USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia: containing brief sketches of the most remarkable events, up to the present day, Vol. II > Part 19
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Colonel Elijah Clarke had embodied about three hundred men in Wilkes county, and no:
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suspecting the disaffection of Williamson, anxi- ously waited to be informed of his future inten- tions and determination. Williamson remained in his camp, apparently undetermined as to fu- ture operations, until the British detachments had marched to the frontier of Carolina, and colonel Brown had taken possession of Augusta. Wil. . liamson then called his officers together, and after expressing an opinion that further resistance would be vain and ineffectual, recommended to them to return to their homes, accept the proffer- ed protection, and yield obedience to the British government.
Several of the patriots in Georgia, to the southward of Augusta, had been busily engaged for the first four months of this year, in getting off their families and a little property to support them in the northern states. Some had stopped in South-Carolina, who were obliged again to pack up and proceed farther north. Many who wished well to the American cause, foreseeing the distresses to which their families would be re- duced by the want of the common necessaries of life and a total loss of property, yielded and took protection. Others, who were regardless of every other consideration, but that of freedom and inde- pendence, and whose families were too unwieldy to be removed; determined to leave them and their property to the mercy of the enemy. Colo- nel John Jones of Burke county, and colonel Ben- jamin Few of Richmond, commanded two detach-
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ments of this description. They retreated to Wilkes and joined colonel Clarke. About this time the defection of Williamson was understood. Colonel Brown had despatched emissaries into the country, with authority to give protections and administer the oath of allegiance to the British crown. One of these parties, commanded by
captain Corker, entered the house of colonel John
Dooley, at a late hour of the night, and murdered him in a most barbarous manner in the presence of his wife and children. At the commencement
· sion of a captain in the Georgia continental bri- of the war, this officer had accepted the commis-
gade: the murder of his brother on the 22nd of July 1776, produced a determination to avail himself of the first opportunity, to take ven- geance on its perpetrators; and for this purpose,
he meditated an attack upon a party of Indians, then at Galphins. Propositions had been made to the Indians by the government of Georgia, to enter into negociations for a treaty of peace ; but the demands of the Indians could not be complied with on the part of the state, and no prospect re- mained of peace being effected. Captain Dooley's scheme.of revenge was discovered soon after it was formed, and himself and a lieutenant who joined him in the plan, were arrested by the civil government of the state. Colonel Elbert was directed to order a general court-martial for their trial. Dooley requested permission to resign his commission, which was granted, and he was soon
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afterward appointed colonel of the militia, in Wilkes county, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of colonel Coleman. The greater part of the remainder of Dooley's life was passed in the camp : he was engaged in many battles and skirmishes, the issue of which were honoura- ble to himself, and advantageous to his country.
Shortly after the capture of Charleston, and previous to the advance of colonel Brown to Augusta, a party of loyalists under the command · of captain Hollingsworth, were detached by colo- nel M'Girth into the neighbourhood of captain M'Kay, in South-Carolina. This party murder- ed seventeen men on their farms, in one or two days. M'Kay's activity in the American cause, had rendered him peculiarly odious to the ene- my ; and in fact, he was the particular object of this party. From Pipe creek to Swicard's mill, the country exhibited a scene of ruin. All the moveable property was plundered, and every house was burned. A flourishing country of thir- ty miles in length, and ten in breadth, was deso- lated by these banditti. Disappointed in their ex- pectations of getting possession of M'Kay's per- son, they resorted to the torture of his wife to extort from her a knowledge of the place of his concealment. The mode of inflicting the torture, was by taking a flint out of the lock of a musket, and putting her thumb in its place. The screw was applied, until the thumb was ready to burst. While under this new invented species of torture,
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which would have been considered disgraceful to the most savage nation in the world, in addition to the questions put to her respecting her hus- band, she was required to disclose the secret de. posit of her most valuable property, which they alledged had been removed and hidden in the woods. M'Kay was afterward charged with cru- elty toward the enemy, by his own countrymen who were engaged in the same cause : to such,. let it be asked, if there were any measures of re- taliation which would satisfy the human mind, where the measure of injuries had become full and overflowing. To such causes as these, the sub- sequent sanguinary mode of conducting the war in Georgia, is justly attributable.
