ever might be first chosen as their next speaker. The
Assembly met on the 21st of April, 1772, and Doctor
Jones was elected, who, on being presented to President
Habersham, was, by virtue of his instructions, nega
tived. On a second ballot he was again elected, and
again rejected. At the third trial he was still their
choice, but declining to serve, Archibald Bullock was
chosen, whom the president accepted. But when, on
examining the journal of the House the next day, he
ascertained the third election of Dr. Jones, of which
he was hitherto ignorant, he sent them word to sus
pend all business until that minute was erased ; but as
the House resolutely refused to expunge it, he ordered
the Assembly to be dissolved. These repeated inter
ruptions in colonial legislation produced serious and
alarming consequences. The treasury was overdrawn,
and no provision was made to replenish it ; statutes of
importance had expired, and no new enactments sup
plied their places ; the judiciary was deranged, and no
means were adopted to rectify it ; and new necessities,
civil and legal, had arisen, requiring legislative action,
but the meetings of the Assembly had been rudely dis
solved, and the political existence of the colony was
vitally endangered. These oppressions increased the
adherents of the colonial cause. The flattering pro
mises of the ministry to redress their grievances, had
not been fulfilled ; but new sources of distress had aug
mented those already existing, and cloud upon cloud,
each darker and more foreboding than the former, was
casting its gloom over their firmament. The passage
of the Boston Port Bill, March 31, 1774, by which
Parliament precluded all commerce with that city;

74 GEORGIA UNDER ROYAL GOVERNMENT.
foUowed by another which deprived Massachusetts of
its chartered privileges ; together with a law for send
ing state criminals to England " to be butchered in the
King's Bench," hurried on the catastrophe of war.
The zeal of Governor Wright in his Majesty's ser
vice, and the wisdom and prudence, as well as capa
city, which marked his executive character, procured
him on his arrival in England a favorable audience of
the King; who, on the 8th December, 1772, created
him a Baronet of Great Britain. He sailed on his
return to Georgia, from Falmouth, England, towards
the close of December, 1772, in his Majesty's Packet-
boat Eagle, being accompanied by his two daughters.'
He reached Charleston on the 4th February, 1773, and
Savannah about the middle of that month. As, on
his departure nineteen months before, affectionate ad
dresses had been presented to him by the Council, the
bench, the merchants, and the public officers, so now,
on his return, tokens of respect were freely tendered to
him, and he was received by the Georgians with great
friendliness and rejoicing. Despite the differences
of opinion which existed between Governor Wright
and some of the leading minds of the colony in refe
rence to the late measures of Parliament, there was a
universal feeling that he had honestly discharged his
duty to his king, and had exhibited qualities inspir
ing respect and commanding esteem.
^ Anne, subsequently married to Rear-Admiral Sir James Wallace ; and
Mary, afterwards the wife of General Barron.

BOOK FOURTH.
GEORGIA m THE REVOLUTIOIsr.

CHAPTER L
DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY — INDIAN TROUBLES, ETC.
The designs of George the Third were now un
masked; and Lord North boldly declared that he
would not listen to the complaints of America until
she was at his feet. The words, indeed, were those of
the favorite minister, but the sentiment was the
King's ; for his feelings had been so wrought up by
the resistance of his prerogative, not only by the
Americans, but also by the opposition which he expe
rienced in Parliament, where "that trumpet of sedi
tion," as he termed Lord Chatham, made the walls of
St. Stephen's ring with the defence of oppressed mil
lions, that he said several times "if the people will not
stand by me, they shall have another king ;" and when
Lord North, like a wise Palinurus, foreseeing the dan
ger, desired to retire from the helm of state, it was the
constraining importunity of the king which alone kept
him at his post. The Machiavelian fiction, which,

76 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
making the ministers amenable for political failures,
assert that " the king can do no wrong," turned, in
deed, the nation's wrath from the monarch to his
officials, but it is nevertheless true, that the severe
measures pursued toward America, oftener originated
with the king, than with the premier; and that the
very effort to accomplish the absorbing idea of George
the Third, " the preservation of the empire," resulted
through his obdurate rancour in its irretrievable dis
union. Whatever might have been the effect of con
ciliatory measures prior to the recent Acts of Parlia
ment, it was now too late. The favorable moment
had passed, and the thirteen colonies of America were
lost to him forever. Remonstrances, petitions, resolu
tions, had all failed in producing a change of policy,
and in common with the other provinces, Georgia, the
last settled, and the last to renounce allegiance to the
crown, addressed herself to the sacrifice of everything
but liberty.
The spirit of indignation which was aroused
throughout the land by the closing of the port of
Boston, and divesting that town of commercial rights,
was participated in by many Georgians, and a notice ac
cordingly appeared in the Georgia Gazette, of the 20th
July, 1774, stating that " the critical situation to which
the British Provinces in America are likely to be re
duced, from the alarming and arbitrary imposition of the
late act of the British Parliament, respecting the town
of Boston, as well as the acts that at present exist tend
ing to the raising of a perpetual revenue, without the
consent of the people or their representatives, is con
sidered as an object extremely important at this criti
cal juncture, and particularly calculated to deprive the

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 77
American subjects of their constitutional rights and
liberties as parts of the British Empire." It concluded
by requesting " that all persons within the limits of
this province do attend at the liberty pole at Tondee's
Tavern, in Savannah, on Wednesday, the 27th inst.,
in order that the said matter may be taken under con
sideration, and such other constitutional measures
pursued as may then appear most eligible." This
invitation, signed by Noble Wimberly Jones, Archi
bald Bullock, John Houstoun, and George Walton,
was promptly responded to ; and a large number con
vened at the watch-house at the time appointed. But
little business was done at this meeting, because it
was objected, " that many of the out parishes might
not have a sufficient notice of the intended meeting ;"
and, therefore, after reading letters from the various
committees of Charleston, Wilmington, Williamsburg,
Annapolis, Philadelphia, and Boston, it was " resolved
that all further business be postponed till the 10th of
August next, and that in the meantime, notice be
given to the inhabitants of the several parishes, in
order to afibrd them an opportunity of sending down
deputies to deliver their sense upon this very impor
tant occasion." This notice was sent by Mr. John
Glen, the chairman of the Savannah Committee, to
the different parishes, requesting that they would send
a number " to join the committee agreeable to the
number of representatives each parish sends to the
General Assembly."
Such proceedings could not pass unnoticed. The
Governor was now fairly excited at the threatening
aspect of affairs, and at the array of respectable names
on this Savannah Committee of thirty-one persons.

78 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
True to his purpose of treading out the first sparks of
rebellion, he issued his proclamation, "notifying that
all such summonses and calls by private persons,
and all assembling and meetings of the people,
which may tend to raise fears and jealousies in the
minds of his Majesty's subjects, under the pretence of
consulting together for redress of public grievances or
imaginary grievances, are unconstitutional, illegal,
and punishable by law. And I do hereby require,"
says the Governor, " all his Majesty's liege subjects
within this Province to pay due regard to this my
Proclamation, as they will answer the contrary at their
peril." Undaunted by such warnings, the patriots of Geor
gia met at the appointed place, on the 10th August,
and unanimously passed the following resolutions :
" Resolved, nemine contradicente. That his Majesty's
subjects in America owe the same allegiance, and are
entitled to the same rights, privileges, and immunities
with their fellow-subjects in Great Britain.
" Resolved, nemine contradicente, That, as protection
and allegiance are reciprocal, and under the British
Constitution correlative terms, his Majesty's liege sub
jects in America have a clear and indisputable right,
as well from the general laws of mankind, as from the
ancient and estabUshed customs of the land, so often
recognized, to petition the throne upon every emer
gency. "Resolved, nemine contradicente. That an act of
ParUament, lately passed, for blockading the port and
harbor of Boston, is contrary to our idea of the British
Constitution : First, for that it in effect deprives good
and lawful men of the use of their property without

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 79
judgment of their peers; and, secondly, for that it is
in nature of an ex post facto law, and indiscriminately
blends, as objects of punishment, the innocent with
the guilty. Neither do we conceive the same justified
upon a principle of necessity ; for that numerous in
stances evince that the laws and executive power of
Boston have made sufficient provision for the punish
ment of all offenders against persons and property.
" Resolved, nemine contradicente. That the act for
abolishing the charter of Massachusetts Bay tends to
the subversion of American rights; for, besides those
general liberties the original settlers brought over with
them as their birthright, particular immunities were
granted by such charter, as an inducement and means
of settling the province ; and we apprehend the said
charter cannot be dissolved, but by a voluntary sur
render of the people, representatively declared.
" Resolved, nemine contradicente. That we apprehend
the Parliament of Great Britain hath not, nor ever had,
any right to tax his Majesty's American subjects ; for
it is evident beyond contradiction, the Constitution
admits of no taxation without representation; that
they are coeval and inseparable ; and every demand
for the support of Government should be by requisi
tion made to the several Houses of Representatives.
" Resolved, nemine contradicente, That it is contrary
to natural justice and the established law of the land,
to transport any person to Great Britain, or elsewhere,
to be tried under indictment for a crime committed in
any of the colonies, as the party prosecuted would
thereby be deprived of the privilege of trial by his
peers from the vicinage ; the injured perhaps prevented
from legal reparation, and both lose the full benefit of
their witnesses.

80 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
" Resolved, nemine contradicente. That we will con
cur with our sister colonies in every constitutional
measure to obtain redress of American grievances, and
will by every lawful means in our power maintain
those inestimable blessings for which we are indebted
to God and the Constitution of our country — a Consti
tution founded upon reason and justice, and the indeli
ble rights of mankind.
" Resolved, nemine contradicente, That the committee
appointed by the meeting of the inhabitants of this
province, on Wednesday the 27th of July last, toge
ther with the deputies who have appeared here on this
day from the different parishes, be a general committee
to act ; and that any eleven or more of them shall
have full power to correspond with the committees of
the several provinces upon the Continent ; and that
copies of these resolutions, as well as all other pro
ceedings, be transmitted without delay to the Com
mittees of Correspondence in the respective provinces.
"A committee was appointed to receive subscrip
tions for the suffering poor of Boston, consisting of
William Ewen, William Young, Joseph Clay, John
Houstoun, Noble Wimberly Jones, Edward Telfair,
John Smith, Samuel Farley, and Andrew Elton Wells,
Esquires." The question was also discussed, whether six depu
ties should be sent to join with the deputies of the
other colonies at the General Congress ; but, after
much debate, it was negatived, though it was as
serted that this negative was brought about by the
suffrages of those who had no right to vote in the
matter. The parish of St. John (now Liberty County) was

DAWNINGS OP LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 81
unanimous and remarkably spirited in furnishing sup-
pUes for the oppressed; and of the 579 barrels of rice
contributed by the province for the suffering Boston
ians, 200 barrels came from this parish. They were also
exceedingly anxious to be united with the others in
every constitutional measure for the removal of pubUc
grievances, and expressed their wilUngness, in this noble
struggle, " to exert themselves to the utmost, to make
every sacrifice that men impressed with the strongest
sense of their rights and liberties, and warm with
the most benevolent feelings for their oppressed
brethren, can make, to stand firmly or fall gloriously
in the common cause." Unwilling to abide by this
decision of the meeting, not to send delegates to the
General Congress, the parish of St. John called a
meeting on the 30th August, at which deputies from
St. George's and St. David's united with the people of
St. John's, who " Resolved, that if the majority of the
parishes would join with them, they would send depu
ties to join the General Congress, and faithfully and
religiously abide by and conform to such determina
tion as should be there entered into, and come from
thence recommended."
The adherents of Government strove to cast odium
on these meetings, by representing them as the mere
gatherings of factious demagogues, self-appointed and
unauthorized representatives,' forcing their measures
by the low tricks of cunning, and palming off " as the
voice of the province" resolutions, " unfairly and inso
lently made by a junto of twenty-five or six."
With the assent of the Governor, petitions opposing
the positions taken by the liberty party were prepared,
1 State Paper Office, vi, 130-3.
VOL. IL 6

82 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
and freely circulated, by artful and interested men, who
were to receive a certain sum for each name signed ;
consequently, the number of those, who by these peti
tions protested against the liberty proceedings, exceeded
in some instances the number of free white persons in
the respective parishes ; the names of several in fact
were put upon the papers who had been dead several
years.^ The meetings of the friends of liberty, and the grow
ing discontent of the people, under the harrowing le
gislation of Parliament, justly alarmed the Governor,
and he frankly told the Earl of Dartmouth that "it
required the interposition of higher authority than the
executive power, for however coercion or lenient mea
sures might for a time smother the flame, it would only
break out again at some future day with greater vio
lence."^ He was anxious that things " should be
brought to a point at once ;" but the " point" to which
he wished to have them brought, — " entire submission
and obedience to the sovereignty of Great Britain," —
was the very point at issue, and one to which Ameri
cans could never again be brought.
A temporary lull in the political elements around
him enabled the Governor to give attention to the pre
carious and threatening condition of Indian affairs.
To manage the complicated relations of the Indian
tribes with the government, with the traders, and with
each other ; to redress their grievances, and to claim
redress when they were the aggressors; to preserve
their friendship and secure peace ; required great tact,
unquailing firmness, indomitable energy, blended with
patience and wisdom. Governor Wright understood
" State Paper Office, vi, 147-59. ^ State Paper Office, vi, 122.

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 83
the Indian character, and dealing wisely with them in
all his plans, secured their confidence, and often saved
the colony from their savage incursions.
In 1770, the Cherokees proposed to cede to the
traders certain portions of land to liquidate the claims
upon them, which, in consequence of a scarcity of game
they were unable to pay to their creditors. The
amount of their indebtedness to the traders was over
$200,000, and the matter having been brought before
the Governor by a memorial from the traders, he took
occasion, while in England, to represent the matter in
such a light to the Board of Trade and his Majesty's
Council, that they agreed to his proposals, and gave him
full powers to carry out his plan.
On his return to Georgia, he united with Captain
Stuart, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, in send
ing a message to the Creeks and Cherokees to meet him
in congress at Augusta.
They convened at the appointed place on the 1st
June, 1773, and having in a long preamble stated their
inability to pay the debts justly due from them to the
traders, and their desire to cancel these claims by
grants of territory, they ceded to his Majesty over
2,100,000 acres, comprising most of the land now lying
in the counties of Wilkes, Lincoln, Taliaferro, Green,
Oglethorpe, and Elbert.
The Governor anticipated the most beneficial results
from this concession, and told the ministry^ that he
expected it would add 10,000 families to the present
population; give an increase of 15,000 effective men on
the miUtia , muster roll; bring over $500,000 worth of
produce into the market ; add greater security to the
" State Paper Office, v, 168.

84 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
present settlements ; and remove still farther off the
Indians ; who, with all their promises of peace, were
still troublesome and dangerous. A plan for the settle
ment of this fertile and healthy region was arranged
by the Governor, and Messrs. Bartlett, Maddox, Hol
land, and Young were vested with powers to carry out
this scheme. Two hundred acres were granted to
every head of a family, and fifty acres to each mem
ber, black and white ; warrants for the survey being
granted when the entrance money, £5 per one hundred
acres, was paid into the Land Courts at Augusta, or
Fort James (now Petersburg), at the confluence of the
Broad and Savannah Rivers.
A portion of these benefits would no doubt have ac
crued to Georgia, but for an unfortunate rupture between
the Creeks and frontier settlers, owing to which seven
teen white persons were murdered by them at Sherrill's
Fort, in the beginning of the year 1774. The Indians,
led on by Big Elk, secretly approached the fort in the
morning, and suddenly firing upon the people then at
work, killed three persons, among whom was Sherrill,
at the first fire. They hoped to complete their work
of destruction by setting fire in several places to the
building into which the women and children had
retreated, but being suddenly attacked by a party of
men under Captain Bernard, they quickly retreated,
not, however, until they left several of their number
dead upon the field. The attack on Sherrill's Fort
was followed up by other skirmishes, in which many
lives were lost on both sides ; though the great body
of the Creeks repudiated these maraudings of a por
tion of their tribe. These events blasted for a time
the fair prospect which dawned on the newly ceded

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 85
lands, as the inhabitants who ventured there and
opened plantations were driven off, by the insecurity
of their position, so that the settlement of this noble
tract was for some time delayed. In consequence of
these frequent ruptures, the Governor and Captain
Stuart solicited an interview with the Upper and Lower
Creeks at Savannah, and accordingly twenty chiefs
met them there on the 18th October, 1774, when a
new treaty of peace and amity was made and signed,
giving the strongest assurances of mutual good will,
and of the pacific disposition of the Indians. It is
difficult for us, hemmed in by no savage tribes and
exposed to no merciless warfare with infuriated In
dians, to appreciate the dangers to which Georgia was
then so constantly exposed. Their causes of anger
were so slight, their irruption into the settlements
was so sudden, their revenge so cruel, that the
bold pioneer and the hardy settler quailed before the
terrors of the wilderness, and few were sufficiently
daring to strike out new paths in the forest, and detach
themselves from the stronger settlements. The exer
tions of the Governor now gave to the population a
security they had never before enjoyed, and his nego
tiations with so many and conflicting tribes, reflected
the highest praise upon his sagacity and his fair and
equitable dealings. Success was not always commen
surate with his hopes; but the failure was caused by
the disjointed times, rather than by any defect in his
well-matured schemes. He merited and received for
his zeal and labors in Indian affairs, the thanks of
Georgia, the ministry, and the king.
The autumn of 1774 passed without any public de
monstrations in favor of liberty. Both parties were

86 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
now fairly arrayed, and each labored to secure ascen
dency ; and whatever could be effected by the allure
ments of office, by promises of favor, by the smiles of
the Governor, by political favoritism ; was done, and
that most sedulously, to keep the province loyal to the
King, and free from the innovations of continental
reform. During the second week in January, 1775, a district
Congress was held by the inhabitants of St. Andrew^s
Parish (now Darien), at which a series of resolutions
were passed, embodying with great force and earnest
ness the views of the freeholders of that large and
flourishing parish. These resolutions, six in number,
expressed, first, their approbation of "the unparal
leled moderation, the decent, but firm and manly, con
duct of the loyal and brave people of Boston and
Massachusetts Bay, to preserve their liberty ;" their
acquiescence "in all the resolutions of the Grand
American Congress," and their hearty and " cheerful
accession to the association entered into by them, as
the wisest and most moderate measure that could be
adopted." The second resolution condemned the shut
ting of the land offices, to the great detriment of colo
nial growth, and to the injury of the industrious poor,
declaring " that all encouragement should be given to
the poor of every nation by every generous American."
The third, animadverted upon the ministerial man
dates which prevented colonial Assemblies from pass
ing such laws as the several exigencies of the provinces
required, an especial grievance, as they declared, " in
this young colony, where our internal police is not yet
well settled." The fourth, reprobated the practice of
making colonial officers dependent for salaries on Great

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 87
Britain, "thus making them independent of the people,
who should support them according to their usefulness
and behavior." In the fifth resolution, the parish declare
" our disapprobation and abhorrence of the unnatural
practice of slavery in America," and their purpose to
urge " the manumission of our slaves in this colony,
upon the most safe and equitable footing for the mas
ters and themselves." And, lastly, they thereby choose
delegates to represent the district in provincial con
gress, and instruct them to urge the appointment of
two delegates from this colony to the Continental Con
gress, to be held in Philadelphia in May.
Appended to these resolutions were the following
articles of agreement or association :
" Being persuaded that the salvation of the rights
and liberties of America depend, under God, on the
firm union of the inhabitants in its vigorous prosecu
tion of the measures necessary for its safety, and con
vinced of the necessity of preventing the anarchy and
confusion which attend the dissolution of the powers
of government, we, the freemen, freeholders, and in
habitants of the province of Georgia, being greatly
alarmed at the avowed design of the Ministry to raise
a revenue in America, and shocked by the bloody
scene now acting in the Massachusetts Bay, do, in the
most solemn manner, resolve never to become slaves ;
and do associate, under all the ties of religion, honor,
and love of country, to adopt and endeavor to carry
into execution, whatever may be recommended by the
Continental Congress, or resolved upon by our Provin
cial Convention that shall be appointed, for the pur
pose of preserving our Constitution, and opposing the
execution of the several arbitrary and oppressive acts

88 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation be
tween Great Britain and America, on constitutional
principles, which we most ardently desire, can be ob
tained; and that we will in all things follow the advice
of our general committee, to be appointed, respecting
the purposes aforesaid, the preservation of peace and
good order, and the safety of individuals and private
property. (Signed)
Lachn. McIntosh, A. Daniel Cuthbert,
Geo. Threadcraft, John Hall,
Charles McDonald, Jno. MoColltjgh, Sen.,
John McIntosh, Jno. McCollugh, Jun.,
Rayd. Demere, William McCollugh,
JiLEs Moore, Reu. Shuttleworth,
Samuel McCleland, John McCleland,
Peter Sallens, Jun., Richard Cooper,
James Clark, Seth McCullugh,
John Witherspoon, Jun., Thomas King,
John Witherspoon, Paul Judton,
John Fulton, John Ror.AND,
Samuel Fulton, Pr. Shuttleworth,
Isaac Cuthbert, Joseph Stobe,
Isaac Hall, To. Bierry.
Jones Newsom,
On the 18th January, six days after the above asso
ciation was signed, a Provincial Congress met in Sa
vannah, upon invitation of a committee of the citizens
of Christ Church Parish, and elected John Glen chair
man. The General Assembly of the province met
there, also, on the same day, and was opened by an
earnest, affectionate, and argumentative speech from
Sir James Wright, in which he cautioned them not to
be " led away by the voices and opinions of men of
overheated ideas ; consider coolly and sensibly of the

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 89
terrible consequences which may. attend adopting reso
lutions and measures expressly contrary to law, and
hostile to the mother country;" and he hoped that
their "prudence and regard for the welfare and happi
ness of the province, of themselves, and of their pos
terity, would deter them from entering into similar
resolutions." The reply of the Council, sitting as an upper house,
was loyal, and echoed the sentiments of the Governor;
but the address of the Commons' house, though re
spectful, expressed their sense of the numerous griev
ances under which they suffered, and their desire of
redress; as "it is the enjoyment of constitutional
rights and liberty that softens every care of life, and
renders existence itself supportable."
The upper house proposed a conference with the
lower house upon the subject of American grievances,
and, after several days' delay, the two bodies met in
the Council chamber; but they could not unite in
their views, and the Commons' house declined acceding
to the measures proposed by the other branch of the
Legislature. Unintimidated by the Governor and Council, the
lower house proceeded to take into Consideration the
papers and letters received from the other colonies,
and they passed a series of resolves, laid before them
by the Provincial Congress, then sitting, embracing
the substance, and generally the language, of the reso
lutions adopted on the 14th October, 1774, addin'g to
them three resolutions ; one, presenting " their most
grateful acknowledgments to those truly noble, honor
able, and patriotic advocates of civil and religious
liberty, who have so generously and powerfully,

90 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
though unsuccessfully, espoused and defended the
cause of America, both in and out of Parliament.
The second, gave thanks " to the members of the late
Continental Congress, for their wise and able exertions
in the cause of American liberty;" and the last re
solved, that certain persons, not named, " be deputies
to represent this province in the intended American
Continental Congress, proposed to be held at the city
of Philadelphia, on the 10 th May next."
An early day was appointed to take definite action
on this important paper; but before it arrived, the
Governor adjourned the Assembly, from the 10th
February to the 9th May, the day prior to the ap
pointed time for the Philadelphia Congress to as
semble. In the Provincial Congress, which had convened
simultaneously with the Assembly ; it was found, that
out of twelve parishes invited, only five sent deputies,
and some of these had laid their delegates under in
struction as to the form of the proposed association.
Embarrassed by this inaction of the colony, brought
about by the most diligent efforts of the Governor ; the
friends of liberty adopted the expedient of laying their
papers and articles of association before the Commons'
house ; and it was these resolutions which the Governor
suppressed, by adjourning the Assembly. Thwarted
in this design, which, it must be confessed, was not a
correct mode of procedure, the Provincial Congress, if
such it could be called, entered into articles of associa
tion, diflering, however, in some important respects,
from the model proposed by the Continental Congress.
This course, forced upon the congress by prudential
reasons, gave umbrage to the deputies from St. John's,

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 91
which parish had fully acceded to the resolutions and
association adopted in Philadelphia. On the first day
of the session, the committee from St. John's sent a
message to their fellow-deputies, stating what the parish
had dpne, and expressing the hope that they would
adopt similar measures. This message remaining un
answered two days, a second one was sent, and a reply
at once disrespectful and evasive was returned. The
St. John's deputies immediately adopted resolutions de
claring " that the committees of the several parishes
now sitting are not and cannot be called a Provincial
Congress," that they are not and will not be bound by
their proceedings, and reaffirming their adherence to
the Continental Association.
To these impolitic resolutions, they were impelled
by the slow and cautious policy of the Provincial Con
gress ; but surely it was a sad breach of the spirit of
unity thus to withdraw from, and stigmatize as uncon-
stitutioual, a body which they would have acknow
ledged as authoritative in every repect, had it but re
sponded favorably to their, parochial views. Liberty
required union, and the eye of the Governor must have
gleamed with pleasure when he saw its few friends dis
agree, and break asunder, at a time when concord was
essential to success.
The Provincial Congress adjourned on the 23d Janu
ary, having elected Noble Wimberly Jones, Archibald
Bullock, and John Houstoun delegates to represent
Georgia in the Continental Congress, to assemble in
Philadelphia in May following.
As they failed to comply with all the requisitions of
the General Association, the Carolinians resolved to
hold no intercourse with Georgians, but " to consider

92 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
them as unworthy of the rights of freemen, and as
inimical to the liberties of their country."
The parish of St. John's sought to be e-xem/pted from
the operation of this harsh sentence; and sent a depu
tation, consisting of Joseph Wood, Daniel Roberts, and
Samuel Stevens, to solicit an aUiance with them, on
the ground that they were detached from the colony
by their resolutions, distinct by local situation, and of
sufficient size to merit notice, especially as the Conti
nental Congress had already noticed them by a parti
cular address ; but their petition was politely refused,
as they constituted a part of the Colony of Georgia,
which, as a province, came under the law of the four
teenth resolution of the General Association.
Painful as was this refusal, it did not deter them
from further efforts ; and on the 21st of March, they
elected Lyman Hall to represent that parish in the
General Congress, binding themselves faithfully to ad
here to and abide by the determination of him and
other honorable members of the same.
At this period the parish of St. John's possessed
nearly one-third of the entire wealth of the province,
and its inhabitants were remarkable for their upright
and independent character. Of New England origin,
they sympathized more strongly with northern dis
tresses than other parts of Georgia ; and being removed
from the immediate supervision of the Governor and
Council, it pressed on more resolutely in the cause of
freedom, than the surrounding parishes. The time for
action had arrived, and irresolution and supineness
found no place in its decisive councils. With great
unanimity the people renounced every fellowship that
savored not of freedom ; and refused to use any luxury

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY— INDIAN TROUBLES. 93
the tax on which contributed to swell the ministerial
coffers ; and while, as yet, the cause of American free
dom was involved in gloom and uncertainty, they
boldly cast in their lot with the fortunes of the
country, to live with her rights, or die in their defence.
The hesitation on the part of the other parishes to
adopt all the measures of Congress, was the theme of
violent and unjustifiable denunciation ; but a mo
mentary glance at the condition of Georgia will re
move these aspersions. According to the returns of
the Governor to the Lords of Trade, the population in
1774 was but 17,000 whites and 15,000 blacks ; and
the militia between the ages of sixteen and sixty,
only numbered 2828, scattered from Augusta to St.
Mary's. Within its borders, and along its frontiers,
were the Creeks with 4000 gun-men; the Chickesas
with 450 gun-men; the Cherokees with 3000 gun
men ; and the Choctaws with 2500 gun-men ; com
prising all together over 40,000 Indians, 10,000 of
whom were warriors, and all, by means of presents,
and the influence of Captain Stuart and Mr. Cameron,
were firm in their alliance with ths royal party, and
could be brought in any numbers against the colony.
On the south, lay the garrisoned Province of Florida,
with a large military force under Governor Tonyn, and
numerous tory bandits, waiting for the signal of the
spoiler. On the east was a long line of seaboard, with
many fine harbors, sheltered bays, large rivers, and
well-stocked islands, inviting naval depredations.
Besides these motives which addressed themselves to
the fears of the colonists, there were others of a moral
character. Since its settlement, Georgia had received
by grant of Parliament nearly a million of dollars in

94 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
addition to the bounties which had been lavished on
the silk culture, indigo, and other agricultural pro
ducts. This consideration weighed with much force on
many minds ; and on such, the Governor took every
occasion to impress the baseness of ingratitude to
wards a Sovereign, whose paternal care had been so
peculiarly exerted in their behalf. Each of the other
colonies, also, had a charter, upon which to base some
right or claim to redress; but Georgia had none. When
the Trustees' patent expired, in 1752, all its chartered
privileges became extinct ; and on its erection into a
royal province, the commission of the Governor was
its only constitution — Uving upon the will of the
monarch, the mere creature of royal volition. At
the head of the government was Sir James Wright,
Bart., who, during fourteen years, had presided over
it with ability and acceptance. When he arrived, in
1760, the colony was languishing under the accumu
lated mismanagement of the former Trustees, and the
more recent Governors; -but his z5al and efforts soon
changed its aspect to health and vigor. He guided it
into the avenues of wealth, sought out the means of
its advancement, prudently secured the amity of the
Indians, and by his negotiations added millions of acres
to its territory. Diligent in his official duties, firm in
his resolves, loyal in his opinions, courteous in his
manners, and possessed of a vigorous and well-balanced
mind, he was respected and loved by his people ; and,
though he differed from the majority of them as to the
cause of their distresses, and the means of their re
moval ; he never aUowed himself to be betrayed into
one act of violence, or into any course of outrage and
revenge. The few years of his administration were

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY. 95
the only happy ones Georgia had enjoyed, and to his
energy and devotedness may be attributed its civil
and commercial prosperity. With these obstacles
within and around her, is it a matter of wonder that
Georgia hesitated and wavered? that she feared to
assume a course of action which threatened inevitable
destruction ? Her Uttle phalanx of patriots, scarcely
outnumbering the band of Leonidas, were men indeed
of Spartan hearts; but Spartan hearts, even at Ther-
mopylge, could not resist the hosts of the despot. And
what had they to hope in their feeble state — the
parishes divided, the metropolis filled with placemen
and officers, the sea-coast guarded by a fleet, and the
frontier of two hundred and fifty miles gleaming with
the tomahawks of the scalper and the fires of the
Indian wigwam? Georgia did falter, but only for a
moment; for, soon summoning her energies, she cast
aside all fear, and commending her cause to the God
of battles, joined in the sacred league which now
united thirteen colonies.
When the Oth of May — the day named in the execu
tive proclamation for the convening of the General
Assembly — arrived, there were not sufficient members
in attendance to form a House. No more came on
the 10th ; and on the 11th, the House adjourned to
the 15th, to afford time for the country members to
come in. But the Governor, understanding, or pro
fessing to understand, that the Commons did not
intend to make a house, or proceed to business, with
the unanimous advice of the Executive Council, pro
rogued the Assembly to the 7th of November, at
which time, a quorum not being formed, it was still
further prorogued ; though, when the time for its

96 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
meeting arrived, the province was in the hands of the
republicans, and royal government, for a time at least,
had ceased in Georgia.
The General Congress met in Philadelphia on the
10th May; and on the 13th, Dr. Lyman Hall pre
sented to that body his credentials as deputy from the
parish of St. John's, accompanied by an address from
his constituents, containing a brief summary of their
proceedings. Both were read and approved, and he
was permitted to take his seat, " subject to such regu
lations as the Congress shall determine relative to
voting." The delegates elected to this General Congress by
the Provincial Congress in Savannah, did not attend ;
but sent a letter to the President, dated April 8, 1775,
stating at length the reasons which deterred them from
uniting with the other colonies. The letter illustrates
the spirit which then reigned in Georgia, and is too im
portant to be omitted in a history, which aims to give a
faithful delineation of those exciting times. It began
by stating, that " The unworthy part which the pro
vince of Georgia has acted in the great and general con
test leaves room to expect little less than the censure,
or even indignation, of every virtuous man in America.
Although, on the one hand, we feel the justice of such
a consequence, with respect to the province in general,
yet, on the other, we claim an exemption from it, in
favor of some individuals, who wished a better con
duct. Permit us, therefore, in behalf of ourselves, and
many others, our fellow-citizens, warmly attached to
the cause, to lay before the respectable body over
which you preside, a few facts, which, we trust, will
not only acquit us of supineness, but also render our

DAWNINGS OP LIBERTY. 97
conduct to be approved by all candid and dispassionate
men." After recapitulating the proceedings already
detailed, they ask : —
" What, then, could the Congress do ? On the one
hand, truth forbid them to call their proceedings the
voice of the province, there being but five out of
twelve parishes concerned; and, on the other, they
wanted strength sufficient to enforce them, on the
principle of necessity, to which all ought for a time to
submit. They found the inhabitants of Savannah not
likely soon to give matters a favorable turn. The
importers were mostly against any interruption, and
the consumers very much divided. There were some
of the latter virtuously for the measures ; others stre
nuously against them; but more who called themselves
neutrals than either.
" Thus situated, there appeared nothing before us
but the alternative, of either immediately commencing
a civil war among ourselves, or else of patiently wait
ing the measures to be recommended by the General
Congress. Among a powerful people, provided with
men, money, and conveniences, and by whose conduct
others were to be regulated, the former would certainly
be the resolution that would suggest itself to every
man removed from the condition of a coward ; but in
a small community like that of Savannah (whose mem-'
hers are mostly in their first advance towards wealth and
independence,- destitute of even the necessaries of life
within themselves, and from whose junction or silence
so little would be added or lost to the general cause),
the latter presented itself as the most eligible plan,
and was adopted by the people. Party disputes and
animosities have occasionally prevailed, which show
VOL. II. 7

98 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
that the spirit of freedom is not extinguished, but only
restrained for a time, tUl an opportunity should offer
for calling it forth.
"The Congress convened at Savannah did us the
honor of choosing us delegates to meet your respecta
ble body at PhUadelphia, on the tenth of next month.
We were sensible of the honor and weight of the ap
pointment, and would gladly have rendered our coun
try any services our poor abilities would have admitted
of; but, alas ! with what face could we have appeared
for a province, whose inhabitants had refused to sacri
fice the most trifling advantages to the public cause,
and in whose behalf we did not think we could safely
pledge ourselves for the execution of any one measure
whatsoever. " We do not mean to insinuate that those who ap
pointed us would prove apostates, or desert their
opinion ; but that the tide of opposition was great —
that all the strength and virtue of these our friends
might be insufficient for the purpose. We very early
saw the difficulties that would occur, and therefore
repeatedly and constantly requested the people to pro
ceed to the choice of other delegates in our stead ; but
this they refused to do. We beg, sir, you will view
our reasons for not attending in a liberal point of light.
Be pleased to make the most favorable representation
of them to the honorable the members of the Congress.
We believe we may take upon us to say, notwithstand
ing all that is past, there are still men in Georgia who,
when an occasion shall require, will be ready to evince
a steady, religious, and manly attachment to the liber
ties of America. To the consolation of these, they
find themselves in the neighborhood of a province,

DAWNINGS OF LIBERTY. 99
whose virtue and magnanimity must, and will, do
lasting honor to the cause, and in whose fate they
seemed disposed freely to involve their own."
In connection with this matter, it should be ob
served, that the Earl of Dartmouth had particularly
enjoined upon Governor Wright to check any provin
cial associations, and to thwart every measure designed
to carry out the views of the Continental Congress.
These directions, so co"nsonant to the loyalty of Sir
James Wright, were rigidly enforced; and he declared,
in his letter to the Earl, that " he had given them every
kind of opposition he could," and had, he believed,
"succeeded in his endeavors."' The civil and judicial
power of the colony was combined to put down the
rising spirit of liberty, and retain the colony in its
allegiance to the crown. The struggle was one be
tween power and office, and the stern principles of
human liberty ; and it was arduous and severe. But
each attempt to crush them gave it new vigor, each
new exercise of arbitrary power added to the votaries
of freedom, until the shedding of blood announced
that a crisis had arrived, and that the hopes of Ame
rica now rested on an appeal to arms.
5 State Paper Office, vi, pt. 2, 108.

CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST BATTLE IN GEORGIA.
The news of the battle of Lexington reached Sa
vannah on the night of the 10th of May, 1775, and
produced intense excitement among all classes. On
the night of the 11th, Noble Wimberly Jones, Joseph
Habersham, Edward Telfair, and a few others, im
pressed with the necessity of securing all military
stores, and preserving them for colonial use, took from
the King's magazine, in Savannah, about five hundred
pounds of powder. On its discovery, the next day,
the Council advised his excellency to offer a reward of
£150 to any who would give information of the of
fenders; but, though the gentlemen engaged in this
act were well known, none informed, and no proceed
ings were ever instituted against them. Tradition
asserts, that part of this powder was sent to Boston,
and used by the militia at the battle of Bunker Hill.
This is rendered probable, by the fact that contribu
tions of other articles were forwarded to Massachu
setts, among which were sixty-three barrels rice and
£122 in specie ; " which," says the chairman, in his
letter, dated 1st June, notifying the Bostonians of the
remittance, "we desire you will please appropriate
towards the relief of those who have lately left the
town of Boston."

COUNCIL OF SAFETY. 101
On Monday, the 5th June, the first liberty pole was
erected in Georgia; yet, such was still the desire of
the people for reconciliation on constitutional princi
ples, that it was set up on his Majesty's birthday, and
at the dinner immediately after, the first toast drank
was, "The King," the second, "American Liberty."
The following week, thirty-four of the principal friends
of liberty held a meeting, and passed a number of
very decided resolutions, one of which declared, "that
this province ought, and it is hoped will, forthwith
join the other provinces, in every just and legal mea
sure to secure and restore the liberties of all America,
and for healing the unhappy dissensions now subsisting
between Great Britain and her colonies." Another
meeting, for the purpose of choosing a committee to
enforce the Continental Association, was held, on the
22d June, at which time a Council of Safety, was also
appointed, consisting of William Ewen, President;
Seth John Cuthbert, Secretary; Joseph Habersham,
Edward Telfair, William Le Conte, Basil Cowper,
Joseph Clay, George Walton, John Glen, Samuel El
bert, William Young, Elisha Butler, George Houstoun,
John Smith, Francis H. Harris, and John Morel.
The activity of the Liberty party, andTts rapid in
crease, especially since the attempted seizure by
General Gage of the military stores at Concord and
Lexington, gave Governor Wright just cause for
alarm ; and he wrote to General Gage, expressing his
amazement " that these southern provinces should be
left in the situation they are, and the Governors and
King's officers, and friends of Government, naked and
exposed to the resentment of an enraged people ; the
Governors had much better be in England than remain

102 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
in America, and have the mortification to see their
powers executed by committees and mobs."
General Gage had indeed directed Sir James, in case
of necessity, to call upon Major Furlong, then sta
tioned at St. Augustine, for a company of one hundred
men ; but both the Governor and Council agreed, that
while this force might have sufficed to crush rebellion
a few months before, its presence then would only
tend to irritate and inflame still more the minds of
the people, and therefore he declined making the re
quisition until the force could be largely increased.'
Under the same date of the letter to the Com
mander-in-chief of all his Majesty's forces in America,
the Governor also wrote to Admiral Graves, the naval
commander on the North American station, stating
that the port was blockaded by four or five boats from
South Carolina, and therefore prayed for immediate
assistance, assuring the admiral, however, that "no
thing less than a sloop-of-war of some force " would
answer for the defence of the harbor.^
The assistance so earnestly solicited in these letters
would have been promptly rendered, but that they
never reached their destination. The Committee of
Safety at Charleston withdrew them from their enve
lopes, as they passed through the port, and substituted
others, stating that Georgia was quiet, and there ex
isted no need either of troops or vessels. These being
transmitted in the original envelopes, completely de
ceived the several commanders ; and it was not until
Sir James met General Gage in London, some time
1 MS. Minutes of Governor's Council.
2 Drayton's Memoirs of the American Revolution, i, 346.

CAPTURE OF THE POWDER-SHIP. 103
after, and inquired the cause of his not sending troops
to Georgia, that the forgery was discovered.
The statement of Sir James, that the port of Sa
vannah was blockaded by four or five boats from South
Carolina, was an exaggeration of the Governor. The
real facts of the case were these. The secret Carolina
committee, having been notified of the sailing of a
ship for Georgia, having on board a large supply of
powder, designed by the Governor and Captain John
Stuart for the Indians, and the service of the royalists,
determined to capture it. Accordingly, Captain John
Barnwell and Captain Joyner, of Beaufort, were di
rected to use all means in their power to seize the mili
tary stores on board the expected ship. They therefore
embarked forty men, well armed, in two barges, and,
proceeding toward the mouth of the Savannah River,
encamped on Bloody Point, in full view of the Tybee
light-house. The Georgia Provincial Congress offered
every kind of assistance to Captains Barnwell and
Joyner, and told them, that if they desired it, they
would assist them in taking the British armed schooner
which was stationed in the river. Arrangements were
therefore made for the junction of the Georgia and
Carolina forces, and a schooner was commissioned by
the Georgia Congress, and placed under the command
of Captain Bowen and Joseph Habersham. The
British armed schooner put to sea, on the approach
of the Georgia schooner, which latter vessel had
taken post beyond the bar but a few days, when, on
the 10th July, Captain Maitland's ship, with the
powder, was descried in the offing. Maitland for a
while sailed boldly in, but suspecting the design of
the schooner, tacked and stood to sea. Captain Bowen

104 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
soon overhauled her and brought her to, and, with the
assistance of the Carolina party, boarded her and se
cured their prize. This was the first provincial vessel
commissioned for naval warfare in the Revolution ; and
the first capture made by order of any Congress in
America was made by this Georgia schooner, in June,
1775. Of the powder taken in this ship, nine thou
sand pounds fell to the share of Georgia, and, at the
urgent solicitation of the Continental Congress at
PhUadelphia, five thousand pounds were sent thither;
and it was by the arrival there of this powder, that
the American arms were enabled to penetrate into
Canada, and that Washington drove the British army
out of Boston.
On the 4th July, 1775, the Provincial Congress met
at Tondees's Long Room, Savannah. Every parish and
district was represented. After organizing by the
choice of Archibald Bulloch as President, and George
Walton as Secretary, they proceeded in a body to the
meeting-house of the Rev. Dr. Zubly, one of their asso
ciates, and heard from him a sermon on the alarming
state of American affairs, based on the words of St.
James, ii, 12 : " So speak ye, and so do as they that
shall be judged by the law of liberty."
The following is a Ust of the members of this Con
gress : —
From the Town and District of Savannah : Archi
bald Bulloch, Noble Wimberly Jones, Joseph Haber
sham, Jonathan Bryan, Ambrose Wright, William
Young, John Glen, Samuel Elbert, John Houstoun,
Joseph Reynolds, John Smith, Oliver Bowen, John
McClure, Edward Telfair, Thomas Lee, George Hous
toun, William Ewen, John Martin, Dr. Zubly, William

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. 105
Bryan, Philip Box, Philip AUman, WiUiam O'Bryen,
Joseph Clay, John Cuthbert.
District of Vernonburgh : Joseph Butler, Andrew El
ton Wells, Matthew Roach, Jr.
District of Acton ; David Zubly, Basil Cowper, Wil
liam Gibbons.
Sea Island District : Col. Deveaux, Col. Delegall,
James Bulloch, John Morel, John Bohun Girardeau,
John Barnard, Robert Gibson.
District of Little Ogechee : Francis Henry Harris,
Joseph Gibbons, James Robertson.
Parish of St. Matthew : John Stirk, John Adam
Treutlen, George Walton, Edward Jones, Jacob Wauld-
hauer, Philip Howell, Isaac Young, Jenkin Davis, John
Morel, John Flert, Charles McKay, Christopher Cru-
mer. Parish of St. Philip : Col. Butler, William Le Conte,
William Maxwell, James Maxwell, Stephen Drayton,
Adam Fowler Brisbain, Luke Mann, Hugh Bryan.
Parish of St. George : Henry Jones, John Greene,
Thomas Burton, William Lord, David Lewis, Benjamin
Lewis, James Pugh, John Fulton.
Parish of St. Andrew : Jonathan Cochran, WilUam
Jones, Peter Tarlin, Lachlan Mcintosh, Wm. Mcin
tosh, George Theadcraft, John Wesent, Roderick Mcin
tosh, John Witherspoon, George Mcintosh, Allen Stu
art, John Mcintosh, Raymond Demer^.
Parish of St. David : Seth John Cuthbert, William
Williams, Sr.
Parish of St. Mary : Daniel Ryan.
Parish of St. Thomas : John Roberts.
Parish of St. Paul : John Walton, Joseph Maddock,
Andrew Burns, Robert Rae, Andrew Moon, Andrew
Burney, Leonard Marbury.

106 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Parish of St John : James Screven, Nathan Brown-
son, Daniel Roberts, John Baker, Sr., John Bacon, Sr.,
James Maxwell, Edward Ball, William Baker, Sr.,
WiUiam Bacon, Jr., John Stevens, John Winn, Sr.
Only Joseph Butler, James Robertson, and Joseph
Maddock declined taking their seats.
The first business transacted the next day was the
nominating of a committee to wait upon Governor
Wright, and request him " to appoint a day of fasting
and prayer to be observed throughout this province,
that a happy reconciliation may soon take place be
tween America and the parent State." The Governor
acceded to the request, and designated the 19th, the
day prior to the one set apart by the Continental Con
gress for the same purpose.
Having first sought Divine aid and enlightenment.
Congress proceeded with great promptness and vigor to
the work before them, as the following extracts from
their proceedings will show : —
" The president being informed by the messenger
that John Jamison and John Simpson, Esq'rs, were in
waiting, and desired to be admitted, which being agreed
to, they were desired to walk in ; they then produced
and delivered in to the president a paper containing
several resolutions entered into by a number of per
sons inhabitants of the town of Savannah, which was
ordered to be read, and is as foUows, viz. : —
" At a meeting of several of the inhabitants of the
town of Savannah, at Mrs. Cuyler's, on Friday the 1 3th
June, 1775, present John MuUryne, Esq., in the chair,
Joseph Clay, James Mossman, Rev. Mr. J. J. Zubly,
John Simpson, Noble Wimberly Jones, John Jamison,
William Moss, John Glen, Josiah Tatnall, John Gray-

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. 107
ham, Lewis Johnson, WilUam Yonge, Richard Wylly,
Andrew McLean, Basil Cowper, Philip Moore, George
Houstoun, Joseph Butler, James Read, Thomas Read,
William Paxton, James Edward Powell, William Stu-
thers, Alexander McGowen, John C. Lucena, Thomas
Sherman, J. N. Faming, Levi Sheftall, Charles Hamil
ton, George Spencer, William Brown, Jr., Francis Cour-
voizie, James Anderson.
" Whereas public confusion and grievances are much
increased by private dissensions and animosities,
"Resolved, therefore, nem. con.,
" That we will use our utmost endeavors to preserve
the peace and good order of this province, and that no
person, behaving himself peaceably and inoffensively,
shall be molested in his person or property, or even in
his private sentiments, while he expresses them with
decency, and without any illiberal reflections upon
others. " Whereas the acts for raising a perpetual revenue
in America, and all the measures used to enforce these
acts, are not partial, but general grievances, and it is
more likely that redress be obtained by the joint en
deavors of all who may think these acts unconstitu
tional or oppressive, than by any measure that might
be taken singly by individuals,
" Therefore, Resolved,
" That it is the opinion of this meeting (as a proper
measure to be pursued, because the General Assembly
is not now sitting, from whom an application to the
throne must be very proper, and as no time should be
lost), that a humble, dutiful, and decent petition be
addressed to his Majesty, expressive of the sense and
feelings of all such as may choose to subscribe such

108 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
petition, which it is hoped will be done by every man
in the province ; and it is, therefore, the wish of this
meeting, that such a measure may be adopted by the
Provincial Congress, intended to be held on Tuesday
next, the 4 th of July.
" Resolved, That the interest of this province is in
separable from the mother country and all the sister
colonies, and that to separate themselves from the lat
ter would only be throwing difficulties in the way of
its own relief, and that of the other colonies, and justly
incurring the resentment of all those to whose distress
our disunion might cause an addition.
" Resolved, That this province ought, and it is hoped
will forthwith join the other provinces in every just
and legal measure, to secure and restore the liberties
of all America, and for healing the unhappy divisions
now subsisting between Great Britain and her colo
nies. " Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be
laid before the Provincial Congress on Tuesday, the
4th day of July next, and that Mr. Jamison and Mr.
Simpson do wait upon them with the same, as recom
mended to them by this meeting.
" By order of the meeting.
"John Mullryne."
" A motion was made and seconded, that the paper
above mentioned do lie upon the table for the perusal
of the members, which being carried, the same was
ordered to lie upon the table accordingly.
"A motion was made and seconded, that this Con
gress do put this province upon the same footing with

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. 109
our sister colonies ; which being put, it was ordered
that it be taken into consideration to-morrow morning.
"Thursday, July 6, 1775. The order of the day
being read, the same was taken into consideration, and,
after some deliberation, it was unanimously
" 1st. Resolved, That this province will adopt and
carry into execution, all and singular, the measures
and recommendations of the late Continental Congress.
" 2d. Resolved, in particular, That we, in behalf of
ourselves and constituents, do adopt and approve of
the American Declaration or Bill of Rights, published
by the late Continental Congress, in consequence of
several infractions thereof.
" 3d. That we will not receive into the province
any goods, wares, or merchandise, shipped from Great
Britain or Ireland, or from any other place, any such
goods, wares, or merchandise, as shall have been ex
ported from Great Britain or Ireland after this day ;
nor will we import any East India tea from any part
of the world ; nor any molasses, syrups, paneles,
coffee, or pimento; nor wines from Madeira or the
Western Islands, nor foreign indigo.
" 4th. That we will neither import or purchase any
slave imported from Africa, or elsewhere, after this
day. " 5th. As a non-consumption agreement, strictly ad
hered to, will give an effectual security for the observa
tion of non-importation, we, as above, solemnly agree
and associate, that from this day we wUl not pur
chase or use any tea imported on account of the East
India Company, or any on which a duty hath or shall
be paid ; and we will not purchase or use any East
India tea whatever ; nor will we, nor shall any person

no GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
for or under us, purchase any of those goods, wares,
or merchandise, we have agreed not to import, which
we shall know, or have cause to suspect, were im
ported after this day.
" 6th. The earnest desire we have not to injure our
feUow-subjects in Great Britain and Ireland and the
West Indies, induces us to suspend non-importation
untU the 10th day of September, 1775, at which time,
if the acts and parts of acts of the British Parliament,
hereinafter mentioned, are not repealed, we will not,
directly or indirectly, export any merchandise or com
modity whatsoever to Great Britain, Ireland, or the
West Indies, except rice, to Europe.
"7th. Such as are merchants and use the British
and Irish trade, will give orders to their factors, agents,
and correspondents, as soon as possible, in Great Britain
and Ireland, not to ship any goods to them, on any
pretence whatever, as they cannot be received in this
province; and if any merchant, residing in Great
Britain or Ireland, shall, directly or indirectly, ship
any goods, wares, or merchandise, to America, in
order to break the said non-importation agreement, or
in any manner contravene the same, on such unworthy
conduct being well attested, it ought to be made public;
and, on the same being done so, we will not, from
thenceforth, have any commercial connections with
such merchant.
" 8th. That such as are owners of vessels will give
positive orders to their captains or masters, not to
receive on board their vessels any goods prohibited by
the said non-importation agreement, on pain of imme
diate dismission from their service.
" Oth. We will use our utmost endeavors to improve

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. ill
the breed of sheep, and increase their numbers to the
greatest extent ; and to that end, we will kill them as
sparingly as may be, especially those of the most pro
fitable kind ; nor will we export any to the West Indies
or elsewhere ; and those of us who are or may become
overstocked with, or can conveniently spare any sheep,
will dispose of them to our neighbors, especially to the
poorer sort, on moderate terms.
" lOth. That we will, in our several stations, en
courage frugality, economy, and industry, and promote
agriculture, arts, and the manufactures of British
America, especially that of wool ; and will discounte
nance and discourage every species of extravagance
and dissipation, especially horse-racing, and every kind
of gaming, cock-fighting, exhibiting of shows, plays,
and other expensive diversions and entertainments ;
and, on the death of any relation or friend, none of
us, or any of our families, will go into any farther
mourning dress than a black crape or ribbon on the
arm or hat for gentlemen, and a black ribbon and
necklace for ladies ; and we will discontinue the giving
of gloves and scarfs at funerals.
"11th. That such as are venders of goods or mer
chandise will not take advantage of the scarcity of
goods that may be occasioned by this Association, but
will sell the same at the rates we have been respect
ively accustomed to do for twelve months last past ;
and if any vender of goods or merchandise shall sell
any such goods or merchandise on higher terms, or
shall in any manner, or by any device whatsoever,
violate or depart from this agreement, no person ought,
nor will any of us, deal with any such person, or his

112 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
or her factor or agent, at any time thereafter, foi; any
commodity whatever.
"12th. In case any merchant, trader, or other per
sons, shall attempt to import any goods or merchan
dise into this province, after this day, the same shall
be forthwith sent back again, without breaking any of
the packages thereof.
" 13th. That a committee be chosen in every town,
district, and parish within this province, by those who
pay towards the general tax, whose business it shall
be attentively to observe the conduct of all persons
touching this Association ; and when it shall be made
to appear, to the satisfaction of a majority of any such
committee, that any person, within the limits of their
appointment, has violated this Association, that such
majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case to
be published in the Gazette, to the end that all such
foes to the rights of British America may be pubUcly
known, and universally contemned as the enemies
of American liberty; and thenceforth we will break
off all connection with him or her.
" 14th. That the Committee of Correspondence in
this province do frequently inspect the entries of the
custom-house, and inform the committees of other
colonies which have acceded to the Continental Asso
ciation, from time to time, of the true state thereof,
and of every other material circumstance that may
occur relative to this association.
" 15th. That all manufactures of this province be
sold at reasonable prices, so that no undue advantage
be taken of a future scarcity of goods.
" 16th. And we do further agree and resolve, that
we will have no trade, commerce, dealings, or inter-

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. 113
course whatsoever, with any colony or province in
North America, which shall not accede to, or which
shall hereafter violate, this Association ; but will hold
them as unworthy of the rights of freemen, and as
inimical to the liberties of their country.
" And we do solemnly bind ourselves and our con
stituents, under the ties of virtue, honor, and love to
our country, to adhere to this Association, until such
parts of the several acts of Parliament, passed since
the close of the last war, as impose or continue duties
upon tea, wines, molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee,
sugar, pimento, indigo, foreign paper, glass, ' and
painters' colors, imported into America, and extend
the powers of the Admiralty Courts beyond their
ancient limits ; deprive American subjects of trial by
jury; authorize to Judges certificate to indemnify the
prosecutor from damages, that he might otherwise be
liable to from a trial by his peers ; require oppressive
security from claimants of ships or goods seized, before
he is allowed to defend his property, are repealed;
and until that part of the act of the 12th George III,
ch. 24, entitled 'An Act for the better securing his
Majesty's Dock-yards, Magazines, Ships, Ammunition,
and Stores,' by which any person charged with com
mitting any of the offences therein described, in Ame
rica, may be tried within any shire or county within
the realm, is repealed ; and until the four acts passed
in the last session of Parliament, viz., that for stop
ping the port and blocking up the harbor of Boston ;
that for altering the charter and government of the
Massachusetts Bay; and that which is entitled, 'An
Act for the better Administration,' etc. ; and that for
extending the limits of Quebec, etc., are repealed ;
VOL. II. 8

114 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
and untU the two acts passed in the present session
of Pariiament, the one entitled, 'A BiU to restrain
the Trade and Commerce of the Colonies of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South
Carolina, to Great Britain, Ireland, and the British
Islands in the West Indies, under certain Conditions
and Limitations;' and the other, an act commonly
called the ' Fishery Bill.' "
On Friday, the 7th of July, the Provincial Congress
elected John Houstoun, Archibald BuUoch, Rev. Dr.
Zubly, Noble Wimberly Jones, and Dr. Lyman Hall
delegates to the Continental Congress, then sitting in
Philadelphia, and ordered " that any three of them be
a quorum." The Congress also passed the following strong pre
amble and resolutions : —
" Whereas, by the unrelenting fury of a despotic
ministry, and with a view to enforce the most oppres
sive acts of a venal and corrupted Parliament, an
army of mercenaries under an unfeeling commander
has actually begun a civil war in America : And
whereas, the apparent iniquity and cruelty of these ob
structive ineasures have, however, had this good effect,
to unite men of all ranks in the common cause : And
whereas, to consult on means of safety, and the method
of obtaining redress, the good people of this province
of Georgia have thought proper to appoint a Provincial
Congress, the delegates met at the said Congress now
assembled from every part of the province, besides
adopting the resolution of the late Continental Con
gress, find it prudent to enter into such other resolu
tions as may best express their own sense and the sense
of their constituents on the present unhappy situation

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. ns
of things, and therefore thought fit and necessary to
resolve as follows : — i
" Resolved, That we are born free, have all the feel
ings of men, and are entitled to all the natural rights
of mankind.
" Resolved, That by birth or incorporation, we are
all Britons, and whatever Britons may claim as their
birthrights, is also ours.
" Resolved, That in the British Empire, to which
we belong, the constitution is superior to every man,
or set of men whatever, and that it is a crime of the
deepest dye in any instance to impair or take it away,
or deprive the meanest subject of its benefits.
" Resolved, That part of the American Continent
which we inhabit was originally granted by the Crown,
and the charter expressly from Charles the Second,
makes its constitutional dependence on the Crown only.
" Resolved, That those who now would subject all
America, or this province, to dependency on the Crown
and Parliament, are guilty of a very dangerous innova
tion, which in time will appear as injurious to the
Crown as it is inconsistent with the liberty of the
American subject.
" Resolved, That, by the law of nature and the
British constitution, no man can legally be deprived
of his property without his consent, given by himself
or his representatives.
" Resolved, That the acts of the British Parliament
for raising a perpetual revenue on the Americans, by
laying a tax on them without their consent, and con
trary to their protestations, are diametrically opposite
to every idea of property, to the spirit of the constitu
tion, and at one stroke deprived this vast continent of

116 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
all liberty and property, and, as such, must be detested
by every well-wisher of Great Britain and America.
" Resolved, That the subsequent laws made with a
view to enforce these acts, namely, the Boston Port
Bill, the alteration of their charter, the act to carry
beyond sea for trial, and what refines upon every spe
cies of cruelty, the Fishery Bill, are of such a com
plexion, that we can say nothing about them, for want
of words to express our abhorrence and detestation.
" Resolved, That the loyalty, patience, and prudence
of the inhabitants of New England, under their unpa
ralleled passions, having been construed into timidity
and a dread of regular troops, a civil war, in support
of acts extremely oppressive in themselves, hath actu
ally been begun, and that there is too much reason to
believe that plans have been in agitation, big with
everything horrible to other provinces, plans as rash,
barbarous, and destructive, as the cause they were in
tended to serve.
" Resolved, That in these times of extreme danger,
our Assembly not being permitted to sit, we must have
either been a people without all thought or counsel, or
have assembled, as we now are, in Provincial Congress,
to consult upon measures, which, under God, may
prove the means ofa perpetual union with the mother
country, and tend to the honor, freedom, and safety of
both. " Resolved, That this province bears all true alle
giance to our own rightful sovereign, King George the
Third, and always will, and ought to bear it, agreeable
to the constitution of Great Britain, by virtue of which
only the king is now our sovereign, and which equally
binds majesty and subjects.

PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. m
" Resolved, That we are truly sensible how much
our safety and happiness depend on a constitutional
connection with Great Britain, and that nothing but
the being deprived of the privileges and natural rights
of Britons, would ever make the thought of a separa
tion otherwise than intolerable.
"Resolved, That in case his Majesty, or his suc
cessors, shall, at any time hereafter, make any requisi
tion to the good people of this province, by his repre
sentatives, it will be just and right that such sums
should be granted as the nature of the service may
require, and the ability and situation of this province
will admit of.
" Resolved, That this province joins with all the
provinces in America, now met by delegates in Con
tinental Congress ; and that John Houstoun, and
Archibald Bulloch, Esq'rs, the Rev. Dr. Zubly, Lyman
Hall, and Noble Wimberly Jones, Esq'rs, be the dele
gates from this province for that purpose.
" Resolved, That a committee be appointed, whose
duty it shall be to see to it, that the resolutions of the
Continental and Provincial Congress be duly observed;
and that every person who shall act in opposition
thereto have his name transmitted to the Continental
Congress, and his misdeeds published in every Ameri
can paper.
" Resolved, That with all such persons, except the
indispensable duties that we owe all mankind (bad
men and enemies not excepted), we will have no deal
ings nor connection ; and we extend this, our resolu
tion, also to all such persons or corporations in Great
Britain, who have shown themselves enemies to
America.

118 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
" Resolved, That we wiU do what in us Ues to pre
serve and promote the peace and good order of this
province ; and, should any person become an innocent
sufferer on account of these grievances, we will do
whatever we justly may for his relief and assistance.
" Resolved, That, in such calamitous times as the
present, every possible indulgence ought to be given
to honest debtors ; that it would be ungenerous (unless
there appears intention of fraud) in any gentleman of
the law to sue without previous notice, and any per
son so sued may apply to the Committee, and, should
it appear to them that the creditor is in no danger of
losing his money, or can be properly secured, they
shall interpose their friendly offices to persuade him
to drop the prosecution ; and every prosecutor that
shall appear to take advantage of the confusion of the
times, to distress his debtor, ought to be publicly
pointed out and held in abhorrence.
" Resolved, That, notwithstanding in a late bill for
restraining the trade in the several provinces in
America, this province is excepted, we declare that
we look upon this exception rather as an insult than
a favor, as being meant to break the union of pro
vinces, and as being grounded on the supposition that
the inhabitants of such excepted province can be base
enough to turn the oppression of America into a mean
advantage. " By order of the Congress.
" A true copy from the minutes.
"George Walton,
" Secretary."
Of the five delegates elected to the Continental

DEFECTION OF ZUBLY. 119
Congress, Messrs. Bulloch, Houstoun, and Zubly at
tended its sessions at Philadelphia, and took part in
its important proceedings.
When, however, the discussions in Congress deve
loped the views of some of the patriots for a republi
can and independent government, and when these ideas
began to take legitimate shape, and call for definite
action, Dr. Zubly became alarmed at the aspect of
affairs, and opposed the growing desires for indepen
dence. In the beginning of the contest with the Parliament,
Dr. Zubly took a bold and prominent part in the pro
ceedings at Savannah. Occupying the position of
minister of the Presbyterian congregation, and fitted
by his learning and abilities to exercise a large influ
ence on the public mind, his opinions carried with
them great weight, and he proved a most able auxili
ary to the American cause.
In his sermon before the Provincial Congress at
Savannah ; in his correspondence with Dr. N. W.
Jones ; and especially in his letter to the Earl of Dart
mouth ; he showed a zeal, an industry, and a patriotism
that justly won for him the esteem of the friends of
liberty, and the honorable place of a Delegate from
Georgia, to the Continental Congress.
His letter to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated 3d Sep
tember, 1775, which was published in the London
Magazine, for January, 1775, at the request, as we have
reason to believe, of General Oglethorpe, was one of the
best state papers of that period, written with clearness,
force, calmness, and a full knowledge of the position of
American affairs, and a full vindication of American
rights. Alluding to the suggestions made in England,

120 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
to arm the slaves of the southern colonies in order to
reduce their masters to British obedience, he says,
" Proposals publicly made by ministerial writers rela
tive to American domestics, laid the southern pro
vinces under the necessity of arming themselves. A
proposal to put it in the power of domestics to cut the
throats of their masters, can only serve to cover the
proposers and abettors with everlasting infamy. The
Americans have been called ' a rope of sand,' but blood
and sand will make a firm cementation ; and enough
American blood has been already shed to cement
them together into a threefold cord, not easily to be
broken." When, however, he found himself pressed
with the question of sundering the ties which bound
this country to the English crown, and substituting a
republican for a monarchical government. Dr. Zubly,
like many others, hesitated to embrace what seemed
to him a fearful issue ; and in a moment of undue zeal
for the established order of things, he wrote to Sir
James Wright from Philadelphia, giving him an ac
count of the purposes and plans of the Continental Con
gress, and thus forewarning him of the coming rupture.
His conduct and language having aroused suspicion
as to his fidelity to the cause of America, he was closely
watched, and his treasonable correspondence discovered.
Judge Chase, of Maryland, hinted on the floor of Con
gress, that his letter had been seized and its contents
were known; which so alarmed the Doctor, that the next
day he left for home, leaving on his table, in his room,
a letter for Messrs. Houstoun and Bulloch, stating, "-I
am off for Georgia, greatly indisposed."
On his return to Savannah, he openly took sides
against the Liberty party, and became of course very

DEFECTION OP ZUBLY. 121
obnoxious to the people ; so much so, that in 1777, he
was banished from Savannah, and half of his estate
taken from him. He wrote and published an earnest
remonstrance against this summary proceeding, ad
dressing it to the Grand Jury of the County of Chat
ham, but it did not avail, and he removed to South
Carolina. There he remained until the royal govern
ment was re-established in Georgia, when he returned
to his ministerial charge, and remained there during
the subsequent siege of the town.
He died on the 23d July, 1781, at the age of fifty-six,
broken in heart, and broken in fortune, yet nobly
struggling against misfortune, aiming to be faithful in
the discharge of his ministerial duties, and earnestly
laboring to enter himself into that rest which remains
for the people of God. His poUtical defection, while it
did no harm to Georgia or the colonies, brought misery
upon himself and family, and tarnished a name which
shone among the earlier patriots of Georgia with pecu
liar brightness. Savannah still bears the record of
this learned man in the names of two of its streets,
" Joachim" and " Zubl^^," and one of the hamlets of
the city is called St. Gall, in honor of his birthplace
in Switzerland.
In addition to directing a petition to the King, and
addresses to the Governor and people of Georgia, Con
gress appointed a Committee of Intelligence, consisting
of nine persons, resolved to raise £10,000, conferred
upon the Council of Safety "full power upon every
emergency during the recess of Congress," and having
" strongly recommended to the friends of America in
this province, that they use their utmost endeavors to
preserve peace and good order, and to cultivate bar-

122 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
mony with one another, they adjourned, on the 17th
July, to the 19th August.
Thus the whole province of Georgia was fully com
mitted to the measures of the Continental Congress,
and embarked her fortunes with those of her sister
colonies in the struggle for freedom and independence.
The resolves of non-importation passed by the Pro
vincial Congress on the 6th July, 1775, were to take
effect on the 10th of September, and by these aU
trade with Great Britain, the West Indies, and every
colony which had not agreed to the rules of the Conti
nental Association, ceased. By no circumstance was
the firmness of Georgia more tested than by support
ing this association. Nearly half of its population
were slaves, grouped in various numbers on scattered
plantations, dependent on their masters, whose sup
plies were thus cut off, without a possibility of present
relief. Vessels, indeed, frequently arrived with the
necessaries required ; but the Continental articles were
rigidly enforced, and they departed without opening
their cargo or coming up to town. The self-denial of
the Georgians was the more conspicuous, in that they
had none of the internal resources possessed by the
northern colonies. Their staple products were rice,
lumber, indigo, skins, etc., which found their market
in the West Indies or Great Britain, and were there
exchanged for commodities needed at home; but this
traffic was now closed. Of bullion they had been
nearly drained by northern traders, who would take
only specie in payment, and their paper currency wft.s
daily depreciating. They had no manufactures, and
the precarious trade upon which they depended for
supplies was not at all adequate to their demands;

PROCEEDINGS OF COUNCIL OF SAFETY. 123
for, in addition to the usual dangers of the sea, their
proximity to the naval rendezvous at Bermuda, the
refugee province of Florida, and the fleet-covered Ar
chipelago of the West Indies, enhanced to such a
degree the hazards of commercial intercourse, even
with ports which were open, that twenty per cent.
was often demanded for insuring vessels bound to the
southern provinces, and soon no policy, at any pre
mium, could be obtained for a vessel bound to Savan
nah. The ships, with their cargoes, lay idly in our
waters, or, attempting to run out, were seized by the
enemy. The whole industrial machinery of the pro
vince was suddenly arrested, and distress was every
where apparent; but patriotism hushed every murmur,
and Georgians counted not their own lives dear unto
them, if they might but successfully maintain the
cause of freedom.
On the 20th July, the Continental Congress received
official notice that Georgia had acceded to the general
Association and appointed delegates to attend at Phila
delphia. Thenceforward she was regarded as one of
the United Colonies, and her name was stricken from
the resolution of the 17th May, which placed her,
with the exception of the parish of St. John, under
the ban of colonial intercourse.
On the 8th August, 1775, the Council of Safety ad
dressed a letter to Governor Wright, bearing the sig
natures of George Walton, William Le Conte, Francis
H. Harris, William Yonge, George Houstoun, William
Ewen, John Glen, Samuel Elbert, Basil Cowper, and
Joseph Clay, urging him to permit the several compa
nies of militia to elect their own officers, as "many of
the commissioned officers in the militia are disagree-

124 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
able to the people over whom they command." This
request the Governor regarded " as of a very extraor
dinary nature, and to have a dangerous tendency, as
calculated to wrest the power and command of the
militia from the Crown, and out of his hands." He
however laid the letter before the Council, at the same
time denying its statements, arguing against its princi
ples, and denouncing the men and the Association
which produced it. To this letter, the Council replied
through the clerk, "that for many very substantial
reasons, the Governor could not comply with their
request." That, however, which the Governor and Council
denied, the people themselves accomplished.
On the 28 th July, the 1st company of the 1st regi
ment of- foot militia was summoned to the parade-
ground, by beat of drum, by order of Captain Quintin
Pooler. As John Charles Lucena and John B. Ran
dall had not signed the Articles of Association, they
were accordingly rejected by the regiment, and Wil
liam Jones and Peter Lavein were elected officers in
their places. On the same day, the 4th company,
under Captain Stirk, paraded; and as William Ste
phens, first lieutenant, and WiUiam Johnson, had not
subscribed, others were chosen into their several offices.
In the 8th company. Dr. David Brydie and Seth John
Cuthbert were elected respectively first and second
lieutenants, vice James Robertson and James Ross.
These were but instances of that influence which
was at work, purging out the loyal element from
the commissioned officers of the militia, and pre
paring the soldiery to act with obedience and valor.

ROYAL GOVERNMENT AT AN END. 125
under men chosen of their own free-will, and pledged
to sustain the liberty of their country.
At the opening of the Continental Congress, on
the 13th September, 1775, Zubly, Hall, Bulloch,
and Houstoun presented their credentials as dele
gates from Georgia, and took their seats. Noble
Wimberly Jones, also a delegate, and one of the ear
liest, firmest, and most intelligent supporters of the
cause of liberty, did not appear, in deference to the
earnest entreaties of his aged father, who had been
for many years a crown officer, and one of the council
lors under the royal government. This session was one
of great importance. Out of the civil disorganization
consequent on the overturning of the royal govern
ment. Congress was required to frame new and pecu
liar institutions; to create an army and navy; to
gather the various resources demanded by the war,
and disburse them so as best to meet the exigencies
of the times; to raise immense sums of money; to
harmonize discordant interests ; to concentrate provin
cial efforts, and to guide the movements and delibera
tions of a great people struggling for constitutional
liberty. The power of the royal government in Georgia was
now at an end. With no means of enforcing obe
dience, and with a strong Liberty party working
against him. Governor Wright could do nothing but
take affidavits of the various transactions as they oc
curred, and transmit them, with his observations, to
the foreign Secretaries. In one of these letters he
solicited a recall, "thinking that a King's Governor
has little or no business here." In truth, his position
was one peculiarly annoying. His conduct had been

126 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
severely commented on, in a formal address from the
Provincial Congress, wherein they had charged him
with preventing the meeting of the Legislature, and
misrepresenting the condition of things in the pro
vince; and being destitute of troops, without a
government, with the courts of law closed, his call
for an Assembly disregarded, the church even shut up
because of the contumacious conduct of its loyal rector,
the Rev. Mr. Smith ; exposed to daily insults, which
he could not resent, and compelled to witness proceed
ings which he totally condemned; he might well be
pardoned for asking to be released from a condition
fraught with many trials, and attended with not a
single benefit.
Georgia was now in the hands of the Provincial
Congress, who vested all executive and legislative
power in " The Council of Safety." On the 1st of
December, Congress took under its supervision all
courts of law, and appointed a committee of fifteen to
sit quarterly in Savannah, as a Court of Appeal, " to
hear and determine between the parties, and sanction
or prohibit processes, according to the circumstances
of the case." To counteract, however, the license
which many might take, in times of such judicial
laxity, Congress required all persons, who designed
leaving their parochial districts or the province, to
give such notice of their intention as would enable
creditors to secure their just demands.
The Council of Safety, consisting of George Walton,
WiUiam Ewen, Stephen Drayton, Noble Wimberly
Jones, Basil Cowper, Edward Telfair, John Bohun
Girardeau, John Smith, Jonathan Bryan, WiUiam
Gibbons, John Martin, OUver Bowen, Ambrose

BATTALION OFFICERS APPOINTED. 127
Wright, Samuel Elbert, Joseph Habersham, and
Francis Henry Harris, was organized on the 11th
December, 1775, by the election of George Walton as
President, and Edward Langworthy as Secretary.
The Council resolved to meet at Tondee's Long Room
every Monday at 10 A. M., and at such other times as
the emergency of affairs might require. At their first
meeting, they commissioned Andrew Maybank, Joseph
Woodruffe, Hezekiah Wade, and John Dooly, as cap
tains; James Cochran, John Morrison, Jeremiah
Beale, and Thomas Dooly, as first lieutenants; James
Galoche, Moses Way, Jacob Blunt, Zephaniah Beale,
and William Bugg, second lieutenants; and Thomas
Dowly, George Philips, and Joshua Smith, third lieu
tenants, of the battalion of troops which the Conti
nental Congress, on the 4th November, had ordered to
be raised, at the Continental expense, for the protec
tion of Georgia, and towards which they appropriated
five thousand dollars.^ On the 7th January following,
this battalion was fully organized, by the appointment
of the following field-officers : Lachlan Mcintosh,
colonel ; Samuel Elbert, lieutenant-colonel ; and Jo
seph Habersham, major.
In consequence of the arrival at Tybee, on the 12th
January, of two men-of-war and a transport, from
Boston, with a detachment of King's troops, under
Majors Maitland and Grant, the Council of Safety
resolved, on the 18th, " that the persons of his Excel
lency Sir James Wright, Bart., and of John Mullryne,
Josiah Tatnall, and Anthony Stokes, Esqs., be forth
with arrested and secured, and that all non-associates
' MS. Journal of the Council of Safety.

128 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
be forthwith disarmed, except those who will give
their parole, assuring that they will not aid, assist, or
comfort any of the persons on board his Majesty's
ships-of-war, or take up arms against America in the
present unhappy dispute." To secure the person of
the Governor was of course the first object, and Major
Joseph Habersham undertook to perform the difficult
duty. Proceeding that very evening to the house of
the Governor, who had assembled the Council to con
sider what was proper to be done, he passed the sen
tinel at the door, entered the hall, then marched to
the head of the table, and laying his hand upon the
shoulder of the Governor, said, " Sir James, you are
my prisoner." The party, astonished at his boldness,
and supposing, from his firm manner, that a large
force was surrounding them, fled in the utmost pre
cipitation, through doors and windows. This was one
of the most signal instances of deliberate and suc
cessful daring in the history of the war. For a
youth of twenty-four, unarmed and unsupported, to
enter the mansion of the chief magistrate, and at
his own table, amidst a circle of councillors, place
him under arrest, is an act of heroism ranking with
the most brilliant exploits in American history. The
Governor gave his solemn parole not to go out of
toWn, or bold any correspondence with any officers or
others on board the ships at Tybee, and was suffered
to remain in his house, under guard. But his confine
ment proving irksome and painful, as well from the
insults to which he was subjected, as from the danger
to which he was exposed, from bullets wantonly fired
into his house by the guard, he contrived, on the night
of the 11th February, to escape, went in haste to

DELEGATES ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 129
Bonaventure, and thence, in an open boat, to his
Majesty's ship Scarborough, Captain Barclay, on board
of which he was taken at three o'clock in the morning.
In the mean time the Provincial Congress, which
had been called to meet on the 20th January, 1776,
at Savannah, was opened, on Monday, the 22d, by a
sermon from the Rev. Dr. Piercy, and was organized
by the choice of Archibald Bulloch as President.
The principal business of this Congress, was the elec
tion of delegates to attend the Continental Congress;
and on the 2d of February, Archibald Bulloch, John
Houstoun, Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George
Walton, were duly chosen ; to whom, three days later,
was given the following letter of instruction, brief,
indeed, but pertinent, and exhibiting an enlarged and
unsectional spirit : —
" Gentlemen — Our remote situation from both the
seat of power and arms, keeps us so very ignorant of
the counsels and ultimate designs of the Congress, and
of the transactions in the field, that we shall decline
giving any particular instructions, other than strongly
to recommend it to you that you never lose sight of
the peculiar situation of the province you are ap
pointed to represent : the Indians, both south and
northwestwardly, upon our backs ; the fortified town
of St. Augustine made a continual rendezvous for sol
diers in our very neighborhood; together with our
blacks and tories with us ; let these weighty truths
be the powerful arguments for support. At the same
time we also recommend it to you, always to keep in
view the general utility, remembering that the great
and righteous cause in which we are engaged is not
provincial, but continental. We, therefore, gentlemen,
VOL. II. 9

130 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
shall rely upon your patriotism, abUities, firmness, and
integrity, to propose, join, and concur, in all such mea
sures as you shall think calculated for the common
good, and to oppose such as shall appear destructive.
" By order of the Congress.
"Archibald Bulloch, President.
"Savannah, April 5, 1776."
The organization of the militia was also a subject
of earnest deliberation; and the most efficient mea
sures were taken to enrol, officer, arm, and equip the
inhabitants, and to put them in readiness for any emer
gency. Volunteer companies, as riflemen, rangers, and
infantry, were also formed in several of the parishes,
and reported themselves for service.
The Council of Safety also passed resolutions, re
leasing all vessels importing gunpowder, saltpetre,
sulphur, brass field-pieces, or muskets, within nine
months, from the operation of the non-exportation
agreement, and appointed Samuel Elbert, Edward
Telfair, and Joseph Habersham, a committee to supply
the province with arms and ammunition ; who were
recommended to contract for 400 stand of arms with
bayonets ; 20,000 pounds of gunpowder ; 60,000
pounds of balls, bullets, bar-lead, grape, swan, and
goose shot; and, furthermore, the Council ordered the
stores at the Fort of Frederica to be immediately se
cured. To meet the pecuniary wants of the colony, bills of
credit were issued, in the form of certificates, which
were to be accepted, " upon the faith of the public of
this province," and it was made a penal offence to

GOVERNOR WRIGHT'S APPEAL. 131
refuse to receive them in payment, or to depreciate
their value.
From his retreat on the Scarborough, Governor
Wright, on the 13 th February, wrote a letter to the
members of his Council, which he desired to be laid
before the Provincial Congress, in which he says :
" After having examined and duly weighed and con
sidered my several letters from England, and General
Howe, at Boston ; and after having had a full conver
sation with his Majesty's officers here, I have the
great satisfaction to be able to affirm, from the best
authority, that the forces now here will not commit
any hostilities against this province, although fully
sufficient to reduce and overcome every opposition
that could be attempted to be made ; and that no
thing is meant or wanted, but a friendly intercourse
and a supply of fresh provisions. This his Majesty's
officers have an undoubted right to effect, and what
they insist upon ; and this I not only solemnly re
quire, in his Majesty's name, but also as (probably)
the best friend the people of Georgia have, advise
them, without the least hesitation, to comply with ;
or it may not be in my power to insure them the con
tinuance of the peace and quietude they now have, if
it may be called so."
Having stated that he had the King's leave to
return to England, he proceeds : " My regard for the
province is such that I cannot avoid, and possibly for
the last time, exhorting the people to save themselves
and their posterity from that total ruin and destruc
tion which, although they may not, yet I most clearly
see at the threshold of their doors ; and I cannot leave
them without again warning them, in the most earnest

132 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
and friendly manner, to desist from their present plans
and resolutions. It is still in their power; and, if
they will enable me to do it, I will, as far as I can,
engage to give, and endeavor to obtain, for them full
pardon and forgiveness for all past crimes and of
fences ; and this I conjure you to consider well and
most seriously of, before it's too late. But let things
happen as they may, be it remembered, that I this
day, in the King's name, offer the people of Georgia
the olive branch ; that most desirable object and ines
timable blessing, the return of peace and happiness to
them and their posterity."
The "olive branch," which Sir James thus earnestly
and honestly tendered, was not accepted, as the Geor
gians preferred war for Uberty, to peace with slavery.
Mr. Bulloch, as Presid,ent of Congress, briefly answered
this letter, declining a compliance with its propositions,
and assenting to the requests made in it, on the part
of Captain Barclay, the naval commander at Cock
spur, only upon such conditions that he refused to
accept them. This letter the Governor said he could
not consider as an answer to his, " as they have not
taken any notice of the most serious part, with re
spect to themselves and the province ;" but he adds,
" if they will not be their own friends, the province
wUl blame them, and not me, who, through friendship,
put it in their power to be happy."*
The refusal of Congress, and the vigilance of the
Council of Safety, having prevented Captain Barclay
from supplying the fleet with the necessaries desired,
he determined to resort to force, and capture the
* Original MS. Journal of the Council of Safety.

FIRST BATTLE IN GEORGIA. 133
eleven rice ships which lay under the bluff, waiting
the departure of the men of war to proceed to sea.
On the last of February, 1776, the Scarborough,
Hinchinbroke, St. John, and two large transports with
soldiers, came up the river and anchored at five
fathom. In view of this demonstration, the Council
of Safety, on the 2d March, passed unanimously a
resolution, " that all the shipping in port be disman
tled, and that the valuation of the houses of those
appertaining to the friends of America be taken, for
the purpose of burijing the same, rather than suffer
the British to possess them." This patriotic measure
elicited great applause from the Carolinians, and the
same council which a few months before termed
Georgia " that infamous colony," and resolved to hold
her inhabitants as inimical to the liberties of their
country, now declared, in a letter signed by its presi
dent, that it was " noble, patriotic, and vigorous," " an
instance of heroic principle, not exceeded by any, and
equalled by but few, in history." The Carolinians
still further evinced their interest, by sending a de
tachment of militia, under Colonel Bull, to join the
troops in Savannah in repelling the attack, which it
was anticipated would be made, by the Cherokee and
other armed vessels, which had sailed from Charleston
for Savannah.
Having previously sounded Back River, two of the
vessels, on the 2d March, sailed up that channel : one
anchored directly opposite the town ; and the other,
in attempting to go round Hutchinson's Island, and so
come down upon the shipping from above, grounded
at the west end of the island, opposite Brampton, the
plantation of Jonathan Bryan, Esquire.

134 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
During the night, between two and three hundred
troops from the first vessel, under the command of
Majors Maitland and Grant, were silently marched
across Hutchinson's Island, and, by collusion with the
captains, Avere embarked by 4 A. m. in the merchant
vessels which lay near the store on that island.
When the morning of Sunday the 3d March revealed
the proximity of the naval force, the inhabitants were
filled with the utmost indignation. The grounded
vessel, which proved to be the Hinchinbroke,' was im
mediately attacked by two companies of riflemen,
under Major Habersham, who soon drove every man
from its deck. It was not, however, until nine o'clock
that the people had any knowledge that troops were
secreted on board the merchantmen lying at the store
on Hutchinson's Island, a fact that became known
through two sailors, who, on pretence of going on
shore to get their clothes, communicated the intelli
gence that Captain Rice, to whom was committed the
carrying out of the order to dismantle the ships in
port, had gone on board one of the vessels in pur
suance of his duty, and himself and boat's crew had
been forcibly detained by the officers. This news
created intense excitement, and three hundred men,
under command of Colonel McIntosh, were marched
to Yamacraw Bluff, opposite the shipping, and threw
up a hasty breastwork, through which they trained
three four-pounders to bear upon the vessels. Anxious,
however, to avoid bloodshed. Lieutenant Daniel Ro
berts, of the St. John's Rangers, and Mr. Raymond
* The Hinchinbroke was a merchantman, which was sheathed with wood,
taken into the naval service, and mounted with twenty-eight guns. Lord
Nelson and Lord Colliugwood were both made post-captains in this vessel.

