USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 4
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Admiral Vernon was sent to take command of a squadron on the West India station, with orders to act offensively against the Spanish dominions in that quarter, so as to divide their force. General Oglethorpe was ordered to annoy the subjects of Spain in Florida, by every method in his power. Acting under these instructions, he projected an expedition against the Spanish settlement at St. Augustine, in which he was warmly seconded by the authorities of South Carolina. Owing to a combination of untoward circumstances, this ex- pedition signally failed, and Oglethorpe returned to Frederica on the 10th of July, 1740.
His conduct during this short and unfortunate
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HISMARY OF GEORGIA.
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campaign was bitterly censured, and maliciously criticised, by the news-mongers and pamphleteers of the province, by whom he was alternately charged with cowardice, despotism, cruelty, and bribery. That these charges were without the shadow of foundation in truth, the whole life of this amiable and energetic gentleman testified. Without any views to his own interests, his whole efforts were directed to the enlargement of the dominions of his country, the propagation of the Protestant religion, and providing for the wants and necessities of the indigent. He had volun- tarily banished himself from the pleasures of a court, and exposed himself to the dangers of the ocean, in several perilous and tedious voyages. Instead of allowing himself the satisfaction which a plentiful fortune, powerful friends, and great merit entitled him to in England, he had inured himself to hardships and exposures, in common with the poor settlers ; his food, boiled rice, mouldy bread, salt beef and pork; his bed the damp ground, and his covering the canopy of heaven.
The settlers of Georgia had not increased with that rapidity which had been anticipated by the trustees, nor was its condition by any means flourishing, considering the immense sums of money which had been expended. The number of colonists sent to Georgia, and supported at the expense of the trustees, was found, at the close
REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
of the eighth year, to be fifteen hundred and twenty-one, of whom six hundred and eighty-six were men capable of bearing arms. The amount expended in the settlement, up to the same period of time, were one hundred and twelve thousand pounds. Of this amount, ninety-four thousand pounds were appropriated by the British Parlia- ment, and the balance raised by private contri- butions. Those who came at their own charges are not included in the above statement, nor is the number of them known.
CHAPTER VI.
Rev. George Whitefield arrives in Georgia-His piety and benevolence-His Orphan-house-Whitefield's character and life-His death.
THE Rev. George Whitefield, who merits par- ticular notice in the history of Georgia, arrived at Savannah in May, 1738. This celebrated field preacher was born in 1714, in Gloucester, Eng- land. At twelve years of age he was put to a grammar-school, and at sixteen he was admitted servitor in Pembroke College, Oxford, where he distinguished himself by the austerities of his de- votion. At the age of twenty-one, the fame of his piety recommended him so effectually to Dr. Benson, Bishop of Gloucester, that he ordained
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
him. Immediately after Mr. Whitefield's admis- sion into the ministry, he applied himself with the most extraordinary and indefatigable zeal and industry to the duties of his calling, preaching daily in the prisons, fields, and open streets, wherever he thought there would be a likelihood of making religious impressions. Having at length made himself universally known in England, he applied to the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, for a grant of a tract of land near Savannah, with the benevolent intention of build- ing an orphan-house, designed as an asylum for poor children, who were to be clothed and fed by charitable contributions, and educated in the knowledge and practice of Christianity. In his efforts for the propagation of religion, Whitefield several times crossed the Atlantic Ocean to con- vert the Americans, whom he addressed in such manner as if they had been all equally strangers to the privileges and benefits of religion, with the aborigines of the forest. However, his zeal never led him beyond the maritime parts of America, through which he travelled, spreading his faith among the most populous towns and villages. Wherever he went in America, as in Britain, he had multitudes of followers. When he first visited Charleston, Alexander Garden, who was an Epis- copal clergyman in that place, took occasion to point out the pernicious tendency of Whitefield's doctrines and irregular manner of life. He repre-
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sented him as a religious impostor or quack, who had an excellent way of setting off, disguising, and rendering palatable his poisonous tenets. On the other hand, Mr. Whitefield, who had been accus- tomed to stand reproach and face opposition, retorted in his own peculiar way. On one occa- sion, Alexander Garden, to keep his flock from going afterthis strange pastor, expatiated on these words of Scripture : " Those that have turned the world upside down are come hither also." Mr. Whitefield, with all the force of comic humour and wit for which he was distinguished, by way of reply enlarged upon these words : « Alexander the copper-smith hath done me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works."
