su on the MEDWAY The Department of NaturaZ Resources is an EquaZ Opportunity EmpZoyer and empZoys without regard to Race~ Creed~ CoZor~ Sex~ Age or NationaZ Origin . SUNBURY ON THE MEDWAY A Selective History of the Town, Inhabitants, and Fortifications by John McKay Sheftall Copyright State of Georgia Department of Natural Resources Office of Planning and Research Historic Preservation Section 1977 View of Sunb~y Cemetery, 19?6 (Photograph by David J. Kaminsky) In its palmy days, Sunbury was a beautiful village with its snow-white houses, green blinds, and a red roof here and there. From the fort to the point was a carpet of luxuriant Bermuda grass shaded with ornamental trees on either side of its wide avenues. Today it is a cotton field with one or two dilapidated buildings. - Dr. James Holmes The Darien Timber Gazette December 21, 1877 iv DEDICATED TO CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, JR. (1831-1893) ... whose untiring efforts to salvage, record, and preserve Georgia's documentary and oral history have left a continuing challenge for all succeeding Georgia historians. His writings on Sunbury and the Midway community have been an inspiration and a guide to the present author. v / / urm INHf IM'OHJ I$WoiO i H.UI....<..... 2 ~\" I 7'' , ' . ~ - - - - - - - - ..'4~..~~~ ... " ~ 1 - - - - - -- - - ~ ' , .. t. ""~ :~,:];3 t. ... ..,.... -~-- 1-.':-: =: .: f ).~ :~:-,., ... tt ;:. I';. 5. :l.', :cl .;.t.:' t _ :: ~ 'r'J.ll.t."': .= :..';": -'":t '3 :; ;~ ft. .~or OF LH / b,CCJ(. G, rcfl.T M~LR. J S !'ALit. ~ r,..~.r CU.TA!ioJ A.uA '"CIVioJ OJ.J Tf.IE. ?II&P I V/~101./ MAP Ot: rcLr IJCLfl. l ~ PAL/(, A<, Fu.r McLfl.l'" ': ._ ~~J ~fl.~ A HIHOR.I& A I.. 'OMM IH~! C)J ;o ..: .... _-.--_,_,.....~........,.._,.-.................-........-..- .~ ...-... ,.. / ,6.. .-'' ....!..-....J.,.r..;..,....~...~..''!!.....-. L----------------------------------------------~-- Illustration 2 Plat of "Fort Morris Pax>k~ 11 owned by the Georgia Historical Commission~ 1968 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the author's r e latively brief pe riod of r e search on Sunbury, he has been aided and encouraged by a large number of i ndividuals and would like to take this opportunity to express to them collectively his gratitude and sincer e appre ciation Fore most among thos e without whose help this resear ch could not have been complete d are the author's pa rents, Mr. and Mrs. William Lowe Shc ftall of Macon, Ga , his cousins and good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Richard LeConte Anderson of Macon, and his cousin and fellow researcher, Catherine Stewart Jones of Macon. Additional persons who contributed significantly to the research are : David T Agnew, John Bonner, Edwin Bridges, Mrs. Pat Bryant, Mike Christensen, Robert S Davis, Anthony Dees, Roger Durham, Mr. and Mrs William Geeslin, Richard B. Harwell, Mrs Lilla M. Hawes, Cathy McLendon, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Rosier, William Lowe Sheftall, Jr., Gordon B. Smith, Mrs Susan B. Tate, Kenne th H Thomas, Jr , and Robert Willingham, Jr. The writer was most fortunat e to have had the privile ge of visiting a number of manus cript r epositories in orde r to examine documents pertaining to Sunbury. Almost without exception, the various employees of these institutions greatly aided in these endeavors For their assis tance in locating r e cords and in many c ases for displaying ge nuine interest in the research, thanks are extended to the staff pers onne l at the following libraries: the Genealogical and Historical Room, Washington Me morial Library, Macon, Ga.; Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Ga , Surveyor General Department, Atlanta, Ga ; Historic Preservation Section, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta, Ga , Drafting Unit, Site Planning Section, xiv Georgia Department of Natural Res ource s, Atlanta, Ga , Emory University Library, Atlanta, Georgia Historical Soci e ty, Savann a h, Ga , Liberty County Clerk's Offi ce and Probate Court, Hine sville, Ga , Sp e cial Colle ctions, University o f Georgia Libra ry, Athens, Ga , Soutl1 Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S C South Carolina Archives, Columbia, S C , South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.; Manuscript Department, William R. Pe rkins Libra ry, Duke Unive rsity, Durham, N C., Southern Historical Collection, Unive r s ity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N C., Library of Congre ss, Washington, DC , Nationa l Ar chives, Washington, D C , and the Pe nnsylvania Histori c al So c i e ty, Philade lph i a, Pa XV SECTION I EXCERPTS FROM SUNBURY'S HISTORY Chapter 1 "A SEA-PORT TOWN, BEAUTIFULLY SITUATED ON THE MAIN" 1747 - 1774 Halfway between the present cities of Savannah and Darien and sheltered from the caprices of the Atlantic Ocean by the gold en islands of Saint Catherines and Ossabaw lies a wide sound Into this sound flow the sluggish waters of three rivers the Bear, the Medway, a nd the North Newport The widest of these rivers, the Medway, may he followed upstr e am through spacious salt marsh for approximately eight miles before a bend in the river and a thin, marshy island temporarily interrupt the Medway's relatively straight course A high bluff, closely mimicki ng the river's gradual bend, lies along the western bank of the Medway .ius t opposite the island For over 200 years, the inhabitants of this area -- politicians, laborers, craftsmen, and slaves -- have called this bluff Sunbury Although today's casual visitor will notice only a few modern houses enshrouded by clusters of pine and oak, this once-bustling town and the lives of those who called it home have had a tremendous impact on the history of our state The Georgia Colonial government enacted a law on March 7, 1775, which proclaimed the lands between the Me dway and North Newport rivers as the Midway District and appointed surveyers to lay out high\vays for the district 3 Fewer than s e ven years prior to the passage of this law, Midway District had been virtually 11ninhabited by white settlers, but beginning in 1747 and continuing for several years thereafte r, a number of colonists petitioned the president of Ge orgia for land along the Medway and North Newport rivers Many of these pe t i tioners subsequently received grants and moved with their families into the fertile, though swampy, distr i ct 3 One of these early settlers, Captain Mark Carr (later promoted to colonel), formerly resided on spacious grants on the Turtle River near Frederica but decided to move because of dangerous exposure to the Indians in that area 4 He had come to the colony sometime before 1739 as a soldier in Oglethorpe's regiment, but in 1747 his intelligence and integrity earned for him an appointment to serve as judge of the C.eorgia Court of Admiralty 5 On August 20, 1748, Carr petitioned the president of C.eorgia for 1,000 acres on the Medway River -- 500 acres for himself and 500 for his son Thomas 6 The town of Sunbury was later to be laid out within the elder Carr's 500-acre tract. On September 22, 1748, Middleton Evans, "having been settled upwards of a Year" on lands south of those granted Carr and having made "considerable Improvements," petitioned the president for a grant similar to Carr's and received confirmation.7 In like fashion, the president issued grants to Captain Seth Place, Audley Maxwell, Alexander Heron, Captain Patrick Southerland, Kenneth Baillie, Alexander Baillie, Isaac Lines, and H.illiam Hester for nearby lands on the Medway 8 Also, John Mullryne of South Carolina, "desirous of becoming a Planter in the Colony," received a grant for 500 acres lying between the grants of Carr and Evans 9 Surprisingly, Captain Carr soon became dissatisfied with his two grants along the Medway and, thinking himself not fairly compensated by the colony's authorities for his previous losses to the Indians, laid his case before the president's board of assistants: Gentlemen In the beginning of the Year 1739 l.enll Oglethorpe put me in possession of Five Hundred Acres of land on the Main to the South of Frederica call'd the Hermitage, and in the Year following a Tract of the like Quantity to my second son Thomas call'd Carrsfield, on both of which I made very considerable Improvements at a large Expence [sic], but in the Year 1740 while I was in Virginia on His Majesty's Service my whole Improvements with my 4 Stock was destroyed by the Spanish Indians and several of my People cutt [sic] off, and by a moderate computation my Loss was Seven Hund and Fifty Pds Soon after my return from Virginia, the Genll not thinking me safe there, granted me an Island to the South of my former Settlement wch I call'd Blyth, wherein I likewise built two Brick houses, with several Out Houses, as well as made very large Improvements in Cultivation, hut by the withdrawing of the Regimt these Improvements not only became invaluable, but I was exposed and it became dangerous, for me and my Servants to remain upon it, and consequently my Money and Time was in a great Measure sunk. This obliged me to remove into a less exposed Neighbourhood & I was advised to fix on Midway River where you was pleased to grant my son Thomas Five hundred Acres of Land & also another Tract of the like Quantity to me which was granted to, but resigned by Charles Ratcliff On these lands, I have made larger Improvements than any Person in the Neighbourhood, but to my great disappointment two thirds (as the Surveyor can inform you) proves unfit for any Manner of Cultivation and must soon want Land to Plant, unless I can gett [sic] an Addition Therefore I request you will grant my son William who is now near twenty one Years of age, five hundred Acres of Land on the North side of Newport River about four Miles So: West on the same Neck where I am settled and likewise that you would allow me to exchange the Tract of Land laid out for Lieut Archibald Don on Midway River wch I have made appear to you I purchased from him, for the like Quantity on Newport River adjoining the same Gentlemen as I presume that no Person that ever was in Georgia has given better proof of their Zeale [sic] and Industry to improve the Colony than I have done I need not assure you that I shall continue in it, and your obliging me with my request, I hope will enable me to retrieve the uncommon Losses I have sustained, which has been much more than I can mention or chooses [sic] to trouble you with, as it's a trueth [sic] well known to you -- I am Gentlemen Your very obedt Humbl Servt Mark Carr Savannah May ye 12th 1752 P S I lay no Claim to the Lands formerly granted to me or my Son at the Hermitage, Carrsfield or Blyth, wch I resign (to remove to where I have request) notwithstanding my Improvements thereon 10 The board graciously responded by not only granting 500 acres to young Will- iam Carr, but also allowing the older Carr to exchange the 500 acres he 5 purchased from Lieutenant Don for a tract adjoining his son's Both of these grants lay along the North Newport River, south of the present site of Sunbury. 11 Between 1752 and 1754, a new group of settlers began arriving and taking up land grants along the neck of land betwe en the Medway and North Newport rivers Unlike the earlier Medway settlers who came to plant, trade, and extend their business interests, this second group of immigrants was primarily motivated by a desire to estalJlish a community of Congregationalists Members of this religious faith, known as Protestant Dissenters by their Georgia neighbors, came from settlements around Dorchester, S.C., where their ancestors had originally located ca 1695. Dorchester had become increasingly populated with Anglican families in the years following, producing both a land shortage and competition for religious domination. The extensive, unsettled lands lying inland from the Medway and Newport rivers became the new home and spiritual haven for the members of this religious faith 12 For their "Meeting house or place of publick Worship," the Congregationalists chose a two-acre tract of land at the junction of the Fort Barrington Road (leading from Savannah to Fort Barrington on the Altamaha River) with the Sunbury Road (connecting the present site of Sunbury on the Medway River with the Fort Barrington Road) 13 This church and the community of Congregationalists who inhabited the surrounding district became known as "Midway" (sometimes spelled "Medway" to correspond with the nearby river) Although British soldiers burned the Midway Church in 1778, the structure erected in 1792 remains today on the same site as the original structure 6 By 1756, the various settlers of Midway District were in need of a focal marketplace for their goods and a community forum for their political ideas Without a central tot.m, they had no outlet for their crops, and the nearby Georgia merchants had no center for distribution in the Midway Dis- trict Captain Mark Carr apparently realized the potential value of his bluff along the Medway and as early as 1757 began selling lots to mercantile firms 14 On April 5 of that year, during the administration of Georgia's second royal governor, Henry Ellis, Carr received an official grant from King George II for his 500 acres on the Medway River, "hounded west by Thomas Carr, east by River Medway, south by vacant land, and on other sides by river's marshes "15 This grant served to confirm Carr's original grant from the president and assistants of Georgia and also gave him the legal power to further convey his tract for use as a town. The present site of Sunbury was called by that name as early as July of 1757, having been known as Captain Carr's Bluff for at least one year prior to that date On June 20, 1758, probably in light of the increasing number of lot owners along his bluff, Mark Carr firmly established a civil organi- zation for the town of Sunbury with the following release of conveyance: Release of the Town and Common of Sunbury This Indenture made the twentieth Day of June in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty eight, Between MARK CARR of Midway in the Province of Georgia Esquire of the one Part, and JAMES MAXWELL, KENNETH BAILLIE, JOHN ELLIOTT, GREY ELLIOTT and JOHN STEVENS, all of Midway aforesaid Esquires of the other Part Whereas the said MARK CARR is seized and possessed to him and his Heirs of a Tract of five hundred Acres of taJ}d at Midway aforesaid, Part whereof containing by Measure about three hundred Acres; by Reason of its commodious and advantagious [sic] Situation, on the River of Midway, is designed, appropriated and laid out into a Town to be called by the Name of Sunbury, and Common for the Use and Benefit of the several Persons, now, or hereafter, to be, Inhabitants for the said Town by the Purchase of Lots therein, their several and respective Heirs and Assigns NOW THIS INDENTURE 7 WITNESSETH that for the more effectually and absolutely granting, conveying and assuring the aforesaid Portion of Land to and for the Uses and Purposes abovesaid, He the said MARK CARR hath granted, bargained, unto the said Ji\MES MAXWELL, KENNETH BAILLIE, .JOHN ELLIOTT, GREY ELLIOTT and JOHN STEVENS all that Portion or Parcel of Land containing by Measure about three hun- dred Acres, as aforesaid laid out and appropriated for a Town by the Name of Sunbury, together with the Land laid out for a Common to said Town, containing one hundred Acr es , as the same Town and Common are particularly delineated ;1nd described, and the Lots of the said Town, set off, admeasured and numbered in the Plan thereof, to these Presents annexed, upon further Trust and Confidence that they [the trustees] shall, dispose of, grant, sell and convey, To and for the Behoof and Benefit of the said MARK CARR his Heirs or Assigns, All, or any of the said Lots in the Town, each Lot seventy Feet in Front and one hundred and thirty Feet in Depth, to the several Persons, desirous to become Purchasers of the same, to the Use of them, their Heirs and Assigns at the Rates herein after mentioned, (That is to say) to any Person or Persons, desirous to purchase any of the said Lots, from Number One to Number forty inclusive, for the Price or Sum of Six Pounds Sterling each Lot, . Lots from Number forty one to one hundred and Ninety two inclusive, for the Price or Sum of four Pounds Sterling each Lot, Lots from Number one hundred and ninety three, to Number three hundred and thirty six - inclusive at the Price or Sum of three Pounds Sterling each Lot, Lots from Number three hundred and thirty seven to Number four hundred and ninety six inclusive, for the Price or Sum of two Pounds Ster- ling each Lot, they the said Purchasers and every one of them shall and will put and build on each front Lot so purchased within one Year from the Day of the Purchase made, an House of at least thirty two Feet long and eighteen Feet wide covered with Cypress Shingles, floored with Boards, and a brick, Stone or lime Chimney to it under the Penalty, of forfeiting and Paying, for every Month such Purchaser shall neglect building on his said Lot, they [the purchasers of front lots] will not nor any of them will build, or cause to be built any Stores or Ware Houses under the said Hill opposite such their several Lots, that shall exceed the Height of fourteen Feet from the Level of the high t.Jater Mark, Neither shall they or any of them so becoming Purchasers as aforesaid, dig up, convert, or enclose the Ground on the Hill, or under the same, to or for any manner of Cultivation whatsoever . And Whereas two of the five Trustees herein before mentioned are nominated and chosen by the said MARK CARR, and the other three by the several Persons already become Purchasers of Lots in the said Town, NOW These Presents Witnesseth, and it is mutually agreed, by and between the said MARK CARR, and such Purchasers, that in Case of the Death, Removal out of the Province, or Refusal to act, of any of them the said Trustees, such vacancy shall be filled up and sup- plied by another to be nominated either by him the said MARK CARR, or the Purchasers of Lots in like Manner, 8 N B Be it remembered that on and before the Sealing of these Presents it is hereby declared between the said MARK CARR and the Commissioners appointed in the same that whereas he the said MARK CARR hath now several Buildings on the Township of Sunbury, if any of the said Buildings should happen to be in a Lot chosen or taken up by any Person whatsoever that the Person who shall have taken or chosen such Lot, shall have one of equal Value with it in Lieu thereof, unless they and the said Mi\RK CARR should otherways agree 16 [For more information on the early history of Sunbury's trustees and lots, see Section II of this report.] According to Captain Hugh McCall's His tory of Georgia_, Sunbury grew rap- idly after its organization into a town and rose quickly in commerical importance Emigrants came from different quarters to this healthy maritime port, particularly from Bermuda about seventy came from that island, but unfortunately for them and the reputation of the town, a mortal epidemic broke out, and carried off about fifty of thei~ number the first year it is highly probable they brought the seeds of the disease with them Of the remainder, as many as were able, returned to their native country This circumstance however, did not very much retard the growing state of this eligible spot: a lucrative trade was carried on with various parts of the West Indies, in lumber, rice, indigo, corn, &c 17 The unhealthy climtate of the hot and humid Sunbury site was not the only problem that faced the settlers of the town and surrounding plantations On September 16, 1756, the secretary for Midway Congregational Church recorded the following in the society's minute book A letter came to us from the Honorable ,Jonathan Brian, Esq 'r, one of his majesties [sic] Council for this Collony [sic], on account of some Creek Indians being on Great Hogeechee [Ogeechee] River, in quarrel about some creatures, which the Indians had taken from them, that the Indians were very much irritated -declared they must have blood for hlood, and that all means used to pacify them, seemed to no purpose, and advising us with all expedition to build a Fort for our safety, we hear that about Savannah and in the northern parts of the Collony, people are very much alarmed by this news, which affected us in the same manner; and consultations were immediately had about the building, and place for a Fort, and it was determined by a majority that it 9 should be at Capt Mark Carr's, about seven or eight miles distance from the nearest of the settlements of this Society, which was accordingly begun on the 20th Sep 1756 18 Due to the threat of a French privateer on July 11 of the next year, the Midway inhabitants were once again "called down this day to Sunbury, where [they] raised a couple of Batteries and made carriages for eight small Cannon, which were at the place."l9 On the morning of July 16, the Midway residents "were alarmed, by the fire of cannon at Sunbury, whither [they] repaired, and a boat went out, but could discover nothing " 20 The inland settlers were again alarmed on July 25, hut the excitement turned out to have been caused by thunder rather than by the firing of the Sunbury cannon The Georgia authorities, unrler the leadership of Governor Ellis, also became apprehensive concerning the ''exposed & defenceless State of this Province," and by an act signed on July 19, 1757, they made provision for five log forts to be erected in various parts of Georgia "as may contribute in this Time of AlarM and Danger to the Safety of the Inhabitants by Affording them Places of Retreat upon any sudden Emergency ''21 One of these forts was designated to be built in the Midway District, under the leadership of nine corrunissioners Mark Carr, Grey Elliott, Audley Maxwell, John Stevens, John Stewart, Sr , John Winn, John Lupton, John Graves, and Captain Kenneth Baillie 22 In May of 1758, Governor Ellis decided to check the situation on Geargia's southern frontier himself. He first toured the Ogeechee River, where he "saw the Fort that had lately been raised there in consequence of the Resolution of the Assembly of last year " The governor described it as being "of a quadrangular figure, each side measuring 100 yards constructed with thick logs set upright 14 feet long 5 whereof are sunk in the earth & 10 has 4 little Bastions pierced for small & great c;uns which would make it very defencible " 23 Ellis traveled next to Midway, where he "found the Inhabitants had inclosed their Church in the same manner & erected a Battery of 8 Guns at Sunbury in a very proper situation for defending the River." 24 The hastily constructed wooden forts soon fell into disrepair and decay, forcing the Georgia Legislature (which consisted of an upper and lower house) to act On April 24, 1760, it appropriated additional funds to rebuild the five structures in order to protect the colonists from the "Hostilities lately commenced by the Cherokee Indians against his Majesty's Subjects."25 A sum of 1:!25 was allotted for "the use of the Fort erected at Sunbury and for the use of the Fort erected at Medway." 26 The Sunbury trustees undoubtedly saw to the immediate repair of the fort in their town, for in a letter which Governor Ellis wrote to the Lords of Trade in London on August 25, 1760, he remarked that "a very good Logg [sic] Fort is built at Sunbury." 27 The Midway settlers, however, were not so quick in repairing their fort, in way of apparent explanation, the Georgia Commons (or lower) House Journal reported on November 20, 1760, that "to put the Fort at Saint Johns in a proper State of Defence, it is requisite that it be provided with two Swivel Gunns [sic] and Carriages for four Cannon and a sufficient Quantity of Ammunition which will require a Sum not less than fifty Pounds " 28 The next day, the Commons House appropriated 1:!120 to complete the fort at Midway and Newport In a report on Georgia's fortifications submitted in 1761 to the Lords of Trade by Georgia's third royal governor, James Wright, the Midway Fort, having been styled previously as Fort St John, was described as follows: Fort St John about 10 Miles back from Sunbury & 29 Miles from Savannah, is a Stockade Fort, about 200 Feet Square, not intended 11 to be garrisoned, but occasionally & built only for the protection of the Inhabitants of that part of the Province, in case of Alarms & necessity This Fort is in bad repair, has usually been garrisoned by 30 of the Rangers but at present they are withdrawn from thence 29 The minutes of the governor and his Executive Council for July 28 of that year reconunended that "nine Men and a Corporal, of the Rangers, now doing Duty at St John's Fort, be sent to Sunbury, and the residue be removed to Savannah."JO Once again, the outpost stockade near or surround- ing Midway Congregational Church fell into disrepair Governor Wright men- tioned this fort for the last time in a report to the Lords of Trade in 1766, in which he stated that "Fort St John [was] evacuated & quite in ruins and now unnecessary u31 The year 1762 brought tremendous expansion and improvement to the ever- growing town of Sunbury On April 22 of that year, the inhabitants of St John's Parish, which included Sunbury and Midway District, petitioned the governor and Executive Council for legislative recognition of the town, as well as for the establishment of a church and customs house there: Mark Carr Esqr being possessed of a Tract of Land on the River Midway in the said Province was induced, from it's [sic] healthy and advantageous Situation, to aline and convey a Part thereof, in small Portions, to the Petitioners, and others of the said Parish desirous of becoming Purchasers, who had accordingly built upon and improved the same That the Petitioners and the other Purchasers as aforesaid were very desirous the same should be established a Town by Authority, under such Regulations, and invested with such Immunities, as might contribute to its Growth, and further setting forth that the Inhabitants of the said Parish who were of the established Church being pretty numerous had, with others, lately subscribed towards building a Place of divine Worship; And the Petitioners understanding that in and by an Act passed by the general Assembly, for stamping imprinting issuing and making Current the Sum of Seven thousand four hundred and ten Pounds Sterling in Paper Bills of Credit, and for applying and sinking the 12 same, Encouragement was given, and some Provision made, for erecting Churches in the several Parishes of the Province, the Petitioners were desirous that those of the established Church so intended to be built might he built under the Sanction of that Law And also setting forth that for the general Encouragement of the southern Division of the Province the Petitioners further requested that Midway [Sunbury] might be established a Port of Entry for shipping under the Inspection of proper Officers, which they apprehended would not only prevent Frauds in his Majesty's Customs but be very advantageous and beneficial to the Inhabitants by their Trade being promoted, carried on, and extended in a proper Channel Therefore praying his Excellency to take the Premisses [sic] under Consideration and grant them Aid therein 32 The Executive Council and the governor subsequently suggested that the Sun- bury citizens pursue their quest for ministerial guidance through their church wardens and vestry, but the governor did authorize the offical estab- lishment of Sunbury as a town and designated it as a port of entry a des- ignation which only Sunbury shared with Savannah for many years. Although the Georgia authorities seemed eager enough to declare Sunbury a port of entry, the Lords of Trade in London did not share the colonists' view that Sunbury should be given this distinction. Governor Wright was forced to justify Sunbury's status time and time again. Writing on October 1, 1762, to the Lords of Trade, Wright explained: in order to prevent all clandestine Trade & his Majesties [sic] Enemies from being supplied with Provisions & other Considerations, I judged it for His Majesties Service that Sunbury, a very well settled Town 25 miles South in a direct line, but as the Road is made at least 40 Miles from hence, & having an exceeding good Harbour & inlet from the sea, should be made a Port of Entry 33 Two years later, on August 30, 1764, Wright recounted once more: that Sunbury is a proper place for a Port of Entry, there is at least 80 dwelling Houses in the Town, and three considerable merchants Stores for supplying the Town & Planters in the Neighborhood with all kinds of necessary goods and round it for about 15 Miles is one of the best settled parts of the country, and 13 unless officers are there, if Smuggling should be attempted (for wch its !sic] a convenient place) I don't see how it can be prevented 3 With the establishment of Sunbury as a port of entry, new concern for the defense of the town was felt by the Commons House in Savannah. On November 11, 1762, Joseph Gibbons made a report before that body on the state of the defense works in St John's Parish, stating that "fort Saint John is much out of Repair a Space of about seventy feet being fallen down." The gates needed repairing, and the posts were rotten, but the planks of the fort were deemed sound Gibbons also related that "part of the Stockade fort built at Sunbury at the Time of the late Indian Alarm is fallen down " Four pieces of four-pounder cannon were still on the bay at Sunbury, but these lacked either carriages or platforms After hearing the full report, the Commons House resolved to send three additional four-pounder cannon to Sunbury, to be mounted there along with the four already on the bay. Also, the legislative body ordered a battery to be immediately erected upon a point of land called Cedar Hammock, located near the mouth of the Medway River. Three six-pounders were to be sent there, along with a lookout and boat 35 The Commons House appropriated over b300 in February of 1763 to carry out the resolutions regarding the defense works at Sunbury and Cedar Hammock.36 Apparently the construction of the batteries commenced rapidly, for they were described in another act signed by the governor on April 7, just two months later, as nearing completion In order to prevent vessels from entering the port of Sunbury and bringing in contagious diseases, all such vessels "bound for the Port of Sunbury" were to be "Ordered or brought to at some convenient place within the command of the Guns of the Battery now 14 Erected or Erecting at Medway within the said Province until a Signal be made by the Commanding Officer of the said Battery for such Ship or Vessel to pass u37 The battery mentioned was undoubtedly the one to be erected on Cedar Hammock If either the battery and lookout on Cedar Hammock or the battery on the bay in Sunbury was completed, it was at best used for only a few years before decaying Like so many of Georgia's early coastal defense works, they were erected to meet a specific threat or need, and once that need was gone, the hastily-constructed wooden buildings were not long in dis- integrating Such had surely been the fate of the Sunbury battery erected in 1756 and enlarged in 1760 into a "good Logg [sic] Fort" -- both constructions having had the purpose of meeting the threat of Indian depredations. Such had also been the fate of Fort St John, erected at the same time as the Sun- bury battery, as well as the second colonial battery at Sunbury and the bat- tery on Cedar Hannnock The two latter forts were built to protect the Sun- bury and Midway settlements from the threat of Spanish privateers, and when that threat died, the defense works soon decayed. In a report on Georgia's fortifications made by Governor Wright to the Lords of Trade on September 14, 1773, he made no mention of Fort St John, Sunbury, or Cedar Hammock.38 Their rotted posts and gates had already been forgotten. In the years following the removal of the Spanish threat from Georgia's coast, the prosperity of Sunbury rose ever higher Although the town experienced an occasional outburst of smallpox or some other epidemic, the commercial, social, and religious life of the town flourished continuously 39 On June 2, 1763, the Georgia Gazette, published in Savannah, reported a horse race in Sunbury, in which "Mr Maxwell's little Chickasaw afforded 15 excellent sport through every heat, but especially the last, which intitled [sic] him to the prize, there being three to one against him."40 The prize consisted of a subscription purse of 20 guineas The following month, the Gazette exhibited a tally of the various goods "Entered for Exportation at the Custom-house, Sunbury," from January 5 until July 5: Rice, Tanned leather, Pine Lumber, Shingles, Staves, 1892 barrels 1300 sides 158,526 feet 138,970 38,800 Spars, Pumps, Tar, Corn, Cattle, 133 12 137 barrels 650 bushels 10 The imports reported for the same period of time were as follows: Rum, Beer, Cycler [sic], Cordials, Apples, Loaf Sugar, Muscovado sugar, Flour, 6 hogsheads 16 barrels 20 barrels 5 barrels 60 barrels 3 hogsheads 3 hhds 247 barrels Biscuit, Rread, Cheese, Potatoes, Chocolate, Starch, Horse collars, Salt, 201 barrels 64 barrels 4 hampers 200 bushels 100 lb 8 kegs 36 200 bushels41 By 1773, the port of Sunbury boasted packers and inspectors, cullers and inspectors of lumber, a comptroller and collector of country duties, inspectors of hemp, flax, and wheat flour, and inspectors of tanned leather.42 Inhabitants of the town were exempt from working on the roads in St John's Parish, but were under obligation to "clear and keep clean the several squares, streets, lanes and common" of Sunbury. 