USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 3
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 3
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
-
33
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
her father. She was delivered of a boy, who received the CHAPTER name of Alexander, and who, when grown to manhood, XVII. 3 wielded a pen which commanded the admiration and respect of Washington and his cabinet, and which influenced the policy of all Spanish Florida.
Lachlan McGillivray, assisted by his alliance with the most influential family in the Creek nation, continued to extend his commerce. He became wealthy, and owned two plantations, well stocked with negroes, upon the Savannah, besides stores filled with Indian merchandize, in the towns of Savannah and Augusta. When his son, Alexander, was fourteen years of age, he carried him to Charleston, by the consent of his wife, for we have seen that, among the Creeks particularly, the children always belonged to the mother. He was placed at school in that town, and, after a few years, was transferred to a counting-house at Savannah. But Alexander had a distaste for business, and, while the other clerks were delving among the goods, and squabbling with the pack-horse traders, he was accustomed to steal to some corner, and there pore over the histories of European nations. Having an inordinate thirst after knowledge, his father, through the advice of his friends, again carried him to Charleston, and placed him with a clergyman of his name, with whom, in a short time, he mastered the Greek and Latin tongues, and became a good belles lettres scholar. But Alexander was now a man. He had a thousand times thought, and dreamed, of his bow and arrows, his blow-gun, his mother's house, by the side of the clear and beautiful Coosa, in which he used to fish and bathe
-
34
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER with the Indian lads of his own age-of the old warriors, who XVII. had so often recounted to him the deeds of his ancestors-of the bright eyes of his two lovely sisters, Sophia and Jeannet- yes, he remembered all these, and, one day, he turned his back upon civilization, and his horse's head towards his native land.
About this time, the Chiefs of the Creek nation were get- ting into much trouble with the people of Georgia, and with anxiety they had awaited the time when Alexander McGilli- vray could, by his descent from the Wind family, assume the affairs of their government. His arrival now was most op- portune, and the first we hear of him, after he had so sud- denly left Charleston, he was presiding at a grand national council, at the town of Coweta, upon the Chattahoochie, where the adventurous Leclerc Milfort was introduced to him, as we have seen. He was, at this time, about thirty years of age. He was then in great power, for he had already become an object of attention, on the part of the British authorities of the Floridas. When Col. Tait was stationed upon the Coosa, they conferred upon Alexander McGillivray the rank and pay of a colonel, and associated him with Tait, for the purpose of procuring, through them, the alliance of the Creek nation, in the war of the revolution. MeGillivray, through- out the whole war, was devoted to their interests, and it was natural that he should have pursued that course, towards those who first honored him ; besides, his father, a man of great influence, was also a royalist.
Col. McGillivray was tall, rather slender, and of a consti-
1776 May 1778
لحم
-
35
1742332
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
tution by no means robust. To be a leader in war was not his forte, and was unsuited to his tastes and habits. His great power lay in diplomacy, and in the controlling of men, as the reader will often see, in perusing this history at a later date. In 1778, he carried on an extensive correspondence with the British colonial governments of Florida, and also with that of the province of Georgia, and was indefatigable in co-operatingwith Tait, in confederating the Indians against the whigs. During the war, he led, in person, several expe- ditions, with that officer; but his chief reliance was upon Leclerc Milfort, a man at once bold, daring, enthusiastic, pos- sessed of an iron constitution, and every way qualified to lead Indians into battle. He often did so, while Col. McGillivray remained at home, controlling the arbitrary Chiefs, and com- pelling them to raise warriors for his King. All the while, McGillivray was not unmindful of the aggrandizement of himself and his nation, for it must be borne in mind that the blood which coursed his veins was Scotch, French and Indian. During the desperate struggle for human liberty, he acted in concert with many royalists, who had fled to East . Florida, among the most conspicuous of whom were Colonel Daniel MeGirth, and his brother, Captain James McGirth. They were bad men, but were brave and enterprising, and well suited to the times. Colonel MeGirth commanded the " Florida Rangers," whose sudden and sanguinary attacks the whigs of Georgia often severely felt. Leaving Colo- nel McGillivray, with his red army and white allies, en- gaged in expeditions most harassing to the Georgians, on
CHAPTER XVII.
1778
36
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER XVII.
