USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II > Part 38
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The bluff worked. Capt. French at once fell into the trap and agreed to surrender, as he thought it was useless to battle with the large surrounding force. At this moment, Capt. Elholm dashed up on horseback and de- manded to know where to place the artillery. "Keep them back," replied White, "the British have surrender- ed. Move your men off and send me three guides to con- duct the British to the American post at Sunbury." Thereupon the five vessels were burned, the three guides arrived, and the British urged to keep clear of the sup- posed infuriated American army hovering about, marched off, while Col. White, hastened away, collected a force of neighboring militia, overtook the British led by his guides and conducted them as prisoners to Sunbury.
Nine days after this remarkable exploit, Col. White was severely wounded at the assault upon Savannah made at the Spring Hill redoubt. He succeeded in making his escape from the British, but the wounds received so much
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
impaired his health that he was obliged to retire from the army and died soon afterwards in Virginia.
A Revolutionary Puzzle
These old rhymes were written in the early part of the Revolutionary War-about 1776. If read as written they contain a tribute to the king and his army, but if read downward on either side of the comma, they indicate an unmistakable rebellion against both king and parliament. The author is unknown :
"Hark, hark, the trumpet sounds, the din of war's alarms
O'er seas and solid grounds, doth call us all to arms Who for King George doth stand, their honors soon shall shine Their ruin is at hand, who with the Congress join
The acts of Parliament, in them I might delight,
*The account of this remarkable capture is taken from White's "His- torical Collections of Georgia," and accepted by that historian as correct. It is corroborated by a manuscript furnished that author by the Hon. Robert M. Charlton, giving a sketch of the life of Col. White.
Capt. Hugh McCall, one of the earliest of Georgia's historians, on page 60 of Vol. II of his history, mentions briefly the occurrence accepting the foregoing statements as true.
C. C. Jones, Jr., in his History of Georgia, Vol. II, p. 390, also mentions this statement as true.
In Volume II, page 180, of the Historical Magazine and Notes and Queries, is found an article communicated by I. K. Teft, in which the author corroborates the foregoing facts by an order then in his possession, given by Maj. William Jackson upon certain vendue masters for $500.00 "in the cause of the captors and claimants of the vessels taken in Ogeechee river by Col. White, being his fees in said cause."
Dr. David Ramsey, writing in October, 1784, or five years after his re- markable exploit in his "History of the Revolution in South Carolina" (p. 242, Vol. II), records as facts the details above outlined. This is substantial proof of its trustworthiness.
Col. White was survived by a widow and one daughter. The widow married Thomas Gordon, of Philadelphia. The daughter, Catherine P., first married William Limbert, and upon his death married a Mr. Hayden. Mrs. C. P. Hayden died in Savannah in January, 1866, leaving most of her property to St. John's Church. The will is recorded in Book M. P. 211, of the Ordinary's office. The writer has in his possession the papers of Mrs. Hayden, and among them are several military orders drawn by Col. White, a copy of Mr. Teft's communication, with notations thereon by Mrs. Hayden, and a letter from the widow of Col. White, written to Gov. John Houston in 1789, requesting him to recover for her a house and lot in Savannah owned by her late husband, and which had, through mistake, been con- fiscated as British property .- E. H. Abrahams.
521
COLONEL JOHN WHITE
I hate their cursed intent, who for the Congress fight The Tories of the day, they are my daily toast, They soon will sneak away, who independence boast, Who non-resistent hold, they have my hand and heart May they for slaves be sold, who act the Whiggish part, On Mansfield, North and Bute, may daily blessings pour, Confusion and Dispute, on Congress evermore ; To North and British Lord, may honors still be done, I wish the block and cord, to General Washington."*
*Mrs. Foster's Revolutionary Reader, p. 112.
