USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 34
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GEORGE GALPHIN: THE PIONEER INDIAN TRADER .- As the result of an extensive trade with the various Indian tribes, George Galphin became in time one of the wealthiest land-owners of the Province. Though he lived on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River, at a place called Silver Bluff, where his principal depot
* "Story of Georgia and the Georgia People," p. 31, Atlanta, 1900.
t "Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends," L. L. Knight, Vol. I.
# Ibid., Vol. I.
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of supplies was also located, it was mainly with the Creek and Cherokee Indians of Georgia that he engaged in traffic. The area of his operations extended from Mobile te Charleston, and he dealt with foreign countries not only through these ports of entry, but through Savannah, St. Augustine, and Pensacola. The Indians became indebted to him for large sums of money; but when Governor Wright, in 1773, negotiated with the Indians for an extensive tract of land wherewith to extinguish the debts due the traders he refused to pay the claim of Galphin because he sided with the colonies in the pending troubles with England. At the close of hostilities, the elaim was transferred to the courts of the United States; but it was not until 1848 that the matter was finally settled. In the meantime, George Galphin had been dead for sixty-eight years, and it was finally among his grand- children that the proceeds were divided.
The story is told by Doetor White." Says he: "Prior to the year 1773 George Galphin was a licensed trader to the Creek and Cherokee tribes of Indians, then within the limits of the colony of Georgia, and to him these tribes were largely indebted. In the same year, Sir James Wright, Governor of Georgia, pursuing the instructions of the parent government, concluded at Augusta, for the sole purpose of discharging the indebtedness of the Indian traders, a treaty for land, by which was annexed to the British crown a large extent of territory, embracing the present counties of Wilkes, Lincoln, and Elbert, together with parts of Greene, Oglethorpe, and Franklin. In 1775 the treaty was ratified by the British crewn, and commis- sioners were appointed to liquidate the various claims under it. Accordingly the claim of George Galphin for 9,791 ponnds, 15 shillings, and 5 pence was approved by the Governor in Council, to be paid out of moneys arising from the sale of lands lately ceded to his Majesty by the Creek and Cherokee Indians. The menace of open war in the succeeding year entirely destroyed the prospect of payment from this source. In Jannary, 1780, the Legislature of Georgia, under the exigencies of the times, appropriated these ceded lands, but made an important reservation in favor of such Indian traders as were friends to America. These, on submitting the requisite proofs, were to be given certificates payable within four years at 6 per cent interest. The relation of George Galphin to the Revolution became, there- fore, the pertinent question to be decided. He was a native of Ireland, who emi- grated to America soon after reaching manhood and died at Silver Bluff, on the Savannah River, in South Carolina, December 2, 1780, in the seventy-first year of his age. By his enterprise he extended his mercantile relations far into the conntry of the Indians, and by his fair dealing and uniform kindness he acquired an influ- ence over the tribes, who were always predisposed to resentment and war. As a commissioner of Indian Affairs under the colonial government, his official duties were discharged with promptitude and fidelity; and his conduct during the war of the Revolution, to the period of his death, was consistent and patriotic."
Without queting in detail the somewhat lengthy account, General Howe, in writing to his commander-in-chief, General Washington, spoke in the highest terms of the unwearied efforts of Mr. Galphin te conciliate the Creek Indians, and Gev- ernor Walton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, also testified withent reserve to his patriotism, while Maj. Joseph Habersham, Hen. William Stephens, and Maj. . Peter Deveaux made affidavits to the same effect. The Royal Assembly, which met in Savannah in 1780, attainted George Galphin of high treason against the British crown only four months before he was carried to his grave. In 1790 the British Parliament made an appropriation to meet the claims of the sufferers under the old treaty of 1773 but the heirs of George Galphin were not allowed to share in the benefits of this measure of relief which was intended strictly for British loyalists. His estate was sold to satisfy debts incurred in his trade with the Indians, for the payment of which he relied upon the proceeds of these ceded lands. In 1793, the heirs applied to the United States government, whereupon a measure was passed by the Senate to carry into execution the promise of the State of Georgia. But the matter remained in abeyance for years. At last the claim was reported to be one, the payment of which should be assumed by the United States government. Accordingly, the secretary of the treasury was directed to pay the claim, which amounted to $234,000.
* White's "Historical Collections of Georgia, " pp. - , New York, 1856.
