USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II > Part 37
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However, Colonel Innis, a Scotch loyalist, was soon dispatched to the frontier, giving rise to another series of engagements. For months, at the head of his little band of patriots, Clarke waged a guerilla warfare, spending most of his time in the swamps. He scarely knew what it was during this period to sleep with a roof over his head. Often he was face to face with hunger. The weariness of
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exhaustion if not of discontent began to show itself in the haggard features of his troops. But in the end Innis was routed and, on to Augusta, Clarke led his victorious men of the woods. He knew that permanent peace could never come to the up-country until this stronghold was recover- ed. So, mustering strength for the decisive blow, he hurled himself against the town. Success was almost at hand. In fact, he was temporaily in possession, when the British garrison was unexpectedly re-enforced. The torture of Tantalus seized the backwoodsman at this sudden turn of affairs, but realizing the futility of further efforts in this direction, he withdrew to await future developments.
It was at this critical moment when Toryism was again threatening upper Georgia that Elijah Clarke col- lected the helpless women and children of the Broad River settlement and, with the aid of Colonel William . Candler, conveyed them over the mountains to the Watauga valley in the extreme north-east corner of Tennessee. This humane task having been successfully accomplished, he was soon back in the midst of the fight- ing. Though not in actual command, it was Colonel Clarke, at the head of his Wilkes riflemen, who won the day in the battle of Blackstocks in South Carolina, by skillfully turning the enemy's flank. Again wounded at Long Cane he had scarcely recovered before he was seized by an attack of small-pox. But he was neverthe- less on hand at the seige of Angusta, where the final con- summation of his dream was realized in the hoisting above the fort of the triumphant American colors.
As a reward for his gallant services in the Revolution, the State of Georgia gave him a commission as Major- General and a handsome grant of land. He was also chosen to represent the State in treaty negotiations with the Indians. Whenever there was trouble in upper Geor- gia, the settlers turned instinctively to Elijah Clarke ; and
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some few years later, at the battle of Jack's Creek, with his son, John Clarke, then barely more than a lad never- theless a fighter and a veteran of the Revolution, he added another trophy of war to his belt of victories.
Then came an episode in the career of Elijah Clarke which has somewhat eclipsed and darkened his fame as a patriot, viz., his effort to establish a trans-Oconee republic and his connivance with foreign powers. But nothing in the way of real dishonor attaches to his motives even in these transactions, not withstanding the odor of treason which seems to invest them. He was an old soldier who had never cultivated the grace of restraint and who had always commanded an independent body of troops, sub- ject to no higher power than himself, and he merely sought in his own way to rid Georgia of the incubus of an Indian problem. The fact that two European powers made overtures to him is testimony of the most pro- nounced character to his military genius. Misjudged by his friends and maligned by his foes, General Clarke retired to his home in Wilkes, where death eventually brought him "surcease of sorrow". He died on January 15, 1799. His last will and testament is on record in the county of Lincoln ; and, while there is no positive evidence in regard to the place of his burial, the local traditions point clearly to Lincoln, which was cut off from Wilkes soon after the decease of the old hero.
Iron and velvet were strangely mixed in the character of this singular man. His life presents an enigma, in the solving of which the historians are at sea. He was the very embodiment of gentleness in shielding the defence- less women and children of the Broad River district but in dealing with the Tories there was no milk of human kindness in his breast. To the quality of mercy he was an absolute stranger; and Shylark himself was not more remorseless in exacting his pound of flesh from the Merchant of Venice. He squared accounts with the Tories, by pinning them to the letter of the Mosaic law- "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But when
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THE STORY OF AUSTIN DABNEY
we remember what he suffered at the hands of the Tories, who turned his family out of doors, who burned his home to ashes, who murdered an inoffensive son in the presence of his wife, and whose hands were red with the blood of babes in the cradle, we can hardly blame him for register- ing an oath to be revenged upon the perpetrators of deeds so foul in the face of heaven. Without training in the school of arms-an uneducated rustic-he was not unlike the great Confederate horseman, General N. B. Forrest. In the opinion of not a few critics the latter was the fore- most soldier of the Civil War; and there will be no one to challenge the statement that among the soldiers of Geor- gia in the American Revolution the stalwart form of the victor of Kettle Creek lifts by far the loftiest plume.
