USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 64
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
As soon as the fact of his demise was made known, all the vessels in Cumberland Sound displayed colors at half mast. The funeral was attended by army and navy officers who were on duty at the mouth of the St. Mary's River, and by detachments from both wings of the coast defence. Minute-guns were fired from the flagship-the John Adams --- while the body was being lowered into the tomb and at the close of the services at the grave, a salute was fired. Nothing was omitted in the way of formal honors, to show a nation's sorrow for the loss of an illus- trious soldier and patriot. Sometime in the early '30s, two marble slabs, one to be put at the head and the other at the foot of the grave, were sent to Dungeness by Major Lee, the old hero's eldest son ; and they were at once placed in position by Mr. Nightingale over the last resting place of "Light Ilorse Harry."
Prior to the Civil war, the question of the removal of General Lee's body to Virginia, the state of his birth, was discussed by the Legislature in session at Richmond and commissioners to superintend the execution of the trust were duly appointed. But the outbreak of hostilities shortly ensued; and nothing further could be done at this time. For years after the war, the state was too harrassed by debt and too exhausted by the ravages of conflict, to undertake this labor of love. But in 1912 another movement looking toward the transfer of the old soldier's body to Virginia was successfully launched, and within a few months there- after the remains of "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, after having reposed for nearly a century in Georgia soil, were taken to Lexington, Virginia, there to repose in the chapel of Washington and Lee University beside the ashes of an illustrious son, Robert E. Lee.
Difficulties of various kinds beset the early growth of Franklin Col- lege. But the year 1819 marked a new era in the fortunes of this insti- tution. Dr. Moses Waddell was in the summer of this year called by the board of trustees to take the presidency of Franklin College. Accept- ing the board's invitation, Doctor Waddell removed at once to Athens, re- linquishing his school in the upper part of South Carolina. Before com- ing to Athens, he had taught with great success and was considered one of the foremost educators of bis day. His pupils included such men of eminence as John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, George McDuffie, Hugh S. Legare. Instantly the waning pulse-beat of Franklin College began to revive. New life was infused into the institution. Doctor Waddell reorganized its faculty, raised its curriculum, increased its roll of students, and made it the crowning glory of a life already illustri- ous with honor and usefulness.
Georgia, as we have already seen, in the experiments of William Longstreet on the Savannah River, was a pioneer in applying steam as a
494
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
motive-power to navigation. Our state has never been given due credit for these experiments; but to the merchants of Savannah belongs an undisputed honor : that of having built the first steamboat to eross the Atlantic Ocean. On December 19, 1818, an act of the Legislature was approved by Governor Rabun, incorporating "The Savannah Steam- ship Company," composed of the following charter members: William Scarborough, A. B. Fannin, J. P. MeKinnie, Samuel Howard, Charles Howard, John Haslett, Moses Rodgers, A. S. Bulloch, John Bogue, An- drew Low & Co., Robert Isaacs, J. Minis, S. C. Dunning, J. P. Henry, John Speakman, Robert Mitchell, R. and J. Habersham, James S. Bulloch, Gideon Pott, W. S. Gillett and Samuel Yates .* At a subsequent meeting of the stockholders, on February 25, 1819, the following persons were elected directors: William Searborough, Robert Isaaes, S. C. Dunning, James S. Bulloch and Joseph Habersham. There was a ready sale for the shares of the company, due to the well-known character and high stand- ing of the incorporators. Potts and MeKinnie, of New York, were selected by the company as agents to superintend the work of construc- tion. It was strictly an American product. The hull of the vessel was built in New York, while the machinery was cast at Elizabeth, New Jer- sey. Early in the spring of 1819, the City of Savannah, with streamers afloat, slipped from her moorings.
Says a well-known writer: t On March 28, she made her trial trip from New York to Savannah, receiving a most enthusiastie reception from hundreds of citizens, assembled upon the wharves to welcome her. } The vessel was commanded by Capt. Moses Rodgers, an experienced engineer. On May 20th, she sailed for Liverpool, according to the adver- tisements, in ballast, withont, however, any passengers. Just one month later she came to anchor in the harbor of Liverpool. The paddles were so made that they could be removed from the shaft, without difficulty, in twenty minutes. Approaching Liverpool, they were used with spee- tacular effect to awe the British onlookers. With her sails set and her wheels plying, she steamed into the Mersey, "proud as any princess going to her coronation."