CHAPTER XXIV
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR WRIGHT ARRIVES-THOUGH EDUCATED IN ENG- LAND, A NATIVE OF SOUTH CAROLINA-DESTINED TO ENJOY GREAT POPULARITY, TO RESTRAIN GEORGIA FROM ENTERING TOO HASTILY INTO THE REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE, TO BE MADE A BARONET OF ENGLAND, AND TO BE THE FIRST AMERICAN HONORED WITH A BURIAL IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY-PROSPERITY CONTINUES- DEATH OF KING GEORGE II, FOR WHOM GEORGIA WAS NAMED-MANIFESTATIONS OF SORROW FOLLOWED BY JOYFUL RECOGNITION OF KING GEORGE III- GOVERNOR WRIGHIT IS PLACED OFFICIALLY AT THIE HELM-BECOMES GOVERNOR WITH FULL POWERS-PLACES THE COLONY IN A STATE OF DEFENSE AGAINST THE LIKELIHOOD OF AN INDIAN OUTBREAK- LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GRANT CRUSHES THE INDIAN UPRISING- GEORGIA'S IMMUNITY FROM TROUBLE WITH THE INDIANS-IMPORTANT CHANGES IN BRITISH AFFAIRS-ENGLAND, FLUSHED WITH VICTORY OVER FRANCE, BECOMES INVOLVED IN A SUCCESSFUL WAR WITH SPAIN-ACQUIRES FLORIDA-THE DISPUTED BOUNDARY LINE IS AT LAST SETTLED-GEORGIA 'S EXTREME SOUTHERN LIMIT IS FIXED AT THE ST. MARY'S RIVER-KING GEORGE, TO REPLENISH HIS WASTED EXCHEQUER, TAXES HIS AMERICAN COLONIES-THE NEFARIOUS STAMP ACT-HOSTILE DEMONSTRATIONS IN GEORGIA-THE SONS OF LIBERTY-TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION-THE SPEEDWELL ARRIVES AT SAVANNAH WITH THE STAMPED PAPER-DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN LANDING ITS CARGO-NO STAMPS SOLD IN GEORGIA EXCEPT TO CLEAR VESSELS IN THE HARBOR-DRAMATIC EVENTS IN SAVANNAH-THE STAMP ACT REPEALED LEGISLATIVE TROUBLES- THE KING'S COUNCIL IS LOYAL, BUT THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY REFUSES TO PAY FOR GEORGIA'S COERCION-THE LEGISLATURE IS DIS- SOLVED-DR. NOBLE WYMBERLEY JONES ELECTED SPEAKER OF THE NEW HOUSE-JONATHAN BRYAN REMOVED FROM THE KING'S COUN- CIL-MORE TROUBLE FOR GOVERNOR WRIGHT, WHO LEAVES FOR ENG- LAND, WHERE HE IS KNIGHTED-JAMES HABERSHAM IS LEFT IN CHARGE-LOYAL TO THE CROWN, HE STANDS FIRM-TWICE VETOES THE ELECTION OF DOCTOR JONES-GOVERNOR WRIGHT'S RETURN -- ACQUIRES 1 BODY OF LAND FROM THE INDIANS-ENGLAND RENEWS HER TAXATION OF THE COLONIES, BUT REPEALS THEM AGAIN, RETAIN- ING ONLY THE DUTY ON TEA-REBELLION BREAKS OUT AFRESH- THE BOSTON TEA PARTY-THE CHARTER OF MASSACHUSETTS RE- VOKED-GEORGIA'S SYMPATIIY IS AROUSED-JONATHAN BRYAN IS AGAIN EXPELLED-PATRIOTS HOLD A MEETING IN SAVANNAH ON JULY 27, 1774-DUE TO GOVERNOR WRIGHT'S INFLUENCE, NO DELE- GATES ARE SENT TO PHILADELPHIA-BUT DR. LYMAN HALL GOES TO
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REPRESENT THE PARISH OF ST. JOHN, WHERE KINSMEN OF THE MASSACHUSETTS PURITANS RESIDE-THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON- GEORGIA'S CONSERVATISM YIELDS.
NOTES : BONAVENTURE-RESOLUTIONS OF PROTEST ADOPTED BY FRIENDS OF THE KING-ST. GEORGE'S PARISH: A NEST OF LOYALISTS- WRIGHTSBORO: THE QUAKER SETTLEMENT-GEORGIA'S QUAKER COL- ONY FILES A PROTEST.