FIRST BATTLE IN GEORGIA. 135
Demere, of St. Andrew's Parish, solicited, and were
permitted by the commanding officer, to go on board
and demand a surrender of Rice and his people.
They were accordingly rowed on board the vessel, in
which were Captain Barclay and Major Grant ; but,
though they were unarmed and on a mission of peace,
they were immediately arrested and detained as pri
soners. After waiting half an hour, and the deputies
not returning, the people on shore hailed the vessel
through a speaking-trumpet, and demanded the return
of Rice, Roberts, and Demere ; but receiving only in
sulting replies, two four-pounders were discharged at
the vessel ; whereupon they replied, that if the people
would send on board two men, in whom they most
confided, they would treat with them. Accordingly,
Captain Screven, of the St. John's Rangers, Captain
Baker, of the St. John's Riflemen, and about twelve
of the Rangers, rowed immediately under the stern of
the vessel, and in peremptory terms demanded the
deputies. Captain Baker, doubtless incensed by some
insulting language, fired a shot on board, which im
mediately drew down upon the boat a discharge of
swivels and small arms from the vessel, which was
kept up as long as the boat was within reach, though
only one man was wounded. The firing from the
vessel was the signal for the batteries to open, which
were as briskly answered for the space of four hours.
At four o'clock, a meeting of the Council of Safety
was held, and the resolution adopted to set fire to the
vessels; and a party, consisting of Captain Bowen,
Lieutenant James Jackson, John Morel, and six
others, proceeded to the ship Inverness, which they
set on fire, and, cutting her cable, she drifted upon the

136 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
brig Nelly, which was also soon in flames. The offi
cers and soldiers on board the vessels fled, in the
utmost precipitation, across the low marshes and half-
drained rice-fields, several being killed by the grape-
shot played upon them from the intrenchments, and
most of them losing their arms and ammunition.
The scenes of that day and night were solemn and
terrific : the sudden marshalling of troops, the alarm
of the people, the roll of artillery, the vessels wrapped
in flames, every mast a pinnacle of fire, combined to
form a scene of awful and soul-stirring excitement.
As Messrs. Roberts, Demer^, and Rice were still
kept prisoners by the King's troops, the Council of
Safety, on the 6th March, put under arrest all the
members of the Royal Council that were then in Sa
vannah, and menaced the officers of the ships at Tybee
with still further measures of redress, if the prisoners,
so unjustly detained by them, were not liberated.
Various negotiations followed, and on the 27th March
an exchange was effected; Roberts, Demer6, and
others were released, and the crown officers put on
the footing of prisoners on parole.
Finding that the houses on Great .Tybee Island
afforded comfortable shelter for the King's officers and
tory refugees, the Council of Safety resolved to send
a detachment of troops there, to destroy them and
rout the tories. The execution of this order, rendered
perilous by the peculiar situation of the place, and the
protection afforded by the men-of-war, was committed
to Archibald Bulloch, who, with a party of men com
posed of detachments from the riflemen, light infantry,
fusUiers, volunteers, and a few Creek Indians, burnt
all the houses, except one, in which was a sick woman

FIRST BATTLE IN GEORGIA. 137
and several children, killed two marines aud one tory,
and took one marine and several tories prisoners.
The Cherokee man-of-war and an armed sloop kept
up an incessant fire upon the party ; but none of them
were injured, and they retired from the island in per
fect safety. Hitherto the Georgians had only heard
of British aggressions ; but now their own soil was
moistened with the blood of the slain; their quiet
homes had been assailed; their property pillaged; and
their province threatened with devastation and ruin.
The crisis had arrived ; they met it Uke heroes.

CHAPTER IIL
SOUTHERN EXPEDITIONS.
Lord North's "Prohibitory BiU" passed the House
of Commons on the 11th December, 1775. By this
act all trade and intercourse with the thirteen Ameri
can colonies was prohibited, "during the continuance
of the present rebellion within the said colonies re
spectively." This was the first parliamentary act that involved
Georgia; and while it was under discussion in the
House of Commons, this fact was made the ground of
particular objection and remark. On the sixth day of
the debate, Edmund Burke moved an humble address
to his Majesty, " that he will be graciously pleased to
order to be laid before this House such advices as may
enable this House to judge of the present state and
condition of his Majesty's loyal and dutiful province
of Georgia, in North America." His motion, how
ever, met with little favor, and was negatived. On
the Monday following. Governor Johnstone moved,
" that no evidence has been produced to this House to
show that many persons in his Majesty's colony of
Georgia have set themselves in open rebellion and
defiance to the just and legal authority of the King
and Parliament of Great Britain, or have assembled

DEFENCE OF GEORGIA IN PARLIAMENT. 139
together an armed force, or engaged his Majesty's
troops, or attacked his forts, or prohibited all trade
and commerce with this kingdom and the other parts
of his Majesty's dominion." This motion led to an
animated debate between Lord North, Governor John
stone, and Mr. Burke, relative to the position of
Georgia at this period. Governor Johnstone deplored
that Georgia should now "be entered in the black
catalogue ;" that it should be marked out for destruc
tion, as well as Massachusetts; "the latter, for
defending their liberties, which were immediately in
vaded — the former, because they disapproved of the
inhuman measure of condemning people unheard and
untried." On the side of the Georgians, it was in
sisted that "it had not even been urged in debate,
much less proved, that they had committed a single
act, which the most willing, ingenious, most-expecting,
or best-paid lawyer in the House could stretch even so
far as a misdemeanor ;" and the certain consequences
of the "Prohibitory Bill" would be, "that a whole
province was to be proscribed, its trade ruined, and its
inhabitants declared rebels, and compelled to submit
to tyranny, or consent to be starved."
Lord North professed that he had no objection to
have the loyalty or disloyalty of Georgia the subject
of evidence ; but declared, that though Georgia was
not actually in arms, or in a state of open rebellion, it
was well known that they acted in conjunction with
the other colonies, and there could not be a more de
cisive proof of their disposition, and the part they
meant to take, than their sending delegates to the
Continental Congress.
Mr. Dempster animadverted very severely upon

140 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Lord North's presuming Georgia guijty, and, upon
this presumption, including her in his prohibitory
biU ; declaring it " more horrible in its consequences,
and more repugnant to the generally estabUshed ideas
of justice, than anything yet imputed to that bloody
tribunal, the Inquisition; that it was the very lan
guage of Charles the First to his Parliament, and of
every other tyrant, from William the Conqueror to
this day."
The Secretary of the Board of Trade (Mr. PownaU)
replied, by detailing the different proofs the Georgians
had given of their rebellious disposition. In answer
to an expression dropped by this gentleman, that
"their own newspapers were filled with accounts of
these exploits," Burke said, " this was the first time
he had ever heard newspaper information made a
foundation for any solemn proceedings in that House;"
and he commented with sarcastic raillery upon Mr.
Pownall's referring the House to the public gazettes
for information which it was his duty officially to an
nounce. The motion of Governor Johnstone met the fate of
Edmund Burke's, and the bill, to use the words of
Burke, " so diabolically constructed ; for it inflicted
punishment for acts thought innocent at the time they
were committed, and legalized others, which were acts
of atrocious plunder and robbery," was, with a few
modifications, carried through the House of Lords, and
received the royal assent on the 22d December, 1775.
Thus was Georgia by her own act, by the act of the
Continental. Congress, and by the act of the British
Parliament, bound up with the other American colo
nies, to enjoy with them the freedom which they

SHIPS IN PORT DISMANTLED. 141
sought to gaiii, or share with them the disgrace and
slavery that an ignorant Parliament, a vindictive
ministry, a foreign soldiery, and an insane monarch
were striving to fasten upon them.
This prohibitory bill reached Georgia only a few
days after the attack on Savannah previously narrated.
A number of vessels were lying in the river, some
ready to sail, and his, Majesty's ships Tamar and Che
rokee were at Cockspur, to facilitate their departure.
Several of these were laden (besides rice, the export
of which was allowed by the Continental Congress,
until the 1st March, 1776) with indigo, deer-skins,
&c., and designed to circumvent the non-exportation
resolves, by clearances dated prior to the 10th Sep
tember. Owing to the want of a sufficient force to overawe
the disaffected, several irregularities had been passed
over by the Georgians, which, however, had not
escaped the notice and censure of the Carolinians.
The Council of Safety in Charleston represented these
to the committee in Savannah, and the latter resolved,
at all hazards, to comply with the strict letter of the
Congressional resolves upon this point, and therefore
ordered, " that the rudders be unshipped, and the rig
ging and sails taken away and secured from the several
vessels now riding in the port of Savannah."'
The absence of sufficient military power to enforce
this order, caused it to be imperfectly obeyed ; but the
arrival of Colonel Stephen Bull, on the 10th March,
with various detachments of Carolina troops, to the
number of about 250, gave confidence to the patriots,
1 Drayton, ii, 130.

142 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
who immediately proceeded to carry out the resolve,
and dismantle the ships. Colonel Bull, having ef
fected the object of his visit, returned to Charleston,
leaving the defence of Savannah to the Georgia Batta
lion, under Colonel Mcintosh, numbering only 236,
rank and file, of which number only 100 were on duty,
and these, of course, confined to Savannah.
The seaboard and inlets were infested by armed
vessels, of light draft, for the purpose of securing pro
visions and carrying off prisoners, and there was not a
vessel in the colony to protect the coast. Along the
Florida line, there was stationed a troop of sixty horse,
to prevent the driving off of cattle; and on the west
ern frontier, a similar body of cavalry was raised, to
guard the settlements from the threatened invasion of
the Indians. This was all the military strength of
this large, yet weakest and most exposed, of the Ame
rican colonies. In the midst of these dangers, the
patriots showed no alarm, but proceeded steadily to
their work of organizing a government suited to the
exigencies of the time, and accordingly, on the 15th
April, adopted a constitution or form of government,
and thus became an independent State.
Thus the prediction of Mr. Adams, that in conse
quence of this "prohibitory bill," which was looked
upon throughout the colonies " as the last stretch of
oppression," "governments will be up everywhere
before midsummer, and an end to royal style, titles,
and authority," came true; and with no less truth
than force did he add, " It requires more serenity of
temper, a deeper understanding, and more courage
than fell to the lot of a Marlborough, to ride out this
whirlwind."

THREATENED INDIAN WAR. 143
Though Governor Wright and most of his Majesty's
officers had left Georgia ; though the royal authority
was entirely overthrown ; though a new government
had been organized by the will of the majority ; yet
there were many disaffected persons resident in the
province, and many causes of internal and external
alarm. These demanded of the new executive a firm
ness tempered with prudence, and a sagacity blended
with wisdom, that could only belong to one who tho
roughly understood his position, and who, rising above
all personal and party schemes, dared to carry out the
requirements of duty, and maintain that supremacy
which the tumult of the times demanded. Mr. Bul
loch proved himself worthy of his trust; diligent,
active, unflinching, he sustained himself in the execu
tive chair with an ability suited to the station, and an
energy adequate to the crisis. His modesty and re
publicanism were very happily displayed at his first
assumption of executive power. When Colonel Mc
Intosh, the commander of the Continental battalion
in Savannah, tendered President Bulloch the military
courtesy which had usually been paid to Governor
Wright, and posted a sentinel at his door, he addressed
him a note, saying, " I beg you will immediately order
the sentinel to be withdrawn from my door; the
grenadiers are already removed, in consequence of
my orders. I act for a free people, in whom I have
an entire confidence and dependence, and would wish
upon all occasions to avoid ostentation."^
In addition to her other troubles, Georgia, in com
mon with South Carolina, was now menaced with an
^ Original letter of President Bulloch, in collection of I. K. Tefft, Esq.

144 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Indian war. Through the agency of Captain Stuart,
his Majesty's Superintendent of the Southern Indian
Department; and Mr. Cameron, his deputy; the Chero
kee Indians had been incited to fall upon the frontier
settlements and perpetrate the most atrocious massa
cres. To reduce them to order, the colonies of Geor
gia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, sent
detachments of troops, commanded respectively by
Colonel Jack, Colonel Williamson, General Ruther
ford, and Colonel Christy; who penetrated into the
northern parts of Georgia and South Carolina, and
carried the war with such vigor into the Indian coun
try, that the savage foe, after fighting bravely and
losing many men, were completely humbled. Came
ron, through whose instrumentality they had taken up
arms, was driven from the country ; and the following
year a treaty of peace, concluded at Dewitt's Corner,
between Georgia, South Carolina, and the Cherokees,
gave a temporary respite to the long-harassed and
stricken frontier.''
On the 18th June, 1776, the President laid before
the Council of Safety a letter from President Rut-
ledge, informing him that General Lee (who had
recently been appointed to command in the Southern
Department) desired that they would send two of their
body to Charleston, "to confer with him upon the
state of Georgia, and the mode of putting it in the
best posture of defence against all enemies, external
and internal." The Council accordingly deputed
Jonathan Bryan, John Houstoun, and Colonel Mc
Intosh, to wait upon the General; which they did,
^ Moultrie's Memoirs, i, 154.

REPORT OF THE DELEGATION. 145
shortly after the brilliant repulse of the English fleet
from Fort Moultrie.
On the 5th July, the delegation handed in a report
of their proceedings to the Council, in which they
state that, "from the weak and defenceless situation of
the colony, surrounded as it is with enemies, it stands
in immediate need of assistance from the General Con
gress; and when they consider, that however small
the colony may be of itself, in a comparative point of
view, yet that, from the great plenty of provisions,
numerous stocks of cattle, excellent inlets, harbors,
and rivers, with which the colony abounds, and above
all, the firm attachment of its inhabitants to the Ame
rican cause, they are led to trust that the protection
and security of that colony will be held an object of
considerable importance. Not one of the thirteen
United Colonies is so weak within, or so exposed from
without. To the east, the inhabitants suffer the
ravages of British cruisers ; their negroes are daily
inveigled and carried away from their plantations;
British fleets may be supplied with beef from several
large islands, well stocked with cattle, which line their
coasts, and round which large ships may sail. To the
south, they have the province of East Florida, the
inhabitants and soldiery of which must, of necessity,
make inroads upon Georgia for the article of provision
with which they have been heretofore chiefly suppUed.
Georgia here stands as a barrier to South Carolina, and
effectually secures that province against the like depre
dation." " We have certain accounts of there being
at this time upwards of one thousand British troops
in St. Augustine. To the west, and almost down
upon the Georgia Une, are the most numerous tribes
VOL. II. 10

146 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
of Indians now in North America, in the whole, at
least 15,000 gunmen. They are so situated as to
make it extremely convenient for our enemies to
supply them, from East and West Florida, with am
munition and everything that they want. There
seems to be the greatest reason to apprehend a rup
ture with them; in such a case, the fate of Georgia
may be easily conceived. Add to these considerations
the vast number of negroes we have, perhaps of them
selves sufficient to subdue us.
" The conquest of Georgia would be considered as a
great acquisition by Great Britain. It is a most ex
cellent provision country; abounds with ship-timber
and lumber of all kinds, and is most conveniently
situated for a place of rendezvous to their shipping.
Under all these circumstances, it must certainly ap
pear indispensably necessary that measures be imme
diately taken for the defence and security of that
province ; but the low situation in point of means or
ability of its inhabitants, puts it out of their power to
do it of themselves, more especially as they have been
already put to a very great expense in consequence of
the late descent upon them." "The great objects
seem to be, then, fortifications, and a good under
standing with the Indians."
The deputies conclude their report with the follow
ing propositions : —
" 1st. That his excellency General Lee be requested
to state the peculiar situation of the province of Geor
gia to the General Congress, and to obtain directions
from them to raise, and take into Continental pay, so
many men as may be conceived to be sufficient to
defend this province. In our opinion, less than six

SOUTHERN EXPEDITIONS. 147
battalions wUl not answer the purpose ; but as we do
not conceive that any of these men can be recruited
in Georgia, we would apprehend it full as eligible (if
that can be done), to order some of the regiments al
ready raised to march thither ; and further, that the
four troops of horse already raised be augmented to a
regiment, and put upon the Continental establishment.
" 2d. That the sum of  sterling be granted by
the General Congress, for building fortifications and
guard-boats in the province of Georgia. The reason
why we conceive this ought to be a general charge, is
because it is evident the same will serve against at
tacks from the south, and for cutting off the commu
nication between East and West Florida and the
Inditns, upon which the peace of the back inhabitants
of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Vir
ginia depends.
" 3d. It is a fixed principle with the Indians, to be
paid for their good offices ; and in this controversy, we
conceive that they will expect to be well paid, even
for neutrality. The articles they prefer will doubtless
be ammunition and clothing; but these we have it
not in our power to give them. We would then pro
pose cattle, as a substitute, and are inclined to think,
that if the communication between them and our
enemies were cut off, they would soon be brought to
be well satisfied with a present of this kind. It is,
therefore, submitted to the General Congress, whether
it would not be worth while to give direction that
 head of cattle be purchased, and distributed
among the Indians by the Commissioners. We are
of opinion this step would answer many valuable pur
poses, and would have a tendency not only of attach-

148 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
ing them to our interest, from gratitude, but would
also be a means of civilizing them, and by fixing the
idea of property, would keep them honest and peace
able with us, for fear of reprisals."
The representations of this committee had such an
effect on General Lee, that the morning after his inter
view with them, he paraded the North Carolina and
Virginia troops, and told them that he had planned a
secret expedition, one free from danger, certain of suc
cess, and productive of a large booty. His scheme,
when unfolded, was embraced by the soldiers, and'
after some delay. President Rutledge furnished him
witb 460 men, drawn from the several regiments of
infantry, rangers, and artillery, and the necessary am
munition to carry on his design. The second we»k in
August, however, arrived, before he could put even a
portion of his troops in motion ; and then, in that
unhealthy season, they Were marched to Georgia,
" without even a field-piece or medicine-chest." The
remaining portion, with the artillery and baggage,
went round by water, and reached Savannah on the
17th of August. Generals Howe and Moultrie accom
panied the troops, while General James Moore, of
North Carolina, was left in command at Charleston.
On the 19th August, General Lee waited on the
President and Council, and proposed these questions
for their consideration : "1st. Whether, as the port on
St. Mary's is now abandoned, and the whole country
between that river and the St. John's broken up, and
as there is no probability of transporting cannon, am
munition, provisions, or collecting a sufficient number
of men for the siege and reduction of St. Augustine,
an irruption into East Florida can be productive of so

SOUTHERN EXPEDITIONS. 149
important advantages to the general cause, or to this
State of Georgia in particular, as to compensate for
the trouble and expense ? and what these advantages
are ? 2d. What are the means of certainly supplying
the troops with grain and meat? How their baggage
can be transported? whether safely by water? If not,
whether wagons can pass ? or, if the road is practica
ble only to horses, how pack-saddles are to be pro
vided?" The Council referred the questions to a committee,
consisting of Jonathan Bryan and Nathan Brownson,
who reported, "that an irruption into the province of
East Florida will be attended with the most salutary
consequences to this province, and of course render
service to the whole continent." This opinion they
supported by several reasons, all of which, however,
were based rather on their hopes, than on the real
facts of the case.
But so earnest were all the members of the Council
for this expedition, that the report of the committee
was accepted, and a resolution was passed* promising
" all assistance in their power to forward the said ex
pedition." General Moultrie was placed in command
of the enterprise, and, in conjunction with General
Lee and the other officers, set about collecting sup
plies, and organizing and pushing forward his troops.
Everything wore a favorable aspect, and the hopes of
the Georgians rose high as they beheld such active
preparations to annoy, if not to conquer, their trouble
some neighbor on the south. But, in September, as
General Moultrie, having nearly completed his arrange-
¦* MS. Journal Council of Safety.

150 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
ments, was about to take up his march to join the ad
vance guard already posted in Sunbury, an express
reached Savannah from Congress, recalling General
Lee to the northward ; who immediately left Georgia,
directing the Virginia and North Carolina troops to
follow. This sudden blow to the enterprise was soon suc
ceeded by the recall of the South Carolina regiment ;
and the expedition terminated as suddenly as it was
suddenly projected. The whole affair reflected very
little honor upon the skill and military forethought of
General Lee. The season of the year was the worst
that could have been chosen ; and as a consequence,
officers and men suffered severely from sickness, the
deaths averaging fourteen a day while the South Caro
lina battalion and Colonel Muhlenburg's regiment were
encamped at Sunbury.
It was resolved upon after only one night's considera
tion; planned upon imperfect information; commenced
with means inadequate to secure the desired end ; and
the troops began their march, when as yet neither
boats, artillery, wagons, pack-horses, ammunition, nor
stores of any kind, were provided for them.
Washington, it is true, said of General Lee, " He is
the first officer in military knowledge and experience
we have in the whole army ;" but, judging from this
display of his abilities as a general officer, he is not
entitled to this encomium of the commander-in-chief.
The consequences of the failure of this expedition were
seen not only in the disheartening influence it had
upon the troops, but it gave strength to the disaffected,
and furnished matter of taunting exultation to the
loyal Floridians.

PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 151
While Georgia was thus deeply solicitous for her
defence. Congress was not unmindful of her necessities,
and, on the 15th June, appointed a committee, consist
ing of Messrs. Hopkins of Rhode Island, Harrison of
Virginia, and Samuel Adams of M^-ssachusetts, to take
into consideration the state of Georgia. Their report
was made on the 5th July, whereupon it was resolved'
to raise two additional battalions (one of them to con
sist of riflemen) to serve in Georgia ; that blank com
missions be sent to the Convention of Georgia, to be
filled up with the names of such persons as the said
Convention shall think proper ; also that the Legisla
tures or Assemblies of Virginia, North Carolina, and
South Carolina be recommended to allow recruits
for these battalions to be enlisted in their several
States. It was furthermore ordered to build four gal
leys for the defence of the sea-coast, and to raise two
artillery companies of fifty men each, to garrison two
forts which the State was to erect at Savannah and
Sunbury. On the 8th, Congress appropriated $60,000 to pay
the battalions thus ordered to be raised.
The Declaration of Independence was not received
in Savannah until the 8th of August; when a copy of
it, together with a letter from John Hancock, was laid
before the Council of Safety, who directed that it should
be proclaimed at the Assembly House, Liberty Pole,
and Battery with military honors, on Saturday at 11
o'clock. This was accordingly done, and after the
Declaration had been publicly read in the square front
ing the Government House, a procession, composed of
° Journal of Congress, i, 375.

152 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
the mUitary and civil officers, soldiers, and citizens,
proceeded to the Liberty Pole, where the 1st battalion
of the Georgia Continentals saluted them with thirteen
volleys; thence the procession marched to the Bat
tery, where another national salute was fired. After
a public dinner, the procession was again formed, in
reversed order; and with muffled drums and trailed
arms, they solemnly buried the Royal Government of
Georgia. At night they celebrated their joy by bon
fires and a general illumination. Thus were severed
the ties which bound Georgia to the mother country ;
thus was established the liberty and independence of
this youngest of the thirteen colonies.
The importance of having a provincial marine early
impressed itself on the minds of the Council, and they
accordingly accredited Captain Bowen to the Governor
of Cape Frangois for the purpose of obtaining armed
vessels, arms, and warlike stores ; to procure articles
for the building and fitting out of vessels, and also an
assortment of medicines suitable to the climate. Cap
tain Pray was also directed by the Council of Safety,
October 18th, 1776, to proceed to St. Thomag, and to
procure as many seamen, arms, ammunition, and
swivels as he possibly could, with permission to mount
as many carriage-guns as the vessel can bear on his
return hither.
At this early period there were no national vessels ;
and each State was left to defend its own seaboard,
and protect its own harbors. Georgia offered such
good harbors, so near to the Province of Florida ; and
was so unprotected, that she was frequently visited by
the EngUsh cruisers, who committed many depreda-

SOUTHERN EXPEDITIONS. 153
tions on the islands, and largely supplied themselves
with cattle and other provisions.
To secure these as much as possible. Colonel Mcin
tosh was ordered to station troops along the points
likely to be assailed, and an express was sent to Gene
ral Howe to send back that portion of the Georgia
battalion doing duty in South Carolina, as also the
boats and ammunition forwarded from Georgia. The
militia of the State were also drafted into three divi
sions ; one of which was required to be in readiness at
a moment's warning; for danger menaced the State,
not merely from the seaboard, but also from the Indian
and Floridian borders.
For a long time, a sort of predatory warfare had
been carried on by both parties on the southern boun
daries of Georgia; but the incursions on the part of
the British now assumed a more formidable shape. A
large body of troops, consisting of about five hundred
regulars, loyalists, and Indians, with several pieces of
artillery, under the command of Colonel Fuser, with
whom were associated the noted refugee officers. Colo
nels Brown, McGirth, and Cunningham, marched from
St. Augustine, and invested Fort Mcintosh, on the
northeast side of the St. Ilia River. This was a mere
stockade fort, about one hundred feet square, situated
on a rising ground near the banks of the river, and
was garrisoned by seventy men, under the command
of Captain Richard Winn. An attempt to surprise
the fort, on the morning of the 17th of February,
1777, having failed, through the vigUance of its young
commander, it was regularly invested ; and all hopes
of a reinforcement being cut off, the provisions being
reduced to one day's supply, and the rage of the in-

154 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
vading force rising with delay, Captain Winn surren
dered himself and party as prisoners of war; after
evincing as much skiU and firmness in obtaining
proper articles of capitulation, as he had done in
bravely defending his little fort against such an over
whelming force. The main point of this capitulation
required, that the Americans should return to Fort
Howe, and not serve until regularly exchanged ; two
of their officers. Lieutenant Milton, of the Georgia
brigade, and Lieutenant Caldwell, of the Carolina
regiment, being sent to St. Augustine, as hostages for
the fulfilment of these stipulations.
The news of the capture of Fort Mcintosh, and of
the faithlessness of the British commander to carry
out all the terms of surrender, roused the whole pro
vince, and, with a unanimity and enthusiasm never
before known,° the inhabitants prepared to repel the
invaders. Notice was immediately sent to General
Howe, then at Charleston, acquainting him with the
threatened invasion, and he at once set off for Savan
nah, directing General Moultrie to send on a strong
detachment to hjs assistance. Accordingly, Lieutenant-
Colonel Marion, with six hundred men, four field-pieces,
and ample ammunition, stores, and provisions, sailed
through the inland passages; but did not reach Sa
vannah until the 28th of February, a few days after
General Mcintosh, with the remains of the first bat
talion of his brigade, had driven the invaders back
from the Alatamaha.
So great was the alarm, and so imminent the danger,
that a large part of the militia of the State were or-
6 MS. letter of Joseph Clay.

DEATH OF PRESIDENT BULLOCH. 155
dered into service, and a camp was formed at Medway
Meeting-house. The rest of the militia were com
manded to hold themselves ready to turn out with
arms at a moment's warning; while the President,
finding it sometimes impossible to collect the Council
of Safety, was desired, by a resolution of the Council,
passed on the 22d February, 1777, "to take upon
himself the whole executive powers of government,
calling to his assistance not less than five persons of
his own choosing, to consult and advise with on every
urgent occasion, when a sufficient number of council
lors cannot be convened to make a board."
This was giving to the President extraordinary
powers ; but the Council knew the prudence and reli
ability of the man to whom they intrusted them, and
hence confided fully in his wisdom and patriotism.
Mr. Bulloch did not long hold these dictator-like
powers; for, before the close of the month, he died,
and Button Gwinnett was elected to succeed him as
President of the Council of Safety.
Mr. Bulloch seemed to be just the man for the
critical time in which he lived, and for the responsible
station which he held. He was one of the foremost to
assert and maintain the liberties of his country, even
before the rupture with Great Britain, and when the
friends of American rights in Georgia were few and
fearful. When Bryan had been ejected from the Go
vernor's Council ; and Wylly from the clerkship ; and
Jones from the Speaker's chair ; for their freedom of
thought and speech ; when it was hazardous to come
in collision with the royal power, and provoke the
wrath of a King's Governor; when it was almost
treason to talk the honest sentiments of a freeman,

156 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Archibald Bulloch and three others came out, over
their own signatures, with a call for a meeting of those
opposed to the unjust acts of England, and anxious
for a redress of their grievances.
His death was a heavy loss to Georgia, at a moment
when it could hardly be borne; — for all parties of
Liberty men were united on him, and on him alone ;
and when he was called hence, by the fiat of God, divi
sions and discord rent the ranks of the Americans,
and it was not until blood had flowed, and years of
animosity passed, that harmony again pervaded our
councils. Had not Mr. Bulloch been so deeply en
gaged in provincial affairs, as to prevent his attendance
at Philadelphia in the Congress of 1776, to which he
was elected, his name would have gone down to pos
terity as one of the signers of the Declaration of In
dependence. If he failed, however, of securing this
distinction, he gained the honor of being the first
republican Governor of Georgia — the people's first
choice to their highest office — one who sacrificed his
private views for the public good, and who died in the
very harness of executive authority, revered and che
rished by his native province.
Scarcely had Button Gwinnett seated himself in the
executive chair, before he became anxious of military
as well as civil renown ; and, desirous of signalizing
his administration by some briUiant stroke of arms,
he planned an expedition against Florida, in order to
return upon St. Augustine the attack lately made
upon our southern forts. But it was an expedition
Ul-judged, Ul-planned, Ul-executed; resulting in dis
aster to the troops, evil to the province, and death to
its projector.

SOUTHERN EXPEDITIONS. 157
It was ill-judged, to think of attacking with a few
half-disciplined Continentals and militia a stronghold
like St. Augustine, which had recently been reinforced
by a thousand British troops; while the whole military
force in Georgia, numbering some seven or eight hun
dred men, was not sufficient to man its own forts and
frontier posts.
It was ill-planned, as being resolved upon by a
civilian, without consulting the commanding officer of
the Georgia Brigade, or even asking his assistance, as
the President determined to rely solely on the miUtia
and State Continentals.
It was an ill-executed measure, as only one portion
of the troops, the militia, under Colonel Baker, reached
Saw-pit Bluff, near the mouth of the St. John's, the
appointed place of rendezvous. Colonel Sumter, with
the Carolina troops by land, and Colonel Elbert, with
his Continentals and little armament by water, being
unable to join their forces at the appointed time and
place. It was disastrous to the troops, as they suffered
much in this fruitless campaign, and acquired for the
service an almost -unconquerable distaste.
It was disastrous to the province, as it originated
crimination and recrimination, splitting up the State
into feuds and parties ; dividing, and consequently
weakening, their ¦ power ; perilling the greiat interest
of liberty in the bickerings of party strife and personal
jealousies ; seeking to cover the mortification of defeat
and the odium of ill-judged schemes, by criminations
as foolish as they were unjust.
It was disastrous to the President, because his
highly improper conduct involved him in contro-

158 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
versies with General Mcintosh, then commanding the
Georgia Brigade. A duel resulted from their mis
understanding, in which both were wounded at the
first fire ; but, while General Mcintosh recovered,
Gwinnett, after lingering twelve days, expired on the
I9th May, 1777.
The death of Gwinnett roused the malevolence of
his party : irritated at the loss of their leader, they
threw so many obstacles in the way of General
Mcintosh, and so retarded all his efforts, that, feeling
he could do but little good in a State and among a
people so unjustly arrayed against him, he applied,
through the President of Congress, to be transferred
to a northern command. His request was granted ;
and, taking with him his son, Captain Lachlan
Mcintosh, and Captain John Berrien, of his staff, he
repaired to Pittsburg, to take command of the western
army, to which important post he had been appointed
by Congress, on the recommendation of Washington.
The removal of this excellent officer, who, more than
any other, was fitted to command in a State with
whose inhabitants, resources, and localities, he was so
intimately acquainted, was a very serious loss to the
State ; not only by taking away from it so valuable
a citizen, and a general, but also, as it was the
means of having it placed under the command of
a weak, unmiUtary, and inefficient officer, General
Robert Howe.
Painful, however, as was the removal of General
Mcintosh to his own feelings, and unfortunate as it
was for Georgia, no other course was left open to him.
The petty persecutions, the contemptible jealousies,
the open opposition, and the secret undermining at

SOUTHERN EXPEDITIONS. 159
work in reference to him, were sources of such constant
annoyance that his abilities were cramped for want
of scope ; his power weakened by the usurpation of
civil officers ; his energy fettered by executive restric
tions, and his life was exposed not to the fire of the
enemy, but to the jealousy of hating and murderous
rivals.

CHAPTER IV.
SOUTHERN INVASIONS — CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH.
In the beginning of 1778, the State was very much
disturbed by the irruption into its northern portion of
a band of insurgents, who, from being under the com
mand of a fuming and illiterate partisan. Colonel Sco-
phal, were named " Scophalites." This band, number
ing five or six hundred men, came from the upper part
of Carolina, crossed the Savannah River just below
Augusta, and captured a number of well -laden trading-
boats as they passed. On their route they were joined
by the disaffected of the district through which they
passed, and committed great depredations, before they
reached Florida, whither they hastened, to swell the
garrison of St. Augustine, and aid the British in their
projected conquest of Georgia.
The movements of these loyalists, combined with
the many rumors concerning the operations of Colonel
Prevost, induced a resolution on the part of General
Howe to anticipate their meditated attack on Georgia
by an invasion of the Floridian capital.
Yet, how little prepared Georgia was to make such
an invasion may be known from General Howe's own
statement, wherein he declares :' " That the country
1 Moultrie, i, 204.

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 161
was assailable on every side, and nowhere prepared for
defence ; many of the people disaffected to the cause,
and those who wish it well not united among them
selves, exceedingly weak in numbers as to militia, and
these ill armed ; and it is a melancholy truth that our
regulars do not exceed 550 effectives."
Notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, which
should have counselled more prudent measures. General
Howe ordered to Savannah 200 men from the brigade
of General Moultrie, who detached 150 from Thomp
son's, and 50 from Sumter's regiment. These were
subsequently increased to 600 Continentals, in addition
to a force of several hundred militia under Colonel
Williamson, who marched down to his assistance from
Ninety-six in Carolina. Fort Howe was the place ap
pointed for the rendezvous of the several detachments.
Colonel Elbert, who commanded here, had recently
signalized himself by a -brilliant exploit, which he thus
narrates in a letter to General Howe : —
"Frederica, April 19th, 1778.
" Dear General : —
" I have the happiness to inform you, that about 10
o'clock this forenoon, the brigantine Hinchinbrooke,
the sloop Rebecca, and a prize brig, all struck the Bri
tish tyrant's colors, and surrendered to the American
arms. " Having received intelligence that the above vessels
were at this place, I put about three hundred men by
detachment from the troops under my command at
Fort Howe, on board the three galleys, the Washing
ton, Captain Hardy ; the Lee, Captain Braddock ; and
the Bulloch, Captain Hutcher ; and a detachment of
VOL. II. 11

162 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
artiUery, with two field-pieces, under Captain Young,
I put on board a boat. With this little army, we em
barked at Darien, and last evening effected a landing
at a bluff about a mile below the town ; leaving Colonel
White on board the Lee, Captain Melvin on board the
Washington, and Lieutenant Petty on board the Bul
loch, each with a sufficient party of troops. Immedi
ately on landing, I despatched Lieutenant-Colonel Ray
and Major Roberts, with about one hundred men ; who
marched directly up to the town, and made prisoners
three marines and two sailors belonging to the Hin
chinbrooke. " It being late, the galleys did not engage until this
morning. You must imagine what my feelings were
to see our three little men-of-war going on to the attack
of these three vessels, who have spread terror on our
coast, and who were drawn up in order of battle ; but
the weight of our metal soon damped the courage of
these heroes, who soon took to their boats ; and as
many as could, abandoned the vessel with everything
on board, of which we immediately took possession.
What is extraordinary, we have not one man hurt.
Captain Ellis, of the Hinchinbrooke, is drowned, and
Captain Mowbray, of the Rebecca, made his escape.
As soon as I see Colonel White, who has not yet come
to us with his prizes, I shall consult with him, the
three other officers, and the commanding officers of the
galleys, on the expediency of attacking the Galatea,
now lying at Jekyl."
The contemplated attack on the Galatea was thwarted
by the departure of that vessel, just as Colonel Elbert
was completing his preparations for its seizure or de-

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 163
struction. General Howe reached Fort Howe on the
20th May, and on the 25th, he crossed the Alatamaha
and encamped at Reid's Bluff. Here he was kept
waiting nearly two weeks by the sickness of his troops,
the tardiness of the militia, and the non-arrival of those
supplies which were to come round by water from South
Carolina. These supplies were greatly needed, as tents were so
scarce that ten and twelve were often crowded into
one, or else they slept in the heavy dews. One camp
kettle sufficed for twelve or fifteen, one small canteen
was distributed to six or eight, and though many were
sick, they had but few and inferior medicines. It was
not until the 7th June, that General Howe was enabled
to march off the Georgia brigade from Reid's Bluff, as
the van of his little army destined for the conquest of
Florida. This brigade, under Colonel Elbert, was ad
vanced to the Satilla River, to collect boats for the
passage of the troops ; and the main body of the army
under Howe, finding no interruption ofa serious nature,
was enabled to reach the St. Mary's River, where a
junction was formed with Commodore Bowen, who had
gone round by sea.
Fort Tonyn, which they had expected to have found
fully manned, was evacuated and demolished, and the
enemy had made a stand at Alligator Creek, fourteen
miles to the south. To dislodge them. General Howe
ordered three hundred men to reconnoitre their posi
tion, and if it seemed practicable, to give them battle.
The camp of the enemy was only surrounded by
a ditch, while a number of recently felled trees con
stituted a simple abatis. Satisfied that a camp thus
slightly entrenched could be easily captured, the com-

164 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
manding officer ordered a body of cavalry, under Colo
nel Elijah Clarke, to attack them on one side, whUe
the main body, seizing the opportunity of the confu
sion created among the enemy by the onset of Clarke,
would rush upon them in front, and gain the day.
Clarke, after great difficulty, penetrated the outward
barrier of trees and brush ; but found, when about to
leap the ditch, that it was too wide, and his horses,
being made fractious by the fire and huzzas which
greeted their arrival at the ditch, he was unable to
effect his design, and being wounded in the thigh, or
dered a retreat, losing three killed and nine wounded.
Owing to this failure, no attack was made in front,
and the whole force returned to the main army.
The failure of this plan was the natural result of
the peculiar and unmiUtary state of affairs in the
American forces. Some of these are thus hinted at
by General Howe : —
" I have been waiting for the galleys first, and, after
their arrival, a tedious time for the militia of this
State, and for the long-expected coming of Colonel
Williamson and our countrymen with him. In short,
if I am ever again to depend upon operations I have
no right to guide, and men I have no right to com
mand, I shall deem it then, as I now do, one of the
most unfortunate incidents of my life. Had we been
able to move at once, and those I expected would
have been foremost had only been as ready as we
were, a blow might have been given to our enemies
which would have put it out of their power to have
disturbed us, at least not hastily ; and perhaps have
been attended with consequences more important than
the most sanguine could have expected ; but delayed

SOUTHERN INVASIONS-CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 165
beyond all possible supposition, embarrassed, disap
pointed, perplexed, and distressed beyond expression,
the utmost we could now achieve, will be a poor com
pensation for the trouble and fatigue we have under
gone ; excepting we may be allowed to suppose (what
I truly think has been effected) that the movements
we have made have drove back the enemy, and pre
vented an impending invasion of the State of Georgia,
which would otherwise inevitably have overwhelmed
it, and also a dangerous defection of both States.
This good, I am persuaded, has resulted from it, and
this is our consolation. The enemy were, two^ or three
days since, at Alligator Creek, fourteen miles from this
place ; their forces, by all accounts, are at least equal
to either the Governor's troops or mine, and we are
on contrary sides of the river, and not within eight
miles of each other. Ask me not how this happened,
but rest assured that it has not been my fault. I be
lieve, however, that the Governor will encamp near me
to-night, and if the enemy are still where they were,
which I hope to know to-night or to-morrow morning,
we shall probably beat up their quarters."
Though the 12th of June was the time appointed
for the junction of troops at St. Mary's, Governor
Houstoun, with the State militia, did not reach there
until the 4th July, and Colonel Williamson on the
Ilth ; and when the four portions, severally com
manded by General Howe, Commodore Bowen, Go
vernor John Houstoun, and Colonel Williamson,
reached their destination, so far from amalgamating
into one command, under the general officer ; Commo
dore Bowen insisted on his exclusive right to control
the galleys ; Governor Houstoun refused to surrender

166 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
his right as commander-in-chief of the mUitia; and
Colonel WiUiamson's troops refused to obey any orders
but such as emanated from him.
It was an army cursed with four heads, each jealous
of the other; and an army without unity, like "a
house divided against itself," cannot stand. Sickness
also came into camp, and struck down one half of the
troops. Their horses were so reduced in number, that
they had scarcely enough to drag the artillery, ammu
nition, and baggage, so that had their retreat been cut
off by water, they could scarcely have effected it by
land, " and if we do not retreat soon," said a distin
guished officer of the expedition, "we shall not be
able to retreat at all, and may crown this expedition
with another Saratoga affair in reverse."
It now became very evident that the enemy, while
they were in large force at St. Augustine, designed
waiting for the Americans on the south side of the St.
John's, and concentrated there a force of twelve hun
dred ; consisting of regulars, royalists, and Scophalites,
besides Indians, to dispute the passage to St. Augus
tine. The middle of summer had arrived, and two
months and a half had been consumed in getting the
troops to the St. Mary's, under disadvantages, arising
in part from the roads and climate ; but mostly, from
the tardiness of the militia, the sickness of the soldiers,
the want of co-operation among the commanders, and
the lack of those military stores, which common pru
dence and military foresight should have anticipated
and provided. In the perplexing emergency in which
General Howe was now placed, he called a council of
war of the principal officers on the Ilth of July. He
stated to the board the reasons which induced the

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 167
undertaking, the results thus far in driving the ene
my from Georgia, and obliging them to evacuate Fort
Tonyn, and the various impediments in the way of a
further advance over roads rendered impassable to the
artillery. He added that he had not sufficient horse
power to carry the necessary baggage and ammunition ;
that his force was reduced by sickness, from eleven
hundred to three hundred and fifty men fit for duty,
and that he could not expect the co-operation of the
naval armament. He then proposed to the officers
the following questions : —
Ist. " As driving the enemy out of Georgia, and
demolishing Fort Tonyn, were the objects principally
aimed at ; have not these purposes been effected ?
" Resolved unanimously in the affirmative.
2d. " As it appears from information above recited,
that the enemy do not mean to oppose us in force on
this side of St. John's River; is there any other object
important enough in our present situation to warrant
our proceeding ?
" Resolved unanimously in the negative.
3d. " Is the array in a situation to cross St. John's
River, attack the enemy, and secure a retreat in case
of accident, though they should be aided by the militia,
now embodied under Governor Houstoun and Colonel
Williamson ?
" Resolved unanimously in the negative.
4th. " Does not the sickness which so fatally pre
vails in the army, render a retreat immediately requi
site ?
" Resolved unanimously in the affirmative.
" The general then proceeded to inform the council
that the Governor had denied him the right to com-

168 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
mand the miUtia, even if a junction had been formed
between them and the Continental troops, notwith
standing the resolution of Congress declaring ' that as
to the propriety of undertaking distant expeditions
and enterprises, or other military operations, and the
mode of conducting them, the general or command
ing officer, must finally judge and determine at his
perU.'" The General therefore thought proper to put the
following questions : —
1st. " Can he, with propriety, honor, and safety to
himself, or consistent with the service, relinquish the
command to the Governor?
" Resolved unanimously in the negative.
2d. "Can the army, whUst the command is divided,
act with security, vigor, decision, or benefit to the
common cause ?"
" Resolved unanimously in the negative."
These resolutions were agreed to and signed by all
the officers who composed the council of war.
Agreeably to the advice thus given, the army began
its retreat by water to Sunbury, and thence in small
parties returned to their several posts or homes. This
abortive attempt upon St. Augustine resulted in an
immense loss to the invaders. More than one-third
of the troops were either dead or were disabled, and,
although it had the temporary effect of driving the
enemy out of Georgia, yet the weakness of the mea
sures pursued, the vacillation of purpose in the com
manding officers, and the waste of life and money
incurred by the expedition, were such as lost the con
fidence of the Georgians in their own efforts, and in
cited to new attacks the loyalists of Florida, who now

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 169
waited but a proper opportunity to return invasion for
invasion, with every prospect of success.
General Howe soon repaired to Charleston, and
Georgia was left in her feebleness to bear the innu
merable troubles created and fostered by this disas
trous expedition. Throughout the summer the south
ern borders of the Province were constantly assailed
by small marauding parties of five or six from Florida,
who, attacking single houses, destroyed the people, cat
tle, and crops, and then, suddenly retiring, eluded pur
suit. The Creeks on the north, were restless and tur
bulent; and many murders were committed by the
Indians, though there was no general rising of the
tribes, such as demanded military subjugation. In
addition to these troubles from without, the patriot
Georgians were harassed by the disaffected and the dis
appointed, and by the partisan broils and jealousies
which disgraced the conduct of many of the leading
politicians of that day.
Harmony and wisdom seemed to forsake the coun
sels, as success did the efforts of the Georgians; and
though some remained firm and devoted, many wa
vered, many despaired, and all suffered in the addi
tional distresses which gathered around them. The
rumors of an invasion from Florida, which had so
long floated through the Province, gathered strength
and probability as the autumn advanced; and General
Howe returned to Georgia to prepare for any emer
gency that might occur.
Sir Henry Clinton had failed in many of his schemes
at the north, and the Commissioners appointed by his
Majesty " to treat, consult, and agree upon the means
of quieting the disorders now subsisting in certain of

170 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
the colonies, plantations, and provinces in North Ame
rica," having received no overtures, nor seen any pros
pect of effecting a reconciliation, the British General
resolved to secure the southern provinces; and for this
purpose, designated Georgia as the first point to be at
tacked, proposing, if successful, to follow it up with
the subjugation of the Carolinas.
In pursuance of this design. Sir Henry Clinton
planned two expeditions against the province : one
from the north, under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald
Campbell ; and one from Florida, under Colonel Au
gustin Prevost, who commanded in East Florida, and
who was directed, on the junction of the two bodies of
troops, to take command of the whole. Colonel Pre
vost received his orders on the 27th November, but
previously to this had sent off two parties of troops,
one under his brother, Lieutenant-Colonel James Mark
Prevost, and the other under Lieutenant-Colonel Fuser,
purposing to follow himself in time to effect the desired
junction with Colonel Campbell.
The troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost (con
sisting of about one hundred regulars and three hun
dred refugees and Indians, under the deserter Mc
Girth, who joined him at Fort Howe) ravaged the
country as they advanced, meeting the Americans
first at Bull Town Swamp, who, being entrapped in
an ambuscade, after a slight skirmish, retreated; the
commander of the Americans, Colonel Baker, and two
officers, being wounded. A more general engagement
took place about a mile and a half south of Medway
Meeting-house, when both parties, seeking to ensnare
each other in an ambuscade, were brought into direct
coUision. General Scriven. who commanded the Ame-

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OP SAVANNAH. 171
rican side, fell early in the fight, of a wound that
proved mortal the next day. This misfortune did not
altogether damp the ardor of his troops; for they
fought so bravely, that at one time the enemy were
thrown into confusion, and the shout of victory rose
from the lips of Major James Jackson, one of the gal
lant officers ; but the cry was premature : the British,
momentarily confused by the unhorsing of Lieutenant-
Colonel Prevost, were rallied, when he was remounted,
and returned to the struggle with such spirit, that
Colonel White, on whom the command now devolved,
retreated with order, first to the Meeting-house, and
then, pressed by superior numbers, to the Ogeechee,
where a slight breastwork had been thrown up by
Colonel Elbert. Prevost advanced only about six or
seven miles north of the Medway Meeting-house,
when, learning that Colonel Fuser had not arrived at
Sunbury, nor any transports from New York at Sa
vannah, and that Colonel Elbert was prepared to
dispute the passage of the Ogeechee, " he suddenly de
camped, and began a retreat,"^ blackening his march
with the ruins of settlements, crops, and families ; for
his force was but a horde of freebooters, glutting
themselves with blood and spoil.
Owing to head winds, Lieutenant-Colonel Fuser did
not reach his destination, Sunbury, until after Lieu
tenant-Colonel Prevost had retreated to Florida. He
had with him a large force, and siege-guns, light artil
lery, and mortars. Encamping before the fort, he
summoned it to surrender, in terms of marked fero
city. Lieutenant-Colonel John McIntosh, though he
^ Steadman's History of the War, 68.

172 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
had under him scarcely a hundred men, and was con
scious that the place could not hold out against an
ordinary assault, sent back the laconic answer, "Come
and take it !" This courageous and unexpected reply,
combined with the fact that Lieutenant-Colonel Pre
vost had retreated, and that the American troops were
marching from Savannah to oppose him, caused him
to raise the siege at once, and return to Florida.
General Howe arrived at Sunbury shortly after the
retreat of Fuser. " The town," he said, " is not de
fensible for half an hour, should it be attacked the
least formidably; and its present safety is entirely
owing to the spirited conduct of the troops in the fort,
and the want of enterprise in the enemy."
The expedition under Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell
sailed from New York on the 27th November, 1778.
The squadron that was to convoy and assist, consisted
of the Phoenix forty-four, the Fowey twenty-four, the
Rose twenty-four, the Vigilant twenty-eight, the Kep-
pel, an armed brig ; the Greenwich, an armed sloop, and
the Comet galley ; besides several transport ships, under
command of Commodore Hyde Parker, having on board
the 71st Regiment of foot; the Wellworth and Wissen-
bach battalions of Hessians f 1st and 2d battalion of
De Lancey's corps, New York volunteers ; 4th battaUon
of Skinner's corps; and a detachment of the Royal
Artillery; numbering, in the whole, 3500 men.
Of this designed attack upon Savannah, the Geor
gians had no notice, until the 6th of December, when
a deserter from one of the transports gave the alarm.
^ Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, iv, 371 ; Stead-
man's History of the American War, ii, 66.

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OP SAVANNAH. 173
General Howe was then at Sunbury, where, conjointly
with this news, he received an express from the south,
notifying him of the northward march of Colonel A.
Prevost, with all his available troops. General Howe
hurried to Savannah ; the Governor called out the
militia ; Continental troops were ordered from South
Carolina ; and every effort was made to prepare for
the threatened invasion.
Bad weather prevented the arrival of this squadron
off Tybee, until the 23d December, though it was not
until the 27th, that all the vessels anchored inside the
bar. Both the naval and military officers were igno
rant of the condition of things in Georgia; and to
gain the desired information. Sir James Baird, with a
company of light infantry, and Lieutenant Clark, of
the Phoenix, were despatched in two flat-boats, on the
night of the 25th, to scour Wilmington Island, and
secure all persons on it. They found but two men,
and such was the information which they gave of the
defenceless state of Georgia, that Colonel Campbell
resolved to land at once, and attack Savannah, with
out waiting for the arrival of Colonel Augustine Pre
vost. Owing to the grounding of several galleys, it
was not until daybreak on the 29th, that the troops of
the first division, consisting of all the light infantry,
the New York volunteers, and the 1st battaUon of the
71st, under Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, were landed
on the river, down in front of Gerridoe's plantation,
about two miles, in a straight line, from Savannah.
From this embankment a narrow causeway, one-third
of a mile long, led to a bluff about thirty feet high,
called Brewton's Hill, and distant, by road, three or

174 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
four miles from town. Captain Cameron's company
of light infantry — the first that effected a landing —
pushed on to this bluff, where they were opposed by
Captain John C. Smith, of South Carolina, with about
forty men, who opened an effective fire on the assail
ants, killing Captain Cameron and two Highlanders,
and wounding five more; but, overpowered by num
bers and the impetuous charge of the British, the hill
was soon cleared, as Captain Smith had received
orders to retreat, as soon as it was untenable, to the
main works.
As the several portions of the army landed, they
formed in order of battle on the high ground in front
of Mr. Gerridoe's house, and there remained, until
Colonel Campbell, by reconnoitring, could ascertain
the force and position of the Americans. These,
under the command of General Howe, were drawn up
about half a mile to the southeast of Savannah, in two
brigades, one commanded by Colonel Huger, and the
other by Colonel Elbert : the whole did not amount
to eight hundred, a portion of whom were militia; the
suddenness of the attack not allowing the calling in
of the militia in greater numbers, to protect the
capital. Expecting the attack on the great road lead
ing to Brewton's Hill, General Howe had burnt down
a little bridge that crossed a small rivulet, and about
three hundred feet in the rear of this marshy rivulet,
a trench was cut, which soon filled with water, so that
the trench, the stream, and the marsh through which
it flowed, offered serious embarrassment to the advance
of the enemy. At this point General Howe had placed
two cannon, that flanked the causeway, and three that

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OP SAVANNAH. 175
bore directly on its front. Thus stationed, the Ame
ricans awaited the onset.
Colonel Campbell had discovered their position, and
having detailed a proper guard to cover the landing,
pressed on to the attack. The light infantry, under
Sir James Baird, advanced first, supported by the New
York volunteers, under De Lancey. These were fol
lowed by the first battalion of the 71st, with two six-
pounders ; the Wellworth battalion of Hessians, with
two three-pounders ; and part of Wissenbach's bat
talion of Hessians, which formed the rear. By 3 p. m.,
they had reached the open country near Tatnall's
plantation, and halted awhile, as if preparing for the
battle. Advantageously posted as the Americans were, it
would have been quite hazardous to have offered them
battle in front, for they were too well protected by the
intervening marsh and stream and ditch. The aim of
Colonel Campbell, therefore, was to gain, if possible,
their rear, or turn their extended flanks. In this
desire he was fortunately aided by an old negro.
Quash Dolly, who informed him of a private path,
leading through the wooded swamp, by which he
could gain, unperceived, the rear of the Americans.
This path had been pointed out to General Howe, in
the morning, by Colonel Walton, as being a place
necessary to guard and secure; but it was culpably
and, as the event proved, disastrously neglected. Ma
noeuvring in front, as if about to attack the left flank
of General Howe, the Americans opened their fire
upon the enemy, who, however, received it in silence,
not a gun being fired in return. Perceiving the Ame
ricans thus deceived by the feint, the British com-

176 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
mander lost no time in directing Sir James Baird,
with the light infantry and the New York volunteers,
to follow the guidance of the negro, and secure the
rear of the Americans. They reached their destined
point, unperceived by General Howe, and suddenly
issuing from the swamp, attacked a body of mUitia,
which had been posted to secure the great road leading
to the Ogeechee. As soon as this firing gave notice to
the commander that Major Baird had effected his pur
pose, he gave orders for the whole British column to
advance at a rapid pace ; while the artUlery, which
had been previously formed behind a slight rising
ground, to conceal it from view, was instantly run
forward to the eminence, .and began to play upon the
Americans. With a destructive fire thus unexpect
edly pouring in upon them in front and rear, our
troops were thrown into confusion, and thus were
compelled to make a hasty retreat. The centre of the
American line, with the commanding General, were
enabled, by the exertions of Colonel Daniel Roberts,
— who had partially secured the road leading to the
causeway over Musgrove's Swamp,— to pass in compa
rative safety; the right flank, under Colonel Huger,
attempting to go through the town, rushed between
two fires, and many were bayoneted in the streets;
the left, under Colonel Elbert, finding it impracticable
to pass the causeway, now in possession of the British,
cast away their arms and accoutrements, and, throw
ing themselves into the swamps and rice-fields, sought,
by swimming the creek, then in full tide, to reach the
Augusta road, though thirty lost their lives in this
perilous attempt.
While Colonel Campbell had been thus successful

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 177
by land. Sir Hyde Parker had not remitted his vigi
lance in the fleet. As soon as he discovered that the
troops had made an impression on the American line,
he moved up the small armed vessels to the town,
sending the Comet galley as high up as the ebb-tide
would permit, securing the shipping and commanding
the town from all approaches on the Carolina side.
This movement completely shut in Savannah from
succor, and was effected with the loss of only one sea
man killed and five wounded; while the squadron
captured one hundred and twenty-six prisoners, and
seized three ships, three brigs, and eight smaller ves
sels. The British entered Savannah without opposition,
and, notwithstanding the assurance of Colonel Camp
bell in his official despatches, " that little or no depre
dation took place, and that even less than had ever
happened to a town under similar circumstances," yet
the soldiers and officers did commit atrocities and
cruelties upon the inhabitants, of a character more
worthy of savages than of men. The houses of the
" rebels," as they were called, were given up a prey to
the spoiler, and their pilfering hands and brutal out
rages carried terror to every heart, and made Savannah
a scene of anguish and distress. Nothing could exceed
the consternation of the inhabitants, when they saw
their defenders flying before the victorious march of
the enemy, and that enemy, with rolling drums and
flying colors, and a thirst for blood and spoil made
keen by victory, enter their streets, with their hands
and bayonets dripping with the blood of their hus
bands, fathers, brothers, and sons; their faces be
grimed with sweat, and dust, and powder, and their
VOL. II. 12

178 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
countenances lowering with rage and the pent-up lusts,
that chafed to be let loose upon the vanquished.
In this encounter — for it can hardly be called a
battle — the English lost but two captains and five
privates killed, and one officer and eight privates
wounded; while the American loss was nearly one
hundred killed and wounded, besides thirty, who lost
their lives in the swamp ; and seven officers and four
hundred and sixteen non-commissioned officers and
privates taken prisoners. With the town, they cap
tured, of course, the fort, having in it forty-five pieces
of cannon, nine of which were brass, twenty-three
mortars and howitzers, ninety-four barrels of powder,
and six hundred and thirty-seven small arms, besides
shell and shot.
Thus, the expedition of Colonel Campbell had been
entirely successful. An army had been defeated, and
mostly captured ; the capital of the State was taken ;
its commerce destroyed; the officers of government
dispersed ; provincial rule was broken, and the yoke
of ministerial tyranny was again fastened on its neck.
The mUitary author of the Memoirs of the War
of the Southern Department has well said i"* " How
ever we must applaud the judgment displayed by
the American general in selecting and improving
his position; however, we must honor his gallant
determination to receive the enemy's attack with an
inferior force, yet, as this resolution in prudence
must have been formed in the advantages of his
ground, we cannot excuse the negUgence betrayed by
his ignorance of the avenues leading to his camp.
How happens it that he who had been in command
* Lee's Memoirs, ii, 70.

SOUTHERN INVASIONS— CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 179
of that country for many months should not have
discovered the by-way, passing to his rear, when
Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell contrived to discover it
in a few hours ? The faithful historian cannot with
hold his condemnation of such supineness." His
conduct in this matter has been severely animad
verted on by military critics, and as severely censured
by the people whom he was expected to defend. It
became a matter of inquiry, by a committee of the
General Assembly of Georgia, who, on the 17th Janu
ary, 1780, brought in the following report : " The
committee appointed to take into consideration the
situation of the State since the 29th of December,
1778, report, that the capital and troops in this State
were sacrificed on the said 29 th of December, which
was the first cause of the distresses and consequences
which ensued. Your committee are of opinion that
the delegates of this State should be directed to pro
mote a trial of Major-General Howe, who commanded
on that day. They find that the good people of the
State were still farther discouraged by the said Major-
General Howe crossing Savannah River the next day,
with the troops that escaped from Savannah, and
ordering those at Sunbury and Augusta to do the
same ; leaving the State at the mercy of the enemy,
without any Continental troops ; instead of retreating
to the back country, and gathering the inhabitants.
The country, thus abandoned, became an easy prey to
the British troops, they marching up, and taking post
at Augusta, and sending detachments to every part of
the State."
General Howe was subsequently brought before a
Court of Inquiry, but was acquitted, though he was

180 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
never after employed in active service. In fact, at the
capture of Savannah, he was only holding his com
mand until the arrival of General Benjamin Lincoln,
who, on the 26th of September, 1778, was appointed
by Congress to the command of the army in the
Southern Department of the United States, and whose
arrival was looked for by the people of the South with
hope and satisfaction.

CHAPTER V.
BATTLES OF KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK.
As soon as Colonel Campbell had secured Savannah,
he placed it under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel
Innes, aid-de-camp to Sir Henry Clinton, and pushed
forward a portion of his army to Cherokee Hill, which
was taken possession of on the 1st January, 1779.
The next day he took the town of Ebenezer, after
securing all the intermediate posts. On his march, he
collected twenty horses for dragoons, and several hun
dred head of cattle ; and the day after the last scat
tered remains of General Howe's army had crossed
over Sister's Ferry into Carolina, he established a post
at that ferry. He then proceeded, with his corps of
infantry and cavalry to Mount Venture, scouring the
country for fifty miles above the town, " without find
ing," as he says, " a single rebel to oppose him."
On the 4th of January, Colonel Campbell and Com
modore Parker jointly issued a proclamation, setting
forth, that " a fleet and army were now actually arrived
in Georgia, for the protection of the friends of lawful
government, and to rescue them from the bloody per
secution of their deluded fellow-citizens." It assured
all those well-disposed citizens, who reprobated the
idea of supporting a French league, and who wished
to embrace the happy occasion of cementing a firm

182 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
union with the parent state, free from the imposition
of taxes by the Parliament of Great Britain, and
secured in the irrevocable enjoyment of every privi
lege, consistent with that union of force on which
their mutual interests depend, should meet with the
most ample protection, on condition " they forthwith
returned to the class of peaceful citizens, and acknow
ledged their just allegiance to the crown." But to
those who should attempt to oppose the re-establish
ment of legal government, the proclamation denounced
against them " the utmost rigors of war." This paper,
sustained by the presence of so large a force, and the
expected arrival of still further reinforcements, induced
many to accept its proffered mercy and protection ; and
they accordingly took an .oath, swearing allegiance to
the King, and support of his government, renouncing,
as "unlawful and iniquitous," the confederacy called
the "General Continental Congress;" also, "the claim
set up by them to independency, and jurisdiction of
any sort, assumed by or under their authority."
It was the boast of the British commander, and one
too much verified by the conduct of those who took
the offered protection, that " many respectable inhabi
tants joined the army on this occasion, with their
rifles and horses." These were organized into a corps
of rifle dragoons, for the purpose of patrolUng the
country between the advanced posts of the English ;
and some of the Germans at Ebenezer, also formed
themselves into a corps of militia, to act in the same
capacity in the vicinity of their settlement.
¦.^ second proclamation soon followed, offering "a
reward of t,en guineas for every Committee or Assem
bly man taken within the limits of Georgia, and two

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS AT SAVANNAH. 183
guineas for every lurking vUlain" — (for thus cour
teously did it style the patriots of the Revolution) —
" who might be sent from Carolina to molest the in
habitants." This was done, with the ostensible pretext
of "establishing public security, and checking every
attempt to disturb the peace of individuals."
The prisoners taken in the capture of Savannah,
met with severe and cruel usage. A few enlisted in
the enemy's ranks ; but those who refused, after being
alternately threatened and coaxed, were hurried on
board ships in the river — crowded together like slaves
— tyrannized over by every petty officer — stinted in
provisions and every necessary of life, and treated
with savage barbarity, so that four or five died every
day. Nor was this treatment confined to common
soldiers alone : civilians of standing and property were
thrown indiscriminately into these prison-ships ; and in
some instances officers, who had a military right to
different treatment, were — as in the case of Mordecai
Sheftall, Commissary-General of the Georgia Line, and
Sheftall Sheftall, his assistant, and the Rev. Moses
Allen, Chaplain — thus immured.
The spirit which then animated the English officers,
was often very alien to that high sense of honor and
gentlemanly bearing, of which they so loudly boasted;
and painfully, at times, did the atrocious spirit of war
glut itself, in revenge of a personal and most malig
nant kind.
Nothing of the American army now remained in
Georgia, save the garrison at Sunbury, under, the
command of Major Lane, which Colonel Campbell
"thought too insignificant for early attention;" but

184 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
which he now purposed to subdue, though, as he was
about starting on the expedition, he learned that it
had been reduced by Colonel A. Prevost, then on his
way to Savannah. As soon as Colonel Prevost heard
of the arrival of the troops from the north, he col
lected all the soldiers who could be spared from St.
Augustine, and, agreeably to the instructions of Gene
ral Sir Henry Clinton, marched to join Lieutenant-
Colonel Campbell, and assume the command. Being
retarded in his movements by the difficulty of finding
conveyance for his artillery and ammunition, he sent
on before him his brother, Lieutenant-Colonel James
Mark Prevost, who, by a forced march in the night,
surrounded the town of Sunbury ; and the remainder
of the troops soon coming up, they regularly invested the
place ; and after three days' resistance, during which
the besieged had a captain and two men killed, and
three wounded. Major Lane surrendered at discretion;
while the British had only one private killed, and
three wounded. Two hundred and twelve officers' and
soldiers, two galleys, forty pieces of ordnance of various
sizes, and some shot and small arms, were surrendered
with the fort to Colonel Prevost, who, changing its
name to Fort George, settled in it a garrison, to secure
the dependence of that portion of the country.
In defending this post. Major Lane went contrary to
the commands of General Howe ; for on the day of the
capture of Savannah, he despatched Lieutenant Aaron
Smith, of the 3d South Carolina Regiment, to Major
Lane, ordering him to evacuate his post at Sunbury,
retreat across the country, and join him at Sister's
' Colonel Prevost's Letter, in Gentleman's Magazine, 1779.

GENERAL LINCOLN TAKES COMMAND. 185
Ferry. His refusal caused the loss of his command
and the loss of his commission ; for he was tried by a
court-martial, and dismissed the army, for disobeying
the orders of the commanding general.
On the arrival at Savannah of Colonel Prevost, he
took the command of the combined forces from Florida
and New York, and on the 24th of February he was
gazetted major-general.
The Province of Georgia having been mostly re
duced by the King's troops, civil government was
re-established, on the 4th March, 1779 ; and on the
13th of July following. Governor Wright and the other
crown officers, who had taken refuge in England, re
turned to Georgia, and entered anew upon the admi
nistration of their several offices.
General Lincoln relieved General Howe in the com
mand of the Southern Department, and reached
Purysburg on the 3d January, 1779, five days after
the capture of Savannah. The loss of Howe's army
was a more severe blow than the loss of the capital ;
its dispiriting influence on the soldiers themselves, and
its disheartening effect upon the State, did much to
prostrate its energies, and rob it of the strength and
confidence which were necessary for its very existence.
General Lincoln found the army in anything but a
gratifying condition. It numbered five hundred Con
tinentals and seven hundred North Carolinians; and
so near were they encamped to the enemy's posts, that
they could hear their drums beat every morning, and
the challenge of the sentinels. In a few days after
wards, this force was doubled ; but many of the troops
were exceedingly restive, as their time was nearly

186 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
expired — all the State levies refused to come under
Continental regulations — military obedience was reluc
tantly yielded — discipline was feebly enforced, and
" the greatest military crime they could be guilty of,
was only punishable by a small pecuniary fine."
The enemy, in the mean time, had stretched their
posts along the Savannah; six hundred being stationed
at Sister's Ferry, two hundred at Zubly's Ferry, while
the main body of the army, under Colonel Campbell,
took post at the little village of Abercorn, six miles
below the American camp. Notwithstanding so many
took protection, or enrolled themselves in the British
troops, yet a few resolute spirits, in Burke and Rich
mond Counties, took the field, and, with a mere hand
ful of Continentals, called in the militia to their aid,
and roused the upper district of Georgia in its defence.
A party of royalists, under Colonel Brown, consist
ing of four hundred mounted men, was ordered to
form a junction, at the jail in Burke County, with
Colonel Thomas, the commander of the mUitia of the
county, who, with many of his men, had sided with
the enemy. Colonels Benjamin and William Few
hastily gathered the Americans, and being joined by
Colonel Twiggs, numbering in all about two hundred
and fifty, fell suddenly upon Brown, after a forced
march, and defeated him, with a smaU loss; but, ex
pecting that the royalists would be reinforced. Colonel
Twiggs thought it prudent to retire, and wait another
opportunity, when, by another dashing movement, he
could secure a more briUiant victory. The opportunity
was not long wanting. Major Harry Sharp and two
other Tory majors from South Carolina, raised a parti
san corps, by which they greatly distressed the inhabi-

COLONEL CAMPBELL TAKES AUGUSTA. 187
tants of Burke County and its vicinity. Having
watched them for some time, they were at length
observed to encamp in such a position as would allow
them to be very advantageously attacked ; when
Colonel Twiggs and Captain Joshua Inman rushed
upon and totally defeated them. This sudden onset
cost Captain Inman his life — not, however, until he
had killed all three of the British majors with his own
hands.^ This complete discomfiture of the Tories gave a tem
porary peace to the long-harassed residents of that
vicinity; though- it did not arrest the upward march of
Colonel Campbell, who reached and took possession of
Augusta by the close of January. Stopping but a
few days in Augusta, he marched up some thirty or
forty miles in the interior; and his presence, together
:<With the fall of Augusta and Savannah, caused many
' of the inhabitants to take the oath of allegiance and
come under the British protection. Those who de
clined, finding themselves insulted, pilfered, threat
ened — in terror by day and by night — their effects
taken before their eyes — their children slain in their
yards — their stock slaughtered or driven off to the
English — their crops ruthlessly destroyed — their
houses burnt over their heads — gathered what few
things they could save from the general ruin, and
moved across the river. The few who remained
faithful to the American cause, after securing, as they
hoped, the safety of their families, reassembled, at the
earnest call of Colonel John Dooly, at a point on the
Savannah River, five miles above the line of McGirth,
^ Jackson's MS. Notes on Ramsey.

188 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
who, with three hundred loyalists, had encamped at a
creek, for the purpose of watching the movements of
the Americans and intercepting their passage across
the river. By crossing a few miles higher up, Dooly
effected a landing in Georgia; but only to retire again,
before a detachment under Major Hamilton, who pur
sued him so closely, that the rear of Dooly's party and
the van of Hamilton's were within musket distance
when the Americans recrossed the Savannah River.
Dooly remained upon the Carolina banks, anxiously
watching another opportunity to fall upon his antago
nist, and at the same time rousing up the Whigs in
the vicinity to join him in expelling the marauders
from their once happy homes.
Colonel Pickens, with about two hundred and fifty
men of his regiment, promptly responded to the call ;
and joining Dooly, who, though the senior officer,
waived the command in favor of Pickens, the united
force marched to the attack of Hamilton, then supposed
to be encamped in security about three miles below
Cowan's Ferry. HamUton, however, not anticipating
any movement on the part of the Americans, had
marched off on a few days' tour, for the purpose
of bringing aU within his miUtary district under the
oath of strict allegiance, and of changing the garrisons
in the several small forts scattered through the neigh
boring country. The two little armies met at Carr's
Fort; and a detachment of the Americans, under
Captain WiUiam Freeman, having, by an act of daring
bravery, secured a new log-house, which commanded
the spring by which the fort was supplied with water,
the British were locked in without food and water.
Their horses and baggage were captured, and nothing

SKIRMISHES WITH BOYD'S LOYALISTS. 189
but the humane desire of Colonel Pickens to save the
few women and children in the fort, deterred the as
sailants from setting fire to the fort and compelling
instant submission. But while the Americans waited
for a more tardy, yet apparently certain surrender, news
was brought to Colonel Pickens of the advance of the
notorious royalist Boyd; who, just returned from a
conference with Sir Henry Clinton at New York, had,
under a commission, organized a partisan corps in the
upper district, and was now, with a body of eight
hundred loyalists, on his desolating march towards
Georgia. This induced an instant abandonment of
the fort, though within a few hours it must necessarily
have yielded; and raising the siege, the Americans
recrossed the Savannah ; while Major Hamilton, re
joicing in his unexpected fortune, retreated to Wrights-
borough, and thence, in a few days, to Augusta, where
he joined Colonel Campbell, losing nine killed and
three wounded during the siege.
Boyd, aware of their intention to attack him, and
unwilling at this juncture to hazard a battle, changed
his route ; but Captain Anderson, with about a hun
dred men, who had been detached to watch his move
ments, ascertained his point of fording the river, and
stationing his few troops in the thick canebrakes,
poured a destructive fire upon the main body, as it
crossed the river, and continued the havoc until a por
tion of the enemy, which had crossed a little higher
up, came suddenly upon his rear, and compelled a
retreat, with the loss of thirty-two killed, wounded,
and taken prisoners, while Boyd's loss was three times
this number.
The enemy having effected a passage into Georgia,

190 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Pickens and Dooly, now joined by Colonel Clarke, re
solved to follow; and they accordingly crossed the
Savannah on the 12th February, and the following
night encamped within four miles of the enemy.
Forming the line of march in the order of battle, the
Americans now prepared once more, at a great disad
vantage of numbers, to contest with the Tories for the
supremacy in Upper Georgia. Much depended on this
battle. If Boyd should be successful in driving back
the Americans, under such men as Pickens, and Dooly,
and Clarke, he might rest assured that no farther mo
lestation, at least for a very long time, would follow,
and all would yield to the British power; while, on
the other hand, should the Americans be successful, it
would not only crush the Tory power, already so
galling to the people, but protect them from further
insult, and give a stimulus to American courage, which
a long series of disasters made especially necessary ; it
was a moment big with the fate of Upper Georgia.
Boyd, with a carelessness evincing great lack of
military skill and prudence, had halted, on the morn
ing of the 14th, at a farm near Kettle Creek, in Wilkes
County, having no suspicion of the near approach of
the Americans, and his army were dispersed in various
directions, killing and gathering stock, cooking, and
other operations. Having reconnoitred the enemy's
position, the Americans, under Pickens, advanced in
three divisions : the right under Colonel Dooly, the
left under Clarke, the centre led by the commander
himself, with orders not to fire a gun until within at
least thirty-five paces.
As the centre, led by Pickens, marched to the
attack, Boyd met them, at the head of a select party.

BATTLES OF KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK. 191
his line being protected by a fence filled in with fallen
timber, which gave him great advantage over troops
displaying in his front. Observing this half-formed
abfitis, Pickens filed off to a rising ground on his
right, and thence gaining the flank of Boyd, rushed
upon him with great bravery — the enemy fleeing,
when they saw their leader shot down before them.
Sustained in this charge by Dooly and Clarke, the
enemy, after fighting with great bravery, retired across
the creek ; but were rallied by Major Spurgen, on a
hill beyond, where the battle was again rehewed with
fierceness ; but Colonel Clarke, with about fifty Geor
gians, having discovered a path leading to a ford,
pushed through it, though in doing so he encountered
a severe fire, and had his horse shot down under him,
and, by 'a circuitous route, rose upon the hill in the
rear of Spurgen, when, opening a deadly fire, the
enemy, hemmed in on both sides, fled, and were hotly
pursued by the victors, until their conquest was com
plete. For one hour and a half, under great disad
vantage, and against a force almost double, had the
Americans maintained the unequal contest, and
though once or twice it seemed as if they must give
way, especially when the Tories had gained the hill,
and were re-formed under Spurgen ; yet the masterly
stroke of Clarke, with his few brave Georgians, turned
the scale, and victory, bloody indeed, but complete,
was theirs.
Pickens and Dooly lost thirty-two killed and wound
ed, while Boyd and seventy of his men were killed,
and as many more wounded and taken prisoners. Not
two hundred and fifty, however, of his party ever
reached Augusta, — the rest fled in every direction;

192 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
some cast themselves on the mercy of the Whig govern
ment, some were hung as traitors and miscreants,
whose barbarities entitled them to the most horrid
deaths, and some skulked among the mountain passes
of North Carolina. The Tory force was broken, and
only in small parties and petty skirmishes, did they
again take the field. This victory was one of the most
important in Georgia, and secured, for a time, the Whig
ascendency in all that section. A few hours' delay in
making this attack might have proved fatal to the
Americans, as a party of five hundred men, under
McGirth, was even then on its march to join Boyd,
at Little River ; but, the intelligence of his defeat and
death, and the confusion it produced among the loyal
ists, determined him to return at once to Augusta, lest
they also should fall before the victorious Americans.
The success of the Americans at Kettle Creek gave
new vigor to their cause, and nerved the arms of the
officers and soldiers to deeds of daring and bravery.
Some feat of arms was almost daily performed, and
generally resulted in advantage to the Americans.
One of these consisted in the surprise of the British
post at Herbert, consisting of seventy regulars, by a
party of militia under Colonels Twiggs, Mcintosh, and
Hammond, killing and taking prisoners the entire
corps. Another deed of valor was performed by Cap
tain Cooper and twelve dragoons, who charged upon a
reconnoitring party of the British Rangers, twenty in
number, commanded by three officers, as they were
advancing upon Brownsburg, and took them all
prisoners. Instances of individual valor were of daily
occurrence. One only need be related here. While
the American troops lay near Augusta, General Elbert,

BATTLES OF KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK. 193
anxious to obtain an accurate notion of the force and
situation of the British, sent Lieutenant Hawkins to
spy out their post. He departed alone; but, as he
neared their camp, he was overtaken at the Bear
Swamp by three men whom he knew to be noted
Tories, and to avoid them was now too late. Resolutely
advancing towards them, he demanded who they were,
and whither they were going. They answered, to join
Colonel Daniel McGirth. Hawkins, who had on an old
British uniform, told them that he was McGirth, and
did not believe a word that they said, that they were
rebels, and he would hand them over to his party that
were near. They protested to the contrary; when
Hawkins fold them that if what they said was true,
to ground their rifles and hold up their right hands.
As they did this, he advanced with cocked pistols, and,
taking up their rifles, ordered them to march, and the
first one that turned round he would shoot. Thus
preceded, he arrived at the camp, and delivered his
three prisoners to the General.
Finding the Tories thus defeated and dispersed, and
all his hopes of help from these insurgents disappointed ;
and being unable, with any degree of safety, to occupy
so long a chain of military posts. General Prevost aban
doned Augusta, and all his line north of Hudson's
Ferry, twenty-four miles above Ebenezer.
On the retreat of Campbell from Augusta (for such
his precipitate departure may well be termed), his rear
was harassed by parties of Americans, and a more
vigorous pursuit was prevented only by his burning or
breaking down all the bridges on his route until he got
within supporting distance of Colonel J. M. Prevost,
VOL. II. 13

194 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
who marched up a Uttle distance from Hudson's Ferry,
to conduct him within the lines.
The Americans had now a large force along the
Savannah River, distributed in several camps. At Au
gusta there were twelve hundred troops under General
WUUamson ; at Black Swamp, seven hundred under
General Rutherford; at Brier Creek, two thousand
three hundred under General Ash; and at Purys
burg, where General Lincoln had his head-quarters,
were between three and four thousand men, — making,
in all, a force of between eight and nine thousand.
At a consultation, held at General Rutherford's camp,
it was resolved by General Lincoln, and the principal
officers, to march the army from Purysburg (leaving,
however, a strong guard there to watch the enemy) to
General Rutherford's, at Black Swamp, — there to cross
the river and join General Ash, at Brier Creek. The
position occupied by General Ash at the creek, was
deemed by him perfectly secure, and he even believed
that the enemy, having magnified his numbers, were
afraid to cope with the troops under his command. On
the other hand, the British commander, anticipating
that the troops at Brier Creek might soon be joined by
the main army, and feeling the ill effects which their
presence had upon his movements, shutting him up so
closely within his lines, he deemed it advisable to. strike
at General Ash before he could be reinforced, and thus
prevent the attack which General Lincoln designed to
make with his whole force upon the British at Hudson's
Ferry and Ebenezer.
The plans of the enemy were secretly, but most
effectively laid. To draw off attention from the main
attack, which it was designed should be on the Ameri-

BATTLES OP KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK. 195
can front, Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost, with the 2d
battalion, took a circuitous route of fifty miles to cross
the creek above them, as if to turn their flank and gain
the rear of the Americans; while, to keep General
Lincoln in ignorance of their main design. General
Prevost made a feint on the river bank, as if he pur
posed crossing the stream. The attacking columns
found some difficulty in getting into their proper posi
tion, owing to the swollen current and the absence of
bridges which they themselves had previously destroy
ed ; but, on the morning of the 3d they were ready for
action. Three grenadier companies of the 60th regi
ment ; one of light infantry, under Sir James Baird ;
the 2d battalion of the 71st regiment ; a troop of light
dragoons, a body of provincial rangers, &c., with five
pieces of artillery, numbering in all one thousand,
moved on to the scene of slaughter.
General Ash was not prepared for such an encoun
ter, encamped as he was in a place totally unfitted for
defence. On his right was a deep lake, made by the
overflowing of the surrounding streams into the low
and matted swamp. On his left was Brier Creek,
swollen, rapid, and impassable by recent rain; and
his rear was bounded by the Savannah, with not a
boat to cross it ; while his only means of exit from
this trap, into which, with entire lack of military
skill, he had led his troops, was by an open field in
front, and even this he had failed adequately to se
cure. Not suspecting his danger, he had sent off two
detachments, one under Major Ross, of 300 dragoons,
to reconnoitre the enemy at Hudson's Ferry; and the
other under Colonel Marbury, to watch the upper pass
of Brier Creek. This latter officer discovered the van

196 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
of Prevost's army, and exchanged a few shots with
them at Paris's Mills. He instantly sent an express
to inform Ash of the near approach of the enemy, but
the rider was captured, and it was only by a vague
rumor, transmitted to the General by General Elbert,
that he had any idea of their proximity. The enemy
had then advanced almost to the picket guard at the
bridge, about a mile from the main body, and when
the drum sounded to arms, as that body of one hun
dred fled before the British van, not a soldier or piece
of artillery had been served with cartridges, and not
a plan of any kind had been formed for action. The
confusion of the camp may well be imagined. Ash
attempted to rally his troops under three divisions,
but, as he confessed, they did not stand fire five
minutes, and most of them shamefully fled, the Gene
ral at full speed leading the way. The only portion
of this ill-fated army that did stand their ground was
the left division, under Elbert, which fought so gal
lantly that the English reserve were ordered up to
support the line of attack : not until then, when there
was no escape, and resistance was hopeless, did Elbert
order his men to ground their arms, and surrender
themselves prisoners of war.
The surprise and defeat of the Americans were com
plete. The enemy pursued the routed troops with a
vengeance worthy of savages, and the order of Sir
James Baird to his Ught infantry was, that " every
one who took a prisoner should lose his ration of rum,"
and thus many, who on their knees implored mercy,
were bayoneted by the brutal soldiery, who would not
lose their allowance of grog. The loss of the Ameri
cans in battle was about 340, kUled, wounded, and

BATTLES OP KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK. 197
prisoners, one-half of whom fell dead on the battle
field, or were drowned in the neighboring waters.
They lost also one thousand stand of arms. The Bri
tish loss was very trifling, being only sixteen killed
and wounded. A few of the fugitives, including Gene
rals Ash and Bryant, and Colonel Pickens, reached Mat-
thews's Bluff that evening ; and that night, as many
as could, crossed over into Carolina.
A court of inquiry sat a week after, at the request
of General Ash, to investigate the conduct of this officer
at this battle ; and while, in its finding, the court ac
quitted General Ash of any want of personal courage,
it declared its opinion that he had not taken all neces
sary precautions to secure his camp, and obtain timely
notice of the movements and approach of the enemy.
But what shall we think of a General who, with an
enemy so near at hand, and with two hundred dragoons
in camp, should allow himself to be so surprised that
not fifteen minutes elapsed from the alarm to the at
tack ? Indeed it is fully evident that General Ash was
deficient in almost every requisite of a commanding
officer, having neither judgment, skill, foresight, nor
self-reliance ; and, notwithstanding the judgment of the
court, wanting in personal bravery. It was more than
suspected by many that he had betrayed his army and
bis place of encampment. The disposition of his
troops and defence, his dilatory movements, and his
precipitate flight, certainly gave strength to a report
which obtained a very general credence. How unfor
tunate was it for Georgia that she should have had in
her armies as her defenders such men as Howe and
Ash, men totally incapacitated for their responsible
duties, and whose errors and cowardice brought dis-

198 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
grace and ruin upon the State. Had not the wretched
spirit of faction driven McIntosh from our borders, a
different story might have been told of the British
operations in Georgia.
The defeat of General Ash was very beneficial to the
English. It opened to them the upper and back parts
of the country and put them in connection with the
Indian tribes ; and their boast was that fourteen hun
dred of the inhabitants of these districts had given in
their adhesion to the crown, and had organized them
selves into twenty companies of militia for the defence
of their property against the incursions of the rebels
from South Carolina.
To the Americans it was peculiarly disastrous. The
well-laid plans of General Lincoln were thwarted, the
spirit of the people depressed, and the gathering rein
forcements of militia dispersed to their homes, more
than ever impressed with the prowess of the British
arms, and the hopelessness of the American cause.
The operations during the remainder of the spring
and summer were of a very desultory character. A
few troops under such gallant leaders as Colonels
Twiggs, Dooly, and Clarke, kept the field as skir
mishers, moving rapidly here and there, as the exigen
cies of the times required ; now striking down a body
of Tories, and now fighting hand to hand with perfidious
Indians. The demonstrations which the enemy now
made upon Carolina, and especially Charleston, diverted
for a time their attention from Georgia, which they
regarded as completely in their power. There were
not wanting, however, gallant men and gallant deeds
to signalize this sad period, when hope of freedom
seemed to have fled from Georgia forever. The

BATTLES OF KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK. 199
surprise of a party of officers at Medway, on the 4th of
June, by Captain Spencer, and his capture of a British
vessel of six guns in Sapello Sound ; the total defeat
of Captain MuUer and his grenadiers, by Twiggs, at
Hickory Hill, on the Ogeechee ; the rout which this
same gallant officer made of the party of McGirth ;
and the victory which Major Baker gained the same
day over a detachment under Captain Goldsmith ;
diversified the history of the war, and infused for a
time new energy Into the few and faithful adherents
of the cause of freedom.

