USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume II > Part 38
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" And in case any of the persons herein appointed to exercise the supreme authority as aforesaid shall refuse to act, die, or de- part this State, or shall by any other means be prevented from exercising the same, then, and in such case, you the said Council hereby chosen, or a majority of you, shall, and you are hereby au- thorized, empowered, and required to fill up such vacancies by choosing fit and discrete persons or person to act in their or his room and stead, which person or persons so chosen is or are hereby invested with every power and authority in as full and ample a manner as if they had been appointed by this present instrument of writing.
" And we do hereby declare all officers, civil and military, and all persons, inhabitants of this State, subject to and answerable to your authority, and will ratify and confirm whatever you may do for or concerning the public weal, according to the best of your judgment, knowledge, and ability. And further, we do hereby promise you our support, protection, and countenance.
" In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this twenty-fourth day of July in the year of our Lord 1779."
This supreme executive council organized temporarily the same day by the choice of Seth John Cuthbert as president pro tempore ; and, on the 6th of August, perfected a permanent or- ganization by unanimously electing John Wereat president. All the members then took the oath of office prescribed and entered upon the discharge of their important duties. The entire trans- action was abnormal. The choice lay between anarchy and this modified form of government. Regular assemblages of the legis- lature were, for the time being, impracticable. It was equally out of the question to evoke an expression of the popular will or to expect a general observance of the provisions of the constitu- tion. To the republicans only a fraction of the State remained. Blood, turmoil, disquietude, and antagonisms were everywhere. The preservation of at least the semblance of sovereignty was vital to the cause of the patriots. Under the circumstances the delegates doubtless acted for the best ; and, although in this matter they exceeded their powers and proceeded without consti-
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tutional warrant, their action grew out of a condition of affairs most peculiar, and was intended to meet an emergency beyond the ordinary contemplation of law. In their selection of mem- bers of this supreme executive council it does not appear either that their judgment was at fault or that their confidence was misplaced. Nor did the erection of this temporary government fail to secure the indorsement of the patriots of Georgia. It was a war measure. By this oligarchy was Georgia ruled for many months, and during the entire period there is not even a sugges- tion that those to whom were committed powers so comprehensive were ever guilty of peculation, injustice, infidelity, or despotism. Their official conduct was a tribute at once to the individual worth of each member of the provisional government, and to the purity, the patriotism, the honor, and the virtue of the epoch. Briga- dier-General Lachlan McIntosh was now again in Georgia and in command of the forces concentrated for the protection of the upper portions of the State. His return was sanctioned by Con- gress in accordance with his earnest desire, approved by General Washington, who, on the 11th of May, 1779, addressed the fol- lowing communication to that august body : -
" Brigadier General McIntosh will have the honor of deliver- ing you this. The war in Georgia, - being the State to which he belongs, - makes him desirous of serving in the Southern army. I know not whether the arrangements Congress have in contemplation may make it convenient to employ him there, but I take the liberty to recommend him as a gentleman whose knowledge of service and of the country promises to make him useful. I beg leave to add that General McIntosh's conduct, while he acted immediately under my observation, was such as to acquire my esteem and confidence, and I have had no reason since to alter my good opinion of him." 1
Second in command to General Lincoln, he was at all times most earnest in devising means for the improvement of the mili- tary condition of Georgia and in concerting plans for restraining the British forces within the narrowest limits. With the supreme council of safety he conferred frequently and most freely. The liberation of Georgia from kingly rule lay nearest the hearts of all.
As indicating the intelligent observation of the members of this supreme executive council, and their anxiety to facilitate the redemption of the State, we submit this extract from a com-
1 The National Portrait Gallery, etc., vol. iii. Philadelphia. 1836. VOL. II. 24
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munication addressed by them to General Lincoln on the 18th of August, 1779 : " A considerable part of the State having been in the immediate possession of the enemy ever since its invasion by them, those counties which have held out against them have been constantly subject to their incursions and depredations, and, of course, the few militia thereof, much harassed with duty : but their spirits have been kept up with the idea of support from the Continent and our Sister State, otherwise, we apprehend, a total evacuation would long since have taken place by those who have firmness enough to sacrifice everything to the cause of America, whilst the wavering would have joined the enemy and assisted them in their operations against Carolina.