Mr. Whitefield commenced the building of his orphan-house in Georgia in 1740, on a sandy bluff near the sea-shore, on a tract of land granted to him for the purpose by the trustees ; the house was built of wood, and was seventy feet by forty. To this house poor children were sent, to be sup- ported partly by charity, and partly by the pro- ducts of the land cultivated by negroes.
Mr. Whitefield took the healthiness of the place for granted, from its similarity of situation to that of Frederica, and having formed the project, he determined to persevere, priding himself on sur- mounting every obstacle and difficulty. He tra- velled through the British empire, setting forth the excellence of his design, and obtained from
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
charitable people money, clothes, and books, to forward his undertaking and supply his poor orphans in Georgia. The house was finished, and furnished with an excellent library ; but, owing most probably to the unhealthiness of the situa- tion, the institution never flourished to the extent of his expectations and wishes, though a great sum of money was expended in bringing it to maturity.
The talents of Mr. Whitefield were extraordi- nary. His influence and weight at that day cer- tainly made him one of the most useful men in America. He had many friends and admirers among men of the first influence and respecta- bility, and followers from all classes. He was so popular in preaching, that his churches or places of religious resort were crowded a long time be- fore he appeared. Often when he preached in a church, a line was extended outwards, there being no room to go in; and at the door pious persons were soliciting for leave " only to see his blessed face," though they could not hear him. Such were the respect, enthusiasm, and regard he had in- spired, owing to his sincerity, faith, zeal, and truly great and extraordinary talents. It is re- lated of the accomplished Lord Chesterfield, that he once observed, " Mr. Whitefield is the greatest orator I have ever heard, and I cannot conceive of a greater." His writings are said to afford no idea of his oratorical powers : his person, his de-
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REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD. -
livery, his boldness, his zeal and sincerity of pur- pose in the propagation of the gospel, made him a truly wonderful man in the pulpit, while his printed sermons give the impression of only an indifferent preacher. It is not an easy task to delineate his character. He was in the British empire not un- like one of those strange and erratic meteors which appear now and then in the system of na- ture. He often lamented that in his youth he was gay and giddy; so fondly attached to the stage, that he frequently recited difficult pieces while he was at school, with such great applause, that Garrick observed of him that the stage had lost an ornament. Then he probably acquired those gestures, which he practised under his clerical robes with great success and advantage upon the feelings of his hearers.
After receiving his ordination in the Church of England, he refused submission to the regulations either of that or any other particular church, but became a preacher in churches, meeting-houses, halls, fields, in all places and to all denominations, without exception. Though not distinguished for his learning, he had a lively imagination, much humour, and had acquired a great knowledge of human nature and the customs of the world. He possessed a large share of humanity and benevo- lence ; but frequently displayed an excessive warmth of temper when roused by opposition and contradiction. His reading was inconsiderable,
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
but he had an extraordinary memory, and man- kind being one of the great objects of his study, he could, when he pleased, raise the passions and excite the emotions of the human heart with admirable skill and fervour. By his affecting - eloquence and address, he impressed on the minds of many, especially of the more soft and delicate sex, such a strong sense of sin and guilt as often plunged them into dejection and despair. While he was almost worshipped by the lower order, men of superior rank and erudition found him the polite gentleman, and the facetious and jocular companion. Though he loved good cheer, and frequented the houses of the rich and hospitable, yet he was an enemy to all manner of excess and intemperance. While his disposition to travel led him from place to place, his natural discernment enabled him to form correct opinions of the cha- racters and manners of men, wherever he went. Though he gave a preference to no particular established church, yet good policy winked at all his eccentricities, as he everywhere supported the character of a steady friend to civil government. He had great talents for exciting the curiosity of the multitude, and his roving manner stamped a kind of novelty on his instructions. When ex- posed to the taunts of the irreligious scoffer and the ridicule of the flagitious, he remained firm to his purpose, and could retort upon his deriders with astonishing ease and dexterity, and render vice
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REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
abashed under the lash of his satire and wit. In short, though he was said to have had many oddi- ties, yet few will undertake to deny that religion in America was greatly indebted to the zeal, diligence, and oratory of this extraordinary man. After a long course of peregrination, his fortune increased as his fame extended among his follow- ers, and he erected two very extensive buildings for public worship in London, under the' name of tabernacles : one in Tottenham Court road, and the other at Moorfields, where, by the help of some assistants, he continued several years, at- tended by very crowded congregations. By being chaplain to the Countess-dowager of Hunting- don, he was also connected with two other reli- gious meetings : one at Bath, and the other at Tunbridge, chiefly erected under that virtuous lady's patronage.
