Georgia history stories / by J. Harris Chappell

STATES

'

BY
"J. HARRIS C HAPPELL, PH.D.
PRESIDENT OF THE GEORGIA NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE.
ILLUSTRATED

COPY RIGHT, 1905, BY
SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPAQV.

To My Mother s. Loretto Lamar
i ; A native and life-long Georgian, now in her eightyseventh year, this little book about the State and the people she loves so well is affectionately dedicated.
4888

In this book the author has undertaken to relate

what seemed to him to be the most interesting events in

the history of Georgia, from the planting of the colony

in 1733 to the years immediately preceding the. War of

Secession. The narrative, as a rule, is adapted to children

from twelve to fifteen years of age; however, the author

"'y believes that it will be interesting reading for grown

people, and for youths of some maturity. In several

instances the author has found that the subjects treated

, could not be well presented in the form of children's

l#k :' .

'

>:stories. Such is especially the case with nearly all that

is contained in Part III, the Development Period.

In preparing this volume the author has read and

studied with the utmost care a great many books bear

ing on Georgia's history. He has also done much

-.original investigation. His aim above all things has

to make his wpfk authentic and reliable. While >>.

has tried to wr/ite in an attractive style, he has re

frained from tricing with his subject a fault too com-

with manyy writers of the so-called history stories

the .facts and information contained in this volume are , derived:

. - History of Georgia to 1798. By Rev. W. B. Stevens. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1859.

History of Georgia to end of American Revolution. By C. C. Jones. 2 vols. Boston, 1883.

James Ogleihorpc. By Henry Bruce. New York, 1890.

History of Alabama. By Albert J. Pickett. Charleston, 1851.

Miscellanies of Georgia. By Absalom H. Chappell. Colum bus, 1S74.

Story of Georgia and the Georgia People. By Rev. G. G. Smith. Macon, 1900.

Historical Collections of Georgia. By Rev. George White. N-ew York, 1854.

The Salzburgers. By P. A. Strobe! Baltimore, 1855. 'Tomo-chi-chi, Mico of the Yamacraivs. By C. C. Jones. Sa

vannah, 1876.

Dead Toivns of Georgia. By C. C. Jones. Savannah, 1878. School History of Georgia. By Law-ton B. Evans. New

York, 1898.

School History of Georgia. By Charles H. Smith. Boston,

1896.

Stories of Georgia. By Joel Chandler Harris. New York,

1896.

Life of Gen. James Jackson. By Thomas M. P. Charlton.

Augusta, 1809.

r^ Life of George M., Troup. By E. J. Harden. ..Savannah, 1840. Case of the-Cherokee Indians -Against; the State of Georgia.
By Richard Peters. Philadelphia, 1831. :./. Georgia and State Rights. By Ulrich B. Phillips. Washmg-

. 1902-

:>" " ^' ' '

?

>3:.;-:.'..'. ;-'..

Pref' ace.

vii

' -Memories of Fifty Years. By W. H. Sparks. Philadelphia,

1870.

i. Recollections of a Georgia Loyalist. By Elizabeth L. John-

fS?stone. New York, : . 1901. .v

t"

",

Historical Sketches of Colonial Florida. By Richard L. Camp-

, bell. Cleveland, 1892,

Historical Record of_ Savannah. By F. D. Lee and J. L.

Agnew. Savannah, 1869.

American State Papers (numerous volumes).

Pamphlets on Georgia Colonial history.

The author is also indebted to that scholarly gentle man, Mr. Otis Ashmore, Superintendent of Schools, Savannah, for valuable aid; to Mrs. J. J. Wilder, Sa vannah, President of the Society of Colonial Dames of Georgia, and Mrs. R. E. Park, Atlanta, Ex-Regent of the Georgia Daughters of the American Revolution, for information on particular points ; and to numerous per sons in different parts of Georgia for their prompt and satisfactory answers to special questions addressed to them.

The author hopes his book will prove instructive and interesting both to the youth and to the adults of Georgia, and that it may be found valuable as a supplementary reader in the schools of the State.

-:' '---,..

"

T. HARRIS CHAPPELL.

^

.

PART I. COLONIAL PERIOD.
Page.
CHAPTER I. JAMES OGLETHORPE. I. Oglethorpe's Early Career ........ 1 II. Oglethorpe's 'Georgia Colony Enterprise .... 7
CHAPTER II. FOUNDING OF SAVANNAH. L Seeking a Location . . . . . . . . . ... 13 II. PJ_ajiJin^Lh:e^.:Co|oiiy . . . . ... . . . . 19
CHAPTER III. TOMO-CHI-CHI, Mico OF THE YAMACRAWS. I. Tomo-chi-chi's Treaty with Oglethorpe .... 27 II. Tomo-chi-chi's Visit to England ...... 33
III. Tomo-chi-chi's Religious Views ....... 39 IV. Tomo-chi-chi's Florida Expedition ...... 42 V. Tomo-chi-chi's Death and Burial . .... . . . 49
CHAPTER IV. THE SALZBURGERS. I. Persecution in Austria .......... 54 II. Emigration to Georgia ........... 57
III. Old Ebenezer ............ 61 IV. New Ebenezer . . . . . . . ..... . 64
CHAPTER V. THE HIGHLANDERS ......... 74
: . -CHAPTER VI. FREDERICA ..... o ..... 79
.; tnAFTER VII. THE SPANISH WAR. /f"'' A/ /I, Preparations for the War .......... 87 J^7 II. Siege of St. .Augustine . ; . ....... 92
III. Battle of St. Simon's Sound ......... 98 - -IV. Bloody Marsh .........'... 102

x

.

Contents.

PART IL REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. Page.
CHAPTER IX. THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA . . . . .119
CHAPTER X. CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH.
I. Arrival of the. British Fleet ........ 131 ll. Quash Dci;y and the Flank Movement ..... 137

CHAPTER XL THREE GEORGIA TORIES.
I. Thomas Brown ............ 145 IL Daniel McGirth .....'....... 151 III. Colonel Grierson ........... 155

CHAPTER XII. THREE GEORGIA PATRIOTS.
I. Elijah Clarke ............ II. James Jackson ....... ...... 1G4 III. John Twiggs ............. 172

CHAPTER XIII. SIEGE OF SAVANNAH.
I. D'Estaing Outwitted .......... II. The Bombardment ............ III. The Assault and Pulaski's Death . . . . . . IV. Death of Sergeant Jasper .........

173 176 178 . 185

CHAPTER XIV. NANCY HART .......... 192 '

PART III. DEVELOPMENT PERIOD.
CHAPTER XV. ALEXANDER MCGILLIVRAY.
L McGillivray's Pedigree and Early Career .... 204 II. McGillivray in the Revolution . . . . . . . 207 III. The Oconee War .......... . 210 IV. The Treaty of New York . . . ....... 218 V; William Augustus Bowles ......... 225 VI. Passing of McGillivray ......... 231

Contents.

x

CHAPTER XVI. THE YAZOO FRAUD.

y

Page.

y]A The Yazoo Country and the Speculators .... 235

II. "The Yazooists" and Their Scheme . . . . 237

III. Passage of the Yazoo Act ...-.'. . . . . . 241

IV. James Jackson and the Day of Wrath ..... 244

V. Repeal of the Yazoo Act ......... 248

CHAPTER XVII. TROUP AND THE TREATY.
I. Status of Indian Affairs in Georgia in 1823 . . . 251 II. The Indian Spring Treaty .......... 255 III. Murder of Mclntosh .......... 261 IV. Troup's Altercation with Major Andrews and
General Gaines . . . . . . . . . . . 226 V. Troup's Controversy with the Federal Government . 271 : VI. Declaration of War ........... 277 VII. "All's Well that Ends Well" ...... . . 279 VIII. Last Days of Troup .......... 283

CHAPTER XVIII. GEORGIA AND THE CHEROKEES.
I. Early Relations ............ 285 II. Civilizing of the Cherokees ........ 288 III. Political Status of the Cherokees . . . . .. . 291 IV. Georgia and the Cherokees Lock Horns .... 2U4 V. Georgia and the Gold Diggers ....... 298 VI. The Cherokee Nation vs. The State of Georgia . . 300 VII. Worcester and Butler vs. The State of Georgia . . 304 VIII. Georgia's Aggressions .......... 308 IX. Treaty Factions ............. 310 X. Expulsion of the Cherokees ........ 314 XI. Assassination of the Treaty Chiefs ...... 320

CHAPTER XIX; EXPANSION OF GEORGIA.
I. Georgia at the Close of the Revolution ..... 322
II. First Expansion: From the Ogeechee - tp ^thex ' Oconee .... ... . ... . *:." *'-% -.326;

xii
III. IV. V. VI. VII.

'' -." :

Conten ^.-b: > :; ^ -" :/t''" ;'

Second Expansion:

>>:...:-'. . . : .-' -:?:':.,

-.

-,).-.

-. - *i.

Page,

From the Oconee to the Oc-

mulgee .............. 333

Third Expansion: From the Ocmulgee to the Flint . 340

Fourth Expansion: South Georgia and Its Slow

Development . ... . . . . . . . . 344

Fifth Expansion: From the Flint to the Chatta-

hoochee .............. 346

Sixth Expansion: The Cherokee Country , . . 349

CHAPTER XX. GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS OF 1840.
I. The Mountains ............ 353
IT.. The Up Country ....'........ 350 III. The Cotton Belt ............ 3^7 IV. The Sea-Coast ............ 364.
V. South Georgia . .'.......... 369

^ ..



Page.

'James Oglethorpe. (Portrait and Autograph^} . . Frontispiece.

The'Duke of Maryborough ........... 3

Prince Eugene of Savoy ........... 4

The Houses of Parliament ............ 5

A Philanthropist Visiting the Debtors' Prison ..... 7

King George II .............. 9

The River at Savannah as It Appears To-day .... 15

The Colony of Georgia ........ ... 25

Tomo-chi-chi and Toonahovvi .......... 37

John Wesley Teaching the Indians ........ 40

Map Showing Settlements .......... 43

Mouth of the St. John's River as It Appears To-day . . . 45

George \Yhiifiekl Preaching .......... 50

Tomo-chi-chrs Grave ............ 53

Queen Caroline .............. 68

Jerusalem Church at Ebenezer ...>..... 70

A'.Highland Officer .......<,..... 75

W|sley Oak at Frederica . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Ruins of the Old Fort at Frederica . . . .-.../. . ' 85

The Old Spanish Gate at St. Augustine ....... 94

St. jMark's Castle, St. Augustine ......... 97

of St. Simon's, Island . . . . ... ... ,.:

xiv ,. ' "" " Illustrations and

. "''"' "-

: ,/ : : .

Page;,

Oglethorpe at the Age of Ninety-two . . \ . . . . 115;

English Stamps for America ... . . . . . . . . JjJtJ

King George III .............. I 22 '

Colonists Burning the Stamp Seller in Effigy ..... 123'

William Pitt ............... 129;

George Walton .............. 133

Button Gwinnett ............... 134

Lyman Hall ............... 131

Lachlan Mclntosh ............. 135

Noble Jones ............... 136

Joseph Ilabcrsham ............. ''30

General Robert Howe ... ......... 137

Residence of George Walton at Augusta ...... 148

Colonel Andrew Pickens ........... 158

'"'Light Horse Harry" Lee . . . ... . . . . . 161

\ James Jackson .............. 165

General Benjamin Lincoln ........... 167

Lee's Cavalry Skirmishing ........... 169

General Anthony Wayne ........... 171

Count d'Estaing . . . . . . . .

. . . . . 173

Count Pulaski ............... 175

Monument to Pulaski ............ 184

Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie ......... 1S6

Monument to Sergeant Jasper .......... 100

Indians Plundering Cattle on a Frontier Plantation . . . 213

George^ Washington . . . . . . ^; .;; . . . . .. 218

Stone or Rock1 Mountain . . . . .... . . . 220

William Augustus Bowles ........... 226

Nathaniel Grcene ........... 238

Illustrations and Maps.

xv

Page. Mclntosh ............. 254

"Governor George M. Trbup . . . . . . . . . . 255

$* President Monroe

......... . . . 257

lipthiefs of the .Creek Nation and a Georgia Squatter . - ,, . 261

President John Quincy Adams ...... '. . . 266

General Edmund P. Gaines .......... 269

State House at Milledgeville .......... 278

Major Ridge"" ............... 289

'John Ridge ............. , . 289

Governor George M. Gilmer .......... 296

William Wirt ................ 302

John Marshall ............... 303

r President Jackson ............. 307

Governor Wilson Lumpkin .....,... 308

President Van Buren ... ......... 310

General Winfield Scott ............ 317

Walton-Hall-Gwinnett Monument at Augusta . . . 323

Map Showing Expansion of Georgia ........ 325

A Block-House .............. C23

Family of a Pioneer in the Interior of Georgia .... 329

Emigrants and Plantation Wagon ......... 330

Oglethorpe University . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

The University of Georgia ........... 337

^Picking Cotton on a Georgia Plantation- ....... 339

vJScene on a Cotton Plantation . . . . . ... . . 343

/Columbus, as It Appeared When First Settled . . . . . 348

{.Cabin of a Mountain Settler . . . . . . .

. 354

(A Mountaineer. .............. 355

u7. llf'l Mountaineer Mother and Daughter . . . . . .-.".- 355^

XVI

Illustrations and Maps.

^

.''.'.. Page, ';;

City Hall at Augusta . . ... . . . . . ... 358. /

Medical College, Augusta .... 0 ...... 358

A Black Mammy and Her Charge . .' . . . . . . 361 Type of Middle Georgia Slave: Family Cook ...... 362

Type of Middle Georgia Slave: Mulatto House-Maid . . 363

A Mountaineer and His Wood Cart ....... 364

A Piny \Voodsman and His Splinter Care ... ... 364

PART I.

CHAPTER I. .*f**> x JAMES OGLETHOKPE.
r. OGLETHORPE'S EARLY CAREER.

James Oglethorpe was born at Westminster, Eng

land, on June 1st, 1689. While he was yet a babe in

the cradle it mi&ght'have been expr ected%/&t/h- at he would 5ecome a great man, for he came of a family of great

people. Six hundred years before he was born, one of

his ancestors, Sheriff Oglethorpe, was a high officer in

the English arrny and was killed in the famous Battle

of Hastings while bravely fighting for his country

against the invader, William the Conqueror. This

brave soldier had many distinguished ,descendants, the

greatest of whom was James Oglethorpe.

James's father, Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, also was

officer in the English army. He fought with

many battles and rose to the high, rank

-General. When he was forty years ,old, he

from the army and settled down in an elegant

le -in. the, little

m

thirty miles froin London. He lived'In great affluence with his family, and his children had the best educa tional advantages that could be obtained in Europe in that day. James's mother was a Scotch-Irish lady of fine family and of good education. She was counted one of the cleverest and shrewdest English women of her day. She was one of the Ladies of the Court to "Good Queen Anne" and was a leader in society and a pow.;r in politics. She was a woman of strong will and no doubt had great influence in forming the char acter of her distinguished son.
James grew to be a tall, lithe, handsome youth, quiet mannered, good natured, and high spirited. Here is a story that illustrates both his good nature and his high spirits ilWhen a youth of seventeen, while on a visit to Paris, he was invited to dine in company with a number of distinguished military men. He sat at the table by the side of. the Prince of Wurtemberg, an officer of high rank and a noted society man. The prince, thinking to have some fun at young Oglethorpe's expense, by a dexterous twirl of his glass flipped some drops.of wine into his face. The prank was noticed by the company, and a smile "went Hound /the table. ^ Young Oglethorpe did not relish being made a butt of 4ridicule, even by so great a man as .the Prince of Wur- x

James Oglethorpe.

temberg, but he kept his temper. With a smile on his

he said, in polite French, "Well done, prince; but

do it even better than that in England/' whereupon

he dashed a whole glass of wine full into the prince's

face. The prince flushed with .rage and it looked as if

the affair would end in a serious difficulty, but an old

officer on the other side of the table quickly exclaimed,

''Come now, prince, don't get angry; it was rightly done

by the youngster; you started it!" Then the prince

joined the others in a

hearty laugh and the in

cident passed off pleas

antly, j /*--J
/ Oglethorpe was ed

ucated at a military

school, and before lie

was twenty he joined

\the English army.. Pie

served with the rank of

.ensign under the great

^Jpu.&e of Marlborbugh in

The Duke of Maryborough. Y

:the Flanders .War. After the war was over, he with-"

drew from the army and attended college for a year or

...... .

. ' - ^-<^'-, . :'.':;> .v.-

vifors to fight at that time, he wetft^Sver'* to the Conti

nent

and

joined

the

Austrian

army,

which

was- then

engaged in a war with the Turks. The leader of the

Austrian army was Prince Eugene of Savoy, the most

brilliant soldier of his

day. He was a small

man but a ereat general,

O

O

'

"a bright little soul with

a flash in him as or"

heaven's own lightning,"

as Carlyle, the famous

English writer, said of

him. Prince Eueene. took

a very decided liking to

young Oglethorpe and

Prince Eugene of Savoy.

made him his aide-de

camp, with the rank of Captain. By the side of this "bright

little soul with a flash in him as of heaven's own light-

' ning," Oglethorpe thoroughly learned the soldier's trade

and fought with dashing valor in many desperate bat

tles. These were his romantic days, and he always loved

to talk about them. When he was an old,. old man,

nearly a hundred years old, he--^oiil^;^ilar:r|iV> brilliant

company with his vivid descriptions, of the battles in

which he had fought by/the side \of Prince Eugene.,_

James Oglethorpc.

When the Turkish war was over, he returned to\

I . Jl^gland . and settled down to ways of peace.

\ His

father and elder brothers died, and he inherited the

family estates. He was now a very rich man. but. he

lived a simple and sober life. He was elected to

Parliament and served as a member for many years.

While he was in Parliament, an event occurred that

The Houses of Parliament.
turned his attention toward America and caused him .become the founder of Georgia. This is how it

^..rf
:/, ere was a cruel law in England at that time by

s6 /

-

} which a person in .debt might be thrown into prison

6

Georgia History Stones.

/

cent of'a"nv crim' e, languish' ed in the' s e debtors'' prison'':$sf Pl 9 ;,
.Oglethorpe had a dear friend, a Mr. Robert Casteiy| |

who was a scholar and an artist. He wrote a fmej

book on architecture, which he illustrated with splen-j

.did pictures drawn by his own hand. He was so muchSfr ?

taken up with writing the book that he neglected his

business affairs, and when the book was published :.

instead of making money for him it brought him

heavily in debt, and he was condemned to be cast into

the debtors' prison. In the prison to which he was

assigned, smallpox was at that time raging, and he had"?

never had the disease. He begged the prison keeper,

a heartless wretch by the name of Bambridge, to let

him lie in the common jail until the prison should be

freed of the smallpox or until his friends could arrange f

'T* to pay his debts for him, which he was sure would /' > be done in the course of a few months. Bambridge
agreed to do so if Castell would pay him down in cash

a certain sum of money as a bribe, but poor Castell 'f

had noi the money, so he was thrown, into the small

pox-infested prison, where he soon contracted, the t|

disease; and after a few days' suffering .he died anj|:

''...

,'' '"'< ' "'!;". -'> -'":'' ' ' .

:. ' .flf:

awful death, leaving his wife and -little children

. poverty stricken and helpless.

When Oglethorpe heard, of this outrage his bloodfif

Jaines 0glethorpe.
boiled with indignation. He at once introduced a bill in Parliament to have a committee appointed to ex amine the prisons of England and bring about a re form in their management. The bill was passed, Oglethorp'e was made Chairman of the Committee, and, with the other members, he spent several months visit-

A Philanthropist Visiting the Debtors' Prison.

ing the prisons. He found in them many practices

of shocking cruelty, all of which were immediately

abolished.

'

1.17 OGLETHORPE'S GEORGIA COLONY ENTERPRISE.

tude of humanity, but he did not stop at this. While HI

visiting

the

' prisons

his

sympathies

were

deeply

~"V:i|,..aroused ^|

for the poor debtors whom he found languishing be- -Spl

hind iron bars, though innocent of any crime.

He

^| | '^f ,'

determined to try to do something to help them out of ''

their sad condition. By -his earnest appeals he got

Parliament to pass a law by which they might be set .'., \

free, provided they would agree to go to America and

4

establish there for .Lngland a new colonv on a broad

strip of unsettled country already claimed by her, south

of the_..avannah River. It lay next to Florida, which ^ t

then belonged to Spain and had been colonized by her.

The Spaniards were at that time one of the most powerful

and warlike nations in the world, and in their hearts t . "T
they were very hostile to the English, although not v *

openly at war with them. The Spanish soldiers were

bold, skillful, and heartless ; so much so that some one

said of them, "A Spanish soldier is a machine of steel

with the devil inside of it!"

..

>

Fortunately for Oglethorpe's enterprise, King George

II of England was anxious to plant colonies in his unoc

cupied possessions south of the Savannah .River as a pro- r ,i|.

tection for South Carolina against the%old and unscrupu- : T>|M

lous Spaniards of Florida. So he gladly granted to Ogle- "v

thorpe "for the use of debtors and other" poor persons" - '^"i

;.

James Oglethorpe.

9

11 the country between the Savannah and the Altamaha
I [Rivers, and as far westward as they might choose to eo.
^ijjjjS,-
||fThis strip -of country was named Georgia in honor
f qf King George. A Board of Trustees, consisting of thirty-six members, among whom were some of the

King George II. /\ men in England, was appointed by to have entire charge of planting, establishing, the new colony. They were to serve llgut pay or compensation of any sort. It must be of ."love with them. 1 The. good arid great ':

10

Georgia History Stories. "

Lord Perceval was president of the Board, an

thorpe was one of the members. The Trustees set aboutjg\

raising money to pay the cost of establishing the colony,^;] > ^.^
for the poor people who were to go were not able to:j||jj . i%* sj
pay any part of their own expenses. Parliament made^

quite a liberal appropriation for the purpose, and a

larger amount still was raised by public subscription ,

from benevolent people in all parts of England. Al

together, the Trustees soon had in hand SloO/lOO. which

was sufficient to establish a small colony..
:' J
At one of the meetings of the Trustees it was sug-;| |

gested that some member of the Board, a man of edu- .

cation and ability, should go over to America with the !

first colonists as their Governor and live in Georgia > 'J1 with them until they were, well and thoroughly estab-".| |

lished. Oglethorpe nobly volunteered to go, and the ;

Trustees were delighted. In undertaking this trying

service, Oglethorpe would have to give up his luxurious ; \

home, the pleasures of, refined-society, and the splendid ./

public career that was fast opening to him in England "

and would have to endure untold hardships, privations,

and dangers; and from it all he had nothing, in a^.

.:

' .

.

'

' '"-.'.-..".,-.

'

fi'.f'^V -'-.- ".'&:*

worldly sense, to ^ain for himself. The Trustees ftadSi

'

^':-^W. >

chosen as the official seal of the Board a group of silkjf^

r.'i

worms spinning their cocoons and,, written underneath,^;

, ^&jf,.

'

-1" '* :rt. i

James Oglethorpe.

11

"the noble motto, "Non sibi sed aliis !"* "Not for thernJ|sejyes but for others!" As those of you who .have fefedied Latin know, the word sibi may also be correctly ^translated himself. The motto truly expressed the spirit
of Oglethorpe in volunteering to go on this trying ex pedition, "Non sibi scd aliis!" "Not for "himself but for others!" He was at this time forty* -three y/ ears old ajid. was yet unmarried. So far as we know, he had never had a sweetheart. Perhaps he was so busy that he had never had time to fall in love!
When it was known that the great and good Ogle-. thorpe himself would accompany the expedition, hun dreds and hundreds of poor people, debtors and others, were anxious to go, but only a few could be taken. Out -, of the hundreds of applicants, the Trustees carefully selected forty strong, healthy men of good morals and with small families. All together, men, women, and children, the party consisted of-one hundred and twenty iouls. Many poor wretches who begged to go had to be turned away with tears in their eyes and bitter dis^POintment. in their hearts. ||h-The good ship Anne, a sailing vessel of two hundred
Jfe- : ;
i$-.-5 .*^'ie original of this famous seal is in the British Museum, London. iliteyV; years ago a wax impression of it was obtained from the curator of the-

12 " - Georgia History
tons burden, was chartered to take the emigrants across the ocean to. America. In her hold, as she lay moored to the wharf at Gravesend, were stored provisions and all kinds of tools and implements for the journey and for getting the colony well established in Georgia.j Everything was then ready for the voyage.

CHAPTER II.
FOUNDING OF SAVAH-HAH.
I. SEEKING - A LOCATION.
At high noon on the 16th of November, in the year 1732, the good ship Anne spread her white sails and, like some great canvas-winged bird of the sea, flew from the shores of England westward over the Atlantic,
'<
bearing in her kindly bosom James Oglethorpe and his one hundred and twenty emigrants. She did not sail straight for Georgia, but for Charleston, South Caro lina, where Oglethorpe wished to get the advice and help of the Governor of that province in settling his , colony. She reached Charleston on the 13th of Janu ary, 1.733, and cast anchor just outside the harbor bar. Uglethorpe, leaving Iris people on board, was rowed to shore in 311 open boat, and was received with great honor by Governor Johnson and the Legislature of South Carolina, which was then in session. ...,,The Governor had been notified several weeks heifore .that Oglethorpe was coming and he was prepared to...extend to. .him a: hearty welcome. The people of South Carolina were very glad that an English colony

1;:;^ ; 14 v r: -^ 'Georgia Ijistory Stones: :. ;v ^

it would be a protection for them against the fierce

Spaniards of Florida. Governor Johnson offered to do

anything in his power to help Ogle~t~h"~p"r' pe. He ap- i{ff|-': pointed Colonel Bull, one of the most prominent men pin South Carolina, to act as Oglethorpe's guide and^||:

assistant in settling his colony in Georgia and offered "&

to take care of the emigrants until a suitable location

could be found for them.

'

The good ship .-luuc was taken down to Port Royal

Bay where it was safely moored in the harbor. At the

head of the bay was the little town of Beaufort, where ^ \

there was a fort garrisoned by a hundred South Caro- > '

lina soldiers. A new barracks building had just been

erected for the soldiers, but they had not yet moved into

it. Governor Johnson turned this building over to the '-. I

use of the emigrants, and here they were comfortably

housed until Oglethorpe could locate a permanent home /

for them.

Having seen his people thus comfortably provided

for, Oglethorpe started out in search of some favor

able spot on Georgia soil on which to plant his little-

colony. From study of the maps, he had already de

cided tox locate the settlement somewhere^on' the banksS: J

\

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^.of the Savannah River/ that broad and beautiful streamer

/ which, coming down from the northwest, flows for

Founding of Savannah.

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and fifty miles as a boundary line between South I .-Carolina and Georgia, and then, as it nears the sea, I ;^tirns to the left in a graceful scythe-like curve and - V:'^)ours its wealth of waters into the great Atlantic Ocean. ;! ' On the 16th of January, Oglethorpe, accompanied

'.f'"--'-.. ' - ' -'"'<. '" . '\' ' '','* '^.5J%*?'j''v^*i'v;

^ .Copyright, 1901, by the D^t^it Photographic Company.

$'

The River at Savannah, as It Appears To-day.

by Colonel Bull, left Port Royal in a little vessel lent

|Ltov. him by Governor Johnson and manned by four

'|||j. t



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fjf|sailors. 'Me sailed down the South Carolina coast and

[entered the Savannah River where Tybee Island juts

| but as a headland noto the ocean. As he ascended the

fke.ver, he pa'ssed manv-low-lying ba' rren is' lands and flat:

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Georgia I^istory ,

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;'';""-'"' salt marshes covered with rank sea-grass.

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It was an :%,?*"

ugly country, and perhaps Oglethorpe''s brave heart sank -".

within him as he surveyed the dreary prospect. But,

about eighteen miles up the river, the lowlands on the

south bank suddenly rose into a bold, forest-covered -'

bluff forty-five feet high. Here the little vessel was

stopped, arid Uglethurpe and Colonel 'Bull climbed up

the bluff. On top they beheld an extensive level plain

covered, a.- far as the eve could see, with a crrcat woods

of majestic nines huerspersed with bmad. spreading

live-oaks. For several moments Oglethorpe stood en-

.raptured and then exclaimed, "Surely a merciful God

has designed this glorious spot as a restful home for

my poor, persecuted people!'"

Colonel Bull, who had visited. this region before,

told Oglethorpe that at the other end of the bluff, about

three miles from where they stood, there was a small,

isolated Indian tribe called the Yainacraic-s, and that

they were the only Indians within fortvj miles. Os<fj le- . thorpe knew that it was important that he should gain

the good-will of these savages before making his settle

ment; so, accompanied by Colonel Bull, he wrent in

v- *- search of the Indians. He found their^ little town of;-

thirty wigwams scattered about under the trees, in a;

beautiful spot on the edge of the bluff, in full view of

Founding of Savannah.

17

river. The chief, or mico, of the tribe was a ^Wonderful old savage named Tomo-chi-chi* Pie was ninety years old, but was still strong and robust in body and mind. He was over six feet tall and stood straight as the great pine tree under which his wigwam
was pitched. His immediate family consisted of his wife Seenawki and .his nephew Toonahowi, a boy thir teen years old whom he had adopted as his son. He had no living children of his own. . On reaching the village Oglethorpe called for Tomo-chi-chi, and the old savage stepped forth like a king. He was not surprised to see the white men. He had : often seen white people before, for he had once gone to Charleston, where he spent several days while making a treaty with the Governor and the Legislature; moreover, English and Spanish traders had frequently visited his village. Indeed, at this very time there stood out in the woods, a few hundred yards from his wigwam, .: |^log hut occupied as an English "trading post" by a
mani named John Musgrove. Musgrove's wife, Mitsgrove, was a half-breed Indian woman who been reared and educated among the whites in t Carolina: r and; could speak both the Indian..-and-.
SSa$iolS

Tomo-chi-chi's visit to Charleston, she had actecl as

interpreter; find he sent for her now. In a little while

she came, and the interview began.

Oglethorpe told Tomo-chi-chi that he wished to

settle with his colony in the woods near by, but that

they would not interfere in any way with the Yama-

craws; -that they would do no harm but only good to

the Indians, would give them blankets, hatchets, guns,

and other things, and would help them in many way?.

He hoped they might always be good friends and live

as peaceful neighbors. Oglethorpe's noble countenance,

kind manner, and fine promises completely won old

Tomo-chi-chi's heart, and .he said: "There is plenty of

room here for both reel men and white men. Bring

your people on to our woods. As soon as they get

settled, we will call to welcome them." Tomo-chi-chi

was a wise statesman. He knew that the whites might

be of great benefit to the Indians, and that to make

enemies of ,thern would bring certain ruin to the Indians.

Such was the first meeting between these two remark

able men who afterwards became such fast friends, and

who worked together so harmoniously for the founding

of Georgia. Though one was a c'ultiite3^gentleman aiKJJ?

the other a benighted savage, in character they were,

strikingly alike.

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Founding of Savannah.

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^- Oglethorpe and Colonel Bull spent several days in



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, ^.'surveying the surrounding country. Accompanied by

^Jwo or three Yamacraw Indian guides, they would

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^"~ tramp all day long through the deep, dark, beautiful

woods, returning at night to sleep in their little boat at

the foot of the bluff. The more Oglethorpe saw of the

. country, the better he liked it. The high bluff ex-

.

^

tended more than a mile along the river bank and

. stretched back from the stream five miles in a level

plain. Standing on the edge of the bluff, he could see

"the broad sweep of the Savannah River for miles above

and below, as it flowed onward toward the sea. The

< water under the bluff was so deep that big ships could

come right up to the bank.

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II. PLANTING THE COLONY.

On the 5th of February, Oglethorpe, having finished

his survey, got aboard his little vessel and sailed back

t to Port Royal. He found that during his ten days'

' absence his colonists had been most kindly treated by

:, the soldiers and the people of Beaufort. Many of the ' from the surrounding country, too, had called to

hem and liad brought them presents of fat pigs,

:"-' , eggs, butter, and home-made bread. They were I fHi-.good health and fine spirits; and no wonder, for they

*ffi..y"/. *;;. Georgia History Stories.

'_

of the land." On the night after his return, Oglethorpe got them together and described to them the beautiful spot in Georgia that he had selected for their home and told them about the Yamacraw ^Indians. He instructed them to be readv- ,' baqo- and baeoeo'apo'e,' to start for Sfaraunali (as he had already named the place) early on the next Monday morning.
On the Sunday morning before leaving South Carolir.a. the colonists held a special thanksgiving service. After the service, Oglethorpe gave, at his own cxr^pense, a grand dining, to which, in the name of the colonists, he invited the soldiers and all the good South Carolina people that had been so kind to them. v More than three hundred people partook of the feast, at which was served, as we are told by one who was present, four fat hogs, two fine English beeves, eight turkeys,, one hundred chickens and ducks, a hogshead of rum punch, a hogshead of beer, and a barrel of wine. Notwithstanding the large quantity of-liquor consumed, not a man got drunk and perfect order was preserved. This was the .firjstjGreorgia barbecue; for, though spread in South Carolina, it was given by the, .first Georgian and was served in that abundant and 'generous way that has since made Georgia barbecues the most famous of feasts.

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of Savannah.

21

/

The morning following/ the colonists boarded four

Iptle vessels and -sailed away for Georgia. On the

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Afternoon of February 12th, 1733, they landed at the

: " high bluff on the Savannah River. By sunset, they had

spread under the tall pine trees four big, white tents;

and in these the whole colony, one hundred and twenty

souls--men, women, and children--were stored away

"as snug as a bug in a rug." Thus they spent their first

night on Georgia soil. Oglethorpe occupied by himself

a little tent pitched under a group of three tall pine trees.

Early the next morning, the colonists wr ere assembled

in front of Oglethorpe's tent for prayers, which were

conducted by the Chaplain, Rev. Henry Herbert. After

.: prayers Oglethorpe gave them a kind, fatherly talk and

some good advice; and then they went about their work,

the men unloading' the boats and the women putting

their household goods in order.

About eleven o'clock, while they were busy about

their tasks, they were startled by hearing in the distance

/.strange shouting of voices and the beating of some in-.

wl'tunient like a drum. Looking in the direction, of the
IS'-1:
Jtfpund, they saw far away through the level pine forest

Ha band of Indians approaching them. The people were

frightened and began gathering around Ogle-

il*

with

.butxliei

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Georgia History

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soon calmed their fears, for he knew that it was only ^

old Tomo-chi-chi and his followers coming to fulfill ;

his promise, "As soon as your people get settled, we ~

will come to welcome them."

:

In front of the band of visitors marched the Yama- ':"

craw priest, or "medicine man" as the Indians call him.

He was dressed in gaudy and grotesque style; his

face and the upper .part of his body were painted

red, blue, yellow, and black; on the top of his

head were the antlers of a -v oimcor sta<o?, and over his shoulders was thrown the skin of a fawn.

In each hand he carried an outspread fan of eagle's

feathers attached to a long handle which was strung

from top to bottom with little jingling bells. As he

approached, he cut all sorts of queer but graceful

antic?, now crouching lowr down to the ground, then

straightening up to his full height, and every now and

then leaping high into the air, all the time jingling his

bells and keeping 'up a mighty jabber in the Indian

language, while those marching behind him uttered a

strange grunting sound, "Ugh, ugh!'''

As the procession drew near, Oglethorpe stepped-a

few paces in front of his .tent to meet-:them|> Suddenly' $'

'they all stopped still except the "medicine man," who

advanced, walked slowly, with a. stately stride, around ^ ,

Pounding of Savannah.

23

I Oglethorpe, and, stroking him from head to foot with
"'
oiutspread fans, said, or rather ' chanted, over and
iagam In the Indian language, "May there be eternal peace between your people and our people !" After this ceremony was over, old Tomo-chi-chi, taking a buffalo. robe from one of his' attendants, stepped for ward and said to Oglethorpe :
We have come to welcome you as I promised. I have brought you a present. This is the skin of a buffalo, which is the strongest of all beasts; in the in side you see painted the head and feathers of an eagle, which is the swiftest and farthest flying of all birds. So the English are the strongest of all people, and nothing can withstand them ; and they have a swift and far flight like the eagle, seeing that they have flown hulier from the. uttermost parts of the earth, over the vast seas. The eagle's feathers are soft and signify love; the buffalo's robe is warm and signifies protec tion; therefore love and protect our little families.
As he made the speech, Mary Musgrove stood fry*-
side and interpreted what he said, sentence by Oglethorpe was deeply touched. He made, a
kind, noble speech in reply, while the colonists--men, Wmen, and children--stood behind him looking on
io"s'--s'tr'arisje, - imp- ressi'.ve sc' ene'.' ;/'

.%." '-;-'./ Georgia fiistory Stories. v

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Oglethorpe invited his'visitors to stay to dinner, and

they readily accepted. The women of the colony be- :'

stirred themselves mightily to get up a "company- clin-

ner" for their distinguished and unexpected guests, and

they managed to prepare a fine repast. By two o'clock *-

it was ready. In the meantime, the men had no diffi

culty in entertainingo the Indians bv.- showingo them the many wonderful things they had brought from Eng

land. After dinner, as the guests were k-aving. Og!c-

thorpe made each of them a present: a scarlet shawl

with a heavy fringe to Tomo-chi-chi; a blanket and a .

hatchet to each of the'other men; and to each of the three v

women of the party, a string of beads and a looking-

glass. Then he bade them good-by and asked them to

call again. Such was the first ''state dining" ever given

in Georgia.

For more than a year Oglethorpe continued to live

in his little tent under the three, great pine trees over

looking the river, while he directed the work of the

colonists, all of whose hardships and privations he

shared. He laid off in the great forest the plan of the

town that was to be builded there. That plan is per-

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. fectly preserved in the city of Savannah of ito-day, w|

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though, of course, the original streets have been J

lengthened, and many new streets and squares have i I

Founding of Savannah.

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added. Oglethorpe's six streets--Bull, Bryan,

Sfijpf.c>i-"??ay toii, Abereorn, St. Julian, and - Whitaker--are still

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&M principal thoroughfares of the city. Bull street, he

named for that Colonel Bull who so greatly helped him

in planting his colony ; and the others he named for

benevolent persons in England and South Carolina who

Pron\ an old print.
The Colony of Georgia.
had helped the colony by contributions in money and in other ways.
In the mighty work of clearing the forests, building" homes, erecting, forts, and .cultivating gardens, the colonists were greatly aided during the first year by the generous South Carolinians, who furnished many laborers and ;.nechaniqs free of charge. The Legisla-

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hundred and five,cows and a drove of eighty hogs, and 4 private citizens of the same colony presented them with flocks of sheep and a number of horses. / . From time to time new .emigrants, sent over by the , Trustees, arrived; so that by the end of the first year the colony numbered about six hundred people, all under the fatherly care of James Oglethorpe.
Such is the story of the founding of the beautiful city'of Savannah and the beginning of the great State of Georgia.

CHAPTER'111.

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TOMO-CHI-CHI.

I. TOMO-CHI-CI-irS TREATY WITH OGLETHORPE,
Tomo-chi-chi, mico, or chief, of the Yamacraws, al though a savage, was a truly great man. When Ogle-

thorpe first met him he was ninety years old.* For one so age;d, he was wonderfully vigorous in body and mind. ' His figure was still erect, his step light and

spry, . his faculties bright, and his eye undimmed. He was over six feet tall and had a noble and command

ing countenance. Anywhere in the world people look ing- on him would have felt, "He is a great man!'"
Georgia at this time was inhabited mainly by a na tion of Indians known as the Creeks. They were

divided into the Upper Creeks and the Lower Creeks.

The Upper Creeks lived chiefly in what is now Ala

bama, and the Lower Creeks in what is now middle

and lower Georgia. The Lower Creeks were divided

into , nine different tribes, and the smallest and weakest
".; - j .*v* ;v -\ y *"
of these- tribes were the Yamacraws of which old

Tomo-chi-chi was chief or mico.

was Tomo-chi-chi's reputed age, but it is not entirely authentic. .,,It

^.hardly 30al and

.,,-cmr_eexdn.itb-aille.

v.t.;ihg,,a_ot.r..o.-neA*s.to

aan^yedracdt. euld,hehawvaes

paossveesrs\e?d'

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Tomo-chi-chi had spent most of his life in riiiddiy

Georgia, where he was a member of one of the most'

powerful tribes of the Creek Nation, and he was re-;;;

garded as one of their greatest men and most valiant

warriors; but in his old age, for some reason that we-'-

do not know, he withdrew from his people and

wandered through the wilderness far to the cast, where

at length he settled on a high bluff on'the banks of the

Savannali River. IIciv lie was joined by a number of

devoted followers whom lie organized into a tribe

called the Yamacraws, and here Oglethorpe found-them

when he came to Georgia in 1733.

You have learned how Tomo-chi-chi and the Yama

craws-allowed Oglethorpe and his colony to settle peace

fully in the woods near them and how they became their

strong friends. But Tomo-chi-chi had no right to give

this land to Oglethorpe, for it belonged not only to the

Yamacraws but to the whole Lower Creek Nation.

Oglethorpe suspected this, and Tomo-chi-chi knew it

well. He was an honest and frank man, so one day

he went to Oglethorpe and said: "The Yamacraws will

never molest you, but other tribes of the Creeks mav do

vsoV. '..;

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They

may

come

at

any-time-

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and

kill

y- ou

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drive you away. They are -stronger than we are, and j\|e . - :"*-*,*

cannot defend you from them. You had better mate



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29

with them. I will send messengers to all of the

Jtribes to tell their chiefs and big warriors to meet here

[' f^y a- c=*-*erta' 'in d* ay/ to hold a^?<gJ r^eat council.

You can have

big talk with them and make a treat}- with them. I

will do my best to make them your friends just as I am

your friend.'" Oglethorpe was glad to do this, for he

knew that his little colony was in constant clanger of

attack from hostile tribes of the Lower Creek's, and he

had felt very uneasy about it.

So Tomo-chi-chi sent messengers, or "runners" as

he called them, to all of the tribes of the Lower Creeks

to ask their chiefs to meet at Savannah' on a certain

day to have a "big talk" with the English, and he was

careful at the same time to send them word that the

English were 'good people and would be a great help

to .the Indians. The Lower Creeks consisted of nine

Inbes, \\Jiich were widely scattered uyer middle and

southern Georgia at great distances apart. They were

the Cowetas, Cussetas, Osvveechees, Chehaws, Echetas,

Pallachucolas.7-Oconas, Eufaulas,' and Yamacra-^wKw-sj"."1,* The

chiefs of all these tribes, attended by a number, of war-

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rtors, responded to the call of Tomo-chi-chi and came to/

the "big^ talk" >at Savannah. A few of them came down,

the rivers and up the rivers in their canoes.; but most

":""" ri6'other means of traveling through the-^country. Marij|

of them walked hundreds of miles and none of

less than fifty miles to attend the meeting.

council was held on the 21st of.May, 1733.

%: all, chiefs and warriors, there were fifty-six Indians mi present. Not one of them, we are told, was under six

feet tall, and they stood as straight and stately as the

great pine trees under which they had been born and

bred. Thev wore dressed in full Indian costume. Their

long, jet-black hair was adorned with eagle's feathers

standing high over their foreheads and falling in a fes

toon down their backs. Their faces and the naked -;

upper part of their bodies were painted red, blue, and

yellow. They had rings in their ears and, around their

necks, beads made of shells or of the teeth of wild

animals. From the waist down, they wore a skirt of

buckskin ornamented with paintings and falling just

below the knees with a heavy fringe; their legs were

encased in buckskin stockings, and they were shod in

buckskin sandals called "moccasins." Savages though

they were, these "lords of the .forest" made a splendid

:':.-'..:.. lo:o-^ki-n, g-assembly.

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^K.^BThe meeting was held in the largest house:ithen-fin ,.:;

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Savannah. The Indians, according to their custom, sat

flat on the floor, arranged in semi-circles. In the front

Tomo-chi-ch-L

31

f Wrow sat the nine chiefs, and back of them the warriors.
$ s>

\ ||.Oglethorpe, clad in the full dress of an English gentle-"

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, stood facing them; and with him, were the! priri-

1 men of the colony and two white interpreters, I ' John Musgrove and Mr. Wiggan. Oglethorpe was

glad to see that the-Indians had a pleasant expression

on their "faces, or at least as-pleasant as Indians can

have.y' Tomo-chi-chi had given them a good talk and

had done his best to gain their favor for the English.

He had a powerful influence over them, for they es-

1 teemed him as, one of the best and wisest men of the

Creek Nation.

Oglethorpe rapped on the table in front of him and

declared the council to be opened. He asked to hear

from the Indians. The first speaker was Weekachumpa,

chief of the Oconas. He was a very tall old man with

white hair and a wrinkled face, but he stood straight

as an arrow while in a pleasant voice and with graceful

gestures he made his speech. It was a long speech but

honest and straightforward. The substance of it all

this:

are glad you have come to our country. The

.Sp* irit who dwells in heaven and all around, and has given breath to all men, has sent you here to

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ioouhffy from the Savannah River down to the 111
^of Florida where the Spaniards liv'e. You may setf"eH|

in our country anywhere you please, for here we'ha\gj
^ Oil
HL many times more land than we can use. But you mu;g
not disturb us in our homes and our hunting grounds

You must protect us from our powerful enemies anft|

from your own. bad men, ii you have any such. You"

must not trade with any red men but us. You musP"

not let vnnr traders cheat us. You must teach us wise

tinners and instruct our children. You must do all you

can to help us in every way. You must let us

St. Catharine's, Ossabaw, and Sapelo islands foreve'Ip

as our own for hunting grounds and bathing places/"' .^

All the other chiefs, one after another, made short

speeches in which they agreed to what WeekachumpM

had said. Tomo-chi-chi was the last speaker; and no:'

doubt he made the best speech of all, for he was a bonu

orator. N Oglethorpe replied to them in a talk full of

kindness, wisdom, and good promises that he meant t'ofCikeep and that he always did keep. He won their hearts"

completely. They trusted him perfectly, as well they.

might. The treaty was drawn up in writing an!

; .-properlv signed, and for many years : it kvas faithi|Et

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kept by both sides. In no other part of Ameri

those early days, did the white man and the red

Tomo-chi-chi.

33

|:.-live together so peacefully and pleasantly as in the colony

Georgia.^ The credit and the thanks for this happy of affairs were due-mainly to'Tomo-chi-chi, for it

c was his powerful influence that brought the two races so happily together. A word from him might have turned the Creek Nation against the whites and caused the destruction of Oglethorpe's little colony with much bloodshed and suffering afterward. But Tomo-chi-chi

was a wise and good old man; he raised his voice for

., peace and not for war. This was much the better, not only for the whites but for the Indians, too.

II. TOMO-CHI-CHI'S VISIT TO ENGLAND.
About a year after the treaty, Oglethorpe decided to go to England on a visit; and he was anxious to

take Tomo-chi-chi and a number of other Indians with him. Tomo-chi-chi gladly accepted the invitation for

himself, his wife, Seenawki, and his nephew, Toona-

howi. Every Indian in the tribe was eager to go, but

Oglethorpe could take only a few; so he carefully

..selected six big.warriors and several attendants. These.

:^vith two white interpreters made up the party. - ^

'j|v On_ the .7th of-April, 1734, they set sail for Eng-

Never before had these "lords of the woods"

L^f.p^o^1t^o^.r;tJie-;-.yast. ocean.

>-.:-_'- .TMtY-.J,t -. ^..,-.--.<....

.

i-^if '_ :: -s .

How. wonderful it ..--.~ 7i,,v.;A

.

,.,_, ''v .;. '''>,;fiy V-f-^cT. ""' ^f^f^jf %V>\i'>l '$?f'.*ij*>>r

f vv-as'-^rl^li!^tTfTii1i]'T!-ia;ViW^^

J^^ '?&&': ' :::''M^^R-"^ '<'':Si^ ^v;-: ::.ii'".- " - '-': : .;.: v ^;%:' o i -m*i^y I;.:**-i$i&j?->fy^&%$M^&jSk
-3i :- ^ ';: : V. " ' GeSr&ti^ijiiory-^

they had a smooth and prosperous voyage. ^
***"'*.'l%"
fancy that old Neptune, the god of the sea, pleased at. ; 'if; >

the sight of these strange, new visitors to his watery M^

realm, greeted them with smiles that beamed over the ||'

ocean and made it calm and serene. They reached i ^: ;

England early in June. Oglethorpe took them first .to

his own beautiful country home wher/er--he entertained
them as his guests for several days. iThen they wr ere \~__--
conveyed to London where comfortable quarters had

been provided for them in the Georgia Building. The

news of their arrival soon spread throughout the great ;

city, and hundreds of people flocked to see them, treat- ;-

ing them with the utmost respect and bringing them

many presents^

The king, George II, sent them an invitation to ? -

visit him on a certain day at Kensington Palace, and

i

s

they accepted with great delight. \They knew that this

visit would be an important event in their lives, and

they were greatly excited over itJ When the appointed

day arrived, they spent several hours dressing for the

occasion. They wished to go, as they always did on

state occasions at home, with the upper part of their

bodies naked, but Oglethorpe would not permit this.^
i * ~
He induced them to wear shawls over their shoulders,

pinned at the throat; and as the< shawls were

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Tomo-chi-chi

35

a brilliant blue, they were quite reconciled. In other

'.respects they were clad in full Indian costume,; paint,

Jybeads, feathers, and all/ Old Tomo-chi-chi wore a scarfc-

let mantle of rich velvet trimmed with p'old lace; and

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his wife, Seenawki, wore a crimson dress of the finest

silk, made as nearly in the Indian style as was ad

missible in polite English society.

The king sent three magnificent royal coaches, each

drawn by six horses, to convey them to the palace.

People by thousands thronged the streets and windows

to see them pass. NAt the palace gates, they were wel

comed by the king's bodyguard standing at ''present

arms.^ At the palace door, they were received by the

Lord High Chamberlain and ushered into the presence

of the king, who was seated on his throne with the

queen--good Queen Caroline--seated by his side.

Tomo-chi-chi had prepared a set speech for the oc

casion and had practiced it over and over again to his

interpreter, so he made it to the king smoothly and

without a blunder. He held in his hand a bunch of

;eagle's feathers as a present to the king, and at the close

''*'&::'

'

'

0fehis speech he said: "These are the feathers of the

,'^'<>v *.

4lgie, which is the swiftest of birds, and which flieth

lljkcaround our nation. These feathers signify peace

and $'h'ave be' en carried fro" m town to town ,

36' x .
-.'; /[ /-.-;:
-X " -" " " v

Georgia-History Stories.

.

*..'.



there, and we have brought them over to leave

with you, O great king, as a sign of everlasting peace g '$f:3
between your people and our people!" He made alsp.^J|J

this pretty little speech to the queen: "I am glad'to^fti

see this day, and I am glad to see you who are the^'f
" *r
good mother of this great people. As our people are '*

now joined to your people, we hope you will also be

the mother of us and of our children." Both king and

(jucen made gracious replies and gave a rich present to

each of the visitors.

Tomo-chi-chi and his party spent four months in^

England. During the whole time everything possible "

was done for their comfort and enjoyment. They were

shown the great sights of London and of other parts

of the kingdom. Wherever they went, crowds of people/-:'

flocked to see them and to shake hands with them.li Even

^V--,

v

the nobility gave them elegant entertainments, which

were attended by the finest ladies and gentlemen in the

land. Tomo-chi-chi met nearly all of the leading men

of the country and conversed with them through his

interpreter. His dignified manner, good sense, shrewd

observations, and high-toned character filled them with ,f

surprise and admiration. They had lio Mclea. jthat :cin||

American savage could be so noble a "man. He had ?

several long talks with the Trustees^of/,the Georgia^.-

Tomo-chi-chi.

37

original London portrait.
Tomo-chi-chi and Toonahowi.

Colony, in which he showed his good business sense

getting them to pass a number o f important**""%"m*\ easures'' *>''*

for the benefit of the Creek Indians in Georgia.! While ;|

'

-- m?

"

-*; *

he was in London, the Trustees had a fine portrait made .fc

of him with Toonahowi standing by his side holding an v.;|

American eagle in his arms, j It was done by a famous

portrait painter and was considered a splendid likeness^

It hung for many years in the Georgia Building, and a

great many copies have been made of it. It. shows a

stately figure.and a noble countenance, worthy of a king.

At times Tomo-chi-chi seemed very sad when he saw Sr$* the contrast between the power, intelligence, and ;

wealth of the English and the weakness, ignorance, and

poverty of his own race. He was. wise enough to know

that the red men would be perfectly helpless against

the whites and that it would never do to arouse their

enmity. He once said: "The Great Spirit has given to .

the English mighty wisdom and power and great wealth,

and they want nothing but more land; to the Indians

He has given vast quantities of land, more than they

can use, but they want everything else; so Indians must

give lands to the English, and the English will give j

Indians things that they want/' "r-".ivi-,-"" , I :<~.-'*$j&\

O

J



v,

'-.



"

i

/-X*-i3gSr* *

In October, Tomo-chi-chi .and his party left England ^f-

'T^Q"return to Georgia. They carried back /four thousand.!!,

* ^j& .

<-'

*

- . tf ...... . l_'!i^.i._i_- -v .; -'..v^i. *

' V *

3d

; '1 dollars' worth of useful and beautiful presents...thatJtbfcir

| ^English friends had given- them: Among these presents fyifpivas a fine "gold watch that the king's young son,

* .Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, had given to Toonahowi, saying to him : /'Whenever you look at this
j watch to see the time of day, remember me and call on

- \. the name of Jesus, the blessed Saviour of us all!" On

* reaching Georgia, Tomo-chi-chi gave his people a -full

account of what he had seen and experienced on his

I .wonderful journey, and he distributed among them

! nearly all of the. rich gifts he had received in England, for he was a generous hearted, unselfish man. Oglethorpe did not return to Georgia with the In-

! . dians, but remained in England nearly two years longer, :' all the time busy getting money, supplies, and new emi

grants to go over to the colony in Georgia.

III. TOMO-CHI-CIlfs RELIGIOUS VIEWS.

t

W7 hen Oglethorpe returned to Georgia in February,

1730, he brought over on the ship with him, as a mis-

l sionary to the Indians, a young English clergyman

' Horned John Wesley, who afterward became a vei-y

I famous man. Tomo-chi-chi met the party at the ship

I'- '

'

" '

|: -and was overjoyed to welcome his good friend Ogle-

. > " Georgia History

" :

^ '

introduced John Wesley "to him and explained the pur

pose of his coming" to America, the old. savage welcomed

the young preacher in these remarkable words : "I ,am

glad you have come to speak the great word to us. I

will do my best to get our people to listen to you well.

But we don't want to be made Christians as the

John Wesley Teaching the Indians.

Spaniards make them. They put water on Indian's

head and say,, ''You are Christian/ but we want you

first to explain the great word to us so that we can .J

:'.* -j- -

:$P

understand it: then we will be baptized" 'and be real -M

'

'"-.':

'

-: ^|

Christians." As soon as Wesley was settled in.his.Jj

: ]
quarters, kind-hearted Seenawki brought him as a pres- ;f I

Tomo-chi-chi.

| Jfcnt a jar of honey and a jar of milk, saying: "The

llliioney signifies our feelings and disposition toward

' you; the milk signifies the needs of our children; so

please come and teach, them. 1 ' But John Wesley,

though a great and good man, was an utter failure as

a missionary to the savages. He lacked the power of

winning their hearts and of teaching the "great word"

in the simple way they needed. He didn't even try to

,: learn the Indian language, but preached to them en

tirely through an interpreter, and explained the Chris

tian religion to them in such a learned way that the

poor savages could not understand him. Tomo-chi-chi

seemed to take a dislike to him from the first and

would have little to do with him.