1778
March 7
their western frontier, we hasten to portray the exciting scenes about Natchez .*
Here, also, the revolution began to be felt. James Willing, of Philadelphia, with a small body of American soldiers, arrived at Natchez, by way of the Ohio. The ports upon that river, and the Upper Mississippi, had fallen into the hands of the Ameri- cans, and had been supplied, for more than a year, by shipments from New-Orleans, in consequence of a private arrangement between Don Galvez and Oliver Pollock, the American agent at New-Orleans. Willing was now sent to further that end, and he was supplied with blank commissions, and authorized to recruit for the American service. Knowing that the in- habitants of this part of West Florida were loyal subjects of Britain, to allay their opposition to his schemes, he first sought to place them in a neutral position. A man of inge- nuity and address, he made speeches, eloquently depicting the justice of our cause, and the certainty of final success, and asserted that five thousand troops were then on their way to . protect these inhabitants from the aggressions of the British government. He generally prevailed on them to take an oath of strict neutrality. Also enlisting a hundred men, . whose officers he commissioned, he continued his voyage to
-
* MS. in my possession. Also information derived from conversa- tions with the intelligent niece and nephew of Col. McGillivray, still living ; also with old Indian traders, who knew him in those times. See also Milfort's " Sejour dans la Nation Creek," and McCall's His- tory of Georgia.
37
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
Manchac, and was equally successful there. By stratagem, CHAPTER he made himself master of an English armed ship, which he XVII. conveyed to New-Orleans, sold to the Spaniards, and wasted the avails in debauchery. With two subalterns, and forty of his original party, he returned to Manchac, plundered the plantations, without distinction, and rioted upon the booty. In the meantime, the Natchez people, hearing of these out- rages, forme ! a large armed association, for their protection, and stationed themselves about the mouth of St. Catharine, not far below Natchez, to prevent the ascent of Captain Willing. He was presently seen to approach, but turned his boats to the 1778 opposite side of the Mississippi. Through the effects of a flag, and upon his professions of friendship, and assurances that he intended no injury to this section of the country, he received permission from the "settlers " to come over to them, across the river. After some consultation, he despatched Lieutenant Harrison, with a command, in a boat. In the meantime, the "associated settlers," reposing confidence in the promises of Willing, had abandoned their defensive posi- tions, and now sat and lay upon the banks, at their ease. When the boat approached near enough, the gunner, by the orders of Lieutenant Harrison, fired a swivel upon the settlers, by which many were wounded. The latter instantly rose up, in great confusion, returned the fire with their guns, riddled the boat, and killed Lieutenant Harrison and seven of his men. The others came ashore, and surrendered. Willing, with his remaining banditti, fled to Manchac, sailed over to the Tensaw settlements, above ,Mobile, and endeavored, in
38
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER vain, to enlist those people in his cause. He was eventually XVII. made a prisoner of war, and kept in the British camp, in chains, and was not released until the close of 1779."
The inhabitants now considered themselves absolved from their oath of neutrality, by the baseness of Captain Willing, and they all swore to defend the government of the King. They elected officers, repaired old Fort Panmure, and occupied it with a regular garrison. They also marched, in April, to the relief of the people in the neighborhood of Manchac, from which place Willing had already fled. Thus, by the indis- cretions and outrages of the first American command sent here, our glorious cause was materially injured .*
778
Fort Panmure, at the Natchez, in a short time, received as a commander, Michael Jackson, a native of New-England, an abandoned horse-thief, who had been driven from the borders of civilization. During the whole of the fall and winter, this man, now a captain in the British service, produced great
* Memoirs and Adventures ot Phelps, pp. 107-120. This author was one of the " associated settlers," and appears to have been a con- scientious and truthful man. He is sustained by Judge Martin, in his History of Louisiana, vol. 2, pp. 42-3, in regard to the outrages of Willing. It is, however, due to the descendants of that officer, to ob- serve, that Monette, in his History of the Valley of the Mississippi, represents him as a brave and honorable man, and severely censures . the " associated settlers " for the perfidy which they displayed in the fire upon Harrison and his command. I, however, after a careful and dispassionate examination, believe the statement of Phelps. See Mo- nette, vol. 1, pp. 434-6. Monette quotes Ellicott's Journal, pp. 131-2.
