Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 11

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294

USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I > Part 11

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CIVIL HISTORY.

in the nation. The cause of his death was cancer of the tongue. A life-size por- trait of the deceased senator was ordered by the legislature, and a marble statue was subsequently erected to his memory by popular subscription.

ELECTION OF ALEX. H. STEPHENS AND HIS DEATH.

Under the provisions of the constitution of 1877 the governor's term of office was reduced to two years. In the summer of 1882, therefore, the gubernatorial campaign was inaugurated by the presentation of the name of Alex. H. Stephens, the great commoner. Mr. Stephens was well advanced in years and was in ex- tremely feeble health. He was still in public life, however, and the suggestion of his name was received with patriotic enthusiasm. He received the nomination and in the fall election was successful by an unprecedented majority. He was duly inaugurated and entered upon the discharge of his official duties in November, 1882. It was preordained, however, that Mr. Stephens' term of service should be a brief one. He died early in the following year and was mourned by all the people of the south. He was buried in Crawfordville, Ga., and a monument over his grave has since been erected to his memory.

The president of the senate, Hon. James S. Boynton, assumed the chair on the death of Gov. Stephens and performed the duties of that office until the qualification of his successor. In the convention that met to nominate a candidate Gov. Boynton was the choice of a large number of the delegates. Speaker Bacon of the house of representatives also had a splendid following. After a prolonged session, however, Hon. Henry D. McDaniel was nominated as a dark horse and received a majority of the votes in the popular election.

It was during the term of Gov. McDaniel that the bill was passed authorizing the erection of the present state capitol at a cost of $1,000,000. The work of putting up the building proceeded without interruption and the structure was com- pleted in 1889. At the laying of the corner-stone the oration was delivered by Gen. A. R. Lawton of Savannah.

The first legislature that assembled after the death of Senator Benj. H. Hill elected Hon. Pope Barrow of Athens, Ga., to succeed him until the expiration of the unfinished term. Gov. Alfred H. Colquitt was elected for the long term.

The administration of Gov. McDaniel was patriotic and conservative. In 1884, therefore, he was complimented by a re-election to the high office that he had filled with such distinguished ability. The election of Grover Cleveland, the democratic candidate for the presidency, in the fall of this year created universal rejoicing throughout the south.

GOV. GORDON'S ADMINISTRATION.

The spring of 1886 brought to Atlanta, as the guest of the city, the venerable chieftain of the Confederacy, Hon. Jefferson Davis. His visit to the city was the signal for a pronounced ovation, and the joy of the people at seeing their old leader again was all the more sincere because of the close retirement in which he had lived since the war. Flowers were sprinkled before the carriage in which he rode and the people of the city, young and old, turned out to greet him. The occasion of his visit was the unveiling of the statue of Senator Hill.

Gov. McDaniel's term of office expiring this year the name of Gen. John B. Gordon was proposed as his successor. The suggestion met with popular en- thusiasm and Gen. Gordon, having received the democratic nomination, was elected by an overwhelming majority.

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

His administration was fearless and aggressive. In the summer of 1888 he was triumphantly re-elected.

The new capitol building was completed in 1889 and the executive department was transferred to the beautiful structure on Washington street, crowning the highest eminence in the city. It may be said in praise of the commission and of all concerned in the erection of the capitol, that it was built within the original ap- propriation.

In the fall of this year the greatest oratorical achievement of the generation was won by Henry W. Grady in the city of New York at a banquet of the famous New England society. In a speech of only twenty minutes Mr. Grady caught the ear of the entire nation and did more to heal the breach between the sections than all the orators who had declaimed in favor of reconstruction since the war. From this response of Mr. Grady to "The New South" until his final speech, delivered three years later at Plymouth Rock, his life was one continuous ovation. His death at the age of thirty-nine, following upon that of Mr. Davis by only a few weeks, was considered a national calamity.

A series of expositions inaugurated in Atlanta for the purpose of advertising the resources of the Piedmont region attracted thousands of people to Georgia. The first of these expositions was held in 1887 and President Cleveland was one of the distinguished visitors. The population of the state at this time was in the close neighborhood of 1,800,000. The enterprise of the state in all departments of industry, her rapid growth since the war and the development of her marvelous material resources, had won for her the well-merited distinction of the "Empire State of the South."

ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. NORTHEN.