CHAPTER V-
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH.
The treaty between France and the United States
which engaged France as our revolutionary aUy, was
signed at Versailles on the 6th of February, 1778, and
was hailed by Americans as a happy presage of victory
and independence. Agreeably to the provisions of this
treaty, the French government sent to America a fleet,
which sailed from Toulon on the 12th of April, 1778,
composed of twelve ships of the line and four frigates,
and placed it under the command of Count d'Estaing.
The special object of the fleet was, by a secret and
rapid movement, to blockade the mouth of the Dela
ware, then occupied by the British fleet ; and, with
Washington's forces on the land, besiege the British
troops in Philadelphia, and thus compel Lord Howe to
surrender both fleet and army to the allied powers.
A passage of nearly three months across the Atlantic
threw d'Estaing upon the coast twenty days too late,
and the whole design was therefore frustrated. A
variety of joint operations were subsequently concerted
by the American and French officers, but misfortune
seemed to attend all ; and, somewhat discouraged,
d'Estaing sailed with his ships for the West Indies,

SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 201
and there captured Grenada and St. Vincent. While
at the West Indies, he was met by letters from M.
Gerard (the French minister who came out in the
fleet). General Lincoln, and M. Plombard, the French
consul of Charleston, soliciting his co-operation with
General Lincoln in the capture of Savannah, which
they represented might be carried by a coup-de-main.
The Count acceded to the proposal; sailed for Ame
rica, and arrived off the coast of Georgia on the 3d of
September, 1779, with twenty line of battle, two fifty-
gun ships, and eleven frigates. So sudden was his ap
pearance off the bar, that he captured part of the
fleet of Sir James Wallace (the son-in-law of Sir James
Wright,) who was then in command of the Tybee
station. The arrangements for the combined opera
tion of the armies had been determined on in Charles
ton between General Lincoln and the Vicomte de
Fontanges, Adjutant-General of d'Estaing's army.
Colonel Cambray, Major Thomas Pinckney, and Cap
tain Gadsden were requested by Lincoln to join d'Es
taing, who had desired some American officers conver
sant with the French to assist in the deliberations and
interpretation necessary between the two nations. The
time fixed upon for the junction of Lincoln and
d'Estaing before Savannah, was the 17th September,
previous to which the former was engaged in crossing
the river with his army, rallying the militia, and calling
in recruits ; while the latter proceeded with his ships
to Tybee, — which post the British immediately evacu
ated, — and thence to Ossaba, where he was met by
Colonel Joseph Habersham, who had been despatched
to point out a place of landing, and make every arrange
ment necessary for the debarkation of the troops. At

202 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
nightfall, on the 12th September, the soldiers were
transferred to the boats of the fleet, and vessels of light
draught furnished by CaroUna, and proceeded twelve
miles up the river to Beaulieu, the old seat of President
WilUam Stephens. The 13th, 14th and 15th were
consumed in landing the troops and artillery at Beau-
lieu, and in sending ashore entrenching tools at Thun
derbolt. By the evening of the 15th it had all been
effected. Count Pulaski, with his cavalry, had joined
the French; and, on the morning of the 16th, the
French army took up the line of march for Savannah,
and encamped at Greenwich, within three miles of the
town. The Georgia Continentals, under General Lach
lan Mcintosh, stationed at Augusta, were ordered down
by Lincoln, to secure the British outposts, and open the
way to the seaboard, which Mcintosh effected, and then
fell back to Milieu's plantation, a short distance from
Savannah, to await the arrival of the troops under
Lincoln. The preparations made by the British commander,
for the reception of this combined army, were also
prompt and vigorous.
On the 4th September, General Prevost received the
first intelligence of the arrival of the French fleet off
the bar. He immediately sent orders to all the out
posts to hold themselves in readiness to join him, as it
was yet uncertain whether the French designed to
proceed to Charleston, or land at Savannah. But, on
the 7th, when it was ascertained that the fleet was
designed for Georgia, expresses were sent to all the
outposts, requiring them to join the commanding
General at Savannah.
On the 9th, the Fowey and the Rose, of twenty

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 203
guns each, and the Keppel and the Germain, armed
vessels, retired up the river ; the battery on Tybee was
destroyed, the guns spiked, and the munitions removed.
On the same day the following orders were issued from
the head-quarters in Savannah : —
" The Regiment of Wissenbach to take their ground
of encampment ; likewise the 2d battalion of General
Delancey's. In case of an alarm, which will be
known by the beating to arms, both at the Barracks
and main guard, the troops are to repair to their seve
ral posts, without confusion or tumult.
" Captain Stuart, of the British Legion, will take
post with his men in the work on the right, near the
river. " The main guard to be relieved by convalescents
from the Hessians.
" Major Wright's corps to send their convalescents
in the old fort. Twenty-four men in the small redoubt,
and seventy men in the left flank redoubt, upon the
road to Tatnall's.
" The militia to assemble in rear of the Barracks.
" The Light Infantry, the Dragoons, and Carolina
Light Horse, as a reserve, two hundred yards behind
the Barracks.
" The King's Rangers, commanded by Lieutenant-
Colonel Brown, in the small redoubt on the right, with
fifty men, the remainder extending towards the larger
redoubt on the right.
" The Carolinians divided equally in the two large
redoubts. " The battalion men of the 60th Regiment in the
right redoubt. The Grenadiers on the left, extending
along the abatis towards the Barracks ; the Hessians

204 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
on their left, so as to fill up the space to the Bar
racks. " On the left of the Barracks, the 3d battalion of
Skinner's, General Delancey's, and the New York
volunteers; and on their left, the 71st Regiment,
lining the abatis to the left flank redoubt, on the road
to Tatnall's.
" If aU orders are silently and punctually obeyed,
the General makes no doubt that, if the enemy should
attempt to make an attack, but that they wiU be re
pulsed, and the troops maintain their former well-
acquired reputation ; nor will it be the first time that
British and Hessian troops have beat a greater supe
riority of both French and Americans than it is
probable they wUl have to encounter on this occasion.
The General repeats his firm reliance on the spirit
and steady coolness of the troops he has the honor to
command."' Having confined his views to. the sole object of
defending the town. General Prevost bent all his
energies to make it impregnable. The cannon and
ammunition of the ships of war were landed at Sa
vannah ; the seamen were appointed to the different
batteries, and the marines incorporated with the gre
nadiers of the 60th Regiment. The troops were
employed in making fascines and cutting pickets;
while a large body of negroes were at work night and
day with the engineer. Major Moncrief, making and
strengthening fortifications. Fifteen batteries, thirteen
redoubts, communicating, each with each, and protected
by an abatis in front, were begun, and when completed
manned with seventy-six guns, ranging in calibre from
1 From the original Order Book of General Prevost, in possession of I.
K. Tefft, Esq., of Savannah.

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 205
six to eighteen pounds. Even the captains and crews
of the merchantmen in the river were assigned to posts
of duty ; every available resource of men and means
being subsidized by General Prevost.
It being apprehended that the French fleet might
move up the river, the landmarks which pointed out
the ship channel were cut down; the armed vessels.
Rose and Savannah, and four transports, were sunk
below the town, to stop up the passage ; and several
small vessels were also sunk above the town, and a
boom laid across, to prevent the descent of fire-rafts,
or the landing of troops in their rear. Such were the
energetic measures taken by the British general to
defend his post.
On the arrival of the American troops under Gene
ral Lincoln at Zubly's Ferry, they met with so many
obstacles, that they did not reach Cherokee Hill, on
the Louisville road, until the 16th ; where they halted,
so as to be ready, by an early march on the follow
ing morning, to join, as agreed upon, the army of
d'Estaing. But d'Estaing had no sooner reached
Savannah, on the 16th, than, without waiting for
General Lincoln, he demanded of General Prevost a
surrender of the city to the arms of the King of
France, in the following summons : —
" Count d'Estaing summons his Excellency General
Prevost to surrender to the arms of the King of
France. He apprises him that he will be personally
responsible for all the events and misfortunes that may
arise from a defence, which, hy the superiority of the
force which attacks him, both by sea and land, is ren
dered manifestly vain and of no effect.
" He gives notice to him, also, that any resolution

206 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
he may venture to come to, either before the attack,
in the course of it, or at the moment of the assault,
of setting fire to the shipping or small craft belonging
to the army, or to the merchants, in the river of Sa
vannah, as well as to all the magazines in the town,
will be imputable to him only.
" The situation of Hospital Hill, in the Grenadas,
the strength of the three intrenchments and stone
redoubts, which defended it, and the comparative dis
position of the troops before the town of Savannah,
with a single detachment which carried the Grenadas
by assault, should be a lesson to futurity. Humanity
obliges the Count d'Estaing to recall this event to his
memory ; having so done, he has nothing to reproach
himself with.
" Lord Macartney had the good fortune to escape
from the first transport of troops who entered a town
sword in hand ; but, notwithstanding the most valua
ble effects were deposited in a place supposed by all
the officers and engineers to be impregnable. Count
d'Estaing could not have the happiness of preventing
their being pillaged. " ESTAING."
" C.UIP BEFORE Sataxxah, the 16th of September, 1779."
The reply of Prevost, to such a grandiloquent sum
mons, was, as might have been expected, calm, but
decided. "Camp, Savannah, September 16, 1779.
"Sir — I am just now honored with your Excel
lency's letter of this date, containing a summons for
me to surrender this town to the arms of his Majesty
the King of France, which I had just delayed to an
swer, till I had shown it to the King's civil Governor.

SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 207
" I hope your Excellency will have a better opinion
of me, and of British troops, than to think either will
surrender on a general summons, without any specific
terms. " If you, sir, have anything to propose that may
with honor be accepted of by me, you can mention
them, both with regard to civil and military, and I
will then give my answer. In the mean time, I will
promise, upon my honor, that nothing, with my con
sent or knowledge, shall be destroyed, in either this
town or river."
To this d'Estaing replied : —
" Camp before Savannah, Sept. 16, 1779.
" Sir — I have just received your Excellency's an
swer to the letter I had the honor of writing to you
this morning. You are sensible that it is the part of
the besieged to propose such terms as they may desire;
and you cannot doubt of the satisfaction I shall have
in consenting to those which I can accept, consistent
with my duty.
" I am informed that you continue intrenching your
self. It is a matter of very little importance to me ;
however, for form sake, I must desire that you will
desist during our conferences together.
" The different columns which I had ordered to stop,
will continue their march, but without approaching
your post, or reconnoitring your situation.
" P. S. I apprise your Excellency that I have not
been able to refuse the army of the United States
uniting itself with that of the King.

208 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
"The junction will probably be effected this day.
If I have not an answer, therefore, immediately, you
must confer in future with General Lincoln and me."
As General Prevost was hourly anticipating the
arrival of the Honorable Colonel Maitland, with some
eight hundred troops, from Beaufort and vicinity, he
was anxious to gain time by negotiation, to enable
them to reach Savannah before hostilities commenced;
and therefore he sent this note to the French com
mander : — "September 16th, 1779.
" Sir — I am honored with your Excellency's letter
in reply to mine of this day.
" The business we have in hand being of importance,
there being various interests to discuss, a just time is
absolutely necessary to deliberate. I am, therefore,
to propose that a suspension of hostilities shall take
place for twenty-four hours from this date; and to
request that your Excellency will direct your columns
to fall back to a greater distance, and out of sight of
our works, or I shall think myself under the necessity
to direct their being fired upon. If they did not recon
noitre anything this afternoon, they were sure within
the distance. "A. Prevost."
D'Estaing suspected, and even intimated his suspi
cions of the temporizing policy of Prevost, and yet
granted the boon, confident of final success over every
advantage which this truce could give to the besieged,
in the following terms : —

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 209

"Camp before Savannah, September 16, 1779.
" Sir : I consent to the truce you ask. It shall con
tinue till the signal for retreat to-morrow night, the
17th, which will serve also to announce the recom
mencement of hostilities. It is unnecessary to observe
to your Excellency, that this suspension of arms is
entirely in your favor, since I cannot be certain that
you will not make use a£ it to fortify yourself, at the
same time that the propositions you shall make may
be inadmissible.
" I must observe to you also, how important it is that
you should be full aware of your own situation, as well
as that of the troops under your command. Be assured
that I am thoroughly acquainted with it. Your know
ledge of military affairs will not suffer you to be igno
rant, that a due examination of that circumstance,
always precedes the march of the columns ; and that
this preliminary is not carried into execution by a mere
show of troops.
"I have ordered them to withdraw before night
comes on, to prevent any cause of complaint on your
part. I understand that my civility in this respect,
has been the occasion, that the Chevalier de Chambis,
a lieutenant in the navy, has been made a prisoner of
war. " I propose sending out some small advanced posts
to-morrow morning. They will place themselves in
such a situation, as to have in view the four entrances
into the wood, in order to prevent a similar mistake in
future. I do not know whether two columns, com
manded by the Viscount de Noailles and the Count de
Dillon, have shown too much ardor, or whether your
VOL. II. 14

210 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
cannoniers have not paid a proper respect to the truce
subsisting between us ; but this I know, that what has
happened this night, is a fresh proof that matters wUl
soon come to a decision between us one way or another.
" I have the honor to be, with respect, &c.,
" ESTAING."
The next day General Lincoln joined the French
army, and, as mildly as possible, remonstrated against
the precipitancy of the Count* movements in demand
ing a surrender prior to the stipulated junction. By
the noon of the 17th, Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland,
with eight hundred men from Beaufort, reached Sa
vannah, favored by a thick fog, unperceived by the
French ; and his presence so stimulated the besieged
that, at a consultation of the higher officers of the navy
and army, with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor,
— it was unanimously determined to defend the place
to the last extremity ; and the resolution was com
municated to Count d'Estaing, with the statement that
the evening gun fired an hour before sunset, would be
the signal for recommencing hostilities.
Before the arrival of Colonel Maitland, with a force
nearly equal to the Continentals and militia of the
Americans, serious thoughts, and even incipient mea
sures had been taken for a capitulation; but the acces
sion of so much strength turned the wavering decision
to firm resolve and determined resistance.
The feeling of the English, at this succor, may be
inferred from the orders of the day for the 17th Sep
tember, when hostilities were to commence : —
"GENERAL ORDERS.
"Camp before Savannah, 17th September, 1779.
" Parole, Maitlatid. Countersign, St. George.

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 211
" Field officers for to-morrow, Lieutenant-Colonel
Cruger and Major Graham.
" The troops to be under arms this afternoon at four
o'clock ; as the enemy is now very near, an attack may
be hourly expected ; the General, therefore, desires
that the whole may be in instant readiness. By the
known steadiness and spirit of the troops, he has the
most unlimited dependence, doubting nothing of a
glorious victory, should the enemy try their strength.
What is it that may not, by the blessing of God, be'
expected from the united efforts of British sailors and
soldiers, and valiant Hessians, against an enemy that
they have often beat before ? In case of a night attack,
the General earnestly requests the utmost silence to be
observed, and attention to the officers, who will be
careful that the men do not throw away their fire at
random, and warn them earnestly not to fire until
ordered."' This unexpected decision changed the whole face of
affairs, giving disappointment to the combined army,
and exultation to the British. A siege was determined
on, but as yet neither French nor Americans had the
cannon or mortars necessary to conduct it, and time
was again lost in bringing them from the fleet. On the
23d September, the armies of Lincoln and d'Estaing
broke ground together, about a mile from the enemy's
works — the French on the right.
"It appeared now," says an eye-witness, — Major
Thomas Pinckney, "to be the determination of the
General to endeavor to carry the post by regular
approaches : for the enemy's lines of defence, which
were scarcely begun when d'Estaing's summons was
^ Original Order-Book of General Prevost.

212 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
given, had in that interval of ten days become formi
dable; it extended along the sandy ridge or bluff from
the swamp, below the ground now occupied by the
eastern wharves, to Yamacraw, or Musgrove Creek on
the west. It consisted of a chain of redoubts with
batteries, the whole covered in front by a strong abatis.
The principal battery appeared to be in the centre of
the line, where stood, when we first approached it, a
large public building of brick, but which disappeared
in one night, and in a day or two a formidable battery
was opened upon us from its site. The next work in
importance was the Spring Hill redoubt, which com
manded Yamacraw Creek, at the mouth of which was
stationed a British galley. This line M^as admirably
adapted to the enemy's force ; if it had been a closed
line, their two thousand five hundred troops could not
have manned the whole, especially as they were obliged
to have some slight works on each flank, and to pay
some attention to their front on the river, as the French
had sent some vessels of war with a bomb-ketch into
Back River."
The besiegers were no less active. Day after day
they drew nearer and nearer — mounted more and more
cannon ; and, from their land and river mortars and
cannon, kept up a constant fire upon the town. For
two weeks this cannonading and bombarding was con
tinued, relieved only now and then by the sharp dis
charge of musketry, as parties of skirmishers met,
fought, and retired. Sorties were occasionally made
by the besieged, and bold attacks planned by the be
siegers. Personal prowess was often called into requi
sition, and daring bravery was often manifested as in
an arena before the contending armies. One of these

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 213
dashing movements was made on the 24th September
by three companies of light infantry, under Major Gra
ham, of the 16th. At 9 o'clock he dashed out with his
party, and momentarily had possession of the nearest
breastwork of the Americans, but he was soon forced to
retire. In the haste of pursuit, two columns of French
troops pressed so far that they came within range of the
guns from the redoubts, and many were slain. The loss
in this sortie being, on the part of the British, twenty-
one killed and wounded ; while the French had over
fifty. On the night of the 27th September, a party from
a British picket, under Major McArthur, and the chief
engineer, advanced towards the Americans in such a
manner as to draw out portions of both Americans and
French, and then, retiring unperceived, in consequence
of the darkness, the Americans and French, each sup
posing the other the enemy, began a brisk fire upon
each other. Several were killed before the mistake
was discovered.
On the 4th of October, the batteries of the besieged
opened on the land side with nine mortars and thirty-
seven cannon, and from the broadside of the frigate La
Trinity, of sixteen guns, on the river. The cannona
ding was now severe ; and aware of the dreadful situ
ation of the inhabitants, Prevost beat a parley on the
morning of the 6th October, and, sending in a letter to
Lincoln and d'Estaing, requested permission to send
the women and children down the river, and place
them under protection of one of the French men-of-
war ; but this request the allied Generals refused, for
reasons of the most urgent and politic nature, comport
ing with both the courtesy and discipline of the soldier.
Much blame has been cast upon them, both by English

214 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
and American historians, for this refusal ; but not one
of them seemed to be aware that General Prevost had
actually refused a similar application made by General
Mcintosh in behalf of his wife and family, and such
other females as might choose to avail themselves of
his courtesy. Had Prevost granted the request of
Mcintosh, on the 29th September, the allied Generals
would not have refused the petition of Prevost on the
6th October. The fault then lies with the English
General, and d'Estaing and Lincoln spoke truly when
they wrote, " It is with regret we yield to the austerity
of our functions, and we deplore the fate of those per
sons who wUl be the victims of your conduct, and the
delusion which appears in your mind." Already had
d'Estaing remained on shore longer than he had in
tended; he had landed but for a few days — a month
had nearly passed, and he was not as near success as
when he first paraded his troops on the bluff of Beau-
lieu. The tempestuous season for this coast was at
hand, and his naval officers, among whom was the
celebrated La Perouse, remonstrated with him for keep
ing the ships so long upon a coast so exposed, with
out a single harbor in Avhich they could be sheltered ;
and represented the risk he was running, not only of
being wrecked by the hurricane, but of capture, during
the absence of so large a part of his force by superior
fleets. To continue the siege by the usual advances
would therefore be impossible, as, according to the
opinion of the engineers, it would take ten days to
reach the British lines ; and, after much deliberation,
it was determined to carry the town by assault, and
thus, if possible, gain by a stroke what otherwise would
require the operation of days. Such was the determi-

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 215
nation of the assailants. What was the preparation
of the British to receive them ?
At the first approach of d'Estaing there were but
ten cannon mounted upon the works ; now, through
the almost incredible exertions of Major Moncrief, the
number exceeded one hundred and eighteen. The
defences in every respect were ample and effective ;
every pass and avenue to the city was vigilantly
guarded and covered. The Germain, the only ship
that had not been dismantled, was carried above the
town, and commanded every approach through the low
grounds bordering on Musgrove Creek. The troops
were well trained, disciplined, and faithful ; the guns
were well served and judiciously planted, and what
ever military science or experience could do in its
defence was done by the zealous and able officers in
command. But there was one advantage which served them
above all this. As soon as the plan of attack had been
agreed upon, by the American and French commanders,
James Curry, a clerk of Charlestown, but who had
been made Sergeant-Major of the volunteer company
of grenadiers from that city, deserted to the enemy,
with the entire programme of operations ; by which the
British were apprised of the intended feint, the real
attack, and the disposition, strength, and nature of the
army, as had been agreed upon by the allied Generals.
Of this desertion the French and Americans knew
nothing until after the attack.
At 2 o'clock, on the morning of the 9 th October, the
troops were paraded under arms ; and, soon after, the
whole force of nearlv three thousand French and Ame-
ricans, in one solid column, marched up to the front of

210 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
the wood, when, wheeling into their appointed places,
they proceeded to their several duties. Unavoidable
hindrances had prevented their appearing before the
enemy until it was clear daylight, whereas, they^had
designed to have attacked before the break of day.
Now they were easily seen, as they deployed into seve
ral columns, and the enemy, knowing from Sergeant
Curry, that the attack of Colonel Huger on the left
was a mere feint, concentrated all their strength upon
the Spring Hill redoubt, on the right of their lines, on
the road leading to Ebenezer, where the French com
mander, d'Estaing, sword in hand, was gallantly leading
up his troops.
Count Dillon, who had orders to lead his column
under cover of the night round the swamp and gain
the rear of the Ebenezer Road redoubt, mistook his
way through the darkness, and did not reach his posi
tion till day discovered him to the besieged, who drove
him back with a galling fire. The near approach of
d'Estaing also drew upon his troops a most destructive
cannonade — the guns loaded with grape, chain, and
cannister shot ; and the muskets of the Hessians, Gre
nadiers, and Loyalists, made awful havoc amidst those
well-drilled troops. They fell like grass before the
mower. But animated by their officers, they still
rallied to the front, pressed onward to the attack, and
still hoped for a victory. Amidst all this slaughter
they gained the abatis, while the other columns of
French troops having mostly lost their way by the
darkness of the night, were crowded together in a
morass to the west of the city, and exposed to the
deliberate and galling fire of the redoubt and a cross
fire from the Germain and its associate gallies.

SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 217
Colonel Laurens at the head of the Light Infantry,
the Second South Carolina Regiment, and the First
BattaUon of Charleston Militia, also attacked the re
doubt, and the colors of the Second South Carolina
Regiment, which had been presented to it by Mrs.
Elliott, of Charleston, were for a moment planted on
the berm by Lieutenants Hume and Bush, who being
killed. Lieutenant Grey advanced to their support, but
he being wounded, Serjeant Jasper rushed forward, and
though mortally wounded, brought off his colors at the
expense of his life. Count Pulaski, with his cavalry,
followed the attacking columns with the view of charg
ing in the rear of the redoubts at the first vulnerable
point; but, finding the front of d'Estaing's troops
thrown into confusion by the deadly fire of the British,
he left his command to the care of Colonel Horry, and
with Captain Bentalou hastened on his black charger to
animate by his presence the wavering spirits of the
soldiers, and carry out the plans of d'Estaing now twice
wounded, and borne from the field. He dashed on,
heedless of danger, and anxious only to retrieve the
discomfiture into which the head columns had been
thrown; he penetrated to the Spring Hill redoubt, the
scene of the greatest carnage, and, endeavoring to rally
the disordered troops, was struck by a grape-shot from
the last gun of the bastion ; he reeled upon his horse,
which, unguided, plunged madly forward, until his
noble rider fell into the arms of his comrades, and
was by them borne back from the murderous conflict.
But nothing human could stand before the terrible
cannonade from the enemy's lines. Troops the bravest,
soldiers the most disciplined, hearts the stoutest, quailed
before the Angel of Death, as he seemed to spread out

218 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
his wings upon that blood-covered plain. When the
second American column under Mcintosh reached the
Spring HUI redoubt, the scene of confusion was dread
ful. They marched up over ground strewn with the
dead and the dying, and seldom has the sun of a warm
October morning looked down upon a scene so mourn
ful and appaUing. The smoke of the muskets and
cannon hung broodingly over the place, gathering
denseness and darkness from every discharge; and the
roar of artiUery, the rattling of small arms, the calling
bugle, the sounded retreat, the stirring drum, and the
cries of the wounded blended startlingly together.
Colonel Huger marching through the low rice grounds
on the east, reached his appointed post, and was received
with music, and a brisk discharge, which killed twenty-
eight of his men, and compelled him to retreat. Only
the column of General Mcintosh was now fresh and
ready for action. But the fate of the day was decided ;
the French and Americans had been slain and wounded
by hundreds, and their bodies lined the redoubts and
ditches. They had left their camp in anticipation of
decisive victory, blood-bought and toil-earned, indeed,
but yet victory, and expected to plant the standards
of the army over the prostrate ensigns of England;
but the betrayal of their plan of attack, and the losing
of their way, with the consequent detention till daylight,
revealed their position to the enemy, changed the for
tunes of the day, and, though bold, valiant, and perse
vering, they were repulsed and slaughtered. For one
hour they had stood gallant and undaunted before the
murderous connonade, which struck down rank after
rank, and sent dismay by its sweeping fury, into every
column ; until, finding further attempt but a useless

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 219
sacrifice of life, a retreat was ordered, and the remains
of that gallant army were drawn off the field.
With the exception of Bunker Hill, no battle of the
Revolution was more sanguinary or destructive. The
British marched into the engagement at Bunker Hill
with about 3500 men, and their killed and wounded
amounted to 1054. Even at the battle of Minden,
one of the bloodiest ever fought in Europe, where the
English sustained for a long time the whole force of
the French army, the killed and wounded were but
1328 ; but at this assault of Savannah, there were
brought into action not quite 4000 men; and yet the
killed and wounded were 1100, or nearly one-third of
the army. Of these, 640 were French, and 469 Ame
ricans. The loss of the British was about 100.
General Lincoln, with the reserve, covered the
retreat; and, notwithstanding the terrible volleys of
grape and ball shot, and a sortie in their rear, they
were brought off with but little loss. Count d'Estaing
was twice wounded, — in the arm and thigh ; Vicomte
de Fontanges, Vicomte de Bethizy, Baron de Steding,
Count Pulaski, and the Chevalier d'Eronville, were
also wounded ; four majors, two captains, four lieute
nants, aud several other subalterns, were killed ; one
major, nine captains, and eleven lieutenants, were
among the wounded. About ten o'clock, the allies
requested a truce to bury their dead and remove the
wounded. It was granted for four hours, and within
certain distances; and this most melancholy duty was
performed by the comrades of the fallen, with the
silence befitting the mournful task.
All hopes of taking Savannah were now extin
guished. In a few days, d'Estaing re-embarked his

220 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
troops, artillery, &c. ; but they had hardly got on
board, and received the order of d'Estaing, for seven
ships of the line to repair to the mouth of the Chesa
peake, before the long-dreaded hurricane rose upon
them, scattered their ships, and but one vessel, com
manded by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, reached its
destination. General Lincoln, immediately after the battle, re
treated to Ebenezer Heights, and, on the 19th October,
crossed over into Carolina, and repaired to Charleston,
from which place he addressed the following letter to
Congress : " Charleston, October 22, 1779.
Sir — In my last, of the 5th ult., I had the honor of
informing Congress that Count d'Estaing was arrived
off Savannah.
" Orders were immediately given for assembling the
troops. They reached Zubly's Ferry and its vicinity
on the Ilth, and some were thrown over. The 12th
and 13th were spent in crossing the troops and bag
gage, which was effected, though not without great
fatigue, from the want of boats, and badness of the
roads, through a deep swamp of near three miles, in
which are many large creeks. The bridges over them
the enemy had broken down. We encamped upon
the heights of Ebenezer, twenty-three miles from Sa
vannah, and were there joined by troops from Augusta,
under General Mcintosh. The 14th, not being able
to ascertain whether the Count had yet landed his
troops, though several expresses had been sent for that
purpose, we remain encamped. On the 15th, being
advised that the Count had embarked part of his
troops, that he would that night take post nine miles

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 221
from Savannah, we moved, and encamped at Cherokee
Hill, nine miles from the town. The 16th, we formed
a junction before Savannah. After reconnoitering the
enemy's works, and finding the town well covered,
and knowing their determination to defend it, it was
deemed necessary to make some approaches, and try
the effects of artillery. From the 18th to the 23d,
we were employed in landing and getting up the ordi
nance and stores ; a work of difficulty, from the want of
proper wheels to transport them, the cannon being on
ship-carriages. On the evening of the 23d, ground
was broken ; and on the 5th instant, the batteries of
thirty-three pieces of cannon and nine mortars were
opened on the enemy, and continued, with intervals,
until the 8th, without the wished-for effect. The
period having long since elapsed, which the Count had
assigned for this expedition, and the engineers inform
ing him that much more time must be spent, if he
expected to reduce the garrison by regular approaches,
and his longer stay being impossible, matters were
reduced to the alternative of raising the siege imme
diately, and giving up all thoughts of conquest, or
attempting the garrison by assault : the latter was
agreed on; and on the morning of the 9th, the attack
was made ; and it proved unsuccessful, and we were
repulsed, with some loss.
" When the Count first arrived, he informed us that
he would remain on shore eight days only. He had
spent four times that number; his departure, there
fore,, became indispensable ; and to re-embark his ord
nance and stores claimed his next attention. This
was completed on the 10th. The same evening, hav
ing previously sent off our sick, wounded, and heavy

222 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
baggage, the American troops left the ground, reached
Zubly's Ferry the next morning, recrossed, and en
camped that night in Carolina.
" The French troops encamped, on the night of the
10th, about two miles from Savannah. They were,
after twenty-four hours, re-embarked at Kincaid's
Landing. " Our disappointment is great, and what adds much
to our sense of it, is the loss of a number of brave
officers and men, among them the late intrepid Count
Pulaski. "Count d'Estaing has undoubtedly the interest of
America much at heart. This he has evinced by
coming to our assistance, by his constant attention
during the siege, his undertaking to reduce the enemy
by assault, when he despaired of effecting it other
wise, and by bravely putting himself at the head of
his troops, and leading them to the attack. In our
service he has freely bled. I feel much for him ; for
while he is suffering the distress of painful wounds, he
has to combat chagrin. I hope he will be consoled by
an assurance that, although he has not succeeded ac
cording to his wishes and those of America, we regard
with high approbation his intentions to serve us, and
that his want of success wUl not lessen our ideas of
his merit." *******
The lower part of Georgia was now in the possession
of the British, rejoicing in their signal deliverance from
a superior force, and by almost a miraculous succor.
The Governor's council at the suggestion of Sir James
Wright, appointed Friday, 29th October, as a day of
pubUc and general thanksgiving — the Governor observ-

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 223
ing to the Board, that " he considered the late delive
rance and preservation of the town, garrison, and in
habitants, from the formidable combined force of French
and rebel enemies who came against it, as an act of
Divine Providence," and therefore worthy of public
acknowledgment. Looking back upon the siege of Savannah, and
taking in all its operations at one survey, we are
astonished at the number of errors which seemed to
mark the contest. The first great error was in the
French fleet passing by Beaufort, without capturing
Colonel Maitland and his eight hundred men. The
overwhelming force of the French could easily have
effected this, but the Charleston pilots refused to take
the ships over Port Royal bar. Had this regiment
been captured, the fate of the city would have been
reversed. The second error was in the hasty summons
of the city to surrender to the arms of the King of
France before d'Estaing had been joined by Lincoln.
The joint summons of these generals, backed by the
presence of their joint armies, would have produced a
different answer from the English commander. The
third great error — the fatal error — was in the French
General granting a truce for twenty-four hours. That
truce saved the city. It was highly impolitic when a
sudden impression was desired ; it was almost culpable,
when the American General was not present, but was
hourly expected, to concede such a privilege without
his approval. D'Estaing was too much flushed with
his late victories at Grenada and St. Vincents to be
cautious. Lincoln had been too long schooled in dis
asters not to be wary and vigilant.
The English officers themselves acknowledged that
had the combined armies marched to Savannah at their

224 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
first junction, they could easily have taken it, so poorly
defensible was it at the beginning of the siege. The
ignorance of their guides, and the betrayal of their
plan of attack, completed the series of misfortunes
which resulted in their overthrow.
The season of the year both for land and sea opera
tions was the most improper which could have been
chosen. Who that is at all acquainted with our coast
does not know its peculiar exposures to the equinoxial
gales of September ? and who that knows our climate,
is not aware of the almost certain sickness which during
our fall months attacks the stranger, particularly at
that period, when camping near swamps and ditches ?
The consequence was, that the French officers and
troops, both at sea and on land, were continually
anxious, restive, longing to depart, fearing the miasma
on shore and the hurricane on the ocean. Both came
to them too soon, but the destruction of neither, equalled
the carnage of the battle. There was a vauntingness
at times in the language of d'Estaing, which rendered
it too haughty to be brave. His words at his sum
mons; — "I have not been able to refuse the army of the
United States uniting itself with the king" is a strange
piece of diplomacy, for it implies that he had endeavored
to prevent it, when his very purpose in coming to
Georgia was to effect it. The conduct of the French
troops during the siege was exemplary and praise
worthy. A generous emulation, and nothing more,
pervaded both armies ; and the bravery of the aUies
needs no greater comment than the number of dead
and wounded they left upon the field of battle. Wash
ington, writing to General Lincoln two months after
this attack, concerning its failure, thus alludes to the

SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 225
army : " While I regret the misfortune, I feel a very
sensible pleasure in contemplating the gallant behavior
of the officers and men of the French and American
army ; and it adds not a little to my consolation to learn
that instead of the mutual reproaches which too often
follow the failure of enterprises depending upon the
co-operation of troops of different nations, their confi
dence in and esteem for each other are increased."
Among the English and French officers at the siege
of Savannah, were several of historical or family emi
nence, who deserve more than a passing notice.
Major-General Augustine Prevost, who commanded
the British troops, was a native of Geneva, Switzer
land, who had settled in England ; and entering the
army, rose gradually to his high position. His wife
was the daughter of the Chevalier George Grand, of
Amsterdam. General Prevost died in 1786, leaving
four children ; the eldest, George, was created a baronet
in 1805, was colonel of the 16th regiment, and Gover
nor-General and Commander-iif-chief of North America.
The second son, James, became a captain in the royal
navy. The third son, William Augustus, rose to the
rank of a major-general in the English service, and
commander of the Bath.
The Commander of the Perseus, at Savannah, in
1779, was George Keith Elphinstone, the son of Charles,
the tenth Baron Elphinstone in the Peerage of Scot
land. He attained the rank of Post-Captain, in 1775 ;
Rear-Admiral, 1794; and the next year, as Vice-
Admiral, conducted the naval part of the successful
expedition against the Cape of Good Hope. For hi&
services, on this occasion, he was created, in 1797,
Baron Keith of Stonehaven, Ireland. In 1801, he
VOL. n. 15

226 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
became Admiral of the Blue ; obtained, in 1803, the
Barony of Keith, in Dumbarton, Scotland; and, in
1814, was created Viscount Keith. His Lordship died
in 1823.
Count Arthur Dillon was the son of Henry, the
eleventh Viscount Dillon, in the Peerage of Ireland.
His father was a Colonel in the French service. His
grandfather, Arthur, went into the army of France, and
commanded an Irish regiment after his father. Theo-
bold, the seventh Viscount, was outlawed, in 1690, by
reason of his attachment to the falling fortunes of
James II. The grandfather of Count Dillon was, in
1705, made Marshal of the Camp, and Governor of
Toulon ; and, subsequently, a Lieutenant-General of
France. Dillon's regiment was commanded, after the
death of Marshal Dillon, by his son James, a Knight
of Malta ; and when he fell at the head of this regi
ment, at Fontenoy, his brother Edward succeeded to
his command; and it was this regiment which the
young Count Arthur led into action at the siege of
Savannah. He was involved in the troubles of the
French Revolution, and suffered under the guillotine,
in 1794. His daughter, Fanny, was married to Count
Bertrand, who adhered so closely to the fortunes of the
Emperor Napoleon ; and Lady Bertrand was distin
guished by her fidelity to the Emperor, during his long
imprisonment at St. Helena.
Charles Hector Compte d'Estaing was born in Au-
vergne, in 1729. He was of an old and distinguished
family: being early advanced, he commenced his
mUitary career as a Colonel of Infantry ; and soon,
becoming a Brigadier-General, he was sent under
Count de Lally to serve in the East Indies.

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 227
Being taken a prisoner at the siege of Madras, in
1759, he was set at liberty by the English on his parole.
This parole he violated ; was unskilful enough to be
again taken ; and, was, according to the laws of war,
in imminent danger of his Ufe. After a painful con
finement, however, in the hulks at Portsmouth, Eng
land, he was released ; and then took an oath of eternal
hatred to the EngUsh, which he rigidly kept.
After the peace of 1763, he was made Lieutenant-
General of the naval forces. But this appointment
gave great dissatisfaction to the navy, and he never
obtained even a partial popularity in that service.
In 1778 he was sent, as Vice-Admiral, with twelve
ships to aid in establishing American independence;
but misfortune mostly attended his movements. Con
trary winds kept him back until Lord Howe, with a
much smaller squadron in the Delaware, had re-em
barked his troops and landed them in New York.
Before Rhode Island, he was about to attack Howe,
now reinforced by some vessels from Lord Byron's
squadron, when a fearful storm separated the hostile
fleets, dismasting d'Estaing's ship, and putting both
fleets, for the time, hors du combat.
Later, however, pursuing the enemy to the West
Indies, he attacked and beat Admiral Byron ; and, was
only deterred from pursuing his victory by the preva
lence of contrary winds. After his fruitless expedition
to Georgia, he returned, in 1780, to France.
In 1783 he was intrusted with the command of the
combined fleets of France and Spain, assembled at
Cadiz, and was ready to set sail when the treaty of
peace put an end to the expedition.
He threw himself with zeal into the movements

228 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
which led to the French Revolution ; and, in 1789, was
made commandant of the National Guards at Versailles.
His revolutionary course, however, is not without
some grievous stains; and, in April, 1794, he expiated,
under the guillotine, the crime of being a counter-
revolutionist. In the fleet of Count d'Estaing, was La Perouse, the
famous navigator. Entering the French navy at the age
of fifteen, he served with distinction in several parts of
the world, and particularly in the East Indies. After
the peace of 1783, he was appointed to command a scien
tific expedition to the Pacific and Chinese seas. With
superior ships and a better corps of scientific men, he
followed the track of Captain Cook, and made many
valuable discoveries and observations. From the 7th
February, 1788, the date of his last communication
from Botany Bay, to 1827, a mystery hung over the
fate of this distinguished navigator. It was unex
pectedly cleared up by the accidental discovery that,
both his ships, the Boussole and the Astrolabe;^ were
lost on one of the islands of the New Hebrides group.
The death of Count Pulaski threw a deep gloom over
the ill-fated siege of Savannah. Descended from a noble
house in Poland ; educated under the eye of a father
who was one of the ablest jurists in the kingdom;
associating with the noble and influential; he early
showed his hatred of Russian intrigue, and his oppo
sition to the efforts to place upon the throne of Poland
the celebrated Poniatowski, as Stanislaus Augustus,
whom he regarded "as a Russian viceroy, rather than
as the chief of an independent nation."
Engaging with ardor in the plans devised by his
father, for freeing Poland from the chains of its north-

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 229
ern oppressor ; Casimir Pulaski soon became the most
famous chief in his native country for his military suc
cesses, his bold daring, and his intense ardor in the
cause of freedom. The record of his battles and his
struggles evinces courage, skill, and energy worthy of the
sacred cause to which his father, his brothers, and him
self, had pledged their lives and fortunes. " In those con
federacies which were soon formed in various parts of
the country, to defend and vindicate its insulted sove
reignty, the ardent patriotism of the Count, his impla
cable hatred of foreign usurpation, his indefatigable
zeal, his unshaken constancy, his heroic intrepidity —
in short, his towering genius and his stoical and truly
republican virtues, rendered him the scourge and terror
of the Russians." " During eight succeeding years of
a bloody war," says a writer who has eloquently de
scribed the situation of Poland in those calamitous
times,' " the operations of Pulaski were such as almost
to challenge belief. Sometimes vanquished, much
oftener victorious — equally great in the midst of a
defeat, as formidable after victory, and always supe
rior to events, Pulaski attracted and fixed the atten
tion of all Europe, and astonished her by his long and
vigorous resistance. Obliged to abandon one province,
he made incursions into another, and there performed
new prodigies of valor. It was thus that, marching
successively throughout all the palitinates, he signal
ized in each of them that eternal hatred which he had
sworn against the enemies of Poland. It was Pulaski
who, in 1771, conceived and organized the bold design
of forcibly carrying off Stanislaus from Warsaw, and
bringing him to his camp ; not indeed to assassinate
1 "Pulaski Vindicated," &c. Baltimore, 1824.

230 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
him, as has been basely and falsely asserted by parti
sans of Russia, but with the view to make him a
rallying point for the nobles, and all the patriots of
Poland; and, by means of this union of the monarch
with the nation, to crush, or, at least, to drive away
from the territory of the republic, the satellites of that
unprincipled and- perfidious power, by whose haughty
mandates it had too long been governed. The enter
prise, confided to forty brave patriots, succeeded only
so far as to seize on the monarch in the very bosom of
his capital, and to carry him away some distance from
it, in spite of every obstacle and danger. The dark
ness of the night, and other unforeseen casualties,
prevented the final execution of a plan, which might
eventually have saved Poland from that political anni
hilation which has since become her lot.
" When, from nearly the same motives as induce
robbers to disguise or suspend, for a time, their jeal
ousies and animosities, and to unite their efforts and
their strength, the more easily to secure a common
prey, Russia, Prussia, and Austria jointly invaded
Poland, in 1772, and at a 'fell swoop' seized upon the
fairest portion of her territory, which they divided
among themselves, by that right which only kings
and freebooters dare to claim, the right of superior
physical force, the Polish confederates were compelled
either to acquiesce in the degradation of their enslaved,
plundered, partitioned country, or to flee from the be
loved and hallowed land which had given them birth
— from the land which they had disputed, inch by inch,
with the lawless potentates who have since entirely
erased it from the map of independent nations. Very
few submitted ; many fell into the hands of the Rus-

SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 231
sians or their adherents, and died martyrs to that
noble cause which they had so strenuously supported ;
others escaped to foreign climes. Pulaski was the last
to retire from the noble contest. In a desperate and
bloody engagement with the Russians, his army, vastly
inferior in numbers, was routed, annihilated ; but his
courage still remained. To rush furiously on to death
would have been useless to his country ; he chose to
live, in the hope of again serving it, should Heaven
and time favor his wishes.
" Through countless fatigues, difficulties, and perils,
and after a variety of singular disguises, wonderful
adventures, and hairbreadth escapes, he reached* Tur
key, whose hostilities against Russia accorded with his
hatred of that power, and at the same time flattered
the patriotic schemes which his ardent spirit had not
ceased to cherish. On that side, however, his hopes
were frustrated by the peace concluded between Rus
sia and the Porte, 1774.
"In the meantime the situation of Poland had become
more deplorable than ever; her king, her senate, her
people, yielding to foreign oppression, had sunk into
the torpor and apathy of the most abject servitude.
Envoys, from the Courts of St. Petersburg, Vienna,
and Berlin, swayed her destinies; and, far from as
suming a brighter aspect, her horizon daily portended
more violent and more tremendous tempests. Bj^ the
Russian faction, Pulaski had long since been deprived
of his estates, degraded from his rank, condemned to
lose his head — in short, outlawed. Unable to rouse
Turkey to any measure auspicious to his country, he
passed into France about the time when the declara
tion of American independence kindled in every gene-

232 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
rous breast a holy enthusiasm. The native land of
Pulaski had lost her liberties ; he resolved to fight for
the liberties of America. With him to resolve and to
execute were almost simultaneous. In 1777, Phila
delphia beheld him tendering his services to the Ame
rican Congress. The inherent ardor of his warlike
spirit, his habits of activity, and the desire of efficiently
serving the cause which he had so warmly embraced,
did not permit him to wait for the decision of that
body on his application, but he immediately joined the
army. He was at Brandy wine on the day of the battle
with the Marquis De La Fayette, and other distin
guished foreign officers in the suite of General Wash
ington. At the time when our right wing was turned
by the victorious enemy pressing upon us, and the
rapid retreat of the right and centre of our army be
came the natural consequence. Count Pulaski proposed
to General Washington to give him command of his
body-guard, consisting of about thirty horsemen. This
was readily granted, and Pulaski, with his usual intre
pidity and judgment, led them to the charge, and suc
ceeded in retarding the advance of the enemy — a delay
which was of the highest importance to our retreating
army. Moreover, the penetrating military coup d'oeil
of Pulaski soon perceived that the enemy were manoeu-
vreing to take possession of the road leading to Ches
ter, with a view of cutting off our retreat, or, at least,
the column of our baggage. He hastened to General
Washington to communicate the information, and was
immediately authorized by the Commander-in-chief to
collect as many of the scattered troops as he could find
at hand and make the best of them. This was most
fortunately executed by Pulaski, who, by an oblique

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 233
advance upon the enemy's front and right flank, de
feated their object, and effectually protected our bag
gage, and the retreat of the army. This important
service was justly appreciated by General Washington,
who did not fail to recommend Pulaski to Congress,
and that body passed the following resolution on the
I5th of September, 1777 :—
" 'Resolved, That a commander of the horse be ap
pointed, with the rank of a Brigadier.'
" The ballots being taken. Count Pulaski was elected."
In 1778, Pulaski was authorized by Congress to
raise an independent corps, to consist of three com
panies of cavalry, armed with lances, and three of foot,
equipped as light infantry. This corps was called
" Pulaski's Legion ;" and, such was his known bravery
and popularity, that he soon reported his legion as full
and ready for service. While engaged on this recruit
ing duty he was stationed for a time at Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, and some of the choir houses of the
Moravians were converted into barracks, hospitals, &c.
To protect the- single sisters of this religious commu
nity from rapine and violence, a guard was posted by
Pulaski around their house, and himself in person
often shared the duties of the sentinel.
Grateful for this protection from a rough and un
couth soldiery, Susan Von Gersdorf, the spiritual super
intendent of the establishment, suggested' that the
sisters should present Pulaski with a banner for his
new legion, as a tribute of respect for his guardianship
of their persons, and of sympathy with the cause in
which he was engaged.
* Bethlehem Seminary Souvenir, 1858, by Wm. C. Reichel, pp. 38-9.

234 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Her suggestion was approved and adopted. The
design of the work was intrusted to the sisters Becky
Langly and Julia Bader, who planned a banner of
double crimson silk, twenty inches square, on one side
of which was embroidered, in yellow silk, shaded with
green, the All-seeing Eye, inclosed in a triangle, sur
rounded by thirteen stars, as if God had said to the
United States, in the words of the Psalmist, " I will
guide thee with Mine eye ;" and, above it, the legend,
"Non cdius regit." No other reigns. On the other side
were the initial letters U. S. and the surrounding motto,
" Unitas virtus poticrr." United valor stronger. The
sUk was heavily fringed with bullion and tassels, and
affixed to a handsome lance.
The embroidery was executed with taste and ele
gance by Anna Bean, Anna Hussy, and Erdmuth
Langly, with other associates. The banner was re
ceived by Pulaski with expressions of grateful acknow
ledgment, and it became thenceforth the ensign of the
legion. It was the consecration of this banner which gave
occasion for one of those earlier poems of Longfellow,
in which, with somewhat indeed of poetic license, he
portrayed the scene, and sung the "Hymn of the Mora
vian Nuns" as they took from the altar
" The blood-red banner that with prayer
Had been consecrated there ;"
and, presenting it to the gallant Pole, exclaimed—
" Take thy banner 1 May it wave
Proudly o'er the good and brave.
*****

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 235
Guard it 1 till our homes are free.
Guard it! God will prosper thee.
Take thy banner ! and if e'er
Thou shouldst press the soldier's bier,
And the muffled drum should beat
To the tread of mournful feet.
Then this crimson flag shall be
Martial cloak and shroud for thee."
In February, 1779, Pulaski, with his legion, was
ordered to the South, to form part of the Southern
army under General Lincoln in South Carolina. Here
he did good service, until he was removed to Georgia,
to operate with the combined army in the attempt to
retake Savannah. How he behaved at this memorable
siege has been told. Cool, resolute, daring, vigilant;
he entered upon the contest with all the ardor of mili
tary fervor, panting to distinguish himself on a field
where three nations would witness his bravery, and
acknowledge his heroism. When he fell before the
lines of Savannah, he was carried back a little dis
tance ; and there, on the field. Dr. James Lynah, of
Charleston, extracted the ball, an iron grape-shot
(now in the possession of the Lynah family), from his
groin ; an operation which, though exceedingly painful,
was borne by Pulaski "with inconceivable fortitude."
He was then with Captain Bentalou (who was also
wounded) taken on board the U. S. brig " Wasp," where
he had the best surgical attendance ; but gangrene soon
made its appearance, and death speedily followed.
" Just as the Wasp got out of the river, Pulaski
breathed his last ; and the corpse immediately became
so offensive, that this officer was compelled, though re
luctantly, to consign to a watery grave all that was
now left on earth of his beloved and honored com-

236 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
mander. The Wasp entered the harbor of Charleston
with her flag half hoisted. The mournful signal was
repeated by all the shipping in the port ; and all the
forts and batteries responded to it in the manner usual
on such occasions of deep and universal sorrow. The
Governor and Council of South Carolina, and the muni
cipal authorities of Charleston, jointly adopted resolu
tions to pay to the memory of General Pulaski the
most respectful and the most splendid funeral honors.
A day was set apart for the obsequies, and the Quarter-
Master-General of the United States at Charleston,
directed to make and to defray all the preparations
for the melancholy solemnity. The procession was
grand, and suited to the occasion. The pall was
carried by three American, and three French officers
of the highest rank, followed by the beautiful horse
which Pulaski rode when he received his death-wound,
with all the armor, accoutrements, and dress, which
he then wore. So very large was the mournful
procession, that it was found necessary to make a cir
cuit of the whole city to the church, where an eloquent
and impressive discourse was delivered by the chap
lain of the army."'
The banner wrought by the Moravian nuns was
saved at the battle of Savannah by one of Pulaski's
lieutenants ; and delivered by him to Captain Bentalou,
who, on retiring from the army, took it with him to
Baltimore, his place of residence. In 1824, however,
it was used by the young ladies of Philadelphia, on the
occasion of welcoming La Fayette to the city ; and then
deposited in Peale's Museum, where it remained until
1 " Pulaski Vindicated," &c.

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 237
1844, when it was given to the Maryland Historical
Society ; and now adorns, not with its beauty, for it is
faded and tattered, but with its glory, the hall of
that institution.
It is a strange, yet remarkable fact, that much
controversy has been occasioned concerning the place
where Pulaski was buried. The narrative of Cap
tain Bentalou, quoted above, states that he was buried
at sea, and others declare that he was buried on
land. When the City of Savannah carried into execu
tion a resolution, which, for nearly seventy-five years
had been a dead letter on the books of Congress, and
erected Launitz's noble monument to Pulaski in Mon
terey Square; thel-e was placed within the plinth,
alongside of the corner-stone, a metallic case, hermeti
cally sealed, containing " what were supposed to be
the remains of Pulaski, exhumed on the  of De
cember, 1853, at Greenwich, on Augustine Creek, dis
tant from the City of Savannah five miles."
As, however, all contemporary evidence, so far as it
goes, corroborates the statement of Pulaski's friend
and fellow-officer, that he died on board the Wasp, and
was buried under the water, — as no contemporary
record mentions his death or burial at Greenwich ; and
as all the evidence offered to support the latter theory
is parole, circumstantial, and conjectural, so must we
still believe the reports of the time, and say, with a
probability amounting almost to certainty, that this
brave soldier lies under the tide-waters of the Atlantic,
and not beneath the majestic column which bears his
name, and is consecrated to his memory, in the City
of Savannah.
During the siege of Savannah, occurred one of those

238 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
strategic episodes which vary the usual bloodiness of
war. So soon as General Prevost heard of the arrival of
the French fleet, he ordered in all the outposts; and a
portion of Colonel Cruger's command, stationed at Sun
bury, under Captain French, attempted to obey the
order by passing in vessels through the inland channels.
Intercepted in their course up the Ogeechee, they were
compelled to land, and entrench themselves for safety;
and there they remained in their fortified camp, about
twenty-five miles south of Savannah, until the night
of the 1st October; when Colonel John White, of the
Georgia line, with Captains Melvin and Elholm (an
officer of Pulaski's legion), a sergeant, and three privates,
having reconnoitered his position, withdrew a little
distance, kindled many fires to represent a large
encampment, gave loud commands as if guiding the
marching of troops, and so simulated by their move
ments the hurry and bustle of staff-officers, that Captain
French, on being boldly summoned by Colonel White
to surrender, was convinced that a large force was
close beside him. While parleying with Colonel White,
Captain Elholm hastily rode up, and abruptly asked of
Colonel White where he should place the artillery.
Captain French having expressed his wonder that he
saw no troops, was told that they were purposely kept
back, because they were quite exasperated at an out
rage on some prisoners, said to have been committed in
Savannah, which they were determined to revenge at
the first opportunity.
Captain French being convinced, from what he
saw and heard, that it was only by an immediate
surrender that he could preserve the lives of his men.

SIEGE OP SAVANNAH. 239
capitulated, and one hundred and eleven troops, and
five vessels, — some of which were armed, — with their
crews and munitions, were delivered up to Colonel
White. " The deception," says Ramsey, " was carried
on with so much address, that the whole of the prisoners
were safely conducted, by three of the captors, for
twenty-five miles through the country to the American
post at Sunbury."
Rejoining the army before Savannah, Colonel White
was severely wounded, eight days after, in the assault
on the Spring Hill redoubt, and was taken prisoner by
the British. He succeeded, however, in escaping from
the enemy, and made his way to Virginia; where, it is
said, he shortly after died, from a pulmonary attack
produced by fatigue and exposure.

CHAPTER VIL
SIEGE OF AUGUSTA.
The departure of the French fleet, and the repulse
of the combined army by the English, openied the way
for Sir Henry Clinton, to make further and more im
portant movements.
Leaving the garrison of New York under the com
mand of Lieutenant-General Knyphausen, Sir Henry
Clinton, on the 26th of December, 1779, sailed for the
South, with an army of three thousand British, Hessian,
and loyalist troops, escorted by Admiral Arbuthnot,
with an adequate naval force.
The severity of the weather was such, that it was
not until the end of January, that the fleet reached
Tybee, the place of rendezvous. Here they waited a
short time to refit the damaged vessels, and then pro
ceeded to North Edisto Sound, in South Carolina, to
carry out the plan of Sir Henry Clinton of besieging
Charleston. Into this city General Lincoln had drawn most of
the troops at his disposal, and thus Georgia was left in
a most unprotected condition.
Against this step, the Executive Council of Georgia
strongly protested, by a series of resolutions, passed
on the 3d of February, 1780. The disastrous result

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 241
of the siege of Charleston, confirmed the judgment of
the Council : Augusta, the seat of the republican
government, was abandoned, and Heard's Fort (now
Washington), in Wilkes County, was the last strong
hold of Uberty in Georgia. Here the Executive
Council sat, and, during the darkest period in Geor
gia's history, governed the almost deserted State. At
this time, there were two distinct governments within
the boundaries of Georgia : the lower part of the
State, from Hudson's Ferry, just below Brier Creek,
to the seaboard, being under the civil government of
Sir James Wright; while the upper part of the State,
from the same ferry to the mountains, was nominally
in the hands of the Republicans.
On the withdrawal of the troops by General Lin
coln, many had abandoned their homes, anticipating
the re-extension of royal authority over the whole
State, and fearing the vengeance of the British regu
lars, and the more dreaded royalists. The distresses
of the inhabitants of what may be termed republican
Georgia, were greatly heightened by the plundering
parties of Tories, which infested and wasted the farms
and dwellings of the citizens. The General Assembly
ordered the Governor to take proper measures to pre
vent, as much as possible, tbis practice, and annexed
a clause to the act, declaring it felony for any person
or persons, under any pretence whatever, to plunder
or take away from any of the inhabitants of this State,
within a line from " Hudson's Ferry to the Ogeechee,
any property;" and also ordered "all such as were
not well affected to the confederate alliance to remain
without the same."
On the 3d March, 1780, Richard Howley, the Go-
VOL. II. 16

242 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
vernor, issued a proclamation, reciting the above act,
and " forbidding all and every person from such illegal
and shameful practices, which reflect a disgrace on the
sacred cause of America, and assimilate it to the ini
quity of that of our enemies ;" and he further ordered and
required, "that every person well affected to the cause
of the United States, should repair, without loss of
time, to proper places, within a line from Hudson's
Ferry to the Ogeechee, and there remain quiet, de
meaning themselves as good citizens of the State."
Many of the best republicans of Georgia had, how
ever, much property in the low country, the removal
of which was important, as a means of their future
subsistence, as well as to prevent its falling into the
hands of the British, and thus adding to the supplies
of the enemy. In order to collect these various
stores, and to facilitate their removal to the north of
the designated line. Colonel Pickens, with a part of
his South Carolina regiment, formed a junction, on the
20th March, with a few militia under Colonel Twiggs,
and a troop of horse commanded by Captain Inman,
the whole force amounting to about three hundred
men. Their first aim was to surprise McGirth, who
had been laying waste the southeastern part of the
State ; but in this they failed, owing to the flight of
the marauders, when they heard that the Americans
were on their track; though several of McGirth's
party were killed and taken prisoners. Colonels
Pickens and Twiggs formed a post on the Ogeechee,
which constituted a rallying point for the Americans ;
and a point from which incursions could be made into
lower Georgia, to the great annoyance of the Governor
and the loyalists, who had gathered near the seaboard.

SIEGE OP AUGUSTA. 243
To disperse this body, the British general ordered out
a portion of Delancy's corps, under Captain Conklin,
which, leaving Savannah before daylight on the 4th
April, reached the Ogeechee River by ten o'clock.
They were soon engaged in battle with the troops
under Pickens and Twiggs, and were completely
routed. Captain Conklin died of his wounds the next
day, and the discomfited party returned in confusion
to the garrison in Savannah.
The fall of Charleston, in May, 1780, was a disas
trous event for Georgia. As soon as it was communi
cated to Governor Howley, he resolved to comply with
the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Execu
tive Council, by leaving the State and proceeding to
Philadelphia, to take his seat there as a member of Con
gress, to which he had been previously elected ; and
it is recorded, as an evidence of the depreciation of
the paper currency, that, it cost the State nearly half
a million of dollars Continental currency, to pay the
expenses of the Governor in Congress. Most of the
civil and military officers of the republican party ac
companied the Governor as far as North Carolina; and
Georgia was left Avith only the name of a government,
and with scarcely a regiment of soldiers to defend its
territory. As soon as Augusta was deserted by the Americans,
it was taken possession of by Colonels Brown and
Grierson, two notorious partisan officers in the English
service. Thomas Brown had been a resident of Au
gusta, before the breaking out of the war, and had so
offended the friends of liberty in that town, by his
censures and ridicule, that he was at last taken by the
Parish Committee, tried, and sentenced to be tarred

344 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
and feathered, and to be pubUcly exposed in a cart
drawn by three mules. After this ignominious punish
ment, he escaped to the British, distinguished himself
by his bitterness and hatred towards the Liberty men;
and, by his address and daring, was soon entrusted
with the command of the town in which he had en
dured such gross indignities.
He was now in a position to gratify his revenge, and
pay back upon the inhabitants of Augusta the ill usage
Avhich he had received at their hands, and he did it
with no stinted measure. The first plan adopted by
him in conjunction with Colonel Grierson, was to seques
trate the property of the whigs, that they might thus
possess themselves of all that they owned. The next
step was to order all their families beyond the State,
under pretence that they held corresjsondence with the
refugees. These wretched families, stripped of nearly
all they had, were driven from their homes and their
fields, and with a few scanty personal effects, were
obliged to travel, under great privations, exposed to
gross insults, nearly two hundred miles to the borders
of North Carolina, whither they arrived " nearly
famished from the want of food, and worn down with
the fatigue of so long a way ; and the health of many
was so much shattered that they could never recover
from the effect of such privation.'"
Induced by the promises of succor held out by General
Andrew Williamson, — that southern Arnold, — the pa
triots of Georgia had somewhat rallied in Wilkes County,
in the hope of keeping possession of the upper part of
the State ; but when his defection was known, Colonel
' Jackson's MS. notes on Ramsay.

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 245
Elijah Clarke, with about one hundred and fifty men,
gathered at Freeman's Fort, in Elbert Count}'', with
the view of opposing the British forces in front, on the
South Carolina side of the river. This place was called
Freeman's Fort from two brothers. Colonel Holman
Freeman and John Freeman, who had made a settle
ment near the place where Lord George Gordon had pre
viously planted a colony of Scotch people, brought over
from Scotland under indentures to serve his Lordship
for five years, in consideration of his advancing their
passage-money and support. At the beginning of the
colonial disputes, Lord George returned to England,
and his colony was broken up.
The attempt, however, of Colonel Clarke to make
anything like a determined stand, at Freeman's Fort,
was unsuccessful; and most of his men, being dis
couraged, were dispersed to their homes, to await a
more favorable time. A party of thirty-five, however,
under Colonel John Jones, of Burke County, and
Stephen Heard, President of the Executive Council,
determined to brave every difficulty and make their
way to the army in South Carolina.
On their march through the loyalist regions, they
represented themselves as loyalists, and under this
guise, by boldness and stratagem, captured a party of
thirty tories, whom they disarmed, and put upon their
parole of honor not to serve again against the Americans.
After various other adventures, they reached the Paco-
lette River; and, on the 16th July, effected a junction
with Colonel McDowell and a body of three hundred
North Carolina militia.
Colonel Clarke, though disappointed in making his
desired stand at Freeman's Fort, and though compelled

246 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
almost to disband his troops, could not long remain
idle, or give up the contest. By great efforts, he suc
ceeded in reassembling most of his regiment; and,
striking upwards into the mountainous regions, he
joined Colonel Jones at a point where Georgia and the
Carolinas intersect each other. They were shortly
reinforced by a body of mountaineers from the neigh
borhood of Holstein River, under Colonel Shelby ; and
now, feeling themselves sufficiently strong for action,
they entered South Carolina, penetrated through Wil
liamson's settlement, fighting their way at almost every
step, until, being joined by some Carolina whigs, under
Colonel Williams, they resolved to attack a party of
the enemy posted at Musgrave's Mills, on the Ennoree
River. Colonel Clarke, as commander of the whole, made a
most judicious selection of his ground, and formed his
troops with great advantage. The British, under
Colonel Jones, advanced to the attack with much
courage; but, after sustaining for a fcAv moments a
very galling fire, and seven out of the nine officers
being either kiUed or wounded, a retreat was ordered,
and the enemy were pursued until they reached Mus-
gave's Mill, being severely annoyed by the fire in flank
and rear from the pursuing Americans. In this action
Colonel Jones was wounded, sixty-three were killed,
and one hundred and sixty were wounded and taken
prisoners ; while the party under Clarke had but four
men kUled (among them Captain Inman), and nine
wounded, among whom were Colonel Clarke, — who
received two sabre cuts on his head and neck, — and
Captain John Clark.
This action was so decisive, and its influence upon

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 247
the spirits and hopes of the friends of liberty was so
elevating, that Colonel Clarke now turned his atten
tion towards the recovery of Augusta from the hands
of the loyalists. The present feeble state of the garri
son, which had been weakened by the withdrawal of
several detachments of troops to join the Earl Corn-
Avallis, near Camden, seemed to hold out some promise
of success; and, therefore, in conjunction with Colonel
McCall, he resolved to raise soldiers for the enterprise,
believing that between them they could muster at least
a thousand troops. But when they met at the ap
pointed rendezvous on Soap Creek, in Lincoln County,
instead of a thousand men, they had not one-half that
number; yet, unwilling to defer longer so important
an attempt. Colonel Clarke resolved to march to Au
gusta; and on the 14th September, 1780, the little army
reached the scene of action. The troops were formed
into three divisions, and they advanced severally along
the middle, lower, and upper roads, and were not dis
covered by Colonel Brown, until the left division, under
Major Samuel Taylor, attacked the Indian camp near
Hawk's Creek, when the Indians after a short resist
ance gave way, and fell back towar(^s the town.
The firing at the Indian Camp induced Colonel
Brown to order Grierson to support Captain Johnston,
who, with a company of King's Rangers and Indians,
had taken post at Seymour's white house, which stood
over a mile distant from the town. Brown, himself,
followed Grierson with the main body of his troops ;
and, while they were thus engaged with the division
of Taylor, the centre and right divisions, commanded
by Colonels Clarke and McCall, entered the town by
the other road, and surprising the drained garrison,

248 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
took possession of Augusta. Hastily placing his
prisoners and booty, — consisting of all the Indian
presents about to be distributed by the English go
vernment to their dark-skinned allies, — under a proper
guard, Clarke marched to the aid of Major Taylor, now
endeavoring to capture Colonel Brown, who, with Grier
son and Johnston, had thrown themselves into Sey
mour's white house.
The firing was kept up with more or less spirit during
the day, but without dislodging the occupants. The
Indians, unable to crowd into the house with the
Rangers, fought outside, according to their irregular
mode of warfare, crouching under the edge of the
river's bank, concealing themselves in the shrubbery,
and hiding behind trees and fences, and from these
places, secure themselves, they delivered their effective
discharges against the Americans.
During the night. Brown sought to retreat, but the
strong guard posted around the house prevented him,
and his only hope was so to secure himself, as to hold
out until he could receive the relief which, at the first
alarm, he had sent for from Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger,
then at Ninety-Si^.
Accordingly, himself and Rangers labored with all
diligence to make the white house gun-proof, by filling
up the spaces between the logs, and barricading the
windows with boards ripped up from the floor ; and, as
the house was loop-holed for muskets, the assaUants
dared not approach, for the Rangers could take delibe
rate aim, while, at the same time, they were them
selves comparatively secure.
On the morning of the 15th September, two pieces
of cannon were drawn up from Fort Grierson ; but they

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 249
were only mounted on trucks, and were so badly served,
owing to the want of artillerists, that they proved of
little service, and that little was soon lost by the killing
of Captain Martin, the only artillerist in Clarke's arm3^
Had these been field, instead of fort pieces, and been
well manned, they would soon have compelled Brown
to surrender, or battered down the house over his head ;
as it was, another day was spent in fruitless efforts to
dislodge the enemy. Brown was shot through both
thighs, the wounded were suffering for want of medical
attention, and their distresses were increased on the
16th, by the Americans charging upon the Indian
allies, who, the night before, had been reinforced by
fifty Cherokee warriors, and completely driving them
from the river, thus cutting off all supply of water to
the besieged.
Notwithstanding their distressed condition, the
many wounded in the house, and the suffering of the
Rangers for lack both of food and water. Brown still
refused to surrender, though twice summoned by Clarke
to do so ; haughtily rejecting the summons, with the
warning to Clarke, that he would retaliate the calami
ties of this siege upon the inhabitants of western
Georgia, and declaring his intention to defend himself
to the last extremity.
Four days of confinement, privation, and suffering,
reduced Brown and his party to the very verge of
abandoning his defence, and surrendering to the Ameri
cans. Still, however, he deferred this humiliating act,
in the hope, faint indeed, but yet tenaciously clung to,
of relief. Each hour he waited with extreme impatience
the appearance of Colonel Cruger ; and, as they slowly
passed without his coming, he was on the point of

250 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
sending out a white flag, to settle the terms of capitula
tion, when the head of the column of British troops
was seen emerging from the woods on the other side
of the Savannah River, and their appearance was
hailed by the despairing Rangers with wild expressions
of joy. Had Colonel Clarke a properly organized or
well-disciplined force, he could have easily prevented
Cruger from crossing the river ; but such was the weak
ness of the Americans, »occasioned by the loss of men
in the action, and the desertion of others who had
joined the army for plunder, rather than patriotism;
and such his want of confidence in the men who served
under him, that, by ten o'clock, two hours after the
appearance of the English troops on the opposite bank
of the river, Clarke raised the siege, and, knowing his
inability to meet so large a force of regulars, hastily
retired, leaving nearly thirty of his wounded men
in the town to the mercy of the British commander.
How well that mercy was exercised, may be learned from
the treatment which these men received, for Brown
caused Captain Ashby and twelve of the wounded, to be
hung on the stair-case of the white house, so that he
could see them swing off as he lay in his sick bed. The
other prisoners and wounded men were delivered up
to the Indians, who practised on them the refinements
of savage cruelty, satiating their revenge by ingenious
expedients to prolong the misery of their hapless vic
tims, — seeking, by the horror of their death agonies,
to make propitiation to the manes of the seventy
warriors who had faUen by the American arms.
Colonel Cruger crossed the river, and entered Augusta
without opposition, and the English flag again waved
from the fort.

SIEGBi OF AUGUSTA. 251
Brown, smarting in body and mind, under painful
wounds and remembered indignities, and true to a
nature which gloated in revenge, immediately spread
around Augusta detachments of troops and Indians,
to pick up stragglers from the American army; to
surprise such small parties as might still hover near ;
to seek out every friend of liberty, and ascertain who
had relatives among the rebel troops ; and these,
whether aged men or helpless women, quiet citizens
or defenceless children, were visited with cruel treat
ment; their houses were burned, their plantations
laid waste; the men driven off to filthy prisons, under
a driver's lash, or at the point of the bayonet ; the
women abused, dishonored, and, with the children, left
to be the sport of the ferocious royalists, whose tender
mercies were cruel. No wars exhibit such horrors as
those which enlist friends and neighbors in opposing
interests and arms. The sudden displacing of kind
feelings by political enmity ; the hardening influence
of such a transition ; the private piques and feuds
which are engendered ; the personal acrimony which
embitters the contest; the covetous desires fostered
by the easy confiscation of estates; the little value
placed upon human life ; the intense selfishness which
is cherished ; these, added to the hardening influences
of camp life, and the license accorded to the victor,
conspired to make the partizan warfare in Georgia one
of the darkest spots in the history of the American
Revolution. The minute record of these cruelties is
too heart-sickening to be transcribed. War with a
foreign power, in well-pitched battles, with disciplined
troops, to decide great principles or to enforce great
rights, may have in it something noble and stirring, to

252 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
relieve the dark features of the bloody field, the sacked
town, the wasted life; but the social feuds of civil
¦war — the hand-to-hand contests of neighbors — the
mutual jealousy of adjoining hamlets — the embittered
strife of once bosom friends; and the murders, assassin
ations, ravishments, burnings, thefts, and barbarities
of the most revolting kind, which daily result from
such partizan warfare, can be painted by no pencil,
written by no pen, told by no tongue ; for each case of
outrage Avould, if properly portrayed, fill a large canvas
with its sickening details : yet, until each case can be
considered in all its bearings, and all these cases, with
their various ramifications, be fully spread upon the
historic page, we cannot form a true picture of the
horrors, or obtain a true idea of the distress, which
filled Georgia with blood, and ashes, and tears, during
the years of its revolutionary history.
To attempt any further defence of Georgia, was now
considered useless; and Colonel Clarke, after collect
ing such men and families as were unwilling to remain,
led them over the Alleghanies, on the northern edge
of Georgia, to the borders of Tennessee and Kentucky,
where they were welcomed by the hospitable but hardy
inhabitants, and where, for a brief season, they rested
from their toils ; though it was a repose purchased by
the sacrifice of all their property, and by enduring
sufferings which baffle the most graphic pencil.
From this time until the opening of the next year,
the Georgians who kept the field were found doing
good service in the adjoining States; and at Black-
stock's, and King's Mountain, and Fish-dam Ford, and
Long-Cane, the soldiers of our State fought with zeal,
and gained unfading honor. In this last battle. Colonel

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 253
Clarke was borne from the field severely wounded, and
was not able to return to his command for several
months. Without a leader, under whom all could
rally, the refugee Georgians were broken up into small
parties, and acted without concert, as circumstances
suggested, keeping up a sort of guerilla warfare
against the British. To remedy this defect, by which
so much strength and efficiency was wasted, for want
of co-operation. General Morgan, from his camp on
the Pacolette River, addressed to them, on the 4th
January, 1781, the following letter : —
"TO THE REFUGEES OF GEORGIA.
" Gentlemen — Having heard of your sufferings, your
attachment to the cause of freedom, and your gal
lantry and address in action, I had formed to myself
the pleasing idea of receiving in you a great and valu
able acquisition to my force. Judge, then, of my disap
pointment, when I find you scattered about in parties,
subjected to no orders, nor joining in any general plan
to promote the public service. The recollections of
your past achievements, and the prospects of future
laurels, should prevent your acting in such a manner
for a moment. You have gained a character; and
why should you risk the loss of it for the most trifling
gratifications. You must know that, in your present
situation, you can neither provide for your safety, nor
assist me in annoying the enemy. Let me then entreat
you, by the regard you have for your fame, and by
your love to your country, lo repair to my camp, and
subject yourselves to order and discipline. I will ask
you to encounter no dangers or difficulties, but what I
shall participate in. Should it be thought advisable

254 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
to form detachments, you may rely on being employed
on that business, if it is more agreeable to your wishes;
but it is absolutely necessary that your situation and
movements should be known to me, so that I may be
enabled to direct them in such a manner that they
may tend to the advantage of the whole.
"I am, gentlemen, with every sentiment of regard,
" Your obedient servant, "Daniel Morgan."
In consequence of this appeal, many of them rallied
around his standard, and were present at the battle
of Cowpens, on the 17th January, 1781. On this me
morable day, the Georgians were under the immediate
command of Major Cunningham, of Clarke's regiment,
and were incorporated into the brigade of General
Pickens, — James Jackson being Brigade Major.
Major Jackson greatly distinguished himself on this
occasion by capturing the colors of the 71st Regiment,
and by taking prisoner Major McArthur, the commander
of the infantry of Tarlton's Legion ; and he received
the thanks of General Morgan on the field for his gal
lant conduct.
The overthrow of Fergusson at King's Mountains,
the defeat of Tarlton at the Cowpens, and the march
southward of General Green, who had superseded Gates
in the command of the Southern Department, revived
the flagging spirit of the Americans ; and, under the
impulse of that rekindled energy, it was determined
to make another effort to wrest Augusta, the key of
the whole up-country of Georgia, from the hands of
the Tories.
Lord Rawdon had not only been held in check, but

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 255
had been turned back towards the seaboard by General
Green. The outposts of Forts Watson, Motte, Granby,
and Orangeburg, had successively yielded to the Ame
rican arms ; and the troops therein had either been
taken prisoners, or were withdrawn ; and, when the
American army reached the Congaree River, its Gene
ral viewed, with great satisfaction, the successive fall
of the advanced British posts, and the rising patriotism
of the people, and resolved to press his march with
such vigor as to compel the enemy to surrender or
retire from the whole interior of Carolina and Georgia,
and confine themselves to the seaports of Charleston
and Savannah.
On the 16th of May, Lieutenant-Colonel Lee, of the
legion, received orders to advance upon Augusta ; and,
fearing that, in the general abandonment of interior
posts. Colonel Cruger would evacuate Ninety-Six, and
join Colonel Brown at Augusta, he pushed on with great
celerity, relieving the tired infantry by making them
occasionally exchange with the dragoons, or mount
behind them, and reached Augusta on the 19th.
While Lee was thus pressing on, as the van of
General Green's army, on the one side. Colonel Clarke,
having again rallied a band of faithful Georgians around
him, was prepared to join the expected forces of Pickens
and Lee in the reduction of Augusta. As Clarke ap
proached this place on the South, he learned that the
boats, laden with the annual presents for the Indian
tribes, and with supplies for the garrison, were then
ascending the river ; and, posting his men among the
thick trees which skirted its banks, he so commanded
the passage that the boats, unable to ascend without
being captured, took shelter at Fort Galphin, or Dread-

256 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
nought, at Silver Bluff, twelve miles below Augusta,
on the north side of the river. While thus engaged
in watching these boats, Lee was requested by General
Pickens to reduce this post, which was a stockade fort,
manned with two companies of infantry. It being
important to make, the attack at once, as it was evident
that neither of the commanding officers at Augusta and
Fort Galphin knew of the arrival of Pickens or Lee,
Lee, to whom the affair was intrusted, detached a com
pany of infantry and a troop of horse, under command
of Major Rudolph, who, by a forced march, reached
the pine barrens, in the vicinity of the fort, on the
morning of Monday, the 20th of May. Being strength
ened here by a strong detachment of Georgia and Caro
lina militia, under Colonel Clarke, Lee attacked the Fort ;
and continued the attack with such spirit during the
day, that, evening drawing on, and it being impossible to
hold out much longer. Captain Roath surrendered tbe
fort by capitulation ; and thus, without losing a man,
and having only eight or ten wounded, the Americans
made one hundred and twenty-six prisoners; and
gained a large amount of powder, balls, smaU arms,
blankets, salt, and other articles greatly needed by the
army, and of many of which they had been completely
destitute. On Wednesday, the 23d of May, Colonel Clarke
formed a junction with Pickens and Lee, near Augusta,
and prepared to invest the town. Augusta was then
defended by the Forts Grierson and CornwaUis. The
former, commanded by the Colonel whose name it
bore, was situated near the site of the new market,
and was defended by two pieces of artillery and eighty
men ; and the latter was located half a mUe to the

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 257
east and south, on the spot now occupied by St. Paul's
Church. In Fort CornwaUis there were several pieces
of cannon, and it was garrisoned by four hundred men,
in addition to two hundred negroes, who did duty in
the fort. Both forts, as indeed the whole British force
in Upper Georgia, were commanded by Colonel Thomas
Brown, who had so bravely resisted the former siege
under Colonel Clarke.
The first object of the combined forces was to cut
off communication between the forts. Pickens, there
fore, to whom the honor of conducting these move
ments was confided, erected field-works on the plain,
which equally commanded both forts. This battery
opened its fire of artillery on the morning of the 24th,
and it was determined, under cover of this fire, to fall
upon and destroy Fort Grierson ; and then, if possible,
take Fort Cornwallis. The troops, destined for the
attack on Fort Grierson, were divided into two por
tions ; one, under Pickens and Clarke, being ordered to
attack the fort on the north and west; the other, under
Majors Eaton and Jackson, was to approach it simul
taneously on the south. To prevent any succor being
sent to Grierson by Brown, Lieutenant-Colonel Lee,
with the infantry and artillery, menaced Fort Corn
wallis ; while the dragoons, under Eggleston, were so
placed, under cover of a neighboring wood, that they
could, at a moment's signal, fall upon the rear of
Brown, should he attempt a sortie for the rescue of
Fort Grierson.
Colonel Grierson finding himself galled by the fire
of the American field-works, and fearing that he would
be entirely cut off, resolved to abandon the fort, and
retreat, under shelter of the river bank, to Fort Corn-
VOL. II. 17

258 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
wallis. As soon as this movement was perceived, he
was intercepted, and attacked with such vigor, that he
lost his second in command, two field-pieces, thirty
men killed, and forty-five wounded or taken prisoners.
Grierson and a few others only, escaped to Fort Corn
wallis. In a moment of desperation, at the anticipated cap
ture of Fort Grierson, Brown sallied forth with a body
of troops to the aid of his brother commander ; but he
was promptly met and repulsed by Lee, who drove
him back to his fort.
Fort Grierson having fallen into the hands of the
assailants, their combined force was now directed upon
Fort Cornwallis. Brown, unwilling to surrender,
though summoned to do so, exerted himself to the
utmost to place the fort in a defensible state by
strengthening every assailable part, and resolving to
hold out to the last extremity. The peculiar nature
of the ground not permitting an assault, it was resolved
to invest it by regular approaches, and at these the
troops labored with commendable diligence, occasion
ally interrupted by sallies from the fort, which aU
resulted in loss to the British. The level plain afforded
no eminence from which the besiegers could command
the fort by their artillery, and in this emergency,
Colonel Lee proposed the plan, — adopted, with so much
success, by Lieutenant Mayham, at Fort Watson,— of
erecting a square tower of rough logs, about thirty feet
high, fiUed in with fascines, earth, stone, brick, &c., to
give it solidity, sufficiently platformed to sustain a six-
pounder, and so loopholed as to make it effective, both
as an artillery and rifle battery. It was begun on the

SIEGE OP AUGUSTA. 259
evening of the 30th of May, under cover of a frame
house, which concealed the laborers from the view of
the fort, and, by the 1st of June, was raised to a level
with the enemy's works.
Brown's attention was now directed to counteracting
this novel mode of Avarfare, and he accordingly erected
a platform in the angle of his fort, opposite the May-
ham tower, upon which he mounted two of his heaviest
pieces, and opened their fire at once upon the besiegers.
Not trusting to this alone, and feeling, in the desperate
condition of affairs, that he must make a bold and
sudden strike, if he would either dislodge or intimidate
his foes, BroAvn resoh'ed to make a general sortie ; and,
for this purpose, divided his band into two parts, one
of Avhich was to attack the American works on the
river quarter, as a feint ; while the other party, led by
BroAvn himself, was to fall directly upon the troops in
front, and gain, if possible, possession of the tower,
with a view to burn it down. Shortly after midnight,
on the 1st June, the sortie Avas made ; but the British
found the Americans prepared to receive them, and
they were repulsed, in both attacks, after a long, close,
and very bloody conflict, with a steadiness and gal
lantry worthy of all praise. From this time Brown
gave up all such attempts, and sought to do by strata
gem what he had failed to do by force.
The Mayham tower being completed, and a six-
pounder mounted on its platform, it was pointed and
fired with such effect, that before mid-day the two
pieces in the angle of Fort Cornwallis, nearest the
tower, were dismounted, and the inside of the fort was
raked by its balls.
"It was now," says Colonel Lee, who relates the

260 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
circumstance,^ " that Lieutenant-Colonel BroAvn deter
mined to put in execution his concealed stratagem.
In the course of the night a deserter from the fort was
sent to Lieutenant-Colonel Lee. He was a Scot, with
all the wily sagacity of his country, and a sergeant of
the artillery. Upon being questioned upon the effect
of our cannonade, and the situation of the enemy, he
answered, that the strange log-house, lately erected,
gave an advantage which, duly improved, could not
fail to force surrender; but, that the garrison had not
suffered so much as might be presumed ; that it was
amply supplied Avith provisions, and was in high spirits.
" In the course of the conversation which followed, Lee
inquired, in what way could the effect of the cannonade
be increased ? Very readily, replied the crafty ser
geant ; that knowing the spot where all the powder in
the fort was deposited, with red hot balls from the six
pounder, directed properly, the magazine might be
blown up. This intelligence Avas received with delight,
and the suggestion of the sergeant seized with avidity,
although it would be very difficult to prepare our baU,
as we were unprovided with a furnace. It was pro
posed to the sergeant, that he should be sent to the
officer commanding our battery, and give his aid to the
execution of his suggestion, Avith assurances of Uberal
reward in case of success. This proposition was heard
with much apparent reluctance, although every dispo
sition to bring the garrison to submission was exhibited
by the sergeant, Avho pretended that Brown had done
him many personal injuries in the course of service.
But he added, it was impossible for him to put himself
^ Lee's Memoirs, ii, 105.

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 261
in danger of capture, as he well knew he should be
executed on a gibbet, if taken. A good supper Avas
now presented to him, with his grog; which, being
finished, and being convinced by the arguments of Lee,
that his personal safety could not be endangered, as it
was not desired or meant that he should take any part
in the siege, but merely to attend at the tower to direct
the pointing of the piece, he assented ; declaring that
he entered upon his task with dire apprehensions, and
reminding the lieutenant-colonel of his promised re
ward. Lee instantly put him in care of his adjutant,
to be delivered to Captain Finley, with the information
communicated, for the purpose of blowing up the
enemy's magazine. It was midnight ; and Lieutenant-
Colonel Lee, expecting on the next day to be much
engaged, our preparations being nearly completed,
retired to rest. Reflecting upon what had passed, and
recurring to the character of his adversary, he became
much disquieted by the step he had taken, and soon
concluded to withdraw the sergeant from the tower.
He had not been many minutes Avith Captain Finley,
before an order remanding him was delivered, commit
ting him to the quarter guard. In the morning we
were saluted with a noAV exhibition, unexpected, though
not injurious. Between the quarters of Lee and the
fort stood four or five deserted houses; some of them
near enough to the fort to be used with effect by rifle
men from their upper stories. They had often engaged
the attention of Pickens and Lee, Avith a view of ap
plying them, whenever the enemy should be assaulted,
to aid in covering their attack. Brown, sallying out
before break of day, set fire to all but two of the
houses. No attempt Avas made to disturb the opera-

262 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
tion, or to extinguish the flames, after the enemy had
returned; it being deemed improper to hazard our
troops in effecting anj^ object not material in its conse
quence. Of the two left, one was most commodious
for the purpose originally contemplated by Pickens
and Lee in the hour of assault.
" The besiegers being incapable of discovering any
reason for the omission to burn the two houses, and
especially one nearest the fort, A'arious were their con
jectures as to the cause of sparing them ; some leading
to the conclusion that they were left purposely, and
consequently with the Aaew of injuring the assailant.
The fire from the tower continued, and being chiefly
directed against the parapet fronting the river, in which
quarter the proposed attack Avould be directed, demon
strated satisfactorily that the hour had arrived to make
the decisive appeal. Orders Avere accordingly issued to
prepare for the assault, to take place on the next day,
at the hour of nine in the forenoon. In the course of
the night, a party of the best marksmen were selected
from Pickens' militia, and sent to one of the houses
nearest to the fort.
" The officer commanding this detachment was
ordered to arrange his men in the upper story, for the
purpose of ascertaining the number which could with
ease use their rifles out of the Avindows, or any other
convenient aperture ; then to withdraw, and report to
the brigadier. It Avas intended, before dayUght, to
have directed the occupation of the house by the same
officer, with such a force of riflemen as he should re
port to be sufficient. Handy was ordered to return to
the river quarter at the dawn of day, as to his detach
ment and the legion infantry the main assault would

SIEGE OF AUGUSTA. 263
be committed. These, with all the other preparations
being made, the troops continued in their usual sta
tions, pleased that the time Avas near which Avould close
with success their severe toils.
" About three in the morning of the 4th of June,
we were aroused by a violent explosion, which was
soon discovered to have shattered the very house in
tended to be occupied by the rifle party before day
break. It was severed, and thrown into the air thirty
or forty feet high, its fragments falling all over the
field. .This explained, at once, not only the cause of
Brown's omitting its destruction, but also communi
cated the object of the constant digging which had
until lately employed the besieged.
" Brown pushed a sap to this house, which he pre
sumed would be certainly possessed by the besieger,
when ready to strike his last blow ; and he concluded,
from the evident maturity of our works, and from the
noise made by the militia, when sent to the house in
the first part of the night, for the purpose of ascertain
ing the number competent to its capacity, that the ap
proaching morning was fixed for the general assault.
Not doubting but the house was occupied with the
body destined to hold it, he determined to deprive his
adversary of every aid from, this quarter ; hoping, too,
by the consternation which the manner of destruction
could not fail to excite, to damp the ardor of the troops
charged with storming.
" Happily he executed his plan too early for its suc
cess, or our gallant band would certainly have shared
the fate of the house. This fortunate escape excited
grateful sensations in the breasts of the two command
ants, for the gracious interposition of Providence ; and

264 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
added another testimonial to the many already re
ceived, of the penetration and decision which marked
the character of their opponent."
On the 3d June, Pickens and Lee a second time
summoned Brown to surrender, who replied, as he had
done on the Slst of May, "As it is my duty, it is like
wise my inclination, to defend the post to the last
extremity." The next day, learning that some of the
prisoners in Brown's possession were purposely placed
in the most exposed position of the fort, so that the
Americans, if they fired, would be likely to kill their
own friends, the commanding officers proposed to
Brown to send them out of the fort during the con
test, to " be considered yours or ours, as the siege may
terminate." To this humane proposal Brown refused
to accede, and the American commanders determined
to carry the fort by a general assault ; but its execu
tion Avas stayed, to receive a flag from Brown, offering
to surrender on specified terms ; but they Avere such
as could not be granted, though terms were trans
mitted in reply, which, with some slight modifications,
were accepted. On the 5th June, the following arti
cles of capitulation Avere signed by both parties, and
at 12 M. Fort Cornwallis was delivered up to Major
Rudolph, the British troops marching out and laying
down their arms : —
"ARTICLES OP CAPITULATION
PROPOSED BY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL BROAVN, AND ANSAVERED BY
GENERAL PICKENS AND LIEUTENANT-COLONEL LEE.
"Article I. That all acts of hostilities and works
shall cease between the besiegers and besieged, until

SIEGE OP AUGUSTA. 265
the articles of capitulation shall be agreed on, signed,
and executed, or collectively rejected.
^'Answer. Hostilities shall cease for one hour; other
operations to continue.
"Article II. That the fort shall be surrendered to
the commanding officer of the American troops, such
as it now stands. That the King's troops, three days
after signing the articles of capitulation, shall be con
ducted to Savannah, with their baggage, where they
will remain prisoners of Avar until they are exchanged ;
that proper conveyances shall be provided by the com
manding officer of the American troops for that pur
pose, together with a sufficient quantity of good and
wholesome provisions, till their arrival at Savannah.
" Ansiver. Inadmissible. The prisoners to surrender
field-prisoners of war. The officers to be indulged
with their paroles; the soldiers to be conducted to
such place as the commander-in-chief shall direct.
"Article III. The militia now in garrison shall be
permitted to return to their respective homes, and be
secured in their persons and properties.
"Answer. Answered by the second article, the militia
making part of the garrison.
"Article IV. The sick and wounded shall be under
the care of their own surgeons, and be supplied with
such medicines and necessaries as are allowed to the
British hospitals. — Agreed.
"Article V. The officers of the garrison, and citizens
who have borne arms during the siege, shall keep
their side-arms, pistols, and baggage, which shall not
be searched, and retain their servants.
"Answer. The officers and citizens who have borne
arms during the siege, shall be permitted their side-

266 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
arms, private baggage, and servants ; their side-arms
not to be worn ; and the baggage to be searched by a
person appointed for that purpose.
"Article VI. The garrison, at an hour appointed,
shall march out with shouldered arms and drums
beating, to a place agreed on, Avhere they wUl pile
their arms.
"Answer. Agreed. The judicious and gallant defence
made by the garrison, entitles them to every mark of
military respect. The fort to be delivered up to Cap
tain Rudolph at twelve o'clock, Avho will take posses
sion with a detachment of the legion infantry.
"Article VII. That the citizens shall be protected
in their persons and property.
"Answer. Inadmissible.
"Article VIII. That twelve months shall be allowed
to all such as do not choose to reside in this country,
to dispose of their effects, real and personal, in this
province, Avithout any molestation whatever, or to
remove to any part thereof, as they may choose, as
well themselves as families.
"Answer. Inadmissible.
"Article IX. That the Indian families now in gar
rison shall accompany the King's troops to Savannah,
where they will remain prisoners of war, until ex
changed for an equal number of prisoners in the Creek
or Cherokee nations.
"Ansiver. AnsAvered in the second article.
"Article X. That an express be permitted to go
to Savannah, with the commanding officer's despatches,
which are not to be opened.
"Ansiver. Agreed.
"Article XI. Additional. The particular attention

SIEGE OP AUGUSTA. 267
of Colonel BroAvn is expected towards the just delivery
of all public stores, moneys, &c., and that no loans be
permitted to defeat the spirit of this article.
" Signed at headquarters, Augusta, June 5, 1781, by
" Andrew Pickens, B. G. Mil.
" Henry Lee, Jr., Lieut.-Col. Com.
"Thomas Brown, Lieut.-Col.,
commanding King's troops at Augusta."
So exasperated were the Georgians at the wanton
cruelties committed by Brown and Grierson, that they
were both placed under a strong guard, to secure them
from the determined assaults of those whose fathers,
brothers, and sons had been massacred by them.
Brown, under the care of Captain Armstrong, was,
with difficulty, saved from assassination ; but Grierson
was shot down the day after the capitulation, by a
man on horseback, who, riding up to the room where
he was confined, and, without dismounting, shot him
so that he expired soon after. The American officers
exerted themselves to the utmost to check these mur
derous feelings ; but the long course of atrocities per
petrated by these men ; the many personal insults,
which, in the excited minds of the individuals, de
manded personal revenge ; and the generally exaspe
rated state of the militia, made it extremely difficult
to secure to them the protection which was guaranteed
by the articles of capitulation.
Immediately after the surrender of Augusta, the
commanding officers, Pickens and Lee, marched their
troops to Ninety-Six, and joined the main army under
General Greene, leaving Major James Jackson in com
mand at Augusta.

