USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume II > Part 34
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On the 4th of January Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and Sir Hyde Parker united in a proclamation setting forth the fact that a fleet and army had arrived in Georgia for the protection of the friends of lawful government and to rescue them from
1 Tho order of congress superseding General Lincoln was dated the 26th of General Ilowe by the appointment of September, 1778.
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the bloody persecution of their deluded fellow-citizens. All well-disposed inhabitants " who reprobated the idea of support- ing a French league, and wished to embrace the happy occasion of cementing a firm union with the Parent State free from the imposition of taxes by the Parliament of Great Britain, and se- cured in the irrevocable enjoyment of every privilege consistent with that union of force on which their material interests de- pended," were assured that they would meet with the most ample protection on condition that they forthwith returned to the class of peaceful citizens and acknowledged their just alle- giance to the Crown. Against those who should attempt to op- pose the reestablishment of legal government the rigors of war were denounced.
Persons desiring to avail themselves of the benefits of this proclamation were invited to repair to Savannah, and, as an evi- dence of their sincerity, to subscribe the following oath : "I . .. do solemnly swear that I will bear true and faithful allegiance to his Majesty King George the Third, my lawful Sovereign, and that I will, at all risks, stand forth in support of his person and government. And I do solemnly disclaim and renounce that un- lawful and iniquitous confederacy called the General Continental Congress, also the claim set up by them to independency, and all obedience to them, and all subordinate jurisdictions assumed by or under their authority. All this I do sincerely promise without equivocation or mental reservation whatever. So help me God."
A week afterwards another proclamation was issued, offering " a reward of ten guineas for every committee and assembly man taken within the limits of Georgia," and " two guineas for every lurking villain who might be sent from Carolina to molest the inhabitants." 1 Prices were prescribed for all articles of mer- chandise, country produce, and vegetables. A violation of the rules of trade, thus established, was punished by confiscation of the articles exposed to sale. Licenses to traffic were granted only to those who had taken the oath of allegiance; and a penalty of one hundred pounds sterling was recoverable from every mer- chant dealing with one disloyal to the king. No produce of any kind could be exported without a certificate from the superinten- dent of the port that it was not wanted for the use of the king's soldiers. To the families of those who maintained their devotion to the American cause, whether in camp or on board prison-ships,
1 See Letter of Colonel Campbell to Lord ary 16, 1779. Gentleman's Magazine for George Germain, dated Savannah, Janu- 1779, p. 177.
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EBENEZER OCCUPIED BY TIIE BRITISH.
no mercy was shown. Stripped of property, their homes ren-\( dered desolate, often left without food and clothing, they were thrown upon the charity of an impoverished community. The entire coast region of Georgia, with the exception of Sunbury, was now open to the enemy who overran and exacted a most stringent tribute. Never was change more sudden or violent wrought in the status of any people. Writing from Purrys- burg, on the 10th of January, 1779, to Colonel C. C. Pinckney, General Moultrie mentions that thousands of poor women, chil- dren, and negroes were fleeing from Georgia, they knew not whither, " sad spectacle that moved the hearts of his soldiers." 1
Upon their occupation of Ebenezer the British threw up a re- doubt within a few hundred yards of Jerusalem Church and fortified the position.2 The remains of this work are still visible. The moment he learned that Savannah had fallen, Mr. Triebner, who always maintained an open and strenuous adherence to the Crown, hastened to Colonel Innes, proclaimed his loyalty, and took the oath of allegiance. The intimation is that he counseled the immediate capture of Ebenezer, and, in person, accompanied the detachment which compassed the seizure of his own village and people. He was a violent, uncompromising man, at all times intent upon the success of his peculiar views and wishes. Influenced by his advice and example, not a few of the Salz- burgers subscribed oaths of allegiance to the British Crown and received certificates guaranteeing royal protection to person and property. Prominent among those who maintained their adher- ence to the rebel cause were Governor John Adam Treutlen, William Holsendorf, Colonel Jolin Stirk, Secretary Samuel Stirk, John Schnider, Rudolph Strohaker, Jonathan Schnider, J. Gotlieb Schnider, Jonathan Rahn, Ernest Zittrauer, and Joshua and Jacob Helfenstein.