In America, which had engaged much of his attention, Mr. Whitefield was destined to close his eyes. He died at Newburyport, Massachu- setts, in 1770. When the report of his decease reached the legislature of Georgia, honourable mention was made of him, and a sum of money was appropriated, with a unanimous voice, for bringing his remains to Georgia, to be interred at his orphan-house ; but the inhabitants of New- buryport, being much attached to him when living, objected to the removal of his body, and the de- sign was relinquished.
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
In a letter from Dr. Franklin to Dr. Jones, mentioning Mr. Whitefield, he says, "I cannot forbear expressing the pleasure it gives me to see an account of the respect paid to his memory by your assembly : I knew him intimately upwards of thirty years ; his integrity, disinterestedness, and indefatigable zeal, in prosecuting every good work, I have never seen equalled, I shall never see excelled."
CHAPTER VII.
Description of Frederica-Its fortifications-Zeal and energy of Oglethorpe-Descent of the Spaniards upon Georgia- Lukewarmness of the Carolinians-Indians and Highlanders assist Oglethorpe-Spanish fleet enter the harbour and land -The Spaniards defeated in three engagements-Ogle- thorpe's successful stratagem-The Spanish defeated at Bloody Marsh-The enemy retreats from Georgia-Spanish commander tried and disgraced-The provincial governors congratulate Oglethorpe-Charges brought against him by Colonel Cook-He is tried and acquitted-Cook disgraced -Civil government established.
FREDERICA, the head-quarters of General Ogle- thorpe, was settled in 1736, on the island of St. Simons, south of the Alatamaha, and on the west side of that island about the centre. It stands upon a high bluff, compared with the marshes in its front .. The shore is washed by a fine river, which communicates with the Alatamaha, and
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FREDERICA.
enters the ocean through Jekyl Sound, at tho south end of the island. The river forms a bay be- fore the town, and is navigable for vessels of large burden. The town was defended by a pretty strong fort of tappy, and several eighteen-pound- ers were mounted on a ravelin in front, which commanded the river. The fort was surrounded by regular ramparts, had four bastions of earth, stockaded and turfed, and a palisaded ditch, which included the storehouses; two large and spacious buildings of brick and timber, with seve- ral pieces of ordnance mounted on the rampart. The town was also surrounded by a rampart, with flankers of the same thickness as that round the fort, in form of a pentagon, and a dry ditch. The whole circumference of the town was about a mile and a half.
The town had two gates, called the town and water posts; next to the latter was the guard- house, under which was a prison handsomely built of brick.
At the north end the barracks were built of tappy, and near them the magazine. A road was opened to the southward, to the plantations of Captain Demere, Mr. Hawkins, and General Oglethorpe; the latter, at a little distance, re- sembled a neat little country village : farther on were several families of Saltzburghers. A look- out of rangers was kept at Bachelor's Bluff, on the main. A corporal's guard at Pike's Bluff on
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
the north, and a canal was cut through the gene- ral's island to facilitate communication with Darien. Frederica was laid out with spacious streets, named after the officers, and margined with orange trees.
At the south point of the island was the little town of St. Simons ; near it a small battery was built as a watch-tower to discover vessels at sea, and upon such discovery an alarm-gun was fired, and a horseman despatched to head-quarters about nine miles distant. In case an enemy appeared, the number of guns fired indicated the number of vessels.
Forts and batteries were also erected on the north end of Jekyl Island, (where a brewery was established to make beer for the troops,) on the north end of Cumberland Island, near St. An- drew's Sound, and at the mouth of St. John's River. A stronger proof cannot be given of General Oglethorpe's zeal and indefatigable in- dustry, than that all these fortifications were erected in seven months.
