Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I, Part 30

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1030

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I > Part 30

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Brandywine, an old village in Claiborne county, about twenty miles southeast of Port Gibson. Its prosperous era was during the '30s, when it was a noted health resort for people from Mis- sissippi and Louisiana. It then contained five business houses and saloons, and a large hotel. The owner of the hotel was "General Nichols." During the '40s it lost its popularity as a health resort and ceased to grow. It now has about 40 inhabitants and contains a church, a store and postoffice.

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Brantley, William F. He entered the military service as captain of the Wigfall Rifles, of Choctaw county, in 1861, but they were retained in the State service, until the spring of 1862, and then as- signed to the Twenty-ninth regiment, organized at Corinth, under Colonel Walthall. He was rapidly advanced to the rank of colonel, and commanded his regiment at the great battles of Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. For his part in the fight on Lookout Mountain he was particularly commended by Walthall, the brigade com- mander. At Resaca he led a charge on the enemy that was of notable gallantry, and his line three times repulsed the Federal assaults. At the battle of Ezra Church, near Atlanta, Gen. Samuel Benton was killed, and Brantly took command of the brigade, which he retained, with promotion to brigadier-general, to the close of the war. Gen. Brantley was assassinated at Winona a few years after the close of the Civil War.

Bratton, Theodore DuBose, was born November 11, 1862, at Winnsboro, S. C. He is a son of Brig .- Gen. John Bratton, whose father and mother were both prominent in Revolutionary history. Bishop Bratton's mother, Elizabeth Porcher DuBose, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and of the family of Gen. Francis Marion, of Revolutionary fame. Bishop Bratton was educated at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn., from which he has re- ceived the degrees, G. D., B. D., and D. D. He entered the min- istry of the Protestant Episcopal church in 1887, and spent most of his ministry at Spartanburg, S. C., and Raleigh, N. C. While rector of St. Mary's school in Raleigh he was elected Bishop of Mississippi, and was consecrated September 29, 1903. In 1888 he was married to Lucy Beverly Randolph, of Tallahassee, Fla., who was of the Virginia Randolphs. Mrs. Bratton died at Jackson, Miss., January 5, 1905. In August, 1906, Bishop Bratton was mar- ried to Mrs. Ivy Perrin Goss.

Braxton, a post-station in the northern part of Simpson county, on the Gulf & Ship Island. R. R., about 8 miles northwest of Men- denhall. It has a money order postoffice, and is the seat of the Braxton Collegiate Institute. It has two saw mills and a shingle mill, several stores, and a bank, The Braxton Bank, established in 1904. The population in 1906 was estimated at 500.

Brazelia, a post-hamlet of Noxubee county, 14 miles east of Macon, the county seat, and nearest railroad and banking town. Population in 1900, 72.

Brent, a post-hamlet in the extreme southern part of Leflore

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county, situated on the west bank of the Yazoo river, about 28 miles southwest of Greenwood, the county seat.

Brevoort, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Yazoo county, on Alligator Channel, about 18 miles from Yazoo City.

Brewer, a post-town located on the Miss. Eastern R. R., 10 miles east of Quitman, the county seat and nearest banking town.

Brewton, a post-hamlet near the center of Jackson county, about 18 miles north of Pascagoula, the county seat. Population in 1900, 62.

Bridges, a post-hamlet in the east-central part of Pike county, about 14 miles east of Magnolia, the county seat.

Brierfield, a postoffice of Warren county, situated on the Mis- sissippi river, about 20 miles southwest of Vicksburg. Popula- tion in 1900, 30.

Briers, a post-hamlet of Adams county, on the Mississippi river, about 15 miles south of Natchez.

Bright, a post-hamlet of De Soto county, 6 miles east of Her- nando, the county seat. Population in 1900, 50.

Briscoe Bill. Says H. S. Fulkerson in his "Random Recollec- tions," describing the times following the speculative collapse of 1837, "Litigated cases were very numerous owing to the financial troubles of the day, and though circuit court would hold for four weeks, the docket was never cleared." After judgment was ren- dered the attorneys would resort to writs of supersedeas and cer- tiorari, and after the passage by the legislature of the State, in 1843, of what was known as the Briscoe bill, the writ of quo war- ranto would be invoked in the bank cases, of which there were many.