The rise of the farmers' alliance now claimed the attention of the public. From a social organization it had grown into a strong political factor and sought to correct a number of legislative evils. Hon. Wm. J. Northen of Sparta, Ga., was the preferred candidate of this rural order and received the democratic nomination in the summer of 1890. He was subsequently elected by a large majority and en- tered upon the discharge of his duties with patriotic zeal, giving marked evidence of decided administrative ability. In the summer of 1892 he was re-elected to the office of governor by the unprecedented majority of 70,000 votes. In the meantime the farmers' alliance had merged into a new party known as the people's party, incorporating the sub-treasury plank in its platform. Gov. Northen, however, in the strictest loyalty to the farming interests of the state, remained true to the traditions of the democratic party. The success of the national democracy in 1892 restored Mr. Cleveland to the executive chair after a retirement of four years. In the distribution of portfolios Hon. Hoke Smith of Georgia was called to the department of the interior in Mr. Cleveland's cabinet, and Hon. Chas. F. Crisp, a distinguished citizen of Georgia, was elected speaker of the national house of representatives.

Gen. John B. Gordon, who had returned to public life, now occupied the seat of Senator Joseph E. Brown in the United States senate. Senator Brown, on account of failing health, was not a candidate for re-election at the close of his second term.

The death of Justice L. Q. C. Lamar of the United States supreme court, a native of Georgia, who had served in the councils of the nation, representing the state of Mississippi in the United States senate, in the first cabinet of President Cleveland and on the bench of the supreme court, produced general sorrow throughout the south. He was buried in the state of his birth, though his remains

CIVIL HISTORY.

were subsequently exhumed and taken to Mississippi. The death of Senator Col- quitt occurred within a few months after the demise of Justice Lamar. This distinguished Georgian, who had served with equal ability in the field and forum, and who had worthily won the mantle of his illustrious father, was buried with civic honors in Rose Hill cemetery, Macon, Ga.

Gov. Northen appointed Hon. Patrick Walsh of Augusta to succeed Senator Colquitt for the unexpired term. The legislature that met in the fall of 1894 elected Hon. A. C. Bacon of Macon, Ga., for the long term.

The democratic convention that met this year nominated Hon. Win. Y. Atkinson of Newman, Ga., for governor. Gen. Clement A. Evans was a popular candidate for that high honor, but withdrew from the race before the assembling of the convention.

This brings the history of Georgia down to the closing decade of the nineteenth century-more than 160 years from the landing of Oglethorpe on the bluffs of the Savannah river. The state has grown into a splendid commonwealth, embracing a population of nearly 2,000,000 souls and rejoicing in the assured hope of a long- continued prosperity. In the preparations she has made for the cotton states and international exposition, the greatest enterprise ever inaugurated on southern soil, the state has written the peroration of the century so far as her own marvelous achievements are concerned. The crowned heads of the world have been invited to attend this exposition and to witness the miracle of growth on which the colony of Georgia, planted by the philanthropic hand of Oglethorpe, has been converted into the splendid and colossal commonwealth that responds in the roll-call of de- velopment to the "Empire State of the South."

CHAPTER II.

BY BRIG .- GEN. CLEMENT A. EVANS.

MILITARY HISTORY-GEORGIA MILITARY PROVINCE-TROUBLES WITH SPAIN -OPPRESSIONS BY THE MOTHER COUNTRY-GEORGIA BECOMES AGGRES- SIVE-GOVERNOR FLEES-NEW CONSTITUTION-MILITARY ORGANIZATION- OPENING OF THE WAR-EVENTS IN GEORGIA-UNDER THE CONFEDERA- TION-WAR OF 1812-WAR WITH CREEK INDIANS-MEXICAN WAR-TERRI- TORIAL DIFFICULTIES - SECESSION AGITATION - MILITARY ORGANIZA- TION IN 1860-SEIZURE OF UNITED STATES FORTS-SECESSION CONVEN- TION-PREPARATIONS FOR THE STRUGGLE-BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES -DEFENSE OF GEORGIA-FEDERAL BLOCKADE-THE YEAR 1862-CAPTURE OF FORT PULASKI-THE STATE ARMY-EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION- FORT M'ALLISTER-EVENTS OF 1863-CHICKAMAUGA-CHATTANOOGA- CAMPAIGN AGAINST ATLANTA-FALL OF ATLANTA-SHERMAN'S MARCH TO SAVANNAH-THE CLOSE.