Two weeks before Governor Ellis set sail for England there arrived in the province a gentleman of middle age, who was destined for a score of years to become the central figure around whom the fortunes of Georgia were to revolve. Though educated in England, he was born in the province of South Carolina, where for two full decades he had held the office of attorney-general. Under his administration as governor, until the passage of the nefarious Stamp Act by the English Parlia- ment, there was fated to be no discord. He brought a benign counte- nance, a wise head and a firm hand to the administration of affairs. Prosperity smiled upon the province; and when troublous days came at last there was still felt for this faithful old servitor of the Crown an affection which even bayonets could not uproot. While still holding the governorship of Georgia. he was invested by his sovereign with the honors of knighthood. On the recapture of Savannah by the patriots in 1781 he returned to England, where at the close of an eventful life he was laid to rest in her ancient Valhalla-the first American to be buried in Westminster Abbey.
This was James Wright. He arrived in Georgia on October 11, 1760, having been commissioned as lieutenant-governor, to serve while his chief was ou a leave of absence in England. But, as we have already seen, Governor Ellis had returned home in a state of health too pre- carious to admit of his continuance in office; and accordingly, on March 20, 1761, Governor Wright was placed officially at the helm and invested with the full title of captain-general, governor and com- mander-in-chief of the Province of Georgia. During the interval which elapsed between these dates a ship arrived in the harbor at Savannah bearing news of the death of King George II. This was the sovereign for whom Georgia was named and whose signature had been affixed to her royal charter. The announcement was received with profound sor- row in the province, for Georgia was bound to the old king by no ordi- mary tie of allegiance; but, on the day following, pursuant to au estab- lished custom, the new king, George III, was proclaimed with joyful manifestations. For more than sixty years this new sovereign was to fill the English throne; and, during this time, at the end of a mighty revolution, England was to lose all of her American possessions on the mainland, south of the Dominion of Canada.
But more of this later. Governor Wright's first care, on assuming office, was to place the province in a state of defense against the likeli- hood of an Indian attack. Fort Loudoun had just been taken and there existed a widespread uneasiness as to what might follow. He, therefore, addressed a message to the general assembly, urging the necessity for immediate action in strengthening outposts and in safeguarding the
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province at exposed points. Special attention was given to Savannah. The town was enclosed with palisades, its fortifications repaired, and its garrison re-enforced. This was done not only to protect the seat of government, but to afford an asylum to the people of the neighborhood in the event of a savage outbreak. Forts Argyle, Frederica and Augusta were likewise put in readiness to withstand an attack.
During the spring of 1761, Lieut .- Col. James Grant, to aid South Carolina in subduing the Cherokees, arrived in Charleston with a body of Highlanders. Re-enforced by local companies, he marched at the head of a column, 2,600 strong, to Fort Prince George, where in May he met Atta-kulla-kulla, who urged him to delay his hostile expedition until he could use his offices to secure peace. Friendly alike both to the whites and to the Indians, he wished to avert bloodshed if possible, and to protect his nation against an armed foe whose superior numbers and munitions of war he was powerless to resist. But to the old chief's entreaties, Colonel Grant turned a deaf ear, and pointing his sword toward the heart of the Cherokee Nation, he issued his stern command : "Forward march !" Four days later, at the foot of the mountains, where Colonel Montgomery had been drawn into ambuscade, a bloody fight ensued, in which the Indians, though offering a desperate resist- ance, were finally routed. Pressing on to the Indian Town of Etchoe, he reduced it to ashes, after which, penetrating into a region beyond the mountains, he sacked fourteen other towns; nor did he return to Fort Prince George until his avenging sword had brought the Cherokee nation to its knees. The campaign was most successful. The power of the Cherokees was crushed, and there followed a peace which remained unbroken until the time of the Revolution. Two years had been consumed in these various expeditions against the Cherokees, but not a cabin on the frontier of Georgia had been harmed. Oglethorpe's humane spirit still enveloped the province in a mantle of protection. His memory was a tower of defense. It guided a Reynolds. It coun- seled an Ellis. It inspired a Wright.
When the danger of an Indian uprising was no longer imminent, a crusade was launched by speeulators for a removal of the seat of gov- ernment to Hardwicke, but Governor Wright did not look with favor upon this proposal, and he soon put an end to the agitation by announe- ing his attitude upon the subject. To property owners in Savannah, many of whom had erected substantial structures of brick, this decision on the part of Governor Wright gave no little satisfaction. At the same time it delivered a death-blow to Hardwicke, a town which sur- vives today only in the traditions of a remote past. For more than 150 years it has been numbered among the silent towns of Georgia.
Meanwhile important changes were taking place in the wider realm of British affairs. As the result of the French and Indian wars, an imperial territory north of the Great Lakes had been conquered. At the same time, Acadie had been christened Nova Scotia. Gains in India and on the Dark Continent had likewise augmented the dominions of Great Britain.
