Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 9

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274

USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II > Part 9

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).

This engine consists of a Boiler, two Cylinders and a Condenser, con- structed in the following manner, viz .:

THE BOILER

Consists of two metallic vessels, globular, or nearly so, placed one within the other, so as to leave a small interstice between, in which interstice the boiling water is contained. The inner vessel contains the fuel, the flame of which passes through a spiral flue winding round the out- side of the outer vessel from the bottom to the top. The steam is con- veyed by a pipe from the boiler into an interstice between

THE TWO CYLINDERS,

Which are placed, horizontally, one within the other, from whence it is admitted alternately into each end of the inner cylinder, in which it impels a piston to vibrate both ways with equal force. It is also admitted alternately to pass from each end of the inner cylinder (all the communications, to and from which, are opened and shut by a single cock) by means of pipes into

THE CONDENSER,

Which is a metallic vessel having a large surface in contact with cold water. The condensed steam or warm water is drawn out of it by a pump.

I. BRIGGS, WM. LONGSTREET.

Recorded 30th Jan. 1789.

When the renowned inventor, James Watt, in 1774, perfected a patent which embodied the essential features of the modern steam-engine, an effort to apply its prin- ciples to navigation followed at once. Simultaneously, in various places, men with a genius for mechanics be-

101

GEORGIA PATENTS FIRST STEAMBOAT

gan to make experiments. James Rumsey, on the Ohio, in 1784, and John Fitch, on the Delaware, in 1785, both succeeded in obtaining definite and brilliant results. However, it may be gravely doubted if either of these pioneer inventors forestalled William Longstreet. The Georgian was probably engaged in experimenting with his steamboat on the Savannah River, for some time be- fore receiving his patent from the State, in 1788; and he continued for years thereafter to improve his inven- tion, in the hope of making it commercially successful. There were still others who, at this early date, were ac- tive in this same line of endeavor. But, while they demonstrated the feasibility of steam navigation, they came short of the coveted goal. Dame Fortune eluded them at every turn; and it was reserved finally for Rob- ert Fulton, a New Yorker, with his little boat, the Cler- mont, on the waters of the Hudson River, in 1807, to overtake the fleet wings of the fickle goddess.

CHAPTER VI

President Washington's Georgia Visit: the Diary of His Trip

O N March 21, 1791, at eleven o'clock in the fore- noon, President Washington left Philadelphia on a tour of the Southern States. Besides his "char- iot," drawn by four horses, the outfit for the journey included a light two-horse wagon which carried the bag- gage, four saddle horses, and a "led" horse, provided for his convenience, in the event he desired to ride horseback. He was accompanied by Major Jackson, and five servants, to-wit: a valet de chambre, a postilion, a coachman and two footmen. The presidential party en- countered rough roads, soon after leaving the capital. En route to Georgia, he visited Wilmington, N. C., and Charleston, S. C. Wednesday night, May 11, 1791, he spent with Judge Heyward, on the east side of the Sa- vannah River. From this point the narrative will be continued in the President's own language, copied ver- batim from the diary of his trip, the original of which is preserved in the Library of Congress, at Washington, D. C. Here is the record, entered with the greatest care in the President's own familiar hand-writing :

"Thursday 12th. By 5 o'clock we set out from Judge Heyward's and road to Purisburgh, 22 miles to breakfast. At that place I was met by Messrs. Jones, Coln. Habersham, Mr. John Houston, Genl. McIntosh and Mr. Clay, a comee. from the city of Savanna to conduct me thither- Boats also were ordered there by them for my accommodation; among which a handsome S oared barge rowed by S American Captns. at-

103

DIARY OF WASHINGTON'S VISIT

tended .- In my way down the River, I called upon Mrs. Green, the Widow of the deceased Genl. Green (at a place called Mulberry Grove). I asked her how she did-At this place (2 miles from Purisburgh) my horses and carriages were landed, and had 12 miles further by land to Savanna-The wind & tide being against us, it was 6 o'clock before we reached the city where we were received under every demonstration that could be given of joy & respect .- We were seven hours in making the passage, which is often performed in 4, tho the computed distance is 25 miles-Illums. at night. I was conducted by the Mayor & Wardens to very good lodgings which had been provided for the occasion and partook of a publie dinner given by the Citizens at the Coffee Room.