43 Two roads already led from the town -- one constructed in 1755 which joined the Fort Barrington Road 10 miles from Sunbury at Midway Congregational Church, and another, constructed in 1762, which led sonth from the town to the North Newport Ferry 44 Yet the citizens of St John's, St Phillip's, and St. Andrew's parishes petitioned the Commons House in 1770 for a third road to be 16 constructed, this one to lead from the town to the Fort Barrington Road and to join that road north of Midway Church near the Ogeechee Ferry This request, however, was not granted, due to the difficulty which would have been encountered in constructing the road through extremely swampy areas 45 Governor Wright claimed in his report to the Lords of Trade in 1773 that during that year, 56 vessels had been entered and cleared at the Customs House in Sunbury 46 Considering that only 160 vessels had been entered and cleared at Savannah during the same period, this number at Sunbury represented a considerable portion of Georgia's trade The governor elaborated further, saying that the Georgia province traded principally with Great Britain, "from whence we are Supplyed [sic] with Linnens [sic] and Woolens of all Sorts, Iron ware of all Sorts, Hats, Shoes, Stockings and all Sorts of Apparel, Tea, Paper, Paints and a great variety of other Articles " 47 Blacks were brought directly to Georgia from Africa, but those same boats returned to England laden with deerskins, rice, indigo, and naval stores Additionally, rum and sugar were imported from the West Indies, to which the Georgians shipped rice, corn, peas, lumber, shingles, cattle, horses, livestock, barreled beef, and pork Some families in Sunbury were members of the Midway Congregationalist Church and Society, but many seem to have been associated with the Church of England According to the minutes of the Midway Church On Monday the Nineteenth of December Anno Domini 1763 Some of the Inhabitants of Sunbury with many of the Country Members of this Church met by appointment at our Meeting House in the Country, in order to make out a Call to the Revd Mr John Alexander to reside & preach among us 48 The Midway Church members also agreed that in case their pastor, the Reverend 17 John Osgood, should be unable to preach then the Revd Mr Alexander shall preach a part of his time at this place in the Country, and that his Preaching in Town & Country shall be proportioned to the Sallary [sic] paid him from the Members and Inhabitants of each place 49 The Reverend Alexander was indeed called by Midway Church, and although his arrival was never recorded in the minutes of that body, his presence in the community is indicated by the record of his marriage in Midway on March 27, 1764, to Hannah Godfrey 50 Shortly thereafter, Alexander seems to have left Georgia, not returning to Sunbury until August 2, 1766, and then as a missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts -- a London-based evangelical arm of the Anglican Church!Sl He stayed in Sunbury, filling his newly assumed role as Episcopal clergyman until 1767, when he was transferred at his request to Purisburg, S c.5 2 During June of 1767, the members of Midway Church called a second assistant pastor, James Edmonds, to minister primarily to the congregation's memhers in Sunbury 53 The Anglicans there, however, were not so fortunate as to obtain a quick replacement for the Reverend Alexander, and in a petition to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, dated July 2, 1771, 35 members of the Sunbury Episcopal Church claimed: That for some years past there has been no Clergymen to Perform devine [sic] service according to the rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England in Sunbury That a great part of the Inhabitants of said Parish are dissenters and that those who Profess the established Religion of the Church of England are not sufficient to maintain a Clergyman That the sum allowed by the Province for the support of a Clergyman of the Church of England in said Parish is no more than Twenty five pounds Sterling yearly That His Excellency, James Wright, Esqr Governor of said Province, has been pleased at the request of Part of the Inhabitants 18 of this Parish to appoint the Revd Mr Timothy Lowten to the Rector of the same that this gentleman has Performed divine service according to the Rites and ceremonies of the Church of England in the Town of Sunbury for upwards of Three months past to the universal satisfaction of the Inhabitants and Parts adjacent That a number of Inhabitants have raised a further Sum for the support of Mr Lowten for one year from the first of April Last but this is not sufficient and at best but Precarious and uncertain We therefore, Your Petitioners, humbly beseech you will be pleased to appoint the said Mr Lowten one of your Missionarys [sic] and allow him such a yearly salary as to you shall seem meet, & your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall Pray . John Simpson R Kelsall Thos Young Sutton Bankes James Hardie Fras Coddington Jeremiah Doulton Samuel Morcock John Cubbee Wm Anderson John Lawson Nathn Bacon Simon Munro Samuel Miller Andrew Darling John Graves Benj Sheffield Thos Maxwell Thomas Bilney Wm. Clark John Rose Davis Austin John Gibbons Thomas Bosomworth George Cubbedge Saml Richardson George Knowles Peter Manley Isaac Roberts James Aitken Nathan Saxton Allan Stuart Peter Bacon [deleted] Jonathan Bacon Donald Fraser54 The church wardens and vestry purchased a parsonage for the Reverend Lowton and attempted to obtain money from James Habersham of Savannah to enlarge their house of worship 55 It is not known, however, whether or not they were successful in their attempt to obtain funds for Lowten's support, because he was transferred to the larger Church of England in Savannah in the latter part of 1771. Records do not indicate whether the Sunbury Anglican congregation ever obtained another clergyman Sunbury reached the height of its prosperity in the early 1770s; however, although the seaport town flourished for many years after the Revolution, it never again reached such a high level of commercial activity and importance Perhaps the best description of colonial Sunbury and the surrounding countryside comes from the diary of William Bartram, the famed 19 botanist who traveled throughout the southern colonies in his quest for unusual flora. Bartram arrived in Savannah in the spring of 1773, where he began his first exploration of the Georgia coast: After resting, and a little recreation for a few days in Savannah, and having in the mean time purchased a good horse, and quipped myself for a journey southward, 1 set off early in the morning for Sunbury, a sea-port town. beautifully situated on the Main between Medway and Newport rivers, about fifteen miles south of great Ogeeche river. The town and harbour are defended from the fury of the seas by the north and south points of St Helena and South Catherines islands. between which is the bar and entrance into the sound the harbour is capacious and safe, and has water enough for ships of great burthen I arrived here in the evening, in company with a gentleman, one of the inhabitants, who politely introduced me to one of the principal families, where I supped and spent the evening in a circle of genteel and polite ladies and gentlemen .. There are about one hundred houses in the town neatly built of wood frame having pleasant Piasas [sic] around them The inhabi- tants are genteel and wealthy, either Merchants or Planters from the Country who resort here in the Summer and Autumn, to partake of the Salubrious Sea breeze, Bathing & sporting on the Sea Islands Here is a Custom house and Naval office for the incouragemenL of Commerce I went over to one of the Sea Islands, but discovered nothing new Obedient to the admonitions of my attendant spirit, curiosity, as well as to gratify the expectations of my worthy patron, I again set off on my southern excursion, and left Sunbury, in company with several of its polite inhabitants, who were going to Medway meeting, a very large and well constructed place of worship, in St John's parish, where I associated with them in religious exercise, their pious and truly venerable pastor, the Rev. Osgood This respectable congregation is independent, and consist chiefly of families, and proselytes to a stock, which this pious man led about forty years ago, from South Carolina, and settled in this fruitful district It is about nine miles from Sunbury to Medway meeting-house, which stands on the high road opposite the Sunbury road toward Fort Barrington, on the Alatamaha, passing through a level country, well watered by large streams, branches of Medway and Newport rivers 57 Chapter 2 "THE FORT, BARRACKS, AND OTHER WORKS AT SUNBURY" 1775 - 1778 Throughout the 1750s and 1760s, the royal colony of Georgia experienced growth and prosperity under the close surveillance of the King of England, Parliament, and the royal governor. The Georgians had continually shipped only raw goods to the British Isles, while importing English manufactured articles, and their economy had flourished as a result Therefore, in the early 1770s, when the larger and wealthier northern colonies began to murmur in displeasure at the British colonial treatment, Georgia had no real reason to think of lending an ear Nevertheless, in a few short years after Massachusetts and Virginia had heatedly opposed the Stamp and Townshend acts, the weak and pampered Georgia colony found itself almost wholeheartedly advocating rebellion. During 1774 and again in the following year, a Provincial Congress of Georgia's rebellious citizenry convened in Savannah This group succeeded in gaining absolute political control of the recalcitrant colony before the end of 1776. One of the primary resolves of this Congress was to enforce a boycott -- ordered by the First American Continental Congress -- on all British goods. The revolutionary fever spread quickly throughout Georgia, creating a high level of excitement among inhabitants of both Sunbury and Midway. The citizens of St. John's Parish apparently expected the underlying political rift between Sunbury's Whigs and Tories would eventually surface in open defiance, but it was not known just when the initial conflict would erupt On the evening of June 26, 1775, James Kitching and Isaac Antrobus, His 21 Majesty's custom<-; officials for the port of Sunbury, attempted to seize a schooner that had arrived from the West Indies laden with illegal casks of British wine and other prohibited goods. Using the boycott on British goods as their motivation, a party of Sunbury men boarded the vessel and forceably prevented the two officials from completing their task As Kitching returned to his home the next day, he noted "a great number of the Inhabi- tants of the Town of Sunbury & Parish of Saint John assembled together at a Pole which had been erected the day before .. called the Liberty Pole." In a second attempt by Antrobus to prevent the schooner from unloading its illegal cargo, he was violently hoisted over the ship's side into a small boat and ordered out of town. The vociferous Sunbury citizens then cut loose the schooner from her fastenings and navigated her down the river "with a Drum beating colours flying & Huzzaing in open defiance of the laws of this Country " 58 The Whigs of St John's Parish had finally flexed their muscles in open rebellion, and, working simultaneously with their fellow revolutionaries in Savannah, they gained more and more power over the royal government in the following months. Although the Whigs lacked efficient organization and firm direction, they had displayed to Britain and their sister colonies that they, too, were capable of revolting. From 1775 until the fall of Savannah to the British in 1778, the Council of Safety, operating from Georgia's capital city, functioned as the main organ of the rebel government. This Council worked in accord with the Provincial Congress, but it continued to function after the temporary Congress was dissolved. During August of 1775, the Council gained control of the colony's military force, thereby obtaining absolute authority over all of Georgia. Before the end of that year, Governor Wright fled the colony, and British 22 The organization of the military troops that served in Georgia during the Revolution can be divided into four classifications Continental, state line, militia, and volunteer Four Continental battalions of foot companies, one Continental regiment of light horse, three Continental companies of artillery, and five Continental galleys guarded the Georgia coast at various times during the first three years of the Revolution. However, the Georgia militia units comprised the principal military force in the infant state during the war years, with volunteer and state units supplementing the militia forces in a number of areas [Appendix A contains a listing of military rank designations with their meanings, as well as short sketches of most of the military figures mentioned in this report ] The Third Regiment of Georgia Militia was composed of men from St. John's and the other southern parishes As far as can be presently ascertained, it consisted of only one battalion, commanded successively by Colonels Mark Carr (1759-61), Kenneth Baillie (1761-66), Elisha Butler (1766-76), John Baker (1776), James Screven (1776-77), John Sandiford (1777-78), John Elliott (177879), and John Baker (1779-81). But in addition to the continuous protection that Sunbury received from militia troops, the inhabitants of that town apparently felt special military forces were needed to guard against possible British incursions. Acccordingly, the Council of Safety sanctioned the formation of two volunteer companies in the town in early 1776: On January 8, John Baker received a commission as captain of the St John's Riflemen, and the next day, John Screven received a similar commission as captain of the St. John's Rangers 59 The first British attack on Sunbury came in April of 1776. Two armed schooners -- the Hynd and the Hinchin_b_!"_ver dn'aming that victory could have been his Similar fears among the British troops in Sunbury, coupled with a devastating depression over Prevost's retreat, likewise resulted in their subsequent withdrawal to North Newport, fewer than 48 hours after their arrival in Sunbury 97 Both parties of British troops remained briefly in the southern part of St John's Parish before returning further south, giving each colonel an opportunity to blame the other for the unwarranted failure of the expedition. Actually, the movements of both armies during the entire attack were based solely on misinformation. In their retreat, the British burned the Midway Church, destroyed numerous houses, and confiscated 1,000 head of cattle, some sheep, about 300 horses, and 200 blacks from the area.98 On December 1, 1778, General Howe finally reached "Slade's Plantation," located near the site of Midway Church, with some reinforcements of Continental troops.99 He remained there for several days before proceeding to the town of Sunbury, where he ordered "the Conunanding Officer of Fort Morris" to report to him "the State of his Garrison, the Number of Ordinances [sic] & quantity of Stores of every kind in the Fort or any other place under his command."100 The general remained in Sunbury until December 12, during which time he ordered that detachments be sent to Colonels Island and Newport Ferry to serve as lookouts; he also dispersed the three galleys still on duty near Sunbury to various points along the Georgia coast. In a letter to General Moultrie in South Carolina, Howe described the situation in Sunbury as "confused" and "perplexed," adding that the town "is not defensible for half an hour."101 Howe also wrote another general of his efforts to place the "Fort at Sunbury" in a "state of defence " He applied to the 40 governor for "hands," but never received any aid 12 No sooner had Georgians begun recovering from the devastation caused by Fuser and Prevost than they received information of another attack against their state. This time, it was Savannah which was acutely threatened by a British fleet from New York under the conunand of Admiral Hyde Parker, with troops on board under the command of Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell. The Amer- ican officers in Savannah reacted to this crisis by ordering all nearby gar- risons to help protect the capital city, some of Sunbury's troops were with- drawn to Savannah for that purpose. On December 25, 1778, two days after Campbell's arrival at the mouth of the Savannah River, General Howe sent word through Colonel John F Grimke, deputy adjutant general of the Southern Department, for "the Inhabitants of the Town of Sunbury & of the Parish of St. Johns not to be disheartened by the Troops marching [to Savannah] to the assistance of their fellow citizens "l03 The general further pledged that in case the enemy decided to march toward the south, he would person- ally see to the speedy reinforcement and protection of Sunbury Although he expected no such movement at that time, as a precautionary measure he ordered the commanding officer of artillery at Sunbury to "have the Cannon in the Fort & the Field Pieces put in proper order for service."104 On December 27, Major Joseph Lane, the new commanding officer at Sunbury, heard a second time from General Howe via Colonel Grimke The general felt that the 30 barrels of gunpowder stored in Sunbury's magazines were sufficient for Sunbury's defense, he also ordered the small detachments of troops stationed south of Sunbury to retreat with all haste into Fort Morris in the event of an attack As soon as expected reinforcements arrived in Savannah, Howe promised to send a "considerable body" to Sunbury 105 But in spite of the general's good intentions to supply the Sunbury garrison, 41 events developed so rapidly during the next few days that he had little time to think of anything but saving his own troops from extinction or capture. Within three days, all of Savannah fell swiftly to Campbell's 3,000-man invading army, and Howe's forces barely had time to escape the wrath of a conquering British army. The general fled with his army toward Ebenezer and crossed the Savannah River He then issued urgent orders for the immediate evacuation of the forts at both Sunbury and Augusta. 106 Howe was so anxious to give Major Lane fair warning of impending doom that he wrote the sudden order to evacuate Fort Morris "with a pencil, on horseback, in the field, and on the retreat." Less than a hour later, Howe, "fearful that this order might miscarry, and still anxious for the fate of the garrison," directed a second letter "more explicit in its contents" to Major Lane In this second communication, General Howe "repeated the order for evacuation, and directed, that if the stores could not be removed they should be destroyed, and the cannon spiked nl07 However, upon receipt of these two orders, Lane decided to write Howe for further information rather than immediately carrying out the general's instructions: Sir, About 10 oClock this day I received your Express I am sorry for the loss of Savannah -- Your orders have forced me into a precarious Dilemma -- at first I thought a retreat practicable, but when I sought among the inhabitants for a Guide to direct my rout [sic] I could not find any person equal to the task -- I held a Council of War, composed of all the Officers of the Fort, arid the most respectable Inhabitants, who were unanimous in opinion, that a retreat was impracticable, and that our safety was entirely dependant [sic] on the vigourous defence of the Fort. I can nroster about [illegible] for its defence and am determined, as there is no possibility of a retreat, at all risks of my Life to defend it to the last -- I feel a most poignant concern for the necessity, which urged and prompted me to defer executing immediately your Orders -- but hope it may merit a more delicate appellation when you comprehend the cause which inevitably controuled [sic] my conduct -- We have provisions sufficiently to subsist the Garrison for a considerable Siege -- and spirit, resolution and fortitude 42 in the breast & heart of every Soldier in the Garrison to Conquer or die in case of a Storm - - I hope Sir when the premises are maturely pondered by your Excellency you will not forget us, when ever you have it in your power to support us -- I write the Sentiment of the whole Garrison and humbly hope that it may appear to he a sufficient sanction for my Conduct -- I am with much Esteem Your Excelle ncy's obedient and humble Servant Jos: Lane Maj & B Comdng at Sunbury Fort Morris 30th December 1778 Major General Howe P.S notwithstanding the Contents above written -- If your Excellency thinks you cannot succour us by a speedy reinforcement, and that we shall not derive any advantage to the State from a manly and becoming resistance, and your further advice and orders shall enforce an evacuation of the Fort, I shall (provided I have a Guide sent me for the purpose) exert every faculty to execute the contents of your Express -- As I am totally ignorant of the Country I have no hope of making a good and safe retreat, without a skillful Guide 108 Actually, Lane was able to maintain his troops in the fort by stalling to wait for General Howe's reply. Before he received the reply, all oppor- tunity to evacuate the town had passed. As Gene ral William Moultrie of South Carolina later charged, "he [Lane] , Don-Quixote-like, thought he was strong enough to withstand the whole force the British had in Georgia for which I think he deserved to be hanged."109 But while the Continental offi- cers like Howe and Moultrie realized the futility of a small garrison attempting to withstand an entire British army, many Georgians blamed Gen- era! Howe's hopeless attitude as the cause for the tragic fall of both Aug- usta and Sunbury Previous unpopularity toward Howe had forced headquarters to relieve him of his co~m~and of the Southern Department _iust prior to the attack on Savannah, and as a further result of this antagonistic public sentiment, he was court-martialed in 1781 In justifying his order for evacuation of Fort 43 Morris, Howe explained, "It would have been horride [sic] in me to have suffered a garrison to have remained in a work too extensive for five times the number of men, ill-constructed, unfinished, without casemates, and without the least probability of relieving it nllO In reply to being questioned about Major Lane's stubborn resistance to retreat, Howe gave this answer: Major Lane, who commanded the fort, had recently been in it second in command, when an attack upon it by the enemy had been gallantly repulsed. The Magistrates and citizens of the town, hoping to defend it again, solicited, implored, and beset him to remain in it. Combined with these, he was in the bloom of youth, and in the hey-day of blood and spirits -- an enthusiastic ardour for fame 111 On January 9, 1779, Colonel Campbell halted his pursuit of the main American forces up the Savannah River toward Augusta and turned back east- ward "for the purpose of reducing Sunbury Fort being the only Station which the Rebels at this Period held in the lower Districts of Georgia nll2 An express from Maj Gen Augustin Prevost, received on the evening of January 10, stopped Campbell's orders that boats and canoes be sent to the Ogeechee River to enable his army to cross easily Prevost, in command of 900 troops, was enroute from Florida to Sunbury, where he planned to lay siege to the town 113 Upon receiving this welcomed news from Prevost, Campbell immediately directed his attention toward the forthcoming Augusta campaign, fully confident of Prevost's abilities to capture Georgia's southern port Four days before Campbell's receipt of the two-week-old communication, Prevost had firmly entrenched his forces around Sunbury in perfect execution of his earlier plans A party of cavalry and rangers commanded by Lt. Col. Marc (Jean Marcus) Prevost marched overland and surrounded the town during 44 the night of January 6 According to Patrick Murray, the soldiers took post in "the ditch of the entrenchment, opposite the Fort " The following day, the artillery troops led by Maj. Gen. Augustin Prevost landed seven miles from Sunbury and succeeded in joining forces with the cavalry artd rangers, "notwithstanding the fire of two Galleys, an armed Schooner and the Fort."114 On January 8, under cover of night, an eight-inch British howitzer and two royals were brought into Sunbury after being hauled from the Newport River According to General Prevost, a detachment of soldiers moved these artillery pieces past the guns of the fort, and after properly installing them, prepared to fire them the next morning 115 The British positioned themselves on the two sides of Fort Morris not protected by the actual town of Sunbury or the Medway River: the south and west. The howitzer, placed in an "old battery" lying south of the fort, commanded the southern angle, while the two royals commanded the western angle from behind "a ditch which ran parallel to the Fort about 100 Toises [213 yards]. ull6 Howe requested Lane to surrender his entire garrison on the morning of January 9, and when Lane vehemently declined, the British general turned the full force of the powerful ordnance against Fort Morris With part of the fort's barracks in flames and four of the garrison wounded, Lane finally realized the futility of further resistance, nevertheless, he held back from surrendering for a few more hours Two Continental galleys, the Washington and the Bullock, and an armed sloop had taken refuge in the Medway River during the siege on Sunbury, and by using stalling tactics with the British, Lane afforded the sloop and galleys an opportunity to escape down the river with their crews and some of the American troops The vessels safely reached St. Catherines Sound, but thinking the British were in pursuit of them, the patriots on board beached and burned the two galleys on Ossabaw Island and 45 attempted to escape out to sea in the sloop. By another stroke of misfortune, this vessel accidentally met an armed British tender, which captured most of the crew on the sloop and brought them to Savannah as prisoners ll7 Before evening, British soldiers were within 140 yards of the fort and in command of "the gate," which forced Lane to surrender "at discretion."llS On the morning of January 10, British soldiers entered the surrendered Sunbury fort and took as prisoners the 150 Continentals and 45 militia still there. In addition, the British captured much artillery and many provisions 119 So ended the second siege against Sunbury, of which four major accounts have survived, two were written within several days by General Prevost, one was recorded over a month later by Major Lane, and a fourth was included in the memoirs of Major Patrick Murray [See Appendix B for these accounts.] Immediately upon capturing the garrison, General Prevost renamed the Sunbury fort "Fort George" in honor of King George III and ordered necessary repairs to be made on it. After a few days, he placed a small force under the command of a Lt. Col. Allen in control of the town and appointed Roderick Macintosh captain of the fort and marched north to Savannah with most of his British troops. 120 The American prisoners were escorted to Savannah on ships. With the reduction of Fort Morris by General Prevost, the Americans lost their last post in coastal Georgia to the British. This terrible loss, coupled with the capture of many of Georgia's ablest officers at both Sunbury and Savannah, left little hope for the rebel cause in the southernmost American state. Chapter 4 "CONFUSION AND DISORDER AND VIOLENCE SEEM TO REIGN" 1779 - 1783 Lt. Col. Campbell heartily welcomed Maj. Gen. Augustin Prevost to Savannah but left the city himself seven days later for Augusta. Shoz:tly thereafter, Prevost, the highest ranking British officer in Georgia, ordered the privates and non-commissioned officers taken as prisoners in Sunbury to be placed on-board prison ships in the Savannah River. As for the commissioned officers, he subsequently ordered them moved to Sunbury, where they were paroled on their honor and allowed to circulate within the litnita of the town. 121 Several months later, General Prevost sent the First Battalion of DeLancy's Loyalist Brigade to reinforce Colonel Allen at Sunbury. 122 This battalion of 200 men, commanded by Lt Col. Cruger, had accompanied Colonel Campbell from New York. From the time of Cruger's arrival in Sunbury in March of 1779 until the withdrawal of all British forces in the town during the siege of Savannah in October of 1779, the British maintained a relatively strong garrison in Fort George. However, the American prisoners paroled in Sunbury and a few Tory families who returned to Georgia in 1779 were the only civilian inhabitants of the largely deserted town of Sunbury. During June of 1779, the patriots made two notable naval incursions against British-held Sunbury. The first took place on the night of June 4 and was led by a Captain Spencer, commander of an American privateer. On the morning before the raid, Spencer received word of an intended celebration of the King's birthday at the home of Thomas Young at Belfast on the Medway 47 According to Georgia historian Hugh McCall, Captain Spencer proceeded up the river in the evening and landed with 12 men at Belfast "Between eight and nine o'clock at night Spencer entered the house, and made Colonel Cruger and the party of officers [who had been invited to the celebration] prisoners of war." Spencer paroled the prisoners the next morning and allowed them to return to Sunbury to await an exchange; Cruger obtained an exchange very soon thereafter and resumed his command of Fort George. 123 In the second June raid, Colonel John Baker led 30 men in attacking a house near Sunbury where a party of Georgia Loyalists, under the command of a Captain Goldsmith, had gathered. Several of the Loyalists were killed or wounded, including a Lieutenant Gray, who was decapitated during the fracas.l24 Many of Georgia's finest military leaders lived in Sunbury during 1779 as paroled prisoners. Among these irreplaceable officers were Colonel John Stirk, commander of the Third Continental Battalion, Captain Thomas Morris; Colonel Samuel Elbert, commander of the Second Continental Battalion; Captain John Fraser of the Third Continental Battalion; Major John Habersham of the First Continental Battalion; Mordecai Sheftall, deputy commissary general of the Continental Issues in Georgia, and Colonel Commandant George Walton, acting commander-in-chief of the Georgia militia forces. 125 Walton, captured at the fall of Savannah and hospitalized for a leg wound received during the battle, was sent to Sunbury in the spring of 1779, and as the senior-ranking officer, he immediately became the superior commander for the entire group of parolees militia and Continental officers alike. The paroled ' officers seemed to have enjoyed many privileges in Sunbury; they were allowed to live and work within the town, rent places of residence, 48 and in some cases travel to Savannah for supplies and rum. 126 Naturally with such liberties an officer could readily escape, but the dishonor associated with such an action prevented most from indulging in a flight to freedom However, in late June of 1779, two lieutenants in the Continental troops left the garrison "in contempt of their parole" and fled toward Midway.l27 When Colonel Walton discovered this desertion the next morning, he quickly informed the commanding British officer in Sunbury and dispatched a letter to Colonel John Baker~ in command of the closest American forces, with orders that the men be returned immediately. The men still had not appeared on June 29, so Walton, at the suggestion of the British superior officer, wrote to General Benjamin Lincoln, the new commander of the Southern Department, in Purisburg, S.C., to request that both prisoners "be safely conveyed to the Head-Quarters of the British Army in Georgia, without delay "128 If the lieutenants were ever caught, they no doubt received severe punishment and further confinement. Using Savannah as a headquarters, the British spread their authority throughout much of the state during 1779, British control of Georgia posed an ominous threat to the whole southern American flank which could not go unchecked Therefore, the American's French allies decided to join the American forces to attempt a recapture of the city of Savannah. The French fleet, under the command of Comte Charles-Henri d'Estaing, agreed to launch a land-and-sea attack in conjunction with the forces of General Lincoln. In early September, the first ships of the large fleet appeared off Tybee Island at the mouth of the Savannah River and caused considerable alarm among Georgia Loyalists in the vicinity of the city 1Z9 Because of the shortage of troops in Savannah, General Prevost sent 49 expresses on September 8 to all nearby outposts and ordered them to withdraw into the capital city He also ordered Colonel Cruger to abandon Sunbury, to "dismantle the Fort, and to destroy what could not be carried off "130 Cruger traveled overland to Savannah, "with all his men able to march," and arrived there on September 10, "His sick and convalescent he embark'd on board an arm'd Vessel" to sail for the city.l31 However, the French fleet's control of the mouth of the Savannah River forced this latter portion of his forces, led by a Captain French, to take post further south on the Ogeechee River, completely isolated from Savannah Here, they were surrounded by the forces of Colonel John White, who demanded and received their surrender on October 1 As a result, 141 prisoners, two armed schooners, and three other vessels fell into American hands.l32 Surprisingly, the withdrawal of the British garrison from Sunbury ereated quite a problem for the American officers there Several bands of Tories, led by Daniel McGirth, began raiding Sunbury and the surrounding countryside, and the paroled officers, unprotected and unable to defend themselves, became a prime target for these vengeful adversaries The Tories threatened to massacre all of the officers and actually did kill Captain William Hornby of the Fourth Continental Battalion during one raid.l33 Cognizant of the need for a defense force, General Lincoln sent a garrison of 25 soldiers, under command of Militia Colonel John Elliott, to take post in the Sunbury fort In a letter from Walton to Lincoln, dated September 29, the Sunbury superior officer called the step "extremely advisable," giving "satisfaction and security to the prisoners," and "to the Inhabitants of this district also, who were equally exposed to the ravages of the Enemy, and t he shame f ul and destruct1ve plunderings of their own people . nl34 General Lincoln's attention had been directed toward the plight of the 50 Sunbury prisoners because of a memorial presented him. In an effort to convince the British of the dangerous situation they had created by evacuating Sunbury, Lincoln sent General Prevost a copy of the memorial. Prevost responded with a letter to Lincoln, in which he agreed to enlarg~ the prtsoners' limits five or six miles inland, although they were not to "go <;m the Sea " The paroled of!ficers had complained also of a lack of supplies, and Prevost promised to "keep them regularly Supplyed" with fresh victuals. In concluding, Prevost nonchalantly prophesied that "if they remain within the limits Allowed them, they will not be exposed to any insult ulJS D'Estaing and his forces landed near Savannah in mid-September and proceeded unsuccessfully to lay siege to the town. After three disappointing weeks with no apparent success, General Lincoln and Count d'Estaing ordered a final assault on the city on October 9, 1779, with their combined forces~ But in spite of a gallant attempt on the part of both the Americans and the French, the battle ended in dismal failure, and the rebel forces began their second retreat from Georgia in utter defeat Colonel Walton wrote again to General Lincoln from Sunbury on October 13 Having received word from Lincoln several days earlier that the American forces around Savannah would soon retreat back to South Carolina, Walton found it necessary to report to him the feelings of his fellow officers in Sunbury in relation to their subsequent status It is the wish -- I might add the right -- of all the prisoners to be exchanged, or to have their limits extended They all think with me, that the Enemy, by withdrawing their protection and support, independent of McGirth's threats, gave up the matter of confinement I have enquired of the prisoners and they are unanimously of opinion that they make not the least breach of a parole of 51 honor by going where they please (except to operating armies) in the department, and this opinion they found on what has already been communicated to you, and on the certainty of being at least insulted by McGirth's banditts [sic] presently after the evacuation of Sunbury by your Guard, an event which will take place very shortly I fear, from the nature of its Garrison, and the general report of your raising the Siege of Savannah. This being their situation, i t is difficult to determine the best way to act 136 In reply to Walton's confusion and in light of the precarious situation in Sunbury after the American ~uard did evacuate the town, General Lincoln reccommended that the prisoners remove to a place of more safety, but that they consider themselves still on parole Taking the general's advice to heart, the officers scattered from Sunbury in all haste. Some proceeded overland to join Lincoln's retreating forces as they left the Savannah area, but several others, including Captain Morris and Mordecai Sheftall, "Embark'd on board of a Brig in the Harbor of Sunbury, which had been taken in the said harbour by a Small American privateer, for to proceed in her to Charles Town in South Carolina. nl37 Also on board the brig were the wives of Walton and Morris, as well as the Morris children. The vessel crossed the Sunbury bar on October 24 and then turned north along the Georgia coast Unfortunately, 25 days later, instead of being safely in Charleston, the officers, their wives and children, and servants on board the brig found themselves hundreds of miles south of their original destination on the British West Indies island of Antigua -- prisoners once more l38 Immediately upon landing in Antigua on November 18, Captain Morris wrote the following letter to George Walton, in camp with General Lincoln, to provide him with an account of the highly adventurous voyage, along with news of Mrs l.Valton [nue to the numerous errors contained in the letter, no note will be made of these in the text except for purposes of clarity]: 52 St Johns in Antigua Novr 18th 1779 Dear Walton, I have taken this oppertunity of informin you of our misfor- tunes The very first night we got out of St Cathrins we fell a thought [athwart] of an english fregate who Emmediately Set off with us to this place The Guadaluape Captn Hugh Robinson comman- der He is a gentleman of grate humanity and [did] every thing in his power to make the ladys hapy, which I supose Mrs l.Valton hath informed you All the ladys had a very sevear tryall [severe trial] nothing but Vileant [violent] gails of wind indeed at one time never thought of writing to you again We was obliged to heave six of our grate guns over board. Lost our Boats and was obliged to have [heave] the most of our frish water in order to write [right] our ship and was a going to Cut away our mast but by having [heaving] the water prevented it Poore Mrs Walton bore all her trbles with the gratest fortitude, and even ate [at] appearance of an engagement She seemed undanted [undaunted] Miss Butler and Mrs Morris I have not any thing to say in favour of in regard of good spirits, and indeed Miss Butler and Mrs Morris hardley ever had a well hour on board constanly sea sick We have been very well used heare since our arivel But when we are to get away I am not able to till [tell] you But my dear Walton I hope you will contrive some method of comeing or sending for us in a safe way and not be liable to be taken again, by your geting of a flag of Truce from genl Lincoln of [or] Governr Rutledge I heardly [hardly] think we shall see you befour April or May. My best Compliments to all our friends. From Dr Walton your most Humble Servt Thos Morris 139 During the spring or summer of 1780, all of those stranded in Antigua were able to obtain an exchange, and by borrowing or receiving money, they made their way back to the United States 140 After the exodus of the American prisoners from Georgia in late October of 1779, Sunbury appeared more than ever to be a ghost town. The only remaining inhabitants were Tories such as Roger Kelsall, James Kitching, Mathias Lapina, Simon Munro, Simon Paterson, and Charles Watts. Some of these men had fought with either Fuser or Prevost in their attacks on Sunbury, and most of them had been residents of the town before the Whigs had taken control of Georgia's government during 1775 141 53 Mathias Lapina, an interesting exception, was a native of Genoa, Italy, and a former resident of St. Thomas in the West Indies. He resided temporarily in Sunbury during 1779, but because he innocently sought protection in the fort when Prevost captured the town, he became a prisoner of war. He was subsequently paroled in Sunbury by General Prevost but did not flee like the other American prisoners in October of that year. Instead, he continued to reside there "and conducted himself in the most Peaceable, orderly & inoffen- sive manner."142 According to a sworn statement made by Roger Kelsall and Simon Munro on September 12, 1780, Lapina carefully preserved "a Quantity of Medicines belonging to the Kings Hospital" during the Siege of Savannah and protected a trunk of valuable papers belonging to Kelsall. 143 As a result of this evidence of loyalty to the British government, the newly-reinstated governor of British Georgia, Sir James Wright, released Lapina from hie parole and allowed him the protection of citizenship. 144 Available records indicate that Sunbury's only military protection from November of 1779 until April of 1782, when the British began their official evacuation of Georgia, came from the Third Regiment of Foot Militia (or the Sunbury Regiment of Loyal Militia).l45 This local organization was in existence as early as November 23, 1779, and possibly had been formed even before the siege of Savannah 146 This militia unit mainly served to maintain relative security against small parties of plundering rebels from the Georgia back-country, but its effectiveness in protecting all of St John's Parish, its sphere of responsibility, no doubt left something to be desired. Roger Kelsall served as colonel of Sunbury's militia, while two friends, Simon Munro and Charles Watts, served as lieutenant colonels. 147 I II ~~~..:..--I~/ \. .._,_. I It I r ' {1,,_,. Ill Ill" ro ........ _. /(I \ I .\ \'(I I \' II ,., ,,., ,,,, l' '1,., I ,\ ,. ,, II I IJu, I.