A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1126

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"7. Major General Andrew Jackson-The hero of New Orleans. the brave defender of his country and vindicator of its injured honor. "8. Adams. Jefferson and Madison-They have withdrawn from public duty, and illustrious by their virtues, and services carry with them a nation's gratitude.

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"9. The Navy. Imperishable fame accompanies the Star Spangled Banner. In the last war we coped with Britain on the ocean; now we hear of no search. no impressment.

"10. The Army. Our pillar of protection on the land; their valor and patriotism won the victories of York and of Erie, of Chippewa, and of Niagara.

"11. The Militia-Yet the bulwark of our country. Invincibles fell before them in the battle of Baltimore, and of Plattsburg, of the Thames and of New Orleans.

"12. Concord between the North and the South, the East and the West. May unanimity till the end of time, falsify the timid fears of those who predict dissolution.

"13. The American Fair-May they always be mothers to a race of patriots.

"The following informal toasts were proposed :

"By president of the United States .- The people of the United States. They constitute but one family, and may the bond which unites them together as brethren and freemen be eternal.

"By John C. Calhoun, secretary of war-The freedom of the press, and the responsibility of publie agents. The sure foundation of the · noble fabrie of American liberty.

"By Major-General Gaines-The memory of Jackson, Tattnall, and Telfair. The choice, the pride, and ornament of Georgia.

"By Mr. Middleton-The memory of General Greene, who con- quered for liberty.

"By Major-General Floyd-Our Country-May its prosperity be as lasting. as its government is free.

"After the president and secretary of war had retired the follow- ing toasts were proposed :

"By the mayor-The President of the United States.

"By William Bulloch, Esq., vice-president-Mr. Calhoun, secre- tary of war. The distinguished statesman, the virtuous citizen.

"By General John McIntosh-Peace with all the world as long as they respect our rights-disgrace and defeat to the power who would invade them.

"By Colonel James E. Houstoun-The memory of General Lachlan MeIntosh.

"By General Mitchell-The late war-a practical illustration of the energy of our republie.

"After the mayor retired-James M. Wayne, Mayor of City. By Colonel Marshall-The governor of the State of Georgia, a virtuous man and zealous chief magistrate.

"After the vice-president retired-William B. Bulloeh, Our re- spected citizen.

"By Colonel Harden-The assistant vice-presidents of the day, Charles Harris, Matthew McAllister and John Eppinger. Esqs.

"'By John II. Ash-Colonel James Marshall, a skillful officer, and the friend of his country.

"By Major Gray-We are a free and happy people, and while enjoy-

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ing every blessing let us not forget the great Author from whom all good emanates.

"By Isaiah Davenport-The union of our country. May the last trump alone dissolve it."

THE NEW INDEPENDENT CHURCH

In the grant of George the second to the trustees of the Independent church. in 1756, it was stipulated that the grant was made "upon condition nevertheless that in case such meeting honse shall not be erected and built within three years * that then the said lot [letter K Deeker Ward] hereby granted shall revert- to us, our heirs and successors." A meeting house was erected within the time stated. and in it the congregation worshiped until that building was destroyed by the great fire of 1796. when for a while they by permission (in the failure to procure a pastor) of the Baptists their house of worship was used. In 1800 a new church was finished on lot Q, in St. James square (now Telfair Place) between York and President streets. That church was of wood, and in the storm of 1804 its steeple was blown down. In 1816 a committee was appointed to select another building site, and they succeeded in securing the five lots on the south side of South Broad street (now Oglethorpe avenue) between Bull and Whitaker, and on the 13th of January. 1817, the corner stone was laid of the new building which was designed by Architect John II. Green, of New York. It was finished in 1819. at a cost of $96,108.6714. and was dedieated by its pastor the Rev. Henry Kolloek. D. D., on Sunday, May 9th, be- fore it was actually finished. President James Monroe being present.

