A standard history of Georgia and Georgians, Part 74

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 648

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yards through mud and water, thiekly set with cane, a man was ordered to ascend a tree, for the purpose of making discoveries, who reported the camp at a distance of three hundred yards, pointed out a noted forked pine as a land-mark, and also stated that he could discern spies watching their trail, and others keeping a look-out on General Wellborn's division. Captains Ball and Clifton were directed to move forward, inclining to the left, in order to give them an attack broadside. The march was con- tinued until the Indians could be heard talking. A halt was ordered by giving signs, and Colonel Wood dispatched, with others, to gain the rear of General Wellborn, and inform him where Major Jernigan was situated, the position of the Indians, ete. The messengers had not been absent two minutes before a brisk firing took place between General Wellborn and the savages. A charge was ordered with the sound of the horn, and in thirty seconds from the fire of the first gun, the two eom- panies gained the hammock, and covered the entire line of the enemy. The firing from all quarters was heavy and animated. The Indians fought with more desperation, and gave up the ground with more reluc- tance, than in any battle previously had with them. The engagement lasted forty-five minutes, and ended about half past one o'clock.

"After forcing them from their strong positions, two infant ehil- dren were heard to ery in the eane-brake. They were brought to the battle-ground. Major Jernigan's loss was three killed-Mr. Carter, of Irwinton, Ala., David Sutley, of Randolph, and John Crocker, Jun., of . Lumpkin. Thirteen were wounded. A part of those whose wounds were slight returned to their homes. The following is a list of the wounded : -E. Butler, - Frith, Thomas Shepherd, Willis Barton, William Hughes, Colonel Wood and William Hilborne, of Randolph; Lewis Wil- liams, Richard Cannady, Captain Green, and B. Ball, of Stewart; Cap- tain Jenkins and - Patterson, of Irwinton, Ala. The loss of the Indians was not ascertained. Eighteen were found dead, some of them three miles from the battle-ground."

Nine congressmen were allotted to Georgia under the new apportion- ment which became effective for the first time in the Twenty-Third Con- gress (1833-1835). The state's delegation chosen at this time was as follows : Augustin S. Clayton, John Coffee, Thomas F. Foster, Roger L. Gamble, George R. Gilmer, Seaborn Jones, William Schley, James M. Wayne and Riehard Henry Wilde .* Mr. Schley, at the expiration of his term of office, was elected governor of Georgia.

To the Twenty-Fourth Congress (1835-1837), Georgia sent: Jesse F. Cleveland, John Coffee, Thomas Glascock, Seaton Grantland, Charles E. Haynes, Hopkins Holsey, Jabez Jackson and George W. Towns.t General Coffee died while in office and to succeed him, Hon. William C. Dawson, of Greensboro, afterwards a United States senator, was elected. General Coffee was a distinguished Indian fighter but was not the officer of this name, associated with Gen. Andrew Jackson in his campaign against the Creeks, afterwards the latter's law partner, in Nashville, Tennessee. These two John Coffees were first cousins, and were not, therefore, as many have supposed, identical. George W. Towns

* "Biog. Cong. Directory," 1774-1911, p. 133.

t Ibid., p. 139.

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resigned his seat on September 1, 1836, and was succeeded by Julius C. Alford, of LaGrange. Richard Henry Wilde, defeated for re-election, soon afterwards left the state, to be identified no more with its political fortunes. Mr. Wilde was not only an eminent statesman, lawyer and advocate, but a poet of rare genius. His best known production, "My Life is Like the Summer Rose," was characterized by Lord Byron as the finest American poem. Rival claimants to its authorship were after- wards repudiated, and to Mr. Wilde is now given the uncontested honor. He remained abroad for several years, residing most of the time in Italy, where he wrote in two volumes a critical work on the mad Italian poct, Torquato Tasso. Mr. Wilde spent his last days in New Orleans, where he died in 1848, but his remains were subsequently brought back to Georgia and, after resting for a number of years on the Sand Hills, near Augusta, were finally re-interred in the City Cemetery, at Augusta. where his companions in deatlı are Paul H. Hayne and James R. Randall.