1 omo-ehi-chi had dee]') religious instincts. I fe used

to go himself every Sunday to Oglethorpe's church in

Savannah, and, as we have just seen, he was anxious

to have the "great word" preached to his people. But

I ;after a while he lost all interest in the Christian

II v-te'"ligion. The reason of this came out one day

& . >^hen some one asked him: "Tomo-chi-chi, why

|-.y

*

.

I cldn't you become a Christian?" With flashing eye

in his voice the old man replied: ."The

_
drunk, they tell lies, they fight, they beat weak

they cheat poor Indians. Devil Christian, me no '.J*{*& Christian!" He had made the mistake that many'/;.'!
/$|| people make, of judging'religion by the lives of the,-^.|

worst and most hypocritical of its professed followers'.'";^ j

'I: $

IV. TOMO-CHI-CI-ir'S FLORIDA EXPEDITION.

;

Not long after Oglethorpe''s return'from England, .,. g

Tomo-chi-chi said to him: "Before I die I want you to go

down the coast with me. and let. me show you the divid

ing line between the Creek country and Florida. While

I was in England, some Spaniards and Florida Indians ^ f

crossed over into our hunting grounds and killed some

of our warriors. You must build forts down there to

protect our country and your country." Oglethorpe . |

was glad to go on such an expedition, for he had long ;J I "' k;
wished to settle the boundary line between Georgia and |
.4
Florida. Two months before, he had sent Major * |

Richards with an escort of six men down to St. ?; |

Augustine with a message to the Spanish governor of : |

Florida asking for a conference on this subject; but the |

party had never returned, and Oglethorpe was uneasy 1

about them and wished to go down and see what had

-..'.,-



__,

.

.

become, of them.

'

""' ' : . i -"

So on April 16th, 1736, Oglethorpe started from St,

Simon's Island down the coast on this important ex- y

Tomo-chi-chi.

43

pedition. He was accom panied by Tomo-chi-chi and several gentlemen from Sa vannah. They had, as an escort, forty Indian war riors and thirty Highland soldiers from the little town of Darien, which had just been settled on the Altamaha River by a party of Scotch emigrants. They were all fully armed and furnished with implements for building forts. They embarked in four large boats propelled partly by oars and partly by sails, and in each boat there were two or three small canoes. A few miles south of St. Simon's, they came to a beautiful island where they camped that night and to which Oglethorpe gave the vr ;:X name

44 '/"' -^ Georgia History
his friend Sir Joseph Jekyl, of England/ This island '1| is now owned by the "]eky\ Club," composed of north ern millionaires, who use,it as a winter resort and have erected* many costly houses there.
The next day, going further down the coast, they / discovered a very large and beautiful island of which Ogiethorpe had never even heard before. It had a high bluff on the western side and was covered with a grand forest of pines and live-oaks, from whose boughs . hung festoons of long, gray moss. The Indians called it Wisso Island, or, in English, Sassafras Island, because ... many sassafras bushes grew there; but Ogiethorpe' changed its name to Cumberland, after the king's young son, William, Duke of Cumberland, the same who had given Toonahowi the fine gold watch. It is said that Ogiethorpe gave it this name at the request of Toonahowi himself, who was with the party and had with him the much-prized watch. On the high , bluff on the .northwestern side of the island, Ogiethorpe marked out the plan of a fort; and at the southern* end, \I he marked out the plan of another fort. Both of these \
'' J-r'~ "$
forts were afterward built good and strong. A littleSf below Cumberland they- came to ' a'i .'viVsmall island t'f^raP'llfL
'wl looked like the Garden of Eden, so covered was it wifftfi
flower-bearing trees and shrubbery/ in full blporn^]

Tomo-chi-chi.

45

pSglethorpe named it Amelia Island. On the northern
-,<*. ^*

iffend of this island now stands the Florida town of

tfr-- :

'

Kfernandina, for the island belongs to Florida now

-though it was then a

" part of Georgia.

Oglethorpe's party

continued to sail slowly

- down the coast for two

.-days longer. On the

afternoon of the second

J'day they came to a high,

rocky promontory jut

ting out from the main land a little distance into

Mouth of the St. John's River as It Appears To-day.

'fthe sea. The whole party climbed to the top of these high

rocks ; and looking to the southward they saw two miles

away a great river emptying into the ocean, and on the

high banks on the other side a lonely log house that

looked like a small fort. The river was the St. John's.

Jlpmo-chi-chi, pointing with his outstretched arm, said:

river is the dividing line. All on this side we

|tft.; all on the other side they hunt. That house is the

f; -wW '

'

gnish fort where there are soldiers to keep us

i..crossing to their side. But while I was in Eng-

Georgia History Stories.

'"to our side and killed some of .our w- arriors, so to'-nig"h"t^ when they are all asleep in that house we will creep up J

and kill them/' making a gesture as if braining a man f f
with a hatchet. The old mico spoke with great excite-'^
-' *!'* ".
merit and was in dead earnest. The Indian instinct ''*%|jV*^r'' glared fiercely in his eye. He. was no longer the mild

man of peace. He was nothing now but a ferocious,

bloodthirsty savage gloating over an opportunity for or t

revenge. The other Indians were equally excited, like ;

hounds that see their prey! It was all that Oglethorpe.

could do to restrain them from making a secret midnight & \
> SN
attack on the Spanish soldiers supposed to be in the"? |

lonely house on the river bank. He knew that such an

attack would bring disaster to his colony, for it would ?
give the Spaniards an excuse for invading .Georgia .; j
,,V: |l
Math a hostile army, a thing that they were only too '\i
anxious to do. At length he succeeded in getting Tomo- < .

chi-chi to take his warriors back to their camp in a {

palmetto grove several miles up the coast, and the night f

passed without further adventure.

|f

Early the next morning" Oglethorpe, attended by a

few men, took a boat and rowed up the St. John's*!'

.River to the Spanish fpr^/but he found not a

soul there: he rowed some miles further up the strea"m
to another fort, but that also . was . unoccupied.
-Aft

Tomo-chi-chi.

1^. then returned to the camp in the palmetto grove, where

ihe found that during his absence Tomo-chi-chi had

Ife-.

-- -'



''-.- ;

"slipped away with two boat-loads of Indians. Whither

"he had gone, no one could say. Oglethorpe feared that

the old man was up to mischief, but it was night now

and he could not well go ; in search of him.

About ten o'clock that night a canoe containing four

Indians rowed up to shore opposite the palmetto grove

camp, and the Indians sprang out and rushed up to

.the camp fire, exclaiming to Oglethorpe: "Tomo-chi-

chi has found enemies! 'They have a big fire on a hill.

When they go to sleep, he is going to creep up with his

braves and kill them. He sent us back to take care of

you, but we want to be at the killing. Please let us go

back and help about the killing!" They were terribly

excited; they brandished: their hatchets and uttered the

war whoop and foamed at the mouth and jumped about

like men beside themselves, all the time begging Ogle

thorpe to let them go back and "help about the killing/''

Quickly Oglethorpe took the whole party", gentlemen,

s, and Indians, in the large boat and hurried

the coast in search of Tomo-chi-chi. Four miles tfown he. found the old man and his warriors hiding

M^the black clarkiiess behind some thick bushes, lik<

rvsjj.;
l/Sfe

,tb

:Ml

,.>,...-:-

... , 4

' ^.^H. -'.'*" "/''.'*'' '''

History Stoness ;.;'"'* .

.,-.^,'V- " '

'. *

i

"',f,V32** F^33;fii$&'

hill a mile-away could.be seen the expiring flames'of

big camp fire. "I crept up close there," said Tomo-chi-%J |

chi, "and counted seven Spaniards. I know there arejfrf

Florida Indians there too, back in the woods. As loon ;||

as the Spaniards get good asleep, we will steal up and kill||lf

them with our hatchets as they lie; then we will attack ' !

the Indians with their guns. When I was in England,

they killed our men and now we must kill them. I

will take Toonahowi with me and teach him to be big

warrior!"

Oglefhorpe found it even more difficult than the day :, -,

before to hold the savages back from this mad and :'

bloody deed. In spite of his utmost remonstrances and

persuasions, they were actually starting for the camp

fire, when, placing his hands on Tomo-chi-chi's shoul- ,- \

der, he said with great earnestness: "It will be cowardly

to attack the men while they are asleep; and you are not

cowards; you are brave Creek warriors! Wait until to-'

morrow morning, and I will go with you!" Then old-

Tomo-chi-chi sat down with a grunt of disappointment

and called the others back. Before daybreak Ogle-

thorpe slipped away from the others and went alone to

the i camp; fire on the hill. He found)the men to; be

own long-lost messenger Major Richards and his.

Tr
on their way back from St. Augustine. Major Rich-.4

..: .vVrli^V

. .,,,;.< :

; "iH

;-V*.

. . To-mo-chi-chi.

49

.-$'*

-

''

-S

.&'.":'





\

.'.i$fr.'.'.'-

".



Tards explained that a wrecked boat and other accidents

;;had detained him. When the truth was made known to

^.{

'

.\

......

iffiomo-chi-chi -and his warriors, they seemed much

fK^vS- - .

-

.'

J-

ashamed that in their rage they were about to kill men

without knowing' who they were.

The next day Ogletllorpe and his party started

back on their return voyage. They reached Frederica,

on St. Simon's Island, safe and sound, after being absent

' just one week on this important expedition. As long as

Tomo-chi-chi lived, he continued to be a faithful friend

to the English colonists and to help them greatly in

many ways. This he did not mainly from love for the

. whites but because he was wise enough to know that it

- would be for the good of his own people in.the present

fi and in future generations. He was a true patriot.

y. TOMO-CH.i-cm's -DEATH AND BURIAL.

Tomo-chi-chi had lived nearly a hundred years, and

through them all he had bleen wonderfully strong and

O

,

rf

O

robust; but now, at last, hfe began to feel iit his brain

\ aijtd in his heart and through all the marrow of his

V K'-^'"" L

'

g; PQftes the strange, benumbing- chill of-'old age. One day

~L'.t ' < "-V"'^^

3 h^started to walk with Toonahowi from his village to

'-'

" '



'-

"

, a distance of three miles, but before he had

| Proceeded far he felt so tired that he had to turn and

50 , /^ .Georgia History

he never rose again. There for days and weeks l .|*j$& lay as helpless as a new-born babe. ,He knew that J. us*,;% end was very near, so he called his family and the leadr|;

ing: men of his little tribe around him and exhortecl'i

^3



-/S'3'~

them to continue-their friendship to the English,* and?

asked that he might be buried in the settlement

of Savannah that he loved and among the people that

had always been so kind

to him.

One day John Wes-

ley called on him, but "lie;;,

seemed too feeble to talk',

and not a word did Wes-

ley get from him. Per

haps he would not try,

to talk to Wesley; for,

as we know, the heart of

George Whitfield Preaching.

the old savage had never; f Warmed to this great dn; >

.vine. A few days later George Whitfield, one of the~ ;

most famous preachers that ever lived, came to see- I

' Y^ *"-

him. He found him lying on a blanket under the shade! I

-''"'-



-*

*-^ ' '

***-' ',-"-.-'

"-:-.-^'V 5-'

of a great live-oak-tree, while his^ifaithful old --" ~-^*

Seenawki,

sat

by

his

side

fanning

him

with

a

'"*!%&.
snow||

white fan made of crane's feathers. Whitfield took

,::'

. V:V:

"

Tonio-cki-chi

.

'

51
.

hand and (not knowing what else to say, I suppose)

asked him: "How long do you think you have to live?"

-I-I:. do not know," replied ;Tomo-chi-chi; .which was a

sensible answer to a foolish question. "Where do you

expect to go when you die?" pursued Whitfield. "To heaven!''' answered TombI '-chi-chi, in simple faith.

Maybe that was the last \ word he ever spoke; for a

few hours after Whitfield left, the old mico died, aged

ninety-seven years.

For ninety years he had wandered through the

gloomy, primeval forests of America, in intellectual and

spiritual darkness. Many, no doubt, were his adven

tures, valiant deeds, and hair-breadth escapes, for we

know that the Creeks counted him as one of the greatest

hunters and warriors of itheir nation; but in blackest

'"$ .*

!

oblivion lies all that part ;of his life. It was only dur

ing the last .few of his mani'y years on earth that he came out into the open where history could take note of him,

h'ke a star that has made its journey across the firma-

. nient under clouds but emerges for a little while just

\ .before its setting, to shine on the world! History tells

8 ' '-!*' " ' ti '.

.

' '

.

fI ;.i,is:-''t'h' at he . was. honest and truthful, bright of mind,

of heart, earnest of purpose, strong of will,

0ager for improvement, anxious for the uplifting and

-viMfc?-' - r.~'-

.

'

52
xjjjj$.
God, and hopeful of a purer and.nobler life in the wor

to come; and these are qualities that go to make a great 4 '

man, whether they be embodied in a rude savage like

Tomo-chi-chi or in a fine gentleman like James Ogle

thorpe.

''

In accordance with his dying request, Tomo-chi-chi

was buried in Savannah. His body was borne to the

grave by six of the most distinguished citizens and

soldiers of Georgia. James Oglethorpe followed his

coffin as chief mourner. During the funeral services o
minute guns were fired from the fort near by, and a

company of militia discharged three volleys of mus

ketry over his grave after the coffin was lowered. The

whole tribe of Yamacraws and many visiting Indians

and nearly all of the people of Savannah--men, women,

and children--attended the solemn ceremonies.

Oglethorpe planned to have a suitable monument

placed over the grave, but for some reason it was not

done. For more than a hundred years the last resting

place of the old mico was unmarked, though the exact

spot, or very nearly the exact spot, was preserved in the

;** u -,* memories . of people by tradition from generation to

.^-j:*:*..^;.-" r . -"'ln '<-" " 'V'-W ' . . - ;. ?C'..-"'-Wr.V;S*:>;. J.

i '

* . .--

';-;A^-

O

.

.' :..*.*..,

f'S"^"f'i--r ^generavfiVo^l;lrS:^^-FinallyJt, in the Jyear 18'.S-i^9Vi,-rt:that .fin!.e ':s'-''zo*c$&ie:-M$fr-.

ot women, the Colonial Dames of Georgia, had a great''&||

4 .;. rugged:. granite boulder brought from middle Georgia|"

Tomo-chi-chi.

53

where Tomo-chi-chi had spent most of his life, and II placed it, just as it came from the hands of nature, with
out chiseling...or polish, on the grave of the old savage-^-
a most fitting monument ito him who was one of nature's own rugged and unpolished noblemen. To the stone is affixed a circular bronze tablet bearing an appropriate

Tomo-ichi-ehi's Grave,

c: inscription and symbolic figures. The grave is in

Ivjohnson Square in the, very heart f - th_cjty_j3f_ Sa-_

. /May we not ;say, without exaggeration, that .

...

"V.

i

*

.

."

'-r.-

ftere sleeps to-dav beneath Georgia's sod no nobler

;

S^tV

*

J

..

'

- ; '':

|g^; no truer patriot than Tomo-chi-chi, the grand old

:

the little tribe of Yamacraws! t

'.

,g

CHAPTER IV.

THE SALZBURGERS.

I. PERSECUTION IN AUSTRIA.
a
If you will look on the map of Europe, you will -find f||g

located in the extreme western part of Austria a town % $.

by the name of Salzburg. It is situated on the Salza River and is surrounded by smooth green valleys, rocky "'

monritains, and clear, swift-rnnning streams. Two

hundred years ago tin's town and the surrounding green

valleys and mountain pwpfes were inhabited by a simple, & ,,;

"--/'

-

Wf

honest German folk known as the Salzburgers. They 3 >f

were chiefly poor people, and they dressed in plain

clothes and wore big slouch hats with broad brims and

peaked, .crowns.. Those in the town were makers of | [;.

famous wooden clocks that were known all over ^ >

Europe, and those in the country earned their living as

farmers and herdsmen. In - religion most of these

people were Protestants and belonged to what is called

the Lutheran Church. Austria and Germany were at

that time Roman Catholic countries, and by the law of

the land no other form of religion was allowed, and

Protestants were bitterly persecuted, !^;In some; way,

however, it happened that these quiet Salzburgers in' |

54

/.

The $-alsbur?ers.

55

remote mountain fastnesses were for many years

molested in their religion but were allowed to wor-

f -vSv



i

1'Jj|liip God iii their own way. Perhaps the rulers-of the

I ;;fp'

, ""

!

| "country thought, "The poor creatures are so quiet and

harmless away off there that we will let them alone."

Still they did not dare t|o build churches or to have

":
'"

regular preachers.

Out

of
i

doors

in

the

thickly

wooded

/ mountain gorges they held their services and poured

out their devout souls in worship to that God who ''pre

fers before all temples the upright heart and pure!"

i

But after a while their days of peace came to an end.

In the year 1729, a new Archbishop was put in charge

of Salzburg. Plis name was Leopold, Count Firmian,

and he was feudal lord of the district as well as an

? official of the Roman Catholic Church. He immediately

began a cruel persecution of the poor Protestant Salz-

burgcrs. He made hi> slienlts and bailiffs enter their

houses and break open their chests and take their Lu

theran . Bibles and hymn-books out and burn them in

bonfires in the streets. Pie had their leading men ar-

H ^f||ted and brought before him, and said to them: "I

51 5$Wlrc>w you into prison, confiscate your property, and

f| c|l|trdy your homes if you do not abandon your Prot-

religion." "We cannot, your reverence, must

,not/' bravely answered the poor men. "Then

56; v v ;^ Georgia: ffitiovy Stones.)' :; f:;r;^-

you shall suffer for it," yelled Leopold. "Pray, let.-I

sell our possessions and emigrate," pleaded they.

I will keep you here until I stamp that devilish here.sji

out of you," shrieked Leopold. Then he threw theml

into prison and confiscated their property. He fore Httl||

children from the arms of their mothers and placed them""-?

in convents to be brought up in the Roman Catholic .

religion by priests and nuns.

.-;

When the news of this bitter persecution reached

the cars of the Emperor, Frederick William, he felt

that he must interfere, although he himself was a Ro-J|| J

man Catholic. He sent Leopold word to stop his ; % r-

cruelties to the Salzburgers and let them emigrate, as

under the law they had a right to do. Leopold had to -
'i? "if !">
obey the Emperor, so he said: "Emigrate, then, you^f |

Lutheran dogs, and be quick about it!" "How about ",,

our property and our goods and chattels?" asked they. % |

"You shall take nothing with you. Be thankful you \ *'

have kept your skins. Emigrate, I say," cried the cruel * r

Leopold.



. *

So in the course of two years, from 1730 to 1732,
>.i i$'
many thousands of poor Salzburgers were driven from

their homes and from their''country;/carrying sou

anything with them but the clothes on their backe. .The ;|

whole Protestant world opened its arms to receive them. J

The ; Salzburgers.

57

If :^In the Free Towns of Gi ermany and Prussia, in Holland v ^ and in England they found kind friends to help'them in

:f ^|heir f l|9y^

dire

distress; ~"

but'in i

all the .'

world

they

had

no

; "truer friend than James; Oglethorpe, the great English

man. His heart burned within him as he heard and

read of their wrongs, and one of his objects in found

ing the colony of Georgi ia was to provide a home for them.

:_

ii. EMIGRATION TO GEORGIA.

As soon, therefore, jas Oglethorpe got his English

5 colony well settled at Savannah, he turned his attention

toward the Salzburgers.j By correspondence with their i

ministers

in

Germany

lie i

found

out

that

hundreds

of

..- them would be glad to; emigrate to Georgia and be-

j' tcome subjects of the British Government, but were

utterly poverty stricken and had not the. means for this

costly move. The Trustees of Georgia were able at

that

time

to

pay

the

expenses i

of

only

a

few

of

them.

So a select party was made up, composed of seventy-

eight persons, forty-two of whom were strong, stal-

^ ;l|vart ;men and the rest women and children. The Trus-

'.!. '%>' ';,- '.I:*'

'

'

'jfi'' ?';'>; irV : '-."

p ^tees agreed to pay their expenses over to Georgia and

~- :'r-'^^ " "

%If' ^>iM%':V.'v^; ve' to each family fifty acres of land and a year's

: until they could clear the lands and make a

They assembled i. n the town of . . B " e rschtal g -av5^r>

Bavaria, to make ready for the emigration. The gdj8|

Protestants of that town furnished them with
'*V$^8S'j~'iJ
' wagons, each drawxn by two horses, for the long, ovGmK^
land journey through, the German Empire to'.the

In two of the wagons they placed all of their earthlyJi

goods and chattels, and in the third wagon they seated.,,

the feeble women and the little children. The men andj

the stronger women and children walked. A noble

band of martyrs marshaled under no Hag save the ban

ner of the cross, carrying no weapons but their Bibles;j|

and prayer-books, following no general except the Great*

Captain of Salvation, they trudged patiently for him- ---

dreds of miles through the German Empire northwest

ward toward the sea. .Most of their wav lav throughS

/

^

^^ -v^jifeii

Roman Catholic countries where they were subjected to'"

many indignities and insults, but ever and anon they*

would come to a Protestant town where they received .

the utmost kindness and love.

About the middle of November they reached the .

Protestant town of Frankfort-on-the-Main, which was

the end of their long, wearisome foot journey.

-

people

of

Frankfort

turned

out

in

great ;?crpwds

to

welj "'\.rri

come them and to minister to their wants. In this^

beautiful city, among these kind people, they rested for>|

The Salzburgers.

59

'>%,}-\.s- everal days:... and'then),.e.mbarking in a vessel that had :i been provided for them,! they sailed down the River
Main to the Rhine and down the Rhine toward the sea. As they glided down thii s beautiful river betw een the castellated crags, the vitjieyards, and the white-walled cities that adorn its banks, they poured out their hearts in joyous songs to the living God. They were fine sing-
i ers, for from childhood jthey had been taught singing as a part of their religion; and for beauty and melody their hymns have never been surpassed.
On the 27th of November they reached Rotterdam, where the Rhine pours its waters into-the North Sea.
i Here they were joined by Rev. John Martin Bolzius and Rev. Israel Christian Gronau, distinguished and cultured men, who were t;o accompany them to Georgia as their chosen pastors and teacher?. From Rotterdam r; they made a tempestuous passage across the channel and ;, through the strait to Dover, England. On the 28th of |. December they at last embarked from Dover on their I loog^xvoyage to the new' home that awaited them in | Georgia. Born and bred in the interior of Europe among .the peaks and gorges of the Alps Mountains, ||nQt.cone pf them, excerjt Bolzius and Grona.u, had ever ftl^p^e ^cipkeci; Ui^r^vtiie grandeur of the mighty oceaii/gl^

^S^^^^^^^^^'^^^^^ " :"c <"V'C1 vi'";.'. ''' ;-':: ' ''.

fe^iV.-v*K-t%\'-^j f\C\ ''' -, .' "'y-' '
S^S^t^fKvr^i^VrrStV-i-i-vi-.vU-v;r.'..,'-';' ''"'-v,"'."



.'

'/"*
\7

tfrtvcrin
KU f if. I'M

rJiftrtVM
"llfr JlUfv

\int"i0? "' '*.''
Ol U liV' o. -.<'

'? " souls with religious awe. ^No sooner did the shores J||

.: . England vanish from their sight than they broke

'i

into psalms of glory to Him "Who measures the waters^

;]-.;-..:.. in the hollow of His hand!' :

j

On the llth day of March, 1734, having stopped!

!

several days at Charleston (S. C), they reached Savan-jff

j

nah. Here is the account of the landing, given by Rev.

i

-.

. Bolzius himself:

!

"On the llth day of March we lay at anchor oft*

!

the banks of our dear Georgia, in a very lovely calm,

and heard the birds singing sweetly. It .was really edi-i

fying to us that we came to the borders of the promised

land on this our 'Reminiscere Sunday/' when, as we are

taught by the gospel, Jesus came to the sea coast after.

He had endured persecution and rejection by His

countrymen. At the place of our landing almost all the

inhabitants of Savannah were gathered together. .They

fired off some cannon and cried 'Huzzah!' which was

answered by our sailors and other English people in.

our ship in the same manner. We were received with

all possible demonstrations of joy, friendship, and

.

civility. Even the Indians reached their hands to us as

'*''.'. a testimony of their joy for bur arrival.! A good

was prepared for us."

The Salzburers.

..

61

III. OLE) EBENEZER.

| :f|^ To the Salzburgers the generous Oglethorpe said :

W. "t^'''<; -'

'"'

f ^^^^^'.p?:-' u may select for r your homes any place in -Georgia

.? jhat is not already reserved by my English colonists or

- by the Indians/' Some of. the English advised them to

go to the south of Savannah and settle on the sea coast.

; ."No," said they, "we are told that to the south live the

warlike and meddlesome Spaniards. We are a peaceful

folk and want to keep away from them. Besides, we

i are ; not used to the sea coast and flat lands. We should


#

liik^fe^tlf'to settle in the interior! where there are mountains,

or hills like those which wei had at home." So Oglethorpe, accompanied by Baron Von Rek, a

... notable man and leader ofj the emigrants, and several

# offier Salzburgers and three1 Indian guides, started from

Savannah and journeyed [i through the woods to the northwest in search of a place for the Salzburgers to

- settle. About twenty-five jmiles from Savannah they

came to a spot that seemed! to strike the fancy of Von

: Rek and the others, possibly because it reminded them

'& lFlSsoine -way of their homes! in Austria. It was situated creek that flowed in a winding, tortuous channel

rct - the Savannah River. The country was undu-

^j;'jc *; ' .t\ : -





J

".- -

'

rising .and falling in alternate hills and plains,

flowed into the big creek. It was rather thinly woo|

with tall pines and small oaks, cypress and myrtle

and quantities of sassafras bushes. It was located^

what is now Effingham County,, six miles west of -tf

Savannah River and about four miles from the presel

town of Springfield. "This suits us exactly/' said

Rek and the others; "we will build our town here, arujv |

we will call it Ebenezer, 'the stone of help/ for truljS >

'Hitherto the Lord hath helped us!'" The party re

mained in the locality for several days and, under the

direction of Oglethorpe, carefully laid out the futuj^p i

town; then they made their way back to Savann^HI f,

through the woods, taking care to "blaze" the trees as* l>

they went so that, they might easily find their way tq 4

the spot again when they returned with the colonists!! I

Several weeks later, early in the month of April, the'! !

whole body of Salzburgers, guided through the forest! |

by the "blazed" trees, moved from Savannah to Ebe^; &

'

" fr

nezer. They made the journey on foot, their house-f I

hold goods being carried in packs on the backs of the, j

few horses that could be had. The strong men c' arried~.'i

the babies and the little children in their arms. Kind^f

hearted r Oglethorpe acc'o-m" p":anied" : t'h^e<M-V!p.'r'i hqrs;'-eba-e^M j^ though he really walked nearly all the way, lending .hisj

horse turn about to the weakly women of the party. iJ

r

_,

.

.

. . . A .-. V

.rJ *S?i

' . . . The Sahburgers.

63

Svas a toilsome and trying journey; for theretwas no road

I fete-

I

I ^& travel in, much .of the way lay through swamps and

I |ji*%lesj an^ tne streams jhad to be crossed ^on fallen

I trees. But the Salzburgars were strong of limb9 and

stout of heart, and as they trudged cheerily along they

I often made the ^reat forest ring with songs of praise

'I to God. Although the distance .was less than thirty

v miles it. took them two or three days to reach their

S

*

';I d1estination.

| On the 10th day of April they reached Ebenezer.

A gang of eight stout men; who had been sent ten days

ahead of them, had already erected rude bush arbor

tents for them, and in these they were made fairly cofn-

11 fo'r"'table until they could i: build better homes. Ogle thorpe carefully divided out the land among them. To

each family he gave a twofacre lot in town and a farm

, of fifty acres in the suburbsi. They went to work with a will, clearing the lands, building houses, and planting

crops. The good people of Savannah sent them a pres-

feent of ten cows and calves which furnished an abun-

fe jy':-

.

:

|uai|ce;of milk for the little colony of seventy-eight pe.r-

! v " '.

sfison' s. In the hollow of a big tree they found a great

Quantity' of honey which the wild bees had made. The

priendly Indians near by supplied them with, venison,

iSSvi * - - .

. .-* j. u..'--.'"..

J

*X

,

,'

'::^ps
-1*5 'B *f#l
woods, and from the clear waters of the tortuous
nezer Creek they caught perch and "channel cats,
j. -.
some one taught them how to brew a very good beejl |
made of molasses, sassafras, and pine tops. So, as -fa| |
. ir"';S M ' -- -
as the table was concerned, our good Salzburgers *& f
"on the fat of the land." In a few months they were !-

joined by another party of sixty or more brother Salz- '

burgers, who had just come over from Germany, arid f 'i.
the town of Ebenczer now contained about one hun- ;

dred and fifty inhabitants.

.

\

Here in the wilderness of Georgia, far distant from I

rt***3 s-

the land of their birth a4id the g raves of their fathers, f5

these poor exiles found at least a sheltering home of

sympathy and love.

J

IV. NEW EBENEZER.

^I

fr &;.

,

W

But the trials and tribulations of the Salzburgers f

were not yet over. Baron Von Rek, as it turned outj
was a very poor judge of land, or at least of Georgia?'I land. The region around Ebenezer, instead of being!
"rich and fat," as he supposed, proved to be thin andf
sterile. The Salzburgers with their hardest labor could^ not dig a living out o*" f i. t, and had to depend largely."t>- nIj
the charity of the Trustee. s. for -a^ s upCLport. Fur't* &'r more, the big Ebenezer Creek which Von Rek

scribed as "a noble river, twelve foot deep, and

The Salzburgers.

65

~tgable for large boats/' proved to be entirely useless for : -^commercial purposes. II ^^-tortuous that_ no boat o' f considerable size could make
't-".he sharp bends, or approIach within six miles of Ebenezer. The little streams that emptied into tlie big creek, when swollen by ,the heavy rains of winter and spring, overflowed their b!anks and flooded the country; but during the droughts of summer they dried up into stagnant pools and ponds that filled the air with malaria. This caused a Igreat deal of sickness among the people, and many of them died. Separated from the rest of the world in the depths of the wilderness, toiling like slaves and yet unable to make a living, sorely stricken with sickness and death, no" wonder the poor Salzburgers, patient people though they were, became dissatisfied and disheartened. Early in the spring of IToG, John Martin Bolzius and Israel Christian Gronau, the two good pastors of the Salzburgers, appeared at. Savannah as representatives of, their people to ask Oglethorpe to let them move to a ^Slfe locality. Kind-hearted Oglethorpe, finding that -g^Kg"en'- t'ire c'olony was heairtily in favor of it, gave his , to the move. Then the whole colony of Salz-

years of hard toil, m' o v"ed for six "m'"' i'le' s through f""h-*f*!Mf''ja trackless forests to the place selected for their nevf? ]
.41
settlement. This place was a beautiful and romanti(|| 1 spot on the banks of the Savannah River. It walv I.
v:^: I
known as Red Bluff on account of the color of the soiHf | To the east, at the foot of the bluff, rolled the broacf I waters of the Savannah; to the south flowed a small'; stream now known as Lockner's Creek; while to the ,' north Ebenezer Creek, their old friend, came zig-zag- \ ging to pour its tribute waters into the Savannah.
Here they had all the hard work of clearing the; j forest and building homes to do over again; but they : went at it with strong arms and brave hearts, and in two years their new town had risen like magic. Cling ing with affection to the old name, they called the \ place New Ebenezer. In the meantime Old Ebenezer went to rack and ruin.
God blessed the Salzburgers in their new homes. At last, after years of persecution, exile, wandering, and misfortune, these simple, honest people found peace and happiness "under their own vine and fig tree/' For some 3^ears they were the most prosperous people in Georgia. Other Saiz. bureers came"''ov.fer . frorh'ftrie fatherland ;'^i.-*o' 1i join them. In all, about fifteen^ hundred Salzburgers^
i emigrated to Georgia. Some of these settled in Sa-i

The $\alzburgers.

67

i%annah and Frederica, but most of them made their

:

,

I

.

'home in New Ebenezer and the surrounding" country.

-" ! , .-,- ,

'

I

'O

V

^*-

'

fflPhey worked-hard, and -the soil yielded them abundant

: -'

J

.

^J

harvests. For a number of years they paid much at-

tention to raisine silk. In this industry they were

greatly encouraged by Cglethorpe and the Trustees,

who had a notion that Georgia could be made one of

the greatest silk-growing" countries in the world.

The leaves of the white mulberry tree are the nat

ural food of the silk worm, and great quantities of

these trees were brought from Italy and planted in the

country around Ebenezer. From first to last many

thousands of dollars were made by the Salzburgers by

the silk culture industry; but later on other employ-

nients were found more profitable, and the raising of

silk was entirely abandoned in Georgia. Good Queen

Caroline of England had a dress made of Georgia silk,

which she used to wear on state occasions and of which

she was very proud.

\

The Salzburgers all belonged to the Lutheran

Church. In this faith they were born and bred, and for

rfrV* " - ' $4

~

I

tKeir devotion to it they had suffered cruel persecution

and exile from their native land. They were served

Romany years by the three good pastors, Revs. Bolzius

|;Gronau, who came to Georgia with, them, and Rev.

sKi-V..-- ;'

' -:.-.".. ' '

:

''

f^l^ ! .

. . '-"''V; :'''":':".: ' "' 'i ' ' '.....-.'." . '' ./.':;

68

Georgia History Stories.

Rabenhorst, who came oyer later. Thev were not ontyjlp



*

'

fsSjjf^

the pastors but also the principal governors and ruler3!** |

':>' fc "'-?/ "*
of the colony. Three better 01; more saintly men never'$t 1

*

^

"

'-VjF*'^' ^

lived on earth. For many years after coming to Georgia.^ |

Queen Caroline.
the people adhered strictly to their mother tongue, the German language, and they, would hot encourage therif | children to learn English. This, in the long run, proved : a great disadvantage to them, as it cut them off, in a j

The Sclzburers.

69

large measure, from intercpurse and commerce with the

|her colonies "in Georgia.

us in the. beautiful wilderness of Georgia on the

I banks of the broad Savannah River and its tributary

* creeks, these good people lived for many years in peace,

J prosperity, and happiness.

4 "Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,

J'-?

Their sober wi.shes n! ever learned to stray;

|

Along the' cool, sequestered vale of life

=i

They kept the noiseless tenor of their way."

$ '.~

'

i Still their life was notj without its sorrows and its

] tragedies. In January, 1745, their good pastor, Israel

~ Gronau, died after a long sickness. His mind was

'f, strong and bright to the i last but his body was very

-#t ' *S-,-



i

.;

I weak. As his brethren gathered around his dying bed,

he said to one of them, "Friend, raise my arms for me";

then clasping his thin, uplifted hands he cried in a clear,

r sweet voice, "Come, Lord Jesus, come!" and his pure

- spirit took its flight to that other world where supernal

beauty dwells and the rainbow never fades. His death

H ^*t*$l!f?e;$*felt - as a k-ee'n pe r'sonal grief by every member of fe.x:olony. A Rev. Mr. Lembke was called from Ger-

soon afterward to take his place and proved to

&v ^^ft" -

'

^^fet. worthy successor.

'&, .-feJrA>ii;'

J



70

Georgia History Stories.'

also ended his mission on earth and was gathered

fathers. His death turned out to be not only a deeff 1

sorrow but a great calamity to the little colony. Tfie I

Lutheran Council in Germany sent over to Georgia vt<| |

take his place a Mr. Triebner. He was a highly edul I

'

' -^f

cated, talented, energetic young man; but he was selfi |?

centered, imperious, and bad hearted. He was a great ;

mischief maker, and in> f? mediately set about stir- ?-

ring up trouble. He

soon had the peaceful j

and harmonious Salzbur-

gers divided into two vi- :

olent factions that strove

against each other with f

great bitterness, causing

Jerusalem Church at Ebenezer.

deep spiritual wounds that were many years in

healing. During his ministration of ten years he did

much harm, and was a constant "thorn in the, flesh" to

the best people of the colony.

About 1744, the devout souls of the Salzburgers

were riia'de happy by the erection of a fine new brick" ;

church at Ebenezer. It cost over two thousand dollars

and most of the money was contributed by their kind

The Salzburgers.

71

i '

'IP Lutheran friends in Germany. It would be considered

f^e a plain little church now; but to these poor exiles in

llljjie Georgia wilderness jit seemed a magnificent edifice,

and they were very proud of it. It was surmounted by

a neat belfry, on the spire of which appeared the figure

of a swan made of shin|ing brass; for the swan was the

"coat of arms" of Martin Luther, the great founder of

the Lutheran Church. , It was built good and strong

and stands there to-day -as sound as when it was erected

one hundred and sixty jyears ago. Few people in Geo! rgia suffered more from the

Revolutionary War than did the gentle Salzburgers.

Most of them were true to the patriot cause, but

; Preacher Triebner, who; might always be counted on. to

^be on the wrong side! was a rank Tory and led a

number of the people bff with him. As soon as the

British had captured Savannah in 1779, this odious Mr.

Triebner mounted his horse and galloped to that plan

tation where he called on Colonel Campbell, the British

commander, and 'advised him to send a detachment of

;Jipldiers at once to Ebenezer. He was even mean enough

:x|p,,lead these soldiers himself against his own town and

own people.

y all of the rest of the war a British garrison

were constantly marching back and forth through tli^

place. They treated the patriot inhabitants so badly that TJf|Pil . -^llpl
most of them abandoned their homes and moved away,

and the houses of many of them were burned by

/'5ii^v'i|i

British and the Tories. The soldiers desecrated

'm <

lem Church most shamefully. They destroyed the pre- <&l" 1*$

cious church records, cut up the benches and the pulpit ^

. ;-&X -a

for firewood, and used the church itself as a stable for '.-&. J

'

'-^

$

their cavalry horses. When the refugee Salzburgers

returned to Ebenezer after the war was over, they found -%
their dear town in ruins and they had it nearly all to '*J| i| $!!& ?*3

build over again.

.

r -l

When the British army returned to England after *'

the war. Preacher Triebner went with them, for well $
.;-,';!
he knew that he would not be tolerated in America any .''J'*^%|

longer. The Salzburgers never saw his hateful face -?;

si

again.

;3

>;

As the children and the grandchildren of the pilgrim :\

Salzburgers grew up, most of them moved away from I

the quiet place to seek their fortunes in other parts of -^

Georgia and in other states. By .the year 1820 the ::|

town was 'co-mpletely deserted and fel'-l' '"in't'o-- d ecay and-J&S oblivion. Nothing is left of it now except old Jerusa-'^^S

lem Church, which still stands on the bluff by the river ' ff| ||

with the brass swan glistening on its lofty spire. Near

The Salsburers.

73

'by is the grave-yard where rest the bones of the saintly ; preachers, Bolzius, Gronau, Lembke, and Rabenhorst, .|ahd many other good Salzburgers of that olden time.
Hundreds of the descendants of the Salzburgers still live in different parts of Georgia, mainly in Savannah and in Lowndes, Liberty, and Effingham counties. They are among the most substantial citizens of the State; some of them have, become wealthy as merchants and farmers, but not many of them seem to have ever attained to any great distinction in the professions or in public life.

CHAPTER V.

The Spaniards down in Florida were dangerous^
Vr-^jVfxi'
neighbors for the Georgia settlers. There had been a"t

long dispute between Spain and England concerning the

territory claimed by the two countries in America.

Spain declared that both Georgia and South Carolina

belonged by rights to her, and she was constantly threat

ening to invade the country and take it away from the

English. To guard against this threatened invasion,^

Oglethorpe determined to plant colonies and build forts

along the sea coast and on the- sea coast islands south

of Savannah, as far down as the mouth of the St.

John's River, which was then considered the boundary

line between Georgia and Florida. He began -to cast

about to see where he could find people to send down

into this dangerous region, and he was very fortunate

in finding them.

In the year 1736 there emigrated to Georgia a

splendid body of Highlanders from the hills and moun

tains of Scotland. The company consisted, of one huni;:

. ".

"v-S''; " "

...

fJ

"-,;?';;/;'.

; . ^V-.vV?,.

-*

'.^^. '

:'-%! '-;f .-

ty\i : >.'%$$&

clred and fifty men and fifty women and children. They-.

were not paupers, like the debtors who settled in Savan-
74-: '; ' '"""-'' . : ' 'f - .: -

The Highlanders.

75

" nah, nor impoverished exiles like the Salzburgers who settled Ebenezer, but brave, sturdy, independent "folk,
J-Vwhose spirit had.never been broken by poverty or perse cution. They belonged to the farming class of people in Scotland, and were accustomed to hard work out in the open air. The men had "all been trained, too, to mili tary service. They were tall, broad-shouldered, stalwart fellows; and dressed in : .their plaids, with their broadswords, targets, and fire-arms, they made a superb body of soldiers. Altogether they were the finest lot of emigrants that had yet come to Georgia. They were the very people that Oglethorpe needed to guard. the dangerous southern frontier.
i|^r Oglethorpe had se lected as their home a fplace on the banks of
;|1|l;i e Altamaha River, A , Hig"lila"nd^O"fficer. -

miles below Savannah, fight where tile little town

Darien now. stands. They called the place New Inver* li

ness, after the city* of Inverness in Scotland, from the ;? I ' 'Vt/'*'' '*'' neighborhood of which most of them had come; but0 I

the name was afterward changed to Darien.

-^ |

While the emigrants were in Savannah, some med- i-

dlesome Carolinians tried to frighten them from going

south by telling them, "The spot that Oglethorpe has ;

selected for your home is so situated that the Spaniards :

can shoot you from the houses in their fort." "Why,

then, we will beat them out of their fort, and shall . I

have houses ready built to live in!" answered the brave " f

Highlanders.

New Inverness was beautifully located on a high \

bluff on the river bank, in a grove of broad spreading, t |

live-oaks, while all around for many miles stretched f

the vast, level pine forests of southern Georgia. In |

this great wilderness the hardy Highlanders went to

work in high spirits and with intelligent industry, ,and

it is wonderful what they accomplished. In a few

months under their busy hands a strong fort was built

on the banks of the river, and" a pretty little town ,4.





'

-'"*. *V ' ,

J

* i'V.'S"''

arose with many houses surrounded by well-cultivated^

gardens and outlying fields. The soil was very thin %

and poorly adapted to agriculture; but for a few-years.^

The Highlanders.

- 77

I IS while it was yet fresh and enriched with, the decayed

y '-Tfl '

ft

| fl leaves of centuries,. it yielded abundant harvests. Well

I ^gmight it be said of these good Scotch emigrants, in

^ ^ the beautiful language of the Bible, "The wilderness

and the solitary places shall be glad for them, and the

desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose!"

The Highlanders were great favorites with Ogle-

thorpe. His soldier heart was completely wron by their

'-': . energy, heroism, and fine military bearing. Soon after

they had settled at New Inverness, and before they had

,4 $- yet built their houses, he paid them a visit of several

. days. While he was there, in order to please them, he

wore the Highland costume. Captain Mackay, the leader

5 . of the colony, oflered him the use of his own comfort-

|? ^able tent and warm bed, the only one in the settle

ment that was furnished with sheets, but Oglethorpe

declined the offer and slept out of doors by the camp

fire wrapped in his Scotch plaid. While he remained,

he cheerfully shared all the hardships of the people,

..and by his kindness and genial manners made himself

f|; ^^eatly beloved by them.

-

" -

P :i^|;;AH the other colonists of Georgia felt grateful to

|>fv ;|"^ik}tt^^-^iJ';'"H' ighlanders, for well they knew that these doughty

.Mfev stood r," "?f/yrj;'**-' ^'-' as a bulwark and a protection between them

:. '~~-'.:< J ' '* .

iftKtdreaded Spaniards. In the Spanish war that

y^fe-H$.'>.'-..;. _' :?;.--- '.;;-.' '

'

. .

.,'-'

Georgia History

came a few years later, the valiant Highlanders, as ' *
shall see in the next chapter, were Oglethorpe's main- ff

stay. They fought .with reckless bravery, and it was ;|l

mainly through them that the colony of Georgia was Jf
.%*:'
saved from destruction. Many of them were slain, and 3

in all ways they bore the brunt of the conflict and were ;-

the chief sufferers of the war.

This gallant band of emigrants suffered dreadfully

from the Spanish war. Man}- of them were killed in

battle, many taken prisoners, and the colony was broken

up and scattered. Altogether they had a hard time in , I

America. Their story was a short, brave, sad one. j

Their little town of New Inverness passed into other

hands, and its name was changed to Darien. No body j ' !
of emigrants that crossed the great waters in those early - |

days to make their home in the New World was more f

interesting and picturesque than the doughty High- t

landers who settled on the banks of the Altamaha in j

the somber piny woods of Georgia.

j

.'y&ssr.

CHAPTER VI.

. FRED ERIC A.

Having/seen his Highlanders well settled at New

Inverness, Oglethorpe went ahead with great energy to

carry out his plan of establishing forts along the south

ern coast of Georgia as a protection against the Span-

' iards. With his fine military eye he saw that the first

and most important of these forts should be located on

St. Simon's Island near the mouth of the Altamaha

River. St. Simon's is separated from the mainland by

a narrow strip of water which is really an arm of the

Altamaha. It is a narrow stream, but the water is very

deep and navigable for ; the largest boats. Oglethorpe

knew that if the Spaniards should ever invade Georgia,

their fleet would be sure to come up this stream; and

for this reason he determined to place a strong fort on

the west side of the island by the river's edge. He also

thought it best to plant a colony back of the fort and

establish a sort of military town there.

^|t, Simon's was a beautiful island; arid at that time

ttS^as covered with a grand primeval forest of live-oak,

.;:-1ss>*''ei&"?>.-v '

o

J.

laurel, bay, cedar, sweet gum, and pines,

were festooned with long gray moss; and

-. :.;':;.- 79

' - - " -

from many of them hung vines bearing ' m.uscadinesf ~''ijijij;

purple fox-grapes, and fragrant yellow jasmine. The H; '*$*? '

srround beneath them was covered with palmettoes and' -Wfr

fe

^

v . ^ Xf-Af'-

bushes of azaleas, white, pink, and scarlet honeysuckles, 3;



J

-'^f.-

and all manner of beautiful wild flowers. The woods<'.'*^v'-

abounded with deer, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, squir

rels, wild turkeys, turtle doves, mocking birckx and

''



\

f'- !

great droves of rice birds; while the adjacent marshes

were frequented by wild geese, herons, cranes, and marsh i

hens; and the waters teemed with fishes, crabs, shrimps,
i
and oysters. The soil was fertile, the climate healthful,:-?} |

and .the air delightful, the temperature being neither *

very warm nor very cold. Surely it was,a choice place

for the habitation of man!

i

,

tV ,

*

On the northwest side of the island there was a-S f

cleared spot about forty acres in extent where an Indian : I

town and cornfields had once stood, but which was now .

deserted. On this spot Oglethorpe determined to plant-:, j

.his colony and build his fort., For this purpose he .\

brought over from England a shipload of two him- j

dred emigrants. Some were German Lutherans,, like' '/



'



'

\P

thei Salzburgers : a few, perhaps-;f were' -Scotch Hieh-^i

"'' .--'.-

-.... ..'vV^"-^ : :\ ..-...:; " ^p|

landers; but most of them were English people: TheWf

\

-: -

fI

landed at. Savannah in February, 1736. Oglethorpe tool& j

thirty^of the. strongest men of the company and on^l

'-

-

"

11

Frederica.

.81 ,

hundred other workmen and a number of Indians and

sailed down to St. Simon's to begin the building of the

. town and the-fort.

;

Arriving at the/ island, he immediately put his labor

ers to work, and under his energetic supervision

they worked like beavers. The town was soon laid off

and the land cleared. There was in the company .a

shrewd Jew, who had lived in Brazil and who knew

how to make houses out of palmetto leaves. This plant

fortunately grew in great abundance on the island. So

under .the skilful direction. of the Jew many palmetto

booths or bowers were erected. Each one was thirty

feet long and twenty feet wide. They made a pretty

appearance as they stood in rows like soldiers' tents, only

I ' much further apart. They were so well constructed

"- that they kept perfectly dry inside, even during the | hardest and most driving rain; and they served finely

>l as a temporary abode for the colonists until more sub-

[ stantial houses could be built. To the town thus

| parted, Oglethorpe gave the name of Frederica, after

I i^rederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George

I^l|pt of England.

.

..

|"Up While the. Jew was attending to the erection of the

Iplmetto houses, Oglethorpe was directing the building :. %

ISfBie ,fort; antf;;a;: rg:reat fort he-i made of It. There.-^lSS

*1pp' '-' : iJ^--^: -:.' L -.

^xf'-v:.'.' - .

^^^fcfejll

Iffei;' J : ; :;.; ^V:^/l^|||3^'.: ;::; '-: .''-,-.",: '-.?W.' J^^i^''^ ,.' ^'^, ' ' ''.- ^vfSll^l^S

^^&^^.^^^iM^^f:^ 5i"''0.';S^'^^:;l^^^:??--v::-^.- .*:..-.. '?J%&i?&*M&48&

3 82"'.'" ' s '' Georgid- History:Stories.

is no rock or stone in that part of Georgia, so Ogl

thorpe made his fort of a sort of artificial stone calle

tabby, composed of crushed shells .and cement, a

position almost as enduring as granite. The fort was||f

built at the water's edge and commanded the full sweep/Hl

of the river, so that no hostile ship could pass it. '^' *;

Back in the woods several hundred yards from the for/t, ; :;

he erected a large storehouse and barracks building, _,,, >

also made of tabby and possessing considerable archi

tectural beauty.

.

I

Besides this great fort Oglethorpe built .a number ;4| J

of others down the southern coast of Georgia; one at ~&. *

the south end of St. Simon's Island, two on Cumberland

Island,--one at the north and the other at the south 7 i 4-1
end,---one on Amelia Island, and one on St. George*! i -:',;& &'
Island at the mouth of the St. John's River. In each -~ V-

of these forts he placed cannon and a small garrison of 7| f

soldiers. This pushing of his forts and his soldiers ~ |

down to the very edge of the Spanish country was a .; f;

very bold, audacious step on Oglethorpe's part. It was ; f

what the gamblers call ''playing a bluff game"; that is, A |'

putting on the appearance of being stronger and more^||j|

confident than he really was. It had the in; tended-'"effec' t''*$%$$| '9
it frightened the Spaniards and deterred them for severa}^|

years from making the invasion they so much desired.

^

Fred erica.

83

f

Early in March, the palmetto houses being finished,

5- the colonists, who had been waiting at Savannah for

| a month, were brought down to Fredenca. They came

in broad, open rowboats called periaguas. It was a

trying voyage for them, exposed, as they were, to the

chill March winds. When at last beautiful St. Simon's

was reached, it looked like Paradise to them. The

women went cheerily to housekeeping in their cozy pal

metto bowers, while the men cleared the lands and

erected more permanent homes. The people were all

'- charmed with their new home, as well they might be.

Frederica grew and flourished mightily. When at

its best it numbered, including the soldiers, more than

. a thousand inhabitants; and, except Savannah, it was

if "* the largest and most important town in Georgia. It

I was a favorite place with Oglethorpe. He made his

I home there from the time the town was founded until

J his departure for England. The only house he ever

- owned in America was there, and the spot on which

| jt stood can still be pointed out. He always spoke of

I lH&e place with great affection; and yet while he lived

if ftfere ne nad no end of worry and trouble with insub-

f pdinate officers, mutinous soldiers, Spanish spies, un-

|% IfS^t critics, and all sorts of cranky and mean people.

, _. .,

W"esley-,-vth^e.' fa-m ous' yo.-ungVer:v-'B^rot'h-e*r' of -.the still:,-^v;';i^'S:^S?lfpt

---

-

- ?%&'M1&&

84 .'". '."'G.e.orgia . History S' toriefs.

.[

more famous John Wesley, also lived at Frederica.

The great live-oak under which he preached his first

sermon is still standing in its green old age, and is

pointed out to visitors as an object of sacred interest.*

After the Spanish Colonial War was over, Fred-

erica declined rapidly,

because there was no

longer any reason for

its existence. During

the Revolutionary War,

what remained of it

was almost completely

destroyed by the Brit

ish army. Afterwards,

mighty and patriotic ef

forts were made to re

vive it and to restore it

Wesley Oak at Frederica.

to its old glory, but all in vain. It had finished

its mission and must pass away. By the year 1820 it was

entirely deserted. In recent years three or four modern

* The short life of this island .town was full of--tragedies and comi-

tragedies, but we have not space to relate them frere. You may find a

full and interesting account of them in Bishop Stevens's and C. C. Jones's

big and good histories of Georgia. The extremely important part that'the.

town played in the Spanish Colonial War and why historians call it "The

Thermopylae of Georgia," you will soon learn in, another chapter of this,

book.

.

Frederica.

85

I fpbuses have been erected: on the ground where the town

| ^stood, but Frederica itself is no more.^ Like Ebenezer,

I Jltfe is % '$$$&-'

one .

of the --

dead

towns

of

Georgia.

& ^:r A fragment of the old fort with one of its iron

* "cannon still stands by the water's edge;* and out in the

Ruins, of the Old Fort at Frederica.

woods near by, the arched and castellated front of the

,,barracks building rises "grand, gloomy, and peculiar,"

;l|||nbng the green trees--and a handsome piece of archi-

:^cture it is, too, in its gray and neglected old age.

_ h-.'Vi .

* Since these lines were written the Colonial Dairies of Georgia have fort restored, as nearly as practicable, as it stood in 1735. The
the tablet took place April 11, 1904.

Still further back in^the woods is the colonial grave-! yard, where, under moss-covered trees centuries old, good people of the vanished town have been sweetly sleeping for one hundred and sixty years. That is all that is left of Frederica. "Sic transit gloria mundij"

CHAPTER VII.

I. PREPARATIONS FOR THE WAR.

One day in the latter part of the year 1730. a Span-

ish officer, one Captain Don Antonio Arredondo, came

: from St. Augustine to Frederica with this message for

* ~Oglethorpe: "The King of Spain demands that the

I English evacuate all towns and forts south of St.

I Helena Sound as being located on the dominions of

I Spain!" Oglethorpe replied, "We refuse to evacuate 1 these towns and forts, for they belong to the King of

, England and not to the King of Spain!" Having re-

; ceived this answer the messenger returned to St. Augus-

I tine.
Soon after this, Oglethorpe was informed that a

large fleet ui ships and a big arm}' had been sent by

' the Spanish Government from Havana to St. Augus-

? tine. What could this mean but preparation for the

:- invasion of Georgia? t Oglethorpe saw the danger and

I f|ted with his usual promptness and vigor. He at once

f i&i aboard a .ship and . sailed for England, where he

IlSp; the whole situation before the king. The king

I |ntl parliament made him general of all the forces in -

. '.&..

\.

'

-

' J -<3$!