"Friday 13th. Dined with the members of the Cincinnati at a public dinner given at the same place-and in the evening went to a dancing assembly at which there was about 100 well dressed & handsome ladies. "Saturday 14th. A little after 6 o'clock, in Company with Genl. McIntosh, Genl. Wayne, the Mayor and many others (principal Gentle- men of the city) I visited the city and the attack & defence of it in the year 1779, under the combined forces of France and the United States, commanded by the Count de Estaing & Genl. Lincoln-To form an opinion of the attack at this distance of time, and the change which has taken place in the appearance of the ground by the cutting away of the woods &e, is hardly to be done with justice to the subject; espe- eially as there is remaining scarcely any of the defences-Dined today with a number of Citizens (not less than 200) in an elegant Bower erected for the occasion on the Bank of the River below the Town- In the evening there was a tolerable good display of fire-works.

"Sunday 15. After morning service and receiving a unmber of visits from the most respectable ladies of the place (as was the case yester- day) I set ont for Angusta, Escorted beyd the limits of the city by most of the Gentlemen in it, and dining at Mulberry Grove the gest of Mrs. Green-lodged at one Spencer's-distant 15 miles.

"Savanna stands on what may be called high ground for this Coun- try-It is extremely Sandy, weh makes the walking very disagreeable; & the houses uncomfortable in warm and windy weather, as they are filled with dust whenever these happen-The town on 3 sides is sur- rounded with cultivated Rice fields which have a rich and luxuriant appearance. On the 4th or backside it is a fine sand-The harbour is said to be very good & often filled with square rigged vessels, but there is a bar below over which not more than 12 water can be brot except at sprg tides-The tide does not flow above 12 or 14 miles above the City though the River is swelled by it more than double that dis- tance-Rice and Tobacco (the last of weh is greatly increasing) are the principal exports-Lumber & Indigo are also exported but the latter is on the deeline, and it is supposed by Hemp & Cotton-Ship timber, viz. live Oak & Cedar is (and may be more so) valuable in the exptn.

104

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

"Monday 16th. Breakfasted at Russells-15 miles from Spancer's- dined at Garnet's 19 miles further & lodged at Pierces 8 miles more; in all-42 miles today.

"Tuesday 17th. Breakfasted at Spinners 17 miles-dined at Lam- berts 13-and lodged at Waynesborough (wch was coming 6 miles out of our way) 14, in all 43 miles-Waynesborough is a small place but the Seat of Burkes County-6 or 8 dwelling houses is all it con- tains ;- an attempt is making (without much apparent effect) to estab- lish an academy at it, as is the case also in all the Counties.

"Wednesday 18th. Breakfasted at Tulcher's, 15 miles from Waynes- borough; and within 4 miles of Augusta; met the Governor (Telfair), Judge Walton, the Attorney Genl. and most of the principal Gentlemen of the place; by whom I was escorted into the Town & recd under a discharge of. Artillery-the distance I came today was about 32 miles- Dined with a large Company at the Governors, & drank tea there with many well dressed ladies.

"The road from Savanna to Augusta is for the most part through Pine barrens; but more uneven than I had been accustomed to since leaving Petersburg in Virginia, especially after riding about 30 miles from the City of that name; and here & there indeed a piece of Oak land is passed on this Road but of small extent & by no means of the first quality.

"Thursday 19th. Received & answered an address from the Citizens of Augusta ;- dined with a large Company at their Court Ho-and went to an assembly in the evening at the Academy; at which there were between 60 & 70 well dressed ladies.

"Friday 20th. Viewd the Ruins or rather small Remns of the Works which had been erected by the British during the War and taken by the Americans-Also the falls which are about 2 miles above the Town; and the Town itself .- These falls (as they are called) are nothing more than rapids-They are passable in their present state by boats with skillful hands but may at very small expense be improved by removing a few rocks only to straighten the passage-Above them there is a good boat navigation for many miles; by which the produce may be & in some measure is transported-At this place, i. e. the falls, the good lands begin; & encrease in quality to the westward & no. ward. All below them except the interval lands on the Rivers and Rice Swamps which extend from them, the whole country is a Pine barren-The town of Augusta is well laid out with wide & spacious streets-It stands on a large area of a perfect plane but is not yet thickly built tho surpris- ingly so for the time; for in 1783 there were not more than half a dozen houses; now there are not less than-containing about-souls of which-are blacks. It bids fair to be a large Town being at the head of the present navigation & a fine country back of it for support, which is settling very fast by Tobacco planters-The culture of which article

105

DIARY OF WASHINGTON'S VISIT

is increasing very fast and bids fair to be the principal export from the State; and from this part of it, it certainly will be so.