The farmers who visited Fulkerson as deputy clerk called the latter "the curanter." The writ of quo warranto was of course, nothing new, but the Briscoe bill gave it special sanction against the banks, which were not able to redeem their bills. Under the Briscoe bill "proceedings by quo warranto were instituted against nearly every bank in the State, to have them dissolved and thus to get rid of the debts due to them." (Mayes) The bill was intro- duced by Briscoe, of Claiborne, and amended by Judge Guion to protect creditors. The bill passed, July, 1843, over great opposi- tion. Fulkerson points out the curious coincidence that there was a Briscoe proposition before the house of commons in 1693, for supplying the king with easy money and exempting the nobility from taxation, by a national land bank. But it was the collapse

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of a scheme of this kind that the Mississippi Briscoe bill applied to.

At the January term, 1846, of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, Justice Clayton delivered an opinion sustaining the Guion amendment to the Briscoe bill; Chief Justice Sharkey concurred, and Justice Thatcher dissented. The sections of the law against which the contest was made, required "that when a judgment of forfeitures is entered against a bank, its debtors shall not be there- by released from their debts and liabilities, but that the court rendering such judgment shall appoint one or more trustees to take charge of the banks and assets of the same-to sue for and collect all debts due it-to sell all its property and apply the same as might be thereafter directed by law, to the payment of its debts." The opinion of the court sustained this law.

About the same time the legislature voted against the proposed repeal of the quo warranto law, but the bank-indebted interest obtained the passage of a new law which was regarded by many as much worse than the original Briscoe bill.

Brice's Crossroads, or Tishomingo Creek. This, the greatest battle of Gen. Forrest's career, was fought near Guntown, June 10, 1864. (See War of 1861-65.) Gen. S. D. Sturgis commanded the Federal columns, 3,200 cavalry, under General Grierson ; 4,500 infantry, and 22 pieces of artillery, in all about 8,000 men, with a train of 250 wagons. Gen. Forrest, at Booneville, as this expedition advanced from Memphis, concentrated a force of 4,713 mounted troops, with 12 pieces of artillery, in all about 4,875 men at Brice's cross roads, on the Guntown road from Ripley. He had to fight for this position, Lyon's and Rucker's men contesting the ground with Grierson's, all dismounted. As the Federals were coming up, Forrest won the race for position, and as soon as he had enough at hand to overcome Grierson, charged upon the Federal columns yet in some confusion of movement through the woods. After two hours' hard fighting and with the help of a flank attack by Barteau, Forrest succeeded in working demoralization in the enemy. The effective working of his artillery contributed much to success. When the Federal retreat began it soon became a rout. At Rip- ley the Federals attempted to make a stand, but it was soon broken, and the flight was continued. Forrest captured all the Federal artillery, 5,000 stand of fire arms, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, and the entire wagon train. The Federal report of casualties was 223 killed, 394 wounded, and 1,623 missing. Forrest's loss was

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96 killed and 396 wounded. W. L. Duff's 8th and A. H. Chalmers' 18th Miss. cavalry were in the battle, and lost 107.

Dr. John Allen Wyeth, in his Life of Forrest, says of this battle : "It has passed into history as one of the most signal victories of the Civil war, considering the forces engaged. On this field General Forrest displayed not only that bull-dog tenacity of pur- pose which characterized his aggressive method of warfare, but his remarkable ability as a strategist and, those original methods of fighting which then won success and have since attracted the closest attention of students of military science." While he had only Lyons' men on the field he had chosen, he held Grierson in check by an offensive demonstration, which was "pure bluff,", for an hour, until Rucker came up, when Forrest had about 1,600 against Grierson's 3,200. He made another attack, before he was reinforced by 500 more, after which, though Bell's brigade, his main force, and Morton's artillery, were yet in the rear, Forrest delivered a fierce assault, about 11 a. m. Rucker, with Chalmers' Mississippians in his line, had a hand-to-hand fight with Colonel Waring's New Jersey and Indiana troops, and was the first to gain ground, breaking the Federal center. Duff, at the same time, engaged the extreme right of Grierson's line. Grierson was prac- tically defeated when the Federal infantry and artillery began to arrive and form for his support, and about the same time Forrest welcomed the arrival of Capt. John W. Morton's artillery, (Mor- ton's and Rice's batteries), with Buford and Bell's cavalry close at their heels, wearied by a 25 miles march. Grierson's cavalry was exhausted, and on the other side Johnson's, Rucker's and Lyons' men were badly fagged. When the final struggle began about two o'clock, the day was intensely hot and still. Men and animals alike had fallen with sunstroke. Bell's first attack was re- pulsed, but Forrest and Bell both, pistol in hand, took places in the front rank. The Federals made a counter charge on Rucker, but they were repulsed. The repeating revolver vanquished the bay- onet, and the Confederate line surged forward just as Barteau attacked the flank, sounding many bugles and making as great a show as posible with 250 men. Barteau's movement threw the Federal reserve, a negro brigade, into disorder, and caused the withdrawal of Grierson's cavalry from the front. Forrest then ordered the final assault, on the center and both flanks, and the victory was won. Colonel Waring, a gallant soldier, wrote: "It was seen at half past twelve that our ammunition was reduced to five rounds per man; and when our battery had fired its last