Colonel Clarke despatched special messengers into Carolina, to advise with some of the principal officers, offering to co-operate with them in ma- king a stand against the enemy. In the mean time his command was dispersed to make pre- parations for a long campaign, and take leave of their families. Twenty days were allowed for preparations, and Freeman's fort fixed on as the place of rendezvous. In the interim, no intelli- gence had been received flattering to their hopes; on the contrary, the British had marched in force to the frontier of South-Carolina, where the loya. . lists were forming into companies and regiments, Some small parties had previously left Georgia, passed along the frontier of Carolina on the slope of the mountains, and joined the American army near Cataba river.
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Agreeably to appointment, on the 11th of Ju- ly, one hundred and forty men, well mounted and armed, rendezvoused at Freeman's fort. They crossed the Savannah river in the night at a private ford, six miles above Petersburgh. The British and loyalists were at this time in force in his front. This intelligence was received by colonel Clarke the next day after he marched from his rendez- vous, and induced a belief, that to pursue his in- tended route, with his present numbers, would be hazardous, and render the safety of his retreat very doubtful. The interior of North-Carolina, was known to be generally disaffected to the American cause ; and to join the army, he was obliged to pass through it. The men who com- posed Clarke's command were volunteers, and having left their own state, each man claimed the right of thinking and of acting for himself. The dangers which were presented, and the ungovern- able disposition of his men, induced Clarke to re- turn to Georgia, temporarily disperse, and wait for more favourable intelligence, when he would make another attempt by passing near the foot of the mountains through Carolina. This plan be- ing generally approved, a retreat was immediately commenced.
Colonel John Jones of Burke county, objected to the retreat, and proposed to a few to join him and leave the country at every hazard, by pass- ing through the woods to North-Carolina, and joining the army wherever it was to be found.
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When Jones's plan was made known, thirty-five men joined him, formed themselves into a com- pany, appointed Jones their captain, and John Freeman lieutenant ; promising implicit obedi- ence to their orders. Benjamin Laurence of Ca- rolina joined them, and as he was a good woods- man and well acquainted with the country, ren- dered them great services as a guide. As they passed through the disaffected country, they pre- tended to be a company of loyalists, engaged in the king's service ; and in many instances were furnished with pilots, under that impression. When they had passed the head waters of Saluda river, one of these guides informed them, that "a party of rebels had attacked some loyalists the preceding night, a short distance in front, and de- feated tiem." Jones expressed a wish to be conducted to the place, that he might join the loyalists, and have it in his power to take revenge for the blood of the king's subjects which had been shed. About eleven o'clock on the night of the 14th of July, Jones was conducted to the roy- al party, where about torty were collected to pur- sue the Americans who had retreated to the north. Jones made his dispositions for attack by surprise, with twenty-two men, leaving the horses and baggage in charge of the remainder. He approached the enemy with swords, guns, and belt pistols, and found them in a state of self secu- rity and generally asleep. On the first fire, one of the enemy was killed and three were wounded.
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Thirty-two, including the wounded, surrendered and called for quarters. Jones ordered all the enemy's guns to be destroyed, except such as - would be useful to his men ; paroled the prison- ers, and took as many of the horses as they could convey away without incumbrance, to pre- vent them from falling into the hands of the ene- my. The pilot did not discover his mistake until it was too late to prevent the consequences ; and after the skirmish, was required to conduct the Americans to Earle's ford, on Packolet river, where a junction was formed with colonel M'Dowell the next day. They had taken no rest for three days and nights. M'Dowell had made a long march the same day, with three hun- dred North-Carolina militia, of course his troops were very much fatigued.