Remaining in Liverpool for a month, visited by thousands, she then continued her way to St. Petersburg, where Captain Rodgers, with his novel eraft, was received with every mark of respect and admiration. The 20th of November of the same year found her steaming into the port whose name she bore, with neither a screw, bolt, or rope-yard parted, according to her proud commander, notwithstanding much rough weather experienced. Later sold to a company of New York merchants, and divested of her steam apparatus. she was converted into a sailing packet between Savannah and New York, and was finally lost off the coast of Long Island. Unfortunately, as a financial venture, she was fifteen
* "Lamar's Digest," page 523.
# In the spring of 1819, President James Monroe visited Savannah, where he was entertained by William Scarborough, at his palatial home on West Broad Street. For more than fifty years the handsome residence bore the marks of its former grandeur, but it was finally converted into a school for colored children. Mr. Monroe was present at the dedicatory exercises of the Independent Presbyterian Church. He also made a trip to Tybee, on the new steamship, the "City of Savannah."
495
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
years in advance of the times. In 1856, upon the opening of the Crystal Palace in London, the Allaire Works, in New York, exhibited the identi- eal cylinder of the old steamship, the City of Savannah. The only known part of the steamship in existence, it is now on exhibition in the Crystal Palace, where the Savannah's log-book is also to be seen.
Governor Rabun, while intent upon the discharge of his duties as chief executive, was seized with a fatal illness, and, on October 24, 1819, at the executive mansion in Milledgeville, breathed his last. IIe was buried at his old home near Powellton, Georgia. The funeral of Gov- ernor Rabun was preached by the distinguished Jesse Mereer. It was a
MOUNT PLEASANT The Old Home of Governor Talbot
time when partisan politics invaded even the sanctity of the pulpit, and the good old doctor, in performing the last sad rites over the ashes of his friend, could not refrain from taking a shot at his enemies. Governor Rabun was a devout Baptist ; and once each month, while governor, he went from Milledgeville to Powellton, to discharge his duties as clerk of the little eountry chureh to which he belonged. Matthew Talbot, who was president of the Senate at the time of Governor Rabun's death, at onee took the oath of office, remaining at the helm of affairs until the General Assembly met in November, when a distinguished Georgian, for years a dominant factor in the politics of the state, was called to the executive chair : Gen. John Clark.
CHAPTER VIII
THE CODE DUELLO-GEORGIA ONE OF THE FIRST STATES TO EMPLOY THIS MODE OF ARBITRATION IN SETTLING DISPUTES BETWEEN GENTLEMEN- ALSO ONE OF THE LAST TO ABANDON THIS CUSTOM-ORIGIN OF THE DUEL- REASONS FOR ITS DOMINANCE IN GEORGIA, WHERE IT RULED PUBLIC LIFE DURING THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD-TO DECLINE AN INVI- TATION TO THE FIELD OF HONOR MEANT OSTRACISM-IT OPERATED AS A BAR SINISTER TO PREFERMENT IN POLITICS-THE EARLIEST DUEL ON RECORD IN GEORGIA WAS FOUGHT BETWEEN BUTTON GWINNETT AND LACHLAN MCINTOSH DURING THE REVOLUTION-THEY MEET ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SAVANNAII-TWO OTHER PATRIOTS FACE EACH OTHER ON HORSEBACK-GOV. JAMES JACKSON, AN INVETERATE DUELIST- HIS CONNECTION WITH THE YAZOO FRAUD EXPOSURE MAKES HIM A MULTITUDE OF ENEMIES-DUEL WITH GOVERNOR WELLS-HIE ALSO FIGHTS ROBERT WATKINS AND THOMAS GIBBONS-COL. BENJAMIN TALIAFERRO MEETS FRANCIS WILLIS ON THE FIELD OF HONOR.
NOTE: SAND BAR FERRY, A FAMOUS DUELLING GROUND.
