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In the " London Post " appeared an article, suggested by the intelligence recently communicated by Mr. Oglethorpe, in which, after discussing the benefits to the English nation accruing from the colonization of Georgia, and alluding to the thriving condi- tion of the province induced by royal patronage, parliamentary aid, and the generosity of private contributors " whose laudable zeal will eternize their names in the British annals," the writer thus eulogizes the labors of Oglethorpe: "a gentleman whose judgment, courage, and indefatigable diligence in the service of his country have shewn him every way equal to so great and valuable a design. In the furtherance of this noble enterprise that public spirited and magnanimous man has acted like a vigi- lant and faithful guardian, at the expense of his repose and to the utmost hazard of his life. And now the jealousy of the Spanish is excited and we are told that that Court has the mod- esty to demand from England that he shall not be any longer employed. If this be the fact, as there is no doubt it is, we have a most undeniable proof that the Spaniards dread the abilities of Mr. Oglethorpe. It is, of course, a glorious testimony to his merit, and a certificate of his patriotismn that ought to endear him to every honest Briton." 1
The Spanish ambassador near the Court of St. James entered formal protest against sending troops from England to Georgia, and remonstrated against the return of Mr. Oglethorpe.
1 Cited in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. vii. p. 500.
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259
OGLETHORPE COMMISSIONED AS COLONEL.
Information was soon received that the authorities at St. Au- gustine had ordered the English merchants there located to de- part ; that barracks were being constructed in that town for the accommodation of two thousand five hundred soldiers who were soon to be shipped from Havana in three men-of-war and eight transports; and that provisions in large quantities were being ac- cumulated.
Urged by these and other hostile indications, and sensible of their inability to afford suitable protection to the colonists, the trustees petitioned the Crown that " a necessary supply of forces " might speedily be raised and forwarded for the defense of the colony of Georgia. The petition 1 was allowed, and Oglethorpe was named as colonel of the regiment to be enlisted. He was also appointed general and commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces in Carolina and Georgia, that he might the more readily wield the entire military power of the two provinces in their mutual defense. The regiment was to consist of six companies of one hundred men each, exclusive of non-commissioned ofli- cers and musicians. A company of grenadiers was subsequently added.
Before his command was fully recruited, Oglethorpe kissed his majesty's hand on receiving his commission as colonel. Although men were being rapidly enlisted, and although it was apparent that the full complement of the regiment would soon be secured, so threatening was the attitude assumed by the Spaniards in Florida it was deemed expedient to reinforce Georgia without further delay. Accordingly a detachment of troops was ordered
1 That petition was couched in the following language : " The humble Me- morial of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America, hun- bly sheweth : That they being intrusted by your Majesty with the care of the Colony of Georgia, which was formerly part of your Majesty's Province of South Carolina, and your Majesty's Colony of Georgia being very much exposed to the power of the Spaniards, and being an object of their envy by having valuable ports upon the homeward passage from the Spanish West Indies, and the Span- iards having increased their force in the neighborhood thereof ; tho Trustees in consequence of the great trust reposed in them by your Majesty find them- selves obliged humbly to lay before your
Majesty their inability sufficiently to pro- teet your Majesty's subjects settled in Georgia under the encouragement of your Majesty's Charter, against the late increase of forces, and therefore become humble snppliants to your Majesty on the behalf of your Majesty's subjects set- tled in the Province of Georgia, that your Majesty would be pleased to take their preservation into your royal considera- tion, that by a necessary supply of forces the Province may be protected against the great dangers that seem immediately to threaten it.
" All which is most humbly submitted to your Majesty's great wisdom.
" Signed by order of the Trustees this 10th day of August, 1737.
" BENJAMIN MARTYN, Secretary."
260
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
thither from Gibraltar, which reached Savannah on the 7th of May, 1738. The famous clergyman and eloquent orator, the Rev. George Whitefield, who had been appointed to take the place of the Rev. John Wesley in Georgia, was a passenger on board the ship in which these soldiers were transported.
About the same time two or three companies of the general's own regiment, under the command of Lieut. Col. James Coch- rane, arrived in Charlestown and were marched southward by the road which led from Port Royal to Darien.