"Augusta, though it covers more ground than Savanna, does not contain as many Inhabitants, the latter having by the late census be- tween 14 and 1500 hundred whites and about 800 blacks.

"Dined at a private dinner with Govr. Telfair today; and gave him dispatches for the Spanish Govr of East Florida, respecting the Counte- nance given by that Governt to the fugitive Slaves of the Union- wch dispatches were to be forwarded to Mr. Seagrove, Collector at St. Marys, who was requested to be the bearer of them, and instructed to make arrangements for the prevention of these evils, and if possible for the restoration of the property-especially of those slaves wch had gone off since the orders of the Spanish Court to discountenance this practice of recg. them.

"Saturday 21. Left Augusta about 6 o'clock and takg leave of the Governor & principal Gentlemen of the place at the Bridge over Savanna River where they had assembled for the purpose I procecded in Company with Colns Hampton and Taylor & Mr. Lithgow, a com- mittee from Columbia (who had come to meet & conduct me to that - place) & a Mr. Jameson from the Village of Granby on my Rout- Dined at a house about 20 miles from Augusta and lodged at one Oden about 20 miles further."

CHAPTER VII

General Elijah Clarke's Trans-Oconee Republic

G ENERAL Elijah Clarke was undoubtedly a patriot. But during the last years of his life the old sol- dier's fame as a fighter was somewhat eclipsed by an enterprise, the precise nature of which was not perhaps fully understood by his critics. At any rate, its collapse exposed him to consequences which failure in- variably entails. His purpose was to organize an inde- pendent civil government on the west side of the Oconee River, a domain of country still occupied by the Indians. But, in justice to the stern old warrior, it must be said that he fully expected, when the proper time came, to annex this republic to the State of Georgia.

General Clarke was weary of incessant troubles along the exposed frontier. To put an effectual quietus upon the Indians and to solve by the sword a problem which was dark with menace to the peace of thousands, became his fixed resolve; and, while it was born of a sudden im- pulse, it gripped him with the power of a divine inspi- ration. Trained in the use of weapons, he preferred, like a true frontiersman, to argue a disputed point by re- sort to arms rather than by appeal to reason. Besides, during the unsettled period which followed the Revolu- tion, force was still a greater power than law.

But the entry of General Clarke upon the territory of the Indians formed no part of his original intentions. He sought in the beginning an altogether different object.

107

CLARKE'S TRANS-OCONEE REPUBLIC

When the French emissary, Genet, came to this country, in 1794, to arouse popular hostility toward Spain, he found General Clarke a sympathetic listener. More- over the latter, whose hatred of the Spaniards amounted to an obsession, was easily prevailed upon to accept a commission from France in a campaign, the declared purpose of which was to seize Florida and to recover Louisiana. As it happened, the resources granted him for this purpose were wholly inadequate, and the scheme itself proved abortive; but, finding himself at the head of an organized force, on the borders of Georgia, he cast his eyes toward the fertile lands beyond the Oconee River; and, into the meshes thus invitingly spread by the tempter, General Clarke fell.

There was no thought of treason to Georgia involved in this scheme of conquest. But he acted in an arbitrary manner, without consulting the State authorities, and in bold defiance of treaty agreements. Colonel Absalom H. Chappell, an accurate historian, has given us a full ac- count of the whole affair; and, while he does not uphold the General's course, he acquits him of any wrongful intent. The following review of one of the most dra- matic episodes in the history of our State is summarized from Colonel Chappell's graphic account. After giving us a sketch of Alexander McGillivray, the wily half- breed chief, who commanded the Creeks at this time, he then takes up General Clarke. Says he :

On the civilized side [i. e., of the Oconee War], there was also a prominent representative character whom we should not overlook : a nobly meritorious yet unhappily, before the end of his career, a somewhat erring soldier and patriot-General Elijah Clarke. The very military reputation which he had brought out of the Revolution made him the man to whom all the upper new settle- ments looked as the most competent of leaders and the most fearless of fighters. There never failed to come

108

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

trooping to him, at his bugle call, from field and forest, bands of armed men, at the head of whom he would repel incursions and pursue and punish the flying foc even in the distant recesses of his wild woods. To be forward and valiant in defending the settlements from the Indian tomahawk was, in those days, a sure road to lasting gratitude and admiration.

