USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume II > Part 33
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
numbered only six hundred and seventy-two, rank and file ; while that of the former showed an aggregate present of more than two thousand.
On the 28th of December general instructions were issued to prepare for action, and on the following day this order of battle was announced : -
" HEAD QUARTERS, SAVANNAHI, December 29, 1778.
"PAROLE, Firmness. The first brigade is to be told off into sixteen platoons of an equal number of files ; the odd files to be formed into one platoon on the right wing of the brigade to act as light infantry according to exigencies.
"Two field officers to be appointed to the command of the right wing of both brigades.
" The second brigade to be told off into eight platoons of an equal number of files to be formed on the left of the first brigade in order to act as light infantry as will be directed.
" Colonel Isaac Huger will command the right wing of the army composed of the first brigade and the light troops belong- ing to it.
" The artillery of both brigades and the park to be posted be- fore and during the action as shall be directed, and defend their ground until further orders. The artillery when ordered or forced to retreat are to fall into the road leading to the western defile . where Colonel Roberts is to take as advantageous a post as possi- ble to protect the retreat of the line."
The town of Savannah was approached by three principal roads : one leading from the high grounds of the Brewton Hill plantation and Thunderbolt, and forming a causeway where it crossed a morass adjacent to the town, with rice-fields to the north and wooded swamps on the south ; a second, formed by the union of the White Bluff and the Ogeechee ferry highways, coming in from the south ; and a third, leading westwardly across the deep swamp of Musgrove Creek, with rice-fields on the north and an extensive morass toward the south.
On the morning of the 29th when Colonel Elbert discovered the enemy in the act of landing, he urged upon General Howe the importance of defending Brewton Hill,1 and offered with his regiment to prevent the British from obtaining possession of it. The strategic value of the bluff was apparent, and Colonel El- bert's intimate acquaintance with the locality would have enabled him in all probability to have defeated the enemy in his effort
1 Then known as Girardeau's plantation.
.
السريعة
-
1
318
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
to effect a lodgment there. With surprising stupidity General Howe committed the fatal blunder of rejecting this offer, and formed his army for battle on the southeast of Savannah along the crest of the high ground and in proximity to the town as it then stood.
No position more apt for defense could have been selected in the entire neighborhood than the bluff at Girardeau's plantation. A regiment there posted, and a few pieces of field artillery ad van- tageously distributed along the brow, would have utterly shat- tered the advancing column of the enemy moving along a narrow rice dam half a mile in length with marish and impracticable grounds on either hand. Persisting in such a movement, the enemy could have been torn to pieces by the plunging and en- filading fire. We marvel at the lack of observation and general- ship which permitted such an opportunity to pass unimproved. The disparity of forces rendered it all the more obligatory that every advantage should have been taken of this position. It was the key to Savannah. Once in the keeping of Colonel Campbell, the subsequent reduction of the place by means of the preponderating forces under his command became a matter only of a short time and energetic action. Repulsed from this landing place, and defeated in the effort to obtain a base of oper- ations here, the acquisition of Savannah would have proved to the enemy a far more difficult problem. General Moultrie con- demns General Howe for attempting, under the circumstances, the defense of Savannah, but omits the special censure which should properly be visited upon him for the neglect which we have pointed out. He says : 1 __
" When Gen. Howe perceived that the British by their move- ments intended a descent upon Savannah he called a council of war of his field-officers to advise with them whether he should retreat from Savannah or stay and defend the town with his troops. The majority of the Council were of opinion that he should remain in Savannah and defend it to the last. This was the most ill-advised, rash opinion that could possibly be given. It was absurd to suppose that 6 or 700 men, and some of them very raw troops, could stand against 2 or 3000 as good troops as any the British had, and headed by Col. Campbell, an active, brave, and experienced officer.
" From every information which Gen. Howe received he was well assured that the British troops were at least that number.
1 Memoirs of the American Revolution, etc., vol. i. p. 253. New York. 1802.
?
١٠
319
DISPOSITIONS OF GENERAL IIOWE.
Gen. Howe should have retreated with his 6 or 700 men up the country, especially as he had certain information that Gen. Lin- coln was marching with a body of men to join him, and did ac- tually arrive at Purisburgh on the 3rd day of January, only 4 days after his defeat."
In this judgment after event we do not fully sympathize. Had the landing of the enemy been properly disputed, the capture of Savannah would have been either indefinitely postponed or en- tirely prevented.