Disdaining to " make a market of the service of his Country " by selling commissions in his regiment, Oglethorpe secured as officers only such persons as were gentlemen of family and char- acter in their respective counties. He also engaged some twenty young men of position, but without fortune, to serve as cadets. These he proposed to promote as vacancies occurred and their conduct warranted. So far from deriving any pecuniary benefit from these appointments, the general, in some cases, from his private fortune advanced the fees requisite to procure commis- sions, and provided moneys for the purchase of uniforms and clothing. At his own expense he engaged the services of forty supernumeraries, -" a circumstance," says a contemporaneous writer, " very extraordinary in our armies, especially in our plan- tations."
To engender in the hearts of the enlisted men an interest in and an attachment for the colony they were designed to de- fend, and to induce them eventually to become settlers, permis- sion was granted to each to take a wife with him. For the support of the wife additional pay and rations were provided.1 So carefully was this regiment recruited and officered that it constituted one of the best military organizations in the service of the king.
Sailing from Portsmouth on the 5th of July, 1738, with the rest of his command, numbering, with the women, children, and supernumeraries who accompanied, between six and seven hun- dred souls, in five transports convoyed by the men-of-war Bland- ford and Hector, General Oglethorpe arrived safely in Jekyll Sound on the 18th of the following September.2 The next day the troops were landed at the Soldiers' Fort, on the south end
1 See Harris' Memorials of Oglethorpe, 1867. Gentleman's Magazine, vol. viii. pp. 188, 189. Boston. 1841. Wright's p. 164.
Memoir of Oglethorpe, p. 191. London.
2 Stephens' Journal of Proceedings, vol.
i. pp. 294, 295. London. 1742.
261
ARRIVAL OF OGLETHORPE'S REGIMENT.
of St. Simon's Island. This reinforcement was welcomed by an artillery salute from the battery, and by shouts from the gar- rison. Upon coming within soundings off the Georgia coast on the 13th, Sir Yelverton Peyton, in the Hector, parted company and sailed for Virginia. Until the 21st, the general encamped near the fort, superintending the disembarkation, and issuing necessary orders. His regiment was now concentrated, and every officer is represented to have been at his post.
Frederica was visited on the 21st, and there Oglethorpe was saluted with fifteen guns from the fort. The magistrates and inhabitants waited upon him in a body, tendering their con- gratulations upon his return. Several Indians were present who assured him that the Upper and Lower Creeks were in readiness to come and see him so soon as they should be notified of his presence.1 In a letter 2 to Sir Joseph Jekyll, dated the 10th of September, 1738, General Oglethorpe, alluding to the fact that the Spaniards, although having fifteen hundred men at St. Augustine, there being nothing but the militia in Georgia, had delayed their contemplated attack until the arrival of the regular troops, acknowledges that God had thus given " the greatest marks of his visible Protection to the Colony." He advises Sir Joseph that the passage had been fine, but one soldier having died, and that the inhabitants who had hitherto been so harassed by Spanish threats were now cheerful, believing that the worst was over, and that, relieved from the constant guard duty which they had been compelled to perform, sometimes two days out of five, to the neglect of their crops and improvements, they might now prosecute their labors and make comfortable provision for the future.
Realizing the necessity of opening direct communication be- tween Frederica and the Soldiers' Fort, at the south end of the island, on the 25th General Oglethorpe set every male to work cutting a road to connect those points. So energetically was the labor prosecuted, although the woods were thick and the distance nearly six miles, the task was concluded in three days.
To the Honorable Thomas Spalding 3 are we indebted for the following description of this important avenue of communica- tion : " This road after passing out of the town of Frederica in a
1 Gentleman's Magazine for January, 1739, p. 22.
2 Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, vol. iii. p. 48. Savannah. 1873.
8 Sketch of the Life of General James Oglethorpe. Collections of the Gory a Historical Society, vol. i. p. 261. Savan- nah. 1840.
