USA > Georgia > A history of Georgia : from its first discovery by Europeans to the adoption of the present constitution in MDCCXCVIII. Vol. I > Part 7
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The family of Oglethorpe was one of the most ancient in England. We can trace it backwards eight hundred years to the Norman conquest, when one of his ancestors held the office of High Sheriff of the dis- trict now known as the county of York, on the eastern borders of England. William Oglethorpe, the great- grandfather of James, was a member of the household of King Charles the First. His grandfather was page to Charles the Second ; and his father, Sir Theophilus, was with the Duke of Monmouth in the battle of Both- well Bridge-was an officer of distinction under the Duke of York, and afterwards First Equerry and Ma- jor-General of the army of King James the Second. When this weak and bigoted monarch was obliged to abdicate, Sir Theophilus was encouraged to go over to the court of St. Germain with offers of assistance to the exiled king. But though politically a staunch ad- herent to the fortunes of James, he was so unkindly used on account of his religion-being a decided Prot-
22 Crocker's Boswell's Johnson, i. 521, New York, 1835.
77
THE FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE.
estant-that he soon returned to England,23 and pur- chased a seat called Westbrook Place, near the town of Godalming in Surrey, a little to the south and east of London ; whither he retired from the jealousies of courts, and the toils of party strife. On this elegant estate James Oglethorpe was born, on the 21st De- cember, 1688; a year memorable for the revolution which gave to England that democratic bill of rights which has been justly styled " her second Magna Charta." .
He was the seventh in a family of nine children, most of whom became eminent for their station or service.24 His eldest brother, Lewis, after leaving the University of Oxford, was aid-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough, equerry to Queen Anne, and in 1702 succeeded his father as member of Parliament for the borough of Hazlemere. He was mortally wounded at the battle of Schellenburgh, and died in 1704, at the early age of twenty-two. His second brother, The- ophilus, was aid-de-camp to the Duke of Ormond, and also member of Parliament for Hazlemere, after the death of his elder brother. His elder sister, Eleonora, married the Marquis de Mezières, a French nobleman ; and her son is spoken of, by Thomas Jefferson,25 as a gentleman of singular personal merit-an officer of rank, of high connexions, and patronised by the royal ministers.
23 Memoirs of the Secret Services of John Mackey, Esq., during the reigns of King William, Queen Anne, and King George I., Lond. 1733, xli. Scott introduces him in Guy Mannering, ch. ii., though not in very good company.
24 There is a good genealogical ac- count of the family of Oglethorpe in
Harris's Memorials of O., 325, taken from Nichol's Literary Anecdotes of the 18th Century, ii. p. 17; which in its turn was mostly copied from the Gent. Mag., 1785, p. 572-602.
25 Tucker's Life and Writings of Jefferson, i. 195. Vide also Horace Walpole's Letters, ii. 164.
78
OGLETHORPE AND BISHOP BERKELEY.
Another sister, Frances Charlotte, married the Mar- quis de Bellegarde, a distinguished Savoyard; and their son corresponded with Washington26 concerning his uncle's estates in Georgia. At the age of sixteen, James was entered at Oxford University; and six years after- wards was commissioned as ensign in the English army.
Peace being proclaimed, in 1713, he accepted the invitation of the Earl of Peterborough, ambassador from the court of Great Britain to the King of Sicily, and other Italian States, to become his aid-de-camp, and accom- panied him as one of his diplomatic suite. Here he met with the justly celebrated Bishop Berkeley, then chaplain of the ambassador-a man "who, like Penn and Locke, garnered up his hopes for humanity in America." It is an interesting point, that Oglethorpe and Berkeley should thus meet in early life as associates ; little surmising that both would ere long migrate to America, and both derive a lasting fame from schemes of noble and disinterested benevolence connected with that continent. Little did they imagine that the funds which should be collected by Berkeley for his college at Bermuda,27 should, on the failure of his plan, be used by the other for like benevolent designs in Georgia. Little did they know that one would descant in grace- ful verse the almost prophetic lines on the prospect of the arts and sciences in America :
" There shall be seen another golden age, The rise of empire and of arts ; The good and great, inspiring epic page, The wisest head and noblest heart --
26 Sparks's Writings of Washing- ton, x. 76.
27 " A Proposal for the better Sup- plying of Churches in our Foreign Plantations, and for Converting the Savage Americans to Christianity,"
Berkeley's Works, iii. 211, Lond. 1820. Sir James McIntosh's " General View of the Progress of Ethical Philosophy," 129, 130, Philadelphia, 1832. Haw- kins's " Mission of the Church of Eng- land," 168, Lond. 1845.
