USA > Georgia > A history of Georgia : from its first discovery by Europeans to the adoption of the present constitution in MDCCXCVIII. Vol. I > Part 11
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But in all these storms and dangers, the humble Moravians were fearless and unappalled. It was Sunday noon when this tempest began. In the midst of the psalm which commenced their service, the sea broke over the ship, split the mainsail, and poured down between the decks as if the great deep had swallowed them up. The English screamed out in terror-the Germans calmly sang on. ".Were you not afraid ?" said Wesley to one of them. "I thank God, no." " But were not your women and children afraid ?" " No," he mildly replied ; " our women and children are not afraid to die." Beautiful exam- ple of the power of a living faith, and the strength of a Christian's hope !
Thus, at one time vexed with storms, at another en- joying the calm ; now bounding along before a merry breeze, and now turned from their course by contrary winds; they at last crossed the Atlantic, and about
133
ARRIVAL AND THANKSGIVING.
noon on the 4th of February, the trees of America were visible from the mast, and in the afternoon from the main deck ; and as the Wesleys read the evening lesson in Corinthians, their hearts were cheered by the almost prophetic words, " A great door and effect- ual is opened unto me ;" but they were sooner to find the truth of the latter clause of the verse, " and there are many adversaries," than to enjoy the fulfilment of the former. On the following Thursday, between two and three P. M., they cast anchor near Tybee island, where the groves of pine waving along the shore, made an agreeable prospect, showing as it were the bloom of spring in the depth of winter; and the next day, being landed on Peeper island, Oglethorpe led the passengers to a rising ground, and there all kneel- ing, gave thanks to God for their deliverance from the perils of the deep, and their safe arrival in America.
After Oglethorpe had made a hasty visit to Eben- ezer, and given permission to the inhabitants to re- move from their present locality to a more eligible site upon the river Savannah, he returned to the ship, and got ready the embarkations destined for the new town, which the Trustees had ordered to be built on St. Simons island, and which, in honour of Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, and only son of George II., they named Frederica. Oglethorpe was anxious to land the emigrants at their destined home, yet was somewhat perplexed as to the method by which the ship should get there, having no pilot, and the cap- tains of the vessels being unwilling to risk them in such new discoveries. At last, having engaged a sloop of light draught, the captains of the Simond and London Merchant went on board, and with the com- mander of the sloop undertook to navigate her into
134
EXPEDITION TO ST. SIMONS ISLAND.
Jekyll sound. Putting on board the sloop, men, can- non, arms, ammunition, and tools for entrenching, the "Midnight" steered out of the river, and passing the bar, trimmed her course to the southward. In a strong-built and swift boat, mounting three swivel guns and ten oars, kept for visiting the river passages and islands, hence called scout-boat, Oglethorpe started on the evening of the 16th of February, through the inland passages, and on the morning of the 18th arrived at St. Simons.
The " Midnight " reached the bar almost as quickly as himself. The men and stores were soon landed, and the busy hum of labour broke for the first time the stillness of the island scene. The party made a few booths of earth and poles, thatched with palmetto leaves, for a temporary accommodation, and passed a merry evening, " having a plentiful meal of game brought in by the Indians."
The next day Oglethorpe marked out a fort, with four bastions, and taught the men how to dig the ditch and raise and turf the rampart. Leaving Captain Hermsdorf and Mr. Horton, with fifty men, to con- tinue the work on St. Simons, he paid a visit to the Highlanders at New Inverness, and in compliment to them, appeared himself in the Highland garb. They were all paraded under arms, with their plaids, broad- swords, targets, and firelocks, by Captain Mackay ; and when the boat of Oglethorpe hove in sight, they gave him a hearty salute. He was pleased with their town, which already began to put on a thriving appearance ; and willing to set them an example of endurance and self-denial, he declined the invitation of Captain Mackay, to sleep in his tent, on his bed, which the chronicler of that day is careful to say had sheets on it, a rarity as yet in these parts ; but threw
135
OGLETHORPE VISITS VARIOUS ISLANDS.