%&:i 8&:"^^:

South Carolina and Georgia, with orders to these provinces from, the Spaniards "to the last tremity." They also furnished him with a splen d. id**' regiment of English sold iers, to aid in the defens'e' "'^;ah' d<', sent them over on a vessel to Frederica. Having''-a]Cr. complished this much, Oglethorpe got aboard his ship and hastened back to Georgia. On reaching Savannah he found that the Spaniards had been up to mischief while he was gone. They had sent emissaries, or se cret agents, to all the tribes of the Creek Indians to try to turn them against the English, and to induce them by bribes and fair promises to join the side-of Spain. The Indians at this time really had some just ground of complaint against the English, on ac count of the bad way in which they had been treated by dishonest English traders. The Spaniards made the most of this grievance and caused the Indians to take -a greatly exaggerated view of it. It looked as if they might succeed in winning nearly the whole Creek Nation over to their side, which would have been ruin ous to Georgia.
.s
Chiefs of several of the tribes, stanch friends of (Dglethorpe, came to Savannah.-to : tell him; of these things and to warn him of the danger. They also told him that during the coming' summer the chiefs of all

The Spanish War.

89

"the tribes of the Creeks and of several other Indian nations would assemble in their yearly council at Coweta Town _on the Chattahoochee River; and they urged him to attend this meeting, so that he might con fer with .the chiefs and fix their loyalty to him. Ogle thorpe determined so to do, though it would be a most
o.
arduous and perilous expedition; but when duty called, Oglethorpe was always indifferent to hardship and reck less of danger. He sent word to the chiefs of the vari ous tribes that he would meet them in the big council at Coweta Town.
Coweta Town was situated on the west side of the Chattahoochee River a few miles below the present -city of Columbus, and on the spot where now stands the little village of Fort Mitchell, Alabama. It was, of course, an Indian town, and few if any white men had ever seen the place. It was two hundred and fifty miles in a bee line from Savannah, but by the zigzag route that Oglethorpe would have to pursue it was four hun.dred miles. j Oglethorpe's party consisted of three white attend/ants, .two .--white" interpreters, and three Indian guides. jjThey were. mounted on horses, and there were several ^pack-horses ,besides to carry their baggage. With this;

w?
plunged into the wilderness, with which nearly ~ whole state of Georgia was then covered." Ovef | swamps, through tangled thickets, along ravines, pa|! $ rivers that had to be crossed on rafts or by swimmingvf; | he pushed his way to the westward. At night he sleptH'f
"'B' V
on the ground by the watch-fires, giving up to his at-;' 1 tendants the two little tents that were brought on the pack horses. He was guided through the wilderness by the ''blazed trees''' of traders or by the narrow' In dian trails that he struck now and then, or frequently by nothing but his pocket compass. For over two hun-,; | dred miles he journeyed without meeting a human be-'' * ing, for Georgia was very thinly settled by Indians; ; their towns and villages were few and far between.
When forty miles, from Coweta Town, he was met-:' f( by a number of Indian chiefs who had, come to es- ; cort him and bring him supplies of provisions. He ; crossed the Chattahoochee River in a canoe at the point > where the city of Columbus now stands. The exact. ':I place on the river bank from which he embarked on ] the Georgia side is still pointed out and has been marked with a suitable stone and inscription . by the . I Oglethorpe Chapter of the Daughters^'otr-the - American- ?.f! f| Revolution. Proceeding a few miles further to the'! southwest, he reached Coweta .Town, where, the chiefsj|

! v?'

The Spanish War.

91

fi . /-'were holding" their big council. The Indians were pver-

* v joyed to see him, for he held a very deep place in their

') ,'<._

| | affections. '.,, - .

t *''

'

.

For days he listened patiently to their long, tire

some "talks/" as they called their public speeches. At

; night he witnessed, their wild, satyr-like dances in the

. lurid glare of the big bonfires. He was lulled to sleep

by their weird incantations and the dreary beating of

' the "torn torn/' He assured them that their grievances

against the dishonest traders should be adjusted and .^ ? that they should be cheated no more. He convinced

them that the English were still their best friends. He

easily induced them to make a solemn promise that they

Iv -> w.- ould continue to stand by him and.t'h'a.t the'y would i aid the English in any trouble that might arise between

them and the Spaniards. Xo other white man that ever

came to America, not even the great William Penn him-

l self, had such a powerful and wholesome influence over

the Indians as did James Oglethorpe!

a t Having fully accomplished his purpose in coming
| ;-:fe.'.
TMI ?f&($$|;Coweta T' own, Oglethorpe turned his face eastward | -and.again plunged int-o the great, wilderness. His return
was even more toilsome than his coming, for the

eather was bad and men and horses were jaded. He

j|:,

.

-

J

elied
-

Augus.ta on ---

S- ep* temb' er

7th,-

17:" 39. ,

an'--d

for

three

92

weeks he was prostrated by fever brought on by fatijpi| and exposure. In this wild and wonderful journey had taken his life in his .hands. Aside from other perit|v| ^

he was in daily danger of assassination by some treacjlt| J| erous Indian; for there was not a red man in all trifl i| Creek Nation that did not know he would receive a princely reward from the Spaniards for James Ogle-. ..

thorpe's scalp.

.

As soon as he had recovered from the fever, he went

to Charleston to see what aid South Carolina would

extend in case of a struggle with Spain. He had some; trouble with the authorities of that selfish colony; but

at last they made him fair promises, 'which they never kept. He had now clone everything in his power to get ready for the threatened conflict with Spain; and,'as .it J

turned out, that conflict was very near at hand.

II. SIEGE OF ST. AUGUSTINE.

;|

About the middle of November, 1739, a party of Spaniards landed on Amelia Island during the night and 4

concealed themselves among the palmetto bushes. At f

daybreak next morning, they shot to death two unarmed {

Highland soldiers who had come out of .the fort to gather

fuel, and cut off their heads and'MutilMed their bodi||5
'-}&
horribly. Their purpose was to push' on and capturj |

the little fort; but Captain Francis {;B rooks,. who co:rj|

The Spanish War.

93

Iffianded an English scout boat, hearing the firing that

IPJled the Highlanders, came quickly up and drove the

^fpniards away. The murder of these, two Highland-

Jers was the first bloodshed of the Spanish War.

When Oglethorpe, at Frederica, heard of this out

rage, he determined not to wait for the Spaniards to in

vade Georgia, but to take the initiative himself and in

vade Florida and capture St. Augustine. This was a

bold step, but Oglethorpe felt that he must continue to

play a bluff game with the Spaniards. He was greatly

Relayed in his preparations by the conduct of South

Carolina. That colony at first refused to render any

assistance, but at last consented and furnished a con

siderable contingent for the war, though not nearly so

ferge a one as was rightly due from her. The Creek

Indians did much better. Mindful of the promise they

.had made to Oglethorpe at Coweta Town, they readily

furnished .him with all the warriors he called for--

'if !;''

nearly one thousand in number. By the last of May,

**-

'

$; ?|740, he had everything ready to start on the great

f ;"Afif5e>^.v-' 'a"' *s4 ion. His army numbered over two thousand men,
1 -ile&rly one thousand of whom were Indians, the rest % S %eitig made up of the five hundred regulars that had

from England, of Scotch Highlanders, and of

;94:

Georgia History Stories^ :

considerable fleet of ships that was to operate '. j St. Augustine from the water side. The land army

was transported in vessels to the mouth of the St.. John's

River, where it disembarked.

Starting

' from the

mouth

of

the

' St.

John's,

' .' Ogle-

thorpe swept southward, capturing with little trouble all-

Spanish forts and outposts up to the very gates of St.

The Old Spanish Gate at St. Augustine.

Augustine; but there he was completely checkmated. St.

Augustine was splendidly protected by walls, forts and

entrenchments, well built and skilfully arranged. Its

army of defense consisted of 1,400 veteran Spanish sol

diers

under a ' '

very *

able .

commander, General



""

.'",.

Manuel ''...

de: '-x '3?

Monteano. On the ocean .side it was so -well guarded!

by Spanish warships that the English fleet could not-

-

'$-:'

approach near enough to render much, assistance to th$|

The Spanish War. '

95

land army. x Oglethorpe was greatly astonished to find

the city so strongly protected. He soon saw that he

eould not take_it by storm> as he had fully expected

to do. He must try to take it by siege and the "starv

ing out" plan.

He completely surrounded the city with his army

and his ships, so that no provisions or reinforcements

could be brought in. For a while this plan worked ad

mirably, but it soon failed through the disobedience of

one of Oglethorpe's officers. To the west several roads

led from the city out into the country. On one of these

roads, two miles from the town, was Fort Moosa, which

Oglethorpe had taken from the Spaniards. He ap

pointed Colonel Palmer with a force of ninety-five

Highlanders and forty Indians to guard these roads,

saying to him, "Patrol the roads night and day. See

that not a soul passes over them into the city. Make

. your headquarters at Fort Moosa, but don't stay there

or anywhere else any two nights in succession; move

v constantly about from place to place, lest the Spaniards
V ,,:'!,
lecture you by a surprise attack." For a while Colonel

|PaImer obeyed these orders strictly, but he soon grew

|f .-Vtfjf/

'

.

"

|ca|eless. He spent three nights in succession in Fort

It was so much more comfortable there than

24th,

i^.v^
;..:f/*: '96 -.-'..' " '" "' Georgia History. Stories?/'
the great iron gate of St. Augustine opened and marched a body of three hundred Spanish soldiers,' picked men, the very flower of the army. Stealthily! they crept near the fort and' hid in the bushes. Justf before day, when men are wont to sleep most soundl^f '
.V '
they made the attack. The Highlanders were taken completely by surprise, but they fought like tigers. Although awakened from sound sleep by this terrific attack they were not panic stricken, but seized their broadswords and slashed the Spaniards right and left. Spanish blood flowed like water. Many of the Higli^, J landers, too, fell under Spanish bullets and bayonets. * Among the first to fall was the disobedient but brave i Colonel Palmer. Perhaps he sought death, feeling J keenly that this disaster was all his fault. Twenty-two f brave Highlanders were killed. The Indians fled panic- I stricken in the early part of the fight. More than a f hundred Spanish soldiers lay dead; only a few of theni | were shot; nearly all were killed by the terrible broa'd- |swords of the Highlanders. But the Spaniards had I gained a great victory. Colonel Palmer's command was ; utterly destroyed, Fort Moosa was recaptured, the roads 1 were opened, and provisions came''pouring into ,.St. gustine for the pent-up garrison!
Oglethorpe's starving-out -plan had failed, but .Jffe



The Spanish War.

97

-JT- -"

'

. :-

Still held the city in siege, hoping that he might force

:; a surrender with his cannon balls. For days and days,

Sail day long, his cannon boomed and boomed away at

St. Augustine, while, in reply, the Spanish cannon

thundered forth; but the distance between the two was

too great, the shots mostly fell short, and with all the

booming not much damage was done on either side.

Midsummer had now come. The heat of the tropical

sun was terrible to Ogle-

thorpe's poor soldiers in

their open camps, unac

customed as they were to

such a climate. Many of

them sickened and died;

and the rest had their
St. Mark's Castle, St. Augustine.
lives almost tormented

out of them by the terrible heat, sand flies and mosqui

toes. The Indians, who can never stand a waiting fight,

became restless, and deserted by hundreds. The South

Carolina soldiers became mutinous and threatened to

^{Jjsband and go home.

;,;/

! At last Oglethorpe, finding that with all his cannon-

"", .

gding he could do no great hurt to the Spaniards, gave

tip the whole thing as a hopeless undertaking. So on

. ;/

=tf|^20th day : of :Julp he ordered the siege4|o;beraised. .

-,>,,,%.! ;,"..r\'ja,a;j,*',.y*.> -v--:-'.;;
GW^^^iSj'i?S".^'p" ry

He marched his weary arid ^bedraggled-Georgia-j

back to Frederica, while the South Carolina contingent

sailed for Charleston. The whole expedition had be"ffrtff a dismal failure. Poor Oglethorpe was most severe!^

and unjustly criticized by all America and alFEnglanlif

*

'

--/^'-'

III. BATTLE OF ST. SIMON'S SOUND.

Oglethorpe's unsuccessful attack on St. Augus

tine proved, after all, to be of great benefit to Georgia.

The boldness of the attempt so frightened Spain that

she deferred for many months her proposed invasion of

Georgia and South Carolina. For nearly two years

there was a lull in the war and almost a complete ces

sation of active hostilities. Oglethorpe spent the time

preparing with great energy for the terrific storm that

he knew would, sooner or later, burst upon him. He

greatly strengthened the defences around Frederica; he

built a new fort at the other end of St. Simon's Island,

nine miles from Frederica; he withdrew, the forces from

St. George's Island, Amelia Island, and Fort St. An

drew and used them to strengthen the garrison at Fort

William; he reinforced his army as far as possible and

drilled the soldiers constantly,.:, ^gar^cely were these

preparations completed before 'ffie ' TsSorm Burst upon,

him.

-

. In May, 1742, a Spanish armada consisting..of ; fifty-

aBBa^!ffiSi_if.l,B.._i_^_^____

The Spanish War.

99

four warships and seven thousand soldiers left Havana for St. Augustine. Its avowed purpose was to sweep up the Atlantic_c6ast and wipe the English colonies out of Georgia and South Carolina and add those provinces to the possessions of Spain. When Oglethorpe re ceived this alarming news he dispatched a messenger . to Charleston to call on South Carolina to send to him at once her quota of soldiers and ships for the com mon defence, but much to Oglethorpe's chagrin South Carolina refused to give any assistance. So the. brave
!
Oglethorpe, ^with' his little army of less than a thou sand men, whites and Indians, and only three warships, " was left to meet alone the dreadful war storm that was gathering to the south.- But his heroic spirit rose with the danger,\ Imd. his noble language was, "We are re solved not to suffer defeat; we will rather die like Leonidas and his Spartans, if we can but protect Georgia and Carolina and the rest of the Americans from desolation!"
On the 21st of June, a Spanish fleet of fourteen w.ar'.ships appeared of'f the south end of Cumberland Island and tried to pass between the island and the mainland, but was driven off by a cannonading from Fort William, aided by one of Oglethorpe's warships

G &r$ia History

28th day of June, the^same fleet, reinforced to

six

warships

and

"\
carrying

five

thousand

.'". --rlr
soldiers, hav

ing sailed up along the east side of Cumberland ancp

Jekyl, made its appearance just outside St. Simon's Sound, as the strip ol

water between Jekyl and

St. Simon's is called. .

There for several days

it rode back and forth,

waiting for a favorable

wind to take it through

the sound and up the

narrow river to Fred-

erica.

All was now energy

and activity on St. Si

BORKAK &. CO., N.Y.
that was so near at hand.

mon's, preparing for the life-and-death struggle Oglethorpe and his little

band of eight hundred must defend Frederica to the \

last gasp against this overwhelming Spanish armada;

for if the enemy should succeed in taking this strong

hold, they could sweep almost without resistance ovff1!

the whole of Georgia and South Carolina. Frederica \

being lost, all would be lost, The situation was

The Spanish War.

101

i'^-unlike Leonidas and his Spartans facing Xerxes and

$'.. his mighty host at the Pass of Thermopylae. Ogle-

i^thorpe drew his soldiers up on parade ground, and made

*%jjjjf.'

,

""" '

-- -





'"' them an inspiring speech that fired their hearts with

heroism.

The first resistance was to be made down at Fort

St. Simon's, on the south end of the island. The fort

'stood at the water's edge overlooking the sound, just

where a great lighthouse stands at this day., At this

point Oglethorpe concentrated "nearly all of his forces.

:J Besides the fort, he had in the_ sound three battleships

and eight small sloops moored close against the shore,

each sloop having on board ..a little cannon and one

man to fire it.

On July 5th, a 'favorable wind sprang up, and at

the same time the high spring tide came in and raised

the waters in the sound and in the river; so the Span

ish ships spread their sails and, forming in line of

'battle, started through the sound. It was a grand and

. appalling spectacle!.. Just as they turned northward to

||go up the narrow river, the fort, the th^ee English bat-

||fleships, and all the little sloops opened fire on them.

?JJK terrific naval battle ensued. It lasted three hours,

louring which more than two thousand cannon shots

m m: xm^-:--,:^ $-'?e,.''jf-i-red-,-iif:*.Oi- ^n..e:-,o:f-' the Engli s' h. ^b&a

sunk,

%te^:"'.'-and several of the Spanish vessels^were/ba3ly^ell

'

.*.''

"'

~ ""* '.*'' --*''-.

. > .':'. -i l-.j

aged. Eighteen Spaniards were killed and many we|||

wounded, and the English loss also was considerabl|

It was an heroic fight on the part of the English,

they were too greatly outnumbered. In spite of the*

utmost efforts the Spanish ships' ran past them, anc'BW "I

turning northward, sailed up the river to within four";

miles of Frederica, where they cast anchor at
3
coigne's Bluff, very near where the big sawmills of the"
Hilton and Dodge Lumber Company now stand. The
[_. -river above this point was so narrow that the Spanish^ || commander was afraid to risk his ships under fire o| Fort Frederica, until he could arrange to have his land army cooperate with him against the place; so he dis
embarked his soldiers on Gascoigne's Bluff, ~

IV. BLOODY MARSH.
The situation was now more desperate than ever.^ Night had come on, but for the almost exhausted soKfl diers of Oglethorpe there must be neither rest nor sleep. J| Oglethorpe knew that to prevent being cut off from! his retreat to Frederica, he must move with utmost J promptness and celerity. He ordered his two -: "ing .bVa-ttl'-e*s''hips to sa^il- at' on""c"e'for' 'C^:h;aWrl$e&sto.^nf[ef^o^r'--t^h-ie-'S^iHH could be of no further service chere,^and if they -^^*^ mainjed they would certainly be captured by .the

RE, ?*' JSf-Iff'

*^ &(:. wmc - .
?.,:- -?Sgv

H Sfe-^ftf- i:~ ' ",- The Spanish War. *

103

:',?}; . ., * f*>'.J?'- V;* *

--,,

'spiked .the" guns'in the fort, destroyed the supplies,

^4
* '.< ->; ^4?*%^.' "fX .J- i .'.

fland
<-%&<". ^f " '^^''/^^jvi . .'&:;' Z-r- S^>'-!7 ::" ^

blew up the magazine.

JL .

<_J

sloops moored by the

Then he set fire to the shore; and by the lurid

^conflagration that they made, he started a little after

%:midnight on his retreat to Frederick, nine miles away,

.and reached the place just at daybreak. The fight

' down at Fort St. Simon's had been fierce, but well he

:- : knew that the great life-and-death struggle was yet to

';i/ come!

On the morning of the 6th, the Spanish commander,

Iffinding that the English had abandoned Fort St.

' Simon's, marched his forces from Gascoigne's Bluff

three miles across the country down to the fort, so

that he might have the protection of its walls from any

tlattack the English might make. From this point he

prepared to march against Frederica.

On the morning of the 7th, the Spanish advance guard,

^consisting of four hundred picked men, started towards

"Frederica. When within two miles of the place, they

came upon a company of thirty mounted rangers whom

IJjOglethorpe had sent out as a picket, and with a sin-

volley drove them back, killing one of their num-

Oglethorpe, hearing the firing, sprang upon his,

, and at the head of the Highlanders, Indians, and

pened to be under arms at the time, dashed throug$|

the woods and drove the enemy back, with muchl

slaughter, to an open plain, or savannah, seven miles||

from Frederica. He posted the forces with him in t

i

&!

thick wood along the edge of the savannah, and put||

them in charge of the Highland captains, Sutherland

and Mackay, while he himself galloped'back to Fred-

erica to get the rest of the troops and bring them up.

While he was gone, the Spaniards, largely rein

forced, advanced across the savannah, and with loud

huzzahs charged on the forces in the edge of the woods. J <

Two companies of British regulars, becoming panic- :.

stricken, gave way before the charge and fled in wild -

confusion. The Spaniards, following hot on their '.: '

heels, pursued them to within two miles of Frederica, i I

and then turning, started back, thinking all the time \

that they had driven back the entire command. In , |

the mean time, the soldiers who had remained at their; J

post were ordered by Captains Sutherland and Mackay * I to conceal themselves behind the palmetto bushes jn.the II

woods, for they knew that the Spaniards would soon j

be corning back. So the fatal ambush was prepared. "' {

Behind .every palmetto bush on both sides of the road #I

and far back into the woods an English soldier lay con- J j

cealed with his gun ready, still as death.

tI







~

r/

\'

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sv. i

The Spanish War.

,105

In a little while, sure enough, the Spaniards were

pfseen coming down the road with martial tread, and

tlpheads erect,, proud of their victory, and having not

;. the least suspicion of the death trap into which they

were about to march. When near the edge of the

woods they halted, stacked their guns in the road, and

sat down on the ground to rest and to eat the break

fast that they carried in their haversacks. But scarcely

were they seated when Captain Mackay gave to his

men the signal agreed upon, by raising his Highland

cap on the point of his uplifted sword; and then "bang!

bang! bang!" from behind the palmetto bushes a deadly

fire was poured into the poor astounded Spaniards.

Quickly they sprang to their guns, but before they could

form in line of battle the English charged through the

rustling palmettoes right down upon them. Some of

their officers bravely tried to make them take a stand,

but all in vain. They broke and ran in a perfect

stampede, and were charged by the English out of the

^ woods and across the savannah as a flock of sheep are

Ilfchased by a pack of wolves.

'.$>,?*""-:? '

J

F

~fv v On the other side of the Savannah was an open

Uesalt marsh extending to the sea. The terror-stricken

^Spaniards, seeing that their way by the road was cut

by the English, tried to make their .escape by rush- -

ing straight across this marsh to the shelter of the sandj-S*Vil dunes on the other side; but they mired up in the marsh ?l
-T V-
so that they could scarcely move, and were shot down v 'f-?$
there by scores, their bodies falling into the long sea -|f
**j(<X.
grass and their life's blood staining with red the black^lf

swamp ooze. This awful place of slaughter is known -

to this day as "Bloody Marsh/" and is pointed out to

visitors as the most tragic spot on this tragic island.

The forests have been mostly cleared away from this

vicinity, but the open savannah, the marsh, and the white

sand dunes beyond appear to-day precisely as they did -.^

when the battle was fought one hundred and sixty "-'

years ago.

Over two hundred Spaniards were killed in 'that

day's fight, and many more were taken prisoners. Very , ?

few got back to the Spanish lines to tell the' clreadfill

tale. In the battle no soldier on the English "side be

haved more heroically than .did our young Indian friend,

Toonahowi. He had succeeded Tomo-chi-chi as chief

of the Yamacraws, and had joined Oglethorpe's army

at the head of a hundred Creek warriors. In the thick

est of the fray just described he was charging with

lifted- tomahawk on a Spanish captain' ..when the

' ' """'-



r

- '."^'^"r-r: ,,.- . '?: ~.

tain, with a pistol ball, broke his right arm; Dowrjllt

--..'-,

: :,--i^-j:-'

dropped arm and tomahawk; but quick as a flash hej|

The Spanish War.

107

drew his pistol with his left hand and shot the captain through the brain, killing him instantly. Two years later, this young Indian chief was killed in a skirmish with J:he Spaniards down in Florida, but not until he ^had; by many feats of arms and deeds of valor, fulfilled the dear wish of old Tomo-chi-chi's heart, that Toonahowi should "be big warrior!"
General Monteano, commander of the Spaniards, was greatly alarmed at this terrible defeat of his advance guard, and deemed it necessary to exercise extreme caution in his further movements; he therefore post poned until the next day marching against Frederick with his main body. That night Oglethorpe, by prac ticing a most shrewd and cunning stratagem, which we have not space to relate here, 'but a full and very interesting account of which you may find in C. C. Jones's history, made the Spaniards believe that he had a large and powerful fleet at Frederica and vicinity. Brave General Monteano was anxious to go ; ahead and fight it out anyhow; but his soldiers were -,y panic-stricken, and several of his generals, especially i- the one commanding the Cuban contingent, which co\m\ posed more than half of his army, refused to act with ^him. So on the 8th day of July, the great Spanish jlJipst--ships, soldiers, and all--sailed away for St. Angus-. ^^^

,m.i;-.->

.

-

r^again 'did Spain 1 attempt the in-vasid"i''',.

of Georgia. The war was continued in a feeble, half-flj

hearted sort of way for two yearsjorjger, when it wasj|

brought to a close by a final treaty of peace betweenjA

Spain and England. -

'"-"'?'

Thus, with a little band of only eight hundred men ^

and three ships, Oglethorpe had driven off a Spanish .

armada of thirty-six warships and an army of five,

thousand men and had saved Georgia and South Caro-,r

Una, and' perhaps the whole of English America, from

Spanish conquest! There is no more brilliant event in^ '' -'^*'*li
American history. The memory of it should ever be :--

cherished among the proudest annals of our beloved

State of Georgia!

m

y,

/ .'

.

/ ,'/' '

/.

CHAPTER VIII.

On the 23d of July, 17-13, James Oglethorpe left ' '( Georgia never to return. As he was tossed on the ? waves of the Atlantic on his'way back to his old home :; .".in England, what must have been his thoughts and ;: . feelings about the work in Georgia to which he had | ; given eleven of the best years of his life? They had V been years full of .trial and tribulation to him. Of ff. S^some of the hardships and dangers that he had to en- clure, you have learned in the foregoing pages; but
these were the least of his troubles. In carrying out ^ . this great enterprise he had to deal with many very f ^thean people. He was constantly harassed (if so
strong and firm a mind as his would allow itself to be harassed) by the dishonesty and treachery, the 3 "envy, hatred, malice and all uncharitableness" of per: ' '* sons who should have lent him a helping hand. Yet in _ Icoming to America to undertake this hard and trying j^lfll^rk, Oglethorpe had made many sacrifices; for he 1| lli^ve UP a luxurious home, the delights of literature, 1|: |f||e pleasures of refined society, and a splendid public fe.J||reer that ,wa's ^ust opening to him in England, and

History

from it all he had absolutely BotfiingT-in-^ar^worldly^

sense, to gain for himself. Non sibi sed aliis!

Tomo-chi-chi, that grand old savage, showed a ;

spirit as unselfish and noble as Oglethorpe's. By the.

practice of a little business cunning he might have

obtained for himself rich rewards from the English for

the great services that he rendered to them, but not.

one cent did he ever ask or receive. Even the presents

that were made to him while he was in England, he

gave away with a free- hand to the poor people of his

tribe on his return to America. H:e died at last in his

humble wigwam, one of the poorest of men. In all that

he did, he was governed by no other motive than to

promote the best interests of his people. American his

tory furnishes no finer illustration of pure and lofty-

patriotism. Non sibi sed aliis!

The Trustees of Georgia served without pay or re- ,

ward of any kind. The work required much of their

time and was full of grave responsibility. They looked

after the affairs of the colony with as much care and

(diligence as if Georgia had been their private property

and was being run as a money-making enterprise; and

yet .they-^Jwell knew that, in a selfish: sense, there was!

absolutely nothing in it, neither'fame nor fortune, for

themselves. Non sibi sed aliis!

'-

"Non Sibi Sed Aliis"

111

Of all the American colonies, Georgia was certainly

the one established on the noblest principles; and yet for

"a long time-Georgia did not prosper. At the time of

Oglethorpe's leaving, the whole enterprise seemed lit

tle better than a failure. Boundless -enthusiasm, de

voted self-sacrifice, strenuous, work, and many him-

7

/.

^

dreds of thousands of dollars had been expended on

the undertaking; and yet after ten years there were less

than three thousand people in the colony, and most of

these were in a deplorable condition. Hundreds of peo

ple who had 'settled here moved away in disgust to the

Carolinas and other more prosperous provinces.

The reason generally given for this discouraging

state of affairs is the obstinacy of Oglethorpe and the

Trustees in not allowing negro slavery and the rum

trade in Georgia. And yet Oglethorpe was neither an

abolitionist nor a teetotaler. He owned slaves himself

on a place in South Carolina and he was fond of a glass

of wine at dinner, and you have seen how liberally he

dispensed rum punch to the guests at his big barbecue

Jti;:'South Carolina. His reason for prohibiting slavery in

Georgia was (to use his own language somewhat para

phrased) : "Owing to its proximity to the hostile and

ftv.i.r...e.. a..c..h-e,.rous^Srjj'ini/iar.d-.s,., Georgia should be a sort of mili-

people should live on small farms close together; 'so thaJSl whenever need be, the men may quickly combine', into '<. army. If slavery were introduced, rich men would bu'jijSj f up the lands, the State would be divided up into largefff plantations occupied by multitudes of negroes and, ontjfef a few white men. The Spaniards would incite the^ negroes to rise in insurrection and murder the whites. South Carolina has already been much disturbed in this way; it would be very much worse for Georgia, lying so near Spanish Florida." His reason against rum was: "Indians are extremely fond, of rum and, . . when they can get it, drink to great excess, bringing on madness, disease and death. For many years to come the welfare of Georgia will depend largely on the help and good behavior of the Indians, therefore v . rum should be kept away from them." So the prohibi tion of slavery and rum in Georgia was not at all a matter of morality, but -purely a matter of economics or public policy. From this standpoint it was, under all the circumstances, an unwise prohibition, and worked greatly to the detriment of the colony..
Another cause of the lack of prosperity was, no r doubt, in the kind of people of whom the colonj^Swas largely composed. For, if the. e'. truth must bef ."' told, many of the emigrants who.came, to Georgia dur- J

|

"Non Sibi Sed Aliis"

. 113

f ping Oglethorpe's rule were a sorry lot of folk debt-

I I ors, paupers, beggars, and all sorts of folk who had not
I ' "* .
| i|Keen able to take care of themselves at home. Ogle-

\ thorpe has been much blamed for peopling Georgia

\ with such slipshod, knock-kneed human beings; but

*] really it redo. unds to his glory that he was willing to

j extend a helping hand to those poor creatures whom no

4

'

* one else would help, and to give them one more chance

\ in the world. True, as might have been expected, these

. persons made poor--use of the opportunity, but Qgle-

I -thorpe was not to blame for that. There were, of
V
course, many good settlers, such, for instance, as the

Salzburgers, who were an earnest, sturdy, industrious

^ folk; but they seem to have lacked spirit, enterprise, and

I "ambition. Of all the early emigrants to Georgia, those

who seem to have been made of that heroic stuff neces

sary to the right upbuilding of a new country were

the doughty Highlanders who settled on the Altamaha

* River, and, alas! they were wiped out of existence in

* the Spanish war where they so bravely threw them-

||iyes "in the imminent and deadly breach/' non sibi i

Oglethorpe's work in Georgia was far from

the failure that it seemed. He had laid deep the

Mation oL, splendid success. He had gained the.,

BKiKs'-^.'. .

'

-'<! S-v.'>V- '.



-

'..

i *-* ^

.V

lasting good-will of th'e Indians. ' He

Georgia, and Carolina, too, from Spanish conquesiSJ

In the ' face of dangers and obstacles that might havjej

appalled the stoutest heart, he had planted a colony thajf , was destined to grow into the great Empire Sr* tate of tn'e^ V'^ViFT=!

South!

.

In 1751 the Trustees of Georgia surrendered their-

charter to the king. For 'twenty years they had .man-,

aged the affairs of the colony with the greatest faith

fulness and zeal, though, it must be confessed, with but _?

little wisdom. For their pains and unselfish devotion J

they received nothing but harsh criticism from the pub- *

lie and base ingratitude from those whom they had tried ,

so hard to help. No doubt they were glad to be free- ::

from the thankless task. Georgia was at once changed i
;.v f
into a Royal Province. Under the-netv regime the re- ^

strictions on slavery and the rum trade were removed,

and a number of unwise regulations of the Trustees

were abolished or changed. Many" energetic, enterpris

ing people, some of them wealthy and influential, moved

into the colony, and Georgia forged rapidly forward.

By the,year 1766, it had ten thousand white inhabitants

and eight thousand negro slaves. It had at last-growfii

to be a prosperous and flourishing colony.'

In 174-1, about a year after his return to. England,

fNon Sibi Sed A His.

115

Oglethor.pe at the Age of Ninety

rc Oglethorpe at length was married, aged fifty-five yearS

His bride was Miss Elizabeth Wright, aged thirty-fivel

yJ ears. As he was quite an old ba ch. elor and she wa-s^| Qxr
somewhat of an old maid, it is to be presumed thejdp I
i'^Mv t
lived happily together. She was very wealthy, and herSl? f
V-''fve''"' '3\,
money came in nicely for him, since his own fortune had ;;

been much depleted from his generosity to the Georgia.^ ^

colony. Soon after his marriage he was made Major- ;

General in the British army and took an active part

in the famous campaign against the Pretender. Sub

sequently he was promoted to the higher rank of Lieu- J

"1&

-' T

tenant-General, and later still to that of full General, or i *

Commander-in-Chief. It is often told that at the be

ginning of the Revolutionary War, when he was eighty- \ ff
six years old, he was offered but refused the command 4 f
of the army that was to fight against the Americans;

but there is no truth in this absurd story.

After his retirement from the army, he was re-elected

to Parliament, where he served with distinction for

many years. Like his friend Tomo-chi-chi, he lived to

be a very old man; and, like Tomo-chi-chi, too, to the

very last his figure was erect, his step light and spry,

his eye undimmed, and his faculties^linimpaired.

youth had been stormy, his middle life tempestuous,

his long old age was entirely serene. He lived in greatj

"Non Sibi Sed Aliis"

117

PI?

:'"

I ease and luxury at his rich wife's beautiful country

;j y home, but he paid frequent visits to London, where he

*H

"

^entered with-great heartiness into the literary and social

. pleasures of the city. One night he would be at the

Authors' Club enjoying the brilliant company of such

men as Dr. Johnson, Goldsmith, Burke, Burton, and
other great literary lights;, and .the next night he would

be at a court ball, dancing with the belles of the sea

son. Until he was ninety years old, he continued to

enjoy such pastimes and gayeties with unabated zest.

In his marvelous old age he was the most striking fig

ure and the most honored man in all England, and

wherever he went he was the "observed of all observ

ers." / On the 1st of July, 1785, he died at Cranham

Hall, Essex, aged ninety-six years; A~^-; l

/ Georgia has a county and a town named for Ogle-

thorpe, but, strange to say, the State has never erected

a monument to his memory.! The Colonial Dames and

.the Daughters of the American Revolution of Georgia

{are now trying to raise funds by popular subscription

|for this purpose. The movement should have the hearty

^sympathy and help of all Georgians and should be

faided by a liberal appropriation from the State Legisla-

^ture. There has never lived a man who more richly

Jeserved such an^onor at the hands of the Georgia

.

otf^

OVv. : -' *-"

"^

is i X. ' ;''v^-.'

-,.

-* ''i' '': '?-



-

-.-.

;" :; ' "people. To the many \superb patriotic monuments thail|

already adorn the beautiful city of Savannah, let one,

more splendid than any of the others, be added to the

memory of James Oglethorpe; and let there be carved:;

on it as a suitable epitaph the noble phrase, NON SIBI -

SED A LIIS!

PART II.
CHAPTER IX. THE STAMP ACT IN GEORGIA.
In the year 1765 the English Parliament passed the celebrated law known as the Stamp Act. This law re quired the American colonists to write all their legal documents, such as promissory notes, deeds, contracts,

. '"

English Stamps for America.*

bonds, leases, mortgages, etcetera, on "stamped paper,"

Svriich they had to buy from the English Government,

^v^,:

J

J



^fict which was very costly. It required them also to

.iftfe'^

'.

1p|ifr\ expensive government stamps on all newspapers,

Ivi'/From Green's "A Short History of the English People."

J$X'Permission of Harper and Brothers.

. !KJ-iiu--: .





.

X^Sfe^&'-fc't, '

..

"-^E^-1 ^':^'; -

'

119

Reproduced

120

pamphlets and almanacs published in America.

was a heavy tax on the Americans, who were poor an.1- c$f$&j "|l
ill able to bear it; but England declared it necessary ii?ji$ji-|' f;f
. order to help pay the expenses of the French and Indiaji||-'.Jj

War, which had been fought for the benefit of the col||r If
''f ? *T
onies. The passage of the law made the Americans very

indignant, because, as they asserted, England had no.. .-

right to tax them without their own consent. In Vir- :"

giniu the great orator. .Patrick Henry, made against, the

Act a bold and eloquent .speecji that fired the hearts of

the people. James Otis of Massachusetts and othef|4 $

"

.

:?~j.'y< "'''?}/

able and patriotic men also spoke and wrote against

it. Soon the people throughout the whole country were

aroused, and they determined not to permit the outrage. ,4. ^
& d&f''-
All of the colonies were invited to send delegates to a*f J|

convention, or congress, to be held in New York City

for the purpose of protesting against the Stamp Act. - %

The Governor of Georgia at that time was James -|

Wright He was born and reared in South Carolina ,.. .;^| and belonged to a very fine family. He was appointed 1

Governor of Georgia by George II, King of England, ^ v|

in 1760. He was a brave, able and .honorable man, buj. .

he did not sympathize with the Americans in their

against the Stamp Act. He believed that England

a right to tax the Americans, and that they ought

The Stamp Act in Georgia. . 121

p 'B'submit to it without a murmur; so he did everything in

f it his power to keep the people of Georgia from taking
:*&;?>' :

Jjpart in the movement against the Act. Through his

\&i?';*~

.

'

influence Georgia was prevented from sending any dele

gates to the congress in New York.

So Georgia was not represented in the famous First

Colonial Congress, as it was called, that met in New

.York in October, 1765. The congress drew up a re-

spectful petition and sent it by special messenger across

the ocean to the King and Parliament of England, pro-

testing that England had no right to tax the colonies

without their pwn consent, and begging that the Stamp

Act be repealed; but the King and Parliament were ob

stinate and headstrong, and were determined to enforce

^the Act. Ships laden with boxes containing the odious

"stamped paper," and accompanied by officers ap

pointed to sell the paper to the colonists, sailed from

England for all the principal American ports. When

they arrived in America, both stamps and stamp officers

received rough treatment at the hands of the angry

" rs^-v

e f in

nearly /

all

of

the

colonies,



'

as you -J

mav

learn

United States history. What we want to learn

'^'^':-A--'



!*$^VSo\.-w is exactly what th e people-of Georgia did about it.

i' In
<?&?&-:

spite r

of

Governor

Wrig ht's

earnest

effor ts

to

<gjet

of Georgia,to submit quietly to the Stamp Act,

they were determined to rebel against it'. .They had go
reason to rebel; for besides the wrong principle of
Act itself, Georgia was at that time the poorest of al|
"?*!
the colonies, and the one least able to bear this oppres|
sive tax. In all parts of the colony the people banctef

King George III.

themselves together in societies called "Sons of Lib

erty," and took a solemn pledge not to allow the stamps

to be sold or used in Georgia. O

Young: men 'formedW <-->

themse|ves into military companies called "Liber|||

Boys," and vowed that they would capture and destro|

the stamps as soon as they reached Savannah,

The Stamp Act in Georgia.

123

f ^ would compel the stamp officer to leave the colony or | J^else would bind him hand and foot and throw him into
river andL drown him. The 2Gth of October was the anniversary of King George Ill's accession to the throne of England; and

Colonists Burning the Stamp Seller in Effigy.
Governor Wright, wishing to honor his royal master, .^called on the people to assemble in Savannah to cele-
Hp"r-'-ate the occasion. Big crowds came; bm most of ffthem, instead of honoring King George, spent the day Min listening to speeches against him and his Parliament .and their wicked Stamp Act. In the evening the crowd
images, or effigies/of Governor Wright and other

prominent men who ( favored the Stamp Act, and put

ting them on high poles, paraded the streets with them*

accompanied by jeers and insults, ending at last late

night by burning the. effigies on th e public sq uare amicj

great cheering and hurrahing.

.

Governor Wright thought the people were very

wrong to act this way and tried by talks and speeches >:

and writing's to get them to behave themselves, but

thcv luvded him not. In all parts of the colony they

continued to hold public meetings to denounce the King

and Parliament and the Stamp1 Act.

"'!*:;*f

It was expected that the ship bearing the stamps

would reach Savannah about the 1st of November,

but for some reason it was delayed. At last, on%;

the 5th of December, an English vessel called

The Speedwell was .seen sailing up the river. It -.$.; was laden with boxes containing the much-talked-

of "stamped paper," but this fact was known only^

to Governor Wright and a few of his council. Theft-

Governor had the vessel stopped several miles down the

river until late in the night, when it was brought

the landing, and the boxes of "stamped paper

secretly transferred to a strong warehouse, known

Fort Halifax, where they w?ere locked up and put

guard. All this was done to keep the Liberty Bb?

||.

The Stamp Act in Georgia. '

125

|| llfpm destroying the stamps, which they certainly would :

i ishave done if they could have got their hands on them.

>\i -,r 5 T^^-V^"

*

^--'

Wfef.T'". he stamp- officer for '"Georgoia,' a Mr. Angous,> did

. .

*;'*-' ^not come over .on 77z<? Speedzvell, but on a vessel that

was to arrive later. This vessel reached Savannah on-

the 3d of January. Governor Wright knew that the

Liberty Boys were on the lookout for the stamp officer

and, if they should get their hands on him, would han

dle him very roughly; so he was taken off the ship away

down at Tybee Island and put in a small boat and

-'?' 'brought to the landing and then smuggled through the

streets to the Governor's mansion, where he was strictly

. guarded.

Everything now seemed ready for the sale of the

f itamps to begin; but the people were determined that

the stamps should not be sold or used, and this they let

Governor Wright and Mr. Angus know very plainly.

However, they made one exception. There were at

^ this time sixty merchant ships at Savannah, all loaded

and ready to sail; but before a ship is allowed to leave

Jc ;J|pj|ort it must have what is called u a clearance certifi-

If '^'W'' and the Stamp Act required that all "clearance

Ss'jS r '!I%f&t}$rif~fl icates"

should

be

written

on

"stamped

paper."

It

very necessary that these ships should sail away

iffilfevtrieir merchandise... or else the commerce of Savan-.. .. ,^.;^

'-;3S&lBfKrj{';' i

^

''", % '"''.'

-

" ' "'. " .' ./i-V^'

126 -, ;.: '.'>

Georgia ^History -Stories^ 7 ;~ '^-'^S^,

nah and the whole colony would be utterly ruined, the Sons of Liberty held a meeting and agreed to stamps to be bought and used for the clearance of this ships, but not for any other purpose; and these the only "Stamp-Act" stamps ever used in Georgia. ^8
The people grew more and more excited. Every night they gathered in noisy, angry crowds on the streets of Savannah. They threatened the life of the Governor and of Mr. Angus. The Governor's mansion had to be guarded day and night by forty British Rangers. For four days and nights in succession Gov-? ernor Wright did not take off his clothes, not even his boots, expecting every moment to be attacked. Mr. Angus did not dare walk out on the streets or even put his head out of the door. At last he decided that "it would be best for him to leave the city, so he was smuggled out to the country home of one of the Gov ernors friends. One day a great crowd of Liberty Boys began gathering on the streets for the purpose of taking the "stamped papers" from Fort Halifax and destroying them; but Governor Wright, hearing of it/ took a company of fifty Rangers and.marched to fort, and loading the stamps on a cart drawn by 'W stout horses, carried them to the guard house and lockefl them, up behind its iron doors and iron-barred windd^sr

.

The Stamp Act in Georgia.

127

Towards the end" of January a body of six hundred f"em.-en from nearly all parts of the colony assembled in
the woods near Savannah and sent word to Governor
...
that if he did not surrender the stamps to
ifethem they would kill him arid take them by force. The Governor, always energetic and prompt, instead of
^yielding to their threats, hurried the stamps down the
'-river to a fort on Cockspur Island, where they were
guarded by a garrison of British Rangers; but, fearing
'7 %
that they might not be safe even there, a few days later
.,,he had them placed on the English ship The Speedwell,
Sthe same vessel that had brought them over from England, and which was then at anchor just inside the har-I 'bor bar. There, at last, the precious stamps were safe
Ifrom' the terrible Liberty Boys ! "- ; A day or two after the removal of the stamps a
body of nearly two hundred Liberty Boys from ihe crowd which was camped in the woods near Savannah,
*"'
^marched boldly into the city and took possession of the public square. The Governor quickly called the Rang-
rs- ; from Cockspur Island to defend the city, and a
jIg'ffff-jf**iber of volunteers al-s' o jjoined him,* so that he had a hundred well-armed soldiers. It looked as if
would be a bloody battle in the very heart of the |||n; but the Liberty Boys, awed by the Governor's

:j;ft;t; -^ 128



- . .

.

.

- .

4.

bold front, soon dispersed" and returned to their campi?

in the woods.

You will notice that through all this trying time

Governor Wright showed himself to be a firm, brave,J

wise man. Against great odds he protected the stamps

and the stamp officer from violence, but at the same

time he was very prudent in his dealings with the angry .

people. A single rash act on his part would have caused

nVo htincof and bloodshed. Throueorh it all he had a number of .strong friends and adherents to stand by

him and help him; for there were many people in

Georgia who sincerely agreed with him that the col

onists ought to submit to the Stamp Act as obedient

subjects of England, and that to rebel against it was

treason. These persons were called Loyalists or Royal

ists, but afterwards they became known as Tories.

Those that resisted the Act called themselves Patriots.

In the spring of 1766 all of the trouble about the

Stamp Act came to a sudden and happy end. Over in

England Parliament had at last repealed the hated

Act. This was done, not so much on account of the

pleadings of the Americans, as through the influence^.

of certain great Englishmen who thought that the ActJ

was wrong, and who sympathized with the Americans.

The greatest of these was William Pitt, afterward^ Earl

l|

The Stamp Act in..Georgia.

129

Chatham. Bent with* rheumatism, swathed in flan-

,&nels, suffering acute pain, he hobbled into the Parlia-
nent House on his crutches, and made on behalf of
fjf, - he Americans one of the Cg_J reatest sJpL. eeches ever deliv-
'ered. All Americans should ever love the great Eng lishman, William Pitt, Earl

of Chatham. After him,

Chatham County, Georgia,

is named.

The news of the repeal

;.of the Stamp Act was

: hailed with mighty rejoic

ing by all the colonies, and

by none more than by the

-.colony of Georgia. Every

colony sent earnest and

grateful thanks to the King and Parliament, with assur

William Pitt.

ances of loyalty to the English Government. So for

a while there was again peace and love between the col-

and the mother country!

, >itfr' James Wright was Governor of Georgia for many Jllars, and he was one of the ablest and best Governors
Georgia has ever had. He did a great deal for the feel of the colony in its early days of .poverty and hard .r.

";":>'., - 130 ' 7' G'eorgid History
struggle. It is a pity he did not sympathize with thei-
. ".Tal
people in their righteous and noble struggle for indeft" I "*?$.
pendence; but he really believed they were wrong, ancij I he acted according to his convictions. Through manjg hard trials he was faithful to what he thought was his duty. He was an able, brave, honest man. We should . : honor his memory.

CHAPTER X.

THE CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH.

P

I. ARRIVAL OF THE BRITISH FLEET.

The good feeling- between the colonies and the

Imother country, that had been brought about by the re

peal of the Stamp Act, did not last long. King George

..III. and the English Parliament still insisted that they

had a right to tax the colonies, and they soon passed an-

iSther tax law as bad in principle as the Stamp Act. The

*.

i

r

r

Colonies resisted it, and England tried to force them to

submission. The strife between the two countries grew

worse and worse, until at last it resulted in the great ^Revolutionary War, which began with the Battle of
'^.: '.r'~'
Lexington, fought in Massachusetts, April 19, 1775.

An account of how the war broke out and of its early

.battles you can learn from United States history.

:-i'~- When the news of the Battle of Lexington reached

Georgia it caused great excitement, and the patriotic

Aebple began making vigorous preparations for war.

'^P'.??*

'



'

||f!'.' Royal Governor, James Wright, about whom you

f||t ;

Krned in the last lesson, did his best by persuasion and

|J|j|-trireats to keep, the colony loyal to the English Gov-

;>i

-

.

gjjent, but all in vain. At last h' e was forced to flee

Georgia History Stories:

A. '

'

'

*

the country and take refuge in England.

Many oH||l

leading Tories were driven from the colonv, and thosem"
that remained were required to take a solemn oath not^ff

do anything to aid the British. All the British officiall
vsl$
were turned out of their positions, and the Patriots tdbj

complete possession of the government. In place of

the banished Governor Wright, Archibald Bulloch,* an

able and noble Patriot, was put at the head of affairs

\vith the title of President and Commandcr-in-Chief.

The people of Georgia refused to carry on commerce

with England or to buy anything brought over in Englf

lish ships, thus voluntarily depriving themselves of many

comforts and almost of many necessities of life. They

sent large donations of money, clothing and provisions,,

to the fighting American soldiers at the North. They,"

raised a fine regiment of volunteers to defend Georgia

from British invasion; and this regiment, on the 2d of

March, 1776, most gallantly drove back a fleet of Brit

ish warships that was trying to capture the American

merchant vessels lying at the wharves of Savannah. In

the fight three British marines.were killed and several

were taken prisoners, while the Americans had .jorj||

one man wounded. This was .the first bloodshed p.f>

*This Archibald Bulloch was the great-grandfather of Theodore Roojej velt, President of the United States.

The Capture of Savannah.

133

^Revolution in Georgia; Georgia was represented in the

'-. sJE&tf'^'rV';



jvsjp-'- -

'

'

___

^'Continental Congresses that met in Philadelphia during

.|fv;

'

lith.e-,. Revolution; and her three delegates,' George WalButton- Gwinnett,* and Ly/ man Hall,x si<gjned the

^Declaration of Independ

ence passed by the Con-

. gress of 1776. *

Among the men who

took a leading part in

the stirring incidents of

, fe the early days of the

.-Revolution in Georgia

were Archibald Bulloch,

Joseph Habersham, Sam-

fi^i:O-;-i.el Elbert, Lachlan Me-

George Walton.

Intosh, George Houston, Jonathan Bryan, Button Gwin-

nett, Koble Jones, and Lyman 'Hall. You will observe

that there is a county in Georgia named for each of these

r great patriots, and well do they deserve the honor.

During the first three years of the Revolution the

was waged almost entirely at the North, mainly in

jjj& states of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania; but in the latter part of 1778 the

will find a full account of these interesting events in the histories f^Georgia by Rev. Win. B. Stevens and by Hon. C. C, Jones--excellent tj for every Georgia man and,woman to read, -

*-ia History

British commanders determined, for several reasons,

transfer the seat of war to the South. They decided to|

begin with the invasion of Georgia. Their plan was

swoop down on Savait-

nah from the sea

then overrun and subju

gate the whole State..-.,

The people of Georgia J '

knew nothing of these

plans. For nearly three

years
*

they

had

been

-let .;:#

$&

alone, and .they hoped

Button Gwmnett.

that the war would be

fought out at the

North, where it began,

and that no British

army would ever set

foot on Georgia soil;

but they were doomed

to be rudely awakened

from this fond dream

of security.

On the 6th of De

cember, 1778, a .de

serter from the British

Lyman Hall.

The Capture 'of Savannah.

135

Ipvy, i'a man by the name of William Haslan, managed

^somehow to make his way to Savannah, and he told the

Ippple a startling story, like this: "On the 23d of No-

pfember a large fleet of British warships and transports,

"accompanied by a big

army of soldiers, sailed

from the harbor of New

York and is now on the

high seas on its way to

Savannah to capture the

f/city. You may look for

"it to reach here about the

12th of the month.'' The

. story filled the people

$with alarm, for they

Laohlan Mclntosh.

were wholly unprepared to defend themselves against

such nn invasion. .Every da}' after the 12th of [he

month they looked with fear and trembling for the

appearance of the dreaded fleet, but day after day

passed and not a warship hove in sight. Tfee people

gan to believe that the deserter was mistaken or else a-purposely told them a lie, but in this hope they were

llprhed to bitter disappointment. Just at sunset on the

of December the people on Tybee Island, about

Stiteen miles below .Savannah, at the mouth of the

136

Georgia History Stories.

river, saw a large fleet

of ships coming from the

northeast with all sails

spread and the English

flag fitting from the

mastheads. On came the

ships like a company of

evil :- piriis and cast an

chor oil the island. The

Noble Jones.

fleet consisted of five

men-of-war and five transports, having on board three

thousand five hundred soldiers, besides sailors and ma

rines. The news of their arrival was quickly conveyed to

the city, and you may be sure there was no "Merry Christ

mas" for the people of

Savannah that year.

Maybe the children had

their Christmas trees and

their stockings, filled by
Santa. Clans, but for the

grown folks there were

neither feasts nor merry

makings.

It took the British

officers several davs to

Joseph Habersham.

The Capture of Savannah.

137

"get their bearings before they were ready to begin the

attack. The Patriots, with their utmost efforts, could

get together an army of only nine hundred men

to defend the city. This little arm}- was under the

command of General

Robert Howe, a cousin of General Howe, of

the British army. . He

; was a true patriot and a well-meaning man, but a .

very stupid general, as we shall soon see. The

General Robert Howe.

second in co<m> mand was Colonel Huger; the third in
command was Colonel IClbert : the fourth in command

was Colonel \Valtun.

IT. OL'ASl!. DOLLY AXD TI.'E FLAXK MARCH.
At daybreak on the 20th of December the British army was landed on the banks of the Savannah River, in

; .the rice fields of Mr. Girardeau's plantation, at a point just two miles in a bee-line southeast of the city. The army, which consisted of about three thousand men, was commanded by Colonel Archibald Campbell, a very officer. As soon as the soldiers had landed, they

138

Georgia History Stories.

were formed into ranks and started marching straight^

toward Savannah. To reach the city they had to cross "

a--boggy marsh over a causeway, or raised road, half--;,

a mile long, and then ascend a high bluff, known at thefe

present time as Brewton Hill. Colonel Elbert urged

General .Howe to marshal the American army along the

edge of the hinit, so that they might pour their cannon

shots and volleys of muskclrv into the ranks of the

l.iniish as ihey crossed the narrow causeway; but Gen

eral Howe, instead of taking good advice, drew up his

men in line of battle about a mile back of the hill to

wards the city,* in the rice fields on Governor Wright's

plantation. To the right of the American line there

was a swamp, thickly covered with trees and under

growth. Colonel Walton said to General Howe, "Gen

eral, you had better have the edge of that swamp

strongly guarded, lest the enemy steal a march through

it and turn our flank." "Nonsense,"'' sneered Howe,

''nothing but a wildcat could get through that jungle!"

and so he left the swamp, unguarded--a stupid blunder,

as we shall soon see.

.

General Howe sent Captain John Smith's company.- i

of forty men forward to Brewton Hill to 'watch for the

*This line crossed the Tluvnderbolt Road about where the Atlantic Coast .Line Railroad freight depot now stands.

The Capture of Savannah.

139

coming of the enemy and act as skirmishers. Captain Smith made his men lie flat down on their stoinJachs along the edge of the bluff and keep a sharp lookout in front of them. In a little while here came the British army, with drums beating and flags flying, marching over the causeway. Considerably in advance of the others, marched Captain Cameroiv's company of one hundred Scotch Higohlanders. Thev. crossed the causeway and were just starting up the hill when Captain Smith's Americans rose suddenly to their feet and fired a volley of musketry into their ranks. Captain Carneron and three of his men fell dead and five were wounded. The company was thrown into disorder and the men started to run back, but quickly rallied when they saw the rest of the British army hurrying up to their assistance. Captain Smith's company now fell back to the main American line.
The British army- marched up the hill and a con siderable distance beyond, and there formed in line of battle" close behind a long rail fence. Eight hundred yards in front of them, and in plain view, was the Amer ican line of battle, drawn up behind some low earth works that had been hastily thrown up the night before.