President Jackson, in 1833, filled a vacancy on the Supreme Bench of the United States by appointing Hon. James M. Wayne, of Savannah, an associate justice of this exalted tribunal. No happier selection could have been made. Judge Wayne was an eminent lawyer, and was serv- ing a term in Congress at the time of his appointment; but he was tem- peramentally much better fitted for judicial labors than for pleading causes as an advocate before a jury. At any rate he remained on the Federal bench for a period of thirty-two years, and at the time of his death held the record for continuous service, with the single exception of Chief Justice John Marshall. Judge Wayne resigned his seat in Con- gress to assume the ermine, but the appointment was made near the close of the term, for which reason his seat remained vacant until the next Congress.

Georgia's support in the presidential campaign of 1836 was given to Hugh L. White, of Tennessee, the state rights candidate, who lost the election, however, to Martin Van Buren, of New York. For vice presi- dent, Georgia supported John Tyler, of Virginia. The state's eleven electoral votes were cast by the following delegation: from the state at large, George R. Gilmer and Thomas Stocks; district electors, John W. Campbell, Howell Cobb, Gibson Clark, William W. Holt, E. Wimberly, Ambrose Baber, Thomas Hamilton, David Meriwether and C. Hines .* In 1837 John P. King resigned his seat in the United States Senate and to succeed him the Legislature this year elected former Governor Wil- son Lumpkin. During this same year also the people of Georgia recalled George R. Gilmer to the helm as governor.

* Lanman's "Biog. Annals of the U. S. Govt.," pp. 525-526.

CHAPTER XIX

BUT TO RETURN TO THE CHEROKEES-BEFORE THE FINAL DEPORTATION AN EVENT OF SINGULAR INTEREST OCCURS-JOHN HOWARD PAYNE'S VISIT TO GEORGIA-SKETCH OF THIS MAN OF GENIUS WHO WROTE "HOME SWEET HOME"-HIS SONG THE PRECIOUS HERITAGE OF AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD-COMES TO GEORGIA TO ASCERTAIN THE TRUTH CONCERNING THE CHEROKEES-WHILE ON A VISIT TO JUDGE HARDEN, AT ATHENS, HE FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIS DAUGHTER, MARY -ENTERING THE TERRITORY OF THE INDIANS, HE IS IMPRISONED AT SPRING PLACE, IN MURRAY COUNTY, AS A SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER- GENERAL HARDEN SOON PROCURES HIS RELEASE-BUT HE DOES NOT REGARD HIM WITH FAVOR AS A PROSPECTIVE SON-IN-LAW-MISS HARDEN REMAINS TRUE TO HER POET-LOVER-DYING, AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY-SIX, A COPY OF "HOME, SWEET HOME" IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN BURIED WITH HER, BUT THIS TRADITION IS QUESTIONED-SHE DID, HOWEVER, POSSESS A MANUSCRIPT COPY OF THE POEM, WHICH, ACCORDING TO ONE WHO KNEW HER WELL, WAS DESTROYED WHEN DEATH APPROACHED-PAYNE'S SUBSEQUENT CAREER-DIES WHILE HOLDING A CONSULAR APPOINTMENT AT MOROCCO, AND IS BURIED IN NORTHERN AFRICA-BUT HIS BODY IS EXHUMED IN 1883 AND BROUGHT TO AMERICA FOR FINAL REINTERMENT IN OAK HILL CEME- TERY, WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

But let us return to the Cherokees. Before the final removal of these Indians to a region west of the Mississippi, afterwards known as Indian Territory, there occurred an incident of the most dramatic character in the Cherokee Nation, concerning which, however, only meagre accounts have been preserved in the records. Mention has already been made of the fact that, under an act of December 22, 1830, the Legislature of Georgia made it a penal offense for a white person to reside in the Chero- kee territory in Georgia without a license from the state authorities, to secure which it was first necessary to take an oath of allegiance to the State of Georgia. John Howard Payne, the immortal author of "Home, Sweet Home," though an innocent offender, fell under the ban of this law while on a visit to the state in 1836.