But destiny, which had hitherto been his friend, be- gan at length to be his enemy and to impel General Clarke into improper and ill-starred but not ill-meant courses. His first error was in lending himself to the schemes of the mischief-making French minister, Genet ; his next in setting on foot the Oconee Rebellion, as it was called-missteps, both of which were owing rather to accidental circumstances at the particular time than to any intentional wrongdoing on his part.

Genet was worthy to represent such a crew as the Jacobins under Robespierre; and he became drunk with the wild unschooled spirit of liberty. Nowhere did he meet with more encouragement than in South Carolina, due to the Huguenot element in the south of the State. The strong feeling of French consanguinity added force to the universally prevalent sentiment of gratitude to France as our ally in the Revolution. General Clarke's strong and bold nature sympathized with France. Genet wanted to seize Florida and to recover Louisiana from the Spaniards. He therefore presented the matter to General Clarke. The latter was not a diplomat, but a frontiersman, who was more familiar with woods than with courts, and who saw nothing whatever in the way of international complications. He disliked Spain as much as he loved Georgia. She was the ancient enemy of his State. He sought to render a patriotic service-for which reason he accepted the commission .*

*Stevens and White both state that he was commissioned a Major- General in the French Army, with a pay of $10,000, but neither of them cites the documentary evidence on which this statement is based.

109

CLARKE'S TRANS-OCONEE REPUBLIC

Commissions for subordinate officers were likewise placed in his hands. He was given money and means also, but in too limited an amount for so great an enter- prise. His authority was everywhere recognized by French emissaries, and from the Ohio to the St. Mary's, his orders were obeyed in the making of preparations. Men thronged to him from South Carolina and Georgia, fired by the splendor of the project and the renown of the leader. The points of rendezvous were principally along the Oconee. Nor did the Indians manifest any hostility toward the adventurers, for they were ancient friends of the French, with whom they were allied in the French and Indian Wars.

But the enterprise never reached the stage where General Clarke was to stand forth, truncheon in hand, the avowed leader. Washington's administration was too strong and vigilant for Genet. Our obligations of neutrality toward Spain were fully maintained. The re- call of Genet was demanded. Of course, the consequences were disastrous to General Clarke. He was left standing, blank, resourceless, aimless, on the Indian side of the wilderness.

It was in these untoward circumstances that General Clarke, with his men, in May, 1794, began to bestow thought upon the Indian territory, where already they saw themselves quartered in arms. Nor did they think long before they took the overstrong resolution of seiz- ing upon the country and of setting up for themselves an independent government. No scruples or impedi- ments deterred them. To a man, they regarded the coun- try as lost to Georgia by the perpetual guarantee made to the Indians by the treaty of New York. A written Constitution was adopted. General Clarke was chosen civil and military chief. A Committee of Safety was or- ganized, with law-making functions. But whether a name was ever bestowed on the infant State or whether it ex-

110

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

pired without baptism, no record or tradition remains to tell. Nor is there any copy of the Constitution now to be found. But in the first volume of the American State Papers on Indian Affairs there is preserved a letter from General Clarke to the Committee of Safety, dated Fort Defiance, September 5, 1794, which places beyond doubt the adoption of the Constitution and the other facts of organization .*

The new trans-Oconee Republic was too splendid a scheme for the petty numbers and resources of General Clarke's command. Stevens, in his history of Georgia, has mixed matters. He represents the Oconee War as eventuating in the French project, with which General Clarke became identified. On the contrary, it was the failure of the French project which led to the Oconee War.