The time was now advancing when these de- fences were to be found useful. The squadron of Admiral Vernon had, for some time, occupied so much the attention of the enemy in the West Indies, that none of the Spanish fleet could be spared to contest their supposed right to the southern portion of Georgia. But no sooner had the greatest part of the British fleet left
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SPANISH INVASION.
those seas and returned to England, than the Spaniards commenced their preparations for a descent upon Oglethorpe's settlement.
Accordingly, two thousand troops, commanded by Don Antonio de Rodondo, embarked at Ha- vana, and arrived about the first of May, 1742, at St. Augustine ; but before they had reached their destination, they were discovered by the captain of an English cruiser, who notified Ogle- thorpe of the impending danger. The latter immediately sent intelligence to Governor Glen of South Carolina, requesting his military assist- ance with all possible expedition, and at the same time he despatched a sloop to the West Indies to acquaint Admiral Vernon with the expected in- vasion.
But though the Carolinians had found great advantage from the settlement of Georgia, and were equally interested with their neighbours in making a vigorous defence, they had but little confidence in Oglethorpe's abilities after his un- successful expedition against St. Augustine.
The inhabitants of Charleston declared against sending him any assistance. They determined to fortify their town and defend themselves upon their own ground, leaving Oglethorpe to stand or fall against a far superior force.
In the mean time, the general sent messages to his faithful Indian allies, who gathered to his assistance in the hour of danger.
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Captain McIntosh's Highlanders, burning to revenge the loss of their companions who had been overwhelmed by the Spaniards at the re- capture of Fort Moosa, marched from Darien and joined Oglethorpe on the first intimation of the enemy's approach. With these, and his re- giment at Frederica, the general determined to stand his ground, still hoping for reinforcements from Carolina, and expecting their arrival every hour.
On the 21st of June, nine sail of Spanish ves- sels came into Amelia Sound, but were repulsed by a brisk cannonade from Fort William.
When Oglethorpe was advised of this attack, he resolved to support the fortifications on Cum- berland, and set out with a detachment on board of his boats. He sent Captain Horton with his company of grenadiers in front, and was himself obliged to fight his way, in two boats, through fourteen sail of Spanish vessels, which endea- voured to intercept him in St. Andrew's Sound. Owing to the cowardice of Lieutenant Tolson, who commanded the boat of the greatest strength, and was afraid to follow the general, fears were entertained for the safety of the latter, but he succeeded in returning the next day to St. Simons.
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On the 28th of June, the Spanish fleet, amount- ing to thirty six sail, and carrying upwards of five thousand men, under the command of Don Manuel Monteano, came to anchor off St. Simon's.
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SPANISH ENTER THE HARBOUR.
Bar, where they remained until the 5th of July. sounding the channel. After finding a depth of water sufficient to float the ships, they came in on the flood-tide. They were received with & brisk fire from the batteries and the vessel. All the attempts of the Spaniards to board the ships in the harbour were repulsed with considerable loss. In this engagement, which lasted upwards of three hours, the enemy lost seventeen killed and ten wounded.
The fleet anchored about a mile above Ogle- thorpe's works, on the south end of the island, hoisted a red flag at the mizzen topmast head of the largest ship, landed their forces upon the island, and erected a battery, on which twenty eighteen-pounders were mounted.
Among their land forces, they had a fine regi- ment of artillery, under the command of Don Antonio de Rodondo, and a regiment of negroes. The negro commanders were clothed in lace, bore the same rank with the white officers, and with equal freedom and familiarity, walked and con- versed with the commander-in-chief. When Ogle- thorpe found that his batteries at St. Simon's had become useless, he spiked the guns, destroyed the stores, and fell back upon his head-quarters at Frederica. So great was the disparity of the opposing forces, that he plainly saw his only hope of safety lay in acting upon the defensive. He kept scouting parties in every direction, to
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
watch and annoy the enemy, while his main body made the fortifications as strong as circumstances would permit. His little army did not exceed seven hundred men. To animate them with a spirit of perseverance, he exposed himself to the same hardships and fatigues as were experienced by the common soldiers.