79
MILITARY CAREER OF OGLETHORPE.
Not such as Europe breeds in her decay, Such as she bred when fresh and young,
When heavenly flame did animate her clay --- By future poets shall be sung.
Westward the course of empire takes its way, The four first acts already past ;
The fifth shall close the drama with the day- Time's noblest offspring is the last ;"
and that the other should, in these happy climes, and on that virgin earth, the seat of innocence, found a colony which he should live to see become a part of that great independent nation, which has proved itself, indeed, time's last and noblest offspring. To this day, Georgia feels the influence of these two friends ; and we have reason to remember George Berkeley as well as James Oglethorpe. Returning from Italy, in 1714, he was promoted to a captaincy in the first troop of Queen Anne's guard; and he is also spoken of as adjutant-general of the queen's forces. Through the influence of his friends, the Duke of Argyle and the Duke of Marlborough, he was made aid-de-camp to the Prince Eugene, the first general of the age. Nothing could be more gratifying to the military pride and ambition of the young soldier than this appointment ; for while it brought him in daily contact with the prince, as one of his staff, it opened before him every prospect of future advancement and renown. He was with Prince Eugene during nearly all the battles of the Austrians with the Turks, on the frontiers of Hungary. He was present at the battle of Peterwardine, where Eugene, with an army of sixty thousand, completely routed the Grand Vizier, with a force of twice that number. He was in the siege of the almost impregna- ble town of Temeswaer, which capitulated to the prince, after being held one hundred and sixty-four
80
OGLETHORPE AT THE SIEGE OF BELGRADE.
years by the Turks; the success of which victorious campaign filled not only Germany but all Europe with joy.
At the siege and battle of Belgrade, Oglethorpe was in active command. This town, the capital of Servia, the key of Hungary, and the most important military post between Vienna and Constantinople, was a place of great strength, and built round a high castellated rock, that boldly defied invaders. The Turkish sultan had garrisoned the place with a force of twenty-eight thousand men, and defended it by five hundred pieces of artillery ; and had given positive assurance that he would relieve the place within fifty days, or his head was to answer for the fulfilment of his word. Prompt- ness was, therefore, necessary ; and Eugene, the hero of Turin, the conqueror of Italy, appeared before Bel- grade, with an army of eighty thousand ; and so invested the place by lines of circumvallation and contravalla- tion, as to completely isolate it from the surrounding country. These works, mounted with one hundred and forty-three pieces of artillery, were of great strength and solidity. The batteries of Eugene soon opened upon the fortress ; but little had been effected when the vanguard of the Grand Vizier's army was seen ad- vancing to its relief. Troop followed troop, and under an exulting salute from all the guns of Belgrade, the host of Moslems, computed at one hundred and fifty thousand, settled along the amphitheatre of hills by which the town is surrounded. The situation of Eugene was now critical in the extreme. Upon the one side was the frowning fortress of Belgrade, its ramparts lined with troops, and its embrasures filled with the death-dealing artillery ; and on the other, the bound- less camp of the Grand Vizier, with its thousands of
81
OGLETHORPE ELECTED MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT.
many-coloured tents, its waving flags, its gay stream- ers, its glittering crescents, its fiery steeds, and its train of wagons and camels, extending farther than the eye could reach; forming a picture of the most animated and stirring magnificence. It was, as the Vizier declared, " one Belgrade besieged by another;" and, therefore, instead of an assault, the Turks opened upon the Ger- man army by regular approaches ; and the extraordinary spectacle of a besieging army besieged within its own camp-a spectacle not witnessed since myriads of Gauls encompassed Cæsar and his legions before Alesia-was again exhibited. But it is not necessary to detail the attack, the repulse, the capture of the Turkish host, or the fall of Belgrade, which soon surrendered to Eugene; and three days after the capitulation, the solemn mass of Te Deum was performed by the Germans in the tent of the Grand Vizier. The peace of Passarowitz was the next year concluded; and Belgrade, the eastern bulwark, not of Germany only, but of all western Chris- tendom, remained in the hands of the Austrians. This was the school of arms, and this the general under whom Oglethorpe learned the art of war. In all these sieges and battles he acquired great reputation, and the com- mendation of the distinguished Prince.28
Peace between the Emperor and the Sultan threw Oglethorpe once more on the shores of England ; and he employed it in the cultivation of the arts of peace. In 1722 he was elected member of Parliament for Hazlemere, the same borough which had been so long represented by his father, his brother Lewis, and his brother Theophilus ; and for thirty-two years he was returned by successive elections to the House of Com-
28 " Military Hist. of the late Prince folio, ii. 214-228. Campbell's Life of Eugene of Savoy," &c., Lond., 2 vols. Prince Eugene, &c.
