USA > Georgia > Liberty County > History of the Midway Congregational Church, Liberty County, Georgia > Part 20
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2. MoCall's His. Vol. I. page 256. 3. Jones' His. Vol. II. P. 333.
4. This island was formerly the property of the Bosomworth's, of whom Button Gwinnett purchased it. It was deeded by the Crown in 1758 in settlement of a claim of Mrs. Mary Musgrove, a half-breed Indian, who was Oglethorpe's interpreter, who, after the death of her husband, John Musgrove, married David Matthews, and after his death, Rev. Thomas Bosomworth, Oglethorpe's chaplain. In the Session Book we find the name of Sarah Bosomworth among the members of Midway church, received 1768, who was no doubt a near relative of Rev. Thomos Bosomworth, or his brother, Abraham. Thus showing the extensive influence of the old church, and which, taken in connection with the fact that St. Catherine formed a part of the parish of st. John, invests the mat- ter with sufficient interest to require this notice.
5. White's His. Coll. p. 39.
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HISTORY OF MIDWAY CHURCH.
George Walton, the only other signer of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia, and afterwards governor, was sent as a prisoner of war, with other continental offices ta- ken at the fall of Savannah in 1778, he being wounded with a thigh broken, and paroled until his wound healed, and af- terwards there retained as a prisoner of war, until ex- changed. Here lived for several years Richard Howley and Nathan Brownson, governors of Georgia, John Elliott and Alfred Cuthbert, United States senators, and John A. Cuth- bert, member of congress. Here was the home of Major John Jones, who fell in the siege of Savannah. Here lived Major Lachlan McIntosh, the father of the Commodore, and here the Commodore himself was born and also his sister, the authoress, Miss Maria McIntosh. Here, also, was the birth- place of Hon. John E. Ward and Hon. William Law. And here the home of Dr. William McWhir, where he established his celebrated school known far and wide.
Sunbury was also remarkable for its military record. This was the place of rendezvous for the forces of General Charles Lee in the expedition against Florida, planned by himself, in 1776. From hence was it that Col. Elbert embarked his troops in an expedition against St. Augustine, under the order of Button Gwinnett, in 1777. Here it was that in 1778, after General Howe's unsuccessful expedition to Flor- ida, Col. C. C. Pinckney returned with his troops to rest.
It was here a little later in the same year that after the re- moval of Cols. White and Elbert to Savannah, Col. John McIntosh being left in command of the fort, so courageously defended it against the attack of Col. Fuser, and to whom he returned the laconic answer, when demanding its surren- der, "Come and take it."I
But perhaps the thing that invests the place with the greatest interest is the fact that this was the last spot in Georgia to surrender, when the state was overrun by the
1. Col. Jones, in his History, Vol. II. p. 310, as well as in his 'Dead Towns," states that the State Legislature in recognition of his conspicuous bravery on this occasion, "voted him a sword with the words 'come and take it' engraved thereon." I have thus far been unable to find the evidence of this. In November, 1814, the Legislature voted a sword to Col. James S. McIntosh, the son of Col. John McIntosh, for gallant services rendered in the war of 1812, at Sandy Creek and other places about Lake Ontario, N. Y. I am of the opinion the two things have been inadvertently confused.
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British in 1778. It was not until Savannah had fallen and the forces withdrawn from Augusta, according to the order of General Howe,1 that Sunbury surrendered to British su- premacy, and then not until overwhelmed with superior numbers. Let then the fact before alluded to in this work, be here again repeated, by way of emphasis, that the last spot upon Georgia soil where the old Colonial flag remained un- furled, and was seen floating in the breeze, was from the ramparts of the old fort of the old historic town of Sunbury!
THE OLD FORT.
A short sketch then of an object of such interest, and which still stands as an interesting relic of the past, cannot fail to interest.