his plaid around him and lay at the guard-fire, in the open air, though the night was very cold.24
After many difficulties the people were landed on St. Simons, and the work of colonization was carried briskly forward. For the purpose of making still fur- ther explorations along the sea-board, Oglethorpe pro- ceeded, with a select party of colonists and Indians, to Jekyll island, which had already been visited by him in his first expedition. The next island they landed upon25 was termed by the Indians Missoe-Sas- safras ; by the Spaniards San Pedro ; but Toonahouie, taking out the gold watch given him by the Duke of Cumberland, desired that it should thenceforth bear his name. Here Oglethorpe directed a fort to be built on the north part, which, as it was erected by Captain Mackay and his Highlanders, was called St. Andrews, in honour of their patron Saint ; and on the south-east he planned Fort William, to command the sound between it and the adjacent island. They next landed on a delightful island, with orange trees, myrtles and vines, that grew to the top of the trees, and hung from the limbs in rich festoons, as if trimmed and twined by art. The Spaniards called this St. Maria, but Oglethorpe changed it to Amelia, in honour of one of the royal princesses.
Reaching next day the island of St. Juan, they named it George's; and the next they named Talbot, after the Lord High Chancellor of England.
This excursion made him well acquainted with the localities of the islands, rivers, and seaboard, and was of vast service to him in his subsequent troubles with the Spaniards.
24 Georgia Historical Collections, i. 110.
25 Documents from State Paper Office, i. 33.
136
FREDERICA. RUMOURED INVASION.
Under his animating presence the fortifications and houses at Frederica progressed rapidly ; and at the southern end of the island also, he erected Fort St. Simons, to command the entrance to Jekyll sound. The design of building Frederica on St. Simons, and erecting forts on the islands below, was to check the incursions of the Spaniards ; and by arresting them near to their own borders, prevent any descent upon the plantations to the north. Frederica, like Savan- nah, was prettily laid out; and, like it, placed under municipal government, with its minister, bailiff, re- corder, constables, tithing-men, freeholders, and ser- vants. The island was healthy, beautifully wooded ; the soil was rich and fertile ; and its pleasantness and advantages were greatly lauded by the early settlers. The return of Oglethorpe and the Indians from the southward, was celebrated by Tomochichi and his tribe, with dancing, and their rude native music ; who, having the next day received presents for their fidel- ity, were dismissed to their homes.
Rumour was now busy in circulating many reports concerning the threatened invasion of the Spaniards ; and much time, anxiety, and vapouring bravery, were expended in the many false alarms which the fearful in heart were so ready to foster and enlarge. Steadily and efficiently Oglethorpe went on with his buildings, fortifying the island, supplying the people, and ani- mating the labourers; now strengthening his alliance with the Indians by a treaty with several tribes of the Uchees, and now rejoiced by the arrival of a detach- ment of troops from South Carolina, at a time when military aid was vastly important to the colony.
While these active preparations were making for the defence of the southern borders, he had not
137
OGLETHORPE AGAIN VISITS ENGLAND.
been negligent of its northern frontiers. By his directions, a military post had been designated at a place seven miles above New Windsor, on the Geor- gia side of the Savannah, which, in honour of one of the royal princesses, was named Augusta. Roger de Lacey, an Indian agent, was one of its first settlers ; and it soon became a great mart for Indian trade, su- perior to any other either in South Carolina or Geor- gia. A garrison was kept here at the Trustees' expense, under command of Captain Kent. The annual fair of the Indian traders was held in spring; and to it re- sorted many from all the neighbouring tribes ; so that over two thousand pack horses and six hundred men were computed to annually visit the place.
Having thus colonized the northern, eastern, and southern borders of Georgia, with outposts in the rear of each settlement to guard and protect its frontier, Oglethorpe returned to England, in January 1737, in order to lay before His Majesty and Parliament the state of affairs in Georgia, and obtain from government such military stores and succours as would enable him to maintain the province of Georgia against the threat- ened invasion of the Spaniards ; or to commence suc- cessful offensive operations, should such be deemed expedient by the ministry and crown. Over one thou- sand persons had been sent over to Georgia on the Trustees' account. Several freeholders, with their ser- vants, had also taken up lands; and over fifty-seven thousand acres had been granted out to them and to others settling in the province. Five principal towns had been laid out and settled-Augusta, Ebenezer, Savannah, New Inverness, and Frederica, besides sev- eral smaller forts and villages. The colonists were from different nations, possessed widely variant char-
138
DIVERSITY OF THE COLONISTS.