It is one of the ironies of fate that the poet from whose pen has come the best known lyric of the hearthstone was himself a homeless wan- derer. With little knowledge of domestic happiness, he sang of home, not as a possession but as a want; and for more than thirty years he was fated to fill an exile's grave, on the distant shores of the Medi- terranean. The absence of any strong domestic ties first led him, when a mere lad, to seek his fortune abroad. On returning to America, after a lapse of two full decades, his wandering footsteps at length brought

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him to Georgia, where two experiences of a widely different character awaited him: a jail and a sweetheart. From the former of these bind- ing spells he was soon released, through the prompt intervention of an influential friend. But, in gentle bondage to the latter, he remained a life-long prisoner. His heart underwent no change. As for the fair object of his affections, she retained her maiden name to the end of her days and, dying at the ripe age of seventy-six, carried to her grave in Oconee Cemetery, at Athens, an undimmed image of her poet-lover: the immortal author of "Home, Sweet Home."

The world has not forgotten the pathetic story of John Howard Payne. But the tendency to exaggerate has led a host of writers, eager for dramatic effect, into gross misstatements. Indeed, there are few, who, in sketching Payne's life, have not drawn more largely upon fancy for materials than upon fact.

Payne was never at any time the shiftless, ne'er-do-well, or the penniless vagabond which he has often been made to appear by these caricature artists. Most of his life, it is true, were spent in bachelor quarters and among remote scenes. He also lacked business acumen; but those upon whom nature bestows the divine afflatus are seldom mer- chants or bankers. With the conveniences of an assured income, he was unacquainted; and the caprices of Fortune often entailed upon him financial embarrassment. On more than one occasion he knew what it was to be without a dollar in his pockets when creditors were clamorous. But he earned a fair livelihood. At times, his wares brought him a substantial recompense; and, while his money lasted, he was a Prince of Bohemians. During the last years of his life, he held an important consular position at Tunis, in Morocco.

Born in the city of New York, on June 9, 1792, the early boyhood days of John Howard Payne were spent at East Hampton, on Long Island, where the old family homestead, a quaint two-story structure, with an attic built of cedar shingles, is owned and preserved as a lit- erary Mecca, by Mr. Buek, of Brooklyn, a wealthy admirer of the poet. In summer, the cottage is charmingly covered with wisteria vines, con- trasting with the silvery tones of color which nearness to the sea invari- ably gives. Stretching away to the rear of the house is an old apple orchard; while, in the distance, can be seen the sand dunes of the North Atlantic .* The interior paneling of the house is said to have been the work of a ship carpenter, trained in one of the navy yards of England. The building is heated by a huge central chimney, twelve feet in diam- eter, in which is built a fireplace after the ample pattern of the Dutch. The house is furnished exactly as it was in the days of Payne's child- hood, with quaint dressing tables, high bedsteads, old Windsor chairs, and other furnishings reminiscent of the Colonial period. It was doubt- less a recollection of this early home beside the sea which, in after years, inspired his deathless anthem.

But to go back. At the age of thirteen, when a clerk in a mercan- tile establishment in New York, Payne began secretly to edit a weekly newspaper, devoted to the drama. Such precocity of genius induced the lad's father to plan for him a good education ; but, while a student

* James Callaway, in the Macon Telegraph, February 18, 1914.

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at Union College, his prospects were suddenly disturbed by the elder Payne's failure in business. John Howard then decided to go upon the stage. His debut as an actor was made at the Park Theater in New York, on February 24, 1809, as Young Norval in the Douglass; and the success of his initial performance, both from a pecuniary and from an artistic standpoint, was such that he afterwards toured the New Eng- land and Middle States.