As early as 1756, in accordance with the request of Hon. Jonathan Bryan, one of his Majesty's council of safety, and on account of a rumored invasion of the Indians, a number of the citizens went to Captain Carr's and counseled about building a fort low down on the river, which was commenced September 20, 1756.2
So also, according to the church record, on July of the fol- lowing year, on account of fear of French privateers, citizens went to Sunbury and raised a couple of batteries and made carriages for eight small cannons, which Governor Ellis, in his tour of inspection March, 1758, was pleased to find completed, in connection with the fortification around Mid- way church. Whether this was the same location as that of the fort afterwards erected remains undetermined. It may, however be safely asserted that the heavy earthworks still standing just below the site of the town, and which constitute the fort so noted in history, was erected at the commencement of the Revolutionary war, and in accordance with the action of Congress ordering the construction and manning of two forts, one at Savannah and one at Sunbury ; and as tradition has it, was built chiefly by the citizens of Bermuda (now Colonel's Island) and principally by slave
1. See report committee of investigation, Jones' His. Vol. II., p. 333 .. 2. Record.
Church
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labor. In honor of the captain commanding a company of continental artillery raised for coast defense, it was named "Fort Morris."
After the abandonment by General Howe of his expedition against St. Augustine in 1778, Col. John McIntosh was left in command. Col. Fuser, as already stated, made the at- tack upon it by water. According to agreement, Col. Pre- vost was expected at the same time to lead an assault by land. The delay of Fuser to reach Sunbury at the appointed time, caused by high winds, prevented the union of the two forces, and the defiant attitude of Col. McIntosh so intimi- dated Col. Fuser that he withdrew his fleet, and thus Sun- bury was saved at that time. It was only for a short while, however.
During the siege of Savannah a few weeks later by Col. Campbell, Col. McIntosh was ordered to that place, and Fort Morris left in charge of Major Lane. General Howe, after the fall of Savannah, ordered Major Lane to evacuate the fort and join the main army at Zubly's Ferry in its re- treat to Carolina. But in disobedience to orders and at the request of the citizens, he determined to remain and defend the place. In the meanwhile General Augustine Prevost, hearing of the arrival of Col. Campbell at Savannah, left St. Augustine with an army of about two thousand men, with a view of joining him. On his way he halted at Sunbury January 9th, and appearing before the fort demanded its surrender. Major Lane at first refused, and endeavored to defend it; but soon finding his position untenable he was compelled to make an unconditional surrender of the entire garrison, consisting of seventeen commissioned officers, one hundred and ninety-five non-commissioned officers and pri- vates, together with stores and ammunition; also, with the loss of one captain and three men killed and seven wounded.
After the surrender to the British, the fort was named by them Fort George, in honor of their Sovereign, and so con- tinued in name, and in the hands of the British until the close of the war.
During the war of 1812-15 the fort was repaired and re- modeled, under the direction of the Committee of Safety, and
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by them named Fort Defense. Said committee of defense for Liberty county during the war consisted of General Dan- iel Stewart, William Fleming, John Winn, John Stacy, John Elliott, John Stevens, and Joseph Law, who had charge of the local defense, and who were authorized to call upon the cit- izens for any labor they might deem necessary. The garri- son in the fort was under the command of Hon. John A. Cuthbert. They were never, however, called into active service.
This was the last time the old fort was ever used. Sun- bury having gone down, there no longer existed a necessity for the fort.
DESCRIPTION.
The old fort was located about three hundred and fifty yards outside the southern limits of Sunbury, at the bend of the river. The walls were earthwork, very substantially built, and include one acre of ground. The eastern face con- fronting the river was two hundred and seventy-five feet in length.1 The northern and southern faces, somewhat irreg- ular in shape, were respectively one hundred and ninety-one and one hundred and forty feet in length. The western wall, two hundred and forty feet long. The parapet, ten feet wide and six feet above the parade of the fort, its superior slope about twenty-five feet above the level of the river at high tide, with seven embrasures, each about five feet wide. Sur- rounding the whole a moat ten feet wide at the bottom and about twenty feet at the top. The sally port was in the middle of the western wall.
The guns have all been removed. One was carried to Hinesville when the place was first laid off sixty years ago, and has been often and long used on Fourth of July and other public occasions, and may still be seen lying in the court house yard in that place. Two of them were carried to Riceboro during the late war between the states, but no use was made of them. Two more were taken by Captain
1. For these measurements I am indebted to "Dead Towns of Georgia," by Col. C. C. Jones, Jr.
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HISTORY OF MIDWAY CHURCH.