CHAPTER VIIL
evacuation of SAVANNAH.
The excitement kindled in Georgia by the success of
this siege was so great, and the danger to which, in the
view of the British, the Province Avas exposed, was so
imminent, that Lord Rawdon felt compelled, even in his
own weakness, to send the king's American regiment,
in a small craft, and without convoy, from Charleston,
in order to reinforce Lieutenant-Colonel James Wright,
at Savannah.'
Augusta had been a stronghold of the English, by
means of Avhich they held in check the whole up-
country of Georgia, and preserved an open communi
cation with the tories of Carolina; but, being now
driven from this, the British found themselves reduced
tp narrow limits. With the exception of Savannah,
they had but two garrisoned outposts, — at Ebenezer,
twenty-five miles northwest, and at Ogeechee, about the
same distance southwest of Savannah. Communica
tion was still preserved with Florida, by the seaboard,
and through this route the tories and Indians made
frequent and harassing incursions ; for such was still
the infiuence of the British over the Indians, by means
of presents and resident agents, that parties of them
1 Tarlton's Campaigns, 486.

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 269
were ever on the alert, to cut off stragglers from the
American forts, and massacre such as were in the Ame
rican interests.
As the British lines contracted, the spirit of the
Georgians expanded; the dawning hope that they
might yet drive out the foe, roused many who had
heretofore desponded of liberty ; while others, who had
been kept passive by the overawing force of regulars,
tories, and Indians, now joined the American camp,
and seemed anxious to atone for long inactivity, by
tbe most energetic efforts. General Greene, also, deem
ing it a favorable moment, had promised General
Twiggs that, so soon as St. Clair, then on his march
from the North, should form his camp, he would send
Wayne, then lying at Purysburg, with a large detach
ment, to his help in Georgia. Under these circum
stances, Twiggs began a movement southward, cau
tiously feeling his Avay, and securing every foot of
ground over which his troops passed, until he reached
Burke County; when, hearing that a band of loyalists
and Indians were collecting on the western frontier of
Georgia and Carolina, he retraced his way to Augusta,
where the legislature was then sitting, to devise
measures to disperse the enemy.
In the meantime Colonel Jackson, to whom Congress
had committed the raising and command of a Georgia
legion, with a small advance corps, had attempted, on
the 2d November, 1781, to surprise the British post at
the Ogeechee, commanded by Captain Johnson ; but,
failing in this plan, through the impetuous conduct of
one of his officers, at the very moment that victory
seemed certain, he retired towards Ebenezer, having
lost sixteen of his command in killed, wounded, and

270 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
prisoners, while he had inflicted upon the enemy a loss
of three officers and nine privates killed, and wounded,
and taken prisoners. On the return of General TAviggs
to Augusta, after dispersing the Indian and tory bands
at the Big Shoals, on the Oconee, Avhich, for a few
months, gave peace to that harassed district, he
ordered Colonel Jackson to retreat to Burke County,
for the purpose of recruiting his force, and then to
proceed against Ebenezer. As soon as his corps num
bered one hundred and fifty, he completely shut up
the garrison at Ebenezer, — cutting off their foraging
parties, and so harassing them, that the post was soon
broken up by the retreat of the British to Savannah.
On the 4th January, 1782, General St. Clair effected
a junction with General Greene, in South Carolina.
Upon this accession, the mind of the southern com
mander turned at once to Georgia, and, agreeably to
his promise, he detached General Wayne, on the 10th
January, Avith the 3d regiment of dragoons, under
Colonel White, and a party of artillery, to proceed
thither, and assume the command of all the American
forces there. Colonel Hampton's cavalry had previously
been detached from General Sumpter's brigade, in order
to report himself for service under Wayne in Georgia.
The distressed situation of Georgia took a deep hold
upon the mind of General Greene. The savages had
laid waste nearly aU the frontier settlements, and often
penetrated into the older districts Avith the torch and
scalping-knife. The tories, lost to all feeUngs of hu
manity, wreaked their fiery and bloody vengeance upon
the plantations and persons of all interested in the
American cause. The British soldiers, most of whom
were imported loyalists from the north, or German

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 271
hirelings, ravaged the country with merciless vigor.
The continual alarms prevented planting or reaping.
The absence of so many males, embodied in the va
rious partisan corps, drew largely on the resources of
the country. The havoc and destruction of the whigs
upon the tories, and the tories upon the whigs, and the
general insecurity of life, and labor, and property,
reduced the State to a most pitiable condition. It is
not too much to say, that no State suffered more, inter
nally, than Georgia. The legion of Jackson, popular
as it was, was subsisted with difficulty ; their rations
were mostly boiled rice, in small quantities, and even
then uncertain. The most common articles of provi
sion were exorbitantly high. Salt often commanded
two dollars (specie) a quart. Rice, to keep the people
of the upper districts from famishing, was obtained
with difficulty from the State of South Carolina. The
frontier settlers were grouped chiefly in log forts, and
planted and tended their corn by companies. While
some guarded the forts with the women and children,
the others worked and guarded each other by turns.
The utmost distress prevailed. They planted, but
knew not that they should reap. They built rude
cabins, but knew not how long it would be before they
were burnt over their heads. They Avent out to labor
in the morning, not knowing that they should ever
return to their little fortress ; and each night was a
night of horrors and alarm. That General Greene knew
much of this distress, is evident from his instructions
to General Wayne, in which he says, " The peculiar
situation of Georgia, and the great sufferings of the
good people of that State, and their uncommon exer
tions to recover their liberties, induce me to embrace

272 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
the earliest opportunities to give them more effectual
support than has been hitherto in my power." He
was particularly enjoined to "invite all the people to
join him when he should get into the low country,
and to give protection and security to all such as
should engage in serAdce under his command." In
General Greene's letter to Governor Martin, Janu
ary Oth, 1782, he gives expression to the following
sentiment : " I cannot help recommending to your
Excellency to open a door for the disaffected of your
State to come in with particular exceptions. It is
better to save than destroy, especially when we are
obliged to expose good men to destroy bad. It is
always dangerous to push people to a state of despe
ration, and the satisfaction of revenge has but a mo
mentary existence, and is commonly succeeded by pity
and remorse. The practice of plundering, which, I am
told, has been too much indulged with you, is very
destructive to the morals and manners of the people.
Habits and dispositions, founded on this practice, soon
groAV obstinate, and are difficult to restrain ; indeed, it
is the most direct way of undermining all government,
and never fails to bring the laws into contempt, for
people will not stop at the barriers which were first
intended to bound them, after having tasted the sweets
of possessing property by the easy mode of plunder.
The preservation of morals, and an encouragement to
honest industry, should be the first objects of govern
ment, — plundering is the destruction of both. I wish
the cause of liberty may never be tarnished with inhu
manity, nor the morals of people bartered in exchange
for wealth."
Wayne, with his command, reached Sister's Ferry, on

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 273
the Savannah, on the I2th, and crossed the river in
small canoes, swimming his horses by their side. The
artillery, Avhich formed part of his detachment, he was
compelled to leave in Carolina, as he had no means of
transporting it across the river. The Legislature was
at this time in session in Augusta ; and immediately,
on receiving intelligence from General Wayne of his
being in Georgia, accompanied with a suggestion akin
to. that of General Green, " recommending proclama
tions to be issued for opening a door for the absent
citizens of this State, and to encourage desertion from
the enemy," appointed a committee of the Executive
Council to Avait on General Wayne to devise measures
to carry out these views. The result of this conference
was, that two proclamations were made, viz., one for
opening a door for the reception of citizens; and another
to encourage desertion from the enemy, particularly
among the Hessian troops, who, from their nearness
to the Germans of Ebenezer, were strongly attracted
thither. The appearance of General Wayne, and the
vigilance and activity of his dragoons, and of the legion
of Jackson, drove the enemy within their Unes, after
they had destroyed all the provisions in the vicinity of
Savannah Avhich they could not carry thither.
The proclamations also had a very good effect, espe
cially as they Avere aided by a general dissatisfaction
among the troops in Savannah. Many of the former
citizens who had been compelled, from various causes,
to take protection under the British Government, and
who had even joined the armies of the enemy, availed
themselves of the door opened by the proclamation,
Avhich had special reference to them, returned to
their State allegiance, and joined the camp of General
VOL. II. 18

274 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Wayne, proving their sincerity by the most zealous
efforts to merit the pardon and protection extended to
them by the Executive. A vindictive and revengeful
feeling, however, existed against many of these men,
and it required the strong arm of civil and military
power to hold in check the ebullitions of feeling which
frequently betrayed themselves in a desire to injure
and even to murder these reclaimed citizens. Spurred
on by passions, which the camp tended to excite, rather
than subdue ; roused by prejudices, the offspring rather
of ignorance than of justice, the militia and other citi
zens were led to the commission of acts of atrocity for
which there can be no extenuation, save in the un
bridled spirit which war ever begets, and the jealousy
of sharing blood-bought rights with those who had, for
a time at least, turned traitors to their country.
The condition of the enemy in Savannah was greatly
straitened; and though reinforced by Lord Rawdon
with one hundred and fifty men of the 7th regi
ment, there were, including these, the militia and a
corps of one hundred and fifty negroes, armed and
equipped as infantry, under the command of the notori
ous Brown, only about one thousand men. The
town, indeed, was well fortified and protected by
ordnance, and guarded on the river side by row-gallies
and brigs ; but so completely had the Americans com
pressed their operations, that Jackson, with his legion,
often pursued the enemy Avithin sight of Savannah,
and, in several instances, picked off men and horses
even from the town commons. The British spared no
pains to form and keep up aUiances with the Cherokees,
Creeks, and Chickasaws, and aimed to ingratiate them
selves into their favor by rivalling them in deeds of

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 276
cruelty and blood. These savages were induced to
visit Savannah under the idea of receiving presents,
and were mostly brought round from the Alatamaha by
boats, through the inland passage. The peculiar
ferocity of the enemy, at this time, is indicated in the
foUowing extract of a letter from General Wayne,
dated Headquarters, Ebenezer, 26th March, 1782: —
" On receiving intelligence that the enemy were on
the point of moving out in force, I determined to more
than meet them, and to avail myself of circumstances
and position; from a conviction that, although our
numbers Avere not so great as I could wish, yet we were
not to be disgraced, and that if we could possibly pro
duce disorder in their ranks, the enemy would have no
reason to triumph from the encounter. Our advance
guard fell in with a party of their dragoons three miles
from Savannah, whom they immediately charged and
drove into the lines, and then sounded a charge within
the influence of their batteries. This temerity in the
officer, drew the. enemy out in force, and, in falling
back before them, one of his dragoons was killed. How
ever, as soon as they discovered that the advance were
supported, they retired into their works, bearing off the
scalp of the dragoon, with which they paraded the streets
of Savannah, headed by the Lieutenant-Governor and
other British officers, who gave an entertainment to
the Indians, and had a dance on the occasion. Nor
did their barbarity rest here : they mangled and dis
figured the dead body in a manner that none but
wretches inured in acts of cruelty would possibly be
capable of, and ordered it to remain unburied ; but the
Ethiopians, more humanized, stole it away, and de
posited it in the ground, for the commission of which

276 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
crime, a reward of five guineas is offered for the dis
covery of any person or persons concerned in that act
of humanity."
General Wayne desired to get as many of these
Indians as he could into his power, for the purpose of
bringing them over to the American side, or at least
of making them neutral in the strife. Knowing, there
fore, that many of them, unsuspecting the presence of
American troops near Savannah, Avould attempt to get
into the town on the land side, he despatched Major
John Habersham, with a body of South Carolina
cavalry, under Major Francis Moore, and some
mounted militia, under Captain Patrick Carr, to collect
the various parties known to be on their way to
Savannah. The efforts of Habersham were at first
quite successful, as he represented himself as Colonel
Brown, with whose name they were quite familiar, and
his orders, therefore, were promptly obeyed. But the
whole plan was foiled by the knavery of a part of his
mounted militia, who, with a lieutenant, under pre
tence that the bad roads would injure their horses,
abandoned him in their thirst for blood, — slew several
of the Indians, and then threw themselves precipitately
into the neighborhood of Sunbury, Avhere they killed
eleven loyalists. This transaction opened the eyes of
the Indians, and, notwithstanding all the vigilance
which Habersham observed, the savages fled by night,
carrying tales of outrage and blood into the surround
ing tribes. Major Moore was shortly after kUled, in a
skirmish with some Indians and Tories, at Reed's Bluff,
on the Alatamaha, while on his return to headquarters;
and Captain Lyons, of that corps, and Captain Carr,
were so incensed at his fall, that they, with their

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 277
several commands, breaking away from the orders of
Habersham, determined to repass the Alatamaha, and
avenge the death of their gallant comrade. But his
death was avenged more speedily and by other hands,
as appears from the following extract from the Order-
book of General Wayne : —
"Headquarters, Ebenezer, April 16th, 1782.
" Five of Colonel Jackson's dragoons and young Sny
der were surrounded and fired upon a little before day
light on Sunday morning by a party of the enemy,
thirty in number, under the command of Major Dill,
but without effect. The fire was returned by Snyder
with so good a direction, as to leave the Major dead on
the spot. A pistol fired by one of the dragoons wounded
two men of the party, which was all the arms made use
of by our people on this occasion, — the enemy flying
with such precipitation to their boats, as to escape the
keen cutting swords of their brave pursuers.
" General Wayne requests Mr. Snyder, and those
five brave dragoons, to accept his best thanks for their
fortitude and gallant conduct in defeating five times
their number, although attacked by surprise."
The return home of the Carolina cavalry, and the
discharge of the State militia, whose term of service had
expired, Avho, however, in the language of the General,
"required some respite from duty and fatigue, which
they have gone through with cheerfulness and forti
tude becoming the virtuous citizens of America," Avas
in some measure made up by the arrival of one hun
dred and fifty Virginia troops under Lieutenant-Colonel

278 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
Posey. Still the number in his camp was fluctuating,
and he was embarrassed greatly by the lack of clothing
and subsistence. " We are in great distress for want
of shoes, shirts, and overalls ; the Virginians have
marched upwards of three hundred miles barefoot, in
which situation they still continue. I send you,"
he continues, Avriting to Colonel Jackson (24th April,
1782), "a gill of spirits for each man Avith you, and a
little for your own use, as we have not a sufficiency to
divide among the officers in general. I have directed
a distribution between Colonels White, Posey, and
yourself, by which means your officers Avill participate
in rotation at your tables."
In the general distress which then prevailed, the
civil functionaries suffered equally with the military.
A few days after the above letter was written. Governor
Martin made a communication to the State Legislature,
in which he says : " I am sorry to inform you that my
family is frequently destitute of provisions, and that I
have no mode of supplying them but through the Com
missary, who has it not in his power to prevent it, or
is very neglectful ; and that, in a fit of illness, from
which I have not yet recovered, I was obUged to send
to my neighbors for every article but sugar and coffee
fit for a sick or weak person to eat. I have not had,
since my commencement in office, as much money as
would purchase the most trifling necessaries myself or
family stands in need of from time to time. My family,
such of the members of your body who stay with me
(for want of public houses), and the guard, have been
for some time, and are now, supported by grain pro
cured on my private credit."
This letter drew a resolve from that body, on the 4th

EVACUATION OP SAVANNAH. 279
of May, empowering the Governor to take ten negroes
belonging to any person or persons who have forfeited
the same, for the purpose of supporting himself and
family while in the exercise of government. The
aspect of the times Avill perhaps be still better under
stood by inserting a report ordered by the House of
Assembly, upon certain articles forwarded to Governor
Martin from Captain Ignatius Few, a certain portion
of which were set aside for the Governor and Council;
" the same being inspected by a committee, report, that
there is seventy-five pounds sugar, nine bushels salt,
and twenty-three gallons rum. To the President two
gallons rum, to each member one gallon, the remainder
for the Governor, to be disposed of as he may think
proper. To the President ten pounds sugar, to each
member five pounds, the remainder to be disposed of
as the Governor may think proper. The salt to the
President two quarts, to each member one, the re
mainder to be disposed of as the Governor may think
proper. To the Messenger of this Board five pounds
sugar, one quart of salt, half gallon rum."
At this juncture the State of South Carolina voted
the Georgians some rice ; but so difficult was its trans
portation, that one-third of it was "allowed to any
person or persons that will bring the said rice from
Pocotaligo to Ebenezer." Strange as it may seem,
at this time, the very legislature Avhich granted
ten negroes to Colonel Martin to support him as
Governor, voted five thousand guineas, to be vested
in three commissioners, to purchase an estate for
Gefteral Green ; ' and four thousand guineas to be
likewise vested in an estate for General Wayne ; so
highly did the Georgians estimate the services of these

280 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
distinguished men, and so liberally did they reward
them.' But they were not estimated beyond their
value, nor rewarded beyond their merit. The grants
were the more generous, from the deep poverty of the
grantors ; for Avhen, a few months before, the Conti
nental Financier had called upon the Executive for the
quota of this State, amounting to $25,000, Wereat
Avrote, 12th March, 1782, there is not " a quarter part
of the money in the State Avithout the enemy's lines,
neither is there produce to raise it from, or a sufficient
provision to last the people until harvest, besides a
general want of every necessary."
General Wayne found much difficulty in filling up
his regiments, and keeping up a proper force to sustain
himself so near the enemy's lines. Yet, under diffi
culties of the most disheartening character, and in
command of a post that demanded anxious vigilance,
Wayne not only kept up good appearances toward the
enemy, but so disposed his troops, and adjusted his
plans, as to keep them in continual fear; hovering
around the city, attacking their foraging parties, cut
ting off their supplies by capture or conflagration, even
under cover of the guns of their redoubts. The energy
and prowess of Wayne and his soldiers were soon, how
ever, put to a severer test. With the view of escort
ing into camp a body of Creek Indians, under the
command of Guristersigo, who were to rendezvous at
Harris's Bridge, on the Ogeechee, seven miles from
Savannah, Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, with all the
troops that could be spared from Savannah, marched
out to conduct their allies into town. As soon' as
^ Johnson's Life of Green, ii, 401, 419.

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 281
Wayne heard of this at Ebenezer, on the 21st May,
he immediately put White's dragoons and Posey's in
fantry in motion, Avho reached Mrs. Gibbons' s, within
six miles of Savannah, at 5 p.m. An hour after, he
received an express from Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson,
stating that the enemy were in full force at Harris's
Bridge, on the great Ogeechee road, and that a smaller
party were at Ogeechee Ferry, Avhich he designed to
attack Avith his corps. Upon inquiry, Wayne found
that the only route to the enemy's position was
through a tangled swamp of nearly four miles in
extent, with many deep and dangerous morasses to
pass, and then to intersect the Ogeechee road at an
intermediate distance between Savannah and the
bridge. He was properly impressed with the difficulty
attending a night-march over such ground, as well as
the delicacy of a manoeuvre that placed him in con
tact with the whole of the enemy's force in Georgia ;
but trusting to the experience and gallantry of the
officers, and the steady bravery of the troops, he or
dered an advance, assured " that the success of a
nocturnal attack depended more upon prowess than
numbers." The vanguard, under Colonel White,
reached the Ogeechee road at a point four miles
southwest of Savannah at twelve at night, and there
found the enemy advancing, and in good order.
Without waiting for the rest of the troops to come up,
Wayne ordered the vanguard to charge ; which they
did with such vivacity as to cause the precipitate
flight of Brown and his large force, " without the use
of powder." The almost impenetrable woods, deep
swamps, and morasses into which they plunged, under
cover of night, secured them from total ruin ; they lost.

282 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
however, many of their horses and arms in their hur
ried efforts to obtain personal safety. This sudden
route of a force five times their superior, was effected
by a company of light infantry under Captain Parker,
and a fcAV dragoons under Captain Hughes and Lieu
tenant Bowen, led on by Colonel White, under General
Wayne ; and the only weapons used were the sword
and the bayonet. The remainder of Posey's detach
ment, and of White's dragoons, under Captain Gunn,
did not reach the road until after the enemy had
broken and fled. The flight was complete. Many
were killed and wounded; among whom was Lieu
tenant-Colonel Douglass. Many prisoners were made,
and between twenty and thirty of their best dragoon
horses were taken. The discomfited troops reached
Savannah by twos and threes; and Colonels Brown
and Ingham did not get to town until the next night,
when they entered unattended.
This whole affair was as brilliantly achieved as it
was daringly conceived, and reflected great honor on
Wayne and his enthusiastic troops. After refreshing
his men at Mrs. Gibbons's, General Wayne marched
within view of Savannah, in the hope of drawing out
General Alured Clark and the troops under his com
mand; but that cautious officer declined the virtual
challenge, and Wayne therefore returned to Ebe
nezer, on the morning of the 24 th, with the loss of
only five privates kUled and two wounded.
While these events were transpiring in the lower
part of Georgia, active operations were being prose
cuted in the upper districts for the suppression of dis
turbances created by the tories and Indians. In the
beginning of the year. General Pickens wrote urgent

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 283
letters to General Rutherford, Colonels Clarke, Sevier,
Shelby, and others, to join him in an expedition against
the Cherokees, appointing an early day in February
for their setting out, and the middle settlements as a
place of junction; stating that he had ordered his own
brigade " to be in readiness by that time, with thirty-
five days' provision, and pack-horses to carry it ;"
urging this measure " as a means of saving this coun
try from total ruin, and enabling them to act with
their whole force against the enemy below." Owing
to the impossibility of mustering men from such remote
districts at a given time, the expedition was delayed
more than a month ; and even then undertaken not
as originally designed, as the Tennesseeans and North
Carolinians did not reach the ground ; for when
Pickens reached Choti, where he purposed to rendez
vous, he had but two hundred and seventy-five men,
"including officers, pack-horse men, and servants."
Out of this number, two hundred only had guns, and
about fifty swords. Undeterred by this small force,
scarcely a fourth of what he anticipated, he deter
mined to march on, until obliged by necessity to turn
back. His progress is thus described by himself, in a
letter to Colonel Clarke, dated Long Cane, South Caro
Una, 3d AprU, 1782 :—
" Still in hopes to reach the middle ground and
meet the over-mountain men, we crossed the moun
tains to Catoogojoy, and from there to Quanese and
Cheweg, but the Indians had removed from their
towns with their provisions. From there we took the
road to the middle grounds, and reached the Coosa
town, where we were in hopes to get some corn, but
did not get an ear in the town. As the snow was

284 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
excessive, and no cane or corn for our horses, many of
them dropped dead on the road that day's march. In
the town we met Crittenden and Jack Doharty, with
two other young fellows, Avho were sent from the
middle grounds the day before, to spy and watch our
motions. Crittenden and one Indian was killed ; Do
harty and the other Avas taken, who told us that the
Indians had removed with their provisions into the
mountains as soon as they heard the Indians Avith the
flag was killed, which appeared to be the case. I told
him we had come a great Avays to meet their warriors ;
that I had heard that they wanted much to meet us
in that country. He said they were collecting their
men to fight us, and that he expected them there that
night, but, as the day had been very bad, perhaps they
would not come till next day. The next morning I
sent out parties with the prisoners to search for corn,
and in the whole day found but about thirty bushels.
The excessive snows and rains occasioned the loss of
the most of our little provisions we had with us. The
greatest part of the men were then entirely out. I
called a council of the officers ; Avho were unanimous of
opinion that it was not possible to proceed any further,
as there was no prospect of getting any corn in the
Indian towns, and could get no intelligence from the
over-mountain men. We staid there two days in that
neighborhood, but could not find more than forty
bushels of corn and four small beeves, and through
absolute necessity we were obUged to return. The
officers and men that were out underwent the hard
ships and fatigues, and done their duty with more
cheerfulness and less complaint or murmuring, than I
ever saw amongst militia. Though I fear that this

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 285
important expedition for our frontiers has not been as
successful as I could have wished, through the inat
tention, neglect, or, I fear, the lukewarmness of some
of the field officers of the different regiments in this
State." Major John Cunningham, who commanded the Geor
gians in this expedition, speaks of it " as the most fa
tiguing expedition I ever had. The weather was so
desperate that we were all nigh perishing :" he attri
butes its failure to the " North Carolina men not
meeting agreeably to their repeated promises, and the
badness of the weather."
The failure of this well-laid plan reacted with disas
trous effect on the people of Wilkes County. They
were left in a perishing condition. Over half of them
had not a grain of corn, and not the least hope of a
supply, and Avere obliged to live on roots and such
fruits as the woods afforded. In addition to this, they
were threatened by the Indians and Tories with a
retaliating visit, with scarcely a hope of sustaining a
contest against such fearful odds.
A week after the defeat of Brown, on the Ogeechee
road. Sir James Wright received letters from his Ma
jesty's Secretary of State, inclosing copies of the pro
ceedings of Parliament on the 27th February, 1782,
and also his Majesty's answer to this address of the
Commons. These Sir James inclosed the next day
to General Wayne, expressing his determination to
" observe such conduct in every respect as may best
promote a speedy and happy reconciliation and peace
between Great Britain and America ;" and he proposed,
" as the most effectual means for bringing about that

286 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION. I
desirable object," " a cessation of arms and hostilities
for such time as shall be agreed upon."
This proposition Wayne referred to his commander.
General Green, who, of course, referred it to Congress.
It was well for Wayne that he did not enter into the
proposed terms, for a body of three hundred Indians,
under Guristersigo, was at that very time on its march
to join General Alured Clark at Savannah, and would
augment his force to a dangerous extent. The Indians,
which had hitherto been captured by General Wayne,
had been returned to their tribes with Mr. Cornell, the
interpreter, with friendly talks and kind treatment.
This, to a great extent, influenced the mass of the In
dians towards pacific measures ; but this band, under
Guristersigo, having long before determined on aiding
the British, now proceeded to carry their resolve into
execution. Wayne also, so soon as he heard of their
movements, took every precaution to avoid surprise in
his camp at Mrs. Gibbons, on the Ogeechee road. But
on the night of the 24th they succeeded, by the most
stealthy manoeuvres and cautious approaches, in gain
ing undiscovered the rear of Wayne's encampment,
and their startUng war-Avhoop was the first notice the
army had of their approach. The rear guard, finding
the enemy in their midst, retreated, and formed under
cover of some of the plantation houses. While the
Indians took possession of his field pieces, and, in their
futUe attempt to turn these upon the Americans, they
lost so much time that it gave opportunity for Wayne
to rally and form his men and issue his orders, which
he did with a promptness and decision that at once
banished fear and inspired courage. As Wayne led
on his men his horse was shot under him, but, putting

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 287
himself, at the head of Captain Parker's infantry, he
ordered his troops to advance with charged bayonets ;
and his orders were so well executed that the artillery
was soon recovered and the enemy fled, leaving their
chief, his Avhite guides, and seventeen of their war
riors dead on the field. One hundred and seventeen
pack-horses, loaded with peltry, were also left on the
ground. The pursuit Avas not long kept up. About
thirty Indians Avere ascertained to have been killed,
though many wounded were probably borne off by
their friends. No prisoners were taken, for such was
the indignation of the soldiers, at the merciless scalp
ing of some of their wounded comrades, that no quarter
Avas given ; and twelve, who were captured in the
woods, were shot as examples by General Wayne.
The American loss was small, four killed and twelve
wounded. Wayne received much praise for his cool
ness and firmness on this trying occasion ; and, indeed,
but for this promptitude and self-possession, the mas
sacre of Paoli, in 1777, would have been re-enacted,
to his OAvn infamy £).nd destruction.
Preparations were noAV made for bringing the war to
a close ; and negotiations were going on from the 5th
of June, between Sir James Wright and Governor
Martin on the one hand, and the British merchants
and General Wayne, through Major Hale, on the
other, with respect to the property, protection, &c., of
the residents in Savannah. These terminating in a
manner more satisfactory to the British than they
dared to hope, a day was appointed for the formal de
livery of the town into the hands of the Americans.
That day was the Ilth of July, 1782, and by 2 o'clock
in the afternoon the last of the English troops had

288 GEORGIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
embarked on board the ships in the river, and at 4
p.m. General Wayne issued the following order : —
"Headquarters, Savannah, Ilth July, 1782.
" The light infantry company under Captain Parker
to take post in the centre work in front of the town,
placing sentries at the respective gateways and sally
ports, to prevent any person or persons going or enter
ing the lines without written permits, until further
orders. " No insults or depredations to be committed upon
the persons or property of the inhabitants on any pre
text whatever ; the civil authority only will take cog
nizance of the criminals or defaulters belonging to the
State, if any there be. The merchants and traders
are immediately to make out an exact and true invoice
of all goods, wares, or merchandise of every species,
dry, wet, or hard, respectively belonging to them,
or in their possession, with the original invoices, to
the Commissary, who will select such articles as may
be necessary for the army and for the public uses
of the State, for which a reasonable profit will be
allowed ; no goods or merchandise of any kind what
ever to be removed, secreted, sold, or disposed of, untU
the public and army are first served, which will be as
soon as possible after the receipt of the invoices, &c. '
" N. B. Orders avUI be left with Captain Parker for
the immediate admission of the Honorable Executive
Council and the Honorable members of the Legislature,
with their officers and attendants."
That evening the troops paraded before the lines of
Savannah; and Colonel James Jackson, who, "in con
sideration of his severe and fatiguing service in the

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 289
advance," had been selected by General Wayne to
receive the formal surrender of the town, advanced to
the principal gate, where a committee of British offi
cers stood in waiting, and received at their hands the
keys of the metropolis of Georgia. The troops then
marched into the town, Avhich for three years and
a-half had been in the possession of the enemy, and
Georgia was once more free and independent.
Wayne received orders to leave Lieutenant-Colonel
Jackson's corps and Major Habersham's new recruits
in charge of Savannah, and then, Avith the rest of his
troops, to join General Green, encamped on Ashly
River in South Carolina. While the evacuation of
Savannah, as the first formal and voluntary cession of
British to American power, was hailed with joy as an
earnest of the disposition of the ministry to comply
with the prevailing desire for peace, though no articles
or treaty had been signed ; yet the manner in which
the evacuation was conducted, reflected disgrace on the
authorities who permitted such gross disorders. Many
of the most notorious Loyalists in the State, whose
hands and hearts had been stained with fraternal blood,
who had instigated and vA'itnessed the cruelties of their
savage allies, were gathered there, and in their anxiety
to secure themselves, they laid hands on everything
that they could possibly command. All movable pro
perty that could be secured was taken away ; and five
thousand negroes, from three-fourths to seven-eighths
of all in Georgia, and many of them plundered from
their republican owners, were carried off in the general
embarkation. The State was drained of everything
that the enemy could avail themselves of, and was left
in a crippled and dismantled condition.
VOL. II. 19

BOOK FIFTH.
GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.

CHAPTER L
ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT.
Hitherto avc have been chiefly occupied by nar
rating the military transactions in Georgia, and have
alluded to civil affairs mostly to illustrate the condi
tion of things under which the events recorded
occurred. In order to obtain a somcAvhat connected view of
the civil condition of Georgia during this period, when
tAvo independent governments, one royal and the other
republican, at times exercised jurisdiction in the same
province, it will be necessary, in some instances, to
state anew facts which have been already related, to
avoid the necessity of continually referring the reader
to former Chapters, or of making unpleasant breaks in
the history.
The first effective organization of the friends of
liberty in the province, took place among the deputies
from several parishes, who met in Savannah, on the

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 291
18th January, 1775, and formed what has been called
" A Provincial Congress."
Guided by the action of the other colonies, a " Coun
cil of Safety" was created, on the 22d June, 1775, to
whom was confided the general direction of the mea
sures proper to be pursued in carrying out resistance
to the tyrannical designs of the King and Parliament.
William Ewen was the first President of this Council
of Safety, and Seth John Cuthbert was the Secretary.
On the 4th July, the Provincial Congress (now pro
perly called such, as every parish and district was
represented) met in Savannah, and elected as its pre
siding officer, Archibald Bulloch. This Congress con
ferred upon the "Council of Safety," " full poAver upon
every emergency during the recess of Congress." This
latter body, which was fully organized on the Ilth
December, when George Walton was elected its Presi
dent, and Edward Langworthy its Secretary, assumed
now the functions of government — levied troops, com
missioned officers, bought supplies, and did Avhatever
else was needed in the peculiar circumstances of the
times. These movements, however, were confessedly imper
fect; yet were patiently endured, with their many evils,
until a better machinery of government could be con
structed, and set in motion. Yet the patriots were
not prepared to establish a new and permanent consti
tution, because it was yet undecided what measures
would be ultimately pursued by the Continental Con
gress. Feeling, however, the need of some broader
basis of action, the Provincial Congress, on the 15th
April, 1776, adopted the following preamble and reso
lution, as the groundwork of a more stable and formal
government : —

292 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
" Whereas, the unwise and iniquitous system of ad
ministration obstinately persisted in by the British
Parliament and Ministry against the good people of
America, hath at length driven the latter to take up
arms, as their last resource, for the preservation of
their rights and liberties, which God and the Consti
tution gave them :
"And whereas an armed force, with hostile inten
tions against the people of this province, having lately
arrived at Cockspur, his Excellency Sir James Wright,
Baronet, the King's Governor of Georgia, in aid of the
views of administration, and with a design to add to
those inconveniences which necessarily flow from a
state of confusion, suddenly and unexpectedly with
drew himself from his government, carrying off the
great seal of the province with him :
"And whereas, in consequence of this and other
events, doubts have arisen with the several magis
trates how far they are authorized to act under their
former appointments, and the greatest part of them
have absolutely refused to do so, whereby all judicial
powers are become totally suspended, to the great
danger of persons and property :
"And whereas, before any general system or form of
government can be concluded upon, it is necessary that
appUcation be made to the Continental Congress for
their advice and directions upon the same ; but, never
theless, in the present state of things, it is indispensa
bly requisite that some temporary expedient be fallen
upon to curb the lawless and protect the peaceable :
" This Congress, therefore, as the representatives of
the people, with whom all power originates, and for
whose benefit aU government is intended, deeply im-

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 293
pressed with a sense of duty to their constituents, of
love to their country, and inviolable attachment to the
liberties of America, and seeing how much it will tend
to the advantage of each to preserve rules, justice, and
order — do take upon them, for the present, and until
the further order of the Continental Congress, or of
this or any future Provincial Congress, to declare, and
they accordingly do declare, order, and direct, that the
following Rules and Regulations be adopted in this
province — that is to say : —
" 1st. That there shall be a President and Com
mander-in-chief appointed by ballot, in this Congress,
for six months, or during the time above specified.
" 2d. That there shall, in like manner and for the
like time, be also a Council of Safety, consisting of
thirteen persons (besides the five delegates to the
General Congress), appointed to act in the nature of a
Privy Council to the said President or Commander-in-
chief. " 3d. That the President shall be invested with all
the executive powers of government, not inconsistent
with what is hereafter mentioned ; but shall be bound
to consult and follow the advice of the said Council, in
all cases whatsoever; and any seven of the said Coun
cil shall be a quorum for the purpose of advising.
"4th. That all the laws, whether common or statute,
and the Acts of Assembly which have formerly been
acknowledged to be of force in this province, and which
do not interfere with the proceedings of the Continental
or our Provincial Congresses, and also all and singular
the resolves and recommendations of the said Conti
nental and Provincial Congresses, shall be of full force,
validity, and effect, until otherwise ordered.

294 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
" 5th. That there shall be a Chief Justice and two
Assistant Judges, an Attorney-General, a Provost-
Marshal, and Clerk of the Court of Sessions, appointed
by ballot, to serve during the pleasure of the Congress.
The Court of Sessions, or Oyer and Terminer, shall be
opened and held on the second Tuesday in June and
December, and the former rules and method of pro
ceeding, as nearly as may be, shall be observed in
regard to summoning of juries, and all other ca.ses
whatsoever. "6th. That the Presiden t or Comm ander-in-chief, with
the advice of the Council as before mentioned, shall
appoint magistrates to act, during pleasure, in the
several parishes throughout this province; and such
magistrates shall conform themselves as nearly as may
be to the old establishment, form, and methods of pro
ceeding. " 7th. That all legislative powers shall be reserved to
the Congress ; and no person who holds any place cff
profit, civil or military, shall be eligible as a member
either of the Congress or Council of Safety.
"8th. That the following sums shall be allowed as
salaries to the respective officers, for and during the
time they shall serve, over and besides all such per
quisites and fees as have been formerly annexed to the
said officers respectively."
Pursuant to the provisions of this scheme, Archibald
Bulloch was elected President and Commander-in-chief
of Georgia; John Glen, Chief Justice ; WilUam Stephens,
Attorney-General ; and James Jackson, Clerk of Court.
The " Council of Safety," on the 1st of May, pre
sented to the new President the following address :—

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 295
" To His Excellency Archibald Bulloch, Esquire, Presi
dent and Commander-in-chief of the Province of
Georgia : The Address of the Council of Safety for tlie
said Province. " May it please your Excellency :
" The long session of the late Congress, together with
the season of the year, called particularly for a speedy
recess; and the House having adjourned while you
were out of town, it becomes more particularly neces
sary for us to address your Excellency. All, there
fore, with unfeigned confidence and regard, beg leave
to congratulate, not only your Excellency on your
appointment to, but your country on your acceptance
of, the supreme command in this province.
" It Avould be needless and tedious to recount the
various and yet multiplying oppressions Avhich have
driven the people of this province to erect that govern
ment which they have called upon you to see executed ;
suffice it, then, to declare, that it was only an alterna
tive of anarchy and misery, and, by consequence, the
effect of dire necessity. Your Excellency Avill know
that it was the endeavor of the Congress to stop every
avenue of vice and oppression, lest the infant virtue of
a still more infant province might in time rankle into
corruption ; and, we doubt not that, by your Excel
lency's exertions, all the resolutions made or adopted
by Congress will be enforced with firmness, without
any regard to any individual, or any set of men ; for
no government can be said to be established Avhile any
part of the community refuses submission to its autho
rity. In the discharge of this arduous and important

296 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
task, your Excellency may rely on our constant and
best endeavors to assist and support you."
To this earnest and confiding address President Bul
loch returned the following reply : —
" To the Honorable the Members of the Council of Safety
of the Province of Georgia :
" Honorable Gentlemen : I am much obliged to you
for your kind expressions of congratulation of my ap
pointment to the supreme command of this colony.
When I reflect from whence the appointment is derived
— that of the free and uncorrupt suffrages of my fellow-
citizens, it cannot fail to stimulate me to the most
vigorous exertions in the discharge of the important
duties to AA'hich I am called by our Provincial Con
gress. While I have the advice and assistance of gen
tlemen of known integrity and abilities, I doubt not
but I shall be enabled to enforce and carry into execu
tion every resolve and law of Congress. And, as far
as lies with me, my country may depend I will, with
a becoming firmness, and the greatest impartiality,
always endeavor to cause justice in mercy to be
executed. " Archibald Bulloch."
The Council of Safety still continued to exercise its
several functions, his Excellency being the Presi
dent of the body.
The Declaration of Independence, which had been
published in Savannah with impressive ceremonies, put
a new aspect on political affairs. It was now no longer
a contest of colonies acknowledging fealty to the Eng-

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 297
lish Crown, seeking redress of grievances from an ob
stinate King and a servile Parliament ; but a struggle
of States for independence. Allegiance to Britain was
cast off; the governments which had so long been esta
blished in the thirteen colonies were overturned ; and,
with them, Avent down the courts of law, and all the
instrumentalities by and through which government
had been administered. The old civil and political
superstructures were taken down, and ncAv establish
ments were to be reared in their places. To meet the
exigency arising from this new attitude of the Conti
nental Congress, in declaring the American Colonies
free and independent. President Bulloch issued a pro
clamation, based on a recommendation of the General
Congress, ordering " the several parishes and districts
within this State to proceed to the election of delegates
between the 1st and 10th days of September next, to
form and sit in convention ; and the delegates so elected
are directed to convene at Savannah on the first Tues
day in October following, when business of the highest
consequence to the government and welfare of the
State will be opened for their consideration." In a
circular letter addressed to the several parishes, he
enjoined upon the people "the necessity of making
choice of upright and good men to represent them in
the ensuing convention — men whose actions had
proved their friendship to the cause of freedom, and
whose depth of political judgment qualified them to
frame a constitution for the future government of the
country." The Deputies met in convention at the time ap
pointed, and took up the important subject before
them. Much other business, however, pressed upon

298 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
them, consequent on putting the State in a proper
posture of defence ; but after one or two adjournments
they accomplished their work, and on the 5th of Feb
ruary, 1777, ratified in convention the first Constitu
tion of the State of Georgia.
This instrument, after reciting in its preamble the
causes Avhich led to its origin, was divided into sixty-
three articles, covering the Avhole ground of govern
ment in its legislative, executive, and judiciary depart
ments. The second article declared Avhat should be
the composition of the Legislature, to wit : a House of
Assembly and an Executive Council; and also directed
how the Governor and this Executive Council should
be elected. The fifth article apportioned the repre-
sentatiA^^es to the several counties. The sixth stated
their qualifications. The seventh, the poAver of the
Assembly. The ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thir
teenth, fourteenth, the qualifications and duties of
electors. The fifteenth contained the representative's
oath. The sixteenth and seventeenth declared who
should and who should not, have seats in the Le
gislature. The articles from the nineteenth to the
twenty-fourth, inclusive, set forth the duties of the
Governor. Those from the twenty-fifth to the thir
tieth, inclusive, stated what Avere the duties of the
Executive CouncU. The articles from the thirty-
sixth to the forty-eighth, were taken up in defining
the powers of the Judiciary. The fifty-fourth re
quired the erection of a school, at the public expense,
in each county. The fifty-sixth estabUshed religious
toleration. The sixtieth, the fundamental principle
of the habeas corpus. The sixty-first, the inviolate
freedom of the press and trial by jury. The sixty-

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 299
second, the ineligibility of clergymen to seats in the
Legislature ; and the sixty-third provided, with great
caution, for any needed revision of the Constitution.
It Avas a striking indication of the grateful feeling of
Georgians for those who had so warmly defended the
cause of America in the British Parliament, that the
fourth article of this Constitution changed the desig
nation of the old parishes by striking out their former
names and substituting therefor, with one exception,
the names of the English apologists for America.
Thus the old parish of Christ Church, in which Avas
Savannah and a part of the parish of St. Philip, were
set off as a new county and called Chatham, in honor
of the elder Pitt, the venerable Earl of Chatham.
The parishes of St. David and St. Patrick, were
erected into one county and called Gltnn, after the
eminent counsellor of that name. The parishes of
St. Matthew and the upper part of St. Philip, were
to be known by the name of Effingham, after Lord
Effingham, who had refused to employ his sword
against the Americans, and resigned the Colonelcy of
the 22d Regiment rather than serve Avith it in the war
of the Revolution. To the parish of St. Paul, in which
Augusta was situated, was given the name of Rich
mond, in honor of the Duke of Richmond, who had
boldly advocated the cause of America in the House
of Lords. The parish of St. George was named
Burke, after that great commoner and wise states
man. The parishes of St. John, St. Andrew, and St.
James, were to form one county under the name
Liberty : a distinction awarded to the parish of St.
John for its early and steady devotion to the cause of
freedom. The parishes of St. Thomas and St. Mary,

300 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
were to constitute another county by the name of Cam
den, after the distinguished Lord Chancellor of Eng
land, and firm friend of America. The ceded lands
north of the Ogeechee was constituted a county, taking
the name of Wilks, the name of that political dema
gogue who payed his court to liberty only that he
might gain notoriety and Avealth.
The great seal of the State, adopted by this Con
vention, had on one side a scroll, whereon Avas en
graved, " The Constitution of the State of Georgia,"
and the motto, "Pro bono publico ;" on the other side,
an elegant house, and other buildings; fields of corn,
and meadows covered with sheep and cattle ; a river
running through the same, Avith a ship under full sail;
and the motto, " Deus nobis hcec otia fecit."
To carry this Constitution into effect, was now an
important object with the President and Council of
Safety. But it had scarcely been signed, before Archi
bald Bulloch died; and on the 4th March, 1777,
the Council of Safety elected Button Gwinnett Presi
dent and Commander-in-chief, until such time as, by
the Constitution, a Governor shall be appointed. In
the exercise of his gubernatorial powers, he issued a
proclamation requiring the parishes to elect delegates
to a Legislature, to convene in Savannah on the first
Tuesday in May.
The Legislature met at the time and place desig
nated; and at once, after the formalities of opening,
proceeded to elect a Governor and Executive Council :
when John Adam Treutlen was chosen Governor; and
John Houstoun, Thomas Chisholm, William Holzin-
dorf, William Few, John Coleman, William Peacock,
John Walton, Arthur Fort, John Fulton, John Jones,

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 301
and Benjamin Andrews, Avere chosen as the first Ex
ecutive Council. Of this body, Benjamin Andrews
was elected President, and Samuel Stirk, Clerk. The
books and papers of the late Council of Safety were,
by a resolution of the Assembly, confided to them, and
thenceforth the Council of Safety ceased to exist.
In the latter part of 1776, a resolution was intro
duced into the General Assembly of South Carolina,
and unanimously passed, " that a union between the
two States of South Carolina and Georgia would tend
effectually to promote their strength, wealth, and dig
nity, and to secure their liberty, independence, and
safety." It was also resolved to send Commissioners
to Georgia, to treat with the Legislature upon this
matter; and, among others, William Henry Drayton
was appointed.
Mr. Drayton reached Savannah in the beginning of
January, 1777; but soon found that "every gentleman
in public office, with whom he conversed, Avas strongly
against a union." A fcAV others, however, approved
the measure. Being honored with an invitation to
appear before the Convention, then in session, he
stated to that body, in an address of an hour's length,
the various reasons which should lead them to seek a
union with South Carolina, and the many benefits
which would accrue to Georgia thereby. The state of
affairs in Georgia, as he painted them, was certainly
very highly colored ; and some of his prognostications
read quite strangely alongside the facts of actual his
tory. Among other things, he declared, "in a state
of separation, in all probability. Savannah will be
ruined, because it will be our interest to preserve our
trade to our own people. A town will rise on the

302 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Carolina side of the Savannah River, which wiU be
sure to preserA'C our half of the trade of that river,
and, by being Avisely supported, may draw to it the
other half, also."
His arguments failed to produce the desired re
sponse ; the overtures were rejected, as the Conven
tion, that same afternoon, delivered to Mr. Drayton
their answer, declining the proposition.
Button GAvinnett was particularly opposed to this
measure, and labored assiduously to check it. After
his death, a new plan of action Avas adopted by the
people of South Carolina, who circulated petitions
tending to cast odium on the Executive of Georgia;
magnifying the grievances, and exciting distrust in the
people ; and urged them to take some action towards
a union of the tAvo most southern States, as the
best means of defence and safety. Finding these
papers freely circulated, and calculated to be detri
mental to the welfare of the State, the Executive
Council, on the 14th July, requested Governor Treut
len " to issue a proclamation, offering a reward of one
hundred pounds to any person or persons who will
apprehend William Henry Drayton and sundry per
sons," engaged in this project. The next day, there
fore, the Governor issued his proclamation to that
effect ; and it was freely distributed, to counteract the
pernicious effect of the Carolina papers.
To this proclamation Mr. Drayton returned a most
discourteous and defiant reply. His aim seemed to be
to cast ridicule on the Governor and his advisers, of
whom he says : " I am inclined to think you are con
cealed Tories, or their tools, Avho have clambered up,
or have been put into office, in order to burlesque

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 303
government (and I never saw a more extravagant
burlesque than you exhibit), that the people might be
sick of an American administration, and strive to
return under the British dominion, merely for the
sake of endeavoring to procure something like law
and order. I respect the people of Georgia; but,
most wise rulers, kissing your hands, I cannot but
laugh at some folks. Can you guess who they are ?"
Such an insolent communication evinced the animus
of the men who moved in this matter, and excited
general disgust.
These prompt measures of Governor Treutlen put
a stop to the efforts of those who sought to reduce
Georgia to a state of vassalage to South Carolina; and
thenceforward, under difficulties indeed of the most
trying kind, her people were permitted to carry on the
government of their OAvn affairs, and to place them
selves, as an independent State, on the floor of the Con
tinental Congress, on a level with the other colonies.
When the Assembly met in Savannah, 17th January,
1778, John Houstoun, son of Sir Patrick Houstoun,
and one of the foremost and most earnest friends of
liberty, Avas, on the 10th instant, elected Governor;
John Glen, Chief Justice ; William Stephens, Attor
ney-General ; William O'Brien and Nehemiah Wade,
Joint Treasurers; James Maxwell, Secretary; and
Thomas Chisholm, Surveyor-General. James Jones
was elected Collector for the port of Savannah ; David
Rees, Collector for the port of Sunbury ; and Ambrose
Wright, Commissary-General of the State, and Super
intendent of PubUc Buildings in the County of
Chatham. Registers of Probate for each of the coun
ties, and other minor officers, were also elected.

304 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Thus, gradually, did the State seem to be consoli
dating itself into a compact government, under judi
cious leaders, when the threatening aspect of affairs
caused the Executive Council to take a step, which
showed at once the greatness of the emergency, and
the confidence Avhich was reposed in the Chief Magis
trate of the State.
At a meeting of the Executive Council, April 16,
1778, to consider and act upon the condition of things,
both military and civil, that body adopted the bold
and, in most instances, dangerous policy, of investing
one man Avith almost dictatorial powers. In a series
of preambles and resolutions spread upon their mi
nutes, they declare, that "the situation of this State
is truly alarming, and, without the most spirited and
vigorous exertions, the machinations of our enemies
threaten to succeed ;" that " in such times of danger,
it may happen that everything may depend upon in
stantaneous measures being embraced, which cannot
be done should the Governor Avait for caUing a Coun
cil;" and then, having expressed their opinion as to
the constitutionality of the proposed measure, they
proceed : " The Council, therefore, impressed with a
sense of the calamitous situation of this State, and
apprehending it as an unavoidable expedient, do
request that his honor, the Governor, will be pleased
to take upon himself to act in such manner as to him
shall seem most eligible ; and to exercise all the execu
tive powers of government appertaining to the militia,
or the defence of the State, against the present danger
which threatens it, or in annoyance of the enemy,
independent of the Executive Council, and without
calling, consulting, or advising with them, unless

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 305
when and where he shall find it convenient, and shall
choose to do so. And they pledge themselves to sup
port and uphold him in so doing, and to adopt as their
own the measures which he shall embrace ; and that
this shall continue during the present emergency, or
until the honorable House of Assembly shall make an
order or give their opinion to the contrary."
The Governor, having considered this requisition,
answered, that " he was exceedingly unwilling to do
any act without the approbation of the Council; but
that, as he found by experience during the present
alarm, the impossibility of at all times getting them
together when too much, perhaps, depended upon a
minute; and further, that as the Council had given
it as their opinion that the proceeding was justifiable
under the Constitution, and as the meeting of the
Assembly was so near at hand, and alarms and dan
gers seemed to thicken on all sides, he agreed to act
in the manner the Council requested, during the pre
sent emergenc}', or until the honorable House of As
sembly shall make an order, or give their opinion to
the contrary."
The practical working of this grant of power to the
Executive, was productive of evil, causing disputes
with Continental officers as to military rank ; and was
one of the causes which led to a failure of the expe
dition on the southern seaboard, to check the Indians
and Tories of Florida in their marauding incursions
into Georgia.
When the town of Savannah was captured, in De
cember, 1778, the Executive CouncU removed the seat
of government to Augusta. At this place, the mem
bers of the Council met at the house of Matthew
VOL. II. 20

306 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Hobson, to choose a President. As, however, no Go
vernor had been elected by the Assembly, " the Con
vention of the representatives of the State of Georgia,
in Assembly met," by a resolution, passed on the Oth,
empowered " the members chosen for a Council, or the
majority thereof," " to act as a committee to recom
mend everything they may think expedient, in the
place of a Council for this State, until the Convention
meet again, to clothe them with poAver to act as an
Executive Council."
Under these instructions, this committee acted until
the time came for the next meeting of the Assembly
in Augusta. At the designated period, however, a
quorum of members did not convene, owing to the
disturbed state of the province, and the occupancy of
the lower counties by the British troops and govern
ment. The twenty-five members who did meet at this time,
though not able to organize the House, and carry on
in full the operations of government, felt most deeply
the need of certainty and stability, as it respects
authority and law ; and the great evils which resulted
from the absence of an executive head and legislative
direction. Impressed Avith these sentiments, they
drew up and subscribed the following remarkable
paper : — " State of Georgia, Richmond County.
" Whereas, from the invasion of the British forces in
this State, great evils have arisen, and still exist, to dis
turb the civil government of the said State, and which,
in a great measure, have prevented the Constitution of

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 307
the land from being carried into such full effect as to
answer the purposes of government therein pointed
out. And Avhereas, it becomes incumbent and indis
pensably necessary at this juncture to adopt such tem
porary mode as may be most conducive to the Avel-
fare, happiness, and security of the rights and privi
leges of the good people of the said State, and the
maintainance and existence of legal and effective
authority in the same, as far as the exigence of affairs
requires, until a time of less disquiet shall happen, and
the Constitution take its regular course ; to the end,
therefore, that government may prevail, and be ac
knowledged to prevent, as far as may be, anarchy and
confusion from continuing among us, and fully to sup
port the laws of the land deriA'ed under the Constitu
tion thereof,
" We, therefore, the representatives of the people
of the counties of Wilkes, Richmond, Burke, Effing
ham, Chatham, Liberty, Glynn, Camden, and other
freemen of the State, having convened and met in the
county of Richmond, in the State aforesaid, for the
purposes of considering the present disturbed situation
of the State, and for applying, as far as in our poAVer,
some remedy thereto, and having maturely and seri
ously considered the same, do recommend that the fol
lowing persons be appointed by the good people of this
State to exercise the supreme authority thereof; Avho
shall, before they enter on the execution of their office,
take the foUowing oath, viz., I, A. B., elected one of
the Supreme Executive Council of the State of Georgia,
do solemnly swear that I Avill, during the terra of my
appointment, to the best of my skill and judgment,
execute the said office faithfully and conscientiously

308 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
without favor, affection, or partiality ; that I will, to
the utmost of my poAver, support, maintain, and defend
the State of Georgia, and use my utmost endeavors to
support the people thereof in the secure enjoyment of
their just rights and privileges; and that I will, to the
best of my judgment, execute justice and mercy in
all judgments : so help me God.
" And we, and each of us, on our parts, as free citi
zens of the State of Georgia aforesaid, do for our
selves nominate, authorize, empower, and require you,
John Wereat, Joseph Cla^v, Joseph Habersham, Hum
phrey Wells, William Fcav, John Dooley, Seth John
Cuthbert, William Gibbons, Sen., and Myrick Davies,
Esqr's, or a majority of you, to act as the Executive
or Supreme Council of this State ; and to execute, from
Tuesday, the tAventy-seventh instant, to the first Tues
day in January next, unless sooner revoked by a ma
jority of the freemen of this State, every such power
as you, the said John Wereat, Joseph Clay, Joseph
Habersham, Humphrey Wells, William Few, John
Dooley, Seth John Cuthbert, William Gibbons, Sen.,
and Myrick Davies, Esqr's, or a majority of you, shall
deem necessary for the safety and defence of the State
and the good citizens thereof: taking care in all your
proceedings to keep as near the spirit and meaning of
the Constitution of the said State as may be. And
you, the said John Wereat, Joseph Clay, Joseph Ha
bersham, Humphrey Wells, WiUiam Few, John Doo
ley, Seth John Cuthbert, WiUiam Gibbons, Sen., and
Myrick Davies, Esqr's, or a majority of you, hereby
have full power and authority, and are authorized,
empowered, and required, to elect fit and discrete per
sons to represent this State in Congress, and to instruct

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 309
the delegates so chosen in Avhich matters and things
as will tend to the interest of this State in particular,
and the United States of America in general.
" The said delegates taking care from time to time to
transmit to you, the said Council, or other authority of
the State for the time being, an account of their pro
ceedings in Congress aforesaid ; to regulate the public
treasury of the said State, to borrow or otherAvise ne
gotiate loans for the public safety ; to regulate the
militia, and appoint an officer if necessary to command ;
to appoint, suspend, and discharge all civil officers, if it
shall be found expedient ; to demand an account of all
expenditures of public money, and to regulate the
same, and, where necessary, order payments of money;
to adopt some mode respecting the current money of
this State, and for sinking the same ; to direct and
commissionate the Chief Justice of the State, or assist
ant justices, or other justices of the peace, and other
officers of each county, to convene courts for the trial
of offences cognizable by the laws of the land, in such
place or places as you shall think fit : always taking
care that trial by jury be preserved inviolate, and that
the proceedings had before such courts be in a sum
mary way, so that offenders be brought to a speedy
trial, and justice be amply done, as well to the State
as to the individuals. You, or a majority of you, the
said Council, have full power, and hereby are requested
on conviction of offenders, to order punishment to be
inflicted, extending to death. And when objects de
serving mercy shall be made known to you, to extend
that mercy and pardon the offence, remit all fines,
mitigate corporal punishments, as the case may be, and
as to you or a majority of you shall seem fit and neces-

310 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
sary. And you the said Council, or a majority of you,
at all times and places, when and where you shall
think fit, have hereby full power and competent autho
rity to meet, appoint your own President ; settle yoar
own rules ; sit, consult, deliberate, advise, direct, and
carry in execution, all and every aqt, special and gene
ral, hereby delegated to you, and all and every such
other acts, measures, and things, as you, or a majority
of you, shall find expedient and necessary for the wel
fare, safety, and happiness of the freemen of this State.
" And in case any of the persons, herein appointed to
exercise the supreme authority as aforesaid, shall re
fuse to act, die, or depart this State, or shall by any
other means be prevented from exercising the same,
then, and in such case, you the said Council hereby
chosen, or a majority of you, shall, and you are hereby
authorized, empowered, and required to fill up such
vacancies by choosing fit and discrete persons, or per
sons to act in his or their room and stead, which per
son or persons so chosen, is or are hereby invested with
every poAver and authority, in as full and ample a
manner, as if they had been appointed by this present
instrument of writing.
" And we do hereby declare all officers, civil and
military, and all persons, inhabitants of this State,
subject to and amenable to your authority, and wUl
ratify and confirm Avhatever 3'ou may do for or con
cerning the public weal, according to the best of your
judgment, knowledge, and ability; and further we do
hereby promise you our support, protection, and coun
tenance. " In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands,
this twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord
1779."

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 311
The Supreme Executive Council, thus clothed Avith
plenary poAvers, temporarily organized on Saturday,
the 24th July, 1779, by the choice of Seth John Cuth
bert, as President pro tempore; and fully organized
on the 6th August, by electing unanimously, John
Wereat, President, Avho then, together with the other
members of the Council, took the oath prescribed by
the instrument, which created them the supreme power
in Georgia.
It is evident that this whole transaction was illegal
and unconstitutional. The appointing body, and the
body appointed to office, both felt it to be so ; and the
Council, in a letter to General Lincoln, say, in reference
to the delegates appointing nine members as the Coun
cil, " this we assure you they did, but conceive they
had sufficient power to establish ; but recommended it
to the inhabitants of the State, and it has been adopted
by a very large majority of them."
Such was the condition of the country at that time,
that it was impossible to act under the provisions of
the Constitution. A regularly formed government
could not then be constructed, aud the question Avas
reduced to the dilemma, of having no form of govern
ment at all ; or, ^cting as nearly as possible to the
letter of the Constitution, and always in its spirit, to
set up, by the popular voice, a provisional government,
during such period as the Constitution Avas necessarily
inoperatiA'e, by reason of the distress and bloodshed
and war which filled the land.
How trying to the hearts of the people this period
was, and hoAV dark the future appeared, may be learned
from a letter Avritten by this Council, under date of
August 18th, 1779, to General Lincoln.

312 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Having stated in the beginning, the circumstances
Avhich created them the Supreme Executive Council,
they remark with an earnestness and a far-sightedness
truly commendable :
" A considerable part of the State having been in the
immediate possession of the enemy CA^er since its inva
sion by them, those counties which have held out
against them, have been constantly subject to their
incursions and depredations, and, of course, the few
militia thereof, much harassed with duty; but their
spirits have been kept up with the idea of support
from the continent and our sister State, otherwise, we
apprehend, a total evacuation would long since have
taken place by those who have firmness enough to
sacrifice everything to the cause of America, whilst
the wavering would have joined the enemy, and assisted
them in their operations against Carolina.
" The arrival of the advance of General Scott's army,
under Colonel Parker and Major Jamison, at a very
critical juncture, has had the most salutary effect that
could be expected, for it has infused new spirits into
the militia, who are now all cheerfully under arms,
to oppose the concerted invasions of the enemy's ir
regulars and Indians, who are at, this time making
different inroads upon us. General Mcintosh has sent
out a part of the Continental troops to support our
mUitia, and we hope that for the present we shall be
able to repel the enemy, and to keep them from reap
ing any considerable advantages from the attempts of
small parties. But we presume, sir, that we need not
endeavor to impress your mind with an idea of the
feeble resistance we should be able to make to any
serious attempt of the enemy to sujugate the upper

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 313
parts of the State, even with the assistance that Gen
eral Mcintosh can at this time afford us. We believe
that it is generally allowed, that, unless the enemy are
considerably reinforced, they will not make another
attempt upon Charleston ; and, from a variety of cir
cumstances, we are led to hope that they will not
receive such reinforcement. Should this be the case,
there can scarce remain a doubt but that they will aim
at a total subjugation of Georgia this fall; for Ave can
not in reason suppose that they will keep a conside
rable body of troops immured in Savannah whilst the
back country, so necessary to their quiet subsistence,
as well as their future designs, remains unconquered.
The large quantities of grain made in the vicinity of
this place, and the numerous herds of cattle through
all the upper parts of the country, must be very con
siderable objects with them, particularly as we knoAV
that they cannot even now get sufficient supplies of
cattle without coming upwards, and then fighting for
them. The frequent skirmishes of our militia with
their irregulars, who are employed as drovers, evinces
the truth of this observation ; and should they gain the
upper parts of this State, we are bold to assert that
Carolina would be in a very dangerous situation. The
great defection of the upper parts of that country is
well known ; a circumstance on Avhicli the enemy
found the most sanguine hopes, and we have every
reason to believe that they continually receive en
couragement from these people to invade the back
country. Nor could the enemy wish for a more favor
able situation to be joined by them, than that by
Augusta, or anywhere above it, where the river is
shalloAv and the swamps all passable.

314 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
" Add to the circumstances already mentioned, which
might induce the enemy to progress upwards in force,
that of having no obstruction to their intercourse with
the Indians, is a very capital one, and Avhich will im
mediately be the case should they effect an entire con
quest of this country ; and unless they should do this,
their intercourse will be very precarious and uncertain,
and we shall always have it in our power to give the
most considerable interruption to it. We think this
point Avorth paying the most particular attention to,
as we are informed that Indian goods are now imported
at Savannah, and that the Creek Indians have had no
late supply from the Floridas. Should the trade from
this country with the Indians be once open and unin
terrupted, the enemy will find not the least difficulty,
whenever they have a mind, in bringing the savages
upon the frontiers of Carolina.
" Besides our apprehensions on the above heads, Ave
are fearful that in case the British troops should move
up this way, the greatest part of the inhabitants, worn
out Avith fruitless opposition, and actuated by the fear
of losing their all, would make terms for themselves ;
and as the human mind is too apt to be led by a
natural gradation from one step of infamy to another,
Ave have not the least doubt of their joining the enemy
against their countrymen in any other State. But
even should the British commander not bend his force
this way, a great many families, harassed and unsup
ported, Avould remove far northwardly (for which they
are already thinking of preparing), and this dangerous
migration nothing but the appearance of support can
prevent. " With minds forcibly impressed by the operation of

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 315
such powerful reasons, Ave beg leave, sir, to solicit you,
in the most serious manner, to order General Scott,
who, we understand, is on his march southwardly with
the rest of his troops, immediately to this place. We
cannot think that the lower parts of Carolina will be
endangered by such an order ; for we may reasonably
presume that the enemy will never penetrate far into
that part of the country while a respectable force re
mains in their rear, Avhich would be the case if General
Scott and his troops Avere in Georgia."
At the same time, the Council addressed a commu
nication to the Governor of South Carolina, briefly
reciting their grievances and distress ; without repre
sentatives in Congress, without a Legislature, without
money to pay the services of its soldiery, surrounded
by enemies, and expecting still further subjugation;
and then they ask assistance, both pecuniary and mili
tary, to enable them to maintain their stand, and not
abandon Georgia entirely to the British.
Their appeals were not unheeded ; and a few weeks
saw the combined army of the French and Americans,
under Count d'Estaing and General Lincoln, lay siege
to Savannah.
The failure of the allied arms to capture this town,
and the virtual defeat and withdrawal of the French
and American troops, left Georgia in a worse condition
than ever; and it seemed almost as if her political
existence Avas at an end. The royal government was
re-established, and Sir Jaraes Wright issued his procla
mation, dated Savannah, the 26th October, 1779, ap
pointing Friday, the 29th, as a day of public thanks
giving to Almighty God, for " His divine interposition"

316 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
and "signal protection," whose superintending provi
dence, says the Governor, " has at no period been
more fully displayed, than in the late deliA^erance we
have experienced from the united efforts of rebellion
and our natural enemies." Proclamations Avere now
issued, also, by Governor Wright and by the military
commanders, offering protection to such as Avould lay
down their arms, and live at peace under British rule.
Many availed themselves of these beguiling offers, and,
feeling that all was lost in Georgia, sought to make
peace with the enemy, and secure life, even at the
expense of liberty.
So soon as Savannah was relieved from the presence
of the allied army. Sir James Wright exerted himself
to re-establish the royal government, and to bring
back the whole province to its former fealty to the
crown. His first care Avas to put Savannah into a
proper condition ; for it had been so shattered by the
destructive fire of the French and Americans, and by
the wanton use of the troops within, as well as by the
necessary demands of the siege, that it was in a deplo
rable state. The churches and public buildings had
been used for depots, and hospitals, and barracks;
private dwellings had been converted into mess-halls
and officers' quarters; fire had laid waste some squares
of buildings; others had been pulled down, to use the
material in the different parts of the fortifications;
others had been rendered tenantless by the battering
balls ; and there was scarcely a house in town which
had not been made to suffer, outside or in, in conse
quence of crowding together so many of the inhabi
tants, with soldiers, seamen, and negroes, within the
narrow limits of the intrenchments.

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 317
Scarcely had the town put on the aspect of order
and cleanliness, before the small-pox broke out, and
produced great consternation among the inhabitants
and soldiers. Inoculation was at that time but little
practised ; and only then, after an order obtained for
that purpose from the Governor's Council, who gene
rally refused to grant the order, except the disease had
already broken out in the household desiring this pre
ventive operation.
Another serious difficulty, which the Governor had
to meet with prompt and decided measures, was the
number of armed negroes found in and around the
town. These persons had been used as laborers in
the works planned and executed by the engineer offi
cers ; and, in many cases, it was found necessary to
arm them, as they worked at the entrenchments.
Knowing to some extent the value of their services,
they groAV bold and presumptuous ; and it was found
no easy matter to check tlieir insolence, and reduce
them to their proper obedience and position. The
petitions Avhich were sent in to the Governor from the
inhabitants of Savannah, show how great was the
danger, and hoAV unbearable the insolence of these
negroes, for several months after the siege was over.
Soon after the allied army had left Georgia, the
Governor desired to call a legislative Assembly ; and,
to this end, put several queries to his Council, on the
30th October, 1779, whether an Assembly could be
called without issuing writs of election for all the
parishes ? how the provost-marshal should do, where
the inhabitants would not meet and elect? whether
an Assembly, consisting of members from parts of the
parishes or districts only, will be a lawful Assembly

318 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
or representation of the Avhole province ? and whether
such a partial Assembly or representation may legally
proceed to the business of legislation ?
The Chief Justice (Anthony Stokes) and the Attor
ney-General (James Robertson), to Avhom these queries
Avere referred, reported to Council, on the 15th No
vember, and decided that "writs of election ought to
be issued, in the usual form, for all the parishes and
districts that sent members to the last Assembly;"
" and if there should be any parish or district without
freeholders qualified to elect, or if through the inva
sion or vicinity of the rebels, the provost-marshal can
not venture to proceed to an election, then he must
return such special matter along Avith the writs of
election, and verify it by affidavits. Such a Commons'
House of Assembly, convened Avith the precautions
above mentioned, we conceive Avould be a lawful
representation of the whole province."
While this report was approved by the Governor
and Council ; Sir James and the Council also thought
it best to postpone calling an Assembly, and it was
not until the foUoAving March (1780), that Avrits were
issued for the election of members, returnable on the
5th May.
The foUoAving persons were returned to the Council
as members of the Commons' House of Assembly.
For the toAvn and district of Savannah : Samuel
Farley, James Mossman, John Simpson, and James
Robertson. Little Ogeechee in Christ Church Parish : WiUiam
Jones. Great Ogeechee and St. Philip's Parish : James
Butler, Thomas Goldsmith, and Simon Monro.

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 319
Midway and St. John's : John Irvine, Joseph Fox.
Goshorn and Abercorn in St. Matthew's : Samuel
Douglass. Ebenezer and St. Matthew's : Alexander Wright,
Basil Cowper, Nathaniel HaU.
Acton, Christ Church Parish : David Zubly.
Vernonburg, Christ Church Parish : Basil Cowper.
Wilmington, Tybee, &c. : Philip Yonge.
St. Andrew's : Robert Baillie and James Spalding.
Frederica and St. James : William Panton.
St. David's : Samuel Douglass.
St. Patrick's : Robert Porteous.
St. Thomas : Simon Paterson.
St. Mary's : "WUliara Ross.
Halifax and St. George's : Alexander Wylly and
John Henderson.
On the Oth of May, only fifteen members had quali
fied, and as the constitutional quorum had been fixed
by previous Assemblies at eighteen members, with the
Speaker, the Governor was at some loss what to do ;
but, with the Council, finally decided, " that from the
necessity of the thing, they should be taken as a House
and proceed to business." Accordingly, the members
present organized themselves into a Commons' House
of Assembly ; elected their Speaker ; presented him to
the Governor, who approved their choice ; and then
received from the Governor his speech, and returned
the usual replies.
The two principal bills passed by this Royal Assem
bly, were " An act to attaint of high treason the several
persons hereinafter named, who are either absent from
this province, or in that part of it which is stUl in
rebellion against his Majesty, and to vest their real

320 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
and personal estate in his Majesty, &c. ;" and a biU en
titled, " An Act to disqualify and render incapable the
several persons hereinafter named, of holding, or exer
cising, any office of trust, honor, or profit, in the pro
vince of Georgia."
The Governor, with tbe usual formalities, prorogued
the Assembly on the 10th of July, to the 1st November
following. When Augusta was besieged by the Americans, and
Colonel BroAvn and his troops reduced to great extre
mities. Sir James, by advice of his Council, issued a
proclamation on the 21st September, calling a meeting
of the Assembly for Monday, the 25th of the same
month. In his address to the members on the morn
ing of Wednesday, the 27th, he expressed his regret at
being obliged to call them together so soon, " but the
exigency of the times requires it."
After stating some of the circumstances " of the
late attack on the English troops by a number of
rebels from South Carolina, joined by others in the
ceded land.s," thus showing "clearly, that the spirit
and flame of rebellion is not over, and that rigorous
measures are still necessary to crush the rebellion in
the back part of this province," he urges upon the
Assembly : 1. The passage of an act " to compel all
persons within such a distance from this town and
Augusta as you may judge convenient, forthwith to
give in an account of all their male slaves from six
teen years of age to sixty ; and that they shall be
obliged, when called upon, to send immediately such
a proportion of negroes as may be deemed necessary,
with proper tools, and for such time as the said works
may be found to require their labor."

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 321
2. To inquire " whether all the inhabitants in the
town should not be obliged to giA'^e in an account of,
and to send such male slaves as they have in town
within the ages as aforesaid, or pay for the same ; and
whether such male inhabitants in the town who have
no hands liable to work, should not be compelled to
work themselves or serve as overseer."
3. To rest authority " somewhere" to impress horses,
carts, or teams for the public Avorks.
4. To revise the militia laws, so as to make them more
stringent in their provisions, and more certain in their
operation ; and to inquire whether it may be proper at
the present time to embody and organize a negro corps
as part of the militia of the province ?
But little was done by this Assembly ; harmony did
not prevail in its deliberations ; differences continually
rose between the upper and lower houses ; members
absented themselves and were fined, placed under arrest,
and reprimanded by the Speaker at the bar of the House;
several adjournments over long intervals took place ;
and the Governor at last, on the 15th November, 1780,
adjourned the Coraraons' House of Assembly to the
17th of January, 1781. Before that day came, at the
urgent request of some of the members of the House,
and the merchants and traders. Sir James called the
Assembly together again on the Ilth December, 1780,
to " recommend to their serious consideration the pre
sent defenceless state of the province, particularly the
inlets and sea islands." To remedy this, it was pro
posed to build a galley from seventy to eighty feet keel,
with from fifteen to twenty oars on a side ; to carry a
six-pounder in the bow, and four two-pounders, tAvelve
swivels and twenty muskets, and fifty Avhites and ten
VOL. IL 21

322 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
refugee negroes. But it Avas found that the cost of
such a galley, its equipment, and support, would be
beyond the means at command, and the Assembly
adjourned, without any definite action in the matter.
All subsequent attempts at royal legislation in Geor
gia were to little purpose. The British found them
selves gradually driven into a smaller compass, as the
lines of the so-called " rebels" were pushed on towards
Savannah. The headquarters of the American army
Avere shortly after established at Ebenezer, and scarcely
anything was left to the Governor but the town of Sa
vannah, which then contained 240 houses and 750
Avhite inhabitants, exclusive of officers and soldiers
under General Alured Clarke; and this town, says
one of the British officers, " was so closely blockaded
by the rebel army, that it was dangerous to go without
our lines." This state of things continued until the
14th June, 1782, when orders were received at Savan
nah, by Sir James Wright, for the evacuation of the
province, and measures were accordingly taken to
comply with the requisition.
It was during the period when British rule was tem
porarily re-established and the hopes of the patriots
were Avell-nigh extinct, that the smothered disaffection
Avhich had been at first excited in two or three minds,
in reference to the manner in which the Executive
Council had been constituted, and to the extraordinary
powers which had been conferred upon it by an irre
sponsible meeting of citizens, gathered force, and burst
out in a movement which threatened for a time to rend
asunder the little liberty that was yet left in Georgia.
George Walton, who had been taken prisoner when

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 323
Savannah was captured, in 1778, and had been ex
changed after the siege, in 1779; in conjunction Avith
Richard Howley, George Wells, and a'fcAv others, spared
no pains to spread discontent towards the existing gov
ernment ; they represented some of the members of the
Council as favorable to the Tories, and unqualifiedly
condemned the whole body " and all their proceedings
as illegal, unconstitutional, and dangerous to the liber
ties of the State." Accordingly, these men called upon
the people to choose delegates to an Assembly, to be
convened in Augusta, in November, 1779 ; notwith
standing the Executive Council had issued their Avrits
of election for deputies to the Assembly, as provided
for by the Constitution of 1777. The friends of Wal
ton met in Augusta; and, on the 4th November, chose
him Governor, for the short remainder of the year;
and also a delegate to Congress. The so-called Assem
bly also appointed a body of councillors, so that there
were two Executive Councils exercising authority at
the same time, yet neither of them Avas constitutional,
and no act of either was strictly legal. The conse
quence was, that this aspect of affairs " occasioned the
most violent parties and convulsions," and introduced a
confusion in civil affairs Avhich the historian, with his
present imperfect materials, cannot fully unravel.
While this disaffection was being engendered by the
enemies of the first Executive Council; that body, for-
seeing some of the evils, endeavored to ward them off
by publishing a declaration of their powers in these
words : —
" Whereas, some jealousies, natural to a people tena
cious of their liberties, have arisen among some of the
citizens of this State, respecting the poAver of this

324 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Board ; and Avhereas it behooves the rulers of a free
country, at all times, to take every step in their power
to give all reasonable satisfaction to the inhabitants
thereof, and to put a stop to such jealousies and com
plaints as may take place ; and whereas the citizens of
this State above-mentioned conceive, by virtue of the
delegation which authorizes this Board to proceed on
the executive department of government, they have
poAver to act in the judicial and legislative depart
ments ; we do hereby declare and make known to all
whom it may concern, that Ave are not invested with
any such judicial or legislative poAvers, and that it
never was nor ever will be our intention to assume to
ourselves any such powers by virtue of the above-men
tioned delegation, and that we neither mean to con
travene or destroy the Constitution of the State, which
we think must have due operation, whenever a time
of less disquiet will admit of its being adequate to the
exigency of Government."
The proceedings of this second self-constituted As
sembly and Council, were principally marked by their
attempts to traduce the character of General Mcin
tosh ; attempts which had begun during the adminis
tration of Governor Treutlen, when the General, as a
Continental officer, refused to obey the orders of the
Executive ; and Avhich had been fostered by his enemies
with a steadiness and earnestness worthy of a better
cause. The Council of Walton had caused a letter to be
prepared and sent to the President of the Continental
Congress, expressing the dissatisfaction of the people
of Georgia at the appointment of General Mcintosh
to command in the State ; and declaring, that " it is

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 325
highly necessary that Congress should, whilst that
officer is in the service of the United States, direct
some distant field for the exercise of his abilities."
This letter purported to be from William Glascock,
Speaker of the House of Assembly, acting for and in
behalf of that body ; and was officially transmitted,
with other public papers, by George Walton, then the
Governor of the State, to the President of Congress.
The effect of this was, that Congress, on the 15th
February, 1780, voted to " dispense Avith the services
of Brigadier-General Mcintosh, until the further order
of Congress." It was- subsequently proved, however,
that Glascock never wrote or saw the letter to which
his name was appended ; that it did not emanate from
the Assembly, nor did it receive its sanction; but that
it Avas the product of Walton, and a few of his ill-
judging friends and advisers, for the purpose of black
ening the character of McIntosh, and removing him
from any command in the State.
Three years later, when the painful subject was
again before the public, the whole correspondence and
doings of Governor Walton and his Assembly Avere
carefully reviewed by the Legislature, which, upon a
report of a committee of the Assembly, voted " that
the resolves of Council, dated Augusta, 12th Decem
ber, 1779, and the letter from the Governor (Walton)
to the President of Congress, dated 15th December,
1779, respecting the General, were unjust, illiberal,
and a misrepresentation of facts;" that the so-called
Glascock letter was " a forgery, in violation of law
and truth, and highly injurious to the interests of the
State, and dangerous to the rights of its citizens."
The Assembly also expressed their sense of the vir-

326 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
tues and merits of General Mcintosh, and ordered the
Attorney-General "to make the necessary inquiries,
and enter such prosecution as may be consistent with
his office and duty."
Thus was General Mcintosh cleared of the malig
nant charges of his enemies, and his character publicly
indorsed by the Legislature of his State. Yet, strange
to say, the very Legislature which passed the resolu
tion condemning the course of Walton, and directing
the Attorney-General to enter prosecution, had only
the day before elected Walton as Chief Justice of
Georgia, and placed him over the -very tribunal before
which he should have been brought and tried for his
"unjust and illiberal" conduct. Of course, the prose
cution was never attempted.
The reins of government, Avhich had been usurped
by Walton and the Assembly which sat for four or
five weeks in the close of 1779, Avere resumed by an
Assembly, called agreeably to the provisions of the
Constitution, which met at Augusta, in January, 1780;
when Richard Howley was chosen Governor, and Wil
liam Glascock, Speaker of the House. George Wells,
Stephen Heard, John Lindsay, and Humphrey Wells,
were appointed members of the Executive CouncU;
George Wells being elected President of that body.
As might have been expected from the constitution
of this Assembly, made up mostly of the friends of
Walton and Howley, early steps were taken to cast
odium upon the Council of State chosen in July, 1779;
and on the 15th January, 1780, the Assembly, having
recited in a preamble some of the evils which resulted
from the action of that Council, such as " exercising
poAvers and authorities unknown to, and subversive of.