SECTION VI Georgia Miscellanies
SECTION VI
GEORGIA MISCELLANIES
Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia
During the first twenty-one years of Georgia's colo- nial life the government was administered by Trustees, under whom General Oglethorpe was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief. The number of Trustees, from first to last, was seventy-two; and the membership of the board included some of the most distinguished men of England, among whom were scions of the nobility, ministers of the Gospel, and members of Parliament. Due to the fact that they were more familiar with the etiquette of courts than with the needs of the savage wilderness, some of the measures adopted by the Board were ill-advised. The effort to introduce the manufac- ture of silk was unsuccessful; and the regulations in re- gard to rum, slavery and land tenure, having been found to operate as a check upon industry, were rescinded, one by one, until little was left of the original designs. But the Trustees were pure philanthropists. They served without fee or reward; they sacrificed both time and money in the prosecution of the enterprise; and no body of men was ever organized for nobler ends or dominated by loftier ideals. Georgia owes it to herself to keep in grateful remembrance the names of these English gen- tlemen :
NAMED IN THE CHARTER
1. JOHN, LORD PERCIVAL, first President of the Board.
2. EDWARD DIGBY, afterwards a baronet.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
3. GEORGE, LORD CARPENTER.
4. JAMES OGLETHORPE, M. P.
5. GEORGE HEATHCOTE, M. P.
6. THOMAS TOWER, M. P.
7. ROBERT MOORE, M. P.
S. ROBERT HUCKS, M. P.
9. ROGER HOLLAND, M. P.
10. WILLIAM SLOPER, M. P.
11. SIR FRANCIS EYLES, M. P., a baronet.
12. JOHN LAROCHE, M. P.
13. JAMES VERNON, ESQ.
14. WILLIAM BELITHA.
15. REV. JOHN BURTON, D. D.
16. REV. RICHARD BUNDY, D. D.
17. REV. ARTHUR BEDFORD, A. M.
18. REV. SAMUEL SMITH, LL. B.
19. ADAM ANDERSON, an author.
20. THOMAS CORAM, a philanthropist.
21. REV. STEPHEN HALES, D. D.
ELECTED IN 1733
22. JAMES STANLEY, EARL OF DERBY.
23. ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, EARL OF SHAFTSBURY.