" The citizens at Ebenezer and the surrounding country," says Mr. Strobel, " were made to feel very severely the effects of the war. The property of those who did not take the oath of al- legiance was confiscated, and they were constantly exposed to every species of insult and wrong from a hired and profligate soldiery. Besides this, some of the Salzburgers who espoused the cause of the Crown became very inveterate in their hostility to the Whigs in the settlement, and pillaged and then burnt their dwellings. The residence on the farm of the pious Raben-
1 Memoirs of the American Revolution,
etc., vol. i. p. 259. New York. 1802.
2 In 1776, Ebenezer had been partially fortified by the Revolutionists.
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horst was among the first given to the flames. Among those who distinguished themselves for their cruelty were one Eichel, who has been properly termed an 'inhuman miscreant,' whose residence was at Goshen, and Martin Dasher, who kept a public house five miles below Ebenezer. These men placed themselves at the head of marauding parties, composed of British and Tories, and laid waste every plantation or farm whose occupant was even suspected of favoring the Republican cause. In these predatory excursions the most revolting cruelty and unbridled licentious- ness were indulged, and the whole country was overrun and dev- astated. . . . The Salzburgers, nevertheless, were to experience great annoyances from other sources. . . . A line of British posts had been established all along the western bank of the Savannah river to check the demonstrations of the Rebel forces in Carolina. Under these circumstances, Ebenezer, from its somewhat central position, became a kind of thoroughfare for the British troops in passing through the country from Augusta to Savannah. To the inhabitants of Ebenezer, particularly, this was a source of per- petual annoyance. British troops were constantly quartered among them, and to avoid the rudeness of the soldiers and the heavy tax upon their resources, many of the best citizens were forced to abandon their homes and settle in the country, thius leaving their houses to the mercy of their cruel invaders. Be- sides all this, they were forced to witness almost daily acts of cruelty practised by the British and Tories toward those Ameri- cans who happened to fall into their hands as prisoners of war; for it will be remembered that Ebenezer, while in the hands of the British, was the point to which all prisoners taken in the surrounding country were brought and from thence sent to Sa- vannah. It was from this post that the prisoners were carried who were rescued by Sergeant Jasper and his comrade, Newton, at the Jasper Spring, a few miles abrire Savannah. There was one act performed by the British commander which was pecul- iarly trying and revolting to the Salzburgers. Their fine brick church was converted into a hospital for the accommodation of the sick and wounded, and subsequently it was desecrated by being used as a stable for their horses. To this latter use it was devoted until the close of the war and the removal of the British troops from Georgia. To show their contempt for the church and their disregard for the religious sentiments of the people, the church records were nearly all destroyed, and the soldiers would discharge their guns at different objects on the church; and even
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GENERAL PREVOST INVESTS SUNBURY.
to this day the metal 'Swan' (Luther's coat of arms) which surmounts the spire on the steeple bears the mark of a musket ball which was fired through it by a reckless soldier. Often, too, cannon were discharged at the houses ; and there is a log-house now standing not far from Ebenezer, which was perforated by several cannon shot. . . The Salzburgers endured all these hardships and indignities with becoming fortitude ; and though a few were overcome by these severe measures, yet the great mass of them remained firm in their attachment to the principles of liberty." 1
Having completed his arrangements for the occupation of all important posts along the line of the Savannah River for a dis- tance of fifty miles above Savannah, and having overrun and re- duced into submission the territory adjacent to the late capital of Georgia, Colonel Campbell was just turning his attention to the capture of Sunbury when he received the intelligence of its surrender to the arms of General Augustine Prevost. That offi- cer, in obedience to orders issued by Sir Henry Clinton on the 20th of October, 1778, and received by him on the 27th of the ensuing November, so soon as he was advised of the arrival off the Georgia coast of the transports conveying Colonel Campbell's command, set out for Sunbury with all the troops which could be spared from the forces concentrated for the defense of St. Augus- tine and its castle. This expeditionary corps numbered rather more than two thousand men. His artillery and ammunition, with a strong guard, were transported in open boats, which, to avoid falling in with the American galleys, proceeded cautiously through the inland passages. The Colonel's Island, a few miles below Sunbury, was reached at ten o'clock on the morning of the 6th of January. By a forced march, Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost with his light infantry enveloped the town on the 7th to prevent the escape of its garrison. The following day General Prevost arrived with the main body of his army. Two American galleys and an armed sloop, lying in Midway River, cannonaded the en- emy, but without effect. On the night of the 8th, taking advan- tage of a low tide, the Britishi, coming up from Colonel's Island in their boats, passed behind the marsh island2 in front of the fort, and landed some howitzers and royals above the town. These were placed in position in batteries. prepared for their re-