The British garrison at Prince's fort, was commanded by colonel Innis. He had not been informed of the approach of M'Dowell's militia ; and detached captain Dunlop with seventy British dragoons, in pursuit of colonel Jones. M'Dow- ell was encamped on the east side of the river, on rising ground. Dunlop reached the vicinity of M'Dowell's camp, late at night, and supposing it to consist of Georgians only, he delayed the at- tack until the dawn of day. As he was crossing the river, which was narrow, the sentinel fired, which gave the first notice to M'Dowell of the enemies approach. Dunlop rushed into the camp with drawn swords, when but few of the Ameri-
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cans were awake. The position of the Georgians in the encampment, exposed them to the first at- tack, in consequence of which, they sustained very great loss in proportion to their numbers. Colonel Jones received eight cuts on the head with a sabre. Freeman rallied the remainder, and joined major Singleton, who had retreated about one hundred yards and formed behind a fence. M'Dowell formed the main body on Singleton's right. An advance was ordered, and the enemy retreated across the river, which was fordable in many places, and enabled them to get off without much loss. Of the Americans, eight were killed and thirty wounded ; two of the former, and six of the latter, were from Georgia. The enemy's loss was not known ; but believed to be but one wounded, who was left on the ground.
Fifty-two of the most active men, including Freeman and fourteen of his party, mounted upon the best horses, were ordered to pursue the ene. my, under the command of captain Hampton. The pursuit was commenced before sun-rise, and - after a march of fifteen miles, in the short period of two hours, the enemy was attacked by surprise and defeated. Eight of the enemy were killed at the first fire ; and Dunlop unable to rally, made a precipitate retreat in which several of his men were killed and wounded. The pursuit was.con- . tinued within three hundred yards of the British. fort, in which there were three hundred men. Hampton returned to camp at two o'clock, and!
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brought with him thirty-five horses, with dragoon equipage, and a considerable portion of the ene- my's baggage, without the loss of a man.
When colonel Elijah Clarke returned to Geor. gia, he found warm and zealous advocates in the persons of colonel Stephen Heard, president, Mr. Downs, Mr. Davis, and other members of council, in rousing into action and resistance, the militia of the western district. The most power- ful arguments were used to stimulate them to join their countrymen and resist the enemy. During their continuance in the state, they were necessa- rily secreted in the woods, and privately supported by their friends. This mode of living soon be- came insupportable, and a general wish prevailed to leave the country and join the army, where their services would be useful. Clarke's regi- ment was again assembled, and inarched along the slope of the mountain, and was joined by colonel Jones, near the line which separates North from South-Carolina. He' formed his encampments upon advantageous grounds, often changing his positions to guard against surprise. He was soon after joined by several small parties from Georgia, and by captain James M'Call, with about twenty men from colonel Pickens' regiment.
As Clarke had no public funds at command, he was obliged to subsist and forage upon the enemy ; with whom he often skirmished with success. He watched every opportunity of cut- ting off the supplies of colonel Innis ; and gave
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so much annoyance to his garrison, that a deter. mination was formed to bring on a general action, which it was the interest of his oppo- nent to avoid. With this view he came out in force, and pursued Clarke to Wafford's iron works, on the 10th of August, where Clarke chose his ground and waited the attack. In the after. noon his piquet was driven in, and a distant fire continued until near night. Every exertion was made to draw Clarke from his position, which was chosen with great judgment; but he guard- ed against being drawn into battle upon equal ground, while he was out-numbered in the ranks of the enemy ; and Innis as carefully avoided close action, unless he could effect it upon equal terms. The opposing parties withdrew from their ground in the night. Each claimed the vic. tory, though no great advantage had been obtain- ed by either. Innis retired to his fortress, which tvas near Musgrove's mill, on Enoree river, and Clarke returned the next morning to his usual encampment.
The loss of the Americans, was one major and three privates killed, and five or six wounded. The loss of the enemy, five killed and eleven wounded. Major Burwell Smith, who was among the slain, had been an active partizan in India warfare, and had greatly contributed to the set- tlement of Georgia : he had often skirmished with the Indians, and never suffered surprise or defeat. His fall was lamented by all those who
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acted with him, and particularly by colonel Clarke, who considered him one of his best par. tizan officers.