In justification of General Clarke's course may be pleaded the animosity which had long prevailed between the State of Georgia and the Creek Indians. The latter had been the allies of the British. In the treaty of Au- gusta, in 1783, they had ceded the Oconee lands, but had refused to let Georgia enjoy them. They kept no faith; and, during the very next year, not only raised the war- whoop again, but rushed into an alliance with Spain. Later they were parties to another treaty, by which they ceded the Tallassee country, in the lower part of the State, only to repudiate it afterwards. Both at Augusta and at Galphinton, General Clarke had been one of the commissioners for Georgia. He was actuated less by the prevailing land-greed than by sagacious statesmanship, and he looked to a permanent preservation of peace with the Indians. Still another treaty had been signed at Shoulder Bone, in 1876. Yet the war had not ceased.

Such was the status of affairs when the new govern- ment of the United States was launched in 1789 and

*American State Papers, Indian Affairs, Volume I, pp. 500-501, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

111

CLARKE'S TRANS-OCONEE REPUBLIC

Washington called to the helm. It was barely a year thereafter that the treaty of New York was consum- mated, abrogating the other treaties and buying peace at the price of a retrocession of Tallassee, in addition to a perpetual guarantee to the Indians, on the part of the United States, regardless of Georgia's paramount rights. Yet the Indians did not keep even this treaty, because it did not concede to them everything else which they claimed.

General Clarke was speedily overwhelmed by public censure and total discomfiture. National and State gov- ernments acted in concert against him and finally put him down. Governor Matthews, with his Revolutionary laurels untainted at this time by the Yazoo fraud, thun- dered at the obnoxious General, prompted by Washing- ton, who preferred wisely to remain behind the scenes and to be neutral where the authorities of the States were adequate to deal with the local situations. Judge Walton also condemned him in charges to grand juries, though in language of marked consideration and respect. These, however, were not sufficient. The next step was more decisive. The citizen soldiery were called out; and, to General Clarke's surprise, they promptly obeyed orders. As the storm thickened around him, there were none to come to his succor. Even his hosts of friends stood aloof. They could not uphold him in violating the treaty of New York, which the State was bound to re- spect.

It redounds to General Clarke's honor, however, that he no sooner became aware of the great error in which he was entangled than he abandoned it, ere he had shed a drop of blood. He never expected to raise his hand against any foe save the hostile Indians and Spaniards. This explains his ready and absolute submission when, on being assured that neither his men nor himself would be molested, he struck colors and disbanded his followers and returned, chagrined, to his home in Wilkes, on the approach of Generals Twiggs and Irwin, under the Gov- ernor's order, with a body of the State troops.

112

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

In further defence of General Clarke it may be said that, with the Oconee River as a permanent guaranteed boundary between the State of Georgia and the Indians, it was clear to him that the State could never attain to much prosperity or importance, but must continue feeble · and poor. Enlargement toward the West was what she needed to make her powerful. So he seized the oppor- tunity which confronted him in 1794 of making himself master of the trans-Oconee territory by means of the French resources and preparations, to which he had fallen heir.

On July 28, 1794, at the suggestion of General Knox, Secretary of War, Governor Matthews issued this procla- mation :

"Whereas, I have received official information that Elijah Clarke, Esq., late a Major-General of the militia of this State, has gone over the Oconee River, with intent to establish a separate and independent government on lands allotted to the Indians for hunting grounds within the boundaries and jurisdictional rights of the State of Georgia aforesaid, and has induced numbers of good citizens of the said State to join him in the said unlawful enterprise; and whereas, such acts and proceedings are not only a violation of the laws of this State, but tend to subvert the good order and government thereof, I have therefore thought fit to issue this proclamation, warning and forbidding the citizens of the said State from engaging in such unlawful proceedings, hereby strictly enjoining all persons whatsoever who have been deluded to engage therein immediately to desist there- from, as they will answer the contrary to their peril; and I do hereby strictly command and require all judges, justices, sheriffs, and other officers, and all other good citizens of this State to be diligent in aiding and assisting to apprehend the said Elijah Clarke and his adherents, in order that they may be severally brought to justice."

113

CLARKE'S TRANS-OCONEE REPUBLIC

No sooner did Governor Matthews issue this procla- mation against General Clarke than the latter reappeared in Wilkes and surrendered himself to the authorities; but after examining the laws and the treaties, both State and Federal, it was ordered by the court that Elijah Clarke be and is hereby discharged. The vote of the jury was unanimous. The effect was to embolden Clarke. Being pronounced guiltless of any offence, he recrossed the Oconee to his posts.

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.

Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 9

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co. Number of Pages: 1274

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274