1 Strobel's Salzburgers and their De- bury, divides Midway River into two chan- ascendants, pp. 203, 207.
nels, known respectively as the Front and
2 This island, lying in front of Sun- Back rivers.
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ception. On the morning of the 9th General Prevost summoned the fort to an unconditional surrender, accompanying his demand with a statement of his forces and a memorandum of his guns. Major Lane, commanding, responded that his duty, his inclina- tion, and the means at hand convinced him of the propriety of defending Fort Morris against any force, no matter how superior it might be. General Prevost thereupon opened his batteries, to which Major Lane responded until he discovered that the fort was rapidly becoming untenable. He then parleyed to obtain terms better than those involved in an unconditional surrender. None other would be accorded, and the time having elapsed within which he was required to signify either his acceptance or rejec- tion, hostilities recommenced. Again did he parley, asking that he might be allowed until eight o'clock the next morning to con- sider the conditions offered. This request being peremptorily refused, Major Lane surrendered unconditionally the fort and its garrison. Seventeen commissioned officers and one hundred and ninety-five non-commissioned officers and privates -continental troops and militia included - constituted the garrison which then capitulated. Twenty-four pieces of brass ordnance, one brass seven-inch mortar, twenty pieces of iron ordnance, eight hundred and twenty-four round shot of various sizes, one hundred stands of case and grape shot, thirty shells, fifty hand-grenades, one hundred and eighty muskets with bayonets, twelve rifles, forty fusees and carbines, four wall-pieces, and a considerable quantity of powder and small arm ammunition fell into the hands of the enemy.1
Among the Americans one captain and two privates were killed, and six men were wounded." The loss of the enemy was still smaller, amounting to only one private slain and three wounded.
The Washington and Bulloch galleys ran down to Ossabaw Island where they were stranded on the beach and burned. Their crews, taking passage on Captain Salter's sloop, and sail- ing for Charlestown, were captured by a British tender and car- ried to Savannah. Captain John Lawson with his sloop Rebecca, of sixteen guns, succeeded in reaching Charlestown in safety.2
The cannonading at Sunbury was heard by the American forces
1 Sce Stedman's History of the Ameri- 178. Savannah. 1816. Gentleman's Mag- can War, vol. ii. p. 104. London. 1794. azine for 1779, p. 181.
McCall's History of Georgia, vol. ii. p.
2 McCall's Ilistory of Georgia, vol. ii. p. 179. Savannah. 1816.
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SOUTIIERN GEORGIA SUBJUGATED.
at Purrysburg. General Moultrie, in a letter to Colonel C. C. Pinckney, dated at that town on the 10th of January, 1779, says : " I fear we have lost Sunbury and the two gallies that took shelter under that battery last Thursday or Friday, as we heard a very heavy cannonade from that quarter. The officer com- manding had about 120 Continentals and some inhabitants within the fort. He refused to evacuate the post. Notwithstanding his receiving positive orders for that purpose, he, Don Quixote like, thought he was strong enough to withistand the whole force the British had in Georgia, for which I think he deserved to be hanged."
Having detailed a garrison for the fort, the name of which he ordered changed from Morris to George, and having directed nec- essary repairs to be made, General Prevost. proceeded to Savan- nah and assumed command of all his majesty's forces in Georgia. The continental officers captured at Savannah, with the exception of such as were immured in prison-ships, were sent to Sunbury for safe keeping. Southern Georgia was now in a wretched con- dition. Unable to support themselves amid the destitution, de- moralization, and restrictions to which the region was subjected, many of the inhabitants set out for Carolina where, aided by the charity of strangers, they hoped to subsist until the coming sea- son afforded an opportunity for planting and harvesting crops in their new homes. Others, possessing the means of subsistence, were so hampered by royal proclamations and were so preyed upon by foreign and domestic foes that they abandoned the coun- try in quest of peace and security.