Moreover, having learned that between Spain and France, each of which was governed by a Bourbon, there existed a secret alliance grow- ing out of what is known in history as the "Family Compact," to which.
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Sieily and Palma were also parties, England in 1762 declared war against Spain. Thus, taking advantage of her newly acquired strength, she sought to punish the Spanish power, for secretly defending France, in the recent European upheaval, to which the French and Indian war in America was only an adjunct. France, Austria and Russia were allied upon the one hand, against England and Prussia on the other; and it was to help the former coalition that Spain had interfered.
Consequently, it was her time next. In less than six months, England had destroyed the Spanish navy, captured Havana, and brought Madrid to terms. Realizing that her rich colonial possessions were at the merey of England, there was no alternative except to yield. Under the treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, England acquired from Spain the Peninsula of Florida, while from France she acquired a vast belt of land between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi River. At this time the northern boundary of Florida, long a bone of conten- tion, was finally settled. On October 10, 1763, King George III, by royal edict fixed this boundary line at the St. Mary's River, its beginning point, thence extending in a straight course westward, from the head- waters of this stream to the mouth of the Appalachacola River-all the territory south of this line and east of the Appalachacola River to be known as the Province of East Florida; all the territory west of the Appalachacola River to be known as the Province of West Florida, with its northern boundary line fixed at the 31st parallel of north latitude.
In this same royal proclamation, King George annexed to the Prov- ince of Georgia, all the lands included between the Altamaha River and the St. Mary's; and, out of these lands, in 1765, were created four new parishes : St. David, St. Patrick, St. Thomas and St. Mary. Besides gaining an increase of territory, the effect of which was to make her one of the largest provinces in America, she also gained an English neighbor to the south. Subsequently a new commission was issued to Governor Wright, giving the precise boundaries of the enlarged prov- ince over which he was to rule, a document which at the close of the war with England, in 1783, when Florida reverted back to Spain, was to play an important part in settling the lower boundaries of the United States .*
Likewise in this same proclamation King George set aside for the use of the Indians all lands lying between the Mississippi River and the headwaters of streams flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. It was made unlawful for the white settlers to occupy these lands until permitted to do so under future treaties of cession. Friendly relations with the In- dians were enjoined, to which end the royal governors in each of the English provinces, within whose borders lay these Indian lands, were directed to hold a joint conference with the chiefs of the various tribes ; and Augusta, having been selected as the most convenient site for the assemblage, it here met, on November 5, 1763, at the King's Fort, near the present site of St. Paul's Church. It is estimated that not less than 700 Indians were in attendance upon this congress, over which Governor Wright presided. Five days were consumed in negotiations, after which a solemn compact, pledging perpetual friendship, was signed by all par-
* I .. B. Evans' " History of Georgia, " p. 68.
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ties to the agreement. Ten years later, in 1773, Governor Wright, at Augusta, negotiated from the Indians, in satisfaction of debts due to traders, a large body of land out of which in 1777 was erected the orig- inal County of Wilkes.
While the devastating Seven Years war had enlarged the dominions of England, it had also doubled her national debt, and to provide addi- tional revenue for the Crown it was thoughit necessary to tax the colonies. English taxpayers at home were already struggling under a heavy bur- den, to increase which was deemed unjust, especially since a part of the nation's war debt had been contracted to defend the colonies. There seemed to be some basic element of fairness in this contention; but, on the other hand, it was claimed by the colonies that, in furnishing aid and equipping soldiers for the French and Indian war and in helping to achieve an English victory in Canada, they had already redeemed this obligation in full. Moreover, the right of Parliament to tax the colonies was traversed on the ground of its opposition to fundamental law. It was a cardinal principle of English freedom, securely founded upon the Bill of Rights, that taxation without representation was unjust; and since the colonies were denied a voice in the Parliament of England it was manifestly unfair to impose upon them a tax in the levying of which they were unrepresented. Even though living in America the colonists were not aliens but English subjects, entitled to all the rights conferred upon them by the Great Charter. Englishmen they were in allegiance, Englishmen in blood. Despite the manifest injustice, therefore, of denying to them a time-honored and well-established principle of right, despite the short-sightedness of a policy whose effect would be to excite resentment, to weaken allegiance, and to alienate affection, despite the earnestness with which the colonies themselves protested against such a monstrous wrong, despite the warnings of Chatham, of Burke, and of Fox, Parliament in the spring of 1765 proceeded to pass the iniquitous Stamp Act.