Colonel Clarke continued to annoy the forag- ing parties of the enemy, and was so generally successful, that colonel Innis determined to in- crease his force, renew the attack upon Clarke's camp, and it possible, drive him out of the coun- try.
With this view he commenced his march at the head of three hundred and fifty men, com- posed of British regulars, militia, dragoons, and loyalists. On the night of the 17th of August, the approach of Innis was communicated to Clarke by his spies. Fortunately for colonel Clarke, he had been joined by colonels Williams, Branham, and Shelby, and this united force, all militia, raised his numbers to an equality with the ranks of the enemy, and after consulting the field officers, it was determined to meet them the next morning.
About four miles north of Musgrove's mill there was a plantation, through which was a lane, and Clarke considered that the north end of it af- forded him a favourable position for the attack. He advanced with one hundred men ; himself on the right, and major M'Call on the left ; forming in the edge of the thick wood across the road, and extending his flanks near the fence. Williams and Branham were ordered to form close in the rear of the flanks, and Shelby to cover the centre, as a reserve corps, and to throw his force wherever
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circumstances might require. The advance guard of the enemy were within fifty paces before they were aware of danger. When Clarke commenc- ed the attack, Innis ordered his dragoons and mounted militia to charge upon the Americans, and force them from the ground they occupied, that he might have room to form his regulars. Clarke was aware that the issue of the battle de- pended on his holding his ground, so as to force the British regulars to form in the open field, while his own men would be covered by the fence and the woods. Williams and Branham advanced and formed upon the right and left, and Shelby to the support of the centre, and the contest be- came close and sanguinary. Observing this ad- ditional force, the dragoons and royal militia re- treated into the lane among the British regulars, thus increasing the confusion, and flying from the field in the utmost disorder. 'The regulars had not room to form, and if they had in the open field, it would have been to great disadvantage. In this confused state, exposed to a galling fire from the American riflemen, they remained but a few minutes before seven British officers out of nine, were either killed or wounded ; and the men tum- bled down in heaps, without the power of resis- tance. Among the wounded, was the British commander. Captain Ker, second in command, finding that resistance would then be vain, and without hope of success, ordered a retreat; which was effected in close order for four miles, resort.
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ing to the bayonet for defence in flank and rear. The pursuit was continued by the victors, until the enemy took refuge in Musgrove's mill.
The British loss, was sixty. three killed, and about one hundred and sixty wounded and taken prisoners. The American loss, was four kitied, and nine wounded ; among the former was cap- tain Inman, and among the latter were colonel Clarke and captain John Clarke. The colonel received two wounds with a sabre on the back of his neck and head : his stock buckle saved his life. He was for a few minutes a prisoner with the enemy, in charge of two men, but taking ad- vantage of his strength and activity, he knocked one of them down and the other fled. Colonel Clarke buried his dead, and returned to his former encampment near the iron works.
CHAPTER XI.
LORD Cornwallis having spread his military posts over Georgia and South-Carolina, consider- ed the conquest of those two states so far com- plete, as to authorize with impunity an infringe- ment of the conditions stipulated in the protec- tions which had been given to the inhabitants. The impression first made upon the public mind, was, that persons and property were to be secured
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against outrage and molestation, by the British troops and loyalists, and that they were not to take up arms against the crown of Great-Britain, so long as these conditions were duly regarded. Having gained entire possession of these two states, his lordship began to indulge the idea of extending his conquest to North-Carolina ; but finding that his numbers were unequal to his plans; the deficiency could only be supplied by making an indiscriminate call upon the militia. With this impolitic measure in view, Sir Henry Clinton had issued a proclamation on the 5th of June, by which it was declared, that all those who were paroled, (not taken in action or under arms, ) and those who had taken protections, should be released from these unnecessary restrictions, and after the 20th of the same month, should be lia- ble to take up arms in defence of the country, and consider themselves as being restored to all the rights and duties appertaining or belonging to the king's subjects. All persons of the descrip- tion before mentioned, who should thereafter neg- lect or refuse to return to their allegiance, were to be considered as enemies and rebels, and treated accordingly.