The Columbian Museum and Savannah Daily Gazette of the day following, Monday, the 10th, had this to say of the services: "Yester- day the new Independent Presbyterian Church which has been build- ing in this eity and now nearly finished. was solemnly dedicated to the service of Almighty God. An able and impressive diseourse was deliv- ered from the second chapter of Haggai, and ninth verse. For grandeur of design and neatness of execution we presume this Church is not surpassed by any in the United States. It is seldom that we diseover a seene more affecting and impressive than this solemn ceremony afforded; and in this city we never witnessed such an immense eon- gregation, so large a portion of which was formed by female beauty; also the President of the United States and suite, and other dis- tinguished personages belonging to the Army and Navy of the United States, who listened with pious attention to the learned, appropriate and eloquent discourse of the reverend Pastor. In no other than the house of God, in the midst of so imposing a scene, we could, and with emphasis echo the words of the reverend preacher, Dr. Henry Kollock, 'The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, saith the Lord of hosts, and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.' The psalms and hymns interspersed through the service were particularly well adapted to the solemnity of the occasion, and the per- formance of the vocal innsie tended to elevate the soul to sublime and heavenly musings. The respectful attention and the fervency of the responses all combined to induce the belief that the heart accompanied the lips in supplication to the throne of Divine Grace."

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THE GREAT FIRE OF 1820

From a seene of rejoieing, embracing the visit of a president, the dedieation of a magnificent church building and a description of what was then considered a floating palace which made a glorious record for itself and the city whose name it bore, we must pass to one of a sad nature. The next important incident in the history of the eity, elosely following that just given was the very disastrous fire of 1820.

The Georgian of Monday, January 17, 1820, gave a deseription of the great conflagration and it is herein copied as the only means of giving the reader the best account obtainable: "The eity of Savannah after a lapse of twenty-four years, has again experieneed the horror of a conflagration far surpassing in violenee and destruction the mel- ancholy fire of 1796. Numbers were at the time reduced to extreme dis- tress, yet the buildings consumed were generally of so little value com- pared with those we have just lost, and the property they contained was so inferior in every respect to that with which our warehouses were filled, that it was generally considered beneficial, by making room for other buildings better adapted to the growing commeree of the plaee. But the Genius of desolation could not have chosen at this day a spot within the limits of our ill-fated city where so wide a seene of misery, ruin and despair might be laid as that which was recently the center of wealth and industry but is now a heap of worthless ruins. It is with the most painful reluctanee that we are obliged to reeur to the horrors of a seene the recollection of which ean never be effaced from the minds of those who witnessed it, and whose effects continue to present themselves at every turn, and in every variety of distress.

"On Tuesday morning last, between the hours of one and two, the usual signals communicated an alarm of fire. It commeneed in the liv- ery stable of Mr. Boon, on a trust lot of the estate of Isaae Fell, Esq., situated in the Baptist church square * and in the immediate vieinity of Market square, around which for a considerable distance in every direction the buildings were almost exclusively of wood, and in the most combustible state. The fire had gained a great height before the eiti- zens and fire companies eould assemble or organize any efficient plan of action ; and even when the most strenuous exertions were made, the flames advanced with a widening and appalling violence that seemed to deride resistance. Burning cinders were carried by the wind which was strong and steady at W. N. W. to the remotest parts of the town, where the roofs of houses were repeatedly on fire. When we consider the mass of wooden buildings which had been exposed for years to the influence of the sun, and the almost total absence of rain for several months past, it is surprising that the progress of the devouring element should have been arrested at all before it had swept every house in the direction of the wind. When the fire reached Market Square two heavy explosions of gunpowder occurred from the vaults of stores where that artiele was kept in large quantities, in violation of the ordinance of council and the common feeling.of humanity. * From Jefferson

* Now Franklin square, and the Baptist church lot was where the First African Baptist church now stands.

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street, where the fire began, to Abercorn street, where it was stopped. there are included four streets bearing nearly N. or S .. but it is to be observed that the building lots being of an oblong form there was a larger number of tenements between these latter streets than between those running N. and S. The ground ineluded *

* describes a complete parallelogram with its longest sides on Bay and Broughton streets, and on a line drawn from Bay street nearly through the eentre of this figure stands the Exchange, the Seat of Commercial business. Within its limits also was comprehended the market, where the quan- tity of retail stores gave an extravagant value to every inch of ground. Excepting a few solitary buildings at the extreme corners of this figure above deseribed, (among which we are happy to say are the Episcopal church, the State and Planters' Bank and Washington Hall) all that contained was burned down to the ground .*

"Ninety-four lots were left naked, containing 321 wooden buildings, (many of them double tenements) 35 brick ditto exclusive of those owned by the Presbyterian church, and by Messrs. Gibbons, Shad, Mor- rison, Johnston and Hunter, which comprised 30 tenements-making altogether 463 tenements exclusive of out-buildings!