\,,, 'I) IUustration 3 Map of Georgia (including the area around Sunbury) by John Stuart, 1780 55 On several occasions during 1780, Governor Wright tried desperately to obtain additional military protection for Sunbury, as well as for Georgia's other British controlled cities On February 14, he pleaded with British officials for one armed vessel at the town, and on July 19, he asked for 50 ' regulars 148 In a letter to Lord George Germain on October 27, Wright eval- uated the Sunbury military force as "Nothing," showing conclusively that his efforts to gain support had all proved unsuccessful 149 During 1781, the Americans grew much bolder in their attacks on British occupied Georgia, and the Sunbury residents came to fear these attacks, exe- cuted swiftly and without warning Historian Hugh McCall recorded one such rebel incursion: On the morning of the 4th of June, captain [John] Howell entered the inlet of Sunbury, where he found a negro man fishing. The negro informed him that he had been sent out to catch fish for Mr Kitchin, the collector at Sunbury, with whom a party of British civil and military officers were to dine, it being the King's birth-day Kitchin's house was not more than four hundred yards from the fort, and the execution of the plan to capture the party required caution and courage Supposing that they would be completely off their guard, and that they would indulge in the free use of the glass, upon such an occasion, until a late hour; Howell selected twelve men, and proceeded up the river, under cover of night, with muffled oars, and landed undiscovered: he surrounded the house, about eleven o'clock, and took twelve prisoners, among the number was colonel Roger Kelsall, who had insulted and otherwise ill-treated Howell, while he was a prisoner of war [during 1779] The feelings of resentment, which actuated Howell at the first moment, determined him to carry off Kelsall and drown him, but the influence of the lady of the house, who begged that his life might be spared, induced him to change his determination, and the whole party were paroled upon the beach, who pledged themselves not to take up arms until they were regularly exchanged Howell retired to his privateer unmolested, and without sustaining any loss Hhen Kelsall returned to the fort, he observed, that he expected nothing short of death, when he founded himself in captain Howell's power, and that he had no right to look for such mild treatment as he had received.l50 With resentment and determination similar to that of Captain Howell, the 56 commanding officers of two American galleys unsuccessfully attacked the British brigantine Dunmore on September 18, 1781, as it sailed from Sunbury for Jamaica After a battle and chase of many hours, the brig finally made its escape into the safety of Savannah 151 The British evacuation of Sunbury and all of Georgia began in April of 1782 By that time, England had few strongholds left in America, and victory for the United States was seen to be inevitable. Cornwallis' army had surrendered in the autumn of 1781, and the British had neither the heart nor the money to fight on against the belligerent Americans In November of 1782, the two warring nations signed a preliminary peace treaty in Paris, giving final assurance that the American Revolution was over. To the few who chanced to venture near its outskirts, Sunbury presented a picture of complete desolation Not only had the remaining residents fled during the spring of 1782, but in April of that year, Captain Scallion of the British galley Arbuthnot had destroyed and burned much of the town, including, no doubt, a large part of the Sunbury fort.l52 Benjamin Baker, still paroled by the British to his Midway home, verbally mourned the dismal state of social, military, and religious affairs in all of St John's Parish How have I been distressed when considering the [Midway] Church being broken up and driven from this place, and no appearance of religion in this neighborhood, except in three families, and they at such a distance from each other as not to see each other but very seldom Confusion and disorder and violence seem to reign in this place It appears to me that there is hardly a more wicked people than those among whom I live 153 America's revolt against her mother country was truly over, but Sunbury had paid a grievous price The Sunbury residents would return, houses would be rebuilt, and churches would be reconstructed, but never again would this 57 port city see the prosperity, importance, and growth of its colonial days. The golden age of Sunbury was gone forever Chapter 5 "SUNBURY VILLAGE" 1784 - 1808 During 1782 and 1783, the inhabitants of Midway and Sunbury slowly returned to their devastated homes from the disbanding American armies, from South Carolina, and, in some cases, from even further north For a while, the surge of resettlement appeared to bring back the prosperity of other days, but as c.c. Jones, Jr., later explained, this rejuvenation proved transient. Many of the former residents failed to return, while still others soon left because of the impoverished condition of the general area. 154 But although the post-war town did not continue to grow, it did not lose its importance immediately following the Revolution. By January 31, 1783, Sunbury once again functioned as a town unit, with a port collector and a commissary of prisoners. Most of the port collector's records have been lost, but one surviving register for October of 1787, which is included in Appendix C, indicates that Sunbury's function as a port continued for several decades after the Revolution. The local militia experienced a reorganization, and perhaps for a brief period, there was once again an American garrison stationed in Sunbury 155 Georgia's 1777 Constitution gave new county names to the old parishes, so that St John's Parish became Liberty County At its formation, Liberty County contained four districts: Sunbury, Midway, North Newport, and Canoochee The Sunbury District consisted of the town of Sunbury, the surrounding plantations on Midway Neck, and nearby St. Catherines and Colonels islands Under the new system of government, each county kept its own land and estate records and held its own 59 courts. Sunbury was designated as the county seat of Liberty County, and the first session of the superior court was held there on November 18, 1783. For 14 years, Sunbury remained host to these sessions. However, discontent over Sunbury's dominance of county politics led the Georgia Legislature to order an election on April 26, 1796. The citizens of Liberty County voted 101 to 48 to move the county offices a few miles inland from Sunbury to the f ast-growi ng town o f Ri ceboro at North Newport Br1"dge. 156 On December 8, 1791, the Georgia General Assembly passed an act to provide regulatory legislation for Sunbury. The act stipulated that the town must hold an election for town commissioners on the second Monday in January of 1792 and every third year thereafter. Any owner of a lot or house in the town -- and who was also white, male, and over the age of 21 was entitled to ballot for five commissioners. Each commissioner also had to be a lot or house owner, white, male, over 21, and an inhabitant of Sunbury. On the Monday following each election, a majority of the five elected commissioners was to meet and appoint a town clerk and any other officers necessary for the regulation of the town These commissioners were to be vested with the power to meet, conduct business, levy taxes, confiscate property for nonpayment of taxes, superintend the pilotage of the port of Sunbury, and keep the peace and order of the town. 157 With a few minor changes, this regulatory act continued in force in Sunbury until around 1825, when the elections were abandoned and the few remaining inhabitants of the town quietly agreed to manage their own affairs without the supervision of town officials. 158 [See Appendix C for a listing of tax digests and other records which provide information on residents and lot owners.] 60 For a few years following the Revolution, blacks were still brought from Africa and the West Indies to the port of Sunbury and publically sold as slaves. The town citizens, recalling the many outbreaks of disease prior to the war, succeeded in getting the Executive Council to pass a preventive act on May 27, 1784. This act forced slave ships arriving in Sunbury to land and quarantine their cargoes on Cedar Hannnock in the Medway River. Only after five to ten days on the tiny island and a doctor's permission could a ship proceed further up the river 159 In spite of the inhumane practices of slave-trading, the Sunbury residents sometimes exhibited compassion for those of the black race who lived and worked among them On July 21, 1791, a group of "Sunbury ladies'' presented a memorial to the Liberty County Superior Court because of their feelings toward a particular slave. The memorial explained that a mulatto named Billy, owned by Thomas Stone of Sunbury and the son of a free woman "of color" in St Augustine, Fla , had shown "much kindness to many prisoners from this State, as also that of So Carolina, During their Captivity there [in St. Augustine] " The mother had been in the process of buying her son from Stone for a small price, but just prior to the time of her son's departure to Florida, he had been found guilty of some "malpractices." The Sunbury women prayed that Billy would be pardoned so that he might join "his Distressed and Aged Mother," but the final outcome of their attempt is not known. 160 [This incident constitutes but one isolated example of Sunbury's attitudes toward slavery and is not intended to be representative of the citizens' general actions, which were not examined by the author.] In the latter years of its existence as a town, Sunbury served more as a summer residence for the planters in the surrounding counties than ~s a 61 permanently-settled community Rather than spend the scorching summer and autumn months on the unhealthy inland plantations surrounded by mosquitoinfested swamps and marshes, many Liberty County families maintained houses in Sunbury, where the ocean breezes and tides brought cooling relief. Even before the Revolution, the town had been used by the Midway planters as a retreat, and as Sunbury's commercial importance plummeted in the post-war years, its importance as a fashionable resort greatly increased The bustling wharfs of colonial days were replaced by grassy slopes along the Medway, and the once-active port evolved into a tranquil village Mercantilism never returned to the town on a large scale after the Revolution, but Sunbury did attain considerable prestige as an educational, religious, and social center for the coastal area of Georgia. On February 1, 1788, the state legislature appointed Abiel Holmes, James Dunwody, John Elliott, Gideon Dowse, and Peter Winn as commissioners of a Sunbury academy, with the power to raise money to construct a suitable house for the schoo1. 161 These commissioners, quite serious in their intent to found an academy in Sunbury, immediately went to work on the project. The following autumn, the Georgia Gazette announced that the opening ceremonies for the school were held September 15. According to the Gazette: A very respectable number of the inhabitants of the town and of the vicinity assembled, on the occasion, at the house of Mr. McIver on the Bay, where, after an introductory prayer by the Rev Mr Holmes, and singing, an ingenious and instructive essay on the subject of education was pronounced by Mr Hitchcock The exercises concluded with prayer The silent and respectful attention of the audience gave a convincing proof of their pleasure and approbation, and of a ready disposition to encourage and patronize the institution 162 The first instructor at the academy was the Rev Reuben Hitchcock, who, according to the Gazette, was "a gentleman whose testimonials from the 62 President and Tutors of Yale College, where he was educat~d, are . fully i satisfactory " 163 The connnissioners published the tuition of each subject offered by the academy in the Gazette on October 2 Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, 4 b sterling per annum, English Grammar, Geography, Surveying, Navigation, 4 b 15 s, l~tin and Greek Languages, 5 b 10 s Payments to be m'lde quarterly 164 The schoolhouse was located near King's Square, the largest town square, and was readily available to local youth However, for those stu- dents attending from the surrounding country, accommodations in town were of great necessity To meet this need, a resident of Sunbury opened a board- inghouse, where she advertised the price of b<;>arding, "exclusive of Bedding, Washing, and Firewood" to be "15 b sterling per annum." 165 The Sunbury Academy continued to serve Liberty and its neighboring coun- ties for many years following its opening Various teachers headed the institution during its years of existence, but none was so famed and beloved as the Rev William McWhir, D D. [See Illustration 4 ] Many have recorded the life story of this well-educated and deeply spiritual man, but perhaps none so completely as C.C Jones, Jr., a son of one of McWhir's students: The teacher whose name is for the longest period and most notably associated with the management of this Academy, and who did more than all others to establish a standard of scholarship and maintain rules of study and discipline unusual in that period and among these peoples, was the Reverend Dr William McWhir Great was the obligation conferred upon the youths of Southern Georgia, for certainly two generations, by this competent instructor and rigid disciplinarian A native of Ireland, a graduate of Belfast College, and licensed to preach hy the Presbytery of that city, he came to America in 1783 and settled in Alexandria, Virginia There, for ten years he was the Principal of the Academy of which General Washington was a trustee He was frequently a guest at Mount Vernon, enjoying the hospitality of that noted Jllansion About 1793 he removed to Sunbury where he became the Principal of the Academy and, for nearly thirty years, made it the leading Tllustration 4. Engraving of the Reverend William McWhir 64 institution of learning ln this entln n~gion. A thorough Greek, Latin, and English scholar, an uncompromising observer of prescribed regulations, and a firm believer in the virtue of the birch as freely applied in those days in the English and Irish schools in which he had received his training, he was a terror to all dolts and delinquents. To the studious and the ambitious, he always proved himself a generous instructor, full of suggestion and encoura~ement. The hi~her branches of mathematics were also taught; and, as a preparatory school, this institution, under his guidance, had no superior within the limits of the State. The average attendance was about seventy . Two generations sat at the feet of this v~nerable preceptor. Fathers and sons in turn responded to his nod, and feared his frown. For more than a Quarter of a century his numerous pupils found in him, above all others, their mentor, guide, and helper in the thorny paths of knowledge. Strongly did he impress his character and influence upon the generations in which he lived, and his name and acts are even now well remembered. The evening of his days was spent, as inclination prompted, at the residences of his old scholars, by whom a cordial welcome was always extended. That when accompanied by a generous supply of buttermilk and a good glass of wine. The latter might be dispensed with: a failure to provide the former was, in his eyes, an unpardonable breach of hospitality, and materially impaired the comfort of his sojourn, and th~ tranquility of the venerable guest.l66 [See Appendix C for a listing of students at the academy for 1807.] Many of Sunbury's permanent residents were Congregationalist in their religious affiliations. Not wishing to travel miles each Sabbath to Midway Meetinghouse, these Sunbarians decided to form their own Congregationalist society. On March 8, 1790, the minister, selectmen, and other members of the "Congregational Society of Sunbury" petitioned the governor of Georgia to "incorporate our Society by Charter." Prior to that date, the society mem- hers had erected a meetinghouse in Sunbury and had "taken steps to form them- selves into a religious society."l67 The Rev. Hitchcock, principal of the Sunbury Academy at the time, served as the society's first minister.l68 The society continued to hold active services for a few years, but on April 29, 1810, six members of the Sunbury church requested the Midway congregation to receive them as members in communion until their own church "became organ- ized."l69 How long the Sunbury church remained in a state of disorganization 65 is not known, but no record has been found which would indicate the subsequent existence of a Congregational church in the town. By far the largest church ever organized in Sunbury was the Baptist church, incorporated on December 4, 1810, with Charles 0. Screven as pastor and Peter Wino, Jacob Durham, James Smith, and John Cuthbert as trustees.l70 This congregation still held worship services as late as 1830, but no located records indicate just when these services were terminated. 171 The army of General William T. Sherman burned the church in November of 1864, but by that time, the wooden building appears to have been abandoned. During the later part of the 18th Century, Liberty County hummed with military activity, but none of it directly involved Sunbury. Beginning in 1788 and continuing for about five years, the Creek Indians in southern Georgia made a number of vicious raids against the Liberty County residents. 172 The accompanying atrocities aroused fear and anger in the town of Sunbury and the surrounding countryside, but the Indians inflicted the largest amount of actual damage on the inland portion of the county. After the end of the American Revolution, the cultural and religious life in Sunbury remained relatively undisturbed by any military activity until the commencement of the second war with Great Britain in 1812. Chapter 6 "ERECTING A FORT IN THE TOWN OF SUNBURY" 1808 - 1816 Strong diplomatic differences between the United States and Great Britain developed during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe In the years of these wars, the United States grew rich by shipping goods to both England and France, but the British Navy soon used its dominance of the high seas to stop this practice. British vessels imposed blockades on continental ports in 1806 and thereby disastrously effected American shipping In the years that followed, tension grew between England and the United States as a result of British impressment of American seamen. These serious transgressions against United States commerce soon aroused anti-British feelings among many Americans, especially those in the South and West. The people of New England, who profited most from trade with England, generally opposed war, but strong expansionistic and chauvinistic desires from other areas of the country eventually dictated America's second declaration of war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. 173 For several years prior to the actual declaration, the United States War Department anticipated the outbreak of hostilities and began constructing coastal defenses to prepare America for war In pursuit of this plan, the secretary of war dispatched orders on January 26, 1808, to U.S. Army engineer Alexander Macomb, working in Charleston, to remove to Georgia. There, he was to supervise measures for erecting an enclosed defense work at Savannah, a battery for four guns on Tybee Island, a similar battery at Point Peter in St. Marys, and a battery for two guns "at or near Sunbury. nl74 67 Macomb proceeded to Georgia as he was instructed, but after examining the area near Sunbury, he returned a negative report to the War Department: November 1, 1808 Sunbury On inspecting the Town and Vicinity of Sunbury I could not discover any one position that was advantageous for the Battery proposed in my instructions: Indeed the only proper defence is some heavy pieces mounted on travelling carriages, so as to enable the artillery to take such positions as might be best adapted to frustrate any attempts which an enemy's vessels might take for insulting or injuring the Town or its neighborhood And I beg leave to offer, for the security of Sunbury the following defence, with which the Inhabitants have expressed a perfect satisfaction. Viz: Two eighteen pounders mounted in travelling carriages & two twelve pounders Mounted in like manner also one hundred stand of arms One small arsenal to contain the arms and one powder magazine and an artillery shed: the whole to be inclosed with a wall to which might be added Barracks for 30 or 40 men 175 A statement coumunicated to Congress by the War Department on January 6, 1809, confirms that a small battery was to be constructed near Sunbury. How- ever, as the statement further explained, no site had yet been obtained for the proposed work. 176 Actually, the War Department took no further measures for the defense of Sunbury for three years Then, on July 24, 1812, just a month after the United States declared war, Major Joseph Gardner Swift of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notified Captain William McRee, an engineer in Savannah, to check again into Sunbury's needs Head Quarters Moultrie ville 24th July 1812 Sir, It is desirable to Know what can be done for the Defense of Sunbury in Georgia I wish you to communicate with some one at or near Sunbury and learn the number of Cannon and their calibre that may be at Sunbury, Could a small Battery be usefully positioned for the defense of the place, How large a work and materials necessary, what depth of water on the Bar, and is there any healthy position in the vacinity [sic] of Sunbury I am Respectually Sir Your Obt Hum. Sert 68 Captain William McRee Savannahl77 J (' Swift Ma_i Engr Aid Captain McRee responded to Swift's request by consulting with John Elliott of Sunbury about the possibilities of defending the town month, he had decided upon his recommendations and reported to Swift, the new chief of the U S Engineers: Savannah 16 August 1812 Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 24 July ulto I have had some conversations on the subject of your letter with a Mr Elliot [sic] of Sunbury a gentleman of information and representative of that place in the State legislature He informs me, the inhabitants are erecting two batteries and have two Mines, and some other pieces of smaller calibre either mounted or mounting -- but no ammunition The town is open to the sea from which it is about seven miles distant, it is the healthiest spot in its vicinity and is the resort of the neighboring planters during the sickly months -- It is situated on a sand bluff about 20 feet higher than the water & earth batteries may be erected in abundance and perfectly cheap If fixed or permanent works must be built, two at least are necessary one at each end of the town, as a vessel that could succeed in approaching would be at liberty to lay secure from the fire of any single battery I recollect a small hammock or island between the town and bar which Col Macomb and myself examined in 1808 and found to have an excellent command of the channel which is here very narrow But as a site for an open battery -- the objection against it is conclusive It has only a water communication with the main land and is quite beyond the reach of either protection or support For the maritime defense -- when circumstances will attend their use -- I am decidedly in favor of the use of heavy artillery on travelling carriages to be protected [by] earth epaulments at the different proper points of action and I am acquainted with no plan uniting advantages better calculated to ensure success to this description of defence than Sunbury Maj J G Swift Comdg Sr Dft 178 W McRee 69 Major Swift reacted quickly to Captain McRee's recommendations. He employed the services of Isidore Stouf of Savannah, a knowledgeable engineer for his day, and commissioned him to ascertain the best means for defending the harbor of Sunbury Stouf submitted his plan almost immediately to the engineering chief, and Swift replied to Stouf on August 31 that his "plan of Sunbury harbour & report of necessary work for its defence had been duly received & will be taken into consideration."179 From all that can be learned, Swift intended to fortify Sunbury to some extent, but he never followed through on either McRee's suggestions or Stouf's plans. This puzzling situation is partially explained by a letter written on November 28, 1812, to Swift by Maj Gen Thomas Pinckney of Charleston, commander of the Southern Division of the U S Army. It was Pinckney's opinion that the extensive stretch of country between Savannah -- the northernmost city on Georgia's coast -- and St Marys -- the southernmost city in Georgia -- should be protected from possible British attack by at least one defense work But since Sunbury did not "equally divide the distance," the general felt that a fort at Darien would better solve the problem 180 His idea superseded any plans Swift might have had to provide Sunbury with a defense work. The most important protection ever afforded Sunbury during the early years of the war was the presence of six armed barges in the Medway River in the latter part of 1812. On July 28 of that year, Pinckney mentioned in a letter to the secretary of war that these barges had been ordered from Charleston to Sunbury 181 Sunbury resident John Stevens recorded years later in his memoirs that their unexpected arrival produced considerable commotion among the inhabitants . 182 According to Stevens, the British 70 frigate Lacedemonian was anchored off Cumberland Island at the time, and the coastal residents often saw its barges in St Catherines Sound, where they occasionally captured and burned American coastal vessels Therefore, as the six unidentified American barges from Charleston neared Sunbury, the citizens concluded they were being attacked by the British Stevens pro- vided an excellent description of the resulting confusion: The citizens of the place some of them had their valuables hid in the woods back of the Old Presbyterian Church, and a few others took to flight, one family never returned until the war was over. The Honble John A. Cuthbert in command of the citizens formed a line on the Bluff, & on his right the larger scholars under the command of Charles Floyd The barges came to anchor in the front river, (just outside the old wreck), when at a given signal the "American Jack" was run up at masthead by each barge Such cheer- ing & shouting you have never heard before in all your life. These barges continued to guard the place for six months, it was a beautiful sight of a clear day to see them sailing down to the sound and back again They were anchored at night opposite of each wharf, and every hour would pass down the watch word "Alls Well 11 It was very cheering & inspiring to the youthful minds.l83 The presence of American naval officers and seamen in Sunbury for six months kept the little village in turmoil, as evidenced by a story later told by Stevens, just a young boy at the time One afternoon when I was along with some of the boys & girls gathering jessamins [jasmine] in the woods back of the Old Church, we heard the report of pistols in quick succession, in coming out to see what was the matter we found one man lying on his back and the other standing over him It proved to be Bush & Jones, the two highest officers in command of the barges, they had quarreled over their cups and had come out there behind the church to settle it in a duel Bush was shot in the thigh, the Citizens hearing of it came out and had him conveyed on one of the doors of the church to their head quarters, in a building under the Bluff Jones went in the next morning to see Bush when he fired at him on his entrance into the room (he had his pistol concealed in his bed) the ball passing just a few inches over his head Bush I understand surv:ived until after the war, and eventually died from the effects of the wound Jones died in the Marine service of the U S. whilst on a cruise in the Mediteranean Sea 184 71 The departure of the gunboats from Sunbury left the town without any direct protection Another incident recorded by Stevens confirms that the town residents still feared a British attack: One day a schooner was noticed approaching the village pur- sued by a sloop The citizens were again thrown into consterna- tion, and the school dismissed. The old Customhouse boat, 'Tric- kum,' was launched, and John Webb with some others went to see what was the matter, (both vessels had grounded within a few hun- dred yards of each other) It proved t~at the schooner had mis- taked the sloop for a British barge and she was making for port. They were both trading vessels 185 John Stevens was not the only Sunbury resident who wrote down his memories of the War of 1812 The Rev Jesse Campbell, a son of Jesse Campbell of Colonels Island, was likewise a young boy at the time of the war. His "Reminiscences of the War of 1812" were printed in the Macon Telegraph and Messenger in 1873 and tell vividly of the dangers of British interference in coastal trading: It was by no means an uncommon occurrance [sic] to see American vessels on fire in the waters just below us Small yankee crafts, sloops, and schooners, carried on a coast trade between Savannah and Saint Augustine, (the latter being a neutral fort), which were frequently caught by British barges, sent in from large vessels lying off the coast, and containing twenty-five men each They were so constructed as to navigate our shallowest streams, especially at high tide On the approach of a barge, the yankee sailors, seldom over six to eight to a vessel, and unarmed, would almost invariably take to their small boats, and leave their vessels a prey to their enemies The writer has a distinct recollection of having seen three vessels one afternoon on fire in St Catherine's Sound The sailors made good their escape by landing at Waldburg's place on that Island Sometimes the British 'caught a tartar ' A certain Captain Hall, commanding a small schooner, made quite a hero of himself by fighting off two barges with a force of ten or a dozen men. Mr. Nat Law of Liberty county, had dispatched his private boat to St. Augustine in charge of a Mr Stetson for family and neighborhood supplies, which, on its return, was captured by the British and taken in tow -- Stetson and his negro crew escaping into a hammock 72 not far from the residence of Col Dubignon, below Brunswick Hall came sailing along soon thereafter, ignorant of the proximity of the enemy, and seeing Stetson and his able crew in distress, took them on board It being low tide, the barges had hid behind a point of marsh, and were waiting for him On discovering them, he crowded all sail -- ran his little craft aground at Dubignon's landing, and all on board took to their heels incontinently. So the British thought at least Hall and Stetson, hoWever, with four or five sailors belonging to the little schooner, joined by Dubignon and his sons, in ambush on the bluff, all armed with shot~guns, calmly waited the approach of the barges They didn't have to wait long, for in twenty minutes they turned a point of marsh and came bearing down upon their prize Those on the bluff retained their ammunition till the British were in point-blank range, when they opened a most destructive fire upon them One third of those in the open barges were either killed or wounded at the first volley. One of the barges was soon in a sinking condi- tion -- the survivors scrambled into that which was yet afloat, and casting loose Stetson's boat (its valuable freight untouched) made good their escape Many a time, in my childhood, have I handled the gun with vhi~h Stetson fought on that occasion It was the longest and largest bored firelock I ever saw, and its ordinary charge was .a musket ball and fift:een buckshot. Such a weapon, in the hands of such a young giant as Stetson was, at short range, must have done fearful execution. Hall's party escaped unh:umed Our people on the coast were subjected to many privations and much suffering Coffee was a luxury in which the old people indulged once a week -- of Sunday morning -- the young abstaining altogether Our family supplies -- such as they were -- were obtained from the Yankee coasting vessels already alluded to, they, in turn, purchasing their stocks at St Augustine I have often seen my father give a fat shoat, of 75 or 100 pounds weight, for a bushel of rock salt, or alum salt as it was then called 186 Throughout most of 1813 and the early part of 1814, the United --States made no further plans .to defend Sunbury Talk and correspondence continued at a rapid rate among the military and political figures who had authority over Georgia, but actions to fortify the southern areas of the seaboard adequately never seemed to back up the words Actually, Georgia and the entire Southern Division expended most of its manpower and money during these two years of the war in a massive campaign against the Creek Indians While 73 Georgia's armies battled in Alabama and Mississippi, her coastal residents grew more fearful of a British attack on their relatively undefended cities In March and June of 1813, Georgia Governor David B Mitchell pleaded with Maj Gen John Mcintosh, commander of Georgia's coastal troops, to distribute the few United States troops stationed on the seahoard. 187 General Pinckney had ordered the majority of the troops still in Georgia to mass in St. Marys and guard against any British thrust into the state through Florida, the governor suggested that half of these could remain concentrated at Point Peter in St Marys, while "the other half might be distributed in such detachments along our Sea Coast as would give some security to the inhabitants, and serve as a rallying point for our militia 11188 In apparent compliance with the governor's requests, General Pinckney sent reinforcements to Sunbury and posted a detachment of troops under a Captain Warley there during the summer and fall of HH3. In his memoirs, John Stevens mentioned the arrival of Captain Warley's company in the town. They came in two vessels from Point Peter in St Marys, he said, and, on the landing of the company at Carters Wharf, the school boys were all there, and perfectly delighted Capt Warley had the company formed in line, with two drummers & fifers ahead, when they struck up Dont you hear what your Captain say, Strike your tent and march away This is the way the school boys interpreted it They then marched to an old Yellow house near the fort and pitched their tents around it The smallpox broke out at the barracks soon after the arrival of the company, and the old drummer (Hutcheson) and several others died with it There was a general vaccination among the citizens at this time, myself among the number 189 Because of the smallpox epidemic, the Sunbury detachment requested and received permission to depart in October 190 Early the next year, another 74 detachment of troops, under the command of Major Robert Bowling, was mustered from the state militia into active United States service and ordered by General Pinckney to Sunbury. This second detachment consisted of approximately 200 soldiers from Burke, Chatham, Effin~ham, and Screven counties, who arrived in Sunbury with two wagons of bag~age on April 12, 1814. On April 27, Major Bowling wrote to Lt Col Edward Harden in Savannah, commander of the Thirty-Fifth Regiment of Geor~ia Militia, and requested Harden to send him a captain and 52 more privates to make a full company Major Bowling also requested the captain to bring "camp utensils, to cook in," for the detachment had found none upon their arrival in the town 19l Colonel Harden complied with these requests as far as possible, but as late as June of that year, Major Bowling still reported a deficiency of men in his company Unfortunately, the militia troops sent to the Georgia seaboard were only required to serve a six-month term of duty Bowling's detachment, first ordered into service in February, disbanded about September of 1814, which once again left no federal troops along much of Georgia's coast 192 From the beginning of the war, the inhabitants of Liberty County relied primarily on their own resources for continual protection. In 1812, the Liberty Countians appointed a committee of five influential citizens to plan measures for the defense of the county. 193 This citizens' organization worked through the state legislature and other political organizations to secure and regulate aid for the county. Additionally, the county's militia and volunteer companies remained efficiently organized in the years following the Revolution, and they provided much security to the inhabitants of the surrounding area during the periods when no federal protection was supplied 75 At various times during the course of the war, these companies of troops even stationed themselves in Sunbury, where, according to John Stevens, they greatly enlivened "the old village."194 Nevertheless, a citizens' organization and a collection of militia troops, no matter how well-organized and efficient, were no match for the British Army, should ~t choose to invade The people of Liberty County realized their vulnerability,and feared the consequences. After the withdrawal of the federalized company of Georgia militia in the late summer of 1814, the citizens decided they had waited long enough for federal assistance which never came. If they were ever to see their county and port city defended, they themselves would have to build the defense works and furnish the garrisons In the final months of 1814, Liberty County went into action. The citizens met in Riceboro in September and appointed John Elliott, William Flem- ing, Joseph Law, John Stacy, John Stevens, Daniel Stewart, and John Wing to be a committee "to sit monthly for the purpose of taking into consideration the state of the county."195 This committee, styled the "Committee of Safety," was authorized to "call upon the inhabitants of the county for so much labors as appeared to them necessary to put the county in a state of defence." On behalf of the committee, Elliott wrote General Pinckney and announced the committee's willingness "to repair, at the expense of the county, the fortifications in Sunbury, and to garrison the town." However, Elliott requested the assistance of an engineer and the donation of two 18pounders and a supp1y o f ammuni t1.on. 196 Fortunately, the general approved of the affirmative actions of the committee and reacted agreeably to its demands. In complianse with the request for an engineer, he had his secretary dispatch the following letter to a U S. Army engineer stationed in Savannah: 76 Charleston 4th Octr 1814 Sir A communication has been received by the General from J Elliott in behalf of a Conunittee from Liberty County who propose to rebuild the Fort at Sunbury and apply for the Assistance of an Engineer I am commanded to direct that as soon as you receive information from the Committee that they are prepared to proceed to Sunbury to lay out the work, or to send a competent agent (which the Genl authorised [sic] you to procure) for that purpose. Lieut. Smith U S Engineers Sava Ga. 197 General Pinckney also corresponded with Captain Massias, commander of the . First Rifle Regiment at St Marys, concerning the transportation of some cannon from Point Peter to Sunbury l9 8 In a letter of November 19, 1814, Pinckney's secretary instructed Captain Massias to send five nine-pounders and several 32-pounders to Savannah and to drop off two nine-pounders in Sunbury, Massias complied accordingly 199 On October 11 of that year, Genera! Pinckney wrote to the new Georgia governor, Peter Early, requesting that a company of artillery be marched to Sunbury This gesture presents further evidence of Pinckney's willingness to aid the industrious residents of Liberty County in their defense effort Governor Early replied to the general on October 27 and promised him that the request would "be complied \lith speedily u200 True to his word, on November 7, the governor ordered a Hancock County artillery company conunanded by Captain James Hamilton to march toward Sunbury 201 Sometime in October of 1814, Pinckney met with the Committee of Safety at Midway Church to discuss the possibilities for defending Sunbury. Pinckney suggested that the citizens construct a tower instead of a fort, but the committee members ruled the tower impractical be cause of the difficulty of obtaining materials and voted to proceed with the building of a fort. Under the direction of the Committee of Safety and the U.S Army engineer from 77 Savannah, work on the Sunbury fort progressed rapidly. According to Stevens' memoirs, "the citizens, or rather the planters of the county were called upon to send a certain portion of their male slaves to work upBn the 'Old Fort' and put it in thorough repair u202 The Rev. Jesse Campbell stated in ~is "Recollections" that his "father was engaged in superintending the construction of the fort at Sunbury, (riding to the town on horseback daily [from Colonels Island], and returning to his home at night), which was designed to protect that place from an attack by water."203 General Pinckney realized the need to mount the two cannon sent to Sunbury, and on December 28 his secretary instructed the Savannah ordnance officer to. order the cannon mounted at the expense of the federal government. 