*This line crossed the Thunderbolt Road about where the tollgate now stands.

140

Georgia.History Stories.

About midway between the two armies ran a little 5

creek, the bridge across which had been burned by Gen- }$

eral Howe; and a short distance beyond the creek there ^

was a ditch filled with water. The banks on both sides ';!

of the creek were miry and boggy. So to get at the

Americans the British would have to labor through the

bog, wade the creek, jump the ditch, and scale the earth

works. Colonel Campbell knew that to make a frontal

attack on the Americans in this strong position would

be a hard fight and would cost him the lives of many <-

of his men. Looking over towards the swamp on the

American right he said to a Tory standing by, "Is there

any way to get through that swamp over there? 1 '

"Yes," answered the Tory; "there is a private path ,

through it, and there is an old negro named Quash

Dolly on Girardeau's plantation who can show you the

way." Quickly Colonel Campbell, guided by the Tory,

galloped over to the negro quarters on Girardeau's

place in search of Quash Dolly. He found the old

negro standing in front of his cabin calmly smoking his

pipe. Ouash was a native African who had been cap- ,,

1^

~

- c . ^-\S|a--

tured on the coast of Guinea in his young manhood and -if

brought over to America and sold into slavery. He ^

.-jT?,j

.. , t

was a short, stout, chunky man, with the kinky hair, jj| j|

flat nose, and thick lips of his race;, and as black as Jf

The Capture of Savannah.

1-11

the ace of spades; but he was sharp and shrewd. He - - wore on his head a coonskin cap which he had made
( himself, and of which he was very proud; it was so .-. made that the bushy and ringed tail of the coon waved
from the top like a plume. Colonel Campbell asked him if he would guide him through the swamp, at the same time showing him an English sovereign, a gold coin equal to about five dollars in our money. Ouasli's black eyes sparkled at the sight of the gold, and he readily agreed to undertake the job. Colonel Campbell ordered two regiments of light infantry, under command of Major James Baird, to make the flank march through the swamp under the guidance of Quash Dolly, while he himself stayed with the rest of the British army in front of the. Americans. So secretly was Baird's move ment made that the Americans had not the slightest sus picion of what was going on. They were watching the British behind the' rail fence in front of them and won dering why they did not come on to the attack. The British soldiers kept marching and counter-marching behind the fence, as if they were getting ready to charge the Americans; but not a step forward did they -move. Thus hour after hour passed. "They are scared of us and will sneak back to their ships as soon as night comes. Savannah is already saved!" exclaimed Gen-

142

Georgia History Stories.

eral Kowe; but he was badly mistaken. All this " tirr'fW%
Major Baird's two regiments of light infantry were! |

stealing a march through the swamp so as to

the Americans'. rear. In front trudged the low, sto"UL.3 Ip.'l
figure of Quash Dolly with the coon tail plume of hiif

coon skin cap streaming proudly above his head, while

behind him marched Major Baird and his thousand

men, making their way as best they could through the

thick hushes. 15y three o'clock in the afternoon they had

gained the American rear. Bursting from the cover

of the woods they rushed across the rice fields, and with

loud yells and volleys of musketry swooped down on

the Americans from behind, while at the same time

Colonel Campbell's forces charged upon the patriots from

the front. So the poor Americans were suddenly caught

between two fires by an army that outnumbered their

own nearly four to one. Brave as the American sol

diers w7 ere, they could not stand against such odds.

They broke and fled in wild confusion back towards the

city, many of them being killed as they ran. They were

pursued by the British through the very streets of Sa^.

vannah, where a number of them were shot down an^

bayoneted almost in the presence of their wives or thef||

mothers.

On

the

west

side

of

the

town

they

were

ral-'
_ :$k

lied somewhat by their officers near the spot where

[I v:,^

The/ CaLpture o'f Savannah.

1-13

f> 5;
I ^Central Railroad Depot now stands, and passed out in

| ., rapid retreat by the Augusta road and across Musgrove

I I^Greek. In this, way many made their escape. But the

f ^British soon got possession of the road and the bridge

across the creek. Colonel Elbert's regiment, finding.

itself thus cut off from this avenue of escape, rushed

through the rice fields to the banks of the creek near

where it empties into the river. The tide was up and

; the creek was full of water. A hundred men jumped

: in and tried to swim across the creek. All o them suc-

? ceeded except thirty poor fellows, who were drowned

in the attempt. Two hundred others, afraid to make

the plunge, stood on the bank until the British came up,

when they surrendered themselves as prisoners of war.

$ The brutal'British soldiers, wild with fiendish joy

at their victory, committed all sorts of outrages on the

people of Savannah, such as the bursting open of doors,

, the robbing of houses, the insulting of women, and the

>. maltreating of prisoners. Colonel Campbell either could

not or would not restrain them.

& ''S&iNight came at last, and brought to a close one of

'!:; , .S^fff ..;

'

*~

S tKe-saddest and most awful davs that the city of Savan-

VrV : - ' - .

J

has ever known. In this fight eighty-three Amer-

wer'e shot dead on the field, thirty were drowned

to swim Musgrove Creek, over a hundred were

Geor,gvia History Stories.
I
wounded, and many were taken prisoners, while the British lost altogether only four men killed and ten wounded. Of the nine hundred soldiers composing the American army, scarcely more than four hundred es caped. These gathered together the next da}' .at a place eight miles above Savannah. With General Howe at their head they marched far up the river to Sister's Ferry and crossed over into South Carolina. So poor Georgia was abandoned to her fate! A few weeks later the British army had overrun and practically subju gated the whole State.

CHAPTER XL

THREE GEORGIA TORIES.

I. THOMAS BROWN.
Bv, the 1st . of February- , 1770, the British had ogained almost complete possession of Georgia. Their com mander, Colonel Campbell, issued a proclamation call

ing on the people to take the oath of allegiance to the

King and the Government of England. He promised

that those who would take the oath should not be

molested, but declared that those who refused would be driven from the colony and would have all their prop erty confiscated. Frightened by this threat a great many people took the oath and became. British sub

jects; these people were called Tories. But many re fused to take the oath because they would rather suf

fer banishment and the loss of their property, or even death, than give up their heroic struggle for Amer

ican independence ; these were called Pal riots. So the

people of Georgia were divided into these two parties, Tories and Patriots, which hated each other with a Bitter hatred.

In proportion to the population there were more Tories in Georgia than in any other state. Some of them

:&--.

.145

.

146

Georgia History Stories.

were no doubt good, honest people who really believed^ ^

that the Americans were wrong in rebelling againsttf ^

the English Government; but many of them were meaii'iffpl'^-.'I4J selfish men who only wished to be on the strong or! |

winning side.

]

By the British subjugation of Georgia nearly all of 3

.the Patriots of fighting age were driven out of the \< State, leaving their property and their helpless faini- i

lies behind, While the Tories remained unmolested in

their homes. James Wright, the royal Governor, earned

back from England and was once more placed at the

head of the Georgia Government.

So the British and the Tories now held full sway in

Georgia, and most cruelly did they use their power.

The Tories were far worse than the British. They

formed themselves into military companies that were

nothing more than bands of ruffians. They roved over

the country on horseback and on foot committing

all sorts of outrages, robbing the people, burning

houses, throwing old men into prison, insulting women,

hanging every Patriot soldier that they could lay their.:, ' ' ~'~ * &&$?
'< : "3Vvg& '
hands on, sometimes even murdering children, and show^|? :

ing no mercy to any one who favored the American'

cause. In no other state were the Tories so wi.ck" e:dcd^' "'$!/'
and cruel as in Georgia. They were even worse tharW

Three Georgia Tories.

147

the savage Indians, whom they employed to help them. The worst of these Georgia Tories was a man by
the name of Thomas Brown. He had always been a Tory; and in the early days of the Revolution he had made himself so obnoxious to the'patriotic peo ple of Augusta, where he lived, that one day a crowd of men dragged him out of his office, and, stripping him to the waist, poured over his naked body a pot of soft tar and over that emptied a pillow case full of feathers, which stuck to the tar and made poor Brown look like a big, ugly frizzled chicken. Thus "tarred and feath ered," they seated him in an open wagon drawn by three mules and hauled him about the streets of Augusta, while a great crowd followed with hoots and jeers. After parading him for an hour or two they turned him loose with the warning that if he did not leave town within twenty-four hours the}' would kill him. For sev eral hours Brown kept his negro servant busy washing the tar and feathers from his body; then he put on his clothes, and, raising his right hand towards heaven, he took a solemn oath that he would be avenged for this '-great shame and outrage that had been cone him. He left the city and the State, but many months afterwards ..he came back, and how well he kept his oath is a story ;that has been written in blood!

148

Georgia History Stones.

It was when Georgia fell into the hands of the Brit

ish that Brown came, back, and soon he became the chief

leader of the Tories in the State. He was a well edu

cated, intelligent man, and had fine military ability, so

that he was made a colonel in the. English army and was

placed in command of Augusta, his old home. . His

arniv was composed about half and half of Tories and

Indians. His opportu

nity had now come, and

he kept his oath. All

of the Patriots of fio'hting age had left Au

gusta and were in the

'ijjjgjl^jr.^
' -'-*"-. _:~-2;152'ia&<x>i.

__ _

From an old print.^

Residence of George Walton

at Augusta.

American army. Brown confiscated their prop-
erty, threw their old

gray-haired fathers and grandfathers into prison, ex

pelled their helpless wives and children from their

homes, and drove them two hundred miles away into

North Carolina. Their sufferings on the journey were

awful. A number of them died from exposure and ex-''

haustion, and many others had their health ruined for

life by the hardships they endured on that dreadful

march.

In September, 1780, General Elijah Clarke, with a

j

Three Georgia Tories.

149

i- ^Jsmall army of Patriots, undertook to recapture Augusta.

He succeeded in driving Brown's army out of the city,

/xarid they took refuge in a large building just outside

fe f.wv'the town known as the "White House." Brown had

the doors and windows barricaded and bored holes

through the walls, through which his marksmen, with

their long-range rifles, held the Americans at bay. The

! building was completely surrounded by the Americans,

I and it seemed impossible for Brown and his men to es-

F . cape. General Clarke had no cannon with which he

j could batter down the house, so he had to depend on

[ starving out the Tories. For four days and nights he

held them besieged. Their provisions were nearly ex

hausted, and every drop of water was gone. In one of

the large upper rooms of the house lay forty poor

wounded Tory soldiers with no medicines and no band

ages or salves for their wounds, and not a drop of

water to slake their feverish thirst. Their shrieks of

; agony and their wild cries for "water! water!" could

be plainly heard in the American camp. Brown himself

(- was severely wounded, shot through both thighs, and

!:' ;\vas suffering dreadfully; but he never gave up. He

I :

.

I had himself carried around in a big arm-chair from

I ..room to room to direct and encourage his men, who

i-

.

I :>Avere nearly crazed with famine and thirst. General

150

Georgia' His fory Stories.

Clarke sent a flag of truce to him and begged him ifff

the name of humanity to surrender, but he positive!)^

refused. He was as brave and heroic as he was badv

and cruel.

-||

At last, on the morning of the fifth day, the relief

for which Brown had been 'looking came. Colonel

Cruger. with a large regiment of B>rilish regulars, sud

den ly appeared on the other side of the river. Brown

had sent a secret messenger for them on the dav ho had

been driven from Augusta, and at last they had arrived.

General Clarke, knowing that he could not contend

against this large force, withdrew his army from the

vicinity of Augusta and quickly retreated. He left be

hind thirty wounded Americans who were unable to

march. He supposed, of course, they would be treated

as prisoners of war. He knew not then the cruel heart

of Thomas 'Brown, though he afterwards learned to

know it well.

Brown selected thirteen of the wounded Americans

and had them hanged from the high balustrade of the

staircase in the ''White House," so that he might wit

ness their dying agonies as he lay on his couch in the.iv.

hall below. . As each victim was pushed from the ballf

nstrade and fell with a dull thud at the end of the'

rope, Brown would utter a grunt 'of satisfaction.

Three Georgia Tories.

151

;: turned the rest of the prisoners over to the tender mer

cies of his Indian allies, who, forming a circle around

them in the front yard of the "White House,'' put them

:" : to death by slow and horrible tortures. A long chap

ter might be filled with the inhuman cruelties of Brown,

but it would be too horrible a story for you to read.

When in 1781 Augusta was at last captured by the

Americans, Brown was taken prisoner. Knowing that

if the soldiers could get their hands on him, they would

tear him limb from limb, the American commander had

him carried down the river in a boat under a strong

guard. It is strange that he was not court-martialed

and hanged, a fate that he richly deserved. The Amer

icans were only too merciful to him. He was soon after-

;, wards exchanged and rejoined the British army, and

till the end of the war he continued his tierce fighting

and cruel deeds. After the war was over, knowing that

he could not live in America, he took refuge in England.

, There, in the year 1812, he was convicted of forgery

and thrown into prison, where he ended his infamous

life in disgrace and ignominy.

/'

II. DANIEL McGIRTH.

I

Daniel McGirth was another ' notorious Tory of

| Georgia. Unlike Brown, he was an ignorant, uneclu-

|, -cated man; and unlike Brown, too. he started out as

'**

<S.*,

'

*

152

Geor<g-> ia History. Stories.



an ardent Patriot. He was born and reared in South'^*

Carolina when that was a new, wild country. He was:flp

a good woodsman and as active and lithe as a paiirA \*!^0rf*~
then He was a fine horseman and a splendid shot. Hef|P

was among the first, to take, up arms in the American

cause. Somehow he drifted down to South Georgia,

where he belonged to the little band of Patriots that

MS Lravelv re>i.-lcd ihe invasii n of the Mritish iroin

Florida.' He acted as a scout and spy for the Ameri

cans, and he rendered them extremely valuable service. -;

He brought with him from South Carolina a thor

oughbred horse, of which he was very proud. She was

an iron-gray mare with a snow-white blaze in her fore

head, and he called her Gray Goose. She was consid

ered the finest horse in the American army, beautiful,

intelligent, and swift as the wind. A captain in the

American army took a great fancy to the animal and

tried to buy her from McGirth, offering .him a large

price: but McGirth refused to part with her. This

angered the captain who, out of spite, mistreated

McGirth in many mean, petty ways, as an officer can

mistreat a subordinate, if he chooses. McGirth was a'^l

high-spirited fellow. Irritated beyond endurance, he one

day insulted the officer and raised his arm to strike ,. y

him; but some one intervened and stopped the blow.

Three Georgia Tories.

153

Now, to strike a superior officer is a grave crime in the

army, so McGirth was tried by court-martial and sen

tenced to receive ten lashes with a cowhide on his bare

back three days in succession. The first whipping was

administered and he was put in the guard house to

await his second humiliation. You can imagine the

feelings of this high-spirited man, as he paced up and

down in his cell brooding over the bitter shame to

which he was beinir subjected! About twilight, as

O

.'

O

'

he was gazing through his prison bars, he spied

Gray Goose hitched to a tree not far away. He

gave a low, peculiar whistle, and Gray Goose, recogniz

ing the signal, raised her beautiful head and uttered

an affectionate whinny in response. This was more than

he could stand. With a broken trowel that he found in.

his cell and with his bare hands, he tore the masonry

from around the prismi bars: then, with almost super

human strength, he pulled out one of the bar> and

through the narrow crack thus made squeezed his long,

lithe body and rushing out, sprang on (iray Goose and

dashed away! The guards called to him to halt, but he

only shook his fist at them and yelled a dreadful curse,

and dashed away in the darkness on his fleet-footed

steed, heedless of the musket balls that whistled about

his head!

154

Georgia History Stones.

His whole nature seemed perverted by the bad treat- :rj~

ment which he had received. He deserted to the enemy t

and. joined the British army, and from then to the end

of the war fought ferociously against the Americans.^;'

Of course, the bad treatment he had received from the

American officer was no excuse for this, but McGirth

was as unprincipled as he Was brave and fierce.

He was made a colonel in the British army and

was put at ilit 1 head of a powerful Tor}' band, which

for -many months was the scourge of the State. He

was a perfect ruffian in his manner of warfare. From

the Florida line to Elbert County and over into South

Carolina his name was a terror to. the people. Many

were the fearful stories told of "'McGirth and his

blazed-faced horse!" A whole book might be written

about his daring deeds and his inhuman cruelties. He

was twice wounded, but was never taken prisoner. A

big reward was offered for his capture, and a thousand

people were trying to catch him and often had him in

a ti^'ht place; but in cverv cmer-srncv be was saved bv

O

i



,

O

-

the fleet foot of his best friend, Gray Goose!

After the war was over, he went to Florida, which.3"$! was then owned by the Spaniards. For some offense "

or crime there he was arrested and thrown. into prison
.-y:
ill the old fort of St. Augustine. After five years' ittir.^;

Three Georgia Tories.

155

prisonment he was released, so weak and broken in health that he could barely drag himself back to his wife in their rude country home in Sumter District. South Carolina. There he soon died in peace, and there he now lies buried!
111. C'(.>LO N ILL GRIBKSUN.
Colonel Grierson was another bad' Tory. He was Brown's right-hand man. They were two of a kind. They were companions in arms and companions in many acts of cruelty. .Never was there joined together in the commission of wicked deeds two men worse than Brown and Grierson. the Georgia Tories.
Grierson, like Brown, was a colonel in the British army. Fort Grierson, at Augusta, was named for him. It was one of the strongest forts in Georgia, and around it at the siege of Augusta was fought one of the blondicst battles of the .Revolution in the State. When-Au gusta was captured by the Americans, Grierson, like Brown, was taken prisoner. To save him from being mobbed by the soldiers, the American commander had him hid away in a little house some distance from town and placed a strong guard around him; but suddenly about twilight a soldier on horseback galloped up and, before the guards knew what he was about, threw his gun. to his shoulder, shot Grierson through the window,

156

. Georgia History Stones.

and then, wheeling, galloped away. That night Grief^' If son died of the wound, in dreadful agony. The man;: - /| that shot him was supposed to be Samuel Alexander,.- f the son of John Alexander, an old .man seventy-eight;^, r years old, whom this Grierson had treated with hor rible cruelty when he and F>rown held sway in Augusta. Young Alexander was never arrested or tried for the deed. ''Vengeance is mine, I will repay !'' says the Bible, brt perhaps a merciful (lud will pardon a man tor taking, vengeance in his own hands in a case like this.

CHAPTER XII,

THREE GEORGIA PATRIOTS.

I. ELIJAH CLARKE.

Nearly all the Patriots of fighting age had left the

State to join the American army elsewhere, so there

was nothing to restrain the demon Tories. The people

became cowed and hopeless. Many who had been

Patriots gave up the struggle and took the oath of al

legiance. The State seemed to be abandoned to her

unhappy fate. But by the blessing of Almighty God

there arose in this dark day a few great, heroic souls

to redeem Georgoia and aveneoe her wrongos! The greatest of these heroes was Colonel Elijah

Clarke. Just a year before the war broke out he moved

with his wife and children from North Carolina to

Wilkes Countv, Georgia, where he settled as a farmer.

s-

O

In the early part of the war he joined the Patriot army,

and in a fight with the Hrilish in I/lorida he was des

perately wounded and for a long time disabled. He

;^was at his home in Wilkes County recovering from this

wound when the British, under Colonel Campbell, cap-

, tured Savannah and began overrunning the State. As

soon as Colonel Clarke heard the news, he buckled on

157

158

Georgia History StQries.

'.

his good sword, mounted his horse, and, leaving his

wife and children on the farm, rode day and night

over the countrv- .> go ettingo togoether a band of Patriots to fight the British if they should come into that sec

tion of the Sta:-. He mustered one hundred dragoons,

all Georgians, and as good fighters as ever mounted a

horse or shouldered a gun.

Lulonel J'u..; .. a Uriiish officer, with a band of a

thousand Tories, while march

ing through north Georgia

on his way to Augusta to join

Colonel Campbell, camped one

night in an open field on Kettle

Creek, in Wilkes County. The

Colonel Andrew Pickens.

following clav Colonels Pick-

O

^

ens, Doolv, and Clarke. with a

band of five hundred Carolina and Georgia Patriots,

bursting through the thick cane brakes, made a sur

prise attack on them and a desperate battle took

place. The Tories greatly outnumbered the Patriots

and were getting the best of them, when Colonel

Clarke, with his hundred Georgians, made a bold

flank movement, and, gaining a hill on the other side of

f

' C^

d>

the creek, poured a deadly fire into the enemy's rear, and

"snatched victory from the very jaws of defeat." The -

Thra Georgia Patriots.

159

-Tories were completely routed. Seventy-two of them were killed, more than a hundred were wounded, many vwere taken prisoners, and the rest were scattered to the four winds. Colonel Boycl himself fell mortally wounded, and died the next day. This battle of Kettle Creek, fought February 12th, 1779, was the most bril liant American victory in Georgia, and Colonel Elijah Clarke was the hero of the clay.
For months Colonel Clarke, at the head of his little band of Patriots, carried on a guerrilla warfare with the British and Tories throughout what was then north Georgia, including especially Elbert and Wilkes coun ties. Constantly in the saddle, moving rapidly from place to place, suffering from hunger, thirst, fatigue, "'and all kinds of hardships, rarely ever sleeping under a roof, living in swamps and jungles, striking the enemy a blow whenever a chance u'lered, he was the only pro tection the people had from the outrages of the brutal Tories. Through it all. by his side rode and fought, his son, John Clarke. a youth of seventeen years, who after wards became a famous man in Georgia.
Worn out with the hard life that they had to endure, many of Colonel Clarke's men left him and returned to their homes or crossed over to South Carolina and joined l|he regular American army, and some of them even

160

Georgia History Stories.

took the oath of allegiance to the British Government^

'



,;-v?^'-

At one time his command had dwindled down to les.sf

than twenty men; but.the heroic spirit of Elijah Clark||-

.

-'->|f-

would not be discouraged. He rode da}- and nigntf'

among' the mountains of north Georgia and over into

South Carolina stirring up the people and calling them

to arms. By this means he increased his force to three

hundred nu-n. \\ iih ihe>e IK- marelk-d against Augusi;.

and made an unsuccessful. atteni])t in capture the citv

from the Tory, Brown. After this failure he saw that

for the present he could -do nothing more in Georgia;

so, accompanied by his devoted followers, he crossed

over into South Carolina and joined the American

army in that State, where he fought with great gal

lantry in man\- fierce battles. ,1
In the spring- o f 1781 he returned to Georgia for f the purpose of making another attempt to capture Au- II
I gusta. Together-with the commands of Pickens, Jack- [

son and McCall, he succeeded in surrounding:> the citv. . 4 About the 1st of June the investing army was rein

forced by the famous Legion of "Light Horse Harry' 7

Lee, and that officer assumed principal command. The ^

main defense of Augusta was a powerful fort which

stood on a bluff of the river and in the yard of St.

Paul's Episcopal Church. This fort was built by Ogle-

Three Georgia Patriots.

161

thorpe in 1736, and had always been known as Fort Augusta. Colonel Brown, the Tory, had enlarged and strengthened the structure and had changed its name to

"Light Horse Harry" Lee.
Fort Cormvallis. Towards the close of the siege the British army, driven back from the outposts, took refuge in this fort, which seemed absolutely impreg nable.
For several days the Americans were greatly puz zled what to do. At length they resorted to the strata gem of the "Mayham tower," so called because the dc-

162

Georgia History Stones.

vice was invented by Major May ham of the American army. It consisted of a square tower built of linger unhewn logs and rising forty feet high. As the tower< rose, the inside of it. was filled with dirt packed down hard. Xear the top an embrasure, or opening, was made through the logs; and through this opening a single little six-pound cannon, the largest piece of. ariilkrv ilk- American.- had. Junked down into l- ort Cornwallis. which was within easy range of its plunging fire. For days this terrible little war dog poured a tem pest of well-aimed shot and shell down into the fort, destroying its barracks, demolishing its walls, and kill ing and wounding its garrison by scores. The poor, ? pent-up soldiers, driven to desperation, dug holes in the ground, into which they crept for protection from the pitiless iron hail.
At length, on the 5th of July, Colonel Brown, see- j ing that further defense was worse than useless, sur- : rendered himself, the entire garrison, the fort, and the city (or village as it then was) to the Americans.
This device of the Mayham tower was one of the s . ,' most brilliant stratagems of the Revolutionary War."-r" : ^ The fort, which had been practically destroyed by the *.M plunging fire of the little six-pounder, was never re- A built. The spot on which it stood has been marked by ;

Three Georgia Patriots.

1G3

a stately and beautiful monument, erected by the | 7 Colonial Dames of Georgia. >St is made of granite from
the quarries in Oglethorpe County. This noble mei-v morial of both Colonial and Revolutionary history was ' ; unveiled with impressive ceremonies on November 23,
1901. The Mayham tower was" located near where the Cotton Exchangoe of Augousta now stands.
Till the close of the war Colonel Clarke (or Gen eral Clarke as he had now come to be) continued to do glorious service for Georgia. His martial tramp was heard from one end of the State to the other, and his strong right arm dealt blow on blow upon the doomed heads of British and Tories. He was four times wounded, twice nigh unto death. In camp he con tracted a severe case of smallpox, from which he lay prostrate for six weeks; but in each instance, as soon as he was able to mount a horse, he was up and about again, encouraging the faint-heartod and loading the brave to battle.
Elijah Clarke was an uneducated man and was -fough and uncouth in his manners. He had his faults I p-f character, too, but with it all he was a truly great :- niari. He dealt severely with the Tories that fell into i, his power,; hanged a number of them, burned their r; homes, confiscated their lands, and destroyed their prop-

164

Georgia History Stories.

erty. Some people have blamed him for this, butflfl HJf believed he was justified in it. These horrid Tories ^; |fS'-^' driven his own wife and children from home and his house. Thev had treated old men, women and
Vig
dren with inhuman cruelty, had murdered scores of1 Patrii>ls in cold blood, and had spread ruin and clesola- I
1
lion throughout the land. He believed it was but a mild retaliation tn hang" a score or two of them; and \\liu will say that IK- was \vn>ng? Among the man-.heroes that Georgia produced during the Revolutionary \Yar, Elijah Clarke stands out in bold relief as the most heroic figure of them all.
i r. JAMES JACKSOX. mother great Patriot of the times was James Jack son. He was born and partly reared in England. His father was a worthy, .well-to-do, intelligent man, who sympathized keenly with the Americans in their strug gle against English tyranny and often talked to his | son about it; so James was in spirit an American Pa- ' triut before ever lie saw America. In 1772. when he I was fifteen years old, his father sent him over to Amer ica to become an inmate of the household of Tohm
"V^ mf , .*'sii~\'
Wereat of Savannah, an old and intimate friend of triej family, who was anxious to have the boy. His father was glad to give him this opportuni.ty of growi. ng to*'&^?>'' ~:;"1>i

Three'Georgia Patriots.

Kio

manhood in the new and promising country. He went

to the best schools then in Savannah and at the same

time studied law.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, voimer

-

'

"'



'

O

Jackson, though only eighteen years old, was among the

Genera! James Jackson.
first to shoulder a musket in the American cause. In the fight at Savannah with the I'ritisli troops in March, 177G, he behaved so bravely that President Bulloch wrote him a letter of thanks and commissioned him a 'captain. When in January, 1779, the British, under Colonel Campbell, captured Savannah and destroyed the

166

Georgia History> Stories.

little American army defending' the place, Jackson

managed to make his escape into South Carolina. His

command was now o'one. but he was determined to enter

the army again as a private. Friendless, penniless, rag

ged and barefooted, he and young John Milledge were

making their way through the country to join Colonel

Moultrie's regiment in the northern part of the State,

when a party ol American soldiers took them lor spies,

in vain did they protest their innocence. They were

condemned to be hanged the next day, and the gallows

was already prepared for them, when Major Devaux,

happening to come along, recognized them and had them

set free. Thus the two noble youths had a narrow

escape from an awful and ignominious death.

Jackson joined Colonel Moultrie's Carolina regiment

as a private, but on account of his fine ability and great

courage he was rapidly promoted until he got to be a

major. He distinguished himself at the famous battles

of Cowpens and Blackstocks in South Carolina. After

wards he came back to Georgia and was put in com

mand of a legion of militia.

..

In the spring of 1781 the Americans besieged Aii-

gusta. The town was surrounded by an army of militia

men who were ordered to guard the place until General

Lincoln and "Light Horse Harry" Lee could come down

Three Georgia Patriots.

167

from South Carolina with an army of Continentals" and

take the place by storm. The wait was a long and try

ing one. It looked as if Lincoln and Lee would never

come. The militiamen, whose time of enlistment was

out, became discontented and insubordinate. They

threatened to disband

and go home. The

great colonel, Elijah

Clarke, was sick with

smallpox; and Colonel

Hammoncl, who was

then commanding in his

stead, could do nothing

with the men. Hain-

mond called on Major

Jackson for help. Tackson said, '"''Get the men

General Pcniamin Lincoln.

together and let me talk to them."

So the soldiers were assembled in a great crowd in

an open space in the middle of the camps. When

Jackson rode up in front of them, they scowled at him

with morose and surly faces, and some of them even

started to hoot and jeer him. He began to speak to

*Continental troops wer'e those in the service of the Congress of the ;, United States, and not under the control of any one state, as were the

1G8

Georgia History Stories.

them. He was a born orator as well as a born soldier^

and he spoke with burning eloquence. He did not;1 -1 -.^
scold or chide or threaten them; he appealed to theirs |

manhood; he spoke straight to their hearts; he stirredP : If

the nobler spirit in them, and soon the scowls vanished

from their facer- and thcv,. were cheering<^> wikllv. Thcv* were carried away by his eloquence. When he had fin

ished lie called on all who were willing to stand by

I!K post ui duly lo huld up their right hands, and the

hand of every man went up. They kept their promise -\,

and stood guard faithfully around Augusta until a month '

later, when Lincoln and Lee. with the Continental

troops, came, from South Carolina and joined in the

capture of the city. .

^

Many .other times Jackson used his eloquence to

good purpose in reviving the sinking spirits of the peo- \

pie and the waning heroism of the soldiers. But on

one occasion he had to use sterner means than this to'

teach his men their duty. The legion was made up

about half and half of dragoons and infantrymen. The

dragoons were picked men and were faithful to. him; ;"

but the infantrymen, exasperated by the hardships of % 1

war, formed a conspiracy by which they were to assas- .' |

sinate Jackson and then disband and go to their homes.,

A faithful servant told him of the plot twro days before *.

Tivo Georgia Patriots.

169

.;v f

-

Lee's Cavalry Skirmishing.

fc it was to be executed. Without appearing to know anyf *fong about it, he ordered the infantrymen to assemj; .We without arms on the parade ground at sunset to

J70

Georgia History Stories.

ji.
hear a very important proclamation that he had to read"

to them. Suspecting nothing, and curious to know what

the proclamation could be about, the men gathered on

the parade ground promptly at the appointed hour. Jackson rode slowly in front of them as if about to

read the proclamation, but instead of doing so he made a signal bv waving his handkerchief over his head,

xvhercupun the dragoons, fully armed, came galloping up and surrounded the astounded infantrymen and held them prisoners. All night they were guarded like

criminals. The next day Jackson picked out the six

ringleaders of the conspiracy and had them hanged in

the presence of the whole legion. Then he made a speech to the men, in which he told them he knew they

had been led into this foul plot by the few bad men

who had been hanged, and from whose fate they must take warning; he would pardon them for what they had done. Then he appealed to them to return to their duty

like true soldiers. The lesson sank deep into their

hearts, and they gave him no further trouble. Jackson

was a kind-hearted man, but he could be severe when

dutv" . required it.



Towards the close of the Revolutionary War, Jack

son and his men had harder service to perform than any other soldiers in Georgia. At last, when the war was

Three Georgia Patriots.

171

* brought to a close by the British surrendering Savan

nah, General Anthony Wayne, Commander-in-Chief of

the American army in

Georgia, said: "The

keys of the captured

city must be handed not

to myself, but to my

young brother officer,

Colonel James Jackson;

for to him more than

to any other man is

due the triumphant is

sue of this trying cam paign T Thereupon the

General Anthony Wayne.

keys were formally handed to Jackson, and he was the

first American soldier to tread the streets of recaptured

Savannah, from which he had been driven bv the bav-

*

-

>

<'!K-ls of the Uritish four rears before. lie was sLill

only twenty-three years old.

James Jackson, unlike Elijah Clarke, was an edu

cated, cultured gentleman. He had a splendid intel

lect, and afterwards became a great lawyer and states-

^an. He was a man of medium height and slender

figure, but was perfectly formed. He had light hair,

.clear penetrating blue eyes, and commanding features.

172

Georgia History Stories.

*
He was noble natured and warm hearted, but very higrjSJ ^

tempered. He \vas a brilliant soldier of the R

tion, but the most glorious part of his career came aftetS!

the war was over.

'^v

in. JOHN T\vicc.s.

Another great Georgia soldier of the Revolution was

General John Twiggs. Not long before the war started,

he came l> < icorgin tro.m Marvland as a young me

chanic. He entered the army as captain and rose rap

idly to the rank of brigadier-general. Brave, active,

talented, .and influential, he was a tower of strength to

the Patriots. No partisan leader in Georgia was en

gaged in more fights and battles with the enemy, and

never once, did he suffer defeat. He lived for twenty-

five" years after the war was over, and filled many posi- f

tions of honor and trust in Georgia. He was a member f

of the State Legislature for a number of years, and was I

a trustee both of Richmond Academy, Augusta, and of ;

the University of Georgia. He died in Richmond

County in April, 1810.

Each one of this great trio of Revolutionary heroes,,. ,,.

Clarke, Jackson, and Twiggs, became the founder oK |t

families that have given to Georgia a number of able

and distinguished men.

.: i

CHAPTER XIII.

SIEGE OF SAVANNAH,

i. D'ESTAIXG OUTWITTED,

- You remember that Savannah was captured by the

British on the 29th day of December, 1778. For eight

months they kept undisturbed possession of it, but in

the early fall of 1779

the Americans laid a

careful plan to recap

ture the city. Already,

France had espoused

the cause of America,

and had sent a large

fleet of warships and an

army of men to help

in the struggle for in-

^jK-iuk-nce. This iket and army, which was

Coinu

Under the command of Count d'Estaing, a noted French

general, was ordered to proceed to Georgia and aid the

Americans in the recapture of Savannah.

plan was for the American and the French

to get to Savannah about the same time, to sur& 173

17-1

Georgia History Stories.

,'.'?''

' "'.'';

round the city and demand its surrender. It happened,.
.
however, that the French fleet under d'Estaing reache'd^ ^ '$?''-
the mouth of the Savannah River before Lincoln's

American forces had arrived from South .Carolina. In

stead of waiting for Lincoln's arrival, as he should have

done, d'Estaing landed his army at once, and, aclvanc-

ing \viihin two miles <>;" Savannah, called on the Brit

ish general, Prevost, to surrender. General Prevost

seemed much alarmed, and talked as if he might comply

with the demand, but asked for twenty-four hours to

consider the matter. He also insisted that during this

time d'Estaing should withdraw his forces four miles,

from the city and remain there until the twenty-four

hours had expired. D'Estaing very unwisely agreed to

this truce and withdrew7 his troops to a distance

Shrewd General Prevost spent the twenty-four hours in

vigorous preparation for defense. He kept fifteen hun

dred men, soldiers and negroes, working in relays night

and day, constructing fortifications, or redoubts, around

the city. He took many large cannon from the warships'',,?*% lying in the river and placed them in the redoubts. He*"!-

sent a secret messenger to Colonel Maitland over in

South Carolina to hurry to his assistance. That officer '

managed, in a wonderful way, to slip past the French

fleet in the mouth of the river and to land safely .at

Siege of Savannah.

170

Savannah with his regiment of five hundred men. The

pent-up garrison was overjoyed at the arrival of this

strong reinforcement. During this time Prevost was

keeping up a cunning correspondence with d'Estaing,

leading him to believ<&e that he would surrender

at the end of the twenty-

four hours if satisfactory-

terms could be agreed

upon.

In the meantime, Gen

eral Lincoln arrived from

South Carolina with the American forces. In

Count Pulaski.

Lincoln's command was the famous Pulaski Legion, led

by the valiant Count Pulaski, a Polish nobleman and

soldier, who, having been driven from his own coun

try by Russian despotism, had come over to the United

Mates and joined the American army. lie had been

put in command of a legion of cavalry, and had rapidly

Rained great distinction as a daring and successful leader.

At this time he was about thirty-five years old, the very

Qeau ideal of a soldier--tall,. stalwart, handsome, with
,V?O". _-
& fine military bearing.
v*{. .s
];. As soon as Lincoln arrived, d'Estaing said to- him,

176

Georgia History Stories.

with great elation: "I have Savannah already surfp rounded, and it is completely in our power. Negotia tions are now going on for its surrender, and the cit-|| will be ours before sunset without the firing of a guri!||| But in this, poor d'Estaing was wofully mistaken. He had "reckoned without his host.'"' When the twenty-four hours' truce had expired, General Prevost sent word to the Americans that he had no idea of surrendering, but would defend Savannah to the bitter cud. D'Estaing and Lincoln were greatly surprised and disappointed at this reply, and all the more so when they approached the city and found it too strongly protected to be taken by storm. D'Estaing had been completely outwitted by Prevost.
II. THE BOMBARDMENT.
Deciding that Savannah could not be taken by storm, Lincoln and d'Estaing determined to try to take it by siege and bombardment. The bombardment was begun on the 26th of September; and from then until the 8th of October the Americans and the French boomed and boomed away at the British, and the British, in reply, boomed and boomed at them; but with alk the cannonading not much damage was done off either side. The American cannon balls passed mostly over the heads of the British in the redoubts and fell'*

Siege of Savannah,

111

in the city. Many houses were struck, several were de molished, and two were set on fire and burned. Nearly all the women and children were taken over to Hutcherspn Island, where they lived during the siege imtbe great rice barns there. Those that remained moved into the basements and cellars of their houses, where they would be in less danger. In the cellar in which General Prevost's wife and children stayed, the walls were lined with mattresses and feather beds, so. as to make them bomb-proof. A bomb shell penetrated a cellar in which a family was living and, bursting, killed two of the negro servants. Another shell crashed into a room and killed a young mother and her .three-weeks-old infant. Several negroes were killed on the streets by exploding shells. Savannah at that time was one great sand bed,
the shells falling in the streets or in the squares generally bury themselves in the sand and have
'heir fuses extinguished, for a bomb shell is burst by a fuse just as fire-crackers are. The negro children got Sf} accustomed to the shells that when they saw one fall they would run up and extinguish the sputtering fuse by\stamping it with their feet or by,throwing sand on
. *f v
lt,'?and would take the unexploded shell and sell it to tne-:ia rti-ll* er'ymen for sixpence. A dangerous business surely for such small pay!

178

Georgia Pin story Stones.

r

For two weeks the bombardment was continued 4
,,**
without making any progress towards forcing the Brit- '1

ish to surrender. The French fleet in the mouth'-xowOfst.- 3-Jg. the Savannah River was now in constant danger of

being attacked by a more powerful British fleet that

might at any time be sent against them from England.

Count . d'Estaing was therefore naturally restless and

cLnxious to get away. So he and Lincoln determined to

try to take Savannah by one brave, desperate assault.

III. THE ASSAULT AND PULASKl's DEATH. * .

The American and French generals planned very

carefully for the grand assault. It was to take, place at

daybreak on October 9th.

On the east side the approach to Savannah was

mostly over dry, firm, level ground, by good roads, and

through concealing forests; so for defensive purposes that

was the weak side. Hence the British had placed their

strongest fortifications there. On the wrest side the ap- *

proach was more difficult;. for over there were Musgrove

Creek and swamp, and marshy rice fields lying below

the level of the city. The French and the Americans de~ ^ ' ^-'
termined to make the attack on that strong west side for *

the very reason that the British would not be expecting

it at that point. To mislead them still further, they J

ordered General Hugers regiment to make a vigorous :

Siege of Savannah.

179

pretended, or feigned, attack on the east side just before

daybreak, so as to cause the enemy to concentrate his

forces at that point, while the real assault was being

made on the west side. The plan was a splendid one,

and might have succeeded if treachery had not taken a

hand in this exciting erame of war. On the nielit of

OO

.

d>

the 8th of October, James Curry, of Charleston, ser

geant-major of a regiment of South Carolina volunteers,

deserted.and made his way into Savannah and revealed

the whole plan to the British.*

At three o'clock on the morning of October 9th, in

the darkness before dawn, the French and American

forces concentrated in the woods of Musgrove swamp

to the west of Savannah, and were there marshalled

into battle array for the grand assault. Three hundred

yards in front of them was the line of British redoubts

nianned with cannon, and in front of 'the redoubts were

trenches for the infantry. The assault was to be di

rected mainly against Spring Hill redoubt, which stood

very near where the "round house" of the Central Rail-.

road shops now stands. The assaulting column con-

sisted of about four thousand men, three thousand

French and one thousand Americans. About eleven

" * It is gratifying to know that a year later the Americans captured tins traitor at Hobkirk Hill (N. C), and hanged him.

180

Georgia History Stories.

hundred men were held in reserve to strike in at the:* critical time whenever their services might be most)' needed. Pulaski's Legion was among these reserve^ and occupied a position to the left and back of the as saulting column, where, from an elevated piece of ground, Pulaski could clearly see the whole battlefield.
A little before sunrise, in the gray light of the break ing day, the assaulting column emerged from th<j woods and started at quick-step across the open space toward the enemy's wrorks. As they approached the redoubts they were disappointed to find that the British were not surprised, but on account of the information brought by the traitor Curry, were ready to give them a warm reception. Fifty cannon poured an iron storm of grape, canister and chain shot into their ranks. .They fell like grass before the mower. Their line was torn into fragments . and went reeling back, but under the rallying cry of their brave officers they gath ered themselves together and charged forward again. As .they drew still nearer to the enemy's works, a leaden hail from the muskets in the trenches was added to tKe iron storm from the cannon in the redoubts. Still they <:|
$
pressed on, until some of the trenches were captured | and the American flag was planted on one of the rqr. doubts. The opposing columns stood within a few feet

Siege of Savannah.

181

of each other, and fired point blank into each other's faces. ... At this critical moment Count Pulaski said to Gen eral Lincoln: "Let me take my horsemen, dash in-be tween those two redoubts on our left and gain the enemy's rear. We will spread havoc among them from behind, while the infantry press them in front, and the victory will soon be ours!" General Lincoln readily agreed to this bold stroke. The bugler blew the rally, the two hundred cavalrymen formed in column for the charge. Pulaski, galloping to the front on his superb black charger, raised his sword aloft and cried "For ward !" The men put spurs to their horses and away they dashed, swift as the wind, straight towards the open space between Spring Hill redoubt and the one next to the right of it. A more splendid cavalry charge ''as rarely ever seen on earth. But as they came sweep ing like a cyclone up to the enemy's works, Pulaski saw that the infantry whom he had come to support, driven back by the terrible fire,, had abandoned the assault and W$er'e streaming: to the rear in a wild stampede. Still Ol* dashed Pulaski and his horsemen. The concen trated fire of both redoubts was now turned upon them. 1 tjjaski, on his black charger, leaped the entrenchments
...dashed into the gap between the two redoubts.

182

Georgia. History Stones.

Only a few of his horsemen and some infantry whornf

.he had rallied were with him now. All the rest hadl

been shot down or driven back. At this moment a smallfe

cannon ball, called grape shot, fired from the Spring Hill

redoubt, struck the gallant Polander in the right groin.

Still retaining his sword in his right hand, he threw

his left hand over to 'the wounded side. His horse,

feeling the reins slacken, .made a great lunge. Pulaski

reeled in .his saddle and fell heavily to the ground...

His brother Polander, Major Rogowski, sprang from

his horse and knelt by his side. "Jesus! Mary!" faintly

groaned Pulaski, for he was a devout Roman Catholic.

A glancing musket ball struck Rogowski on the fore

head, making only a slight wound but filling his eyes

with blood and knocking him senseless by Pulaski's

side. Several of Pulaski's brave soldiers rushed up at

the imminent risk of their own lives, bore their chief

tain through the sulphurous smoke and death-dealing

missiles to the rear of the battlefield, where Dr. James

Lynah of Charleston extracted the ball--an operation

.which, though exceedingly painful, was borne by Pula"s1||:.

with inconceivable fortitude. The grape shot is still in-

possession of Mr. J, H. Lynah of Savannah, a great!

grandson of Dr. Lynah.

''If^

This was one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of

Siege of Savannah.

183

...the Revolutionary War, and in it the Americans with

their French allies suffered a complete and crushing

-defeat. Men never fought more bravely than they did,

%but nothing human could stand before the terrible can

nonade from the enemy's lines. Out of the 5.000 sol

diers actually. en^oa^oecl on the American side 1.133 were killed or wounded, 821 French and 312 Americans.

Nearly all of the officers were either killed or wounded.

Count d'Estaing, who most bravely led the assault, was

wounded in the early part of the battle, but refused to

leave the field until he was prostrated by a second shot

and had to be borne away by his men. He finally re

covered from his wounds, and afterwards had a very

distinguished career in France. The British lost only

one hundred men all told. . The battle started at sun

rise and by nine o'clock it was all over; the last sound

of the strife had died away, and amid the drifting

smoke the black-robed Angel of Death brooded in

silence over that bloody plain.

All hopes of taking Savannah were now abandoned.

Immediately after the battle General Lincoln retreated

|to Ebenezer, and a little later crossed over the river into

South Carolina. In a few days d'Estaing with the

\vhole French fleet and army sailed awav for France.

**

mt

On the day after the battle, as soon as Dr. Lynah

184.

Georgia History Stories.

k

had attended to his Wound, Pulaski was put on boarf!
. V^
a ship to be carried to Charleston for safety and properl

attention. But he had received a mortal hurt, and, i||
.*jl^&i
spite of the best surgical attention, he died on shipboard

the next day. He was buried in the sea, somewhere

between Savannah and

Charleston.

In 18o.'> the city of

Savannah erected a mag

nificent marble monu

ment to this heroic for

eigner who had sealed

with his life's blood his

devotion to the cause

of American liberty.

The monument stands

in Monterey Square, in

the heart of the city. It

was made in Italy, at a

Monument to Pulaski.

cost of eighteen thousand

dollars, and is probably the finest piece of tombstone workd| in Georgia. The figure of Pulaski falling from his horse * as he receives his death wound, carved in high relief on.. one side of the monument, is especially beautiful, and is : regarded by art critics as a masterpiece of sculpture.

Siege of Savannah.

,

185

-Georgia has honored Ptilaski also by naming one of her

counties for him.

*.;,,'-u

IV. DEATH OF SERGEANT JASPER.

j.;,^:._'
In the assault on Savannah an American soldier of

immortal fame received his death wound within a hun

dred yards of where Pulaski fell, and at almost the same

moment. His name was William Jasper, a young vol

unteer from South Carolina. He was a man of hum

ble origin. His parents were poor, honest Irish, who

emigrated to America and settled in South Carolina,

where they earned a livelihood by the toil of their hands.

Their famous son was brought up not only in poverty,

but in ignorance,, for in those days the children of the

poor had little or no chance for getting an education.

William* Jasper never went to school a day in his life, and

he grew to manhood without being able to read or write.

At the outbreak of the war ho joined the Second

South Carolina Resoriment, one of the finest regoiments in the American army. He proved a model soldier and

won the admiration of his officers. He was a splendid

specimen of physical manhood. There was not a loose

stitch In his body nor in his character. Although en

tirely uneducated, he was endowed with an abundance

of mother wit and the gift of ready and eloquent speech,

the Battle of Fort Moultrie, at Charleston, S. C,

186

Georgia History Stories.

in the early part of the war, lie distinguished himself,?
by a deed of great daring. In the midst of the fight|
.?i;f|-
a cannon ball fired by the British struck the flag staffS
on the fort, am! the American flag fell to -the ground.
Jasper picked ii up, and, amid shot and shell, clam-

Froni the painting by Oertel.
Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie.

boring to the tup of the fort, replaced the flag in its

former position, shouting, "God save liberty and my country forever!" In recognition of his bravery, Go-yS|f|l|

ernor Rutledge, in the presence of the whole regiment,Jy

offered him the commission of lieutenant; but Jasper;^

*Vj^< **

replied in these words: ''Governor, I thank you mosf||

.'

''iyf.

hcartilv for this honor, which is more than I deserve,

Siege of Savannah.

187

but I can't accept it. I am a poor, ignorant body; I

can't write my own name or even read a line. As ser

geant I may do pretty well, but as lieutenant I would

only get myself laughed at and lose the respect of my

fellowr soldiers.''' The Governor replied : "Good sergeant,

that was nobly spoken ! I see' that you are as modest

as you are brave. Since you will not accept the com

mission, I beg that you will accept this sword as a per

sonal gift from me." At the same time, he unbuckled

his own weapon from his side and handed it to Jasper,

who received it, saying, with tears in his eyes: "Gov

ernor, I pray that I may never do anything to dishonor

this sword !"

In the years after the Battle of Fort Moultrie, Jas

per was frequently detailed to act as scout and spy for

General Lincoln. This is the most dangerous service

that a soldier can perform, and requires not only cour

age, but preat shrewdness and intelligence. Manv were

t-7

'

f

.__*

*-_*

r

the daring deeds done by Jasper in discharge of the

duties of this position. In a number of his expeditions

he was accompanied by another famous scout and spy,

.Sergeant Newton.

On one occasion, in the darkest days of the Revolu

tion in Georgia, six American soldiers were being con

ducted under a strong guard from Ebenezer to Savan-

188

Georgia History Stories.

nah, where they were to be tried for their lives for tering the American army after having taken the oat} of allegiance to the British Government. They wer| accompanied by a Mrs. Brown, whose husband was oh|||i of the prisoners, and her little seven-year-old boy. She. was going to Savannah to plead with the authorities for the life of her husband. Jasper and Newton, while spying through the British camp at Ebcnczcr, found out all about this intended expedition, and they determined to try to rescue the prisoners. On the road that the-fj prisoners and their guard would have to travel, and only a few miles from Savannah, there was a famous spring known as The Spa. Jasper knew that the party would probably stop at this spring to rest before pro- V. ceeding to the city. So he and Newton went ahead through the woods, and concealed themselves behind the thick bushes near the spring, and awaited the com ing of the party. After a short while the party arrived and halted. The soldiers, leaving two of their number to guard the prisoners, stacked their muskets; and, after quenching their thirst at the spring, the whole sat down on the ground to rest. Quick as a flash per an.d Newton sprang from their covert, snatched two'3f muskets from the stack, shot the two armed -guards dead, and then, seizing two other muskets, held at bay:ft

...Siege of Savannah.

189

the other guards, who were required to remove the manacles from the wrists of the Americans. Then the Americans transferred the manacles to the wrists of the British, and so the tables were completely turned! The British -prisoners, eight in number, were marched to an American camp ten miles away. This was one of the most daring and wonderful exploits of the Revolu tionary War. The spring at which it occurred became a noted historic spot, and has ever since been known as Jasper Spring. In the year 1902 the Lachlan McIntosh Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo lution erected at the place a memorial in the form of a beautiful fountain made of white Georgia marble. All travelers who pass that way stop to drink at the .spring and to ponder on its tragic story.
The assault on the British .works in the siege of Savannah, already described, was led by the Second South Carolina Regiment, to which Jasper belonged. They carried the first line of works and planted their flag on one of the fortifications. This flag had been presented to the regiment several years before by Mrs.
.YSr-
vSlliott, of Charleston, one of the leading ladies of South Carolina. In a few moments British reinforcements
' 'f
came up and drove the Americans back from the posiwhich they had gained. As they were retreating,

190

Georgia 'History Stones.

Jasper remembered that the flag floating from th<|

breastwork had been left behind, and was about to fall

into the enemy's hands. Determined to rescue it at

the hazard of his life, he turned, rushed back, and

mounted the fortification; but just as he seized the flag,

a cruel musket ball from the enemy tore through one

of his lungs. Holding

one hand to his wound

ed side, he pain full y

madc his way to the

rear with the rescued

flag.

The next day he

died of his wound, sur

rounded by devoted

comrades. To Major

Horry, who was hold

Monument to Sergeant Jasper.

ing his hand, he said: ''Major, I am not afraid

to die. When I was a little child my good mother

used to take me on her knee and .tell, me about the

Great Hereafter, and I believe it. There has hardly

been a day, even during all this bloody war, that riia^sffl

not said my prayers night and morning. I believe I;

am prepared for the Great Hereafter. Tell my old.

i

Siege of Savannah.

191

5 I father that his son died in hope of a better life. Tell

I Governor Rutledge that I never dishonored the sword

| which he gave me; and if you .should ever see that

?"' grand gentlewoman (j\frs. Elliott), tell her I lost my

life saving the flag which she presented to our regi

ment." With these words, he expired.

Georgia has honored this gallant Irish-American

patriot by naming a county for him, and another county

she has named for his brave comrade, Sergeant Newton.

In one of the public squares of Savannah a superb

monument has been erected to Jasper's memory. It is

surmounted by a bronze figure of heroic size, represent

ing Jasper in a noble attitude, holding aloft in one hand

the flag that he had rescued from the enemy at the Bat-

; tie of Savannah, and in the other the drawn sword pre

sented to him by Governor Rutledge.

CHAPTER XIV.

CY HAET.

<f

Nancy Hart was a famous woman who lived iri

Georgia during the Revolutionary War. She lived witE h*er husband, Benj.amin Hart, and thei. r e. igh. t c* hildren

in a log house on their little farm away out in the coun-

, try, in what is now Elbert County, about ten miles from

. the present pretty town of Elberton.

Xancy was six feet tall, spare, big boned, and very

strong. She could ride a horse, shoot a gun, and handle

an axe as well as any man. She had brilliant red hair

and a fiery temper; she had penetrating blue eyes and

a keen wit. She was a high-spirited, energetic, and

brave woman. She had a strong will, and "bossed"

everything and everybody about her. Her education'

was limited, but this deficiency was overcome by her

natural shrewdness. Notwithstanding her fiery temper

and overbearing will, she was really a kind-hearted

woman. People feared and loved her at the same time,

and far and wide she was known by the fond pet name

of "Aunt Nancy."

Nancy was a great patriot, and was devoted to theS

.'

"^W^

American cause. Her love for the Liberty Boys was sirflf

193

^

Nancy Hart,

193

""'-cere, while her hatred of the British and the Tories was

'-bitter. During the latter days of the Revolution, when

;JS|the war was raging in Georgia, she took an active part

"r^|fe

.

'

against the enemy, and many are the wonderful stories

told of her daring deeds. She was of great assistance

to General Elijah Clarke in his campaigns against the

British. On one occasion General Clarke was very anx

ious to know the strength and position of the British

army in Augusta, and Nancy offered to find out for

him. She disguised herself as a man, which, on ac

count of her tall and stalwart figure, she could -easily

do. She pretended to be a poor,- half-witted country

man ; and, taking a basket of eggs on her arm, she

walked boldly into the enemy's camp. After selling the

eggs, she spent the entire day in the camp, entertain

ing the officers and soldiers mightily with her crazy

antics and songs and dances. No one suspected she

was anything but a poor, half-witted, harmless country

man, so she was permitted to rove through the camps

at will; but while she was cutting up foolish capers, her

ev"' e and shrewd mind were busy making observaand taking notes. Late in the afternoon she walked

6ut of the camp without'hindrance and carried to General

information that enabled him a few days later to

ppture the city of Augusta.

t BS&&J**.".