"The total loss of property is variously estimated. but the prevail- ing opinion ealeulates it to be upwards of Four Millions of Dollars! "The fire was extinguished between twelve and one o'clock A. M., and, if possible, the scene became still more painfully. interesting. Wherever an open space promised security from the flames, property of every description had been deposited in vast heaps. Some were gazing in silent despair on the scenes of destruction, others were busily and sorrowfully employed in eolleeting what little was spared to them. Alas! never did the sun set on a gloomier day for Savannah. or on so many aching hearts. Those whose avocations called them forth that niglit will long remember its sad and solemn stillness, interrupted only by the sullen sounds of falling ruins. During the excitement, while the heart of the city was wrapt in flames, each one was too busy for reflec- tion, but when the danger was past, and the unfortunate sufferers had leisure to contemplate the extent of their losses, a generous mind may conceive, but it is impossible to describe, their feelings of despair."

YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC (ALSO 1820)

The year 1820 was one of great disaster to Savannah. The fire of the early part of the year was followed in the summer by a terrible epidemie of yellow fever, the most serious, perhaps, that had occurred since the founding of the city. That disease must have appeared before that date, in a milder form, or, at least, with less pronounced results. There are traditions of such epidemies in the earlier part of that cen-

* The State Bank ( Bank of the State of Georgia), stood where the Citizens and Southern Bank now stands, the Planters' Bank faced Reynolds Square, bounded by Abercorn, Bryan, St. Julian and Drayton Streets, and Washington Hall was on the lot in which the Commercial Bank now stands, and just to the east of that bank, on Bryan Street.

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tury, and it has been said that the year 1804 was marked by the num- ber of deaths from fever. supposed to have been of that fearful type.

The first record we have in connection with that disease is set down in the journal of William Stephens. secretary to the trustees of the colony whose remarks applied especially to Charleston, South Carolina, but whose words indicate that at the date of writing certain deaths were caused by yellow fever. On the 23d of October, 1740, he said : "This Fall of the Leaf produced a sickly season with us of various kinds. Fluxes, dry Gripes, lingering Fevers, &c., that within two months past has carried off seven or eight People, which is more than died in one whole year before: And from Charles Town. we hear of a dangerous distemper there which they call the yellow Fever, from the corpse immediately so changing after death ; and it is observed to have proved most fatal to new comers. whereof many have been taken off; such as we have lately lost have been weakly People, and children for the most part."

The year 1819 was one of considerable sickness in Savannah, and the newspapers mentioned the cause of death in many instances as the "prevailing fever." While it was not stated that there were eases of yellow fever in the city, it is probable that the disease so-called was such, as the same papers noted the fact that yellow-fever was epidemic in Charleston. Whatever may have been the nature of the fever of 1819 in Savannah, it is certain that it was looked upon as alarming in its effects, and efforts were made to prevent its spread. At that period the ordinances of the city were strict in the matter of forbidding exea- vations, or turning up the soil in the summer season.

About that time steps were taken looking to the erection of monu- ments in memory of Gen. Nathanael Greene and Count Casimir Pulaski, and it was with that object in view that the suggestion was made that the remains of the former be found so as to place them beneath such memorial. It then probably never occurred to any one that there was a doubt as to the statement that the body of the latter had been buried at sea. In order to assist in the recovery of the bones of Gen- eral Greene, the city council, at a meeting held July 26, 1819, adopted this minute:

LOCATING THE BURIAL PLACE OF NATHANAEL GREENE

"The frequent inquiries made by citizens and strangers 'Where lie the remains of the gallant General Greene who died and was buried in your city ?' and the acknowledged want of information on the sub- ject imply a negleet highly reproachful to the known patriotism and feelings of the inhabitants; and whereas it would be desirable, and, in fact, almost our duty, to satisfy public curiosity in this instance, and thereby give an opportunity to the people of this State, among whom the General lived and died. to testify a share of their gratitude for the noble and important services rendered in the Revolution by this great and eminent soldier and patriot. and tho' this be done late it is yet but a common respect to his memory for this body to claim his precious remains and remove them from the vault where they are now supposed