-
39
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
dissatisfaction, by his oppressions and extortions. Colonel CHAPTER Hutchens, an influential citizen of Natchez, put himself at the XVII. head of the malcontents, arrested and confined Jackson, and placed Captain Thaddeus Lyman in command. On promising 1778 to leave the country, he was released ; but, the first night after his dismission from the fort, he was joined by thirty deserters, who were as abandoned as himself. Jackson now stationed himself " under the hill," where he seized some military stores and artillery. Sending runners to the Choc- taws, they returned with a considerable force of these savages. Jackson now exultingly fired his artillery upon the fort ; but his Indian allies, seeing the British flag flying from the ram- parts, and learning the nature of the dispute, refused to be made the instruments of the rascal, and retired peaceably to their homes. Seeing himself abandoned, Captain Jackson requested a parley, which was agreed to, and he was suffered, with his men, to enter the fort, and there peaceably to remain, until the whole affair should undergo an investigation. Here he soon raised a mutiny, and, one night, caused the drums suddenly to beat to arms, and, seizing Captain Lyman, placed him in close confinement. His tyranny caused many to desert, who were pursued by a detachment, under Lieutenant Pentacost. An engagement took place, when Pentacost was killed, and the deserters made their escape to the Spanish garrison, at Manchac, across the Iberville. Again Jackson was overthrown, and forced to retire; but, before doing so, he robbed the fort of all the valuables which he could transport .*
* Phelps, pp. 121-197.
40
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER In this manner, the royalists were divided, and in the midst XVII. of their dissensions, a large number of whigs were scattered , about the country, anxiously awaiting the time when they . should be joined by aid from a distance, under Colonel Clark, · of Virginia.
Although Spain had long experienced evasions of her revenue laws, on the part of the British, and had been com- pelled to establish a fort at Manchac, to prevent them, never- 1779 theless she had, up to this period, maintained a neutrality in the war waging between England and the United American Colonies. But France had not been an indifferent spectator, and the leaning of that power towards us brought about a collision with arbitrary John Bull. Spain interposed her friendly efforts to effect a reconciliation ; but the canine pro- pensities of England were aroused, and that ungenerous government declared war against Spain, as well as France. His Catholic Majesty, fired at the ruthless manner in which he had been treated, for a friendly act, now resolved to dis- possess England of every foot of land in the Floridas. Ac- cording to his directions, Don Galvez, the governor of his September 1 province of Louisiana, stood before Fort Bute, at Manchac, with a force of fourteen hundred men. After a resistance of five days, it was carried by storm, and utterly demolished. Reinforced by a number of militia, including American pa- triots, Galvez marched up and invested Baton Rouge. After a severe cannonade, of two hours and a half, Colonel Dickson, the British commander, surrendered the fort, and a garrison of four hundred regulars and one hundred militia. Fort
-
41
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
Panmure, at the Natchez, a small fort and garrison on the CHAPTER XVII.
Amite, and another, at Thompson's Creek, were also surren- dered, at the same time.
Leaving Don Grandpre in command, at Baton Rouge, and, sending Spanish detachments to the other forts, which had already yielded to his arms, Galvez returned to New-Orleans, and there began extensive preparations for the reduction of Mobile. Ser encountering a terrible storm, which came near destroying his transports and stores, he landed his ar- my a little below Mobile, early in March, 1780. Fort Char- lotte refused to surrender, and Galvez planted his six bat- teries. A severe cannonade opened a breach in the fort, when the British officer capitulated, by the surrender of Mobile, and all its dependencies, extending from the Perdido to the Pearl river. Thus, the Spaniards were now in possession of all West Florida, except Pensacola, and the country as far as the Chattahoochie. Knowing the great strength of Pen- sacola, ,Galvez determined to be well prepared for a siege. He put in requisition all his disposable regular forces and militia, both of Louisiana and of the country which he had conquered, and, in the meantime, sailed to Havana, to obtain more troops and heavier artillery. With a large number of well-equipped troops, and an abundance of stores and ord- nance, he entered the bay of Pensacola with his fleet, while his Louisiana and Mobile forces marched across the country, from the mouth of the Perdido. Being invested, both by sea and by land, General Campbell, after a vigorous defence, in which he was assisted by the Creek Indians, finally surren- VOL. II. 3
-.