In its capture by General Prevost Sunbury experienced a shock from which it never recovered. Its prosperity, popula- tion, and commercial importance culminated during the early years of the Revolutionary War when its inhabitants, white and black, numbered, we should say, nearly a thousand. It had long been a favorite resort both for health and trade. That, until impeded by the retarding influences of the Revolutionary strug- gle, Sunbury had steadily advanced in material wealth, influence, and population may be safely asserted. Bermuda Island, too, was comfortably settled by agriculturists, on small plantations, busied chiefly with the production of indigo. Sunken spaces, indicating where the old vats were located, may be seen to this day. A rich and by no means inconsiderable back country was entirely tributary to this town. Rice, cattle, lumber, shingles, staves, and other articles of commerce, brought from the furthest
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practicable distances, were here concentrated for sale and ship- ment. Quite an extensive territory drew its supplies from the storehouses and shops of the Sunbury merchants. On one or two occasions cargoes of Africans were landed and sold in this port. The houses, although almost exclusively of wood, were some of them large and even imposing. The wharves were faced with palmetto and live-oak logs, and filled in with oyster shells, sand, and stone-ballast. Among the residents were not a few of gentle birth, refinement, and education. As a rule, the inhab- itants led easy, comfortable, simple lives, and were much given to hospitality. No one was ever in a hurry, and the mornings and afternoons, among the better class, were largely devoted to amusements, such as fishing, sailing, riding, and hunting. The evenings were spent in visiting and in social intercourse. It was a good, easy life which these planters, even at that early day, began to lead upon the Georgia coast. It became even more attractive after the Revolution ; but the delightful germs of the most pleasing existence this country has ever known were then present.
Augusta alone of all the rebel posts in Georgia had not yet submitted to the royal arms. It was occupied by a provincial · force under Brigadier-General Williamson, and its reduction was necessary to complete the subjugation of Georgia. About the middle of January, 1779, Colonel Campbell was detached with a column about a thousand strong to capture this town. The Sa- vannah River was now the dividing line between the contending armies. General Lincoln was at Purrysburg on the north side of the river with a force of some five hundred continentals and two thousand provincials. The main body of the enemy was at Aber- corn. In Savannalı were one thousand Hessians. At the Two Sisters there was a detachment of six hundred men. Two hun- dred more guarded Zubly's ferry, and at Ebenezer a consider- able force was stationed.1 So near were the two armies that, in the language of General Moultrie writing from Purrysburg, " we hear their drums beat every morn from our outposts ; nay, hear their sentinels cough."
Although anxious to inaugurate a movement for the relief of Georgia, the American commander found himself too weak to cross the river. His troops were in large measure undisciplined, and lacked arms. The North Carolina levies, under the com-
1 Sco Letter of General Moultrie to Colonel C. C. Pinckney, dated Purrysburg, Janu- ary 16, 1779.
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AFFAIR IN BURKE COUNTY.
mand of General Richardson, were discontented and on the eve of returning home. From Georgia came no recruits. "Most of the inhabitants of that State," reports General Moultrie, " have submitted quietly to the British government, and I believe they will remain neutral unless we go in with a considerable body so as to insure success." All that General Lincoln could do, under the circumstances, was to act upon the defensive, encourage reinforcements, and prevent the enemy from crossing over into Carolina.
Advancing for the capture of Augusta, Colonel Campbell sent forward Colonels Brown and McGirth with four hundred mounted militiamen to make a forced march to the jail in Burke County and there form a junction with Colonel Thomas and his party of loyalists.