IX The Story of Austin Dabney
One of the finest examples of loyalty displayed during the period of the American Revolution was furnished by Austin Dabney, a negro patriot. He came to Pike with the Harris family within a very short while after the new county was opened to settlement, and here he lies buried near the friends to whom in life he was devotedly at- tached. The story of how he came to enlist in the patriot army runs thus: When a certain pioneer settler by the name of Aycock migrated from North Carolina to Geor- gia, he brought with him a mulatto boy whom he called Austin. The boy passed for a slave and was treated as such; but when the struggle for independence began, Aycock, who was not cast in heroic molds, found in this negro youth a substitute, who was eager to enlist, despite the humble sphere of service in which he moved. The records show that for a few weeks perhaps the master himself bore arms in a camp of instruction, but he proved to be such an indifferent soldier that the Captain readily agreed to exchange him for the mulatto boy, then a youth
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of eighteen, upon Aycock's acknowledgement that the boy was of white parentage, on the mother's side, and there- fore free. This happened in the county of Wilkes. When the time came for enrollment, the Captain gave Austin the sirname of Dabney, and for the remainder of his life Austin Dabney was the name by which he was every- where known. He proved to be a good soldier. In numerous conflicts with the Tories in upper Georgia, he was conspicuous for valor; and at the battle of Kettle Creek, while serving under the famous Elijah Clarke, a rifle ball passed through his thigh, by reason of which he ever afterwards limped. Found in a desperate condition by a man named Harris, he was taken to the latter's house, where kind treatment was bestowed upon him, and here he remained until the wound healed. Austin's grati- tude to his benefactor was so great that for the rest of his life he considered himself in the latter's debt, and in many ways he befriended Harris, when reverses overtook him. He appears to have been a man of sound sense and to have acquired property, at the close of the Revolution. He removed from Wilkes to Madison, taking the family of his benefactor with him. Dabney was fond of horse- racing, and whenever there was a trial of speed anywhere near he was usually found upon the grounds, and he was himself the owner of thoroughbreads. He drew a pension from the United States government, on account of his broken thigh, and the Legislature of Georgia, in the dis- tribution of public lands by lottery, awarded him a tract. in the county of Walton. The noted Stephen Upson, then a representative from Oglethorpe, introduced the meas- ure, and, in terms of the highest praise, he eulogized Dab- ney's patriotism. There was some dissention among the white people of Madison over this handsome treatment accorded to one of an inferior race. It doubtless arose, through envy, among the poorer classes. But Austin took no offense, and when an opportune moment came, he quietly shifted his residence to the land given to him by the State of Georgia. He was still accompanied by
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the Harris family, for whom he continued to labor. It is said that he denied himself many of the comforts of life, in order to bestow the bulk of his earnings upon his white friends. He sent the eldest son of Mr. Harris to Franklin College, and contributed to his maintainance while he studied law under Judge Upson at Lexington. It is said that when young Harris stood his legal examination in open court Austin Dabney outside of the bar with the keenest look of anxiety on his face and that when the youth was finally admitted to practice the old negro fairly burst into tears of joy. He left his entire property to the Harris family, at the time of his death. The celebrated Judge Dooly held him in the highest esteem, and when the latter was attending court in Madison it was one of Dab- ney's customs to take the Judge's horse into his special custody. He is said to have been one of the best authori- ties in Georgia on the events of the Revolutionary war periods. Once a year Austin Dabney made a trip to Savannah, at which place he drew his pension. On one occasion-so the story goes-he travelled in company with his neighbor, Colonel Wiley Pope. They journeyed together on the best of terms until they reached the out- skirts of the town. Then, turning toward his dark com- panion, the Colonel suggested that he drop behind, since it was not exactly the conventional thing for them to be seen riding side by side through the streets of Savannah. Without demurrer Austin complied with this request stating that he fully understood the situation. But they had not proceeded far before reaching the home of General Jackson, then Governor of the State. What was Colonel Pope's surprise, on looking behind him, to see the old Governor rush from the house, seize Austin's hand in the most cordial manner, like he was greeting some long lost brother, drew him down from the horse, and lead him into the house, where he remained through- out his entire stay in Savannah, treated not perhaps as an equal but with the utmost consideration. In after years, Colonel Pope used to tell this anecdote, so it is
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said, with much relish, adding that he felt somewhat abashed, on reaching Savannah to find Austin an honored guest of the Governor of Georgia, while he himself occu- pied a room at the public tavern.