" The arrival of the advance of General Scott's army, under Colonel Parker and Major Jamison, at a very critical juncture, has had the most salutary effect that could be expected, for it has infused new spirit into the militia who are now all cheerfully under arms to oppose the concerted invasions of the enemy's Irregulars and Indians who are at this time making different inroads upon us. General McIntosh has sent out a part of the Continental troops to support our militia, and we hope that for the present we shall be able to repel the enemy and to keep them from reaping any considerable advantages from the attempts of small parties. But we presume, Sir, that we need not endeavor to impress your mind with an idea of the feeble resistance we should be able to make to any serious attempt of the enemy to subjugate the upper parts of the State even with the assistance that General McIntosh can at this time afford us.
" We believe that it is generally allowed that unless the enemy are considerably reinforced, they will not make another attempt upon Charlestown ; and from a variety of circumstances we are led to hope that they will not receive such reinforcement. Should this be the case, there can scarce remain a doubt but that they will aim at a total subjugation of Georgia this fall : for we can- not in reason suppose that they will keep a considerable body of troops immured in Savannah whilst the back country, so neces- sary to their quiet subsistence as well as their future designs, remains unconquered. The large quantities of grain made in the vicinity of this place and the numerous herds of cattle through all the upper parts of the country must be very considerable ob- jects with them, particularly as we know that they cannot even now get sufficient supplies of cattle without coming upwards and then fighting for them. The frequent skirmishes of our Militia
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with their Irregulars, who are employed as drovers, evince the truth of this observation : and should they gain the upper parts of this State, we are bold to assert that Carolina would be in a very dangerous situation. The great defection of the upper parts of that country is well known; a circumstance on which the enemy found the most sanguine hopes, and we have every reason to believe that they continually receive encouragement from these people to invade the back country. Nor could the enemy wish for a more favorable situation to be joined by them than that by Augusta, or anywhere above it, where the river is shallow and the swamps all passable.
" Add to the circumstances already mentioned, which might induce the enemy to progress upwards in force, that of having no obstruction to their intercourse with the Indians, which is a very capital one, and which will immediately be the case should they effect an entire conquest of this country ; and unless they should do this, their intercourse will be very precarious and uncertain, and we shall always have it in our power to give the most con- siderable interruption to it. We think this point worth paying the most particular attention to, as we are now informed that Indian goods are now imported at Savannah, and that the Creck Indians have had no late supply from the Floridas. Should the trade from this country with the Indians be once open and unin- terrupted, the enemy will find not the least difficulty, whenever they have a mind, in bringing the savages from the frontiers of Carolina.
" Besides our apprehensions on the above heads, we are fearful that in case the British troops should move up this way, the greatest part of the inhabitants, worn out with fruitless opposi- tion and actuated by the fear of losing their all, would make terms for themselves : and as the human mind is too apt to be led by a natural gradation from one step of infamy to another, we have not the least doubt of their joining the enemy against their countrymen in any other State. But even should the Brit- ish commander not bend his force this way, a great many fami- lies, harassed and unsupported, would remove far northwardly (for which they are already thinking of preparing), and this dangerous migration nothing but the appearance of support can prevent.
" With minds forcibly impressed by the operation of such pow- erful reasons, we beg leave to solicit you, Sir, in the most serious manner to order General Scott, who, we understand, is on his
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march southwardly with the rest of his troops, immediately to this place.1
" We cannot think that the lower parts of Carolina will be endangered by such an order: for we may reasonably presume that the enemy will never penetrate far into that part of the country while a respectable force remains in their rear, which would be the case if General Scott and his troops were in Georgia."