Lamar, and after being used as signal guns at Sunbury, were transported to Fort Bartow at Savannah, and fell in- to the hands of the Federals. Two more were left lying half buried in the soil of the parade ground, and a third in the old field half way between tbe fort and the site of the town.I These all have since been removed. At least the writer did not see them when he visited the spot, January, 1896. One of the two carried to Riceboro was removed by the late Col. C. C. Jones in 1880 to his home on the Sand Hills near Au- gusta, Georgia, and now adorns the lawn in front of the residence which has passed into the hands of his son, Col. Charles Edgeworth Jones. This, and the one at Hinesville, are veritable and valuable relics, as they were without doubt, of the number of those that took part in the defense of Georgia soil in Revolutionary times.
GRAVE YARD.
The grave yard at Sunbury, could it speak, could tell much that would be interesting. But, unfortunately for us, there are but few monuments to be seen. The yard itself is all grown up and forms part of the natural forest. Unless you were told, you would never dream that you were stand ing over so many graves and many of them too, people of note. There are a few graves of modern date. These are enclosed and well cared for. The rest is all a thicket. In these woods lie buried, and may be seen, the tombs of Rev. Wm. McWhir, D. D., born in Ireland September 9. 1759, died January 31, 1851; and his wife, Mary McWhir, born in Liberty county September 27, 1757, and died at Springfield, near Sunbury, December 31, 1819. Mrs. McWhir was the widow of Col. John Baker, and was married before, being the widow of Col. Lapina when Col. Baker married her.
THE CHURCHES.
The singular thing in connection with this notable place was the fewness of the churches in connection with its popula-
1. "Dead Towns", p. 182.
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SUNBURY.
tion, and the utter want of religious advantages in propor- tion to its alleged size. There never has been a Methodist church in the place. The Baptist church was not organized till 1806. The removal to Midway commenced in 1752. Sunbury was laid off in 1758, four years after. For fifty- four years, till the organization of the Baptist church in Sunbury, Midway was the only church in the county.1 How, then, were the Sunbury people supplied with the gospel ? For a long time the early settlers depended entirely upon Midway, ten miles off. In 1763 we find that an effort was made to obtain the services of Rev. John Alexander to preach at Sunbury, as a kind of assistant to Mr. Osgood; and a little later we find that Mr. Edwards came over from Carolina, and for about two years resided at Sunbury as the assistant of Mr. Osgood. So we also find that later on Rev. Reuben Hitchcock, a Congregational minister, was located at Sunbury as teacher and preacher, having charge of the school and also preaching to the people, and that he contracted in 1791 to supply Midway church once in every three Sabbaths. And later still, that after Dr. McWhir's settlement there in 1792, that he preached to the people as well as conducted the school.
From hints given it would seem that if not an independent church there was a branch of Midway church there, as men- tion is made in the records, of authority being given Dr. McWhir to receive members (which he did) till a church should be organized there.
So Rev. Jesse Campbell, in his life of Rev. C. O. Screven, says "there was not a single Baptistchurch in the place, but there was a church of Congregational Presbyterians."2
Concerning the Congregational church at Sunbury, we find the charter was granted March 20,:1790, at Augusta, by Governor Telfair, with the following named Select Men : Francis Coddington, David Rees, James Powell and John Lawson, who had erected a place of worship, and "declared to be a body corporate, by the name of and style of The Congregational Society of Sunbury;" the above "to hold
1. The Olivet Methodist church was organized 1826.
2. Bap. His., P. 40.
.
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HISTORY OF MIDWAY CHURCH.
office till the first Monday in March next, when annually .the members and supporters of the gospel shall meet and elect successors." (State Archives Book B, p. 257.)
Now, concerning this church, we know very little. It cer- tainly never did much as a church, and at best was only a feeder to Midway. Very much as the church at Newport, of which the Rev. Stephen A. Hoyt was said to be minister, and of which we now know nothing except that "it was erected near Byne swamp and not far from Captain Joseph Jones' place."
The above statements all go to show how large a propor- tion of the population of Sunbury must have been identified with the Midway congregation, and what an intensely strong hold the old church must have had upon the citizens of that place.
PRESENT CONDITION.
After Sunbury fell into the hands of the British, a large portion of it was burned.1 From that shock it never recov- ered. Proving unhealthy and its commerce being diverted to Savannah, it began rapidly to decline. When the writer visited the place in 1896, as above stated, there was but one old dwelling standing, occupied by some fishermen; the rest a cotton field. Since then that house has been removed, so that to-day there is not a single vestige of the old town left.