24. JOHN, LORD TYRCONNEL.
25. JAMES, LORD LIMERICK.
26. JAMES, LORD D'ARCY.
27. RICHARD CHANDLER, EsQ.
28. THOMAS FREDERICK, M. P.
29. HENRY L'APOSTRE.
30. SIR WILLIAM HEATHCOTE, M. P., a baronet.
31. JOHN WHITE, ESQ.
32. ROBERT KENDALL, EsQ.
33. JOHN PAGE, M. P.
34. WILLIAM HANBURY, EsQ.
35. CHRISTOPHER TOWER, M. P.
36. SIR ERASMUS PHILIPPS, M. P., a baronet.
37. SIR JOHN GONSON, a knight.
38. GEORGE TYRER, EsQ., an alderman of London.
ELECTED IN 1734
39. REV. THOMAS RUNDLE, D. D.
40. WILLIAM, LORD TALBOT.
41. RICHARD COOPE, EsQ.
42. WILLIAM WOLLASTON, M. P.
43. ROBERT EYRE, EsQ.
44. THOMAS ARCIIER, M. P.
TRUSTEES FOR ESTABLISHING THE COLONY OF GEORGIA 527
45. HENRY ARCHER, M. P.
47. FRANCIS WOLLASTON, EsQ.
48. SIR ROBERT CARTER, a knight. ELECTED IN 1737
49. SIR JACOB DE BOUVERIE, a baronet. ELECTED IN 1738
50. SIR HARRY GOUGH, M. P., a baronet.
51. SIR HARRY BURGOYNE, M. P., a baronet. ELECTED IN 1739.
52. SIDNEY, LORD BEAUCLERK, M. P.
ELECTED IN 1741
53. HENRY, EARL BATHURST.
54. HON. PHILIP PERCIVAL.
55. SIR JOHN FREDERICK, M. P., a baronet.
ELECTED IN 1742
56. HON. ALEXANDER HUME CAMPBELL, M. P.
57. SIR JOHN BARRINGTON, M. P., a baronet.
58. SAMUEL TURNBULL, M. P.
59. SIR HENRY CALTHORPE, M. P., K. B.
ELECTED IN 1743
60. SIR JOHN PHILIPPS, M. P., a baronet.
61. VELTERS CORNEWALL, M. P.
62. JOHN WRIGHT, EsQ.
ELECTED IN 1745
63. REV. THOMAS WILSON, D. D.
ELECTED IN 1747
64. FRANCIS COKAYNE, ESQ.
65. SAMUEL LLOYD, ESQ.
ELECTED IN 1749
66. EARL OF EGMONT, son of Lord Percival.
67. ANTHONY EWER, ESQ.
68. EDWARD HOOPER, M. P.
69. SIR JOIIN CUST, M. P., a baronet.
70. HION. SLINGSBY BETHEL, M. P.
71. HON. STEPHEN THEODORE JANSEN, M. P.
72. RICIIARD CAVENDISH, M. P.
At the expiration of the twenty-one years, which fixed the limits of the original charter, the Trustees quite naturally desired to be relieved of further responsibili-
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
ties. They accordingly sent a memorial to the Lords of the Council, proposing to surrender the control of the Province of Georgia, and to deed back to his Majesty the lands which they held in trust; the King acquiesced, and on June 23, 1752, the last meeting of the Trustees was held. Not an obligation of any kind remained against them unredeemed; and, having formally executed a deed of surrender, the seal of the corporation was de- faced and the Colony of Georgia passed under the direct control of the King of England. When the Trustees met for the last time, only six of the original number sur- vived. The scene was full of tender pathos; for, while they had made mistakes in governing the Colony, they had established in America an asylum for the oppressed, which was destined to become great and powerful, and they had nobly exemplified the motto engraved upon the colonial seal: "Non Sibi Sed Aliis."
The Margravate of Azilia
Oglethorpe's humane enterprise was not the first ef- fort to colonize the territory of Georgia. Fifteen years before the good ship Anne started upon her long voyage to the new world, Sir Robert Montgomery conceived the ambitious idea of planting a colony between the Savan- nah and the Altamaha Rivers, to be called the Margravate of Azilia. It was the most unique scheme of empire build- ing which the human intellect ever conceived. The region was pictured to the imagination of the prospective colon- ist as another Land of Promise, and there was no lack of zeal on the part of Sir Robert in exploiting the enter- prise. But it came to naught. The story is one with which Georgians ought to be familiar. Colonel Charles C. Jones, Jr., tells it as follows: "In the summer of 1717, Sir Robert Montgomery secured from the Lords Proprietors of Carolina a grant of land lying between the Altamaha and the Savannah Rivers, with permission
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THE MARGRAVATE OF AZILIA
to make settlements on the south side of the latter stream. This territory was to be erected into a separate and inde- pendent province, was to be holden of Sir Robert, his heirs and assigns forever, and was to be called the Margravate of Azilia. A yearly quit-rent of a penny per acre for all lands occupied was to be paid; such payment, how- ever, not to commence until three years after the arrival of the first ships transporting colonists. In addition, Sir Robert covenanted to render to the Lords Proprie- tors one-fourth of all the gold, silver, and royal minerals which might be found within the limits of the ceded lands. Courts of justice were to be organized and such laws enacted by the freemen of the Margravate as might conduce to the general good and in no wise conflict with the statutes and customs of England. The naviga- tion of the rivers was to be free to all the inhabitants of the colonies of North and South Carolina. A duty was to be laid on skins, and the revenues thus derived were to be applied to the maintenance of the clergy. Sir Robert, in consideration of this cession, agreed to transport at his own cost a certain number of families and all necessaries for forming new settlements within the specified limits. It was mutually covenanted that if such settlements were not made within three years from the date of the grant it should become void.