There was some ambiguity in this proclama- tion, and some of those who had taken protections were willing to construe it into its most favoura- ble light toward themselves : others who had not so high an opinion of the character of the British commander, considered the proclamation as a
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direct violation of the conditions stipulated in their protections. An explanation however, soon followed the proclamation, which verified the pre- dictions of the minority, that Sir Henry Clinton was capable of duplicity, and of the violation of contracts, whenever such measures accorded with the interest of his prince. The following is an extract of lord Corwallis' letter to the command- ers of his out-posts. " The inhabitants of the provinces who have subscribed to, and taken part in this revolt, should be punished with the utmost rigour ; and also those who will not turn out, shall be imprisoned and their whole property ta- ken from them or destroyed. I have ordered in the most positive manner, that every militia man who has borne arms with us and afterward joined the enemy, shall be immediately hanged. I desire you will take the most rigorous measures to pun- ish the rebels in the district in which you com- mand, and that you obey in the strictest manner, the directions I have given in this letter, relative to the inhabitants in this country." This order was circulated among the British officers, at the garrisons in Georgia and South Carolina, but foreseeing the bad effects it might have upon the public mind, it was for a time carefully concealed from the people at large. The most barbarous cruelties were practised under its authority, without the forms of trial. In many instances, officers, soldiers, and citizens, were brought up to the place of execution, without being informed
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why they had been taken out of prison. The next morning atter this sanguinary order reached Augusta, five victims were taken from the gaol by order of colonel Brown, who all expired on the gibbet.
Encouraged by the hope that the foregoing proclamation and order, by the British command. ers-in-chief, would rouse the resentment and bring into the field all those who felt an interest in the American cause ; colonel Clarke determin. ed upon making the attempt to recover a part of his own state. Lord Cornwallis had drawn all his disposable force to his head-quarters, near Camden, to oppose general Gates, and afteward to give him sufficient strength to advance into North Carolina : consequently he had left barely a sufficiency to garrison his posts in Georgia and South-Carolina. About the Ist. of September colonel Clarke returned to Wilkes county, in Georgia, and lieutenant-colonel M'Call to the western part of Ninety-six district ; with the ex- pectation of raising a joint force, of at least one thousand men. . To such an army it was supposed that Augusta would submit with little or no resis- tance, and that Ninety-six might soon afterward be menaced, and would probably be evacuated by the enemy. If Clarke's views had been seconded with that zeal which inhabited his own bosom, the exertions of one month would have thrown the western divisions of Georgia and South-Carolina, into the possession of the Americans,
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Though the Carolinians were in general, fa- vourably disposed toward the freedom and inde- pendence of their country, and felt great solici- tude for the success of the plan, yet they could not be sufficiently inspired with the certainty of the is- sue, to induce them to take up arms. The effects of the British general's proclamation, had not, to their knowledge, commenced its operations. The sacrifice of those lives which had fallen under lord Cornwallis' explanatory order, was attributed to other causes, and the secret spring which formed its basis, was concealed from the public. ,
Lieutenant-colonel M'Call made his first ap- plication to colonel Pickens, and the most influ- ential officers of his regiment ; but with little suc- cess. The stipulations in their protections had not yet been violated, and they considered them- selves bound, by conscience and honor, not to break their engagement until an infringement was made upon its conditions. Instead of five hun- dred men, which had been confidently calculated upon from Carolina, M'Call's persuasions could . only induce eighty to accompany him upon the expedition. With this number he marched to Soap creek, in Georgia, forty miles north-west of Augusta, which had been fixed on as the place of rendezvous. Colonel Clarke had been more suc- cessful : his numbers amounted to three hundred and fifty. Though this little band fell far short of his expectations, and were really inadequate to the purposes he had in view, it was then too
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