- Collection:
- Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842
- Title:
- [Letter] 1842 Mar. 28, Jeffersonton, [Camden County], G[eorgi]a to Charles J. McDonald, [Governor of Georgia], Milledgeville, Georgia
- Date of Original:
- 1842-03-28
- Subject:
- Okefenokee Swamp (Ga. and Fla.)
Georgia. Militia
Seminole Indians--Claims against
Military offenses
Seminole War, 2nd, 1835-1842 - Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- reports
military records - Type:
- Text
- Format:
- text/html
image/jpeg - Description:
- On March 28, 1842, a citizen of Georgia who wishes to remain anonymous writes to Georgia Governor Charles J. McDonald (1839-1843), informing him that reports of unnamed Indian (ostensibly Seminole) activity in the area of the Okefenokee Swamp are false. He states that "there have been no grounds for believing that a solitary Indian has been in the swamp [...] they fled to Florida and have not been back since," and furthermore, he adds that local militia troops are committing depredations in order to keep up Indian alarms. Particularly in the vicinity of Trader's Hill (Charlton County, Georgia), this citizen contends that soldiers, eager to remain on the government dole, have perpetrated criminal acts, including murder. During such episodes of mischief, they dress themselves as Indians to create the illusion of a continual Indian threat.
Digital image and encoded transcription of an original manuscript, scanned, transcribed and encoded by the Digital Library of Georgia in 2001, as part of GALILEO, funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. - Local Identifier:
- tcc646
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_tcc646
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_tcc646#item
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_zlna_tcc646/presentation/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- Cite as: [title of item], Telamon Cuyler, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries, presented in the Digital Library of Georgia
- Extent:
- 4 pages/leaves
- Original Collection:
- Manuscript held by the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries, Telamon Cuyler, box 52, folder 08, document 06.
- Holding Institution:
- Hargrett Library
- Rights:
-
Page: [1]
March 28th 1842
My Dr [Dear] Sir-
The perusal of several letters of yours in the Federal Union which had been addressed to the Adjutant General of the U States Army has given me much pain, being fully aware that you have been greatly imposed on - and indeed it must need be so, for how can you or any other officer so far removed know the true state of things here -- From the first day the Indians entered the Oakafanokie to the present moment I have been acquainted with the principle events that have transpired, and [added text: to ] many an eye witness, I am also well acquainted with the manoevouring [maneuvering], the deception and the amasing [amazing] wickedness practised [practiced] in the neighbourhood [neighborhood] of that great swamp- I now tell you as an honest man that there have been No ground for believing that a Solitary Indian has been in the Swamp since the time the Fort was burnt more than one year ago, at that time I raised a company and was the first in persuit [pursuit] of the Indians, they fled to Florida and have not been back since -- I know that report after report has been forwarded to you
Page: [2]
and you were compeled [compelled] to give them some attention, especially so if those reports had appended to them certain names of gentlemen residing in this quarter, such men should be very cautious how they sanction such movements for they cannot tell to what results they may lead as the present state of things do show.
I assure you that the US. Troops have done all that they could do and all that was necessary to be done, the swamp had been scoured, the forts garrisoned and the most important points guarded. But the trouble lies here, there are in the neighbourhood [neighborhood] of Traders Hill and the swamp a host of as lazy vagabonds as ever disgraced any country, they will not work, Uncle Sam fed them several years and they are determined he shall feed them during the War, by the present arrangement of the War department they are thrown out of employment and they are employing every artifice to bring back the old state of things, to effect which they, as its fully believed kill the neighbours [neighbors] cattle and give credit to the US Troops, in a scrape of this sort [unclear text: young ] Cone was killed, out of which they made all the capital they could, but any man might calculate on Death to invade troops within their lines as Cone did and he
Page: [3]
armed with a rifle, I do lament the death of Cone but he came to the end long predicted by his friends. They threatened to rise enmass [en masse] and kill every man at Traders [added text: Hill ] and indeed their [there] are strong suspicions that two soldiers have lately been shot by them, in order to keep alive the excitement and alarm of Indians they kill deer and dress them in the swamp after the Indian fashion and the same time taking care to wear the macasin [moccasin], the late murder of an old woman it is believed was done by white men, a murder was commited [committed] about a year ago in Florida near the St Marys river, An officer was immediately dispatched with his command in persuit [pursuit], his report was that he followed the trail 60 mile over [unclear text: Open ] sandy land and left the trail almost in sight of Jacksonville, he stated that had he gone into Jacksonville he would have found the Indians in disguise [added text: or rather white men ] all this was done to keep up Indian alarms -- the wretched men kill [illegible text] work and to get up Volunteer Companies again they will even do murder, believe them not, for a more wicked party of them were never congregated than those about the Oakafanokee and certain
Page: [4]
Political men here, are I fear two [too] willing to countenance their reports to you -- their reports are possitively [positively] untrue, and knowing them to be so has induced me to [illegible text] you a few lines on the subject. I withhold my name, feeling no desire to be before the public in any way --
JEFFERSONTON Ga
APR 5
A postmark stamp appears on the page.
18 [illegible text]
To His Excellency Charles J. McDonald Milledgeville Georgia
Florida [unclear text: War ]
1842