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
southeast direction, entered a beautiful prairie of a mile over, when it penetrated a dense, close oak wood ; keeping the same course for two miles, it passed to the eastern marsh that bounded St. Simon's seaward. Along this marsh, being dry and hard, no road was necessary, and none was made. This natural highway was bounded on the east by rivers and creeks and impracticable marshes ; it was bounded on the west (the island side), by a thick wood covered with palmetto and vines of every character so as to be impracticable for any body of men, and could only be traveled singly and alone. This winding way along the marsh was continued for two miles, when it again passed up to the high land which had become open and clear, and from thence it pro- ceeded in a direct line to the fort, at the sea entrance, around which, for two hundred acres, five acre allotments of land for the soldiers had been laid out, cleared, and improved. I have again been thus particular in my description, because it was to the manner in which this road was laid ont and executed that Gen- eral Oglethorpe owed the preservation of the fort and town of Frederica. . . . His fort and batteries at Frederica were so sit- uated as to water approaches, and so covered by a wood, that no number of ships could injure them. And he now planned his land route in such a manner that again the dense wood of our eastern islands became a rampart mighty to save. And fifty Highlanders and four Indians occupying these woods did save."
We learn from that admirable "History of the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the Colony of Georgia," contained in Dr. Harris' "Complete Collections of Voyages and Travels," 1 that " on the arrival of the Regiment of which Mr. Oglethorpe was appointed Colonel, he distributed them in the properest manner for the Service of the Colony ; but notwithstanding this was of great Ease to the Trustees, and a vast Security to the Inhabit- ants, yet Colonel Oglethorpe still kept up the same Discipline, and took as much Care to form and regulate the Inhabitants with respect to military Affairs as ever. He provided likewise differ- ent Corps for different Services ; some for ranging the Woods ; others, light armed, for sudden Expeditions ; and he likewise provided Vessels for scouring the Sea Coasts, and for gaining Intelligence. In all which Services he gave at the same time his Orders and his Example ; there being nothing he did not which he directed others to do ; so that if he was the first Man in the
1 Vol. ii. p. 332. London. 1748.
263
OGLETHORPE'S INSTRUCTIONS.
Colony, his Pre-eminence was founded upon old Homer's Max- ims : He was the most fatigued, and the first in Danger, dis- tinguished by his Cares and his Labours, not by any exterior Marks of Grandeur, more easily dispensed with since they were certainly needless."
The finances of the trust being in a depressed condition, the general drew largely upon his private fortune and pledged his individual credit in conducting the operations necessary for the security of the southern frontiers and in provisioning the settlers. To Alderman Heathcote he writes : " I am here " (at Frederica ) " in one of the most delightful situations as any man could wish to be. A great number of Debts, empty magazines, no money to supply them, numbers of people to be fed, mutinous soldiers to command, a Spanish Claim, and a large body of their Troops not far from us. But as we are of the same kind of spirit these difficulties have the same effect upon me as those you met with in the City had upon you. They rather animate than daunt me." 1
On the 8th of May, 1738, Oglethorpe, as "general and com- mander in chief of all and singular the forces employed and to be employed in the provinces of South Carolina and Georgia in America," was instructed by his majesty George II. to diligently ascertain and promptly report the designs, preparations, and movements of the Spaniards in Florida : upon arrival in Georgia to make such disposition of his forces as would best secure the colony from " any surprise or unexpected attack from the Span- iards ; " to place all forts in the best attitude, offensive and de- fensive ; to refrain from giving any cause of provocation to the Spaniards, and at all times to assure them of England's constant desire to " maintain the strictest friendship ; " to permit no en- croachments upon Spanish territory and, as far as lay in his power, to prevent the Indians from committing any acts of hos- tility.
But, should the Spaniards attempt to drive the colonists out of their forts, or invade the territory acknowledging allegiance to the English Crown, then he was ordered, with all the forces under his command, not only to repel such invasion and preserve the integrity of the provinces, but also to assume the offensive in sueli manner as he should deem best for the service. Should he have cause to suspect that the Spaniards purposed a demon- stration against either of the provinces, he was clothed with full
1 Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, vol. iii. p. 62. Savannah. 1573.
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264
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
power to summon all ships stationed on the coast that they might assist in the defense of the territories.1 Most faithfully and effi- ciently were these instructions obeyed.