G EORGIA was originally organized as a military province, subject to the crown of Great Britain. Its martial founder, Gen. James Edward Ogle- thorpe, had served with distinction in the armies of Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough. Moved by a benevolent as well as a venture- some spirit, he projected and carried into effect a colony in this English province situated far down the lower Atlantic coast. In 1732, the colonists, with Ogle- thorpe at their head, left the shores of England and, crossing the ocean, debarked upon the bluff of the Savannah river, where they marked out the site of a town and called it Savannah; thus founding the present elegant and prosperous seaport of the state.

The first colonists of Georgia entered upon the edge of a wilderness which stretched in gloomy solitude more than a thousand miles northward and westward and met upon this threshold of the new world a body of aboriginal inhabitants differing from themselves in color, traits and customs so greatly as to be thought a distinct race of mankind. These Indians, as they were called, belonged to the tribes of the Creeks and Muscogees and being but a part of many warlike nations inhabiting the great American forests, came forward to greet their coming. The situation required a military government. The town, exposed to attacks, must be under the rules of a garrison. Therefore Georgia began its career as a military colony, whose citizens held their lands at first by a tenure that exacted military duty. Every male inhabitant capable of service was armed with some weapon of war. Other emigrants came soon afterward, among whom were the sturdy Salz- burgers and the peaceful Moravians. A fine body of Scotch Highlanders dressed in picturesque plaids and armed with broadswords and firearms landed a little lower down the coast and settled Inverness. Oglethorpe, as the military chief and

Clement A. Evans

MILITARY HISTORY.

governor of all, explored the coast, selected sites for military posts, built a fort on St. Simon's island and adopted all necessary measures for the safety of the new colony.

TROUBLES WITH SPAIN.

Not six years after their landing the Georgia settlers found that their earliest antagonists were not Indians, but Spaniards-men of their own race. Spain had laid claim to Florida as England had to Georgia and these claims extending vaguely into the unsurveyed wilds, a conflict of interests was inevitable. A state of hostility soon occurred. The Spaniards threatened Georgia and Oglethorpe being appointed by the crown commander of the colonial forces of South Carolina and Georgia, invaded Florida with about 2,000 men. The expedition was de- signed against the old Spanish town, St. Augustine. Marching into Florida, Oglethorpe attacked several small outposts and capturing them, laid siege to the ancient city. But the Spaniards had fortified their position so well and provisioned it so amply that after some unsuccessful assaults and a fruitless siege of several months, Oglethorpe was compelled to retreat into Georgia.

The Spaniards afterward, in 1742, retaliated by appearing off the coast of Georgia with a large fleet and attacked Fort Williams on Cumberland island, which, however, was held against them by reinforcements sent to its support. The Spanish armament of fifty-six vessels, carrying about 7,000 men under Gov. Mon- tiano, then sailed into Brunswick bay and afterward entered an inlet, effected a landing on St. Simon's island, notwithstanding the gallant fire from the batteries which Oglethorpe had erected. Montiano, having landed 5,000 men, marched against the fortified town of Frederica, which was situated farther inland. Ogle- thorpe met him with part of his command amidst the marshes which intervened, but was being driven back until by a skillful maneuver the rangers, under Mckay and Sutherland, were wheeled under cover of a thick palmetto brush and from this ambush dashed upon the Spanish flank and producing a panic, made this battle, called Bloody Marsh, a brilliant and memorable American victory. The Spanish army abandoned a large quantity of military stores and hastily embarking set sail for Florida. This splendid victory won by not over 600 men fighting on their own soil against an equipped army nearly ten times their number, is one of the most lustrous events in military history, although Bloody Marsh is among the unnoticed battles of those perilous times.

DIFFICULTIES WITH INDIANS.

While Georgia was now safe from the formidable Spanish invasion contem- plated by Montiano, the colonists were at no time entirely free from fears of attacks by the Indians. Therefore, in extending their settlements they built small wooden forts and block-houses at all trading stations and settlements. Oglethorpe went up the Savannah river a distance, by direct course, 130 miles, and selected a fine site for a strong trading post, which he laid off with great regularity into spacious streets and squares, naming the town Augusta. For the refuge and protection of the inhabitants in the event of Indian hostilities, he constructed a "brace of wooden forts" and mounted them with some guns of small caliber.