6
82
HIS CHARACTER AS A STATESMAN.
mons. In' looking over the journals of the House of Commons for those thirty-two years, we find that he was frequently on important committees ; and his influence and activity were great in matters affecting interests both at home and abroad. His first effort in the British Senate was in 1723, against the motion for the banishment of Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Roch- ester. The bishop, on the death of Queen Anne, had, in full canonicals, and in the city of London, pro- claimed Charles Stuart, King of Great Britain. He thus, in his maiden speech, exhibited the political pre- dilections so long cherished by the Oglethorpe family. Nearly all of his legislative movements were directed to benevolence and philanthropy. The distressed, the persecuted, the needy found in him a friend and advo- cate ; the great interests of the country a faithful rep- resentative; and the throne a firm and loyal supporter. Many of his parliamentary speeches have been pre- served ; but all are imperfect, as no reporter was then admitted to the gallery. We can therefore only get at his general thoughts, though the drapery of words, which clothed his ideas with grace and beauty, is for- ever lost. Enough, however, is left to show us that he was a bold, able, and persuasive speaker.
His benevolence was shown, not only by his con- nection with Georgia and the Prison Discipline Com- mittee, but by his private and public benefactions ; and by his readily yielding his name, and influence, and fortune to schemes of charity and philanthropy. He was deputy-governor of the Royal African Society, of which the King was governor ; and member of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts. He was one of the council of fifty, at the head of whom was the Duke of Bedford, for the maintenance
83
' TRIBUTE TO HIS CHARACTER.
and education of exposed and deserted young chil- dren. He defended seamen against impressment, in a spirited pamphlet entitled "The Sailor's Advocate." He supported in Parliament the act for naturalizing foreigners, Protestants, in America. He ably advo- cated the petition of the Moravians in the House of Commons, and sustained Sir John Barnard's motion for relieving the poor of some of their onerous taxes. His private charities to his tenants, dependants, and others, were numerous ; and though they sometimes came to light, yet were mostly of that scriptural char- acter which lets not the left hand know what the right hand doeth.
Such was the character of the man, who, at the prime of life, had devoted himself, without fee or reward, to the cause of colonizing the poor and the persecuted ; and was now about to sail with the emi- grants, and establish them in their new and distant home. Well might a contemporaneous writer say29 that he doubts whether the histories of Greece or Rome can produce a greater instance of public spirit than this. " To see a gentleman of his rank and for- tune visiting a distant and uncultivated land, with no other society but the miserable whom he goes to assist, exposing himself freely to the same hardships to which they are subjected, in the prime of life, instead of pursuing his pleasures or ambition, on an improved and well concerted plan from which his country must reap the profits ; at his own expense, and without a view or even a possibility of receiving any private advantage from it; this, too, after having done and ex- pended for it what many generous men would think sufficient to have done-to see this, I say, must give
29 Political State of Great Britain, Feb., 1733, xlv. 181.
84
TRIBUTE TO HIS CHARACTER.
every one who has approved and contributed to the undertaking, the highest satisfaction ; must convince the world of the disinterested zeal with which the set- tlement is to be made, and entitle him to the truest honour he can gain-the perpetual love and applause of mankind."
1
CHAPTER II.
THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA.
WE are brought now to the dockyard at Deptford, to behold the first embarkation of the Georgia pilgrims.
But little over a hundred years ago, and the seed- bud of that State, which to-day numbers its eight hun- dred thousand, lay rocking in a small and uneasy galley, on the waters of the Thames. Truly, "a little one has become a thousand, and a small one, a strong nation." Isaiah ix. 22.