204 The ordnance officer promptly attended to the matter, for Stevens recalled the cannon carriages passing his father's plantation. They were built, according to Stevens, by "Jonathan Gaulden on Taylor's Creek."205 General Pinckney and the other officers in the Southern Division appear to have done everything within their power and budgets for the benefit of the new Sunbury fort. With two mounted cannon, a company of artillery, and the advice of a U S. Army engineer, the Sunbury residents could have hoped for no greater cooperation with their efforts for defense In fact, the only real opposition that the Liberty County Committee of Safety encountered was from the state government In November of 1814, the Georgia Legislature passed a bill which appropriated $45,000 "for the purpose of fortifying the city of Savannah, the city of St . .ttary's, and the several inlets between the said cities."206 In order to carry out this project, the legislature appointed a committee of advisors and commissioners for each coastal county; they chose the 78 previously appointed Conunittec of Safety members to serve for Liberty County 207 The Liberty Countians were no doubt pleased at the prospect of receiving state funds to finish their fort at Sunbury -- but little did they anticipate the reaction of the governor to this bill The legislative mem- hers spoke of fortifyin~the "several inlets" between Savannah and St. Marys, which Governor proposed to do by constructing forts on the outer islands along Georgia's coast rather than by fortifying the coastal towns. The commissioners for Bryan County, located between Chatham and Liberty counties, reacted first to this ridiculous idea with a letter of strong dis- approval: Bryan County 2nd Jany 1815 His Excellency Peter Early Sir As we are of the opinion it would not add in the smalest [sic] degree to the Security of the County or any Section of the Seaboard to erect a block house on the Island of Ossabaw, we shall decline acting as Commissioners to build on that spot If it was to be erected at Hardwick on the Main where some benefit might be calculated from it we would chearfully [sic] attend to it, as we know it to be the general impression of the County that no advantage can possibly result from building on the Island it is not in our power to recommend to your Excellency Any Names to Substitute our places If we were of the opinion it would be of the utmost Utility to erect it on the Island we should consider the risque [sic] of imploying [sic] negroes their [there] so great that not a Man would send One unless a ~uard of at least fifty Men were placed with them from the Commencement as it is reasonable to suppose a work of the kind would imediately [sic] draw the Attention of the ships on the coast, and no doubt would have a tendency to induce them to commit much greater depredations on the Island that what they have heretofore Should you think proper to Authorise [sic] us t~ purchase two small cannon with Suitable Amunition [sic] to be placed at Hardwick [on the Ogeechee River, county seat of Bryan County] it would no doubt aid us Materially to repel the Approach of Barges or small Vessels We are your Excellencys very obt Servents [sic] .Jno Pray Geo: M Waters Lee Blacksell208 79 The Liberty County Committee of Safety also reacted to the governor's propos- als Enraged and hurt that the governor had not even acknowledged the work being undertaken by the residents to fortify Sunbury, the chairmanDf the Committee of Safety wrote him the following letter. Fortunately for research- ers, this invaluable letter has been preserved, for it provides an excellent description of the defense works built in the town during the War of 1812. Liberty County lOth Jany 1815 His Excellent Govr Early Sir Your Secty's letter with a blank bond enclosed has been duly received Permit me, Sir, to inform your Excellency, as I am directed by the Gentlemen named therein, that we deem it almost impracticable to Erect a post of defence on the Island, as contemplated by the Legislature at this time from the proximity of the Enemy The Committee of Safety has undertook a laborious task in Erecting a fort in the Town of Sunbury, and when its [sic] completed will be of more Utility & answer full as well (if not better) than a block House on the Island, Coasters in case of emergency can run under her guns for protection and at the same time be in a good Port, Harbour, whereas near the Island there is no safe port and Vessels would be subjected and liable to be enjured [sic] by tempestious [sic] weather We are willing to Sign & Execute the bond, If your Excellencys are of opinon we might apply part of this money to the finishing this fortification in Sunbury. The next legislature can sanction it, Especially when they find their object has been Effected I say part, because we are persuaded five hundred dollars will be sufficant [sic], as the fort now is in considerable forwardness, the Parapit [sic], Berme, Moat, Revetments, Palisades, &c; are all nearly done Thus far, the work has been carried on by the labour of our County voluntirely [sic] contributed, the Bastions, Gates, Barracks, Magazines & together with the purchasing Nails and other Iron materials will require Money, and we shall be at a loss unless the State will let us have the money as already mentioned, for our Slaves cannot do, or carry on the work much further, workmen must be employed for this purpose General Pinckney has given the Committee every assurence [sic] that the necessary Guns and Military Stores &c &c shall be furnished, two are already mounted on carriages & on the spot. You will Greatly oblige the Committee by draping [sic] us a line on the subject by Mail, soon as convenient I have the honour to be yr Excellency Mo obt Hl Servt Dl Stewart Chairman to the Commt of Safety of L County209 80 Governor Early never responded in wri~ing to either of the two committees' letters, and neither the legislature nor the governor took further action to use the appr~priated $45,000 for -~ coastal fortifications -either in Sunbury and Hardwick or on the nearby islands This negligence can be readily explained by the many other problems that occuped the governor's mind shortly after he had received these letters In the middle of January of 1815, British naval forces under Rear Admiral George Cockburn landed on Cumberland Island and then sailed into St. Marys, where they captured and burned both the fort and the town Then the destructive troops marched on toward the Altamaha River, plundering and burning as they went. 210 United States troops from Savannah, Sunbury, and western Georgia were ordered immediately to Darien, where they planned a massive attempt to stop the British However, Great Britain and the United States had signed a treaty at Ghent, Belgium, on December 24, 1814, and when news of the declared peace reached the marching British troops in early February; they reversed their direction and retreated to their ships at St. Marys On February 6, General Pinckney's aide-de-camp issued orders for redistribution to the southern forces massed at Darien, which included an order for Captain James Hamilton's company of artillery to "resume their command at Sunbury, taking with them the artillery belonging to that place ..211 How 1ong t hi s company remained in Sunbury cannot be determined from presently-available records, but since the seaboard was no longer threatened, it undoubtedly disbanded or moved elsewhere within the next few months. After the threat of a British invasion passed, the Liberty County citizens set out again to complete the new fort at Sunbury, which they styled "Fort Defiance "212 In a short period of time, they did finish most of the 81 earthworks, but with no funds, they could not proceed with the construction of a magazine or barracks. On March 8, 1815, Brig Gen Joseph Swift, still the chief of the U.S. Army Engineers, issued the following orders to Lieutenant James Gadsden in an effort to evaluate the post-war state of Georgia's coastal fortifications: Brooklyn, L I. 8th March 1815 Sir, You will repair to Charleston & Beaufort So Carolina, to Savannah, Sunbury & St Marys Geo & examine the state of the Fortifications at or near those places, & also examine such positions as in your opinion it may be necessary to occupy with Permanent Works of Defence for the above mentioned places & the approaches to them You will as soon as practicable make full Report to me on the above, including such restorations and alterations as in your judgment are required to render the Fortifications perma- mently useful with estimates of the costs I am with much Respect Your M Hum St Lieut Gadsen N V Engr A D.C 213 J G Swift B G Gadsen's reply the following June provides a clear and informative description of the town of Sunbury and its new fort Charleston, So Carolina June 1, 1815 Sir, Pursuant to your order of March 1815 I have visited Charleston & Beaufort in South Carolina, and Savannah, Sunbury, and St. Marys in Georgia, have examined the several Fortifications at or near those places, and now report their condition, and also such additional defences as are deemed necessary to be constructed SUNBURY. The situation and importance is not such as would warrant the recommendation of expensive fortifications. As a Town it is only the resort of the neighbouring Inhabitants in quest of health during the sickly season of the year It is not commercial, therefore it cannot excite the cupidity of an Enemy, but as it possesses a safe, and deep harbor, admitting of nineteen feet water on the bar, it may in this account be necessary to secure /Sketch Su nlJu ryI H a,r6Dr. . , ([; ~argi a- , Illustration 5 Plat of the Sunbury Harbor, showing the location of Fort Defiance, 1815 83 it By the voluntary labor of the neighboring planters, a work has been commenced the last fall and very nearlv completed on the return of peace It stands on a commanding position enfilading the channel surrounded on two sides by a marsh in the third by a ravine, and approachable by a land force in the rear only I would recommend that it be completed and its profile strengthened by widening and deepening the ditch and forming with earth a high glacis Its figure is irregular, (an attempt at a star Fort) and though not approved of, yet as the fort is so near being completed any additional strength gained by an alteration of its form, would hardly warrant the consequent increase of expence, -- such an alteration would not only render it necessary to build a new work, but to fill up the ditch, and level the parapets of the old one This Fort with six heavy pieces of ordnance and two field pieces will effectually secure force until relieved by reinforcements It would also serve to protect the planters on the Medway River from the predatory visit of barges and may be a rallying poillt in time of alarm for the Militia of Liberty County . For a more full explanation and a better comprehension of this Report you are referred to the accompanying sketches That of Charleston Harbor has been enlarged, That of Sunbury reduced . & that of Savannah copied from three old plans I accidentally met with [See Illustration 5 ] With Respect Yours &c Gen J G Swift 214 James Gadsen Lt Engineers In pursuance of Lieutenant Gadsen's suggestion, the Sunbury citizens appear to have constructed a high glacis or earthen bank immediately outside the ditch, around their fort on three sides, this feature is evident in the earthwork existing today just south of Sunbury No further construction, however, was ever accomplished. On January 20, 1816, General Swift listed the "Fort at Sunbury" on a report submitted to the secretary of war as a site whose jurisdiction "should be vested in the United States."215 But other than this casual mention of the fort, no one in Sunbury or the federal government seems to have ever 84 noticed or acknowledged its existence subsequent to 1815 The earthwork that the local citizens struggled so hard to erect was abandoned and forgotten within a few months after its completion. Chapter 7 ''THE DESERTED VILLAGE" 1816 - 1864 Sunbury continued to serve as a cultural center for Liberty County for several years following the War of 1812. Social events were abundant and I varied, and life in the small village sti'll held attractions for residents. Perhaps the best panorama of Sunbury's latter years is revealed in the correspondence of its residents and visitors, some of which has fortunately survived. [See Appendix D for a series of extracts from the letters of the Alexander family of Sunbury, as well as a few letters concerning the Rev. McWhir and his wife.J During and after the 1820s, a number of factors contributed to a drastic decline in Sunbury's population. Beginning in the 1780s, first one inland town and then another sprang up in Liberty County and drew residents away from the coast. Yet for many years these former residents continued to use Sunbury as their summer home Then, in time, other summer retreats replaced it -- Dorchester, Flemington, Hinesville, Jonesville, and Walthourville. The all-powerful railroad later passed through many of these newer towns, and the lack of convenient rail transportation to Sunbury proved a further deterrent to the town's prosperity. 217 The gradual transition from rice to sea-island cotton as the major crop grown in the coastal area also resulted in the further decline of Sunbury's population The lower, swampy regions on or adjacent to the coast were totally useless except as rice fields, and with cotton as "king," the residents moved further west to higher ground. The biggest single destructive force that Sunbury suffered, however, was the hurricane of 86 1824 218 Although only chimneys, outbuildings, and palings we re blown down in the town proper, the hurricane damaged beyond repair many of the planta- 219 . tions of Midway Neck and Colonels Island. One of Sunbury's last links with its past popularity was the Fourth of July celebration held there every year by the Liberty County Independent Troop C c. Jones, Jr , described this day as the "event of the year in that quiet connnunity," which the town celebrated with military exercises, a public dinner, and patriotic speeches. Nevertheless, even this welcome diversion was discontinued in 1833.220 In 1829, Sherwood's Gazetteer described Sunbury as having "a flourishing academy, a house of worship for the Baptists, twenty dwelling houses, two stores, three offices, and a population of one hundred and fifty."221 On April 24, 1841, the Sunbury post office finally closed, and by 1855, the town had shrunk to pitiful proportions The Rev George White described the village in his Historical Collections published that year "Sunbury is now almost deserted, being inhabited by not more than six or eight families." 222 A few of these clung to their native homes until the War Between the States, but the tragic economic difficulties which followed snuffed out the last traces of life in Sunbury During the years of the Confederacy, a few troops were periodically posted in or near Sunbury In late June of 1861, a corps of mounted rifles under the command of Captain Charles A L. Lamar, encamped in the town and set up a picket post William Hughes of Taylor's Creek, commander of the Liberty Guards, wrote the governor: "The citizens of our county contemplate repraising and putting in good order the Sunbury Fort though I consider it not necessary to have it garrisoned, at present, as the Batteries on St. Catherines 87 Island, command the entrance to the River n223 Shortly after their arrival, Mrs. Mary Jones, the mother of C.C Jones, Jr., who resided on Colonels Island at that time, wrote to her son in Savannah and described the scene: Our Confederate flag now floats in the Atlantic breeze upon the bay in Sunbury, and 'the deserted village' presents a novel sight, white tents upon the plain, all the military arrangements of camp life, officers in conunand, soldiers on duty, horses ready for service Two eight-pounders have been taken from the old fort in perfect preservation They ring like bell metal, and are said to be French pieces. Captain Lamar intends to have them mounted 224 The two eight-pound cannon which Mrs. Jones mentioned were undoubtedly the two sent to Sunbury from St Marys in November of 1814. As far as is determinable, these guns were the only ones ever placed in Fort Defiance from the time of its construction until the War Between the States 225 In August of 1861, the Liberty Independent Troop joined the Lamar Mounted Rifles in Sunbury, where they both remained until November, when the troop was ordered inland to Riceboro. The month before, the Lamar Rifles had also left Sunbury for Mcintosh County, immediately south of Liberty County.226 A small number of cavalry troops were posted south of Sunbury in 1863, but not until the fall of 1864 were Confederate troops again stationed in the town By this time, General William T. Sherman had captured Atlanta, and his troops were marching toward Savannah, spreading fire and destruction in their path The Twenty-Ninth Battalion of Georgia Cavalry was ordered to Liberty County to defend it against the Union troops should they venture that far south 227 In Dorchester, Flemington, Riceboro, and Sunbury, they set up camps and waited. In early December of 1864, General Judson Kilpatrick, who was commanding 88 two divisions of cavalry in General Sherman's army, swept into Liberty County and quickly overran the ineffective Confederate defenses On December 13, the Third and Fifth Kentucky cavalries of 500 men, under command of Oliver L Baldwin, marched toward Sunbury 228 One of the last Sunbury re~idents, only a small lad at the time, wrote many years later of the town's capture by Federal troops The Northern troops surprised the town and the Southern soldiers who were camping at Dorchester and doing picket duty around Midway, Dorchester, Sunbury and all along the coast of Liberty county. The most were on duty on the coast, as they thought the Northern forces would come by boat The Yankees got a few of our men who were on picket duty, one being my stepfather, J.A Rowe He was on duty just three miles from Sunbury when the Yankees captured him They brought him to Sunbury They let him stay at home but kept guards in the house all the time I was a little boy at the time but I remember that soon after the troops arrived at Sunbury some of the men carne to my stepfather's horne and I was out in the yard when one of the men said to me, 'Johnnie, give me a piece of fire ' I gave it to him, thinking they wanted it to cook with Soon as I gave it to them them started to the church Child-like, I wondered where they were going to build the fire, as I knew the church had no chimney. I followed them to the church They took rails from a fence and built the fire under the stair steps in the church. Soon the church was blazing I didn't know why they were burning the church, until later I heard the guards that loiere guarding my stepfather say they hated to burn the church, but they had promised Sherman they would burn a building as soon as they reached Sunbury as a signal to the Northern gunboats which were anchored out in St Catherine's sound waiting for a signal from the land forces to come in, as they would have been unable to take the town without the help of land forces The Yankee troops reached Sunbury about 2 p rn and before 4 p.m. they had the church on fire Next morning the gunboats came up into the Sunbury harbor and took the town The town was well fortified with heavy breastworks and could not have been taken without the help of the land forces 229 89 Exactly what the author of the above article had in mind by "heavy breastworks" cannot be determined readily Perhaps a number of rifle pits and some entrenchments around the central town bluff were the extent of Sunbury's "breastworks" during the War Between the States In li~ht of present evidence, this suggested explanation is the most plausible description of the town defenses. If the Confederates had fortified only the central area of the small village, those defense works would probably have been destroyed in the early 20th Century, when the site of Sunbury was frequently farmed In the outlying areas of Sunbury, which were not farmed, no breastworks surviving from the War Between the States have yet been discovered. It can be stated with relative certainty that the remains of Fort Defiance were never used during the War Between the States as a fort. While it is possible that the old fort was briefly garrisoned as a picket post during 1861 or 1864, this limited use would not have greatly altered the appearance or integrity of the War of 1812 earthwork Today, Sunbury consists of a few modern houses, dirt streets, and vacant lots Surrounding the town are cleared fields, the scattered homes of a newly developed residential area, and acres of dense forest with jungle-like growth Only the fort just south of the town, the old cemetery, and a few historic markers serve to remind the casual visitor of Sunbury's long history But the visitor more attuned to the early history of the state can envision the picturesque town that once flourished along the Medway, with moss-hung live oaks, neatly painted wooden houses, children playing in the town square, and small merchant ships anchored at the busy docks. This visitor can almost feel the presence of people who once walked the vanished streets, among them the many great figures in history who helped to make 90 Georgia what it is today Upon visiting Sunbury in 1878, Charles C. Jones, Jr., was inspired to write these words, which might also describe modern Sunbury: The same bold bluff, the same broad expanse of marshes stretching onward to the confines of the broad Atlantic shore -- the same sea-washed beach of St. Catherines, -- the same green island dividing the river as it ebbs and flows with eve~ restless tide, -- the same soft sea-breezes, -- the same bright skies, -- the same sweet voices and tranquil scene which nature gave and still perpetuates, -- but all else how changed!230 SECTION II DEEPER DELVINGS Chapter 1 "THE FORT" The military history of the town of Sunbury may be conveniently classified into four periods: Colonial, Revolutionary, War of 1812, and War Between the States. The defense works existing in Sunbury during each of these periods have been described in Section I of this report in a chronological fashion and in some detail; however, for purposes of clarification and summarization, the following outline is provided: Colonial Construction on the first defense works in Sunbury began on September 20, 1756, in order to protect the Midway District from the threat of Indian attacks. Whether or not this work was ever completed is not known. On July 11, 1757, the Midway inhabitants constructed a battery for e:lght guns in Sunbury, which was still in use in May of the following year. The battery was repaired and enlarged int() a "good Logg Fort" in 1760. This stockade fort had fallen down by November of 1762, but four of its guns were still "on the bay at Sunbury." When the fort's deterioration was reported to the Georgia Commons House in Savannah, its members appropriated funds for three more guns to be sent to the town. The exact location of the colonial battery defense work in Sunbury is presently unknown. In a defense report made by Governor James Wright in 1773, no mention was made of any defenses at Sunbury, which strongly suggests that all of the various wooden fortifications built prior to that time had either collapsed or been destroyed or removed. 94 Revolution~_ The minutes of the Georgia Council of Safety for June 7, 1776, contain the first mention of defense works in Sunbury during the Revolution. On that day, Colonel John Baker was ordered to finish the entrenchments about the town The Council members again gave orders on July 30, 1776, for a battery to be built in the town, again, on December 11 of that year, they ordered the construction of "a battery and other public works in Sunbury " On March 25, 1778, the Council ordered the battery and other works in Sunbury to be com- pleted, which proves that the defense works were still in an unfinished condition at that time. Some time between March and November of 1778, construction on the actual Revolutionary fort at Sunbury probably began, however, construction of this fort was apparently never completed, for after General Prevost had captured Sunbury in January of 1779, General Howe still described the fort as "a work too extensive for five times the number of men, ill-constructed, unfinished, without casemates II Howe probably exaggerated in his estimate of men neeessary to man the fort, or perhaps he included the entire Sunbury defense works (i.e , included the outer entrenchments) as part of Sunbury's "fort." Certainly this outer works was never manned during the two Sunbury attacks because of the acute shortage of manpower. The accounts of the January of 1779 attack on Sunbury affirm that the town's fort at least had parapets, a magazine, and a barrack with two wings After the British gained control of the town, they made necessary repairs on the damaged defense works but were ordered to "dismantle the fort" in October of 1779, when they evacuated the town The fort was still used subsequent to that date, but the lack of an able British garrison in Sunbury 95 probably prevented any reconstruction work from being carried out. In a raid by the British galley Arbuthnot against Sunbury in 1782, much of the town seems to have been burned, and any remaining guns or wooden portions of the fort were probably destroyed at that time. The Revolutionary fort in Sunbury was often termed "Fort Morris" by the Americans and officially named "Fort George" by the British The primary problem that the present researcher has faced in relation to the Revolutionary fort in Sunbury concerns the exact location of the structure and its surrounding entrenchments. War of 1812 In light of the "Daniel Stewart letter" Footnote 209 - the "James Gadsen letter" LFootnote 214], and the map of Fort Defiance accompanying the Gadsen letter [Illustration 5], there can be no question but that the salient earthwork located south of the site of Sunbury, and erroneously known to many local residents as Fort Morris, is, in actuality, the fortification which the citizens of Liberty County erected in 1814 and 1815 for the defense of their port city. Unfortunately, several statements concerning the initial construction of Fort Defiance have produced a major conflict. When John Elliott of the Liberty County Committee of Safety wrote General Thomas Pinckney in October of 1814 of their plans to fortify Sunbury, Elliott spoke of wanting to "repair the [Revolutionary] fortifications " Years later, former Sunbury resident John Stevens recorded that during the War of 1812, "the planters of the county were called upon to send a certain portion of their male salves to work upon the 'Old Fort' and put it in thorough repair. " Although no other known sources indicate that Fort Defiance was in any way a 96 reconstruction of the Revolutionary Fort Morris, these two unqualified remarks immediately pose a question about the construction of the later fort War Between the States During this war, very little in the way of fortifications was built in Sunbury In fact, the only indication that defenses ever existed during the War Between the States comes from a newspaper article printed in 1925, which states that the town "was well fortified with heavy breastworks" at the time of its capture by Federal troops in 1864. As has been adequately discussed in Chapter 6 of Section I, it is the opinion of the present researcher that these "heavy breastworks" most likely surrounded the central area of the small village. Fort Defiance, old and abandoned by the 1860's, appears not to have constituted a significant part of the town's defenses at this time As the above summaries indicate, two very important questions about Sunbury's fortifications remain unanswered (1) Exactly where was the Revolutionary fort at Sunbury (Fort Morris or Fort George) situated? (2) Was Sunbury's War of 1812 fort (Fort Defiance) constructed on the site of or in the form of the Revolutionary fort? In order to properly evaluate the answers to these questions, an understanding of the topographical features of the land in and around Sunbury is of critical importance The bluff where the town of Sunbury was built originally extended along the Medway River for approximately 5,000 feet in an uneven north-south direction In the early 20th Century, Sunbury property owners extended the original bluff into the thin strip of marsh lying between the river and town The most noticeable digression of the present shoreline 97 from the ancient bluff line is near the southern end of the bluff Originally, springs created a natural indentation along the bluff in this area, which had necessitated the elimination of a row of lots there when Sunbury was first laid out. Presently, the entire area surrounding the springs and extending into the outlying marsh has been filled to create additional land for development creating exactly the opposite appearance of its natural state. South of these former springs, the original bluff of Sunbury continues for approximately 600 more feet, until it i~ again interrupted by the remains of a creek, which originally cut across the marsh and into the shoreline at this point. This creek bed formerly extended for perhaps 300 feet back from the marsh and marked the southern boundary of the colonial and Revolutionary town of Sunbury. On the southern side of this creek, the bluff rises once again and continues southward for almost 600 feet until it takes a sharp turn inland and disappears into the surrounding marsh. This sharp turn creates a natural peninsula out of the southernmost point of the Sunbury bluff. Bounded on the south and east by marshes and on the north by the marshy creek (across which lay the original town), this peninsula is today owned by the State of Georgia. On its easternmost point are the excellently preserved earthworks of Fort Defiance, built in 1814-15. The northern portion of the Sunbury bluff bends from its north-south course in a northwesterly direction some 2,000 feet before its terminus. At this point, the shoreline turns first west and then southwest for another 2,000 feet, forming a rounded point of land which extends into the expansive marshes of the Medway River which lie north of Sunbury. The town limits originally ended about 1,000 feet due south of this point. The western side of Sunbury was formed by a large creek which extends from the Medway River in a 98 southwest direction. The creek turns south after reaching the old Sunbury town limits and continues along the western boundary of the town for over 3,000 feet Here, it again turns southwest, which leaves the area immediately south of Sunbury relatively free from marshland. [For abetter visual understanding of the land surrounding Sunbury, see Illustrations 12 and 16, for proof of the original boundaries of Sunbury, see Chapter 2, Section II.] With the terrain clearly in mind, let us now examine the facts concerning the shape and location of the Revolutionary fort at Sunbury. Two maps are in existence which provide an indication of the shape and general location of the Revolutionary fort. The first of these is undated and unsigned, a manuscript drawn of the Georgia and Florida coast between the -Little Ogeechee River and the St. Johns River [Illustration 6]. The town of Sunbury appears as a large cluster of dwellings along the Medway River on the map, and the "Fort" is drawn south of the town on what appears to be a slight projection into the river. No other defense works in the Sunbury area are illustrated on the map. The fort is squarely shaped, with a bastion in each of its corners, but the shape is probably a crude symbol, rather than an exact shape for the fort. Two roads lead toward the town, converging just before their entry into Sunbury. One leads from Midway Meetinghouse (the Sunbury Road), and the other leads from the North Newport River (the Ferry Road) This map can be conclusively dated as 1776-78 for several reasons. First, "Fort: Barrington" is shown on the map on the north side of the Altamaha River, this fort's name was changed to Fort Howe in December of 1776. 231 Second, the residence of "Mr McKay" is depicted on the northwestern side of Sapelo . Island Sapelo was the home of Patrick MacKay of Sunbury, where he died in 1777 232 Third, the author of this map may be identified as Captain IZ Zustration 6 Map of the Georgia coast (sho~ing the Sunbury Fort) by John Herd~ ca. 1777 (; g 0 R G I A ..,.......,...lf From th, )hii'TII 'l, -~ ti ,~t'4u'lf!" ... ~,~~-- '.1 IUustration 7. Map of Geo~ia (showing the Sunbury Fort) by Lieut. Col. Archibald Campbell, 1780 101 John Herd, a Continental Engineer officer in Georgia who was ordered to the southern area of Georgia in 1776 to aid in laying out Fort Howe. By 1778, he was back in Savannah, where he died on February 14 of that year.233 The second map in existence which shows Sunbury's Revolutionary defenses was drawn in 1780 by Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell [see Illustration 71. This map covers primarily the area between Savannah and Augusta, but the labeled town and fortifications of Sunbury clearly show in the left-hand corner. The shape of the fort, depicted south of the town on this map, is similar to that of the fort on Herd's map, but its careful placement and detailed depiction strongly indicate that the actual fort possessed this slightly rectangular shape. The angles of the bastions appear very sharpe, and a rectangular building (probably the barracks) is shown in the fort's center. Also, the entire town and fort are shown surrounded by an outer defense work, which was undoubtedly the entrenchment constructed around Sunbury in 1776 under the direction of Colonel John Baker [see Footnote 63]. The fact that the entrenchment shown on this map does not completely encompass the town indicates that it was never finished. The entrenchment was never mentioned during the 1778 attack on Sunbury, and in the 1779 attack, the British troops camped in the entrenchment's ditch. In both attacks on the town, the British readily occupied most of Sunbury and only fought in order to capture the garrisoned fort. General Howe's estimate that over 1,000 men were needed to defend Sunbury probably referred not only to the maintenance of the central citadel, but also to garrisoning the entire entrenchment that surrounded the town and fort. The best clues to the exact location of the Revolutionary fort appear on a plat of Josiah Powell and in a letter of John Mcintosh. The Powell plat, 102 surveyed on April 1, 1786, illustrates a lOD-acre tract of marsh granted to Powell [see Illustration 8]. The marshland began at the southern boundary of Sunbury and continued south between the bluffline or shoreline and the Medway River for some distance The most interesting feature of the plat is a mark on the small peninsula immediately south of the town, beside which is writ- ten: "Angle of the Forts Bulwark." From this plat, one might conclude that the southeast corner of Fort Morris lay in the southeastern area of this peninsula -- the same peninsula on which Fort Defiance was later built. A letter to General Benjamin Lincoln at Purisburg from John Mcintosh, the commander of Fort Morris when it was attacked by Colonel Fuser in Novem- ber of 1778, provides the second clue to the Revolutionary fort's location: 12th February 1779 Sir I have just Received a Letter from Mr. Thomas Young, acquainting me that the Certificate which I gave him for pulling down his House at Sunburry [sic] at the time Colonel Fuser took possession of It -- wherein he acquaints me my Reasons Were not fully sett [sic] forth, for destroying of Said House. I will therefore Sir endeavour to State them in a clearer manner -- begin apprehensive of an attack from the Enemy, I thought it prudent to have the Buildings which were near the Fort pulld down, that I might have no obstruction in the use of the Artillery. This House of Mr. Youngs laying near the North West corner of the Fort, I was apprehensive of the Enemy's taking possession of it, and annoying me within the Walls. I thought it prudent, and with the advice of My Officers to have it distroyed [sic] which I accordingly did. I am Sir Wt Esteem Your Most. obt huml Servt John Mcintosh Lt Col. Wm Scott Captn. Andw. Templeton, Capt. Gideon Booker, Capt. Nathal. Pearre Lieut.234 In 1778, Thomas Young owned five lots in Sunbury, but only one, Lot 93, lay near the southern boundary of the town.235 This lot, literally on the southern boundary, was the third lot from the bay [see Illustration 11]. '. . . , " ,.. ~ . ~ Plat of 100 acresIlglruasnttreadtitoonJo8st-.ah Powell~ 1786 104 Knowing the length of a Sunbury town lot and allowing for one 7Q-foot street between the first and second lots and one 20-foot lane between the second and third lots, an estimate of the lot's location may be derived Young's lot lay 350 feet west of the bluff's edge -- a considerable distance inland. Using both of these clues in connection with the knowledge of Fort Morris' shape, the present researcher has concluded the following: The Revolutionary fort at Sunbury - Fort Morris -- was located on a small peninsula immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of the town of Sunbury. The northern side of this peninsula was (and still is, t:o some extent) formed by a small creek and ravine cutting inland some 300 feet from the marshes of the Medway River The southern boundary of Sunbury lay along the northern side of this natural cut. The Revolutionary fort was much larger than the salient earthworks, which were built during the War of 1812 and located on the eastern portion of this same peninsula. In contrast to the present earthworks, Fort Morris extended almost the whole length and breadth of the peninsula, beginning in the southeast corner (as shown on Powell's plat) and stretching to the northwest corner -- just: south of Lot 93 (as indicated in the Mcintosh letter). The fort, according to Campbell's map, was relatively square, with four pointed bastions, one on each corner. (Most small forts of the Revolutionary period were square and contained four pointed bastions.) A magazine and a large barracks lay inside the fort walls; an entrenchment surrounded the fort on the south and both the town and the fort on the west. Fort Morris was certainly built of wood and earth, which was burned or destroyed during the latter years of the Revolution. Fort Defiance, whose constrnetion began in 1814, was a completely new work: smaller than Fort Morris, irregularly shaped, with higher earthworks. However, Fort Defiance was located on the eastern portion of the Revolutionary fort, leading many 105 historians to claim that the two forts were identical [see Illustrations 9 and 10]. 