General Howe formed line of battle across the road leading from Brewton Hill and Thunderbolt to Savannah at a point about eight hundred yards distant from the gate leading to Gov- ernor Wright's plantation. One brigade, consisting chiefly of the regiments of Colonels Huger and Thompson, and commanded by Colonel Huger, was disposed on the right; its left resting obliquely on the road, and its right on a wooded swamp covered by the houses of the Tattnall plantation in which some riflemen were placed. The other brigade, consisting of parts of the first, second, third, and fourth battalions of the Georgia continentals, under the command of Colonel Elbert, was posted upon the left; its right resting upon the road and its left extending to the rice- fields of Governor Wright's plantation. Behind the left wing of this brigade was the fort on the Savannah River bluff. The town of Savannah, around which were the remains of an old linc of intrenchments, was in the rear of the army. One piece of field artillery was planted on the right of the line, and another on the left. Just where the line crossed the Thunderbolt road a trav- erso had been thrown up, and behind this two cannons were posted. One hundred paces in front of this traverse, at a critical point between two swamps, a trench was cut across the road to impede the advance of the enemy, and, about the same distance beyond this trench in the direction of the enemy a marshy stream ran parallel with the American line of battle. Where it crossed the road the bridge had been burnt.
In this situation General Howe waited for the approach of the British. Although informed by Colonel George Walton that there was a private way through the swamp by means of which the enemy could pass from the high grounds of Brewton Hill plantation and gain the rear of the American right, and although urged by him to have the same properly guarded, General Howe neglected to give any attention to the matter, thus committing another fatal error in the conduct of this important affair.
X
العتس عى
ஸ்பிஸி சீன் لو المدالسماء
السعر 1
320
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Falling in with an old negro man named Quamino Dolly, Colo- nel Campbell acquired information from him of the existence of the private path leading through the wooded swamp and debouch- ing in the rear of the American right. He at once secured his services as a guide. The first battalion of the 71st regiment was ordered to form on the English right of the road and move up in rear of the light infantry which was extended to the right as though threatening the American left. Taking advantage of a hollow which concealed the manœuvre, Sir James Baird was directed to conduct the light infantry quite to the British rear ; and thence, passing to the left, to enter the path which led to the rear of the American right. The New York volunteers under Colonel Trumbull were instructed to support him.
While this movement was in progress the British artillery, concentrated in a field in front of the American right and shel- tered from observation by an intervening swell in the ground, was held in readiness either to play upon the American line of battle or to open upon any force which might be detached to enter the wood and interrupt the progress of the light infantry. Wellworth's Hessian battalion was formed on the left of this artillery.
Meanwhile, the Americans opened upon the enemy with can- non. This fire provoked no reply. Sir James Baird and the light infantry, having fairly gained the rear of the right of Gen- eral Howe's army, issued from the swamp and attacked a body of militia which had been posted to guard the road leading to the Great Ogeechee ferry. This force was quickly put to flight. At the sound of these guns Colonel Campbell ran his field-pieces to the front and opened a heavy cannonade. He at the same time ordered a vigorous charge all along his line. Attacked in front and rear the patriots soon gave way. A retreat was sounded. A panic ensued, and the Americans made their way, as best they could, and in a confused manner, through the town. Before the retiring army gained the head of the causeway over Musgrove's swamp, west of Savannah, - the only pass by which a retreat was practicable, - the enemy secured a position to interrupt the crossing. By extraordinary exertions Colonel Roberts kept the British in check until the centre of the army made its escape. The American right flank being between two fires suffered se- verely. The left, under the command of Colonel Elbert, con- tinued the conflict with such gallantry that a retreat by the causeway became impracticable. That officer therefore attempted
الحلم
1
321
RETREAT OF THE AMERICAN FORCES.
to lead his troops through the rice-fields between the Springfield causeway and the river. In doing so he encountered a heavy fire from the enemy, who had taken possession of the causeway and of the adjacent high grounds of Ewensburg. Reaching Musgrove Creek, Colonel Elbert found it filled with water, for the tide was high. Consequently, only those of his command who could swim succeeded in crossing, and this they did with the loss of their arms and accoutrements. The others were either drowned or captured.