X
The Siege of Augusta
With the completion of Fort Cornwallis, Augusta be- came a stronghold of such resistive power that the hope of retaking it became a dim spark in the breast of the American patriot. But there was at least one man in the American army who seems to have taken a vow at the altar of independence that Augusta should not remain under the flag of the king. It was Colonel Elijah Clarke. There was not within the borders of the State a more relentless foe to the enemies of Georgia. His plan of attack was first to seize Fort Grierson, which was occu- pied by militia, whereas Fort Cornwallis was manned Dy seasoned regulars. He hoped either to capture or to destroy the Lieutenant-Colonel on his retreat to the stronger fortification. The movement was successfully executed. Hardly a member of the garrison escaped ex- cept to be made a prisoner of war; the Major was slain, and the Lieutenant-Colonel who commanded the fort was among the number captured. The next assault was upon Fort Cornwallis. It was here that the Elijah Clarke's real fight was to be made; but Colonel
Vow: "Down Clarke was not despondent. He was With the Flag." ready for the tug of war. Says Dr. Williams: "Cato was not more insistent that Carthage must be destroyed than was Colonel Clarke that Augusta's fort must be taken. From the day that Browne took possession of it and hoisted the British flag, Clarke went everywhere, gathering recruits to drive him out. It was Clarke who planned the attack upon the White House, which deserved success but failed at the
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THE SIEGE OF AUGUSTA
moment of impending victory. It was he who gathered the forces which under Pickens and Williamson and Mc- Call, came and sat down here before the "Light Horse Harry" Lee To town for two months resolved never to go away until the English flag came the Rescue. down. At last Colonel Lee was sent with his famous Legion to re-enforce and take command of the investing army. He saw at once, with the practiced eye of a soldier, that Browne had built a fort which was impregnable to any assault which he could make upon it. He therefore resorted to the ingenius device of building a tower, thirty feet high, out of hewn logs, filling it with stones and other material. Near the top he built a platform and the logs were sawed to let in an embrasure for cannon. The British had mounted the eight original guns of Fort Augusta. They had a garrison of 400 men, besides 200 negroes who did duty in the fort. In adition to these,
The Maham Tower: there were a number of prisoners A Grecian Strategem. and others who fled to the fort for protection. The Americans had but the one piece of artillery which General Lee had brought with him. This six-pounder was hoisted to the floor of the tower, from which eminence it completely commanded the interior of Fort Cornwallis. The tower was the device of Major Maham, of South Carolina, and was erected near where the Cotton Exchange now stands. Browne tried to neutralize the effect of this movement by building a plat- form at the southwest corner of the fort and mounting upon it two of his heaviest guns. But from the hour that Lee's six-pounder opened fire from the top of the Manam tower the fort was doomed. The first shot was fired from the tower on the morning of June 2, 1781. Before noon the two pieces of British ordinance were dismounted from the platform. The whole interior of the fort was raked except the segment nearest the tower and a few spots sheltered by traverses. So deadly was the fire that the besieged were driven to dig holes in the ground and
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literally to bury themselves in the earth. The Church was a blackened ruin. The guns which had so long pro- tected it were at last powerless to save it from destrue- tion. The colonial days were passing out in thunder and blood and smoke. The fort was never rebuilt. Thanks to a kind Providence, it was never again needed. But the Church, like the Brooklyn at Santiago, loomed out of the smoke to go upon her way and pluck victory from the jaws of seeming defeat. Her mission is never ended."*
1
James Jackson Fires Another distinguished Georgian
the Despondent whose tall figure was conspicuous at Troops : an Eloquent Appeal. the siege of Augusta and whose name was destined to become lumi- nous in the future history of the State was James Jackson. He was then in command of an independent Legion, but the ink was hardly dry on his commission. He was appointed by General Greene, perhaps at the instance of General Morgan by whom he was introduced to the former, but General Greene, on his own account, is said to have been deeply impressed by the personal appearance and grave demeanor of the young soldier. In connection with the siege of Augusta, Dr. White has preserved this incident: "Just before the reduction of Augusta, the militia had begun to manifest signs of despondency. Overcome by long service, desti- tute of almost every necessary of life, and giving up all hope of succour from General Greene's army, they had formed the resolution of returning home. Jackson being informed of this state of feeling, instantly repaired to the camp and, by his animating eloquence, quelled the tumult and called upon them in a manner peculiar to himself not to tarnish the laurels which they had gained by deserting the cause in a time of so much need. His interference was
*See Dr. Chauncey C. Williams, in The Story of St. Paul's Church.