The Trustees, having selected from the throng of emi- grants thirty-five families, numbering in all about one hundred and twenty-five " sober, industrious, and moral persons,"1 chartered the Ann, a galley of two hundred tons, Captain John Thomas, and stationed her at Dept- ford, four miles below London, to receive her cargo and passengers. In the meantime, the men were drilled to arms by sergeants of the guards; and all needed stores were gathered,. to make them comfort- able on the voyage, and to establish them on land.
It was not until the early part of November that the embarkation was ready for sailing.
The last Sunday of the emigrants in England was spent at Milton, on the banks of the Thames, whither they went in a body, to attend divine service at the
1 Transcripts of Colonial Documents, p. 18.
86
THE COLONISTS PREPARE TO DEPART.
parish church. It was to them a time of peculiar so- lemnity. Never again did they expect, on the soil of their native land, to unite in the prayers and praises of their mother church. They were pilgrims to a far country, seeking out an unknown inheritance; and when the chimes of old England should again ring out the call to prayer, they would be tossed upon the great waters, exiles of penury, voyaging to the southern " Canaan of America." But they were not left with- out religious instructions in their long voyage ; for, in the spirit of his Divine Master, the Reverend Henry Herbert, D.D., having offered to go without any fee or reward,2 to assist them in settling, was with them, ready and willing to afford any of the offices of the church, or any of the consolations of religion.
The government, also, extended its protecting care over the adventurers. Horatio, Lord Walpole, wrote letters to his deputies. The Duke of Newcastle, then at the head of colonial affairs, addressed circulars to the governors of the North American provinces ; and the Lords of the Admiralty issued directions to all the naval commanders on the Virginia and Carolina sta- tions, to render all needed assistance to Oglethorpe and the colony under his command.
On the 16th, they were visited by the Trustees, "to see nothing was wanting, and to take leave" of Ogle- thorpe; and having called the families separately before them in the great cabin, they inquired if they liked their usage and voyage ; or if they had rather return, giving them even then the alternative of remaining in Eng- land, if they preferred it; and having found but one man who (on account of his wife, left sick in South- wark) declined, they bid Oglethorpe and the emigrants
2 MS. Journal of the Trustees, vol. i. p. 35.
87
THEY LAND IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
an affectionate farewell. The ship sailed the next day, November 17th, 1732, from Gravesend, skirted slowly along the southern coast of England, and, taking its departure from Scilly light, spread out its white sails to the breezes of the Atlantic.
Day after day, and week after week, the voyagers seem the centre of the same watery circle, canopied by the same bending sky. No milestones tell of their progress. The waymarks of the mariner are the sun by day, and the moon and stars by night; no kindred ship answers back its red-cross signal ; but there they float, the germ of a future nation, upon the desert waters. Sailing a circuitous route, they did not reach the coast of America until the 13th of January, 1733, when they cast anchor in Rebellion Roads, and furled their sails at last in the harbour of Charleston.
Oglethorpe immediately landed, and was received by the Governor and Council of South Carolina with every mark of civility and attention. The king's pilot was directed by them to carry the ship into Port Royal ; and small vessels were furnished to take the emigrants to the river Savannah. Thus assisted, in about ten hours they resumed their voyage, and shortly dropped anchor within Port Royal bar.
The colony landed at Beaufort, on the 20th January, and had quarters given them in the new barracks. Here they received every attention from the officers of His Majesty's Independent Company, and the gentle- men of the neighbourhood ; and refreshed themselves after the fatigues and discomforts of their long voyage and cramped accommodations.3
Leaving his people here, Oglethorpe, accompanied
3 " A Brief Account of the Estab- Force's Tracts, vol. i. Tract 2d, p. 8. lishment of the Colony of Georgia."
88
OGLETHORPE ON THE SAVANNAH.
by Colonel William Bull, of South Carolina, went for- ward to the Savannah river, to select a site for the projected settlement. Winding among the inlets, which break into numerous islands the low flat sea-board, their canoe at last shot into the broad stream of the Savan- nah; and bending their course upward, they soon reached a bold, pine-crowned bluff, at the foot of which they landed, to inspect its localities.