"In the 'Discourse concerning the Designed Estab- lisliment of a New Colony to the South of Carolina in the most Delightful Country of the Universe,' prepared by himself and printed in London in 1717, Sir Robert, in glowing terms, sought to unfold the attractions of his future Eden. 'It lies,' said he, 'in the same latitude as Palestine itself, that promised Canaan which was pointed out by God's own choice to bless the labors of a favorite people.' After commending in the highest terms its woods and meadows, its fruits and game, its soil and climate, its mines and odoriferous plants, its flower and agricultural capabilities, he proceeds to ex- plain his plan of settlement. He did not propose to sat-
530
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
isfy himself 'with building here and there a fort, the fatal practice of America, but so to dispose the habita- tions and divisions of the land that not only out-houses, but whatever else we possess will be enclosed by military lines, impregnable against the savages, and which will make our whole plantation one continued fortress. At the arrival, therefore, of, the first men carried over, proper officers shall mark and cause to be entrenched a square of land in just proportion to the number. On the outsides of this square, within the little bastions or redoubts of the entrenchments, they will raise light timber dwellings, cutting down the trees which every- where encompass them. The officers are to be quartered with the men whom they command, and the governor- in-chief is to be placed exactly in the center. By these means the laboring people, being so disposed as to be always watchful of an enemy's approach, are themselves within the eyes of those set over them, and altogether under the inspection of their principal. The redoubts may be near enough to defend each other with muskets, but field pieces and patareros will be planted upon cach, kept charged with partridge shot and pieces of old iron. Within these redoubts are the common dwellings of the men who must defend them, and between them runs a pal- isaded bank and ditch, which will be scoured by the artil- lery. One man in each redoubt, kept day and night upon the guard, will give alarm upon occasion to the others at work. So they will cultivate their lands, secure their cattle, and follow their business with perfect ease and safety. Exactly in the center of the inmost square will be a fort defended by a large cannon, pointing every way, and capable of making strong resistance in case some quarter of the outward lines should chance to be surprised by any sudden accident. The nature of this scheme, when weighed against the ignorance and wildness of the natives, will show that men thus settled may at once defend and cultivate a territory with the utmost satisfaction and security, even in the heart of an Indian
531
THE MARGRAVATE OF AZILIA
Country. Then how much rather a place considerably distant from the savage settlements ?'
"Next he proceeds to give an explanation of the plan for fixing the districts or divisions in the Margravate. The whole diagram was to be a square twenty miles long each way, containing 256,000 acres. It was agreed that the men to defend the district should be hired in Great Britain or Ireland; that they should dwell in the forti- fied angles and cultivate the land immediately around them; that they should be hired for a definite term of years, and that at the expiration of this time such among them who should marry or come married hither might have a right of laying claim to a 'certain Fee Farm, ready cleared, together with a house built upon it, and a stock sufficient to improve and cultivate it, to be en- joyed Tax and Rent free during life as a reward for service.' 'By which means two great advantages must naturally follow: (1) Poor laboring men, so secured of a fixed future settlement, will thereby be induced to go thither more willingly and act when there with double diligence and duty and (2) When the time of service expires, possession just long enough to pass their lives upon at ease and to bring up their children on honestly, the families they have will prove a constant seminary of sober servants of both sexes for the Gentry of the colony, whereby they will be under no necessity to use the dan- gerous help of Blackamoors or Indians. The lands set apart for the purpose are to be two miles in width, sur- rounding the district, and lying next within the Mar- grave's own reserved land. The 116 squares into which the inner quadrangle is divided are to be one mile each way, or 640 acres, bating only for the highways which di- vide them. These are the estates belonging to the Gentry of the district, who being so confined to an equality in land, will be profitably emulous of outdoing each other in improvement; and when the Margravate is strong enough to form many districts the estates will be given gratis to honest and qualified gentlemen in Great Britain and
532
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
elsewhere who, having numerous and well educated fam- ilies, possess but little fortune and will therefore be chosen to enjoy these advantages. The four great parks or forests are each to be four miles square; sixteen miles around each forest, in which are to be propagated herds of cattle of all sorts. The middle hollow square, which is full of streets crossing each other, is the city, and the belt embroidered with trees is to be used for a thousand purposes, among the rest as being airy and affording a fine prospect of the town near it. In the center of the city stands the Margrave's house. This is to be his con- stant residence, and to contain everything requisite for the dispatch of business. This likewise is to be separated from the city by an embroidered belt like the one sepa- rating the city from the rural districts.'