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 327
the Constitution and laws of the State ;" " creating
different political opinions, and thereby weakening the
authority of legal government," and giving the enemy
a means whereby they could foment dissensions, where
unity was needed ; " resolved and declared, and it is
hereby resolved and declared, that the said Council,
and the poAvers they exercised, were illegal and un
constitutional." The condition of the State at this time was truly
alarming. Many of its best and most reliable citizens
had been driven away, and were in exile in other
States ; the paper currency had so depreciated, that it
was scarcely possible to pay the expenses of govern
ment ; political poAver was mostly in the hands of " a
triumvirate ;" the aspect of affairs was " hastening
from bad to worse with great rapidity;" justice had,
in some glaring instances, given place to tyranny;
boisterous demagoguisra, and fealty to the dominant
party, passed for patriotism ; and many good men
who had previously, and who subsequently, occupied
high positions in the State, mourned the fearful evils,
which they saw so clearly displayed, but which they
could not then mitigate or remove.
On the 1st February, 1780, the Assembly, anti
cipating " from the events of war, it may so happen
that the ministers of government of this State might
not be able to do or transact the business of the State
within the limits of the same," unanimously resolved,
" that his honor the Governor, or, in his absence, the
President and Executive Council, may do and transact
all and every business of government, in as full, ample,
and authoritative manner, in any other State within
the confederation, touching and respecting of this

328 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
State, as though it had been done and transacted
within the limits of the State."
The next day, in consequence of hearing "that the
British troops in Savannah have received a reinforce
ment from New York," the Governor issued a procla
mation, " to the end that the good people of this State
may have notice of the same, and that proper exer
tions may be made for repelling the common enemy,"
" commanding and requiring the people to stand firm
to their duty, and exert themselves in support and
defence of the great and glorious independency of the
United States; and also to remember, Avith grati
tude to Heaven, that the Almighty Ruler of human
affairs hath been pleased to raise up the spirit and
might of the two greatest powers in the world (France
and Spain), to join Avith them, and oppose and destroy
the persecutor of their liberties and immunities."
On the 3d February, the Governor was " requested
to issue orders for embodying one-half of the militia
of this State immediately," to rendezvous at Augusta.
Colonel TAviggs Avas also desired to collect his men,
and as many volunteers as possible, and take post at
the same place. The Assembly censured General
Lincoln for removing the Continental troops, and de
clared, that he stood " ansAverable for all the conse
quences Avhich may follow that unadvised measure."
Aware of the almost defenceless state of Augusta,
the seat of government, Avhich, it was stated, " might
be surprised by twenty men," and feeling that it was
" unsafe and impolitic for the Governor and Council
to remain thus exposed," the Assembly designated
Heard's Fort, in Wilkes County, as " the place of
meeting for transacting the business of the govern-

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 329
ment of this State, as soon after leaving Augusta as
may be."
Acting upon this recommendation, the Executive
Council, on the 5th February, adjourned to meet at
Heard's Fort. Governor Howley Avas requested to
take his seat in the Continental Congress, to which he
had been elected by the Assembly; and "the Hon.
George Wells, Esq., the President, with three mem
bers of this Board," were declared to be " fully com
petent to the transaction of all public business, as
effectually as though the Governor was in the State."
Death shortly removed President Wells from his
seat in the CouncU, and, on the 1 8th February, Ste
phen Heard, of Wilkes County, "was appointed to
fill that station for tbe remainder of the year."
At this time, republican Georgia consisted of only
two counties, Richmond and Wilkes; as all south of a
line drawn from Hudson's Ferry, on the Savannah, to
the Ogeechee, was in possession of the British ; and
this small portion was now menaced with danger from
British troops and Indian foes, and reduced to alarm
ing distress ; a distress greatly augmented by internal
dissensions. While the Assembly was voting the pro
ceedings of the nine members of the body, called
"The Supreme Executive Council," illegal, unconsti
tutional, and dangerous to the liberties of the State ;
the Grand Jury of Richmond County, the foreman of
which was John Wereat, the President of that Council,
made a presentment to the General Court, in March,
1780, before the Hon. William Stephens, Chief Justice,
and his Associate Justices; in which paper, among
other things, they declare on oath, and present as a
grievance, " as a manifest breach of the Constitution,

330 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
a meeting, composed of about the number of twenty,
in the month of November last, who called themselves
' The House of Assembly,' and actually assumed and
exercised the legislative and executive powers of go
vernment, contrary to the express letter and spirit of
the Constitution, which we conceive to be a precedent
dangerous to the rights and liberties of the good people
of this State. 'Tis much to be apprehended, and is
the fixed opinion of many of the citizens of this State,
that this mutilated Assembly, at the eve of a general
election, was rather contrived to answer the private
purpose of some artful and designing individuals, than
for the real interest and benefit of the State."
Thus discordant Avere the counsels of the leading
men of the times ; and the strength of the republican
party was wasted by the political animosities of those
Avho should have moved in fraternal union towards the
attainment of their great object, — the rescuing the
State from the hands of the enemy, and the upholding
of its declared independence.
The capture of Charleston not only deprived the
South of its army, but enabled Lord Cornwallis to
spread his posts in the back country of Carolina and
Georgia, and hold both States under his military
power. No sooner had the sad news of the capitula
tion of General Lincoln, in May, 1780, reached Au
gusta, than the Republican government retreated to
Heard's Fort, the place designated by the Assembly.
Governor Howley Avas requested, by a vote of the Ex
ecutive Council, on the 23d May, " to retire to some
place of safety, either South or North Carolina; as,
from longer delay, his situation might endanger the
liberty of his person ;" and the public moneys were

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 331
directed to " be placed in the hands of the President,
and to be paid off as the occasions of public service
may require, under his direction and that of the Ex
ecutive Council in the absence of the Governor."
Thus was Georgia reduced to the verge of political
death. The government, such as it was, was admi
nistered by President Heard and a | few members of
the Council in Wilkes County ; and when Mr. Heard
retreated to North Carolina, Myrick Davies was chosen
President in his place. The condition of the republi
cans in Georgia Avas indeed deplorable. Driven from
Savannah and the seaboard; compelled to evacuate
Augusta ; hemmed in by hostile Indians on the fron
tier; and confined mostly to a few settlements in and
around Wilkes County, they lived in daily peril; had
almost daily skirmishes with regulars, tories, or In
dians; were harassed with alarms, were surprised by
ambuscades, were pinched with want, and had one
long bitter struggle for simple existence, with scarcely
a ray of hope to light up the future.
The principal cities of Georgia and South Carolina
being noAv in the hands of the British, and the royal
gOA'ernment having been re-established in the Province
of Georgia; rumors were heard in various quarters' that
it was the design of the ministry in England to make
new overtures of peace to the Americans, but to leave
out of consideration the claims of Georgia and perhaps
of South Carolinfi, regarding Georgia, at least, as now
completely restored to the British rule and throne.
These accounts reached the ears of the delegates in
Congress from Georgia ; and with a promptness worthy
1 Curwan's Journal and Letters, p. 328, speaks of them. Madison Papers,
i, 65-71.

332 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
of all praise, they immediately issued a small pamphlet
entitled " Observations upon the effects of certain late
Political Suggestions," by the delegates from Georgia.
These " observations" were written and pubUshed in
Philadelphia, in January, 1781, and signed by George
Walton, W. Few, and R. Howley. To them they ap
pended a valuable table, showing the progressive com
merce of Savannah, from 1755 to 1772, compiled by
William Brown, Comptroller and Searcher of his Ma
jesty's Customs in Savannah, the truth of which was
sworn to before Anthony Stokes, the Chief Justice of
the Province.
In the opening paragraph of this tract, they remark :
"From the most recent accounts that have been re
ceived from Europe, there is the greatest reason to
expect, that a new commission avUI issue from the
Court of London for the purpose of again sounding the
temper of America upon the subject of pacification ; in
Avhich the State of Georgia, and perhaps that of South
Carolina, will not be regarded as part of the American
Union, but excluded as having been again colonized to
England by new conquest."
" The uti possidetis also has been much talked of in
Europe as a probable basis for the peace ; and this re
port, although rejected with marks of abhorrence by
all descriptions of men in America, circulates with ter
ror, as it is pretended to be drawn from the armed
neutrality." The delegates then forcibly remark, in reference to
Georgia, which would be particularly affected by the
operation of such principles : " They united in the one
cause, and have sacrificed their blood and fortunes in
its support; and, therefore, it would be unjust and in-

ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE GOVERNMENT. 333
human for the other parts of the Union separately to
embrace the result of the common efforts, and leave
them under the yoke of a bankrupt and enraged tyrant.
To preserve the States entire is the object of the alli
ance with France, and it cannot be the interest of the
other great branch of the family compact, that we
should again make a part of the British Empire."
Entering at once upon the subject of the importance
of Georgia to the Union, they show, that in its com
merce and agricultural productions; in its sea-coast
and harbors; in its ship-timber and pine forests; in its
position as a check to the encroaching power of Spain
and England ; " Georgia is a material part of the
Union, and cannot be given up without affecting its
essential interest, if not endangering its existence."
With great justice and political sagacity do the dele
gates declare : " As to America, no part of it could
expect to be free long, while England retains both ends
of the Continent."
How far this publication prevented the consumma
tion of the rumored uti possidetis, is not known. Cer
tain it is, that such a plan as settling a peace to the
exclusion of Georgia, was never formally proposed ;
yet the report of such a movement must have been
undoubted, or such a labored defence of the rights and
importance of Georgia would not have been published.
The possibility that the uti possidetis might be en
forced as a basis of treaty by the armed neutrality of
Europe, produced alarm in the minds of many. To
conciliate Spain, for the double purpose of obtaining
from her pecuniary aid and of keeping her from yield
ing to the British emissaries, who Avere now at AVork
at Madrid, seeking to detach his Catholic Majesty from

334 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
the war, the delegates from South Carolina and Geor
gia, then under military occupancy by the British,
were willing to give up the claimed right of naviga
ting the Mississippi, rather than, by insisting upon it,
to defeat a peace on a full Continental basis. Mr. Jay
had been instructed to insist upon the right of " the
free navigation of the river Mississippi, into and from
the sea,"' as the ultimatum of peace ; but the majority
of the members of Congress, moved by the impending
danger, coincided Avith the delegates, and the instruc
tions of Mr. Jay were altered, permitting him, if re
quired to do so, to recede from his demand for the free
navigation of the Mississippi, below the thirty-first
degree of north latitude ; provided, above that latitude,
the Americans could have equal rights of navigation
with the subjects of Spain. As soon, however, as the
menacing crisis was over. Congress revoked these in
structions, and insisted upon and secured its first de
mands. The whole transaction forms an interesting and in
structive page in our history ; especially when viewed
as to what might have been the result, had the con
cessions authorized by these fears been made by Mr.
Jay ; and had the outlet of the Mississippi been closed
to the commercial enterprise of a people destined soon
to find, in the valley of that great river, the heart and
centre of the Union.
The policy of the British conqueror of Carolina, in
compelling men to take arms against their country,
and visiting with almost unparalleled barbarity of
punishment the helpless victims which war threw
1 Vide letter of Madison, in Madison Papers, vol. i, Appen. iv.

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 335
into the hands of the enemy ; stirred up the masses of
the people, and caused them to rally once more under
their leaders, for the purpose of recovering their State
and their liberties. Under the animation of feeling
inspired by these movements, a better state of things
dawned upon Georgia, in the year 1781. Augusta
had been recovered from the enemy, and an Assembly
had convened there, when, on the I6th August, Dr.
Nathan Brownson was elected Governor ; and Edward
Telfair, Colonel WUliam Few, Dr. Noble Wimberley
Jones, and Samuel Stirk, were appointed delegates to
Congress. At the next meeting of the Assembly, in January,
1782, held also at Augusta, John Martin was elected
Governor; and such was the brighter condition of
affairs, that in his inaugural address to the House, he
was enabled to say : " I am extremely happy in find
ing the virtuous struggles made by the good citizens
of this State, against our cruel and unnatural enemies,
have at length nearly secured to us those blessings for
which we have so long contended ; and doubt not but,
by a continuance of those exertions, and the support
we have every reason to expect, Ave shall, in a short
time, reap the happy fruit of our labors." But little
business was transacted by this Assembly, and they
adjourned to July ; but the exigencies of public busi
ness, and the necessitous condition of the State, made
\t necessary for Governor Martin to recall them by
proclamation, to meet at Augusta on the third Tuesday
in April, 1782.
In his address to the Assembly, Governor Martin
stated, that he had called them together for the pur
pose of requesting them by legislative action, to remove

336 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
some of the distresses to Avhich they were subjected by
" the wanton Avaste of grain heretofore expended," in con
sequence of Avhich the people, " for want of common sus
tenance, are now reduced to a perishing condition ;" to
devise means for raising the continental quota of troops ;
and to revise the militia law, " Avhereby the services
may be equally borne."
He also recommended " the establishment of a Court
of Claims, to determine the right of contested property ;"
and further desired them to pass an act defining the
boundaries of the State, Avhich might prove the basis
of State and Continental negotiation.
For the first time, since the Declaration of Indepen
dence, could the Governor say that " the legislative,
executive, and judicial powers, now enjoy the free
exercise of their respective authorities," the enemy
being shut up within the lines of Savannah, whilst the
Americans had " full and absolute possession of every
other part of the State."
This Assembly, however, did not sit long; having
adjourned the first week in May to the 1st of July.
This they did, as the Governor said, " for want of pro
visions." They left undone the most pressing business
that was brought before them, and only legislated upon
some inconsiderable matters. The Assembly met on
the 1st July at Ebenezer, in Effingham County, then
the military headquarters of the State, but it soon re
moved to Savannah, Avhich was evacuated on the Ilth
July, and became once more the seat of gOA'ernment.
Freed from the presence of the enemy on the sea
board, there yet remained many evUs to be redressed,
and much confusion and misrule to be reduced to order.
One of the earUest efforts of Governor Martin was, by

ESTABLISHMENT OP STATE GOVERNMENT. 337
written conference Avith Patrick Tonyn, Governor of
Florida ; and through WUliam Mcintosh, Samuel Stirk,
and John Wereat, who Avere appointed by the Gover
nor and Council of Georgia Commissioners for that
purpose ; to check the almost daily massacres and
robberies which occurred along and in the vicinity of
St. Mary's River. The border war, waged not for
glory and liberty, but plunder and lust, which was
kept up by alternate parties of Tories and Americans
along the boundary lines of Georgia and Florida, Avas
disgraceful to both governments, and productive of
benefit to neither; while its atrocities and its blood
shed reduced the contest to nothing less than a strife
of savages. Governor Tonyn responded to these efforts
of Governor Martin, and thug checked in some mea
sure these predatory incursions, though it Avas a long
time before there was peace in those borders.
The upper part of the State was also sadly harassed
by Indian hostilities, incited and directed by those
miserable wretches, the frontier Tories and the half-
breeds, the vultures and jackals who snuff the carrion
breath of war from afar, and who fatten on the car
cases of the battle-field. Multitudes of these men,
organized into various bands, and incorporated into or
acting with different tribes of Indians, saw all their
hopes of gain depart, and their trade in blood gone, if
war should cease. Hence they still stirred up the
spirit of the Indians, urged them by misrepresentations
to keep the field, directed their movements for surprise
and ambush ; that they might continue their maraud
ing life ; using the Indians as the instruments of their
cruelty, to give greater terror to their movements, and
enhance their gains.
VOL. II. " 22

CHAPTER IL
EXECUTIVE TROUBLES AND LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS.
On the Oth January, 1783, Lyman Hall was elected
Governor of Georgia. In notifying him of his elec
tion, the Speaker of the House alluded to the "decided
part which he had taken in the cause of America; and
exertions in the course of the arduous and important
struggle which preceded the auspicious dawn of inde
pendence ;" and stated, that these efforts " confirmed
the House in the fullest assurance that, under his
administration, a continued practice of Whig principle
Avill prevail, and a strict execution of those Avise and
salutary laAvs which have been passed in former As
semblies, for completing the safety and welfare of the
State." The Governor replied : " The early and de
cided part which I took in the cause of America,
originated from a full conviction of the justice and
rectitude of the cause Ave engaged in, has uniformly
continued as the principles of my heart, and, I trust,
will to the last moments of my life."
After making proA'ision for the appointment of a
Board of Commissioners to treat with the Creek and
Cherokee nations, the Legislature, on the 13th Janu
ary, voted a congratulatory address to General Greene,
then in Savannah, in Avhich they say —

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 339
" The Legislature of the State of Georgia wish to
assure you of the real happiness your presence in their
capital has given them : human language is too mean
to convey their true sentiments of your distinguished
virtue. " Your views of ease to the citizens, in drawing your
resources through a scattered country ; the many diffi
culties you surmounted during your command in the
Southern Department; your well-directed exertions;
and the virtuous struggle of your victorious army, Avill
be gratefully remembered by a State, which has felt
so particularly the happy consequences.
" They congratulate you, sir, on the signal success
wherewith the arms of the United States, under your
command, with the blessing of Divine Providence, have
been crowned by the total expulsion of the enemy
from the Southern States — an annal in the history of
our country, Avhich must endear the name of Greene
as long as the remembrance of British tyranny is
hateful. " They beg you to accept their unfeigned thanks for
your decided and intrepid conduct, and to believe they
ardently desire, that your future days may be passed
in that ease and tranquillity, to which a glorious and
serviceable life, through this grand Revolution, most
deservedly entitles you."
To this address General Greene replied in the fol
lowing letter, which was ordered to be inserted in the
minutes : —
" Sir — Your polite and obliging address, to welcome

340 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
me to the State, affords me the most singular satisfac
tion; nor are your liberal acknowledgments for my
small services, and generous Avishes for my future ease,
less pleasing.
" It affords me the most agreeable sensations to con
template the happy change in the affairs of this coun
try; and it is among the first of my wishes, that you
may long, long enjoy the blessings of freedom and
independence, free from further alarms ; but should it
be your misfortune to have the flame of Avar rekindled
in this quarter, ray early endeavor shall not be want
ing to check its progress ; and I cannot but hope, by
the srailes of Providence, the virtue and spirit of the
army, joined by the genius of the country, we shall
triumph over our enemies.
" I beg the Legislature to believe that I am highly
sensible of the honor they have done me, and I take
the Uberty to assure you of my disposition to serve
them." On the 31st January, the House, by ballot, elected
as civil officers of the State for the year 1783, George
Walton, Chief Justice ; Samuel Stirk, Attorney-Gene
ral; John Martin, Treasurer; John Milton, Secretary;
Richard Call, Surveyor-General; Joseph Woodruff,
Collector for the town and port of Savannah; John
Lawson, Jr., Collector for the town and port of Sun
bury ; and several gentlemen as Registers of Probate
for the several counties.
General Mcintosh, John Houstoun, and Edward
Telfair, were also, on the 15th February, appointed
agents " to settle and adjust the northern boundaries
of this State," and to treat Avith such Commissioners

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 341
as might be appointed by the State of South Carolina
for that purpose.
While matters of such moment to the civil interests
of the State were thus engaging the attention of the
Legislature, it is gratifying to know that the higher
interests of religion and morality were not overlooked.
The Revolution found Georgia with only a few settled
clergymen. ScA'^eral of these, being ministers of the
Church of England, and, deriving their support, in
part at least, from the venerable Society for Propa
gating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, sided with the
mother country, and left the province. Their places
were not speedily supplied. The ministers of the
other churches were few, widely scattered, and their
voices Avere almost drowned in the turmoil Avhich
ruled in, a State harassed by war, invaded by Indians,
and exposed to all the calamities of a frontier settle
ment. Religion languished, and morality declined,
with the relaxing of civil order, and the absence of the
preaching of the holy Gospel. Nor was this a condi
tion of things likely to remedy itself; it required the
strong arm of law to arrest the licentiousness which
was so widely prevalent ; and the loud tone of legisla
tive authority, to speak out its decided approval of
the power of true religion to remove crime, promote
peace, and exalt a nation to a true and enduring
glory. Such was the feeling entertained by GoA'ernor Hall
and the leading men pf the Legislature, Avho, with
great clearness and force, stated their views on this
subject, and bodied forth their desired action thereon,
in the following preamble and resolutions, passed on
the 26th of February, 1783 :—

342 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
" Whereas, nothing can have a greater tendency to
promote the honor of God, the propagation of the Chris
tian religion, and the spiritual welfare of the citizens
residing in this State, than the regular performance of
divine service ; and whereas, the several churches
throughout the county of Chatham, and other coun
ties in this State, are much out of repair, owing to the
great neglect of them for many years past —
" Resolved, That it be recommended to the inhabi
tants of the said county of Chatham, to meet at the
different churches therein, on the second Saturday of
March next ; and the inhabitants of other counties, as
soon as may be after the publication thereof; to elect
and choose fit and discreet persons for vestrymen and
church-wardens, and other officers, for their respective
churches, for one year next ensuing."
It Avas proper and expedient for the State thus to
express its opinion through its House of Representa
tives ; but it required something more than legislation
to rebuild churches, re-settle pastors, and bring back
to our almost deserted State, the blessed influences
Avhich accompany the full exhibition of the ordinances
of grace.
Great complaint having been made at the distance
of the seat of government from the settlers of the
back country, and the ceded lands ; by which long,
expensive, and dangerous journeys were required, in
order to transact public business with the several de
partments of government at SaA^annab, the Council
resolved, in May, 1783, "to afford such relief as is
consistent with their duty, and the powers given them
by the Constitution ; and therefore unanimously ad
journed, on Tuesday, the 14th of June, " to meet in

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 343
the town of Augusta, on the 28th of the same month ;
and that from and after the said 28th June next, the
executive powers of government Avill be exercised in
the aforesaid town of Augusta, for the term of three
months." On the 8th July, the Legislature convened at Au
gusta; and Governor Hall addressed to that body a
message, marked by fervent patriotism, high religious
views, sound suggestions of State policy, and earnest
appeals to the wisdom and integrity of the House.
After an appropriate opening sentence, the Governor
said : —
" So great an event as that of a general peace hav
ing actually taken place between the belligerent
powers, claims your first attention. An event or
dered by the decree of Heaven, and brought about by
means which, through the various stages of a tedious
and distressing war, were evidently marked Avith a
concurrent display of Almighty power, graciously pre
siding over us and working wonders in our favor ; —
an event which proclaims the United States free, and
sovereign, and independent, and surrounded with the
blessings of an advantageous and honorable peace,
will, when ratified, give us rank and dignity in the
grand arrangement of sovereign states and empires.
" The advantages of peace are so numerous and so
important that, whilst they demand from us the most
devout and fervent expressions of gratitude to the
Supreme Ruler of the universe, at the same time can
not fail to inspire sentiments of sincerest joy at the
opening of a scene so delightful in prospect, and so
diffusive in its blessings ; and on this occasion I beg
leave to offer you my hearty congratulations.

344 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
" From a view of the profligate and wicked lives of
many in the community, it appears that some laAvs to
restrain vice and encourage virtue are of the highest
importance to the welfare of the State ; it being cer
tain that almost all the evils of government originate
from men of corrupt principles and abandoned man
ners. In addition, therefore, to wholesome laws re
straining vice, every encouragement ought to be given
to introduce religion, and learned clergy to perform
divine worship in honor to God, and to cultivate prin
ciples of religion and virtue among our citizens. For
this purpose, it will be your wisdom to lay an early
foundation for endowing seminaries of learning; nor
can you, I conceive, lay in a better, than by a grant
of a sufficient tract of land, that may, as in other
governments, hereafter, by lease or otherwise, raise a
revenue sufficient to support such valuable institu
tions." The backwardness of the House of Assembly, in
taxing their constituents and themselves, gave the
Governor and his Council sincere concern ; so much
so, that the Council, on the 25th July, 1783,
sent an address to the lower House, remonstrating
against the smallness of the sum proposed in the tax-
bill, " as inadequate to the great and pressing exigen
cies of this State," and suggesting " the absolute neces
sity of a sufficient, as well as speedy tax being laid
upon the inhabitants of this State; or the government
thereof must inevitably fall into extreme distress and
confusion." The Council urged the House "to lay a
tax of at least one-half a dollar on every negro, mu
latto, or other slave ; and one-half dollar on every
toAvn-lot, in lieu of the quarter of a dollar mentioned

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES-LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 345
in and by said biU." The House, hoAvever, did not
agree with the CouncU; and, on the ¦31st July, passed
a bUl, imposing a tax " on every one hundred acres of
land, one quarter of a dollar ; on every negro, mulatto,
or slave, one quarter of a dollar; on CA'ery town-lot,
the same; on every free negro, mulatto, or mestizo,
one dollar ; and on every male inhabitant, of the age
of twenty-one, who does not follow some lawful pro
fession or mechanical trade, or who does not cultivate,
or cause to be cultivated, five acres of land, two
doUars." The subject of confiscation and amercement, also
occupied the attention of the Legislature, and its de
liberations were embodied in an araple and final law,
passed on the 29 th July.
The first act " for attainting the enemies of Ameri
can liberty with high treason, and for confiscating
their estates, both real and personal, to the use of the
State of Georgia," was enacted on the 1st March, 1778.
By this bill, all persons residing in this State since the
19th April, 1775, "who have refused their allegiance
to the governing powers of the same," were attainted
and adjudged guilty of high treason against this State,
and their estates, both real and personal, were declared
forfeited and confiscated. The first section of this act
recited one hundred and seventeen names, beginning
with Sir James Wright. By the second section, any
of the said persons returning to the State, or being
taken in arms, shall be imprisoned and tried for high
treason, and suffer death upon conviction. By the
third section, the property of these persons was "to
be discovesred, and applied to the use of the good
people of this State." The fifth section created

346 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
" Boards of Commissioners in each county, to carry
out the provisions of the third section." The remain
ing portions of this long act Avere taken up with the
necessary details for carrying it into execution. In
October of the same year, the Legislature repealed the
terms of sale in this act, and made them more strin
gent. The same Legislature also passed "An Act to
compel Non-Residents to return within a certain time,
or, in default thereof, that their estates be confiscated."
In 1782, certain persons, Avho, in the language of the
preamble, had " Avithdrawn themselves from the de
fence of this State," " accepted protection from the
enemy," " and, forgetting all the social ties of kindred
and humanity, did assist in endeavoring to enforce the
laws of British government, and overturn that mild
and equitable system of government which they had
assisted to raise, and which it Avas their duty to sup
port," were amerced; some tAvelve per cent., some
eight per cent., "on the true and equitable value of all
estates, both real and personal." A deduction from
this percentage was to be made, in case any one of
the amerced persons enlisted " any able-bodied soldier
for the Continental battalion ;" though all the persons
named in the act were disqualified from exercising any
political rights for two years.
The act of confiscation was also made to apply to
" all and every person and persons who shall now be,
or may have been, within the British lines as British
subjects." In May following, this act was enlarged,
so as to embrace two hundred and eighty persons, all
of whom were banished from the State within sixty
days; or, if they remained, they were to be arrested
and imprisoned, as guilty of felony ; and, on convic-

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 347
tion, "sufi'er death, without benefit of clergy." "A
reasonable and temporary maintenance to the families
of these persons" Avas, however, required of the Com
missioners appointed to carry out this act, " until the
Legislature shall hereafter direct or order a fixed sup
port for the said families."
The Legislature of 1783 revised, and made more
perfect in their details, these laws, settled the terms
of sale and payment, provided for the expenditure of
moneys so received, created a sinking fund to liquidate
the State debt, adjusted the jurisdiction of the courts
in reference to the sales, and appointed new Comrais-
sioners, viz., Charles Odingsells, Hugh Lawson, and
Abram Ravolt.
By these acts, a large amount of property, both real
and personal, was vested in the government of Georgia;
and though, by subsequent repealing clauses, the names
of many were taken from the laws confiscating or
amercing their estates ; yet still negroes, plantations,
horses, stock of various kinds, and to a large amount,
fell into the hands of the Commissioners, and Avere
sold for the benefit of the State. The confiscated
property belonging to Sir James Wright alone was
reported, by the Board of Agents of the American
Loyalists,' to have been worth nearly £34,000, or
about $160,000 ; while many others, whose names
appear on the attainting and confiscating list, were
gentlemen possessed of large estates, real and per
sonal. These laws of Georgia were enacted at the sugges
tion of the Continental Congress, and in accordance
' Wilmot's Claims of American Loyalists. London, 1815 ; p. 47.

348 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
with the action of the other colonial Legislatures.
By the laws of Massachusetts, as found in two bUls,
three hundred and thirty-seven persons were banished,
and the estates of certain "notorious conspirators"
confiscated. New Hampshire banished seventy-six of
her inhabitants, and confiscated the estates of twenty-
eight. In Rhode Island several acts Avere passed,
sequestering and confiscating the property of the roy
alists. Connecticut also punished absentees and
seekers after royal protection, by laws of varying
dates and provisions. New York not only confiscated
the estates of those friendly to the King, but laid a
tax of nine pence per pound sterling on the estate of
every parent whose son was an adherent of the enemy.
New Jersey passed four laws in reference to the per
sons and property of traitors, fugitives, disaffected
persons, and political offenders. In Pennsylvania,
acts of attainder and confiscation were passed against
ninety-eight persons, designated by name. DelaAvare
ordered the property of forty-six adherents to the
royal cause to be forfeited to the State. Maryland,
by three statutes, confiscated all property belonging to
persons holding allegiance to the crown. Virginia
made laws upon this subject, but less stringent than
in some other colonies ; declaring, hoAvever, that cer
tain persons should be treated as aliens, and their
property be sold. The North Carolina confiscation
act named over seventy persons ; and South Carolina,
dividing, at various stages of the war, the loyalists
into four classes : Addressers (or those two hundred
and ten who "addressed" Sir Henry Clinton, after the
fall of Charleston, asking to be readmitted as British
subjects). Petitioners (or those sixty-three who signed

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 349
a petition to Sir Henry to be enrolled and armed on
the royal side), Congratulaiors (or those thirteen Avho
congratulated Lord Cornwallis on the success of the
British arms at Camden), and the Obnoxious (or four
teen others, banished " as obnoxious to the American
cause"), passed stringent laws against each, stripping
many of all their property, and attainting them with
high treason against the State.
Georgia, therefore, harsh as her measures seemed,
but acted in accordance Avith the suggestions of Con
gress, and the views of her sister colonies, in enacting
her laws against the obnoxious loyalists.
So long as wars exist, and especially so long as such
civil wars shall rage in a nation, causing the plough
share of party to cut its dividing furrows betAveen
those of the same household of political faith, and
brethren of the same domestic hearthstone; so long
will necessity, and the rules of war, plead for the jus
tice of such confiscations, attainders, and amercements.
That many were unjustly condemned ; that many
were condemned without the privilege of a hearing;
that many were enrolled among the attainted because
they resided Avithin certain limits, has been made evi
dent to all. Nearly fifty names were, by various
rescinding acts of the several Legislatures of Georgia,
between the years 1783 and 1800, withdrawn from the
acts of confiscation and amercement ; and several of
these became ornaments to the bar and the senate of
the State, which once proscribed them as traitors. Had
Great Britain succeeded in the war, she would not
only not have allowed any claira for rebel losses, but
would have even confiscated all rebel estates, as the
property of traitors to the crown.

350 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
The English Government, as in- duty bound, having
by its acts of tyranny caused the war, and having, by
its aggressions, made necessary, as a measure of self-
defence, these banishments of persons and confiscations
of estates, did something towards alleviating the suf
ferings of the thousands of loyalists who were thrown
out of affluence and self-supporting occupations into
idleness and want. Parliament appointed its com
mittees of inquiry on the claims of these loyalists, and
its Comraissioners to adjudge their losses ; and the
loyalists theraselves organized a Board of Agents, of
which Sir James Wright was made President, " both
from his situation, age, activity, and zeal, as Avell as
abilities and large property ;" whose business it Avas to
press these claims to payment, and secure just indem
nification for their several losses. Up to 1790, over
four thousand claims had been made upon these Parlia
mentary Commissioners, asking for nearly $40,000,000.
The amount allowed, however, was only about $15,-
000,000. "After a long examination of his case, the
committee reported Sir James Wright, Bart., to have
rendered eminent services to Great Britain, to have
lost real and personal property to the value of £33,702,
and his office of Governor, value £1000 per annum."
Sir James did not long survive his political misfortunes,
as he died in England in 1786, and was succeeded in
his baronetcy by his eldest son, James, who bore tiU
his death, in 1816, his father's title.
John Houstoun was elected Governor by the House
of Assembly, on the Oth January, 1783. This gen
tleman was the son of Sir Patrick Houstoun; had
been educated as a lawyer, and early took sides with
the Liberty Party against the Royal Government. He

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 351
had proved himself worthy of the several offices and
trusts, hitherto confided to him in the service of the
State, at home, and in Congress ; and was noAv, a second
time, elevated to the Executive chair.
On the Ist of March, the Governor had the pleasure
of laying before the Executive Council, " despatches
from Congress, covering a proclamation or ratification
of the definitiA'e treaty of peace." The Council, par
taking of the happiness felt by the Governor on this
joyful occasion, took immediate order to give proper
publicity to this state paper, and directed " that it be
read and published by the Sheriff through the streets
of Savannah, on Wednesday next ; that the militia of
the town and the vicinity thereof, be paraded and
mustered on the occasion, and that the Governor ac
cordingly issue orders for the purpose ; and further, that
his Honor the Chief Justice be furnished AAdth a cer
tified copy of the said proclamation for his Govern
ment, and that he be requested to cause the same to
be published, and proclaimed in the different counties
of this State, at his ensuing circuit."
It must have given peculiar satisfaction to Governor
Houstoun, to be occupying the gubernatorial chair at
such a period of his country's history. His name was
one of the four which were signed to the first call for
a meeting of the friends of liberty within the province.
He was one of the three persons first selected by the
Provincial Congress, in January, 1775, to represent
Georgia in the Continental Congress; and for his faith
ful and unfaltering devotion to the cause of American
freedom, his name was placed first on the list appended
to the disqualifying act, passed by the Royal Assera-
bly, in Savannah, 1780, and is there styled " Rebel

352 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Governor." He now, not as a " Rebel" Governor, but
as a recognized Chief Magistrate of an independent
State, had the gratification of publishing the treaty,
by which Great Britain made peace with the revolted
colonies ; and in accordance Avith which his long-op
pressed country took its place as one of the nations of
the earth.
In the Assembly which Avas now convened, there
Avere " very violent struggles," owing to the fact that
several persons had been returned as members of the
House, who had formerly taken protection under the
British Governor. Their right to sit was strenuously
contested, and four or five Avere declared ineligible,
" from their not having been long enough under Ame
rican Government to make them eligible to so impor
tant a trust."
In the midst, hoAvever, of the troubles incident to
the unsettled state of a frontier province, in that tran
sition period, Avhen military law had ceased, and civil
law was but imperfectly established ; the Legislature,
with a forecast which refiects the highest credit upon
their wisdom, took measures for the establishment of
a State institution of learning. On the 25th February,
1784, a committee of the Legislature was sent to the
Executive Council, bearing a resolution, requesting his
Honor, the Governor, " to grant eight land warrants
for fiA^e thousand acres each, in the name of John
Houstoun, James Habersham, William Few, Joseph
Clay, Abram Baldwin, William Houstoun, and Nathan
Brownson, Esqrs., or their successors in office, in trust
for the College that is to be established in this State ;
that one or more of the said Trustees be requested to
proceed immediately, with a surveyor or surveyors.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 353
and superintend the surveying of the said land in each
county, agreeable to the act for that purpose made.
That His Honor, the Governor, be requested to draw
an order on the Treasurer, in favor of the said Trustees,
for the sum of twenty pounds, for the purpose of pay
ing chain-bearers, and defraying the necessary expenses
of surveying."
The act to which reference is here made, is " A.n act
for laying out two more counties to the westward," &c.,
the Ilth section of which reads thus: "And whereas,
the encouragement of religion and learning is an
object of great importance to any community, and
must tend to the prosperity, happiness, and advantage
of the same. Be it, therefore, enacted by the authority
aforesaid, that the county surveyors, immediately after
passing of this act, shall proceed to lay out in each
county, twenty thousand acres of land of the first
quality, in separate tracts of five thousand acres each,
for the endowment of a college or seminary of learning,
and which said lands shall be vested in and granted
to his honor the Governor for the time being. And
John Houstoun, Jaraes Habershara, William Few,
Joseph Clay, Abram Baldwin, William Houstoun,
and Nathan BroAvnson, Esqrs., and their successors
in office, are hereby nominated and appointed trus
tees for the said college or seminary of learning, and
empowered to do all such things as to them shall ap
pear requisite and necessary, to forward the establish
ment and progress of the same : and all vacancies shall
be filled up by the said trustees. And the said county
surveyors shall, in six months after passing of this act,
make return to the trustees hereinbefore mentioned, of
VOL. II. 23

354 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
all regular plats of all such tracts as he shall have laid
out and surveyed by virtue of this act."
To carry out the provisions of this section of the
act, the Council, on the Ilth March, "ordered that
the Secretary of the State do immediately make out
eight Avarrants for the same ; that is to say, four for
five thousand acres each in Franklin County, and four
for five thousand each in Washington County." This
most judicious plan Avas productive of great and bene
ficial results, and prepared the way for that more
definite action which, as we shall see, took place the
ensuing year.
The land act — of which the setting apart of these
large tracts of country for the endowment of a college
constituted one section — was one of the most important
results of this Legislature. It brought under survey
the large cession of territory made by the Indians, to the
north and west of Wilkes ; laid out and organized two
new counties, and established a Land Court at Augusta,
to " be opened on the first Tuesday in April next
(1784), by his Honor the Governor, or the Honorable
the President, with any three or more of the Execu
tive Council, for the purpose of granting out lands,
under and by virtue of this act." This court Avas to
sit for three months, on each Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday, to grant land and sign warrants ; and,
each Thursday and Friday, for the purpose of hearing
caveats. It is significant of the unsettled state of the country,
that it was deemed necessary, in consequence of " the
roads being, at present, infested with robbers," to order,
on the 23d March, 1784, " that a guard, consisting of
an officer and from six to twelve horsemen, be fur-

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 355
nished by the commanding officer of each county, that
is to say, the guard of Chatham County to escort the
President and members of Council to the lower line of
Effingham County ; that the guard of Effingham
County be ready there, and escort them to the lower
line of Burke County ; that the guard of Burke
County be ready there, and escort thera to the lower
line of Richmond County ; and, that the guard of
Richmond be ready there, and escort them to Au
gusta. That a copy of the foregoing be sent to the
respective commanding officers, and that they be
informed, at the same time, that the President and
members of Council will set out from Savannah on
Tuesday, the 30tli day of this instant, March. And,
that it is required that the several guards do so order
themselves as to be in readiness at the several and
respective places, before pointed out for them, at the
proper times when they may expect the President
and members of Council to be along, or one day
sooner." The Land Court was opened at Augusta, at the
time designated, by the Hon. John Habersham, Presi
dent of the Executive Council, and a great number of
applicants for Avarrants appeared. At first, some little
order was observed; but, the 17th of May, 1784, being
the day appointed for the delivery of the Avarrants, and
the warrants not being fully prepared, the populace be
came exceedingly impatient, and were with difficulty
restrained from acts of violence; but, "on Thursday,"
says the clerk of the Land Court, writing a graphic
description of the scene to the Governor, " a few evil-dis
posed persons hinted to the people at large, whose
minds, by the juice of the cane, were already inflamed,

356 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
that there was a more concise way of obtaining their
warrants ; they immediately herded, and, I must con
fess, looked formidable. Fancy to yourself, my dear sir,
the Honorable the President and raembers of Council,
four or five in number, convened on the business of
their countrymen, their secretary or clerk, with his
assistants, in an adjoining apartment, ready to faint
with excessive heat and fatigue, not suffered to open
the door or window, whereby a little fresh air might be
admitted, and 1500 or, perhaps, 2000 men, set on by
designing villains, approaching the doors with threats
and menaces, crying out aloud, that their Avarrants
they would have at any rate.
" I once more ventured my humble opinion to the
President that it was absolutely necessary, and with
out hesitation to inform them, that the issuing of the
warrants was unavoidably postponed until Monday
following, the 24th inst. ; at the same time declaring,
that at the hour of ten, on the morning of the said
day, and not sooner, the warrants would begin to be
issued ; also that any of the parties concerned might
obtain them by appointing a person to receive them
on their behalf; this, with Colonel Clarke's remon
strance, seemed to appease them, and many went
home thereon. The Fat King, so called in derision,
being somcAvhat intoxicated himself and making others
so by lavish treats, not pleased with the said postpone
ment, kicked up another dust, pulled down the notifi
cation last mentioned, and insisted that the warrants
should be given out the next day. They were now
noisy as ever, and ready for any mischief; the house
was to stand but two hours at farthest. On this the
President engaged that no exertion should be wanting

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 357
to grant them on the Saturday then next to follow.
This emollient produced, like Dr. Franklin's oil on
the turbulent Thames, a second calm to appearance ;
but I degrade the most unruly tempest by a compari
son with the savage disposition and brutal temper of
laAvless and ungovernable men, subject to no control,
strangers to order and regularity, and averse to every
thing that opposes their will. Saturday being come
(though I cannot say that those gentlemen who Avent
to their homes on the notice that none should issue be
fore or until Monday morning, had an equal chance),
and lists being handed in, by requisition of the several
claims for warrants by each individual, and the putting
them up accordingly in bundles to be handed out, was
going on rapidly : a proposition was made by the most
generous and most disinterested of men, the overflow
ing of a compassionate heart, though fatally unlucky
in the consequence, that several individuals, Avho
waited but for their own warrants, and Avhen obtained
would retire and give room for those who wanted many,
might have them. I dreaded the confusion that ensued
thereon, nor did I orait mentioning it ; this having taken
place, the general vociferation was, ' Why can't I get
my warrant as well as another? Such a one has got his,
and I'll have mine.' My office was no longer at my
command ; the breach being made, the torrent soon
widened it, and he thought himself the happiest per
son that could grab the greatest number of them.
The alphabetical order that I had observed was soon
obliterated, and no trace of regularity or decorum
left. " They soon had the warrants from my table on the
floor, at the door, and on the highway. About four

358 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
or five hundred were soon missing by this outrage;
true, great numbers have since been returned under
the pretence of being taken away by mistake, &c. &c.
The court have endeavored to remedy this evil also,
on petitions and testimony that they were so taken
away or mislaid. Duplicates have been made out to
them and transmitted to the two County Surveyors,
with positive orders not to survey on a Avarrant that
a duplicate was issued for.
" I have been ever since busy on this work, hard as
the first, and it has been almost too hard for me. I
have been very unwell, and still continue so."
There Avere no less than five different classes of
warrants to be prepared, issued and registered by this
court. The first, called " Citizens' Rights," were based
on the resolution of the Legislature, passed the 20th
August, 1781, which declared, that " as many persons
were daily absenting themselves from the State, and
leaving their fellow-citizens to encounter the difficul
ties of the war with Great Britain, all Avho remained
and did their duty faithfully, should be entitled to two
hundred and fifty acres of good land, which were to be
exempt from taxes for ten years." Two thousand nine
hundred and twenty-three persons availed themselves
of the provisions of this act to obtain certificates which
entitled them to " Citizens' Rights" warrants.
On the 12th January, 1782, the Assembly ordered
"that the Governor issue certificates to persons who,
during their refugeeship, had served their country as
good soldiers, for two hundred and fifty acres of land,"
the officers to receive more, in proportion to rank. Six
hundred and ninety-four claimed under this act, by
what were called " Refugee Certificates," the desig-

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 359
nated warrants. Another class of claimants were
those who had served the State under the old Con
gress in the Continental establishment, and nearly two
hundred persons received these " Continental Certifi
cates," Avhich entitled them to warrants for land.
A still larger class of applicants presented what
were termed " Minute Men Certificates," i. e., such men
as were enrolled for service, and liable to be called out
at a minute's notice, but who did not do continuous
service in the field ; and five hundred and fifty-five re
ceived land warrants under this provision of the law.
There were also issued land warrants to nine per
sons, under the claim of " Marine Certificates," Avho
had done duty as part of the small naval force in the
galleys of the State. Thus rapidly was the territory
acquired by treaty absorbed by the people of the State.
Persons outside the State also sought to settle here,
and General Matthews and some other gentlemen from
Virginia, asked that a tract of 200,000 acres be laid
off and reserved for them and others, agreeable as they
conceived to a clause in the Land Act. As these last
petitioners did not comply with the provisions of this
act, they did not obtain the grant as desired " in one
body of land," though many individuals of that Vir
ginia Company, the most prominent of whom was
General Matthews himself, took up lands in Georgia
and became residents of the State.
General Samuel Elbert succeeded John Houstoun as
Governor, in July, 1785, the Legislature showing its
appreciation of him, in placing him, by nearly a unani
mous vote, in the Executive chair.
One of his earliest acts was to direct Colonel John
Baker, of Liberty County, " to take the most effectual

300 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
means, to secure the villains who are at this time as
sembled between the St. Ilia and St. Mary's Rivers ;
with a number of negroes, horses, and other property,
supposed to haA^e been stolen from the citizens of this
State." As the Governor of Florida was making sfevere
examples of such as fell into their hands, Governor
Elbert felt it important to strike terror into this ban
ditti, on this side the St. Mary's also, and thus put a
stop to such border pillage and bloodshed.
It was not upon the southern boundary alone, how
ever, that these troubles were felt. Disaffected and
mercenary persons were found to be at work among
the Indian tribes, committing outrages of the grossest
kind, and then attributing them to the Georgians;
stimulating the savages to revenge, and driving them
on to deeds of cruelty and warfare, which it required
the strong arm of military power to put down. But
the Governor sent pacific " talks" to the Indians, and
urged the most stringent measures of justice to be
pursued towards all molesting the Indians, or trespass
ing upon their lands.
The Assembly, by an act passed on the 27th
January, 1785, developed almost into maturity the
germ of a university, found in their legislation the
previous year. The bill noAv passed was entitled " An
Act for the more full and complete establishment of a
public seat of learning in this State," and opens with a
preamble, which for its sound principles, and as an
expression of the views of the political fathers of those
days, well deserves a record here.
"As it is the distinguishing happiness of free govern
ments that civil order should be the result of choice,
aud not necessity, and the common Avishes of the peo-

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 361
pie become the laws of the land, their public prosperity
and even existence very much depends upon suitably
forming the minds and morals of their citizens. When
the minds of the people in general are viciously dis
posed and unprincipled, and their conduct disorderly,
a free government will be attended with greater con
fusions and evils more horrid than the wild unculti
vated state of nature. It can only be happy where
the public principles and opinions are properly directed,
and their manners regulated. This is an influence
beyond the reach of laws and punishments, and can
be claimed only by religion and education. It should,
therefore, be among the first objects of those who wish
well to the national prosperity, to encourage and sup
port the principles of religion and morality, and early
to place the youth under the forming hand of society,
that by instruction, they may be moulded to the love
of virtue and good order. Sending them abroad to
other countries for their education, Avill not answer
these purposes ; it is too humiliating an acknowledg
ment of the ignorance or inferiority of our OAvn, and
will always bfe the cause of so great foreign attach
ments, that upon principles of policy it is inadmissible.
"This country, in the times of our common danger
and distress, found security in the principle and abili
ties which wise regulations had before established in
the minds of our countrymen, that our present happi
ness, joined to the pleasing prospects, should conspire
to make us feel ourselves under the strongest obliga
tions to form the youth, the rising hope of our land,
to render the like glorious and essential services to our
country." The act provided that the general superintendence

362 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
and regulation of the literature of this State should
be confided to two bodies, one consisting of the Go
vernor and Council, the Speaker of the House of
Assembly, and the Chief Justice, termed a " Board of
Visitors ;" and the other, consisting of John Houstoun,
James Habersham, William Few, Joseph Clay, Abram
Baldwin, William Houstoun, Nathan Brownson, John
Habersham, Abiel Holmes, Larkin Davis, Hugh Law-
son, William Glascock, and Benjamin Talliaferro, to be
called the " Board of Trustees." These two bodies,
united, were to constitute " The Senatus Academi-
cus of the University of Georgia." This " Senatus
Academicus" was to "consult and advise, not only
upon the affairs of the University, but also to remedy
the defects and advance the interests of literature
through the State in general."
The fourteenth section of this bill also declared that
" all public schools instituted, or to be supported by
funds or public moneys in this State, shall be considered
as parts or members of the University, and shall be
under the foregoing directions and regulations."
At a meeting of the Trustees, in Augusta, in Feb
ruary, 1786, the Board took steps towards laying out
a town in Greene County, directing that eight lots be
reserved for a church, academy, court-house, and jails;
and that certain others be sold upon specified condi
tions. This was the beginning of the town of Greens
boro, then the contemplated seat of the University.
The first meeting of the " Senatus Academicus" of
the State, of which any record remains, was held at
Louisville, in November, 1799. The first Professor,
Josiah Meigs, was elected by the " Senatus Academi
cus," the next year, at a salary of $1500.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES-LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 363
By an act of the Legislature, in 1800, the General
Assembly ordered that the permanent seat of the Uni
versity should be in the county of Jackson, Franklin,
Hancock, Greene, Oglethorpe, Wilkes, or Warren. A
new set of trustees was nominated, and a new board,
entitled a " Board of Visitors," was appointed, to con
sist of the Governor, the Judges of the Superior
Courts, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of
the House, and Senators from certain designated
counties. At the meeting of the Board of Visitors, in June,
1801, the Hon. Abrara Baldwin, the President of
the Board, stated that the funds of the University
admitted the paying of a person as President, whose
duty it should be more particularly to superintend the
literature of the State ; he therefore resigned his posi
tion, and Professor Meigs Avas unanimously elected,
took the oath of office, and " entered at once upon the
duties of President, by taking his seat as President of
the Board of Trustees."^
Though the site of the University seemed fixed at
Greensboro, yet, as much dissatisfaction appeared, the
subject was reconsidered, and the Board therefore
appointed Abram Baldwin, John Milledge, John
Twiggs, Hugh Lawson, and George Walton, to select
a site in Jackson County (then including Clark and
Jackson), and to contract for the erection of college
buildings to accommodate one hundred students.
In November, 1801, they reported their selection of
the present site, and also laid before the Board a con
veyance from Mr. Milledge, of nearly seven hundred
^ Minute Book of " Senatus Academicus."

364 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
acres of land (that on Avhich Athens now principally
stands), for the benefit of the University.
The location which at that time seemed so adverse
to the demands of the population, as it placed the
college on the very borders of civilization on its western
frontier, now proves to be a most admirable selection.
The first commencement was held in May, 1804, and
the exercises of that day were held under an arbor
formed of branches of trees, upon the Campus. Here,
in this rustic chapel, surrounded by the primeval forest,
and amidst a gathering of a few friends of the institu
tion, and a still larger number of persons gathered to
witness the novel scene ; Colonel Gibson Clark, the
Honorable Augustine T. Clayton, General Jeptha V.
Harris, Colonel William H. Jackson, Professor James
Jackson, Thomas IrAvin, Jared Irwin, Robert Ruther
ford, and William Williamson graduated with the
honors of the institution.
Considering the age of the colony, the last settled of
the original thirteen ; the position of the State, a
frontier province exposed to incursions from Indians,
French, and Spaniards : the feebleness of the State,
just recovering from the effects of war, and still suffer
ing from Indian hostiUties ; the unsettled condition of
government, when clashing interests and rival claims
were jostling each other in high places, to the preju
dice of peace and order : considering these things, and
then looking at the broad scope on which the University
was planned; the sound principles on which it was
based ; the zealous efforts of its founders to make it
stable and efficient ; we must say that Georgia merits
peculiar honor in being among the first of the States
to make provision for a State University, and in passing

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 365
most wholesome laws for securing to her sons the
blessings of a liberal education on her own soil.
Much of the thought and care of Governor Elbert
was taken up with the settlement of Indian difficulties ;
especially in connection with the proceedings of the
Comraissioners appointed by Congress to treat with
the Cherokees, and the Indians to the south of them ;
proceedings in which Georgia, indeed, took a part
through State Commissioners, but which were, never
theless, regarded by the Executive with some degree
of uneasiness, as if fearful that the rights of Georgia
might be trespassed upon, or its true claims over
looked; the lesser power and authority of the State
being made to succumb to the overshadowing influence
of the General Government. Accordingly, the Execu
tive Council appointed Edward Telfair, William Few,
and James Jackson, to attend at Galphinton, in Jeffer
son County, where the convention was to be held;
"and there take cognizance of any matter respecting
the same, and to aid and assist them, the said Com
missioners of the United States, in forwarding their
business as far as they, by the Articles of Confederation
and Perpetual Union, are authorized to go ; and they
are strictly charged to protest against any measures
that may appear to them to exceed the powers given
by the Confederation aforesaid, and which may be con
trary to the Constitution and laws of the State, and to
make report thereof to this Board."
This Avas the first step taken by the General Govern
ment, which brought it into seeming conflict with the
State Governraent; and was the beginning of a series
of difficulties respecting the jurisdiction of the United
States within the Umits of the State, which, as they

366 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
advanced, assumed, at times, even threatening aspects;
and which were only really quieted when the Indians
were, within a few years back, removed altogether
from the Commonwealth of Georgia.
Among the pleasing duties which pertained to Gene
ral Elbert, at a time when the occupancy of the guber
natorial chair was attended with self-denial and ha
rassing cares, was the notifying the Count d'Estaing
of the action of the Legislature, in granting him twenty
thousand acres of land, " in testimony of their respect
for his meritorious services ;" and their further action,
in empowering him to receive and hold the grants of
land, and in admitting him " to all the privileges, liber
ties, and immunities of a free citizen of this State."
The letter of the Governor, as well as the official
papers concerning the grant, were sent to the Vice-
Admiral by the hands of a special agent, John Mc
Queen, Esq., who was directed to deliver them to him
in person. The Count received the intelligence with
emotions of gratitude. " The mark of its satisfaction,"
he writes, " which the State of Georgia was pleased to
give me, after I had been wounded, Avas the most
healing balm that could have been applied to my pains
whenever they were the most acute." " Nothing," he
adds, " could be more flattering than to be admitted as
a proprietor in a State that has so much distinguished
itself in supporting the common cause." And he au
thorized the Chevalier De La Luzerne to take charge
of the property in his name.
From a letter to the Chevalier, by Count d'Estaing,
he intimates, as a purpose to which he intended to
devote a part of the proceeds of this estate, " to erect
to the States, at the entrance of Paris, a monument to

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 367
the glory of the King, and those patriots who have
most contributed to the epoch of liberty."
What the specific design of the Count was we know
not. The rising troubles in France, and his own
duties, as a Vice-Admiral of the navy, so absorbed his
time, that but little was left in which to think upon
his American estate. And when, at length, the French
Revolution began its reign of terror, d'Estaing was
one of the victims of republican proscription, and
perished under the guillotine.
On the Oth of January, 1786, Edward Telfair was
elected Governor of Georgia. Mr. Telfair, though a
native of Scotland, had resided in America nearly
thirty years ; twenty of which he had passed in Savan
nah. Engaged there in mercantile business, he gained,
by his high and honorable course, wealth and influence ;
he early took a decided course upon the great ques
tions which agitated America, and openly ranked him
self among the friends of liberty. From the time that
he attended the first meeting of the " Liberty Boys,"
he had been uniform, consistent, and earnest in his
efforts to protect, make free, and elevate the State of
his adoption. As a member of the Council of Safety,
as one of the delegates in Congress, and as a commis
sioner to treat with the Indians, he had proved the
integrity of his character, and his greats capacity for
business ; and, having been found faithful in these, he
was, by the Legislature, raised to the highest office in
the State.
It was a time which required sagacity, promptness,
and firmness ; and he was enabled to bring to his exe
cutive duties not only these qualities, but a ripe and
large public experience, so that he was enabled to pre
side over the State with wisdom and dignity.

368 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Much of the time of Governor Telfair was taken up
in preparing for, and warding off, by his prompt and
vigorous measures, a threatened war with the Creek
Indians. A timid, or a wavering course, at this time,
Avould have proved disastrous to the frontier settle
ments, and greatly retarded the growth of Georgia.
The proceedings of the Council, and commissioners,
and military, in reference to these threatened difficul
ties, will be found briefly stated in the chapter on
Indian affairs.
About the middle of 1786, Governor Telfair received
notice, from the Secretary of State, that certain books
of record, belonging, as was alleged, to the office of the
Secretary of State, were detained in Savannah, con
trary to an order of the Executive Board, who had
directed their removal to the seat of government, at
Augusta. To this, it was replied, that the fiftieth
Article of the Constitution made each county the cus
todian of its own records ; that the papers, which the
assistant of the Secretary had orders to reraove, were
the records of Chatham County, from the very first
settling of the State ; that the removal of them would
give " great distress" to the inhabitants of that county,
as nine-tenths of the records related to the property of
the loAver counties only ; and that a careful inventory
had been made of them, and that they were deposited
in the office of the Clerk of the County. This letter,
to the Governor and Council, was signed by Joseph
Clay, WilUam O'Brien, William Gibbons, WUliam
Stephens, Richard Wylly, Samuel Stirk, James Jack
son, and George Walton, — names of the greatest influ
ence and respectability. " We hope," say these gentle
men, " this measure will meet with your Honor's, and

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 369
the Honorable Council's approbation, being entirely
consistent with justice, public convenience, and the
spirit of the Constitution."
The Council, hoAvever, thought otherwise. This
event, in their eyes, assumed peculiar magnitude, from
the character of the actors, and the official position
which many of them held; and therefore, on the 17tli
of March, after a preamble, setting forth that " affairs
seemed tending to anarchy, and an infringement of
the leading principles of the Constitution, the Board,
from the urgent necessity occasioned by such unwar
rantable proceedings, and in order, therefore, that the
fountain of justice may run pure, and the laws and
ordinances may be fully executed in the county of
Chatham, have, and do solemnly and unanimously
resolve thereupon, as follows : —
"That John Houstoun, Esq., appointed to the office
of Chief Justice, be and he is hereby suspended from
exercising the duties of the aforesaid office ; that
Joseph Clay, William O'Brien, and William Gibbons,
Esqrs., be and each of them are hereby suspended
from the office of Assistant Justice or Justices for the
county of Chatham ; that William Stephens, Richard
Wylly, Peter Deveaux, Samuel Stirk, and James
Jackson, Esqrs., be and each of them are hereby sus
pended from the office of a Justice or Justices of the
Peace for the county of Chatham."
This summary proceeding was followed by equally
vigorous measures. Eminent counsel were retained
by the State, in aid of the Attorney-General; who,
without delay, was " required to notify the Chief Jus
tice and Assistant Justices in the county of Chatham,
his having in charge, for their deliberation, matters of
VOL. II. 24

370 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
State importance ; and, upon a court being constituted,
that, among other matters and things, he make and
demand, in the name of the State, and by the express
command of the Executive authority thereof, the
immediate surrender of certain State records, now
said to be in the hands of James Bulloch, Clerk of
the aforesaid Court; and that their honors be in
formed, that the dignity, interest, and peace of the
State, require immediate order to be taken that the
aforesaid records be delivered to the State Secretary."
These proceedings, however, did not produce the
desired effect; for the several Assistant Justices re
signed their commissions; and among these was Gene
ral Nathaniel Greene, who, having become a citizen of
Georgia, Avas, on the day after the issuing of the order
for the suspension of the Chief Justice and Assistant
Justices, appointed an Assistant Justice in the new
Court. So soon, however, as he learned the true state
of things, he refused to serve, and on the I6th April,
together Avith Joseph Habersham, resigned the commis
sions which had been sent them by the Governor.
The affair caused no little popular commotion ; and
the real merits of the case were very much distorted,
in the personal bickerings and party animosities
which it fomented. The Governor laid the matter
before the Assembly in July ; though it was not untU
the 20th of November that the Secretary, having in
formed the Governor that he had received the books,
the CouncU, on the same day, " removed every order
and process directed in consequence thereof," and the
affair was amicably settled. The gentlemen of Sa
vannah were evidently in the wrong; for, by their
OAvn showing, the documents which they retained.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 371
were not merely those pertaining to Chatham County;
but papers of the Trustees and President and Assist
ants of the Colony, acting for the whole territory em
braced in the chartered limits of Georgia, and also
records relating to property in other southern counties.
Their action Avas indeed " disorganizing in its ten
dency;" and it showed the promptness and vigor of
Governor Telfair's administration, that he took such
effective measures to sustain the dignity of the Go
vernment and the majesty of law. The circum
stance is an instructive one, as it shoAVS how a small
question, of local interest, can act as the sharp edge
of a wedge, which, if driven home with force, may
cleave asunder whole communities.
In the midst of these transactions, an event occurred
which caused mourning, not in Georgia only, but
throughout the land.
At the close of the war. General Nathaniel Greene
came to Georgia, to reside, bringing his family Avith
him. They took up their residence, in October, 1785,
at the plantation called " Mulberry Grove," fourteen
miles above the city, Avhich had been presented to the
General, by the Legislature, as a tribute of respect for
his merits and services.
In this beautiful place, once the, residence of the
royal Lieutenant-Governor of Georgia, John Graham,
General Greene looked for peace, usefulness, and honor.
At the age of forty-three he had achicA^ed a national
reputation, and had received almost a nation's ovation,
as he journeyed northward the previous year to
his native State of Rhode Island. With a mind, so
masculine in its power, that he was fitted to command
on the broadest scale of military power, he yet possessed

372 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
sensibilities, which war had not deadened, and which
long absence from his loved ones had not crushed ; but
Avhich, so soon as he had sheltered his family under
the rooftree of their new Georgia home, manifested
themselves in the sweetness of domestic bliss, and the
longing after those social pleasures, Avhich peace now
permitted him to enjoy.
Soon after bis arrival at "Mulberry Grove," he
writes : " We found the house, situation, and out
buildings more convenient and pleasing than we ex
pected. The prospect is delightful, and the house
magnificent. The garden is in ruins, but there are
still a great variety of shrubs and flowers in it."^
" This," says his grandson,'' " was the happiest period
of his life, the months of purest enjoyment that he
ever passed : they were destined to be the last."
In consequence of undue exposure to the sun, at the
plantation of Mr. William Gibbons, on Tuesday, the
13th of June, 1786, he became quite sick; and though
he reached " Mulberry Grove" that evening, and was
immediately attended by skilful physicians, yet the
disease proved incurable ; and, on Monday following,
he died. General Wayne and Major Pendleton, a
former aid, Avere with him in his last moment; and the
former, in a letter characteristic of his ardent nature,
and indicative of his deep affection, thus announced to
Colonel James Jackson, the melancholy event : —
" Mt DEAR Sir : I have often wrote you, but never
on so distressing an occasion. My dear friend General
Greene is no more. He departed this morning, six
' Johnson's Life of Greene, ii, 418.
' Life of Greene, in Sparks's American Biography, new series, 392.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 373
o'clock A. M. He was great as a soldier, — greater as a
citizen, — immaculate as a friend. His corpse will be at
Major Pendleton's this night ; the funeral from thence
in the evening. The honors — the greatest honors of
war are due his remains. You, as a soldier, will take
the proper order on this melancholy affair. Pardon
this scraAvl, my feelings are but too much affected,
because I have seen a great and good man die."
It may well be supposed Avhat sadness and regret
would be felt in Savannah, at so sudden and unex
pected an event. One emotion of sorrow seemed to
pervade all hearts. The town, almost instinctively,
put on the habiliments of mourning, and prepared
itself to receive his precious remains. His body Avas
brought down the riA^er in a barge, and was met at the
town landing by the military, by the civil and judicial
officers then in the place, and by the whole populace,
which had resorted to the riverside to gaze upon the
coffin which contained the remains of him, whom but
one week previously, they had seen walking their
streets, in the full vigor of healthful and honorable
manhood. The funeral procession, long and sad,
marched with muffled drums to the graveyard ; Avhere,
in the absence of a clergyman, the funeral service of
the Church of England was read by the Honorable
WiUiam Stephens, and the remains deposited in the
vault prepared for their reception.
This is not the place to enlarge upon the military
character of General Greene. His fame was purely
mUitary ; but, in that, he stood next to Washington.
This fame he secured, not by victories, brilliant and
important, but by a series of services, skilful manoeu-

374 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
vres, and prudent, yet vigorous, generalship, Avhich
enabled him to secure, at length, advantages, greater
perhaps than would have resulted from a few brilliant
conquests. Had he liA^ed, he Avould doubtless have
been called to the councils of the nation ; and, though
he had already refused to be a member of the Cabinet,
yet his countrj'men would have demanded, in the
Senate, the wisdom and the zeal Avhich Avere so con
spicuous on the field.
At the meeting of the Legislature, in July, 1786,
Governor Telfair brought to the notice of that body
the complicated state of the finances, and the necessity
for taking such action as would afford immediate re
lief. The State oAved nearly a million of dollars, under
various claims, which the Governor thought might
soon be extinguished from the receipts of moneys and
certificates due and owing to the State, if there could
at once be established a proper system in the Trea
surer's department. To meet, hoAvever, " the present
pressure upon the treasury, and to make provision for
the sum outstanding in gratuitous claims," the Assem
bly, on 14th August, directed that " paper bills of
credit be struck, under the direction of the Governor
and Executive Council, in such form, with such de
vices, and of such denominations, as they shall judge
fit, not exceeding £30,000 ;" and declared that these
should be a legal tender in all cases whatsoever. On
the 24th October, the Executive Council appointed
Thomas Napier, Thomas P. Carnes, WilUam Moss,
William Daniell, and Joseph Jackson, to sign the biUs
of credit, which were issued in denominations of twenty
shillings, ten shillings, five shillings, two shillings, one
shilling, and sixpence.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 375
It Avas at the very time that Georgia was issuing
these bills of credit, to relieve her debt-burdened trea
sury, that Washington, writing to Jefferson, says:
" Some of the States are, in my opinion, falling into
very foolish and wicked plans of emitting paper
money." That many extravagances were committed
on this subject, by legislative enactment, in several
States, is true ; and that thereby much financial injury
was done to the country, by showing upon what a
flimsy foundation its credit stood, is also true ; yet, it
must be remembered, that the whole currency of the
country was deranged, and in a transition state ; that
the war had been carried on mostly by issues of Con
tinental bills out of the national treasury for nearly
three hundred and sixty millions of dollars ; that these
bills, or, at least, three hundred and fifty-seven mil
lions of them, had so depreciated that five hundred
dollars of paper money only passed for one of specie ;
that these losses fell most heavily on the suffering sol
diery and civil officers; that the several States also
raised money by issuing Provincial bills ; that, after a
while, these partook of the general depreciation, were not
received as legal tender in sister States, and, at length,
caused enormous losses, in which the public faith of each
State seemed almost compromised, and its credit hope
lessly ruined. Influenced by considerations like these.
Governor Telfair hoped that, by gathering up the differ
ent liabilities, calling in these Auditors' certificates and
Continental certificates. Governor's and Speaker's war
rants, &c., and funding them, upon the basis of a new
issue of money, secured by new and adequate securities,
to replenish the exhausted treasury, and give confidence
to the languishing credit of the Commonwealtli. At the

376 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
time that the Assembly in Georgia ordered these bills in
English money. Congress was just legislating upon the
question of changing the currency of the nation ; so
that, instead of pounds, shillings, and pence, the money
of accounts should be dollars, dimes, cents, and mills,
and had not yet established its national mint, where
these decimal coins were to be struck, though this
institution Avas founded and its officers appointed in
October of the same year.
At the expiration of the year for which Telfair was
elected Governor, the Assembly chose to succeed him
a man Avho had but recently come into the State, but
Avho had rendered good service in the Continental
cause during the Avar, as a distinguished officer of the
Virginia line, — George Matthews. Whether fighting
Avith the Indians at Pleasant Point ; with the British
at Germantown ; or contending Avith the malaria on
the Chesapeake ; or the hardships of a prison-ship in
the harbor of New York ; General Matthews had dis
played singular courage, sagacity, and fortitude. Hav
ing served in the southern army under General Greene,
he imitated his great commander, by settling in Geor
gia, and had been but little over two years a resident
in Avhat is now Oglethorpe County, when, so conspi
cuous were his merits, that he was elevated to the
highest office in the State.
The Governor was soon called upon to act with
vigor, in suppressing a corps of runaway negroes, the
leaders of which, haying been trained to arms by the
British during the siege of Savannah, still called them
selves the King of England's soldiers,' and ravaged
' Jackson's letter to the Governor.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 377
both sides of the Savannah River, plundering and
murdering, to the great alarm of the people; who
also feared that the presence of this body of freebooters
would lead to a general and bloody insurrection of the
slaves in that vicinit}'. Colonel Gunn was ordered to
break up their camp, and disperse or capture them.
On the morning of the 6tli May, 1786,° Lieutenant-
Colonel Howell discovered their encampment on Bear
Creek, and informed Gunn of the fact. A space of
ground, about half a mile long and less than four hun
dred feet wide, had been surrounded by a kind of
breastwork, four feet high, made by piling up the logs
and cane, which they gathered from the cleared
ground. The only entrance to this inclosure was by
a place which would admit but one person at a time ;
and a hundred and fifty yards in advance of this was
placed a sentinel, to give warning of the approach of
danger. As soon as Gunn discovered the sentry, he
ordered Lieutenant Lewan, with eight men, to rush
on, followed by fourteen of the light infantry, with
charged bayonets. These brisk movements were fol
lowed up by Captain Tatnall, with a detachment of
men, on the right, and Major McPherson, with some
South Carolina troops and fifteen Catawba Indians, on
the left. As soon as the negroes saw the troops within
their lines, they fled ; and were pursued for about two
miles, in all directions. Many were killed, many more
wounded, their baggage and provisions were taken,
and, having sent Lieutenant-Colonel Howell to search
the swamp with a detachment of men, which they did
as high as Zubly's Ferry, Gunn, at 5 p.m., burnt aU
* Letter of Gunn to Jackson.

378 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
their houses, twenty-one in number, and destroyed
their crops. Thus, in a tour of duty of four days,
and without the loss of a man, was the State cleared
of one of the most dangerous and best-disciplined
bands of marauders which ever infested its borders.
Great praise is due to Colonel Gunn, for the' prompt
ness and judiciousness of his operations in this impor
tant affair.
In the course of his efforts for the prevention of a
war with the Creek Indians, Governor Telfair was
brought into an interesting correspondence with John
Sevier, the first Governor of the so-called State of
Franklin. The history of the State of Franklin be
longs to the annals of Tennessee ; yet, being in some
points interlaced with the proceedings of the Legisla
ture and Executive of Georgia, it is important to know
briefly the facts connected with its organization and
temporary existence, in order to understand aright the
policy and measures pursued by Georgia.
At the close of the Avar, the United States were
burdened Avith an enormous debt, and harassed by un
fortunate, and really needy, creditors. To relieve itself
of these. Congress proposed that such of the States as
owned vacant and unappropriated lands, should cede
them to the United States ; that these should be dis
posed of, for the benefit of the United States; and
thus, out of what was now waste territory, the debts
of the General Government could be paid. North
Carolina, having large tracts of land, embraced in
Sullivan, Washington, Greene, and Davidson Coun
ties, lying west of the Alleghanies, did, in June, 1784,
cede them to Congress, and authorized her delegates
to execute a deed of conveyance to the United States.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 379
Thus virtually cut off from the parent State by the
law, as the western counties had long been from all
sympathy, with the more favored east ; and being
placed in that peculiar position, of what has been
well termed " political orphanage," when the mother
State had offered to give up the west, and the Con
gress had not as yet accepted the cession, and extended
over it its paternal care; the inhabitants took the
matter of government into their own hands, and
called a Convention, to decide upon what measures
should be pursued in their anomalous position. At
this Convention, it was resolved " to declare the three
western counties independent of North Carolina," and
a committee was appointed to draw up articles of
association. While these western settlers were rapidly progress
ing in their movements towards the formation of an
independent State, the Legislature of North Carolina
repealed the cession act, and made other provisions in
favor of these ultramontane counties, Avhich it was
thought would be agreeable to them. Despite these
conciliatory measures, a new Convention met, orga
nized, adopted a Constitution, gave to the new State
the name of Franklin, elected its officers, placing
John Sevier in the Governor's chair, and thus launched
it upon the troubled waves of poUtical existence. It
was not long suffered to float there. The mother
State did not tamely brook this rebellion to its autho
rity; and after various and laborious efforts; after
many and serious conflicts as to courts of judicature
and the authority of laws; and after a struggle which
continued untU the last stronghold of Sevier's govern
ment had been by force of arms taken, the year 1788

380 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
saw the extinction of the State of Franklin, and the
return of the western malcontents to the bosom of the
mother country.^
During the existence, however, of this unique State,
there were several circumstances Avhich brought it
into somcAvhat close relations with Georgia, and thus
places it under our historical purview. On the 27th
August,' Governor Telfair addressed a letter to Go
vernor Sevier, in Avhich he states that "the Creek
Indians have committed murders and depredations on
the persons and property of citizens of this State,
which have caused the Legislature to adopt measures
for the better security thereof." " It being suggested,"
he adds, " that you intend to march a body of men
against the Creek Indians, I flatter myself it will tend
greatly to the success of both arraies to begin their
movements at one and the same time." The time
designated by the Governor, was the 1st of November,
though that Avas to be a subject of conference between
him and Messrs. Dixon and Lett, who had been ap
pointed, by the Legislature, Comraissioners on the
part of Georgia. Sevier was greatly pleased at this
communication, reposing, as it did, confidence in him,
and a desire for co-operation ; and he responded cour
teously to Telfair; though the correspondence had
resulted in no practical benefit, Avhen Governor Tel
fair's term of office expired, and George Matthews
succeeded him.
In Matthews Sevier found a Avarm friend ; and he
sought to make the ties more lasting, by comraissioning
' The Annals of Tennessee, by J. G. M. Ramsey, A.M., M.D. Philadel
phia, 1853.
^ Original letter-book of Governor Telfair.

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 381
Major Caesar Augustus George Elholm to visit Georgia,
and lay before the Governor and Assembly the affairs
of the State of Franklin. This gentleman, a Pole by
birth, an officer in Pulaski's legion, who had fought
for Georgia in the siege of Savannah, and distinguished
himself with Colonel White in one of the most daring
pieces of strategy during the Avar, on the Ogeechee
River, so ingratiated himself with Governor Matthews
and the Legislature, that he was received by the Exe
cutive Council with marks of honor; was invited to
a seat in their meetings, and so imparted his own en
thusiasm to those around him, that " Success to the
State of Franklin" was a reigning toast.
On the 3d February, 1787, the committee of the
Assembly to whom had been referred Governor Se
vier's letter, recommended to the House "that his
honor the Governor inform the Hon. John Sevier,
Esq., of the sense this State entertains of their
friendly intentions to aid in the adjustment of all
matters in dispute between us and the hostile tribes
of Creek Indians ;" that Major Elholm is " a person
entitled to the thanks and attention of the Legisla
ture ;" and they recommend that " the Governor give
a substantial evidence of their appreciation of him, by
a gratuity of £50.
When, later in the year. Governor Sevier sought to
prop up his declining government, he despatched
Major Elholm a second time to Georgia, with plenary
powers, to secure Governor Matthews's mediation be
tween FrankUn and the parent State of North Caro
lina; and when the various papers directed to Governor
Matthews and the Speaker of the House were laid
before the Legislature, Major Elholm was requested.

382 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
by the Executive Council, to sketch out a plan of ope
rations for the suppression of Creek hostilities. He
told them that Franklin " would move in concert with
the operations of your military forces, against our
common enemy ; and for that purpose a detachment
of upwards of a thousand men, well accoutred, now
waits your Excellency's chief movements and com
mand." The Assembly passed a law to raise three thousand
men, and empowered the Executive to call for fifteen
hundred more from Franklin. They also, as suggested
by Major Elholm, granted the land in what is called
the bend of the Tennessee, or that portion of the
northern part of Alabama between the Tennessee
River and the southern line of the State of Tennessee,
to the officers and men from Franklin who did mili
tary duty in this movement against their common
enemy. Lieutenant-Colonel George Handly was de
puted by the Governor to return to Franklin with
Major Elholm, and to act as Commissioner on the part
of Georgia, in the preparations then going on for active
exertions in the field.
The field, however, was never taken. The recruit
ing of troops in Georgia, to form its army of three
thousand, was stopped, by the appointment of Com
missioners from the United States to treat with the
Indians; and the desire of making one more effort
for peace, before the State was compelled to proceed
to the last resort, a declaration of war.
Pending these negotiations, the State of FrankUn
ceased to exist as a body politic. Governor Sevier
had subsided into a private citizen of North Carolina ;
and Governor Matthews, having finished his guberna-

EXECUTIVE TROUBLES— LEGISLATIVE MOVEMENTS. 383
torial term, retired also into private life, leaving the
reins of government in the hands of George Handly,
the nephew-in-law of General Elbert; a soldier of
prowess and a civil officer of merit, who, on the 25th
January, 1788, was elected Governor of Georgia.
Prior to his election, however, the Assembly had, on
the Oth of January, chosen General James Jackson as
Governor. General Jackson Avas then but thirty years
of age ; yet had he so distinguished himself in the
field and at the Bar, that, unsolicited, this honor was
conferred upon hira by a large raajority of the House.
" To the astonishment of his friends, Avho believed him
to be influenced by an ambition not easily satiated with
public honors. General Jackson modestly refused an
office, which he did not think his age or experience
entitled him to. He confessed, with great candor,
that such an office was too weighty for his shoulders ;
and that no honest patriot would assume the duties of
an appointment which he had not the talents to dis
charge." ' Life of Major-General James JackSon, by T. U. P. Charlton, pt. i,
Augusta, 1809.

CHAPTER IIL
REVISING THE CONSTITUTION — GENERAL CLARKE'S
SETTLEMENT.
In 1785, the State of South CaroUna petitioned
Congress, stating that differences existed between
itself and Georgia, concerning its boundaries; the said
States respectively claiming the same territories; in
particular, that South Carolina claimed the lands lying
between the line of North Carolina and a line to be
run due west from the mouth of the Tugaloo River to
the Mississippi; because "the River Savannah loses
its name at the mouth of the Tugaloo." South Caro
lina also claimed " all the lands lying between a line
to be drawn from the head of the St. Mary, the head
of the Alatamaha, the Mississippi, and Florida;"
which last-mentioned tract was also claimed by
Georgia; and praying Congress for a hearing and
determination of these respective claims. That body,
on the 1st June, 1785, assigned the 8th May, 1786,
for the appearance of the said States, by their Agents,
and to proceed in the premises.'
When that day arrived, the subject was again post
poned untU the 15th. It was not, however, until the
4th September, 1786, that the Agents of the States
' Journal of Congress, x, 190.

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 385
attended, and produced their credentials for adjusting
this difficulty. The Agents representing South Caro
lina were John Kean, Charles Pinckney, and John
Bull; those representing Georgia, being WilUam
Houstoun, George Walton, and William Few. Con
gress then resolved, that these Agents might appoint,
by joint consent, comraissioners or judges, to constitute
a court for hearing and deterraining the matter in
question, agreeably to the ninth article of the Con
federation. As these gentlemen could not, in conse
quence of certain difficulties, arrange for this court.
Congress, at their request, selected three persons from
each of the United States, and from this number nine
were finally taken by lot, viz., Alexander Contee Han
son, James Madison, Robert Goldsborough, James
Duane, Philemon Dickinson, John Dickinson, Thomas
McKean, Egbert Benson, William Pynchon ; and
these were constituted the Court. This Court Avere
directed to meet in New York, on the third Monday
in June, 1787. In the raean tirae, however, the two
States, being desirous of an amicable adjustment of
their disputes, severally appointed Commissioners —
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Andrew Pickens, and
Pierce Butler, being selected to represent South Caro
lina ; and John Houstoun, John Habersham, and
Lachlan McIntosh, to represent Georgia; to meet at
Beaufort, in South Carolina, on the 24th April, 1787,
and there, if possible, settle the question of claims
and boundaries.
After a session of several days, and a full under
standing of all the points at issue, the Commissioners
agreed to six articles ; by which all the lands lying
north of a line drawn due Avest from the head of the
VOL. II. 25

3S6 GEORGIA AN INDEPElvlDENT STATE.
most northern branch of the Tugaloo to the Mississippi,
were by Georgia yielded to South CaroUna; and all
the lands claimed by South Carolina lying eastward,
southward, southeastward, and westward of a line
drawn from the head of the most northerly branch of
the Tugaloo west to the Mississippi, were relinquished
to the State of Georgia.
This treaty was unanimously ratified by Congress,
on the 9th August of the same year; and these agree
ments Avere also confirmed in February, 1788, by a
ratifying act passed by the Legislature of Georgia.
Thus this dispute was amicably settled, and one source
of irritation between these sister States was removed.
The year 1788 was rendered still further memorable
in Georgia, as within it Georgia signified her approval
of the Federal Constitution, and took initiatory mea
sures for establishing a new Constitution for herself
The Continental Congress, on the 21st February,
1787, adopted a resolution, declaring the expediency
of calling a Convention, "for the sole and express
purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and
reporting to Congress, and the several Legislatures,
such alterations and provisions therein as shall, when
agreed to in Congress, and confirmed by the States,
render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exi
gencies of governraent and the preservation of the
Union."^ Georgia saw the necessity, and approved the
plan, of a general Convention ; and appointed as dele
gates to this body, William Foav, Abram Baldwin,
WUliam Pierce, George Walton, WilUam Houstoun,
and Nathaniel Pendleton.
^ Journal of Federal Convention. Boston, 1819 ; p. 6.

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 387
The Hon. William Foav Avas the only delegate from
Georgia present at the opening of the Convention, on
the 25th May. Major Pierce took his seat on the 31st
May; William Houstoun, on the 1st June; and Abram
Baldwin, on the Ilth June. Messrs. Walton and
Pendleton did not attend. Of these raembers, Mr.
Baldwin took the most prominent part ; and he only,
with Colonel Few, signed the draft of the Constitution,
as it was proposed for ratification to the several States,
on the 17th September, 1787.
Agreeably to the request of the Congress of the
Confederation, the Legislature of Georgia, on the 26th
October, called a Convention, to meet at Augusta on
the fourth Tuesday in December, to consider the pro
posed Constitution, " and to adopt or reject any part,
or the whole thereof" This Convention was com
posed of the leading men of the State; and John
Wereat was elected its President. After due conside
ration of its several articles and provisions, the Con
vention did unanimously, and without proposing any
amendments, on the 2d January, 1788, "fully and
entirely assent to, ratify, and adopt the proposed Con
stitution;" and, as the last name was signed to the
ratification, the good news was announced by a salute
of thirteen guns, fired by a detachment of Colonel
Armstrong's regiment, stationed for that purpose op
posite the State House.
Georgia was the fourth State to ratify this great
instrument, which gave shape and permanence to a
government, for which the Americans had been strug-
gUng against oppression for twenty-five years ; and to
reach which desirable end, they had wet the soil of
every colony with blood during the war of the Revo-

388 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
lution. In reference to this prompt action on the
part of Georgia, President Wereat, as the official organ
of the Convention, writing to Congress, says : " We
hope that the ready compliance of this State with the
recommendations of Congress, and of the late National
Convention, will tend not only to consolidate the
Union, but promote the happiness of our common
country." It was also found necessary, in order to bring the
State Government into harmonious action with the
new Constitution, and to remedy certain defects expe
rienced in the practical workings of the State Constitu
tion, under which the Government of Georgia had
been working since 1777, to revise that instrument,
or construct a noAV one. Accordingly, the Legislature,
on the 30th of January, 1788, resolved, "that they
would proceed to name three fit and discreet persons
from each county, to be convened at Augusta, by the
Executive, as soon as may be after official information
is received that nine States have accepted the Federal
Constitution ; and a majority of them shall proceed to
take under their consideration the alterations and
amendments that are necessary to be made in the
Constitution of this State, and to arrange, digest, and
alter the same, in such manner as, in their judgment,
will be most consistent with the interest and safety,
and best secure the rights and liberties to the citizens
thereof." On the 6th of October, the official letter of the Sec
retary of Congress, stating that nine States had ac
cepted the Constitution, was laid before the Executive
Council ; and, accordingly, Governor Handly called
the members nominated and appointed by the Legisla-

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 389
ture, to meet at Augusta, on the 4th of NoA^ember,
"in order to carry the aforesaid resolutions of the
General Assembly into execution." The Legislature
was called, by proclamation of the GoA^ernor, to meet
at the same time ; this earlier period than usual being
designated because, by a resolution of Congress, Elec
tors for the first President and Vice-President of the
United States were to be chosen in each State on the
first Wednesday in January, and were to meet and
cast their ballots for these officers on the first Wednes
day in February, so that the new Government under
the Federal Constitution might go into operation on
Wednesday, the 4th March, 1789. It was necessary,
therefore, that the Legislature should provide a way
for the choice of these Electors, which it could not do,
if the matter Avas delayed to its usual time of meeting.
The Convention nominated by the Legislature for
the revision of the Constitution met and organized, by
choosing Governor Handly, who sat as a member from
Glynn County, as President, and James M. Simmons,
Secretary. The counties of Chatham, Effingham,
Burke, Richmond, Wilkes, Glynn, Camden, Washing
ton, Franklin, and Greene, were represented by two
or more members ; and, after Avhat they term "serious
consideration" and "mature deliberation," they agreed
to and signed a form, on the 24th November, Avhich,
by order of the House of Assembly, was printed ; and
five hundred copies thereof were to be " sent by the
Executive to the different counties, and distributed
among the justices and field-officers of the militia, to
be communicated to the people for their consideration."
The work done by this Convention Avas, however, to
be revised by another body, created by a resolution of

390 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
the General Assembly, composed of three persons from
each county, chosen by the inhabitants thereof, on the
first Tuesday in December, who were to meet at Au
gusta, on the 4th day of January, 1789, " vested with
full power, and for the sole purpose, of adopting and
ratifying, or rejecting," the Constitution framed by the
Convention appointed by the Legislature.
The second Convention met in January, and pro
posed certain alterations to the form laid before thera.
These, by direction of the General Assembly, were
also made known to the people ; and Governor Wal
ton was directed to call a third Convention, " to adopt
the said original plan or form of government, with or
without, all or any, of the alterations contained and
expressed in the said after-plan of January last."
This Convention met in the Town Hall in Augusta,
on the 4th May ; considered the several articles and
plans before them, and on the 6tli, having accom
plished the work, waited in a body upon the Governor
in the Council Chamber; and the President, WUliam
Gibbons, of Savannah, delivered into his hands the
Constitution which they had adopted, Avith a request
that he would be pleased to deposit the original in the
archives of the State, and cause it to be promulgated
to the people. Governor Walton replied : —
" Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention, —
The Constitution for the government of this State,
which you now deliver to me, shall have the great
seal affixed to it, and be deposited in the office of the
Secretary of the State. It shall be announced to the
people at large by proclamation, and a sufficient num
ber of copies printed for the use of the several coun
ties. I hope and believe that it Avill be productive of

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 391
public good and happiness, the objects of government
and of society."
The act of formally accepting the new Constitution
by the Governor from Mr. Gibbons, the President of
the ConA'cntion, was announced to the toAvn by a
salute of eleven guns, in honor of the eleven States
which had thus far acceded to the Constitution of the
United States.
This Constitution, which Avas nearly identical with
that framed by the first Convention, in November,
1788, was a great improvement on the Articles of
1777, and showed how much the people had been
taught political wisdom by the experience of eleven
years of self-government. Several organic changes
were also introduced, as to the constitution of the
General Assembly, the election of Governor, the
military organizations of the several counties, and
of the law courts and proceedings therein ; all,
however, for the good of the State, and to make the
instrument more conformable to the Federal Constitu
tion. The new Constitution was to take effect and be in
full force on the first Monday of October, 1789, when
the elections for senators and representatives, pre
scribed by the second and third sections of Article
First were to be held.
The first General Assembly under the new Consti
tution met on the 3d November foUoAviug ; and orga
nized, by the election of Seaborn Jones as Speaker of
the House of Representatives, and Nathan Brownson as
President of the Senate.
The next day, agreeably to the provisions of the
second section. Article II, of the Constitution, the

392 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
General Assembly proceeded to the election of a Go
vernor. The House of Representatives balloted for
three persons, and sent to the Senate the number of
votes cast for each ; the Senators then cast their
ballots, which, when counted, were equally divided
between Edward Telfair and John Houstoun. On the
9th November, the Senate again balloted, and unani
mously elected Edward Telfair.
The inauguration took place in the House of Repre
sentatives, on Wednesday, the lltb November. The
Governor elect; Governor Walton, and the now ex
piring body, the Executive Council ; together with the
Senate, accompanied by the Secretary of State, bearing
the great seal, entered the legislative hall, where the
oath prescribed by the Constitution was administered
by Robert Forsyth, one of the Justices of the county
of Richmond ; and Edward Telfair was declared the
first Governor under the new Constitution.
The House of Representatives on the same day,
through a committee, presented an address to his Ex
cellency, congratulating him on his appointment, com
mending the new Constitution, and assuring him, "that
in all their deliberations they will steadily endeaVor
to keep in view the public good."
A few days after his inauguration. Governor Tel
fair sent a message to the Assembly, pointing out
the necessity of certain additional laws, in order to
carry into full effect the provisions of the new Consti
tution. He also urged upon the Assembly the neces
sity for laying a tax upon the people for the support of
the Government ; of reform in the Judiciary depart
ment ; of a revision of the land act ; and of adopting
such measures as would give security to the frontier
settlements.