*-*

194

Georgia History Stories.

One day a young Patriot soldier, or Liberty Boy, came riding furiously up to Nancy's door, scared out of his wits, and crying at the top of his voice, "Aunt Nancy, the Tories are after me, the Tories are after me!" "Ride straight through the house and make for the swamp!" commanded Nancy, as she flung the front door wide open. The frightened youth lashed his horse and made him dash up the steps, through the hall, out of the back door, across the fields, and away to the swamp in the rear. Quickly Aunt Nancy shut the doors and was as still as a mouse. In a few seconds a band of armed Tories came galloping up and began knocking on the door with the butts of their guns. Aunt Nancy, grunting and groaning as if in great pain, hobbled to the door and opening it slightly peered out, and in a whining voice asked what was the matter. "We are looking for a rebel on a gray horse that came this way just now. Which way did he go?" demanded the Tories. "I haven't seen nor heard no rebel nor no horse; they haven't been this way. Ain't you men ashamed to come here skeering a poor, lone, sick woman to death!" whined Nancy. She acted the part so well that they believed every word she said, and turned and rode back the way they had come. Thus Aunt Nancy saved the life of the young Patriot soldier, for if tn<j

Nancy Hart.

195

Tories had caught him they would certainly have killed him.
Nancy soon became famous all through Georgia and the Carolinas. She was loved and admired by the Americans, but mortally feared by the British and the Tories. It is a great wonder that they did not kill her, unprotected as she was in her country home; but some how they stood too much in awe of her to attempt any violence. However, they kept spies prowling about her home to see what she might undertake to do, for they knew that she was herself a most valuable spy for the Americans. One night as Nancy was boiling a pot of "lye soap" in the big fireplace in her log cabin, stirring the soap with a long ladle, and chatting and laughing with some neighbor women who had called--for she was full of joke and humor--suddenly she noticed a pair of eyes in a bearded face peering at her from outside through a crack between the logs of the cabin. Pre tending not to notice it, she went on stirring the soap and chatting and laughing. Then suddenly with a quick, deft motion, she lifted a ladleful of the boiling fluid and threw it full in the face of the eavesdropper. He fell upon the ground roaring with pain. Nancy snatched up a rope and rushed out; and, although he was a big, powerful man, she soon had him securely tied. She

196

Georgia History Stones.

took him into the house and dressed his burns, made him as comfortable as possible, for she really a kind-hearted woman. Early the next morning;-^; she shouldered a gun, and making her big prisoneri^v with his hands tied behind him walk before her,;|l% marched him to the American camp, four miles away. On the way they had to cross the broad river at a ford. The water was not very deep, and Nancy, holding her gun in one hand and her petticoats lifted above her knees in the other, waded right through, still driving her prisoner before her. She took him to the American:- . camp and delivered him up to General Clarke.
During the spring and summer of 1780 the condi tion of affairs in Georgia was dreadful. The little American army in the State, though brave and heroic, was too small and weak to cope with the powerful enemy. Armed bands of cruel, bloodthirsty Tories roved over the country at will, committing murders, robberies, and all sorts of outrages on the defenseless people. General Elijah Clarke, the American Com mander in Georgia, ordered all the women and children to move away from, the-region to a place of safety that
'-SSSS; -:"
.he had provided for them in Tennessee, and most of theifi|fc1 $$$' \
went, but Nancy positively refused to go. "I 'shan'1^% budge a peg, not if me and my children die for it!

Nancy Hart.

197

"/ir,

said. She and her children remained in their lonely

country home, her life in constant danger. Her hus-

nd, Benjamin Hart, was captain of a small company

of American soldiers, known as "Partisans,"-placed on

duty in the neighborhood to protect the people as best

they could. The men composing the company had to

lie concealed in the swamps most of the time, sallying

forth only when they saw a chance of striking the

enemy an effective blow. Nancy acted as a spy and kept

her husband informed of the movements of the British

and the Tories. Her house was a meeting-place for his

company. Down by the spring near the house she kept

a large conch shell, on which she and her children could

blow with great skill, making a bugle-like sound that

could be heard for miles around. On this conch shell

they would blow signals for Captain Hart's company.

The principal signals were these: One blast, "Big

force of the enemy near; lie low!" Two blasts, "The

enemy gone!" Three blasts, "Come to the house quick!"

't'.'One night a band of ruffian Tories went to the house

of John Dooly, an old gray-haired gentleman, and one

f the foremost and most beloved men in Georgia, and

Murdered him in cold blood in the presence of his fam-

fc.

J John Dooly was a warm personal friend of Nancv's,

ft.:'-''

.--'

198

Georgia History Stories.

and, when she heard of his murder, her fiery

boiled like a volcano in her veins. A few days after this.
," viwij
terrible event a band of five armed Tories rod e-.', -1v.fvt* r^'
Nancy's house, and, hitching their horses in the gro\|

outside, walked into the house and ordered her to get

dinner for them. As you may well know, this service

was not to Nancy's liking, but she could not help her

self and had to obey. With eyes snapping fire and

with anger in every motion of her long, lithe body, slu;

went about the hateful task. The Tories withdrew to

a corner of the room and began conversing in a low tone.

Nancy pricked up her ears and listened keenly. She soon

caught from their talk that these were the very men

who had murdered John Dooly a few nights before.

Nancy's brave heart beat fast and furious, as she

thought to herself, "Oh! you bloody villains; now I'll

avenge John Dooly's death!" Her manner towards the

Tories quickly changed. She became pleasant and

suave. Soon she was chatting and laughing at a great

rate with the men, for Nancy was full of joke and

humor. She went to the cupboard and got out a jug of

whisky and they all took a big dram, Nancy pretend-

ing

to

drink

. with

. them,

barely

-

-

moistening her

lips

.'^tl| wfjfi

the liquor. Nancy was a splendid cook, and soon had;fa

fine dinner readyJ for them. The Tories leaned t4.h.*eir'

Nancy Hart.

199

guns against the walls of the cabin and took their seats

; at the table. Nancy called to her thirteen-year-old

K daughter, "Laura, go to the spring and fetch a pail of

water" : <

and

at

the

same

time

she

made

a

secret

signal o

to the girl by raising three fingers, which, as Laura

well knew, meant "'Blow three blasts on the shell!" The

dram of whisky had made the men merry, and they

joked and laughed mightily with Nancy as they ate

her good dinner with a keen appetite. In a little while

there came from down by the spring three clear blasts

from the conch shell, but the Tories did not notice it.

As Nancy served them she passed back and forth be

tween them and the wall; and as she did so she would,

ever and anon, take a gun and slip it outside through a

crack between the logs of the cabin, the same crack

through which the hapless spy had peered. She had

slipped two guns through without being detected, and

had the third in her hand when she was noticed by one

of the Tories. "Look at that woman," he shouted. All

of the men jumped from the table and started to rush

&at Nancy. Quick as a flash she had the gun at her

shoulder, pointed straight at them, her finger on the

: trigger, while determination and defiance gleamed from

her brave blue eyes. To take a step towards her

geemed certain death. Nevertheless, one of the men

200

Georgia History Stones.

made a bold spring at her. "Bang!" went the gun, amf down rolled the venturesome Tory dead at her feet.'lc
<4|l:
The others fell back in dismay. Nancy snatched an-^ other gun, and in a jiffy had that at her shoulder, pointed^! straight at them, her finger o& the trigger. The meri%huddled together in a corner of the room and began to consult what to do. About this time Laura returned from the spring. "Set down that pail o' water, take thai gun from agin' the wall, cock it. stand behind me, and hand it to me quick when I want it," ordered Nancy, without moving a muscle or taking her eye off vthe Tories. The girl obeyed, and the sharp metallic ''click, click" of the cocking guns was the only sound to break the death-like silence. The four Tories were now completely cowed. They began trying to make terms with Nancy. They offered her all the money they had and their five horses hitched in the. grove, and prom ised to leave the country for good if she would let them go; but Nancy answered not a word. You can imagine the picture--the four men cowering in the corner, afraid to move; Nancy, tall, stalwart, determined, standing mo tionless with her gun pointed at them, the dead Tory lying,^. at her feet, and her daughter with a cocked gun standing^ behind her! Thus for some time they stood in death-like ^ silence, the wretched Tories wondering what would hap-Sfi \

II -,

Nancy Hart.

201

fpen next', for they knew nothing of the conch-shell signal

v!



lor what it meant. After a while the tramping of feet was

i.
f'th,'eard outside, and there was a loud knock at the door.

J|-"Come in!" shouted Nancy, and in rushed Captain Ben-

jamin Hart and a squad of eight "Partisan" soldiers.

v "These are the villains that murdered John Dooly in

;Cold blood, and they must hang for.it!" cried Nancy,

''pointing at the Tories. When the poor wretches heard

rthis they turned pale as ashes, for they saw their doom.

.They began to deny bitterly that they had anything to

do with the killing of John Dooly. "You are liars as

v/ell as villainsf" cried Nancy. "You done it; I heard

you say yourselves you done it! You murdered John

.Dooly in cold blood, and you shall hang for it!" They
^vere bound and held as prisoners. The next day they

v ere tried by court-martial, and it was proved that they

v-^re the men that had murdered John Dooly; therefore,

they were condemned to be shot. "No, not shot! Hanged!
T1 lhey murdered John Dooly in cold blood, and they must

. ang like dogs for it!" ordered the imperious Nancy,

|?nd,as usual she had her way. The miserable wretches : Were taken out and hanged to the limbs of a big oak

that stood near the spring by which the conch shell

. Aunt Nancy herself witnessed the execution with t; satisfaction, and she always regarded tne capture

202

Georgia History Stories.

of the Tories that had murdered John Dooly as -thel

glorious of all her deeds.

Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, ^

tain Benjamin Hart died. Nancy mourned his

a year or two and then married an industrious,

farmer, younger than herself. They moved out to tjlc

Mississippi Valley and were doing well when a great

freshet came and ruined their fortune. Her second

husband died, and poor Nancy was again a widow. Sh.

wandered back to Georgia, where she lived for some

time with one of her married daughters near Bruns

wick. Finally she moved out to Kentucky, where she

had relatives living; there she spent the rest of her days,

and there she lies buried. Nancy had never been a

pious woman; but towards the end, when old age had

turned her red hair gray and had plowed wrinkles in

her strong, brave face, she "got religion'' at a big Meth

odist revival, and, as a famous writer* has wittily said

of her, "She spent the rest of her clays fighting Satan

and sin with as much vigor as in her prime she had

fought the British and the Tories.'".

Georgia has honored this brave, heroic woman _by

naming one of its counties for her, the only count^m]'

the State named for a woman.

:'l|:

*Joel Chandler Harris in his "Stories of Georgia."

||p ;/

I

Nancy Hart.

203

if In Elbert County, Georgia, there is a bold, romantic

\ stream known as "War Woman's Creek." This was

I named by the Indians in honor of Nancy Hart, for
"V
the savages greatly feared and admired her. One of the

most flourishing chapters of the Daughters of the

American Revolution in Georgia is the '''Nancy Hart

, Chapter," at Milledgeville, Baldwin County.

A part of the log house in which Nancy lived is still

} standing on the old Hart farm in Elbert County, and in

the canebrake near by still flow the cool crystal waters

- of the famous spring by which the conch shell lay. A

hundred yards from the spring there is pointed out to

travelers a bieor oak tree from the limbs of w hich it is said dangled the- bodies of those villainous Tories who

: "murdered John Dooly in cold blood!"

Recently the Daughters of the American Revolution

(the Stephen Heard Chapter, of Elbert County, and the

Nancy Hart Chapter, of Baldwin County) have ar

ranged to buy this old Nancy Hart homestead, and to

properly mark and preserve it as a perpetual memorial

* to one of Georgia's truest and most heroic patriots.

PART III.

DEVELOPMENT PERIOD f

CHAPTER XV.

"f f

ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY.

I. McGILLIVRAY'S PEDIGREE AND EARLY CAREER.

By all odds the most striking and interesting figure in -Georgia history during the first ten years after the

Revolutionary War was Alexander McGillivray, a halfbreed Indian Chief.

In the year 1735 there came -to Charleston, South

Carolina, on a ship from Liverpool, a Scotch youth,

seventeen years old, by the name of Lachlan McGilli-

vray. His father was a Scotch nobleman of wealth and

distinction; but the boy, in a wild spirit of adventure, ran

away from home and came to the New World to try his

fortunes.



He had in his pocket a neat sum of money; so

taking up his quarters at the best tavern in Charleston,

he spent several days in viewing the city and the sur

rounding country. One day while wandering out in f

the suburbs, he came across the camp of a party of In- f

diah traders--white men whose business was to carry *

^i

204

-,-' f

..

Alexander McGillivray.

205

merchandise on pack horses to the various Indian tribes away off in the back woods. -One of the traders persuaded young McGillivray to go with him as his assistant. From this beginning he became much at tached to the business', and followed it for many years. By his intelligence, industry and business shrewdness he became, in course of time, one of the best-known and most successful Indian traders in America. He was of a daring disposition, and ventured farther with his train of pack horses than any other trader in the South. He used to go up into the French pos sessions in the neighborhood of Fort Toulouse, where the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, now stands. There he f met and fell in love with, and subsequently married, a beautiful half-breed Indian girl, bearing the beautiful name of Sehoy. Her mother was a full-blooded Indian princess, daughter of a noted chief and descended from a long, line of chiefs of the Tribe of the Wind of the Great Creek Nation. Her father was Captain Marchand, commander of the French garrison at Fort Tou louse, and a gentleman of distinguished family, culture and refinement. So pretty Sehoy of the Tribe of the Wind was a high-bred lady. One who knew her well at. the time of her marriage describes her thus: "A
of sixteen, beautiful in countenance, cheer' ful in

206

Georgia History Stories.

' i "S
looks, bewitching in manners and graceful in io" There can be no doubt that the marriage of this

Indian girl of the lustrous eye and coal-black hairjf|

the fair-complexioued, blue-eyed, red-headed

Scotchman was a true love match. McGillivray had acquired considerable wealth as an

Indian trader. He owned a plantation on the Cposa River in Alabama. There shortly after his marriage he settled, and there were born to him and beautiful'

Schoy of the Tribe of the Wind three children, a son and two daughters. To the son was given the name of Alexander. Lachlau McGillivray subsequently bought a plantation on the Savannah River in Georgia, whither he moved with his young family.

Pretty Sehoy of the Tribe of the Wind had now become a dignified Georgia matron with her children about her knees. There was no school to which she could send the children, so, being a woman of some education, she taught them how to read and write.

When Alexander was ten years old his father sent him

to New York, where for four years he attended the best

schools in that city. He afterwards went to school in -,*,*
Savannah, and later still was sent to Charleston io. stl|||:

Latin and Greek under a learned clergyman and famotis

oJ

.-.itAfti

teacher of that dav. Young McGillivray was an apt

*

O

-'

i . .4'fS *- -"-^Ori

Alexander McGillk'ray. ,

207

'.*>

*$
f

student

and

had

a

great


love for

books,

and

'
he

was

specially fond of the noble Latin and Greek classics--

s a sure sign of a fine and lofty intellect.

~!$j>.

--*v_

3 & After he had finished his school education he was

placed in a large mercantile firm in Savannah in which

his father was a .partner, but he had no taste for this

hum-drum, prosy business. At his earnest entreaty his

father allowed him to go on a year's visit to his mother's

people, the Tribe of the Wind, in north Alabama. He

was received with honor and hailed with joy by the

Indians, for he was their own. Proud of him were

they, and they had reason to be. He was six feet tall

and straight as an arrow. He had his mother's large,

dark, lustrous eyes and a dash of her dusky complexion;

^ he had his father's strong, intellectual head, and his

French grandfather's long, tapering, fingers, high in-

sU:p, and mien and bearing of a gvntleman. He was

made chief of the Tribe of the Winds, and never more

did he return to the hum-drum life of a grocery

merchant.

: . Here we lose sight of him for a few years, but dur-

'!? HW.this time there is no doubt that his masterful ability

T -yf^v;-.

^

I*_.. y'j'sS'&$r-'- '" asserting itself among the Creek Indians.

I\ ffe : f ^"

II. McGILLTVRAY IN THE REVOLUTION. -

^ ,S|About the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Me-

208

Georgia History Stories.

Gillivray came again into the field of vision, this

standing out in bold relief as an historical charactej?

A great council of all the chiefs of the great CreeW ' *$;
Nation was being held at Coweta Town, right where

the little village of Fort Mitchell, Ala., now stan<M 'V**.
the same place that Oglethorpc had visited some thirty-

five years before. There were three thousand chiefs

and head men present at the meeting. The principal

business before the council was the determination of the

position which the Creek Indians should take in the

Revolutionary War, then opening. McGillivray, by

sheer force of native ability, got complete control of the

assembly and persuaded them to espouse the cause of

the British. From that moment he became supreme chief

of the Creeks, and from then till near the end of his

life he held them absolutely obedient to his will. The

Creeks were by far the most numerous and powerful

of the Indian" nations in the South. Its numerous tribes

occupied nearly all of Georgia, the whole of Alabama,

and a part of Mississippi. They could furnish many

thousands of the bravest and fiercest warriors. For his

great service in wanning the Creeks to the English side,

McGillivray was given the rank of colonel in the.Rri||

ish army, with a colonel's full pay.
>

;--
,"-',:'

McGillivray had really wished his people to be en-

'

-it

:.-!?

Alexander McGillivray.

209

tirely neutral in the war, but this they were not per mitted to be. Their situation was such that they were ^compelled to join one side or the other. He knew that the British were far stronger than the Americans; and believing that they would triumph in the war, he natu rally wished to be on the winning side. But, on the other hand, he was afraid to antagonize the Americans too strongly; for if they should triumph in the war, an issue entirely possible, he knew it would be in their power to visit a terrible vengeance on his people. So he proved a rather hike-warm, half-hearted ally to the British. Throughout the war he helped them some; but had he.chosen so to do, he could have helped them a great deal more. When Georgia was invaded he took an active though not very vigorous part with the British and the Tories against the Patriots. .He was no fighter himself, for he had not inherited the righting instinct with his Indian blood, and he was never in a battle; but he furnished Brown and McGirth and other Tory* leaders with their Indian allies, in rather sparse numbers.
Lachlan McGillivray, the father, was a much stancher Tory than his son Alexander, and with his great wealth he did much to help the British cause,
the war was over nearly all of his property was

210

Georgia History Stories.

confiscated by the Americans, and his family was^l

duced to poverty.

111. THE OCONEE WAR.

During the Revolutionary War, nearly all of

'

":''-?>&-.

Indian tribes of Georgia had sided with the British ancT

had engaged in open hostilities against the Patriots. Now that the war was over, they had, of course, to share the fate of the conquered and submit to any terms

that Georgia might exact. In the northwest corner of the State dwelt the
Cherokee Indians, a small nation very little related to the Greeks. In May, 1783, the chiefs of the Cherokees met at Augusta commissioners appointed by the Legis lature of Georgia for the purpose of making a treaty. The commissioners demanded a large cession of Chero kee lands, which was granted, thus adding considerably to the territory of Georgia towards the northwest. For a long time afterwards, Georgia had no further trouble with the Cherokees. They kept the treaty because they couldn't help themselves, for they were a feeble people

and had no strong McGillivray back of them.

In November, 1783, Governor Lyman Hall called ' --.it^

the

chiefs

of

all

the

Creek

tribes

to

meet

at

August^.

:?H-- *--*

vV'"*#r'

for the purpose of making a treaty with commission

ers appointed by the Legislature. When the day fo' r ,

Alexander McGillirray.

211

the meeting came, only a few of the chiefs were pres ent ; and McGillivray, the supreme chief, was conspicuous by his absence. Nevertheless, the Georgia com missioners went ahead and made a treaty with the few chiefs that were present. These chiefs assumed to act for the whole Creek Nation, and ceded to Georgia all of the lands lying between the Ogeechee and Oconee rivers and extending up to the mountains in the Cherokee country.
By this cession Georgia had added to her territory a vast, beautiful and fertile region of country. She at once divided it into two large counties, Washington County to the south and Franklin County to the north.* Parties of government surveyors were sent into the re gion to lay it off into townships and lots. A large por tion of it was set apart to be distributed as bounties and rewards to the Georgia heroes of the Revolutionary War. The rest was to be thrown open to any settlers who might choose to come and pay the small purchase price of the lands. Every encouragement was given ,|pr the rapid peopling and development of this choice region, and a good many settlers actually moved into i&f."' Though only a few of the Indian tribes had been
to the treaty, all seemed to acquiesce in it. They
llfIjpFa'* These two counties weie subsequently cut up into twelve counties P.sent day.

212

Georgia History Stories.

uttered no protest; they did-not interfere with the s

vevors or the incoming settlers and moved ranidlIf '

-

O

Jr \.*i/.*ji? '

away from the east to the west side of the Oconeejf'



'-S^'

Everything seemed peaceful and serene, but these a^plfe-..

1pearances were decep* tive.

~ ^-S'^flH-

Alexander McGillivray was strongly opposed to the

Treaty of Augusta, for he believed that it had been un

fairly obtained and that it greatly wron'ged his people.

He determined that it should not be carried out; but

with Indian cunning he concealed his feelings and de

signs, while he went quietly to work to accomplish hisf-

purpose.

.

As soon as he heard of the treaty he hastened to

Pensacola, Florida, where, acting for the whole Creek

Nation, he made a secret treaty with the Spanish Gov

ernment by which he made the Creeks the allies of Spain.

This was a master stroke of diplomacy. Spain at that

time claimed the country between the Chattahoochee and

the Mississippi rivers, including the southern part of the

present States of Alabama and Mississippi. Georgia

claimed the same region under the original grant from

England. The country in dispute was inhabited mainlyr.

by Creek Indians, and by McGillivray's treaty

Creeks pledged themselves to support the claims

Spain as against Georgia. In return for this

Alexander McGiUhra y.

213

Spain was to protect the Creeks, as far as she could do ;|s%os.y,. - from the Georg->ians and from all other enemies. .^P^'-Having accomplished this, McGillivray hastened back to Georgia, where he moved quietly from tribe to tribe of the Creeks firing their hearts and stirring them

Indians Plundering Cattle on a Frontier Plantation.
to revolt against the Treaty of Augusta. The blow fell, Vs Indian outbreaks usually do, when least expected. In
Tfc5 '"""'""
jtey, 1785, a party of painted savages crossed . the
f/Wte-br iee and went on the warpath into the lately ceded
|gion, killing the settlers, burning the houses, stealing
fe cattle and whatever else they could carry off. Gen-
Clarke, of Revolutionary fame, quickly got

214

Georgia History Stories.

up a party of white men and drove the marauders ball

across the river. This was the beginning of what is

.known in Georgia history as "The Oconee War." It

lasted in ,a fitful, irregular sort of way for ten years-

being repeatedly interrupted by "treaties of peace,"

which the Indians always violated at the first oppor

tunity. The prime mover and instigator of it all was

Alexander McGillivray.

^ The first attempt, to put an end to this so-called

Oconee War was in the fall of 1785. In November, the

chiefs of the Creek tribes were summoned to meet the

Georgia commissioners at Galphinton, on the Ogeechee

River (a few miles below the present town of Louisville)

for the purpose of making another treaty. McGilli

vray used his powerful influence to keep the chiefs from

attending, consequently only a few of them were pres

ent. It was the story of the Treaty of Augusta over

again. The few chiefs present, assuming to act for the

whole Creek Nation, signed a treaty by which they not

only confirmed all the concessions that had been made

at the Treaty of Augusta, but in addition gave up to

the whites a large and choice region in southeast

Georgia, known then as the "Tallassee Country," incltVSl

o'

t<^V

ing a vast tract between the Altamaha and St. Mary's

rivers, and extending considerably to the west.

Alexander McGillivray.

215

Of course, McGillivray repudiated this treaty, and under his instigation it was soon broken by the Indians, and the "Oconee War" was resumed. It consisted, as before, of occasional Indian raids into the ceded terri tory on the east side of the Oconee River, with murder of settlers, burning of houses and stealing of cattle. The Indians were usually quickly driven away with/ severe punishment.
In October, 178G, another council was held on Shoulder Bone Creek, in Hancock County. It was the same old story that had already been enacted at Au gusta and Galphinton. Only a few chiefs were present. A new ''treaty" was made confirming the Treaty of , Galphinton and adding some new provisions. In a few I months the treaty, under the instigation of McGilli vray, was again broken by the Indians, and the Oconee War went on as before. In this Oconee War (so called), during its continuance, of ten years, hundreds of white settlers were murdered, many homes were burned, and iI tens of thousands of dollars' worth of property' was deJ. ;stroyed. A volume of blood-curdling stories might be | written about the times.* | ' The authorities of Georgia had long known that | Alexander McGillivray was the instigator of all these
-Ip^ *Some tragic incidents connected with this war are graphically revflafed in Joel Chandler. Harris's little book, "Stories of Georgia."

216

Georgia History Stories.

troubles, and they had used their utmost efforts to

a meeting with him and come to some understanding^

but he evaded them every time. He had led them tojj'

''

.

-'fy'

, believe that he would attend the meeting- at Augusta,:^'

but he was not there. He had positively promised td?5*'

be at Galphinton ; but he had not the least idea of go

ing, and-not only absented himself, but kept the other

chiefs away. He was full of deceit and double dealing.

In his letters to the Georgia authorities (he was a strong

and forceful writer) he was never defiant, but always

courteous, reasonable, and apparently anxious for peace; ;

but he never, or rarely ever, meant what he said. His

aim was to drag out the fitful, desultory "Oconee War"

as long as possible, until he could unite all of the Indian

nations east of the Mississippi into one mighty combina

tion and bring affairs to a state where the interests of

Spain would be involved, so that he might reasonably

call on that great power for aid.

At last the United States took a hand in the game

and united with Georgia in trying to bring the crafty

Indian to terms; but with his fine address McGillivray

baffled them at every point, and the "Oconee War"

still went on. Finally the United States commissioners"!* .J;"T&V 't
succeeded in making an engagement with him for a^f

meeting that he could not evade. It took place on the.

:

Alexander McGillizray.

217

20th of September, 1789, at Rock Landing, on the banks ' of the Oconee River, not far from the present town of 4 Milledgeville. On the east side of the river appeared
the commissioners, accompanied by a battery of light artillery; on the other side of the river was McGillivray, with two thousand warriors armed cap-a-pic! He had brought this army to overawe the commissioners. McGillivray, with some of the leading chiefs, rowed across the.river in canoes, and the conference with the com missioners began. It lasted several days. McGillivray was, as always, dignified, courteous and self-contained, appearing anxious for peace and well pleased with the terms offered by the commissioners. The treaty was drawn up in writing, and was to be submitted to a grand council of all the chiefs the next day. McGilli vray and his companions rowed back across the river to notify the chiefs. Late that night the commissioners heard a mighty commotion in the Indian camp across the river. When the}1 arose the next morning they saw that McGillivray and his host of two thousand warriors had vanished! Soon two negroes came rowing across the river in a canoe bearing a letter from McGillivray to the commissioners, which said: "The terms you offer are not satisfactory. We are compelled to move away
here to find forag<->e for our horses. Further ne-

218

Georgia History Stones.

gotiations will have to be defeired until next springiJIt
.*.''-'v^4"t"
The commissioners were astounded and bitterly

pointed, for the wily fox had given them the

These aup'ust officers had come t om New York

O

-'*".

,_.. . w.....TO .,3a^^?, to middle Georgia--a

toilsome journey of

more than a month in

those days.--and their

mission had failed to

accomplish anything.

Yet, from the Indian

standpoint, McGillivray

is not to be blamed;

for the terms of the

From ihc pointing by Gilbert Stuart.
George Washington.

treaty offered by the commissioners demand-

ed of the Indians the surrender of vast tracts of their

choicest lands (the same as the Treaty of Galphinton) without the least compensation. No wonder .the su

preme chief found, it "unsatisfactory."

IV. THE TREATY OF NEW YORK.
In the year 1790 the United States was organized^ under the new Constitution which gave to the Federal. Government much greater powers than it had ever had,", before--among others, entire control of Indian affairs.

Alexander McGillivray.

219

't5?
|fk*-The Georgians appealed to President George Washing' ton to exercise this new power by sending a Federal

'" army down to Georgia to conquer the Creek Indians

I.:#p&;.a". nd force them to stand by the treaties w hich they had made with the whites. But Washington decided not

to do this until he. had first tried his own hand at treaty

making with the Indians. He went about it wisely and

cautiously. He sent to Georgia Colonel Marius Willett,

of New York, as a secret and confidential agent to nego

tiate with the Creek Nation; that is, with Alexander

McGillivray.

Colonel Willett reached Georgia and proceeded di

rectly to McGillivray's country home, '''Little Tallassee,"

on the Coosa River, where he had a long confidential

conference with the great chief. McGillivray was a

sensible man, and he knew that the time had now come

when he must make and keep a treaty with the whites.

He preferred to make it with the United States rather

than with Georgia, becaused he believed that the United

States would be more liberal with him. He agoreed to go to New York (which was then the capital of the

JJnited States), accompanied by the principal Indian

chiefs, to meet the great George Washington face to

face, and to settle with him all difficulties between the

Creek Nation and Georgia.

220

Georgia History Stories.

It took some time to get the delegation for N|p'"! York together. At length, however, it was accent *
-4Si'" '"3
plished. The party consisted of McGillivray, tweri!?^<' vi-_' three Indian chiefs, six attendants, three servants, one interpreter, and Colonel Willett--thirty-five persons all
told. On the 9th day of June, 1790, they assembled at

From an engraving of 1S41,
Stone or Rock Mountain.

Stone Mountain, in DeKalb County, and started imme

diately on their long overland journey to New York.

They traveled in wagons and on horseback. McGil*.*..

livray

was

on

horseback

and

'.
Colonel

Willett

'
rode

."'^Ifl-
iri^tf

*'

single-seated buggy, called a sulky. As they traveled

through South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia^

Pennsylvania and New Jersey, they excited everywhere

Alexander McGillivray.

221

the greatest interest and curiosity. In the larger towns

.kthey were received with much honor and were hospit-
:'*<&:' '^i^"1
ilably entertained.

'-^r At Guilford C ourt House, North Carolina, a pa.
|spit,he' tic incident o' ccurred. McGill.ivr.ay was standing in

'the court house surrounded bv a throng of ladies and

r*

.

^

O

''gentlemen who had called to pay their respects. Sud-

denly a woman came rushing through the assembly,

and, grasping McGillivray by both hands, burst into

a flood of tears and poured forth a profuse and

eloquent speech of .gratitude and thanks, ending





by exclaiming with great feeling, "God bless yon!

,God bless you, forever /" The woman was a Mrs.

$.

.'

.Brown, whose husband, several years before, had been

murdered by the Creek Indians in Georgia, after which

she and her children had been captured and made slaves.

.xMcGillivray, hearing of their sad condition, had paid
'''t-\j/<-- ."
'their ransom from his own pocket and thus redeemed

iliem from slavery. For a year he had maintained them

at his own home, and then sent them to their friends in

North Carolina. Since her liberation this was the first

time Mrs. Brown had seen McGillivray, and for this

ine- she had traveled many miles through the conn-

O

>

C5

p; The kindness which McGillivray had shown to ;.". ffirs. Brown was only one of the many instances in

222

Geofgia History Stories.

which he had paid heavy ransoms to the Indians 015%

the sake of captive women and children.

'.-'!*%?

McGillivray's.party readied New York City at noohf^ >,
- "'- V5*f;' -j
on Tuesday, July 20th, 17DO, and were received witHf'

great splendor by the Tammany Society (which has since

become so famous) in the full regalia of their order,

and were conducted with much pomp and parade to the.

lYcsidem's house, where they were .introduced to

George \Yashington and the members of his Cabinet.

They then repaired to the City Tavern, where an elegant

entertainment closed the day. Practically all .the people

of New York came out from their houses to see Mc-

Gillivray and the Creek chiefs, for they were the most

imposing Indian delegation that had ever visited the

national capital.

The treaty making proved to be a slow process.

Washington had several long conferences with McGil-

livray, whom he found to be a man of great ability and

force of character. McGillivray agreed to surrender to

Georgia absolutely and without pay the long and rich

strip of country lying between the Oconee and the Ogee-fe ^ " "r^it' 'v
chee rivers and extending clear up to the mountains^ |

but he firmly refused to give up the. "Tallassee coun

try," between the Altamaha and the St. Mary's, whichv

the whites claimed on account of the so-called Treaty- ;

4

Alexander McGillivray.

223

|f of Galphinton. He agreed to pledge the firm alle-

r*** 1
VP ~.'

.

-

-giance of the whole Creek Nation to the United States,

J and in return required that the United States should pro-
H-""v
3??&&.:^-t..e& c t .t.h.e. Creeks in the peaceful possession of all their cil lands lying west of the Oconee River. He also had

:' himself made an American brigadier-general with full

pay. On these terms the treaty was made. It was

- drawn up in writing, and on the Gth of August, 1790,

was formally signed by General Knox, Secretary of

War, acting as commissioner for the United States, and

by Alexander McGillivray and the twenty-three chiefs

; acting for the whole Creek Nation. The next day it was

. duly confirmed by Congress, and the deed was done!

In making this treaty McGillivray had deliberately

violated his solemn treaty with Spain, by which, in all

|; good faith, he was still bound. At this very time he

was holding the commission and drawing the pay of a

colonel in the Spanish army. He knew that, as things

had turned out, it would be to the interests of the

Creeks to put themselves under the protection of the

Lmitecl States rather than Spain; so without a scruple

%H-. h*'*.e<' broke faith with Spain and transferred his allegiance to the United States.
'*/, Y ><'
H .,: The Treaty Delegation returned to Georgia by water,

p sailing from New York in a specially chartered ship and

224

Georgia History Stories.

landing in Georgia at the mouth of the St. River, in the beautiful "Tallassee country," which been saved to the Indians by the masv terful of their supreme chief, Alexander McGillivray.
Undoubtedly this famous Treaty of New York wal good, wise and fair to both parties, but it pleased neither the Creeks nor the Georgians. The Creeks complained of it bitter!v because it forced them to surren der the extensive and rich region between the Ogeechcv: and the Oconee, for which they had been so long coritending. The Georgians protested against it violently because it compelled them to give back to the Indians the "'Tallassee country," which had been yielded to the whites at the Treaty of Galphinton.
In making this Treaty of' New York the United States had deliberately annulled the Treaty of Gal phinton made by Georgia. Georgia contended that the United States had no right so to do. Thus arose the first assertion under the new Constitution of the "State Sovereignty/' or "States' Rights," for which the South always contended. For a while Georgia and the United States Government quarreled bitterly over the maiSfti;
"' ^'^vfiS'' -
Furthermore, bv this Treaty of New York both-tKB "''"'"',;.* Creek Nation and the United States were placed ; 4|i awkward and unpleasant relations with Spain ; and,-U<|n

I

Alexander McGillizray.

225

~$f :'
H i the whole, it looked as if the two great chiefs, Alexan-
1^
f der McGillivray and George Washington, instead of re-

I- moving troubles, had only added to them!, for their
- ;.
U'-*'' Agreement ?-': ' gave. rise to several years of wrangling and
sjk c-;'*'.-.''
' *' one or two "Indian Wars." However, through the

wise, cautious policy of George Washington, the

troubles were gradually adjusted, and in the year 1796,

several years after McGillivray was dead, commission

ers representing Georgia, the United States and the

Creek Indians met in South Georgia at a little place

called Coleraine (now vanished), and made a treaty

_ confirming in every particular the Treaty of New York.

This Treaty of Coleraine put an end to the Indian

troubles, and for a long time thereafter there was peace

;*. between the white man and the red man in our beloved ^ :^State. In the mean time poor Spain had become so in-

* volved in European disturbances that she required all

of her strength and resources at hmne. She was finally

\ compelled to lose sight of her claims to any part of North -America, and eventually sold Florida (1819).

r

V. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BOWLES.

|| After the Treaty of New York, McGillivray rapidly

favor with the Indians. There was in Georgia at time a notorious adventurer by the name of W-f ill-

1m Augustus Bowles, who proved to be McGillivray's

226

Georgia History Stones.

evil genius. Bowles was a prince of scoundrels, was born in Maryland in 1763. His family* Loyalists, or Tories; and during the War, William Augustus joined the British army at early age of sixteen years. Though but a boy, he was

William Augustus Bowles.
given the commission of ensign. In less than a yearji while his regiment was stationed in Pensacola, Floridaff
;*$-
he was expelled from the army for some disgraceful5" *v#
conduct. He bundled up his uniform with bitter curses! and threw it into the sea. He then joined a party o-

'. Alexander McGilUvray.

227

.'..(Sreek Indians who happened to be in Pensacola at jthe time, and returned with them to Georgia. There he lived for some time among the savages, learned to ospeak their language fluently, and married the daughter of a chief. Later he rejoined the British army and so distinguished himself that his old commission of ensign was given back to him, and the "stain on his escutcheon''' was supposed to be wiped out.
After the war was over he joined a theatrical com pany and went to the Bahama Islands, where he made quite a reputation as a comic actor and portrait painter, .for he possessed marvelous versatility of talent. In the year .1:789 he abandoned the stage and became a law less Indian trader. By his shrewdness and boldness he managed to smuggle cargo after cargo of "contra band" goods through the Spanish dominions of Florida and into Georgia, where he sold them to the Creek Indians at enormous proiits. The Spanish Government offered a reward of seven thousand dollars for his capture, and pur suers got so hot on his trail that he abandoned the smug gling business and went back to live among the Creek tidians in Georgia. He settled on the Chattahoochee rjver, where he was at once made chief of one of -|fe Indian tribes, and he rapidly acquired great influ-
with the savages. McGillivray, hearing of him
%-:-' fe

228

Georgia History Stories.

and knowing his character, threatened to arrest I and cut off his ears if he did not leave the treSP Nation in twenty-four hours. Bowles, knowing 'tjjjjjjj*' ti McGillivray would carry out his threat, left imrrfS 1
'i^ljlf diately and went again to the Bahama Islands, whelfl he was soon followed by a number of Creek and Cherokee chiefs, who idolized him.
By his personal magnetism (for, like most successtill scoundrels, he was a man of attractive personality) he won the favor and confidence of Lord Dunmore, the English governor of the Bahamas; and Dunmore, gave him a strong letter of recommendation to the leaders of the British Government in London. Bowles, accompanied by his Creeks and Cherokees, took ship and sailed for London, where, with his painted sav ages, he appeared before the leaders of the Govern ment, and made them a speech like this: fi l come as the ambassador of the united nations of the Creeks and Cherokees. These great Indian nations are anx ious to break with Spain and the United States and to renew their old allegiance to England, if she will aid them in their enterprise. I am authorized to make you this offer by the unanimous voice of twenty thousf|fi|
' -"-" p^^p^ ^
warriors, ready to hazard their lives at the comrria^ of myself, their beloved brother and supreme chiel
m ' &**-f$&W:

;

Alexander McGillivray.

229

-'Of course, there was no truth in the statement, but f. 5;Bowles was a great liar, and by his personal magnetft. jffism he usually got his lies believed; but fortunately
some of the leaders were clear-headed enough to see that he was a humbug, so he wr as very politely but firmly turned down and dismissed. Nevertheless, he and his Indians received a great ovation and many rich pres ents from the people of London.
Having failed in his schemes, he returned to the Bahamas. With the money that he had made from his smuggling trade he bought a strong, swift-sailing little ship, which he armed with four cannon and manned with an Indian crew trained by himself in the art of ; navigation. Thus equipped he entered boldly on the | career of a pirate. He went to Apalachicola Bay, Florida, where for a year he played havoc with the Spanish merchant ships, destroying many of them and ":;> securing an immense booty. Again Spain offered a big ; reward for his capture; so, finding that he was about b Y-f be taken and hanged, he sold his ship and returned |p SPce more to his beloved Creeks in Georgia. The (Indians made a greater hero of him than ever, and he .Rapidly acquired a powerful ascendency over them,
dubbed him "General," and declared him comaiider-m-chief of all the armies of the Creek Nation.

230

Georgia History Stones.

Bowles saw that now was his opportunity to. avenged on McGillivray, who had threatened to off his ears. That chieftain had just made his wise unpopular Treaty of New York. Bowles poisoned minds of the Indians against him, and made them b| .lieve that he was a traitor and had sold them first to" Spain and then to the United States, all for his own selfish gain. Unfortunately there was some truth, or at least semblance of truth, in these, charges. The In dians believed Bowles's accusations. They turned against their great chieftain, whom they had idolized for so.; many years, and lie rapidly fell into disfavor.
Poor McGillivray seems not to have had much cour age or ''backbone" ; for he gave way without a strug gle before the strong tide of unpopularity, and, aban-; cloning the Indians and Indian affairs, left the field to Bowles, and spent the two remaining years of his life in looking after his commercial .interests.
As for Bowles, he continued to work his rascally schemes in Georgia and Florida for several years, and became an intolerable annoyance both to Spain and the United States. Spain, now for the third time, offered a big reward for his capture, but for a long1 tiine^:fn^^W& one could lay hands on him. Finally, however, sorrlei Indians set a trap for him, and caught him for the

;%

Alexander McGillizray.

231

Jl|of the rich reward offered. While they were on their Sway to Florida, they camped in the woods one night, getting a guard over their prisoner. During the night "the guard fell asleep, and Bowles gnawed apart the rope
that bound him and made his escape. The astonished Indians awoke and found him gone. They soon got track of him, however, and after a long pursuit caught him nearly starved to death in a swamp. The Spanish Government sent him to Havana, Cuba, and threw him into the dungeon of Morro Castle, where, after languishling a few years, he died.
vi. PASSING OP MCGILLIVRAY. Alexander McGillivray, while possessing some .noble traits of character, was crafty, scheming and ^avaricious. We have seen his double-dealing in poli tics, but we should not judge him too harshly on this account; for he was protecting a weak people against a strongo,* and in such cases cunningo and deceit are some'times the only weapons that avail. He loved money, ^and his methods of obtaining it were not entirely above proach. He managed always to get \vell paid by le or another of the great governments of the world >r his influence over the Indians. He was first a British colonel, then a Spanish colonel, and finally an merican brigadier-general, getting in each instance a

232

Georgia History Stories.

high salary. By his shrewdness he succeeded curing these offices. He entered into partnership witl a Scotch merchant by** the name of Panton,' and,*..i'n*/".a. way that was not altogether honorable, he used position as head of the Creek Nation to furthercommercial interests. He was undoubtedly true to the Indians, but not in a pure and unselfish way like old Tomo-chi-chi. While serving the cause of his op pressed people with sincere and deep devotion, .he managed also, in an incidental way, to enrich himself. When he died he owned a number of slaves and two^ well-stocked plantations in Georgia, one in Cherokee County and one on Little River, in Putnam County.
That he was a man of very high order of ability there can be no doubt. He was a born leader of men. For many years by sheer force of intellect and charac ter he held a great nation of fickle, unstable savages, scattered over a vast region of country, absolutely obedient to his will. No other man ever succeeded in so governing the Indian race.
He was a great diplomat. I^or years he baffled the , utmost efforts of the statesmen of Georgia and the ri United States to make terms with the Creek Indiai|||| In the fine game of politics he played off Spain, tf& || United States, and Georgia against one another.
'" T*S "in

f:

.

Alexander Mc&lHvray.

233

'^induced the Federal Government to abrogate a treaty

- -inacle by Georgia, thus causing1 the first "State Sover-

-".,-1 ^ i-

/

tJ '

CJ

:^^;^

'

'



-$a:^ftJroe^i'0eTitJy"

qL ua-rrel

that

ever

arose

in
.

the

United

States.

He was a strong, vigorous writer. His classical

education gave him a fine command of language. His

political letters are said by competent critics to be

among the ablest documents to be found in the huge

volumes of "American State Papers." He impressed

every one who met him personally as a man of rare

intellect and of great force and dignity of character.

He had a large head, expanded above the ears, with a

broad and lofty forehead.*

He seems to have possessed but little courage,

either physical or moral. Though for years a promoter

and instigator of war, he was never in a battle. This

does not necessarily imply cowardice: but if he had

possessed the fighting instinct in any degree, he would

scarcely have been so careful to keep away from the

smell of gunpowder. If lie had been a warrior or a

.man who was ready to fight, he would not have allowed

to be so completely displaced by that brazen-

adventurer, Bowles.

^:Vr * For a masterful sketch of this remarkable man and the Oconee War reader is referred to Absalom H. ChappelPs little volume, "Miscellanies
..
.f^Georgia," where these and a number of other subjects in our State hisy, are treated with classic beauty.

234

Georgia History Stories.

His last days on earth were passed under a. cloud! He had fallen into disfavor with his own people, whom he had served so long, so. faithfully and so well; Spain regarded him as a time server and turncoat, and even the "United States had begun to mistrust him. He had been in bad health for more than a year; and while on a visit to his Scotch friend and business partner, Panton, at Pensacola, he died, in February, 1793. The Spanish Catholic priest at Pensacola, out of spite per haps, refused him Christian burial; but his funeral was attended with imposing civic and Masonic ceremonies. He was laid to rest in the beautiful flower garden of his friend. Thus the great chieftain of the Creeks was buried in the sands of the Seminoles; and there to-day his bones lie in an unmarked and unknown grave, while his very name (once "a name to conjure with") has passed almost into oblivion.
When the Creek Indians heard of his death, their old love for him came back .in full force, and from all their forest homes throughout Georgia and Alabama there went up a mighty wail and lamentation, and many savage ceremonies and funeral rites were performed in honor of Alexander McGillivray, son of the beautiful:: Sehoy, of the Tribe of the Wind of the great Creek.
Nation.

t v:
I&
CHAPTER XVI.
THE YAZOO FRAUD.
I. THE YAZOO COUNTRY AND THE SPECULATORS.
Take a map of the Southern States or of the United States and find where the Yazoo River empties into the Mississippi. From this point draw a line due east ward until it strikes the Chattahoochee River about where the town of West Point (Ga.) now stands. Many years ago this line was known as the "Yazoo Line," and the region above and below it, for an indefinite distance, - was known as the "Yazoo Country." This region, like all the rest of what is now Alabama and Mississippi, was claimed by Georgia. The part below the line was claimed also by Spain, and for many years the ownership was in dispute between the two conntries. This immense region was at that time one vast wilderness, inhabited only by scattered tribes of In dians, but the lands were among the richest and most desirable on the American Continent. ||||.At that time, soon after the Revolutionary War, iffere prevailed throughout the United States a sort of Sfe .
Jia'nia for speculating in "wild lands," as the extensive
territory of the different States was called. 235

236

Georgia History Stories.

In the year 1789 a combination of speculators frorri^

eral different States in the Union tried to buy

Yazoo Country, or a large section of it, from

Owing to Spain's counter claim to this

Georgia's ' title to it was in doubt, and therefore "tfef commercial value of the lands was greatly depreciated-

The speculators offered a half-cent an acre for five mil-' ]
i
lion acres, agreeing, of course, to take all the risk of j

Georgia's doubtful title. Georgia was at that time ]

sorely in need of money to pa}- oil: her Revolutionary I

soldiers, who were clamoring, strongly for their wages, .||

long past due. So the State Legislature, by a unanimous H ~f
vote, agreed to sell to the speculators live million acres of j

the Yazoo Country for. two hundred thousand dollars.

But before the sale was consummated, President

Washington issued a proclamation declaring it to be

illegal and unconstitutional; because, in the first place, f

negotiations were now going on between Spain and the

United States in regard to the ownership of this region,

and during the negotiations, of course, neither party had

a right to sell the lands; and because, in the second place,

according to the Federal Constitution no state could sell

or occupy its wild lands until the Indian claims therlfe





"K'^SfSF"

had been "extinguished" by the United States Governi|j$j

X'?.'"

by fair and le^al treaty, arid this had not yet been don% =

^



^7

J



.-fflfcva3&

I -;;..-

The Yazoo Fraud.

237

ff S:"'in regard to the Yazoo Country. So Georgia's sale to

:|- -rthe speculators was declared void, and was not carried

"irC

"''

i 5into effect. This transaction was but the preliminary

f< -.^>-

...

c

J

*? to the famous "Yazoo Fraud."

u. "THE YAZOOISTS."

In 1793 a new and powerful combination of specu

lators was organized for the purpose of buying the

Yazoo Country from Georgia. It was composed of

men from nearly every State in the Union. They were

formed into several different "companies," but practi

cally they were urrited into one mighty combination, act

ing together under one leadership. They offered to pay

Georgia in cash about one and a half cents an acre

for twenty million acres of the Yazoo Country. The

Legislature of 1793 rejected their proposition by an al

most unanimous vote. Bitterly disappointed, but nothing

daunted by this rebuff, the Yazooists, as this cohort of

speculators came to be called, determined to try again.

They knew perfectly well now that they could not buy

the lands by fair and open means ; but, being unscrupu-

4&us men, they were willing to resort to unprincipled

Sftiethods to accomplish their purpose.

'W >$*' The leader and business manager of the whole .Scheme was a James Gunn, or General Gunn, as he was

|rnmonly called.. He was a man exactly suited to the

238

Georgia History Stories.

base purposes of the Yazooists. He came to Georgi

from Virginia towards the latter part of the Revolu'SS

tionary War, as captain of a company in General Na^
;*
thaniel Greene's army. Soon after reaching Georgia^
;.'-!;i?r
General Greene reprimanded him severely for some diUf!

honest and disgrace

ful conduct. When the

war ended, he settled

in Georgia. He was

guilty of a number

of 'disreputable acts

that should have dis

graced him. He was

a coarse, brutal, blus

tering fellow, utterly

After a 'miniature on ivory.
General Nathaniel Greene.

unprincipled, but very shrewd and full of en-

ergy, and possessing in a high degree the "gift of gab."

He managed, as bad men frequently do, to make himself

exceedingly popular with the masses of the people, and

even acquired great influence over many of the leading

men of the State. Undeserved honors were heaped upon

him, and he was made a brigadier-general in the Staffi

J

<J

**J

- jt*5*3$r'

militia. Finally he- was elected to the exalted station of{

United States Senator from Georgia.

_f

The Yazoo Fraud.

239

Immediately after their failure with the Legisla|j ,ture of 1793 the Yazooists set about strengthening
J^v"7
If Jlhemselves for another effort. Their first step was to P: - ' ^eniist the interest of leading men of Georgia in their enterprise. The wily Gunn and his assistants moved | quietly over the State, trying to induce prominent and I influential people to "take stock" in their rascally II. scheme. In this they met with great success. Here | seemed an opportunity to make a fortune at one easy
stroke! A number of men who were of high standing and who had always had reputation for uprightness and integrity fell before the temptation, for nothing so blinds the conscience as lust for gold. The scheme now had the "moral backing" of many of the most reputable and influential men in Georgia, which was a great point gained for the Yazooists. The Yazooists tried also to influence the elections in nearly every county in the State, securing as representatives to the Legislature, as far.as they could, men who they believed could be bribed; for already they saw that t|n^ery must play a very important part in their game. ^"'-^Jpne of the most energetic and most corrupt of the 5|azooists was Judge Henry Wilson, of Pennsylvania, fie of the most distinguished men in America. Few
||i?; stood higher in the esteem of the people or had

240

Georgia History Stories.

been more greatly honored. He was one of the ^if t!
ers of the Declaration of Independence, had beer3 member of the Constitutional Convention of 1787,-$ah(l for many years a leading member of the Congress, an'ci at this very time occupied the exalted position o&:^|
"'':'"--^f'
sociate Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States; but he had become a greedy land speculator and had lost all sense of honor. From the beginning he was most active in this Yazoo business, for he was a very large owner of its stock. It was his brain mainly that planned the operations of the company, though their practical execution was left chiefly to James Gunn.
As has* already been stated, Georgia's title to the Yazoo region was clouded by Spain's counter claim, which greatly depreciated the commercial value of fhe lands; and that is why the Yazooists thought they could buy them at so small a price as a cent and a half an acre. In the summer of 1:794 James Gunn, from his place in the United States Senate in Washington, wrote to the leading Yazooists in Georgia and in other states a stirring letter like this (we do not pretend to give the words, for the letter was never published) :-- A.
"I have secret but perfectly reliable info '^fflf&?
that Spain will before long conclude a treaty withjtffi United States, by which the Yazoo region will be the

I-

The Yazoo Fraud.

241

| property of Georgia. Of course, these lands will at

| once enhance enormously in value. Hence it is a mat-

^. -ter of vital importance to make the purchase before the

f" people of Georgia know about the treaty with Spain.

$ Now is the time to strike. Be prepared to make the

i. purchase and close the transaction immediately on the

tf meeting of the next Legislature. Be supplied with |: plenty of money to use on the members. Remember,

': 'Every man has his price!' "

III. PASSAGE OF THE YAZOO ACT.

. On the 1st of January, 1795, the Georgia Legisla-

M ture met at Augusta, which was then the capital. James

Gtinn and a choice gang of conspirators were pres

ent. They were supplied with $25,000 in cash and

E a great quantity of Yazoo "land shares" to be used in f\- \'Hiving votes for the Yazoo sale. Ever}- member was

^ppi'oached and "sounded/' and those that were corrupt

|, enough were bribed to vote for the sale. The price of-

f fered was five hundred thousand dollars for twenty-five

| 'billion acres of land, or two cents an acre. . The price was
I '';
g nebulously small. By waiting two or three years the

K-t|tff. could easily sell the lands at from ten to twenty

' -

*^&^r'-'

*

**

.*,,-;:'as much. m?., :-*h"j-!*'

Besides, there were at that time other

reasons why they should not sell this vast territory.

)he Georgia Legislature was then a small body,

242

Georgia 'History Stories.

consisting of scarcely more than fifty men, Senatol Representatives ail told. At length, on Februanl 1795, after a long- discussion, the infamous Yazo| came to a votej^ It was passed by the House of sentatives by a vote of nineteen to nine and by the<|ll by a vote of ten to nine. It was afterwards provedtlat every man that voted for the act (except one, Mr. Robert Watkins) owned large shares of the stock of the Yazoo Land Company--proof positive that "undue influence," or, in other w^ords, bribery, had been used to obtain their votes.
But before the Act could become a law, it hacTtc be signed by the Governor of the State. By refusing to sign it he could defeat the whole project. The .Qqvernor at that time was Mr. George Mathews, al^^e," rough old soldier, who had been a great hero "i'n'.,'';.&.the Revolutionary War. He was an honest man, both in understanding and in character. It known that in his heart he was opposed to the.Yazoo Act, but he had not the moral strength to stand|bf^hi$ convictions. He was overawed by the great ;1n]ii||ber of prominent and influential people in the were strongly in favor of the Act, and infl moment he signed the document. The deed waj A foul blot was placed on Georgia's escj

i: %

The Yazoo Fraud.