In the mean time, the Spaniards had made several attempts to pierce the woods, with a view to attack the fort, but met with such opposition from the deep morasses and dark thickets, de- fended by the Indians and Highlanders, that every effort failed with considerable loss.
On the 7th of July, the general was warned that a body of the enemy had approached within two miles of Frederica ; he ordered four platoons of the regiment to follow him immediately, and marched with some rangers, Highlanders, and In- dians, who were then under arms, and attacked and defeated the enemy, who lost one hundred and twenty-nine men in killed and prisoners. After heading the pursuit two miles, Oglethorpe halted until a reinforcement came up. He posted them with the Highlanders in a wood, with a large savanna in front, over which the Spaniards must pass on their way to Frederica, and then hastened to the fort to have an additional force in readiness, in case of emergency. By the time this arrangement was completed, three hundred of the enemy's best troops attacked the party he
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THE SPANIARDS DEFEATED. 73
had left. Oglethorpe hurried to their relief, rallied three platoons which had retreated in dis- order, and led them to the assistance of the gal- lant Highlanders, and the only platoon which had nobly remained firm. When he reached them the conflict was over, and the enemy in retreat. In this action, Don Antonio de Barba was mor- tally wounded, 'and several of the enemy killed and taken. In these two actions and the pre- vious skirmishes, the Spaniards acknowledged a loss of two hundred and sixty-nine men.
On the 12th, an English prisoner escaped from the Spaniards, and brought advice to Oglethorpe of a difference subsisting between the troops from Cuba and those from St. Augustine; and that in consequence of this misunderstanding, they en- camped in separate places. Oglethorpe instantly decided to attempt a surprise upon one of the en- campments. With the advantage of his knowledge of the woods, he marched out in the night, with three hundred regular troops, the Highland com- pany, rangers, and Indians. Having advanced within two miles of the enemy's. camp, he halted, and set forward with a small party to reconnoitre their position. While most desirous of conceal- ing his approach, a Frenchman from his party fired his musket, deserted to the enemy, and gave the alarm. Oglethorpe, finding his design thus defeated, thought it prudent to return to Frede- rica. Apprehensive that the traitor would dis-
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
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cover his weakness to the enemy, he resorted to a stratagem, with the hope of shaking the confi- dence `of the Spaniards in the deserter's story. For this purpose he wrote a letter, and addressed it to the Frenchman, in which he desired him to acquaint the Spaniards of the defenceless condi- tion of Frederica, and how easy and practicable it would be to cut him and his small garrison to pieces. He requested the deserter to use every art in urging them forward to an attack, and to assure them of success. If he could not prevail upon them to make the attempt, he was to use every influential argument to detain them two or three days longer upon the island, as within that. time he(Oglethorpe) would receive a reinforce- ment of two thousand land forces, and six British ships of war. He closed this letter by cautioning the renegade not to subject himself to suspicion, reminding him of the great reward he was to re- ceive in the event of success attending the plan, and urging the necessity of profound silence re- specting Admiral Vernon's intentions against St. Augustine. This letter was given by Oglethorpe to one of the Spanish prisoners, who, for the sake of liberty and a small reward, promised to deliver it to the French deserter privately, and conceal the circumstance from every other person. With these injunctions, the soldier was liberated, and, as Oglethorpe wished and expected, the letter was delivered to the Spanish commander-in-chief.
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OGLETHORPE'S STRATAGEM.
The conjectures and speculations occasioned by this letter were various ; and the Spanish com- mandant was not a little perplexed to know what inference he ought to draw from it.
In the first place, he ordered the supposed spy . to be placed in irons to prevent his escape, and then called a council of war to consider what was most proper to be done, in consequence of intel- ligence so puzzling and alarming. Some officers · were of opinion that the letter was intended as a deception to prevent them from attacking Frede- rica ; others thought that the circumstances men- tioned in it wore such an appearance of truth, that there were good grounds to believe that the English general wished them to take place, and, therefore, gave their voice for consulting the safety of St. Augustine, and relinquishing a plan of conquest attended with so many difficulties, and putting to hazard the loss of both army and fleet, and perhaps the whole province of East Florida.
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