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effectual. The drooping spirits of the militia were aroused, and they resolved to bid defiance to the foe. Jackson led one of the advance parties in the attack upon Augusta and performed other perilous duties with great credit to himself. After the surrender of the town he received orders to level the fortifications, to collect as many men as possible and to join the army of General Greene; but, having marched about thirty miles, he found it impossible to reach the main army, and there- fore returned to Augusta, where he had been appointed Commandant."*
An Assassin It was during the summer months which in Camp. followed the reduction of Augusta that this same man of destiny whose mission in after life was to defeat the Yazoo conspirators and to vindicate the honor of Georgia, narrowly escaped deatlı by assassi- nation. Dr. White thus tells the story : "In July he was ordered to advance toward Savannah and to take post midway between this town and Augusta. It was here that a conspiracy was formed in his infantry to kill Colonel Jackson in his bed, but happily it was discovered by a soldier who acted as his waiter, named Davis. This honorable man, observing that something uncommon was going on in the camp determined to find it out. To ac- complish his object, he mingled among the men and branded the Colonel with many opprobrious epithets. Supposing they might have a useful accomplice in Davis. the conspirators divulged the secret to him, which he immediately communicated to Colonel Jackson. The in- fantry were drawn out, the ring leaders instantly arres- ted, tried by a court-martial, and executed. Davis was rewarded for his fidelity by the Legislature, with a gift of 500 acres of land, a horse, saddle, and bridle."*
*See White's Statistics of Georgia, pp. 339-340.
*See White's Statistics og Georgia, p. 340.
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Capt. Robert Ware, father of U. S. Senator Nicholas Ware, took part in the seige of Angusta. Capt. Sherwood Bugg was among the wounded and Capt. John Martin among the dead, James Martin and Marshall Martin, brothers of the latter were also present.
XI.
St. John's Parish
There was never at any time among the Midway colonists any strong attachment for the reigning house of Hanover. They were the descendants of English dis- senters. The principle of local self-government was ex- emplified by them in religious affairs and they stoutly be- lieved in the wisdom of its application to secular inter- ests as well. The very first oppressive acts of the British Parliament aroused in them a spirit of resistance, and the earliest avowed declaration in favor of independence emanated from the Midway settlement. Throughout the Province there was little feeling of hostility to Eng- land. Georgia was the youngest of the original thirteen colonies and to the last moment she continued to be the most loyal to the Crown. In Savannah, where the effects of the iniquitous Stamp Act were directly felt by the mercantile interests there were early protests made by the inhabitants against these offensive measures. But the plea for separation was first raised in the Parish of St. John. It was here that the first bold stand for liberty was taken; and when the charter of Massachusetts was revoked and the port of Boston closed to commerce, the indignation of the Georgia Puritans was aroused to fever heat. The gore which bespattered the streets of the great metropolis of New England and which cried from the ground to be avenged was the blood of kinsmen. So while there was parleying and dallying elsewhere, there was prompt resolve here; and however calm might be the pulse-beat of the Province at large, due to the fact that
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the people of Georgia were in the main descendants of Cavaliers, there was fire in the veins of the Midway settlers.