The Georgia militia, about one hundred in number, posted in rear of the right of the American line on the South Common, and commanded by Colonel George Walton, received the shock of the column led by Sir James Baird. The conflict was spirited, but of short duration. Colonel Walton, wounded,1 fell from his horse and was captured. Pressed by Sir James Baird from the southeast, this command in retreating into the town was met by the enemy in hot pursuit of the fugitive army of General Howe. It suffered terribly, and was wholly killed, wounded, or captured. Some of its members -inhabitants of Savannah - were bay- oneted in the streets by their victorious pursuers.2
As soon as Sir Hyde Parker perceived the impression made upon the American line by Colonel Campbell, he quickly moved his small armed vessels up to the town, sending the Comet galley as far as the ebb tide would permit. Thus all the shipping at the wharves was taken, and Savannah was cut off from communi- cation with South Carolina. His squadron captured one hun- dred and twenty-six prisoners, three ships, three brigs, and eight smaller vessels. The only loss experienced by him consisted of one seaman killed and five sailors wounded.3
Having vainly endeavored to rally his routed army on the high ground west of Musgrove's swamp, General Howe retreated to Cherokee Hill, about eight miles from Savannah, where he halted until the stragglers could come up. From this point he dispatched Lieutenant Tennill with orders to Lieutenant Aaron Smith, of the third South Carolina regiment commanding at Ogeechee ferry, and to Major Lane, commanding at Sunbury, to evacuate their posts and join the army at Sister's and Zubly's ferries. After a march of thirty-six hours, through a swampy
1 Colonel Walton received a shot in the thigh from which he never entirely recovered. Charlton's Life of Jackson, p. 13. Augusta. 1809. VOL. II. 21
2 Sce McCall's History of Georgia, vol. ii. p. 175. Savannah. 1816.
8 See Stevens' Ilistory of Georgia, vol. fi. p. 177. Philadelphia. 1859.
i
1
.
A
7
T
322
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
region, Lieutenant Smith, with twenty men, joined a detachment of the rear-guard of the army at Ebenezer.
Persuaded by Captain Dollar, commanding a corps of artil- lery, and by many of the leading inhabitants of Sunbury who regarded his withdrawal as fatal to all their hopes of safety, Major Lane deliberately disobeyed these orders. He was sub- sequently captured by General Prevost, and upon his release and return to the army was tried by a court-martial and dis- missed from service for this improper conduct.
From Cherokee Hill General Howe marched up the Savannah River to Sister's and Zubly's ferries where he crossed over into South Carolina, abandoning Georgia to her fate.
In this disastrous and sadly conducted affair the Americans lost eighty-three killed and drowned.1 Thirty-eight officers and four hundred and fifteen non-commissioned officers and privates were made captive. Among the prisoners were many sick who had not participated in the unfortunate engagement. Forty-eight pieces of cannon, twenty-three mortars, ninety-four barrels of powder, a fort, the shipping in port, and, above all, the capital of Georgia were among the substantial trophies of this victory.2
Wonderful to relate, the loss sustained by the British consisted of only one captain and two privates killed, and one sergeant and nine privates wounded.
Although Colonel Campbell reported that "every possible care was taken of the houses in town " and that " few or no dep- redations occurred," and although he would have Lord George Germain to believe that many of the respectable inhabitants of Savannah at once flocked to the king's standard, the truth is the houses of all rebels were given up to the spoiler. Brutal out- rages were committed by both officers and men. Prisoners were alternately threatened and persuaded, and such as resolutely refused to enlist in the British army were immured in prison- ships where they suffered the privations and the tortures of the damned. Among the victims of British vengeance who were consigned to such horrid confinement may be mentioned Rev. Moses Allen,8 chaplain to the Georgia brigade and as pure a
1 Colonel Campbell says, in his report to Lord George Germain, that eighty- three Americans were found dead upon the common, and eleven wounded, and that he learned from the prisoners that thirty were drowned in the swamp in attempting to make their escape. Gentle- man's Magazine for 1779, p. 179.
2 For a full enumeration of the articles captured, see Stedman's History of the American War, vol. ii. p. 71. London. 1794.
8 Ramsay's History of the Revolution of South Carolina, vol. ii. p. 7. Trenton. MDCCLXXXV.
سبيل الله تحصل كفى
par
L
P
198
323
GENERAL IIOWE'S CONDUCT CRITICISED.
patriot as dwelt within the confines of the State, who lost his life in attempting to regain his liberty by swimming to land, and the venerable Jonathan Bryan, bending beneath the weight of years and many infirmities, yet proud in spirit and unswerving in his devotion to the principles of American freedom.1 The names of the Nancy, Captain Samuel Tait, the Whitby, Captain Lawson, the Eleanor, Captain Rathbone, and the Munificence will always be associated with memories of privation, suffering, inhumanity, and death.