It is sad indeed to think that a town once of the size and importance of this, and the scene of so many incidents and occurrences should now be nothing more than a cultivated field. And that the cemetery and old fort, the one the rest- ing place of so many of her noble dead, and the other the scene of such military prowess, should alike be as the wild - forest ! Like Pompeii of old, the whole now lies buried be- neath the ashes of years, but unlike Pompeii, utterly beyond the hope of future exhumation.
1. Rees. Cy. Art. Sunbury.
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REMOVAL OF REMAINS OF COMMODORE MCINTOSH.
REMOVAL OF THE REMAINS OF COMMO- DORE JAMES M. MCINTOSH.
Whilst Sunbury had interesting associations connected with it while living, it likewise has some tender memories clustering around it even since dead. For here was the scene of the formal reception, in the spring of 1861, of the remains of one of her own, as well as state's gallant dead.
Commodore James Mackay McIntosh, the son of Major Lachlan McIntosh, and grand nephew of General Lachlan McIntosh, died at Pensacola, Florida, September 1, 1860. In December following the Legislature of Georgia ordered that his remains should be removed, at her expense, and buried upon her own soil, at any place his relatives might choose. In accordance with this action, they were removed from Pensacola and conveyed, in charge of his nephew, Lachlan McIntosh, by rail to Savannah, and from thence, in company with a few relatives and friends, to Sunbury on board the steamer Everglade, employed for the occasion by Captain J. M. Kell, who was at that time Commander of the steamer Savannah for coast defense. They reached Sun- bury on Tuesday, April 16, 1861, and then and there were formally surrendered to the Liberty Independent Troop to be escorted by them to the Midway grave yard, the place selected for their final resting place. On receiving the trust, Mr. W. C. Stevens, a member of the company, and in be- half of the same, delivered the following address :
ADDRESS OF MR. W. C. STEVENS.
Captain Kell :- Permit me, as the organ of the Liberty Independent Troop, to express to you their just appreciation of the service which brings you to these shores, and their heartfelt co-operation in the funeral obsequies of the occa- sion. In the social relations of life, loved and esteemed by his friends for his kindness of heart and manly qualities, Commodore McIntosh was to most of us personally un- known; but history has recorded his public career, and his
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grateful countrymen are ready to award that meed of praise which is the just tribute to merit. By reference to an ex- cerpt of his life, we find that he entered the naval service of the United States in September, 1811, and for a period of forty-nine years continued in the active exercise of different vocations, passing through the various grades of service: Midshipman, Passed Midshipman, Master, Lieutenant and Captain, as rapidly as the regulations of the naval service would admit. Although never engaged in actual hostilities (if we except the first period of initiation into service) we find him, during a reign of general national prosperity, em- ployed in offices of important trust and great responsibility, requiring the exercise of sound judgment and a character distinguished for fearlessness of danger. In 1821 he was at- tached to an expedition under Captain Kerney, for the ex- termination of the pirates on the West India coast. In 1851, after receiving his commission with the rank of Captain, he was ordered to the command of the United States frigate Congress, attached to the Brazil squadron, under the com- mand of Commodore Mckeever Soon after this he was removed to the command of the naval station at Sackett's harbor, where he remained until 1857, when, by order of the President of the United States, he became flag officer of the. home squadron. This command was conferred at a time when British fleets in southern waters became exceedingly insolent and troublesome, by attempting to board and search American vessels; but by prejudice, judgment, digni- fied courtesy and firm determination, he vindicated and maintained the position his country had ever taken against the right of search, and received for his conduct her unqual- ified approbation. Subsequent to this period Commodore McIntosh was placed in command of the navy yard Pensa- cola, in which station he expired on the first of September, 1860.
Here closed his earthly career, almost up to the dissolu- tion of the old government, which he had always served with fidelity and honor, and upon the eve of a great and wondrous revolution. Had Commodore McIntosh survived to behold the light of this day, it is not difficult to say what
REMOVAL OF REMAINS OF COMMODORE MC'INTOSH. 243
would have been his position in the recent inauguration of political events. Had he lived to behold the Confederate flag of these Southern states thrown proudly and defiantly to the breeze, his ardent and true Southern heart would too surely have reflected the sentiment of its emblematic colors, valor, purity and truth. But, sir, while we may regret the necessity that sunders the bonds of earthly existence, and view with sorrow from "Life's shining circle its gems drop away," we must bend to an inexorable fate and bow with submission to the will of Providence.