Georgia was one of the first states of the Union to find the duel * an effective instrument for the adjustment of differences between gentle- men, she was also one of the last states to abandon a custom, perhaps, more honored in the breech than in the observance. At a time when party strife was most intense and bitter, it was an almost daily occur- rence for men to eross swords or to exchange shots in personal encoun- ters, but everything was done according to prescribed form and with punctilious regard for the Code of Honor. There was scarcely a public man in Georgia who was not credited with at least one duel, fought
* ORIGIN OF THE DUEL .- What is known as the Code Duello is supposed to have originated in the judicial combats of the Celtic nations. Trial by battle-or wager of battle-represented a crude form of justice to which the Lombards began to resort as early as the year 659 of the Christian era and which, subsequent to the battle of Hastings, in 1066, was introduced into England by William the Conqueror. But the general practice of duelling to settle affairs of honor between gentlemen may be said to have commenced in 1527, when Francis I, of France, issued a challenge to Charles V, of Germany, directing him to name his own time and place and to make his own choice of weapons with which to fight.
The affair seems to have grown out of an abrogated treaty, in consequence of which the German Emperor sent a curt message to King Francis, through the latter 's herald, declaring him to be not only a base violator of public faith but a stranger to the honor becoming a gentleman. Incensed at this message, which he considered a wanton insult, the impetuous French sovereign instantly sent back the bearer with a cartel of defiance, in which he gave the lie to Emperor Charles and incidentally, by way of royal precedent, laid the foundations for the modern duel .- "Georgia 's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends, " Vol. II, pp. 1-2, by L. L. Knight.
496
497
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
usually in the earlier stages of his career. If one refused to fight when challenged by a gentleman he was at once posted; and such an open disgrace meant social ostracism. Political honors were not awarded to cowards nor to those who, weighed in the balances of an imperious custom, were found wanting in courage; and, for upwards of a hundred years, the public life of this state was ruled with a rod of iron by that grim arbiter of destinies : the Code Duello.
For the paramount sway of the duelling pistol in a state like Georgia there were sound reasons. To begin with, the partisanship of the Revo- lution entailed upon us a host of feudal animosities. It also engen- dered the military spirit, to which life on the frontier gave constant exercise; through the ever-present dread of an Indian outbreak. Chil- dren at play revelled in the use of toy weapons, with which they stormed imaginary forts and citadels. The long protracted warfare between Clark and Crawford, at a later period, divided the state into two hostile camps, in consequence of which there were personal wrangles and dis- putes without number.
Scores of the best families of our state traced descent from the nobil- ity of England; and there was ingrained in the very nature of the aver- age Georgian an inherent love of personal encounter, as old as the tilt-yards of the Norman Conqueror. While the main body of our popu- lation was of English origin, there was an intermingling of two other strains in which the duel found a congenial soil: the Scotch-Irish, grim and silent, tenacious of personal opinion, untaught to yield an inch of ground; and the French Huguenot, fiery and impulsive, full of the mili- tary spirit, and prone, without thought of consequences, to seek the bubble, Reputation, at the cannon's mouth. Nor is it strange that in a state which knew little of the austere Puritan there should have flour- ished an institution reflecting the love of swordsmanship, the relish for adventure, and the contempt of personal danger, which, from time immemorial, have been peculiar to the English Cavalier.
The earliest duel of which there is any mention in the records of Georgia was the fatal encounter which occurred, on May 15, 1777, be- tween Button Gwinnett and Lachlan McIntosh .* It was just after the adoption of our first State Constitution and when the state was in the midst of preparations for an expected invasion by the British. Both combatants were zealous Whigs and men of the highest distinction in public affairs. Button Gwinnett had been one of the revered trio of patriots to sign the immortal scroll of independence on behalf of Georgia and had subsequently administered the affairs of the province as presi- dent of the Executive Council. Lachlan McIntosh was at this time the commanding officer of Georgia's first battalion of state troops and was destined to attain high rank as a soldier under Washington. The mis- understanding between the two men grew out of a heated controversy in which they were both rivals for the same office: that of commandant
* Jones: "History of Georgia, " Vol. II, p. 270; MeCall: "History of Georgia," Vol. II, pp. 331-335, reprint.
Vol. 1-32
498
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
of the new battalion lately organized in Georgia for service in the Conti- mental army.
McIntosh was the successful candidate. Later, on the death of Archi- bald Bulloch, who was then president of the Executive Council, Gwin- nett succeeded to the helm of civil affairs in Georgia; and, while acting in this capacity, he planned an expedition against St. Augustine, which he expected to command in person, ignoring General McIntosh. At the same time, in various other ways, he evinced his hostility toward his former rival and sought to magnify the civil at the expense of the mili- tary department of the State Government.