"Sir Robert enlarges upon the profits to be realized from this charming country in the cultivation of rice, tea, figs, raisins, currents, almonds, olives, silk and coch- ineal. Large gains were expected from the manufacture of potash. Liberal offers were made to all who might wish to become colonists in the Margravate of Azilia and ample guarantees given for protection. Although subscription books were opened in the Carolina Coffee House, near the Royal Exchange, it does not appear that much stock was taken in the enterprise. To the King, Sir Robert addressed a petition specifying the tract of land called Azilia, with which he had been invested by the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, declaring that he had a bona fide intention of founding a colony there and requesting the privilege of establishing in the city of Edinburgh a lottery of 100,000 tickets, at the rate of forty shillings per ticket, for the purpose of raising funds with which to defray the expenses of the adventure. A memorial was received from the Lords Proprietors, ex- plaining the proposal of Sir Robert for settling the most southern parts of Carolina, of which he was to be Gov- ernor. It was referred to a committee of the Privy Coun- cil for consideration. The board of trade, while recom-
533
THE MARGRAVATE OF AZILIA
mending Sir Robert as a proper person for Governor, in order to avoid complications, suggested to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina the advisability of surrendering to the crown their powers of government over the places included in the proposed Margravate, reserving to them- selves only the property in the lands. The whole matter was referred to the attorney-general, who reported that he saw nothing in the cession prejudicial to the rights of the crown, but he doubted whether the powers granted to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina could be divided in the manner proposed. To remove the difficulty he sug- gested that if the Lords Proprietors would surrender to his Majesty their powers of government over the new province to be erected, reserving to themselves only the right of property therein they might lease the land on such terms as they saw fit and then his Majesty could create a new government upon such conditions and with such powers as he deemed proper.
"Despite the efforts made to induce immigration into the favored region at the expiration of the three years allowed by the cession from the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, Sir Robert Montgomery found himself without colonists. His grant expired and became void by terms of limitation. His Azilia remained unpeopled, save by the red men of the forest. His scheme proved utterly Utopian, and it was reserved for Oglethorpe and his com- panions to wrest from primaeval solitude and to vitalize with the energies of civilization the lands lying between the Savannah and the Altamaha. . Nevertheless, the attorney-general's suggestion with respect to sur- rendering powers to the crown was adopted with respect to the whole of Carolina. The disputes and conflicts be- tween the Lords Proprietor and the colonists continned to be so constant that all except Lord Carteret, taking advantage of the provisions of an Act of Parliament, surrendered to the King, not only their rights and in- terests in the government of Carolina, but also their own- ership of the soil. The indenture of purchase and sale
534 GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
was duly executed and the consideration was 22,500 pounds sterling. Thus, for this small sum, were seven- eighths of the extensive territory constituting the prov- ince of Carolina sold by the Lords Proprietors to the crown. The other eighth was owned by Lord Carteret, Baron of Hawnes. Subsequently by deed, dated Febru- ary 28, 1732, he conveyed to the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America, the one undivided eighth part of all lands lying between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers. The other seven-eighths was ceded to them by the crown. With this explanation, we un- derstand why, in the charter granted by King George II, dated June 9, 1732, royal cession was made of only seven- eights of the lands to be erected into a province to be called Georgia."*
Coligny's Huguenot Colonies
Not long after De Soto's ill-fated expedition, a band of French colonists skirted the coast of Georgia and gave to the rivers of this State the earliest names by which they were known to Europeans. The adventurous Frenchman crossed the Atlantic in two ships, under command of Jean Ribault, to found a colony of Hugue- nots in the new world, an enterprise which they were encouraged to undertake by the zeal of the famous Gas- pard de Coligny, the first nobleman of France who dared to profess himself a Protestant. Says Bishop Stevens : "The expedition sailed from Havre de Grace on Febru- ary 18, 1662, and in two months reached Florida, at a place which they named Cape Francois. Thence coast- ing north, they soon entered the mouth of the St. John's which, because discovered on the first day of May, they called the River of May. Here, on a sandy knoll, they erected a pillar of stone, on which was engraved the arms
*Condensed from History of Georgia, by Charles C. Jones, Jr., Vol. I, pp. 70-75, Boston, 1883.