In 1813 he sailed for England; and from this time dates his pro- tracted sojourn abroad. As an actor he was well received by the public; but, anxious to increase his earnings, he essayed theatrical management, with disastrous results. Due to his lack of business abil- ity, he found himself frequently in financial straits. Fortune did not seem to favor him. In 1815, he published a volume of verse entitled, "Lispings of the Muse," from which his returns were only meagre. Better success attended him as a playwright. He produced a number of musical dramas, for one of which, an opera, entitled "Clari, or the Maid of Milan," he composed the world-renowned stanzas of "Home, Sweet Home."

This opera was first produced at the Covent Garden Theater, in May, 1823. The music was adapted by Henry R. Bishop, from an old melody which caught Payne's fancy while visiting one of the Italian cities .* It is said that the song itself came to him, when, oppressed by debt, he wandered one day, in great heaviness of spirit, along the banks of the Thames River. During the first year it netted his pub- lishers over 2,000 guineas. Payne himself derived little pecuniary profit from the song which was destined to make him immortal; but he lived to see it put a girdle of music around the globe, to charm alike the king and the peasant, and to become in literal truth the song of the millions.

The original draft of "Home, Sweet Home," ran as follows:

'Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home ;

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, Like the love of a mother Surpassing all other,

Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere. There's a spell in the shade Where our infancy played,

Even stronger than time and more deep than despair.

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain, O, give me my lonely thatched cottage again !

The birds and the lampkins that came at my call- Those who named me with pride- Those who played at my side-

Give me them, with the innocence dearer than all.

The joys of the palaces through which I roam

Only swell my heart's anguish-there's no place like home.

* "New International Encyclopedia," article on Payne.

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Later Payne rewrote the poem. But in order to secure brevity he sacrificed poetic charm. The lines with which the public are today familiar hardly measure up to the original; but they are doubtless het- ter adapted to the air. IIere is the poem as rewritten :

'Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,

Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.

Home, home, sweet, sweet home! There's no place like home ! There's no place like home !

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain, O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again !

The birds singing gaily that came at my call-

Give me them-and the peace of mind dearer than all. Home, home, sweet, sweet home!

There's no place like home ! There's no place like home !

In 1832 Payne returned to New York. The question agitating the public mind at this time was the removal of the Cherokee Indians to a trans-Mississippi region. To one of Payne's fine poetic temperament, the idea of using force to drive these primitive inhabitants of the soil- these native Americans-into an unwilling exile was most repugnant. He thought of himself as an outcast and a wanderer; and it was only natural for the man who wrote "Home, Sweet Home," to espouse the cause of those who were soon to be homeless, even though they were savage tribes of the forest.

To ascertain the real facts in regard to the Cherokees, Mr. Payne came to Georgia in 1836, on the eve of the famous deportation. It so happened that, at this time, Georgia was in a turmoil of excitement. Events were rapidly approaching a climax; and, in order to deal, on the one hand, with meddlesome interlopers whose purpose was to inflame the Red Men, and, on the other, with lawless characters escaping across the state line into Indian Territory, it was necessary for Georgia to extend her jurisdiction, with a rod of iron, over the domain of the Cherokees.

There were, at this time, among the Indians, two distinct parties, one of which, under Major Ridge, strongly favored removal as the wisest course for the nation to adopt. The other, headed by John Ross, strenuously opposed removal; and these were regarded as the sworn enemies of the state. Between the two factions there was war to the knife, deadly and bitter. When John Howard Payne came to Georgia he visited the Cherokee nation as the guest of John Ross, then as after- wards, the principal chief. His object in making this visit was un- known to the civil authorities; but his affiliation with John Ross put him at once under suspicion. He contemplated nothing sinister. His purpose was merely to gather information. But Tray was in bad com- pany, at least, to Georgia's way of thinking; and, while visiting John

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Ross, he was put under arrest and imprisoned at the old Vann house, at Spring Place, in what is now Murray County, Georgia. Capt. A. B. Bishop, who commanded the Georgia Guards at this place, made the arrest. He found the poet at Ross's home, near the head of the Coosa River.