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to be deposited and mingling with those in no wise akin to him, and have them interred under the order, sanetion and special protection of this Board so as to enable the Legislature, or the publie, hereafter to ereet some monument worthy the memory of this great and good man ;

"Resolved, That the Mayor and Aldermen [Charles] Harris and [John H.] Ash be a committee to ascertain by all means in their power the vault where the remains of General Greene have been deposited, and, on identitying the same, to have such remains placed in a neat mahogany coffin, and thereupon report to council for their further pro- ceedings on this interesting subject." A further resolution required that the action of council be "communicated to the representatives of the deceased who may now be in the State, and also to the proprietors of the vault to be opened, to obtain leave for the committee to carry this resolution into effeet." Provision was made to have the expenses of the search paid by the city.

As already stated Savannah was a place of considerable sickness in 1819, and the sanitary regulations at that time were very rigid. It was the general impression that General Greene's remains were in the vault owned by the family of John Graham whose confiscated estate had been given to that officer. In addition to the unfit condition of the city at what was then regarded as a most siekly season, there had been a burial in the Graham vault during that same year of Mr. Philip Young, a relative of the Mossman family who were connected with the Grahams. For those reasons it is doubtful whether a seareh was made in that vault, and the committee appointed made no conclusive report which caused the city council to appoint another committee the follow- ing year (1820) with Alderman Ash still a member. The year 1820 was the year of the great yellow fever epidemie, and it is improbable that the committee made an investigation, as it never filed a report; and thus the matter stood for many years. This subject will be further considered, and the story of the finding of General Greene's remains will be told in its proper plaee. It was introduced here only in connection with the yellow fever incident which will now be resumed.

Before entering upon a detailed account of that disastrous plague, the following extract from the report of Dr. William R. Waring, one of Savannah's most illustrious physicians and at that time an alderman, may be deemed peculiarly interesting as an attempt at accounting for the epidemic at this time when the whole world has come to the belief that yellow fever is spread entirely by one particular species of the mosquito. The report was made in 1821, the year following the epi- demic. He wrote: "To sum up then all which I have suggested, it appears that the causes of the fever of 1820 have been: 1st. A gen- eral epidemic condition of the atmosphere. of extraordinary virulence, either proved to exist, or produced, by an uncommon deficiency of the electric fluid; 2d. The early establishment of that condition of the atmosphere, by the reduction of the winter of 1819-20, to the tempera- ture of spring, and the reduction of spring to the heat of summer; thus bringing upon us in the spring the usual evils of summer; in the summer a combination of these evils, with the usual evils of that season, and,

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in the fall, an agitation of the evils which are usually incident to it, with this extraordinary combination of those which preceded them ; 3d. The prevalence of easterly winds which has been predominant, and uncommonly injurious, in consequence of the general abundance of moisture and miasmata: 4th. The growth of the city within a few year's, and the rapid increase of its population, thus producing a source of internal putridity. and incorporating it with the soil; 5th. The unnecessary luxuriance of the trees, by the shade and protection which they afford to dews and fogs, and moisture of the atmosphere after rain ; 6th. The great number of small wooden houses unpainted, and in a complete state of putrescence; 7th. Uncovered vaults and cellars, the consequence of the fire; 8th. The remarkable number of foreigners and persons unaccustomed to the elimate, producing not an aggravation of the cause of the disease, but of its general grade and character; 9th. The high position of the city, on the border of extensive marsh grounds, thus attracting and concentrating upon itself their products of un- wholesome vapor and miasmata. All these causes together give a com- pound origin to the disease which is internal and external."

The statistics giving the number of deaths prepared in the form here presented will show at a glance the effect of the disease during what were then called "the sickly months:"

Males

July 49

Aug. 82

Sep. 169

Oct. 166

Nov. 45

Dec. 23

Total for whole year 605

Females

191

118

232

220

796

Georgians

161

Southerners . .

Northerners

. .

228

Foreigners

320

Of fever.

106

187

516

Greatest number of deaths, in September, 232.

Least number of deaths, in March, S.

This fact should be borne in mind in contemplating the effect of the yellow fever on the population. At that time the census showed the total number of residents to be 7,523; but on the appearance of the disease many fled from the city, and while it was at its height the population was thereby so materially reduced that it numbered only 1.494. A vessel arrived in the harbor from the West Indies on the fifth of September with yellow fever among her erew, and only a few days thereafter cases were reported among the citizens.