acters, and represented differing religious creeds and governments. There were ,Vaudois from under the shadow of Mount Jura; Swiss from the mountainous and pastoral Grisons ; Piedmontese from the silk-grow- ing districts of Lombardy ; Germans from the archbish- opric of Salzburg in Bavaria; Moravians from Herrnhut ; Jews from Portugal ; Highlanders from Scotland ; and English from London and its circumjacent counties. There was the mercurial Italian, the reflecting Swiss, the phlegmatic German, the solemn Moravian, the blithesome yet hardy Scotchman, and the tame and depressed Briton. There too was seen the priest of the Church of England, the minister of the Presbyte- rians, the bishop and elders of the United Brethren, the pastors of the Lutherans, the disciples of the Ger- man creed, and the ancient service of the Israelitish faith. It was a colony of nations and a colony of creeds; and like the ancient mundus of the Romans, each colonist seems to have brought, if not his native earth, at least his peculiar habits, customs, and feel- ings, out of which time and intercourse were destined to educe social union and provincial strength.
The kindly feelings of Carolina had been embittered by the contests between the authorities of Georgia and those of that province respecting the admission of ardent spirits into the colony, and the licensing of traders to the Indians.26 The first arose from the fact that rum being prohibited by the Trustees, their agents in Savannah were ordered to stave all that passed up their side of the river ; and the second took its rise from the requisitions issued by the Trustees, at
26 Whitehead's Life of Wesley, ii. 15, where John Wesley gives a very good resume of the whole matter.
Journal of Trustees, i. 347. Stephens's Journal, i. Transcripts, 73.
139
DIFFERENCES WITH SOUTH CAROLINA.
the request of the Indians, that no traders should be permitted to sell goods in their towns, but such as had the Trustees' license ; and as each province could regulate affairs within its own boundaries, they under- took to make what they esteemed wholesome laws for protecting the traders on the one hand, and the rights of the Indians on the other, within the limits of their charter. These restrictions gave umbrage to the authorities of South Carolina, because their traders and their goods were thus thrust out from the Indian nations, unless licensed by the authorities in Sa- vannah. Several conferences were held, and though much ill-feeling was thus avoided, and a better under- standing effected, yet the harmony of the two colonies was not fully restored, but was rather placed in that balancing position, in which the slightest influences could turn it for good or for evil. Unfortunately new causes of complaint were not long wanting to increase, even to wrangling, the half-slumbering feuds. It is painful to dwell on the bickerings of colonial sis- ters, especially when we cannot fully justify either. Let them pass, then, as the little quarrels of childhood, and let us not spread on the grave page of history the juvenile follies of those two noble States, which now stand side by side in the confidence of a mature friendship, and in the glow of a generous rivalry.
CHAPTER IV.
OGLETHORPE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE FORTIFICATIONS AT FREDERICA.
THE controversy which the settlement of Georgia had occasioned with the government of Spain, was fast ripening into open hostilities. Rumours of war and invasion were rife in England and America; and the most casual observer could not fail to see that if nego- ciations failed, war must be declared.
The discussion, though new to the colonists, was yet one of long standing, and dated back from the days of Queen Elizabeth; whose admiral, the famous Sir Fran- cis Drake, had, in 1586, attacked the Spanish settle- ments in Florida, and sacked the Fort of St. John, driving its garrison into the neighbouring city of St. Augustine.1
In 1630, Charles I. granted, by patent, to Sir Robert Heath, then attorney-general, a tract of land lying be- tween the river St. Matteo in the 31st degree, and the 36th degree of north latitude, and westward to New Mexico. This, in honour of the monarch, he called Carolina.2 Eight years after, Sir Robert conveyed the grant to Arundel, Earl Marshal of England; but he being prevented from settling it by the war with Scot- land, and afterwards by the civil war and the lunacy
1 Hakluyt, iii. 547.
2 Coxe's Carolana, 2 : London, 1741.
141
ENGLISH AND SPANISH TREATIES.
of his eldest son, the patent became void ; and in 1663, it was granted by Charles II. to the Earl of Clarendon, and several other noblemen, who erected the territory into a province, which they called Carolina. Thus the right of England to this territory, predicated on the discovery of Cabot, in 1497, and maintained by several royal grants, was then considered, by all but Spain, as true and incontestable.