The refusal of the Provincial Congress which met in Savannah, on August 10, 1774, to send delegates to une Continental Congress in Philadelphia, was received by these bold radicals with an outburst of scorn. They first sought connection with the Charleston patriots, through a petition sent by a committee appointed at Mid- way, on February 9, 1774, which committee consisted of three members, Daniel Roberts, Samuel Stevens, and Joseph Wood; and, when this application was denied, they resolved to act for themselves. Meanwhile, on January 23, 1775, some forty-five members of the Provin- cial Congress' entered into a compact neither to import nor to export articles of merchandise from which Eng- land was to reap the benefit.
But this action was not sufficiently radical to satisfy the enraged Puritans of Georgia. The Parish of St. John at this period embraced nearly one third of the entire wealth of the Province. Its planters were large slave owners, who cultivated extensive tracts of land. Consequently, they assembled in convention, on March 25, 1775, and chose Dr. Lyman Hall to represent them in the Continental Congress. He accepted the commission, made the journey to Philadelphia on horseback, and for months sat in the Continental Congress an accredited delegate from the Parish of St. John in the Colony of Georgia. To the sufferers in Boston large supplies of rice were also forwarded by the Midway people, to relieve them from immediate distress. There is little cause for wonder that Sir James Wright, alluding in one of his letters to the Parish of St. John calls it "a nest of Oliverians." Nor is the tribute of Dr. Stevens, in his address before the Georgia Historical Society of Savan. nah undeserved. Says he: "Alone she stood, a Pharos of Liberty in England's most loyal Province, renouncing every fellowship that savored not of freedom and refus-
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ing every luxury which contributed to ministerial coffers. With a halter around her neck and the gallows before her eyes, she severed her self from surrounding associations and cast her lot, while as yet all was gloom and darkness, with the fortunes of her country, to stand upon her rights or to die in defending them. Proud spot of Georgia soil !"
XII.
Colonel John White: Hero of the Great Ogeechee
In December, 1778, the British captured Savannah .* In September, 1779, Count d'Estaing with a force of about 1,700 men acting under instructions from the French government effected a landing at Beaulieu, and shortly thereafter was joined by Gen. Lincoln. The pur- pose was to recapture Savannah by siege. Gen. Prevost, the British commander, immediately summoned from all outposts every portion of his scattered command. Some reached the British lines in safety. But Capt. French was not among this number. With 111 regular troops, accompanied by five vessels and their crews of forty men, he sought to join Gen. Prevost, but interrupted in his attempt to enter Savannah by news of the investment of the town, took refuge in the Great Ogeechee river, about twenty-five miles below Savannah, disembarked and formed a fortified camp on the left bank of that stream.
Col. John White, of the Fourth Georgia Battalion of Gen. Lincoln's force conceived a brilliant plan for the capture of French's command. Accompanied only by Capts. George Melvin and A. C. G. Elholm, a sergeant, and three privates, a total force of seven men (some ac- counts state five), on the night of Oct. 1, 1779, this daring band located the British camp on the Ogeechee and built many watch-fires at various points around it, placing the fires at such positions as to lead the British to believe that
*E. H. Abrams: Article in the Savannah Morning News, July 4, 1909.
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they were surrounded by a large force of Americans. This was kept up throughout the night by White and his force marching from point to point with the heavy tread of many when, accompanied by the challenge of sentinels at each point surrounding the British camp, each mount- ing a horse at intervals, riding off in haste in various directions, imitating the orders of staff officers and giving fancied orders in a low tone. Anticipating the presence of the enemy, Capt. French believed that he was entrap- ped by a large force. At. this juncture Col. White, un- accompanied, dashed up to the British camp and demand- ed a conference with Capt. French.
"I am the commander, sir," he said, "of the American soldiers in your vicinity. If you will surrender at once to my force, I will see to it that no injury is done to you or your command. If you decline to do this I must can- didly inform you that the feelings of my troops are highly incensed against you and I can by no means be respon- sible for any consequences that may ensue."
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