What Colonel Henry Lee calls the "supineness " exhibited by General Howe in not discovering and guarding the by-way lead- ing to the rear of his line of battle, as well as his general conduct in the affair of the 29th of December, have been severely criti- cised and censured. They became subjects of serious inquiry by the General Assembly of Georgia. A committee of investigation was raised which, on the 17th of January, 1780, submitted the following report : "The Committee appointed to take into con- sideration the situation of the State since the 29th of December, 1778, report that the Capital and troops in this State were sacri- ficed on the said 29th of December, which was the first cause of the distresses and consequences which ensued. Your Committee are of opinion that the delegates of this State should be directed to promote a trial of Major-General Howe who commanded on that day. They find that the good people of the State were still further discouraged by the said Major-General Howe crossing Savannah River the next day with the troops that escaped from Savannah, and ordering those at Sunbury and Augusta to do the same ; leaving the State at the mercy of the enemy without any Continental troops : instead of retreating to the back country and gathering the inhabitants. The country, thus abandoned, became an easy prey to the British troops, they marching up and taking post at Augusta and sending detachments to every part of the State."
A court of inquiry was held; and although General Howe was acquitted, his military reputation never recovered from the shadow cast upon it by the loss of the capital of Georgia.
Among those who took occasion to criticise his conduct most severely was General Gadsden of South Carolina. He published a letter condemning his behavior in unmeasured terms. Gen-
1 Captain McCall states that when his parent she was dismissed with vulgar daughter entreated Commodore Parker
rudeness and contempt. History of Geor- to mitigate the sufferings of her aged gia, vol. ii. p. 176. Savannah. 1816.
.
-
324
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
eral Howe demanded an explanation. Upon General Gadsden's refusal either to retract or to apologize, a duel ensued in which Howe's ball grazed Gadsden's ear. The circumstances of this meeting being published in New York, at that time the head- quarters of the royal army, the famous Major Andre was moved to the composition of the following parody : -
" It was on Mr. Percy's land 1 At Squire Rugeley's corner,2 Great H. and G. met, sword in hand, Upon a point of honor. - Yankee Doodle.
" G. went before with Colonel E.,8 Together in a carriage ; On horseback followed H. and P.4 As if to steal a marriage.
" On chosen ground they now alight, For battle duly harnessed ; A shady place and out of sight, It showed they were in earnest.
" They met, and in the usual way, With hat in hand, saluted, Which was, no doubt, to show how they Like gentlemen disputed.
" And then they both together made This honest declaration - That they came there by honor led, And not by inclination.
" That is, they fought, 't was not because Of rancor, spite, or passion, But only to obey the laws Of custom and the fashion.
" The pistols then, before their eyes, Were fairly primed and loaded; H. wished, and so did G. likewise, The custom was exploded.
" But as they now had gone so far In such a bloody business, For action straight they both prepared, With mutual forgiveness.
1 Percy's land, north of Cannonsboro, ley, near Camden, now Major Bulow's extending to the lines.
2 Squire Rugeley, the Colonel Rugo-
Corner.
8 Colonel Bernard Elliott.
4 General C. C. Pinckney.
1
00 76 3 0.0
325
PARODY OF MAJOR ANDRE.
" But lest their courage should exceed The bounds of moderation, Between the seconds 't was agreed To fix them each a station.
" The distance stepped by Colonel P., 'T was only eight short paces ; Now, gentlemen, said Colonel E., Be sure to keep your places.
" Quoth H. to G., Sir, please to fire ; Quoth G., No, pray begin, Sir : And, truly, we must needs admire The temper they were in, Sir.
" We'll fire both at once, said H., And so they both presented ; No answer was returned by G., But silence, Sir, consented.
" They paused awhile, these gallant foes, By turns politely grinning, 'Till after many cons and pros, H. made a brisk beginning.
" II. missed his mark but not his aim, The shot was well directed ; It saved them both from hurt and shame, What more could be expected ?
" Then G. to show he meant no harm, But hated jars and jangles, Ilis pistol fired across his arm From II., almost at angles.
" HI. now was called upon by G. To fire another shot, Sir ; He smiled, and after that, quoth he, No, truly, I cannot, Sir.
" Such honor did they both display, They highly were commended, And thus, in short, this gallant fray Without misehance was ended.
" No fresh dispute, we may suppose, Will e'er by them be started ; And now the chiefs, no longer foes, Shook hands, and so they parted. - Yankee Doodle." 1
1 Sce Johnson's Traditions and Rem- tion in the South, p. 204. iniscences, chiefly of the American Revolu- 1851.
Charleston.