243

G"i?"*"e1" org*~^ia's le^g"^ islators had sold their birthrig^^ht of honor
4*' 4v*-o'. r a mess of pottage! It ^ * s ^e s^angest instance of the wholesale corrup-
f" iibn of public officials in American history. For these
f> men were no worse, but rather better than the average
I man. Most of them belonged to the best families in I | Georgia, and they had hitherto maintained a pure char| acter and an unblemished reputation. Love-of money
v-' and the wiles of the tempter had for the moment blinded
jr
I their moral sense, and they stumbled and fell. 5^No sooner was the sale consummated than the Yazooists set about realizing on their investment. They
!F
j| were fearful that when the people of Georgia should
j| find out the great fraud that had been practiced they F \vould rise in indignation, have the Act repealed, and
I the lands returned to the State; hence the speculators
i lost no time in dividing their immense territory into
I small parcels and selling them out at from five to ten I^ times the price they had paid. They sent agents all over I .the United States, and even to Europe, to push the
||Jes. Purchasers were found without difficulty. The were doing, both literally and figuratively, "a
office business," and if it had continued long every them would have made big fortunes; but their was short lived, . for a cloud was gather-

244'

" Georgia History'Stories.

ing that was soon to burst in terrific fury on doomed heads!
IV. JAMES JACKSON AND THE DAY OF WRATH. ,..;->*$
From the first this Yazoo sale had been strongly ppf posed by several leading men of Georgia; but in tholfit days, when there were few newspapers, no railroads, ri? telegraph, and slow mails, it was very difficult to reach the ear of the public. The Yazooists had worked so secretly and rapidly that the deed was accomplishe'd before the people knew what was being done. The Act was now passed and had become a law, and seemed ir revocable. Undoubtedly it would have gone fully into effect without further opposition if it had not been for one man. \f That man was the brave and fiery General James Jackson, of whose splendid record in the Revolutionary^ War you have read in another part of this book. Jackson was now United States Senator from Georgia. He had always .been a bitter opponent of the Yazoo sale. The speculators had secretly offered him a half-million acres of land without the payment of a dollar if he would use his powerful influence in favor of their scheme, but he indignantly replied: "I have fought for the people'oiGeorgia ; that land belongs to them and their children; H& for all the world would I defraud them of it. On the conl trary, I will do all in my power to thwart your scheine.M;

.;.,

The Yazoo Fraud.

245

J In spite of Jackson's efforts, the Act was passed |j .and made a law of Georgia; but even then he would p |not let the matter alone. In a speech in the United I States Senate, in the presence of James Gunn himself,
he denounced the sale as "a speculation of the darkest character and of deliberate villainy!" With fiery vehe mence and determination he declared "the infamous act :: must be repealed by the next Georgia Legislature!'3 He 1 was not content to fulminate against the outrage from a distance. He resigned his place in the United States Senate and came back to Georgia and "bearded the lion in his den." He devoted his whole time to stirring up the people on the subject. By pen and by speech he , exposed the deep-dyed villainy of the whole Yazoo transaction. He filled the columns of the only two newspapers in the State with able and severe articles of denunciation. He traveled over the State, and in speeches and talks fired the minds of the people. In pursuing this course Jackson had everything to lose and ,, nothing to gain for himself. Most of the rich and influjfe fttial people of Georgia were in favor of the Yazoo g Sale, because either they themselves or members of their v family were financially interested in the enterprise. In 8 defying these powerful people and publicly charging ffi|m with corruption and villainy, Jackson took his

246 '

Georgia History Stories.

life in.his hands, and well he knew it. HistprjUl nishes no finer example of physical and moral courf|| nor any more splendid illustration of pure patriotilS
":'' -^~ Htfbioi.i'
The Yazooists, some of"' whom were desperate plainly saw that Jackson was bringing ruin and upon them, and the wonder is that he was not assas sinated; but he seemed to "bear a charmed life, 1 ' as often seems the case with brave and heroic souls.
He soon had the masses of the people all over Georgia wrought up to a pitch of furious indignation.
;.'.' I
It was not merely the fact that they had been so badfy cheated as to the price of the lands that angered the 1 people, but that the State had been disgraced by the wholesale corruption of its prominent men and law makers. The very name Yazooist became a synonyf of infamy, and the members of the Legislature who had voted .for the Act were branded with disgrace. So irjf censed were the people against them that their liv^s seemed to be in danger. They trembled for their personal safety, as well they might. A number of them left the State until the storm would blow over, some of them never to return. Others skulked in hiding about their homes for months, afraid to show their any public place. The member from Oglethorpe came near being lynched by a furious mob of his.,"f||lb

I

The Yasoo Fraud,

247

'Kt 4"v

I %:low citizens, headed by a man with a rope in his hand;

| ;Jbut being warned by a friend he jumped from a back

'i&f' 'J-Wlw' indow and made his escape on horseback. The Sena1 tor from Hancock County fled in terror into South

Carolina, where he was shot to death in his hiding-

. place by an unknown assassin. It has always been

believed that the deed was done by some one who fol-

: lowed him from Georgia, being chosen by lot for the

v purpose by a secret organization of the enraged citi-

l zens of Hancock County.

a

As to poor, weak Governor Mathews, the people

never forgave him for signing the Act, though they

knew he had not been bribed to do it. From the heights

of popularity he fell into general disfavor. Wrherever he

went in Georgia, he fancied that the finger of scorn was

pointing at him. His life was made so miserable that

he left the State never to return.

:

The arch scoundrel of them all, James Gunn, was

too thick-skinned to mind the disgrace and ignominy

1 that came upon him. With brazen effrontery he con-

iHf "IjPgt'i.nued to live in Georgia, and to strut before the public
|g Jwith his usual swagger and insolent airs; but it was not

jT ?or long, for early in the year 1801 he died, and went

; IL-ji. "Down to the vile earth whence he sprung W&I-<f, Unwept, unhonbrecU.and unsung!"

248

^"^ Georgia History Stones.

V
V. REPEAL OF THE YAZOO ACT.

The only issue in the next State election was the 're|ff/v

repeal of the Yazoo Act. James Jackson was elected^4J||J

Representative from Chatham County. To accept thi<ft| : J|f

lowly

place

in

the

political

service,

he

had

voluntarip _

'

'^'::-# ''"$

given up the exalted position of United States Senator/ f

simply because he knew he could thus serve the people J

better. The rich and influential people of Georgia were I i
mostly, for reasons already given, opposed to the re- 1

peal of the Yazoo Act. but the honest masses were j

ardently in favor of it.

-V ^

The Legislature met at the little town of Louis

ville, to which the capital had just been moved, in

January, J.79G. A bill was introduced declaring the

Yazoo Act null and void: first, because it was unconsti-v.

tutional; second, because its passage had been obtained

by fraud and bribery. The bill was passed on the 17th

of February by a large majority of both houses of the

Legislature 'and received the signature of Governor.

Erwin. Thus the infamous deed was undone, and the...

foul blot was wiped from Georgia's escutcheon!

. ,,.

To make the expunging of this disgrace from tlie-

archives of Georgia more impressive, a resolution \

passed that the official record of the Yazoo Act

be publicly burned in the presence of the Governor, tH<|

The YCI.ZOO Fraud.,

249

|S ^State House officers, and members of the Legislature. f* rAt high noon the Governor, the State House officers,

" '*'J*^t4rla^*"riVid the" whole "Le^^gislative"" body - marched out of the
^'* ^Capitol in solemn order and formed in a circle around

*- a pile of fat lightwood that had been placed in the mid-

--.' die of the square in front of the Capitol building. The

f procession was headed by the Secretary of State, who
*i f
f bore in his hand a great roll of paper, on which was en-

'; grossed the Legislative record of the Yazoo Act. He

passed it to the President of the Senate, who looked at %. p; the caption to be sure that it was the right document,

^" and then passed it to the Speaker of the House, who,

t after glancing at the caption, passed it in turn to the

4 .fe

Clerk of the House. That officer read the caption aloud,

ll Cso that all present might hear it and know that this

I was certainly the right paper. A man stooped down

] and was about to kindle the fire with a "flint and steel"

I;'.

'



ft (for there were no matches in those days), when he

t:

^ was stopped by an old, gray-haired preacher, a member

fev

P/ of the Legislature, who, stepping forth, said in a deep,

.ffitjpressive voice: "My fellow countrymen, the fire that

"^~ ^' <||hsumes that . infamous deed should be drawn directly heaven!" Then, drawing a burning-glass from

pocket, he focused the rays of the sun on the fuel,

|ch was soon kindled into a blaze. The clerk of the

250

Georgia History Stones.

House stepped up and threw the accursed clocu^ffl

into the flames, at the same time crying out in a iblffj

voice, "God save, the State and preserve her rights, al

may every attempt to injure them perish as these coS

rupt acts now do!" In a few seconds the notorioff|

Yazoo Act had gone up in smoke and ashes.

The story had a long, tiresome aftermath. Of"

course, the State of Georgia returned to the Yazooist|"

the $500,000 that they had paid, but the innocent vie-"

tims who had bought parcels of land from these specu

lators before the business was stopped seemed left ih|

the lurch. The State of Georgia was in no way boutfdt

to reimburse them, and it seems there was no law .by

which the Yazooists could be compelled to do so. Iii

the year 1802 Georgia ceded to the United States th'S

whole Yazoo region, along with the rest of lands*

which are now Alabama and Mississippi. After man^|-

suits in the Supreme Court, petitions to Congress, ef^

cetera, the United States, by act of Congress, finally relf

turned to the said innocent victims the amount of money)

that they had paid to the speculators for the baleful Yazoo

lands. It was about 1815 before the last of these claihiW

were adjusted, and it was years later than that ..__..

"

t...

the echoes of the great Yazoo F raud* died out in Gedrgip

*See masterful account in Absalom H. ChappelPs "Miscellanies^^| Georgia."

^ CHAPTER XVII.
TEOUP AND THE TEEATY.
I. STATUS OF INDIAN AFFAIRS - IN GEORGIA IN 1823.
By the old grant from England, Georgia claimed all the country lying between the Savannah River and the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Mississippi River on the west. This included not only the present State of Georgia, but also that region which is now included in Alabama and Mississippi. After the Revolutionary War, Georgia realized that this immense region was far more than she could use to any profitable purpose; so in the year 1802 she ceded to the United States all of the country lying between the Chattahoochee and Mississippi rivers, including the present states of Ala bama and Mississippi. She retained for herself only the State of Georgia precisely as it stands to-day. Thus by one act of her Legislature, Georgia was cut down to one-third her original size.
The terms of the cession to the United States were as follows: First: The United States was to pay Georgia $1,250,000 in cash. Second: The United States was, for the benefit of Georgia, to extinguish, Jg; || at the expense of the Federal Government, all Indian
251

252

Georgia History Stones.

titles to lands in Georgia. This meant simply that

United States was to purchase from the Indians, frorrif |

time to time, as opportunity offered, by fair ancLl

legal treaty, their Georgia lands and turn them overi

1.

! %*

to the State. In accordance with this provision, the^

United States did within the next fifteen or twenty

years extinguish the Indian titles to large areas of land

in middle and southeast Georgia, pushing the red man

further and further to the west.

In 1733, when Oglethorpe landed at Savannah, the

Indians possessed and occupied the whole of what is

the present State of Georgia; but the resistless hand

of the white man pushed them back, back, until in the

year 1822 they were confined to a comparatively nar

row belt in the extreme western part of the State.

The long strip between the Flint and the Chattahoochee

rivers was occupied by the Creeks, and the extreme

northwest corner of the State was held by the

Cherokees.

For several years the white man, with his insatia

ble land greed, had been looking with longing eyes on

this rich and desirable western belt. Throughout the

State the feeling, was very strong that the Indians -

should be required to give up all of their remaining

Georgia lands to the whites and move away to the Far

JlS

|4

Troup and the Treaty. .

253

S ^.



'



It ^ West to a reservation to be set aside for them by the

A/ v'.

^

II ^ United States. On the other hand, the. feeling among

il %the Indians was equally as strong not to budge another

: ~& . -^

A

.

^

"' inch nor cede nor sell another foot of ground to the

whites on any terms. Among the Cherokees in north

west Georgia this feeling was specially strong and

< absolutely unanimous. The Creeks were somewhat

5. divided on the subject. They were the most numerous,

" most powerful, and most warlike of all the southern

Indian nations. In 1822 comparatively few of them

lived in Georgia, not more perhaps than seven or eight

thousand all told," occupying the western belt, between
r'
the Flint and the Chattahoochee rivers, as mentioned

above. The great mass of the nation lived in Alabama.

#. The Georgia Creeks' (or Lower Creeks, as they

were generally called) were under the leadership of an

able and powerful half-breed chief by the name of

William Mclntosh. His father was a Scotchman and

3 a colonel in the British army. His mother was a full-

':-: blooded Creek Indian. He was an intelligent, well

educated man of sound judgment and excellent practi-

sense. He sincerely believed that it would be best

his people to yield their Georgia lands to the whites

& and to move beyond the Mississippi to a reservation

aside for them by the United States Government.
1!-^.

254

Georgia History Stories.

By his dominating influence he brought most Georgia or Lower Creeks to agree with him on this "' ft subject; but the Alabama or Upper Creeks, under the

leadership of their two principal chiefs, Big Warrior

and Little Prince, were strongly opposed to the move

ment. There existed among the Creeks at this time a

law of recent origin that no tribe, or part of the Cr'e'"ek'

Nation,

should .

be

al

lowed to cede or sell to

the whites any part of

the Creek lands with' out t

the

consent

of

the

whole

'
' -"<

Creek Nation, through i

their chiefs in grand

council assembled. Such

a council was called to ;-:

meet -at Broken Arrow, . :
',f.
Alabama, early in 1824, , ffWr' ^
with a view to g^t|iiigf
vri'1;.' ^K
the nation to consenfto -^

the Georgia Creeks' ced-1

ing their lands to *'"ihe $

whites and moving to a

reservation be^vond the.

William Mclntosh.

Mississippi. Mclntosh

Troup and the Treaty.

255

;|vvas present, and urged the measure in a powerful speech, fbut he met with the 'bitter and nearly unanimous oppo^sition of the Alabama Creeks, so the meeting was a failure.

x|flf^ Shortly after this grand council, Big Warrior, Lit-

Sfje Prince, and a number of other hostile chiefs met at

:. Illlple Cat Spring, in Ala-

..

fi/.y^^xJJj.,. :.

f^3

^t|ma, and, in the usual

Irregular, loose, savage

'.fashion, passed a law or

^decree that any Creek

' lehief who should here-

fafter cede.or sell to the

rvvhites any part of the

c lands without the

of the whole Creek Nation should be

Governor George M. Troup.

adjudged a traitor and put to death. This bloody de-

- -*Sfe? was ever afterwards known among the Indians as

; Hi "Law of Pole Cat Spring."

H. THE INDIAN SPRING TREATY.
..# Such was the condition of Indian affairs in Georgia .;%. 1824, when George M. Troup was elected Governor '. M tne State. | jSfevTroup came of a fine old English family, and he

256

Georgia History Stories.

was an aristocrat in every fiber of his being, though i

political convictions an ardent Democrat. He had been

reared in wealth and luxury, and amid the finest social

surroundings. He was splendidly educated, having been

graduated with high honors from Princeton Univer

sity at the age of nineteen years. When he was barely

twenty-one years old he was elected to the State Legis

lature from Chatham County. As soon as he had reached

the eligible age of twenty-five years he was elected to

the United States Congress. He had served a number

of terms in Congress with great ability and distinction.

He was a man of fine intellect, of perfect integrity

of character, and possessed a fiery temper and an iron

will. A truer and purer patriot never lived in Georgia.

In politics he was a most ardent supporter of the

"States' Rights" or "State Sovereignty" doctrine.

Governor Troup was strongly in favor of clearing

all of the Indians out of Georgia and turning

cated lands over to white settlers. In his first

to the State Legislature he spoke with great empfiasis
^:%.;.
and force on this subject. He also w'rpte to President
Monroe demanding that the United States Government

proceed without delay to fulfil its obligation to "extin

guish all remaining: Indian titles to lands in Georgia."

O

O

-3

President Monroe replied, "The United States stands

Troup and the Treaty.

257

ready to carry out her agreement to extinguish the In-

:dian titles whenever it may be done peaceably and on

reasonable terms,, but she will not use force or comoul-
,L4%VV.
"fwslon to dispossess .the Indians of t'Jheir lands."
f- At the request of the Georgia Legislature, Presi-

Joent Monroe summoned, or "invited," all the chiefs of

Creek Nation jtb meet _________

: at Indian Spring early in

February, 1825, to consider

a treaty looking to the sale

of t

all

their . remaining

Georgia lands to the whites.

The President appointed

Duncan G. Campbell and

J. Meriwether as commis

sioners to represent the TUT,ni-4t.edi Sc,tatA.es i n nego

President Monroe.

tiating the treaty. The convention met at Indian Spring
S-%^';'
titf February 8th, 1825. There were nearly four hun

dred chiefs and head men present. Most of them were Georgia, or Lower Creeks, under the leadership of Mc-

Ifttosh, but there was also a considerable delegation of

Alabama or Upper Creeks under the leadership of Big

Hgrrior and Little Prince.

i very important personage at this meeting was

258

Georgia History Stories.

Colonel John Crowell, United States Agent to the Stitfpl

Indians. He had held this position for several year*

and, in -the main, had discharged its difficult duties with

great efficiency, though he seems not to have been a

man of high principles. He was the bitter political

enemy of Governor Troup. He was a shrewd man

and knew how to keep his own counsel; but it was^*ln- "t

erally known that in his heart he was opposed to the

proposed treat}', and that for weeks he had been secretly

using his influence with the Indians to prevent its con

summation. On this account Governor Troup Jjiad ?

written to the President of the United States request

ing that Crowell be discharged from office and that

some one else be appointed in his place; but the Presi

dent refused to grant the request. At the Indian Spring

meeting Crowell deported himself very quietly; but he

was a wily fellow, and it was strongly suspected that in

..,-; ^*"'^J

an underhand way he was doing" air in his power to^stir .,

'

O

J-

: ^.;?p^%.-";.^ . rp^*^MK3* fc'i. o-v;

the Indians to oppose the treaty.

'^v?t|lfff8f.'t--'"??:"

On the afternoon of the 9th of February theltohV

missioners read to the assembled c-hiefs the .ter,r-vi*S:fifo-;'f : ': .^v|fyr,V.
the treaty, which were as follows: That all Creejfjtpi-

V -if '

*

dians now living in Georgia should move west of the

Mississippi River, where they would receive from the

United States, acre for acre, the same quantity of land

Trotip and the Treaty.

259

that they had relinquished in Georgia--land of as good

or better quality. The United States was to give them

also $5,000,000 in money to pay for the improvements

pjgu their Georgia lands and to defray the expenses of

iifi'-.

tneir removal. They were to be allowed a year and a

lialf to get ready for the removal, and during the time

&J??/-.



,

||fe to remain in peaceful possession of their Georgia

y Wt^|iffye-s and to be pL rotected from all intrusion and molestatiqn on the part of the whites.

The chiefs were instructed to sleep on the proposi

tion over night and be ready to give their answer the

next morning. During the afternoon Big Warrior (his

Indian name was Tustennugee Thlucco) gathered around

him his adherents and all others who wished to listen

to ....him and made a fiery, eloquent speech against

the4.! treaty. The great rock on which he stood while

making his speech is still at Indian Spring and is

pointed out to visitors to that popular health resort.

During that night Big Warrior, Little Prince, and sev

eral other chiefs, mainly Alabama Creeks, left the con

trition and journeyed homeward, but they constituted

Ol% a very small minority of the assembly. The next

horning all of the others, mostly Georgia Creeks, who

alone immediately concerned in the provisions of

, gave their full and free consent to its terms
'O

2 GO

Georgia History Stones.

without a word of objection or a dissenting voice,

document was signed by M.clntosh and fifty-one other

chiefs on the part of the Indians, by Duncan G. Camp.

bell and James Men wether, commissioners, on the part

of the United States, and by John - Crowell, United

States agent, as witness for both parties. Throughout

the proceedings Crowell had uttered no word of pro

test, or objection.

The treaty was immediately forwarded to Wash

ington City to receive, as the law required, the approval

and confirmation of the President and the United

States Senate. The same mail carried a letter secretly

written by Agent Crowell to the President urging that

the treaty be not confirmed, and stating that it had been

obtained by unfair and fraudulent means; that, with

the exception of Mclntosh and two or three others, the

Indians who had signed it wrere either chiefs of Jp^v



'"'ifij^jf;?

grade or no chiefs at all; that an enormous -----****

of the Creek Nation were opposed to i. t, and that^it

could not be carried out without a bloody Indian wii*l

-

-*-?,;;

Strange to say, as if placing little confidence in triefr

agent, the Federal authorities paid no attention whatever

to this protest. The treaty was confirmed by an almost

unanimous vote of the Senate, and received the Presi

dent's approval and signature.

Troup and the Treaty.

261

The deed was done! The Indian titles had been
fairly and legally extinguished, and the lands had been
.;.fully vested in the State of Georgia. The people of
-' '^'* v
were delighted at the success of the Indian
conference. They supposed, of course, there

From an old print.
.^; Chiefs of the Creek Nation and a Georgia Squatter.
would be no trouble about carrying out the provisions .of the treaty.
III. MURDER OF McINTOSH.
H$$frtln this expectation, however, the Georgians were doomed to disappointment. Scarcely two weeks had elapsed after the treaty was ratified before reports bean coming to the Governor that the hostile Creeks "were in an ugly mood, were holding big meetings and |vere vowing that the treaty should never be carried
On the 5th of March the Governor received from

202

" Georgia History Stories.

Chilly Mclntosh, son of Chief William Mclntosh,<l>j'. letter like this: "I am reliably informed that the hog-

tiles have planned to murder my father and six othef

chiefs (naming them), who signed the treaty/'1 et cetera.

The Governor at once wrote to Chief Mclntosh, urg

ing him to absent himself from home and from the vicing v **
ity of the hostiles until proper arrangements for his pro

tection could be made, but Mclntosh was a brave man,

and knew no fear. He was a very wealthy man for

those times, for he owned two large plantations andja

hundred negro slaves ' and had three wives, all fulp

blooded Indian women. He lived on one of his plant-

tations on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, iri

what is now Carroll County, Not far away was the:

Tallapoosa Country, where dwelt the fiercest of the hos--

tiles and his bitterest enemies. He must have known,

or should have known, that his life was in danger, bug

he seemed to give the matter no thought. He

quietly at home attending to his farming i

*;

Governor Troup was very anxious that the c"e- de-,*d"%'<

lands should be sur' v ey" ed as soon as possible, so that wK-e#B$

the Indians should leave a year hence the white settlers"

might move in without delay. The survey would be a

tedious process requiring a full year, and it would not

be possible for the whites to move in until the work was

Troup and the Treaty.

263

completed. So the Governor wrote Mclntosh asking

permission to begin the survey at once, guaranteeing

that the Indians should not suffer the slightest molesta-

tjjbn or annoyance from the surveying parties. After

; considerable correspondence on the subject, Mclntosh,

. on the 25th day .of April, wrote the Governor, on be

half of the chiefs who had made the treaty, giving free

*-_".;*iKfi* '

/ '

O

O

' and full permission for the survey to begin immediately.

The writing of that letter was the last official act of

poor Mclntosh!

At daybreak on the morning of April 28th a party

of one hundred and sixty carefully picked warriors of

the hostile Creeks left the Tallapoosa Country and

started on a mysterious expedition to Mclntosh's home

on the Chattahoochee River. For fifty miles they

marched with the utmost secrecy through the thick con

cealing woods, avoiding roads and paths. At dusk on

April 29th they reached the vicinity of Mclntosh's

plantation. Creeping stealthily through the darkness

they formed a cordon around his residence. There they

tay concealed in the woods and bushes watching his

nouse until all the lights were out; then they drew the

cordon closer. After midnight they crept up to the

. house and set it on fire, and as the flames leaped heaven-

they uttered the blood-curdling war whoop! Me-

264:

Georgia History Stories.

Intosh, aroused from sound sleep, knew at once

meant, and that he was a doomed man; but, bray||||

the last, he determined to sell his life as dearly as pos~ |

sible. Rushing to the front door he opened it and''"--.'lo'"t--'IJt out his two wives, Peggy and Susannah, and an Indian 4

guest, old Tom a Tustenuggee, one of the treaty sign- f

ing chiefs, to make their escape from the flames.

Old Toma was shot dead immediately, but the womn;

were spared. Mclntosh having barred and barricaded 1

the door, retreated up stairs, and from the upper win

dows, with the four guns that he had, kept up ....for.

some minutes a brisk fire on the Indian fiends that were

yelling and*dancing around the flaming house, while

the two women, with frantic screams, were imploritig

them not to burn him with the building. Forced-at

length by the smoke and heat, he started to rush out,

pistol in .hand; but on the threshold he fell, shot down

but not killed. Several Indians rushed up and, catch

ing him by the legs, dragged him out into the
VtiL.
While two of the demons took his scalp, a third : d^^ '*'?&,-
a long knife through his heart. With a low moari^lfie

expired.



-^"" ^v'liiPir-t

. Near by was an outhouse in which Chilly MctntoMi

was sleeping. As the Indians made a dash for the

building, Chilly jumped through the window and made

Trou [^ and the Treaty.

2G5

liis escape through the woods. During the night the

S,j

.

'

-Indians went to the home of Samuel Hawkins, another

fleaty signing: chief, and a son-in-law of Mclntosh,

:3L&!

J

O

O

'

:|fho Jived in the neighborhood, and killed him as

tlev had Mclntosh. thus making their victims

;j.|M j .

'

*~>

|&ee in number, all treat)' signers. They burned all

''*^^&S'

t



41^ buildings- on Mclntosh's plantation, shot down his

:V,-ft



Kferses and cattle, and took his negroes and carried.

tjjem oft. All the next day they lingered about the

place, feasting on Mclntosh's provisions and cattle,

rending the air with terrific war whoops, and dancing

tfie war dance around Mclntosh's scalp raised aloft on

i^jong pole. At dusk that evening they vanished as

sj||ntly as they had come on the evening before, and

returned to the Tallapoosa Country. They carried

Mclntosh's scalp as a precious trophy with them, and

for days through many of their towns and villages they

djfplayed it on a long pole with great popular demon

strations of joy and satisfied revenge. The bloody "Law

f Pole Cat Spring" had been executed in true .Indian %shion!

yl'^The first that Governor Troup heard of this terrible

occurrence was on May 2d, when Chilly Mclntosh and

||J|eral other Indians, worn out and bedraggled, rode

Milledgeville on horseback and, proceeding to the

266

Georgia History Stones.

Governor's mansion, told him the story of the dreact fnl tragedy.
As the news spread through the State it produce! intense excitement. The universal belief was that
f
bloody Indian war was
imminent and inevitable.

Governor Troup immedi

ately ordered the State

militia to get ready to

march at a moment's notice

to the scene of the tragedy to protect the friendly In

dians. But the war did

not come. The savages, President John Quincy Adams, having executed the sen

tence of their murderous law, seemed satisfied; they set tled down quietly and attempted no further outrages.

IV. TROUP'S ALTERCATION WITH MAJOR ANDREWS

AND GENERAL GAINES.

Governor Troup jumped at the conclusion, wrongly

no doubt,' that Agent Crowell had instigate"d the In.di:/a?'i*nf$t&^s.. to the murder of Mclntosh and his brother chiefs. "Hfe.

wrote his suspicions to President John Quincy Adams,

who had just succeeded President Monroe, and agaiif

demanded Crowell's removal.

The

President

* ap-

Tronp and the Treaty.

267

pointed Major ,T. P. Andrews to go to Georgia as

Special agent to make a thorough investigation of the

It^nareres against Crowell. About the same time he also

;- '" - *"*' '



/*X?.

.',;..

tt->rdered Major-General Edmund P. Gaines, of the

jkjf-.'.

-'jiV.-

j|fjjj||iited. States army, to go to Milledgeville and offer his

||? %efvices and, if need be, the aid of the United States

army to the Governor to suppress any outrages that

might be attempted by the hostile Indians.

"--Major Andrews reached Milledgeville in the latter

part of May, and at once demanded of the Governor

his charges against Crowell. The Governor wrote

them out briefly as follows: "I charge the agent su-

:|; jfHintending the affairs of the Creek Indians with: 1st,

^ Predetermined resolution to prevent the Indians, by all

; means in his power, from making any cession of their

I lands in favor of the Georgians, and this from the most

tlRvorthy and most unjustifiable of all motives. 2d,

< With advising and instigating the murder of Mclntosh

{ and his friends."

i, For some reason Major Andrews was very slow

ab.out beginning the investigation. Before doing so he,

vry improperly, wrote to Crowell like this: "You are

|||are that I have been appointed by" the United States iB.vernment to investigate the charges made against you

i|| by;;, the Governor of Georgia. While the investigation

268

Georgia History Stories.

is going on I am compelled to suspend you from -$oj

office. I apologize to you for this indignity. From all I

that I have been able to learn, I am inclined to believe

not only that you are innocent of the charges but that

you are a wronged and persecuted man." This most

improper letter was published in the leading newspaper

of Milledgeville, where it met the eye of Governor j

Troup. He immediately clipped it out and sent it ?in |

an envelope to Major Andrews with this note: "If I

the enclosed letter be authentic, you will consider all I

intercourse between yourself and this government sus- !

pended from receipt of this." He also sent a copy of }

Andrews's letter to President Adams, saying that since -,

the agent of the United States had already fully pre- \

judged the case which he was sent to Georgia to in

vestigate, he was therefore incompetent to conduct the

investigation fairly, and that another should be ap- !

pointed in his place. The President, however, paid^no

attention to the complaint or the suggestion. Afte^||qii- ]

siderable delay Andrews went into a consideratioin^f ;

the charges against Crowell, Perhaps the investigation I

was thorough and honest. It ended in a verdict..com- j

pletely vindicating Crowell; and this, Andrews reported

to the President. Of course, Crowell was acquitted and

was retained in his position.

j

Troup and the Treaty,

269

About the middle of June General Gaines, in ac cordance with the President's instructions, reported to Governor Troup at Milledgeville. Gaines was a grand
old soldier, and had won great distinction in the War of 1812 and in Indian wars. Troup had a warm admiration for him, and the con ference between them was sympathetic and . cordial.

Gaines and An

General Edmund P. Gaines.

drews, after attending to the spedal business

which each had been sent to Georgia, were assigned by the President to the further dutv of makingo; a thorougoh
enquiry into the whole state of Indian affairs in Georgia.
Leaving Milledgeville, Gaines went into the Indian country on this investigating mission. Soon he wrote Governor Troup a long letter, the substance of which Avas this: "I find that the Indians are bitterly opposed
.
survey of the ceded lands while they are still them. They regard it as an intrusion and
gestation, and therefore a flagrant violation of the ex-

270

Georgia History Stories.

press terms of the treaty.' You. will therefore

from beginning the survey until the time

the treaty for the removal of the Indians has

pired."

.

;. ; \

Troup replied in a strong, manly letter, assuring '

General Gaines that the same Indians who had made

the treaty had given him full and free permission to

begin the survey at once; that it would not be injany :}

sense an intrusion or molestation; that this seeming'op- -

position of some hostiles to it was mere bluster, and 1:

that they had doubtless been instigated to it by Crowd! 1

and other bad white men living among them. Hejfur- I

ther asserted that the State of Georgia had a perfect I

constitutional right to make the survey, and tharxihe S

United States had no right whatever to interfere, i

Holding these opinions, the Governor refused to obey";

the mandate of General Gaines, and began the survey ""

at once, as had 15een planned. The letter, though^jirm :

and positive, was couched in terms of the utmost (p|ur-.,vs.

tesy. In reply; General Gaines wrote to Troup; l^^t|g||IS

weak, childish effusion, in which he berated the Gdjer-

nor soundly and read him a severe moral lecture,^^^heV|J

whole tone of the letter was grossly insulting. B||6re! ''I?

mailing the original to the Governor he sent.a copy of

it to the Milledgeville Patriot, in whose columns it.ap-

Troup and the Treaty.

271

.. pea red, and there Troup first saw it. Troup at once

^wrote General Gaines: "On reading your letter, pub; -^lished in the Milledgeville Patriot, I lose no time in di-

greeting you to forbear further communication with this

1 .^government." .

ft '1ft
rpi ^

. General

,: Gaines,

thus

cut

off

from

direct

' communi-

fI i--"c.ation with the Governor, vented his spite bv publishing

| open letters in the newspapers criticizing and abusing

I , .the Governor fearfully. In conversation on the streets
I and in public places he was also very abusive, and de-
I clared that, if the Governor persisted in carrying on the
| survey, he would be guilty of treason, for which he
K-_
W4puld be arrested and thrown into prison. Governor

Troup wrote to President Adams informing him fully of Gaines's outrageous conduct and demanding that he

be arrested and court-martialed. This.the President refjused to do, but he did adminster a rebuke to Gaines I arid warned him to be more guarded in his utterances.

!

V. TROUP'S CONTROVERSY WITH THE FEDERAL



GOVERNMENT.

| | Shortly after this altercation with General Gaines,

| Governor Troup received from the President of the

States, through the Secretary of War, a coin-

ion ordering Troup politely, but positively, not fe|?||egin the survey of fche ceded lands until the time

' f*

'&r

272

Georgia History Stories.

' i1

allowed in the treaty for the Indians to leave had fully ft

expired.

i

Governor Troup replied to the President in a letter il

of the same tenor as that in which he had already writ

ten to General Gaines. Among other things, he said, in

effect: "I deplore extremely the unfortunate controversy

between Georgia and the United States; but I cannot %

consent, especially in an issue so grave as this, to com- .-.

promise a principle for the sake of expediency. Such

weakness, carried to its logical conclusion, would re

sult in the speedy destruction of all State rights and in

the ultimate destruction of the Union itself. The survey ;i

of the ceded lands will be begun in a few days."

v ;:;

But before the survey was actually started, Agents ','

Gaines and Andrews had sent to the Federal Govern

ment their full reports on the whole state of Indian '""'

affairs in Georgia. They were voluminous documents, ;,ft

but the gist of it all was about this:.

1st. Agent John Crowell is innocent of the chargfs |3

agai.nst, 1hi.m.

-

2d. The murdered Mclntosh was a traitor to m i

people.

3d. Governor Troup never received permission from

the Indians to survey the ceded lands before the ex-

piration of the time allowed them to leave.

Troup and the Treaty.

273

4th. T'.ie Indian Spring Treaty was obtained by

T-'V: ,
;' unfair, and fraudulent means. It is bitterly opposed by

..r:.V.
^forty-nine fiftieths of the Creek Nation, and it cannot

- $;?/ s

ibe carried into effect without great risk of a horrible ..

war.

,

.

^i-'-j President Adams sent . a copy of these reports to

Troup, stating that he would at once enter

^-into a thorough investigation as to the validity of the

.. Indian Spring Treaty. . Pending this investigation Gov-

ernor Troup decided to postpone the survey; for not

'the survey, but the much more serious matter of the

,- validity of the treaty itself was now the issue.

President Adams summoned to Washington City a

Ipftumber of leading chiefs of the hostile party of the

. "Creeks, and from their evidence, taken in a secret, or

"executive," investigation, he decided that the Indian

Spring Treaty had been obtained by unfair and illegal

|ttteans, and should therefore be annulled. Also, acting

under the authoritv ogiven him bv the Constitution of the United States, he proceeded to make a new treaty

"With the thirteen Indian chiefs present in Washington.

This new, or Washington, Treaty, did not differ

greatly from the Indian Spring Treaty. The only points
''
were :

;^^|st. By the Washington Treaty the Indian' s were

274

Georgia History Stories. .\

allowed two full years to leave the ceded hinds instlM: |

of only a year and a half, as stipulated in the IndiatV

Spring Treaty.

2d. By the Washington Treaty a considerable sec

tion of country contained in the cession of the Indian

Spring Treaty was given back to the Indians.

Take a map of Georgia, draw a line from the little

town of Roswell on the Chattahoochee River due west to

the Alabama boundary. The triangle of country bounded

on the north by this line, on the east and south by the

Chattahoochee River from Roswell down to West:

Point, and on the west by the Alabama boundary line,

indicates about the section given back to the Indians by

the Washington Treaty. It embraces several hundred

thousand acres of land. In April, 1826, this new or

Washington Treaty was ratified by the United States

Senate, and the Indian Spring Treaty was thereby an

nulled.

;'

--t-^5--s.--~'*"

Governor Troup was officially notified of all ItjtfellS \' ^~''''3$ijS&K^

proceedings, and in a polite communication Presidents

Adams said to him, in substance: "You must not bei^

gin the survey of the ceded lands until the expiratio|l|

of the time allowed by the new treaty; and when the

survey is made, the lines must be run according to thef

new, or Washington, Treaty, and not according to the

Tronp and the Treaty.

275

. Indian Spring Treaty.'' Governor Troup, in reply, ^practically said: "The Indian Spring Treaty was perj^fectly fair, legal and constitutional. It was approved ffand confirmed by the President and the Senate of the ^United States. From that moment, the Indian titles llfeere extinguished and the lands were transferred to .'?lfjf|N'.. \l-tne State of Georgia, as a vested right, and henceforth f^could not possibly be under the jurisdiction of the ; .United States. The Washington Treaty, is unconstitu tional, and therefore null and void. The Indian Spring ..."-Treaty is valid, and the rights of Georgia demand that xits terms be carried out. I shall see to it that it is car-
Tied out. I shall begin the survey of the ceded lands ^at once. I shall run the lines according to the Indian "'Spring Treaty, and not according to the Washington
Treaty; and on the 26th day of September, 1826, we shall begin the actual occupancy of these lands, as aljlQwed by the Indian Spring Treaty."
Up to this time, while a majority of the people of Georgia warmly approved the Governor's course, yet a ^respectable minority, composed largely of conservative, f^vell-balanced men, thought that he was acting unwisely, ^and that he should yield as to the time of beginning ; ; :}i||he survey, rather than involve Georgia in a serious con-
"V->-&$:&;< -
with the United States; but now that , the

276

Georgia History Stories.

V&

J1"?'"'
United States had gone so far as to annul the treaty^

itself, well-nigh the whole people of Georgia rallied to

Troup's support; and the State, throughout its length

and breadth, rang with the popular cry, "Troup and the

Treaty! Troup and the Treaty!.''

True to his word, Troup at once began the survey

of the ceded lands in the face of the President's order

to the contrary. For a while everything went on peace

ably and without any disturbance from the Indians,

while President Adams, anxious not to go to extremi

ties, quietly allowed it to proceed, but warned Troup to

"let the lines be run according to the Washington

Treaty and not according to the Indian Spring Treaty."

The survey began in the southern-part of the ceded

territory and progressed northward. Everything went .

smoothly until the surveyors reached the bend in the

Chattahoochee River where the town of West Point

now stands, and where the stream deflects sharply to
...;.&.C&.
the northeast. From this point the surveyors shptili$^ :;*$$^
according to the Washington Treaty, have proceeded;

along the east side of the Chattahoochee; but instead-,,

of doing so, they continued straight northward alohg^

the Alabama boundary to the west of the Chattahoo

chee. according to the Indian Spring Treaty. Then

the trouble began; for the Indians, holding to the

Tronp and t/ie Treaty.

277

* Washington Treaty, considered this as a hostile in-

fLvasipn of their domains. They raised a great howl and

||made violent threats. A band of them pounced down

-upon a party of. surveyors, took their instruments away

liand drove them off. Little Prince and several other

:8SH'

_ v.. -i)jS7,gk

-

,

.



1>: ^ihiefs hastened to Washington City and made a furious

^protest to the United States Government, and called on

;the President for protection. President Adams ordered

; t.he officers of the Federal Court in Georgia to arrest

'and imprison any surveyors who should persist in in

vading the Indian domains, as defined by the Washing-

tpn Treaty. Governor Troup retorted by ordering the

.|State Courts to liberate by legal process any persons

that might be so arrested. But this issue between the

Federal Court and the State Court was never brought

to a test, for no arrests were actually made.

;!|j.

VI. DECLARATION OF WAR.

t: On the 16th of February, 1827, a young man, Lieu

tenant ]. R. Vinton, of the United States Army, arrived

in Milledgeville from Washington City. He was

dressed in citizen's clothes, and he had come on a

secret mission from the President of the United States Governor of Georgia. Entering the executive he introduced himself and gave his rank and
l|ition; then, drawing a letter from the inside pocket

278

Georgia History Stories.

of his coat, he handed it to Governor Troup. It was

a communication from the President of the United

States, through the Secretary of War, to the Governor

of Georgia, announcing in unmistakable terms that if

the Georgia surveyors did not cease from invading the

Indian domains, as defined by the Treaty of Washing

ton, the United States Government would use force of

arms to protect the

Indians in their rights.

This was an ultima^

turn, or tentative dec

laration of war. Gov

ernor Troup's reply

is the most remark

able communication

State House at Milledgeville.

ever sent by the Goy-

i

--V^.

ernor of a State to the President of, the United States.,

While preserving perfectly the form 1 of official coiif|es^T: ?|

it was full of spirit, fire, and bold defiance, saying;-

among other things: "I give your threat the defiance: -^

that it merits. Understand distinctly that I will re'silt :

by force of arms to the utmost any .military attack that

the Government of the United States may make on the

territory, the people or the sovereignty of Georgia; and

all the preparations necessary to the performance of this

Trou/y and flic Treaty.

279

duty, according to our limited means, will be made im mediately. You who are constitutionally bound to pro ject us from invasion are yourselves the invaders. You Slave espoused the cause of savages against the rights t'of Georgia. From the first decisive act of hostility,, you {|will be considered and treated as a public enemy. The ^^ygument is exhausted; Georgia will stand by her arms." :>To show that he meant what he said, Troup immediately ordered the different militia generals throughout the State to collect arms, provide depots of supplies, and have their commands ready to march at a moment's notice to the threatened frontier to repel any attempt of the United States forces to invade Georgia soil.
The controversy had now reached its crisis. Georgia was in open, armed rebellion against the United States! Intense excitement prevailed through out the State. The people, almost to a man, enthusias tically approved Troup's course, and almost to a man perhaps they would have joined his army to fight any invading Federal forces. More than ever the State fang with the cry, "Troup and the Treaty! Troup and the Treaty!" A bloody civil war between Georgia and the United States seemed almost inevitable.
vii. "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL." ^Happily, however, wiser counsels prevailed in

2SO

Georgia History Stories.

Washington. President Adams and the other

authorities were extremely anxious to avoid an ar1|||p|

conflict with Georgia. Therefore they had for weeks *

been carrying on secret negotiations with the disaffected ^

Indians, trying to induce them, for a moneyed constd- :

cration. to transfer to the United States for the benefit

of Georgia the tract of country in dispute between the i

Indian Spring Treaty and the Washington Treaty.^itt-"-*

now seemed, quite suddenly, that these negotiations

would almost certainly be successful. President Adams

wrote to Governor Troup announcing the gratifyim? "* -K^'tp <1
fact. The news followed quickly on the .heels of ^fclfe ^

"declaration of war," and filled Troup's heart \vith jpy.

His reply to the President is one of the noblest of his

noble letters. It breathes the spirit of purest and loft

iest patriotism, and as a splendid expression of the ;

"States' Rights'" doctrine, it has never been surpassed.

Pending the negotiations, he withdrew the surveyors I

from the field.

,

'...-

In November, 1827, it was announced that the

tiations had been completely successful. The Indians J

had agreed, for a moneyed consideration, to giv|||ti{ :!)

the disputed lands to the United States for the benefit ':

of Georgia, and also to make no further objection to the

immediate prosecution of the survey. In other words,

Troup and the Treaty.

281

they had agreed to rescind the Wasliington Treaty and

to abide by the Indian Spring Treaty in its stead! The

ease with which this concession was obtained seems to

; s|jbw conclusively that the hostiles never were seriously

rebellious against the Indian Spring Treaty, and that

tljere \ ;ftp-

would '

have

been

no

real

trouble

about

the

matter

il it|ifrhad been left to Georgia, as it should have been.

Either the United States authorities had been greatly

misled (as Troup all along had insisted) as to the real

temper of the Indians, or else their actions had been

governed by sheer obstinacy and a determination to

have their own way.

The cause of war having now been entirely removed,

the .trouble between Georgia and the United States was

quickly and amicably adjusted. The war cloud van

ished, the drawn swords were sheathed, excitement

rapidly subsided, and soon everything was serene and

'|ely. The long and heated controversy was over, and

'States' Rights" had come out gloriously triumphant

* n a year or two all of the Creek Indians had moved

irom Georgia to Mississippi, and the vacated lands were

Quickly occupied by sturdy white settlers.

It is impossible for any fair-minded person to read

^^ernor Troup's correspondence with the United
*:-. *$t'V -^It';*'^ V
I^IgS authorities during this controversy without being

. Georgia History Stories.

convinced thai throughout the affair he was governed'

by no motive but the purest and most courageous pa

triotism, and that in the whole proceeding he was right

and the United States was wong. His messages and

letters on the subject would fill a good-sized volume,

They are masterpieces of English. In clearness, con-'v

ciseness and force of expression, and in simple, unaf-

fected eloquence they are unequaled by the official ut

terances of any other governor of Georgia.

.-i

IT

VIII. LAST DAYS OF TROUP.

I

I

In the fall of 1827 Troup retired from the guber- I

natorial chair, a position which he had held for two 5

terms (four years). Declining a number of banquets -

and ovations with which his admiring .fellow-citizens in

different towns in Georgia w7ere anxious to honor him, ,.-f

he withdrew at once to his elegant country home "f
,,A'-A1'-"' *':$i|8
"Valdosta," in what is now Laurens County. ^ftis?il
: >W ^;-?
earnest wish was to spend the rest of his life there ",.-". in quiet and domestic tranquillity, but he was not ,per- J

mitted to do so.

"?' |

One year later, in November, 1828, the Georgia Legis

lature, without giving him the slightest intimation of

its intention, unanimously elected him United States

Senator for the long term of six years. As soon as he

heard the rumor that this would probably be done, he

Tronp and the Treaty.

283

hastened as rapidly as possible from Laurens County to

Milledgeville for the purpose of positively forbidding

h$is' nomination; but travel was slow in those days, and he reached Milledgeville just two hours after i^", ^ 'election. Under the circumstances he felt that

fl^pught not to refuse the office that had thus been

?-$&'. -





t|j|rst upon him. With unfeigned reluctance he went

ishington City and took his place in the United

""Slates Senate. Owing to bad health, in the form of a

diiiressing throat trouble, he was unable to take any

prominent part in the debates and discussions. After

serving two or three years he resigned on account of ;-*%ft..
hij&health, and ag'ain withdrew to his Laurens County

plantation, where he spent the remaining twenty-odd

;l|s-

-

.

'.

veirs of his life in quiet retirement, though many efforts

* v\^g-made to drag him back into public life.

jrln April, 1856, at the age of seventy-three years, he

&<?<! rather suddenly of hemorrhage of the lungs while on

a jisit to his Montgomery County plantation. He was
1 V^Yv-'
^Igd in the family burying ground in the same county,
Vjjjjj'
ai*d a handsome granite shaft was erected over his grave.

"though, he had been out of public life for so many

, the people had not forgotten him. He was still

to their hearts, and all over Georgia impressive me-

281

Georgia History Stories.

morial services were held in his honor. Troup^'g1 |

was named for him.

.>=

He was one of the greatest men that Georgia

produced. He will go down in history as Georgia'

doughty champion of "States' Rights."

CHAPTER XVIII.

GEORGIA AND THE CHEROKEES.

I. EARLY RELATIONS.

l| The dealings of the State of Georgia with the lJlfteherokee India'ns is a subje ct replete with interest for
Jthe student of American history. It makes a peculiar
X */
land unique story. It is a case without a parallel. Vol-

Jumes have been written on the subject, but these books are now out of print and are rarely if ever read. In J;he following condensed statement of the leading facts

vin the case the author hopes that he may help to rescue

fthis remarkable story from the oblivion into which it

Seems likely to fall.

The Cherokees were a nation of Indians that had

their homes in northern Georgia and in adjoining parts pf Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Compared with the Creeks, the Cherokees were a weak

people, not nearly so numerous and not so fierce and

warlike. Their nearest town or village was two hun-

clred miles away from Savannah and vicinity, where

Oglethorpe planted his first colonies. On account of

,|his great separating distance there was, during the

Mplonial period, little intercourse between the Cherokees

'.-Vfi'ii'-'f-,*

*

'Sjf'



2S5

286

Georgia History Stones.

and the whites of Georgia; they were almost stran-;^^l-f;ftlpi

to each other.

|S 'S

During the Revolutionary War the Cherokees, lju,

the Creeks, espoused the cause of the British against

the Americans; and in the campaigns in Georgia thev

took, under the leadership of the Tories, quite an active

part against the Patriots. When the war was o.ver

they had, of course, to accept the fate of the conquered -

and submit to such terms as the victors might choose

to impose. Accordingly, in May, 1783, at what was

called the Treaty of Augusta, the Cherokees were re

quired by Georgia to cede to her quite a large tract'of

their country lying about the head waters of the Oconee

River, in the northeastern part of the State. The tract

included the whole or parts of what are now Franklin,

Hart, Banks, Jackson, Hall and Madison counties.

After this treaty, for the next thirty-five or forty years

the Cherokees were, in the main, left alone byj^the '

whites of Georgia.

.

----^11%&*.

.^-T^^ffe'^^l
During all these years Georgia was acquiring^v||f|h^|

the Creek Indians by a successive series of treaties "(as *

will be fully shown in the next chapter) great strip>s|pf ']$
' *\:/ vsji-f <v.
territory throughout middle, west, and south Georgia.;

and as each strip was obtained, it was rapidly settled up

by the whites. This Creek 'country was nearly all well

Georgia and the Chcrokces.

287

adapted to the cultivation of cotton, which was then the great industry, and we might say the only moneymA- aking industry, in Georgia; hence these lands were much sought after. The people at that time cared little for lands that would not produce cotton. The lands of i|b>rth Georgia were not suited to this purpose; and that is why during all these years, while the Creek Indians were being pushed out of middle, west and south Georgia by the resistless hand of the white man, the Cherokees were left unmolested in their beautiful moun tain valleys in the northern part of the State.
From 1802 to 1823 the United States Government, of its own motion, and in pursuance of a general policy that it had adopted in regard to the Indian race, made repeated efforts to persuade the whole Cherokee Nation, not only those that lived in Georgia, but in other states, to remove to a rich reservation set aside for them be yond the Mississippi River. They were offered liberal 'nducements to make this removal, but the efforts of the Government were almost entirely futile. Several hun dreds did move to the West, but the bulk of the nation clung persistently to their Eastern homes. Those that 'ived in Georgia were especially firm in their determina^ofc < ";:'f'Jg/^?*"-r not to move. fCTn the year 1819 the United States Government

*m

288

Georgia History Stories.

purchased from the Cherokees, for the benefit of$j|f|t

State of Georgia, by fair and legal treaty, quite a large|f

tract of country in the northeastern part of the Stated,

and lying adjacent to the tract that had been ceded bv^

the treaty of 17S3, already mentioned. The Cherokees now occupied only the northwestern portion of Georgia,

embracing about one-sixth of the entire State. /; ^

In a general way it may be said that from 1783 to

1824 the Cherokees were unmolested by the Georgians.

II. CIVILIZING OF THE CHEROKEES.

^

During these long years of tranquillity great changes^

were being wrought in the social and political condition >'|

of the Cherokees. Many white men, mostly Scotch, or "fr

.Scotch-Irish, were accustomed as licensed Indian trad- ^

ers to go to and fro in the nation plying their voca- /' tion. A number of them married dusky damsels of.the 3

race, the daughters of chiefs and head men, and settled

clown in the Indian country. They were shrewd : fel-.-y

.

-

-'$ijj^iii

lows, with a keen eye to business. They estarjlilHedlSI

*

*

'tr. '*f?'.v **:;.'- ^

themselves on the choicest lands in the rich valleysy-lnd^

by industry, thrift, and cunning accumulated ' forjtffles..J|||

From these mixed marriages there sprang, of cqMse,.'ft

numerous half-breeds, and in the next generation a number of these became chiefs of the principal tribes '

of the Cherokees. By sheer force of superior intellect,

Georgia and the Cherokees.

289

character, and intelli

gence, these half-breed

lehiefs gained complete

over the na-

and exercised a

. Dominating influence in

its affairs. Some

<}f. the most noted of

'these chiefs were John

Ross, Major Ridge, and

'his son, John Ridge,

Major Ridge.

lias Boudinot, Charles Vann, George Waters, and John

punter. There were also a number of others.

t^ These mixed-breed leaders were generally men of "ia^ucation and force of character. They were energetic
and enterprising, and very ambitious for the elevation of

their race. They threw

open the Cherokee Na

tion to civilizing influ-

ences. Under their en

couragement Christian

missionaries, most of

them from the Northern

States, swarmed into the

country and went up and

290

Georgia History Stories.

% I

down

in

the

land

.preaching

the

gospel

with

great

:'$. $ \
zeal!

Nearly all of the Cherokees in Georgia were converted!

to Christianity, such conversion as it was.

*!
Numerous!

churches were built and were well attended and supported.! Schoolmasters were imported, and a number of schools%!

were established. A Cherokee alphabet was invented ' II and books were printed in the language. A newspaper!

devoted entirely to the interests of the nation was pub-l"fh
lished at the capital, New. Echota. Several quite large | towns arose in the valleys. Agriculture was pursued ?^I& with steadiness, intelligence and success. Many of theft

half-breed chiefs and a number of white, men who had a1j$** married Indian women ("squaw-men" as they were

called) owned large, well-conducted plantations and

gangs of negro slaves. Indeed, nearly all of the ft H
wealth and practically the whole political power of the "ft

nation were in the hands of these two classes of men.
On account of their wealth and comfortable homes, they f8j

were indeed loath to leave Georgia. The masses ;^K|he1

nation seem to have been a dull, inert, poverty-stricKen- If

'A

J , -.'T,^.^ |Hj

people, living in a half-civilized state which, though ||

it may have been better, was not nearly so interesting f|

as out-and-out savagery. Still to a man they were de- '

votedly attached to their Georgia homes, and to a man

Georgia and the Cherokees.

291

they were firmly resolved not to budge a peg nor to

4r

.

Cede another foot of land to the whites.

III. POLITICAL STATUS OF THE CHEROKEES.

| As the Cherokees advanced in civilization they grew

fiore and more ambitious, aggressive and arrogant in

$$$<-.

.

OO

O

to their political standing. In 1823, when Pres-

Monroe once more made an earnest effort to per\s&iiade them to move west, they thus replied: "It is

the fixed and unalterable determination of this nation never again to cede one foot of our land. The Chero kees are not foreigners, but the original inhabitants of

A'$'m.' erica; and they now stand on their own territory, and they will not recognize the sovereignty of any
st%ate. within the limits of their territoryJ ." You mav be sure that this was not the language of any simple In
dian, but" of the educated, sophisticated half-breed

chiefs. He who runs may read the significance of the

u|erance. It was tantamount to saying: "We, the ?^7
Cherokees, are here in Georgia to stay. We claim abso

lute, ownership of the lands and absolute sovereignty

Within the territory .which we now occupy, and we will

brook no interference from any other power. The

State of Georgia can exercise no sort of authority over

.,'-'^

O

.



has it any claim to our lands." Strange to say,

States, under the administration of President

292

Georgia Plistory Stories,

Monroe and afterwards of President Adams, uj

Cherokees in this claim of absolute, fee simple

ship of the lands and of independent sovereignty -

Georgia protested vigorously against it, urging that-the?

State of Georgia alone had 'the sole right to the lands ^

and denying that the Indians had a right to refuse when -

a cession was demanded on fair and reasonable terms.