While on board the Blandford it was discovered that one of the enlisted soldiers in Oglethorpe's regiment had been in the Spanish service, and that he was endeavoring to persuade several of his comrades, upon their arrival in Georgia, to desert with him to the Spaniards in Florida. His scheme further contemplated the murder of the officers at the post to which his company might be ordered, and desertion to the enemy with such valua- bles as could then be secured. He had a plenty of money, and stated that he was to be rewarded according to the number of men he should be able to seduce.
Upon the concentration of the regiment in Georgia it was as- certained that several of the enlisted men were spies. They strove to persuade some stanch companions to betray a post to the Spaniards. Instead of complying with their suggestion, the honest and loyal fellows revealed to their commanding officer this evil intention. One of these spies, when arrested, con- fessed he was a Papist, and denied that the king of England possessed any authority over him. A court-martial was con- vened, and the traitors, being found guilty, were whipped and drummed out of the service. One of them, Shannon by name, afterwards committed murder at Fort Argyle. He was brought to Savannah and there tried, condemned, and executed.
Oglethorpe was extremely mortified at beholding this treach- erous element, exceedingly small although it was, in his regi- ment, and used prompt measures for its extirpation.
On the 8th of October the general, attended by Captain Hugh Mackay and Captain Sutherland, set out in an open boat for Savannah.
Arriving there on the morning of the 10th, he was received at the water-side by the magistrates, and saluted by the militia under arms and by the cannon from the fort. During the day the citizens thronged to greet him, and the night was spent in bonfires and rejoicings.
The following day Tomo-chi-chi waited upon the governor. He had been very ill, but the good old man was so greatly re- joiced at his return that he said it recovered him, making him " moult like an eagle." He informed Oglethorpe that the chiefs of several of the towns of the Creek nation were at his house
1 See Colonial Documents from State Paper Office, vol. i. pp. 75-77.
265
INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIANS.
waiting to present in person their congratulations upon his safe arrival and to assure him of their fidelity to the king.
The 13th was designated for their reception. At the appointed time Tomo-chi-chi came down the river from his settlement, bringing with him the mico or king of the Chehaws, the mico of the Oakmuges, the mico of the Ouchases, and the mico of the Parachacolas, with thirty warriors and fifty-two attendants. As the Indians landed and walked up the bluff at Savannah, they were saluted by a battery of cannon and escorted by a detachı- ment of militia to the town hall where General Oglethorpe was in readiness to receive them. On seeing him they expressed great joy, and said that the Spaniards, persuading them that he was at St. Augustine, had invited them down to their fort to meet him there. They accordingly went thither, but as soon as they ascer- tained the fact that he was not present they returned, although valuable articles were offered them by the Spaniards who pre- tended to account for his absence by saying that he was very ill on board a ship in the harbor. They further stated that although strongly advised by the Spaniards to fall out with the English they still adhered to the terms of amity contained in the existing treaties, were firm in their attachment to his majesty the king of England, and had come to testify their loyalty. They assured the general that they would on all occasions assist him in repel- ling the enemies of the king; that deputies from the remaining towns would come down and express their congratulations and good-will as soon as they were apprised of his arrival; and that the Creek nation was prepared to send one thousand warriors to any point he should designate, where they would be entirely sub- ject to his command.
They desired that correct brass weights and sealed measures should be lodged with the king of each town, so that they might be enabled to protect themselves against the false weights and measures of the Carolina traders by whom they were con- stantly and sadly defrauded. An invitation was extended to Oglethorpe to visit their towns during the coming summer and see their people. This he promised to accept. Handsome pres- ents were distributed among them, and the interview terminated with good feeling. At night the Indians had a dance at which the general was present, and the next day they set out on their return homeward.
Subsequent events demonstrated the necessity for complying with the invitation extended by the Indians during this interview.