Patrick Henry's great speech in the Virginia Assembly voiced the protest not of Virginia alone but of all the North American colonies. Even Georgia arose in revolt-though England's youngest born. To a circular letter sent out by Massachusetts, calling for a congress of all the colonies to enter formal protest against the tax, Georgia was ready to respond, and, though Governor Wright's personal influence prevented an election of delegates, a letter was addressed to the congress pledging Georgia's co-operation. Her next step was even more belligerent. She dismissed her agent in London, William Knox, for the reason that he made himself obnoxious by advising her to accept the situation. This course was likewise recommended by most of the graybeards of the province; but the younger element of the population, in whose veins pulsed the riotous blood of youth, banded themselves together for resist- ance into an organization styled "the Sons of Liberty," a patriotic order destined to give a good account of itself in the approaching con- fliet of arms.
On October 26, 1765, an event occurred which served to test the temper of this patriotic uprising. Governor Wright, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the new king's accession to the throne, ordered a general muster of the provincial militia, little reckoning as to its conse- .
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quences. There assembled in Savannah at this time a large crowd ostensibly to witness the maneuvers but most of these visitors proved to be Sons of Liberty, who paraded the streets, with a great noise, denoune- ing the Stamp Aet. Threats were even made of violence to Governor Wright. Some of the English statesmen were burned in effigy and most intense excitement prevailed.
To explain this iniquitous Stamp Act, it levied upon the colonies a tax to be collected by the sale of stamped paper, the use of which was made essential to the validity of certain transactions. Legal documents, such as deeds, contracts, notes, bonds, marriage licenses and other writ- ten agreements, were null and void unless written on stamped paper furnished by the English Government. Tracts and pamphlets eould not be sold unless printed on stamped paper. It was an indirect form of taxation but it affected directly every interest in the colonies; and from Massachusetts to Georgia there was an undivided sentiment of opposition. Some of the most loyal friends of the crown resented the obnoxious tax as unwarranted, arbitrary and unjust.
November 1, 1765, was the time set for the Stamp Act to become effective but it was not until December 5 that his majesty's ship, the Speedwell, arrived at Savannah, with supplies of the stamped paper on board. It required a guard of forty men to protect the dock hands while engaged in transferring this paper from the vessel to the king's store- house : such was the feeling of local resentment; and there were rumors afloat that a seizure of the stamped paper was contemplated by an organized band of patriots. The paper remained unmolested and un- opened in the king's store until January 3, 1766, when Mr. Agnus, an Englishman, arrived at Savannah to begin its distribution. On arrival he was secretly landed in a scout boat, carrying an officer and a party of men to protect him and was hurried to the governor's house, where he took the oath of office; but here he remained a prisoner for two weeks, not daring to expose himself on the streets of Savannah. Until the situa- tion should become less acute, he was then taken into the country, to escape violence at the hands of an infuriated mob. Excitement ran high. Threatening letters poured in upon Governor Wright and even so good a man as James IIabersham, president of the king's council, was waylaid one night and forced to seek protection in the governor's house, around which a guard was posted.
Matters reached a climax toward the end of January, when Gov- ernor Wright, hearing that a band of 600 men had been organized to break into the king's store, caused the stamped paper to be conveyed to Fort George, on Cockspur Island, where its safety was less endangered. On February 2, the Speedwell having returned to Savan- nah, the stamped paper was put on board this vessel. At night, in Savannah, a riotous scene was enacted. Indignation at sight of the ship which had brought the stamped paper to Georgia caught fire and burst into flame. Governor Wright, pictured in effigy as holding one of the obnoxious sheets in his hand, was held up to derision, after which this caricature of the governor was burned.
Three weeks later the Stamp Act was repealed; but Parliament in reseinding this measure did not relinquish its right to tax the colonies. Consequently the evil day was only postponed.
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Meanwhile an incident occurred in legislative circles which we must not overlook. It illustrated the temper of the times. For supplies is- sued to the British soldiers stationed in Georgia, the governor late in January issued a requisition upon the assembly, transmitting therewith a copy of the mutiny act, under which the supplies were authorized by Parliament. While the Upper House readily agreed, the Lower House stoutly demurred. The governor was indignant at this action but pow- erless to help matters. If he dissolved the assembly a new one would be elected, in which the Sons of Liberty might constitute an even larger majority of its members. Thus the wheels of legislation were locked. Moreover, in choosing an agent to represent the colony in England the Lower House refused to approve any nomination which the Upper House made. Georgia was without an agent therefore, until 1768 when Dr. Benjamin Franklin, at a salary of £100 sterling per annum, was chosen to fill this position, holding it until the outbreak of the Revo- lution.
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