But the projected advance on St. Augustine failed to materialize. Moreover, in the first election for governor by the State Legislature, held on May 8, 1777, Gwinnett, an avowed candidate for the office, was defeated by John Adam Treutlen, who, by virtue of his election at this time, became the first governor of Georgia under the Constitution.
Gwinnett was naturally chagrined at his defeat. On the other hand, McIntosh was elated; and, with the bluntness of the Scotch Highlander he not only expressed his gratification at the result but went so far as to denounce Gwinnett as a scoundrel, in the presence of the Executive Council. This open insult was more than the imperious nature of Gwin- nett could endure and, chafing already under his disappointment, he at once challenged MeIntosh to mortal combat.
Preliminaries were arranged and at daybreak next morning they met on the outskirts of Savannah. At a distance of only twelve feet apart, they exchanged pistol shots and both fell to the ground. It was dis- covered on examination that each was wounded in the thigh. McIntosh recovered. But Gwinnett's wound proved fatal; and, after lingering in great pain for twelve days, he expired : the first known victim in Georgia to the Code of Honor.
Excitement in Georgia ran high. As a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett was much revered by the people, notwithstand- ing his impetuosity of temper. Dr. Lyman Hall, a former colleague in Congress, who signed the scroll of independence with Gwinnett, brought the matter before the Legislature and accused the judicial officers of criminal neglect in not ordering MeIntosh's arrest. At this critical mo- ment, McIntosh, of his own accord, surrendered himself to the civil authorities.
But the Gwinnett faction was not appeased. In the face of a com- mon enemy, Georgia was threatened with a serious division in her ranks. To avoid a rupture of the state, at a time when the cause of liberty called for a solid phalanx, Col. George Walton, of Georgia, and Col. Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, both members of Congress, act- ing as friends of McIntosh, obtained for him a command in the northern department ; and thus an embarrassing situation was relieved. With his transfer to the northern department, McIntosh gradually rose to high rank and won by his gallantry the personal friendship and esteem of Washington.
Later he returned to Georgia in time to participate in the defense of Savannah. There was no longer any feeling of animosity toward him
499
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
and at the close of the Revolution he re-established his home in Savan- nah, where he was made president of the Georgia Society of the Cin- cinnati. Gwinnett was an Englishman who came to Georgia only four years prior to the Revolution. He purchased St. Catharine's Island and became an extensive planter of rice and indigo. His home was just opposite the old Town of Sunbury, in the parish of St. John.
Two of the most distinguished officers in command of Georgia's state troops during the Revolution were Col. John Baker and Maj. John Jones, both of whom were devoted patriots. But they came near shed- ding each other's blood in a most spectacular fashion, while awaiting an expected encounter with the British soon after the fall of Savannah. As the result of a misinterpretation of orders they quarreled; and, one thing bringing on another, they agreed to settle the issue between them by fighting a duel on horseback. Accordingly they repaired to a grove, near old Midway Church, somewhat back from the traveled highway; but, when the hour for combat arrived, an officer whose uniform told that he was a brigadier-general suddenly appeared upon the scene of action.
It was Gen. James Sereven. Only a few moments before while seated in camp, a courier had brought him word of the affair; and, put- ting spurs to his horse, he dashed like a bolt of lightning through the forest. Breathless with excitement, he arrived just in time; for the two men were already facing each other with deadly intent. Lifting his hand as he drew rein, he commanded them to desist; and then pleading the country's sore need he reminded the combatants that it was no time for brother officers to be seeking each other's life, when the cause of liberty was imperiled.
High-spirited though both men were, they yielded to the importuni- ties of General Sereven, realizing the force of his argument. The spirit of patriotism prevailed over the mere desire for personal redress ; and, shaking hands on the field of honor, the would-be duellists agreed to bury their quarrel there on the spot and to reserve their fire for the British Red-Coats, who were already beginning to swarm over Georgia like a plague of locusts. But strange are the ways of fate. Within a few months General Sereven was shot from ambush near this same place, while engaged in reconnoitering.
Old Governor James Jackson-illustrious in the annals of Georgia for his crusade of fire against the Yazoo conspirators-was the most inveterate duellist of his day. He was constantly on the war-path. Growing ont of the spectacular part played by him in cansing the famous Yazoo Act of 1795 to be rescinded, he was drawn at frequent intervals into affairs of honor, from few of which he escaped without loss of blood. For at least ten years, his life was literally a round of dnels.