236 A full history of the Revolutionary Fort Morris must be included in any future interpretation of the salient Sunbury earthworks. In addition, the interpretation of both of these forts (Morris and Defiance) must be interwoven with a history of Sunbury itself. Each of Sunbury's four periods of defense was the result of a direct and immediate need for protection; all of the town's defense works, including Fort Morris and Fort Defiance, were hastily erected by the local populace and then evacuated and allowed to deteriorate in times of peace Never in the town's history was a fortification ever properly completed. In 1814, the town's inhabitants used local resources to construct a fort to alleviate their fear of external attack The fort was built at the insistence of the county's citizens and with slave labor. Although cons~ructed under the supervision of a U S. Army engineer from Savannah, it was built cheaply and quickly. Any surviving earthworks from the old Fort Morris were undoubtedly destroyed during the construction of Fort Defiance. Members of the Committee of Safety decided to rebuild the Revolutionary fort (as some proposed), but instead built a smaller and more efficient fort in the vicinity of their old fort. It is hoped that archaeological investigations around and in Fort Defiance will some day relocate the exact boundaries of the Revolutionary fort. Until such a time, however, the writer hopes that the State of Georgia will continue in it endeavors to preserve, restore, and interpret the intact earthworks of Fort Defiance for the public's enjoyment and educational benefit. The War of 1812 in Georgia is a topic rarely interpreted, and Fort : if-~\ ILLUSTRATION 9 l\ I 1 1 r - - - - - - J ,' _ ~\'-- - 4 I I I '~'.-.. ....._.._..,(;,Jc - I - - - ~~N-;- ;;R;;;- ~;--- - - - - - : "' "',,iF~~ED MARSH'f- ------------------1 I \/ ~ I 1---=::.L - - I ORIGINAL TOWN OF SUNBURY ~ I --v~_1~ - I I I ,'-~ --- I I I>.J;_ - * I I : .~'-,-v -- 1,!-# -s-i- t'- -----~--J - ~ ~~~ STATE PROPERTY Ll NE ----------- ,-, .," __... I \ ' ,..-' ~ ~ ~ - -~ -de -- I \ , - - ~ . 1', -\_',~..:.L..;O:-:W'=---:-M:---A-R--~S--H.-.Y-.~---Ak=R--E-..=.A=-...=:.-.~. '-/-=-'',,'_-.....~." ' - --- ,_ ~ ...... ',-'"-~<---..:-...~ - ', I ',,~- ~.....,~- ~ VISITOR . . . 7 CENTER ,/...,.....,......-------___-.-....---- ------- // / I ,1EXISTING ROAD --- _.. _..., I .-- _... ..,.., """ I \ I J SCALE I"= 200' OUTLINE OF PRESENT FORT ~-- -'~ --->.L_ -"~ j - _ ___::_"-"-Jr- ___L _J/' _ ___... ~--- PLAT SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THE PRESENT FORT IN RELATION TO THE TOWN OF SUNBURY I I 1 ILLUSTRATION 10 I ,' S/,- 1 ~ I I ~~ , I ,' ~ r------.J ,'_u!L' ,_ -------------------- , ' ,~ ' ...... - ,,_~ ~ - ~ \ I .......... ,-~ -~- - - - - - - - - - - PRESENT FERRY - - ROAD - - - - - - - - - - ORIGINAL TOWN OF SUNBURY _!>~I~L_ s~N~R!_ 2:_0!_N _u~T,! I\~~ 93 _____ 1 ~LOT_9~~- ~:L~:-~~t 1 . I 1-.J{ - -... _ _:-..,\k..l I I ' - '.::b_- ~ I : I~I ..!< r ' I -- ---- ' ,:- \f \Jr _ I _; ~ li ~~>~k_i-:_-ev-~~:I_ ~ NORTHWEST CORNER IS NEAR LOT 93 LOW I ._, ........ , -.,.,,.,. ' MARSHY AREA '~ ~ - - \ ------------ ' ____ ' , - - - ----'~~- ..... ... ' \ ~ ~ __........-... I - """"---- . -------------~ GENERAL SHAPE OF FORT AS ON CAMPBELL MAP BARRACKS ~-- .JI ------- BEGINNING OF OUTER PALISADE - - - --- ---- - - -- - !~ ~ ANGLE OF THE FORT'S _-.Y:-...,=-==-*-,..-: BULWARK, AS SHOWN ON POWELL PLAT J ,((.. ,~c:r >"-= _ _ ~...v:: SCALE: 1" = 200' PLAT SHOWING THE CONJECTURAL LOCATION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY FORT IN RELATION TO SUNBURY 108 Defiance, the direct result of the pressures and fears of the war, is one of the last physical remains of this important period of our history. Its historic value as a unique Georgia fort, its military value as a coastal post during 1814-15, and its intrinsic value as an integral part of the town of Sunbury cannot be underestimated. [For photographs of the present Sunbury fort, see Illustration 20.] Chapter 2 THE LAND After examining the political, social, economic, and military history of Sunbury, one must also examine the history of the land on which Sunbury was founded, developed, and finally died. Many of the details in surveying and conveying this land over the course of many years have been lost or destroyed. These remaining records present a confusing picture, but one which provides insight into Sunbury's development. According to the deed of trust from Mark Carr to James Maxwell, Kenneth Baillie, John Elliott, Grey Elliott, and John Stevens on June 20, 1758, the town of Sunbury had been laid out within a 500-acre tract of land. Of this 500 acres, the actual town of Sunbury comprised 300 acres. Of this 300 acres, 200 were laid off in lots, 70 feet by 130 feet, streets, 70 feet wide; lanes, 20 feet wide, and squares. The remaining 100 acres constituted the town cour mon.237 According to this same conveyance, a plat had been made of the town at the time that it was laid out; unfortunateiy, no plat was recorded along with the 1758 deed. In fact, with one exception, all the early plats of the town seem to be irretrievably lost. The one surviving plat, made soon after the town was first laid out, came into the possession of Major John Jones, a resident of St. John's Parish who was killed in the 1779 siege of Savannah. 238 The plat eventually passed to his great-grandson, Charles C. Jones, Jr., who carefully copied the document and had it printed in his Dead Towns of Georgia in 1878 239 This original plat was large enough to allow the names of early owners 110 r v _rgz~OilGIA ._ eJart$Jf l cJ()Jn,._ P(<~.!f. ~r ~ J;~Jl ~ J'anlna.J;. conNz'ir'1f JIMQ.fid ,;,~t.lfo..,..A'iirt/t ~ c.&;;,d~ ~-'0 /11. l.Juadt:i'-'" M4f~ ~..ff /lf(J() Ut- I'Jre~tJ,.,tll. ..40r~. . . IZZustPation 11. PZat of the town of Sunbur-y showing the or-iginal layout of the stPeets and lots~ ca. 1758 112 Midway Street, west by a street, and north by Lot 54 [Georgia Colonial Conveyance Book X-2, pp. 912-13] (5) By conveyance dated March 4, 1795, Cyrus Gildersleeve, clergyman, and wife Rinchie, sold to William Hunter Torrens, attorney, Lot 79 in Sunbury for ~55, bounded north by Lot 78, south by Lot 80, east on a main street, and west on a lane [Liberty County Deed Book f, pp. 188-90]. (6) By conveyance dated September 2, 1787, William Baker and Nehemiah Baker sold to John Dollar of Sunbury, Lot 172 in Sunbury for ~22-lQ-0, bounded by a street on the north, by a public square on the east, by Lot 171 on the south, and by a street on the west [Liberty County Deed Book~. pp. 211-12]. (7) By conveyance dated February 11, 1784, the Commissioners of Confiscated Estates sold Thomas White of Liberty County, tailor, for ~186, Lots 281 and 282 in Sunbury, bounded south by Medway Street, east by a street leading from Medway to Church streets, west by a 20-foot alley or lane, and north by Lot 283 [Liberty County Deed Book B, pp. 144-45]. Official sale of the Sunbury lots by the town's trustees began in 1759 and continued until 1763. In addition to the first five trustees, two more Sunbury residents, James Fisher and Francis Arthur, were appointed to that capacity. 240 The trustees drew up the original lot deeds in a standard form, and three trustees signed each document. The deed gave the lot number and price of the lot, which varied according to the lot's distance from the town bluff. [For further information on the Sunbury lots, see the conveyance from Mark Carr to the trustees, Section I ] Appendix E of this report contains an example of an original Sunbury lot deed, and a partial listing of the chains of title on most of the Sunbury lots is also included in this appendix. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the original Sunbury deeds were never 113 recorded, and, as a result, the names of the initial purchasers of many of the lots are based solely on the list of early lot owners published by C.C. Jones, Jr Also, a large percentage of subsequent Sunbury lot owners never recorded their deeds, a number of lots, therefore, contain large gaps in the step-by-step transactions. In spite of the initial prosperity of Sunbury, many of the lots in the northwestern and southwestern corners of the town remained unsold. On April 5, 1767, Mark Carr and the Sunbury trustees conveyed the 196 "unsold lots" to Patrick MacKay of Sunbury for n55o. 241 During the same year, Carr sold MacKay the part of his land grant on the Medway River which had not been incorporated into the town of Sunbury. 242 According to the original grant, Carr's land contained 500 acres, which left over 200 acres after subtracting the 300 acres laid out for Sunbury However, a resurvey of the original tract determined that Carr's actual holdings contained only 100 acres outside of the town and common. 243 On December 23, 1768, Patrick MacKay sold this 100 acres, along with 500 acres lying immediately south of Carr's grant, to Alexander Duff of London and Helen Gordon of Inverness of Scotland, the widow of John Gordon. 244 This second 50Q-acre tract had been granted on July 4, 1758, to John Mullryne, who had sold the tract to Mark Carr within the next few years. 245 Carr, in turn, had sold the property to MacKay in 1767 along with the remains of his own 500-acre grant. 246 In a subsequent transaction, the "Mullryne tract" then reverted from Gordon and Duff to MacKay. 247 At MacKay's death, the tract was bought by Colonel John Baker, from whom it was legally confiscated in 1798; William Milligan bought the land at public auction. 248 By 1799, John Tompkins owned the tract, but it was confiscated from him in 1805 and sold to 114 Thomas Young of Savannah. 249 On January 28, 1817, Young's estate sold the Mullryne tract to the Rev. Charles 0. Screven of Sunbury, whose heirs continued to hold the property until after the War Between the States. 2SO Mark Carr's SOD-acre grant was bounded on the north and east by the Medway River and its marshes, on the south by the SOO acres granted to John Mullryne, and on the west by SOO acres belonging to Carr's son, Thomas. The western SOO acres had been granted on AprilS, 17S7, to Thomas Carr, who sold the entire tract on September 26, 1772, to Roger Kelsall of Sunbury. 2Sl In the deed of conveyance, Carr called himself "late of Sunbury, but now of Eschet in Northumberland County, England, Esquire."2S2 Kelsall continued to own the property until after the Revolutionary War, the new Georgia government confiscated the SOO acres because Kelsall fled to England as a Loyalist.2S3 The Couunissioners of Confiscated Estates divided the SOD-acre "Thomas Carr tract" into thirds, selling two-thirds to John Baker and one-third to John Hardy. 2S4 The larger portion of this tract became known as the "Distillery" and eventually passed into the hands of Paul H. Wilkins in the early 1800's. 2SS In a resurvey, Wilkins found that the property actually contained 600 acres.2S6 The smaller part of Thomas Carr's tract, owned by John Hardy, was known as "Kelsall's Barns"; it was legally confiscated from Hardy's estate and sold at public auction in 1791 to Dr. Adam Alexander of Sunbury. 2S7 Alexander transferred the land to his daughter, Mrs. Kenneth Irvine, in 1809,2S8 and she sold thf~ tract (found by a resurvey to constitute 232 acres) to the Rev. Charles 0. Screven on June 17, 1816.2S9 The land remained in the Screven family for many years, along with the adjoining SOO-acre "Mullryne tract." 115 The course of the old Sunbury Road, leading from Midway Meetinghouse to the town of Sunbury, has not changed Today, it still enters Sunbury at approximately the same point that it did over 200 years ago when the town was first laid out Using the C.C. Jones plat of Sunbury as a guide and measuring off distances from the old Sunbury Road on an aerial view of the area, or on any accurate map, the original boundaries of the town may be readily determined [see Illustration 15] The writer has been fortunate in locating surveys of the Mullryne tract (made in 1817), the "Distillery" tract (made in 1816), and "Kelsall's Barns" (made in 1816)260 [see Illustrations 13, 14, and 15]. These three tracts which surround the original Mark Carr grant on the west and south can be properly drafted on a plat of the Sunbury area, enabling a researcher to determine the original boundaries of the Carr grant [see the topographical map of the Sunbury area, Illustration 16, as well as the outline of this map, which shows the location of the three grants, Illustration 17]. From the boundaries shown on these three surveys, the approximate location of the Sunbury common can also be determined. 261 The western common stretched between the town's western boundary and the eastern boundary of the "Distillery" tract and "Kelsall's Barns" (both of these grants originally constituting the grant to Thomas Carr) The very small northern common and the somewhat larger southern common extended the entire length of the town's northern and southern boundaries and, together with the narrow western common, provided Sunbury with a three-sided buffer from the surrounding plantations [see Illustration 18]. The peninsula on which the Revolutionary Fort Morris and the War of 1812 Fort Defiance were built was a part of the southern common This fact explains why no transactions of property in the close vicinity of the fort site exist for the period prior to the War Between the Illustration 12 Aerial view of the area surrounding Sunbury, showing the original boundaries of the town, 1953 ILLUSTRATION 14 PLAT OF 600 ACRES OWNED BY PAUL H. WILKINS (Part of an Original Grant to Thomas Carr), 1816 Illustration 15. PZat of 232 acres owned by CharZes 0. Screven (pCC!'t of an originaZ grant to Thomas Carr), 1816 Illustration 16. Topographical map of the area surrounding Sunbu,py, 1958 , \ - \ ', - -- - - ' I I _..; ------- ---- ', ' _ ___-..L --- \ - .t:__ _ _________ ______________,.,,"-:~ - --- __-....-.t- ~ -- "'-- ---- - ....,.p-___ - - - -- . - --- - .. -----~ - ~ o/ - -- - - - - -d::_" - - - .... -' _ __ _...y - - -- - Jc v ---"'--- - - v L BOUNDfNGS OF THOMAS CARR'S ORIGINAL 500 ACRE GRANT I\ " ' II ',,- -.l ,,I -, ,I \ \ \ I I I I SOUNDINGS OF MARK : CARR'S ORIGINAL 1 1 !SOO ACRE GRANT .,._ \ 1- '{ I ' I f /- I '~ ILLUSTRATION 17 BOUNDfNGS OF JOHN MULLRYNE'S !SOO ACRE GRANT \ - {. _ - - __ _:::::,.'(::; _____ _ ..-,/ PLAT OF THE AREA ~-~ _ _ ,._.../ - - - .::1.. _.,.,{:__ - .&::_ SURROUNDING SUNBURY SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THE GRANTS TO MARK CARR, THOMAS CARR 8 JOHN MULLRYNE ____ ' ' ' \, \ ', I '-.:K I --- \ ---'-~---- ' \ \ ___ - --, --- ------ ....' ,-- ............ \1 ~ ~-~- ... , ' ,I _ I ,,,__-~ ~ ,I_ ,.--, - - SOUNDINGS OF THOMAS .) /THE \ CARR'S ORIGINAL ),POINT \-..J ~00 ACRE GRANT t = ---""""'~-"" 1/r- - - " - - - - \ ' SUNBURY COMMON - - t - - + I \ ORIGINAL I I TOWN .OF I I SUNBURY I I I ,_'...~....' I PRES-E-NT--F-OR-T---:-~+~';{. ~--------./_ ~'I .::.:::... ' POLL \ _ ,..:_ (~}__~ ~- ILLUSTRATION 18 : ,v; .::fL. I ," / J - I I I __,!J,,!!!!;l!!l~ ~ ~ PLAT OF THE AREA SURROUNDING SUNBURY SHOWING THE ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES OF THE TOWN AND COMMON 123 States. Having determined the location of the town of Sunbury and the Sunbury common {both within the boundary of Mark Carr's original grant), the location of the grant's remaining 100 acres can be readily determined A small point of land just north of Sunbury, containing approximately 40 acres, and an irregularly-shaped tract just south of Sunbury, containing approximately 60 acres, comprised this remainder. 262 The northern tract, known as "the Point," and the southern tract, known as "Pole Hall," were both in the possession of Patrick MacKay's estate as late as the 1780's. Henry Myers of Sunbury apparently bought both t~acts shortly thereafter. 263 Once -. in the hands of Myers, the two tracts were split up into small fragments. Parts of the Point were owned at various times by the Rev. William Hammett of Charleston, John Croft, and John Hill; the entire Point later passed into the hands of William Maxwell, who retained the property until the 18SO's. 264 The Pole Hall tract had an even more complicated history. Pieces of it were owned by James Holmes, Lachlan Mcintosh, James Powell, Jan Molich, and William Ward, 265 and eventually the entire tract passed into the possession of the Rev. Charles 0. Screven.266. In the division of Screven's estate in 1830, his son William inherited much of the land south of Sunbury. William sold the Pole Hall tract to his brother Benjamin on July 11, 1848, along with several other nearby tracts. 267 On December 6, 1869, Benjamin bought the entire southern portion of the old Sunbury common from Jones A. Rowe, this portion including the remains of the "old Fort at Sunbury." 268 Exactly how Rowe was able to obtain title to the southern section of the common in order to sell it to Screven remains a mystery; however, Rowe was apparently the first private "owner" of Fort Defi-, ance. 124 During his lifetime, Benjamin Screven obtained title to most of the town lots in the southern part of Sunbury Following his death in 1871, the whole southern portion of Sunbury, along with the southern Sunbury common and the Pole Hall tract, passed to his son, Charles W Screven 269 On April 3, 1893, Charles sold his legacy, consisting of 132 acres, to Mrs. Margaret M. Harris, wife of A.J. Harris 270 Her heirs sold the 132 acres on December 19, 1899, to George W. Parker of Liberty County, who, in turn, conveyed the land to Allen M. Calder on February 15, 1902. 271 The property remained in the hands of Calder until March 27, 1914, when he sold the same acreage to George W. Lowden 272 Lowden sold the property to Robert A. Calder on February 28, 1916, in whose possession it remained for many years.27 3 On March 9, 1945, Calder sold part of the 132 acres, along with some adjoining marshland, to the Commissioners of Roads and Revenues of Liberty County, 274 who subdivided the tract into smaller lots. On June 14, 1968, they conveyed a large portion of the subdivided tract, including the peninsula on which is located Fort Defiance, to the State of Georgia, to be preserved as a historic site 275 The western portion of the town of Sunbury, due to the marshy condition of the area, was never fully settled In the later years of Sunbury's existence, the western and then the northern and southern areas of the town fell into private hands. William Maxwell and Benjamin S. Screven owned large areas of the old town prior to the War Between the States 276 Eventually, most of the town site came into the possession of Jones A. Rowe, who sold the northern portion to Charles Prectorius in 1877 and the southern portion to George W. Parker in 1882 277 Prectorius' estate subsequently sold the northern portion to Gay Green of Asheville, N.C., who conveyed the property in 125 1938 to Allen A. Stevens 278 George W Parker sold the southern portion of the town to John C. Jones of Orange Park, Fla , who subsequently conveyed the property to Allen A. Stevens in 1937.279 [See Stevens' plat of the southern area of Sunbury, Illustration 19.] Stevens cleared and subdivided much of the overgrown site of Sunbury during the 1940's, and he subsequently sold many of the lots. Today, Stevens' heirs still own part of the town site, while various other private individuals possess the remaining areas. ..._.,.~~,;,:. ,~: . . ...' '""; .. ~ ,. ' NAP OF SVNBI/RY PVBLIC LANIJINC .,......,~ /.3~~M. Oisr. o, L,..,.r_..-, C~ C.,. ,.~ t ; Sed/~ , .." 2t?CI' L'$1"""'*"' l. ,..c-,.....,c:, ------ ___,_____,._ ,_;:- ,....-,_,,.,,."/" ~,:-.w - - - - - - .- - ~ .ofv/''~ 'l"~'.~ r;'~ . p,$..'.~.,,,,.., , .., -: .~ ' ..J' . ;, ..:.~ . . .~ ... . / ,...-If' .~- ~ ~"ff&r :t i :-,.-':-. . .. .. Illus tration 19 Plat of the southern area of the town of Sunbury, 1945 IZZustration 20 View from the Southeast Corner of Earthwork Toward St. Catherines Sound (Photograph by David J. Kaminsky, 1976) Tll.ustl'ation 20 View Looking East fl'om the Museum to the Westem WaU of the Eazothwol'k Opening in Pazoapet in the Middl-e (Photogl'aph by David J. Kaminsky, 1976) nzustration 20 View Looking North, with Ditah on the E.ast and Rampart on the Left (Photograph by David J. Kaminsky, 1976) IZZustration 20 opening in the Western WaZZ of the Earthwork~ Looking East (~otograph by David J. Kaminsky~ 1976) IZZustration 20 Interior of the Earthwork~ Facing Southeast (~tograph by David J. Kaminsky~ 1976) n:tustrotion 81 ~tograph of the ChaPZes OdingseZZs Sareven House in Sunbury~ 1961 APPENDICES APPENDIX A I Military Rank Designations and TheirHeanings There are two types of military rank used in this report Militia and Continental or regular army. Militia rank is always subordinate to regular army rank Under this system, for example, Continental Colonel John White was superior in rank to Militia Colonel John Elliott. All Loyalists and Whigs mentioned in this report held Continental rank, except where otherwise noted Following is a listing of 18th-century army rankings, in decreasing order: Rank Lieutenant General (Gen ) Major General (Gen.) Brigadier General (Gen ) Colonel (Col ) Verbal Title General General General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col ) Colonel Major {Maj ) Major Captain (Capt.) First Lieutenant (Lt.) Captain Lieutenant Second Lieutenant (Lt.) Lieutenant Command Varied Army Commander Brigade Commander Regiment or Battalion Commander Second in command of a Regment or Battalion Third in Command of a Regiment or Battalion Company Commander Second in Command of a Company Third in Command of a Company 134 II Military !igures Mentioned in This Report Revolutionary War Allen, Lieutenant colonel left in charge of the British garrison at Sunbury when General Augustin Prevost left that town for Savannah in January, 1779. Lt Col Allen was still in command of the Sunbury Fort several months later when Lt. Col Cruger was sent from Savannah by General Prevost to reinforce the Sunbury garrison. Baker, John. Commissioned captain of the St John's Riflemen, a volunteer company, on January 8, 1776, by the Georgia Council of Safety. During 1776 and 1777, Baker commanded the Third Regiment of Georgia Militia, based in St. John's Parish, with the rank of colonel. From about April, 1777, until August, 1777, he commanded the Georgia Light Horse Regiment, to which position he was reappointed on August 21, 1781. Baker was a leader of the 1777 expedition against East Florida by Georgia Continental and Militia forces. He was also very actively involved in the defense of St. John's Parish and Midway Church in November, 1778, when it was attacked by forces under Lt. Col. J.M. Prevost. Campbell, Archibald. Lieutenant colonel of the 7lst Scottish Regiment, who led the British in their attack and capture of Savannah in December, 1778. For the next three months, Campbell remained in Georgia and succeeded in subduing the patriotic cause in most of the area between Savannah and Augusta. Two regiments of Hessian troops, several battalions of New York Loyalists, and a naval detachment accompanied Campbell to Georgia. The lieutenant colonel left Savannah for England in March of 1779 Cruger, Lieutenant colonel in command of a New York Loyalist bat- talion which came to Georgia with Lt. Col. Campbell in 1778. Cruger was sent to Sunbury to reinforce the British garrison there in the spring of 1779 He remained in the town until the American siege of Savannah in October, 1779, when the entire British force in Georgia was removed to Savannah for the protection of the capital city. Defaupeynet, Jean Pierre Andr~. French volunteer artillery officer sent to Sunbury on December 5, 1777, to instruct Captain Thomas Morris' company of artillery stationed there Captain "Defau," as he was referred to by Colonel Elbert, was very possibly involved in part of the construction of Fort Morris in Sunbury He was appointed captain of the Third Company of Artillery, stationed at Savannah, on April 3, 1778. Captain "Defau's" superior officer, Major Charles Noel Romand DeLisle, was responsible for the construction of the American defenses at Savannah. Dollar, John. Captain lieutenant in the Second Company of Georgia Continental Artillery. He was stationed in Sunbury with this company from 1776 135 until January, 1779, when the fort was captured by British troops. After the war, Dollar became sheriff of Liberty County He resided near Sunbury both before and after the Revolution Elbert, Samuel Colonel (and later brigadier general) commanding the Second Georgia Continental Battalion. He was commissioned in July, 1776, and continued to serve until his capture in 1779 at the Battle of Briar Creek Colonel Elbert was paroled at Sunbury during the summer and fall of 1779 The Second Battalion was extremely active in all three military campaigns against F~st Florida, as well as in the defense of Midway Church in November, 1778 Elliott, John Commissioned July 9, 1777, as lieutenant colonel of the First Battalion, Third Regiment of Georgia Militia. He was elected colonel of the battalion about March, 1778 Colonel Elliott was a lifelong resident of St John's Parish/Liberty County and was intimately associated with Sunbury d'Estaing (Charles-Henri, Comte d'Estaing) Leader of the French forces during the combined American/French attempt to recapture Savannah from the British in October, 1779 Fuser, Lewis V Lieutenant colonel commanding the British troops from East Florida in their unsuccessful attempt to capture the fort at Sunbury in November, 1778. Grimke, John Faucherand Appointed deputy adjustant general for South Carolina and Georgia with the rank of colonel in November, 1778 His order book contains much information on the military situation at Sunbury subsequent to the first attack on the town by British troops. Hardy, John Commissioned captain of a volunteer artillery company at Sunbury on May 15, 1776. On May 23, 1776, he was ordered to bring the guns from Frederica to Sunbury He later commanded two Continental galleys, the Washington and the Congress, and was in command of the Washington when it captured the British brig, Hinchinbrook, near Frederica in 1778 Captain Hardy was taken prisoner in 1779, shortly after British troops captured Sunbury, but he soon escaped and continued to serve his country for the remainder of the war He was originally from Pitt County, N C , but lived in Liberty County for many years Howe, Robert Major general in command of the Continental troops of the American Southern Department (with headquarters in Charleston, S C.) from 1777 until 1778 He was relieved from his position just as the November, 1778, invasion of Georgia commenced, but he continued to serve as southern commander until his defeat in Savannah in late December As a result of his activities during the last few months of his command, General Howe was court-martialed, he was acquitted of all charges Lane, Joseph Major in the Third Georgia Continental Battalion Lane was in command of the fort at Sunbury when it was attacked and captured in January, 1779, by British troops under the command of General Augustin Prevost Major Lane was consequently captured and paroled at Sunbury as a prisoner of war 136 Lee, Charles Major general in command of the Continental troops of the American Southern TlC'pnrtment in 1776 Cpn('r:J] Lee commanded the patriots' forces in the 1776 campaign :.\galnst Hritish East Florida. He was replaced in this capacity in 1777 by Maj. Gen Robert Howe. Lincoln, Benjamin Major general in command of the Continental troops of the American Southern Department from 1778 until his defeat and capture at Charleston in 1780. He led the American forces during the siege of Savannah in October, 1779. Mcintosh, John Lieutenant colonel in the Third Georgia Continental Battalion. Lt Col. Mcintosh was in command of a detachment of the battalion at Sunbury when British forces under Lt. Col. Fuser attacked the town in November, 1778. He was captured in 1779 at the Battle of Brier Creek but was later exchanged Mcintosh, Lachlan Brigadier general of the Georgia Continental Army during most of the Revolutionary l-Tar General Mcintosh was to lead the 1777 expedition against British East Florida, but he wisely retired from this position at the last minute to prevent a conflict with the Georgia President Button Gwinnett from flaring into a confrontation. Later, the disagreement between Mcintosh and Gwinnett resulted in a duel, in which Gwinnett was mortally wounded Morris, Thomas. Captain of the Second Continental Company Artillery from 1776 until its capture at Fort Morris in 1779 During the entire three-year interval, the artillery company was stationed in Sunbury. After his capture, Morris was paroled in the town. He died in Matthews County, Va , shortly after the siege of Yorktown. Moultrie, William. Colonel, brigadier general, and major general in the South Carolina Continental Line. He led troops from South Carolina into Georgia during the 1777 expedition against British East Florida. Prevost, Augustin Brigadier general (and later major general) of the British troops in East Florida He led his forces in a successful attack on Sunbury in January, 1779. He subsequently joined Lt. Col. Campbell in Savannah, where Prevost's superior rank placed him in command of all British soldiers in Georgia for the remainder of the war. Prevost, Jean Marcus or "Marc." Lieutenant colonel commanding British troops from East Florida in the 1778 campaign against St. John's Parish and Midway Church who accompanied General Prevost, his brother, in the January 1779 attack on Sunbury Saxton, Nathaniel. Commissioned captain of a volunteer militia company at Sunbury on May 15, 1776, by the Georgia Council of Safety. Screven, James Commissioned captain of the St John's Rangers, a volunteer company, on January 9, 1776, by the Georgia Council of Safety During June of 1776, Screven was reported as the commander of the First Battalion, Third Regiment of Georgia Militia From July, 1776, until March, 1778, he served as the commanding colonel of the Third Georgia Continental Battalion. He resigned his commission in 1778, and from June until October of the same year, he held the position of brigadier general of the Georgia militia. He was mortally wounded in a skirmish during the defense of Midway Church and died on November 22, 1778. 137 Sheftall, Mordecai Appointed deputy commissary general of Georgia Continental Issues in August, 1778, he was captured at Savannah in December, 1778, and later paroled at Sunbury. Walton, George. Appointed brigadier general of the Georgia Militia forces after the death of Brig Gen James Screven in November, 1778, General Walton was captured at Savannah in December, 1778. He was later paroled at Sunbury, where he ranked as the senior American officer White, John Colonel in command of the Fourth Georgia Continental Battalion from 1777 until 1779 He led the American Continental troops in the defense of St John's Parish and Midway Church in November, 1778. War of 1812 Bowling, Robert. Major in command of a company of Georgia militia mustered into United States service in February, 1814, and stationed at Sunbury until the late summer of 1814 Cockburn, George British admiral in command of the troops who landed on Cumberland Island in 1814, he captured and burned the town of St. Mary's and then marched up the Georgia coast toward the Altamaha River. Upon receiving word of the peace treaty between America and Great Britain, Cockburn and his forces retreated to Florida Hamilton, James. Captain of a company of artillery from Hancock County, Ga., which was stationed at Sunbury from October, 1814, until at least February, 1815 Pinckney, Thomas Major general commanding the Southern Division of the United States from 1812 until 1815 General Pinckney was deeply involved in the various stages of military activity in Sunbury during the War of 1812 Although he apparently never visited the town in person, he worked closely with the Liberty County residents concerning the construction of the fort at Sunbury and the general defense of the county Swift, Joseph G Major, colonel, and general in the United States Corps of Engineers, Swift served as chief of engineers from July 31, 1812, until November 21, 1818. At three different times during and after the war, he ordered an investigation into the existing defenses at Sunbury. APPENDIX B I The following is a letter dated January 18, 1779, from Major General Augustin Prevost to Lord George Germain [Public Records Office, America and West Indies, Vol 155, p 45, reproduced in Stevens' Facsimilies, #1251]. Savannah 18th January 1779 My Lord I think it my duty to acquaint Your Lordship, that pursuant to General Sir Henry Clinton's Orders of 20th October received November 27th following: I collected all the Troops of every kind which could possibly be spared from the necessary number for defence of the Fort and Garrison of St. Augustine. Permite me my Lord to mention to the praise of the Troops now with me the unexampled distress under which they have laboured for a number of Weeks for want of Provisions, their spirited excurtions at a very great distance in a Country extreamly difficult of access, and the Chearfulness with which for days together under the most severe fatigues, they lived only on Oysters, all resources of every kind being exhausted notwithstanding all the industry and activity of Lieut Col. Prevost who exerted every sinew to relieve our wants, not a word of Complaint was heared, the anxiety to share the toils of reducing Georgia and to promote the Kings service made everything easy and was patiently borne by the Men who saw that their officers had no better fare than themselves, at last when the joyful News came that the Troops from the Northward were arrived off the Coast, those with me were soon ready to cooperate with them, our Artillery and ammunition coming by Water in open boats the only possible conveyance as we were unassisted by any kind of Naval force retarded us some time as we were oblidged to take a long Circuit to avoid the enemies Galleys however the Activity of Lt. Col Prevost who had made a forced March in the night and Surrounded the Town of Sunbury to prevent the enemy from escaping in case they designed to abandon the Fort, afforded us some means of bringing a Howitzer and some Royals with which we soon Oblidged them to surrender the Garrison & Fort at Discretion, the Prisoners including the officers amounted to Two Hundred and Twelve, and an armed Vessell forcing at our Trenches for three days besides twenty one pieces of Cannon mounted in the Fort, after settling a Garrison in it and 139 ordering the necessary repairs I proceeded to Savannah to take the Command of the Army come from the Northward I have only enclosed to your Lordship the Return of the Troops I brought with me from Florida, with the Return of the Garrison of Fort Morris now Fort George, and the state of the Ordnance and Stores taken there# -- I have the Honour to be with the greatest Respect# -- #My Lord, Your Lordships Most Obedient and Most Humble Servant A Prevost 140 II The following is a letter dated January 19, 1799, from Major General Augustin Prevost to Sir Henry Clinton, General and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Troops in North America [Historical MSS Commission of Great Britain; microcopy found in Charlton Papers in South Carolina Archives, Col- umbia, S C ; photocopy in Historic Preservation Section (See footnote 11114 )] Accompanying the letter is Prevost's return of the troops and ord- nance captured in the Sunbury fort Savannah 19th January 1779 Sir The many difficulties attending the progress of his Majesty's Troops from Florida such as the impracticability of the Roads, the deficiency in point of Boats and craft to convey the Troops and Artillery, the total want of Provisions, have not prevented our progress to this place, these defficulties were surmounted with Patience and Chearfulness On the 7th Instant the Troops that came by Water landed seven miles from Sunbury, just at the very time when the parties of Horse and Rangers had arrived to the Neighbourhood of that Town, Lt. Col Prevost who had marched that night, with the loss of one man only effected the surrounding of the place and did not quit his station notwithstanding the fire of two Galleys an armed Schooner and the Fort, untill the rest of the Troops arrived; the Artillery cou'd not come the same way the Troops did, as it was necessary to march under cover of the night close under the Fort, the Artillery therefore was sent round to New Port River and with great difficulties an 9 Inch howitzer and two Royals, were brought on the 9th and begun to fire the next morning, before Evening the same day the Fort was oblidged to surrender at discretion being then only a hundred & forty Yards from the Body of the place; their intended retreat on board their Galleys being prevented, we had possession of the gate and entered the Fort next morning, twenty one pieces of Artillery with stores & Provisions, two pair of Colours, and two hundred & twelve Prisoners including the offi- cers, fell into our hands, the Galleys had made their excape but thinking from some preperations on board of some Vessels that we had taken and a number of boats that they saw manned, that we intended to attack them, they set fire to them and made their escape to sea. -The Crews are since brought Prisoners into 141 Savannah having been met by an armed Vessel Our want of any kind of assistance from the Naval department prevented us from taking them and made us loose four or five days in Sunbury as we were obliged for the security of our Boats to send them a great ways round, and had no horses or Carts till a few days after to bring the stores and baggage. The Troops marched to this place and reached it on the 17th and as soon as they can possibly be provided with a few necessities of which they stand in the utmost need, I shall endeavor to improve the advantages his Majestys Troops have hitherto obtained I transmit herewith to Your Excellency the returns of the Troops collected from East Florida# -- #the Return of the ordnance and Stores taken in Sunbury, and the state of the Rebel Garrison in Fort Morris now Fort George and a Memorial sent by Lt. Col. Dickson of the 16th Regiment I have the honour to be with the Greatest Respect, Sir Your Excellencys Most Obedient and Most Humble Servant A. Prevost P.S Captain Donald McDonald of the 3d Battn 60th Regiment died at Sunbury the 11th instant A Return of the Garrison in Fort Morris commanded by Major Lane the lOth of January 1779 - Commissioned Officers en ~ en l=l ell en .,l=.;l l=l C1) 1-1 ell ~ .,0..., :i1l ~ ~ uell :I C1) .,.; ~ Staff Officers en en ~ l=l ell ~ .,:..I., 1-1 C1) ~ en ell .:1:: en = 0 C1) 00 1-1 en C1) ~ ~ o1-1 :I tr.l :i1l C1) ..-! .,.; en f'a:.