President Monroe, speaking for the United States (jrbv-'v

eminent, replied : ''We have done our best to persuade v

the Cherokees, by the offer of liberal terms, to cede

their lands to the State of Georgia, but we have entirely :

failed to get their consent. We have no authority^and "

are under no obligation to use force or compulsion to

accomplish this result." Here the matter was dropped :

for two or three years. During this time the attention '

of Georgia was. absorbed in acquiring from the Creek

Indians, by the famous Treaty of Indian Springv (a

full account of which was given in the last chapter);||he .;.

last, remaining strip of their Georgia lands.

During these two or three years the Cherokp^|reiy

- '-''~';>V: C:,V '-

''V'

allowed to go their own pace, and they went irinT a "

gallop. In July, 1827, the Cherokees held a iilatiinall

.

.

$.

constitutional convention at their capital, New Ecnota,

situated in what is now Gordon County, near the pres

ent town of Calhoun. They framed and adopted an

Georgia and the Cherokees.

293

lilaborate constitution, modeled largely after the Const

|i8tu'.tion of the United Sta' tes. It asserted that the Chero-

;Jee Indians constituted one of the sovereign and inde-

itlv-

.

'.''.'

fjpndent nations of the earth, having complete jurisdic

tion over its territory, to the exclusion of any other

state. It provided for a representative system of gov

ernment much like that of the United States. It is

needless to say that the making of this constitution was

wholly the work of the educated mixed-breed chiefs.

All arrangements were made for organizing the gov

ernment under this constitution and for putting its pro

visions into full operation.

In November, 1827, Georgia completed her final

deal with the Creek Indians, and the last red man of

that great nation left the State forever and journeyed

towards the setting sun. The only Indians now left in

Georgia were the Cherokees, who "occupied about one-

sixth of the entire State, the most beautiful and in many

particulars the choicest part. To these Georgia now

turned her attention, with the full determination that

, too, must be required to leave the State forever

yield their lands to the whites. On the other hand,

Cherokees were, to a man, equally as determined

to budge a peg.

The Cherokees' contention was: "We are an hide-

H?r-

294

Georgia History Stories.

;

pendent and sovereign nation, owing neither allegiance' nor obedience to any other power on earth. The lands that we occupy belong to us by the most absolute and unquestionable title known to man. We shall never surrender nor leave them. We are here to stay." The Georgians' contention was: "The lands now held b\the Cherokees belong solely to the State of Georgia. The Indians are only tenants at will; they have been allowed to occupy these lands thus long only by suffer ance. They must now be required to surrender these lands to the State of Georgia, by peaceful means if pos sible, by force if necessary. The Cherokees must go." Plainly a battle royal between these t\vo powers was inevitable and imminent. In the winter of 1828 Georgia struck the first blow, and the contest was on!
IV. GEORGIA AND THE CHEROKEES LOCK HORNS.
In December, 1828, the Georgia Legislature passed a bill enacting that the Cherokee country should be put under the jurisdiction of the laws of Georgia. T'h'..se^f,'-ta^ c- t was passed on the ground that, as the Cr+1heroki ee-^-?c%?o?u$n'' try was part and parcel of the State of Georgia, it should be governed by the laws of Georgia. Thelreal object of Georgia in passing this act was to moveT: the Cherokees to leave the State, for it was supposed that yyhen they were convinced that they would not be

Georgia and the Cherokees.

295

5, J| allowed self-government in Georgia, they would be
"*^-V~' "*jU:-Ap"!
(f -f much more willing to cede their lands to the whites and

*v -% move away. In order to give them plenty of time to

U5;'.

tmake up their minds to do this, the Act was not to go

K-

'



*mto effect until June 1, 1830.

Of course, the effect of this Act was to abolish the

Cherokee government and to render null and void the

constitution that the nation had so recently made. The

Cherokees felt deeply outraged at the Act, the purpose

of which was to destroy their government, to snuff out

their constitution like a candle, and to render their

.tboasted sovereignty utterly meaningless. But instead of

resenting the wrong in savage fashion, instead of de

fending their rights with the tomahawk, knife and rifle,

as Indians, are wont to do, they resorted to the more

^civilized but tamer method of appealing to the courts.

They determined at the first opportunity to test the

validity of the Act of the Georgia Legislature before

the Supreme Court of the United States. They had

good reason to feel assured that the Federal tribunal

Would decide the case in their favor.

pml -An opportunity to test the matter soon occurred. In
|fe summer of 1830, very soon after Georgia's obnox-

act of jurisdiction had gone into effect, a half-

Cherokee by the name of George Tassel com-

*

*-^

Georgia History Stories.

mitted murder in the Cherokce country. He was, ar

raigned before the Georgia State Superior Court, then

sitting in Hall County, and was duly tried, found guilt^.

and sentenced to be hanged, His attorneys appealed

the case to the United States Supreme Court, asking

that the verdict be set aside, on the ground that the

act of the Legislature

giving the State of Geor

gia jurisdiction over the

Cherokee country was,a

violation of the Federal

Constitution, and was

therefore null and void.

The case, George Tassel

vs. the State of Geor

gia, was duly entered

Governor George M. Gilmer.

on the Supreme Court

docket. Governor Gilmer was officially notified of the

action, and was instructed to appear before the court for

Georgia as defendant in the case. The Governor replied

with spirit that the United States Supreme Court

jurisdiction in the case, and that the State of Geofpf?

would scorn to compromise itself by appearing before tlij|t

tribunal as defendant in the cas The Governor

that it was a foregone conclusion that the court woulK

''

.

Georgia and the Cherokees.

297

lidecide the case against Georgia and in favor of the %Cherokees. To prevent this he resorted to the extraor:fdinary measure of dispatching a special messenger to :||Jlie sheriff of Hall County, with instructions to hang "'George Tassel immediately, before his case could be
reached on the Supreme Court docket. The Sheriff obeyed the order promptly, so poor George Tassel was precipitately hanged while his case was pending in the Federal Supreme Court. Thus ended the case, an end which, we must admit, was brought about by a rather high-handed measure on the part of the State of Georgia. Georgia's action was severely criticized in the halls of Congress; it was furiously condemned by the Cherokees themselves, and it was violently censured by a large part of the people in the North. But these pro tests and bowlings had no effect on Georgia, for she went sturdily ahead executing her laws over the Cherokee country. The Cherokees resented it bitterly in their hearts, but they used no force of arms to stop it, and they struck no blow from the shoulder out. They were determined at the first opportunity to appeal ag'ain to jvSf. :||fe Supreme Court of the United States. They hoped
that high tribunal might be the means of freeing from the grasp of Georgia, and of confirming in the fee simple possession of their lands.

298

Georgia Histor Stories.

V. GEORGIA AND THE GOLD DIGGERS.

?&.

In the year 1829 gold in moderate quantities w.=/.^s
discovered in the Cherokee co iin try, especially in thlt

section which is now included in Lumpkin, Gilmer and

Union counties. As the news spread through Georgia

and the neighboring states it :aused much excitement,

and there was an immediate n sh of adventurers to the

Cherokee country. By the summer of 1830 there were

upwards of three thousand of these interlopers in the

alleged gold regions. They did not find any great quan-

tity of gold, but enough perhap: to pay them better than

ordinary labor would have don e, and the free and easy

life was exactly to their liking During the day they

would dig and wash for gold a fter the crudest methods,

and would spend the greater part of the night in

drinking, carousing, gambling and fighting. In intrud-

ing on the Indian lands witho ut leave, license or title

from any one, they were violating the laws of three

governments--the la\v of the Cherokees, the law of the

United States and the law of Georgia. The Cherokees

were too weak or too spiritless to drive them away,*afe
-*-\_ .-*/ .
though they must have been a sore annoyance to them;

the United States was too i ndifferent to undertake it;

so the task was left to Georgia Governor Gilmer, by

instructions from the State Le Hslature, sent numerous'

Georgia and the Cherokees.

299

.ii proclamations to the intruders to leave on pain of severe ^punishment, but they gave no heed to these orders. In-
the Governor's "paper bullets," as they were llealled, got to be the subject of ridicule, not only among SJthe gold diggers themselves, but throughout Georgia. 3||ilonvinced at length that he would have to use strong ^measures, the Governor braced himself manfully to the ^job. He sent into the region a company of seventy-five "Georgia soldiers, under the command of Major Wager, fof the United States army, with orders to oust the in truders at any cost. The soldiers broke up the miners' camps, destroyed their implements, and escorted many "of them at the point of the bayonet across the border Jyith fierce warnings never to return. Thus> in the
course of two or three months the lawless gangs were cleared out of the Indian country. It is not recorded that the Cherokees urged any objection to this exercise of" Georgia's authority in their country.
In December, 1830, the Legislature passed a law that no white person should reside in the Cherokee country without a special license from the Governor of Georgia. The Governor was empowered to grant such Jfcenses, in his discretion, to those who would take an Sv^llitef^tv to surprport and defend the Constitution and laws of
ia, and to demean themselves in all ways as loyal

300

Georgia Histc y Stories.

and faithful citizens of the St te. Persons law would be guilty of a higl misdemeanor, the for which should be not less lan four years* ii ment in the State Penitentiary This law, though aimed primarily at the intruding Id diggers, was also intended for another class of p rsons very different from the gold seekers. These we e the Christian missionaries, who for a number of -ears had been preaching the gospel to the Cherokees. These men were all from the North, sent thither by th rich missionary societies and organizations of that sect n. Not content with discharging their high function of preaching Christ and Him crucified, they began to ake a part in Indian poli-
^ tics. They sympathized arde tly with the Cherokees "in their struggles with Georgia, and they expressed their views and feelings on the aibject without restraint, They openly and publicly ondemned the action of Georgia in extending her jur diction over the Cherokee country, and they encourage the Indians in their oKstinate and unwise attitude t vvard the whites. To exl elude such a class, the Leg lature, in large enacted the above-mentioned aw.
VI. THE CHEROKEE NATION p. THE STATE OF GEORGIA ,.%
Early iri the year 1831, Jo n Ross, head chief of t]f| Cherokees, acting for the n tion, brought suit. in

Georgia and the Cherokees.

301

^United States Supreme Court against the State of

H

.

.

Ir<f-?Georgia. The suit was in the form of a bill of injunc-

-...vtion praying the court to restrain the State of Georgia

ftfrom executing its laws in the Cherokee country, on the ?|fei Aground that the Act of the Legislature extending the

'jurisdiction of Georgia over this country was a violation

of the Constitution of the United States, and therefore

null and void.

The first difficulty with which Ross met was to osret a proper plaintiff for the suit. To bring a suit like this

before the Supreme Court the plaintiff must be either

-some individual person or some state in the Union or

some foreign state. No favorable personal or individ

ual case on which a suit might be based had occurred

since the precipitate hanging of poor George Tassel,

.and John Ross was too impatient to wait for another to

occur. The Cherokee Nation was not a "state in the

Union"; so, in order to bring suit, there was nothing to

do but to claim that it was a '-'foreign state," using the

Word "foreign" in its purely political sense, of course.

Ross carefully consulted some of the most eminent jur-

jsts in America on this point, and he was assured by . Jjffi'' I"ffti.em that th e Cherokee Nation was ; 'a foreign state"
-||ithin the meaning of the Federal Constitution, and

:ore a competent plaintiff in the proposed suit. So

302

Georgia History Stories.

the case was duly eft.,

tered on the Suprenje

Court docket under tHe

caption "The Cherokee

Nation i's. the State of

Georgia." The Chero

kees employed William

Wirt, one of the most

eminent and eloquent

lawyers in America, at

William Wirt.

a fee of twenty thousand dollars, to represent their

case. Mr. Wirt associated bin iself with Mr. Sergeant,

another lawyer of great abil ity. The Governor of

Georgia was cited to appear s defendant in the suit,

but, as in the case of George Tassel, he scornfully de-

clined, stating that the Federal Court had, under the Con-

stitution, no jurisdiction in the i natter.

The case came up for trial ii January, 1831. Messrs, Wirt and Sergeant made able and exhaustive arguments

in behalf of the Cherokees. Th ir speeches" were nMg|e^.;

pieces of eloquence. No conns 1 appeared for Georgia,

as the State had purposely i&erne-red the suit. Chief .^s-

tice John Marshall, speaking fo a majority of the cou'rt,

rendered the decision. The gis of it was this; "It-has

Georgia and the Cherokees.

been established to the satisfaction of this court that the

fCherokees are an independent and sovereign state, sub-

Sject to the authority and laws of no other state, nation :Jfer power on earth; but they are a
. fSjjSs"
fsovereign state under peculiar and

:j|imique conditions. They are cer-

t^Linly not a state in the United

IStates; neither are they, in the

(opinion of this court, 'a foreign

state' within the meaning of the

.Federal Constitution. Not being 'a

John Marshall

foreign state/ they cannot be competent plaintiffs in

this case; hence the injunction asked is denied."

JChe decision was seemingly a triumph for Georgia,

but, as any one who would read between the lines

might see, it was only a temporary triumph. It

was almost as if the Chief Justice had said:

"In assuming jurisdiction over the Cherokee coun

try, the State .of Georgia, has plainly violated the

Constitution of the United States. If a suit involv-

]ng the same principles as are contained in this case

should be brought by a competent plaintiff, by some

person or individual, for instance, the decision of the

would be for the plaintiff and against the State

rgia/' So there was nothing for the Cherokees

^$%P&.^'-v.'

304

Georgia History Stories.

r ,*.,:*.*<*
to do but to wait for some vorable personaljll
occur. Such a case did occur very soon. It
able and striking case, and exa :tly suited to the of the Cherokees.

VII. WORCESTER AND BUTLER V S. THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
The Act of the State Lej islature, passed in 1828

forbidding any white persons except those specially li censed by the Governor to reside in the Cherokee coun try, went into effect on June 1, 1830. A small number of persons openly defied this law by refusing either to leave the territory or to accepti the alternative of taking the required oath of allegiance to the State of Georgia in order to secure license to continue to reside there. 1 Among these were three Northern missionaries--Rev. Samuel A. Worcester, Rev. Elizur Butler and. Rev, James Trott. Governor Gilraer was sincerely anxious not to arrest these preachers; so he wrote them a kindly note earnestly urging them to obey the law, and warn

ing them that if they still rej used, they would have. lfo
Y>'^-"^%.'v
suffer the consequences. Sin:e they did not he^^ng^ warning of the Governor, they and eight other p^r|om were arrested and tried by th<* Georgia Superior Court, and were found guilty and sentenced to four prisonment in the State Per itentiary at Milledgeville. At the penitentiary gates a proposition was read to them

*,

Georgia and the Cherokees.

305

*w..
ffjfom the Governor offering to set them free at this last

ftoment if they would agree to obey the law. Nine of

Jhem accepted the offer and were turned loose, but

flJIvs. Worcester and Butler refused to yield. The

prison doors closed behind them, and they were put to

hard labor like common criminals. Their deed of self-

sacrificing heroism was tremendously applauded by their

friends at the North. The principal object of Messrs,

Worcester and Butler in accepting imprisonment was to

furnish the Cherokee Nation with a suitable test case to

cajry to the Supreme Court. The case was accordingly

r: appealed to that court under the caption "Worcester

and Butler vs. the State of Georgia." Of course, the

niain object of this suit was not to secure the release of

: Worcester and Butler, but to get from the Supreme

* Court of the United States a declaration that, the Act

f the Georgia Legislature in extending the jurisdiction

the State over the Cherokee country was a violation

* the Federal Constitution, and therefore null and void.

Messrs. Wirt and Sergeant were again retained as conn-

the Cherokee Nation. Georgia again, now for the

t, refused to appear as defendant. The line of

for the plaintiffs was necessarily much the

as had been presented in the case of "The Chero-

:ion i's. the State of Georgia."

306

Georgia History Stories.

As every one expected, ths decision of the

in favor of the plaintiffs and against the Staiffe^of^

Georgia. Chief Justice Marshall, in delivering the do -

cisipn, went into quite an expensive historical argument- '~:-

but the main point of it was that the Cherokee Indians

were an independent and sovereign nation, and that m>

other state, people or power had any right to interfere

with their government or t3 dispossess them of^their''"'$.

". '

5

lands; that the Act of the Georgia Legislature extend-

ing the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia over the ;

Cherokee country, was a vio ation of the Constitution oi -.

the United States, and was consequently null an devoid; *

and that, therefore, Messrs. Worcester and Butler; who ?

had been convicted under the operation of this Act, had t^ been illegally convicted, and were now illegally im

prisoned and should be released.

The Cherokees were overjoyed when they heard of

this decision. They believed it would lead to securing";' ,i*!w. ,* V:-; . ^*.' I.

them in the permanent possession of their lands.^and in ^

*

!

*

**f3'A'>-\. 'i-j-Vv-' -- /-vo1,' J*-

0i^|fc -$ "&$

absolute sovereignty in their own territory. Tli^eyl^ljif^tfw- S^- '

also gladdened the hearts o\ Messrs. Worcester

ler in the penitentiary; for t ley supposed, of

their prison doors would nov^ fly open and that theyTvSuld

walk forth free men, to be lionized and glorified by the

Cherokee Nation, and by tleir hosts of admiring friends

Georgia and the C'hcro'kccs.

307

in the North. But both Indians and martyr preachers

jwere doomed to bitter disappointment. Andrew Jackson

;|was now President of the United States, and his views

f&bout dealing: with the Indians were the reverse of

y/

O

Ithose of his two immediate predecessors, Monroe and

"f~'l~\ams. H' e .h. ad for y/ ears been .known as a strongO: ad-
gvocate of clearing the Indians out of the way of the

yvhite man and removing

them to Western reserva

tions, by peaceful means if

'possible, by force if neces-

Sary. Georgia could count

on his helping her, as far as

-we could, in getting rid of the

Cherokees. Now, in this

crisis, he helped her with a daring hand. He simply re-

President Jackson.

fused to execute the judgment of the Supreme Court.

When approached on the subject by friends of the

Cherokees, he curtly replied: "John Marshall has pro

nounced the judgment; now let him execute it!"- But,

f course, John Marshall had no power to execute it.

So'.-.- this famous decision of the Supreme Court of the
States amounted practically to nothing. Georgia steadily ahead executi. ng her government in the

308

Georgia History Stories.

Cherokee country, and Revs. Worcester and Butler

languished in the penitentiary at Milledgeville.

'.v

A year later Governor Lunipkin, who had succeeded Governor Gilmer, notified the two prisoners that if they

would comply with the

same conditions that had

been offered them as

they stood at the peni

tentiary gates sixteen

months before, and which

they had then rejected,

he would pardon them.

Concluding that their

Governor Wilson Lumpkin.

martyrdom had now been sufficient, they accepted

the conditions and were pardoned and set free. For

this gracious act Governor Ljumpkin was severely criti

cized by many people in Georgia. .

VIII. GEORGIA'S AGGRESSIONS.

-

-'**'f^$$-{?%$4$S.' 4j*,

In 1831 the Georgia Legislature instructed the Gov- '!

ernor to have the whole of the Cherokee country sur

veyed and marked off into counties. Of course the --In- : dians understood that this was only a preliminary step

towards an attempt to dispossess them of their lands. They uttered bitter protests and gnashed their teeth in

%,

Georgia and the Cherokees.

309

Srage, but they made no warlike movements to prevent Hpie enforcement of the Georgia law. They offered no 'fjetet of violence to the parties of Georgia surveyors, who f|vent quietly through the country prosecuting their work,
the course of a year the survey was completed and |fhe territory was divided into ten new Georgia counties. jyfhe State of Georgia, by advice of Governor Lumpkin, paused here for a while before taking another aggres;:'sive step, hoping that the Cherokees would now come to vtheir 'senses and make a treaty ceding their lands to the 'tyhites. President Jackson made an earnest effort to ;j>ersuade them to do so, but without success, though -Some of the leading half-breed chiefs did show signs of yielding to the inevitable and of coming to terms. > In the latter part of 1832 Georgia took another ag gressive step. The Legislature passed an act instructing jfie Governor to distribute the lands of the Cherokee cbuntry among the people of Georgia by the land lottery system.* It was a tedious process, but in the course of a|year it was finished, and the lands of the Cherokees Were distributed among the citizens of Georgia. The >In^dians, however, were not to be ousted for the present.
paw was passed allowing the whites to move and setthe unoccupied lands, of which there were great
system is fully described in Section III of the next chapter.

310

Georgia Histo -V Stories.

quantities; but they were forbidden by stringent regula-

tio-ns to intrude on those in actual possession of the

Indians, or to molest them ii any way in their homes.

Many*> whites did move in and establish themselves on the vacant lands in the rich valle s. They must have been

odious neighbors to the India is, but the poor creatures

raised no hand of violence c gainst them. This meek

behavior, so contrary to tl i true Indian character,

shows how spirit-broken the ( herokees must have been.

In all these procedures Ge >rgia was openly violating

the Constitution of the Unite . States as interpreted by

the Supreme Court in its recent decision ; but her

action was countenanced, no to say encouraged, by

President Andrew Jackson, vho was in hearty sym-

pathy with the Georgians ii their. desire to get the

Cherokees out of the State, :Ie sincerely believed that

it would be best for the Indi? ns, as well as the whites;

<

r_'j!?1^3i"T,.-

and his strong common sense taught him' that itM"'-S'S"^a

case in which it would not do to be too -squeamisSl in

regard to the technicalities of the law. "
IX. TREATY ACTIONS.

, vv -;
'' "J^i'..'
'|l^.

By this time a number of leading chiefs of the

Cherokees had come to realiz( the utter hopelessness' of

their struggle with Georgia, a id were in favor of mak-

ing a treaty with the Feden l Government looking to

Georgia and the Cherokees.

311

o

the cession of their lands and removal to the western

reservations; but a large majority of the nation, under

Jthe leadership of other chiefs, were as violently opposed

|p ever to considering any such proposition. Thus the

liation became divided into two factions, the treaty party ^% ipM the anti-treaty party.

%b In February, 1835, rival delegations from these two

factions visited Washington City for the purpose of con

ferring with the United States Government. John Ridge

headed the treaty delegation and John Ross headed the

anti-treaty delegation., Ross was given the first hear

ing. He intimated that the Cherokee Nation might agree

to cede their lands and move west on certain specified

-terms and conditions; but these "terms and conditions"

were so thoroughly and absurdly unreasonable that the

United States Government refused to consider them for

a moment, so Ross was politely dismissed. John Ridge

was then heard. He and his fellow delegates remained

some clays in Washington, and agreed with the United

States commissioners upon a treaty that was satisfactory

to both parties, but according to Indian law this treaty

'Would have to be accepted by the whole Cherokee Nation

before it could become effective. Through the influence

:||! Ross and other chiefs it was rejected by the over-

fhelming- sentiment of the nation; so all of these neeo-

vv AY"!-.

""^

312

Georgia History Stories.

tiations came to naught. Many were the

contentions, charges and counter charges of

factions during the next few months. The anti-treaty

party grew turbulent. Several leading men of the treaty

party were murdered or assassi lated on account of the

stand they had taken. The wh tes living in the Chero-

kee country became alarmed for their own safety, and

called on Georgia for help against the threatened dan-

J.

-'^

ger. Georgia sent a body 01 troops, known as-''the

Georgia Guard, into the country to protect the whites

and friendly Indians. But the hostiles offered no open

acts of violence and no armed resistance. They seemed

to have lost entirely their old lighting spirit. But still

they remained unmoved in their determination to stay

in Georgia.

There was but one more ktep left for Georgia to

take. In the fall of 1835 slpe said in effect to the

Federal Government: "If yoiji do not use the power

vested in you by the Constitution and laws of 'the

United States and clear these Indians out of our S|al|, J|

as it is your botmden duty to dp, we will do it ourselyejs,

even if it has to l3e done at tie point of the bayonet,!"

The Federal Government knew that Georgia meant -wHjat

she said. The situation had reached its crisis. Some

thing must be done, and that speedily. Andrew Jack-

Georgia and the Cherokees.

313

jr. S!..
I* \ son, President of the United States, saw but one way

|j g out of the difficulty, and with characteristic independ-
''$$ #&*
'f f|-encc he adopted that way, although he knew it was open

t %to severe criticism.
& JS|
il'lfe. Under the Constitution of the United States only

?' 'f the Federal Government can make treaties with Indians.

? t In the latter part of 1835, Jackson, as Chief Executive

f ^ of the Federal Government, called on all the chiefs of

: the Cherokee Nation to meet at their capital, New Echota,

:; for the purpose of making a treaty. A Mr. Schermer-
'!*'.
thorn was sent as commissioner to represent the Federal

Government. The convention assembled at New Echota

Hpn the 21st of December, 1835. Only the chiefs of the

"treaty party, a comparatively small number, attended

. the meeting; the chiefs of the anti-treaty party pur

posely absented themselves. Nevertheless, the commis-

> fsioner went ahead and made a treaty with those that

were present, as he. had been instructed to do. The

terms of the treaty were as follows:

1. The Cherokees were to surrender all of their

lands east of the Mississippi River, and were to receive

,1 .from the Federal Government in lieu thereof 7,000,000

CL~- - . . '.'.Vv '

-

*

of land in the Indian Territory, whither the whole

Nation was to remove within two years from

the treaty.

314

Georgia History $ tones.

2. They were to be paid $5 000,000 in

the improvements they had made on the ceded

3. All the expense of their removal to the

Territory and a full year's support after they reached

there was to be borne b the United States Govern

ment.

4. The Indian Territory was never to be annexed

to any other state, nor was any other state ever to

exercise any authority over it. The Indians were to, b>e

guaranteed the perpetual possession of the lands within

their territorial limits to the exclusion of all white per

sons.

5.

The

United

States

\vas

to

afford

the

Indians pro.. y, :.,;-.-

tection from all intrusion by tme whites and against all

foreign and domestic enemies.

The treaty was agreed to arid signed by all the chiefs

present at the meeting. Two months later it was duly

confirmed by the United States Senate and received the

signature of the President of the United States.

Against these proceedings loon Ross, head chief of the ' '' 3 *;>>Z '.'; -s: Sv,
Cherokees, entered a strongo- .pr rotest,> but to no

X. EXPULSION OF THE CHEROKEES.

This Treaty of New Echoia was undoubtedlv illegal,

f.

'

'Pig:

for it was agreed to by only a handful of chiefs. -M'ore

than nine-tenths of the Cherqkee Nation were avowedly

Georgia and the Cherokees.

315

and bitterly opposed to it. But the form of the law 'had

been complied with, and Georgia was determined that

the treaty should be rigidly enforced. In this the State

was sustained by Andrew Jackson, President of the

United States, who with his strong common sense saw

-; ,.&;i .that this was the best possible way to settle the Cherokee &'^?t"r'' ouble, whi.c'h" for years had been vexi. ng Georg' ia and

the Federal Government and which was growing every

day more and more serious.

According to the terms of the treaty, the Indians

were allowed two years to leave, and on the 24th of

. May, 1838, the State of Georgia was to take possession

of the ceded territory. As the time approached and the

,; Indians made no motion to leave, the Secretary of War

sent a confidential agent into the country to inquire into

the state of affairs. The agent reported back to Wash

ington that practically the whole Cherokee Nation still

I -^Trepudiated the treaty and ' would positivelv refuse to abide

I I

by

it,

and

that

the

only

possible '

way

to

make

them

move

I would be at the point of the bayonet.

1;

I :* Throughout this long struggle much public sympa-

I trthy had been manifested for the Cherokees in nearly all
&.-
I parts of the United States. This sentiment now became
* ,'v
l;|stronger than ever. In the halls of Congress such men

Webster, Clay and Calhoun vigorously condemned the
IS

316

Georgia History Stories.

New Echota Treaty, which th >y declared to be

illegal and fraudulent. The people of the North, a

especially of New England, poured forth violent tirades

of abuse on the Georgians, and, with characteristic me$-

dlesomeness, .sent petition after petition to Washington

asking Congress to use the United States armies to pro

tect the Cherokees in their rights. Martin Van Bure'fi >''>\i;?<K ;J who was now President, Be

came so alarmed at this torrent

of remonstrance that he urged

Governor Gilmer (who . af^tevr four years' retirement was again

in the gubernatorial chair) ?fo

allow the Indians two years

President Van Buren.

more ; 3ut high-spirited Gilnier very pc)sitively and very wisely

declined, saying: "They must leave immediately; and

if the Federal Government refuses to perform its duty

and make them move, we will c o it ourselves. 3

Van Buren prudently decided to let things take thprj

course. General Winfielcl Scott of the United States-

army, was sent from Washingtor

N

*

-

: T"

try to superintend the removal. On the 10th day of

May he issued a proclamation that every Cherokee man,

wtfrrfan, and child must be on the way to the West

Georgia and the Cherokees.

within a month; but not-an Indian budged. General

Scott called on Georgia for two regiments of troops;

[.Georgia responded promptly, for, expecting just such a

|xall, she had the men ready. By the 28th of May six-

ffeen hundred soldiers, composing two regiments, were

^assembled at New Echota, under the command of Gen-

lltral Floyd, of the United States army. Even at this late

fSate John Ross, indefati-

(gable champion of the

^Cherokees, made a final

^effort to save his people

-from expulsion from

their homes. He hurried

to Washington City, en

tered a protest, and en

deavored to get a stay

of proceedings so that he might bring the mat

General Win-field Scott.

ter once more before the Supreme Court, but all of no

avail. The long struggle was over, and for the poor

Cherokees the bitter end had come.

The two regiments were divided into companies,

and these companies were sent to different stations con

veniently *

distributed

through **-?

the

Cherokee

countrv* .

the companies were divided into squads, which

318

Georgia Hist ry Stories.

marched from home to hom< of the Cherokees, as they lay widely scattered over va ley and hill, and arresting all the Indian families, took hem to appointed forts or camps, where the Indians w re put into pens, and corralled in great numbers like ( attle. It was a heart-rending business^ but it was all dbne in as gentle and as kind a way as possible und r the circumstances. The poor Indians would not beli ve they were leaving their homes forever. They knew hat their great chief, John Ross, had gone to Washin jton in their behalf; and firmly believing that he woi Id succeed, they expected, after being detained a short time, to be allowed to return to their humble homes 7hich they loved so dearly, The arresting soldiers had not the heart to disabuse them of this delusion.
By the middle of June, )r a little later, the whole nation was gathered into th various camps and forts, and the journey to Indian T erritory, nearly seven hun-
.'* - """'',~
dred miles away, was imme liately begun. More thab fourteen thousand Cherokee ndians were thus expelled, at the point of the bayonet, rom Georgia and coritiguous parts of Tennessee and :he Carolinas: Their long overland journey occupied f >ur months, and was neeessarily full of hardships, hough everything possible was done to lessen their suff wrings, it is said that four

Georgia and the Cherokees.

319

thousand of the poor wretches died on the route. It

S was the most pitiful exodus that ever occurred on the

n American continent. By the 1st of December, 1838,

H.

. '.

fjthe last Cherokee Indian had left the State of Georgia.

Georgia was much censured in nearly all parts of

!the, United States, and especially by the people of the

flNorth, for her conduct towards the Cherokees; but her

^treatment of them was virtually the same as had been
C;
^practiced by every state in the Union towards the

-Indian race. For despite the theories of sentimental

ists and the high-sounding opinions of Supreme Court

ijudges, the whites had always acted on the principle

Jthat the lands of America belonged to them, and that

Indians were only "tenants at will," to be cleared out

vS'.'/-

^

-

| ^whenever they got in the white man's way. Self-right-

I eous New England herself, whose fanatical howling

I ^against the Georgians had been specially violent and

I;- IJD-fTensive, had acted on precisely this same principle

I years before; only she got rid of her Indians by simply

: 'exterminating them in heartless wars, instead of by the

\ "slow, patient, humane method pursued by Georgia to-

| "wards the Cherokees.

Throughout this long contention sentimentalism and

strict letter of the Constitution and laws of the

ited States were all on the side of the Cherokees,

320

Georgia History Stories.

but good sense, practical wisdom and real humanity were all on the side of Georkia. The idea that a tribe of Indians should have been allowed to keep perpetual possession of a large portiop of the best part of the State of Georgia as an absol ately independent and sovereign power in the very mid st of the white man's civilization was absurd. It wou.d have proven a political and social impossibility. It must be borne in mind that these lands were not taken away from the Indians, but were purchased from them, They were forced to sell, it is true; but they were paid a good, fair, full price, as any one who will read the t Treaty can plainly see.
XI. ASSASSINATION OF HE TREATY CHIEFS.
On the 22d of June, 1839 three of the most prominent chiefs of the Cherokees, Major Ridge, Elias Boudinot and John Ridge, all mixed-breeds and among the most intelligent men of the nation, were cruelly assassin-
. ated in the Indian Territory, where they were;|fSst i
establishing themselves in tl: eir new homes. Major Ridge was shot dead from his horse in the p-ubWlic road by parties lying in ambt sh. At almost the same hour Elias Boudinot, twenty miles away, was called from a new house that he was building by several men, who pretended that they wished to speak to him on

Georgia and the Chcrokees.

321

business. Unsuspecting, he stepped aside with them, and I was instantly clubbed to death, the assassins vanish-
ving in the near-by woods. On the night of that same I day, John Ridge, thirty miles in another direction, was [ ^dragged from his. bed and literally cut to pieces with !|-knives. These three men had been the leaders of the I .treaty party in Georgia, and were therefore very odious
i
1 to the anti-treaty party. That they were murdered out | of pure vengeance by members of the anti-treaty party j there has never been the slightest doubt. Thus the | civilized and Christianized Cherokees, who through all I their persecutions in Georgia had never struck one I manly blow from the shoulder out in defense of their I\ '-rights, 'showed by these cowardly assassinations that I the savage instinct, on its baser side, was still strong I in them.

Of^-&t-avsjsr,:'.

CHAPTER

EXPANSION OF GEORGIA.

I. GEORGIA'S CONDITION AT THE CLOSE OF

REVOLUTIO

When the Revolutionary \\ ar closed in

civilized part of Georgia was coi ifined to a long, narrow

strip extending along the west side of the Savannah

River and along the Atlantic Coast nearly down to

Florida. This strip embraced s carcely more thamlone*

eighth the present area of G( orgia. It was

thinly populated by about 35, )00 inhabitants--l
.
whites and 1G,000 negroes. T hese people were

deplorable condition. For nior > than two vearsvt

had been subjected to the havo

and horrors of :,j - '$*$&

had been practically a civil wa of the worst

war in which Patriots and Toi ies, brother Geor^i|ns,

next-door neighbors, fought each other ;

hatred and savage cruelty. IV urder, theft,

destruction of property, and nearly all concei^afile

atrocities had characterized this barbarous warfaf^|^fea

it had left the conntrv ruined. Every family and %very

individual in the region had sirYered severely. Hopes

had been burned, farms devast ited, families scattered,

322

Expansion of Georgia.

323

and communities broken up. Savannah and Augusta,

the two largest towns, were nearly destroyed. The peo-

pie were poverty-stricken. There was -very little money.

Agriculture was badly crippled and commerce was al-
3)> l.f".:
*?: W most suspended.

| | The morals of the people, too, had suffered Sen-

''

Men had become in a mea' sur:e brutali.z. ed by' the

hardening experiences

through which they had

passed. Human life was

counted cheap ; drunken

ness, gambling and pro

fanity were very preva-

The Walton-Hall-Gwinnett Monti-

merit at Augusta.

lent ; quarreling, fighting

duels were frequent; yet these people were not es

sentially bad. From the moralist's standpoint there was

much wickedness among them, but there was little real

rdepravity, little innate meanness and baseness. Theirs

invere the sins of passion, provoked by temporary concli-

i-tions, not the sins of falsehood, which always indicate

^something radically wrong in character. They got drunk,

^gambled and swore, quarrejed and fought; but they ab-

.iiorred lying, cheating, deceit, sordid selfishness and all

of base and dishonorable conduct. The wonder-

spirit and energy with which these people set about

32-1

Georgia Histcry Stories.

rebuilding their ruined forti nes show that they

sessed in high degree the qualities of a sterling

heroic manhood. Their standard of character was high.

and there were among them a number of really great

men--men who would have been considered great in

any age and in any civilized country in the world.

Soon after the war was over the property of all

the Georgia Loyalists, or Toi ies, who had been active

against the Americans was :onfiscated and sold, and

the money was put into the State Treasury. It

amounted to quite a large sum, and probably saved;4)ie



.

- '*$&*"

State from bankruptcy. Most of the Tories, knowing

that they were held in great odium and would probably

be bitterly persecuted, left the State immediately after

the Revolutionary War. It was, on all accounts,.v'a

happy riddance. Some of t lese Tories were good, 3

high-toned, honorable men; b ut many of them, esp- $
;;v.-;r" ! :-.\"
daily of the commoner classes, were a base set. TridSe

that remained in Georgia wer i ill treated by' '<:''< '^Sc^rffe^-.- - ! te** triots and could scarcely get justice in the law

By the side of the civilized strip, above describe^, Jay

the uncivilized or undeveloped part of Georgia,

ing far to the westward. It was one vast forest^ for

the most part trackless and unexplored, and was inhab

ited.only by the scattered tribes of Creek and Cherokee

Expansion of Georgia,

325

i Jlndians, There was not on the American continent at |hat time any more desirable region for pioneer settlers

TENNESSEE
I" It

f N RTH CAROLINA/,-' ^



__i._ _ ^^.^ .

\t^

Map Showing Expansion of Georgia.
[Han these wild lands of Georgia. The statesmen of
wfeorgia fully appreciated this fact, and immediately
||fter the Revolutionary War they began to arrange for

32G

Georgia /-//V/orv Stories.

opening these lands to settlers. The. first step was to clear the Indians out of toe region, and this was done promptly and vigorously,
ii. THE FIRST EXPANSION: FROM THE OGEECIIEE TO
THE QCONEE.
As you have already learned in the chapter- on Alex ander McGillivray, the State of Georgia, in the year 17S-1-, under the guise of a so-called treaty, forced the Creek Indians to give up all of their lands lying be tween the Ogeechee and Qconee rivers and extending up to that section of the uherokee country which had already been acquired by tile whites. ' Thus an exten sive, beautiful and most inviting region was added to Georgia's domain. It was dfvided into two great counties, Washington County o i the south and Franklin County on the north. The< e two great counties have since been divided up into t ii or twelve Georgia counties of the present day.
Every possible encouraglement was given by, .the State to the rapid peopling or this new^ acquisitionvi^he lands were literally given akvay. A large portion' of them was bestowed as bounties or rewards on Georgia soldiers- who had fought in the Revolutionary War". Besides these "military grants," as they were called, the State allowed any new-comer, who was "master or head

Expansion of Georgia.

327

:> of a family," to go into the new region and select for j|himself any parcel of land, not over two hundred and f '^ fifty acres, that he might choose, provided it was not
Ii iffe5!-already, claimed by some one else. He had to bear the
fft fpexperise of the survey himself, and was also required iy 4. to pay a merely nominal price for the lands. Then the I -f lot was his, and the State issued him a warrant for it, f i known as "Head-Right," because each head of a family, ' J after complying with the conditions named, had a legal fe, V and indisputable right to the property. | * Notwithstanding these great inducements and ad-
i.
\, ; vantages, there" was seemingly one very serious draw{ y back- to the rapid settling of this choice region, and that [ was the attitude of the Creek Indians. As you have alf ready learned, these Indians, under the instigation of [ A; their supreme chief, Alexander McGillivray, repudiated
:' the so-called treaties by which these lands had been t given up. From their homes on the west side of the U'Oconee they made frequent destructive and bloody .|^forays on the white settlements on the east side of the Jriver. These irregular and fitful, but exceedingly danfl.Jigerous, forays were kept up for nearly ten years and
known in history as the Oconee War, an account' which you have already had in connection with the
of McGillivrav' . In spite of this danger many

328

Georgia History Stories.

bold pioneers moved with their families into the region;

and not a few later paid the penalty of their daring with

their property or their lives. For mutual protection they lived close together, form

ed military companies

among themselves, went

always armed, and built

rude forts, called "block-

_ A Block-House.

houses," in which their families couki take ref

uge during a foray or in times of special danger. The

remains of a number of these "block-houses" stood in

Georgia until recent years, and the location of some of

.them can be pointed out to this day.

In 1T9G the Indians, as you have been told, were

perfectly pacified by the Treaty of Coleraine, and gave no further trouble. The emigration into the new coun

try, which had all along been flowing in a steady

stream, was now greatly increased in volume. Many

of the settlers came from the older parts of Georgia^

especially from Wilkes and Columbia counties; but a

large majority of them were emigrants from states

other than Georgia. They came mainly from North

Carolina and Virginia, with a considerable intermixture

of South Carolinians and some Marylanders.

Expansion of Georgia.

329

The North Carolinians, who were largely of Scotch,Irish stock, settled chiefly in Franklin, Banks, Ogle^ ;thorpe, Madison, Washington and Montgomery coun? Ities. Most of them were poor people, not. poverty| Jsitricken, but of very moderate means, owning few Iffslaves or none. They were not a cultured folk, but they

/From an old print.

*#"

Family of a Pioneer in the Interior of Georgia.

were robust and wholesome in body and mind, and of sterling character. Many of the ablest men of Georgia Jjbame from this North Carolina stock. I f; The Virginians settled mainly in the section now | contained in Hancock and Greene counties. They were f: wealthier, better educated, and, in a social sense, betfe ^ter bred than the North Carolinians. Most of them
tobacco planters, whose lands in east Virginia

330

Georgia Hi story Stories.

had, from long use and careless cultivation, worn out and unproductive The opening of fresh lands of Georgia cam as a godsend to thes||||j,J| ginians. They disposed oi their Virinia in great numbers moved to "Georgy," as they always pronounced it. The migration of a well-to-do tobacco planter from Virginia, to Georgia was a striking spec tacle. The family emigran t train usually consisted of

Emigrants and Plantation Wagon.

V'' V;

one or two six-horse plantation wagons, with their great '?

boat-like bodies and arched canvas coverings. Into

these huge wagons were stored necessary agricultural

implements and the rude belcngings of the negro slaves. -

They were accompanied by t' wo or th"ree

"Mjm& f? '"'&''^v^'- '-"',-

wagons, loaded with provisions for the journey and%|ffi ^

1 . "* * .-?^A

"'&,

the furniture of the white family; and one of these

wagons was generally set asi :le to be used as ani anv i j=j-jitvfiJck' ' ^Si5
' ->;^^ ^
lance for the weak and feebl negroes and for such ^as i-

4^

Expansion of Georgia.

331

'Si':

?$ -

fmight be taken sick on thejournev. The women and

pvi--

J

'

Jtphildren of the white family rode in a vehicle comfort-

||Vc
|ably provided with springs and seats, and known as a

|fersey wagon." The men and youths of the family fxle on horseback. The negroes, or all that were strong fSfl^hough, walked the whole distance, driving the flocks

|and herds before them. Of course, the outfits of the

Ipoorer emigrants were much more modest than the one

^escribed, consisting of two or three (or in some cases

fIem- av' be of only one) two-horse \vagons, carrying all their fgoods and chattels. The journey generally occupied a

1ffSjIi'll month or more. On reaching "Georgy," the emi-
^grants usually found rude, temporary homes already

provided for them, prepared by gangs of workmen who

had been sent on several months in advance to make a
>.'-"-:
Rearing in the forest and erect a few log cabins. H^ ?8f' With wonderful energy and rapidity all of the set-

. tiers, both North Carolinians and Virginians, cleared

^away the primeval forest and brought the virgin soil

'junder cultivation. The fresh lands of Georgia, even the

iiplands, were at that time exceedingly fertile and pro-

jijictive. As some one said: "You had but to tickle the
,, 'ilsfcSs^
^P8psom ^ tne ^arth with a plow and she would laugh

^stfe abundant harvest into your lap!" The people de-

,M|)ted themselves exclusively to agriculture. They

Georgia His ory Stories.
raised mainly foodstuffs and supplies for home consurh'ption. Corn, wheat, oats, rye barley, potatoes aiid purripi. kins were produced in gre it abundance. Flocks antf herds of cattle, sheep anc hogs were raised. Tlie woods abounded with gam and the streams teemed with fish. There was an overwhelming plenty of the "good things of the earth' for both man and beast, Wool, some flax, and even a little cotton for clothing and leather for shoes were >roduced and manufactured on the farms. Almost the >nly "money crop" was to bacco, which these people h ad learned so well to raise in Virginia and North Caro ina.
The principal tobacco rket was Augusta; but tobacco growing was not a lucrative business for the planter, barely furnishing him with money enough to buy such necessaries and cor iforts as he could not make f at home. Fortunately, howe er, these were few. There was never a more indepenc int, self-sustaining, self-respecting people in the civiliz d world than these pioneer settlers of middle Georgia.
The extreme southern part of the new region (inf j| eluded mainly in what is r ow Emanuel and Tattnall f| counties) was one unbroken pine forest, with corn|J -paratively sterile soil, and a that time it was supposed^ | to be entirely worthless [or agricultural purposes! |

Expansion of Georgia.

333

Sflj*.:**
||Naturally, it was settled up very slowly. By the year 11800, however, a few people, generally very poor, had ^__.oved into this uninviting region and established their Siomes amid the sighing wilderness of pines. Of these fJpf eople and all' the other "piny woo, d folks" of Georgia, fIP$v'-ve shall have more to say further on. p In 1783 Georgia had, including whites and blacks, p5,000 inhabitants. In 1790 the population was 82,000, Hand in 1800 it was 165,000. This increase was owing 1|mainly to the emigrants from other States who had Ijmoved into the newly opened country between the Ogee-
Ifthee and the Oconee. All of the desirable lands in this x;strip were now occupied, and even the sterile "piny '-woods'' contained a considerable population. The peo|ple began to call importunately for more lands. The Jfjirnes were now ripe, the conditions favorable and the fdemand imperative for another expansion of Georgia. |As before, the thing to be done was to make another Clearing away of Indians.

-'.: III. SECOND EXPANSION : FROM THE OCONEE TO

THE OCMULGEE.
| In 1802, 1803 and 1804 Georgia acquired from the zk Indians by fair and legal treaty, or "purchase," hese transactions had now got to be called, all of the
llfcls lying between the Oconee and the Ocmulgee

334

Georgia Hist *ry Stories.

rivers. Thus another beaut ful region fully

able and nearly as large as t ie previous one

to Georgia's domain. So an ious was the State for the

rapid peopling of this new acquisition that again she

literally gave away the land . But the method of giv-

ing away was entirely diffe ent from the old "Head-

Right'' system. In its stead a new and original device

known as the "Land.Lottery ' was adopted.

...*$&

The plan was this: Tr. i newly acquired territory was thoroughly surveyed by government surveyors, and

was marked off into lots o about two hundred acres

each. An accurate map of the survey was made, jola

which the lots were numbere 1, 2, 3, and so on. There

were several hundreds of th m in all. Numbers corre*

spending to the numbers of t ie lots were then written on

bits of cardboard, and togeth er with a great many blank

cards were placed in a "lo tery box" in the Capitol.

From this lottery box "ev ry Georgia citizen, every

Georgia widow with minor children, and every famUy
of Georgia minor orphans" had a chance to "dra-"Kw$i|t|.l-
for a lot. In order that r one might miss their op-

portunity, an alphabetical 1 st of all eli0gible '*perso.ing^s in each county in the Stat was carefully made. ML

blindfolded boy stood by tl e lottery box (which was

frequently well "shaken up'' ), and as each name was

Expansion of Georgia.

335

? called in alphabetical order he drew out a card. Thus i every eligible person in the State had his or her chance. JA great many drew blanks, of course, but many also ^.jdrew prizes, a rich prize or an indifferent prize, accordfifing .to the location of the lot he happened to draw. pThe drawing was done in the presence of five sworn ^.commissioners, and it was also open to the public if ;r the public chose to attend. It was a tedious process, i -". occupied several weeks. Under this plan fraud, f './cheating and unfair play were impossible. f| \?: A great many people who drew lots in the new | '-purchase did not themselves settle on them, but sold jj jjihem to others. jf *$' As soon as the preliminaries were over, settlers by f.. hundreds crowded into the newly opened country. A I majority of them were already Georgians, coming |5 ^ainly from the families of the Virginians and North & Itarolinians who fifteen or twenty years before had
emigrated into the new region between the Ogeechee |nd the Oconee. The elder sons of these families, and |f many instances the old folks themselves, now moved *i|jto the still newer country between the Oconee and
Ocmulgee, on account of the advantages offered by HH still fresher and richer lands. A great many new emi-
also came from other States, mainly again from

336

Georgia His -)ry Stories.

Virginia and the Carolinas.

sy '

very

li arge

propo^ktH$SS^ii.-'
V'"v?v^v"-''^

of these settlers were peop 5 of means, education^^

refinement, and of the hi hest character. No new

country was ever settled L y a better, finer or more

capable class of people, wit a smaller intermixture of

base and inferior elements, Money, brains and char-

acter were applied at once \ ith powerful energy to ile

development of the region. It had not the rough, rude

and coarse experi

ences that usually

belong to the pio-

neer life of a -new

country; but by a

From a print of 1841.
Oglethorpe University, Midwa Baldwin County.

wonderful ch<4a. nge, not gradual, but sud-
den, it passed from

the dark night of barbari m into the full light 'of a high and noble civilizatior This was especially^true

of

Putnam,

Jasper,

Jones,

Baldwin, '

and

MorgantSSn . ".*?45?^>S<.'-. '

ties and measurably true of ". wiggs, Wilkinson, Laiffefis,

and Pulaski counties; but Dodge, Telfair, and %M'%os*nv tgomery counties, which lay :hiefly in the "pine ba|||n"

section, had, like all the res t of that strange region^ a

very slow development; in f ct, had scarcely any deyel-

opment until after the Civil War.

Expansion of Georgia.

337

All of the forces and influences that go to create a noble civilization and to develop great men were nov fully at work in Georgia. The management of public affairs, the administration of law and justice, the de velopment of the new country, the conducting of agri-

11

The University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. The Oldest State University in the United States.
culture and commerce, stimulated intellect and aroused ambition. In all professions and callings men of a high order of ability arose, and among them there appeared some men who were pre-eminently great.
Along with territorial expansion came great imto the whole State. Churches were built

338

Georgia Histc ry Stories.

in great numbers, and they \\ ere well attended and well supported, and some of them were served by preachers of wonderful eloquence. Ev< and anon great religious revivals would sweep over tl e country exerting a good and lasting influence on the character and the lives of the people. People felt reli 'ion much more deeply in those days than they do in oirs. A "religious revival" meant more then than it doe now. Then it was "deep calling unto deep"; now it s usually "shallow calling unto shallow."
Soon after the Revolutionary War, Georgia began to manifest much interest ir education. In 1802 the University of Georgia was e tablished. Academies and "old field schools" were qu ite abundantly distributed over the State, and they w ere the great educators of the people. The methods of hese old-time schools were no doubt crude and faulty, and they are the object of unstinted ridicule and abuse by the self-conceited pedagogue of the present dz y; but somehow many of the greatest men, the nobles characters~~and the belte trained intellects that the Stat of Georgia has ever pror duced were educated at the se old-time schools. "By its fruits shall the tree be jucged."
In 1793 Eli Whitney in\ nted the cotton gin.* It
*For an interesting account of the i ivention of the cotton gin, see Joel Chandler Harris's charming little book, "Stories of Georgia."

Expansion of Georgia.

339

.ViVjp-
improved


to

be

one

of

the

most

,
important events

in

the

Jf|history of America. This simple contrivance, scarcely big-

|ger than a baby's cradle, made the fortune of our South-

fmnd, fixed her destiny, and determined the character of

ftier civilization. Its effects were felt speedily and

J|*6;;werfully, espec" ially in Georgia. By the year 1815 the fifcultivation of tobacco was almost wholly abandoned in

f/By courtesy of The Howe Photographic Company, Atlanta, Ga. Picking Cotton on a Georgia Plantation.
l|he State, and the raising of cotton was adopted in its
i?Ipfelead. The farmers still continued to raise all of their
tpwn provisions and supplies, so cotton was "a surplus It proved to be a much more lucrative product
tobacco. Georgia farmers who all along had been a good living now began to acquire wealth. A
|iream of emigrants, with their gangs of negroes, came louring in from Virginia to make iniiiey by raising cotfen on the fresh soil of Georgia, a power they had lost by

340

Georgia Hist ~y Stories.

raising tobacco on the wor -out lands of the "Old Dominion."
By the year 1818 well-ni h every desirable acre of land in the cotton belt of Geo gia from the Savannah to

the Ocmulgee River was occu ied. The people began to

call importunately for more 1 id to raise more cotton to

make more money.. The time was ripe, conditions were

favorable, and the demand i iperative for another ex-

pansion of Georgia. Again he thing to be done was

to make another clearing out of Indians. .

-

:

IV. THIRD EXPANSION I F OM THE OCMULGEE TO

THE FL NT.
; In 1821, by anoi ther treat) or purchase, the State of Georgia acquired from the reek Indians all 6of the lands lying between the Ocm Igee and the Flint rivers. This region, as a whole, was well adapted, both in soil and climate, to the cultivati n of cotton. The lands were distributed among the p ople by the Land Lojfe|y
plan, and the country was set ed/.iip very rapidly. The
upper part was settled mainl by plain people in m'*o^Td--
erate circumstances, and wit out much education, fout

of sturdy, sterling character The middle and lower parts were settled very larg y by rich planters from the contiguous older counties of Jones, Jasper and Putnam. This was specially true of Monroe, Bibb, Houston

Expansion of Georgia.

341

"j'-fj-
pi and Macon counties, into which sections wealthy settler b
f||came in large numbers, with their gangs of negroes, jfcjlere they implanted the high civilization to which they
W .Jih' ad been accustomed, and in this new soil it flourished Ji|ike the green bay tree.

A large majority of the settlers of the new region,

p>oth rich and poor, devoted themselves to the raising of

ilcotton. Indeed, this had now become the preatest in-

-fep-

9



Industry of Georgia. King Cotton, in his fleecy robes,

Jtwas now thoroughly established on his throne, and

OK

:lfruled the State with undisputed sway. He proved

'.W^jM

*

/

X

jgone of the most energetic of monarchs and gradually

fcvrought a wonderful change in Georgia's civilization,

Jraw^i,

O

C-J .

<-*

'

fflgiving to her customs and modes of life their perma-

;gnent form. He enabled his subjects to make great for-

|;tunes. He built towns and cities, influenced politics

Mand government, and there was scarcely an important

fH"bu. siness or public enterprise in the State in which he ,|; did not take a hand.

j| Raising cotton was a profitable business in Georgia

fjtin those days. The staple brought from twelve to fif-

Hfteen cents a pound. As the cost of production was & fsmall and the farmers still made their provisions and

ipplies at home, the cotton money was nearly all clear

lin. People made fortunes rapidly. Choice lands in

342

Georgia History Stories.

the new purchase could be bcueht for a dollar dollars an acre. Often men vould pay for a farmer a plantation with one year's crop of cotton. From 1820 to 1840 may be called the i loney-making period par excellence in Georgia's histor . The negro population grew enormously during this period. The natural increase among these people wais great. From selfish^nterests as well from humane in pulses, masters took good care of their, negroes, who' rap dly increased in numbers, the birth-rate exceedinog the ~ c eath-rate. Besides, large numbers of new negroes wer * brought into the State.
'. }e ""V1
Though the importations of natives from Africa had been entirely stopped by the Federal Government, many slaves were brought from Vi ginia and eastern Maryland, which had become conge sted with negroes. These states contained many more s aves than coyld be used with profit; so the owners sole off their "surplus stock" to negro speculators, who brot.ght them in great df<fyes to Georgia and sold them at r handsome profit^t^^^^ ton planters. These "nigger t raders" were held in^fiffl1versal contempt by the peopl ; nevertheless they liberally patronized, and the} made money by, traffic. As fast as the planters made money by raising cotton, they spent it in buyii ig more lands and more negroes, to raise more cotton to make more money, so

Expansion of Georgia.