When the Yazoo measure became a law in 1795, the old governor was then serving his first term in the United States Senate. Incensed at what he considered the trickery by which this legislation was accom- plished, he relinquished his toga of office and took his seat in the Legis-
500
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
lature of Georgia as a member from Chatham. The infamous measure in question conveyed to four separate and distinct land companies the whole of Georgia's western domain, in return for which the state was to be compensated in the sum of $500,000, or at the rate of 11/2 cents per acre, for 35,000,000 acres of land. Such a transaction was regarded by the old governor as a blot upon Georgia's escutcheon, and with impas- sioned eloquence he sought to erase this iniquitous measure from the statute books. He accomplished his purpose. The Legislature of 1796 rescinded the obnoxious act; and on the State House Square, in the solemn presence of the General Assembly, every record pertaining to the transaction was burned, with impressive ceremonies. It was on this occasion that Governor Jackson, by means of a sun-glass, called down the fire of heaven. Thus was Georgia's honor redeemed.
But the old governor reaped a harvest of feudal enmitics. His duelling-pistols were rarely ever cool. But so violent was the Jack- sonian temper, that he did not always wait upon the tardy formalities of the Code. Occasions arose when he demanded satisfaction instanter. Writing to John Milledge, in a letter dated Savannah, March 8, 1796, he describes one of these extemporaneous encounters, in which he pro- ceeded to bite his antagonist's finger." On ordinary occasions the gov- ernor was a great stickler for decorum. Hotspur though he was, booted and spurred for battle, he always bore himself with the urbanity of a Chesterfield. No one was ever more considerate of the rights of others. But whenever his own rights were invaded or whenever an insult was wantonly offered him, James Jackson was ready to fight at a moment's notice; and, under strong provocation, could employ with telling effect the weapons of primitive man.
However, Governor Jackson's first duel antedated by some fifteen years the dramatic era of the Yazoo Fraud. Toward the close of the Revolution, he became involved in a controversy with Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Wells, in consequence of which the two men met in deadly en- counter some time during the year 1780. The latter lost his life in this exchange of shots. Governor Jackson-then a major in command of partisan troops-was severely wounded in both knees. If there were any eye witnesses to this duel, the details were never divulged, and tra- dition is strangely silent upon the subject. Judge Charlton, the author- ized biographer of Governor Jackson, says this: "We only know that they went upon the ground without seconds and fought at the desperate distance of a few feet." However, among the papers of Governor Jackson has been discovered a letter in which he laments the necessity of the duel, stating that it was imposed upon him "by the overbearing disposition of the lieutenant-governor." t But if the temper of Gov- ernor Wells took fire any more readily than did Governor Jackson's, it must have been more explosive than nitro-glycerine.
Perhaps the most inveterate political enemy of the old governor was Robert Watkins, of Augusta. Watkins was at this time one of the rec-
* Charlton: "Life of Jackson, " p. 162.
+ Charlton: "Life of Jackson, " p. 18, reprint.
501
GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
ognized leaders of the Georgia bar. He was a member of the Yazoo Legislature of 1795 and a supporter of the bill for the sale of Georgia's western lands, regarding this measure purely in the light of a real estate transaction. With his brother, George, he compiled the earliest Digest of Georgia Laws.
But, most unfortunately, when the volume appeared, in 1800, it contained the obnoxious Yazoo Act, rescinded by the Legislature of 1796; and Governor Jackson, who was then occupying the executive chair, refused to draw his warrant upon the treasury and in other ways put the seal of his official condemnation upon this earliest Digest of Georgia Laws. In vain Watkins expostulated. He showed that while his digest carried the obnoxious measure, it also carried the Repealing Act, the one counter-balancing the other. But the old governor was obdurate. He regarded the Yazoo Act as a usurpation and he did not wish to see it monumentalized upon the statute books .*
Thus the issue was joined. On both sides there was much bitterness of feeling. At least three separate duels were fought between Governor Jackson and Robert Watkins. In the last of these encounters, the old governor was severely wounded in the right hip. He was lifted from the ground and, finding that he could still stand alone, insisted upon another exchange of shots. But the surgeon urged an examination. He pried into the wound and, fearing that the bullet might have entered the cavity, ordered a cessation of hostilities. With great civility, so it is said, Mr. Watkins helped to bear the wounded man from the field; whereupon, the old governor, who remained perfectly rational through- out and who was not to be outdone in courtesy by his antagonist, was heard to observe:
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.