The governor of South Carolina was also memorialized to assist with men and money in the effort to retain the possession of Upper Georgia and prevent the English from accomplishing the entire subjugation of the State. These and similar appeals were not in vain, and it may not be denied that the representa- tions and efforts of the supreme executive council of Georgia had much to do with bringing about the cooperation between the French army under Count d'Estaing and the American forces under Lincoln for the recovery of Savannah in the fall of 1779.
When, in March, 1776, Sir James Wright fled from Savan- nah and took refuge on board his majesty's ship Scarborough, at Tybee Roads, fear fell upon all the king's servants holding office in Georgia, and one by one, as opportunity occurred, they quitted the province. A few of them espoused the cause of the Revolu- tionists, but most of them departed for London. Some sought refuge in St. Augustine.2 From that time until the capture of Savannalı in December, 1778, there was not even the semblance of royal government in Georgia. Upon the reduction of the capital of the State and the expulsion of the republicans from Southern Georgia a strictly military government was at first erected, and this was followed by the establishment of a civil administration under Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost who held an appointment from the king's commissioners as lieutenant-gover- nor of Georgia. He was supplanted by Sir James Wright who, reaching Savannah on the 14th of July, 1779, resumed the gu- bernatorial office six days afterwards.3 Such was the unsatis- factory condition of affairs that he felt constrained to delay issuing writs of election. The old officers returned slowly, and the governor, until after the repulse of the allied army before the fortifications around Savannah, could claim to be little more
1 Augusta.
2 Sec A List of the Officers of his Maj- esty's Province of Georgia, and their pres- ent places of residence [ February, 1779]. P. R. O., Am. & W. Ind., vol. cexxxvii.
8 Sco Letter of Sir James Wright to Lord George Germain, dated Savannah, July 31, 1779. P. R. O., Am, & W. Ind., vol. cexxxvii.
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than a locum tenens. He found " several of the leading Rebels very busy in keeping up the expiring flame of Rebellion," and was persuaded that there were yet many in Georgia " who, if they had an opportunity, would adhere to the Independent Scheme."
On the 9th of August he says to Lord George Germain, " The more I am able to see into the true state of affairs here, the more I am convinced of the wretched situation this Province is in, and how nearly it was being totally lost while the army was carrying on their operations in South Carolina ; and now, my Lord, the Rebels who went from hence into Carolina on the ar- rival of Colonel Campbell, with other Rebels of Carolina and this Province, are possessed of the Country at and about Au- gusta, and all above it, and I have the honor to inclose your Lordship the information I received from three Back Country People by which it appears that almost the whole settlements down to Briar Creek are broke up, or the inhabitants skulking about to avoid the Rebel Partys, and that the Rebels have col- lected upwards of 600 men and are going to establish a post with them somewhere in St George's Parish. I doubt not, my Lord, however, but this Province will soon raise its head and become more populous and opulent than ever. I have ordered an exact return of the whole Militia, but have not yet received it, although, from the best information I have been able to come at, I really believe they will not exceed 400 men in the whole Province : and probably 300 would not appear under arms."
With regard to the Indians he adds, " I am sorry to say that after the immense expence to Government on account of the In- dians, they do not seem to me to be so hearty in the cause and so warmly attached as I expected."
Thus, during the lull which preceded the gathering storm, the thunders of which were soon to shake the foundations of the city of Oglethorpe, Governor Wright at Savannah, supported by the king's army, was striving to recreate the royal govern- ment and to lead back the inhabitants of Southern Georgia to a complete and orderly submission to British rule. While at Augusta the members of the Supreme Executive Council, in- vested with unlimited powers yet sadly deficient in all material appliances, were endeavoring to perpetuate the sovereignty of a republican State just born into the sisterhood of nations, and to arm, feed, and clothe a patriot band, few in numbers yet bravo of heart, fighting for home and property and liberty, the
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odds were seemingly all in favor of his majesty King George III. In this conflict between a republican oligarchy and an English monarchy it did really appear that there was little hope for the ultimate independence of the bleeding, impoverished, and dis- tracted commonwealth.
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CHAPTER XX.