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 393
Scarcely had they entered upon the consideration of
these important topics, before they were agreeably in
terrupted, in order to keep, with all the people of the
United States, their first national thanksgiving, since
the adoption of the Federal Constitution.
On the 3d October, the General Congress, sitting in
New York, had appointed Thursday, the 26th No
vember, to be set apart as a day of public thanksgiv
ing and prayer, in order that the people of the land
might acknoAvledge, "Avith grateful hearts, the many
and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by
affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish
a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Washington, with a heart ever responsive to such
pious emotions, issued his proclamation for the obser
vance of the day; and the General Assembly of
Georgia, with commendable promptness, resolved, on
the 16th November, that they would, " on Thursday
the 26th instant, attend divine service, agreeably to
the proclamation of the President of the United
States;" and the Rev. Mr. Palmer, then officiating in
St. Paul's, Augusta, was " requested to prepare a dis
course and form of prayer suitable to the occasion."
At the appointed time, the General Assembly met
at the State House, at 10 o'clock a.m., and there,
being joined by the GoA^ernor, the clergymen, and the
officers of State, a procession was formed and marched
to St. Paul's Church, where the services and dis
course were listened to with great attention ; and the
thanks of the Assembly were subsequently presented
to Mr. Palmer, "for the well-adapted sermon preached
by hira on the occasion."
It is interesting to find this most distant raember of

394 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
the Union so ready, through her legislative Assembly,
to respond to the resolution of Congress, and to meet
her sister States around the altar upon which the reli
gious sentiment of the people would lay its tribute of
national praise and thanksgiving.
On the 8th December, 1700, the Legislature divided
the State into three Congressional districts ; directing
that the counties of Camden, Glynn, Liberty, Chatham,
and Effingham, shall compose the lower district; the
counties of Burke, Richmond, and Washington, shall
compose the middle district; and the counties of
Wilkes, Franklin, and Greene, the upper district ; and
the first Monday in January was appointed as the day for
the election of representatives to Congress. The elec
tions were accordingly held, and James Jackson was
chosen for the lower district, Abram Baldwin for the
middle, and George Matthews for the upper district.
Thus the new Constitution Avas carried out in nearly
all its provisions, and the Government, under the judi
cious management of Governor Telfair, was becoming
gradually strengthened and consolidated. There were
still, however, many dangers threatening the State
from the French and Spanish governments on the
south and west; and evils of no ordinary character
marred the harmony of the legislative councils, and
impeded the free action of the constituted authorities
of the State. The subject of the finances of the State,
so complicated by reason of the various issues of paper
bills, their depreciation, and the different kinds of cer
tificates presented at the Treasury, was full of embar
rassment ; for it was no easy matter to settle the eight
years' accounts of troops, constituted as the American
army was; operating in so many States, caUed out

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 395
under such various proclamations, and receiving in
payment so many different kinds of bills or certifi
cates. Governor Telfair, howcA'-er, brought to the
subject his great experience in financial matters, and
was enabled to arrange the operations of the Treasury
upon a Avell-adjusted plan, by which the State indebt
edness could be fully known, and provision for its liqui
dation be judiciously made.
The unsatisfactory relations which subsisted be
tween the State and the Indians within and near its
borders ; the beginning of a conflict with the General
Government as to the right of jurisdiction over the
Indians, and the lands ceded by them ; and the rise
and early development of systematized schemes for
stripping the State of its unoccupied territory by or
ganized associations of land speculators ; were causes
of great disquiet to the Governor, and gave constant
employment to his mind and energies.
In the midst of these passing cares, the Governor
and the citizens of Georgia Avere privileged to welcome
to their State the illustrious Washington.
On his accession to the Presidency, in 1789, the
General Assembly presented him with a congratulatory
address, to which he gave a suitable reply; but
the people, who had thus approached him through
their representatives, were now permitted to see and
hear him, and give him such a welcome as was due to
the Chief Magistrate of the Republic.
The President reached Savannah on the 13th May,
1791, and was received by the civil and military au
thorities of the town, with all the display and honors
which it was possible for thera to bestow. The occa
sion was one which drew to Savannah persons from

396 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
the line of the seaboard and the surrounding counties,
as all the citizens Avithin reach were anxious, by their
presence and congratulations, to testify their respect
for the Chief Magistrate of the land. The papers of
the day present a glowing account of the proceedings
consequent on his visit ; and evince the exhilarating
effect produced upon the people by beholding one to
whom had been confided the management of the war
of the Revolution ; and on whom had been devolved
the onerous work of presiding over the Government of
his country.
In reply to the address of the Mayor and Aldermen,
Washington said : " While the virtuous conduct of
your citizens, whose patriotism braved all hardships
of the late war, engaged my esteem, the distresses
peculiar to the State of Georgia, after the peace, ex
cited my deepest regret." Such a well-deserved com
pliment, and such properly-expressed sympathy, was
peculiarly grateful to Georgians, and made a deep im
pression on their minds.
Leaving Savannah, Washington, with his suite,
journeyed to Augusta, the seat of government, under
escort of a troop of horse sent by the Governor. He
arrived there on the 18th May, and was met, five
miles from town, by a large cavalcade of officers and
citizens, with Governor Telfair at their head, who
welcomed the President, in the name of the State, to
its seat of government and to its cordial hospitalities.
Two days after, the Governor presented a formal ad
dress to him in the State House. The affectionate
and laudatory language of Governor Telfair expressed
the general sentiment of the people ; for the inhabi
tants of the upper counties vied with the lower, in

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 397
testifying their appreciation of his august character.
In the course of his reply to Governor Telfair, Wash
ington said : " I shall always retain the most pleasing
remembrance of the polite and hospitable attentions
which I have received in my tour through Georgia,
and during my stay at the residence of your govern
ment." The President left Georgia, on his return, on Satur
day morning, being accompanied to the bridge by the
Governor and other officers ; Avho there took leave of
him, with all the civic and military ceremonies which
the occasion demanded.
Under the working of the new Constitution; and
sharing Avith the other States the advantages secured
by the Federal Constitution; the political aspect of
Georgia became more composed; and the judicious
measures of Governor Telfair tended to augment the
population, revenue, and reputation of the State. It
was, however, no easy task to bring into order, and
adjust to the satisfaction of all parties, inhabitants of
such widely-separated districts, who had but little
sympathy with each other's pursuits ; but little inter
course with each other in social life; and who were
but little accustomed to act together for a common
end, irrespective of sectional interests; so that the
legislation might be as broad as the boundaries of the
State, and so nicely adapted to the wants of all, as
that each should feel the benefits, and none the op
pression, of the common laws of the land. Still, with
aU the drawbacks arising from the want of homoge-
neousness of material, harmony of industrial interests,
and agreem.ent as to the true policy to be pursued, in
reference to the currency, the Indians, and the disposal

398 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
of the unoccupied lands, the State steadily rose from
the almost crushed position in Avhich the war left it,
and gave marked evidences of renewed activity and
vigor. The election of Governor for the term commencing
in 1793 Avas a closely contested one. The three names,
which the Constitution required should be presented
to the Senate by the House of Representatives, were
EdAvard Telfair, George Matthews, and Jared Irwin :
Telfair receiving tAventy-one votes, Irwin seventeen,
and Matthews fifteen. The Senate chose George Mat
thews ; and he Avas duly inaugurated, a second tirae.
Governor of Georgia.
The record of Executive proceedings during this
period is mostly occupied by orders and details as to
the calling out, organizing, and posting the militia and
other troops, for the protection of the State against
the Indians and Spaniards; the former of Avhom were
committing most barbarous ravages on the frontier
settlers, and the latter trespassing upon the territory
and rights of Georgia.
No other State had so much to impede its advance
ment, depress its energies, or so much frontier trouble
to absorb its growing resources and harass its increas
ing population; yet, despite these impediraents, the
laying out of seven new counties in one year, was a
cheering token of prosperity.
By several acts passed in 1793, a new county, called
Hancock, after the President of the Continental Con
gress, whose name was first subscribed to the Declara
tion of Independence, was laid out from parts of
Washington and Greene. Another county, to Avhich,
in honor of one of Georgia's bravest Revolutionary

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 399
officers, was given the name of Scriven, was made out
of Burke and Effingham. A third, comprising por
tions of Wilkes and some adjoining counties, Avas
named Warren, in honor of the hero of Bunker Hill.
The fourth county was called Oglethorpe, and was
originally comprised in Elbert and Greene. The fifth,
destined to bear a name Avhich Georgia has ever de
lighted to honor, and which is associated with her
military annals from the time of Oglethorpe, the name
of Mcintosh, was laid off from Liberty County. The
sixth, which was called Bryan, after the venerable
and suffering patriot, Jonathan Bryan, was taken out of
Chatham County. The last, named from the chivalric
General Richard Montgomery, who Avas killed while
leading the American troops against Quebec, was taken
off from Washington County. In these counties new
towns were established ; public buildings of various
kinds were erected ; and an impetus was given to in
dustry and enterprise which greatly tended to draw
in settlers, and diffuse over a greater area the hitherto
straitened population.
In order that he might understand more truly the
real situation of the frontier settlements, and see, from
actual inspection, what they needed for protection and
defence. Governor MatthcAvs, in January and Febru
ary, made an official tour through the northAvestern
frontiers, from Ward's Mill on the Tugaloo, to Carr's
Bluff, on the Oconee ; a distance of about two hundred
miles. He found a great part of this boundary line
exposed to the Cherokee Indians, and nominally pro
tected by only tAvo posts, occupied by the Federal
troops. He communicated to the Secretary of War
his views as to the necessities of this section ; and sug-

400 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
gested, as his plan of defence, that there should be
stations at every twenty miles, garrisoned by an offi
cer, sergeant, and sixteen privates ; half a troop of
horse to be posted at each alternate station ; who
should perform a scout every day to the stations on
each side ; and thus he thought that by two troops of
horse, and two companies of infantry, he could cover
the distance of one hundred and seventy or one hun
dred and eighty miles on the Cherokee frontier.
Along the more thinly settled outskirts, on the south
western frontier, bordering on the Creek nations, he
suggested a larger number of men, as being needed to
garrison the forts and protect the settlers.
The suggestions of Governor Matthews were only
partially complied with. His letters to the Secretary
of War were strong, earnest, and at times bore hard
upon Congress and the President; and his indignation
was quite aroused, when he contrasted the lavish ex
penditure of men and means on the northwestern
frontier, in comparison with the stinted aid furnished
to the equally exposed border lands of the South.
The firmness and promptness of Governor Matthews
were well tested, by the illegal and dangerous conduct
of General Elijah Clarke, in attempting to establish a
settlement on lands reserved for the Indians, on the
southwest side of the Oconee River. General Clarke
had been one of the most active officers in Georgia; and
had given evidence of his military qualities on several
marked occasions. But when he found that the treaty
which General Twiggs and himself had made with the
Creek Indians, in 1785, was set aside, and new boun
daries, less advantageous to the State, were declared
by the treaty which was concluded Avith tbis tribe at

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 401
New York in 1790, betAveen the President, represented
by General H. Knox, Secretary for the Department of
War; and Alexander McGilUvray, representing the
various branches of the Creek nation, on the other; he
became greatly incensed, and determined to take for
cible possession of the territory, which he conceived had
been so improperly surrendered. Such was the military
popularity of General Clark, though quite illiterate,
and uncouth in his manners, that no sooner did he
make known his plan than many restless adventurers
joined his standard and raarched with him across the
Oconee, and planted themselves on the ceded lands.
It was in May, 1794, that Governor Matthews
learned of the existence of this settlement, which he
supposed to consist of adventurers " who had em
barked in the French interest, and that in a short time
they would of themselves disperse."
So soon as he was undeceived on this point, he or
dered General Irwin, on the 20th May, " to direct the
settlers immediately to remove;" and he was soon
after informed that they had complied with his re
quest. In the meantime, the President had taken
prompt measures to terminate this illegal settlement.
General Knox, the Secretary of War, wrote to the
Governor of Georgia, on the 14th of May, urging that
the most " effectual measures be taken to prevent en
tirely the expedition, and bring to punishment the
authors, actors, and abettors; otherwise the United
States may become responsible for the consequences."
Lieutenant-Colonel Gaither, of the army, was also au
thorized to co-operate with the Executive of Georgia,
iu such way as would best secure the desired end.
On the I4th of July, Governor Matthews learned,
VOL. II. 26

402 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
through Colonel Gaither, that General Clark had en-
caraped with a party of raen on the southwest side of
the Oconee, opposite to Fort Fidius. Being requested
by General Irwin, on the part of Georgia, to remove,
he positively refused ; and, on the 28th of July, the
Governor issued his proclamation, as follows : —
" Whereas, I have received official information that
Elijah Clark, Esq., late a Major-General of the militia
of this State, has gone over the Oconee River, with
intent to establish a separate and independent govern
ment on the lands allotted to the Indians for their
hunting-grounds, within the boundaries and juris
dictional rights of the State of Georgia, aforesaid, and
has induced numbers of the good citizens of the said
State to join him in the said unlawful enterprise.
"And whereas such acts and proceedings are not only
a violation of the laws of this State, but tend to sub
vert the good order and government thereof; I have
therefore thought fit to issue this, my proclamation,
Avarning and forbidding the citizens of the said State
from engaging in such unlawful proceedings, hereby
strictly enjoining all persons whatsoever, who have
been deluded to engage therein, iraraediately to desist
therefrora, as they will answer the contrary at their
peril. "And I do further strictly command and require all
judges, justices, sheriffs, and other officers, and all
other good citizens of this State, to be diligent in aid
ing and assisting in apprehending the said Elijah Clark
and his adherents, in order that they may severally be
brought to justice."
Clark accordingly surrendered himself to the au
thorities in Wilkes County, who, as they stated, " pro-

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 403
ceeded to the most mature consideration of the cause,
and after an examination of the laws of the State, and
the treaties made and laws passed by the United States,
do give it as our decided unanimous opinion, that the
said Elijah Clark be, and is hereby, discharged."
The effect of this discharge was to embolden Clark
and his partisans; and the President authorized the
Governor to embody the militia and call in the aid of
the Federal troops if necessary, in order to disperse
the settlers.
The designs of Clark became quite popular, and it
was believed by many that the militia would not march
against hira. Accordingly, the insurgents pressed for
ward their operations, established a fort called Fort
Advance, built houses, and began a regular and inde
pendent settlement.
A Comraittee of Safety was appointed, a board of
officers elected, of 'which E. Bradley was president,
while Clark was chosen the major-general and com
mander-in-chief of the settlement. Several garrisons,
within communicating distances, Avere established, mili
tary stores were obtained, and the most determined
resolutions taken to sustain the undertaking. " I am
determinedly fixed," says General Clark, writing to
Colonel Walton, " to risk everything with my life upon
the issue, and for the success of the enterprise."
Before Governor Matthews, in accordance with pre
sidential instructions, resorted to force, he once more
tried the effect of negotiation, and sent Generals Twiggs
and Irwin to Fort Advance ; and General Gunn and
Mr. Carnes had also an interview with Clark at George-
toAvn. " I proceeded," says General Twiggs in his of
ficial report to the GoA^ernor, "to the unauthorized

404 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
settlements on the southwest side of the Oconee River,
and in the presence of General E. Clark and his party, I
read the letter from the War Department to your Ex
cellency, together with Judge Walton's charge to the
grand jury of Richmond County, and the law opinion
of the attorney and solicitor-general. After a full
explanation of the papers above recited, I entered into
a friendly conference with E. Clark and his adherents,
pointing out to thera the danger of their enterprise
without the sanction of the State. Notwithstanding
all the arguments which could be advanced, they still
persisted in their undertaking. Lastly, finding nothing
could be done with them, I ordered them to remove
within the temporary line betAveen us and the Creek
Indians. General Clark called on his officers to collect
the opinion of their men, which they did, and gave
me for ansAver that they should maintain their ground
at the risk of their lives." Troops, both State and
Federal, were therefore concentrated at Fort Fidius,
on the Oconee ; and such a disposition made of them,
and such demonstrations of determination and force by
them, that General Clark, upon the promise from Ge
neral Irwin, " that if he would evacuate the post, him
self and his men should be protected in their persons
and property," marched out of the place, /and the State
troops took possession of the works. On the 28th of
September they were set on fire, and together with
Fort Defiance, another of Clark's posts, and several
other garrisoned places, were completely demolished.
On the 12th of October, 1794, the Governor could
write to the Secretary of War, " The posts are all
burnt and destroyed, and the whole business happily
terminated without the loss of blood."

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 405
The conduct of General Clark in this affair was
reprehensible in the highest degree. It was a viola
tion of the rights of Georgia, of the Indian nation, and
of the United States, which had pledged its faith to the
Indian tribes to secure their lands from occupation and
intrusion. The plea that the grand jury of WUkes
had declared the treaty at New York inoperative, and
the proclamation of Governor MatthcAvs illegal, was a
mere subterfuge; as these justices being in the inte
rests of Clark, acted without proper poAver, and dis
charged their prisoner without due regard to the in
terests of the State which they were sworn to protect:
The misconduct of General Clark did not cease with
the termination of this expedition. Irritated by the
failure of his designs in making a settlement at Fort
Advance, and condemned by all right-thinking men for
his unwarrantable course, he was placed in a condition
to be approached by those, who, stimulated by sym
pathy with the French in their revolutionary proceed
ings, and sharing with them a hatred of the Spanish
nation, had organized a party called the " Sans Cu
lottes," to annoy the Spaniards, and to do other things
contrary to the laws of the United States.
General Clark joined this party, and received a com
mission as major-general, Avith a pay of $10,000, in
the French service. With a band of adventurers, he
made incursions into the territory of his Catholic Ma
jesty in Florida, and established his camp at a place
called Temple, on the St. Mary's, in the faU of 1795.
The French consul in ,this State, Citizen Swares, dis
owned any connection with Clark, assured Captain
Tauche, who was detailed to operate against Clark,
that he had no French commission, and that " if the

406 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
French Convention had a lien on the Floridas, they
well kncAV how to plan and execute without involving
neutral powers."^
The only result of General Clark's movements was
to seriously disturb the harmony and peace which per
vaded the southern boundaries of Georgia, commit
many wanton depredations, and then be compelled to
abandon all his schemes and return to Georgia, hum
bled, defeated, and disgraced.
The 7th section of the 4th article of the Constitution
directed that " at the general election for members of
Assembly in the year 1794, the electors in each county
shall elect three persons to represent them in a con
vention for the purpose of taking into consideration
the alterations necessary to be made in this Constitu
tion." Agreeably to the provisions of this section, a con
vention met at Louisville, in Jefferson County, in May,
1795, and was organized by electing Noble Wimberly
Jones, President, and Thomas Johnson, Secretary.
This body continued in session two weeks, and most
of this time was spent in debates upon the rate of ap
portioning senators and representatives, — the contest
being between the lower district and the upper. It
Avas finally settled that the lower counties, consisting
of Camden, Glynn, Mcintosh, Liberty, Bryan, Chat
ham, Effingham, Scriven, Burke, and Montgomery,
should have twenty-five members ; and the upper dis
trict, made up of the counties of Richmond, Columbia,
Wilkes, Elbert, Franklin, Oglethorpe, Greene, Han
cock, Washington, and Warren, should have twenty-
' Tauche's letter to Governor Matthews, 1st October, 1795.

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 407
six members; each county having, as before, one
senator. This body, after an excited but rather unprofitable
session, adjourned on the I6th of May, having ordained
and estabUshed six articles " as additions and amend
ments to the present Constitution, to take effect and be
in full force on the first Monday in October next." The
principal articles were, that the senators were to be cho
sen annually instead of triennially ; all elections to be
made by the General Assembly,! were to be by joint
ballot of both Houses ; a new apportionment Avas made
of representatives ; the Assembly was to meet annu
ally on the second Tuesday in January, instead of the
first Monday in November; the seat of governraent
was to be removed from Augusta to Louisville; and
provision was made for further alterations of the Con
stitution in the year 1798.
The change which the Convention made in the time
of the meeting of the General Assembly, caused, at
the time, no little excitement, and but for the judicious
conduct of the friends of order, might have resulted in
most serious consequences.
GoA^ernor Matthews had been elected by the As
sembly on the 7th of November, 1793, agreeably to
the 2d section of the 2d article of the Constitution ;
and by the 1st section of that article, his term expired
on the 6th of November, 1795. The Convention made
no provision for his holding over until the meeting of
the next Assembly ; and therefore, by many it was
conceived that Georgia was now without an Executive;
and government, so far as it depended on a Governor,
was at an end, until the election should be held in the
January foUoAving.

408 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Had this emergency occurred at any other time, it
might scarcely have been noticed ; but then the whole
State was excited in reference to the speculations which
were going on in western lands, and the bill which
had recently passed the Legislature ; and every occa
sion of advancing the interest of these land compa
nies, which had been organized for the purchase of the
western territory of Georgia, was eagerly seized upon
and turned to their advantage.
On the 9th of November, 1795, a letter was ad
dressed to General John Twiggs, by James McNeil, in
behalf of his fellow-citizens, in which he states that
they had consulted on the subject, and, " viewing with
the deepest regret the political condition in which the
government is placed by the late Convention, from the
6th of this instant to the Ilth of January next, and
doubting the civil authority, conceive that they are
under a military government, or that they have a right
to assume the reins of government until the meeting
of the Legislature." He then requests General Twiggs,
" inasmuch as the Governor did not exercise the con
stitutional power given him to convene the Assembly
on extraordinary occasions," as the oldest Major-Ge
neral, to " convene the Legislature at as early a period
as possible, to quiet the minds of ray fellow-citizens,
and retain that order and harmony which is indis
pensably necessary in all well-regulated governments."
Some of the most respectable inhabitants of Columbia
County also signed a paper, in which they say : " Con
ceiving the situation of this State at present to be
alarming, and that some measures ought to be taken
without delay to prevent impending evils, we, whose
names are underwritten, will concur in such steps as

REVISING THE CONSTITUTION. 409
may be taken to convene the Legislature at as early a
period as may be." General Twiggs consulted with
General Jackson on the subject, and his letter gives
striking evidence of the intense desire of the people of
the upper counties that he should act according to their
wishes. But he prudently declined ; and while the
people were discussing the exciting questions of the day,
the second Tuesday in January, 1796, arrived, the
Legislature met, Jared Irwin was elected Governor,
and the momentarily impeded governraent was again
set in full operation. A more inflammable, or a less law-
abiding people, would, in these two months, under the
influences which were then at work, have set in motion,
if not carried to completion, agencies which would have
overturned the government and given up the State to
anarchy and misrule.

CHAPTER IV.
SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS.
Next to the troubles incident to the Avar with Great
Britain, were those Avhich arose between Georgia and
the Indian tribes.
To give a history of these Indian difficulties, the
various turns in their treaties and negotiations, the
skirmishing-like warfare so long kept up on the fron
tier, and the many harrowing details of massacre,
cruelty, and destruction, which were perpetrated in the
white man's settlements, Avould require more space
than can be given to such detail ; and therefore much
must be left untold, and much more be left to the
imagination, while the historian sketches a brief and
confessedly incomplete outline of events connected
with the Indian affairs of Georgia.
So soon as a war with the American Colonies ap
peared inevitable, measures were at once taken to se
cure the Indian tribes on the side of Great Britain, and
we have already seen some of the proceedings of the
Indian agents towards effecting this end.
The Indians were unable to comprehend the princi
ples involved in the Revolutionary struggles, or the
policy pursued by ministry and coraraanders in con
ducting the war. When they took sides with England,

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 411
it Avas for gold, plunder, and personal interest; and
the aim of the British agents was directed to stimu
lating such passions in their breasts as would make
them most full of hatred towards the Americans, and
most anxious to glut their passions for pelf and blood.
When the war with Great Britain was brought to a
close, the assiduous attentions of the Indian agents
towards the southern tribes ceased. They suddenly
withdrew themselves from the nations, or remained to
stir up trouble and inflame desires for further carnage.
In the pacificatory measures Avhich transpired between
the Americans and English, the Indians were left un-
pacified, and their causes of grievance unredressed;
and thus, as the ocean continues to heave and roll long
after the storm which vexed it has passed away, so
there remained in Georgia many disturbances originated
by English machinations, and still showing their evil
results, though the exciting cause had long since been
removed by the treaty of 1783.
Many Tories and traders found it to their interest
to keep up the hostile attitude of the frontier tribes,
with a view to private revenge for losses in the war,
or for personal aggrandizement, by monopolizing the
trade or lands of the Indians.
A party of these men, just at the conclusion of the
Revolutionary war, met together, and formed a settle
ment on the Etowah River, at the mouth of Long-
"swarap Creek, in Cherokee County, and near to the
Indian town of that name.
These persons were mostly desperate men, who, hav
ing imbrued their hands in Whig blood and glutted
themselves with Whig spoil, had fled thither with such
property as they could transport, chiefly consisting of

412 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
. negroes and horses, and there organized themselves
into a military band, under the command of Thomas
Waters. In small parties, these Tories, taking with
them a few Indians, made incursions into the surround
ing settlements, and even extended their forays into
South Carolina, daily stealing gooc^s, cattle, horses,
and negroes, and almost daily murdering those who
opposed their course.
Their depredations induced General Pickens to
apply to the Governor of South Carolina for leave to
conduct a small army into the Indian country, to
drive them aAvay, and to chastise the Indians. Leave
was granted ; and Pickens immediately wrote to
Colonel E. Clark, by express, requesting him to
meet him at Long Creek, with all the men he could
raise, on Monday, the 16th of Septeraber, 1782, with
thirty days' provisions. Clark received this letter on
the 6th of September, the next day issued his orders,
and, on the 17th, made the required junction, at the
head of ninety-eight men, including ten volunteers
under Colonel Isaac Jackson, of Richmond County.
Pickens had raised and brought over three hundred
and sixteen men, including officers ; the whole force,
therefore, numbered but Uttle over four hundred men.
Resting for a day only, to refresh the troops and con
cert future measures, they renewed their march on the
morning of the 19th, directing their course westwardly,
through the woods, to the Chattahoochee River, and '
crossed at Beaver Shoals on the 24th. As they ap
proached the scene of action. General Pickens directed
that the two companies of swordsmen, commanded by
Captains Maxwell and Mapp, should march by turns
in advance, and that silence should be observed by the

SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 413
whole line. All plunder was to be equally divided ;
and strict orders were given that the aged men and
women, and the young children of the Indians, should
be spared. After crossing the Chattahoochee, they
struck an Indian path, and made two Indians prison
ers, who told them that eight miles up the river were
several Indian towns, while twenty miles before them
was Waters's settlement. Colonel Robert Anderson,
Avith one hundred men, was detached to march up to
the Indian towns, piloted by one of the Indian pri
soners; while the other Indian promised to conduct
Pickens and the rest of the men through the woods to
Long Swamp. Without a pathway, they marched till
late at night ; then rested a few hours on their arms ;
and by daybreak, having resumed their march, they
reached the Etowah River, where they found a small
Indian village, and made one Indian prisoner. Colonel
White, with a small party, was ordered down that
river, to capture some towns on the east side ; while
Pickens and Clark crossed over, and after a march of
ten miles, came to Waters's town at Long Swamp. But
the watchful Tory, having learned from his spies the
approach of Pickens, had fled with his booty. The
General now aimed to secure the alliance of the In
dians ; and having taken several prisoners, he treated
them kindly and sent them to the several chiefs, with
requests to meet him at that place on the 17th of Oc
tober, to deliver up the white men among them, and
to make treaties of peace, promising to spare their
towns if they complied. In the meantime, Pickens
kept his troops in motion ; and Colonel Clark marched
even as far as Estawnalee, sixty miles from Long
Swamp, in pursuit of Waters, who had camped there

414 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
for a few days, but who fled when again pursued, and
continued his flight into Florida. Many negroes,
horses, peltry, and a few white men, were taken from
the marauders ; and by the 17th, the brigade was back
at Long Swamp, to receive the Indians, who had pro
mised to meet there in order to make a treaty. Twelve
bead men and over two hundred others came in, and
made a treaty, ceding most of their lands, and pro
mising to meet at Augusta any commissioners that
might be appointed by the Governor of Georgia to
ratify the same. They also agreed to be at peace with
the Americans, and to suffer no more disaffected men
to dwell among them.
This treaty was no sooner signed, than the General
issued orders for returning; and on the 22d of Octo
ber the troops were discharged at Long Creek, near
the place where they had rendezvoused on the 17th of
September. Thus Avas accomplished the design of this
expedition. In thirty-three days from the time this
small army left Wilkes, well mounted, indeed, but
carrying nothing but their arras and their saddle-bags,
without a tent to shelter them, or bread and salt meat
to eat, and subsisting entirely on parched corn and
fresh beef, without salt ; they had penetrated into the
depths of the Indian country ; had routed the maraud
ing Tories, destroyed many Indian villages, made a
treaty of peace with several large tribes, and had se
cured for Georgia all that country Avhich lies between
the western fork of the Chattahoochee and the upper
waters of the Savannah, without the loss of a single
man, and without one being sick or wounded.
Among the matters Avhich early engrossed the at
tention of the Legislature in January, 1783, was the

SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 415
state of the Indian tribes ; and, on the Ilth of Janu
ary, the House ordered, " that his honor the Governor
be requested to prepare immediately and send a talk
to the kings and beloved men of the Creek and Che
rokee nations, and inform them that it is the desire of
this State to meet them in Congress," "in order to de
mand a cession of land as a consideration or atonement
for their many injuries, and to renew our treaty of
peace and friendship with them." On the 21st of
January the House proceeded to ballot for commis
sioners to hold this Congress, and chose General Mc
Intosh, General Twiggs, Colonel E. Clark, Colonel
William Few, Edward Telfair, John Martin, and Ge
neral S. Elbert. Five of these, with the Governor (if
the emergencies of the State would admit of his being
present), were to " constitute a Board, vested with full
power and authority on the part of this State, to treat,
confer, and agree with the aforesaid Indian nations, on
all matters relative to a cession of a claim of land, and
to negotiate and agree on such other matters and things
as may be conducive to the mutual interest and safety
of all parties."
The Commissioners met in Augusta ; and, on the 31st
of May, concluded a treaty with the Cherokees, based
on that of Long Swamp, and securing all the advan
tages and boundaries which Avere conceded in that.
In November, 1783, John Twiggs, Elijah Clark,
Edward Telfair, Andrew Burns, and William Glas
cock, Commissioners appointed by authority of the
State, met a deputation of the head men, warriors, and
chiefs of the tribes of Creek Indians, at Augusta, and
formed a brief, but effective treaty, running new boun
dary lines and obtaining large accessions to the terri-

416 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
tory of Georgia. The lands thus obtained were, by
the act of the Legislature, in February, 1784, laid out
into two new counties, called Franklin and Washing
ton ; and a Land Court was ordered to be opened at
Augusta, on the first Tuesday of April, consisting of
" the Governor, or President of the Executive Council,
and three members of the same." A large portion of
the new acquisition was reserved for bounties to the
citizen soldiers, seamen, refugees, and others, who were
entitled to land by any resolve of Congress, or act or
resolve of the State. While these lands were being
surveyed, the Indians were quite peaceable, and the
old inhabitants of Wilkes County removed to their
former lands and settlements ; but this quiet was of
short duration. The restless and bloodthirsty Creeks
began hostilities again, in May, 1785, in Knox's set
tlement, killing the inhabitants, burning the houses,
stealing the cattle, and whatever else they could carry
off Colonel Clark heard of this incursion the next day,
and, raising a small party of men, hastened after the
Indians, overtook them before they had gotten thirty
miles, killed one Indian, wounded several others, re
took the stolen property, and returned to the settle
ment. The alarm, hoAvever, drew to the frontier several
companies of men, Avho put themselves under Colonel
Clark, and were by hira so stationed as to protect the
inhabitants and enable thera to build forts for the se
curity of theraselves and farailies. By dividing the
raen into squads, and putting them on turns of duty
of ten days each, Clark made the burden less heavy
upon the militia ; and by sending out scouting parties,
and keeping up the utmost vigilance, he was enabled

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 417
to give such protection that little damage was done
and much confidence restored. A new treaty was con
cluded with these Indians, at Galphinton, on the 12th
of November, 1785, by General Twiggs and Colonel
E. Clark, Commissioners on the part of Georgia ; and
the same year a treaty was made at Hopewell, on the
Keowee, between Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens,
Joseph Martin, and Lachlan Mcintosh, Comraissioners
Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, on
the one part, and the head men and warriors of all the
Cherokees, on the other.
Treaties with the Indians, then frequent, and coun
cils with chiefs, then of common occurrence, have now
ceased in Georgia ; and therefore, as a matter of his
torical interest, it may be proper to give more in detail
than would otherwise be needed, the proceedings of one
of these councils, as illustrating the talks made, the
deeds done, the usages pursued, and the influences at
work, in procuring the consent of the Indians to the
treaties and cessions of land Avhich it was the object of
these conventions to secure and ratify.
The foUoAving extracts from the Journal of the Con
gress held at Hopewell, KioAvee, in December, 1785,
and January, 1786, between the Hon. Benjarain Haw
kins, General Andrew Pickens, Hon. Joseph Martin,
and General Lachlan Mcintosh, Commissioners Pleni
potentiary of the United States, to treat with the Che
rokees, and all other Indians southward of them, within
the limits of the United States, wiU iUustrate this sub
ject and give an interesting view of such proceedings.
The Journal was kept probably by Benjarain Hawkins,
and to it he has added explanatory notes : —
VOL. II. 27

418 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Hopewell on Kiowee, the 18th of November, 1785.
The Commissioners of the United States in Congress
assembled, appointed to treat with the Cherokees, and
all other Indians southward of them, within the limits
of the United States assembled.
Present, Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Jo
seph Martin, and Lachlan Mcintosh.
From the State of North Carolina, the Honorable
William Blount, Esquire, Avho produced his coraraission
as agent for that State.
The Commissioners ordered a return to be made of
the Indians, and there were five hundred. The head
men and warriors having informed that the present
representation of their tribes was not coraplete, but
Avould be so in a few days, it was agreed to postpone
treating with them until the whole representation
should arrive.
November 21st, 1785. — The headmen and warriors
of all tbe Cherokees assembled. Ordered that the in
terpreters inform the Indians that the Comraissioners
will raeet them to-morrow, at ten o'clock, under the
bower erected for that purpose.
November 22d, 1785. — The Commissioners assem
bled. Present, Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens,
Joseph Martin, and Lachlan Mcintosh. From the
State of North Carolina, William Blount, Agent.
From the State of Georgia, John King and Thomas
Glascock, Commissioners. From all the tribes or towns
of the Cherokees, the headmen and warriors. James
Madison, and Arthur Coody, Interpreters.
The Comraissioners delivered the following address
to the Indians : —
Headmen and Warriors of all the Cherokees: We

SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 419
are the men Avhom you were informed came from Con
gress to meet you, the headmen and Avarriors of all the
Cherokees, to give you peace and to receive you into
the favor and protection of the United States, and to
remove as far as may be all causes of future conten
tion or quarrels, that you, your people, your Avives
and your children, may be happy, and feel and know
the blessings of the new change of sovereignty over
this land, which you and we inhabit.
We sincerely wish you to live as happily as we do
ourselves, and to promote that happiness as far as is
in our power, regardless of any distinction of color, or
of any difference in our customs, our manners, or par
ticular situation.
This humane and generous act of the United States,
Avill, no doubt, be received by you with gladness, and
held in grateful remembrance, and the more so, as
many of your young men, and the greatest number of
your warriors, during the late war, were our enemies,
and assisted the King of Great Britain in his endea
vors to conquer our country.
You yourselves know that you refused to listen to
the good talks Congress sent you ; that the cause you
espoused was a bad one ; that all the adherents of the
King of Great Britain are compelled to leave this coun
try, never more to return.
Congress is now the sovereign of all our country,
which we now point out to you on the map.' They
^ We used McMurray's map, and explained with great pains the limits of
the United States, as well as the occurrences of the late war, and we believe
they comprehended us. Some of the Indians had visited the Six Nations ;;
some had been up the Wabash, and down the Miami to Lake Erie ; and
others had been at Fort Pitt, Natchez, Pensacola, St. Augustine, Savannah,
Charleston, and Williamsburg. ^
B. Hawkins.

420 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Avant none of your lands, or anything else which be
longs to you; and as an earnest of their regard for
you, Ave propose to enter into articles of a treaty, per
fectly equal, and conformable to what we now tell
you. If you have any grievances to complain of, we will
hear them, and take such measures in consequence
thereof as may be proper. We expect you will speak
your minds freely, and look upon us as the representa
tives of your Father and friend, the Congress, who will
see justice done you. You may now retire, and reflect
on what we have told you, and let us hear from you
to-morrow, or as soon as possible.
November the 23d. — Present as yesterday.
After sitting some time in silence, the Tassel of Chata
arose, and addressed the Commissioners as follows : —
I am going to let the Comraissioners hear Avhat I
have to say to them. I told you yesterday I would do
this to-day. I Avas very much pleased with the talk
you gave us yesterday ; it is very different from what
I expected when I left home. The headraen and war
riors are also equally pleased with it. Now I shall give
you ray OAvn talk. I am made of this earth, on Avhich
the Great Man above placed me to possess it ; and what
I am about to tell you, I have had in my mind for
many years.
This land we are now on is the land we were fight
ing for during the late contest,^ and the Great Man
2 Hopewell is fifteen miles above the junction of Kiowee and Tugaloo.
It is a seat of General Pickens, in sight of Seneca, an Indian town ; at the
commencement of this late war, inhabited by one hundred gunmen, but at
present is a waste. Dursets Causas is forty miles east of this, and that was
the eastward Indian boundary till the treaty of 1777. B. Hawkins.

SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 421
made it for us to subsist upon. You must know the
red people are the aborigines of this land, and that it
is but a few years since the white people found it out,
I am of the first stock, as the Commissioners know,
and a native of this land : and the white people are
now living on it as our friends. From the beginning
of the first friendship between the Avhite and red peo
ple, beads were given as an emblem thereof; and these
are the beads I give to the Commissioners of the thir
teen United States as a confirmation of our friendship,
and as a proof of my opinion of what you yesterday
told us. (A string of Avhite beads.)
The Commissioners have heard how the white peo
ple have encroached on our lands, on every side of us
that they could approach.
I remember the talks that I delivered at the -Long
Island of Holston, and I remember giving our lands
to Colonel Christie and others who treated with us, and
in a manner compelled me thereto, in 1777. I re
member the talks to Colonel Christie when I gave the
lands at the mouth of Claud's Creek, eight springs
past. At that treaty we agreed upon the line near the
mouth of Limestone. The Virginia line, and part from
the mouth of Claud's Creek to Cumberland Mountain,
near the Gap, was paid for by Virginia.
From Claud's Creek a direct line to the Chimney-Top
Mountain, thence to the mouth of Big Limestone, on
Nalickackey, thence to the first mountain, about six
miles from the river, on a line across the same, Avas
never paid for by the Carolina Avhich joins the Virginia
line. I wish the Commissioners to know everything
that concerns us, as I tell nothing but the truth. They,
the people of North Carolina, have taken our lands for

422 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
no consideration, and are now making their fortunes
out of them. I have informed the Commissioners of
the line I gaA'e up, and the people of North Carolina
and Virginia have gone over it, and encroached on our
lands expressly against our inclination. They have
gone over the line near Little River, and they have
gone over Nine Mile Creek, which is but nine miles
from our towns. I am glad of tbis opportunity of get
ting redress from the Commissioners. If Congress had
not interposed, I and my people must have moved-
They have even marked the lands on the bank of the
river near the town where I live, and from thence down
in the fork of the Tennessee and Holston.
I have given in to you a detail of the abuse and en
croachments of these two States. We shall be satisfied
if we are paid for the lands we have given up ; but Ave
will not, nor cannot, give up any more. I mean the
line I gave to Colonel Christie.
I have no more to say ; but one of our beloved wo
men has, who has borne and raised up warriors. (A
string of beads.)
The War Woman of Chata then addressed the Com
raissioners : —
I am fond of hearing that there is a peace, and I
hope you have now taken us by the hand in real friend
ship. I have a pipe and a little tobacco to give the
Commissioners to smoke in friendship. I look upon
you and the red people equally as my children. Your
having determined on peace is most pleasing to me,
for I have seen much trouble during the late war.
I am old, but I hope yet to bear children, who will
grow up and people our nation, as we are now to be
under the protection of Congress, and shall have no

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 423
more disturbance. (A string, little old pipe, and some
tobacco.) The talk I have given is from the young warriors I
have raised in my town as well as myself They re
joice that we have peace, and we hope the chain of
friendship will never more be broke. (A string of
beads.) The Commissioners to the Tassel. We Avant the
boundary of your country : you must recollect yourself
and give it to us, particularly the line between you and
the citizens, with any information you may have on
that subject. If necessary, you may consult your
friends, and inform us to-morrow, or as soon as possible
with conveniency.
Tassel. I will let you know the Une to-morrow. I
have done speaking for this day.
Musuchanail, of New Cuss6, in the Middle Settle
ment. I speak in behalf of Kow^, New Cusse, and
Watoge. I am much pleased with the talks between
the Comraissioners and the Tassel, Avho is the beloved
man of Chata. I remember the talks given out by
you yesterday. I shall always, I hope, remember that
if we were distressed in any manner, we should make
our complaints to the Commissioners, that justice may
be done. There are around us young men and war
riors who hear our talks, and who are interested in the
success of this treaty, particularly as their lands are
taken from them on which they lived entirely by hunt
ing. And I hope, and they all anxiously hope, it is in
the power of the Commissioners to do them justice.
The line mentioned by the beloved man of Chata is in
truth as he expressed it. I remember it ; and it Avas
formerly our hunting-grounds.

424 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
The encroachments on this side of the line have en
tirely deprived us of our hunting-grounds : and I hope
the Commissioners will reraove the white people to
their OAvn side. This is the desire of the three towns
I speak for. The settlements I mean are those on
Pigeon River and SAvanano. It Avas the desire of the
Commissioners that the Indians should tell all their
grievances, and I hope they will do justly therein.
When any of my young men are hunting on their own
grounds, and meet the Avhite people, they (the white
people) order them off and claim our deer. (A string
of Avhite beads.)
Chescoenwhee. I am well satisfied with the talks of
this day. I intended to speak ; but as the day is far
spent, I will decline it till to-morrow. I will go home,
and consider on it.
November 24th, 1785. — Present ns yesterday.
TucKASEE. I remember the talks Avhen I made peace.
I have appointed Chescoenwhee to speak for me to-day.
Chescoenwhee. I rejoice that the Commissioners
have delivered their talks to the headmen of the dif
ferent towns. I am in hopes that these our talks will
always remain unbroken. What you hear from the
representatives of the towns, the young warriors will
invariably adhere to. I am in hopes it is now in the
power of the Commissioners, from their talks of yes
terday and the day before, to see justice done to us:
to see that we may yet have a Uttle land to hunt upon.
I was sent here to settle all matters respecting my
country ; and, being under the protection of the United
States, I shall return satisfied. We have been formerly
under the protection of * * * * * Great Britain ;
and then, when I saAv a white man, I esteemed him

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 425
a friend ; and I hope that the Commissioners of Con
gress will see that times may be as formerly. I wish
what I say may be deemed strictly true, for so it is ;
and that I may always be looked on as a friend to the
thirteen United States, and that they will see justice
done me.
The talks of the Commissioners are the most pleas
ing to us, as they do not Avant any lands. Formerly,
when I had peace-talks, the first thing the white people
expressed was a desire for our lands. I am in hopes
you Avill adjust and settle our limits, so that Ave may
be secured in the possession of our own. I will abide
by what hitherto has been said on this subject, but
cannot cede any more lands. (A string of beads.)
Tassel. I have shown you the bounds of my coun
try on my map, which I draw in your presence, and
on the map of the United States. If the Commis
sioners cannot do me justice in removing the people
from the fork of French Broad and Holston, I am
unable to get it of myself. Are Congress, who con
quered the King of Great Britain, unable to reraove
these people ? I am satisfied with the promises of the
Commissioners to remove all the people from within
our lines, except those within the fork of Holston and
French Broad ; and I will agree to be content that the
particular situation of the people settled there, and
our claims to the lands, should be referred to Congress,
as the Commissioners may think just, and I will abide
by their decision.
Unsuchanail. I and my people are to extend the
line ; and although our claims are well founded to a
large portion of the mountains, which are of little ad
vantage to any but hunters, and of great value to them.

426 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
yet I ara willing to extend the line to the southward
until we corae to the South Carolina Indian boundary ;
and we have a right, founded on the treaties at Dewitt's
Corner and at Augusta, to make that line as far as the
south fork of Oconee, our boundary against the white
people. November 28th, 1785. — The Commissioners assem
bled. Present, Benjamin HaAvkins, Andrew Pickens,
Joseph Martin, and Lachlan Mcintosh. From the
State of North Carolina, William Blount, Agent. From
the State of Georgia, John King and Thomas Glas
cock, Commissioners. The Headraen and Warriors of
all the Cherokees. Jaraes Madison and Arthur Coody,
Sworn Interpreters. Major Samuel Taylor, Major
William Hazzard, Captain Commandant John CoAvan,
John Owen, and George Ogg, merchants, with several
other respectable characters.
The Commissioners produced the draught of a treaty
on the plan they originally proposed to the Indians,
Avhich was read and interpreted to them with great
attention ; so that they agreed that they perfectly un
derstood every article, and would with pleasure sign
the same. Accordingly, two copies were signed by the
Commissioners and all the headmen, — the one for the
United States, and the other for the Cherokees.
Previous to the signing, the Agent from North Caro
lina and the Comraissioners of Georgia delivered their
protests against the same.
After the treaty Avas signed, sealed, and Avitnessed,
the Commissioners told the headmen that Congress,
from motives of humanity, had directed some presents
to be made to them, for their use and comfort; and

settlement OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 427
that on the next day they would direct the presents to
be distributed accordingly.
November 29 th. — Present as yesterday.
The Comraissioners ordered a return of the Indians,
and there were nine hundred and eighteen ; and goods
to the amount of $1311 ^§ were distributed among
the headmen of every town.
The Indians having expressed a desire to say some
thing further to the Commissioners, they attended ac
cordingly. Tassel. I avUI noAv inform you of some further
complaints against your people. I remember the
treaty with Colonel Christie, and in all our treaties,
that we referred the Long Island of Holston for our
selves, as beloved ground, to hold our treaties on. I
remember the Commissioners, yesterday, in an article
of the treaty, demanded all their property and prison
ers. I am now going to make my demand. I desire
that Colonel Martin may be empowered to find and get
our prisoners : he is our friend, and he will get them
for us. I am noAV done my talks, and I hope the Com
missioners wUl be as good as their promise yesterday
in the treaty. The white people have taken so much
of our lands, we cannot kill as many deer as formerly.
The traders impose on us greatly ; and we wish our
trade could be regulated and fixed rates on our goods.
Our traders are frequently robbed when coming to and
going from our nation. John Bouge was, among
others, robbed of about one hundred and fifty pounds
sterling worth of leather, in the State of Georgia.
Tushegatahee. I am not a chief, but will speak for
my country. I shall always pay great regard to what
I have heard respecting the treaty, as Avell as what

428 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
may be sent us from Congress hereafter; and as I am
within the limits of the United States, I shall always
expect their protection and assistance. Our young
men and Avarriors have heard Avhat has passed. I ex
pect as our boundaries are ascertained. Congress may
be informed of them ; and that, as peace is now firmly
established, and we are all friends, we may be allowed
to hunt on each other's land without molestation. On
my part, being in peace and friendship Avith you, I
shall feel myself safe wherever I go.
Many of your people on Cumberland and Kentucky
have their horses on our lands : and should we find
them, I Avish Colonel Martin to receive them.
Newota. I ara fond to hear the talks of the beloved
men of Congress and of ours. Your Commissioners
remember the talks, and I shall always endeavor to
support the peace and friendship noAv established. I
remember the talks by Colonel Martin, and I promised
to be attached to America ; but, until the present, I was
afraid to be in your country. I am noAV perfectly
happy, as you are to protect us. Your prisoners I will
deliver you. Formerly, Captain Cameron saw justice
done to us in our land ; he is gone, and I now depend
upon the Commissioners. If anything depend on me
to strengthen our friendship, I will faithfully execute
it. You are now our protectors. When I go and tell
to those of our people Avho could not come to hear your
talks, what I liaA'e seen and heard, they will rejoice.
I have heard your declarations of a desire to do us any
service in your power. I believe you, and in confi
dence shall rest happy.
Commissioners. We will give you provisions for the

settlement of INDIAN AFFAIRS. 429
road, and wish you may be happy. We will send up
to Congress all our talks.
While peace was secured with the Cherokees and
the Choctaws, the Creeks continued restless and trouble
some, and, in the spring of 1786, recommenced hos
tilities ; but they were speedily chastised. In October,
a Congress was held Avitli the nation, at Shoulder-Bone
Creek (a branch of the Oconee, in Hancock County),
John Habershara, Abram Racot, J. Clements, Jaraes
McNeil, John King, James PoAvell, Ferdinand O'Neil,
and Jared Irwin, representing Georgia, and fifty-nine
chiefs, headmen, and Avarriors, representing the Creek
nation. The treaty thus made, was signed on the 3d of No
vember, 1786. The several articles of it required that
the six murderers of the whites should be put to death ;
that full restitution of prisoners and pillage should be
made; that the old boundary Unes, established by
treaty at Augusta, in 1783, and in Galphinton, in 1785,
should be marked out; and lastly, "in proof of their
good faith and sincere intentions to perform the before-
mentioned articles, and for the security of the inhabi
tants of the said State, the Indians agree to leave in the
hands of the Commissioners five of their people."
" The said Indians, during their stay among the white
people, shall be provided with comfortable diet, lodging,
and clothing, and be well treated in every other re
spect." " For a few months the Indians behaved in a friendly
manner; but, instigated by McGiUivray, and taking
advantage of the differences of opinion betAveen the
United States and Georgia, they violated their pledged

430 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
faith and renewed their acts of violence. In a talk
sent to them in the spring of 1787, the Executive
Council state, " Not a single article of the treaty has
as yet been complied Avith on your part ;" though in
full reliance upon the faith of the Indians, four of the
hostages had been sent back to the nation, the fifth
having committed suicide in the presence of his com
panions. Without asserting that Georgia had done nothing to
provoke the Creeks, and without attempting to defend
all its legislation upon Indian affairs, or all the mea
sures which were pursued in obtaining treaties and
cessions of land, yet it must be confessed that the chief
cause of the difficulties between the Creek nation and
the Georgians was Alexander McGilUvray, whose in
fluence over that nation Avas almost supreme.
This man, who played so prominent a part in Indian
negotiations, and ruled so regally over the Creek na
tion, was the son of Lachlan McGilUvray, a Scotchman,
resident in Georgia, who had amassed a large fortune
as an Indian trader. His mother was a half-blood
Creek, of high rank on the maternal side, in the tribe
of the Wind ; though her father. Captain Marchand,
was the French commandant of Fort Toulouse. Thus
the blood of three nations coursed through his veins.
At the age of fourteen he was placed at school, in
Charleston, South Carolina, where he was carefully in
structed in English ; and some years afterwards was
remoA'ed by his father, who Avished to make a merchant
of him, to the counting-house of Samuel Elbert, after
wards General, and Governor of Georgia, in Savannah.
Young McGilUvray soon discovered that he had no
taste for business, though he pursued his literary

settlement OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 431
studies with great eagerness and success. Before the
breaking out of the Revolutionary war, he returned to
his native woods, on the banks of the Coosa, and Avas
hailed by his maternal tribe as their chief and leader.
When hostilities were decided on, he was offered a
colonel's commission in the British interest; and he
co-operated with the emissaries of England in attach
ing the Indians to their interest, and engaging their
services for the war against the Americans.
The defeat of the British, the confiscation of his
father's large estates, and the animosities which the
war had excited and cherished, left McGilUvray in no
very amicable mood towards the United States; and,
though he was too shrewd to appear violently opposed
to its interests, yet his conduct was often suspicious,
always selfish, and seldom such as was productive of
good, either to the Creeks, to Georgia, or to the Union
at large.
Shortly after the conclusion of the war, having met
with William Panton, a Scotchman by birth, a Span
iard by interest, a merchant by profession, and a mem
ber of the great commercial firm of Panton, Leslie &
Co., of Florida, McGilUvray was induced, under the
promise of sharing in the profits of this trading house,
and of large rewards and honors from the King of
Spain, to enter into a treaty with the representatives
of his most CathoUc Majesty, pledging himself to ad
vance the interests of Spain in her American provinces.
For this treaty he was made a Spanish commissary, with
the rank and pay of colonel. This was in June, 1784,
before the treaty at Galphinton ; and the influence of
McGilUvray in dissuading the tribes from sending head
men and warriors to the treaty-ground, was the reason

432 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Avhy SO few towns of the loAver Creeks were represented
at that Council.
It was in the power of McGUlivray at any time to
haA^e made peace, and kept peace with Georgia ; but it
did not suit the purposes of himself and master ; and
hence, under pretexts specious, but false, he kept the
border lands in continual trouble, embroiled Georgia
in some serious disputes with the Federal Government,
and kept the frontier in a state of perpetual ferment
and alarm.
The attempt made by the United States Commis
sioner, Dr. James White, to negotiate a treaty Avith
McGUlivray, at Cusseta, in 1788, and the efforts of
Governor Thomas Pinckney, of South Carolina, to ef
fect the same end, were alike thAvarted by the inge
nuity and address of this man, who, under great pro
fessions of regard for the authorities of the United
States, cherished the bitterest animosity and revenge.
An attempt Avas made by General Pickens and Chief
Justice Osborne, as Comraissioners of the United States
for Indian Affairs in the Southern Department, to
meet the Indians, in 1788; but, being frustrated, they
issued the foUoAving talk to the headraen, chiefs, and
warriors of the Creek nation : —
We last year appointed a tirae and place for holding
a treaty with you to establish a lasting peace between
you and us, that we raight again become as one people;
you all knoAV the reasons why it was not held at that
tirae. We now send you this talk, inviting you to a treaty
on your bank of the Oconee River, at the Rock land
ing. We wished to raeet you at that place on the 8th

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 433
of June ; but, as that day is so near at hand, you might
not all get notice. We therefore shall expect to meet
you on the 20th day of June.
We have changed the place of meeting from that of
last year, so that none of you should have reason to
complain ; it is your own ground, and on that land we
wish to renew our former trade and friendships, and to
remove everything that has blinded the path between
you and us.
We are now governed by a President who is like the
old King over the great water. He commands all the
warriors of the thirteen great fires. He will have re
gard to the welfare of all the Indians ; and when peace
shall be established he will be your father, and you
wUl be his children, so that none shall dare to do you
harm. We know that lands have been the cause of dispute
between you and the white people ; but we now tell
you that Ave want no new grants. Our object is to
make a peace and to unite us all under our Great Chief
Warrior and President, who is the father and protector
of all the white people.
Attend to what we say.
Our traders are very rich, and have houses full of
such goods as you were used to get in former days ; it
is our wish that you should trade with them, and they
with you, in strict friendship.
Our Brother, George Galphin, will carry you this
talk. Listen to him: he will tell you nothing but
truth from us. Send us your answer by him.
Andw. Pickens,
H. Osborne,
Commissioners of the United States for Indian
April 20, 1789. Affairs iu the Southern Department.
VOL. II. 28

434 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
This effort, however, was abortive, as McGilUvray
declined to make a treaty; and not only so, but he
took measures to thwart General Pickens in his at
tempt to make a treaty with the Cherokees. "Do
you not see," he says, writing to Panton in reference
to his success in defeating these measures, so important
to Georgia and the United States, " my cause of tri
umph in bringing these conquerors of the old masters
of the new world, as they call themselves, to bend and
supplicate for peace at the feet of a people, whom,
shortly before, they despised and marked out for de
struction?" UnAvilling to relinquish the efforts at Indian pacifi
cation, other and more honorable Commissioners were
associated with General Pickens, and appointed to treat
Avith McGUlivray. These Avere General Lincoln, who
had served as commander of the Southern army during
the Revolutionary war ; Cyrus Griffin, a former Presi
dent of the Continental Congress, and David Hum
phreys, one of the military family of Washington, and
subsequently minister to Spain. These persons sailed
from New York, August Slst, for Savannah, in a vessel
well laden Avith Indian presents; and, having reached
there on the 10th of September, in safety, they pre
pared to enter upon their duties, by sending word to
McGUlivray of their arrival, and requesting him to
meet thera, on the 20th of Septeraber, at Rock Land
ing, on the Oconee. To this place they accordingly
repaired, Avith their escort, a corapany of United States
Artillery, under Captain Burbeck ,and pitched their
tents, on the 20th of September, 1789, on the eastern
bank of the river.
McGUlivray, with two thousand warriors, gathered

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 435
around him to display his power and overawe the
Commissioners, encamped on the Avestern bank of the
Oconee ; and, after several days spent in private inter
views with McGUlivray, and the formalities usual on
such occasions, the business of the Council was entered
upon on the 24th of September, by the Commissioners
presenting to the chiefs a draught of a treaty which they
proposed as the basis of pacification. At the time of
its delivery, the Indians seemed pleased ; but when it
was talked over in the council of the chiefs that night,
dissatisfaction appeared, and so increased, that the next
morning McGUlivray wrote to the Commissioners that
the boundaries proposed did not satisfy the nation, and
that the chiefs had resolved to break up the Council
and depart.
This announcement took the Commissioners by sur
prise, and they iraraediately addressed a note to McGU
livray, imploring him to prevail on the chiefs to re
main. Instead of this, however, he abruptly broke up
the encampment, and, under plea of seeking forage for
his horses, moved back several miles from the river ;
and two days after, from his camp on the Ocmulgee,
he wrote to the Commissioners that he had determined
to return to the nation, " deferring the matter in full
peace till next spring." " We sincerely desire a peace,
but we cannot sacrifice much to obtain it,"
It was with great mortification, after so much toil
and expense, and so large expectations of fruitful re
sults, that the Commissioners were obliged to report to
the Secretary at War, that " The parties have separated
without forming a treaty."
General Lincoln and party returned to Augusta, on
the 2d of October, and there spent several days in in-

436 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
vestigating the character of the treaties already made
with the Creeks, — especially in reference to the treaties
of Augusta, Galphinton, and Shoulder-Bone, concern
ing which there had been circulated such false reports,
so injurious to the honor and integrity of Georgia.
Their report upon this subject is important, as it fully
defends the course of Georgia, and shows the flimsiness
of the attempts of McGUlivray and other interested
parties to misrepresent the facts, deny the conclusions,
and set at nought the binding authority of these trea
ties. " The Comraissioners beg leave further to report,
that, after the most accurate investigation in their
power to make, after consulting the best documents,
and having recourse to credible depositions, they are
unable to discover but that the treaty of Augusta, in
the year 1783, the treaty of Galphinton, in the year
1785, and the treaty of Shoulder-Bone, in the year
1786, were, all of them, conducted with as full and as
authorized representation, with as much substantial
form and apparent good faith, and understanding of
the business, as Indian treaties have usually been con
ducted, or perhaps can be, where one of the contracting
parties is destitute of the benefit of enlightened so
ciety ; that the lands in question did, of right, belong
to the lower Creeks as their hunting-ground, have been
ceded by them to the State of Georgia for a valuable
consideration, and were possessed and cultivated for
sorae years, without any claim or molestation by any
part of the Creek nation."
The Commissioners left Augusta on the 6th of Oc
tober, and reached New York on the 10th of Novem
ber ; and, on the 17th, made a full report of their fruit
less mission. In this report, they state that they " are

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 437
decidedly of opinion that the failure of a treaty at this
time with the Creek nation can be attributed only to
their principal chief, Mr. Alexander McGUlivray;" and
sustain this opinion by six strong reasons, showing the
deception, duplicity, selfishness, and falsehood of this
chief, who, for private ends, thwarted all the efforts of
the United States, and imperilled the peace and pros
perity of Georgia. At the very time, however, that
he was engaged in this business with the Commissioners
of the United States, he was, also, as we learn from
his letters to Panton (written only a few days before
the raeeting at Rock Landing), seeking to draw still
larger honors and emoluments from Spain, by operating
on the fears of the Governor of Florida, by threatening
to loose the alliance with the Creeks, and on the avari
cious views of Panton, by intimating the necessity of
his withdrawing hiraself from the partnership with
that trading house, which had so long supplied his
nation with food.
Washington was unwilling to plunge the infant re
public into the horrors and expense of an Indian war ;
and he determined to make one more effort to secure
peace with the Creeks. He was justly incensed at the
audacity and perverseness of McGUlivray ; yet, as no
treaty could be held with the Indians without his au
thority and consent, he sought, by new and more pri
vate overtures, to secure the friendship of one, whose
ill-wUl could track the whole frontier with blood —
whose favor could make that same frontier peaceful
and secure.
On the day after the Commissioners had reported to
the President the failure of their negotiations, he sent
General Knox, Secretary of War, to Colonel Marinus

438 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Willet, an officer Avho had served with distinction in
the Revolutionary war, with a request that he would
undertake a secret mission^ to the haughty chief He
consented, and, embarking at New York, on the 15th
of March, 1790, for Charleston, he landed in that city,
after a passage of fourteen days, and immediately di
rected his steps towards the residence of General
Pickens, in the upper part of South Carolina. He
reached that place on the 13th of April, and tarried
there about a week, in conference with the General, to
whom, and to whom alone, Washington had permitted
him to confide the nature of his mission, and from
whom, as from one fully conversant with Indian af
fairs, he gained much practical knoAvledge as to the
best mode of carrying out his important mission.
General Pickens was a person in whom McGUlivray
had confidence, and Avith whom he corresponded ; and
no one, therefore, was so well qualified to advise
Colonel Willet, as this sagacious and experienced Ge
neral. On leaving South Carolina, Colonel Willet
made a detour through the Cherokee country, guided
by an Indian, called Young Corn, and attended by a
single body-servant, and at length reached the Kille-
bees, one of the Creek settlements, on Friday, 30th
April. There he had the satisfaction of meeting Mc
GUlivray ; and, " I went to bed," he writes in his jour
nal, " happy in being under the same roof with the
man I have travelled thus far to see."
McGUlivray impressed the Colonel quite favorably.
"He appears to be," he says, "a man of an open, can
did, generous mind, with a good judgment and very
^ "A Narrative of the Military Actions of Colonel Marinus AVillet."
New York: 1831.

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 439
tepacious memory." The Creek chief was gratified
with the special mark of attention from the President,
in sending to him such an ambassador ; and after se
veral days' conference with the secret agent, he ap
pointed a council of chiefs to meet him at Ositchy. on
the 17th of May.
The ceremony of the black drink having been con
ducted with due form, in the great square of the town,
the chiefs assembled, at eleven o'clock on that day, to
hear what Colonel Willet had to propose. " I am come
to you," he said in his speech, "from our beloved town
(New York), by order of our beloved Chief, George
Washington, to invite you to a treaty of peace and
friendship, at a council-fire in our beloved city." After
stating the wishes of Washington for the prosperity of
the red people, and his desire to form a lasting treaty
of peace and amity with thera, he inforras them that
the United States wanted none of their lands, but
would secure thera unmolested, would promote their
trade, and contribute all in its power towards the wel
fare and happiness of the nation. He concluded by
saying : " Brothers, I stand before you a messenger of
peace. It is your interest, and it is our interest, that
we should live in peace with each other. I promise
myself that you will attend to this friendly invitation,
and that your beloved chief, with such other of your
chiefs and warriors as you may choose for that pur
pose, will repair with me to the council-fire that is
kindled in our beloved town, that Ave may form a
treaty which shall be strong as the hills, and as last
ing as the rivers."
Having delivered his speech, he withdrew, and left
the chiefs to confer together. An hour passed, and he

440 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
was called again to the council, and informed that his
talk had been acceptable, and his propositions agreed
to. " Brother," said the Hallowing King, speaking in
behalf of the chiefs to Colonel Willet, " you say you
came from our beloved chief, George Washington, to
invite our beloved chief to a council-fire, in your be
loved town. The road is very long, and the weather
is very hot ; but our beloved chief will go with you,
and such other chiefs and warriors as shall be ap
pointed for that purpose shall go with him. Brother,
all that our beloved chief shall do, we will agree to.
We wish you may be preserved from every evil. We
will count the time our beloved chief is away; and
when he comes back we shall be glad to see him, with
a treaty that shall be as strong as the hills, and last
as long as the rivers."
On the 21st of May, Colonel Willet met another
council of chiefs, at Nickabache ; and, after the cere
mony of the blach drink, delivered to them a talk
similar to the one spoken before, and received in an
swer nearly the same reply, from the venerable and
influential chief, called the White Lieutenant. Having
done all that was needful to secure the confidence of
the Indians, Colonel Willet and McGUlivray, with eight
warriors and some few attendants, started from Little
Tallasse, on the 1st of June, for New York. A long
journey was before them, and the brief record of it
which WUlet gives in his journal, is peculiarly inte
resting. On the Oth, they reached the Stone Mountain, in
what is now De Kalb County ; and Colonel WUlet as
cended to the summit. On the 14th, they reached the
house of General Pickens, and were warmly welcomed.

SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 441
Here they remained a few days, until some other In
dians joined them; and, on the I8th, the party, in
creased to thirty Indians, left the hospitable mansion
of the General, on their northern progress. Twenty-six
of the Indians rode in three wagons, and four were on
horseback ; Colonel McGUlivray, his nephew, two ser
vants, and interpreter, with Colonel Willet's German
man John, Avere also in the saddle ; while Colonel
Willet himself travelled in his sulky.
The party attracted great attention as they passed
through the towns and villages, and were everywhere
kindly received and entertained, particularly at Guil
ford in North Carolina, Richmond, and Philadelphia.
At Elizabethtown Point they found a sloop in waiting,
to transport them to New York. It was about noon,
on Tuesday, the 20th of May, when they landed near
the Coffee House, " and were received with great splen
dor by the Tammany Society, in the dress of their
Order," conducted up Wall Street past the Federal
Hall, where Congress was in session, and with much
pomp and parade were escorted to the President.
After their introduction to the President, "the In
dians, with additional parade, visited the Minister of
War and Governor Clinton, and then repaired to the
City Tavern, where an elegant entertainment finished
the day."
The party devoted some days to the scenes and ex
citements of their new position ; and then measures
were taken to bring McGiUivray and the chiefs into
such relationship as should make them disposed to
treat with the United States. At first, the negotia
tions, according to the President's request, were con
ducted informally, — a measure rendered necessary,

442 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
perhaps, by the fact, that no sooner did the Governor-
General of Havana learn of the intended visit of
McGUlivray to New York, than he despatched the
Secretary of East Florida thither; who, being fur
nished with a large sum of money, under the osten
sible purpose of purchasing a cargo of fiour, was yet
directed to use his money and his influence, as an offi
cer of his Catholic Majesty, to prevent McGUlivray
from forming a treaty with the United States ; or, if
not able to accomplish that, to embarrass his negotia
tions, and render thera as nugatory as possible.
On the 6th of August, the President notified the
Senate, that the adjustraent of the terms of a treaty
with the Creeks Avas far advanced, and that the time
had arrived when the informal method, hitherto pur
sued, should give place to the regular form of negotia
tion ; and hence he nominated General Knox as a
Commissioner to conclude the treaty with the Indians.
General Knox found matters already shaped and
prepared, so that his labors were merely the formal
acts of putting the articles in due order, and, with the
Indian chiefs, signing and sealing the same with the
usual forraalities.
The next day, therefore, Washington coramunicated
to the Senate the treaty which had been made, and
stated : " I flatter myself that this treaty will be pro
ductive of present peace and prosperity to our Southern
frontier, and that it will, also, in its consequences, be
the means of firmly attaching the Creeks and the neigh
boring tribes, to the interests of the United States."
He also, in this message to the Senate, expressed the
hope that the treaty would " afford solid grounds of
satisfaction to the State of Georgia, as it contains a

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 443
regular, full, and definitive relinquishment, on the part
of the Creek nation, of the Oconee land, in the utmost
extent in which it has been claimed by that State, and
thus extinguishes the principal cause of those hostili
ties, from which it has more than once experienced
such severe calamities."
The treaty which the President laid before the Se
nate for their ratification, was signed by Knox, sole
Commissioner, on the part of the United States, and
McGilUvray and twenty-three chiefs, in behalf of them
selves and the whole Creek nation ; and, having re
ceived the confirmation of this body, it was proclaimed
by the President, on the 13th of August, 1790.
-This treaty did not give satisfaction to Georgia, and
was the occasion of much discord between the State
and the General Governraent, as well as the occasion
of much intestine trouble.
It has been seen how continually the Creeks kept
up their depredations upon the frontier, stimulated or
connived at by McGUlivray and others in the Spanish
interest. These perpetual irritations had caused
Georgia to call forth her citizen soldiers, and also to
appeal to the General Government for Federal troops,
to repel aggressions and protect the frontier.
The minutes of the Assembly, and the letters of the
Governors, show how much thought was bestowed upon
our Indian relations, and how feverishly anxious the
Georgians were made by the persistency of the Creeks
in their predatory, and often sanguinary, warfare.
With mercenary speculators grasping after Indian
territory, on the one hand ; and Spanish intrigue, stimu
lating savage passions, on the other ; it was no cause of
wonder that so many atrocities were committed, and

444 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
SO much done to inflame both the white man and the
red man with mutual hate and revenge. " It is need
less," says Governor Walton, writing to Washington,
Ilth March, 1789, "for comraentaries on transactions
so extraordinary and flagitious ; but I cannot forbear
to observe, that whilst proceedings of this kind are
permitted, it will be wholly out of the power of this
State to preserve that peace with the savages which it
would seem is so much the object of the Union." Ad
dressing the President of the Board of Wardens of
Savannah, the Governor writes : " It is extremely dis
tressing to me to be under the necessity of informing
the citizens of Savannah, that our prospects of peace
have changed to inevitable war." " The late arrange
ments for an attack upon us, demonstrate, that so far
from the Indians being disposed to meet the offers of
peace, they are determined for war." After stating
" that the Government, as well as the Commissioners
of the Union, have done everything in their power
this year (1789) to bring about a treaty," and "that it
is demonstrated beyond the possibility of doubting,
that the war is wholly continued on the part of the
Indians," he adds, " I have directed Lieutenant-Colonel
Fishbourne to aid your arrangements for the defence of
your valuable town, which I sincerely hope will not be
exposed to any danger."
During the two previous years, as appears by a return
of depredations, made by Governor Walton to the
United States Comraissioners, October 4, 1789, the
Creeks had murdered eighty-two persons, wounded
twenty-nine, taken prisoners one hundred and forty,
burnt eighty-nine houses, and carried away horses and

SETTLEMENT OP INDIAN AFFAIRS. 445
cattle and goods to the value of many thousand dol
lars. However fair the promise held out by the treaty with
the Creeks, at New York, seemed to be, in its provi
sions, yet there were two causes which led to con
tinued disturbance between Georgia and the Indians :
one, growing out of the treaty itself, and the other, out
of the character of the chief, McGUlivray.
It had been all along asserted by the Creeks, as a
cause of their hostilities, that the treaty of Galphin
ton, in November, 1785, was made by only a portion
of the chiefs, who had no right to act for the whole
nation ; that the lands ceded by that treaty were ceded
under the influence of threats and the implication of
force ; and that they really did not comprehend, at the
time, the value of the cession which the treaty de
manded. The answer to these charges is found in the
full refutation of them by George Walton, as Governor
of Georgia (letter to Commissioners, October 4 th,
1789), and by the report of General Lincoln, Colonel
Humphreys, and- the Hon. Cyrus Griffin, the United
States Commissioners, who, after careful investigation
of the subject, declared that the Galphinton treaty was
made with a proper representation of the Creek chiefs ;
that the lands were not ceded under threats, or fear,
or force ; and that all the doings in reference to the
treaty were according to the usual forms of such ne
gotiations. These opinions, by men who had no inte
rest in Georgia, supported by the views of the very
intelligent Governor of the State, and by the unani
mous voice of the General Assembly, were, however,
virtually ignored in the treaty at New York ; for the
whole claim of Georgia, arising out of the Galphinton

446 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
treaty, " of land to the eastward of a new temporary
line, from the forks of the Oconee and the Ocmulgee, in
a southwest direction to the St. Mary's River," was
yielded up by General Knox, as McGilUvray and the
chiefs under his influence absolutely refused to sur
render it. This concession was regarded as an unjust
surrender, by the United States, of land, the title of
Avhich had already been extinguished by Georgia, and
which consequently belonged to Georgia ; and the ex
citement which this produced drew after it most dis
astrous consequences.
It brought the Indians nearer to the white settle
ments on the Oconee ; it gave them license to break
other treaty stipulations; it lowered in their minds
their idea of the poAver and rights of Georgia ; it pro
voked the unjustifiable settlements and military occu
pation of the disputed territory by General Clark ; it
excited hostilities and bloodshed along the frontier
line ; and was an occasion of continual annoyance to
the citizens and government of the State.
McGUlivray, upon whose promises so much reliance
had been placed, and whose honor was in the keeping
of the highest bidder, found himself soon opposed and
weakened by the machinations of an adventurer, whose
history is as romantic as the shifting scenes of the most
exciting drama.
William Augustus Bowles was born in Maryland, in
1764, and Avhen a mere lad, joined the British army,
in which he was appointed Ensign to a provincial com
pany. He was present with his corps at the battle
of Monmouth, and, in the autumn of 1778, embarked
at New York, with his company, first for Jamaica, and
thence for Pensacola, in Florida. A wild, thoughtless

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 447
boy, unfit to be intrusted with a commission, his reckless
conduct brought upon him mortification and disgrace.
He had not been a year in the army, before his name
was stricken from the roll: and the young Ensign,
friendless and almost penniless, was turned adrift from
the garrison, and abandoned to the dangers and vicissi
tudes of a frontier life, in an inhospitable clime, and
among savage tribes. Turning away with disgust from
his former friends, and. flinging his uniform into the
sea, he attached himself to a party of Creeks, then at
Pensacola, and about to return to the Indian nation ;
and with them he penetrated to the frontier of Georgia.
In a few months, he returned to Pensacola, discontented
with his uncivilized companions; and, after suffering
many hardships along the coast, he again fell in with
a party of Creeks, and returned with them to their
wilderness homes. Here he remained for two years,
during which period he acquired their language, mar
ried the daughter of one of the chiefs, and was taken
into favor by the headmen of the nation.
When war was declared between Great Britain and
Spain, he repaired to Pensacola with a war party from
the Creek nation, and was kindly received by General
Campbell, who reinstated him in the corps from which
he had been expelled. Here he fought bravely, and
did good service, until, on the reduction of West Florida,
he went with the troops to New York, and there re
mained on parole until exchanged.
Having received a furlough from Lord Dorchester,
he again repaired to the Creeks, visiting, on his way
thither, his father, a planter, in Maryland. By the
Creeks he Avas warmly welcomed, though his stay with
thera was brief, as he shortly went to the Bahamas,

448 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
where the versatility of his mind displayed itself in
establishing hira on the stage, as a manager and
actor ; and among the people of New Providence, as a
portrait painter. These occupations, however, were
only masks, to cover up his real designs, which,
all the while, through secret agents, he was actively
carrying on; and, though at one time suspicion was
aroused against him, and the grand jury of the island
presented him " as a dangerous and suspected person,
whom it behooved Government to secure," yet he
adroitly extricated himself from these difficulties, and
boldly vindicated, through the public press, " The Lu-
cayan Royal Herald," his injured reputation. In 1789,
in a vessel chartered by him, he set sail for St. Marks,
in Florida ; and, having arranged with the Creeks to
meet him there, he was enabled, in the face of the
Spanish authorities, to land his contraband goods and
secure their transportation to the Indian country.
These trading voyages he repeated ; and at last, hav
ing taught five Indians the art of seamanship, he bought
a small vessel, armed it with six four-pounders, manned
it with his Indian sailors, and then, as captain of the
piratical craft, he cruised about the Bay of Appalachi-
cola, capturing whatever he could take, and even fight
ing off the Spanish Guarda Costa, which had been sent
from the Havana to take hira.
The large reward of six thousand dollars, and fifteen
hundred kegs of taffia (rum distilled from molasses),
was offered for his capture by the Spanish authorities ;
but he evaded his pursuers, and, temporarily abandon
ing the sea, he returned to the Creek country, and was
elected one of the chiefs and counsellors of the nation.
This step brought him at once into rivalry with, and

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 449
opposition to, McGUlivray, and Avas the origin of a
series of intestine wars, and contentions among the
southern Indians, destructive alike to the peace and
prosperity of the red people and the white.
McGilUvray, so soon as he learned that BoAvles was
assuming a chieftain's authority, ordered him to leave
the nation, — which Bowles did, though in a manner
which he contrived to turn to his ultimate advantage.
Proceeding to New Providence, one of the Bahamas,
where Lord Dunmore was Governor, he so ingratiated
himself with that officer, and so represented to him
the desire of the Creeks for alliance with England, and
their willingness, if aided by England, to break with their
Spanish and American friends ; that his lordship sent him
to England, at the head of a delegation of Creeks and
Cherokees, to represent their case at tbe British Court,
and secure its favor to his plans. Accordingly, he ap
peared in England, as the "ambassador from the
united nations of Creeks and Cherokees to the Court
of London," being appointed, as was stated, "by the
unanimous voice of twenty thousand warriors, ready
to hazard their lives at the command of their beloved
brother, son, and chief."''
His mission, however, was not as successful as he
had anticipated. He received, together with the In
dians, valuable presents, and excited much public cu
riosity; but his plans were not approved, and he
returned to New Providence, to sink back, for a time,
into a privateersman, directing his attacks principaUy
against the vessels of Panton, the commercial partner
* "Authentic Memoirs of William Augustus Bowles, Esq'r, Ambassador
from the United Nations of Creeks and Cherokees to the Court of London."
London : Printed for R. Faulder, New Bond Street, MDCCXCI.
VOL. II. 29

450 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
of McGUlivray, several of which he captured, — and
made himself rich and infiuential with his booty. Re
appearing among the Creeks, as the head of a party,
he made a bold stand against McGUlivray, whose in
fluence he succeeded in lessening, and stirred up against
McGUlivray much hatred and opposition. McGilUvray
found it difficult to withstand the opposing current ;
and, apparently yielding to it for a time, he repaired
to New Orieans, and did not return until the strongest
remonstrances had been sent to him, reproaching him
for his pusillanimous conduct, and urging him to come
back and reassert his half-vacated rights, and rule.
Bowles gave it out through the Indian nation, that he
Avas an accredited agent of the King of England; that
the Americans, Avhen they made peace with England,
had no right to take the Indian lands, because the In
dians were under the power of the Crown, which did
not cede their lands with the territory of the thirteen
colonies; hence, that the Americans had no right to
their soil, or their services, and must be held as intru
ders, whom it was the duty of the Indians to drive
away. The Government of Great Britain, Avhen called upon
to state whether they acknowledged Bowles as their
agent, distinctly repudiated him. Mr. Hammond (his
Britannic Majesty's Minister to the United States), in
a letter to Mr. Jefferson, Secretary of State, assured
the Government " in the most explicit manner, that
the assertions said to have been made by Mr. Bowles,
of his pretensions having been encouraged or counte
nanced by the Government of Great Britain, or of his
having been furnished by it with arms and ammuni
tion, are entirely without foundation."

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 451
Between the usurpations of Bowles, and the double-
dealing of McGUlivray, the treaty line, as agreed upon
at New York, was not run. The United States ap
pointed surveyors and commissioners ; but they were
not permitted to act, in consequence of these intestine
broUs. The Government felt called upon to do all in
its power to crush Bowles, and to throw its support in
favor of McGUlivray ; yet the latter was unworthy of
any confidence, and his hesitating and tortuous course
was the occasion of much trouble both to the Indians
and to the Georgians ; Avas the cause of most of the
difficulties of the State Government; and gave the
Federal Governraent continual anxiety and alarm.
Bowles, now styling hiraself " General," was at last
captured by the Spanish authorities, taken to New
Orleans in chains, and thence sent as a state prisoner
to Madrid. His capture removed from the nation one
element of discord, though it did not contribute towards
the accomplishment of the purposes of the Federal
Government, viz., the establishing of well-defined
boundaries, the p]:'otection of the frontier, and the se
curing of peace among the Southern tribes.
Owing to the supineness of Seagrove, the double-
dealing of McGUlivray, the freebooting settlement of
General Clarke, the intrigues of Panton and the Spanish
officials in Florida, and the irritated feeling of the
Georgians at the Avay in Avhich their wishes had been
disregarded and opposed ; the stipulations of the New
York treaty were not carried out ; and the horrors of
a border warfare with savage tribes still hovered over
the Southern frontier of Georgia.
In 1793, McGUlivray, having returned the previous

452 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
autumn from Ncav Orleans, where he had been cour
teously entertained by the French Governor, repaired
once more to Pensacola, to enjoy the hospitality of the
Spanish authorities, and the counsel of his merchant-
friend Panton. It was his last visit. Already en
feebled in health, he was taken ill on his way to
Florida, and died, on the 17th February, 1793, at the
house of Mr. Panton, eight days after his arrival in
Pensacola ; and was buried, with civic and masonic
honors, in his friend's beautiful garden, then redolent
of the blossoms of spring, and green with the vernal
glories of that land of flowers.
McGUlivray was a man of strong natural abilities,
Avhich, had they been properly cultivated, would have
made him eminent ; and, even though imperfectly
developed, he yet exhibited diplomatic powers which
enabled him to baffle treaty commissioners, Indian
agents, heads of departments. Governors of States, and
even impose on the carefully formed judgment of
Washington. As a chief, he lacked vigor and decision ; and, lower
ing himself from the position which he occupied, as
the head of the confederacy of Creeks, he stooped to
engage in trade, and bound himself down by such
commercial fetters to Spanish merchants, as weakened
his influence, drew off his attention from state affairs,
and caused him to turn all his efforts towards enrich
ing himself and extending his trade ; Avhile the inte
rest of the nation of Creeks was unheeded, except
when some great outside pressure roused him to action.
He was, moreover, a great dissembler ; and so adroitly
did he manage his dealings with the Americans, Eng
Ush, French, and Spanish, that each feared to break

SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 453
with him ; whUe each distrusted his loyalty, and
watched him with ill-concealed suspicion.
His indecision, and mercantile trammels, were the
cause of much of the troubles which so long afflicted
Georgia ; while his want of promptness and energy,
enabled Bowles alraost to beard hira in his native
forests, and well-nigh wrest from him the sceptre of
the nation.
As for Bowles, after still further escapes and adven
tures by land and sea, he ended his life as a prisoner
of state in the dungeons of Moro Castle, in Havana.
Matters had now reached such a crisis that Governor
Telfair, having applied to the General Government in
vain for such aid as he thought the exigencies of the
frontier demanded, resolved to conduct the military
operations of the State himself; and summoned a coun
cil of general officers to meet him in Augusta, on Thurs
day, 8th August, 1793.
The council, consisting of Governor Telfair as Com
mander-in-chief, Major-Generals John Twiggs, James
Jackson, and Elijah Clarke, and Brigadier-Generals
Glascock, Morrison, Clarke, Irwin, and Gunn, took
into consideration what measures were proper to be
adopted for the safety and protection of the citizens of
the State. They determined that it was necessary to
make an expedition against the hostile towns of the
Creeks, in October; and that, for this purpose, "at
least two thousand horse and three thousand foot
ought to be ordered to camp for the objects that may
arise in the intended expedition," to serve, after their
arrival in camp, for sixty days.'
' American State Papers, iv, Indian Affairs, 370.

454 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
This line of operation was not agreeable to the views
of Washington, who directed the Secretary of War,
General Knox, to say to Governor Telfair, " that he
utterly disapproved the measure" proposed, giving his
reasons in full for such disapproval, and to express
his desire that the offensive expedition should not be
undertaken. This letter put a stop to the active preparations that
were going on to carry out the views of the military
council, and drew from the Governor a reply, of
blended remonstrance and appeal, expressive of his
deep disappointment at being compelled to desist from
pursuing the only measure which, in his opinion, could
give ease and security to persons and property along
the frontier. It required great forbearance on the part
of the Georgians to refrain from carrying into execu
tion the plans devised by the council at Augusta ; and,
irritated as they were by the manifold annoyances to
Avhich they were subjected, through the duplicity of
McGilliA'ray, the machinations of Bowles, the timidity
of Seagrove, the recklessness of Clarke, and the ima
gined supineness and indifference of the Federal
Government, — they displayed a commendable submis
sion to law and authority, in ceasing to press forward
the expedition which had been so enthusiastically
planned. In this feverish and unsettled condition the relations
of the Government, the State, and the Indians, con
tinued, with occasional exacerbations and remissions —
now breaking out into bloody hpstiUties, and now ap
parently soothed to peace — until 1796, when Washing
ton, having made a treaty with the Cherokees, at
Holston River, and quieted all troubles with them.