Considerable numbers of adventurous people from the adjacent province of South Carolina as well as from the settlements of the sea coast of Georgia began to gather at this important station in order to engage in profitable trade with the Indian tribes. The French and Indian war, opening up about the middle of this century, chiefly affected the northern and western sections, but toward its close a I-6

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

series of fierce Indian hostilities involved the south and produced widely-spread troubles. The Cherokee nation had been friendly to the English in the war with the French, but taking offense at some supposed indignities, a band of Cherokees ravaged the northern frontier of Carolina and provoked a retaliation by the destruction of many Indian villages and fields.

The governmental form in Georgia had been changed by the surrender of their charter and the adoption of a new plan approved in 1754, under which the king of England appointed John Reynolds captain-general and governor-in-chief of his majesty's province of Georgia and vice-admiral of the same. The new military governor made a tour of inspection of the coast and exhibited great zeal in increas- ing the military defenses. The alarm felt by the inhabitants in the upper part of the state was made known to him by earnest letters signed by leading men at Augusta, who represented that Indian hostilities were inevitable. The danger seemed to them so imminent that they declared, "We are afraid we cannot hold this place long without speedy assistance. All the settlements on the Ogeechee are abandoned. The fort cannot contain all the inhabitants, so that we shall be obliged to fortify some other places." At the same time a formal petition for help signed by a large number of the inhabitants of Augusta and other places and forwarded to the governor, represented that "Your petitioners by their vicinity and connection with the Indians and Indian affairs have had an opportunity to behold with concern the great progress the French have made for some time past in sedu- cing the Creek Indians and drawing them over to their interest. These people are indefatigable in persuading and spurring on the Indians to a rupture with us and had within those few months, according to the best intelligence we could get, and from the behavior of the Indians in general, very nearly succeeded, and even with the concurrence of a part of the Cherokees." Augusta and other towns near by were then the frontiers of the state, around which hung the threatening cloud of restless, dissatisfied Indians. The trading goods, with which traffic was carried on with the Creeks, Cherokees and Chickasaws, were bulked at that place and invited the raid of the Indians under the instigations of the French emissaries. The situa- tion was indeed gloomy enough. The old fort was not only small, but decayed. The few soldiers stationed there had been drawn upon so largely for detached serv- ice as to leave the town defenseless. Its loss by attacks of the Indians and French was regarded by the alarmed inhabitants as opening the way for the destruction of the whole province. The reports from the outlying country continued to come in that the Indians were murdering families and burning the settlements. A new white settlement on the upper source of the Ogeechee had given special offense to the Creeks, and outrages on their rights had provoked them to frequent mur- derous retaliation. The tomahawk in the brown hand of the savage did murderous execution. Scalps of men, women and children were grimly added to the belts of the warriors. All upper Georgia was in a state of constant dread, and stockades were newly built in all directions. As an example of the bloody incidents occurring in the rough experiences of the hardy settlers of Georgia but a little over a century ago, the following is taken from reliable authority. Richard Tyner had settled a place in Elbert county, built his log house, and with his little family was securing a subsistence from the fertile soil. One day during his absence the savage Creeks broke suddenly upon his place and proceeded with the usual bloody work. Mrs. Tyner was killed first, and her baby was dashed against a tree until its brains bespattered the ground. Little Noah Tyner, a young lad, fled to the forest, and concealed himself in a hollow tree. The two girls, Mary and Tamar, were carried away into captivity, where they were kept several years, concealed, until the eldest was found by a trader, who brought her back to Elbert. The trader offered to

MILITARY HISTORY.

purchase both girls, but the Indians refused to sell Tamar, the youngest. After the departure of her sister, Tamar made her escape down the Chattahoochee river alone in a canoe, and at length reaching protection at Appalachicola, she was assisted to her home.

OPPRESSIONS OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY.