Reaching its top, a beautiful prospect met their eyes. At their feet, some fourteen yards below, flowed the quiet waters of the Savannah, visible for some distance above, and traceable, through its green landscape, till it emptied itself into the ocean. Before them lay a beautiful island, of richest pasturage, beyond which was seen the north branch of the Savannah, bordered by the slopes of Carolina, with a dark girdle of trees resting against the horizon. Behind them was the unbroken forest of tall, green pines, with an occasional oak, draperied with festoons of the grey moss, or the druidical mistletoe. A wide expanse of varied beauty was before them, an ample and lofty plain around them ; and, though spring had not yet garnished the scene with her vernal glories, sprinkling the woods with gay wild flowers and charming creepers, and making the atmosphere balmy with the bay, the jessamine, and the magnolia; yet, even in winter, were there sufficient charms in the spot to fix on it the heart of Oglethorpe, and cause him to select it as the home of his waiting colony. " The landscape," he writes,4 " is very agree- able-the stream being wide, and bordered with high woods on both sides."
4 Oglethorpe's Letter to the Trus- Collections, i. 233. Oldmixon's Brit- ish Empire in America, i. 525, London,
tees, Feb. 10th, 1733 ; Gentleman's Magazine, 1733, p. 168. Geo. Hist. 1741.
89
OPENS A TREATY WITH THE INDIANS.
On the northern end of this bluff they found a trading house and an Indian village called Yamacraw. The chief of this little tribe was Tomochichi; and the trader's name was Musgrove, married to a half-breed, named Mary.
By an ancient treaty of the Creeks with the Gov- ernor of South Carolina, no white settlement was allowed to be made south of the Savannah river with- out their consent.
Satisfied with the eligibility of this situation, Ogle- thorpe applied to Mary Musgrove, who could speak both Indian and English, to obtain from the tribe their agreement to his settlement. They at first appeared uneasy,5 and threatened to take up arms ; but were pacified by her representations of the benefits which would accrue to them; and she gained from them a provisional treaty, until the consent of the whole nation could be obtained. The Indians, once made sensible of the advantages they would derive from the erection of a town within their limits, hailed their coming with joy, and busied themselves in many offices of service and regard. The land selected, the consent of the tribe obtained, and the services of Mary secured as an interpreter in their subsequent inter- course with the red man, Oglethorpe returned to Beaufort on the 24th of January ; and the Sunday after was made a day of praise and thanksgiving for their safe arrival in America, and the happy auspices which clustered round the opening prospects of Georgia.
During the stay of the colonists in South Carolina, they were treated with genuine hospitality ; and when they departed, they were laden with most substantial and valuable tokens of interest and benevolence.
5 MS. Documents from State Paper Office, London, vol. ii., part 2d, p. 15.
90
THE COLONISTS RECEIVED BY THE INDIANS.
Leaving the ship at Port Royal, Oglethorpe engaged a sloop of seventy tons, and five plantation boats, and embarked the colonists on Tuesday, the 30th ; but, detained by a storm, they did not reach their destina- tion until the afternoon of Thursday, 12th February, (new style,) 1733.
The people immediately pitched four large tents, being one for each tithing, into which municipal divi- sions they had already been divided ; and, landing their bedding and other necessaries, spent their first night in Georgia.
As soon as the tents had been pitched, the Indians came forward with their formal salutations. In front, advanced, with antic dancings, the " medicine man," bearing in each hand a spread fan of white feathers, fastened to a rod hung from top to bottom with little bells ; marching behind this jingling symbol of peace and friendship, came the king and queen, followed by about twenty others, making the air ring with their uncouth shouts. Approaching Oglethorpe, who walked out a few steps from his tent to meet them, the medi- cine man came forward with his fans, declaiming the while the deeds of their ancestors, and stroked him on every side with the emblems of amity. This over, the king and queen bade him welcome, and after an interchange of compliments they were conducted to Oglethorpe's tent, and partook of a pleasant entertain- ment hastily prepared for the occasion.6
And now all was bustle upon that bluff. The un- lading of goods, the felling of trees, the hewing of tim- ber, the clearing of lands, the erection of palisades- all supervised by the watchful eye, and directed by
6 Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, 5th June, 1733.
91
GENEROUS ASSISTANCE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
the energetic mind of their leader-gave a brisk and industrious air to the novel scene.
On the 9th, Oglethorpe and Colonel Bull marked out the square, the streets, and forty lots for houses ; and the first clapboard house of the colony of Georgia was begun that day. On the 12th of March, Ogle- thorpe writes, " Our people still lie in tents ; there being only two clapboard houses built, and three sawed houses framed. Our crane, our battery of can- non, and magazine, are finished. This is all we have been able to do, by reason of the smallness of our num- bers, of which many have been sick, and others unused to labour, though I thank God they are now pretty well, and we have not lost one since our arrival."7
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