SETTLEMENT OF IN^DIAN AFFAIRS. 455
again sought to establish friendly relations Avith the
turbulent and restless Creeks. Having determined, in
accordance with the request of the General Assembly
of Georgia, to hold another treaty Avith the Creeks, the
President, on the 25th of June, 1795, nominated to the
Senate Benjamin Hawkins, of North Carolina, George
Clymer, of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Pickens, of
South Carolina, " to be Commissioners for holding a
treaty Avith the Creek nation of Indians." The place
selected for holding this treaty, was Coleraine, in
Camden County, and about forty-five miles above St.
Mary's.
^ Thither the Federal Commissioners repaired, in
May, 1796 ; there they were joined by three Commis
sioners, on the part of the State of Georgia, viz., James
Hendricks, James Jackson, and James Simras.
The formal conferences were opened on the 16th of
May, and were continued from day to day, during
which speeches were made td the Indians by Benjamin
Hawkins, on the part of the United States, and General
James Jackson, on behalf of the Georgia Commis
sioners ; the latter pointing out to the Indians, with
great force, their faithlessness to former treaties, and
presenting to them along list of grievances unredressed,
and property unrecovered, directly contrary to the pro
visions of the Ncav York treaty.
After many anxious conferences with the Indians,
a treaty was concluded, on the 29th of June, and
signed by the Commissioners of the United States and
the chiefs who represented the Creek nation.
The State Commissioners protested against this
treaty, under seven distinct heads ; and so decidedly
were they in the right, as it respected the unconstitu-

456 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
tionality of the Government's obtaining cessions of
land from the Indians Avithin the territorial limits of
the State, that when the treaty was before the Senate
for ratification, in March, 1797, that body put in a
modifying proviso, which obviated that objectionable
feature, and gave to Georgia pre-emption rights, and
left untouched her territorial sovereignty.
In Washington's speech to Congress, December 7,
1796, he says, that the meeting of Creeks, at Coleraine,
had for a principal object the purchase of a parcel of
their land by Georgia. It broke up without its being
accomplished, the nation having previously instructed
the delegates against it. All the benefits were, that
pre-existing treaties were confirmed, and permission
was obtained to establish among the Creeks trading-
houses and military posts.
The inefficiency of this treaty was soon seen. The
troubles were varied as to place and character, but yet
they continued ; and it was not until several treaties
had been made, and many negotiations with the
Creeks entered into by Georgia and by the General
Government ; that, long after the beginning of this cen
tury, and within the administration of still living Go
vernors, the Indians were removed from Georgia to the
homes provided for thera in the West ; and with their
reraoval carae peace, security, and population.

CHAPTER V.

YAZOO SPECULATIONS.

Few events in the history of our country, none cer
tainly in the annals of Georgia, involved greater prin
ciples of law and equity, or were more exciting to all
classes of the comraunity, from Massachusetts to the
French settlements in Louisiana, than the Yazoo sale.
The questions pertaining to this matter were among
the gravest which can exercise the mind of the jurist
and the statesman. They involved the rights and
independence, as well as the honor and integrity of the
individual State; the authority and jurisdiction of the
Federal Government; the privileges and immunities
of the aboriginal tribes ; the contracts and associated
powers of several great landed companies; and the
claims of Spanish, French, and English subjects, along
an exposed and exasperated frontier.
For more than twenty years, these questions, in
some form or other, were agitated in our courts of law,
in our legislative assemblies, in the halls of Congress,
and in the councils of the Cabinet, — shaping, in many
respects, the political aspect of the times, and directing
the measures which were finally adopted in the settle
ment of the vexed questions of Indian titles and Indian
protection.

458 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
The southern portion of the present United States
had been claimed respectively by England and Spain,
on the ground of original discovery. An attempt was
made, in 1604, to settle, by treaty, the pretensions of
each of these powers to America, but the parties could
not agree ; and the claims Avere kept in abeyance until
the year 1670, when, by the 7th article in what is
called the "American treaty" between England and
Spain, it is stipulated that the possessions of the Eng
lish Crown, as they then existed in America, were to be
confirmed to "the most serene King of Great Britain,"
with "plenary right of sovereignty, dominion, posses
sion, and propriety."
Charles II, in his first charter to the Earl of Clarendon
and seven others, granted to them " all that province,
territory, or tract of ground, called Carolina, situate,
lying, and being within our dominions of America," and
between the 36° and 31° northern latitude; and "south-
Avest in a direct line as far as the South Seas." Two
years after, by a second charter, dated 30th of June,
1665, the King removed the southern boundary line,
so as to cover the country claimed by right of dis
covery, and fixed it at 29° northern latitude. This,
then, was the southern boundary of the English pos
sessions in America five years later, when the treaty
was made between Spain and England, — the 7th article
of which, as we hav^e seen, confirmed to the EngUsh
King all the land which he then claimed.
In 1729, the territory covered by these two charters
of Charles II was, to the extent of seven-eighths of it,
surrendered to George II, by the heirs and assignees
of those who held the province as proprietors under

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 459
the said charters; and thus the land, to 29° south
latitude, was reinvested in the Crown.
Five months later, on the 9th December, 1729,
Robert Johnson was coramissioned as Governor of this
surrendered province ; and, though no boundaries were
stated, yet by title, as well as law, his commission
covered the whole territory claimed under the charters
of the second Charles.
In 1730, the Lords of the Committee of Council,
appointed to consider the petition of Lord Percival,
James Oglethorpe, &c., for a grant of lands in South
Carolina, for the purpose of establishing a charitable
colony, reported favorably, and recommended to his
Majesty to grant to the petitioners that tract of land
lying between the Rivers Savannah and Alatamaha;
and accordingly, in the charter granted to these gen-
tleraen, in 1732, the boundaries of the new colony of
Georgia were fixed by those rivers on the north and
south, " and westward from the heads of the said rivers
respectively in direct lines to the South Seas."
This charter was surrendered to the King in 1752,
when it ceased to be under the government of the
trustees, and was erected by the Crown into a royal
province. In the commission appointing John Reynolds Go
vernor of the colony, the same boundaries were recited
which were recorded in the charter.
A practical aspect was soon given to this territorial
question by the settlement to the southward of the
Alatamaha of a party of seventy or eighty men, under
the leadership of Mr. Gray, at a place called New
Hanover. Lieutenant-Governor EUis gave Gray a
license to settle at the St. Mary's River, and to trade

460 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
there ; but this measure was reprehended by the Lords
of Trade, and WiUiam Pitt particularly deplored it,
" as it may disturb that peace and friendship which at
present so happily subsists between his Majesty and
the King of Spain, — no limits having, as we appre
hend, ever been finally settled between the two crowns
in this part of America." The settlement was ordered
to be broken up — not because it Avas on Spanish soil,
for it was conceded that it was on English ground —
but because it might, by its proximity to Florida, give
umbrage to the court of Spain.
It was well known that General Oglethorpe had
made settlements south of the Alatamaha, and that
lands were claimed under his rule even to the St.
John's; while the establishment of Fort William, at
the south end of Cumberland Island, and the keeping
up a guard there by a detachment from his Majesty's
Independent Company in South Carolina, under direc
tion of the Governor of South Carolina, proved how
Great Britain regarded her legal right to that territory.
The grants made by Governor Browne of large tracts
of land to the southward of the Alatamaha, the caveat
of Governor Wright against such proceedings, and the
issue that was taken thereon by the Lords of Trade,
complicated matters very much ; but the treaty of
peace of 1763, between Great Britain and Spain, and
the cession of Florida to England by that treaty, set
at rest all questions of boundary.
Florida was now divided into East and West Florida,
and each was erected into a royal province. The
northern boundary was fixed at 31° north latitude;
and, on the recommendation of the Board of Trade,
the jurisdiction of the Governor of Georgia was ex-

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 461
tended over the territory lying between the southern
branch of the Alatamaha and the northern boundary
of the Floridas. By the same treaty, also, the western
boundary of Georgia, instead of being, as heretofore,
the South Seas, was now made to be the middle of the
River Mississippi.
By the treaty of peace concluded between the United
States and Great Britain, in 1783, these were the
boundaries recognized by the latter power, and ac
cepted by the former, when the > mother country ac
knowledged our existence as an independent nation.
Relying on these facts as full evidence of her title
to this territory, the Legislature of Georgia, on the
I7th February, 1783, passed "An act for opening the
land office, and for other purposes therein named;" in
the 13 th section of which the boundaries of Georgia
are thus recited: "That the limits, boundaries, juris
diction, and authority of the State of Georgia, do, and
did, and of right ought to extend from the mouth of
the River Savannah, along the north side thereof, and
up the most northern stream or fork of the said river,
up to its head or source ; from thence, in a due west
course, to the River Mississippi ; and, down the said
stream of the Mississippi, to the latitude 31° north ;
from thence, in a due east course, to the River Apala
chicola, or Chatahoochee ; and, from the fork of the
said River Apalachicola, where the Chatahoochee and
FUnt Rivers meet, in a direct line to the head or
source of the southernmost stream of the River St.
Mary; and, along the course of the said River St.
Mary, to the Atlantic Ocean," &c.
The claim which South CaroUna had so long made
to the tract of land lying between the Alatamaha and

462 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
the St. Mar}', because not originally included in that
part of Carolina which was erected into the indepen
dent colony of Georgia, was relinquished by South
Carolina, at the Convention of Georgia and South
Carolina Coraraissioners, which was held at Beaufort,
in 1787; and thus the last irapediraent in the way of
the full recognition of the jurisdiction of Georgia over
that portion of the territory was removed.
From these statements it appears that Georgia was
the legal proprietor of these lands. In proof of this
she could ^.ppeal to the cession of Florida to England
by Spain ; to the Royal Proclamation " for establishing
the governments of East and West Florida, and ex
tending the southern boundary of Georgia," in 1763 ;
to the new commission of Governor Wright, in 1764 ;
to the 2d and Oth "Articles of Confederation and Per
petual Union between the States," in 1781; to the
Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, in 1783 ; and to
the 3d Article of the Convention of Beaufort, in 1787.
The Federal Government fully recognized this right of
Georgia, in its official intercourse with Georgia, in its
several acts of Congress, and by the instructions given
to its treaty-making commissioners.
In February, 1785, the Legislature passed an act,
erecting a large tract of country, bordering on the
Mississippi, above and below Natchez, into a separate
county, which was named Bourbon; and civil and ju
dicial officers were appointed for that ncAv county ; but
the intervention of Spanish claimants and settlers pre
vented the carrying the act into effect, and it Avas re
pealed in February, 1788.
Shortly after, a company of persons, stimulated by
the thirst for gain, organized themselves into an asso-

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 463
ciation, called " The Combined Society." Its members
were SAVorn to secrecy, and the object of it was, by
means of certain influences brought to bear upon those
in authority, to obtain from the State large grants of
lands, either for immigration or for sale, — in either case
for the end of making a large sum of money out of the
transaction. Such a secret could not long be kept. It
was brought to the notice of the Governor and the Le
gislature ; and its divulgence thwarted the plans of the
society, which Avas soon disbanded.
It existed long enough, however, to do serious mis
chief, by inflaming the cupidity of the citizens, by ex
citing visions of landed property, or golden gains to be
realized in investments in western lands, and by fami
liarizing the minds of the people with the underhanded
dealings of land speculators and political gamesters, —
absolutely demoralizing to any state or people.
The evil effect of such measures soon appeared. In
1789, Thomas Washington, Alexander Moultrie, Isaac
Hugee, William Clay Snipes, and certain others, asso
ciated together as "The South Carolina Yazoo Com
pany," and applied to the Legislature of Georgia for the
purchase of certain tracts of land belonging to Georgia.
The principal promoters of this scheme were a certain
Captain SuUivan, of the late revolutionary army, who
headed the mob, in Philadelphia, which insulted the
Old Congress, then sitting in the State House, and who
had taken refuge in the Mississippi territory as a fugi
tive from the penalty Avhich the law would have in
flicted on him for his crimes ; and Thomas Washington,
whose real name, however, was Walsh, and who styled
himself a citizen of Georgia, but who was really a
swindUng adventurer. These two men, bold, reckless.

464 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
unscrupulous, with great address and zeal, raade such
representations of the desirableness of these western
lands, and the facility of peopling them and bringing
them into a profitable market, that many, besides the
gentlemen of Georgia and South CaroUna, were led
away by their schemes ; and. " The Virginia Yazoo
Company," at the head of Avhich was the justly cele
brated Patrick Henry, and " The Tennessee Company,"
represented by Zechariah Cox and others, made appli
cation at the same time with the Carolina company,
for grants of land from the State of Georgia. Peti
tions from these companies were presented to tl^e
Senate, on the 20th of November, 1780, setting forth
the advantages which would arise to Georgia from dis
posing of their western lands, and offering to purchase
on certain conditions. These were referred to a com
mittee ; and a bill to that effect was shortly after in
troduced into the Senate, and sent to the lower House,
on Monday, December 7th, for their action. The
House- was then engaged upon the Judiciary bill, but it
was the next day set aside, in order to consider the
bill for disposing of the State lands ; and a joint com
mittee was appointed, consisting of one member of
the House from each county, to report specially on
"the merits and propositions of the different companies
proposing to become purchasers in the said territory."
Another corapany now appeared, and presented its
claims, — " The Georgia Corapany," coraposed of citizens
who Avere unwilUng to see such large tracts of land
passing into the hands of Carolinians and Virginians;
while those raost interested — the inhabitants of Georgia
— were only to a small extent admitted into these as
sociations. This company, hoAvever, entered the field

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 465
too late. The agents of the other companies, working
with indomitable zeal, and feeling that each day's delay
imperilled their schemes, pressed forward legislative
action with indecent haste. Nearly all other business
was suspended; and though the minority were able
to retard the precipitate action which the majority
seemed to desire, yet they only held back the result
for a few days. When, in committee of the whole, a
motion was made to insert " The Georgia Company"
with the other applicants, it was lost; the same fate
befell a motion to increase the sum demanded for the
lands ; and, it appearing to the minority that there
was a determination to give the lands to the three
companies at a nominal value, and without allowing a
fair competition, they suffered the bill to pass as it
came from the Senate, without opposition.
Thus, in the course of nine days, a bill of such great
importance was hurried through the House of Repre
sentatives, and every attempt to make the least amend
ment to it was frustrated. It received the signature of
the Governor on the 21st December, and the " Act for
disposing of certain vacant lands or territory within this
State" became a law. By this bill it was enacted that
a tract or part of the territory of Georgia, now embrac
ing the middle counties of Mississippi, comprising over
five millions of acres, should be reserved as a pre-emption
for " The South CaroHna Yazoo Company ;" for which
they were to pay the State in two years $66,964 ; that
a tract, or part of the territory of this State, bordering
on the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers, now known
as the northern counties of Mississippi, embracing over
seven milUons of acres, should be reserved as a pre
emption for " The Virginia Yazoo Company ;" for which
VOL. II. 30

466 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
they were to pay $93,741 within two years; that a
third tract, or part of the territory of this State, lying
along the Tennessee River and Bear Creek, being a
portion of what is now Northern Alabama, containing
nearly three and a half millions of acres, should be re
served as a pre-emption for " The Tennessee Company;"
for which they were to pay, in terms similar to the
other companies, the sum of $46,875. Thus fifteen
and a half millions of acres, or what proved to be in
reality over twenty millions of acres, Avere sold to three
companies for the paltry sum of about $207,000 !
The passage of this act drew out strong remon
strances from the minority, and from " The Georgia
Company," which had really offered a larger price and
raore valuable securities.
Under the provisions of this act, the South Carolina
and Virginia Companies paid into the treasury some
small suras in paper medium, but the full provisions of
the law were not complied with by any of the com
panies, and the contemplated sale was not completed.
Thus the schemes of Washington, alias Walsh, cg.me
to nought. He himself was shortly after arrested for
forging a large amount of Georgia and Carolina paper,
and, being convicted and sentenced to death, was hung
in Charleston in 1792.
The corapanies which had obtained these grants
were greatly incensed at the course which the raatter
took, and not only charged Georgia with acting in bad
faith, but even entered suits in equity against the State
in the Suprerae Court, for the purpose of compelling
Georgia to confirm the contracts "fully and absolutely."
While these suits were pending, an amendment to the
Constitution of the United States passed Congress,

Y^ZOO SPECULATIONS. 467

December 2, 1793, declaring that "the judicial poAver
of the United States shall not be construed to extend
to any suit in laAV or equity commenced or prosecuted
against one of the United States by citizens of another
State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State."
Accordingly all proceedings thereupon came to an end.
Undeterred by these failures, preparations on a raore
extensive scale were made for new efforts, having for
their end the same general objects ; and, at the session
of the Legislature in November, 1794, proposals were
again made by several parties for the purchase of the
western territory of Georgia. These were referred to
a joint committee of both Houses, who, on the 3d of
December, reported, as their opinion, " that it would
be right and proper to sell a part of the western terri
tory of this State during the present session. They
are also of opinion that it will be best to sell to com
panies ; they therefore report that they are of opinion
it would be right and proper, and would tend much to
the advantage and population of the State, to extend
the limits of the present boundary line as far as the
River Ocmulgee ; and that an appropriation should be
made therefor, together with an application to the
General Government for the holding of a treaty. Your
committee further report that they have taken under
consideration the several applications made for the
purchase of certain tracts of country therein described ;
which, they are of opinion, are liberal and right to be
agreed to ; but this report is not to conclude the Legis
lature from receiving and acceding to other proposals
Avhich may be deemed more advantageous to the State,
should any such be made during the passage of the
bill."

468 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
A minority report Avas presented and offered as an
amendment to the report of the committee, in which
it was urged that " it is not consistent with the inte
rests of this State to accede to the proposals made by
the present corapanies, or any part of them, at this
time." This amendraent Avas disagreed to; and the
bill, as reported by the raajority, was put upon its
passage. The companies applying, and incorporating their
claims and terms in the bill, entitled, "An act declar
ing the right of the State to the unappropriated ter
ritory thereof," &c., were " The Georgia Company ;"
" The Georgia Mississippi Company ;" " The Tennessee
Company ;" and " The Virginia Yazoo Company." To
these, on the lltb December, Avas added, "The Georgia
Union Company," composed of General Twiggs, Wil
liam Few, John Wereat, WiUiam Gibbons, Jr., &c.,
who raade certain proposals to the committee for a
tract of land, supposed to contain at least twenty-three
millions of acres, and for which they offered the sum
of $500,000.
The committee, to whom was referred this last pro
posal, reported, " That on examination of the bounda
ries of the district proposed to be purchased by the
above-named gentlemen and their associates, it appears
to be composed of the two districts proposed to be
purchased by the ' Georgia' and ' Georgia Mississippi
Companies,' and no more ; that the sum offered is
$00,000 greater than that offered by both the other
corapanies ; and that the new company proposes to
reserve for the citizens double the amount indicated
by the other corapanies ; and they subrait the ad-

ZrrnJfi/utle HfSt fht/m Znni^tm. .

T .".m.rlaii's "tih PhilaJ*

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 469
vantages and disadvantages of each to the decision of
the House."
The application of the Georgia Union Company, not
withstanding their larger offers and more liberal re
serves, was, however, rejected by a vote of— ayes 12,
nays 14.
Various amendraents were offered to this biU by
those opposed to this raeasure, but they were severally
voted down by a steady and determined majority, and
the bill was passed and sent to the Governor for his
signature. Fearing that Governor Matthews might
veto it, the leading men of the several companies inte
rested addressed a letter to him on the 25th Decem
ber, in which they sought to show the policy, expe
diency, and advantage of the bill, — setting forth these
in brief, but strong terms, — urging his Excellency not
to interpose his executive authority, and intimating
how unpleasant it would be to him to have the bill
passed over his veto.
Despite the urgent appeal of these parties, the Go
vernor, on the 20th December, sent his dissent to the
bill to the House ; in which communication he stated
his objections to it to be : " 1st. I doubt whether the
proper time is arrived for disposing of the territory in
question. 2d. If it was the proper time, the sum offered
is inadequate to the value of the lands. 3d. The quan
tity reserved for the citizens is too small in proportion
to the extent of the purchase. 4th. That greater
advantages are secured to the purchasers than to the
citizens. 5th. That so large an extent of territory
being disposed of to individuals will operate as monopo
lies, which will prevent or retard settlement, popula
tion, and agriculture. 6th. That should such disposi-

470 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
tion be made, at least one-fourth of the lands should
be reserved for the future disposal of the State. 7th.
That if public notice was given that the lands were for
sale, the rivalship in purchasers would most probably
have increased the sums offered."
After reading this dissent of the Governor, a com
mittee of five was appointed to confer with his Excel
lency upon his message.
The next day, Mr. Watkins, from this committee,
made the following report : " That so intimately con
nected is the ' act for appropriating a part of the un-
located territory of this State for the payment of the
late State troops,' &c., with the bill returned to the
House, the same cannot be separately carried into
effect without a dangerous anticipation of funds already
pledged in the most solemn manner to the soldier and
suffering citizen in a comraon cause ; or a derangement
of the finances of the State, which the Legislature view
Avith the utmost regret. That on comparing the pur
chase contemplated by the several companies with
the map of the western territory of this State, they
find that eighteen millions of acres still remain the
right of the State for future appropriations, indepen
dently of the immense tract of country lying eastward
of Chattahoochee, and within the temporary line of
the Indian hunting-ground. That his Excellency the
Governor's reasons for dissent, being founded upon
opinions as to legislative operation, and not on consti
tutional grounds, a supplementary act, embracing the
objects of this report : —
" 1. That the whole sum of $6o|,000 deposited should
become subject to the immediate use of the State, and
be considered the first payment ; that the Governor do

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 471
thereupon issue grants to the several applicants, taking
mortgage on the territory sold to secure the after-pay
ments. "2. That the further sum of $10,000 be added to the
fund already appropriated to the extinguishhaent of
Indian claims south of the Oconee, and eastward of
the Chattahoochee.
" 3. That a fair and equal representation in the seve
ral corapanies be therein provided and secured to the
citizens, subscribers for the land reserA^ed, on the same
footing with the original purchasers.
"4. That the further quantity of five million acres,
in addition to the two million five hundred and
eighty thousand, — already reserved by the companies
for the citizens of Georgia, — to be subscribed' for and
held in trust for the use of the State, subject to future
disposal, and represented in like manner (if assented to
by the companies) as tenants in common with the pur
chasers, — affords the State an additional check on the
monopolies apprehended, and should be deemed an ade
quate reserve on the part of the State and the citizens
thereof; and your committee are clearly of opinion ought
finally to reconcile the several objections of his Excel
lency the Governor. Your comipittee further report
that his Excellency has conceded in part, and that a
further conference is appointed."
On the question of agreeing to the report, there
were — yeas 20, nays 8.
The following morning, Mr. Watkins brought in a
further report, in which he stated that they had ad
justed the raatter satisfactorily with the Governor;
and that the committee had prepared and brought in

472 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
a bill, "embracing the several objects therein con
tained." It was objected that, by the rules of the House, no
bills of a general nature could be introduced, unless a
committee had been previously appointed for that pur
pose ; and that, as the committee in this instance were
not vested with power to introduce any bill, but merely
to confer with the Governor on the subject of his ob
jections to a bill already passed, therefore the bill
reported by this committee could not be taken up by
the House.
This objection was overruled, and the bill, entitled
" An act supplementary to an act for appropriating a
part of the unlocated territory of this State for the
payment of the late State troops, and for other purposes
therein mentioned, declaring the right to the unappro
priated territory thereof, for the protection and support
of the frontiers of this State, and for other purposes
therein mentioned," was read the first time in the
House. This was an ingenious grafting of a rejected bill,
improved, indeed, in some of its features, but stUl
greatly objectionable, upon a bill, in which the in
habitants of Georgia felt a deep interest, and for the
passage of which they were most anxious. It was a bold
policy to make the vetoed bill a rider upon an unob
jectionable bill, so that they should sink or swim to
gether. The plan produced intense exciteraent, and
threatened serious commotions.
While the new bill was pending, the " Georgia Union
Company" again addressed a letter to each branch of
the Legislature, inclosing proposals for purchasing the

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 473
whole of the territory specified in the vetoed bill,
and offering as considerations for the same, " a deposit
(by way of forfeiture) of $40,000 in bills of exchange
on Philadelphia, at double usance, with indisputable
indorsers ;" " to pay to the State the residue of the
purchase-money, amounting, in the whole, to $800,000,
on or before the first day of December next ; promis
ing to reserve 4,000,000 acres to the State, to be dis
posed of as this, or a future Legislature, shall direct;
and also to reserve 4,000,000 for the citizens them
selves." Through the influence of the agents of the other
companies, this proposition, by which so many and
greater advantages would come to the State, met with
as little favor as their former petition. The Legisla
ture, goaded on by an outside pressure not easily with
stood, Avithin three days after bringing in the new bill,
or rather the old bill slightly modified and riveted into
a previously pending one, passed the same ; the scru
ples of the too pUant Governor were overcome ; and,
on the 7th of December, the bUl received his signa
ture, and became the law of the land.
The preamble of the bUl recites, in various para
graphs, the several grounds upon which the State based
its right to the territory which it now disposes ; and
then enacts, Ist, That the State "is in fuU possession
and in the fuU exercise of the jurisdictional and terri
torial right, and the fee simple thereof," of these
western lands. 2d, It grants to James Gunn, MatthcAV
McAllister, and George Walker, and their associates,
called " The Georgia Company," &c., " all that tract or
parcel of land, including islands, situate, lying, and
being, within the following boundaries,— that is to say :

474 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
Beginning on the Mobile Bay, where the latitude 31°
north of the equator intersects the same ; running
thence up the said bay to the mouth of Lake Tensaw;
thence up Lake TensaAV to the Alabama River, in
cluding Curry's and all other islands therein ; thence
up the said River Alabama to the junction of the
Coosa and Oakfuskee Rivers ; thence up the Coosa
River above the Big Shoal, to Avhere it intersects the
latitude of 34° north of the equator; thence a due
west course to the Mississippi River ; thence down the
middle of said river to the latitude of 32° 40' ; thence
a due east course to the mouth of Tombigbee River;
thence down the middle of the said river to its junc
tion with the Alabama River ; thence down the middle
of the said river to the Mobile Bay ; thence down the
said Mobile Bay to the place of beginning," for the
sum of $250,000,— $50,000 to be deposited in the trea
sury previous to the passage of the act, and the re
maining $200,000 to be paid on or before the first day
of November next. The 3d section directs, that when-
CA'er the said company shall produce to the Governor
a receipt by the Treasurer, that they have deposited
the $50,000, then grants were to be issued, — the last
payment to be secured by a mortgage given to the
Governor on the whole of the land so granted. The
next section requires the corapany to reserve, for the
use of the citizens of Georgia, a million of acres ; and
the next directs how the subscription money shall be
received. The 6th section of the bill grants to Nicholas Long,
Thomas Glascock, Ambrose Gordon, and Thomas Cum-
ming, and their associates, called " The Georgia Mis
sissippi Company," for the sum of $155,000, " aU that

YAZOO speculations. 475
tract of country, including islands, situate, lying, and
being, Avithin the following boundaries, — that is to say :
Beginning on the River Mississippi, at the place where
the latitude of 31° 18' north of the equator intersects
the same ; thence a due east course to the middle of
Don or Tombigbee River ; thence up the middle of the
said river to where it intersects the latitude of 32° 40'
north of the equator; thence a due west course along
the Georgia Company's line to the River Mississippi ;
thence down the middle of the same to the place of
beginning. The 7th and 8th sections relate to the mortgage to
be given, and the quantity of land to be reserved by
them, viz., 620,000 acres for the use of the citizens of
Georgia. The Oth section grants to John B. Scott, John C.
Nightengale, and Wade Hampton, called " The Upper
Mississippi Company," for the sum of $35,000,— $5,000
previous deposit, — " all that tract of country, including
islands, situate, lying, and being, within the following
boundaries, — that is to say : Beginning at the Missis
sippi River, where the northern boundary line of this
State strikes the same ; thence along the said northern
boundary line due east to the Tennessee River ; thence
along the said Tennessee River to the mouth of Bear
Creek ; thence up Bear Creek to where the parallel of
latitude, twenty-five British statute miles south of the
northern boundary line of this State, intersects the
same ; thence along the said last-mentioned parallel of
latitude, across Torabigbee or Twenty Miles Creek, due
west to the Mississippi River; thence up the middle of
the said river to the beginning." This company was

476 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
nearly the same as the Virginia Yazoo Corapany, hav
ing only changed its narae.
The 10th and lltb sections regulates the raortgage
to be given, and the araount of land to be reserved.
The 12th section enacts "that all that tract of
land, including islands, situate, lying, and being, within
the following boundary lines : Beginning at the mouth
of Bear Creek, on the south side of the Tennessee
River ; thence up the said creek to the most southern
source thereof; thence due south to the latitude of 34°
10' north of the equator; thence a due east course one
hundred and twenty miles ; thence a due north course
to the Great Tennessee River; thence up the middle
of the said river to the northern boundary line of this
State; thence a due west course along the said line to
where it intersects the Great Tennessee RiA'er, below
the Mussel Shoals; thence up the said river to the
place of beginning, shall be sold unto Zachariah Cox,
Matthias Maher, and their associates, called ' The
Tennessee Company,' and to their heirs and assigns
forever, in fee simple, as tenants in common, and not
as joint tenants, for the sum of $60,000."
This company were required, by subsequent clauses
of the bill, to give their mortgage, as were the other
corapanies; to pay down as forfeit money, $12,000,
and to reserve 242,000 acres for the citizens of Georgia.
The 1 8th section requires the grantees of land to
" forbear all hostile and wanton attacks on any of the
Indian tribes; and keep the State free from all
charges and expenses which may attend the preserving
the peace between the said Indians and the grantees,
and extinguishing the Indian claims to the territory
included within their respective purchases."

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 477
The 19th section directs how the^ money arising
from these sales should be invested.
The 20th requires settlements to be made on the
lands granted, within five years from the extinguish
ment of the Indian titles by the United States.
The 2Ist section sets apart $10,000 towards the
extinguishment of these Indian titles. The 22d di
rects that none of the territory granted shall be dis
posed of to any foreign power ; and the last declares
that the remaining lands ungranted, estimated at about
seven and a half millions of acres, shall be reserved
and set apart for the benefit of this State, " to be granted
out, or otherwise disposed of as a future Legislature
may direct."
On the 26th of January, the Governor issued his
proclamation, granting the designated tract to " The
Georgia Mississippi Company;" and thus thirty-five
millions of acres were granted to these four companies
for the sum of $500,000 ; or less than two cents per
acre. It may well be supposed that such an act could not
pass without calling out earnest remonstrance and de
cided opposition. Among the earliest remonstrants
were William H. Crawford and other citizens of Colum
bia County, who, even before the biU was signed by
the Governor, presented to him a petition, praying
that his Excellency would " negative the said bill in
due form, inasmuch as we do conceive it to be bad
policy to give a grant to the company purchasing before
the full amount of the purchase-money is paid ; that if
a grant should be given, the greintees may (if they
think proper) refuse to give a mortgage; and, even if
they should, the mortgage can only be foreclosed in

478 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
that part of thef State where the territory in question
doth Ue ; and, lastly, whenever the territory is sold,
the price or value thereof would be greatly enhanced
by giving notice to all citizens."
This petition expressed the views of many citizens.
Others objected to the biU because they were thereby,
to a great extent, debarred participating in the grand
speculation of the several companies. Others, because
they held that there was no necessity so urgent as to
require this enormous sacrifice of territory; and others
still, because they saAv in the bill only the legalizing
of an immense sAvindling scheme to rob the State of
her invaluable lands for the benefit, not of her citizens
in general, but of a few bold and unscrupulous specu
lators, who were willing to advance their own fortunes
upon the ruin and dishonor of the State.
The people, so soon as they heard of the passage of
this bill, and began to discuss its merits, and under
stand its provisions, were aroused to a sense of the
great injury Avhich had been done to their own inte
rests; and, as there was developed to thera, step by
step, the various means, and bribes, and machinations,
which were set to work to bring over, or buy over, the
several members of the Legislature, to vote for these
measures, their indignation rose higher and higher, and
vented itself in presentments of grand juries, in violent
newspaper warfare, in stinging personal invective and
insult, in threats of corporal violence, and in scenes of
actual bloodshed and death.
The whole State was heaAdng with excitement. The
bribery which had been so openly used by men high
in office, on the Bench, at the Bar, in the Senate ; and
the corruption, intrigue, intimidation and violence

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 479
which had been employed to gain over the Legislature
to the plans of the speculators, constitute a dark page
in the political history of Georgia. One of the most
zealous advocates of this scheme was Jaraes Gunn.
This man, who had risen from alraost obscurity to
power, by truckling to the vulgar tastes of the popu
lace, and by some show of military genius ; was at
the period of which we write, a Senator of Georgia in
Congress, and his presence there was needed to guard
the interests of the State. Yet, sacrificing all public
considerations to private advantage, he remained in
Georgia; repaired to Augusta; and, by his influence
and efforts, at once overbearing and unscrupulous, he
becarae the main manager of this nefarious business.
Having secured the passage of the bill, he then re
paired to Congress, which he reached only the last day
of February, four days before the constitutional close
of the session ; and there sought to carry out his
Georgia schemes, by involving the General Govern
ment also in these questionable transactions.
The other Senator from Georgia was General James
Jackson. This gentleman had been urged to take
shares in some of these companies, and was told that
" he might have any number of acres he pleased, to
half a million, without paying a cent, provided he
would put his name to the application."
But he firmly opposed these offers, and told the pro
posers, " that he, not they, had fought for Georgia, and
the right to that territory; that he fought for the
people, and it was their right, and the right of future
generations ; and, if they did succeed, he should hold
the sale void, and would resign his seat in the Senate,

480 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
come home, and head his fellow-citizens, and either
lose his life or have the act annulled."
Having made an ineffectual attempt to return to
Georgia in time to take part in the Convention for the
revision of the Constitution, which was to take place
in May ; he yet exerted his pen in behalf of the oppo
nents of a scheme which he had declared, in the Senate
of the United States, to be " a conspiracy of the darkest
character and of deliberate villany." He immediately
began a series of articles, which he published over the
signature of " Scillius," and, in eleven numbers, he
examined " the policy, the legality, and the constitu
tionality of the enormous western grant, — a grant of
land to a few individuals, containing more square miles
than either of the German principalities, and of greater
extent than sorae European kingdoms." These letters,
which calmly and learnedly reviewed the whole pro
ceedings, discussed all the constitutional questions
involved, and showed the practical operation of the
bill, had a great influence in directing and settling the
opinions of the people, and enlightening them as to
the real points at issue.
When the two Senators returned to Georgia, Gunn
was regarded Avith indignation. He was in several
places burned in effigy; and, in many parts of the
country, did not dare to appear in public. But
General Jackson was received with marks of public
approbation ; and all eyes turned to him as the leader
who could best retrieve the error into which the State
had been led, and redress the grievances under which
it was burdened.
Yielding, therefore, to the solicitations of the friends
of peace and equity, and more anxious to serve his

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 431
country than to occupy its high offices, he consented,
at the request of the best citizens in Chatham County,
to resign his seat in the United States Senate, and
accept. a nomination as Representative for that county
in the next State Legislature. He was elected and
took his seat. The Legislature met on the second
Tuesday in January, 1706 ; and, on the 14th, Governor
Matthews^ sent to both branches a message, in which
he thus speaks of this transaction : " The Senate and
House of Representatives are now constitutionally con
vened for legislative deliberations ; and at a time, too,
when the minds of our fellow-citizens are, and have
been, for some time past, more engaged in discussing
the conduct of the last Legislature, on the subject of
the act for disposing of part of our western territory
to certain companies, than perhaps has ever been ex
perienced since this State assumed rank with her sister
States. It will, no doubt, be amongst the most im
portant matters that may engross your attention, to
inquire on what ground this act was founded, and if a
constitutional and legal remedy can be applied to calm
the minds of our fellow-citizens on this interesting sub
ject. In my opinion, it requires, and, I flatter myself,
will receive your most serious deliberation, whether a
law can be constitutionally made to repeal another
that has been so fully carried into effect as the one
now in question, — the companies having paid into the
treasury the whole of the purchase-money, and can
celled their mortgages ; and whether, if repealed, the
remedy may not be even worse than the disease. But,
if a law can be devised that wiU constitutionally repeal
the one referred to, and guard against future murraurs
and well-grounded complaints against the repeal, I have
VOL. II. 31

482 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
no doubt but the man you may honor with the appoint
ment of Chief Magistrate will readily deem it a duty
cheerfully to co-operate.
" It is a matter much to be regretted (considering
the unfavorable light the act for disposing of our west
ern territory has been viewed in) that the spirit of
party resentment and personal reflection should have
run so high in many instances. The public mind has
been inflamed by unfair representations, and our news
papers have teeraed with personal abuse and invective.
This, I remark, from having experienced the public
slander. Endeavors have been made to calumniate
my character by false reports, such as — ' that the
motives which induced me to give ray assent to the
second act proceeded from private interest, regardless
of the sacred duty I owed to the station I filled, and
the rights and interest of my fellow- citizens.' Con
scious of the purity of my intentions, and supported
by the justice and integrity of my actions, I have
treated with silent contempt those base and raalicious
reports ; and I now defy the blackest and most perse
vering malice, aided by disappointed avarice, to pro
duce one single evidence of my ever having been inte
rested in the sale to the amount of one single farthing.
But, whilst I treated with neglect those reports so
injurious to my character, I feel it a respect due to
you, and a duty I owe to ray reputation, to give you
a candid and fair representation of the motives which
actuated me on a subject which has so much disturbed
the citizens of Georgia.
"On the 25th day of December, 1704, an act for
disposing of a part of our Avestern territory to four
corapanies Avas presented to me for my concurrence.

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 483
After the most mature reflection my judgment was
capable of, I thought it my duty to refuse my assent,
and assigned my reasons, which, I fiattered myself,
would have postponed any further legislative proceed
ings in the law until the next meeting of the House ;
but, in that, I was mistaken. The first idea that oc
curred to some of the members, when the bill was
returned with remarks was, that I should be impeached
for an unconstitutional act ; yet, the more cool reflec
tion of the House terminated in appointing a commit
tee to confer with me on ray objections, and to know
if it Avas in the power of the Legislature to frame a bill
for the sale of the lands which would meet my concur
rence. On the conference, I was led to believe, that
the committee Avas convinced that my reasons for
rejecting the law did not proceed from Executive arro
gance, or from any wish to bring into action a power
heretofore dormant in our proceedings, or from a pro
pensity in me to do an act of so great a responsibility,
but from a conviction that it would tend to the real
interest of the State. The reflecting mind will easily
perceive how much the responsibiUty would be en
hanced by rejecting a bill that the Legislature might
pass for the sale of the lands after being in possession
of my remarks, even supposing it to be similar to the
first. But, when it appears that three of the most
important objections I had made to the first law were
removed, I think there is no man of cool, dispassionate
reflection, that would have refused his assent to it for
any reasons short of a clear proof of corruption in its
passage through the Legislature, and no such informa
tion ever came to my knowledge. After all the popular
clamor this law has occasioned, I should depart from

484 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
my usual candor to say I have ever blamed myself,
either for an error of the head or a corruption in the
heart ; and, on a similar occasion, should feel myself
perfectly justified in pursuing a similar conduct. Much
has been said about unascertained millions of acres
being sold, and that more than fifty millions of acres
are disposed of to the companies by that act. After
having thought it my duty to act on the second bill, I
ordered the Surveyor-General to furnish me with as
accurate a map of the country contemplated to be sold
that any documents he had or could procure would
afford. This was done, and is now on the file of the
Executive ; from which, it will appear, there were no
more than twenty-nine million four hundred thousand
acres in the whole aggregate tract that the first law
had in view, and one-fourth of that quantity is now
reserved to the State, and subject to her disposition.
This is a true state of facts, so far as they have come
to my knowledge ; and, if it may afford you any useful
hints in your deliberations, it will give rae pleasure.
" The time for which I was appointed Governor
having now expired, I have to request that, should an
opinion prevail in the Legislature, that the duties of
that important office have been improperly conducted,
a comraittee raay be appointed to examine the pro
ceedings had therein."
The committee, which the Governor suggested, was
not appointed. His term of office had expired, and he
had sealed his political fate by signing the obnoxious
biU. Jared Irwin was elected to succeed Governor Mat
thews, and the Legislature at once proceeded to the
important work intrusted to them. So thorough had

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 435
been the change in the pubUc mind as to the measures
pursued by the last Assembly, that nearly every mem
ber, returned by the several counties, was pledged to
vote for the repeal of the obnoxious act ; and not only
so, but most of the counties held public meetings on
the subject, and sent instructions to their representa
tives to use all means to annul the act ; and petitions,
remonstrances, resolutions, and presentments, against
it, were sent in from all parts of the State, and were
piled upon the Secretary's table.
On the 15th of January, a large number of petitions
which had been sent in to the Convention for altering
the Constitution, which sat in May previous, and which
were by that body referred to the Legislature, were, by
order of the House, laid before it ; and also other peti
tions, from the counties of Hancock, Greene, Burke,
Chatham, Effingham, Scriven, Washington, Camden,
Warren, Franklin, Bryan, Columbia, Mcintosh, Ogle
thorpe, together with the presentments of the grand
juries of Liberty and Burke, were presented and read.
Whereupon it was " Resolved, That a committee, con
sisting of nine members, be appointed to examine and
report to this House, respecting the validity and con
stitutionality of the said act, who shall have power to
call for such persons, papers, and documents, as may
be likely to give information relative thereto." " Re
solved, That the petitions, remonstrances, and present
ments, addressed to the late Convention and present
Legislature, on that subject, be referred to them."
This committee were appointed by ballot, and con
sisted of General James Jackson, WiUiara Few, James
Jones, John Moore, David B. Mitchell, James H. Ru-

486 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
therford, David Emanuel,  Frazier, and George
Franklin. This committee entered upon their duties with
promptness and energy. They met, indeed, Avith
many obstacles, and were threatened Avith violence by
the enraged advocates of the supplementary bill ; but
they were not the men to be intimidated by the threats
of assassins, or turned aside from their duty by the
impotent rage of those whose iniquities were recoiling
upon their own heads.
On the 22d of January, General Jackson, from the
committee, reported, " that they have had the same
under their serious consideration, and lament that they
are compelled to declare, that the fraud, corruption,
and collusion, by which the said act was obtained, and
the unconstitutionality of the same, evinces the utmost
depravity in the majority of the late Legislature."
" It appears to your committee, that the public good
was placed entirely out of view, and private interest
alone consulted ; that the rights of the present gene
ration were violated, and the rights of posterity bar
tered, by the said act ; and that by it, the bounds of
equal rights were broken down, and the principles of
aristocracy estabUshed in their stead. The committee
(whilst they thus with shame and confusion acknow
ledge that such a Legislature, intrusted with the rights
of their constituents, should have existed in Georgia),
cannot, however, forbear to congratulate the present
Legislature and the coramunity at large, that there are
sufficient grounds, as well with respect to the uncon
stitutionality of the act, as from the testimony before
the committee, of the fraud practised to obtain it, to
pronounce, that the same is a nullity in itself, and not

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 487
binding or obligatory on the people of this State : and
they flatter themselves that a declaration to that effect,
by a legislative act, wiU check that rapacious and ava
ricious spirit of speculation which has in this State
overleaped all decent bounds, and which, if it were to
continue, would totally annihilate morality and good
faith from among the citizens of the State. The com
mittee, for this purpose, beg leave to report, ' An Act
for declaring the said usurped act void, and for ex
punging the same from the face of the pablic record ;
and they also herewith report testiraony taken be
fore them, on the subject of the fraud practised to
obtain it."
The bill was then introduced and read the first tirae.
In its progress through the House and Senate, it under
went ranch discussion and some modification ; but it
finally passed, by a vote of forty-four to three, in the
House, and of fourteen to four, in the Senate, and Avas
concurred in by the Governor, on the 13th of Febru
ary, 1706.
This act, commonly called " The Rescinding Act,"
was drawn up by General Jackson, and displays marked
ability in the discussion of the great constitutional
questions to which it relates. The preamble declares,
that " the free citizens of this State, or in other words,
the community thereof, are essentially the source of
the sovereignty of the State; and that no individual,
or body of men, can be entitled to, or vested with, any
authority which is not expressly derived from that
source ; and the exercise or assumption of powers not
so derived, become, of theraselves, oppression and
usurpation, which it is the right and duty of the
people, in their representatives, to resist, and to re-

488 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
store the rights of the community so usurped and in
fringed. " That the will or constitution of the people is the
only foundation of the legislative power or government
thereof; and so far as that will or constitution ex
pressly warrants, the Legislature may go, but no far
ther; and all constructive powers, not necessarily de
duced from that expressed will, are violations of that
essential source of sovereignty and the rights of the
citizens, and-are therefore of no binding force or effect
on the State, but null and void."
The act then states, that " the last Legislature, not
confining itself to the powers with which that body
was constitutionally invested, did usurp a power to
pass the obnoxious act, contrary to constitutional au
thority and repugnant to the deraocratical form of
government of the State. That the act is repugnant
to the 4th section, 4th article of the Constitution of the
United States, and to the 16th section of the 1st article
of the Constitution of this State ; that it was a virtual
transfer of the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the
State over the territory disposed of; that there was no
necessity or pressing urgency for the sale of such an
immense tract; and that it exposed the State to a
great loss of revenue from the relinquishment of taxa
tion." The bill then recites, in a clear and succinct
manner, the ground on which Georgia bases its right
to the western territory; and states, that "the same
and every part thereof is hereby declared to be vested
in the State and people thereof, and inalienable but
by a convention called by the people for that express
purpose, or by some clause of power expressed by the
people, delegating such express power to the Legisla
ture, in the Constitution."

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 439
It then proceeds to state, that fraud had been prac
tised to obtain this bill; and the evidences of such
fraud, establishing thereby cause which "would be
sufficient in equity, reason, and law, to invalidate the
contract, even supposing it to be constitutional, which
this Legislature declares it is not." Having in this
long preamble laid down the principles on which the
act was based, the bill declares — Be it therefore enacted,
Ist. That the act of the 7th January, 1705, entitled
" An Act supplementary," &c., " be, and the same is
hereby, declared null and void," &c.
The 2d enacting clause orders this act to " be ex
punged from the face and indexes of the books of
record of the State ; and the enrolled law or usurped
act shall then be publicly burnt, in order that no trace
of so unconstitutional, vile, and fraudulent a transac
tion, other than the infamy attached to it by this law,
shall remain in the offices thereof"
The 3d clause directs that none of the laws, grants,
deeds, agreements, &c., respecting any contracts under
that law, shall be admitted as evidence in any court of
law or equity, to establish a title to the said territory.
The 4th section requires the return to the compa
nies of the money which may have been paid by them
into the treasury.
The 5th asserts, that the right of applying for, and
the extinguishment of, Indian claims to any land within
the boundaries of this State, as herein described, being
a sovereign right, is hereby further declared to be
vested in the people and government of this State, to
whom the right of pre-emption of the same belongs.
The last clause requires that this law be promul
gated by the Governor throughout the United States,

490 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
"in order to prevent frauds on individuals, as far as
the nature of the case will admit."
On the 25th of January, General Jackson, as chair-
raan of the Investigating Coramittee, reported to the
House sundry affidavits, " on the corruptions practised
to obtain the act ;" and by a resolution of the House,
" all such proofs relating to the fraud and corruptions
practised to obtain the act for the disposal of the
western territory," were to be entered on the Journals
of the House, " in order that the testimony so given
may be perpetuated, as well for the satisfaction of the
Legislature, and to show the grounds on which they
proceeded, as to hand down to future Legislatures the
base means by which the rights of the people were at
tempted to be bartered." Accordingly, some twenty
affidavits, showing more or less fraud, were spread on
the Journals. It is not necessary, however, to repro
duce any of them here. It can serve no good end to
parade before the public now, the names of men who
in times of intense political strife were held up to ig
nominy and reproach, especially as many of the per
sons thus branded were subsequently received into
public favor, — one having been since the act elected
President of the Senate ; four, merabers of the Senate ;
four raore, members of the House ; two, elevated to the
bench, as judges; one, raade a justice of the peace;
and one appointed a trustee of the University of
Georgia. There were circumstances, both inculpatory
and exculpatory, which, had they been known at the
time, would have added to that catalogue names which
now are esteemed spotless, and which would have re
moved from it names which now are branded with
legislative condemnation.

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 491
Two days after the act was concurred in by the Go
vernor, both branches of the Legislature adopted a
report, presented by the committee to whom was refer
red the mode by which the records were to be ex
punged of all traces of the usurped act, and the act
itself burned, — suggesting " that, where it can possibly
be executed without injury to other records, the same
shall be expunged from the book of records, by cutting
out the leaves of the book wherein the sarae may have
been recorded ; a memorandum thereof, expressing tbe
number of pages so expunged, to be signed by the Pre
sident of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and to be countersigned by the Secre
tary and Clerk, — which memorandum shall be inserted
in the room or place of such expunged pages, in such
manner as the President and Speaker may direct.
That where records and documents are distinct and
separate from other records, the same being of record,
shall be expunged by being burnt. That the enrolled
bill, and usurped act, passed on the 7th day of Janu
ary, 1705, shall, in obedience to the act of the present
session, be burnt in the square, before the State House,
in the manner following : A fire shall be made in front
of the State House door, and a Une to be formed by
the members of both branches around the same. The
Secretary of State (or his deputy), with the commit
tee, shall then produce the enrolled biU and usurped
act from among the archives of the State, and deliver
the same to the President of the Senate, who shall
examine the same, and shall then deliver the same to
the Speaker of the House of Representatives for like
examination ; and the Speaker shaU then deUver them
to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who

492 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
shall read aloud the title of the sarae, and shall then
deliver them to the Messenger of the House, who shall
then pronounce — ' God save the State ! and long
PRESERVE HER RIGHTS I ! AND MAY EVERY ATTEMPT TO
INJURE THEM PERISH AS THESE CORRUPT ACTS NOW DO! ! !'"
In conformity with this programrae, the House of
Representatives, the same day, sent a message to the
Senate, informing that body that they were ready to
receive them in the Representatives' Hall, in order to
proceed to the duty prescribed. The Senate proceeded
to the Hall, and there joining the Representatives,
marched in procession to the spot selected, preceded
by the comraittee bearing the proscribed bills in their
hands. When they reached the spot where the fire
was kindled, the committee delivered the acts to the
President of the Senate. That officer handed them to
the Speaker of the House, by whom they were passed
into the hands of the Clerk, who gave them to the
Messenger, — Avho, uttering the prescribed words, laid
them on the fire, and the Legislature stood in solemn
circle around until the documents were burned to
ashes. Tradition states that the raore enthusiastic friends of
the rescinding bill resolved that the usurped act should
not be burned by common fire ; and, therefore, with a
sun-glass, one of thera drew down fire from heaven and
kindled the funeral pile of the condemned documents,
which were thus consumed as by the burning rays of
the lidless eye of Justice. No authentic document of
the day alludes to such a method of kindling the fire,
though it is not impossible, in the ardor of the mo
ment, that such may have been the fact.
The scene, aside from such a romantic circumstance,

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 493
was sufficiently striking and impressive. The sudden
revolution in public opinion in one year, by which the
citizens so changed their views upon the subject of the
western territory, was a marvellous reaction in the
popular mind. The passing of such an act, rescinding
and nullifying the doings of a previous Legislature by
so large a majority (almost unanimous), in the face of
obstacles and dangers so numerous, was still more
astounding as an index of the people's will. The ex
punging from the records of the State the acts and
doings pertaining to the bill for disposing of the west
ern territory, was a higher manifestation of feeling
than had ever been known to exist in Georgia before,
and one Avhich had rarely been done in any legislative
assembly ; but, the ordering of these documents to be
burned, the legislative procession, the formal delivery
of them frora the archives of the State, through its high
officers to the humblest servant of the Representatives,
the solemn appeal to God, as the papers were laid upon
the fire, and the stillness which marked the few minutes
which it required to consume them, was a spectacle
not only never beheld in Georgia before, but unknown
to any Assembly on this continent ; and it indicated,
as nothing else could, the intense sense of indignation
at the dishonor cast upon the State, and the equally
intense desire to burn out the infamy ; purifying, as
by fire, the archives of the State from such fraud-be
gotten records.
It was a scene worthy to employ the pencil of some
gifted artist ; and a picture that should, as far as pos
sible, reproduce the old State House and its surround
ings; the features and dresses of the men of those
times; the circle just formed around the kindling fire.

494 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
and the Messenger in the act of uttering the words, —
God save the State ! as, lifting up the acts on high, he
is about to lay them upon the blazing fire, — would
grace, with peculiar propriety, the hall of legislation^ —
telling to the eyes of future generations, what history
tells to the mind, how nobly Georgia, though for a
moment overborne by intrigue and deception, threw
off the odium, and purged herself of the infamy of the
usurping act.
The people of Georgia were prepared for the passage
of the rescinding bill, and hailed its signature by the
Governor with every demonstration of joy. Not so,
however, the several companies, whose rights were
thereby revoked, and whose claims summarily re
jected. The news of the rescinding act was to them
an astounding raeasure. Sorae of the companies had
disposed of parts of their lands to other companies at
a great advance on their purchase. The lands them
selves had become suddenly enhanced in value, by
reason of the Spanish treaty, which confirraed the ter
ritory, unraolested by the authority of the King of
Spain, to Georgia ; and the New England Mississippi
Corapany, made up of many reliable and excellent
men, had already invested large sums in the grants
which had been issued.
All persons thus interested viewed the act with dis
may. The friends of the former bills were loud in
denouncing it as a fraud, overtopping even their own
so-called fraudulent act; and it excited intense ani
mosity and bitterness throughout the Union. Several
pamphlets were Avritten on both sides; suits at law
were entered in various courts; appeals to Government
were sent in frora different quarters; and the cohtro-

YAZOO SPECULATIONS. 495
versy between the companies and Georgia was main
tained for several years. It is not necessary to follow
the results of this annulling act through all its tortu
osities in law and equity ; or to repeat the objections
Avhich were made against its validity and binding
force. Suffice it to say that the question was sifted
to its very foundation. The testimony and pro
ceedings of the two Legislatures Avere scrutinized Avith
an analytical skill that brought every fact to the cru
cible ; yet, after all the war of opinions, and the clash
of interests, and the thunder of volleying pamphlets,
and the crimination and recrimination of individuals ;
the well-grounded and sober judgment of the people
has settled down into the opinion that the act of '95
was an abuse of legislative authority, and a wasteful
and shameful surrender of territorial rights ; and that
the act of '96 was necessary, as a self-protecting law,
to bring back alienated territory, to efface public in
famy, to settle the great question of constitutional
rights, and to vindicate ancAv the title of Georgia to
her western territory.
In March, 1798, the subject having been brought
before Congress, a bill, entitled, " An act for an ami
cable settlement of limits with the State of Georgia,
and authorizing the establishment of a government in
the Mississippi territory," was passed, empowering the
President " to appoint three commissioners, — any two
of whoih shall have power to adjust and determine,
with such commissioners as may be appointed under
the legislative authority of the State of Georgia, all
interfering claims of the United States and that State
to territory situate west of the Chattahoochee, north
of the 3}.° of north latitude, and south of the cession

496 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
made to the United States by South Carolina. And
also to obtain and accept, through said comraissioners,
or otherwise, a relinquishment or cession of the whole,
or any part of the territory, both as to jurisdiction and
soil claimed by or under the State of Georgia, and out
of the ordinary jurisdiction of the same."
After various modifications of this bill, commis
sioners were appointed by the United States and
Georgia, — those for the United States being James
Madison, Albert Gallatin, and Levi Lincoln, — and
those for the State of Georgia being James Jackson,
John Milledge, and Abram Baldwin. These com
missioners, after careful and deliberate conference,
entered into a convention, or agreement, which Mr.
Jefferson, the President, laid before Congress, on the
26th of April, 1802. Agreeably to this convention,
Georgia ceded most of her western territory to the
United States for the sum of $1,250,000, — Congress
agreeing to confirm the titles of all actual settlers
within the ceded territory who Avere there prior to
October, 1705 ; agreeing, also, to extinguish for Georgia
the Indian title to the country between the Alatamaha
and the St. Mary's, and all other lands in Georgia.
Congress approved these measures, the cession was
made, and thenceforth the contest of claimants was
transferred from Georgia to the Federal Government;
and there it remained for many years before a final
disposition of the whole subject was made by Congress
in 1814.

CHAPTER VL
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1708, AND CONCLUSION.
In accordance with the 4th Article of the Amend
ment of the Constitution, established at Louisville, in
May, 1795, there were elected, in the year 1797, three
persons from each county to form " a Convention for
the purpose of taking into consideration the further
alterations and amendments necessary to be made in
the Constitution."
Before the meeting of that Convention, the term of
office of Governor Irwin had expired; and James
Jackson was, on the I2th January, 1798, a second
time elected to the Executive Chair. This honor he
did not, as in 1788, feel at liberty to decUne, and he
was accordingly inaugurated into his high, office.
Considering the prominent part which General Jack
son had acted in opposition to the Yazoo sale, — being
regarded by all parties as the principal person in crush
ing these gigantic monopolies, — this election displayed
at once the opinions of the people as to the measures
which he had introduced, and their confidence in him
personally. The Speaker of the House, in communicating to
him the fact of his election, said, " Your appointment
VOL. IL 32

498 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
by a large majority of the House, evinces the great
confidence which the representatives of the people re
pose in you. The critical posture of our affairs ren
ders it peculiarly necessary that the Chief Magistracy
of this State should be filled by a person of experience
and approved patriotism. Your repeated exertions in
the service of your country, leave no -room to doubt
that you will accept the office which has been thus
honorably donferred upon you ; and that you will dis
charge the duties of this important trust in such a
manner as shall give general satisfaction."
Governor Jackson entered upon his duties with zeal,
intelligence, and patriotism. He found many ques
tions to be decided, Avhich demanded all his wisdom ;
many concurring events which it required great pru
dence and energy to control ; and difficulties to be ad
justed with the General Government, the State of
South Carolina, and the Indian tribes, which taxed the
powers of his statesmanship ; but in each he maintained
the honor of Georgia, and his own official dignity.
Many of the questions which then largely occupied
the pubUc mind, were local and temporary, and are of
but little historical value : such as depredations com
mitted by the Indians; difficulties connected with run
ning the Indian line; troubles incident to the Yazoo
and Rescinding Acts ; the settlement of a proper miUtia
system ; the apportionment of representatives ; and the
raising and investment of State funds.
The subject which rose in importance above all the
others, was, the evident necessity for a new Constitu
tion for the State. Experience had shown some serious
defects in the Constitution of 1789, which the Conven
tion at Louisville, in 1795, Avas not able to remove, on

CONSTITUTION OF 1798. 499
account of the intense excitement occasioned by the
recent passage of the Act for the disposal of the West
ern Territory.
That Com^ention, therefore, in. their troubled and
hasty session, made but few amendments to the Con
stitution, and left the instrument to the calmer and
wiser, deliberation of the Convention Avhich had been
elected to meet in 1798.
Much of the excitement, which prevented sober ac
tion in 1795, had passed away; and the people, and
their representatives, were prepared to act with true
energy and discretion. The delegates elected to Con
vention, met in Louisville, on Tuesday, the 8th of May,
and twenty-one counties were represented by fifty-six
members. Jared Irwin, the late Governor, who had
signed the Rescinding Act, was elected by ballot Pre
sident, and James M. Simmons, Secretary.
After appointing a comraittee, " to prepare and re
port such rules as raay be necessary for the good order
and government of the Convention," and resolving that
it would attend Divine service the next day, " at 11
o'clock, in conformity to the Proclamation of the Pre
sident of the United States," the Convention adjourned
tUl Thursday. On Thursday two more counties were
represented, and a code of rules was adopted for the
government of the body.
On Friday, Ilth of May, the Convention resolved
to take into consideration the Constitution and amend
ments, section by section ; and on Monday following,
resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole upon it;
and in this way they sat, day by day, until the 30th
of May. Some of the more important sections were
referred to committees, to examine and report; all

500 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
propositions, however, were first discussed in commit
tee of the whole, and then reported to the Convention,
which took final action upon them. As the several
parts of the Constitution were not passed in the order
in which they are now arranged, a comraittee, of
which Mr. Powell was chairman, was appointed to ar
range the different sections under the proper articles ;
which, being done, and the same being engrossed upon
six pages of parchment, Avas read, article by article,
and then signed, the merabers being called upon to
sign by counties. It was signed by all, except General
Gunn, of Camden, and Colonel Thomas Glascock, of
Richmond, who asked and received leave to decline
signing, because by the 23d Section of Article I, the
State claimed and reasserted its right of possession and
jurisdiction over territory which they claimed as
grantees under the usurped act of 1795.
A comraittee was then appointed, consisting of James
Cochran, of Liberty, Jesse Mercer, of Wilkes, and John
Morrison, of Burke, to have the great seal of the State
affixed to the instrument, and to have the sarae depo
sited in the office of the Secretary of State. This being
done, after voting the thanks of the Convention to
the presiding officer, Ex-Governor IrAvin, the body ad
journed sine die.
The signing of the Constitution was announced to
the public by the discharge of sixteen rounds of artil
lery; and the people everywhere received it with
peculiar joy.
It is not necessary to analyze this Constitution, but
it is proper to state, that, while it took as its basis, the
Constitution of 1789, with the amendments of 1795,
it is yet an independent structure, erected by the able

CONSTITUTION OF 1798. 501
hands, to whom was intrusted by the State the diffi
cult, yet honorable task.
The principal actors in the Convention were James
Powell, of Liberty, the Chairman of the Committee of
the Whole House ; James Jones, and Dr. George
Jones, of Chatham ; General Jackson, then also occu
pying the Governor's chair; Peter J. Carnes, of Jeffer
son ; Rev. Jesse Mercer, of Wilkes ; Robert Watkins,
of Richmond ; Benjamin Taliaferro, of Wilkes ; James
Cochran, of Liberty ; Jonas Fouche, of Green ; Wil
liam Stith, Jr., of Warren ; William Barnett, of El
bert. Each of these gentlemen has the honor of
having framed one or more sections of the Constitution.
That defining the territorial boundaries and declar
ing the contemplated purchases or sales of the Western
Companies " constitutionally void ;" as also the 1st
Section of the 3d Article, defining and establishing
the Judiciary, were written by General Jackson. The
Article on the Executive power, Avas the production of
Mr. James Jones.
That requiring self-purgation of all fraudulent at
tempts to secure election, to be made by Senators and
Representatives, was by Mr. Robert Watkins.
That calUng for a Digest of all State Laws and Or
dinances, within five years, was proposed by Mr. Jonas
Fouche. That respecting freedom of the press, and
trial by jury, honesty in office-holders, and security for
honest debtors ; and that for the promotion of the arts
and sciences, were suggested by Dr. George Jones.
That prohibiting any further importation of slaves, was
penned by Mr. Carnes ; and that securing Uberty of
conscience, in matters of religion, was written by the
Rev. Jesse Mercer.

502 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
To borrow the words of one of the most eminent
jurists of Georgia, " The experience of sixty years has
demonstrated the wisdom of the Constitution of '98.
It has undergone but few changes, and these were
rendered necessary by the changes in the condition of
the country.'" The great principles enunciated in that
state paper are still preserved ; and that Constitution,
and the Judiciary Act of 1799, which was the fitting
compleraent of the former, will long remain to evince
the poUtical sagacity, the judicial Avisdom, and the
elevated statesmanship of those Georgians who framed
these meraorable instruments.
Thus has been briefly traced the history of Georgia,
from its discovery by Europeans to the adoption of the
Constitution of 1798. This period seems to be a natu
ral terminus for the labors of the historian.
The events since that day are too closely interwoven
with the transactions of more recent legislation, or too
immature in their results, or too ranch connected
with the statesmen of the present generation, to be
ripe for the historic harvest.
The pathway along which we have travelled, in
tracing this history, has been a devious one, but
exceedingly interesting and instructive. It has led
us into the far past, among French chieftains and
Spanish hidalgoes ; amid virgin forests and Indian
tribes; now we have passed the prisons of the unfortu
nate debtors in London, or the homes of the persecuted
Protestants of Salzburg ; and now we have journeyed
with thera over the stormy ocean, landing with them
on the bluff of Yamacraw, and following them in their
' Letter from Hon. Joseph Henry Lumpkin.

CONCLUSION. 503
new homes in the colony, which mercy erected on these
shores, that the poor and the unfortunate might find
rest and peace.
The history of Georgia is the record of striking
providences. The colony, based upon one of the great
principles of Christianity, has been signally preserved
amidst aU vicissitudes ; and though at tiraes on the
verge of ruin, has yet, by the interposing hand of God,
been relieved, restored, and lifted up to its present high
position. We have seen the nursling of Charity becorae the
foster-child of Royalty, and though chastened in youth
by the scourge of war, for its leanings to liberty, we
behold it at last standing erect and free in the man
hood of an independent State.
These changes in its corporate and political life,
have been marked by events of deep interest, and of
lasting importance ; and the attempt has been made
to arrange them in such a manner, and portray them in
such colors as shall best develope the inner and outer
life of the State, and give it a truthful and enduring
biography. Once freed from Parliamentary shackles,
the ravages of war, the depredations of Indian tribes,
the intestine strifes consequent on imperfect legis
lation, and the conflicting interests of a people not
yet fused into one homogeneous body politic, the
young State rose gradually in all the elements of na
tional growth and prosperity. In proportion to its age
and its population, it has furnished as staunch defen
ders of liberty, as distinguished soldiers in the field, as
learned jurists on the bench, as eminent statesmen in
Congress, as valuable members of the cabinet, as judi
cious ministers at foreign courts, and as patriotic citi
zens, as any colony of the Old Thirteen.

504 GEORGIA AN INDEPENDENT STATE.
In Commerce, Georgia takes rank among the States
which employ the largest amount of tonnage. In Agri
culture, but few exceed her in the variety and value of
her productions. In Manufactures, she is fast rising to
eminence in the number of her mills and spindles. In
Mining, she has nearly all the imbedded elements of
mineral wealth. In Educational efforts, she has shown
remarkable zeal and diligence in multiplying her Col
leges, Academies, and Schools. In religious privileges,
there are but seven States which can show a larger
number of church buildings and accommodations. In
the industry and intelligence of her people, she has
but few rivals.
In the good order of her internal government, in the
law-abiding character of her citizens, in the freedom
from those more shocking crimes which blot the fair
fame of many other States, she presents herself for
high comraendation.
In the surgings of political opinion, which have
unsettled for a time, other States, Georgia has held
true to the Constitution. In the convulsions which
have threatened sectional ruptures, Georgia has been
ever on the side of Union. Her weight in the politi
cal scale has been fully recognized, and her position
as a power-wielding State has been acknowledged by
Executive favor and Congressional influence.
Such is her present position. God has bestowed
upon her a territory, which for situation, fertility, and
beauty, is unsurpassed. With an extended line of
sea-coast, along the outside of which stand so many
island-sentinels, from the Savannah to the St. Mary's,
she is destined to possess a yet greater commerce than
now fills her ports.

CONCLUSION. 505
With noble rivers, which give her a water-power
rarely equalled, she wiU be enabled to increase her
inland tonnage and her busy factories to an almost
unlimited extent. With a cUmate ranging frora the
cold of the Alleghanies to the tropical heats of Florida,
her soil easily brings forth the cereal grains of the
North, the products of the Middle States, and the great
staples of the South.
With a population rapidly increasing, her waste
places will soon be filled with a busy yeoraanry, and
her mines and workshops with industrious artisans.
Her lines of railroads covering, with their iron tra
cery nearly every section of the State, Avill rapidly de
velope her mineral resources, her agricultural wealth,
and her mechanical products. Her system of comraon
schools, projected and soon to be introduced, which
shall make it possible to give to every one the bene
fits of a common learning, will make her children edu
cated and enlightened. And above all this, and better
than all this, with the legend of her Great Seal,
"Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation," as her guiding
motto; and with the srailes and protection of God,
through whose favor the Colony was planted, and by
whose care it has reached its maturity — Georgia shall
more than realize the dreams of its founders, in all
that gives to a State true greatness, and enduring
glory.

INDEX.

ABI31C0KN, 186-319.
Acton ; list of members of the Provincial
Consrcss of 1775, from the district of, 105,
319.
Acts of .\ssembly, affirmed by Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 293.
Acts of Attainder, 385, 386, 388, 389.
Adams, Mr. ; prediction of, 142.
Address of the General Assembly to the King
on the repeal of the Stamp Act, 61, 52. Of
the Commons' House to the King, 66, 67. Of
the Council of Safety to President Bulloch,
295,296.
Admiralty Courts, 113.
Agnus, Mr., Stamp distributor ; arrival of, 46.
Takes the oath, and leaves SavauuEih, 46.
Alabama, fort, intrigues of the French at, 18.
Removal of French rule from, 26.
Alatamaha, the, 19, 29, 30, 56, 154, 163, 276,
276, 277, 459, 460, 461, 496.
Allen, Rev. Moses j treatment of, 183.
"American Declaration," adopted and ap
proved, 108.
"American Treaty," between England and
Spain, 488.
Anderson, Colonel Robert, 413.
Andrews, Benjamin, member and president of
the Executive Council, 301.
Andros, Sir Edmund ; attempts at taxation by,
37.
Arbuthnot, Admiral, 240.
Armstrong, Colonel, regiment, 387.
Articles of Capitulation at Siege of Augusta,
264-267. Of Confederation and Perpetual
Union, 365, 462. Revision of, 386.
Ash, General; defeat of, at Brier Creek, 194-
197. Remarks upon the conduct of, 187,
198.
Assemblies, circular letter addressed by Massa
chusetts to the provincial, 62, 63.
Assembly of 1760, 19. Of 1761, 19, 20. Chief
Justice Grover's intrigues with, 23. Pro
ceedings of Commons' Ilouse of, 41, 42.
Governor Wright's address to, 49, 50. Pro
ceedings of, 58, 59. Punishment of, 60. Issue
of bQls of credit by, 60, 61. Acts of, for or
dering and governing the negroes, and en
couraging settlers, 61. Tendencies of, to
independence, 62. Difficulties in the way of
the legislation of, 62. Instructions from, to
Dr. Franklin, 64. Address of, to the King,
66, 67. Dissolution ot, 68. Action of, with
reference to taxaUon, 70. Struggles of, with
Governor Wright, in regard to tho speaker
ship, 70-73. Meeting of, 83-90. Prorogued,

95. Action of, with reference to plundering,
241. Report of the Committee of, 279. Acta
of, affirmed by Provincial Congress, 293.
Powers of, 298. Proceedings of, 303. Re
ferences to, 306, 306. Royal, of 1780, 317-
321. Called to consider the defenceless state
of the Province, 321, 322. Called by friends
of George Walton, 323. Proceedings of,
324. Action of, denounced by subsequent
Legislature, 325. Reins of Government re
sumed by, 326. Preamble and resolutions
concerning the Council of State of 1779, 326,
327. Confers upon the Governor, or Presi
dent and Council, power to act when out of
the limits of the State, 327, 328. Requests
the Governor to order the embodying of one-
half tbe militia, 328. Censures General Lin
coln for the removal of the Continental
troops, 328. Removes the seat of govern
ment from Augusta to Heards' Fort, 328,
329. Pronounces the proceedings of the Su
preme Executive Council illegal, 329. Pre
sented by tbe grand jury of Richmond
County, 329, 330. Convened at Augusta,
1780,1782,335. Address of Governor Martin
to, 336, 836. Adjourns for want of provi
sions, 336. Meets at Ebenezer, and removes
to Savannah, 336. Backwardness of, to tax
their constituents, 344, 345. Royal, 361.
Struggles in, 362. Order of, respecting "re
fugee certificates," 358. Act of, for the more
full and complete establishment of a public
seat of learning, 362-362. ¦ Decides upon a
permanent site for, 363. Orders issue of bills
of credit, 374-376. Report of the Committee
of, on Governor Sevier's letter, 380. Chooses
James Jackson, Governor, and George Hand-
ley, on his declining, 383. Action of, 389,
390. Organic changes in constitution of, 391.
Minutes of, 443. Governor Telfair's message
to, 392. Attends divine service on day of
thanksgiving, 406. Change in time of meet
ing of, 407^09. General, 455. Change of
public opinion as to the measures pursued
by, 485. Reference to, 493. Vide also Com
mons' Souse of Assembly, General AssemMy,
House of Assemlly, Legislature, Royal As
sembly.
Assembly of New York; resolution of, con
cerning taxation, 38.
Assembly of Massachusetts, 58.
Assembly of Virginia; adopts resolves of non
importation. 70.
Astrolabe, the ship, 228.
Athens, 363.

508

INDEX.

Auditors' certificates, 375.
Augusta, 19. Congress with the Indians held
at, 27-30. Rangers stationed at. 55. Meet
ing of Creeks and Cherokees at, 83. Land
Courts at, 84, 93, 160, 179. Taken. 187, 189,
191, 192. Abandoned, 193, 202, 220. Siege
of, 240. Abandoned, 241. Occupied by the
Tories, 243, 247, 267, 268, 270, 273, 299. Seat
of government removed to, 305. Informal
meeting of the Assembly at, 306, 320. Mi
litia ordered to rendezvous at, 328. Seat of
government removed from, 328-331. Meet
ing of friends of George Walton at, 323.
Kecovered from the enemy, 335. Seat of
government removed to, 342, 343. Land
Court established at, 354. Guard required
hy the President and Executive Council in
journeying to, 354, 355. Scenes at, on the
delivery of the land-warrants, 355-358.
Meeting of the Trustees of the University
at, 362. Convention to ratify the Federal
Constitution meets at, 386. Meeting of Con
vention for revising the Constitution at, 389,
390. Visit of President Washington to, 396,
397. Seat of government removed from,
407, 414, 415, 429, 435, 436, 454.
Bacon, John, Sr., member of the Provincial
Congresss of 1775, 106.
Bacon, William, Jr., member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106.
Bader, Julia, 234.
Bahamas, the, 447, 448.
Baillie, Robert, returned amember of the Com
mons' House of Apsembly of 1780, 319.
Baird, Sir James, 173, 175, 176. 195, 196,
Baker, Captain, 135. Colonel, 157. Wounded,
170. Major, 199.
Baker, Colonel John, ordered to disperse the
banditti on the southern frontier, 359, 360.
Baker, John, Jr., member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106.
Baker, William, Sr., member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106.
Baldwin, Abram. appointed Trustee of the
State College, 352, 353, 362. Resigns presi
dency of the Board of Trustees, 363. Ap
pointed to select a new site, 363, 364. Dele
gate from Georgiato the Federal Convention,
386,387. Elected representative to Congress,
394. United States Commissioner, 496.
Ball, Edward, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 106.
Barclay, Captain, 129, 132, 135.
Barnard, John, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Barnett, William, member of the Convention
for revision of the Constitution, 501,
Barnwell, Captain John, 103.
Bear Creek J negro encampment on, 375, 466,
475, 476,
Beaufort, 103, 208, 210, 223, 385, 462.
Beaulieu, 202, 214.
Bentalon, Captain, 217, 235, 236.
Berrier, Captain John, 158.
Bethizy, Vicomte de, 219.
Bethlehem (Pa.), 233.
Big Elk, leads attack on SherralPs Fort, 84.
Bill of Rights, adopted and approved, 109.
Bills of credit, issued, 20, 21, 60, 130, 131, 374,
375.
Blackstocks, 252.
Black Swamp, 194.
Blount. William, Agent of the State of North
Carolina at the Indian Congress at Hope
well, 418, 421.
Board of Commissioners, appointed to treat
with the Creeks and Cherokees, 338.

Board of Trade, applied to, to allow emission
of bills of credit, 21, Concur in suspension
of Chief Justice Grover, 23. Disapprove of
Mr. Rolles's proposals for colonizing the
newly acquired Indian lands, 30. Proposals
of direct taxation of the colonists trans
mitted to, 38, 39. Letter of Governor Wright
to, 43, 44. References to, 83, 460.
Board of Trustees of the University of Georgia |
appointment of, 362. Proceedings of, 362,
363.
Board of Visitors of the University of Georgia;
organized, 362. Proceedings of, 363, 364,
Boone, Thomas, Governor of South Carolina,
27.
Boston, 77, 78, 80, Merchants suggest suspen
sion of commercial intercourse with Great
Britain, 69, 70, Contributions from Georgia
sent to, 100, British driven from, by means
of powder furnished by Georgia, 104. Arri
val of troops from, 127, 131,
Boston Port Bill, 73, 113, 116.
Bourbon County, 462.
Boussole, the ship, 228,
Bowen, Captain, 103, 104, 135, 152, Commo
dore, 163, 165. Member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104. Member of the Coun
cil of Safety, 126.
Bowles, William Augustus, sketch of, 446, 453,
454.
Boyd's defeat and death, 189-192,
Box, Philip, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 106.
Bradley, E., President of the Committee of
Safety in Clarke's settlement, 403.
Brewton's Hill, 173, 174.
Brier Creek ; battle of, 194-198, 241.
Brisbain, Adam Fowler, member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, 105.
British Legion, at siege of Savannah, 203^.
British Rangers, 192.
Browne, Governor, 460.
Brown, Colonel Thomas, 153, 186. 203. Takes
possession of Augusta, 243, 244. Besieged
at Augusta, 247-251, 255. Again besieged,
258-267, 274, 276. Defeat of, 280-282, 285,
320.
Brown, WiUiam. compiles table of progressive
commerce of Savannah, 332.
Brownson, Dr. Nathan, member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1775, 106, 149. Elected Go
vernor, 335. Appointed Trustee of the State
College, 352, 353, 362. Chosen President of
the Senate, 391.
Bryan County, formed, 399, 406, 485.
Bryan, Hugh, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Bryan, Hon. Jonathan, chairman of meeting
at Savannah in favor of non importation.
70. Displaced from the Council by order of
the King, 70. Member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104, Member of the Coun
cil of Safety, 126, 133, 344, 155, 149. County
named for,' 399.
Bryan, William, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104, 105.
Brydie, Dr. David, 124.
Bugg, Lieutenant William, 127.
Bull, Colonel Stephen, 133, 141, 142.
Bulloch, Archibald, 63. Elected Speaker of the
Assembly, 73. Signs call for a meeting to
sympathize with the Bostonians, 77. Chosen
President of the Provincial Congress of 1775,
104, 129. Elected delegate to Continental
Congress, 114, 117. Attends and takes his
seat, 119, 125. Dr. Zubly's letter to, 120.
Letter of instructions to delegates to Con
gress, 129, 130. Answers letter of Sir Jamea

INDEX.

509

Wright, proffering peace, 132. Commands
detachment of troops sent to Great Tybee
Island, 136. Character of, 142. Modesty
and republicanism of, illustrated, 143. De.
sired to take upon himself the whole execu
tive powers of government, 166. Death of,
165. Estimate of character, 155, 166, 291.
Elected President and Commander-in-chief
of Georgia, 294. Address of the Council of
Safety to, 296, 296. Reply of, 296. Procla
mation and circular letter of, 297, 300.
Bulloch, James, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105, 368-370.
Bulloch, the galley, 161, 162.
Bunker Hill ; powder sent from Georgia used
at, 100. Battle of, 219.
Burbeck, Captain V. S. A., 434.
Burke County, 186, 187, 246, 269, 270. Esta
blished by the Constitution, 299. Required
to furnish a guard for the escort of tbe Pre
sident and Executive Council, 365. Proceed
ings of the representatives of, 306, 310, 389,
394, 399, 400, 485, 500, 601.
Burke, Edmund, 69, 138-140. County named
for, 299.
Burney, Andrew, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1776, 105.
Burns, Andrew, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106, 415.
Burton, Thomas, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1776, 105.
Butler, Colonel, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Butler, Elisha, member of the Council of
Safety, 101.
Butler, James, returned as member of the
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 318.
Butler, Joseph, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106. Decline's taking his seat,
106, 107.
Butler, Pierce, appointed Commissioner for
South Carolina on the boundary disputes,
385.
Byron, Admiral Lord, 227.
Caldwell, Lieutenant, 164.
Call, Richard, elected Surveyor-General, 340.
Canada, American expedition against supplied
with powder from Georgia, 104.
Cambray, Colonel, 201.
Camden, Lord Chancellor of England ; county
named for, 300.
Camden County, constituted out of tbe par
rishes of St. Thomas and St. Mary, 299, 300.
Proceedings of the representatives o^ 306-
310, 389, 394, 406, 466, 486.
Cameron, CaptEun, 174. Colonel, 428.
Campbell, Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald, com
mands expedition against Georgia, 170. Cap
ture of Savannah, 172-178. Takes Ebenezer,
181. Issues proclamation, 181, 182. Plans
capture of Sunbury, 183, 184. Takes Au
gusta, 187, 189. General, 447.
Campbell, John, Crown-Agent for Georgia;
publishes tract on the taxation of the colo
nies, 42.
Carnes, Peter J., 403, 601.
Carolina, 160, 161. Secret committees of, 163,
181. Reward offered for apprehension of
patriots from, 182, 183, 222, 225, 268 273,
312, 313. Frontiers of, endangered, 314, 315,
330, 331, 334, 468, 466. Vide North and
South Carolina.
Carolina Light-Horse, 203
Carolina Regiment, 164.
Carolina Troops, 141, 167.
Carr, Captain Patrick, 276.
Carr's Fort, 188.

Carr, Thomas, Collector of the Port of Sun
bury. 21.
Catawba Indians, 27, 29, 377.
Chambis, Chevalier de. 209.
Charleston, 48, 74, 77. ' Committee of Safety at,
intercept letters of Governor WriEht, 102.
103, 133, 141, 142, 144, 148, 154, 198, 202,216
217, 223, 236, 236, 241. Fall of, 243, 2551 268
313. Results of the capture o^ 330, 430, 438,
466.
Charlton's (T. U. P.) Life of James Jackson,
383. '
Cha^e, Judge, of Maryland, 120.
Chata, speeches of tho Tassel and War Woman
of, 420-423.
Chatham County, 121. Established by the
Conslitntion, 299. Superintendent of Public
Buildings in, elected, 303. Proceedings of the
representatives of, 306-310. Inhabitiints of,
recommended by the Legislature to choose
Church Wardens and Vestry, 342, Re
quested to furnish a guard for the escort of
the President and Executive Council, 365.
Controversy respecting the records of, 368-
371. Justices of, suspended, 369, 370, 389,
394, 399, 406, 480, 485, 601.
Chatham, Earl of, 69, 76.
Chattahoochee River, 412, 413, 414, 461, 470,
496.
Cherokees, the, 18, 24, 27, 29. Propose to
liquidate the traders' claims by a cession of
lands, 83, Number of gunmen of, 93, At
tacks of, on tbe frontiers, 144, 249, 266, 274,
275. Expedition against, 283. Commis
sioners appointed by Congress to treat with,
366, 399. Congress with, 416. Treaty with,
415, 429, 440. Washington's treaty with,
454.
Cherokee County, 411, 438.
Cherokee Hill, 181, 221.
Chescoenwhee; speech of, at the Hopewell In
dian Congress, 424, 425.
Cheweg, 283.
Chickasaws, 27, 29. Number of gunmen, 93,
274, 275.
Chimney-Top Mountain, 421.
Chisholm, Thomas, member of the first Exe
cutive Council, 300, Elected Surveyor-Ge
neral, 383.
Choctaws, 27, 29. Number of gunmen, 93.
Choti, 283.
Christ Church Parish, 88. Name of, changed
to Chatham County by the Constitution, 299,
318, 319.
Christie, Colonel, 144, 421, 422, 427.
Church of England ; ministers of, side with
the mother country, 341. Burial service of,
read over General Greene, 373.
Church-wardens and vestrymen ; choice of, re
commended by the Legislature to the inha
bitants of Chatham County, 342.
Clark, Colonel Gibson, member of the first
graduating class of tho University of Geor
gia, 364.
Clark, Captain John, wounded at Musgraves
Mills, 246.
Clark County, 363.
Clark, Lieutenant, 173.
Clarke. Brigadier-General, 453.
Clarke, Colonel Elijah, wounded, 164, m 191,
198. Siege of Augusta, 246-260. Retreats
to northern edge of Georgia, 262, 256, 267,
283 366. Settlement on Indian reservation,
40o! 406. Expedition against Waters, 412-
414 Expedition against the Creeks, 416,
417! 446, 451, 463, 454.
Clav Joseph, 80. Member of the Council of
Safety, 101, 121, Member of the Provincial

510

INDEX.

Congress of 1775, 105, 106, 128. Empowered
to act as member of the Executive Council,
308. Appointed trustee of tbe State College,
352, 353, 362. Signs letter defending the re
tention of the records, 368. Suspended fron)
office, 369.
Clayton, Hon. Augustine T., member of the
first graduating class of the University of
Georgia, 364.
Clergymen, declared ineligible to seats in the
Legislature, by the Constitution, 299.
Clinton, Governor, 441,
Clinton, Sir Henry, plans expedition against
Georgia, 169, 170, 181, 189, 240.
Clymer, George, appointed Commissioner for
holding treaty with the Creeks, 455.
Cochran, Lieutenant James, 127, 500, 501.
Cochran, Jonathan, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Cockspur Island, fortified, 21, Stamps sent to,
for security, 46, 47, 132, 141, 292.
Coleman, John, member of the first Executive
Council, 300,
Coleraine, 455, 456,
Columbia County, 406. Inhabitants of, sign
an address for convening the Legislature,
408, 409, 477, 485.
Colville, Lord, 47,
Combined Society, the, 462. 463.
Commerce of Savannah, 332.
Commerce of Georgia, 333.
Commercial Statutes of 1760, 53, 54.
Commissioners, appointed to check the massa
cres on the Florida frontier, 337. Board of,
appointed to treat with the Creek and Che
rokee nations, 338. Board of appointed to
carry out provisions of the Act of Attainder,
345-347. Appointed by Congress to treat
with the Cherokees, 365, 382. Appointment
of, to settle boundary disputes between
South Carolina and Georgia, 385, 386, 462.
Parliamentary, loyalist claims upon, 350.
Appointed by Congress and by Georgia to
treat with the Creeks, 417. Journal of the
proceedings of, at the Congress at Hopewell,
417-429. Subsequent efforts of, 432-434.
Mission of, fruitless, 435-437. Success of,
455. Protest of Georgia Delegates against
the action of, 455, 466. Appointment of, for
the transfer of western lands, 495. 496.
Committee of Correspondence of the Commons'
House of Assembly, ordered to lay before the
House the communications of their Agent,
42.
Committee of Correspondence, authorized by
the Provincial Congress to inspect entries of
the Custom House,' 112.
Committee of Intelligence, appointed, 121.
Committee or Assemblyman, reward offered
for, 182.
Commons' House of Assembly ; conduct of the
Speaker of, 41, Answer to speech of Go
vernor Wright, 50. Unite in address to the
King, 51, 52, Zeal of, for their prerogative,
59. Obedience to the Mutiny Act required
of, by the King, 59, 60. Action of, with re
ference to the Massachusetts letter, 64-66,
Address to the King on their being dissolved
by the Governor, 66, 67. Struggle with re
ference to the Speakership. 71-73. Proceed
ings 0^ 1775, 89, 90. Prorogued by the Go
vernor, 90, 96. Convened by Sir James
Wright, 318. List of members of, returned,
318, 319. Proceedings of, 319, 320. Address
of Governor Wright to, 320, 321. Final ad
journment of, 322.
Congress (district) of St, Andrew's Parish;
proceedings of, 86-88.