< ~ l=l 4-l ell .,C.1..) , 1-1 en 0 ~ C1) 1-1 ell tr.l ~ ~ Continental Troops Sunbury Militia 1 3 7 1 1 2 1 4 9 David Rees Judge Advocate David Flemming Ass. (qr. Mr ) General Francis Coddington Com.ry of Issues David Austin Com.ry of d[ittol Isaac Introbus Com.ry of the Rospital Jonath. Holden Waggon Master 12 1 129 2 (42) 14 172 Aug. Prevost 143 Return of Rrass & Iron Ordnance of Ordnance Stores in Fort Morris/ now Fort George at Sunbury in Georgia, 13th January 1779 - Brass Iron Guns Garrison (Carridges) Round Shot Case of Grape Shot Ladles of Wad Hooks . Small Arms Empty Shells Ball Cartriges Powder Lead Flints 7 Inch Mortars 18 Pounders 12. . . d 9 d 4. . . . . . d 3. .d 18 ps 12 d 9 d 4 d 3 . .... 18 ps 12 d 9 4 3 18 ps 12 d 9 4 3 . .. . . 18 ps 12 9 . 4 3 Musquet with Bayonets Rifles Fuzes of Carbines Wall Peices 4 2/5 Hand Granades fixed Musquet Carbine Barrels Musquet Ball (etc) Pigs (etc.) Musquet Carbine Cartriges Boxes Pouches with Powder Horns Claw Handspikes Capt L R [?] 1 2 6 1 7 (8) 2 6 1 4 7 227 204 29 220 144 4 (8) 3 45 40 2 7 1 3 5 100 12 40 4 30 50 3000 500 20 1150 1000 400 80 150 72 30 144 III. The following is a letter dated February 22, 1779, from Major Joseph Lane to Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the Southern Department [Emmet Collec- tion, #6717, New York Public Library (see footnote 108)]. Accompanying the letter is Lane's return of the American troops captured at Sunbury. Feby. 22, 1779 Sir This being the first Opportunity (since the Surrender of Fort Morris at Sunbury) of conveying you an authentic account by permission of the honble B Genl. Prevost I gladly embrace it. Doubtless many reports blended with truth & falsehood have alternately prevailed - but what general construction & information, has had the ascendant is not possible for me in my present situation to imagine. On the 27th. & 28th. decemr. 78, I received two several expresses from Genl. Howe dated at Savannah intimating to me the good situation & force of the Army he then commanded & the expected reinforcements from So. Carolina - at the same time enclosing a deputation from the Q.M.G. to impress Waggons, Negroes, Horses &ca. and everything of importance to render the Fort as tenable & defensible as possible. Entirely devoted to and busy in this employment, another Express dated 29th. ~ecer. Cherokee Hill (& receiv'd 30th. P.M.) most pressingly & peremtorily commanded an evacuation of the Fort informing Me of the retreat of the Confederat Army to So. Carolina &ca. Having received this express as above written, not a moment was neglected in issuing out the necessary Orders to evacuate the Fort, sending expresses to the outposts advanc'd to the southward of Sunbury at Newport ferry & Col's Island which was not effected 'till the next morning being 31st december. It was not 'till this moment I discovered the precariousness of my Situation and the impracticability of executing Genl. Howe's Orders immediately, being totally unacquainted with the Country myself not an Officer or soldier under my command of better knowledge of the roads than myself- A detachment of the Enemy in possession of Ogechie-ferry - the only crossing place I knew of and having receiv'd intelligence that the Enemys Rangers were to 145 the Westward on Conouchie - & Genl Prevost with a considerable body of Men landing on Col's Island- and the Idea of the Troops under Col Campbell, throwing themselves into the main road up to Augasta - my Expresses in various parts intercepted - reconoitering parties without exception taken - In this dilemma having still some distant hope & prospect of effecting a retreat, I had recourse to the Inhabitants of the Town and in a full assembly of Citizens communicated my intention to evacuate the Garrison and intreated their assistance in furnishing a skilful Guide to conduct my rout high up the Country to So. Carolina - but to my great disappointment & mortification not a Man present knew any such rout, nor could they even recommend to me a person equal to this task. Determin'd still (while the least seeming of success appeard) to retreat with the Garrison to So. Carolina, I formed a secret design of making Beaufort by the Washington & Lee [actually Bullock] Gallies which were under way from Ogeechie Inlet to Sunbury. They hove in sight 4th day of Jany & anchor'd at & never came up 'till next morning at which time Genl. Prevost had fully invested the Town & Garrison. Having communicated my design to the Offrs. of the Gallies - & consulting with other maritime Officers - I met with the decisive mortification of being inform'd that the Gallies could not put to Sea - Necessitated to make a Virtue of Misfortune I ultimately formed a resolution of defending the Fort to the last extremity, fully confident that all communication with the Confederate Army was cut off the Enemy almost in compleat possession of the State &ca. The Enemy on tbeir first appearance in the Towu, threw themselves in a ditch which run paralel to the Fort about 100 Toises [213 yards] from behind which a loose irregular firing of Musquetry continually annoy'd us for 4 days & altho' a heavy fire from the Parapets - every piece of Ordnance that could bear on them was supported by the fort to dislodge them yet there was no successful impression made - The enemy taking position in two angles of the fort which were unflank'd cover'd by a ditch in one and a flesh Battery on the other - made every preparation for a bomdardment - On the 9th. of Jany. a Summons was sent by the enemy of which the subsequent is a Copy. Sir My desire to save the Lives of many men induces me to acquaint you that the Batteries are now opened and ready to do execution, it is in your power to accept of my Offers and to prevent the Mischief that will be done, an immediate surrender will prevent extremeties I would wish to avoid, in half an hours time the firing will begin after which all consequences attending a fruitless & obstinate resistance must be owing to you. I am Sir Yr. Most Obt. Hmb Servt. A. Prevost, Brigr. Genl. & Commr. in Chief of the British Troops in Georgia 146 Sunbury Friday 9th Januy 1779 10 OClock A M To majr. Lane or Offr. Commg in fort Morris Sunbury Answer to the above & Return of Flag Vizt Sir As you demand of the Surrender of the fort is immedi- ate & unconditional, I have only time to answer in the Negative I am Sir Yr. Most Obt. Hum. Servt. Commg. the Contl. Troops at Fort Morris 9th Jany. 1779 To A Prevost, B G Commr in Chief But notwithstanding this display of Strength & the threatened execution from the Batteries, I was willing to conceive that the Enemy only meant to intimidate & perswade the Garrison into an unconditional Submission when force would prove inefectual, prompted by this Idea & the good Countenance of the Garrison by the return of the Flag I sent the foregoing Answer - To this a Verbal reply was made that the 'Artillery should be play'd with the utmost Violence and no Quarter given unless the fort immediately Surrender'd' &before I had compleated an Answer by Letter to the Genl. the firing began from two royals behind the aforemention'd ditch which altho' well directed and a Number of Shells burst in the fort near the Magazine - yet the Enemy deriv'd no advantage - nor did the Garrison sustain the least annoyance from them- but this address was only design'd to amuse while an 8 inch howitzer was opening on another angle from an old Battery hinted at above - Nothing but the force of Bombs could have convinc'd me of the superiority of the Enemy - the S. Wing of the Barracks in the fort were soon in flames from the Battery - and three of the Garrison wounded & one kill'd Convinc'd that the fort was untenable & a further resistance could cause the loss of the lives of many brave Men, & Experience prov'd that no advantage would accrue to us - a Parley was beat to demand a greater length of time & more honourable conditions - which were refused, by a continued fire from the ditch & Batteries But resolv'd at all hazards never to surrender to an Enemy unconditionally - a Second Parley was beat which occasioned a cessation of Arms for about an hour In which time the following were agreed upon - 'the Garrison to surrender prisoners of War- the Officers & Men 147 to retain their Baggage now in the fort - None but Brittish Troops to enter the Fort - This Parley was design'd merely to detain & amuse the Enemy 'till the Gallies which were then under way could outreach the Guns of the Fort which was effected & by that means escap'd falling into the Enemy's hands. The next morning in sight of the Fort they blew up and the Crews set sail for So. Carolina in a Sloop which I have been informd since was captur'd by a Tender belonging to the Spitfire Brig - The whole Garrison in number 159 Continental Troops as pr. inclosd return & 45 Militia were sent to Savannah and after a short Stay there the privates & Non Commissd. Offrs. Sent on board the prison Ships & the Commissd. Officers countermarch'd to Sun- bury where they Still remain It is not possible for me to inform you of the loss of the Enemy in this action - They say they lost but three Killd - but from my own knowledge I am well satisfy'd the loss was greater. I have sir the honor to be sir your most obedt humble servt Jos Lane Majr. 3 B Sunbury 22 Feby. 79 148 A Return of the Garrison in Fort Morris commanded by Major Joseph Lane, January 9th, 79, made prisoners by B. Genl Prevost Second Company of Georgia Artillery Q) .jJ Cll (.) . . ~ ,... :0> .jJ (/) 'll -,r..l. p.. ...:I ~ 0 H Thomas Morris 1 John Dollar Captain Lieut 1 Philo Henley 1st Lieut 1 John Walmore Qr Mr Serjt 1 John Ponchier 1 Samuel Boyd 1 Samuel Peck 1 Daniel HoveyCorporl 1 John Burch 1 Henry Read 1 Thomas Bond 1 William Curtis 1 John Webb 1 Robert Kenny 1 Dominic Gerold 1 John Newman 1 William Taylor 1 Thomas Davis 1 Luke Paul 1 William Thomas 1 John Campbell 1 George Davis 1 John Wright 1 Saml. Harrison 1 William Tanner 1 John Finley 1 149 Return of the Third Georgia Battalion. Q) -1..1 t1l Q) .tJ . ~ Q) -1..1 . ~ 0.., ~ . ~ Q) -1..1 ~ ...-t -1..1 Q. .tc1l -1..1 t1l ::E: ~ bO ~ > 0 '<"0 bO '"0 ~ -1..1 (/) t1l .::E: (/) .,.,-1..1 ~ (/) ~ Q) 4-l (/) ~ Q) ~ (/) ~ (/) Q) ~ -1..1 ~ 0 bO Q) ~ >t1l ..-1 ...-t t1l -1..1 ctl ctl ;:I ;:I ):! u Cll Cll ..;..:.I, ~ Q) 0' Cll ..-1 ~ ~ 1=1 ~ 0 ~ llQ p., 0 ~ Joseph Lane 1 ~ ign ~d OS Lan e M jr. 3 B. Rains Cook 1 John Meanly First Lieut.t 1 Josiah Maxwell Second Lt 1 John Peter Wagnon Third Lt 1 David Rees 1 v 2 Ebenezer Calender 1 Davis Austin Commissary of Issues David Fleming 1 Jonathan Holden 1 Nathan Northington Qr. Mr Serjt James Hays Serjt. 1 Benjamin Wall 1 David Wilson 1 Nocholas Bond Corporal 1 John Petillo 1 Michael Cogbourn 1 Camp Burnell 1 Henry Pigg 1 John Masters 1 William Harnass 1 Swan Saunders 1 James Mills 1 William Perdue 1 William Allgood 1 David Motley 1 Herbert Vines 1 William Tucker 1 John Bush 1 Joseph Pearson 1 Valentine Perry 1 Wiott Hunley 1 James Davis 1 Jesse Hall 1 Thomas Hinds Peter Stuart 1 v2 1 Burgess Moor 1 Richard York 1 Peter Jones 1 150 Return of the Third Georgia Battalion (continued) Q) ~ ,... . .fJl 0 ~ .,... ~ fJl Q) ~ fJl ,f.J.l. ~ fJl Q) ,... .0,., ~ fsJ:l: ~ n ~ p. uCll . "<0 Q) bO ...,"0 ;::l ,.. .j.J en ~,... 0' ..,e.j...n.J, Q) U'l ,e.n. Q) 4-l ..-1 f:x.. en ,..en t1l ~ I,.. t=l c: 0 bO bO ~ en Q) .j.J "',..:> ..-1 p.. James Robinson 2d Lt John McMahon Hartwell Husky John Edmundson William Williamson Mark Hodges George Hightown Isaac Scott Thomas Harper Benjamin Davis William Sprowle Thomas Burns John McLean Michael Davis Curtis Winfield Philip Miller Absalom Dean William Hunter James Cunningham William Thomas Thomas Gready Thomas Condon Carter Donahoe Hezekiah Davis James Hilton Benja. Campbell Peter Watson Benjamin Harrison Francis Coddington C P Anhobus C.P I certify the above List to be exact & agreable to inspection J M. Prevost Lt. Col. 60th Regt. Sunbury 12th Jany 1799 152 Sunbury Militia Company made prisoners by B.G. Prevost 9th Jany. 79. Officers Privates tJohn Kell Captain William Watson 2d Lieut. George Cabbage 1st Lieut of a Company in Chatham County James Hamilton} John Simpson }Serjt. Matthias Lapina Henry Waggoner Jeremiah Dickinson Jttl!les Fle!ftmng William Davis Willtllft Ptt~~ersen Wm. Bennet Senr. Henry H:ttnly x Wm. Peacock Senr. Jean Piriart Samuel Davis Jean Chanier x Thos. Dickinson Antonio Arlas John Cabbage Antonio Vouffy Adam Confey Julien Duchatcaif David Mott x Stafford Somersall x William Wallace Samuel Main John Gilchrist Willm. Sallat Wm. Maconchy John Duker x Wm. Peacock Junr. I certify the above number of Adam Gray forty five to be exact. x John Graves Jacob Christopher J.M. Prevost Joseph Still Lt. Colo. 60th Regt. Roger Lawson Alexr. Stuart Sunbury 12 Jany. 1799. Stephen Jenkins Jacob Vernon John Glazier Jeremiah Plumer Edward Mahorn Senr. Richard Stevens x James Lancaster Vincent Gray x John Howell x Francis Blackrole Jos Lane Majr. 3 G.B. Endorsed: Major Lane's Letter from Georgia together with a return of the Prisoners taken at Sunbury Feb. 22. Endorsed by Dr Emmet in pencil: "From the Papers of Genl. Lincoln." 153 IV. The following is extracted from the Memoirs of Major Patrick Murray, pp 306-11 [see Footnote 81]. 'In the beginning of November 1778 Major Prevost with all the Cavalry, East Florida Rangers, South Carolina Royalists and MeGirth's men, with the Grenadiers of the 2nd Battalion, and 70 chosen men of the 3rd, amounting in all to 750 men with a 4-1/2 inch Cohorn mounted on a Congreve Carriage [issued orders as follow]: - 'The Cavalry to proceed to Sapelo to wait for the Infantry, and from thence to proceed jointly to Medway, to attack Sunbury in conjunction with Lieutenant Colonel Fuser, who proceeded along the inland communication with 250 men of the 4th Battalion, the armed Flat Thunderer of 2 24 pounders, and 2 Swivels, while the Privateers Spitfire and Aligator were to alarm the Seaboard. 'November 24 Colonel Fuser landed at Colonel's Bluff at the mouth of Newport, where he learned that, 2 Privateer's [sic] men having deserted and given the alarm, 300 men had been marched to Sunbury. The Colonel mounted the 2 Swivels on a cart, by way of carriage and leaving 60 men to guard the boats, proceeded towards Sunbury with 180 men receiving shots from their look-out men who fled to the woods whenever Ensign Shoedde [Ensign C L.T Schoedde of the 4th Battalion] with the flanking party advanced upon the~. There was no firing on our part except by 3 or 4 of Brown's Rangers acting as guides When we came to the marsh which divides the Island from the main, and is passable at low water, the detachment was ordered to form at open order, there being wood beyond the marsh, and the Medway on the right Captain Murray was ordered forward to cover the left flank and clear the wood: Captain Wulf with his Grenadiers to support them No enemy appearing, the D[tachment] marched on towards the left among some small trees to the Newport road, when in answer to our Drum, a shout was heard of 'God save King George,' and whooping like Indians moving towards Medway meeting 'We bivouacked at aight on the slope of the rising ground opposite the fort and made fires in our rear which was considerably more elevated, so that when our Drums beat the Retreat they fired several cannon shot at our fires over our heads This salute being performed, Colonel Fuser and Captain Wulf went close to the Fort to reconnoitre. They found it well provided with heavy guns and men, but no appearance of a gate on that side; that towards the sea was known to have a battery of 18 pounders Captain Murray was sent with his Light Company to try 154 if he could not get into the town, which he did from the Medway Road, where we met with a lighted house outside the town, where we found our old Nassau acquaintance the Doctor and his two daughters. He said he would not leave his house as all the town had done, because [he] considered himself on parole. 'On entering the town a light appeared at the water-side, which we took for a guard at the wharf Ensign Schoedde's party advancing in the dark to take it, found it to be a galley at anchor, it being high water, but the night being very dark and our men silent they were not seen and joined us in the Courthouse which Captain Murray had taken post in. Lieutenant Campbell was despatched [sic] to the Bivouac and Colonel Fuser took possession of a Merchant's house where a puncheon of rum was broached, with other refreshment he distributed among the D[etachment] but no plundering allowed Although Captain Wulff patrolled the town up to the Citadel without finding a gate, only 2 men were found, all the rest having taken refuge in the Fort, every now and then they fired great guns at our fires while our men occupied six houses with stores for 18 hours. 'Captain Johnstone of Brown's Rangers pushed on to Medway meeting, and returned in the morning reporting that Major Prevost had pushed on to Ogeechee. Ensign Schoedde was posted 3 miles on the Medway road to look out. Colonel Fuser summoned the Fort allowing an hour, in two hours Colonel Mcintosh sent Major Lane with a spirited answer. An American Detachment entered by the Newport road and it being highwater, Colonel Fuser would not suffer us to attempt to storm the Fort, but drew out the Detachment until Ensign Schoedde's party was with-drawn, the Light Company in front of the line at open order The D[etachment] then filed off by Medway road [after] a few shot from our Rangers, and the Light Company closing the march and leaving the astonished enemy who durst not disturb ~s When we turned to the left and passed the pond behind the town two or three shots were fired at us, [but] we proceeded to our boats without any interruption. There he received a letter by a Ranger from Major Prevost that General Scriven [sic] was killed and that he [himself] had retired to Newport with his prizes, negroes, horses, cattle and other effects, that he had broken down the bridges in his rear, and could not join to return to Sunbury. Colonel Fuser's D[etachment] crossed to the S[outh] side of Newport. Captain Murray went up the river with one man in a canoe, landed one mile below the bridge, and found them with Geese, Turkeys, Pigs, Fowls &c: roasting around their fires. Major Prevost read a letter to Captain Murray purporting to have been dropped on the road, which he allowed Captain Murray to read but would not let him copy. His prizes had filed off to the rear Captain Murray rejoined Colonel Fuser about 1 in the morning and copied the letter from memory, when compared with the original afterwards, there was only two words different 155 Officers went out with Ensign Schoedde and Campbell to catch horses and hunt cattle. About 2 P M 26 head of cattle were brought in and slaughtered for the army. '[Then] Ensign Schoedde set out for Colonel's Bluff, but by mistake ran up Newport River, when Major Prevost arrived near the Bluff with Captain Moncrief the Engineer they were challenged and fired at. They therefore lay upon their oars until the 4th Battalion Light Company came up and landed, when the enemy's look-out galloped off Captain Murray advanced to the wood where he formed the chain at extended order to cover the landing In less than an hour the 16th and 4th Battalion Light Company were despatched [sic] to Sunbury, where our Cavalry were supposed to be investing the place, but none appearing Captain Murray entered, and the advance took post in the ditch of the intrenchment which covered the town A ranger guide reconnoitring [sic] too near the fort was killed, and we took post in the ditch of the entrenchment, opposite the Fort. 'The next morning 23 horses were sent out of the fort when a Sergeant with a few men drove in the escort and the horses were captured Soon after Mr. Roderic Mackintosh accompanied by his faithful Negro Cyrus, disdaining the counsel of Cyrus, walked under the musketry of the Garrison, setting them at defiance, when they shot him down and disarmed him so quickly that Lieutenant Baron Breitenbach and Sergeant Supman of the 4th. Battal~on Light Infantry who with alacrity ran to his rescue could only carry him in wounded in the face As soon as our men seized him the Americans ceased firing. 'General Prevost came that day with the remainder of the troops, two 8-inch Howitzers and a Cohorn. The gallies when the tide was high, fired into the town, as did the fort. On the 3rd. day the enemy attempted a small sally which Major Graham drove in; three men of the 16th were wounded, not dangerously. Sergeant Balany Royal Artillery threw some shells at the gallies, which dislodged them, and a shell fell upon a building where the rebel Officers messed, and killed and wounded 9 of them, and shattered about 50 stand of arms, upon which they proposed to capitulate, which being refused and 2 more shells falling into the fort, they hauled their colours down and surrendered at discretion. Captain Moncrief received a contusion in the breast. The gallies made for the Bar Captain MacDonald [Captain Donald McDonald of the 3rd Battalion] mounted guard in the Fort with the 3rd. [Battalion] Grenadier Company and next morning Captain Wulff relieved him with those of the 4th. [Battalion] Captain Macdonald delivered his report to the General and dropped down dead at his feet The Garrison with their Commander Major Lane embarked for Savannah They, with prisoners brought in by our mounted rangers might amount to between 300 and 400 Lieutenant Colonel Allen was left at Sunbury with the Jersey Volunteers Mr. Mackintosh was appointed Captain of the Fort, he lost the use of his eye 156 'Major Prevost when on St Mary's North side had a public sale of his booty which amounted to b8000 and halted at St John's river Colonel Fuser fell back 1st to Sapelo next to Frederica, then to Jekyl, covering the retreat of Major Prevost's division After all his craft had passed down the Altamaha Colonel Fuser crossed St Andrew's Sound, and at the Narrows he received orders to wait at the south end of Cumberland for General Prevost and all the troops of the Garrison except 4 Companies of the 3rd Battalion who were to remain with Major Glazier General Prevost was also accompanied by 3 Companies of the Jersey Volunteers who had parted company with Colonel Campbell's Division from New York under L C Allen 'The Army proceeded from the South end of Cumberland Island, but the Quarter Master General Prevost having disposed of the Cattle and other provisions the army was reduced to subsist on oysters, and a very scanty supply of rice from the new made Commissary Fatia On the 2nd. [February 1779] afternoon a gale of wind in the South between Cumberland and Jekyl drove back all the flotilla to the old port St. Andrew's except Ensign Finlay's canoe of the 3rd Battalion which reached Jekyl, and Major Prevost's, Captain Murray's and Captain Muller's which reached little Cumberland One boat of the Jersey Volunteers joined Major Prevost from a desert Island between the two Cumberlands, and for three days we were subsisted on an Aligator and some Madeira wine from a Ship that had been wrecked on the coast Messrs Birch of Liverpool to whom the vessel had belonged presented the troops with a pipe of Madeira for collecting those that lay scattered along the Beach When our boats reached Jekyl we were served with horseflesh. 'The General despatched [sic] Major Graham with the 3 Companies of the 16th , and Captain Murray's Company with Ensign Schoedde's party to take the rice stores on Broughton Island and then to push on for Sapelo high bluff where they were to wait for the General and in the meantime kill cattle for the army. Ensign Schoedde went up the south bay of Sapelo and made the guard of 7 men prisoners. Captain Murray going to support him, met him with his prisoners, and they all followed the Major by the inland passage When they had got on about 6 miles, it being moonlight, they heard voices approaching with oars, but soon discovered it to be Major Graham who had mistaken the passage and was obliged to retrograde into Doboy Sound to rectify his mistake. Captain Murray pushed on to Sapelo Indigo work, whence taking 30 men with Baron Breitenbach and Ensign Schoedde and not finding any Gallies at the Salt Depot of the enemy, they proceeded along the avenue that led to the house, keeping in the shade. Ensign Schoedde entered their guard house, and made the guard Prisoners without any noise Sergeant Dornseif and two men changed clothes with the prisoners, and very cooly mounted the stairs to the look-out at the top of the house and relieved the Sentry. Then Lieutenant David Montaigut the Commandant who with all in the house, the sentinel excepted, were fast asleep, was waked; two young Georgian 157 'The Flank Companies except the Grenadiers of the 4th who escorted the prisoners by the inland passage marched to Savannah by Medway and Ogeechee, and the General was escorted by a party of Dragoons from Colonel Campbell's mounted Infantry, while our Rangers scoured the country in their front One galley blew up on Sunbury bar, a sloop and 2 galleys were taken by our cruisers and a ship in the harbour 'At Savannah we learned that our General was promoted to the rank of Major General, and our troops were called the Florida Brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Prevost, and Major Gardner 16th commanded our three Light Companies, and Major Glazier the Grenadiers, Major Van llraam the Battalion men of the 16th and 60th Colonel Fuser being senior to Colonel Campbell was sent to command at Augustine 2 days after our arrival at Savannah, Colonel Campbell [sic] was detached with about 1000 men who advanced to Augusta, but hearing that the American General Williamson was advancing with a superior force he unaccountably fell back to Hudson's ferry, and soon after embarked for England, with Commodore Hyde Parker in the Phoenix with a rich prize ship loaded with indigo APPENDIX C 159 I The following is the 1785 tax return for Sunbury District, Liberty County The return was copied by James A LeConte in the Liberty County Courthouse The original has since been lost (mly the names were copied Benjamin Andrew, Esqr Andrew Maybank & Co Francis Coddington John Mitchell Sen'r Estate of John Kell Estate of Thomas Morris Amelia Kelsall John Hardy Peter Donworth Nathan Brownson William Peacock Sen'r Josiah Powell Adam Alexander William Woodward Catherine Collins William T Jones Grace Carr & Co Estate of Samuel Miller John Graves John Andrew and Co Estate of Joseph McGowen William Peacock Jun'r Thomas White Joseph Way, weaver [page torn] Howell Henry Myers Nathaniel Bacon Leonard Jurdine Thomas Way Stafford Somersall Pray & Foster Peter Hoffmire Nathaniel Saxton & Co John Baker, Col' Davis Austin John Lawson, Sen'r Joseph Stitt John McCain John Ellerbe Elizabeth Munro Alexander Mciver Thomas Maxwell John Lawson, Jun'r Michael Rudolph John Jackson Jas Cole & Thos Elliott Peter Vandyk John Pray Defaulters David Duncan Joel Walker John Couper Colin Mciver Artemas Baker Pindexter Tollock Alexander Bissett Gilbert Harrison Jonathan Holden John Webb Joseph Austin James Austin Elisha Miller John Blackstock Stephen Files Sol Hunter James Cole William Jurdine John Patterson Kirkland John Myers, Sen'r Isaac Wood Philip Low Peter Vandyk John Timmons William Myers John Wicks 160 The following names were scratched off with pen on the copy made Artemas Baker Gilbert Harrison James Cole John Patterson Kirkland II "Return of vessels entering and paying Tonage [sic] & Dutys [sic] agreably [sic] to the Import Act at the Collectors Office for the Port of Sunbury " Date of Arrival Vessels Name Commanders Name from where where belonging Amt Duty Tons on Cargo Whole Amt of Duties & Ton age 1787 Aug 15th Sloop William Robert Wylie St Croix Daneish Bottom 44 10 20 0 13 13 0 " 25th Schooner Succy & Sophia Richard Beebe Guadalupe American Ditto 37 2 19 5 5 14 7 " 27th Sloop Dispatch Septem. Schooner Little 6th David " 17th Sloop Ch ton Tauket Andrew Carman James Rea Charleston Ditto Do Ditto Ditto Do James Cuthbert Ditto Ditto Do 40 " "" 40 3 59 so 10 6 5 3 00 6 59 14 7 3 II 18th Schooner Two Thomas Holmes Ditto Ditto Do 40 " "" 3 Friends " 20th Brigt Neptune October Sloop Speedwell 1st Thomas Coats David Gage Ditto Ditto Ditto Do Ditto Do 104 " "" 60 " "" 7 16 4 10 Date of Arrival Vessels Name Commanders Name from where where belonging Amt. Duty Tons on Cargo Whole Amt of Duties & Tonage October 2nd Sloop Dispatch Andrew Carman Ditto Ditto Do 40 20 0 4 23 0 4 II II Schooner Succy & Sophia II 4th Sloop Union Henry Putnam John Mercier Ditto - Ditto Ditto Do Ditto Do 37 II II II 50. " "" 2 15 3 15 " lOth Schooner Little David James Rea Ditto Ditto Do 40 14 5 7 17 5 7 " " Schooner Friend- Job Gibs ship II " Sloop Nancy Marcus Conway " 25th Sloop Friendship John Wallace " " Schooner Char- lotte David Murry Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Built in Geor- 25. II " " gia American bottom 15 25 3 5 British bottom 90. 6 00 1 17 6 I I 26 5 11 I I i I I 12 15 I Ditto I I Ditto 84 " "" 6. 6 Certify'd for the 3rd day Octobr 1787 151 17 7 Michl Rudulph Collect for the Port of Sunbury III. 1787 tax return for Sunbury District, Liberty County, Office of the Clerk of Superior Court, Hinesville, Georgia 1 Andrew Maybank 2 Estate John Bohau Girardeau 3 William Woodward 4 Charles Barnet Goff 5 Peter Donworth 6 Japheth Cobb 7 James Cole 8 Allice Cole 9 Elisha Miller 10 John Lawson senior 11 Do Atty John Rogers nonresident 12 Do Atty Stephen Srewsbury nonresident 13 Estate of Amelia Kelsall deed 14 Estate of John Kell deed 15 Estate Thomas Morris deed 16 Peter Bishop 17 Schmidt & Molich 18 Josiah Powell 19 Estate Jane Low deceased 20 Elizabeth and Euphemia Darling 21 Adam Alexander 22 Davis Austin All Free persons of every age & condition Ml6 Fl6 M0-16 F0-16 Msl Fs1 481 acres inland swamp; 1410 acres pine; 1 four-wheeled carriage; 1 poll 1 1 1 57 acres inland swamp; 506 acres pine; 45 slaves, 1 poll 1 2 111 acres salt marsh; 100 acres oak & hickory; 12 slaves, 1 poll 1 15 slaves; 1 poll 1 60 acres inland swamp; 318 acres oak & hickory; 24 slaves; 1 lot in Sunbury, ~75, 1 carriage; 1 poll 1 1 poll 1 1 lot in Sunbury, ~105 1 1 lot in Sunbury, ~105 1 2 2 lots in Sunbury, ~120 1 50 acres inland swamp 1 2 2 lots in Sunbury, ~150 2 lots in Sunbury, ~20 2 lots in Sunbury, ~350; 8 slaves 1 3 1 7 5 1 10 5 15 9 1 1 2 6 1 poll 1 1 slave; 2 polls; 1 carriage 2 200 acres tide swamp; 100 acres inland swamp; 39 slaves; 368 acres; 1 poll 1 2 122 acres oak & hickory; 168 acres pine; 10 slaves 7 slaves 2 lots in Sunbury, ~150; 2 slaves; 1 poll 100 acres oak & hickory in Burke County; 1 Sunbury lot, ~150; 2 slaves; 1 poll 2 2 2 1 3 7 3 4 1 1 2 3 3 3 23 Estate Robert C Baillie, deed 24 John Irvine 25 Levy Smith 26 James Wetson 27 Charles White 28 John Graves 29 Ditto atty for [?] Fisher nonresident 30 John Lawson Junior 31 Do Atty Jeremiah Dickenson 32 Henry Myers 33 John Hardy Ditto 34 Edward Price 35 John Langford 36 Thomas Rudulph 37 Amos Elliott 38 Edward Talbot 39 Michael Rudulph Ditto 40 Abraham Legett 41 Mark Cole 42 Stafford Somarsall 43 Nathaniel Saxton 44 Solomon Hunter 45 Thomas Maxwell 5 lots in Sunbury, ~200; 12 slaves 1000 acres inland swamp; 1330 acres, 100 acres oak & hickory, 400 acres swamp & 550 acres oak & hickory in Camden County 100 acres oak & hickory, 500 acres pine (both in Chatham County); 18 slaves, 1 carriage 1 poll 1 poll 1 poll 500 acres inland swamp; 4 Sunbury lots, bl90; 1 slave; 1 poll 4 Sunbury lots, b350 500 acres tide swamp; 2 Sunbury lots, bl50; 2 slaves; 1 poll 350 acres oak & hickory, 1 Sunbury lot, b35 50 acres on Sea Island adjacent to shore, 1 poll 5 Sunbury lots, bl30, 17 slaves; 1 poll 82 acres pine; 1 Sunbury lot, ~70; 3 slaves; 1 poll 1 poll 3 slaves, 1 poll 1 poll 2000 acres oak & hickory, Glynn Co , 1 poll 2000 acres oak & hickory, Glynn Co 5 slaves; 1 poll 1 Sunbury lot, ~100; 1 slave, 1 poll 1 Sunbury lot, tlOO; 1 poll 2 Su'nbury lots, t60, 2 slaves, 1 poll 10 slaves, 1 poll 250 acres pine, 2 slaves, 1 poll 23 slaves, 1 poll Ml6 Fl6 M0-16 FQ-16 Msl Fsl 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 5 2 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 46 Jonathan Holden 47 Estate Doctr Lynn 48 Henry Putnam Ditto 49 Peter Hoffmire 50 Gilbert Harrison 51 Charles Tushet 52 Benjamin Putnam 53 F. Coddington 54 John Baker 55 Ditto for John Armstead 56 Baker & Troup 57 Artimas Baker 58 James Belcher 59 Estate Archd Hastings 60 John Blackstock 61 Stephens Filis 4 Sunbury lots, 1.180, 5 slaves, 1 poll 2 Sunbury lots, 1.25 9 slaves, 1 poll 1 Sunbury lot, 1.60, 1 poll 1 Sunbury lot, 1.30, 2 slaves; 1 poll 1 poll 9 slaves, 1 poll 3 slaves; 1 poll 1200 acres inland swamp; 3 Sunbury lots, 1.750; 35 slaves; 1 poll 2 Sunbury lots, 1.100 50 acres inland swamp; ~slaves, 1 poll 50 acres inland swamp; 100 acres pine; 31 slaves; 1 poll 10 slaves 2 lots Newport landing; 3 slaves; 1 poll 1 poll Ml6 Fl6 M0-16 F0-16 Msl Fsl 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 5 4 1 1 2 1 1 1 17 18 2 1 1 3 Defaulters Colo John Baker [struck out] Alexander Mciver [struck out] John Blackstock [struck out] William Peacock [struck out] Artemas Baker Quere [?] [struck out] David Corker James Mathers Thomas Elliott Robert Iverson Miller Howard [illegible - struck out] William Taylor Burges Moore Thomas Hurst ] = from news~aper John Dunn Richard Burges Benjamin [Hoff] Nathaniel Bacon [struck out] Joseph Austin James [Mace] John Myers Senr John Myers Junr William Myers Daniel Myers John Niel Benjamin Green Thomas Mulpas [struck out] John Miller John Dollar Junr [struck out] John Dollar Senr [struck out] Thomas White Thomas Murphy John Pomroy Wm Graves [struck out] Peter .Vandike [written over Donald Irvine] William [Payne] John Weeks Jeremiah Smith Isaac Wood Jonathan Shaw William Gamble [struck out] George Forster [struck out] 167 IV The following is an abstract of the names appearing in the 1806 Tax Digest for the residents of "Sunbury District," Liberty County Probate Court, Hinesville, Ga Isaac Cuthbert Jno Elliott Jno Stevens Thos Nelme Est Stephen Dickinson Francis Dickinson Isebell Colhoun John C Fields Edmund Adams Geo C Somarsall Geo L. Mitym ker [?] A Maybank Ebenr Baker Sarah P Maxwell Thos A Peacock James White Thos B Baker Wm L Baker Geo Hughes Jno Webb Jno Somarsall s s l.Jing A Alexander Hannah Peacock Jno W Nelme E.C Hastings Jacob H Dunham Matilda Baker Wm McWhir Jno Bunkley Jonathn B. Bacon C D Schmidt Est S P. Bailey James Morris Wm C Lawson Ann Cubbage Richd B Law Stafford Somarsall James Holmes M. Alexander David Swanson Robert Armsted Elizth Russ [Ross?] Est Mcintosh John Kell Est Jno Hurt Est. Jno Baker (CI) James Tilbin Baker Mydert Van Yevern Jno A Baker Jno Soulligree H.P Delegall Alfred Cuthbert Eliza Lawson Thos Bacon 168 v Following is "a catalogue of the Scholars of the Sunbury Academy, July 30th 1807" [located in the uncataloged papers of the Charles C. Jones, Jr., Collection, Duke University Manuscript Department, Durham, N C.]: Abigail Ja---[illegible] Adam Somarsall Alexr Mcintosh Alexr Mciver Amos Axson Ann Maxwell Ann Myres Ann Peacock Artemus Baker Audley Maxwell Caroline Fabian Edward Fochman Elizabeth McCall Elizabeth Jones Elizabeth Peacock George Forrester Hannah Maxwell Hester Elliott Hester Mcintosh Harriet Croft James Baker James Bowen James Bullock James McCall James Mcintosh Senr James Mcintosh Junr John Baker John Bullock John Caldwell John Glass John Jones John Law John Maxwell John Mcintosh John Pomeroy Lachn Cuthbert Louisa Croft Louis Latouche Lucretia Cook Marie Baillie Marjery Baillie Mary Axson Mary Law Mary Mcintosh Mary Osgood Matilda Elliot Peter Goulding Preserved Alger Richd Cuyler Richd Pomeroy Sam! Lines Sarah Maxwell Sarah Wood Susan Myres Thos .Baillie Thos Baker Thos McCall Thos Winn Wm Baker Wm Cooper Wm Cuyler Wm Grimball Wm Hughs Wm James Wm Jasper Wm Law Wm Mcintosh 169 VI The following is an abstract of the names appearing in the 1807 Tax Digest for the residents of "Sunbury District," Liberty County Probate c;ourt, Hinesville, Ga Isaac Cuthbert Alfred Cuthbert H. P. Delegall Jno Lawson Est Jno Lawson Sen Jno Soulligree Jno A. Baker Myndist Van Yevern Ann Cubbage Richd B. Law Stafford Somarsall James Holmes Mr Alexander David Swarson Robert Armsted Elizath Ross Est. L. Mcintosh Jno Kell Est Jno Hurt Est Jno Baker (CI) James Tilbin Baker Orin Dudley William C Lawson Est S. P Bailey James Morris C D Scmidt Jonath B. Bacon Jno Bunkley Matilda Baker W. McWhir Mary Mcintosh Jacob H. Dunham James White Wm. L. Baker George Hughes Jno Webb Jno Somarsall S. S. Wing A Alexander Jno Wilkins Thos. A. Peacock Geo. C. Somarsall Hannah Peacock Jno Elliott Jno Stevens Geo L. Mill ken [?] Edmund Adams A Maybanks Jno C. Field A M. Baker Ebenr Baker Sarah P Maxwell Thos B. Baker E & C. Hastings Jno W Nelme Elizth Lawson Thos. Nelms Est Stephen Dickinson Francis Dickinson Issebel Colhaun [?] Thos. Bacon 170 VII. Following is an abstract of the names appearing in the 1808 Tax Digest for the residents of "Sunbury District," Liberty County Probate Court, Hinesville, Ga [The 1809 Tax Digest is identical for the same district, including the list of defaulters.] Adam Alexander Edmond Adams Mary Adams Thos. Bacon Cols Isld Jonathan B. Bacon Est Samuel Bacon A.M. Baker, minor Est. John F. Baker James F. Baker, minor John A. Baker, minor Thomas B. Baker, minor Matilda A. Baker Est. J.P. Bayley John Bunkley Spencer Christopher Isebell Calhoun Alfred & John A. Cuthbert Ann Cubbedge Est. Stephen Dickinson Francis Dickinson Kinchn Dudley Jacob H. Dunham Est Nathan Dyer John Elliott Est Jonathan Fabian Jedidiah Field Heirs of John Girardeau Senr Demsey Griffin West Harris Cathrine Hastings James Holmes William Isaac R.B. Law John Lawson Est. John Lawson Senr William C. Lawson Elizabeth Lawson Sarah P Maxwell Andrew Maybank Jesse McCall William McWhir Mary Mcintosh & children James Q Morris John U. Nelme Thomas Nelme Hannah Peacock Christian D. Schmidt Miles Smith Francis Saltus Stafford Somarsall John Somarsall John Suligree Adam Tunno Est. Mindert Van Yeveren Joseph Ward William Ward James Ward John l.febb Samuel Wing John Wilkins Paul H. Wilkins Defaulters: Est. Ebenezer Baker John Broughton Ann Bulloch Mrs. Christie Orin Dudley Joab Farris Sarah Howley Alexander Irvine John Irvine Kenith Irvine Owen Jones--St. Catherines Rebecca Johnson John H.B. Maxwell John Molich Owen Owen--St. Catherines David Rees Thomas Rolls Est Walburger--St Catherines John Wilson Hampden Wilkins 171 VIII Following is an abstract of Sunbury lot owners in the 1812-1813 Tax Digest for Liberty County, Hinesville, Georgia [The lot owner's name is followed by the name of the person returning the tax (usually the same as the lot owner) Next, the value of the lot is shown, and finally, any changes of lot value or ownership listed in the 1814-1815 Tax Digest for Liberty County are given ] Est Thomas Bacon, Ser, returned by Thomas Bacon, Jr., lot in Sunbury, $20 (same for 1814-15) Joseph Jones, by Joseph Jones, .lots in Sunbury, $175 (1814-15, $200) Minor heirs of John Jones, by Joseph Jones, lots in Sunbury, $300 (same for 1814-15) Henry Wood, by William Fraser, 1 lot in Sunbury, $30 (same for 1814-15) Richard S Baker, by Richard S Baker, 1 lot in Sunbury, $50 (18141815, $25) Est John Croft, by John Stacy, adm, House & lots in Sunbury, $1000 (same for 1814-15) Est James Dunwoody, by James Dunwoody, lots &c in Sunbury, $700 (not listed in 1814-15) Audley Maxwell, by Audley Maxwell, 2 lots in Sunbury, $600 (not listed in 1814-15) Hannah Peacock, by Richard S Baker, 3 lots in Sunbury, $120 (18141815, 1 lot in Sunbury, $30) John