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shot the infantry began to arrive, and then they came up a regi- ment at a time, or only so fast as the Forrest mill could grind them up in detail." (Whip and Spur.") This was the plan of vic- tory that Forrest had conceived. The men of Alabama, Missis- sippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa and New Jersey amply demonstrated their splendid fighting qualities, and the victory was undoubtedly due to the genius of the Confed- erate general.

Brit, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Smith county, about 16 miles south of Raleigh, the county seat.

British West Florida. "The changes called for by the Treaty of Paris were world-wide in their scope, and it was not for some time that the transfer of the Floridas and east Louisiana was ef- fected. On August 7, 1763, Captain Wills, of the third battery of royal artillery, proceeded from Havana and received from the - Spanish commandant possession of Pensacola, from which on the 3d of the next month every Spaniard sailed for Vera Cruz. In October a detachment of Highlanders reached Mobile, and the procés verbal of transfer was signed by De Velle and Fezende for France and Robert Farmar for Great Britain. The lilies were low- ered, the red flag ascended to the music of bagpipes, and Bienville's fort was renamed Fort Charlotte for the young Queen of England. ·About the same time, St. Augustine was similarly occupied, and the British banner waved over the whole continent east of the Miss. river, except the New Orleans district. The new possessions oth- er than those immediately around the three towns named, and as many in the northwest, had few inhabitants except the Indian tribes; and the government, with true British indifference toward the past history of its provinces, proceeded as on a tabula rasa, and by proclamation of October 7th divided up the country on new lines. Of course, the old Atlantic colonies were not themselves disturbed, but their claims of extension westwardly received a rude shock."-Hamilton, "Colonization of the South."

It is worth while to carefully note that it was not "the Floridas," but Florida, that was ceded to Great Britain by Spain, in order to regain not only the possession of Manila, but the ancient strong- hold of Havana, in the conquest of which some Americans had served who were to become pioneers in the settlements along the Mississippi river. Spain's Florida had its western limit somewhere between her Pensacola and France's Mobile; possibly the Perdido .was recognized as a convenient line, possibly the west shore of Mobile bay. There was no West Florida. That was the British

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name first announced in the king's proclamation, October 7, 1763, for the province that should extend from the Chattahoochee to the Mississippi, bounded on the south by the gulf and the navigable route through the Manchac (so that British ships need not pass New Orleans), and on the north by the 31st parallel, this being considered as far inland as it was desirable to encroach upon the Indians, which it was the British policy at this juncture to careful- ly protect.

The taking possession of Pensacola and St. Augustine meant the surrender of Florida by Spain. The transfer to Major Farmar was under the treaty with France, which read: "The Most Chris- tian King cedes to his Britanic Majesty the river and the port of Mobile, and all that he possesses or has a right to possess on the left side of the River Mississippi, with the exception of New Or- leans and the island on which it is situated."