CHAPTER XVII.
COLONEL CAMPBELL ADVANCES RAPIDLY UP THE SAVANNAH RIVER. - PROC- LAMATIONS OF COLONEL INNES, COLONEL CAMPBELL, AND COMMODORE PARKER. - STRINGENT REGULATIONS PROMULGATED. - OATHS OF- ALLE- GIANCE EXACTED. - THE BRITISH OCCUPY EBENEZER. - REV. MR. TRIEB- NER. - CAPTURE OF SUNBURY. - GENERAL AUGUSTINE PREVOST ASSUMES COMMAND OF ALL HIS MAJESTY'S FORCES IN GEORGIA. - PITIABLE SITUATION OF SOUTHERN GEORGIA. - DISPOSITION OF THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH FORCES ON EITHER BANK OF THE SAVANNAHI RIVER. - GENERAL LINCOLN. - AFFAIR IN BURKE COUNTY. - COLONEL CAMPBELL CAPTURES AUGUSTA. - DOOLY. - PICKENS. - CARR'S FORT ATTACKED. - AFFAIR NEAR THE CHEROKEE FORD. - BATTLE OF KETTLE CREEK. - COLONEL BOYD KILLED. - EFFECT OF THE VICTORY. - CAPTURE OF THE BRITISH POST AT HERBERT'S. - CAPTAIN WHITLEY AND HIS PARTY TAKEN. - EXPLOIT OF LIEUTENANT HAWKINS. - COLONEL CAMPBELL EVACUATES AUGUSTA.
ALTHOUGH destitute of artillery horses and unprovided with a provision train, Colonel Campbell followed up his advantage so vigorously that he reached Cherokee Hill on the 1st of January, 1779, and the next day took possession of the town of Eben- ezer. On this march he succeeded in collecting twenty dragoon horses and several hundred head of cattle. So close was his pur- suit that the rear of General Howe's army had barely crossed the Savannah River at Sister's ferry when the British infantry came up and occupied that point. With such men as he was able to place in the saddle, and with his light infantry, he pro- ceeded to Mount Pleasant and, for a distance of fifty miles above Savannah, found not a " single rebel to oppose him."
Overwhelmed at the calamity which had overtaken the State, and some of them rejoicing at the triumphant return of the king's servants, " many respectable inhabitants," reports Colonel Campbell, " joined the army on this occasion with their rifles and horses." These he organized into a corps of rifle dragoons, that they might patrol the country between the advanced posts and Savannah and convey the earliest intelligence of the move- ments of the Americans. At Ebenezer sufficient recruits were enlisted to form a company, and to it was assigned the duty of
100
-
٢
N
سا
327
ROYAL PROCLAMATIONS.
scouring the country in that vicinity. Posts were established at important points along the line of the Savannah, and every effort was made to awe the region into submission. With a number of armed boats from the fleet Captain Stanhope, of the navy, and Lieutenant Clark ascended the Savannah River and suc- ceeded in capturing an armed brig, two sloops, and a schooner which were interrupting the passage to Abercorn. The Comet galley and the sloop Greenwich were anchored at the mouth of Ebenezer Creek. The American galleys, which were occupying that station, upon the approach of the enemy sailed up the river as far as Purrysburg, where General Benjamin Lincoln,1 assigned to the command of the Southern Department and newly arrived, had established his headquarters. Here, too, on the 4th of Jan- uary, was he joined by the remnant of General Howe's army under the conduct of Colonel Huger. Orders were issued for slaughtering and salting up for the use of the British army and navy all rebel cattle within reach of the posts established by the enemy, and such encouragements were offered the farmers to bring in their animals and produce as were deemed sufficient for the establishment of suitable markets.
Upon the capture of Savannah Colonel Innes, aid-de-camp to Sir Henry Clinton, who had accompanied the expedition, was assigned to the immediate command of the town. He saw fit at once to issue a proclamation requiring the inhabitants of Savan- nah and the adjacent country to bring in their arms, ammuni- tion, and accoutrements of every sort, and surrender them to the military storekeeper. They were also enjoined to reveal the places where arms and stores were buried or secreted, under the threat that if, upon search, such articles were discovered the inhabitants owning the houses or plantations where such con- cealments occurred should be regarded and punished as enemies to the royal government. Regulations were established, and special places designated for landing boats. None were suffered to depart without a permit from the superintendent of the port. A violation of these regulations involved a confiscation of boats and cargoes and punishment of the crews.
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.