343

f;.that they could buy more land and more negroes. For

ittwenty years or more this increase in wealth and slave

afivJtM' ''''

'

.

^population went on. Georgia had now won the title of
ffe"
^'Empire State of the South."

Scene on a Cotton Plantation.
.J-. During the first part of this period the best people ||sof Georgia lived in the country on their farms and planRations,, where the greatest men that Georgia ever pro;f$Hp*d' uced were born and reared. The br' a ins, character and feulture of the State were not concentrated in towns and

'***"-^fc

/
"* /

344

Georgia History Stories.

' ' v

cities, as is now the tendency , but were to be foundli

the country.

V. FOURTH EXPANSION : SOUTH GEORGIA AND ITS

TARDY DEVELOPMENT.

Until 1814 the Creek Ind ians remained.in possession of an extensive territory in extreme south Georgia. It consisted of a broad zone of country stretching from

near the Atlantic Ocean on the east across the State to the Chattahoochee River on the west. In this region

was embraced the beautiful 'Tallasee Country,'' so beloved of the Creek Indians, and which, as you rememher, had been saved to the n by the masterful diplomacy of their great chiefta n, Alexander McGillivray, in the Treaty of New York in 1790. At length, however, in the year 1814, the United States Government,

acting for the benefit of the State of Georgia, by the

Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creek Indians to

give up the whole of this southern ^territory. Bv fa

subsequent treaty, made in 1816, a sm" all' s trip lyi"n'^gl^ilttp; the northeast of this territory was added to the

Into the new country tr. us acquired there was -no

immediate rush of settlers, It was not considered a: s'j*;l.'l-;'a desirable or inviting region The Indians were exipelled from it not mainly to make room for white

settlers, but to protect the already settled parts of

SXf



t

I

Expansion of Georgia.

345

ffeorgia. It seems not even to have been surveyed
''
ftv the State' Government .until after 1818, which
Kows that there was not much demand for the lands, le eastern portion of ij; was covered very largely by
Js|ne so-called "pine barrens/' which in those days were
jfhought to be worthless for agricultural purposes. The
-'1v ^?i/
,T,*^-V
H^estern portion was almost unexplored land; and be%3fc iftause it lay next, to the hostile Alabama Creeks, who
*'3?i&*?*'
llfved -,on the other side of the Chattahoochee River, it
J>tS%y, as regard.ed as dangerous ground. Hence while every ffither newly opened portion of Georgia was settled up with
.fgreat eagerness and rapidity, the southern zone of the
S*S; tate lay for a number of years neglected and ignored. Mt was not until after the year 1825 that any consider-
fible number of people moved into this region. In the
J|fneantime it had been discovered that mixed with the
mpine barrens" there was a good deal of fertile hum-
f|hock land lying along the rivers and creeks. These
Igpioice spots were bought up by planters living in the
and now nearly worn-out eastern counties. There
settled with great e^an^s of necroes. and soon
KUv
fought the soil under fine cultivation. It was discov-
also, in the course of time, that the western end of
ie zone, or what we now call southwest Georgia, was
fade up very largely of rich and fertile lands, both

3-1G

Georgia Hist ry Stories.

bottoms and uplands. Wea thy men from middle Jancl western Georgia bought up icse tracts in large estate! turning them into cotton p intations, which they peopled with troops of negroes n charge of overseers. It

was considered in those days a very undesirable country to live in, on account of ma aria and bad water; so the

owners of these plantations u ually had their homes elsewhere, and visited their plac es only two or three times

a year. Even into the "pii barrens" proper a good many poor people crept (f r the lands could be had

almost without money and without price), and there established their rude homes and there lived for generations and generations, in u iprogressive simplicity and

strange isolation.

It was not until several y ars after the War between

the States that .the possibilit es and resources of south Georgia were fully realized a id that it received its true development.

VI. FIFTH EXPANSION : F OM THE FLINT TO THE

. CHATTAH OCHEE.

-

< .^|flSf

In the year 1825, by the famous Treaty of Indian

Spring, of which you have bad a full account in the

chapter on "Troup and the Treaty," Georgia acqu|r|:d

from the Creek Indians the rich and beautiful region

lying between the Flint anc the Chattahoochee rivers.

I

Expansion of Georgia.

347

i I ji Creeks had now surrendered to the whites the last |&if- i. it of land that they owned in Georgia. Two years

||| itr they were removed in a body to a reservation set

Is dlle ^or them beyond the Mississippi River.

|"'f"" There was an immediate rush of settlers into the

'

^

I : vacated lands. The upper part of the new purchase

1 was settled almost entirely by poor people with few

j slaves or none. The lands there were generally poor

and were not supposed to be adapted to the cultivation

of cotton, and hence were exceedingly cheap. The

| settlers devoted themselves largely to raising cattle. 1I vMost of them were from the older parts of Georgia,

I but there was also considerable emigration from other

I States. These people, as a rule, were good, honest and I I industrious, but there was among them a lawless and

1 depraved element that gave much trouble. The middle

I section of the purchase was bv far the best. The

fs'

^

m richest and most desirable lands (the section now in-

I eluded in Coweta, Troup, Meriwether, Harris, Talbot

p and Muscogee counties) were settled mainly by wealthy

planters from central Georgia. By the careless and HJljivretched system of tilling the soil that then prevailed

Sffirough the cotton belt of Georgia, these planters had,

/the course of fifteen or twenty years, worn out or

jfreatly damaged the fertile uplands of their original

348

Georgia Hist iry Stories.

places; and now they moved to the fresh, rich landsff jjj-
western Georgia only to pin sue the same land-destnK
ing system of agriculture, They brought with
not only industry and energy-, but also wealth, cultge
and social refinement, which they transplanted with &feet success into the new resr>-ion; and in a marvelcp jJiws^Tfr"v short time they caused "the wilderness to bloom 'and

From an old print.

Columbus, Muscogee County,

.

When First Settled.

blossom as the rose." The southern end of the^fprchase included the upper part of what we : southwest Georgia. For rea sons already given tHifpas at that time considered an undesirable region toiiivc in, though it contained lav je. areas of fertile lands, These were bought up by rich men, who converted them into big cotton plant; itions, peopled with negro

f|

Expansion of Georgia.

349

m

Itslaves, in charge of white overseers. The owner rarely

lllived on the place himself, but visited it only occasion1 tally for business purposes. Throughout both the midjpdle and the southern sections there were quantities of

l|i>oor piny woods lands, which were usually settled by

ftpeople correspondingly poor, for they sold for a mere

trifle.

ft VII. SIXTH EXPANSION I THE CHEROKEE COUNTRY.

m$Hf In the northwest corner of Georgia lav that exten-
"v 5ive region of countrv' which was still possessed and
^xxupied by the Cherokee Indians. The story of how

fehese Cherokees were finally, in 1837, expelled from

Mjeorgia and transported beyond the Mississippi, has ?<e? |foeen fully told in Chapter XVIII. Thus passed the last $ fired man from the State of Georgia!

The new territory thus acquired was a beautiful
^egion, covered with hills, mountains and interlying
\h

ifvallevs, with

||-<*^

' ' *

a

bracing C3

and

delightful tj

climate.

From

^his region have been formed the counties of Cherokee,

jteartow, Gordon, Cobb, Forsyth, Gilmer, Lumpkin,

Myiurray, Paulding, Walker, Chattooga and Floyd. The

of it was distributed among the people of Georgia

. IP'y the Land Lottery system, already described. In one Jjfart of the territory (the section which is now Lumpkin,

and Union counties), some gold had been found,

350

Georgia History Stones.

and the belief generally prevailed that the whole sectf^Sfv thereabouts was extremely rich in the precious metal

Several years before the Cherokees were expelled,

adventurers had gone into this so-called gold

from which they were driven at the point of a bayofiet

by the State militia. When the lands were finally Dis

tributed among the whites by lottery, those per sons. ' yyJio

drew lots in the "gold diggings" sold them readily at-a

high price to capitalists and adventurers. The purchas

ers moved at once into their possessions and began

searching for gold, expecting to acquire princely "for

tunes in a short time. But almost without an exception ' Hv;';';'
they were bitterly disappointed. They found littlejjor

no gold, and in the course of a year or two the'-ir-^.;iis- .f ions of untold wealth had "tone a-elimmerinof

schoolboy's dream." The lands for which they had j|aid jf

such a high price were for the most part sterile, riiGSin- ^

tainous and rugged, and of little value for

pursuits. The disappointed owners sold' them t; fe^|a *f r f

song and moved away, or else abandoned them tdghe

first "squatters" who might (tome and take possession'.~"\"i

ji

Cj

r

j.

,,- **''^'"i?f'|i's|VVj"a"S

/:.

Except in a small region around the present towfe'bf

Dahlonega, in Lumpkin County, gold mining in Georgia

lias never "panned out" anything worth considering.

After this mountainous, ijugged and sterile part of

Expansion of Georgia.

351

; * Georgia was abandoned by the disappointed gold seek-

r ifc ers, it was occupied by mountaineers from North Caro-

*iIrfj*&r:- lina. Their descendants are still in the Georgia mounf f tains; and though rough, they are honest, kind, inde-

[ A pendent and hospitable.

The hill country below the mountains, including

? %TV "
| J what

is

now

Cobb,

Forsyth

and

'
Cherokee

counties,

was

I r more inviting to enterprising settlers than the mountain

section just described. Still it was far from being a choice

region for agricultural purposes. It was rugged and

stony, and the lands were generally more or less sterile.

:They were very cheap, and for ten or twenty dollars a

/man could buy a small farm of forty or fifty acres. They

||were occupied mainly by settlers coming from east and

(northeast Georgia, especially from Franklin, Hall, Jack-

"son, and Madison counties. They were a sturdy, brave,

I -jself-reliant people, but possessed little property and little

?Ceducation. They devoted themselves to the cultivation

>f corn, wheat, rye and oats, and to cattle raising. They

I ;:|did all of their own work, for there were few slaves IX I |jrnong them. They lived very comfortably, but plainly,

: ;for thev had never known luxury and were independent

- H&

""

-'

*

it. Most of them had a limited English education,

there was scarcely a classical scholar among them.

The best part of the Cherokee acquisition was what

Georgia Hist ory Stories.
was then known, and is still known, as the " limestone country/' The choicest section of this choice region was include( 1 in what is now Chattooga, Floyd and Bartow counties. It was a beantiful country, covered w-iith lofty hills and broad, fertile valley s, watered b 1 swift rivers and bold crystal streams; the scenery was charming and the climate was invigorating a id delightful. The region was rapidly settled up, mair ly by people of wealth and culture. Many of them were from middle Georgia; many came also from excell snt families in South Carolina. They brought their ;angs of negro slaves with them, and quickly establi; ;hed large, well-cultivated farms. The broad, fertile valleys lying between the lofty hills were splendidly ; idapted to the cereals, and abundant crops of corn and wheat were produced. For many years prior to the Civi 1 War and during the Civil War, this section of Georgia was the great granary of the State. By the year 18>4400 nearly all of t$|||3iJj limestone region was well settled by a very 'sttpe*;ior class of people, who soon established churches, good
/? v > /*vi;'^:-
schools and a civilization of refinement and culture^ {
|M;;^!;;~.
Georgia had at last spre; d her civilization to the iitmost confines of her present geographical limits; but as vet she had not reached her till development.

CHAPTER XX.

GEORGIA AN1) GEORGIANS IN 1840.

I. THE MOUNTAINS.

|f 1 In 1840 Georgia had, according to the United
<$%

f States Census, 691,492 inhabitants, including 407,795 ?^.

s . f. whites and 283,697 negroes.

p .

H- Let us take a rapid bird's-eye view of Georgia and

it

.

J| her people at this time.

5J-

.| The State naturally divided itself into five principal

fi sections, namely: The Mountains, the Up Country, the
1$'

|[ Cotton Belt, the Sea-Coast, and South Georgia.

.f#e. t



.

;i The Mountains embraced an irregular zone or belt

j^r

.

O

H stretching across the extreme northern part of the
" '-^v?. ' ;;*lr- '-...
UPState. This section was sparsely inhabited by a peculiar
S^s
SIf|': and picturesque type of the Anglo-Saxon race known

.'*p$* as mountaineers. They were uneducated and without jl ambition or aspiration. In personal appearance they
-iyf'
-',--tf'were q-enerallv" tall,' raw-boned and muscular, and
'unshaven, unshorn and unkempt. They spoke with a
rapid utterance and a quick, sharp accent; and their
i>
|| language was replete with provincialisms, such as

mam" and "pap," "we tins," "you tins/' "yan," and

|"beyant." They were universally very poor and lived

353

354

Georgia History Stories.

in the rudest fashion. They knew not the common comr4sVAV "

forts, much less the luxuries of life. Their homes, nestjifcl

.

'^fe

rn the mountain gorges, were rough log cabins, generally

yjjfZ

with only a single room, in which frequently a family^o'f

ten or twelve persons lived, Their food and clothing

were corresponding

ly coarse and mea

ger. The moun

tain-sides, owinsnto
-Vi" ;.
roughness and steep

From an old print.
Cabin of a Mountain Settle

ness, were not ar able, so their farm

ing was confined to the narrow and contracted valleys,
.*>
the lands of which were generally more or less sterile.

Their principal crop was cor .1. This they converted into

bread for eating and whiskey for drinking, for they were

hard drinkers. Small herd 5 of cattle grazing on ihe

mountain-sides and a -few hogs in a pen near the house

furnished them with sparse nations of meat. They ha;h-

"

&*"*':

died very little money. They would earn a few do-l',l>"a"-vr-,'s

by now and then selling "a-punch".of cattle, or a:"lJtffel

.

.'

T

'

h>U2l8i*/

of corn whiskey, or a few chickens, or a cart-loax||f

apples, to their better conditioned and more

neighbors among the foothills to the south

They would have to journey manv miles over the

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

of roads to get this produce to mar

ket, but these trading expeditions

were almost the only contact they

had with the great world beyond

their mountain peaks. They had

no slaves, and there were no ne-

A Mountaineer.

groes among them. Many of them

grew almost to manhood and womanhood without ever

seeing a black face. Notwithstanding their limitations

and deficiencies these people possessed certain sterling

virtues that command the respect of all men. They

were brave, honest, independent, kind-hearted and hos pitable. Though they

were great drunkards

and fighters, heinous and

base crimes, such as

I| f%hurder and theft, w' ere' m extremely rare among

them. In the mountain-

I
>v

o^- us

regOions

of

northeast

Georgia may still be

J /fennel many specimens I|W/M| this ty' pe of people "**"*-" little changed after
years, or two gen-

Mountaineer Mother and Daughter.

35G

Georgia Hist ory Stories

erations. There are many <

' .

'-**&;' : f$

siderably improved by conta :t with civilizing influe'riei^ Jf

but none of the class has ever attained a high ] civilization and culture.

II. THE UI COUNTRY.
Just below the mountains lay what was generally known in those days as the Up Country, so called because it was in the upper or northern part of the State, It was also sometimes calied "the Hill Country," because it lay among the foothills of the Blue Ridge

Mountains. The inhabitants of this region were much more acl-
vanced in civilization than tli e mountaineers above them.

Still they were a plain pec pie, with little wealth and

little education and with nc great pretensions or lofty

aspirations. They lived or small farms, which they

worked with their own hands , for they owned few ne-

groes or none. By hard 1 ibor they managed to dig

a fair subsistence out of the stony and not very

fertile soil. They usually had the common comforts of life, but were entire strangers to its luxpil^ The principal products of the country were corn, wheat, rye, cattle and horses. The people were the shrewdest

horse traders in the world, "he "horse swapping c6r|v|f-. tions/' held annually or semi-annually in the different

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

357

towns and villages, were unique meetings and were full of ardor, life and business abijity. There were also many distilleries in this region, which manufactured great quantities of corn and rye whiskey. Much of y it was shipped and sold in other parts of Georgia, ||, but much of it was also consumed by the people |.^ at home. They indulged extensively in hard drink| ing, which was their chief and most harmful vice. I ; Gambling also was too common among them. Not|/r, withstanding their vices, they were essentially a good I and worthy people; and when the temperance reIf iI former, the reli. gious revivali.st, and the schoolmaster I l came among them they yielded readily, and gave up in ! ; large measure their wicked ways. These people con1 *; stituted the true yeomanry of Georgia, and the State |||rhad reason to be proud of them. From this stock I} sprung some of Georgia's ablest and most notable men. | 5 This sketch does not apply to the "blue limestone" I.,i section of the hill country in northwest Georgia. As | ff'has already been stated, that region was settled from If the beginning by people of wealth, culture, and refine-

III. THE COTTON BELT.
Straight through the middle of Georgia from the Savannah to the Chattahoochee River stretched a broad,

358

Georgia History Stories.

irregular zone of country, krown as the "Cotton Belt,'5

so called because it was whr ly given over to the rais

ing of cotton; and, indeed, at that time it was sup-

posed that the staple could n t be successfully cultivated

outside of that belt.

This was by far the

most flourishing part

of Georgia. Here King

Cotton had reigned su

preme and absolute for

twenty years. He had

Froin a print of 1831.
City Hall at Augusta,

brought great prosperity to his domain. He had

built several large cities

and a number of smaller

towns. He had made

many of his .subjects

very rich, and many

more comfortable, inde

pendent, and well-to-do. pro

He had established as

Medical College, Augusta.; ji7

fine a civilization as ever e isted on the face of the

earth. The wealth of this sectioi consisted mainly in lands

and negroes. The small fa ms of twenty or thirty

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

359

j 'sfi'..
| :years before had practically disappeared, for they had

I" ^been bouOght upIT byJ rich men who combined them into arge plantations. Many very rich men owned several f vJuch plantations and counted their slaves bv the him-

f 2ff"- -

^

|. ftSreds. These princely cotton planters did not gener-

IVJ'lpfjpd^ ly live on the. ir pkntations. Their luxurious homes | J|\vere usually in some city, or more frequently still in

| fftbme smaller town, contiguous to their estates, where

!f 8lih' ey could give personal attention to their business.

I ||The direct management of the plantations was in the

^ TV**-?

. *--'

*

I Miands of overseers, who lived on the plantations near

w .J3&

'

J-

m negro quarters. These overseers were generally
I Jmen of energy and of fine judgment and executive abil-

|||ty. They received good salaries, and some of the more

I Jthrifty of them accumulated considerable fortunes and,
! S' '
I |in the course of time, became themselves owners of

& ^plantations and negroes.

The management of a great cotton plantation in

lI-fSpi1i- ose days was a good illustration of executive ability.
|jfThe government was well-nigh perfect. The slaves

I'Jwere divided into gang's of plow hands, hoe hands,

TMV ^*?i '

**^

*-^

*

l&i$fa> xemen, et cetera. There were also carpe'nters, black-
-!';!-
*^^^iths and other mechanics, all well trained in their

^arious crafts. The discipline was very rigid, but

arely ever cruel or over-severe. Absolute obedience

360

Georgia

V Slories.

C.

and hard work were requ ed of every slave, and where these were not for icoming, punishment t>y flogging with a leather strap vas sure to be the penalty, These negro slaves were th r owner's most valuable property, and his financial i terest, to say nothing of humanity, made him take g >od care of them. They were well housed, well clo led and well fed. The weekly ration (or "allowanc ' as it was called) of a field hand was a peck of mea , three and a half pounds of bacon and a pint of mola es. They were also supplied with the common veget bles in their season, such as turnip and collard greens peas, and sweet potatoes, Their meat diet was varied b fresh beef now and then, and during "hog-killing" ti ic by an abundance of toothsome fresh pork. Eac family was allowed a patch of land for a garden, nd nearly every one had a hen-house full of chickens. The best available physicians attended tlie negroes i sickness, and educated white preachers were employ 1 at good salaries to administer to* their spiritual n ids. They-- "e ligion" keenly in an emotior .1 way, but it had liffle influence on their morals, wl ch were generally, slack,
The feeling between mast r and slave was usually of the happiest nature. The) were deeply and warmly attached to each other. Wit all of the modern talk

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

361

III about the "universal brotherhood of mankind," the
world will never again see such genuine love and afTec|ffpt tion between the high and the low of God's human
'. .

A Black Mammy and Her Charge. i- 3?ijj'
t?J' &^>$r. creatures as that which existed between the AngloI'Saxon master of the South and his negro slave.
At the period of which we are speaking there were
|more negroes than whites in the cotton-growing re
gion of Georgia. They were a very superior class of

Georgia PI isto '-3; Stories.

negroes. As stated in a previous chapter, most of tfh"i '. or their parents had been brought to this State froifi?

Virginia and Maryland. The} were many generations . * sv
removed from their savage an cl degraded ancestors who

had been brought from Afric; a century or two before;

During all of these gen

erations they had beefr-
: 'iPr
in constant and close"

contact with the best

civilization of America,

first in Virginia an<

Maryland and after

wards in Georgia; and

they had acquired, for

people oif their race, remarkable intelligence

and a culture whichf:'

Family Cook. Type of Middle Georgia Slave.

though purely imitative^": ' -, Uf^v*'^'
was nevertheless

genuine. All of the missionary societies in the world

together have never done as nit ch for low, benighted

degraded peoples as was done for the Africans by

institution of Southern slavery, By that institution they'$^;' were raised to a higher plane of civilization than they

could ever possibly have attained by any other meansf

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

363.

f| and under that institution they were, take it all in all,

;f%



1 m the healthiest and happiest people that ever the sun
1

; m shone on.

Besides the very wealthy planters above described,

v>-1M||"- there was- a much larger j| number who were not

t so rich, but still well-to

ll; ,





f: do, owning a score or

U' two of slaves or less.

, <f This class .generally

jf lived on their planta-

f tions and took direct

\ | charge of their affairs

without the aid of over

seers. There were also

a- ttf,. still left a number of
- '&
I f^ sinall farmers, who
worked their small

v places mostly or en-

tirely without slave labor. These generally

Mulatto House-Maid. Typo of iMiddle Georgia Slave.

;. lived in the "piny woods" sections, where the lands were fIIiIr comparatively sterile and very cheap. Some of these piny t*j; ?? j| jwoods people were extremely poor and ignorant. The

f jfnegroes regarded them with great contempt and called
1:^*1 4>^ii .

364

Georgia Histo-r^ Stones.

them "piny woods poor white trash." Like the taineers of northeast Georgia, they were generally out ambition and hopelessly i nprogressive. many specimens of them in t .ie pi.ny woods of middlre Georgia and south Georgia to-day, little changed from their ancestors of two gen erations ago.
IV. THE SEA-COAST.
From the City of

A Mountaineer and His Wood Cart.
Savannah south

ward, bordering

on the shores

of the Atlantic

Ocean nearly

down to ;the A Piny Woodsman and His Splinter Carl Florida line

there was a strip of country known as "the sea-cqfst,"

or, as it was more commorly called, "the low|%|)^|p

try." A more appropriate name than either of $|Mse

would be

(to
v

adopt *

a

Virginia o ..

phrase)

A.

J

"'tide. -.w:.risa&:t-ieSiriv

Georgia." The section embt-aced a large part

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

36,5

present counties of Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, Mclntosh,

Glynn, and Camden. The most characteristic feature

of this region was the great rice plantations that occu

pied the low, rich, marshy lands along the river banks

near the.seashore and some of the islands just off the'

coast.

The owners of these rice plantations were very

wealthy men and lived in princely fashion. They usu

ally had two homes, one on the plantation, where

they spent the fall and winter, and the other back in

the upland piny woods, where they passed the sum

mer to escape the malaria of the marshes. Both es

tablishments were maintained in elegant style. Their

f owners were high livers. They indulged themselves in

| every luxury that money could buy in the State of

| Georgia at that time. Their homes were furnished in

ft

.

M mahogany and rosewood, with solid silver service for

1 the dining-room; their tables were supplied with riph
i!
1 :| viands and choice wines; they wore costly clothes, rode

:| |; in fine carriages, and were attended by troops of negro

HH slaves. Their hospitality was proverbial. For hearti-

||.,ness and magnificence it was not surpassed or. scarcely

lyi-

.

^equaled anywhere in Georgia or in the South. But

i?-.

|these rich sea-coast planters were high thinkers as well

Ifes high livers.

&$tv



Most of them were men of classical ,-;4

Georgia History Stories.

* 'W
education and literary culture; their homes were su-o4 ,r-\Tr.
plied with good libraries, and they subscribed for

leading newspapers and magazines both of this coun-t.r' yj*^1? and of England. In political faith they were derrick

crats, but by birth and rearing they were aristocrats in

every fiber of their being. They were inclined to draw

the social line sharply wherever they went. An illustra-

tion of this may be found in the society caste system

that prevailed in Savannah before the Civil War, and

that exists there to some extent even to this day. . '

The negroes who worked on these rice plantations

were the lowest and most degraded of their race in

Georgia. They were either native Africans or the chil

dren of native Africans. They had not been in Amer

ica long enough to become milch civilized. In thought,

feeling, and mode of living they were still in large

entle and docile savages,

as all Africans are. They were still under the influence

of African superstition. Many African words were '&$ mingled with their English speech, and their accent was

so peculiar that a stranger (could scarcely understand^

them. They came very little in contact with the

and his family. They were in direct charge of white5"

overseers, who maintained olver them a rigid but

J

'

::;$;.

unduly severe discipline. Tieir work during three ori

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

367

four months in the year was very hard, but the rest of

the time their tasks were exceedingly easy. They out

numbered the whites among whom they lived ten or



*

.'

twenty to one." They might have risen in insurrection

and in a single night exterminated the whole white

population, but no thought of rebellion or resistance or

even of complaint ever entered their minds. They were

perfectly content with their lot, as well they might be;

for, poor as their condition seemed, it was infinitely

better than it ever had been or ever could possibly be

in the jungles of Africa. Along the sea-coast of Georgia

there are still many unmixed descendants of these lowly

Africans of sixty years ago; and, though they are much

more civilized, they still preserve in many particulars

the characteristics of their ancestors, as is shown espe

cially in their humble and submissive spirit and in the

peculiar accent and lilt of their speech.

The sea-coast plantations were not devoted entirely

to the cultivation of rice; a number of them were given

to raising sea-island or long staple cotton, which

i brought nearly twice the price of ordinary short staple

^cotton, and the production of which was an immensely

"; profitable business. j-

Back from and immediately adjoining the rice plan-

*>'

Stations were stretches of sterile pine lands, which were .

.^

r

. . ^-

3'68

Georgia His try Stones.



occupied, as such lands near always were, by poor ami 1
ignorant people. They mac rather a scanty living^by cattle raising and by fldatii \ rafts of pine logs down the rivers to-the sea to be old to lumber dealers and shipped to various parts of the world. Between these inhabitants of the piny woo s and their neighbors, the rich rice planters, there wa almost no intercourse; but it made no odds to the poor woodsman, for he was one of the proudest, most indep ndent and self-sufficient of citizens.
No other part of Georg a has perhaps suffered so great a change since the-Civ War as this rice planting, sea-coast region. The gre rice plantations and the rich rice planters, with their luxurious homes and magnificent display of wealth, 1 ive vanished like a dream, Thousands of acres of rice ands have been abandoned and have gone back to a st te of nature, and are now unarable marshes and swamp Other portions have been drained and converted into rosperous market gardens, conducted by energetic whi men; and~other !p^tions still are occupied in spots a d patches by lazy negroes, who are content to dig a canty living out of them. There are still left a few la fields cultivated; in rice, just as they were more than a hun' dred years ago. The fine houses that were the 1 mies of the wealthv ante-

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

369

Ibellum planters are now, in some instances, occupied by fP,hegroes or very poor white people, and are fast going

|to rack and ruin.

1

-i V. SOUTH GEORGIA.

'

" In Chapter XIX was given, in a general way, a de

scription of that broad zone of country known as south

[Georgia. The characteristic feature of this section of |he State was the immense, unbroken pine forests that

with dreary monotony occupied hundreds of thousands If acres of land lying for the most part as level as a

|parlor floor. These great pine forests were the pre-

lominant feature of the country from the Altamaha to fhe Chattahoochee. They were not confined to the ex-

preme south zone of the State, but covered a considerHblc portion of what may be called east-middle Georgia, Including, especially, Emanuel, Tattnall, Montgomery,

id Dodge counties. Much of the land was too wet |jl>r culture, much of it a barren sand bed, and very lit-
||e of it was naturally rich and productive. In the Iffrly clays of the State the whole region was regarded
hopelessly barren and unfit for agricultural purposes,

hce it was settled very slowly.

The first people to move into these "pine barrens," they were called, was a large colony of Scotch-Irish [k who came directly from North Carolina, where \

370

Georgia. History . Stories.

they had been living for several years. About the'!

1800 they bought, for a merely ihominal price, imrn^is^?^

tracts of land in Montgomery and Telfair counties,

moved thither with their families. They

farmers, but ranchmen or cattk -raisers, in a

that requires plenty of "elbow room." So these settee ^ sun

-'-S'jiV-.'.' *

'

*

spread themselves thinly over a lar:e area of couiil

thus allowing a wide range for their cattle to fee4|tfn

the wire grass, a peculiar grasp that grows nowjlfl^

except in the so-called "pine barrens.

,,.

These Scotchmen were a race of brave, sturdy, in

pendent and thrifty people.

- attached great impior-

tance to education and maintained good schools w|i|re

their children were well taught. In religion they ^|r5fe| are

Presbyterians, and for many years their religious 's'||yy'^ stan

ices were held in the Gaelic language. From this .'$8*-4

*-'

'S?ii?~f-V J

Scotch-Irish stock of the wire-grass country has sp-|^|Slilgte"-^^| ag {

a number of Georgians eminent in the professionsff i--.^^!^-'.'..'. * .-.

in public life. Many descendai ts of the

tiers still live in Montgomery andA Trpeltrfai r

I

^

others are widely scattered over the State, and whej

found they nearly all preserve ihe race character^

and are an excellent, energetic, prosperous folk.

Besides these Scotch people a good many

leans from other parts of Georgia and from

I

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

371

Ilinas began about the year 1820 to move into the wire-

Igrass regions. They were invariably very poor people,

Iwho were attracted to this region by the great cheap-

fcess of the lands. They were crude and ignorant, but
!in native abilities, possibilities and modes of life were superior to the mountaineers of north Georgi.% already

fidescribed. They were very thinly scattered over large

lareas of country. They wrere cattle rangers and wood

dangers. They lived isolated and independent lives in

their rude homes, with which they were perfectly con-

fl|tent. Man y years afterwards their descendants re|sponded readily to the civilizing and refining influences

^ Ithat were introduced among them, and many of them
j> i
now well educated people and among the most sub-

j|stantial citizens of Georgia.

i This region of Georgia had its tragedies, as well

as its life of Arcadian simplicity. In the early part of

the nineteenth century, speculators bought up hundreds

thousands of acres of it at a very small price. They

fliad it laid off in lots, had an attractive and lying map .
j|nade of it, represented the lands as being exceedingly

ertile and abounding in oak and hickory timber, and

|lo beguiled many innocent persons in nearly all parts

f the United States into buying the lots at prices from

[en to fifty times as great as the speculators had paid

m

f:.

372

Georgia History Stories.

for them. Furthermore, it turned out that these

drels had purposely had thd lands falsely surveyed^tif- '

eluding in their map many thousands of acres tha't'l:^li'd; 1I no real existence. When the innocent victims caffie'?
'. 1 from nearly all parts of the Union to Georgia to claim ?

their property, they discovered that they had been out-

rageously and cruelly swindled. In many instances

they could not even find the parcels of land they had ;

bought, and those that were found proved to be prac

tically worthless. The cheated purchasers sold out for

a song, or abandoned their property and allowed it to

be sold by the State for tc.xes. This stupendous swin

dle is known in Georgia history as "The Pine Barren'?

Speculation."

v!

Again, about the yean 1830, a rich company of*

Maine lumbermen bought a vast tract of pine lands |

lying in Telfair and Dodge counties, with a view ;toj

converting the pine trees into lumber for ^shipment .'-to:

all parts of the world. They erected on the streams aj

number of big sawmills with groups of workmen's\

shanties near by. But the business proved u

and after two or three years was abandoned,

mills and shanties were left to rot down. The North-J e-fcn owners, * h owever, continu:/ed, f' rom year t''o y.':S.d''^"a&ISf toiS:|
pay taxes on their lands, ind thus kept good their,,t^ef

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

373

to them. But as the years went by, many "squatters" crept in and settled on these deserted lands; also a number-of designing scoundrels,--deliberate land thieves, --who took-possession of large tracts, laid them off in lots, covered them with bogus titles, and sold them out to innocent purchasers. After many years, nearly a decade after the Civil War, the Northern owners of this property, under the firm name of W. E. Dodge and Company, came to Georgia, showing per fect titles to the lands. They immediately proceeded to oust the intruders, as they had a perfect right to do. There were many lawsuits; but the courts de cided in favor of W. E. Dodge and Company, as un doubtedly they should have done. Then followed bloody and tragic times that made a mighty sensation throughout Georgia. The "squatters" and the innocent victims of the bogus titles had been living on these lands so long that they believed, or pretended to be lieve, that they really belonged to them, and they re fused to vacate. Conspiracies were formed against the agents of W. E. Dodge and Company, and several of them were assassinated in cold blood. The murderers were arrested and convicted. One of them was hanged and others were sent to the penitentiary for life. Of course, in the end all of the intruders were evicted 'IfN f ''''-

37-i

Georgia History Stories.

the arm of the law is stron }, and Dodge and Company came into full possession of their own.'
Down to the close of th ; War of Secession and for a number of years afterward: , this so-called "pine barren" region' of Georgia was \ ery sparsely inhabited, and mainly by very poor and ignorant people. You could ride from ten to twenty miles in many parts of it without passing a human habitation. By degrees, however, it was discoverel that mixed with the pine barrens there were many acres of fertile hummock lands, and that the barrens themselves were not so barren after all. Railroads penetrated the country, and a rapid and wonderful development followed. The great pine forests yielded in enormous output of lumber and naval stores (tar, pitch and turpentine), which made fortunes for many i len, and a substantial living for very many more. The litherto despised lands, under careful cultivation and fertiili zing, produced from year to year abundant crops of long staple cotton, Georgia cane syrup, tobacco and ea rly vegetables for the Northern markets. Thus within the past decade south Georgia has forged forwird more rapidly than any other, part of the State, and its population and wealth have increased enormously It is to-day in material prosperity one of the most flourishing parts of Georgia.

Georgia and Georgians in 1840.

375

The proud citizen of this region might say withotit great exaggeration: "This stone rejected of the builders has become the chief corner stone of the temple!"

INDEX.

Adams, President John Quincy, con troversy with Governor Troup, 271-280; attitude toward Cherokee Indians, 292.
Alexander, Samuel, murders Grierson, 155, 156.
Amelia Island, 45, 92. Andrews, Major T. P., investigates
charges against Indian Agent Crowell, 267, 268. Angus, Mr., British stamp officer for Georgia, 125, 126. Anne, the, Georgia emigrant ship, 11, 13, 14. Assassination of Cherokee Indian chiefs, 320. Augusta, city of, visited by Oglethorpe, 91; occupied and defended by Brown, the Tory, 148-150; siege and capture of by Americans, 160-163. Baird, Colonel James, 141, 142. Baldwin County, 336. Banks County, 339. Bartow County, 352. Beaufort (S. C), town of, 14. Bibb County, 340. Big Warrior, Creek Indian chief, 254, 255, 257. Block-houses, 327. Bloody Marsh, battle of, 104-106. Bolzius, . Rev. Martin, Salzburg pastor, 59, 65, 67, 69. Boudinot, Elias, Cherokee Indian chief, 289, 320. Bowles, William Augustus, 225-231. Boyd, Colonel, killed at battle of Kettle Creek, 158. Brewton Hill, Savannah, 138. Brown, Colonel Thomas, Tory lead er, career, 147-151; at siege of Augusta, 160-162.

Brown, Mrs., scene with Alexander

McGillivray, 221.

Bryan, Jonathan, 133.

Bull, Colonel William, 14, 15, 16,

19, 25.

Bulloch, Colonel Archibald, Presi

dent of Georgia, 132, 133.

Cameron, Captain, killed at Savan

nah, 139.

Campbell, Colonel Archibald, 137,

140, 141, 143, 145, 157, 158, 165.

Campbell, Duncan G., United States

Indian Treaty Commissioner, 260.

Caroline, Queen, receives Tomo-chi-

chi, 35; wears dress made of

Georgia silk, 67.

Castell, Robert, dies in Debtors'

Prison, 6.

Chappell, Absalom H., his "Miscel

lanies of Georgia," 233, 250.

Charter of the Georgia Colony, 8, 9.

Chattooga County, 352.

Cherokee Indians, general account

of, 285; relations with Colonial

Georgia, 285; in the Revolution,

286; civilization of, 288-291; po

litical claims, 292-294; contro

versy with State of Georgia, 294-

300; suits before United States

Supreme Court, 301-308; Treaty

of New Echota, 313, 314; expul

sion from Georgia, 316, 317; as

sassination of Treaty chiefs, 320.

(See also Treaties with Cherokee

Indians.)

.,-

Cherokee Country, the,/349,J56.

Cherokee County, 351.

Clarke, General Elijah, 148-150, 157-

164, 193, 196, 213.

Clarke, John, 159.

Cobb County, 351.

Colonial Congress of 1765, why

Adams, President John... Quincy, con

troversy with Governor Troup,

271-280; attitude toward Cherokee

Indians, 292.

.Alexander, Samuel, murders Grier-

son, 155, 156.

Amelia Island, 45, 92.

Andrews, Major T. P., investigates

charges against Indian Agent

Crowell, 267, 268.

-~

Angus, Mr., British stamp officer for

Georgia, 125, 126.

Anne, the, Georgia emigrant ship, 11,

13, 14.

Assassination of Cherokee Indian

chiefs, 320.

Augusta, city of, visited by Ogle-

thorpe, 91; occupied and defended

. by Brown, the Tory, 148-150;

siege and capture of by Americans,

160-163.

Baird, Colonel James, 141, 142.

Baldwin County, 336.

Banks County, 339.

Bartow County, 352.

Beaufort (S. C.), town of, 14.

Bibb County, 340.

Big Warrior, Creek Indian chief,

254, 255, 257.

Block-houses, 32.7.

Bloody Marsh, battle of, 104-106.

Bolzius, . Rev. Martin, Salzburg

pastor, 59, 65, 67, 69... ,

Boudinot, Elias, - Cherokee . Indian

' chief, 289, 320. '<$/*$'* .

Bowles, William Augustus, 225-231.

Boydi Colonel, killed at.;,battle of

Settle Creek, 158. .

Brewton Hill, Savannah*i 138.

Brown, Colonel Thomas, Tory lead

er, career, 147-151 ^^t^siege of

Brown, Mrs., scene with Alexander McGillivray, 221.
Bryan, Jonathan, 133. Bull, Colonel William, 14, 15, 16,
19, 25. Bulloch, Colonel Archibald, Presi
dent of Georgia, 132, 133. Cameron, Captain, killed at Savan
nah, 139. Campbell, Colonel Archibald, 137,^
140, 141, 143, 145, 157, 158, 165. Campbell, Duncan G., United States
Indian Treaty Commissioner, 260. Caroline, Queen, receives Tomo-chi-
chi, 35; wears dress made of Georgia silk, 67. Castell, Robert, dies in Debtors' Prison, 6. Chappell, Absalom H., his "Miscel lanies of Georgia," 233, 250. Charter of the Georgia Colony, 8, 9. Chattooga County, 352. Cherokee Indians, general account of, 285; relations with Colonial Georgia, 285; in the Revolution, 286; civilization of, 288-291; po litical claims, 292-294; contro versy with State of Georgia, 294300; suits before United States Supreme Court, 301-308; Treaty of New Echota, 313, 314; expul sion from Georgia, 316, 317; as sassination of Treaty chiefs, 320.. (See also Treaties with Cheroke0/, r-fl^^^
Cherokee Country, the,^^9^^^j5. eherokee-'CountyT"^!. r~~-~-*'
Clarke, General-Elijah, 148-150, 157164, 193, 196, 213.
Clarke, John, 159., Cobb County, 351. : ,_^.

378

In de-x.

f

Georgia not represented at, 121; protest against the Stamp Act, 121. Colonial Dames of Georgia, erect monument to Tomo-chi-chi, 52; restore old Fort Frederica, 85; project monument to Oglethorpe, 118; erect monument on site of old Fort Augusta* 103. Colonists, Georgia, character of, 112,
113. Columbus, city of, 90, 348. Condition of Georgia at close of
Revolutionary War, 322-324. Cornwallis, Fort, 161. Cotton, beginning of the cultivation
of in Georgia, 339; becomes "King," 341; wealth and civiliza tion produced by, 358; princely planters and management of plan tations, 359-361. Coweta County, 89, 90, 347. Coweta Town, great council of Creek Nation held at, attended by Oglethorpe, 89, 90; great council of Creek Nation held at, attended by Alexander McGillivray, 208. jCreek Indians, 27-33, 88, 93, 208234, 251-281. (See also Treaties with Creek Indians.') ~ Crowell, John, United States agent to Creek Indians, 258, 260, 267, 268, 272. .Cumberland, Duke of, his present to Toonahowi, 39. Cumberland 'Island, 44, 82. Curry, James, the traitor, 179, ISO. Darien, town of, settled by Scotch Highlanders, 76. Daughters of the American Revolu tion, obtain copy of Georgia Col onial seal from London, 11; mark spot where Oglethorpe crossed Chattahooche River on way. to Coweta Town, 90; project monu ment to Oglethorpe, 117; erect marble memorial fountain at Jasper Spring, 189; purchase Nancy Hart place in Elbert
County, 203.

Debtors' prisons in England, 5, 6.

Dodge County, 336, 369, 372.

Dolly, Quash, negro guide to Brit

ish army at capture of Savannah,

137-141.

Dooly, Colonel John, 158, 197-202.

Ebenezer, Old, settled by Salzburg-

ers, 62-64; abandoned, 65.

Ebenezer, New, settled by Salz-

burgers, 65, 66; during Revolu

tionary War, 71, 72; decay of, 72.

Elbert, Colonel Samuel, 133, 137,

338, 143.

Elbert County, 154, 159, 192, 202.

Emanuel County, 332, 309.

Estaing, Count d', at siege of Sa

vannah, 173-1S3.

Eugene of Savoy, Prince, Oglethorpe

serves under, 4, 5.

Extinguishing of Indian land titles,

251, 252, 256, 261.

Florida, 8, 45, 74, 225.

Floyd County, 352.

Forsyth County, 351.

Franklin County, 326, 329, 351.

Frederica, town of, founded by

Oglethorpe, 81, 82; progress and

decay, 81-85; the "Thermopylae of

Georgia," why so called, 101, 102.

'Frederica, Fort, built by Oglethorpe,

82; ruins of, 85; in Spanish War,

102.

French, espouse American cause,

173; army at siege of Savannah,

174-183.

Gaines, General Edmund P., investi

gation of Creek Indian affairs and

controversy with Governor Troup,

269-271.

Gascoigne's Bluff; in Spanish War,

102.

George II., 8, 9, 34, 120.

George III., 122, 13}.

Gilmer, Governor, 296, 297, 299, 302V

304.

_



Girardeau's plantation, landing of

British at, 137, 140.

Gold region, the, in Georgia, 298,

299, 349, 350.

Index.

379;

G'reene County, 329. Greene, General Nathaniel, 238. Grierson, Colonel, Tory leader, 155,
156. Grierson, Fort, 155. Gronau, Rev. Israel, Salzburg pastor,
59, 65, ,67, 69. Gunn, James, connection i\vith the
"Yazoo Fraud," 237-240; death, 247. Gwinnett, Button, 133. Habersham, Joseph, 133. Hall County, 351. Hall, Lyman, 133, 210. Hancock County, 210, 247, 329. Harris County, 347. Harris, Joel Chandler, his "Stories of Georgia," _203gJL15, 238. Hart County, 203. Hart, Benjamin, American Partisan captain, 192, 197, 201, 202. Hart, Nancy, 192-203. Haslan, William, British deserter, 135. "Head Right." land title, 327. Henry, Patrick, speech against Stamp Act, 120. Highlanders, Scotch, in Georgia, 43, 74-78, 80, 92, 95, 96, 103, 113, 139. Houston County, 340. Houston, George, 133. Howc, General Robert, 137, 138. Huger, Colonel, 137, 178. Indian affairs in Georgia in 1823, 251-255. Indian Spring Treaty, 257-261. . Jackson County, 351. Jackson, President Andrew, dealings with Cherokee Indian case, 307, 309, 310, 313. Jackson, James, in the Revolution, 164-172; fight against the Yazoo Fraud, 244-248. Jasper, Sergeant, in the Revolution, 185-190; monument, 191. Jekyl Island, 43. Je'rusalem Church of the Salzburgers, 70-72. Jones, C. C., his "History of Geor

gia," 84/ 107, 133.

Jones County, 336, 340.

Jones, Noble, 133.

Land-claim tragedy, 372, 373.

"Land Lottery," 334, 335, 340.

Laurens County, 282, 336.

Lee, "Light Horse Harry," 160, 166,

167, 168.

Lembke, Rev., Salzburg pastor, 69.

Leopold, Archbishop, persecution of

the Salzburgers, 55, 56.

Lexington, Battle of, 131.

Liberty Boys, the, 122, 125, 127.

Lincoln, General, 167, 168, 174, 175,

178, 183.

Little Prince, Creek Indian 0 Chief,

254, 255, 257.

Loyalists (see Tories),

Lumpkin, Governor Wilson, 308.

Lynah, Dr. James., 182.

McCall, Colonel, American officer,

160.

McGillivray, Alexander, parentage,

205; education, 206, 207; made

chief of the Tribe of the Wind,

207; becomes Supreme Chief of

the Creek Nation, 208; in the

Revolution, 208-210; connection

with Oconee War, 210-225; op

posed by William Augustus

Bowles, 230"; character, 231-233;

death and burial, 234.

McGillivray, Lachlan, father of

Alexander McGillivray, 204-207,

209.

McGirth, Colonel Daniel, Tory lead

er, 154, 155.

Mclntosh, Chilly, 262, 264, 265.

Mclntosh, Lachlan, 133.

Mclntosh, William, parentage and

character, 253, 254; speech at

Broken Arrow, 2D5; leader at In

dian Spring Treaty, 257; murder

of, 263-265. .

. .,

Mackay, Captain, Highland leader,

77, 104, 105.

-

Macon County, 341.

Madison County, 329, 351.

Maitland, British officer, 174.

380'

Index.

Marshall, Chief Justice, decisions in Cherokee Indian cases, 302, 306.
Mathews, Governor George,'connec tion with Yazoo Frauds 242, 247.
Mayham tower, at siege of Augusta, 161-163.
Milledge, John, 166. Meriwether County, 347. Meriwether, J., United States In
dian Treaty Commissioner, 257. Money-making period in Georgia,
342, 343. Monroe County, 340. Monroe, President James, 256, 257,
292.
Monteano, General Manuel, in Span ish War, 94, 107.
Montgomery County, 329, 336, 369. Moosa, Fort, in Spanish War, 95,
96.
Morgan County, 336. Mountaineers, Georgia, 353-356. Muscogee County, 17, 23. Musgrove Creek, Savannah, 143, 178. Musgrove, Mary, 17, 23. Negroes, great increase of in Geor
gia, 342; treatment of by whites, 359, 360; feeling between master and slaves, 361; superiority of cot ton-belt negroes, 361, 362; benefi cence of Southern slavery, 362, 363, 367; rice plantation negroes, 366, 367. New Inverness (see Darien). North Carolina emigrants to Georgia, 328, 329, 331, 336. / Oconee War, the, 213-224, 327, 328. Oglethorpe, James, parentage, edu cation, and early career, 1-5; prison reform measures, 6-8; Georgia Colony enterprise, 8-12; conference with Governor John-. . son of South Carolina, 13, 14; ; /finding a location for colony, 15, 16; first meeting with Tomo-chichi, 17; reception of Yamacraw visitors, 21-24; treaty with Lower .Creek Indians, 30-33; visit to Engfand, 34; expedition down Georgia

coast, 40-49;
turgers, 62-65;; slides Darieri'wM^ 1 Scotch Highlanders, 74-77;..settles Frederica, 79-83; builds ^'forta down Georgia coast, 82; '^jcpeditkon to Coweta Town, 90, "01; j n> / Spanish War, 92-108 j^takef^lfinal"" iave of Georgia^ 109; closings ][ears of life, 114-117.' . Ogjethorpe County,'58, 163, 246, 329. Palmer, Colonel, in Spanish War, 95, 96.
Pafiton, William, Scotch merchant, 234.
Patriots, 128, 145, 146, 157, 194. Pe -ceval, Lord, 10. Pickens, Colonel Andrew, 158. Pine Barrens, 332, 345, 369. "Pine Barren Speculation," the, 371

Pi ly Woods Folk, 333, 346; 349,

63, 364.

Pi t, William, Earl of Chatham, 128,

29.

Population of Georgia in 17S3, 1790,

L800, 333; 1840, 353.

Prevost, General, at siege, of Sa

Irannah, 174-177.

'.vi

Products, early agricultural1' in

Georgia, 332.

Pulaski, Count, career, 175; at siege

pf Savannah, 180; death of, 184;

monument to, 184.

Pxilaski County, 336.

Piltnam County, 336, 340.

Rdbenhorst, Salzburg pastor, 68.

Religious revivals, 338.

Rice planters of Georgia, 365-369.

Richards, Major, 43, 48.

Ridge, John, Cherokee Indian Chief,: -

289, 311, 320.

^ ;.-,_

R dge, Major, Cherokee Indian

Chief, 289, 311^;,.,,^^^^.,

R >ss, John, Cherokee Indianf iief>rf^i ;

289, 301, 311, 3;&/ .-' ":^^!^p' ':

Rsyalists (see Tories).

: '""

R m trade, prohibition of by ";Ogle-

in, 112. -. -. . -^m thorpe. and trustees, reason's; forj -' "*Nj SZf?sl

Index.

381

St. Augustine, siege of by Oglethorpe, 94-98.
St. Simons, Fort, built by Oglethorpe, 98; battle of, 101, 102.
St. Simons Island, 41, 79-82, 98, 99. Salzburgers, th> persecution in
Austria, 53-57; emigration to Georgia, 58-60; settlement and life in Georgia, 61-72; descendants, 73; compared with the .Highlanders, 75; lack of enterprise, 113. Savannah, founding of, 21-25; cap' ture of by British, 133-144; siege of by Americans, 173-183. Schermerhorn, Mr., United States Indian Treaty Commissioner, 313. Schools, Old Field, 338. Scotch-Irish in Georgia, 253, 288, 329, 369-370. Scott, General Winfield, in Cherokee Indian case, 317. Sea-coast region, 364-369. Seal, Georgia Colonial, 10, 11. -- Sehoy, Indian mother of Alexander McGilHvray, 205, 207, 234. Senawki, wife of Tomo-chi-chi, 17, 33, 35, 40, 50. Silk culture in Georgia, 67. Slavery, prohibition of in Georgia by Oglethorpe and trustees, rea son for. 111, 112. Smith, Captain John, at capture of Savannah, 139. Sons of Liberty, 122, 126. South Carolina, 13, 14, 17, 25, 88, 92, 93, 98, 99, 108, 159, 166. Spain and Spaniards, 8, 14, 42, 45, 48, 72,.77, 87-108, 212, 223, 225, 230. Speedwell, the, Georgia stamp ship, 124.
Stamp Act in Georgia, 120-130. States' Rights, 224, 270-281. Stevens, Rev. W. B., his "History
of Georgia," 84, 133. Talbot County, 347. 'Tallassee Country, the, 214, 222, 344. Tassel, George, Cherokee Indian
hanged for murder, 296, 297.

Tattnall County, 332, 369. Telfair County, 336, 372. Thunderbolt Road, Savannah, lines
of battle across, 138, 139. Tomo-chi-chi, first meeting with
Oglethorpe, 17; visit and speech to Oglethorpe, 21-24; ""character, aid ' to Oglethorpe in founding Georgia, 27-49; death and burial, 50-52; monument, 52, 53; un selfish patriotism, 110. Toonahowi, adopted son of Tomochi-chi, 17, 33, 39, 44, 48, 106, 107. Tories (Loyalists, Royalists), 128, 132, 140, 145-149, 157-171, 194202, 324.
Treaty, with Cherokee Indians, of Augusta, 210; of 1819, 287; of New Echota, 313. 314.
Treaty, with Creek Indians, of Sa vannah, 30; of Augusta, 210; of G'alphinton, 214; of Shoulderbone Creek, 215; of New York, 222, 223; of Coleraine, 225; of 18021804, 333; of 1821, 340; of Fort Jackson, 344; of Indian Spring, 258.
Triebner, Rev. Christopher, Salzburg pastor, 70, 71.
Troup County, 347. Troup, Governor George M., 225-284. Trustees of Georgia, 9-11, 57, 110,
111. T \viggs County, 336. Twiggs, General John, 172. Tybee Island, 15, 135. University of Georgia, founding of,
338. Up-country folk, 355-356. Van Buren, President, in Cherokee
case, 316. Vinton, Lieutenant J. R., 277. Virginia emigrants to Georgia, 328-
331, 339. Von Rek, Baron, leader of Salz
burg emigrants, 61, 62, 64. Walton; Colonel George, 133, 137,
138.

/nd

Washington - County, 326, 329. Washington, President George, 218, - 222, 225, 236. Watkins, George, 242. Wayne, General Anthony, 171. Weekachumpa, Creek Indian chief, ' 31. Wereat, John, 164. Wesley, Rev. Charles, 83. Wesley, Rev. John, meetings with
Tomo-chi-chi, 40; as Indian mis sionary, 41; last visit to Tomochi-chi, 50. West Point, town of, 235, 275, 276. White House, Augusta, used as a fort by Brown, the Tory, 149, 150. Whitfield, Rev. George, 50. Whitney, Eli, invents the cotton gin, 338. Wilkes County, 157, 158, 159. Wilkinson County, 336. William, Fort, 98, 99. Wilson, Judge Henry, connection with Yazoo Fraud, 239, 240.

rorcestef, 'Rev. Samuel A., connt| tion with the Cherokee Indiai case, 304-308. 'right, James, Royal Governor of Georgia, loyalty to English Gov: rnment, 120; tries to get Geo&> gians to submit to Stamp Act^t 121-128; character, 129, 13tfS flight to England, 131; return to?" Georgia, 146. amacraw Indian tribe, 16, 27, 28
53, 106. azoo Fraud, the, the Yazoo coun try, 235; land speculators, 236; the Yazooists and their corrupt methods, 237-241; passage of the Yazoo Act, 241, 242; sale of lands by the speculators, 243; James Jackson's fight againet the Yazoo Act, 244, 245; popular in dignation against Yazooists, 246, 247; repeal of the Yazoo Act, 248; public burnings of the Yazoo records, 249; settlement of the Yazoo claims, 250.

10