Four years after this, a treaty was concluded between England and Spain, the 8th article of which recognized, for the first time, the existence of American commerce ; and expressed, though in the usual loose way of treaties at that time, a tacit agreement to the " uti possidetis" of the respective crowns in America.3 These articles prepared the way for the more explicit treaty which Sir William Godolphin concluded at Madrid, in 1670. The 8th article of this also stipulated the right of Eng- land to the lands in America then held and possessed by British subjects, " insomuch that they neither can nor ought hereafter to be contested under any pretence whatever." 4 As then the lords proprietors of Carolina were already in possession of their grant, which bounded their territory on the south by the 31st degree, and as two subsequent treaties with Spain acknowledged and guarantied this right, it follows, that though the Alta- maha was made the southern boundary of the Trustees' province, yet the right of England extended much beyond, and was, therefore, properly asserted and defended by Oglethorpe in all his negociations and contests with the Spaniards. But the object of these several treaties was rendered almost nugatory by the implacable hatred of the Spaniards to the English; and
$ Anderson's History of Commerce, ii. 654, Coombe's Edition, Dublin, 1790. 4 Ibid. iii. 11.
142
SPANISH AGGRESSIONS.
though they refrained for a time from open aggression, they yet put in motion many secret agencies, by which the peace of Carolina was frequently disturbed; for the murders perpetrated by the Indians, the desertions practised by the negroes, and the insurrections which broke out among the slaves, were all plotted by the Spaniards in Florida.
These depredations, constantly thwarting the opera- tions of the colonists, made them both disheartened and discontented. Learning this state of things by their spies, the Spaniards seized upon it as a good time to make a descent upon the new settlements, and blot them out from America. They reached St. Helena; but finding a body of men, under Colonel Godfrey, marching against them, they retreated, without effect- ing their design.5 Thus was the danger warded off, but not overcome. In 1682, Henry Erskine, second Lord Cardross, being one of thirty-six noblemen and gentle- men who, burdened by the tyranny of the Duke of Lau- derdale, High Commissioner of Scotland, resolved to seek a refuge in America, led a colony of Scots to
Port Royal island.6 Having settled the ten families which accompanied him, Cardross soon after returned to England. But in 1686, three gallies from St. Augus- tine arrived there, for the purpose of dislodging them. The Spaniards killed several, whipped many, plundered all, and broke up the colony. Flushed with success, they continued their depredations on North Edisto river, burning the houses, wasting the plantations, and rob- bing the settlers; and they finished their marauding excursion by capturing the brother of Governor More-
5 Ramsay's South Carolina, i. 127. short sketch of him in " The Life of Lieutenant-General Hugh Mackay," 2d edition, London, 1842, p. 85.
6 Bancroft (ii. 173) says, 1684, but Lauderdale died in 1682. There is a
143
FRUITLESS ATTACK ON ST. AUGUSTINE.
ton, and burning him alive in one of the gallies, which a hurricane had driven so high up on land as to make it impossible to have it relaunched.7
The intestine troubles which at that period raged in Carolina, prevented their taking any measure of redress ; and misinterpreting this silence into fear, the Spaniards planned another and larger scheme for the ruin of the colony. With nine hundred Appalachee Indians, they resolved, in 1702, to fall upon the interior settlements, and so reach Charleston by land. But they were met by a body of friendly Creeks, led on by some English traders, who, by a wily stratagem, killed and captured many, and routed all. To delay retaliation would be cowardice; and Governor Moore, the same year, re- solved by one bold effort to capture St. Augustine itself. War was then existing between England and Spain, known as Queen Anne's War; and this, as well as the former depredations of the Spaniards, justified the at- tempt. With a force of a thousand or twelve hundred men, half whites and half Indians, he sailed direct to the bar of St. Augustine; the remainder, under Col. Daniel, went by land, and entered the town the same day that the Governor with his vessels entered the harbour, and drove the Spaniards into the castle. Un- able to dislodge them for want of artillery, Governor Moore sent Col. Daniel to Jamaica, to procure a proper supply ; but the arrival off the bar of two Spanish ships, compelled the Governor to raise the siege before the return of Col. Daniel, who, boldly standing into the harbour on his return from Jamaica, narrowly escaped capture. The Spanish Governor, Don Joseph de Zuñiga,
Chalmers's Political Annals, 544, Historical Collections, ii. 97. Ramsay, folio, London, 1780. Oldmixon, i. 469. i. 127.