1780 March 14
. JE
42
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER XVII. 1781 May 9
dered. The Creeks, on this occasion, were commanded by William Augustus Bowles, an interesting person, who will figure in our narrative hereafter.
The town of Pensacola, the fortress and seaport, with eight hundred men, as prisoners of war, and the whole of West Florida, thus fell into the hands of the King of Spain. The victorious Galvez received many honors for his brilliant ser- vices .*
* Spanish MS. .
-
43
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER XVIII.
EXTREME PERILS AND SUFFERINGS OF THE NATCHEZ REFUGEES.
DURING the siege of Pensacola, a series of events, of an CHAPTER interesting and romantic character, began at Natchez, and XVIII. afterwards ended, with unparalleled suffering's, in the vast Indian wilderness, which extended from thence to the Ogechee river, in the distant province of Georgia. Some citizens of the Natchez district, the most prominent of whom were Philip Alston, Colonel Hutchens, John Alston, Captain 1781 Thaddeus Lyman, Thompson Lyman, Jacob Blomont, and Jacob. Winfrey, put themselves at the head of a large party of royalists, for the purpose of seizing Fort Panmure, and expelling +herefrom the Spanish troops, who had held it since September, 1780. They had learned that a powerful British fleet was off the Florida coast, whose object was the re-occu- pation of this country, and, believing that Don Galvez had already been defeated, at Pensacola, they resolved immediate- ly to anticipate what they sur : sed would be the desire of their King. Having assembled a large body of Choctaws, the insurgents assumed a position upon an eminence, above April 23 the town of Natchez, in full view of the fort. At night they
وطره
44
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER advanced, and planted their artillery so as to bear upon the XVIII. works; but, when day approached, the Spanish cannonade compelled them to retire. During the succeeding twenty-four hours, the firing continued between the parties. The com- 1781 April 29 mandant sent a flag to Colonel Hutchens, representing the danger of rebellion, and promising the clemency of his go- vernment, if the people would disperse, after they should have surrendered the ring-leaders. An answer was promised, to be returned the next day. During the interval, the mal- April contents arrested a man, bearing a despatch to the Spanish commandant. It was from Captain McIntosh, a warm friend of the Spaniards, who lived in the neighborhood, and who wrote, entreating the commandant to hold out a little while longer, when he would be supported by friends from the country. His letter was destroyed, and another substituted, written by one who could imitate the autograph of McIntosh. It was conveyed to the Spanish commandant, and disclosed the astounding news, that the insurgents, by means of a deep ravine, which was at the base of the fort, had formed a cavern, leading directly under the fort, in which a vast quantity of powder had been placed, ready to be exploded by a train ; that the people of the country were flocking to the standard of the enemy, and he, consequently, suggested an honorable surrender. Not suspecting the fraud, the Spanish command- ant, in his confusion and alarm, surrendered the fort, and marched his garrison to Baton Rouge.
But the exulting insurgents were, in a few days, deprived of the fruits of their victory. The news reached them, that
45
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
General Campbell was defeated, and that the whole of West Florida had been surrendered to Spain. Consternation seized every one. They knew that they should receive no mercy at the hands of those whom they had harassed by rebellion, and conquered by stratagem. Abandoning the fort, they fled to the cane swamps, with their wives, children, horses, and movable effects, with the determination of cutting their way to the British settlements on the Savannah .* The avenues by the Mississippi were closed against them, by the Spaniards below, and the American whigs above. In a short time, more than one hundred individuals, besides slaves, mounted upon horses, and with other horses laden with their effects, set off to avoid the Spaniards, whom they had expected hourly to arrive at Natchez. Many of the children were small, and some were at the breast. They began their painful and dis- tressing flight, by striking towards the prairie country, in the present State of Mississippi. Wishing to avoid the Chicka- saws and Choctaws, into whose power they feared to fall, a circuitous route was wholly unavoidable, and they wandered from point to point, as their desperate circumstances led them. It was during an unusually dry spring, and the prairies, which they had now reached, afforded them no water. At one time, they suffered from the want of it with an intensity more than ordinary human beings, it would seem, could bear. Bordering .upon desperation, and becoming bewildered, the
* Memoirs and Adventures of Phelps, Appendix, pp. 4-5. Monette, vol. 2, pp. 462-3.