.
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COLIGNY'S HUGUENOT COLONIES
of France. Coasting still northward, they discovered the St. Mary's, which Ribault named the Seine, because it was 'like unto the River of Seine in France.' Leaving St. Mary's, they soon cast anchor off the mouth of the Satilla, termed by them the Somme; and manning two boats they rowed up the river to examine its banks and to hold converse with the Indian king. They next discov- ered the Altamaha, which they called the Loire; further north, they came to Newport River, emptying into Sapelo Sound, which they termed Charente ; next, St. Catharine's Inlet, which they called the Garonne; then Ossabaw Sound, receiving the waters of the Ogeechee River, to which they assigned the name of Gironde; and still fur- ther on they entered the broad mouth of the Savannah, styled by them the River Grande; thus bestowing upon the noble streams of Georgia the names of the beautiful rivers of France. Each of these waters was well ex- plored and glowingly described."*
At the time of this expedition, the entire South At- lantic coast was given the name of Florida. The set- tlement which Ribault made at Fort Caroline, near the spot on which Beaufort, S. C., now stands, was ill-fated, and the story of how the starving colonists braved the open sea, after waiting in vain for Ribault's return from France, is one of the most pathetic in American annals. Equally tragic was the fate of the settlement made by Laudonnier at the mouth of the St. John's. Spain could not brook even a trans-Atlantic resting place for the ene- mies of her faith. Menendez was dispatched by Philip IT to uproot the Protestants. He executed the commission by a relentless and thorough massacre of the inhabitants, and every vestige of the settlement was obliterated. Fur- ther down the river a fort was constructed by the Span-
*Wm. Bacon Stevens, M. D., D. D., in History of Georgia, Vol, I, pp. 30-3S, New York, 1847.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
ish commander; and here, on September 8, 1565, were laid the foundations of the oldest city in America-St. Augustine.
Silk Culture in Georgia
Georgia's earliest industry was the production of raw silk. It was the dream of the Trustees to save to England vast sums of money paid annually to foreign countries for this expensive material, and they even sent to Italy for persons to teach the colonists how to feed the worms and to obtain the threads from the cocoons. But the in- dustry languished. In the course of time, it was confined exclusively to the Germans at Ebenezer, while the fila- tures at Savannah were abandoned long prior to the Rev- olution. Says Colonel Charles C. Jones, Jr .: "Aware of the fact that the mulberry tree was indigenous to Georgia and informed that the climate was favorable to the silk-worm, the Trustees were encouraged by. Sir Thomas Lombe to believe that raw silk of a superior quality could be readily produced in the province, and that vast sums which were annually expended in the pur- chase of foreign silks might be saved to the nation. Ogle- thorpe was firmly persuaded that England could thus be most materially benefitted and the Trustees resolved to engage persons in Italy acquainted with the methods of feeding the worm and winding the threads from the co- coons to accompany the first settlers and instruct them in the various processes."* "The encouragement extended the Trustees and the Board of Trade to the production of raw silk in Georgia was not without some palpable results. From time to time samples were re- ceived. In May, 1735, the trustees, accompanied by Sir Thomas Lembe, exhibited a specimen to the Queen, who desired that it should be wrought into a fabric. This was done, and her majesty was so much pleased with
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