Advised of this movement, Colonels Jolin Twiggs and Benja- min and William Few quickly concentrated an opposing force of two hundred and fifty mounted men. Attacked by Brown and McGirth, they succeeded in repulsing them, inflicting a loss of five killed, several wounded, and nine captured. Expecting that Brown would speedily be supported by Colonel Campbell, the Americans withdrew, maintaining, however, a close watch upon the enemy. . Rallying his troops, and being reinforced by a party of Royalists from South Carolina under the command of two Tory majors, and a detachment led by Major Harry Sharp, Brown determined to renew the attack. In the second engage- ment he and McGirth were defeated, sustaining a loss greater than that encountered two days before. Among the wounded was the noted Tory leader of the expedition. In this skirmish Captain Joshua Inman, commanding a troop of American horse, slew three of the enemy with his own hand.1
General Elbert, who had been ordered by General Lincoln to proceed to the upper part of Carolina, crossing the Savannah River came to the assistance of Twiggs and the Colonels Few. Together they disputed, but were not strong enough to prevent, Colonel Campbell's crossing at Brier Creek. Hoping to be re- inforced by Colonel Andrew Williamson from Carolina and Colonel Elijah Clarke from Wilkes County, they retired slowly, skirmishing with Campbell's column as it advanced upon Au- gusta. Those officers, however, were otherwise engaged and could not respond to the expectation. Upon his appearance be- fore the town the American forces retreated across the river and
1 McCall's History of Georgia, vol. ii. p. 191. Savannah. 1816.
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yielded Augusta without a struggle. Tarrying there but a few days, and leaving Colonel Brown in command, Colonel Campbell, early in February, marched some thirty miles in the direction of Wilkes County, and detached Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton, with two hundred mounted infantry, to proceed to the frontiers of Georgia and there encourage such of the inhabitants as were at- tached to the British government. The disaffected were to be summarily disarmed. Thus, for the moment, was Georgia com- pletely in the possession of the king's forces. Overt opposition ceased, and it was believed by Colonel Campbell that the pop- ulation would permanently yield to this enforced submission. Wherever British detachments appeared the severest penalties were meted out to those who refused to take the oath of alle- giance. For the possessions of such as were absent in arms plunder and the torch were always in store.
So soon as it was known in Wilkes County that Augusta had passed into the possession of the enemy, the inhabitants who were able to remove, hastily collecting their household effects and cattle, fled into Carolina. Those who remained betook them- selves to forts, and associated together in small bands for mutual protection. Many, having lodged their wives, children, and ser- vants in places of security, assembled under Colonel John Dooly on the Carolina shore of the Savannah River, about thirty miles abovo Augusta. McGirth, with three hundred loyalists, was oc- cupying a position on Kiokee Creek. Both parties were watch- ing the ferries and collecting all boats found on the Savannah River. Returning to Georgia with a part of his command, Dooly was quickly pursued by Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton, who pressed him so closely that he fired upon his rear as he recrossed the Sa- vannah just below the mouth of Broad River.
Having driven the rebels from that portion of the State, Ham- ilton encamped with one hundred men on Water's plantation, three miles below Petersburg. Dooly, with like force, was just opposite in South Carolina. There he was joined by Colonel Andrew Pickens, who brought with him two hundred and fifty men of his regiment. Although the senior in rank, Colonel Dooly yielded the command in deference to the fact that Pickens had contributed more than two thirds of the troops constituting this little army. With this united force it was resolved to attack Hamilton without delay. Accordingly, on the night of the 10th of February, Pickens and Dooly crossed the Savannah at Cowen's ferry, three miles above Hamilton's encampment, and prepared
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CARR'S FORT.
to charge the enemy early the next morning. To their surprise and regret they found that the British officer, in entire ignorance of the impending danger, had departed on an excursion through the country to visit its forts and administer oaths of allegiance to such of the inhabitants as he chanced to meet. Conjecturing that Carr's Fort would be the first point visited by the enemy, Captain A. Hamilton was directed, with a guide, to proceed rap- idly to that point and arrange for its defense with such men as he might find there congregated. Pickens and Dooly, moving with their command, intended to fall upon the rear of Lieuten- ant-Colonel Hamilton as he should be engaged in an effort to re- duce the fort. Captain Hamilton arrived in season to execute the order with which he was charged, but found that there were only seven or eight aged and infirm men in Carr's Fort who, dreading the consequences, refused to undertake the defense of that post. The Americans were so close upon the heels of the British as they entered and took possession of the fort that they were compelled to leave their horses and baggage outside the stockade. A brisk fire was opened on both sides, but without effect. A siege was determined on; and, in order to cut the be- sieged off from all access to water, Captain William Freeman, with forty men of his company, in gallant style dashed through an open space exposed to the guns of the fort, and took pos- session of a newly constructed log house which effectually com- manded the only source whence the enemy could hope to obtain a supply of water.
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