While the Georgians were thus annoyed by the Indians, their troubles were increased by the oppressive acts of the mother country. Various acts of parliament had been passed during many years, injurious to the interests of the colonies and destructive to their liberties. The British ministry obtained the right to tax the colonies either directly or by tariff, to restrict their manufactures, to control their commerce and to quarter troops upon them without their consent. These claims being asserted by practical legislation, produced great discontent. They were openly declared to be tyrannical, and a common political creed asserted that "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." Otis, of Boston, in an eloquent sentence, said that "taxation without representation is tyranny." Virginia had abolished the slave trade and passed other salutary laws which were annulled in London by the king. Patrick Henry in a passionate speech declared that "the king who annuls a law of so salutary a nature, degenerates into a tyrant and forfeits all right to obedience." The fever of resistance heightened from month to month, until all the colonies became alike inflamed. Georgia, youngest of the British provinces and least prepared for resistance, was soon borne by its sympathy into the general revolt. Public meetings, held as early as 1769, made strong patriotic protests against those acts of parliament which were declared to be "oppressive and contrary to the birthright of every Briton." Resolutions were passed not to import any British goods or to buy any negroes brought in by British ships. The royal governor, Sir James Wright, wrote to England "that a large proportion of the people of Georgia were Sons of Liberty, and the same spirit of sedition which first appeared in Boston had reached Georgia." The "Sons of Liberty" were composed of ardent patriots, a party of whom, led by Habersham, entered the magazine at Savannah, and, removing the powder, secreted it so safely that they secured its use later on in actual battle. In 1774 resolutions were passed in a public assembly held in Savannah condemning the act of parliament for blockading the port of Boston, the stamp act, the transportation of citizens to England for trial, and concurring with the other colonies in every measure to obtain redress of American grievances. Conservative steps were advised by leading men of the province, and the colony, still declaring its loyalty, made earnest efforts to obtain redress through peaceable means.

The general assembly of 1775 was addressed by Gov. Wright, who stated "that the alarming situation of American affairs at this juncture makes it highly necessary for me to say something to you on the subject, and it is with the utmost concern that I see by every account all the colonists to the northward of us as far as Nova Scotia in a general ferment." The governor warned the assembly that the extraor- dinary measures adopted by these northern colonies, if pursued, would involve all America in most dreadful calamities, and exhorted them not to suffer the province to be involved in these distresses. The assembly responded with assurances of their desire to have "every obstacle removed which may interrupt a cordial and lasting union with the mother country," but they said, "Anxious for the present welfare of our country and the interest of posterity, our ardent wish is that his majesty's American subjects may enjoy all the rights and privileges of British subjects, as

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

fully and effectually in all respects as the inhabitants of Great Britain do, and to that end it now appears necessary that the constitutional rights of his majesty's American subjects may be clearly defined and firmly established, so that they may hold these inestimable blessings on such a footing as will unite the mother country and the colonies by a reciprocation of benefits, and on terms consistent with the spirit of the constitution, and the honor, dignity and safety of the whole empire." This firm response was followed by a declaration of rights, passed by the assembly in January, 1775, reciting the grievances and demands, afterward substantially repeated in the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. "All and each of which," said this Georgia declaration of January, 1775, "the commons of Georgia in general assembly met claim, demand, and insist on as their indubitable rights and liberties, which cannot legally be taken away from them, altered or abridged by any power without their consent."

GEORGIA BECOMES AGGRESSIVE.

Georgia had not yet taken any steps of separation from Great Britain, but had sent delegates to the continental congress and raised contributions for the people of Boston. Events, however, were hastening on to the general declaration of independence. The first bloodshed occurred in Lexington, in April, 1775, the battle of Concord next took place, then Ethan Allen captured Fort Ticonderoga, and the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. All occurred during the first half of 1775, and the news was borne by couriers to all parts of the country.

The royal Gov. Wright had dissolved the Georgia general assembly early in the year, and as there was no authorized authority to express the popular will, a provincial congress convened in Savannah in July, 1775, composed of delegates elected by various parishes, and elected Archibald Bulloch president and George Walton secretary. After two days' discussion the congress resolved to "approve and adopt the American declaration or bill of rights, published by the continental congress, and to carry into execution all and singular, the measures and recom- mendations of the continental congress." Five representatives to the continental congress then sitting in Philadelphia were elected, composed of Houston, Bulloch, Zubly, Jones and Hall. A patriotic and fraternal declaration was also adopted, that the "loyalty, patriotism and prudence of the inhabitants of New England, under their unparalleled pressure, having been construed into timidity and dread of regular troops, a civil war in support of acts extremely oppressive to themselves has been actually begun, and there is much reason to believe that plans have been in agitation big with everything horrible to other provinces-plans as rash, barbar- ous and destructive as the cause which they were intended to serve. Resolved that this province join with all the provinces in America now met by delegates in continental congress."

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Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1294

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294