THE FRENCH ALLIANCE. - COUNT D'ESTAING. - PREPARATIONS BY THE ALLIED ARMY TO DISLODGE THE ENEMY FROM SAVANNAH. - SIEGE OF SAVANNAH IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, 1779.
THE treaties of commerce and alliance with Louis the Six- teenth were, by the Continental Congress, unanimously ratified on the 4th of May, 1778. Frenchmen were welcomed as the best friends of America, and the king of France was proclaimed " the protector of the rights of mankind." Profound acknowledgments were rendered to a gracious Providence for raising up so power- ful an ally. The independence of the United Colonies was now regarded as no longer in doubt and there was great joy through- out the length and breadth of the land.
Arriving too late to overtake the squadron and transports of Lord Howe on their retreat from Philadelphia, Admiral the Count d'Estaing, with his twelve ships of the line and three frig- ates, followed his enemy to the north and for some time anchored within Sandy Hook, where he intercepted British merchantmen bound for New York. Subsequently baffled at Newport in his attempt to force an action with the English fleet, and sorely en- damaged by a hurricane, the French admiral repaired to Boston, and thence sailed for the protection of the French Windward Islands. In January, 1779, so completely was maritime superior- ity in that quarter transferred to England by the arrival of strong reinforcements under Admiral Byron that for six months D'Es- taing was forced to shelter his fleet within the bay of Port Royal.
Taking advantage of the absence of the British admiral who was convoying a fleet of merchant ships through the passages, the French count, in gallant style, reduced both St. Vincent and Grenada; and afterwards, in a running fight, so crippled the returned British squadron that the superiority of France was reestablished in those waters.
It was just at this favorable moment that letters came from M. Gerard, the French minister, General Lincoln, and M. Plombard, the French consul at Charlestown, entreating Count d'Estaing to cooperate with the American forces for the capture
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of Savannah. In this solicitation Governor Rutledge earnestly joined. Exulting in the victory which he had recently won over Lord Macartney at Grenada, rejoicing in the restoration of French supremacy in the West Indies, anxious to retrieve the military fortunes which had miscarried during his demonstra- tions on the American coast the previous year, and acting within the general instructions he had received from his home govern- ment, Count d'Estaing readily yielded to this request and en- tered heartily into the scheme for dislodging the enemy from Savannah. Sailing from the Windward Islands he reached the coast of Georgia on the 1st of September, 1779, with a fleet consisting of twenty-two ships of the line, ten frigates, and one cutter. Several barges, transport schooners, and American ves- sels accompanied the expedition. So sudden and unexpected was this descent that several English vessels, wholly unconscious of impending danger, were captured at and near the mouth of the Savannah River.
The Viscount de Fontanges, adjutant-general of the army, was at once dispatched by the count in the frigate Amazon, commanded by the famous navigator La Perouse, to proceed to Charlestown and arrange with General Lincoln and the Ameri- can authorities a suitable plan of operations. He arrived at that city on the 4th of September and a concert of action was quickly agreed upon. Boats were sent from Charlestown to assist in landing troops, ordnance, and stores. Colonel Cambray, of the engineers, Colonel Thomas Pinckney, aid to General Lincoln, Captain Gadsden, and a few other intelligent officers were de- tailed to return with the viscount and assist the admiral in eon- summating his landing upon the Georgia coast. At Ossabaw Count d'Estaing was to be met by Colonel Joseph Habersham, who proceeded thither to join the fleet and indicate a proper place for the debarkation of the troops.
The French fleet, which had been somewhat scattered by a rough sea and high winds, was entirely united on the 4th. On the 9th, D'Estaing, on board the Chimere, accompanied by three other frigates, forced a passage across the bar of the Savannah River. Upon the approach of these war vessels the English ships Rose, Fowey, Keppel, and Germain, the Comet, a galley, and several small craft which had been lying in Tybee Roads, weighed anchor and retired to Five-Fathom Hole. From Fort Tybee - located near the light-house on the northern extrem- ity of Great Tybee Island, designed to guard the entrance into
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Savannah River, and armed with a twenty-four-pounder gun and an eight-and-a-half-inch howitzer - fire was opened upon the French squadron, but it proved entirely innocuous. A detach- ment of troops was thrown upon the island. Fort Tybee was immediately abandoned by its garrison, which succeeded in ef- fecting its escape. After occupying the island during the night, and finding it entirely deserted by the enemy, the detachment was withdrawn the next morning.