It is said that while imprisoned at Spring Place he heard the sol- diers singing his familiar anthem, "Home, Sweet Home," and that, when he eventually satisfied his captors that he was the author of this renowned song, he received from them the most considerate treat- ment .* Nevertheless, he was held a prisoner until his release was finally procured by Gen. Edward Harden, of Athens, to whom he had brought a letter of introduction. The historic site of the poet's impris- onment at Spring Place is soon to be marked by the John Milledge Chapter of the D. A. R.

As above stated, Mr. Payne, on coming to Georgia, brought with him a letter of introduction to an old citizen of Athens, Gen. Edward Harden. The latter was formerly a resident of Savannah; and, during the famous visit of La Fayette to this country, in 1825, he entertained the illustrious nobleman of France. General Harden was typically a gentleman of the old school, courtly in his manners, refined and enltured, in fact, a man of letters, though his chosen profession was the law. Payne expected to stop at the public inn; but to this General Harden demurred, insisting that he become his guest for an indefinite stay.

Thus it was that the author of "Home, Sweet Home," found him- self an inmate of the famous old Harden home in Athens. The story that Payne caught the inspiration for his poem at this time is, of course, sheerest fiction, for more than twelve years had elapsed since the first rendition of the song in public. Equally imaginative is the yarn that on entering the door of his prison at Spring Place, he raised both hands in anguish above his head, exclaiming with bitter sarcasm, "Home, Sweet Home," and then proceeded to write the poem, in a moment of silent communion with the Muses.

But while Payne did not write his poem in Georgia, he enjoyed the hospitality which General Harden lavished without stint upon friend and stranger alike; and there came into his life at this time an influ- ence which, for the rest of his days, was destined to cast upon him the spell of a most subtle enchantment. He became acquainted with the general's lovely daughter, Mary. So fascinated was the poet with this gentle lady of Athens that the main purpose of his visit to Georgia was almost forgotten. The poor Cherokee became a secondary consider- ation. Even his Yankee seruples against Southern biscuit were over- come when he tasted one of the dainty products of Miss Mary's oven.

Still, he did visit the Cherokee nation; and, it was while on this trip that his imprisonment at Spring Place occurred. On hearing of his predicament, General Harden hastened to his release. But the poet

* Rev. W. J. Cotter, in the Wesleyan Christian Advocate.

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was so mortified over the treatment to which he had been subjected that he lost no time in returning to the North, avowing his purpose never again to visit Georgia, without a formal invitation. To this resolution he adhered. However, there were some memories connected with his visit which he did not care to forget, and which, through the lonely days and nights succeeding his return to New York, continued softly to serenade him, to the music of his own "Home, Sweet Home."

Between Miss Harden and Payne there doubtless passed a number of letters. But one in particular deserves our attention. In a wild flutter of hope, he wrote to her, on July 18, 1836, telling her that he could offer her naught save his hand and heart and entreating her to smile upon his suit. What her answer to this proposal of marriage was, no one knows. She was always silent upon the subject; but the fact remains that they were never married, though each remained loyal till death. Perhaps the old general himself barred the way. He knew that Payne was a rolling stone; and while he admired the poet's' genius he may have doubted his ability to support a helpmeet.

In after years, Payne was sent with a consular appointment to Morocco, by the United States Government. On the eve of his depar- ture, Miss Harden requested of him an autographed copy of his renowned song, a boon which he promptly granted. In some myste- rious manner, this copy disappeared at the time of Miss Harden's death, giving rise to the not unnatural presumption that it was buried with her; but her niece, Miss Mary Jackson, to whom the old Harden home in Athens was willed and who assisted in preparing the body of her beloved aunt for burial states that, for this supposition, there is no ground whatever. It is not unlikely that Miss Harden herself, when warned of approaching death, destroyed with her own hands what was never meant for the eyes of the idly curious.