It took some time for the city to recover from the effects of the fever and the fire, and there is not much of importance to record in her history for several years from that time.

CITY AFFAIRS CONTINUED

Resuming our account of the managers of the city affairs, left off in 1804 with the election of John Y. Noel as mayor, we now record the

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fact that he was re-elected in 1805 and 1806, and that in the former of those years the only associates of his who had been members of the board in 1804, were Adam Cope and Wm. Davies, the other aldermen in 1805 being James Marshall. John HI. Morel, Balthasar Shaffer, James Hunter. Samuel Howard and JJohn Love. In 1806, besides Mayor Noel the city fathers were John Pettibone, John Cumming, Fingal T: Flym- ing, Oliver Sturges, John P. Williamson, Benjamin Ansley, Samuel Stackhouse, Edmond Harden, Win. Davies, Thomas W. Rodman and Christian Gugel. Alderman Win. Davies succeeded Noel in 1807 as mayor, and he had with him on his aldermanie board his former col- leagues, B. Shaffer, E. Harden, J. P. Williamson, B. Ansley and J. H. Morel, the new members being John Y. White, John Tebeau, Edward Stebbins, Thos. Rice, and Thos: Bourke. After five years experience as an alderman, John P. Williamson stepped into the mayoralty in 1808, supported by aldermen E. Stebbins, Jeremiah Cuyler. Thos. Men- denhall, Thos. Rice. John Grimes, John Pettibone, Norman MeLeod, Jas. Bond Read and Asa Hoxey. Mr. Williamson retired altogether in 1809, when Wm. Bellinger Bulloch took the chair at the head of the city council, having the support of aldermen Shaffer. McLeod, Cope, J. B. Read, Grimes, Gardner Tuffts, George Myers, Jas. Eppinger, R. J. Houstoun and Wm. A. Moore. Mr. Bulloch served again as mayor in 1810, and Messrs. Isaac Fell. Geo. Harral, Thos. Mendenhall. Wm. Davies, Isaac Minis, G. V. Proctor, G. R. Duke, Thos. Bourke. N. G. Rutherford, Thos. Rice, John Y. White and Steele White composed the aldermanic board. Mr. Mendenhall's experience as a city father in 1808 and 1810, made him so popular that in 1811 he was called to act at the head of the board and he has as able co-workers Messrs. T. Bourke, J. B. Read, T. U. P. Charlton, G. V. Proctor. J. Y. White, A. Pem- berton, Jno. Pettibone, M. W. Hughes and I. Minis. The year 1812 brought Dr. George Jones to the mayoralty, and he had in the adminis- tration of the city's affairs the valable assistance of such experienced aldermen as J. B. Read. G. R. Duke, Chas. Harris, M. W. Hughes, T. U. P. Charlton, Archibald Stobo Bulloch, Isaac Minis, G. V. Proctor, Matthew MeAllister and Frederick S. Fell; and in the following year (1813), Dr. Jones served again at the head of the board, with Thos. Decheneaux, Isaac Fell, E. Harden, J. B. Norris and JJ. Hersman, newly elected, and Messrs. Harris, Hughes, Minis, Proctor and Me- Allister retired. Mr. McAllister was mayor in 1814, with an alder- manie board composed of J. B. Norris, T. U. P. Charlton, J. Hersman, Hampden McIntosh, I. Fell, E. Harden. J. B. Read, A. S. Roe, Robt. Mackay, Geo. Jones, Thos. Bourke and William B. Bulloch. After four successive terms as alderman the Hon. T. U. P. Charlton was chosen mayor in 1815, and he had a board of aldermen in which we find these names: Charles Harris, Isaac Fell. Jacob Hersman. Wm. Davies, Geo. V. Procior. J. B. Norris, Geo. L. Cope. John II. Ash, Samuel Russell, Hampden Me Intosh, Edward Harden, Robert Mackay. Judge Charlton was mayor again in 1816, with aldermen G. R. Duke, H. MeIntosh, Levi S. D'Lyon, Jacob P. Henry, Geo. L. Cope, Gardner Tuffts, Steele White, Chas. Harris, Thos. N. Morel, Geo. V. Proctor, and Isaac Fell. The year 1817 saw the Hon. James Moore

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A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1126

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1126