Stevens, by John Stevens, lots &c in Sunbury, $1500 (same for 1814-15) Peter Winn, by Peter Winn, 1 lot in Sunbury, $50 (1814-15, $100) Est Adam Alexander, by Louisa F Alexander, Houses & lots in Sun- bury, $1110 (1814-15, $1120) Est John F Baker, by Lee Blacksell, 1 lot in Sunbury, $20 (1814- 1815, $5) 172 Thomas B Baker, minor, by Lee B1acksel1, lot in Sunbury, $10 (18141815, $5) John Boggs, by John Boggs, House & lot in Sunbury, $1000 -- add for 1813 (not listed in 1814-15) Davis Carter, by Davis Carter, Houses & lots in Sunbury, $400 (18141815, $300) Ann Cubbedge, by Ann Cubbedge; House & lots in Sunbury, $400 (181415. $300) Alfred and John A. Cuthbert, by John A Cuthbert; House & lots in Sunbury, $1050 (not listed in 1814-15) James Dunwoody, by James Dunwoody, 1 lot in Sunbury, $100 (not listed in 1814-15) John Elliott, by John Elliott; lots in Sunbury & Brunswick, $230 (1814-15, 1 lot in Sunbury, $150) Jedediah Field, by Jedediah Field, House & lots in Sunbury, $800 deduct for 1813 (1814-15, Houses & lot in Sunbury, $900) James Holmes, by James Holmes; Houses & lots in Sunbury, $1000 (same for 1814-15) Mary Hunt by James Holmes, Lot &c in Sunbury, $400 (not listed in 1814-15) Samuel S. Law, by Samuel S. Law, House & lot in Sunbury, $1000 (same for 1814-15) William C Lawson, by William C Lawson, Lots in Sunbury, $125 (18141815, Est Wm C. Lawson, by John Somarsall, 2 lots in Sunbury, $120) Jan Molich, by Jan Molich; House & lots in Sunbury, $1012 (1814-15, $1008) Est. Thomas Nelme, by James Holmes; Improved lot in Sunbury, $400 (1814-15, $400) David & Elizabeth Rees, by David Rees, House & lots in Sunbury, $500 (1814-15, Elizabeth Rees by John Kell, atty, $800) Andrew Rodes, by Andrew Rodes, lots in Sunbury, $268 (1814-15, 3 lots in Sunbury, $400) Est Christian D Schmidt, by D Van Yeveren, lots &c in Sunbury; $540 (1814-15, $530) Charles 0. Screven, by Charles 0 Screven, House & lots in Sunbury, $1800 (not listed in 1814-15) James Smith, by James Smith, House & lots in Sunbury, $1014 (1814- 173 1815, 8 lots, $1014) John Somarsall, by John Somarsall, House & lots in Sunbury, $115 (not listed in 1814-15) William Ward, by William Ward, House & lots in Sunbury, $1000 (not (not listed in 1814-15) John Webb, by John Webb, House & lots in Sunbury, $400 (1814-15, House & 5 lots, $250) Paul H Wilkins, by Paul H Wilkins, Lots &c in Sunbury, $1000 (1814-15, house & lots in Sunbury, $1000) John U Wilkins, by John U Wilkins; lots in Sunbury, $100 (not listed in 1814-15) Samuel Wilkins, by Samuel Wilkins, $1200 (1814-15, 2 lots in Sun- bury, $1500) Liberty County 1814-15 Tax Digest for Sunbury lot owners not listed in the 1812-13 Tax Digest: Christopher Spencer, by Christppher Spencer, House & lots in Sunbury, $250 Francis Dickinson, by James Smith, 2 lots in Sunbury, $10 John Dunwoody, by John Dunwoody, House & lot in Sunbury, $600 Est John Hunt, by James Holmes, agt, House & lot in Sunbury, $400 Est John Jones, by Joseph Jones, adm , Lots in Sunbury, $125 John Lines, by John Lines, 5 lots in Sunbury, $100 Thomas S Mell, by Thomas S. M~ll, 2 lots in Sunbury, $20 Francis Saltus, by John Webb, agt , 1 lot in Sunbury, $50 Stafford A Somarsall, by Stafford A Somarsall, 4 lots in Sunbury, $60 George C Somarsall, by George C Somarsall, House & lot in Sun- bury, $50 Mrs [?] D Van Yeveren, by D. Van Yeveren, Lots in Sunbury, $1000 APPENDIX D This appendix contains a series of extracts from letters of the Alexander family of Sunbury, as well as a few letters concerning the Reverend William McWhir and his wife Dr. Adam Alexander was a prominent Sunbury physician from the late 17th Century untll his death in 1812 He was married in 1802 to Louisa Frederika Schmidt, the daughter of Egydius Heinrich Schmidt of Sunbury and a sister of Dorothea Christina Schmidt Van Yevern. In Sunbury in 1803, Adam and Louisa became the parents of Adam Leopold Alexander [The Alexander Letters, 1787-1900 (Savannah privately printed for George T. Baldwin, 1910), p 375], who attended the Sunbury Academy under the Rev McWhir's tutelage and after his "graduation" entered Yale College in New Haven, Conn. Most of the quoted letters were written either to Adam while in Connecticut or to his mother, who also resided there during part of her life. In 1823, shortly after returning from college, Adam married Sarah Hillhouse Gilbert of Washington, Ga , and the young couple chose that town as their home Adam did, however, make periodic visits to see his mother and aunt in Sunbury in the years before their removal to Savannah [The Alexander Letters, 1787-1900, pp 376-77] 175 I Letter to Mr Adam Alexander, New Haven, Connecticut, from Mr Samuel F Law [Adam L Alexander Papers, Manuscript Department, Duke University Library, Durham, North Carolina] Sunbury lOth August 1818 My Young friend, Your much esteemed favor informing me of your agreeable progress, and safe arrival has been duly received, and by that you will excuse the delay of answer, which has been very much owing to the sameness of every thing here with that State in which you left us, Perhaps there is nothing with us at this time, that excites more feeling, than the state of the weather, the drouth prevailed with great violence until towards the middle of July, at which time the early corn was generally lost, our crops since especially cotton, have improved very much, but we begin again to be very dry, this with intence heat, surpasing perhaps any thing I have ever experienced, present an alarming aspect Our little Village is healthy, as is also the country I believe there has been no death of any person with whom you are acquainted, but that of Doctr Cock, an event from his manner of life to have been expected I was happy to learn that your improvement in Sunbury, was so respectable as to entitle you to a place in the freshman Class, Please accept my sincere regard and fervent wishes for your best Interest here and hereafter Saml F Law 176 II Letter to Captain William Jones, Augusta, Georgia, from the Rev. William M~Whir [File 448, Folder 5, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia]: Sunbury Novr 24th 1818 Dear Sir, The kindness and attention whi.ch Mrs McWhir & myself reed from you & your amiable partner was such as cannot be forgotten. the only return which we have in our power to make is, in our prayers to the Author of our being, that he would be pleased to bless you with his Choicest favours, & continue to sanctify even your affli- cations, as I firmly believe, he has in great mercy done, in the last heavy corrective dispensation of his providence. I doubt not, but both of you will be enabled to see the hand of a Merciful God in all his dealings with you, & be enabled also from your own com- fortable experience to say with holy David, 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted, because afterwards I learnt to keep my comts After a very pleasant journey by Waynesboro' & Sava, we got home on the 3d of this month, where blessed be God we found all well Not one person had been sick nor had any thing unfavourable taken place in my affairs during my absence for four months True, my crop both of Cotton & provisions is very short, but this was a dispensation of Providence, which could not have been affected by my presence On my return, I was met with a hearty welcome by my friends & neighbours, and what was most flattering was, that during my absence, the Ladies of Midway purchased for me a Membership in the American Bible Society, for life, with which they presented me immediately on my return Religion seems to be in a prosperous state with us On Sunday last I was called to admr the Lords Supper in a neighbouring congregation where we had from 4 to 500 communicants, and twelve new members were added, of whom I baptized ten on Saturday . Mrs. McWhir most heartily unites with me in our very best wishes and hearty thanks to yourself & our kind & affectionate friend Mrs. Jones Please write me & believe me to be your obliged friend & very Hble Servt. Wm McWhir 177 III. Letter to Adam Alexander, New Haven Connecticut, from James Holmes [Adam L Alexander Papers, MaD.uscript Department, Duke University Library,- Durham, North Carolina]: Sunbury, 29 Nov. 1818 Dear Adam, By Mr Dunwody's arrival I received your letter But I have not seen him yet, it was brought to me. by Adam who was at Medway when he arrived . I am preparing for the examination upon Virgil & the Select . of Cicero upon which I am prepared . . . I wish when you write again you would mention the studies of the sophamore Class, as I shant come on until next June 12 montqs; I hope to be prepared for that class by that time lf you think not I wish you would say so But I do not wish to enter the Freshman you give so bad a des- cription of their fare. Miss Tempy & Uncle Samuel Law are to be married next Tuesday night, & one or two more, But I shall not Mention them yet. The old major looks quite Buckish. He cant do without a wife Old Molich was taken with a fit this morning & is now very ill It is thought he will soon bid fare well to us & sent out, unfurl his Sails, a fair Breese for Excuse the Shortness of my letter as I must make hastle to enter this letter. But take this & believe me your friend James Holmes 178 IV Letter from Mary C Wilkins, Sunbury, to Louisa Alexander, New Haven, Connec- ticut [Alexander-Hillhouse Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill, North Carolina] 1st April 1819 Dear Mrs Alexander I feel anxious to hear from you & am told that you have met with some difficulties in house keeping which has induced you to board out again I'm sorry you have met with difficulties but they will attend us in every situation, to remind us this is not our resting place Mr Law told us some time ago he would write you of a disagreeable occurance respecting Sandy he way laid Mrs. Christopher and her daughter as they were going home from their shop one night and took from them money and other articles, next day it was proved on him when he accused one of Mr Paul Wilkins negroes as an accomplice Mr Ward wanted Mr Wilkins to give up his negro to be punished, but Paul told him he could not suffer his negro to be punished without proof upon the word of one who had told so many stories respecting the matter and who was certainly a bad character, to prosecute both negroes and let the guilty be punished and to go immediately & search his fellow Mr Ward got in a passion and abused Mr Wilkins and called him a worthless cripple Mr S. Law carne to Mr S Wilkins and told him he was afraid if the negro was prosecuted he would be hung, but he cannot for the first offence The prosecution is dropd or rather never commenced an my husband thinks you had better sell Sandy for fear of his committing some crime that will condemn him. Mr. John Maxwell payed Mr Wilkins a few days ago for your Chaise. He will deliver the money to Mr Bulloch the first time he goes to Savannah I have paid Mr. John Dunwoody 30 Dols on account of Mrs Van Yeveren for Ann's pin I wished to pay Interest but he said your sister would not like it and it would give me pain to displease her Old Kate & Becky tell me they have not heard from you for some time & Fanny brought her baby to see me it is a fine child. They beg you to return they long to see you Becky comes frequently to inquire if I have received letters Ann and James went to Savannah 2 days ago Ann carne horne to Elizas wedding She is married to Mr Iverson and set off for Bourk ' believe it is, preparing for the wedding prevented my writing you sooner Iverson is a plan man but I think him good tempered and a good understanding There has been a great commotion in Sunbury Mr Lee engaged Mr Hughes as an assistant, about 2 months after he thought Mrs Lee and himself could attend the school themselves as Mr Hughes did not appear satisfied and he told Mr Hughes if he could get a place they would part with him Mr. H readily agreed 179 and quit the school~ which offended a great many Mr Holmes immediately gave Hughs a school room in Mrs Rees house sent his chil- dren to him & in a little time he had 15 schollars People in gen- eral blame Mr Lee but we seldom go with the croud I think he was very attentive to the school and when he did his duty as a teacher I had no right to find fault I believe he offended the baptists finding People were dissatisfied as soon as the quarter was up he discharged the school and is going back to the north. Hughes father was i l l and sent for him to the up Country & we now have holliday again untill the 1st May when Mr John Winn takes the Academy I wish I was not so foolish about my Children and could content myself to part with James I dont know when he will be fit for College at this rate. Mr Lee had put him in the Greek and I flattered myself would have fit him for College Adam & James Holmes are both to go this spring, and very distressing circumstance has happened in Mcintosh County there has been a long dispute between Hopkins & McQueen Mcintosh which ended in Hopkins shooting & killing McQ Mcintosh & Hopkins has his arm broke. Old General Stevens had purchased Mr Cuthberts place and thinks of bringing his family back next fall It gives me pleasure to hear that Adam & Louisa are doing well Long may they be a comfort to you This is a bad year with us we made a good crop at Rice hope, and very little at Limerick and part of that little is gone. We had a large new corn house burnt last week with from 6 to 8 hun- dred bushels of Corn 4 Hundd bought in Savannah & just sent up with all the crop of Pease & the loft filled with blades, the horses will miss them I feel it, but it dont distress me there was no lives lost and I can bear such losses while my family are well and safe I know very little of Sunbury. I don't know the day I've been out except to church Mrs Holmes was well as ever Mrs Mcintosh appears brave, Mrs McWhir is well She has lost Betsy who has gone up the country to Mr Cuthbert since the new law respecting free negroes Mrs West I believe is well I'm told she is rather low in spirits since Mrs. Bartow married Mr. Dunham--the family think the connection was too near Ann says she will write soon to Mrs. Van Yeveren the last I received from you was dated 26 Decbr I have just heard Mrs Archy Wilkins is in very bad health I have sent a half Barrel with Ground nuts and 50 sweet oranges to Mr Bullock to forward to you and to remind you of Georgia Mr Wilkins who is all I have at home begs to be rememberd to your family including your sister, remem- ber me to Mrs Powell & Dunwoody & all Georgia friends tell Hetty D---y [illegible] her Pa shew her letter to me I think it very pretty cant Louisa try & send me a few lines it will give me pleasure it is well the paper gives out that you may [be relieved]. My love to your sister & your family Yours, [Ma]ry C Wilkins 180 v Letter to Adam Alexander, New Haven, Connecticut, from Samuel S Law [Adam L. AlexanderjPapers, Manuscript Department, Duke University Library, Durham, North Carol'ina]: Sunbury 5th May 1821 My dear Young friend, Your affectionate and interesting letter of the 14th March is now before me, to which I would have replyed more promptly, but having previously written to your mother, concluded to wait for her answer (which I have received) and communicate through you if necessary I am truly happy to find that the friendships, and endearments, formed in you! childhood, for the people and place of your nativity, has not been obliterated by time and distance, or the powerful facinations thrown around you, by the superior combination of art and nature. In all those advantages which tend to elivate in the scale in intellectual, and moral excellence, nor yet from the consideration of that healthful and invigoratin residence, which a Northern clime impart to the mental powers, whilst that of the South, seem to multiply the calamities of human life, by the sickly and pestilential breath she diffuses over her inhabitants. Under all these circumstances, I find you are still looking forward with anxious expectation to the time when you will embark for Sunbury, where you will no doubt realise those feelings, so affectionately expressed on the death of my dear Edward . . I am sorry that it is not in my power to answer your inquiry favourably in behalf of your worthy young friend Mr Smith, the commissioners having applyed to Mr. McWhir, who they expect will bring out a Gentleman next fall from Ireland as principal of the Sunbury Acadmy. We have had a very backward Spring, March was by far the coldest month we had the past season, our Spring is now beginning to be very fine. I have nothing of a local nature worth relating, our little Village is quite healthy, Col Harding who married Matilda Baker died yesterday in Bryan Co. You will please remember me affectionately to my nephew and tell him that his father and family are well. You may also say the same for me to Joseph Maxwell, whose father & Mother I see almost every Sabbath Mrs Law and family joins me in affectionate remembrance to your self Mother Aunt and Sister. Which concludes me your sincere friend, Saml S. Law 181 VI Letter to Adam Alexander, Sunbury, Georgia, from M Greene [Adam L. Alexan- der Papers, Manuscript Department, Duke University Library, Durham, North Carolina]: Savannah 5th June 1822 My Dear Adam We reached town on the afternoon of the day we left you, and found all our friends here well, I find a very great differen~e between the atmosphere of Savan- nah & Sunbury, today it has been So warm as really to incapacitate us from attending to our concerns Oh how I wish, for a little of your Sea breeze, it would it seems to me have as powerful an effect as to enhale the Nitrous occide. Your little village will be often brought to mind, and when, far distant from it, with other objects and Scenes before me, its verdant green, the beautiful riv- ers prospect, the kindness & hospitality of its inhabitants & above all the bright & captivating eyes of its young ladies, will pass over my memory with no ordinary interest, and no doubt .when engrossed in business or labouring over Coke & Blackstone, the pleasure of my Sunbury jaunt, will pass thru my mind & relieve the irksomeness of my task Will you say to your Mother for me, that her Kindness and attention to us while in Sunbury will be long, and gratefully remembered, but that she would add greatly to her favour if she would with you visit us this summer, but of that I am almost hopeless . . Believe me to be Dr Adam Yr Sincere friend, M. Greene 182 VIII Letter from J A Maxwell to Adam L. Alexander, Washington, Georgia [Adam L. Alexander Papers, Manuscript Department, Duke University Library, Durham, North Carolina] Social Bluff, July 12th 1822. Dear Alexander, The 4th inst of course I spent in Sunbury, and a merry day it was even there. Doctor Footman gave us quite a spirited oration, & what was unusual on such occasion he stated a new idea or two. By the by, I had nearly forgotten to say that in consequent of your departure I felt so bad, that I blew myself into a slight fever the day after, however time conquers love in some measure, & I believe I shall now exist even without you, tho I must confess I fear but indiferantly I do not visit Sunbury Often but when I do I always call at your Mother & undergo a talking in the which we generally make very honourable mention of you in some way or other I received a miserable long letter from Turner a day or two since, the fellow is as mad as a 'march Hare' & I believe nothing short of having his head shaved with a pitch plaster upon it will cool his affection for the Girls The fellow talks of Angels & 'bewitching creatures' as if the former were to be seen by dozens in Liberty. It shocks even me, when I see a great broad shouldered, two fisted Scotch man, turning up the whites of his eyes, sighing & talking about Love--particularly when I know nothing short of a fixed bayonet could penetrate his heart I am not certain but that I shall get the start of you yet, notwithstanding you are engaged, but as I have not quite obtained my own consent I shall only give you the above as a hint for you to expedite your affairs. I hope you found the Lassee well &c &c &c &c I am Dear A. your friend ever J A. Maxwell 183 VIII Letter from Sarah Hillhouse Alexander to Adam L Alexander, Sunbury [The Alexander Papers, 1787-1900 (Savannah privately printed for George T Bald- win, 1910), pp 55-57] Washington, Jany. 25, 1824. If the weather is in Sunbury as it is here today, I expect my dear husband is quietly seated by the fire in comfortable confab with mother and aunt instead of bending his course Midway-ward (if I may make a word for my own accommodation). I like to fancy you to myself enjoying yourself at your old home, and mother and aunt as much pleased as yourself, and should like to join the party as I flatter myself my company would be some addition in your eyes, so effectually has the little god blinded them While you have been enjoying yourself in Sunbury as I suppose, your poor rib has had a deserpate fit of the hysterics Grandmamma was here Friday, and as I was sitting after dinner sewing and talking as usual, a thought came suddenly across my mind, and my eyes filled up before I could finish my sentence I went to the window but it would not do I ran out to the kitchen and gave Fielding and Melinda a terrible scold--but even that would not answer. I came back and sat down to play 'Away with Melancholy' but scarcely had touched the first note when I bellowed out to grandmamma's infinite astonishment, who had just come in the drawing room to hear the tune and a most melodius one it was 'Well child,' she said, after waiting in vain for the storm to subside, 'you might as well take it out at once and get it over.' So I marched upstairs and stayed until the foundation was completely emptied, washed my face, which always looks uncommonly rosy and pretty after a good cry (you must know I took a peep as I passed the glass) and came down to see grandma off The fit lasted the whole of the evening, but the patient was better next morning and has continued so ever since I hope this is our last separation for some time at least, my dear husband, for I feel already as if it had been a very long one I think I shall overwhelm you with a torrent of words when you come back, for notwithstanding my long letter I have a mighty budget of talk accumulated now for you which will doubtless enlarge daily Do you not wonder when you open my letters what wonderful event can occasion such long ones? Ever your own, Sarah A APPENDIX E I. The following is a transcription of an original Sunbury lot deed: a convey- ance from three of the Sunbury trustees, Kenneth Baillie, John Elliott, pnd James Fisher, to Thomas Peacock, October 1, 1759 [Original deposited in the Alexander-Hillhouse Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N C.] THIS INDENTURE Witnesseth that whereas Mark Carr in the Province of Georgia Esqr did by a certain Deed of Lease and Release executed by him and dated the nineteenth Day of June in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty eight convey unto James Maxwell Kenneth Baillie John Elliott Grey Elliott and John Stevens and their successors in Trust a certain Tract or Parcel of Land containing about three hundred Acres situate on the River of Midway to be a Township known by the Name of the Town of Sunbury, as by the said Deed will more at large appear Recourse being thereunto had We Kenneth Baillie John Elliott and James Fisher, three of the Trustees appointed in the said Conveyance, by Virtue of the Power and Trust vested and reposed in us thereby, and for an in consideration of the Sum of six pounds Sterling which by a Receipt of the said Mark Carr appears to have been paid him by Thomas Peacock, wherewith we acknowledge ourselves satisfied, and also upon Condition that the said Thomas Peacock his Heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns shall and do comply with submit and be Subject to the several Regulations Conditions Penalties and Forfeitures specified in the above mentioned Deed of Conveyance Do hereby convey unto the said Thomas Peacock his Heirs Administrators and Assigns forever, all that Parcel or Lot of Land lying and being in the said Town of Sunbury and known by the Number twenty as in the Plan of the said Town will appear containing seventy Feet in Front, and one hundred and thirty feet in Depth In Witness whereof We have hereunto set our Hands and Seals this first Day of October in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty nine Kenneth Baillie (L S ) John Elliott (L S ) James Fisher (L.S.) 185 II Following is'a listing of the partial chain of titles of the Sunbury town lots References and abbreviations used are: Col Georgia Colonial Deed Book Gaz Georgia Gazette Jones Charles C. Jones, Jr , Dead Towns _of Georgia, containing the early list of Sunbury lot owners LC Loyalist Claim Lib Liberty County Deed Book Sales "" Georgia Sales of Confiscat ed Estates Wills Georgia Colonial Wills Lot 1 Lot 2: Lot 3: Lot 4 Lot 5 Lot 6 Originally deeded to Mark Carr [Jones] Sold by Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 534-41] Sold by Comm of Conf. Estates to David Rees, January 2, 1784, late property of Donald Fraser (Col BBB, pp. 384-86] Sold by Henry Myers to John Gardiner, February 24, 1794 [Lib C, pp 168-69] Originally deeded to Arthus Carnaby [Jones) Sold by Comm. of Conf Estates to Samuel West, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by Henry Myers to John Gardiner, February 24, 1794 [Lib C, pp 168-69] Sold by Liberty Co Tax Collector to Capt. George Haist, July 14, 1794 [Lib C, pp 210-11] Originally deeded to Grey Elli ott [Jones] Sold by Alexander Mciver to Jeremiah Dickinson, April 21, 1791 [Lib B, pp. 366-67] Sold by Henry Myers to John Gardiner, February 24, 1794 [Lib C, pp 168-69] Originally deeded to Grey Elliott [Jones] Sold by Alexander Mciver to Jeremiah Dickinson, April 21, 1791 [Lib B, pp 366-67] One-third of lot sold by Federal Marshall to Edward Griffith, March 10, 1797 [Lib CC, pp 111-12] Originally deeded to Francis Arthur [Jones] Sold by Grey Elliott to Thomas . Jones, April 29, 1773, bought by Elliott at public auction [Col X-2, pp 888-90] Owned by Elizabeth Munro, February 9, 1807, occupied by John Stevens [Lib F, pp 158-60] Originally deeded to William Graves [Jones] Sold by John Stewart and wife Susannah, Sarah Way, and Mary 186 Lot 6: (cont ) Lot 7: Lot 8 Lot 9: Lot 10 Lot 11: Lot 12: Hughes, to John Elliott, July 21, 1800 [Lib E, pp 201-2] Sold by John Elliott to James Robarts, May 8, 1801 [Lib E, pp. 8-9] Originally deeded to Francis Arthur [Jones] Originally deeded to John Cubbidge [Jones] Originally deeded to James Maxwell, August 8, 1766 [LC, Roger Kelsall] Sold by James Maxwell to John Gilbert, November 16, 1767 [LC, Roger Kelsall] Sold by John Gilbert and wife Bethel to James Edmonds, November 26, 1767 [LC, Roger Kelsall] Sold by James Edmonds and wife Sarah to Roger Kelsall, December 31, 1769 [Col Bond R, pp 317-19] Sold by Comm. of Conf. Estates to Richard Hawley [LC, Roger Kelsall] Sold by James Heart to Samuel Spry, November 3, 1761 [Col C-2, pp 628-31] Inherited by Samuel's son Royal Spry [Lib A (II), pp. 125-26] Sold by John Baker and wife Mary to David Duncan, June 30, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp. 125-26] Sold by David Duncan and wife Martha to James Merrilies, August 28, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp 125-26] Sold by James Merrilies to George Haist, March 29, 1792 [Lib B, pp 468-69] Sold by George Haist and wife Harriett to Elizabeth Munro, April 28, 1798 [Lib DD, pp 261-63] Originally deeded to William Wright [Lib A (II), pp. 127-28] Sold by William Wright to John Bennysworth [Lib A (II), pp 127- 28 Sold by Bennysworth to Thomas Young [Lib A (II), pp. 127-28 Confiscated as the property of Thomas Young [Lib A (II), pp. 127-28 Sold by Comm. of Conf. Estates to Philip Low, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by Philip Low to James Powell [Lib A (II), pp. 127-28] Sold by James Powell to Ferdinand O'Neal [Lib A (II), pp. 127- 28 Sold by Ferdinand O'Neal to Michael Rudulph, February 1, 1786 [Lib B, p 104] Sold by Michael Rudulph to David Duncan [Lib B, pp. 466-67] Sold by David Duncan and wife Martha to James Merrilies, August 28, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp 127-28] Sold by Merrilies to George Haist, March 29, 1792 [Lib B, pp. 466-67] Sold by Haist and wife Harriett to Elizabeth Munro, April 28, 1798 [Lib DD, pp 261-63] Sold by Charles William Rogers to Charles 0 Screven, March 1, 1809 [Lib F, pp 229-30] Originally deeded to Stephens Dickinson [Jones] Sold by widow of Dickinson, Jane Mahan, to David Duncan, July, 187 Lot 12: (cont ) Lot 13: Lot 14: Lot 15: Lot 16 Lot 17: Lot 18 1783 [Lib A (II), pp 129-30] Sold by Duncan and wife Martha to James Merrilies, August 28, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp 129-30) Sold by James Merrilies to George Haist, March 29, 1792 [Lib B, pp 465-66] Sold by George Haist and wife Harriett to Elizabeth Munro, April 28, 1798 [Lib DD, pp 261-63] Sold by Charles William Rogers to Charles 0 Screven, March 1, 1809 [Lib F, pp 229-30] Originally deeded to William Maxwell, April 24, 1759 [Col U, pp 149-50] Sold by Maxwell to James Fisher and Edward Jones, September 21, 1763 [Col U, p 150] Sold by Comm of Conf. Estates to Benjamin Andrew, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by James Fisher to Egidius Henry Schmidt and John Molich, November 3, 1787 [Lib B, pp 60-62] Sold by Jan Molich, surviving partner of Schmidt and Molich, to Christian Leopold Schmidt, September 10, 1797 [Lib DD, pp 205-08] Originally deeded to James Fisher and Edward Jones, February 2, 1761 [Col U, pp 150-51] Sold by Comm of Conf Estates to Benjamin Andrew, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by James Fisher to Egidius Henry Schmidt and John Molich, November 3, 1787 [Lib B, pp 60-62] Sold by Jan Molich, surviving partner of Schmidt and Molich, to Christian Leopold Schmidt, September 10, 1797 [Lib DD, pp. 205-08] Originally deeded to Swinton and Co [Jones] To be sold at public auction by the Georgia Provost Marshal [Gaz, April 6, 1774, p 2/1] Originally deeded to John Forbes, William Swinton, and Charles Ogilvie to Kelsall, Darling, and Munro [Col CC, pp 138-40] Sold by Forbes, Swinton, and Ogilvie to Kelsall, Darling, and Munro [Col CC, pp 138~40] Sold by Roger Kelsall and Simon Munro, surviving partners of Kelsall, Andrew Darling, and Munro, February 1, 1775 [Col DD, pp 138-40] Sold by Comm of Conf Estates to Robert Grier, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by Comm of Conf Estates to John Kell, November 1, 1783 [Col BBB, pp 243-47] Owned by Estate of John Kell, March 14, 1789 [Lib B, p. 321] Originally deeded to Francis Arthur [Jones] Mortgaged by Thomas Carr to George J Turner, February 1, 1769 [Col Mortgages A, pp 167-69] Mortgaged by Mary Miller to John Blackstock, June 15, 1791 [Lib B, pp 387-90] Originally deeded to Robert Baillie, June 11, 1761 [Lib A (II), Lot 18 (cont ) Lot 19 Lot 20 Lot 21 Lot 22 Lot 23: 188 p 46] Subsequently owned by James Derwell [Jones] Originally deeded to Swinton and Co [Jones] Sold by Sunbury Board of Commissioners, for failure to pay taxes, July 7, 1807, to Jesse McCall [Lib F, pp. 216-17] Sold by Bank of Darien, January 29, 1829, to Eliza G. Roberts [Lib I, p 441] Originally deeded to Thomas Peacock, October 1, 1759 [Col X-2, p. 967] Sold by William Peacock, son of Thomas, to John Dollar, May 2, 1788 [Lib B, p 210] Sold by John Perkins and wife Christian to Andrew Darling, October 20, 1764 [Col C-2, pp 866-68] Sold by Georgia Provost Marshal to James MacKay, September 6, 1775, confiscated from Estate of Darling [Col DD, pp. 22023] Given by Mary Bilney, November 15, 1780 [Lib B, p. 6] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Joseph Jones, April 6, 1830. con- fiscated from Estate of James Holmes [Lib I, pp. 442-43] Owned by Joseph Jones in 1844 and 1846, "where the late James Holmes resided" [Lib rlills B, pp 400-05] Originally deeded to Thomas Young [Jones] To be sold at public auction by the Georgia Provost Marshal [Gaz, February 14, 1765, p 5/2] Sold by Provost Marshal to Simon Munro, September 2, 1768, con- fiscated from James Rutherford [Col U, pp 3-4] Sold by Munro to Simon Paterson, June, 1781 [LC] Sold by Comm of Conf Estates to John Baker, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by Col John Baker and wife Mary to John Baker, Jr , Febru- ary 10, 1792 [Lib B, pp 458-60] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Joseph Jones, April 6, 1830, con- fiscated from Estate of James Holmes [Lib I, pp. 442-43] Owned by Joseph Jones in 1844 and 1846, "where the late James Holmes resided" [Lib Wills B, pp. 400-05] Originally deeded to Thomas Young [Jones] Sold by Provost Marshal to Simon Munro, September 2, 1768, con- fiscated from James Rutherford [Col U, pp 3-4] Sold by Munro to Simon Paterson, June, 1781 [LC} Sold by Comm of Conf. Estates to John Hardy, January 13, 1783 [Lib A (II), pp 109-10] Sold by John Hardy and wife Mary to Job Pray and Joseph Foster, July 15, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp 111-13] To be sold by Foster and Pray [Gaz, July 19, 1787, p. 2/1] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to James Holmes, confiscated from Joseph Foxter, April 16, 1795 and June 6, 1794 [Lib C, p 223, Lib DD, p 163) Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Joseph Jones, April 6, 1830, confiscated from Estate of James Holmes [Lib I, pp. 442-43] Owned by Joseph Jones in 1844 and 1846, "where the late James Holmes resided" [Lib Wills B, pp 400-05] 189 Lot 24 Lot 25: Lot 26 Lot 27: Lot 28: Lot 29 30 Originally deeded to Roger Kelsall [Jones] Sold by Comrn of Conf Estates to Job Pray, January 2, 1784 [Col BBB, pp 241-43] To be sold by Foster and Pray [Gaz, July 19, 1787, p. 2/1] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to James Holmes, confiscated from Joseph Foster, April 16, 1795, and June 6, 1794 [Lib C, p. 223, Lib DD, p 163] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Joseph Jones, April 6, 1830, confiscated from Estate of James Holmes [Lib I, pp 442-43] Owned by Joseph Jones in 1844 and 1846, "where the late James Holmes resided" [Lib Wills B, pp 400-05] Originally deeded to John James Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to John Baker, July 5, 1785, confis- cated from Estate of William Watson [Lib A (II), p. 50] Sold by Col John Baker and wife Mary to Stephen Baker, August 1, 1791 [Lib B, pp 426-27] Sold by Stephen Baker and wife Martha to Andrew Maybank, trustee for Mary Ann Baker, September 2, 1791 [Lib B, pp. 427-29] Sold by John Jackson Maxwell and wife Mary Ann to Samuel Wil- kins, April 13, 1810 [Lib G, pp. 332-33] Originally deeded to Joseph Bacon [Jones] Sold by Col John Baker and wife Mary to Stephen Baker, August 1, 1791 [Lib B, pp 426-27] Sold by Stephen Baker and wife Martha to Andrew Maybank, in trust for Mary Ann Baker, September 2, 1791 [Lib B, pp 427-29] Sold by John Jackson Maxwell and wife Mary Ann to Samuel Wilkins, April 13, 1810 [Lib G, pp 332-33] Originally deeded to John Stewart, Sr. [Jones] Sold by John Lupton to George Chalmers, June 23, 1766 [Col S, pp 250-51] Sold by Georgia Provost Marshal to Peter Sallens, October 20, 1772, confiscated from the Estate of George Chalmers [Col X-2, pp 966-67] Sold by the Liberty Co sheriff to Adam Alexander, August 6, 1799, confiscated from Arthur Carney and Charles Kent [Lib G, p 152] Originally deeded to John Lupton [Jones] Sold by John Lupton to George Chalmers, June 23, 1766 [Col S, pp 250-51] Sold by Georgia Provost Marshal to Peter Sallens, October 20, 1772, confiscated from George Chalmers [Col X-2, pp 96667] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Adam Alexander, August 6, 1799, confiscated from Arthur Carney and Charles Kent [Lib G, p. 152] Originally deeded to John Dunbar, Thomas Young, and John Simpson, June 17, 1763 [Col Bond 0, p 89] Sold by Thomas Young and John Simpson, surviving partners, to John Jones, Gideon Dupont, and John Brewton, October 10, 1774 [Col DD, pp 136-38] 190 Lot 29 30 (cont.) Lot 31 Lot 32: Lot 33: 34 Lot 35 Lot 36 Lot 37 Lot 38 Lot 39 40 Lot 41 Sold by Liberty Co Tax Collector to John Jones, "Jr ,"February 12, 1798, confiscated from John Jones and Company [Lib DD, pp 239-40] Given by Mrs Susannah H Jones, widow of John Jones, "Jr,.," to his children: Elizabeth, John, Susannah Mary, and Charles Colcock, June 16, 1808 [Lib F, pp 211-12] Sold by three surviving Jones children to Joseph Jones, August 6, 1811, September 1, 1827, and June 21, 1827 [Lib G, pp. 134-35, Lib I, p. 236; Lib I, p 242] Given by Joseph Jones to daughter Mary, wife of Rev. C.C. Jones, 1846 [Lib Wills B, pp 400-05] Originally deeded to John Elliott [Jones] Originally deeded to James Dunham, October 6, 1760 [Col X-2, p. 1071] Sold by Col. John Baker and wife Mary to Stephen Baker, August 1, 1791 [Lib B, pp 426-27] Sold by Stephen Baker and wife Martha to Andrew Maybank, trustee for Matilda Amanda Baker [Lib B, pp. 429-31] Originally deeded to Lyman Hall [Jones] Originally deeded to Samuel Miller, January 7, 1760 [Lib A (II), p. 78] Sold by Liberty Co. sheriff to Francis Saltus, June 15, 1787, confiscated as property of Alexander Stuart's estate [Lib B, pp. 68-69] Originally deeded to Kenneth Baillie, Snr [Jones] Originally deeded to Samuel Bennersworth [Jones] Owned by Thomas Young, 1782 [LC] Sold by the Comm. of Conf Estates to Samuel West, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by the Comm of Conf. Estates. to l.rilliam Mcintosh the younger, February 11, 1785 [Lib B, pp. 424-25] Inherited by John Howell and wife Margaret from estate of John Croft, December 4, 1806 [Lib F, pp 168-70] Originally deeded to Samuel Bennerworth [Jones] Owned by Thomas Young, 1782 [LC] Sold by Connn of Conf Estates to John Jenkins, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Originally deeded to William Saverson [Jones] To be sold by Provost Marshal, late property of William Saverson [Gaz, February 24, 1768, p 3/1] Sold by Liberty Co. sheriff to John Croft, April 3, 1798, con- fiscated from William Jones [Lib D, pp 142-44] Inherited by John Howell and wife Margaret from estate of John Croft, December 4, 1806 [Lib F, pp. 168-70] Originally deeded to Mark Carr [Jones] 191 Lot 41 (cont ) Lot 42 43 Lot 44 Lot 45 46 Lot 47: Lot 48 Sold by Henry Myers to Jane Peacock, August 28, 1794 [Lib C, pp 179-80] Sold by Francis Arthur to Samuel Bacon, February 1, 1766 [Lib A (II), p 97] Given by Samuel Bacon to wife Tabitha, June 4, 1767 [Col V, pp. 270-71] Sold by Samuel Bacon and wife Mary to Benjamin Andrew, December 8, 1773 [Col X-2, pp 1056-57] Sold by Benjamin Andrew and wife Mary to Francis Coddington, December 24, 1777 [Lib B, pp 288-90] Sold by Francis Coddington and wife Claudia to Elizabeth Bellinger Kelsall and Ameli.a Kelsall, October 2, 1778 [Lib G, pp. 211-13] Sold by Francis Coddington to Amelia Kelsall, November 24, 1784 [Lib A (II), p 39] Sold by Joseph Johnson and William B Johnson to Charles 0. Screven, May 10, 1809 [Lib G, pp 214-15] Originally deeded to John Winn [Jones] Sold by Peter Winn to Charles 0 Screven, July 17, 1820 [Lib H, pp. 343-44] Originally deeded to David Jervey [Jones] One-half of lots sold by Abraham Leggett to Myndert Van Yeveren and James