On Saturday, the 11th, the fleet rendezvoused in Ossabaw Sound, and at nine o'clock the next evening twelve hundred men, selected from various regiments, were successfully landed at Beaulieu.1 At this point, formerly the residence of Colonel Wil- liam Stephens, a small force of the enemy, with two field-pieces, had been stationed. It was withdrawn, however, on the appear- ance of the fleet, and no opposition was encountered by the boats conveying the troops from the ships. The further debarkation of the land army was interrupted for several days by high winds, which, increasing to a gale, compelled many of the ships to slip their cables and seek the open sea. Several vessels were seri- ously injured, and the anchorage which they were forced to aban- don was not fairly regained by all of them until the 20th. Wednesday, the 15th, proving a calm day, the boats from the vessels within convenient reach were busily occupied in landing additional troops. The same day the twelve hundred men first put on shore advanced from Beaulieu and formed a new camp three miles from Savannah. This little army was composed of three divisions. The centre was commanded by D'Estaing, the right by Dillon, and the left by Noailles.2
On the 11th the frigate Amazon, of thirty-six guns, commanded by Perouse had, after a gallant resistance offered on the part of the English commander, succeeded in capturing the Ariel of twenty-four guns. Some two weeks afterwards his majesty's ship Experiment, which had lost her bowsprit and masts in a gale of wind encountered on her passage from New York to Savan-
1 Also spelled Bewlie.
2 In a MS. journal of the siege of Sa- vannah in 1779 (now before us, and pur- chased at the Luzarche sale in Paris), kept by an unknown French officer who was evidently present during all the movements antecedent to, involved in, and consequent upon that memorable event, this first encampment of the French army, three miles from Savannah, is thus
identified : " the command of the General in the centre towards Mishow, that of Dil- lon on the right at Jonshauss, and that of Noailles on the left, at Brisyhauw." These names have so entirely faded from the memory of the present that the localities which they once designated cannot now be identified. Manifestly the position was southeast of Savannah.
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nah, the Myrtle, a navy victualer, and the store-ship Champion were also captured. This encampment of the French army being established, reinforcements were rapidly pushed forward as they were landed at Beaulieu.
It will be remembered that Savannah could not then boast of more than four hundred and thirty houses. Most of them were wooden structures. Using the present names of the streets, the boundaries of the town were the Bay on the north, Lincoln Street on the east, South Broad Street on the south, and Jefferson Street on the west. Outside the limits indicated were some scattering abodes, and these appeared principally on the east and west.
Count Pulaski, who, after General Prevost's retreat from South Carolina, had taken post on a ridge fifty miles northeast of Au- gusta that he might the more readily obtain provisions for and restore the health of his legion, and at the same time be within supporting distance of either Charlestown or Augusta as occasion required, was ordered to join General Lachlan McIntosh at the latter place. With this united command General McIntosh was directed to move towards Savannah in advance of the army under General Lincoln which was approaching from the direction of Charlestown, attack the British outposts, and establish commu- nication with the French troops on the coast. Pressing forward, Count Pulaski cut off one of the enemy's pickets, killing and wounding five men and capturing a subaltern and five privates. Skirmishing with the British outposts, he hastened on ward to- ward Beaulieu in the midst of a heavy rain. There he found Count d'Estaing. In the language of Captain Bentalou, these officers "cordially embraced and expressed mutual happiness at the meeting." Count Pulaski was then informed by the French admiral that he intended, without waiting for General Lincoln, to move at once upon Savannah and that "he counted on his Legion to form his van." " In pursuance of this wish," contin- ues Bentalou, " we set out immediately and reached Savannah some time before d'Estaing, where we engaged and cut off an advanced picket of the enemy's infantry." 1
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