1
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266
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Alluding to the existing troubles, and avowing his purpose of executing this journey at an early day, General Oglethorpe, on the 15th of June, wrote the trustees as follows : 1-
" I have received frequent and confirmed advices that the Span- iards are striving to bribe the Indians, and particularly the Creek nation, to differ from us ; and the disorder of the traders is such as gives but too much room to render the Indians discontented; great numbers of vagrants being gone up without licences either from Carolina, or us. Chigilly, and Malachee, - the son of the great Brim, who was called emperor of the Creeks by the Span- iards, - insist upon my coming up to put all things in order, and have acquainted me that all the chiefs of the nation will come done to the Coweta town to meet me and hold the general as- sembly of the Indian nations, where they will take such meas- nres as will be necessary to hinder the Spaniards from corrupting and raising sedition amongst their people. This journey, though a very fatiguing and dangerous one, is quite necessary to be taken ; for if not, the Spaniards, who have sent up great presents to them, will bribe the corrupt part of the nation; and, if the honester part is not supported, will probably overcome them and force the whole nation into a war with England. Tomo-chi-chi and all the Indians advise me to go up. The Coweta town, where the meeting is to be, is near five hundred miles from hence; it is in a straight line three hundred miles from the sea. All the towns of the Creeks and of the Cousees and Talapousees, though three hundred miles from the Cowetas, will come down to the meeting. The Choctaws also and the Chickasas will send thither their dep- uties ; so that 7000 men depend upon the event of this assembly. The Creeks can furnish 1500 warriors, the Chickasas 500, and the Choctaws 5000. I am obliged to buy horses and presents to carry up to this meeting."
The conduct of Thomas Causton, the first magistrate of Sa- vannah and keeper of the public stores, had for some time failed to secure the commendation of the trustees and the ap- proval of Oglethorpe who, busied with fortifying Frederica, had been forced to commit the administration of affairs in the north- ern portion of the province in a large degree to the judgment and honesty of this official. The season had now arrived for a full investigation, and Oglethorpe proceeded to carry into effect the instructions communicated and acknowledged in the follow- ing letters : -
1 See Letter from Savannah, under date October 22d, 1738.
267
CAUSTON'S IRREGULARITIES.
" GEORGIA OFFICE, Westminster, June 2nd, 1738.
" SIR,
" The Trustees being greatly alarm'd at the great number of certified accounts amounting to £1,401 13s. 2d. brought for pay- ments since Tuesday last, immediately met to concert the most proper measures to secure their effects in Georgia and M' Cau- ston's person to answer for his conduct in receiving three cargoes without any order whatsoever from the Trustees; for these cer- tified accounts unpaid now amount to £5,236 0s. 6d. And the sola bills, provisions, and effects receiv'd by M' Causton since Midsummer last amount to £13,086 9s. Od. for the application of which he has given the Trustees no account.
" The situation of the Trustees' affairs is such that they cannot sit still in these circumstances, but must, in their own justifica- tion insist upon an immediate seizure of Mr Causton to be de- tain'd until he gives sufficient security to answer this surprising conduct of his which may draw the Trustees into the greatest inconvenience and discredit, while at the same time they, on their part, have taken all possible care to prevent such incon- veniences happening ; and unless he shall produce to you such accounts as you think, when transmitted to the Trustees will prove satisfactory to them, you are desired, forthwith to send him with his books and papers in safe custody to the Trustees that he may make up his accounts with them ; but if it should so happen, which the Trustees are afraid cannot be the case, that M' Causton should produce such an account as will be in your opinion satisfactory to the Trustees, you are desired forthwith to transmit such his account by the first opportunity, and to con- tinue him upon sufficient security until the Trustees have exam- in'd and approv'd thereof.
"The Common Council will at their next meeting seal an Instrument to remove him from his office of First Bailiff, which is intended as a suspension to wait the making up of those ac- counts.
" As the Trustees' conduct must stand evidently clear from any imputation of neglect, they strongly recommend it to you (being one of themselves) to use all possible means to preserve that Credit they have hitherto been possessed of, and which they desire to have continued consistent with the characters they bear and which the disinterested manner they have always acted in has justly entitled them to.
" It is almost impossible for the Trustees to express the great
268
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
resentments which they have entertain'd at the behaviour of a person to whom they show'd such marks of distinction and fa- vour, who by a conduct for which they cannot as yet find a name, has already disabled them from bearing an expense of an esti- mate which they had calculated with the utmost frugality and economy for the services of the Colony from Midsummer next.
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