Parts of two ancient provinces went to make up the new one- that portion of Florida west of the Chattahoochee, including the military post of Pensacola, and that portion of Louisiana (south of the line set) that lay east of the Mississippi, except the Isle of Orleans, which France reserved for her Spanish friends, though that cession was then a secret. The rest of eastward Louisiana, and inland Florida, even to the sources of all rivers that flow into the Mississippi, and the Gulf, Great Britain reserved for the In- dians. The name of Illinois seems to have been extended to all that interior, down into the present bounds of Mississippi. The capital of the new western province, for military reasons, was fixed at Pensacola. Thither came George Johnstone, captain in the royal navy, with a commission as "captain-general and gover- nor-in-chief in and over our province of West Florida, in America, bounded, to the southward, by the gulf of Mexico, including all islands within six leagues of the coast, from the River Appalachi- cola to Lake Ponchartrain; to the westward, by the said lake, the Lake Maurepas and the River Mississippi; to the northward, by a line drawn due east from that part of the river Mississippi which lies in thirty-one degrees north latitude, to the river Apalachicola on Chattahoochee ; and to the eastward, by the said river." Though Johnstone was captain-general, the military was under the actual command of Col. William Taylor, obeying the orders of Gen. Thomas Gage, at New York. Out of this grew a conflict of au- thority that made Johnstone's administration a troublous one, to him and the officers. Taylor was succeeded in 1765 by the famous "Gen. Henry Bouquet, who had subdued the Ohio Indians in the

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previous year. Bouquet soon died, for love, it is said, a Miss Willing, of Philadelphia, having married a rich Londoner in the absence of the gallant Swiss. His successor was Gen. Frederick Haldimand, in later years governor of New York, acting com- mander-in-chief in the colonies and during the Revolution gover- nor-general of Canada. His manuscript is a valuable source of the history of the province. At Mobile, which was a sort of sub-cap- ital for the territory now in the bounds of this State, Major Farmar was the first in command, with the Twenty-second and Thirty- fourth regiments.

Nearly all the military was withdrawn, on orders from London, in 1769, the year of the subjection of Louisiana to Spanish author- ity by General O'Reilly. In the following May, however, Haldi- mand returned with troops to Pensacola and Mobile, and a small force was stationed at Manchac.

With a large part of the history of West Florida we have little to do, but it is interesting to note that the attention of the govern- ment was promptly directed to the Mississippi interests. In the navigation of the river they had equal rights with France, under the treaty. It was part of the first duty of the government to take possession of the French posts in the Illinois country, and Major Loftus made an attempt, but was turned back by some Indians at Davion's Rock. Later, an expedition was outfitted by the house of Logan, Terry & Co., at New Orleans, at an expense of some $15,- 000, which included presents for the Chicasaws. In the fall of 1765 the Thirty-fourth regiment, under Farmar, went up the Mis- sissippi to the Illinois country, co-operating with an expedition from Pittsburg, and finally effected the occupation of Fort Chartres. A sergeant was sent to take possession of old Fort Toulouse, on the Alabama, and keep up communication with the Creeks, and a small garrison was put in Fort Tombecbee, to watch the Chicka- saws and encourage the Choctaws to make war on them. A frig. ate conveyed troops to Fort Rosalie, on the Natchez hills, which was repaired, rechristened Fort Panmure, and occupied by a per- manent garrison. These operations were outside the limits of the 31st parallel, which was an approximate bound upon the settle- ments to be made. Johnston promptly asked for greater bounds. of settlement and apparently stated his reasons with liberality. Consequently the office for trade, at London, having supervision of colonial affairs, on March 23, 1764, found it "our duty to repre- sent to your majesty, that we are informed by your majesty's gov- ernor, that it appears from observations and surveys made since.

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the said province has been in your Majesty's possession, that there are not only very considerable settlements upon the east bank of the Mississippi, above that line [31°] but also that the town and settlement of Mobile itself is some miles to the north of it." The board asked that an extension be made, as in the case of annexing the Tallassee country to Georgia, "declaring that the province of West Florida shall be bounded to the north by a line drawn from the mouth of the river Yazoo, where it unites with the Mississippi, due east to the river Apalachicola, by which we humbly conceive every material settlement, depending upon West Florida, will be comprehended within the limits of that government."

It does not appear that this extension was authorized at that time, formally. (See Yazoo-Chattahoochee Line.) It was un- doubtedly the policy of the British government to build up a new colony on the gulf and river, and limit the old colonies to the Atlantic waters, with two facts in view: the old colonies were be- coming unruly, and the Indians must be kept well disposed to- wards his majesty. Some of the red men were not pleased by the coming of the English, particularly those who had been under the tolerant sway of the French, and many of the Choctaws, Tensas and Alabamons moved west of the Mississippi and settled on lands given them by the New Orleans government. It would not be po- litic to encroach too rapidly upon the hunting grounds of the na- tions that might be useful as allies of the crown.