James, March 24, 1788 [Lib C, pp 181-82] One-half of lots sold by John Lawson, Sr., and wife Elizabeth to Myndert Van Yeveren and James James, Jr , January 27, 1789 [Lib B, pp 182-84] One-half of lots sold by John Couper and wife Rebecca to Lachlan Mcintosh, ~fay 23, 1795 [Lib C, pp 201-02] One-half of lots sold by Lachlan Mcintosh and wife Mary Persiana to Jan Mo1ich, April 13, 1797 [Lib DD, pp 202-05] One-half of lots sold by Jan Molich to Christian Leopold Schmidt, September 10, 1797 [Lib DD, pp 205-08] One-third interest in one-half of lots sold by John Lawson to Adam Alexander and Hannah Peacock, January 9, 1811 [Lib G, p 225] Interest in one-half of lots given by Hannah Peacock to Louisa F , Louisa, and Adam, heirs of Adam Alexander, October 3, 1815 [Alexander-Hillhouse Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N C ] One-half of lots sold by heirs of Adam Alexander to Charles 0. Screven, May 15, 1818 [Lib H, p 152] Originally deeded to Francis Arthur [Jones] Sold by Grey Elliott to Jane Lee, April 7, 1773 [Lib A (II), pp 161-64] Sold by Isabella Calhoun, daughter of John Rogers, to Charles 0 Screven, April 20, 1818 [Lib H, p 153] Originally deeded to Francis Lee [Jones] Sold by the Provost ' Marshal to Grey Elliott, December 27, 1762, confiscated as the property of John MacKay [Lib A (II), pp 160-61] 192 Lot 48: (cant ) Lot 49 Lot 50 Lot 51 Lot 52: Lot 53: Lot 54: Lot 55 Lot 56 Sold by Grey Elliott to Jane Lee, April 7, 1773 [Lib A (II), pp. 161-64] Sold by Isabella Calhoun, daughter of John Rogers, to Charles 0. Screven, April 20, 1818 [Lib H, p 153] Sold by Nicholas Seliwich to Charles 0 Screven, February 19, 1827 [Lib I, p 214] Originally deeded to John Quarterman, Jr [Jones] Given by John Quarterman to his son Elijah, 1769 [Wills A, pp. 332-36] Originally deeded to Robert Baillie, June ll, 1761 [Lib A (II), p. 46] Subsequently owned by James Dowell [Jones] Owned by Thomas Morris [LC, Simon Paterson] Sold by Provost Marshal to Simon Paterson, confiscated from Thomas Morris [LC, Simon Paterson] Originally deeded to John Irvine [Jones] Owned by Thomas Morris [LC, Simon Paterson] Sold by Provost Marshal to Simon Paterson, confiscated from Thomas Morris [LC, Simon Paterson] Originally deeded to James Jones [Col U, pp. 425-30] Originally deeded to James Jones [Col U, pp 425-30] Sold by Jones to John Lawson [Col U, pp. 425-30] Sold by John Lawson, Sr and wife Elizabeth to Andrew Darling and Simon Munro, November 25, 1786 [Col U, pp. 425-30] Sold by Simon Munro, surviving partner of Darling and Munro, to Thomas Peacock, February 20, 1773 [Col X-2, pp. 912-13] Given by William Peacock to Mrs. Hannah Chalmers, widow of George Chalmers, May 31, 1774 [Lib A (II), pp. 156-57] Sold by Hannah Peacock (formerly Chalmers), widow of William Pea- cock, to Adam Alexander, April 30, 1804 [Lib F, pp. 58-59] Sold by James Rutherford to Matthew Smallwood, December 23, 1768 [Col X-1, p 71] Sold by Matthew Smallwood to William Peacock, Jr., June 8, 1771 [Col X-1, pp 71-72] Sold by the heirs of William Peacock to Adam Alexander, March 1, 1810 [Alexander-Hillhouse Papers, Southern Historical Collection] Originally deeded to William Peacock, October 1, 1759 [Col X-1, p 365] Given by William Peacock to his son William, April 21, 1764 [Col X-1, p 204] Sold by the Comm of Sunbury to Dr Adam Alexander, July 7, 1807 [Lib G, p 27] Originally deeded to Isaac Lines [Jones] Sold by Estate of Isaac Lines to William Peacock, July 12, 1771 [Col X-1, pp 72-73] Sold by William Peacock, Sr , and wife Hannah to Robert Cumming, May 4, 1787 [Lib B, pp 62-63] 193 Lot 56 (cont ) Lot 57: Lot 58: Lot 59: Lot 60 Lot 61 Lot 62: Lot 63: Lot 64 Lot 65 66 Lot 67 Lot 68: Owned by Mrs Mary Anderson, widow of David Anderson, and second wife of Peter Dunworth, October 10, 1785 [Lib B, p. 75] Sold by the Comm of Sunbury to Dr Adam Alexander, July 7, 1807 [Lib G, p 27] Originally deeded to John Osgood [Jones] Given by John Osgood to his nephew Thomas Baker, 1773 [Wills AA, pp 53-57] Sold by Thomas Baker to Peter Conworth, June 23, 1785 [Lib A (II), p 32] Originally deeded to Rebecca Way [Jones] Sold by William Simpson to Richard Stevens, March 20, 1771 [Col X-1, pp. 98-99] Sold by Richard Stevens to William Rheny, August 15, 1771 [Col X-1, p 99] Originally deeded to John Stewart, Sr [Jones] Owned by estate of John Kell, March 14, 1789 [Lib B, p 321] Originally deeded to John Lupton [Jones] Owned by estate of John Kell, March 14, 1789 [Lib B, p. 321] Originally deeded to James Dunham, October 6, 1760 [Col X-2, p 1071] Sold by Col John Baker and wife Mary to Stephen Baker, August 1, 1791 [Lib B, pp 426-27] Sold by Stephen Baker and wife Martha to Andrew Maybank, trustee for Matilda Amanda Baker, September 2, 1791 [Lib B, pp. 429-31] Originally deeded to John Shave [Jones] Originally deeded to Jacob Lockerman [Jones] Owned by Thomas Young, 1782 [LC] Originally deeded to Paynter Dickinson [Jones] Given by Paynter Dickinson to son Thomas, 1767 [Wills A, pp. 327-29] Originally deeded to John Lawson [Jones] Given by John Lawson to daughter Esther, wife of Alexander Har- vie, May 10, 1774 [Col Bond Y-2, pp. 447-49] Given by Esther Alexander, wife of Adam Alexander and former wife of Alexander Harvie, to her husband, August 18, 1800 [Lib F, pp 56-57] Sold by Adam Alexander to Mrs Hannah Peacock, April 30, 1804 [Lib F, pp 61-63] Sold by Jedidiah Field and wife Elizabeth to John Baggs, July 16, 1812 [Lib G, p 197] Originally deeded to Thomas Ralph [Jones] Sold by John Lawson to Theophilus El sworth, Mnrch 3, 1774 [Col X-2, pp 1121-24] Originally deeded to John Quarterman, Sr. [Jones] 194 Lot 68: (cont.) Lot 69: Lot 70: Lot 71: Lot 72: Lot 73: 74 Lot 75: 76 Lot 77: Lot 78: Lot 79: Lot 80 Given by John Quarterman to son Richard, 1765 [Wills A, pp 12931] Sold by Conun of Sunbury to Miss Ann Cubbedge, July 7, 1807 [Lib G, p. 26] Originally deeded to Thomas Gouldsmith [Jones] Originally deeded to James Houstoun [Jones] Sold by the Conun of Sunbury to Paul Hamilton Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p. 218] Originally deeded to John Stevens [Jones] Originally deeded to Mark Carr [Jones] Given by Mark Carr to his daughter Elizabeth, 1760 or 1761 [Lib A (II), p 60] Sold by the Comrn of Sunbury to Paul H Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] Originally deeded to Hugh Clark [Jones] Sold by the Comm. of Sunbury to John Kell, trustee for Adam Holmes, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 220] Originally deeded to Kenneth Baillie, Sr., January 2, 1759 [Lib A (II), p 46] Originally deeded to Parmenas Way, January 2, 1759 [Lib A (II), p. 32] Sold by Liberty Co. sheriff to John Couper and James Hamilton, July 25, 1791, confiscated as property of John Hardy's estate [Lib B, pp. 417-18] Sold by John Couper and wife Rebecca to St. John's Lodge #6, F&AM, November 4, 1805 [Lib F, p 180] Originally deeded to Nathaniel Yates [Jones] To be sold by Provost Marshal, property of Nathaniel Yates [Gaz, September 12, 1765, p. 2/2] Sold by Nathaniel Saxton to Francis Washington, April 19, 1786 [Lib B, pp. 150-51] Mortgaged by William H Torrens to Robert Bolton, 1795 [Lib C, pp. 206-07] Originally deeded to William Dunham [Jones] Sold by John Dunham to Mary Dunham, widow, February 8, 1784 [Lib B, pp 163-65] Sold by Mary Dunham to John Elliott, February 28, 1786 [Lib B, pp. 4-5] Sold by Cyrus Gildersleeve and wife Rinchie to William Hunter Torrens, March 4, 1795 [Lib C, pp 188-90] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Andrew Rodes, January 28, 1806 Lib F, pp. 200-01] Given by Andrew Rodes to his granddaughter, Elizabeth Ann Lan- chester, and his wife Phoebe, October, 1813 [Lib G, p. 268] Originally deeded to Charles West [Jones] 1<15 Lot 80 (cont ) Lot 81: Lot 82 Lot 83 Lot 84: Lot 85 86 Lot 87: Lot 88 Lot 89: Lot 90: Lot 91 92 Lot 93 Sold by Charles West to Donald Fraser, September 26, 1775 [LC, Donald Fraser] Originally deeded to Daniel Slade [Jones] Sold by William Maxwell to Ahiel Holmes, March 27, 1788 [Lib B, pp 179-80] Sold by Abiel Holmes and wife Sarah to Dr Liberty Holmes, Sep- tember 21, 1801 [Lib E, p 61] Sold by Liberty Holmes to trustees of Sunbury Academy, March 22, 1802 [Lib E, pp 101-03) Originally deeded to Jacob Lockerman [Jones] Originally deeded to Samuel West [Jones] Owned by estate of John Kell, March 14, 1789 [Lib B, p 321] Originally deeded to Thomas Carter, P Schmidt [Jones] Sold by James Carter and wife Martha to Phillip Jacob Schmidt, March 9, 1791 [Lib B, pp 361-62] Originally deeded to John Elliott, July 7, 1760 [Lib B, p. 95] Originally deeded to William Baker [Jones] Given by William Baker to his son William, 1767 (Wills A, pp. 208-12] Sold by William Baker and wife Elizabeth to Allis Cole, widow, February 28, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp 102-04] Given by Allis Cole to her son James Cole, June 12, 1787 [Lib B, p. 41] Sold by James Armstrong Cole to William Woodard, January 19, 1789 [Lib B, pp 167-68] Owned by William Woodward, July 7, 1789 [Lih B, p. 352] Originally deeded to William Baker [Jones] Given by William Baker to his son William, 1767 [Wills A, pp. 208-12] Sold by William Baker and wife Elizabeth to Allis Cole, February 28, 1786 [Lib A (II), pp 102-04] Owned by John Cole and Harriett Cobh, July 7, 1789 [Lib B, p. 352] Originally deeded to Audley Maxwell [Jones] Originally deeded to Elizabeth Simmons [Jones] Originally deeded to John Graves [Jones] Sold by Joseph Turner and wife Francis to Mary Baker, March 20, 1802 [Lib E, p 146] Originally deeded to Robert Bolton, April 8, 1760 [Col X-2, p 1077] Sold by Robert Bolton and wife Ann to Thomas Young, November 13, 1773 [Col X-2, pp 1077-78] Owned by Thomas Young, 1782 [LC] 196 Lot 93 (cant ) Lot 94: Lot 95 Lot 96 Lot 97: 98 Lot 99 Lot 100 Lot 101: 102 Lot 103: Lot 104: Lot 105: Lot 106 Lot 107 Lot 108: Sold by Comm of Conf Estates to John Jenkins, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Originally deeded to John Baker [Jones] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Stephen Timmons, February 6, 1798, confiscated as property of Estate of John Groves [Lib DD, pp. 287-89] Sold by Benjamin Smallwood to Jonathan Bacon, son of Nathaniel, January 13, 1794 [Lib C, p. 124] Originally deeded to John Humphreys [Jones] Originally deeded to James Fisher, Francis Guilland [Jones] Originally deeded to John Lupton [Jones] Originally deeded to Henry Saltus [Jones] Owned by estate of Henry Saltus, October 7, 1797 [Lib E, pp. 74- 75) Originally deeded to Donald MacKay [Jones] Sold by Dr Nathan Dryer and wife Eliza to Elizabeth Munro [Lib F, p. 27] Given by Elizabeth Munro to John Stevens, February 9, 1807 [Lib F, pp 158-60] Originally deeded to Stephen Dickinson [Jones] Sold by estate of Stephen Dickinson to John Hardy, April 17, 1787 [Lib A (II), pp 170-71] Sold by Liberty Co. sheriff to Mrs. Mary Hardy, widow of John, June 1, 1791, confiscated from John Hardy's estate [Lib F, pp 55-56] Sold by Liberty Co. Tax Collector to James Cashen, December 22, 1794, confiscated as property of Daniel Henry [Lib DD, pp. 245-46] Originally deeded to William Clark [Jones] Sold by William Clark to John Lawson, trustee for his children, May 7, 1796 [Lib E, p 76] Originally deeded to Thomas Christie [Jones] Sold by William Clark to John Lawson, trustee for his children, May 7, 1796 [Lib E, p 76] Originally deeded to Samuel Jeans [Jones] Sold by Samuel Jeans to Mary Drew, May 5, 1789 [Col U, pp. 343- 45] Originally deeded to Moses Way [Jones] Originally deeded to William David [Jones] Originally deeded to Paynton Dickinson, April 6, 1761 [Col CC, pp 591-93] 197 Lot 108 (cont ) Lot 109 Lot llO Lot lll Lot ll2: Lot 113 Lot ll4: ll5 116 Lot ll7: ll8 Lot ll9 120 Lot 121 Lot 122: 123 Lot 124 Lot 125 126 Lot 127: Lot 128: Given by Paynter Dickinson to his son Thomas, 1767 [Wills A, pp. 327-29] Sold by Thomas Dickinson to Jeremiah Poulton, November 7, 1769 (Col CC, pp 591-93] Originally deeded to Francis Lee [Jones] Originally deeded to Francis Lee, January 7, 1760 [Lib A (II), p 164] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to John William Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p. 219] Originally deeded to James Harley [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to John William Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 219] Originally deeded to Samuel Bacon [Jones] Originally deeded to Tabitha Bacon [Jones] Originally deeded to John Stewart, Sr. [Jones] Given by John Stewart to daughters Sarah, Susanna, and Elizabeth, 1776 [Wills AA, pp 249-52] Originally deeded to Stephen Dickinson [Jones] Originally deeded to John Elliott [Jones] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to John Croft, September 24, 1793, confiscated as property of Alexander Mciver [Lib D, pp. 14142] Inherited by Louisa and Harriet Croft from estate of John Croft, December 4, 1806 [Lib F, pp 168-70] Originally deeded to Benjamin Stevens [Jones] Originally deeded to John Lynn [Jones] Sold by Patrick MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp 5-12] Sold by Henry Myers and wife Mary to William Hammett, May 30, 1795 [Lib C, pp 202-04] Originally deeded to John Sutherland [Jones] To be sold by Provost Marshal, property of Sutherland [Gaz, Jan- uary 25, 1775, p 4/1] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Jesse McCall, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, pp 216-17] Originally deeded to Samuel Jeanes [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Jesse McCall, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, pp 216-17] Originally deeded to Samuel Jeanes [Jones] 198 Lot 129 Lot 130: Lot 131: 132 Lot 133: Lot 134: Lot 135: Lot 136: Lot 137: 138 Lot 139 Lot 140: Lot 141: Lot 142: Lot 143 144 Originally deeded to Joseph Tickener [Jones] Originally deeded to William Miller [Jones] Sold by Comm. of Conf Estates to Samuel l..J'est, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Originally deeded to Richard Mills [Jones] Originally deeded to Peter McKay [Jones] Originally deeded to James Miller [Jones] Originally deeded to James Miller [Jones] Sold by Samuel Miller to William Love, November 16, 1771 [Col X-2, p 1001] Originally deeded to David Jervey [Jones] Sold by Hunphrey Primies, free Negro, to William Love, November 16, 1771 [Col X-2, p. 1001] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] Originally deeded to William Davis [Jones] Originally deeded to Josiah Serjeant, May 6, 1760 [Lib A (I), p. 79] Sold by John Bradwell and wife Ann to Thomas Blacksill, June 23, 1785 [Lib A (II), p 13] Originally deeded to John Jones, mulatto, January 2, 1759 [Col C-1, p 492] Originally deeded to Strong Ashmore [Jones] Sold by John Evans to George Foster, July 6, 1787 [Lib B, p. 15] Sold by George Foster to Gideon Denison, April 3, 1789 [Lib B, pp. 186-87] Sold by Comm. of Sunbury to Paul Hamilton Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] Originally deeded to Francis Arthur [Col X-1, pp. 465-67] Sold by Provost Marshal to Grey Elliott [Col X-1, pp 465-67] Sold by Grey Elliott to John Cubbedge, June 4, 1772 [Col X-1, pp. 465-67] Sold by George Cubbedge to John Collar, July 26, 1786 [Lib B, p 22] Originally deeded to Donald MacKay [Col X-1, pp. 462-65] Sold by Donald MacKay to Grey Elliott [Col X-1, pp. 462-65] Sold by Grey Elliott to John Dubbedge, June 6, 1772 [Col X-1, pp. 462-65] Sold by Bryan Co sheriff to Ann Rebecca Cubbedge, April 15, 1797, confiscated as property of estate of John Cubbedge [Lib DD, pp. 284-87] 199 Lot 145 Lot 146: Lot 147: Lot 148 Lot 149 150 Lot 151 152 153 154 Lot 155: 156 Lot 157: Lot 158 Lot 159 160 Lot 161 162 Lot 163: Lot 164 Lot 165 166 Originally deeded to Andrew Way [Jones] Originally deeded to James Fisher [Jones] Originally deeded to George Monis [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to John William Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 219] Originally deeded to Thomas Way [Jones] Sold by Joseph Way, son of Thomas, to Davis Austin, December 6, 1785 [Lib B, pp 13-14) Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to Jan Molich, October 5, 1797, con- fiscated as property of Mary Ann Austin [Lib DD, pp 23839] Originally deeded to James Hatcher [Jones] Originally deeded to Francis Arthur [Jones] Originally deeded to John Perkins [Col X-1, p 365] Sold by John Perkins to William Peacock [Col X-1, p 365] Sold by William Peacock to Thomas Tullalone, December 18, 1766 [Col S, pp 20-21] Sold by Mrs Christian Lewis, formerly widow of John Perkins, to Noel Fleming, May 6, 1790 [Lib B, pp 280-81] Originally deeded to lvilliam Lowe [Jones Sold by Comm of Sunbury to John William Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 219) Originally deeded to William Lowe [Jones] Originally deeded to Sarah West, July 7, 1760 [Lib B, p. 520] Given by Samuel West to Susannah Duncan, daughter of David Dun- can, August 21, 1787 [Lib B, p 93] Originally deeded to Elizabeth West, July 7, 1760 [Col X-1, pp. 270-71] Originally deeded to William Peacock, May 4, 1761 [Col X-1, p. 365] Sold by William Peacock to Thomas Tullalone, December 18, 1766 [Col S, pp 20-21] Originally deeded to William Peacock, October 1, 1759 [Col X-1, p. 364] Sold by William Peacock to Thomas Tullalone, December 18, 1766 [Col S, pp 20-21] Originally deeded to Charles West [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] 200 Lot 167: 168 Lot 169 170 Lot 171: Lot 172: Lot 173: 174 175 176 Lot 177 178 Lot 179: 180 Lot 181 Lot 182: Lot 183 184 Lot 185: Lot 186 Lot 187 188 Lot 189 Originally deeded to William Davis [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] Originally deeded to Francis Lee, July 4, 1760 [Lib A (II), p. 165] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] Originally deeded to Thomas Vincent [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 218] Originally deeded to Benjamin Baker [Jones] Sold by estate of Benjamin Baker to John Dollar, September 2, 1787 [Lib B, pp 211-12] Originally deeded to Grey Elliott [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H. rTilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p. 218] Originally deeded to John Lupton [Jones] Sold by estate of John Lupton to John Dollar, February 3, 1787 [Lib B, pp 16-17] Originally deeded to John Lupton [Jones] Sold by Comm of Sunbury to Paul H. Wilkins, July 7, 1809 [Lib F, p 219] Originally deeded to Thomas Ouarterman, October 6, 1760 [Col X-1, p 530] Originally deeded to Joseph Bacon [Jones] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 534-41] Sold by MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp 5-12] Sold by Henry Myers and wife Mary to William Hammett, May 30, 1795 [Lib C, pp 202-04] Originally deeded to Susannah Jones [Jones] Sold by Dr Nathan Dryer and wife Eliza to Elizabeth Munro, Aug- ust 17, 1804 [Lib F, p 27] Originally deeded to Susannah Jones [Jones] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 534-41] Sold by MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp 5-12] Sold by Henry Myers and wife Mary to William Condiff, March 18, 1802 [Lib E, p 113] Originally deeded to Barnard Romans [Jones] 201 Lot 189 (cont ) Lot 190 191 Lot 192: Lot 193 194 Lot 195 196 197 Lot 198: 199 Lot 200 Lot 201: 202 Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 (Lib B, pp 534-41} To be sold by Liberty Co sheriff as property of Bernard Romans [Gaz, October 16, 1783, p 2/3] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to James Jackson, February 9, 1786, confiscated as property of Bernard Romans [Lib B, pp. 19596] Originally deeded to Barnard Romans [Jones] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp. 534-41] To be sold by Liberty Co sheriff as property of Barnard Romans [Gaz, October 16, 1783, p 2/3] Sold by ~iberty Co sheriff to David Duncan, February 9, 1786, confiscated as property of Barnard Romans [Lib B, pp. 1819] Sold by David Duncan and wife Martha to John Dollar, November 4, 1786 [Lib B, pp 19-20] Originally deeded to Barnard Romans [Jones] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 534-41] To be sold by Liberty Co sheriff as property of Barnard Romans [Gaz, October 16, 1783, p 2/3] Sold by Liberty Co sheriff to William Hunt, February 9, 1786, confiscated as property of Barnard Romans [Lib B, pp 1819] Sold by William Hunt to John Dollar, May 31, 1786 [Lib B, pp. 24-25] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 534-41] Sold by MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp 5-12] Sold by Henry Myers and wife Mary to William Condiff, March 18' 1802 [Lib E, p 113] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 534-41] Sold by MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp. 5-12] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp. 534-41] Sold by MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp 5-12] Owned by Henry Myers and wife Mary on June 9, 1797 [Lib DD, p 210] Originally deeded to John K Zubley [Jones] Sold by Comm of Conf. Estates to Samuel West, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by Mark Carr and Sunbury Trustees to Patrick MacKay, April 5, 1767 [Lib B, pp 634-41] 202 Lot 201 202 (cant ) Lot 203 204 Lot 205: 206 Lot 207: 208 Lot 209: 210 Lot 211 212 Lot 213: Lot 214: Lot 215: 216 Lot 217: 218 219 Lot 220: Lot 221: 222 Lot 223 224 Sold by MacKay to Helen Gordon and Alexander Duff, December 23, 1768 [Col V, pp. 5-12] Sold by Comm. of Conf. Estates to Samuel West, June 19, 1782 [Sales] Sold by Henry Myers and wife Mary to \irs, p. 310 115 Ibid 116 Joseph Lane to Benjamin Lincoln, February 22, 1779, original in the Emmet Collection, #6717, New York Public Library Although the information concerning the exact placement of the British forces around the Sunbury fort is not clearly explained in Lane's letter, the present writer feels that other contemporary documents, as well as local legends, indicate that these suppositions are correct Lincoln took General Howe's place as commander of the Southern Department 117 Ibid The crews in the sloop, numbering 70 men and officers, were captured. bJ a tender of the Vigilant and brought to Savannah on January 14, 1779 (Captain Hyde Parker to Phillip Stephens, January 14-15, 1779, Public Records Office, Admiralty Captains' Letters P, Vol. 29, copied in B F Stevens' Facsimiles, 111246) Captain Francis Saltus escaped from 230 Fort Morris about 20 minutes before the British entered and eventually made his way to Charleston, S C In his report to the South Carolina and American_yazette, published January 28, 1779 Captain Saltus stated that "he got on board a vessel with sundry other persons, and with two of the gallies, proceeded down to St. Catherine's Inlet, where they spiked up the cannon on board and then set fire to the gallies which were totally destroyed,. " How Captain Salt us escaped capture by the British tender after the sloop again set sail from St Catherines remains a mystery 118 Prevost to Clinton, January 19, 1779 The term "gate" may refer to a gate leading to the immediate area surrounding Fort Morris or to aogate through an unused outer defense works for the town of Sunbu~y. 119. Lane to Lincoln, February 22, 1779. General Prevost, in his letter of January 19, 1779, to Sir Henry Clinton, states the number captured in the fall of Sunbury fort as 212. Lane's figure should certainly be the more accurate of the two reported, as it was Lane who filed a roster of the captured prisoners and had reason to enumerate them more exactly for that purpose 120 Prevost to Clinton, January 19, 1779. In a letter dated January 21 of that year, from Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell in Savannah to Maj. Gen. Prevost and Commodore Hyde Parker in Savannah, Campbell mentions that Lt Col. Allen in Sunbury was "commanding the British at that Station." Murray~~ Memoirs (p 311) documents that Prevost placed him in command of the entire Sunbury area, while Macintosh was placed in command of only the fort. According to Campbell, Prevost arrived in Savannah on January 14, 1779, at which time he immediately received command of the entire British army in Georgia, his rank being superior to that of Campbell [Campbell Journal, p 66] Chapter 4 121 Campbell Journal, p 77 122 Ibid , p 123 123. McCall, p 421 124 Charles C Jones, Jr , 2 vols , Risto~ ~f Georgia (Boston Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1883), Vol 2, p 362 125 Information from original documents of the Sheftall family in possession of Mrs. Marion Abrahams Levy, Savannah Photocpies in possession of John M Sheftall, Macon 126 Samuel Elbert to Mordecai Sheftall, June 24, 1779, in possession of Mrs Marion Abrahams Levy, Savannah Photocopy in possession of John M Sheftall, Macon 231 127 Georg~ Walton in Sunbury to General Benjamin Lincoln, June 29, 1779. Original in possession of the Maine Historical Society 128 Ibid 129 Kenneth Coleman, The American Revolution in Georgia ~763-1789 (Athens, Ga University of Georgia Press, 1958), PP: 126-29 130 Maj Gen Augustin Prevost to Lord George Germain, commanding the British troops in Georgia, November 1, 1779 British Public Records Office, America & West Indies, Vol 155, p 351 Copied in the London Gazette, #12042, December 21-25, 1779, and also in B F. Stevens' Facsimiles, /12020 131 Ibid 132 Diary of Benjamin Lincoln, September 3, 1779 - October 19, 1779. Manuscript Department of the Library of Congress 133 Affid~vit of Sheftall Sheftall, dated October 15, 1832, contained in the Revolutionary Pension Records (S-31959) of Sheftall Sheftall, in the National Archives Hereafter referred to as "Sheftall Pension Record " 134 George Walton at Belfast to Maj Gen Benjamin Lincoln, September 29, 1779 Original in possession of Maine Historical Society 135 Augustine Prevost to Benjamin Lincoln, September 11, 1779. Original in C C Jones' Dead Towns of Georgia, Special Collections, University of Georgia Library 136 George Walton in Sunbury to Maj Gen Benjamin Lincoln, October 13, 1779 Original in possession of Maine Historical Society 137 "Sheftall Pension Record " 138 Captain Thomas Morris in St Croix to Henry Laurens, president of the Cont'i-nental Congress, March 30, 1780 "Papers of the Continental Congress," National Archives Microfilm #247, Roll 99, Vol 78, Pt. 16, p 21 139 Captain Thomas Morris to George Walton, November 18, 1779 Original in possession of New York Historical Society 140. Original documents on the Sheftall family are in possession of Mrs. Marion Abrahams Levy Photocopies are in possession of John M Sheftall. Memorials of William Watson, Thomas Dickinson, and John Martin, "Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives Microfilm, #247, Roll 52, Item 41, Vol 10, p 448 141 Loyalist Claims for Roger Kelsall, James Kitching, M~thias Lapina, Simon Munro, Simon Patterson, and Charles Watts, on Microfilm in Georgia Departme~t of Archives and History. Originals in the British Public Records Office Hereafter, all references to the Loyalist claims will be cited as Loyalist Claims and followed by the name of the memorialist. 232 142 Petition and papers of Mathias Lapina deposited in the Georgia Historical Society, "Georgia (Colony), Governor and Council Papers," Folder 1, File 277 143 Ibid 144 "Minutes of the Governor and Council," September 20, 1780, Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol X, pp 127-28 145 Loyalist Claims, Roger Kelsall, Simon Munro, Simon Patterson, and Charles Watts. 146. Foot soldiers are mentioned as being posted in Sunbury on November 23, 1779, in the "Minutes of the Governor and Council," Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol X, p 67. 147 Loyalist Claims, Roger Kelsall, Simon Munro, and Charles Watts. 1~8. Governor Wright to Brig Gen Paterson, February 14, 1780, CGR, Vol. 38, Pt 2, pp 277-81. Governor Wright to Lord George Germain, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State, July 19, 1780, CGR, Vol. 38, Pt 2, p 377. 149 Governor Wright to Lord George Germain, October 27, 1780, Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol 3, pp. 321-22 150. McCall, p. 529 151. Ibid , p. 531 152. Loyalist Claims, Roger Kelsall and Simon Paterson. 153. LeConte, p 66. Chapter 5 154 Jones, Dead Towns, pp. 205-06 155 RRG, Vol 2, p 434 A copy of an act passed by the Executive Council of Georgia on January 31, 1783, was ordered to be served to "the military Commanding Officer of the Garrison, the Commissary of Prisoners, and the Collector for the Port of Sunbury in the County of Liberty ... " 156 Liberty County Deed Book DD, pp. 55, 181 157 Marbury and Crawford, Digest of the Laws of the State of Georgia (Savannah Seymour, Woo1hopter, and Stebbins, 1802), pp 128-29. 158 Jones, Dead Towns, p 212 The regulatory act of 1791 was amended once in 1804 The amendment changed the date of the commissioners' election 233 from the first Monday in January to the first Monday in August It further directed the town commissioners to act as ex-officio justices of the peace within the town limits [Clayton, Compilation of the Laws of ~he Laws ~f the State of Georgia (Augusta Adams & Duyckinck, 1813), pp 213-14)] 159 E~tract from the "Minutes of the Executive Council," Gazette of the tate of Georgia, May 27; 1784, p 1, c 2 160 Memorial to John Lawson and David Rees from "Sundry Ladies inhabitants of Sunbury," Telamon Cuyler Collection, Special Collections, University of Georgia Library The petitioners were "Mary Baker, Elizabeth Peacock, M.P Mcintosh, S.P Maxwell, P Lockerman, Ann Oswald, E 'Rees, Elizabeth Lawson, Esther Dunwody, Mary Lawson, C Coddington, Hannah Peacock, D. Schmidt, Esther Alexander, Mary Ann Ladson, S.D. Schmidt, c. Schmidt, F Schmidt, Jane Dollar, M Hardy, Jane Mulryne, and Elizabeth Pomeray." 161. Marbury and Crawford, p 567 Subsequent to the initial appointment by the Georgia Legislature of commissioners for the Sunbury Academy, various other Sunbury residents held that distinctive position. The commissioners in 1791 were James Dunwody, James Powell, Francis Coddington, Abiel Holmes, and John Elliott [Liberty County Deed Book B, p. 470]. On October 20, 1810, James Holmes, a commissioner at that time, requested the Georgia governor to appoint John Dunwody in his stead [letter in Telamon Cuyler Collection, Special Collections, University of Georgia Library] 162. Gazette -of-th-e State of Georgia, October 2, 1788, p 3, c 1 163 Ibid 164 Ibid ' p 2, c 1 165 Ibid 166 Jones, Dead Towns, pp 213-15 167 Petition from the Congregational Society of Sunbury to Governor Edward Telfair, Telamon Cuyler Collection, Special Collections, University of Georgia Library The petitioners were "Reuben Hitchcock, Minister of the Congregation, F Coddington, David Rees, Jas Powell, J. Lawson, Junr , Selectmen, Elkanah Doolittle, Clerk, E Henry Schmidt, P. Augustin Bishop, J Lawson Senr, J Dunwody, Jno Baker, Stafford Somersall, John Blackstock, Ad Alexander, John Graves, and John Bighlheimmer." The charter of incorporation for the Congregational Society, dated March 20, 1790, is recorded in Liberty County Deed Book G, pp 357-58. 168 Midway Church called the Rev Hitchcock, minister of the Congregational Church at Sunbury, on July 11, 1791, to preach for them on every third Sabbath According to the Records of the Midway Congregational Church, the Rev Hitchcock agreed to the proposal and began to preach at Midway on July 31, 1791 234 169 _Re_c_:_ord~ of !_he Mid~a_y Co[!_grcga ti C?_~_~'!.J_ Church "April 29, 1810 The fol- lowing persons, having been rec'd in Sunbury as members in communion by the Revd Mr McWhir, requested to he considered as members of this church untill that in Sunbury become organized, Viz Mr Jedh Fields, Mrs Ann Maxwell, Mrs. Arnette Ariens, Miss Betsey Alexander, Miss Jane Irvine, and Mr R B. Law " I 170 Colonial Georgia Bond Book DD~, Georgia Department of Archives and History, pp 277-80 171 In the unpublished Recollections of John Stevens, deposited in Midway Museum, Midway, Ga., Stevens spoke of the ordination of the Rev. Jesse H Campbell in the Sunbury Baptist Church on December 26, 1830 172 The most complete history of the Indian incursions against Liberty County is contained in LeConte's unpublished History of Liberty County Georgia, pp 80-95 Chapter 6 173 E Merton Coulter, A Short Risto~ ~f Georgia (Chapel Hill, N C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1933), pp. 193-94. 174. The Secretary of War to Alexander Macomb, January 26, 1808, in the "Buell Collection of Historical Documents Relating to the Corps of Engineers, 1801-9," National Archives Microfilm Publications /1417, Roll 1, Item 11136 175 Alexander Macomb to the Secretary of War, November 1, 1808, "Buell Collection .,"Item /1184. 176 Conununication to Congress on January 6, 1809, "being a statement of the works of defence and of their progress toward completion," American State Papers, Class 5, Vol 1, pp 236-37 177 Joseph G Swift to William McRee, July 24, 1812, "Buell Collection. " 178 William McRee to Joseph G Swift, August 16, 1812, "Buell Collection . ," Item /1344 In this letter, McRee mentioned that the Sunbury inhabitants were erecting two batteries The present writer has been unable to find any subsequent reference to these batteries, and he must therefore assume one of two things Either the works were actually never built, or they were of a relatively insignificant nature and considered of no importance in the overall need for defending the town 179 Isidore Stauff to Georgia Governor John Clark, January 19, 1821, Telaman Cuyler Collection Stauff requested the governor in this letter to secure for him the position of civil engineer of the state. In order to enhance his qualifications, Stauff mentioned his previous employment by General Swift Additionally, Stouff quoted a letter of appreciation from Swift, written August 31, 1812, part of which is quoted in the text. 235 180 Thomas Pinckney to Joseph G Swift, November 28, 1812, "Joseph Gardner Swift Papers," U.S. Military Academy Library, West Point, N.Y. In spite of Pinckney's decision not to defend the Sunbury harbor, he did not totally overlook the town's need for protection. On July 28, 1812, he ordered an examination of the number and state of the ordnance pieces reported to be in Sunbury. Subsequent references to the Sunbury ordnance would seem to indicate that Pinckney's report was wrong -- there was no ordnance in the town in 1812 What pieces had been used in Fort Morris during the Revolution were undoubtedly removed by the British when they evacuated the town Pinckney to the Secretary of War, July 28, 1812, "Letters to the Secretary of War, Registered Series," National Archives Microfilm Publications #221, Roll 47, #196 ] 181. Pinckney to the Secretary of War, July 28, 1812 [see above] 182. Recollections of John Stevens, p 51 183 Ibid , pp 51-53 184 Ibid , pp 53-54 185 Ibid , pp 56-57 186. Jesse H Campbell, "Reminiscences of the War of 1812," Macon Telegraph and Messenger, July 4, 1873 187 Governor D B Mitchell to John Mcintosh, March 8, 1813, Georgia Governor's Letter Book, 1809-14, Georgia Department of Archives and History, pp 94-95 Governor D B Mitchell to John Mcintosh, June 13, 1813, Georgia Governor's Letter Book, 1809-14, pp 108-12. 188 Ibid , Mitchell to Mcintosh, June 13, 1813 189 Recollections of John Stevens, pp 57-58 190 Thomas Pinckney to Colonel Jack, October 25, 1813, Letterbook of MajorGeneral Thomas Pinckney, October 15, 1813-May 11, 181~, South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S C Pinckney mentioned in this letter to Colonel Jack that he had received Jack's request to remove Captain Warley's detachment from Sunbury Pinckney states: "I had only selected the post of Sunbury, because I imagined it would be healthy during the summer, & might be convenient in other respects, but I have no objection to their removal, whenever you may judge most advantageous to the service " 191 Records concerning the detachment of troops sent to Sunbury under Major Bowling come from the following sources Edward Harden correspondence contained in File Two, Georgia Department of Archives and History, William Byne to Governor Peter EarJy, March 10, 1814, File Two for William Byne, Georgia Department of Archives and History, letter from Governor Early to Robert Bowling, dated April 6, 1814, Georgia Governor's Letter Book, 1809-14, pp 224-25, and "Bill of Jeremiah Miller for transportation," ~rgia Military Affairs, Vol. 4, 1814-19, 236 typescript prepared by Georgia Department of Archives and History, 1940, p 146 192 Ibid 193 The list of this citizens' organization, dated November 17, 1812, is preserved in Receipts for Payments of Executive Warrants, November 1812 -March 1817, #10, Georgia Department of Archives and History The members of the committee were John Bacon, John A Cuthbert, William Fleming, John Stephens, and John Winn 194 Recollections of John Stevens, p. 58 195 John B Mallard, A Short Account of the Midway Congregational Church (Savannah, 1840) 196 Ibid 197 Letters from the Adjutant General's Office of the Southern Division, March 29, 1813- Feb 27, 1815, in the National Archives, Vol 679, Record~Group 98, Entry#3~ 164 198 Ibid , pp 182-84 199 Ibid , p 205. 200 Governor Peter Early to Thomas Pinckney, October 27, 1814, Georgia Governor's Letter Book, 1814-21, in the Georgia Department of Archives and History, p 45 201 Ibid , pp 47-48 202 Recollections of John Stevens, p 57 Also Mallard, A Short Account. 203 Campbell 204 Letters from the Adjutant General's Office of the Southern Division, pp. 227-28 205 Recollections of John Stevens, p 57 206 Journal of the House of Representatives for 1814, Milledgeville, Wednesday, November 2, 1814 Georgia Department of Archives and History. 207 Journal of the Senate for 1814, Milledgeville, Tuesday, November 1, 1814 Georgia Department of Archives and History 208 John Pray, etal , to Governor Early, January 2, 1815 Telamon Cuyler Collection 209 Daniel Stewart to Governor Early, January 10, 1815 Telamon Cuyler Collection 237 210 "Account of the Attack on St Marys," Letterbook of Letters Received .Qy George Cockburn, 1812-15, George Cockburn Papers, in the Library of Congress, Manuscript Department, Vol 38, pp 482-91, 510-12. 211 Stephen F Miller, ed , Memoir of Genera~ David Blackshear (Philadelphia J B Lippincott & Co , 1858), p 459 212 The plan of Sunbury harbor, drawn by James Gadsen in 1814, provides the only known evidence indicating that the name of the fort built near Sunbury in 1814-15 was "Fort Defiance " The fort is labeled as "Defiance" on Gadsen's map, but whether the name was widely used or not has not been determined 213 Joseph G Swift to Lieutenant James Gadsen, March 8, 1815, "Buell Collection ~" Item /1545 214 James Gadsen to Joseph G Swift, June 1, 1815, "Buell Collection ... ," Item lt559 215 Corps of Engineer Reports, July }, 1812 - Oct i, 1823, deposited in the National Archives, Records of the War Department, Records Group 77, Series /1221, pp 108-9 Chapter 7 216 Jones, Dead Towns, p 221. 217. A map of Liberty County, drawn by John W Stacy, clearly shows the route of two railroad lines passing through the county. The date, 1829, which is ascribed to the map, must be considered in error, for no railroads existed in Liberty County at that time. This map is printed in the History of the Midway Congregational Church, p 288 218 An excellent description of the 1824 hurricane is contained in the Recollections of John Stevens, pp 61-66 219 Jones, Dead Jown~, p 217. 220 Ibid , pp 220-21 221 Ibid., p 218 222 Paul Mcilvaine, The pea