Archdale's Description in Carroll's
144
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE WARS.
behaved with credit; and though the English Governor lost only two men, yet the failure of the expedition en- tailed upon the colony such a debt, that the Assembly could only cancel it by issuing stamped bills of credit, redeemable in three years. "Thus war, debt and paper money were coeval in Carolina." This expedition was gotten up for private ends, prosecuted with languor, and ended in disgrace to its leaders, loss to the colony, and renewed triumph to the Spaniards.8
In 1704, Governor Moore, now succeeded in office by Sir Nathaniel Johnson, and appointed by him Lieu- tenant-General of the English forces, marched with a body of whites and friendly Indians against the Span- iards and Indians at Appalachee, about eighty miles west of St. Augustine. He was here entirely success- ful. The Indians were subdued, and the province freed from frontier danger.
A demonstration by the united forces of the French, from Martinique, and the Spaniards, from Cuba and St. Augustine, under Le Feboure, was made against Charleston, in 1706. The attacking fleet consisted of six sail, and nearly one thousand men; but they met with defeat and misfortunes, and retired, after losing many men, having created much alarm, but effected nothing.9
Though peace was concluded between England and Spain, the colonists still remained in hostile attitudes ; and Carolina was frequently menaced with invasion. After the memorable defeat of the Yamassee Indians, in 1715, who, with other tribes, were incited to their attacks by the Spaniards, it was resolved, for the de-
8 Oldmixon, i. 476-7. The History Hewitt, &c. Ramsay, i. 129.
of the British Dominion in North America, part ii. 142, London, 1773, roll, i. 163.
9 Ramsay, i. 130. Hewitt in Car-
large 4to. Archdale's Description,
145
JEALOUSY OF SPAIN.
fence of the country, to build a fort in the forks of the Altamaha-claiming the country that far, as the right- ful portion of the proprietary grant. This gave great offence to the authorities in Florida. A conference of the two governors was held in Charleston, which ended without a proper understanding; and the fort itself was soon after burned down. Yet the aggressions of the Spaniards and Indians still continued ; and in 1727, Colonel Palmer again marched almost to the walls of St. Augustine, destroyed the Yamassee town, and chas- tised them into a temporary peace. But it was the peace of belligerent powers, sleeping upon their arms, ready at the first trumpet-note to grasp their weapons and renew the fight.
Such was the state of things when Georgia was settled. Spain and England were nominally friends, though causes of hostility were thickly accumulating, and the pent-up flame of war was soon to burst forth with volcanic fury.10 The settlement of Georgia by General Oglethorpe gave great offence to the court of Spain, because of its infringement upon their asserted boundaries. So long, however, as the settlements were confined to the Savannah, and its adjacent rivers, nothing was done; but when, on his return from Eng- land, in 1735, he determined to colonize the banks of the Altamaha, and fortify some of the islands on the sea-board, their ancient jealousy revived; and minor acts of offence were not wanting as precursors and pro- vocatives of more serious outbreaks.11 The aim of Ogle- thorpe, from the first, was to secure peace by gentle means ; and with this view, he obtained from the Spanish minister in London the appointment of a com-
10 Ramsay, i. 138. Territory, State Paper Office Docu-
11 The Right of England to this ment, i. 62, 74.
10
146
TREACHERY OF THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES.
missioner who should act as an internuncio between himself and the Governor of St. Augustine, in settling the boundaries of their respective frontiers. This gen- tleman, the Hon. Charles Dempsey, accompanied him on his return to Georgia, in 1736; and on their arrival was immediately sent to St. Augustine, with letters to Don Francisco Moral Sanchez, Governor of St. Augus- tine, assuring him of his amicable feelings, and of his desire to preserve the tranquillity already existing, by cultivating friendly relations. The reply of the gov- ernor was courteous, but guarded, and plainly evinced the irritation which the proceedings of Oglethorpe had caused, encroaching, as he declared, upon the lands of the king, his master.12 Several letters passed, contain- ing, on the side of the Spaniards, complaints of savage incursions and trespassing on their land; and on the part of Oglethorpe, vindications of his right to the occu- pied territory, and assurances of succour and redress of the former. In the fulfilment of his promises, Ogle- thorpe stationed guard-boats along the St. Johns, to patrol the river, and thus prevent any Indian difficul- ties ; and sent Major Richard to treat with the Gov- ernor of St. Augustine, and establish if possible the amicable relations which both seemed so earnestly to desire. Major Richard was well received by the gov- ernor, and carried back with him letters of mingled compliments and crimination.
Oglethorpe replied to these again, despatching Major Richard and Mr. Horton to St. Augustine to explain and settle these harassing matters. But they now met with a very different reception. They were soon arrested and placed under a sergeant's guard, as spies ; and because they refused to answer
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