To establish easy communication between Mobile and the Natchez garrison, as well as any posts up the river, without con- tact with the French at New Orleans, Colonel Taylor began in January, 1765, the work of clearing out the Iberville (bayou Man- chac) channel, completing that famous inside passage of which the Mississippi sound is a part. Major Farmar also had a hand in this, and in consequence of a quarrel between him and Governor John- stone, he was charged, among other things, and it seems erroneous- ly, with "making a job of the publick service, in the operation of the Iberville." To protect the workmen, a small stockade was built at Fort Bute.

General Gage, viewing the situation from New York, believed the Mississippi posts could not be held if trouble arose with the government of Louisiana. But Haldimand favored the plan, and suggested a military colony at Natchez. Haldimand suggested that these military posts would prevent trade of the French with the Choctaws, who were expected to recognize the treaty of Paris by doing business at Mobile and Pensacola.

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To negotiate with the Indians, John Stuart, who came over with Oglethorpe in 1733, was appointed superintendent of Southern Indian affairs. He was the man who arranged with the Cherokee general, at the siege of Fort Loudoun, in the late war, that the garrison of frontiersmen might withdraw into Virginia, unmo- lested, after which all were massacred, except Stuart.

His deputy, Charles Stuart, was located at Mobile and afterward at Pensacola, and there were various agents among the tribes. White encroachment westward, the illicit selling of rum by traders, and the murders committed by both whites and red men, furnished abundant subjects for "talks." For fear of French and Spanish intrigue, the British military men did not discourage hostilities of the Indians among themselves. (Hamilton, Colonization of the South.)

As a result of the first negotiations, there was in 1765 the treaty of Mobile, when the first Indian land cession in the Southwest was made, including the gulf coast of this State.

In the same year of this treaty, probably at the same time, there was a famous Indian fight in the village of Mobile. Hooma, or Red Captain, with forty Choctaw warriors, charged three hun- dred Creeks, as the story goes, and drove them pell-mell through the town and into the river. Hooma alone killed thirteen Creeks, even when fighting on his knees, but was himself slain by one of the retreating foe. At the river bank the chase ended, because the Creeks were great swimmers and the Choctaws were not. This was the beginning of a war between these tribes, which lasted from 1766 until the summer of 1770, at times involving the Chick- asaws as allies of the Choctaws. After 1770 the fight was renewed at intervals. The English authorities seem to have regarded it as a fortunate diversion."

It is significant, as pointed out by Mr. P. J. Hamilton (Miss. Hist. Soc. Publ., II, 158), that the terms of the Choctaw treaty of 1765, recognized the line of the 31st parallel. Although there was a cession northward of that line between the Black Warrior and the Buckatunna, the description proceeds: "And down the course of Buckatunna river to its confluence with the river Pascagoula, and down by the course of the river Pascagoula, within twelve leagues of the seacoast; and thence, by a due west line, as far as the Choc- taw nation have right to grant." The distance of twelve leagues from the coast, on the Pascagoula, was an approximation to the line of 31° north latitude, and is such a description of the desired line as would be intelligible to the Indians. As the Choctaws

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claimed to the Mississippi, it may be understood that they ceded, at this time, all the land below the 31st parallel, between Mobile bay and the great river.

The French inhabitants were given eighteen months in which to dispose of their property and depart, unless they were willing to transfer their allegiance, which many did. Immigrants from all parts of the British empire were invited. Johnstone inspired the publication of a handbook of information regarding the prov- ince, and William Roberts compiled a history of the gulf coast region, which was published by the geographer royal. The gov- ernor was authorized to make liberal grants of land to officers of the army and navy who had served in America against the French and Indians. But no individuals were permitted to ac- quire land by purchase or grant from the Indians directly.

"Emigrants soon began to arrive from the provinces near the Atlanta seaboard, and from Great Britain and Ireland, as well as from the British colonies in the West Indies. Among the first col- onies which arrived in this portion of West Florida (1765-6) was one from the banks of the Roanoke, in North Carolina, which formed settlements upon the first highlands north of the Iberville bayou, and thence northward to the vicinity of Baton Rouge. This was probably the first Anglo-American colony which settled upon the banks of the Mississippi."-Monette, I, 405.

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I, Part 30

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 1030

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1030