"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, All that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour,
The path of glory leads but to the grave."
And now, sir, with hearts alive to the duties of the occa- sion, we bid you welcome here, and thrice welcome the re- mains of the gallant Commodore James McKay McIntosh to a final interment in the soil of his native state and in the county of his birth."
To which Captain Kell made the following response :
RESPONSE OF CAPTAIN KELL.
Gentlemen of the Liberty Independent Troop, and Fellow Citizens of Liberty County :- In behalf of the widow and children and the relatives of the deceased, I tender you their warm and heartfelt acknowledgments of the consideration and respect thus shown to his memory.
It would have been a satisfaction (melancholy, it is true) to his old comrade in arms and brother-friend, the gallant Tatnall, to have responded to the kind words that have been spoken. It was his intention and earnest desire to ac- company the remains of his deceased friend to their last resting place ; but danger threatens our people and hestands at his post to meet it. His duty to his country alone pre- vents his being here, and I know that the noble spirit of his late comrade looks down from aloft with responsive sym- pathy and approval. Again do I thank you in behalf of the family and friends of the gallant departed, and beg leave to
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present as one of his relatives my own warm appreciation of your sympathy and consideration."
After the ceremony of reception was over, the remains were escorted by the Independent Troop to the country cemetery at Midway, nine miles distant, its final resting place. After the interment an impressive and appropriate prayer was of- fered by Rev. C. C. Jones, D. D., after which a wreath of ro- ses and olive branches, entwined by the hands of Mrs. C. C. Jones, was suspended from the headstone of the grave. And there beside his relatives this gallant officer lies sleeping his last sleep.1
CHAPTER XVIII.
LECONTE PEAR TREE AND TEA CULTURE.
LECONTE PEAR TREE.
To Liberty county also is the country indebted for the Le Conte Pear Tree, which has given rise to considerable indus- try in several of the Southern states. The following account of the origin of this remarkable fruit tree has been received from Judge John L. Harden, a regular descendant of the family :
"The history of the LeConte pear is as follows: In 1850 my great uncle, John LeConte, purchased from Thomas Hogg, a nurseryman of New York, a small pear tree. He was told by Mr. Hogg that the fruit was of inferior quality, and fit only for preserving; that it would not mature its fruit so far north as New York, but that it might do so in the south ;
1. The above account was taken from the Savannah Morning News, a clipping of which has been kindly furnished me by the family of Captain Kell.
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that it was the Chinese Sand Pear. The tree was given to my mother and when it grew large enough, it produced fruit which, to our surprise, was of excellent quality. It is productive and vigorous. The original tree is forty-five years old (in 1895), and is still productive and vigorous, al- though sadly neglected. It has borne twenty bushels in one year, after allowing for all that may have been stolen."
At the close of the late war, the people in Liberty county were all broken up and quite a number of them emigrated to southwestern Georgia. Among them was Col. Leander L. Varnedoe, a native of the county and a member of the old church. Upon the suggestion of his uncle, Mr. William Jones, that the tree might be propagated from the cutting, and that the fruit might be profitably raised in southwestern Georgia, whither he had moved, he secured quite a number of cuttings and took them with him and planted them at his home near Thomasville, and was soon delighted to see that the idea was a happy one, for he soon had an orchard of vigorous trees, yielding abundantly of luscious marketa- ble fruit. Cuttings soon became in great demand ; and from that little beginning the whole southern country has been covered with these trees. Many have made not only livings, but even fortunes of the same.
To give some idea of the impoverished condition of this people at the close of the war, and also what a happy hit was the idea of promoting the cultivation of this pear from cuttings, I relate the following incident :
On the return of Col. Varnedoe from the war, it is said that his first bill of fare was so poor and uninviting that he jocosely remarked to his wife: "Annie, if you can, you may, but I can't say grace over such a dinner."
A few years after his removal to Thomasville he was of- fered ten thousand dollars cash for his pear farm, which he very wisely refused.
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