Payne, after leaving Morocco, returned to America but once in life. On this occasion, he received a wonderful tribute from the famous Jennie Lind, who, turning toward the box in which he sat, in a crowded theater, sang in the richest accents which have doubtless ever been heard on this continent, the familiar words of his inspired song. The great Daniel Webster was a witness to this impressive scene, the mem- ory of which he carried to his grave at Marshfield.

Soon after returning to Morocco, Payne died, on April 9, 1852, at the age of threescore years. He was buried at Tunis, where his body rested for more than three full decades, in a foreign exile, on the shores of North Africa. But finally, in 1883, through the efforts of the great philanthropist, Mr. W. W. Corcoran, of Washington, D. C., the ashes of the poet were brought back to his native land and reinterred in Oak Hill Cemetery, on the outskirts of the nation's capital. Here, under- neath the same ground slab which marked his grave in Tunis, sleeps the gentle poet of the hearthstone. But overlooking the sacred spot there stands a more recent structure of pure white marble, reared by thousands of voluntary contributions. It is surmounted by a life-size

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bust of the lamented bard and lettered underneath it is the following epitaph :

JOHN HOWARD PAYNE Author of "Home, Sweet Home." Born, June 9, 1792. Died, April 9, 1852.

"Sure, when thy gentle spirit fled To realms above the dome, With outstretched arms God's angels said : Welcome to Heaven's home, sweet home."

CHAPTER XX

GEORGIANS SYMPATHIZE WITH TEXAS IN HER WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE WITH MEXICO-COL. JAMES W. FANNIN, WHO, WITH ALMOST HIS ENTIRE COMMAND, PERISHED IN THE MASSACRE AT GOLIAD, WAS A NATIVE OF THIS STATE-MANY OF HIS MEN WERE GEORGIANS-AN ACCOUNT OF THIS BRUTAL MASSACRE OF 1836, PRESERVED BY HEN- DERSON YOAKUM, THE PIONEER HISTORIAN OF TEXAS-RECEIVING ORDERS TO DESTROY THE SPANISH FORT AT GOLIAD AND TO FALL BACK TO VICTORIA, HE DELAYS AN EXECUTION OF THIS COMMAND IN ORDER TO COLLECT THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF THE NEIGIIBOR- HOOD-OVERTAKEN BY GENERAL URREA, HE IS OBLIGED TO CAPITU- LATE-PAROLES ARE PROMISED, BUT THE AMERICAN TROOPS ARE MARCHED TO GOLIAD AS PRISONERS OF WAR, AND MASSACRED IN COLD BLOOD-FULL DETAILS OF THE AFFAIR-TEXAS ERECTS A MONU- MENT TO THE VICTIMS OF THIS BRUTAL HOLOCAUST-UNVEILED IN 1885-THE LONE STAR FLAG WOVEN BY A GEORGIA WOMAN-MISS JOANNA E. TROUTMAN PRESENTS TO THE GEORGIA VOLUNTEERS AN EMBLEM WHICH IS AFTERWARDS ADOPTED BY THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS-FROM AN OLD COPY OF THE GALVESTON NEWS THIS STATE- MENT IS VERIFIED -- THE FLAG WAS FIRST UNVEILED AT VELASCO, ON JANUARY 8, 1836-CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THE FLAG WAS PRESENTED-IN 1913, THE BODY OF MRS. VINSON, FORMERLY MISS JOANNA TROUTMAN, WAS EXHUMED FROM ITS BURIAL PLACE IN GEORGIA AND TAKEN TO AUSTIN, TEXAS, FOR FINAL REINTERMENT- HER GRAVE TO BE MARKED BY A HANDSOME MONUMENT.

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A standard history of Georgia and Georgians, Part 74

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868- Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 648

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 648