CHAPTER XVIII. 1781 May
46
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1781 June
general direction, which they had endeavored to keep, was abandoned, and they now strolled over the country, with parched lips, under the burning rays of the sun, and amid the heart-rending cries of the children. Ever and anon, their anxious eyes fell upon distant clumps of trees, and their spi- rits revived, in the hope that there certainly would be found the sweet beverage of nature. Pushing on, to the delusive spot, they found it as moistureless as the land over which they had travelled. Mrs. Dwight, a heroine upon this event- Val march, was descended from one of the best families of New-England. She exhorted the miserable caravan to perse- vere in their efforts to find water, although more than thirty- six hours had passed since they had wet their mouths. They now halted, and erected a small camp. The men, leaving the women and children in the camp, hunted, for hours, for water, but, towards evening, returned with their tongues exposed, and fell down in despair. The noble Mrs. Dwight now set out, in company with several men and women. Fortune led her to the foot of two adjoining hills. The surface of the ground was spongy, and bere, by her directions, they began to dig. Hitherto, they had not resorted to this plan, but had wandered from point to point, expecting to find running streams. The signs of moisture increased, and presently slow drippings commenced. Redoubling their exertions, they struck a fountain. "Thank God !" was the shout of all. A mes- senger rapidly bore back the tidings. The miserable wretches rose from the ground, and rushed to the spot. Dr. Dwight, the husband of the lady mentioned above, stationed a guard over
47
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
the spring, until, by bathing the temples and the palms of CHAPTER the hands, they could drink a few drops, without fatal conse- XVIII. quences. With their horses, also, who. seemed as if they would tear up the very earth, and destroy every thing that obstructed their passage to the water, they adopted the pru- 1781 June dent course, of allowing small quantities at a time. All night, a continual drinking went on. The next day, filling their vessels from this spring, they continued north-east, and, on that day, happily reached some of the sources of the Tombigby. But now their provisions were exhausted. They killed and devoured the few things which crossed their route, and the meat of a large terrapin, divided into small pieces, once saved their lives. They had but little ammunition, which was reserved for defence alone. Having lost, their compass, they could only follow the sun, which was some- times obscured by clouds. It rained occasionally, now that they had crossed the prairies. Now and then they came across small bunting parties of Indians, who, at night, robbed them of their pack-horses and plundered their effects. In addition to all these misfortunes, a loathsome disease spread in the camp. Finally, after wandering nearly to the Ten- nessee river, and then marching in a nearly southern direc- tion, they reached the Tombigby, about the site of the pre- sent town of Aberdeen, where they crossed upon rafts, con- structed of dry logs. They next made the Warrior, at the Tuscaloosa Falls, which they crossed, by alternately wading and swimming, from rock to rock. Unfortunately, from this point, they assumed an improper direction. Fearing to fol-
3*
48
THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER low any trail, they, after a long time, found themselves XVIII. among the mountains of Blount county, Alabama. Having come thus far, again, towards the Tennessee, they thought that they might reach Georgia, by way of the Cherokee nation, and they continued in that direction, until, one day, in a distant valley, they saw some persons approaching. All was breathless suspense. Presently an old Indian-trader, with two Chickasaw Indians, rode up, for they were now upon 1781 June a trail. Shocked at the condition of the miserable caravan, the trader generously gave them all the provisions he had, and shared among them his last gallon of taffai .* He warned them not to attempt to reach Georgia through the Tennessee mountains, for they would meet with insurmount- able obstacles, and be cut off by the Cherokees, many of 1781 July whom were now in the interest of the whigs ; but advised them to assume a southern direction, and enter the Creek nation, the inhabitants of which were entirely under the in- fluence of Colonel MeGillivray, who was a man of humanity, and a friend of King George. Turning immediately south- ward, they once more struck through the woods, re-crossed the mountains, and, after incessant toil and hunger, passed over those which border the Cahawba. Most of them had to walk, and lead their horses over the perilous rocks, while their naked feet bled at every pore. Finally, tlie caravan arrived upon the banks of the Coosa, in the upper part of
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.