Congress, Indian, held at Augusta by com
mand of the King, 26, 27. List of members
present at, 27. Held with the Creeks and
Cherokees in 1773, 83. Treaty with the Che
rokees concluded at, 415. Journal of the,
held at Hopewell, 417, 429. At Shoulder-
Bone Creek, 429.
Congress of 1776, 156, Vide Continental CoU'
gress.
Congress of the United States ; Governor How
ley takes his seat in the, 243, Expenses at,
243. Pamphlet issued by the delegates of
Georgia in, 331-333. List of delegates to,
from Georgia, 1781, 335. Proposition of, for
the cession of unappropriated lands, 378,
Action of North Carolina with reference to
the proposal of, 378, 379. Petition of South
Carolina to, for settlement of boundary dis
putes with Georgia, 384. Action of, with re
ference to the boundaries, 384-386. Calling
of a Convention for the revision of the Arti
cles of Confederation, by, 386, 387. Letter
of President Wereat to the, 388. Resolution
of, 389, Appointment of a day of public
thanksgiving and prayer, by the, 393, 394.
Reflections on the action of, 400, 419, 420,
422, 425, 426, 428, 429,441,457. - The f'Old,"
463. Pass amendment to the Constitution,
466, 467, 479, Act of, for the settlement of
the limits of Georgia, 495, 496,
Congress (Provincial) of Georgia, Vide PrO'
vindal Congress.
Congressional Districts; State divided into,
394.
Connecticut, laws of, relating to the Tories,
348.
Conway, Secretary, circular of, 47, 66.
Cook, Captain, 228.
Cooper, Captain, 192.
Coosa River, 431, 474.
Coosa Town, 283,
Conklin, Captain, 243.
Constitution of the State of Georgia ; the first,
ratified at Savannah, 1777, 298. Synopsis of,
298, 299, 300, 305, 307, 308, 311, 324. Revi
sion of, 327. 329, 330, 342, 365, 368. 388-391,
392, 394, 397, 406, 407, 488, 497, 498. Revi
sion of, 1798, 499-502.
Constitution of the United States; the Conven
tion called for framing, 386. Delegates from
Georgia, 387, Acceptance of, by the States,
announced, 388, 391-397. Amendment to,
466, 467.
Continental Association, the, 90, 91. Com
mittee chosen to enforce, 101, 111, 112, 113,
122, 123.
Continental certificates, 358, 375.
Continental Congress, the; approval of the
course of, by the District Congress of St.
Andrew's Parish, 86, Appointment of dele
gates tOj urged by the same body, 87. Reso
lution of thanks to the members of, 90.
Delegates elected to, 91, Address o^ to the
Parish of St. John, referred to, 92. Hesi
tancy on the part of the other parishes to
adopt all the measures of, 93. Permit Dr.
Hall to take his seat, 96. ' Letter of the
Gfeorgia delegates to the President of, 96-98.
Instructions of the Earl of Dartmouth with
reference to, 99.' Solicits powder from Geor
gia, 104. Day of fasting and prayer set apart
by, 106. Measures and recommendations of,
adopted by Georgia, 109, Delegates elected
to, 114, 117. Committee appointed to see
that the resolutions of, be observed, 117.
Attendance of Georgia delegates on the ses
sions of, 118, 119. Purposes and plana of,
betrayed by Dr. Zubly, 120. Georgia com-

INDEX.

511

mitted to the measures of, 122. Receives
notice of the acceding of Georgia to the Ge
neral Association and the appointment of
delegates, 123. Delegates from Georgia
attend, 125. Georgia battalion raised by
order of, 127. Delegates to, chosen, 129, 139,
140, 141, 146, 146, 147, 150. Enlistment of
two additional battalions for Georgia, or
dered by, 151, 166, 168, 180, 182, 220, 243,
286, 291, 292, 293, 297. 308, 309,'323. Letter
of Walton's Council to the President of, 324,
325. Governor Howley requested to take his
seat in, 329, 331, 332, 334, 335, 347, 349, 361,
869,386.
Continental Currency, 243, 375.
Continental Troops, 168. Ordered from South
Carolina to defend Savannah, 173, 179, 186.
Convention of Georgia, 161.
Convention (National) for revision of the Ar
ticles of Confederation, 386-388.
Convention (State) ratifies the Federal Consti
tution, 387, 388. Proceedings of, appointed
to revise the Constitution, 388-391, 406-408,
480, 485, 497-601.
Cornwallis, Lord, 247, 330.
Council of Safety (at Charleston), 141.
Council of Safety appointed, 101, 291. Full
power conferred upon, 121. Address let
ter to Governor Wright, 123. All legislative
and executive power vested in, 126. Names
of members ot 126, 127. Order the arrest
of Governor Wright and others, 127, 128.
Resolution of, concerning importation of
gunpowder, Ac., 130. Vigilance of, 132.
Resolution o^ concerning burning the city,
133. Resolution of, concerning burning the
vessels, 135. Put under arrest the mem
bers of the Royal Council, 136. Send troops
to Great Tybee Island, 136, 137. President
Rutledge'a letter to, 144. Committee of, ap
pointed to confer with General Lee, 149.
Declaration of Independence laid before, 161.
Action thereon, 161, 162, Organize a pro
vincial marine, 162. Confer upon President
Bulloch full Executive powers, 165. Elect
Button Gwinnett President, 155, 300. In
trusted with full power during recess of Pro
vincial Congress, 291. Powers of, defined,
293. Address of, to President Bulloch, 294-
296. His reply, 296, 300. Confide their
books and papers to the Executive Council,
and cease to exist, 301.
Council of State of 1779 ; odium cast upon, 326.
Council, Supreme Executive. Vide Executive
Council.
CouncU (Royal) ; removal of Chief Justice Gro
ver, 22, 23. Action respecting the Stamp
Act, 43. Address of; to the King, 61, 62.
Decline recognizing Mr. Grath as agent ot
the Province, 69. Mr. Bryan displaced from,
70. Troubles with the Commons' House of
Assembly, 72. Propose conference with the
Lower House, 89. Advise the offering of a
reward for the detection of those who had
broken open the King's "^S.f •°Aj?°;i'724
to the address of the Counci "f Safety, 124
Arrest of Governor Wright m the midst of,
128. Letter of Governor Wright to, 131, 132
Members of, put under ?"?»*' "^•gj^^T,!
addressed by Governor Wright to, 317. Ac-
Court of Appeall%ppointed by the Provincial
Court^cS'f'-establishment of, recom
mended by Governor M»rt'"4,^i'^„„ . time
gress, 294.

Cowan, Captain-Commandant John, present
at the Indian Congress at Hopewell, 426.
Cowpens, battle of, 264.
Cowper, Basil, member of the Council of Safety,
101, 126. Member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106, 107, 123. Returned as a
member of the Commons' House of Assem
bly of 1780, 319.
Cox, Zachariah, 464, 476.
Crawford, William H, ; remonstrance of,
against the Yazoo sale, 477, 478.
Creek Indians ; the Province exposed to dan
gers from, 18. Efforts of the French to insti
gate against the Colonists, 24, Congress held
with, by the King's command, 26-29. Meet
in Congress at Augusta, June, 1773, 83.
Attack the whites at Sherrill's Fort, 84.
Treaty signed with, 85. Number of gunmen
of, 93. Aid in attack on Great Tybee, 136.
Turbulence of, 169. Proposal for exchange
of, 266. British alliances with, 274. Defeat
of, 280. Threatened war with, 368. Proposed
expedition against, 380-382, Governor Mat
thews's plan of defence against, 400. Treaty
with, at New York, 400-401, General
Clarke's settlement on the reservation of,
464. Congress witb, at Augusta, 415. Hos
tilities renewed by, 416. Treaty at Galphin
ton, 417. Treaty at Shoulder-Bone Creek,
429. Chief cause of the difficulties with, 430-
432. " Talk" sent to, 432, 433. Cession of
lands by tbe Lower Creeks, 436, Efforts ot
Washington to prevent a war, 437. Mission
of Colonel Willet to, 438. Treaty with, at
Now York, 442-443, 445. Depredations of,
444, 445. Bowles attaches himself to a party
of, 447, 448. Appears at London as ambas
sador from, 449. Returns to, 460, McGiUivray
at the head of, 462. Expedition against,
determined upon, 453. Treaty with, 465, 466.
Creighton, Alexander, meeting of merchants
and traders at the house of, 90.
Crittenden, the spy, killed, 284.
Crown Agent, 62.
Cruger, Lieutenant-Colonel, 210, 238, 248, 249,
266.
Crumer, Christopher, member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1776, 105.
Cumberland Island; grant of, applied for, 30,
460.
Cumberland, Mr., nominated by the Govern
ment as Colonial Agent, 58, 69.
Cunningham, Major John, 254, 286.
Currency, paper, depreciation of, 243, 327.
Cuthbert, A. Daniel, 88.
Cuthbert, Isaac, 88. ...
Cuthbert, John, member of tho Provincial
Congress of 1776, 105.
Cuthbert, Seth John, Secretary of the Council
of Safety, 101, 291. Member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1776, 106; 124. Empowered
to act as member of tho Executive Council,
308. Chosen President i)ro tern., 311.
Cuyler, Mrs,, 106.
Daniell, William, authorized to sign bills of
credit, 374. „ . ,
Darien, 162. Vide St. Andrew's Fansh.
Dartmouth, Earl of, 82. Instructions ol, to
Governor Wright, 99.
Davies, Myrich, empowered to act as member
ofthe Executive CouncU, 308.
Davidson County (North Carolina), 3i8.
Davis, Jenkin, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106. ,^v XT ¦
Davis, Larkin, appointed Trustee of the Uni
versity of Georgia, 362. J „, .,^
De Brahm, John G. Wm,, employed, 23. De-

612

INDEX.

scription ofthe first wharf built at Savannah,
52, 53,
Declaration of Independence, received at Sa
vannah, 151, 156, 296, 336.
De Kalb County, 440.
De La Luzerne, Chevalier, 366.
DeLancey, General, 176, 203.
DeLancey's Corps (New York Volunteers), 172,
204, 243.
Delegall, Colonel, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Dem§re, Raymond, 88, Member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, 106, 134-136.
D'Erenville, Chevalier, 219,
D'Estaing, Charles Hector Comte, placed in
command of the French fleet, 200. Expedi
tion against the West Indies, 200, 201. Co
operates in the siege of Savannah, 201-225,
315. Sketch ofthe life of, 226-228. Receives
grant of land from the Legislature, for me
ritorious services, 366, 367. Death of, 367.
Deveaux, Colonel, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105,
Deveaux, Peter, suspended from oCSce, 869.
De Witt's Corner, 144.
Digest of State Laws and Ordinances, ordered
in the Constitution, 501.
Dill, Major, defeated and killed, 277.
Dillon, Count Arthur de, 209, 216, Sketch of
the life of, 226.
Dixon, Mr., appointed Commissioner by Geor
gia, to act with Governor Sevier against the
Indians, 380.
Dobbs, Arthur, Governor of North Carolina,
27.
Doharty, Jack, a spy ; taken prisoner, 284.
Dooly, Colonel John, 127, 187, 188, 190, 198.
Empowered to act as member of the Execu
tive Council, 308.
Dooly, Lieutenant Thomas, 127.
Dorchester, Lord, 447.
Douglass, Samuel, returned as member of the
Commons' House of Assembly, 1780, 319.
Dowley, Lieutenant Thomas, 127.
Drayton, Stephen, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106. Member of the Coun
cil of Safety, 126.
Drayton, William Henry, appointed a Commis
sioner by the General Assembly of South
Carolina, to bring about a union with Geor
gia, 311. His reception at Savannah, and
subsequent proceedings, 302, 303.
Dumbarton, Scotland; Barony of Keith in,
226.
East Florida, 145-149, 442, 460, 462.
East Indies, 226, 228.
Eaton, Thomas, builds first wharf in Sa
vannah, 52, 53.
Eaton, Major, 257,
Ebenezer taken, 181, 182, 193, 194, 216, 268-
270. Germans at, 273, 275, 276, 279, 287,
319. Meeting of Assembly at, 336.
Effingham County, established by the Consti
tution, 299. Proceedings of the representa
tives of, 306-310, 336. Required to furnish
a guard for the escort of the President and
Executive Council, 355, 389,, 394, 399, 406,
485.
Effingham, Lord, county named for, 299.
Eglintoun, Earl of, 26.
Elbert County, 83, 245, 399, 406, 501.
Elbert, Samuel, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104, Member of the Couu
cil of Safety, 123, 127. Appointed Lieutenant-
Colonel of tbe Georgia Battalion, 127. Ap
pointed committee to supply arms and
ammunition^ 130, 157. Brilliant exploit of,

161-163, 171, 174, 176, 192, Surrenders at
Brier Creek, 196. Elected Governor, 859,
Orders the attack of the banditti on the St,
Mary»s, 359, 360. Settles Indian difficulties,
366. Notifies Count d'Estaing of the legis
lative grant of land, 366, 416, 430.
Electors (Presidential); special meeting of the
Legislature to choose, 389,
Elholm, Major Caesar Augustus George, 238.
Appointed Commissioner of the State of
Franklin, 380-382.
Elliot, Mrs., 217.
Ellis, Captain, 162.
Ellis, Governor, leaves Savannah, 18, Issues
bills of credit, 20. Saves Georgia from ruin,
24, 63, 459.
Elphinstone, George Keith, 226, 226.
Emanuel, David, appointed on a committee on
the Yazoo Sale Bill, 486,
England, 131, 166. Claim of, to the southern
frontier of the United States, 458.
English Revolution of 1688 ; one of the results
of, 37, 38.
Ennoree Riv«r, 246.
Estawnalee, 413.
Etowah River, 411^413.
Ewen, William, 63, 80. First President of the
Council of Safety, 101, 291. Member of the
Provincial Congress of 1776, 104, 123, 126.
Executive Council, the, 240, 241, 243, Com
raittee of, appointed to wait on General
Wayne, 273, 288. Appointment of, and de
fining of duties in the Constitution, 298.
Action of, with respect to a union with
South Carolina, 302. Give dictatorial powers
to the Governor, 304, 305. Remove seat of
government to Augusta, 305. Members of,
empowered to act as a Council for the State,
306. John Wereatand others empoweredby
the Convention in Richmond County to act
as Supreme Council, 308, 309. Dissatisfac
tion with, 322, 323. Rival Councils ap
pointed, 323, Publish a declaration of their
powers, 323, 324. Attempts of Walton's
Council to traduce the character of General
Mcintosh, 324, Power conferred upon, to
transact business when out of the limits of
the State, 327, 328. Adjourn to Heard's
Fort, 329, Death of President Wells, and
appointment of Stephen Heard in his
place, 320. Adjournment of, to Augusta,
342, 343. Address to the Assembly with re
ference to a suflicient and speedy tax, 344.
Take measures for the establishment and
endowment of a State institution of learn
ing, 352-354. Require guards from the va^
rious counties from fear of robbers, 353.
Proceedings at Augusta, 356. Appoint State
Commissioners to treatwiththe Indians, 365.
Proceedings relative to the retention of the
State records in Chatham County, 368-371.
Action with reference to issue of bills of
credit, 374. Receive Major Elholm, 381,
382. Expires, 392, 416, Letter o^ to the
Creeks, 430,
Fanshawe, Captain, 44.
Farley, Samuel, 80. Returned as member ofthe
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 318,
Fauquier, Francis, Lieutenant Governor of
Virginia, 27. Correspondence with Mr. Pitt
concerning raising a revenue from the Ame-
ricans, 39,
Federal Constitution, 386, 397, Tide Consii'
tution of the United States.
Federal Convention, 385. Vide Convention
(National).
Federal Government, 451. Supineness of, 454.

INDEX.

513

v^,? s'T^?.*,^"^'''^'"'™ of. involved in
Yazoo Sale, 467. Recognizes right of Geor
gia to Yazoo land, 462, 496
Federal Hall, the (New York), 441
Few, Colonel Benjamin, 186.
Few, Captain Ignatius, 279.
Few, Colonel William, 186. Member of the
first Executive CouncU, 300, 308. Signs
pamphlet "Observations," 332. Appointed
dele^te to Congress, 335. Appointed trus
tee of the State College, 352, 363, 362. Ap
pointed State Commissioner to treat with the
Indians, 366. Agent of Georgia in the set
tlement of the boundary disputes, 385. De
legate from Georgia to the Federal Conven
tion, 386, 387, 415, 468. Appointed on the
Committee on the Yazoo Sale BUL 485.
Fidius Fort, 402, 404.
Finley, Captain, 261.
Fishbourne, Lieutenant-Colonel, 444.
Flert, John, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 105.
Florida, divided into two provinces, 26, 93, 123,
142, 162, 156, 160, 163, 168. 169,171, 172. 268.
Border ravages, 337. Efforts of the Governor
to put a stop to pillage on the frontier, 360,
384. General Clarke's incursions into, 405,
414, 431, 437, 446, 448, 461, 452, 460, 462.
605.
Floridas, the, ceded to England by Spain, 25,
26,461. J r , ,
Fontanges, Vicomte de, 200, 219.
Forsyth, Robert, 302.
Fort Advance, 403, 405.
Fort Argyle, rangers stationed at, 55.
Fort, Arthur, member of the first Executive
Council, 300.
Fort Augusta, royal Americans stationed at,
34.
Fort Barrington, rangers stationed at, 65.
Fort Cornwallis, attack on, 266-260. Surren
der of, 264.
Fort Defiance, 404.
Fort Fidius, 402, 404.
Fort Galphin, 256, 256.
Fort George (Sunbury), Tangers stationed at,
65, 184.
Fort Granby, 255.
Fort Grierson, 248, 256, 267. Captured, 268.
Fort Howe, 154, 161, 163, 170.
Fort James, 84.
Fort Mcintosh, invested, 162. Surrenders,
163.
Fort Mobile, 255.
Fort Orangeburg, 255.
Fort Tonyn, 163, 167.
Fort Watson, 260, 255, 258.
Fort WUliam, 460.
Fowey, the, ship of war, 172, 202.
Fox, Joseph, returned as member of the Com
mons' House of Assembly, 1780, 319.
France, treaty between, and the United States,
200, 226, 227. Troubles in, 367.
Franklin, Benjamin, appointed Agent of the
Colony, 62-64. Presents address of the
Commons' House of Assembly to the King,
68. 337.
Franklin County; land set apart in, for the
endowment of a college, 354, 363, 389, 394,
406. Laid out, 416, 485.
Franklin, George, appointed on the Committee
on the Yazoo Sale BUl, 486.
Franklin, the State of; sketch of the history
0^ 378-382.
Frederica; royal Americans stationed at, 66,
160. Fort of, ordered to be secured, 130,
Freeman, Captain William, 188.
Freeman, Colonel Holman, 245.
VOL. II. 33

Freeman's Fort, 246.
French, Captain, 238.
French, exposure to incursions from, 364
t rench League denounced, 181
Fulton, John, 88. Member of 'the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105, Member of X fl st
Executive Council, 300.
Gadsden, Captain, 201.
Gage, General, 47. Withdraws troops from
Georgia, for the non-compliance of the As
sembly with the Mutiny Act, 60, 101 Go
vernor Wright's letters to, 101 , 102, Letters
to, intercepted, 102, 103, '
Gaither, Lieutenant Colonel, TI. S. A., ordered
to co-operate with the Executive of Georgia,
in breaking up General Clark's settlement
401, 402. '
Galatea, the, ship of war, 162.
Gallatin, Albert, United States Commissioner,
Galoche, Lieutenant James, 127.
Galphin, George, 432.
Galphinton, 366, 41T, 429, 431, 436. Treatv of.
400, 401, 417, 429, 431, 436, 445, 446.
Gates, General, superseded, 264,
Gazette, Georgia, the, 64, 76, 77.; Violations of
the Resolutions of the Continental Associa
tion to be published in, 112.
General Assembly; meets at Savannah, No
vember, 1760, 18. Dissolved, in consequence
of the death of George II, 19. Convened.
March, 1761, 19,20. Takes action on issuing
BUls of Credit, 20. Intrigues of Chief Jus
tice Grover with, 23. Commons House of,
convened by the Speaker, 1765, 41. Pre
vented from sending delegates to the New
York Congress by Governor Wright, 41. Dis
miss their Agent, 42. Convened by the Go
vernor, 49, 50. Action of. on repeal of the
Stamp Act, 49-62. Repudiate tive " Mutiny
Act," 67. Controversies of the Commons'
House of, with the Governor and Council,
68-60. Relative strength of "Royalists"
and "Liberty Boys" in, 59. Compliance
with the " Mutiny Act" required of, by the
King, 59, 60. Proposition for increased issues
of bills of credit, 60, 61. Acts of, concerning
negroes and settlers, 61, Difficulties in the
way of the legislation of, 62. Benjamin
Franklin appointed Agent, and Committees
of Correspondence with him chosen by, 63.
Proceedings of Commons' House of, 64-68.
Controversies with the Governor, 71-73, Re
solutions of, 69-90. Adjourned and pro
rogued, 90, 95, 96. Resolve of Provincial
Congress respecting, 116, Report of Com
mittee to, with reference to the capture of
Savannah, 179. Endeavor to prevent plun
dering, 241, 242. Organic changes in the
Constitution of, 391. Request Rev. Mr. Pal
mer, of St. Paul's, Augusta, to prepare a
sermon and form of prayer suitable to the
day of public thanksgiving, 393. Results of
change in the time of meeting of, 407-409.
Request the President of the United States
to make another treaty with the Creeks, 455.
Vide Legislature.
General Assembly of South Carolina; resolu
tion of, proposing union with Georgia, 301.
General Congress, the, 92. Dr. L. Hall attends
and is admitted to a seat, 96. Letter to,
from the Delegates of Georgia, 96-99, 146,
146 147. Appoint a day of public thanks
giving, 392. Vide Continental Congress.
General Continental Congress, 182.
General Government, brought in conflict with

514

INDEX.

Georgia, 365, 366. Proposition of Congress
for the payment of the debts of, 378.
George II ; death of, 19, 458, 459.
George III; proclaimed King, 19. Desired by
the General Assembly to approve emission
of paper currency, 20. Confers full execu
tive powers on Governor Wright, 20. Re
moves Chief Justice Grover, 23. Treaty with
thelndian8,29. Assents toGrenville's Stamp
Act, 40. Approves the course of Governor
Wright, 49. Address of the Commons' House
of Assembly to, 66, 67. Objections of, to the
mode of its transmission, 68. Displacement
of Mr. Bryan from the Council, by command
of, 70. Disapproval of the course ofthe As
sembly in the dispute concerning the Speak
ership, 72. Gives favorable audience to
Governor Wright, and creates him a Baro
net, 74. The designs of, unmasked, 75, Ab
sorbing idea of, 76. Cession of lands by tbe
Creeks and Cherokees to, 83, Liberty-pole
erected on the birthday of, 101. Proposal of
a petition to, 107, 108. Professions of allegi
ance to, 116, 117. Petition addressed to, by
the Provincial Congress, 121, 131, 132, 138,
139, 144, 460.
Georgia; arrival of Lieutenant-GovernorWright
in, 17. His peculiar qualifications for his po
sition in, 18. Military strength of, 18. 19.
Removal of the seat of government of, 19,
Proclamation ofthe accession of George III,
19. Promotion of Lieutenant-Governor
Wright for his zeal in behalf of, 21. Con
duct of first Chief Justice, 22-24. Saved
from ruin by assiduity of Governor Ellis,
24, Advantages accruing to, by the Peace
of Paris, 26. Participation of the Governor
of, in the Southern Congress with tho In
dians, 26-29. Enlargement of the bounda
ries of, 29. Plans for the colonization of, 29-
32. Position of, under administration of
Governor Wright. 33. Foreshadowings ofthe
Revolution in, 33-36. Commons' House of
Assembly of, convened, 41. William Knox,
Agent of, dismissed from service, 42, 43.
Stamp Act peculiarly oppressive to, 44, 45.
Whole province aroused, 46. Invectives and
measures of the Carolinians, 48. Injustice
of these measures, 43, 49. Address of the
Council and Commons' Ilouse of Assembly
to the King, 51, 52. Commerce and popula
tion of, 53. Prosperity of, described by the
Governor, 53-56, Assembly of, refuse com
pliance with the Mutiny .Act, 57. Samuel
Grath appointed Agent of, 59. Troops with
drawn from, 60. Peculiar grievances of, 60,
61. Difliculties in the way of legislation for,
62. B. Franklin appointed Agent of, 62, 63.
Action of the Assembly of, ou the circular
letter of the Massachusetts representatives,
64-66, Dissolution of the Assembly of, 66.
Address of the Commons' Ilouse to the King,
66, 67. First subject of royal vengeance in,
70. Struggle between the Governor and As
sembly of, 70-73. Sympathy of, with the
Bostonians, 76-80. Indian affairs in, 82-85.
Sympathy with the other Colonies, 86-88.
Provincial Congress of, 88-91. Resolutions
of the Carolinians to hold no intercourse
with, 91, 92. Reasons for the hesitancy of,
93-95. Letter of the delegates of, to the Ge
neral Congress, 96-99, First liberty-pole
erected in, 101. Condition of, misrepre
sented, 102, 103, Capture of the powder-
ship, 103, 104. Proceedings of the Provincial
Congress of, 104-116, Zubly's defection, 119,
120. Addresses of the Provincial Congress
to the Governor and people of, 121, 122.

Committed to the measures of the Conti
nental Congress, 122, 123. Delegates from,
take their seats in the Continental Congress,
125. Power of the royal government in, at
an end, 125, 126. In the hands of the Pro
vincial Congress, 126. BattaUon of troops
for the protection of, raised by the Conti
nental Congress, 127, Sermon at the open
ing of the Provincial Congress of, 129. Sends
delegates to Continental Congress, 129. Their
instructions, 129, 130. Proceedings of the
Council of Safety of. 130, Bills of Credit is
sued by, 130, 1 31. Letter of Governor Wright
concerning, 131. 132. Resolutions of Coun
cil of Safety of, 132, 133, First battle in,
133-137. "Prohibitory BiU" in, 138-141.
Jlilitary strength of, 142. Adopts a Consti
tution, and becomes an independent State,
143. Character of its chief Executive, 143,
Menaced with Indian War, 143, 144. Con
ference of a Committee with General Lee,
respecting the state of, 144, 146, Report of
Committee, 145-148. Expedition from,
against Florida, 148-150. Additional bat
talions raised for, 151. Declaration of Inde
pendence received in, 151, 152, Depredations
of English cruisers in, 152, 153. Incursions
of the British, 153, 154. Executive powers
of, conferred on President Bulloch, 155.
President Gwinnett's expedition against
Florida, 154-159. Irruption of Loyalists,
160. Attempt on St. Augustine, 160-169.
Sir H. Clinton's designs against. 170. De
fenceless state of. 173. Report ofa Commit
tee of the General Assembly on the capture
ofthe State of, 179. The British in, 181-183.
Re-establishment of Royal Government in,
185. Skirmishes in, 188-190, 192. Defeat
of General Ash, 197-193. French fleet arrive
off the coast of, 201, 202. Lower part of, in
possession ofthe British, 222, 224, 227. Pu
laski removed to, 235. Protest of the Execu
tive Council of, against the removal of
troops, 240. Darkest period ofthe history of,
241. Incursions into, 242. Left without
government or soldiers, 243, 246. Partisan
warfare in, 251, 252. General Morgan's ad
dress to the refugees of, 253, 254. Attempt
to secure Augusta, 254, 255, 257, 268, 269,
270. Suffering in, 271, 272, 273, 281, Free
and independent, 289. Loss of property and
negroes at the embarkation of the Loyalists,
289. Establishment of republican govern
ment of, 290-297, First Constitution of,
ratified, 298. Great seal of, 300. Proposal
ofa union of, with South Carolina, 301-303,
Incursions on the southern seaboard, 305.
Proceedings in Richmond County, 306-311.
Letter ofthe Council of, to General Lincoln,
311-315. Re -establish ment of the royal
government in, 315-322. Dissatinfaction in,
323, 324, 326. Republican, reduced to two
counties, 329, 330. Deplorable condition of,
331, *' Observations" published by the dele
gates of, 331-333. Dawn of a better state of
things iu, 335, Indian hostilities, 337. L.
Hall elected Governor of, 338, 339. State of
religion in, 341, 342, Acts of attainder of,
345-349, 351. Establishment of tbe Univer
sity of, 352-354, 359, 360-365. Brought in
conflict with the General Government, 365,
366. Grant lands to Count d'Estaing, 366,
367. Telfair's administration, 367, 368, 371,
374. Issues bills of credit, 374-376. Rela
tions ofthe State of Franklin with, 380-382.
Governor Elbert elected, 383. Boundary
disputes of, with South Carolina, 384-386.
Shares in the Federal Convention, 386, 387.

INDEX.

515

?l^ Qn? ^°*'"'° *"' revision of Constitution,
;•„ on, „n„°'S?'*'°SS under new Constitu-
tion,391 392^ Divided into Congressional Dis
tricts, 394, Visit of Washington to, 395, 397
S= "o^r^^^^.S*^ '"' ^^8- i'^ew counties in,
d9S, 399. Clarke's settlement in, 401, 402
406, 406, Excitement in, 407, 409, Indian
difficulties, 410, 411. Ces.sion of land to, 414,
416. Indian treaties with, 417, 418, 426.
Difficulties with McGUlivray, 430, 431 432
434, 436, 437, Treaty with the Creeks, 442^
443, 445. Extinguishment of land titles, 446
447, 451, 453. Treaty at Coleraine, 455, 466
Yazoo sale, 467, 460. Western boundary of,
461. Right of, to lands, acknowledged, 462,
Applications to Legislature of, for lands,
463-466. First Yazoo Sale Bill, 405-467.
Subsequent efforts to secure the lands of,
467-472, Passage of the bill, 472-477. Ex
citement in, 477—179. Course of General
James Jackson, 479-481. Message of the
Governor of, 481-484. "Rescinding Act,"
486-489. Expunging ofthe Records, 490—195.
Cession of Western lands to the United
States, 496, 496. Constitution of 1798, 497-
502. Concluding remarks ou the history of,
602-505.
Georgia Battalion, 142, 153.
Georgia Brigade, 154, 167, 168, 163.
Georgia Company, the, 468-474.
Georgia Continentals, 152, 167, 20O.
Georgia militia, 256.
Georgia Union Cdtapany, the, 418, 469, 472,
473. ; . > .
Georgia Mississippi Company, the, 418.
Georgia Yazoo Company, the, 464 466.
Gerard, M., 201.
Germain, the ship, 203, 215, 216,.-*
Germans at Ebenezer, 182. ^^
Gerridoe's Plantation, 173. House, 174.
Gibbons, Joseph, 63. Member ofthe Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106.
Gibbons, William, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105. Member of the Coun
cil of Safety, 126. Of the Executive Coun
cil, 308. Signs letter defending the retention
of the records in Chatham County, 368.
Suspended from office. 369. Plantation of,
372. President of Convention for final revi
sion of the Constitution, 390, 391.
Gibson, Robert, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Girardeau, John Bohur, member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, 105. Member of
the Council of Safely, 121.
Glascock, Thomas. Commissioner of Georgia
at the Indian Congress at Hopewell, 418.
426, 474, 500.
Glascock, William ; forged letter from, 325.
Appointed Trustee of the University of
Georgia, 362, 416. Speaker of the House of
Assembly, 426. 463
Glen, John, 77. ' Elected Chairman of Provin
cial Congress of 1776, 88. Member of the
Council of Safety, 101, 121. Member of the
Provincial Congress, 116. Elected Chief Jus
tice of Georgia, 294, 313.
Glynn, Counsellor, county named for, 299.
Glynn County, established by the Constitu-
tion,29I. Proceedings of tho representatives
of, 306-310, 389, 394, 406.
Goldsmith, Thomas, returned as member of the
Commons' House of Assembly, 318.
Gordon, Lord George, 245. ,, ,.,
Government House (at Savannah), 161.
Governor, the duties of, defined in the Consti
tution, 298.
*' Governor's warrants," 375.

Graham, LieutenantQovernor John; resi-
denoe of, at Mulberry Grove, 371
Grand, Chevalier George, 225.
Grant, Colonel, 24. Major, 127, 134 135
Grath, Samuel, appointed Colonial' Agent by
the Lower House, 69.
Graves, Admiral, letter of Governor Wright
to, 102, ^
^^f?^ ?i^'' setHement of, on the Alatamaha,
409. 460, '
Groat Seal, 605.
Great Tennessee River, 476,
Greene, John, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106.
Greene, General Nathaniel, marches south
ward, 264. Successes of, 264, 266, 269-273,
2S6, 289. Congratulatory address of tbe Le
gislature to, 338, 339. lieply, 339, 340.
Appointed and declines office of Assistant
Justice in Chatham Court, 370. Death of,
371-373. Sketch of character of. 373, :i74,
376. ¦ '
Green, General (of Camden), 600.
Greene County, 83, 362, 363, 389, 394, 398, 399,
406, 485, 601. ' > ' i i )
Greensboro', proposed seat of the University
of Georgia, 362, 363,
Greenwich, 202,
GrenvUle, George ; bill for granting and ap
plying stamp duties on America, 40, 41, 69.
Grierson, Colonel. 243, 244, 247, 248, 257, 268.
Assassinated, 267.
Griffin, Cyrus, appointed Indian Commis
sioner, 434, 445.
Grover, 'NVilliani, first Chief Justice of Georgia,
appointed, 22. Resigns his seat in the Coun
cil, 22. Conduct of, disapproved of by the
Council, 23. Removed by the King, 23, Ef
fects of his course, 23, 24.
Gunn, James, 282. Expedition of, against
runaway negroes, 377, 378. Interview with
General Clarke, 443, 453. Complicity in
Yazoo speculations, 473, 479, 480.
Guristersigo, 280, 286.
Gwinnett, Button, chosen delegate to Conti
nental Congress, 129, President of the
Council of Safety, 165, 300. Expedition
against Florida, 156-158. Duel with Gene
ral Mcintosh, and death, 158. Opposition
to union with South Carolina, 302.
Haber.'^ham, James; opinion of Stamp Act,
44. 46, Waylaid and threatened, 46. Ap-
pointed on Committee of Correspondence
with B. Franklin, 63. Acting Governor in
absence of Governor Wright, 72. Struggle
with the Assembly with reference to the
Speakership, 72, 73. Appointed Trustee of
the State College, 362, 363, 362.
Habersham, Major John, 276, 277, 289. Ap
pointed Trustee of the University of Georgia,
362. Appointed Commissioner in boundary
disputes, 386, 429.
Habersham, Joseph, secures military stores at
Savannah, 100. Member of tbe Provincial
Congress of 1776, 104. Member of the
Council of Safety, 127. Appointed Major of
tbe Georgia Battalion, 127. Places Governor
Wright under arrest, 12S. Appointed com
mittee to supply arms and ammunition, 130.
Attacks the " Hinchinbroke," 134, 201. Mem
ber of the Executive CouncU, 308, 366. De
clines appointment as Assistant Justice in
Cliatham County, 370.
Hale, Major, 287.
Hall, Lyman, delegate from St. John's Parish
to the General Congress, 92. Presents his
credentials and takes his seat, 96. Delegate

516

INDEX.

from Georpa to the Continental Congress,
114, 117, 129. Elected Governor of Georgia,
338. Measures for promotion of religion and
morality, 341, 342. Address of, to the Legis
lature, 343, 344.
Hall, Nathaniel, returned as member of the
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 319.
Halifax, Earl of, appoints William Grover
Chief Justice, 23. Letter of Governor Wright
to, 41.
Hancock, John, 70, Letter from, received at
Savannah, 151.
Hancock County,363. Formed,398,406,429, 485.
Handly, Lieutenant-Colonel George, 382. Elec
ted Governor, 383, 388, 389.
Hammond, Colonel, 192.
Hammond, Mr., H. B. M. Minister to-the
United States, 450.
Hampton, Wade, 475.
Hardwicke, removal of seat of government to,
19,
Hardy, Captain, 161.
Harris, Francis Henry, member ofthe Council
of Safety, 101. Member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105, 123.
Harris, General Jeptha T.. member of the first
graduating class ofthe University of Georgia,
364.
Hawkins, Benjamin, United States Commis
sioner, 417, 465. Journal of Indian Congress
at Hopewell, 417-429.
Hawkins, Lieutenant, exploit of, 193.
Hawks Creek, 247.
Hazzard, Major William, present at Indian
Congress at Hopewell, 426.
Heard's Fort, in Wilkes County, last strong
hold of liberty in Georgia, 241, Seat of
government removed to, 328-330.
Heard, Stephen, President of the Executive
Council, 245, 326, 329. Retires to North
Carolina, 331.
Hendricks, James, Commissioner for Georgia,
455.
Henderson, John, returned a member of the
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 319.
Henry, Patrick, at the head of the Virginia
Yazoo Company, 464,
Herbert, surprise of British post at, 192.
Hessians, 172, 175, 203, 204, 211, 216, 240, 273.
Hillsborough, Earl of; Governor Wright's
letter to, 53. Presents address of Commons'
House to the King, 68. Letter to Governor
Wright, 92.
Hinchinbroke, the brig, 133, 134, 161, 162.
Hobson, Matthew, meeting of the Executive
Council at the house of, 305, 306,
Holmes, Abiel, appointed Trustee of the Uni
versity of Georgia. 362.
Holston River. 421, 422, 425, 444.
Holzendorf, William, member ofthe first Exe
cutive Council, 300,
Hopewell, Indian Congress at, 417-429.
Horry, Colonel, 217.
Horse-racing, resolve of the Provincial Con
gress discountenancing, 111.
House of Assembly, the, executive powers
conferred upon the Governor until the meet
ing of, 305. Failure of, to organize, 306.
Action of members of, 306-310. Present
ment of, by the Grand Jury of Richmond
County, 329, 330, Backwardness in taxing
its constituents, 344. Imposes tax on negro
slaves, 345. Elects John Houstoun Governor,
350, Struggles in, with reference to the eli
gibility of its members, 352, 389, Vide
Assembly, General Assembly, Legislature.
House of Representatives, congratulatory ad
dress to Governor Telfair. 397.

Ilouse of Commons, resolution of, declaring
the ri^ht and expediency of taxing America,
40, 138,
Houstoun, George, member of the Council of
Safety, 101, 123, Member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105, 107.
Houstoun, John, 77, 80. Member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1776, 104. Delegate to
the Continental Congress, 114,117, 129. At
tends and takes his seat, 119, 125. Dr. Zu
bly's letter to, 120, 144. Governor, 165-167,
173. Member ofthe first Executive Council,
300. Elected Governor. 303, 350. Agent of
Georgia in boundary disputes, 340, 341, 351,
362, Appointed Trustee of the State College,
352, 353, 369, 362. Suspended from office of
Chief Justice, 369. Commissioner on boun
dary disputes, 385, 392.
Houstoun, Sir Patrick, 303, 350.
Houstoun, William, appointed Trustee of the
State College, 352, 353, Agent of Georgia in
settlement of boundary disputes, 385, Dele
gate from Georgia to the Federal Convention,
386-387.
Howe, Lord, 200, 227.
Howe, General Robert, 131, 153, 154, 158, 160,
161, 162. Expedition against Florida, 163-
169. Defeat at Savannah, 174-178, Stric
tures on, 179, 180, 181, 184, 186, 197, 418.
Howell, Philip, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Howell, Lieutenant-Colonel, 377.
Howley, Richard, 323. Chosen Governor, 326.
Extraordinary powers conferred on, 327, 328.
Requested to take his seat in Congress, 329.
Retires to a place of safety, 330. Signs "Ob
servations." 241. 242, 335. Takes his seat in
Congress, 243. His experiences, 243.
Hudson's Ferry, 193-195, 241, 242, 329,
Huger, Colonel, 174, 176, 216, 219.
Hume, Lieutenant, 207.
Humphreys, Daniel, appointed Indian Com
missioner, 434,445.
Huske,  , of New Hampshire ; suggests the
idea of the Stamp Act to Grenville, 40.
Huske, General, 40.
Hussy, Anna, 234.
Hutcher, Captain, 161.
Hutchinson's Island, 133, 134,
Indians, IS, 21, 24-29, 34, 42, 83-85, 93, 94, 129,
136, 144, 146, 147, 153, 169, 170, 198, 247-249,
266, 268, 269, 275, 276, 280, 282-287, 305, 312,
314, 329, 331, 337, 360, 364. 365, 368, 376, 380,
382, 395, 397-400, 402, 40-t, 405, 410-418, 424,
427, 429-434, 438, 442-447, 449-451, 454-456,
470,471,489,498,502,
Indian agents, 410, 411.
Indian claims, 471, 489.
Indian Congress, 27-29, 415, 416, 417-429.
Indian Department, 144.
Indian treaties, 29, .34, 86, 400, 401, 416, 417,
429. 436, 442, 443, 445, 455, 456.
Indian tribes. 33. 145, 146, 360, 405, 410, 502.
Innes, Lieutenant-Colonel, 181,
Inoculation, practised at Savannah, 317.
Inverness, the ship, 136,
Investigating Committee, report of, on the
corruptions of the Legislature, 490.
Irvine, John, returned as member ofthe Com
mons' House of Assembly, 1780, 319.
Irwin, Jared, candidate for Governor, 390, Or
dered to disperse General Clarke's settle
ment, 401-403. Chosen Governor, 409, 429,
453, 484, 497. President of Convention for
revising the Constitution, 499, 500.
Irwin, Jared, member of the first graduating
class of the University of Georgia, 364.

INDEX.

517

Irwin, Thomas, member of the first graduating
class of the University of Georgia, 364.
Jack, Colonel, 144.
Jackson, James, Lieutenant, 135. Major, 171,
254, 257, 267. Colonel, 269, 270, 274, 278.
Lieutenant-Colonel, 281. Receives the for
mal surrender of Savannah, 289. Clerk of
Court, 294. Indian Commissioner, 365. De
fends the retention of the records, 368.
Suspended from office, 369. Declines elec
tion as Governor, 383. Representative to
Congress, 394. General, 419. Major-General,
453. Commissioner for Georgia, 455. Op
poses Yazoo Sale Bill, 479-481, 485-487, 490.
Georgia Commissioner, 496. Elected Go
vernor, 497, 601.
Jackson, Professor James, member ofthe first
graduating class of the University of Geor
gia, 364.
Jackson, Joseph, authorized to sign bills of
credit, 374.
Jackson, Colonel WUliam H,, member of the
first graduating class of tho University of
Georgia, 364.
Jackson County, 363.
Jackson's Legion, 271, 273, 274, 277.
James II, 226.
Jasper, Sergeant, 217.
Jefferson, Thomas, Washington's letter to,
375. 450, 496.
Jefferson County, 366, 406, 501.
Jekyl, 162.
Joachim Street, in Savannah, 121.
Johnson, Captain, 247, 269.
Johnson, Governor Robert, 459.
Johnstone, Governor, 138-140.
Jones, Edward, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Jones, Dr. George, 601.
Jones, Heury, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 105.
Jones, James, 486, 501.
Jones, Colonel John, 245, 246. Member of first
Executive Council, 360.
Jones, Colonel (British), 246.
Jones, Colonel Noble, Commander of the mi
litia, 22. Member of the Royal Council, 63.
Jones, Noble Wimberly, Speaker of the As
sembly, 64, 71. Signs address to the King,
67. Election negatived, 70, 72, 73. Signs
call for meeting to sympathize with the
Bostonians, 77. On Committee to receive
subscriptions for the Boston sufferers, 80.
Secures military stores at Savannah, 100.
Member of Provincial Congress of 1775, 104,
106. Delegate to Congress, 114, 117, 119.
Reasons for not attending Congress, 125.
Member of tho Council of Safety, 127, 166.
Delegate to Congress, 335. President of Con
vention for revising the Constitution, 406.
Jones, Seaborn, Speaker of the House of Re
presentatives, 391.
Jones, William, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105, 124. Returned a
member of the Commons' House of Assem
bly, 1780, 318.
Joyner, Captain, 103.
Judiciary power, defined in the Constitution,
298
Judiciary Act of 1799, 602.
Kean, John, Agent of South Carolina in settle
ment of boundary disputes, 385.
Keith, Sir William, 39.
Kettle Creek, battle of, 190-192.
Killibees, the, 438.

King, John, Georgia Commissioner at Indian
Congress, 426, 427.
King's Magauine, at Savannah, broken open,
King's Mountain, 262.
King's Council, 62.
King's Rangers, 203, 247, 248, 250.
Knights of Malta, 226.
Knox, General Henry, 401. Commissioner to
the Creeks, 443, 446, 484, 487.
Knox, William, Agent of Georgia, dismissed
from service, 41. Reflections on, 41, 42.
Successor appointed, 68, 69.
Knox's Settlement, 416.
Knyphausen, Lieutenant-General, 240.
Lamb, Sir Matthew, King's Solicitor, 21.
Land Court, at Augusta, 354. Proceedings at,
366-358, 416.
La Fayette, Marquis de, 232, 236.
Lally, Count de, 226.
Lane, Major, in command at Sunbury, 183.
Surrenders to the British, 184. Courtmar-
tialled, 185.
Langly, Becky, 234.
Langly, Erdmuth, 234.
Langworthy, Edward, Secretary of the Coun
cil of Safety, 127, 291.
La Perouse, 214, 228.
La Trinit§, the frigate, 213.
Launitz's monument to Pulaski, 237.
Laurens, Colonel, 217,
Lawson, Hugh, Trustee of the University of
Georgia, 362, 363.
Lawson, John, Jr., Collector of Sunbury, 340.
Le Conte, WUliam, member of the Council of
Safety, 101. Member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106, 123.
Lee, Francis, Searcher of Sunbury, 21.
Lee, General, 144, 146. Plans expedition
against the Floridas, 148-150. Recalled to
the northward, 150.
Lee, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry, Jr., 256, 256,
268. Extract from memoirs of, 178,179, 260-
264. Articles of capitulation signed by, 264-
267.
Lee, Thomas, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 104.
Lee, the gaUey, 161, 162.
Legislature, action of, on Governor Martin's
communication, 278, 279. Members of, 288.
How constituted, 298, 300, 301. Review the
proceedings of Governor Walton, 325. In
consistency of, 326. Appoint Indian Com
missioners, 338. Address of, to General
Greene, 338, 339. Elect civil officers, 340.
Resolutions of, concerning religion, 341, 342.
Address of Governor Hall to, 343-346. Esta
blish State institution of learning, 352, 368,
359. Determine the seat of the University,
363. Grant land to Count d'Estaing, 366.
Present Mulberry Grove to General Greene,
371, 374. Call a Convention to revise the
Constitution, 388. Choose presidential elec
tors, 389. Divide the State into Congres
sional Districts, 394, 409. Proceeding with
reference to the Yazoo Sale, 463-466, 467-
473, 477, 478, 481-49,5.
Lewan, Lieutenant, 377. ...
Lewis, Benjamin, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105. .
Lewis David, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 106. » J- 4 -^
" Liberty Boys," associate to prevent distribu
tion of Stamp Act, 44. Number of, in Lower
House, 69. , . , ^i.
Liberty County, 80. Formed out of the pa
rishes of St. John, St. Andrew, and St.

518

INDEX.

James, 299. Proceedings of the representar
tives of, 306-310, 394, 399, 406, 485, 500, 501.
Liberty of conscience, secured by the Consti
tution, 501.
Liberty pole (at Savannah). 151, 162.
Lincoln, General Benjamin, commands the
Army of the South, 180. Reaches Purys
burg, 185. Condition of bis army, 185,
186. Plans attack on the British at Hud-
eon's Ferry, 194. Solicits co operation of
d'Estaing, 201, 235, 240. Letters of Execu
tive Council to, 311-315. Lays siege to Sa
vannah, 315. Censured by the Assembly
for the removal of the Continental troops,
328. Capitulation of, 330. Indian Commis
sioner, 434, 438, 445.
Lincoln, Levi, United States Commissioner,
496.
Lincoln County, 83, 247.
Lindsay, John, member of the Executive Coun
cil, 326.
Little Ogeechee, list of members of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1776, from, 105, 318.
Long Island of Holston, 421, 427.
Longswamp Creek, 411, 413, 414.
Lords of Trade, 31, 32. Declaration of, 38.
Memorial to, 38, 39. Action of, nece.<5sary to
confirmation of Provincial legislation, 62.
Returns of population to, 93, 460,
Lord, William, member ofthe Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Louisiana, 457.
Louisville; meeting ofthe Senatus Academi
cus of the University of Georgia, at, 362,
406. Seat of government removed to, 407-
497, Convention held at, 498. Convention
of 1798 held at, 499.
Loyalists, treatment of, 347-350.
Lynah, Dr. James, 236.
Lyons, Captain, 276,
Maddock, Joseph, member of the Provincial
Congre.'ss of 1775, 105. Declines taking his
seat, 106.
Madison, James, 385, 496.
Maitland, Captain, 103. Major, 127, 134.
Lieutenant-Colonel, 173. Honorable Colonel,
208, 210, 320.
Mann, Luke, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Manufactures, 53, 55. Resolve of Provincial
Congress, encouraging. 111.
Mapp, Captain, 412.
Marbury, Colonel, 195.
Marbury, Leonard, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Marchant, Captain, 430.
" Marine Certificates," 359.
Marion, Lieutenant-Colonel, 154.
Martin, Clement, 63.
Martin, John, Naval Officer at Sunbury, 21.
Member ol tbe Provincial Congress of 1775,
104. Member of the Council of Safety, 126.
Captain, 249. Governor, 272. Communica
tion to the Legislature, 278, 279. Negotia
tions with Sir James Wright, 287. Elected
Governor, 335. Address of, 335, 236. Efforts
to check frontier massacres, 336, 337. State
Treasurer, 340, 416.
Martin, Joseph, United States Commissioner,
418,426. ''Colonel," 427, 428.
Maryland, Historical Society of 237.
Massachusetts Assembly, 41, 58.
Massachusetts House of Representatives, cir
cular letter of, 63, 64. Entered upon the
journal of the Georgia House of Assembly,
65. Further action thereupon, 65, 66, 68.
Matthews, General George, claims reservation

of land, 359. Elected Governor, 376. Friend
ship with Sevier, 380-382. Representative
to Congress, 394. Chosen Governor, 398.
Vetoes Yazoo Sale Bill, 469. Scruples over
come, 473, 474, 477. Message to the Legisla
ture, 481-484.
Maxwell, Captain, 412.
Maxwell, James, member of tbe Provincial
Congres8ofl775,105, 106, Secretary of State,
303.
Maxwell, William, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Maybank, Captain Andrew, 127.
Mayham, Lieutenant, 258.
Mayham Tower, 259.
McAllister, Matthew, 473.
McArthur, Major, 213, 254.
McCall, Colonel, 247.
McClure, John, member ofthe Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 104.
McDowell, Colonel, 245.
McGiUivray, Alexander, instigates Indian diffi
culties, 4Ul, 429-432, 434-446, 449, 453-454.
McGiUivray, Lachlan, Indian trader, 430.
McGirth, Colonel Daniel, 133, 170, 187, 188, 192,
193, 199.
Mcintosh, George, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Mcintosh, John, member ofthe Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 105.
Mcintosh, Lachlan, 88. Member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, 105. Colonel of the
Georgia Battalion, 127, 134, 142, 143, 144,
153, 154. Duel with President Gwinnett, 158,
159, 172. General, 190, 192, 202, 214, 218, 220,
312, 313. Attempts to traduce the character
of, 324. Mr. Glascock's letter, 325. Acknow
ledgment of his virtues and merits by the
Legislature, 326, Agent of Georgia on boun
dary disputes, 340, 341. Commissioner for
samo purpose, 385, 415. United States Com
missioner, 417, 458, 426.
Mcintosh, Captain Lachlan, 158.
Mcintosh, Roderick, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Mcintosh, William, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105. Georgia Commis
sioner, 337.
Mcintosh County, 399, 406, 485.
McKay, Charles, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
McNeil, James, addresses letter to General
Twiggs, 408, 409, 429.
McPherson. Major, 377.
Medway, 199, 319.
Medway Meeting-House, camp formed at, 155.
Engagement near, 170, 17^,
Meigs, Josiah, First Professor of the University
of Georgia, 362. Elected President, 363.
Melvin, Captain, 162, 238.
Mercer, Rev. Jesse, 500, 501.
" Minute Men certificates," 359.
Military strength of the Colony, 1760, 18, 19.
Militia laws, revision of, 321, 336.
Milledge, John, '^ Captain," 45. On committee
of correspondence with Benjamin Franklin,
63. On committee to select new site for the
University of Georgia, 363. Conveys land
for the College, 363, 364. Georgia Commis
sioner, 496.
Milton, John, 340.
Mississippi River, western boundary line be
tween Great Britain and France. 25. Boun
daries of Georgia enlarged to, 33. Right of
navigation, 334, 384, 386, 461, 462, 465, 474,
475.
Mississippi, State ofi 415.
Mississippi Territory, the, 463, 495.

INDEX.

519

'*^!!^'Vl"'J'"'''o''-' "appointed on committee
on the Yazoo Sale liUl, 486
Mobile, intrigues of the French at, 18. Re-
moval of French rule from, 26.
Moncrief, Msjor, 204, 216.
Monro, Simon, returned as member of tho
Common.i' House of Assembly, 1780, 318
Montgomerie, Alexnnder. Earl of Eglintoun,
petitions for land in Georgia, 31-32. Death
Montgomery, General Richard, 24. Countv
named for, 399. '
Montgomery County formed, 399, 406.
Moon, Andrew, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106.
Moore, Major Francis, 276.
Moore, General James, 148.
Moravians, 233, 236.
Morgan, General Daniel, letter to the refugees
of Georgia, 253, 254.
Morell, John,memberof tbe Council of Safety,
161. Member of the Provincial Congress of
1776, 105, 135.
Morrison, Lieutenant John, 127. Brigadier-
General, 403, 500.
Moss, William, 106. Authorized to sign bills
of credit, 374.
Mossman, James, 106. Returned as member
of the Commons' House of Assembly, 1780,
318.
Moultrie, Alexander, 463.
Moultrie, General. 148, 149, 164, 161.
Mount Venture, 181.
Mourning-dress, resolve of Provincial Congress
concerning. 111.
Mowbray, Captain, 162.
Mulberry Grove, 371, 372.
Muhlenburg, Colonel, 160.
Muller, Captain, defeat of, 199.
Mullryne, John, 63, 106, 108.
Negroes in the province, 64, 146, 204, 257, 276.
Carried off at the embarkation ofthe British,
289. DifBculty from armed, 316, 317. Act
concerning, 320, 321. Tax on, 344, 345, 360.
Ravages of armed, 376, 377.
New England, Mississippi Company, 494.
New Hampshire, 40. Treatment of the Tories,
348.
New Hanover. 459.
New Jersey, 114. Laws of, in reference to the
persons and property ofthe Tories. 348.
New Netherlands, remonstrance of the inhabi
tants of, against taxation without popular
consent, 36, 37.
New Orleans, 450, 451.
New York, 36, 37. Resolution of Royal Assem
bly of, 38. General Congress of the Colonies
appointed at, 41. Assembly ot, 63, 171, 227,
240, 328, Acts of confiscation, 348, 376, 385,
434. 437, 438, 439, 440. 441, 442, 446, 447, 451,
New York treatv with the Creeks, 455, 481.
New York volunteers at the attack on Savan
nah, 172, 173, 175, 176, 204.
Neckabaohe. Indian council at, 440.
Ninety-aix, 161, 248, 255, 267.
NoaUles, Viscount De, 209.
North, Lord, 76, 138, 1.39.
North Carolina suffers from »» I°*'^°/',||-
Unites in the Southern Congress, 26, 27, 144,
147 148,243, 244, 330,331. Conflscation act,
SIS ronvevs vacant lands to the United
ltn;»«3?8 379 Action of the Legislature
^Sl^i^;SySu^^J^l^M79,380,
North Carolina troops, 180, 19.i.

0 Bncn, William, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 106. Treasurer of Georgia,
303. Defends detention of the records, 368.
Suspended from office, 369.
Oconee land, 443, 446.
Oconee River, 270, 399, 402, 404, 429, 432, 434,
Ogeechee Territory ferry, 281.
Ogeechee River, 56, 170, 176, 197, 238, 241, 242
243, 208, 269, 286, 300, 329, 381,
Ogeechee road, 281, 286, 286.
Oglethorpe, James, 19, 399, 469, 460.
Oglethorpe County, 83, 363, 376, 399, 406,485.
Osborne, Chief Justice H., 432, 433,
Ositchy, Indian council at, 439, 440.
Pacolette River, 245, 263.
Palmer, Rev, Mr., of St. Paul's, Augusta,
preaches Thanksgiving Sermon before the
Governor and General Assembly, 393. Re
ceives the thanks of the Assembly, 393.
Panton, William, returned a member of the
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 319,
431, 437.
Panton, Leslie k Co., 431.
Parker, Commodore Hyde, at the capture of
Savannah, 172, 177. Issues proclamation to
the Georgians, 181, 182, 282, 288, 312.
Parker's (Captain) Infantry, 287, 288.
Parliament, British, 37, 38, 110, 113, 114, 116,
138, 140, 141, 286, 292, 297.
Parliamentary Commissioners on the claims of
the Loyalists, 350.
Paterson, Simon, returned a member of the
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 319.
Peacock, William, member of the first Execu
tive Council, 300.
Pendleton, Nathaniel, delegate from Georgia to
the Federal Convention, 386, 387.
Pendleton, Major, attends General Greene's last
moments, 372, 373.
Pennsylvania, 113, 233. Acts of attainder and
confiscation, 348, 355.
Pensacola, removal of Spanish rule from, 26,
446, 447.
Petersburgh. Vide Fort James.
Petty, Lieutenant, 162.
PhUadelphia, 77, 104, 123, 127, 156, 200, 243,
441,463. '
Philips, Captain, 37.
Philips, Lieutenant George, 127.
Phoenix, the, ship of war, 172, 173.
Pickens, Andrew, Colonel, 188-190, 197, 198,
242, 243, 254-257, 261, 262-267. Briga
dier-General, 267. Expedition against tho
Cherokees, 282-286. South Carolina Com
missioner in boundary disputes, 385. Expe
dition against Waters's settlement, 412-414.
United States Commissioner, 417, 418, 420,
432. '• Talk" with the Creeks, 432-434, 438.
Indian Commissioner, 465, 460.
Pierce, WUliam, delegate from Georgia at the
Federal Convention, 386, 387.
Piercy, Rev. William, opens session ofthe Pro
vincial Congress by a sermon, 129.
Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, South Carolina
Commissioner in boundary dipputes, 386.
Pinckney, Major Thomas, 201, 211, 212. Go
vernor, 432.
Pitt, Earl of, Chatham County named for,
299. ^
Pitt. William, plan for raising revenue ftom
the Americans, 39, 460.
Poniatowski, 228.
Pooler, Captain Quintin, 124.
Posey, Lieutenant-Colonel, 277, 278.
Posey's Infantry, 281, 282.
Powell, Captain, 46.

520

INDEX.

Pray, Captain, 152.
Presbyterian Congregation at Savannah, 119.
President of Congress, letter to, 326,
President of the United States, proclamation
of, 499.
Prevost, Augustine, 160, Commands expedi
tion against Georgia, 170, 173, Reduces
Sunbury, 183. Gazetted Major-General, 186.
Abandons Augusta, 193. Battle of Brier
Creek, 195. Defence of Savannah, 202-218.
Sketch of the hfe of, 225, 238.
Prevost, George, Governor-General of North
America, 225.
Prevost, Captain James, 225.
Prevost, Lieutenant-Colonel James Mark, 170-
172, 184, 193-195.
Prevost, Major-General William Augustus, 0.
B., 225.
Prohibitory Bill, Lord Worth's, 138, 141, 142.
Province of Georgia, re-establishment of royal
government in, 331.
Provincial Congress of Georgia, meets in Sa
vannah, 88. Resolve of, laid before the As
sembly, 89, 90. Gives umbrage to the parish
of St. John's, 90, 91, Delegates of, to General
Congress, admitted, 96, Commissions a ves
sel for the capture of the British armed
schooner in Savannah River, 103, 104,
Meets at Savannah, 104. Members of, 104-
106. Proceedings of, 106-118. Elect dele
gates to the Continental Congress, 114.
Preamble and resolutions of, 114-118. Ad
dress from, 126. Georgia in the hands of,
126. Opened by a sermon from Dr. Piercy,
129. Organized, 291. Confers full powers
on the Council of Safety, 291. Resolutions
of, 291-294, 351.
Provincial currency, 375.
Pugh, James, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Purysburg, 185, 194, 269.
Pulaski, Count Casimer, 202, Wounded at the
siege of Savannah, 217, 218, Sketch of the
life of, 228, 237.
Pulaski's Legion, 233, 238, 381.
Quash DoUy, 175.
Quebec, 399.
Ral, Robert, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 106.
Ramsey, David, 239,
Ramsey's (Dr. J. G. M.) Annals of Tennessee,
380.
Randolph, Peyton, Speaker of the Virginia
House of Burgesses, letter from, 65. Action
of the Georgia Assembly thereon ordered to
bu transmitted to, 66.
Rawdon, Lord, 264, 255, 269, 274.
Ray, Lieutenant-Colonel, 162.
Records, controversy respecting the retention
of, 368-371. All references to the Yazoo Sale
Act expunged from, 491-494,
Rees, David, Collector of Sunbury, 303.
"Refugee Certificates," 358.
Reichel, William C, 233.
Reid's Bluff, 163.
"Rescinding Act," the, 486-489.
Reynolds, Governor John, 20, 24, 459.
Reynolds, Joseph, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104.
Reynolds, William, petitions for a tract of land
in Georgia, 29,
Rice, Captain, 134, 135. 136.
Richmond, 441,
Richmond County, 186. Established by the
Constitution, 299, 306. Proceedings of the
representatives of, 30&-310, 329. Grand jury

of, 329, 330. Requested to furnish a guard
for the President and Executive Council,
355, 389, 394-406. Judge Walton's charge
to Ihe grand jury of, 404, 412, 501.
Richmond, Duke of, 299,
Roach, Matthew, Jr., member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1775, 105.
Roberts, Daniel, 92. Member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1775, 105, 134-136. Lieu
tenant-Colonel, 176,
Roberts, John, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775 , 106. Declines taking his seat,
106.
Robertson, James, 124. Attorney-General, 318.
Returned as member of the Commons'
House of Assembly, 1780, 318.
Rock Landing, Oconee River, 432, 434, 437.
Rolles, Denys, applies for land in Georgia, 29,
30.
Rolles, Lord, Baron of Stevenstone, 29.
Rose, the, ship of war, 172, 202, 205.
Ross, Major, 195,
Ross, William, returned a member of the
Commons* House of Assembly of 1780, 319.
Royal American Regiment, 47, 64, 65, 67.
Royal Artillery, 172.
Royal Assembly, disqualifying act o;^ 351,
Royal Council, 19, 20, 22, 23, 43, 44, 51, 58, 59,
63, 70, 72, 89, 92, 95, 100, 124, 128, 131, 136,
222, 317-320, Vide Gmtndl (Eoyal.)
Royal Government of Georgia, public obse
quies of, 152, Re-establishment of, 315,
316.
Royalists, number of^ in Lower House of As
sembly, 59.
Rudolph, Major, 255, 264, 266.
Rutherford, General, 144, 194, 283,
Rutherford, James H., 485, 486,
Rutherford, Robert, member of the first gra
duating class of the University of Georgia,
364.
Rutledge, President, furnishes soldiers, 148.
Ryan, Daniel, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Salzburg, Protestants of, 602.
"Sana Culottes" party, 405.
Saltilla River, 165.
Sapello Sound, 198.
Savannah, defenceless state of, 18, 19. Intel
ligence of King's death reaches, 19. Fes
tivities at, 22. Commons' House of Assembly
convened at, 41. Riots at, 43-47. Clearance
of ships at, 48. First wharf built at, 52, 53.
Meeting of merchants at, 70. Departure of
Governor Wright from, 70. His return to,
74. Meetings at, to sympathize with the
Bostonians, 76-80. Treaty with the Creeks
signed at, 85, 97, 100. Port of, blockaded,
102, 103. Members of the Provincial Con
gress from, 104, 105. Resolutions of inha
bitants of, 106-108. Presbyterian congrega
tion at, 119. Dr. Zubly's course at, 119-121.
Resolutions of the Council of Safety concern
ing the burning of, 133. Threatened attack
on, 133. Prohibitory bill reaches, 141. De
fence of, intrusted to the Georgia Battalion,
136, 142, 143. Troops of General Lee reach,
148. Declaration of Independence received
at, 151, 162. General Howe arrives at, 152,
160, 171. Capture of, 172, 177. British out
rages at, 177-180, 184, 185, 187. Siege of, 200-
225, 228, 236-287. Negotiations for surren
der of, 287. Evacuation of, 288, 296, 297.
Legislature convened at, 300, 301, 305, 313,
314. Re-establishment of royal government
at, 315, 316. Small-pox at, 317. Members of

INDEX.

521

from ?1 R S™7f .Assembly,1780, returned
«TO 'w 1.^*'^' '"«s pushed on toward,
?,, S""''" °f """"'"s "Id inhabitants,
8JA Evacuation of, 322, 323, 328, 331, 832.
British shut up within the limits of, 336.
+J «To?P S^' *°* removal of the Assembly
Q^'i ^t*°'„^*^- Proclamation of peace at,
,«i'oi5 • J'"'™"""! of State records at,
d0»-dil. Washington's visit to, 396, 396,
434. ' '
Savannah River, 54, 103, 104, 160, 187-190 194
196, 273, 302, 329, 377, 414, 469, 461.
Scarborough, the, man-ofwar, 129, 131, 133,
Schools ; erection of, in each county, required
by the Constitution, 296,
'¦ Scillius" (General James Jackson), newspaper
articles of, 480,
Scophal, Colonel, 160.
"Scophalites," 160, 166.
Scott, General, 312, 315.
Scriven, General, mortally wounded, 170, 171,
Scriven County, 39S, 399, 406, 486.
Seagrove, 451, 454.
Sea Island District; list of members of the
Provincial Congress from, 105.
Seal of the State, the great, 300, 506.
Senate of Georgia, 391, 392, 398, 418, 487, 490,
491, 492.
Senate of the United States, 374, 442, 455, 479,
480, 481.
Senatus Academicus of the University of Geor
gia; how constituted, 362. First meeting
of, 362,
Sevier, Colonel John, 283. Governor of the
State of Franklin, 378-.382.
Seymour's white house, 247, 248.
Sharp, Major Harry, 186, 187.
Sheep, resolve of the Provincial Congress to
improve the breed of, 101.
Sheftall, Levi, 107.
Sheftall, Mordecai, treatment of, 183.
Sheftall Sheftall, treatment of, 183.
Shelburne, Earl of, 49, 63-66, 69, 60.
Shelby, Colonel, 246, 283.
Sherrill, killed hy the Indians, 84.
Sherrill's Fort, attack on, 84.
Shoulder-Bone Creek, Indian Congress at, 429.
Treaty of, 436.
Simms, James, Georgia Commissioner, 466.
Simpson, John, 63, 106, 108. Returned as
member of the Commons' House of Assem
bly of 1780, 318.
Sisters' Ferry, 181, 184 186, 272.
Skinner's Corps, 172, 204.
Slavery ; expression of disapprobation and ab
horrence of, by the District Congress of St.
Andrew's Parish, 87.
Slaves; resolve concerning importation or
purchase of, 109. Proposal to arm the, 119,
120. Nearly half the population, 122. Acts
concerning, 320, 321. Prohibition of further
importation of; 601. Vide Negroes.
Small-pox at Savannah, 317.
Smith, Lieutenant Aaron, 184.
Smith, John, 63. 80. Member of the Council of
Safeta 101. Member of the Provincial Con-
gressW 1775, 106.
Smith, Captain John C, 74.
Smith, Lieutenant Joshua, 127.
Smith, Bev. Mr., Rector of Christ Church, Sa
vannah ; contumacious conduct of; 126.
Snyder, Mr., gallant conduct of, 279.
Society for Propagating the Gospel in Pojeig"!
Parts, The ; conduct ofthe missionaries of, 341.
South Carolina, success of the Cherokees in, 18.
Chief sufferer in Indian war, 241. Unites in
Southern Indian Congress, 26, 27. Injustice

143,144,146,147, 163, 163, 198, 235. Reso
lutions of, ou death of Pulaski, 236, 240, 246,
2«> 253, 269, 271. Votes rice for Georgia;
279. Proposes union with Georgia, 301-303,
316, 320. Laws of, respecting Tories, 348, 349.
Action concerning boundaries, 384-386, 412,
430, 482, 438, 459, 461, 462, 464, 496.
South Carolina cavalry, 276, 277.
South Carolina, Legislature of, 161, 301-303.
South Carolina regiment, 150, 217, 242.
South Carolina' troops, 377.
South Carolina Yazoo Company, the, 463-466
Spain, 227, 328. Negotiations with, 333-334,
447. ' Claim of, to the Southern frontiers of
. the United States, 468. King and constitution
of, 460.
Spalding, James, returned a member of the
Commons' House of Assembly, 1780, 319.
Spaniards, exposure to incursions from, 364.
" Speaker's" warrants, 375.
Speedwell, the ship ; reaches Georgia with the
stamps, 44. Stamps deposited on board for
security, 47. Marines and seamenfrom, mar
shalled for the defence of Savannah, 47.
Spencer, Captain, capture of a British vessel
by, 199.
Spring Hill, 212, 216,
Spring HUI redoubt, 239.
Spurgen, Major, 191.
Stamp Act, the, 36-39, 40, 41. Riots in Savan
nah caused by, 43, 44. Peculiarly oppressive
to Georgia, 44. 45, 47, 48. Repeal of, an
nounced, 49, 50.
St. Andrew's I'arish District, Congress held at,
86, 87. List of members of Provincial Con
gress of 1775, from, 105, 135. Name and
boundaries changed, 299, 319. Vide Darien.
Stanislaus, Augustus, 228, 229.
State-House (Philadelphia), 463.
State-House, old, 491, 493.
St. Augustine, removal of Spanish rule from,
26, 102, 129, 146, 148, 163, 164, Gwinnett's
proposed attack on, 156-159. General Howe's
proposed attack on, 160-168.
St. Clair, General, 269, 270.
St. David's Parish, deputies from ; unite- with
the people of St. John's in resolution to send
deputies to the General Congress, 81. List
of members of Provincial Congress of 1776,
from, 1 05. Name aud boundaries of, changed,
299, 319.
Steding, Baron de, 219.
Stephens, President WUliam, 124, 202.
Stephens, Chief Justice WUliam, 294, 303, 329.
Defends retention of the records, 368. Sus
pended from office, 369. Reads burial service
of the Church of England over the body of
General Greene, 373.
Stephens, John, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1776, 106.
St. George's Parish, deputies from; unite with
the people of St. John's in resolution to send
deputies to the General Congress, 81. List
of members of the Provincial Congress of
1775, from, 105. Name changed to Burke
County, 299, 319.
Stirk, Samuel, Clerk of Executive Council, 301.
Delegate to Congress, 336. State Commis
sioner, 337. AttorneyGeneral, 340. Defends
the retention of the records, 368. Suspended
from office, 369. „_ ¦ • , r.
Stirk John, membei; of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Stf James's Parish; name and boundaries
changed, 299. ,. , xv
St John's Parish furnishes supplies for the
Buffering Bostonians, 80-81. Resolve to send

rf/towMdrp^opiroYQe-Jigia, 48, 114, 121, I deputies to the General Congress, 81. Course
VOL. II. ^^

522

INDEX.

ofthe delegates from, at the Provincial Con
gress, 90, 91. Seek exemption from the non-
intercourse proclaimed by South Carolina
with Georgia, 92. Wealth and character of
the people of, 92, 93, 123, 148. Name and
boundaries of, changed, 299, 319.
St. John's Rangers, 134, 135.
St. John's Rifiemen, 135.
St. Mark's, Florida, 448.
St, Mary's Pari.sh, list of members of Provincial
Congress of 1775, from, 105, 166. Name and
boundaries changed, 299, 300. List of mem
bers of Commons' House of Assembly, 1780,
returned from, 319.
St. Mary's River, boundary of -Georgia, 33, 93,
148, 163, 166, 319, 337, 360, 384, 415, 446, 461,
462, 466, 496, 504.
St. Matthew's Parish, list of members of the
Provincial Congress of 1776, from, 105. Name
and boundaries of, changed, 299, 319.
Stokes, Anthony, Chief Justice, 318.
St. Patrick's Parish ; name and boundaries of,
changed, 299, 319.
St. Paul, Parish of; list of members of the
Provincial Congress of 1775, from, 105 ; name
changed to Richmond County, 299.
St. Paul's Church, Augusta, 257, 393.
St. Philip's Parish, list of members of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, from, 105. Name
and limits of, changed, 299, 318.
St. Thomas's Parish, list of members of the
Provincial Congre?s of 1776, from, 105, 152.
Name and boundaries of, changed, 299, 300,
319.
Stuart, Allen, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Stuart, Captain John, Superintendent of In
dian Affairs, 27. Spe.'ch at Indian Congress,
28. Efforts for another congress at Augusta,
83. Interview with the Creeks at Savannah,
85, 93, 10?, 144. 203.
St. Vincent captured, 201, 223.
Sullivan, Captain, 463.
Sullivan County (North Carolina), 378.
Sunbviry : made port of entry, 21, 150, 151, 168,
171, 172, 173, 179. Last remnant of Ameri
can Army in Georgia at, 183. Reduced, 184.
Name changed to Fort George, 184, 276, 313,
340.
Sumter, Colonel, 157, 161, 270.
Supreme Court of the United States, suits in
equity in, against Savannah, 466, 467.
Supreme Executive Council. Vide Executive
Council.
Sugar or molasses act, 40.
Taliaferro, Benjamin, trustee of the University
of Georgia, 362, 501.
Taliaferro County, 83.
Tamar, the man-of-war, 141.
Tammany Society, 441.
Tarlin, Peter, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Tarleton, defeat of, at the Cowpens, 254.
Tarleton's Legion, 254.
Tassel of Chata, the speech of, at the Indian
Congress at Hopewell, 429-423.
Tatnall, Josiah, 106, 377.
Tatnall's plantation, 175, 203, 204.
Tauche, Captain, 405, 406.
Taylor, Major Samuel, 247, 248, 426.
Telfair, Edward, 80. Secures military stores at
Savannah, 100. Member of the Council of
Safety, lol, 126. Member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104, 150. Delegate to Con
gress, 335. Agent to settle boundary dis
putes, 340, 341. Indian Commissioner, 365.
Governor, 367, Early history of, 367. Ad

ministration of, 368-371. Advises issuing of
bills of credit, 374, 375, 378, 380. First Go
vernor under new Constitution, 392. Ad
ministration of, 392-398, Indian Commis
sioner, 415. Attempts expedition against
the Creeks, 453, 454.
Tennessee, 252, 378, 382.
Tennessee Company, 468, 476.
Tennessee River, 382, 422, 465, 466, 476, 476.
Tennessee Yazoo Company, 464-466.
Tensaw Lake, 474.
Temple (on the St. Mary's), 405.
Thanksgiving, day of, appointed by Congress,
393. Its observance in Georgia, 393.
Threadcraft, George, 88. Member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, 105.
Thomas, Colonel, 186.
Tombigbee River, 474, 475.
Tondee's Long Room, 104, 127.
Tonyn, Governor Patrick, 93, 337.
Toulouse, Fort, 430.
Treaties with the Indians. See Indian Treaties.
Treaty between France and the United States,
signed at Versailles, 200.
Treaty between Great Britain and the United
States, 462.
Treutlin, John Adam, member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1775, 105. Governor, 300.
Proclamation of, 302, 303. Dictatorial powers
conferred upon, 304, 405.
Trial by jury, secured by the Constitution, 298.
Trustee's patent, 94.
Tuckasee, speech of, at the Indian Congress at
Hopewell, 424.
Tugaloo River, 384, 386, 399,
Tushegatahee, speech of, at the Indian Con
gress at Hopewell, 427, 428.
Twiggs, Colonel John, 186, 187, 192, 198, 199,
242, 243. General, 269, 270, 328, 363, 400,
403, 404. Letter addressed to, 408, 409, 416,
417. Major-General, 453, 468.
Tybee, 45, 127, 128, 136, 173, 201, 203, 240,
319.
Tybee Light-house, 103.
United States, 242, 365, 366, 477, 496.
University of Georgia; establishment of a se
minary of learning recommended, 344, Le
gislative action therefor, 352-364. Act of
Assembly for the more full and complete
establishment of, 360-362. Appointment of
" Board of Trustees," 362. Site determined
upon, 363, 364. First class of, graduated,
364. Remarks on the establishment of, 364,
365, 490.
Upper Mississippi Company, 475, 476,
Vaudreuil, Marquis de, 220.
Vernonburgh, list of members of the Provin
cial Congress of 1775, from the District of,
105, 319.
Versailles, treaty between France and the Uni
ted States signed at, 200, 228.
Vestrymen, choice of, recommended by the
Legislature, 342.
Vigilant, the, ship of war, 172.
Virginia, 24, 26, 27, 36, 41, 134, 144, 147, 151,
239, 348, 359, 396, 421, 422.
Virginia Assembly, deny the right of Parlia
ment to tax the Colonies. 41. Letter from,
placed on record, 65, 68. ' Adopt resolve of
non-importation, 70.
Virginia, Legislature of, 151.
Virginia Troops, 150, 277, 278.
Virginia Yazoo Company, the, 464-466, 468,
476.
Wade, Captain Hezekiah, 127.

INDEX.

523

Wode, Nehemiah, Treasurer of Georgia, 363.
Wallace, Sir James, 201
Walsh ^alias Thomas Washington), 463, 466.
to!403 '' "^- °''°'™' ^"'^'=»^' '"""
Walton, George, 77. Member of the Council
of Safety, 102, 126. Member of the Provin
cial Congress of 1776, 106. President of the
Council of Safety, 118, 123, 127, 291. Dele
gate to Continental Congress, 129. Excites
discontent towards tho existing government,
i^' ';°J^'^i°r. and delegate to Congress,
JAi. Attempts to traduce the character of
?oT"<?;„'"'?°'°*''' ^2i. S26. Chief Justice,
326, 340. Signs the "Observations," 332,
363. Agent of Georgia in boundary dis
putes, 385. Delegate to Federal Convention,
386,887. Speech of, 390, 391. Retirement
of, 392, 444, 446.
Walton, John, member ofthe Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 105. Member of first Execu
tive Council, 306, 404.
Wardens of Savannah, Board of, 444.
Warren County, 363, 399, 406, 485, 501.
Washington County, land set apart in. for tbe
endowment of a college, 354, 389, 394, 398,
399. Laid out, 416, 486.
Washington County (North Carolina), 378.
Washington, George, 114, 151, 158, 224, 226,
232, 233, 373, 376, 393. Visit to Georgia,
395-397, 434, 407-439, 441^44, 462, 464, 455,
456. ....
Wafshington (Wilkes County). Vide Hearts
Fart.
Washington, Thomas {alias Walsh), 463, 466.
Wasp, United States brig, 236-237,
Waters's Settlement, 413.
Watkins, Mr,, report to the Legislature on the
Yazoo Bill, 470-472, 501.
Wauldhauer, Jacob, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 105.
Way, Lieutenant Moses, 127.
Wayne, General, 269-273, 372, 373.
Wells, Andrew Elton, 80. Member of the
Provincial Congress of 1776, 105.
Wells, George, 323. President of Executive
Council, 326. Invested with gubernatorial
powers, 329. Death of, 329.
Wells, Humphrey, member of the Executive
CouncU, 308, 326.
Wellworth Battalion of Hessians, 172, 175.
Wereat, John, 280. Member of the Executive
Council, 308. President of the Executive
Council, 311. Foreman of Grand Jury of
Richmond County, 329. Commissioner, 337.
President of Convention, 387, 388, 468.
Wesent, John, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 105.
West Florida, 146, 147, 447, 460, 462.
West India Company, 36, 37.
West Indies, 111, 114, 122, 123, 200, 201.
Wharf, first, built at Savannah, 62, 63.
White, Colonel John, 162, 171, 238, 239, 270,
278, 281, 282, 381.
White's Dragoons, 281, 282,
White, Dr. James, United States Commis
sioner, 432.
White, Lieutenant (Indian chief), 440.
Wilkes County, 83, 190, 241, 242, 286, 300, 306-
310, 328, 329, 331, 354, 363, 389, 394, 399,402,
403, 406, 407, 414, 418, 600, 501.
Wilkes, John, county named for, 300.
Wilmington, 77, 319.
Wilmington Island, 173.
WUlan, Dr. Robert, 29.
Willeti Colonel Marinus, mission to the Creeks,
407, 441.
Williams, Colonel, 246.

Williams, William, Sr., member ofthe Provin
cial Congress of 1775, 106.
'nlrTie^l"^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^'^^^- ^^-
Wilhamson, William, member of the first
graduating class of the University of Geor
gia, 364. ''
Williamson's Settlement, 246.
Winn, Captain Richard, 153, 154.
Wissenbach Battalion of Hessians, 172, 175,
Witherspoon, John, 88. Member of the Pro
vincial Congress of 1775, 105.
Witherspoon, John, Jr., 88.
Wren, Matthew, Lord Bishop of Ely 17
Wren, Sir Christopher, 17.
Wright, Alexander, returned as member of
the Commons' House of Assembly of 1780,
Wright, Ambrose, member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775, 104. Member of the Coun
cil of Safety, 126, 127. Major, 203. Com
missary-General, 313.
Wright, Anne, daughter of Governor Wright,
Wright, Lieutenant-Governor James, arrives
iu Georgia, 17. Ancestors of, 17. Early life
of, IS. Peculiar qualifications for his posi
tion, 18. Opening speech of, to General As
sembly, 18. Discourages removal of the seat
of government, 19. Congratulates the As
sembly on the accession of George III, 20.
Secures emission of bills of credit, 20, 21.
Attends to fortifying Cockspur, &c., 21.
Made Captain-General and Governor-in-
chief, 21, 22. Festivities in honor of, 22.
DifBculties with Chief Justice Grover, 22-24,
Indian Congress at Augusta, 27-29. En
larged powers conferred on, 32, 33, Prevents
the sending of delegates to the New York
Congress, 41, Calms excitement concerning
the Stamp Act, 41. Issues proclamation
condemning the Savannah riots, 43. Writes
to the Board of Trade, 43, 44. Opposes the
measures of the "Liberty Boys," 44, 45.
Menacing letters sent to, 46, 47. Burned in
effigy, 47. Termed a "parricide" by the
Carolinians, 48. Course of, approved by the
King, 49. Speech to the Assembly on the
repeal of tbe Stamp Act, 49, 50. Letters of,
53-56, 67. Desires the appointment of Mr.
Cumberland as Colonial Agent, 58, 69. Let
ter of, to Earl of Shelburne, 59, 60. Refuses
bis sanction to further emission of bills of
credit, 60, 61. Dissuades the Assembly from
countenancing the circular letter of the Mas
sachusetts House of Representatives, 64, 66.
Dissolves the Assembly, 66. Letter to the
Earl of Hillsborough, 68 . Struggle with the
Assembly, 70, 72. Goes to England, 72.
Created Baronet, and returns, 74. Procla
mation of, 77, 78, Counter petitions pro
cured by, 81, 82. Attends to Indian affairs,
82. Secures cession of lands, 83. Anticipa
tions, 83, 84. Makes treaty with the Creeks,
85. Speech of, 88, 89. Adjourns the As
sembly, 90. Review of his administration,
94, 95. Further prorogues the Assembly,
95. Instructions and reply of, 99. Offers
reward for the detection of persons concerned
in breaking open the King's magazine, 100.
Writes for help, 101-103. Appoints day of
fasting and prayer, 106. Dr. Zubly's letter
to, 120. Letter to, from the Council of
Safety, 123-126. Arrest of, ordered, 127.
AccompHshed by Major Habersham, 128.
Escape o^ 128, 129. Letter to the Council,
131, 132. Departure, 143. Returns, and re-

524

INDEX.

enters upon his duties, 185, 201, 206. Ap
points a day of thanksgiving, 222, 223. Re
inforced, 241, 268. Letter to General Wayne,
285, 286. Negotiations with, 287, 292, 315,
316. Re-establishes royal government, 316,
317. Difficulty with armed negroes, 317.
Convenes the Assemblies, 31 7-322. Receives
orders for evacuating the province, 322. Act
of Attainder of, 345. Value of property of,
confiscated, 347. Made President of the
Board of Agents of the Loyalists, 350, 4C0,
462.
Wright, Sir James (son of the Governor), 350.
Wright, of Kilverstone, family of, 17.
Wright, Mary (daughter of tbe Governor), 74.
Wright, Hon. Robert, Chief Justice of South
Carolina, 18.
Wright, Sir Robert, Knight, Chief Justice of
the King's Bench, 17.
Wrightsborough, 189."
Wylly, Richard, Speaker of the Commons'
House of Assembly, convenes the House, 41.
Appointed on Committee of Correspondence
with Benjamin Franklin, 63. Replies " as a
private person," to the Massachusetts cir
cular letter, 64. Lays before the House of
Assembly letters from Massachusetts and
Virginia, 64, 65, 107, 155. Defends the re
tention of the records, 368. Suspended from
office, 369.

Wylly, Alexander, returned a member of the
Commons' House of Assembly of 1780, 319.
Yazoo Act, 498, 499.
Yazoo Sale, 497.
Yazoo speculations, 457-495,
Yeardly, Sir George, Governor of Virginia, 36.
Yonge, William, 107, 123.
Yonge, Philip, returned a member of the Com
mons' House of Assembly of 1780, 319.
Young, Isaac, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1775, 105.
Young, William, 80. Member of the Council
of Safety, 104. Member of the Provincial
Congress of 1775,104.
Young, Captain, 162.
Young Corn, Indian guide, 438.
Zubly, David, member of the Provincial Con
gress of 1776, 105. Returned a member of
the Commons' House of Assembly of 1780,
319.
Zubly, John J., D.D., preaches opening sermon
of the Provincial Congress, 104, A member
of that body, 106. Delegate to Continental
Congress, 114, 117, 119, 126. Defection of.
119-121.
Zubly's Ferry, 186, 205, 220, 252, 377.
Zubly Street, in Savannah, 121.

THB SNB.

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