THE
DEAD TOWNS
OF
GEORGIA;

BY
CHARLES C. JONES, Jr.

FOR HERE HAVE WE NO CONTINUING CITY.
Heb: xiii. 14

SAVANNAH:
MORNING NEWS STEAM PRINTING HOUSE.
1878.

TO
GEORGE WYMBERLEY-JONES DeRENNE, esq.,
OF SAVANNAH,
WHOSE INTELLIGENT RESEARCH, CULTIVATED TASTE, AND AMPLE FORTUNE HAVE BEEN
SO GENEROUSLY ENLISTED IN RESCUING FROM OBLIVION
THE EARLY MEMORIES OF GEORGIA,
THESE SKETCHES ARE RESPECTFULLY AND CORDIALLY INSCRIBED.

PREFATORY NOTE.

If it be praiseworthy in their descendants to erect monuments in honor of the illustrious dead, and to perpetuate in history the lives and acts of those who gave shape to the past and encouragement to the future, surely it will not be deemed inappropriate to gather up the fragmentary memories of towns once vital and influential within our borders, but now covered with the mantle of decay, without succession, and wholly silent amid the voices of the present.

Against the miasmatic influences of the swamps, Spanish perils, the hostility of the Aborigines, and the poverty and sometimes narrow mindedness of the Trust, did the Colonists grievously struggle in asserting their dominion over the untamed lands from the Savannah to the Alatamaha. Nothing indicates so surely the vicissitudes and the mistakes encountered during that primal period of development, as the Dead Towns of Georgia. From each comes in turn the whisper of hope, the sound of the battle with nature for life and comfort, the sad strain of disappointment, and then the silence of nothingness.

Of the chosen seats and characteristics of the primitive peoples who inhabited this territory prior to the advent of the European we have elsewhere spoken.[1]

Of the indications of a foreign occupancy antedating the colonization under Oglethorpe, such, for example, as those observed by DeBrahm[2] on Demetrius’ island, and a few others which might be mentioned,—we refrain from writing, because the theories explanatory of their origin, possession, and abandonment, are so nebulous as to seem incapable of satisfactory solution.

In narrating the traditions and grouping the almost obsolete memories of these deserted villages we have endeavored to revive them, as far as practicable, in the language of those to whom we are indebted for their transmission.

Charles C. Jones, Jr.

Augusta, Georgia, February 1st, 1878.

CONTENTS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

I.
OLD AND NEW EBENEZER.

Click image for larger version

Plan of the Town EBENEZER and its Fort

J. Bien, Photo. Lith. N. Y.

During the four years commencing in 1729 and ending in 1732, more than thirty thousand Saltzburgers, impelled by the fierce persecutions of Leopold, abandoned their homes in the broad valley of the Salza and sought refuge in Prussia, Holland, and England, where their past sufferings and present wants enlisted substantial sympathy and relief from Protestant communities. Persuaded by the “Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge,” and acting upon the invitation of the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia,—who engaged not only to advance the funds necessary to defray the expenses of the journey and purchase the requisite sea-stores, but also to allot to each emigrant on his arrival in Georgia fifty acres of land in fee, and provisions sufficient to maintain himself and family until such land could be made available for support,—forty-two Saltzburgers, with their wives and children,—numbering in all seventy-eight souls,—set out from the town of Berchtolsgaden and its vicinity for Rotterdam, whence they were to be transported free of charge to Dover, England. At Rotterdam they were joined by their chosen religious teachers, the Reverend John Martin Bolzius and the Reverend Israel Christian Gronau. The oath of loyalty having been administered to them at Dover by the Trustees, these pious, industrious, and honest emigrants, on the 28th of December, 1733, set sail in the ship Purisburg and, after a tedious and perilous passage, reached Charlestown, South Carolina, in safety. Mr. Oglethorpe, chancing to be there at the time, arranged that the Saltzburgers should proceed without delay to Savannah. The Savannah river was entered by them on the 10th of March, 1734. It was Reminiscere Sunday, according to the Lutheran calendar;—the gospel of the day being “Our Blessed Saviour came to the Borders of the Heathen after He had been persecuted in His own Country.” “Lying in fine and calm weather, under the Shore of our beloved Georgia, where we heard the Birds sing melodiously, every Body in the ship was joyful.” So wrote the Reverend Mr. Bolzius, the faithful attendant and spiritual guide of this Protestant band. He tells us also, that two days afterwards, when the ship arrived at the place of landing, “almost all the Inhabitants of the Town of Savannah were gather’d together; they fired off some Cannons, and cried Huzzah! which was answer’d by our Sailors, and other English People in our Ship in the same manner. Some of us were immediately fetch’d on Shore in a Boat, and carried about the City, into the woods, and the new Garden belonging to the Trustees. In the meantime a very good Dinner was prepared for us: And the Saltzburgers, who had yet fresh Meat in the Ship, when they came on shore, they got very good and wholesome English strong Beer. And besides the Inhabitants shewing them a great deal of Kindness, and the Country pleasing them, they were full of Joy and praised God for it.”[3]

Leaving his people comfortably located in tents, and in the hospitable care of the Colonists at Savannah, Mr. VonReck set out on horseback with Mr. Oglethorpe to take a view of the country and select a spot where the Saltzburgers might form their settlement. At nine o’clock on the morning of the 17th of March they reached the place designated as the future home of the emigrants. It was about four miles below the present town of Springfield, in Effingham County, sterile and unattractive. To the eye of the Commissary, however, tired of the sea and weary of persecutions, it appeared a blessed spot, redolent of sweet hope, bright promise, and charming repose. Hear his description: “The Lands are inclosed between two Rivers, which fall into the Savannah. The Saltzburg Town is to be built near the largest, which is called Ebenezer,[4] in Remembrance that God has brought us hither; and is navigable, being twelve Foot deep. A little Rivulet, whose Water is as clear as Crystal, glides by the Town; another runs through it, and both fall into the Ebenezer. The Woods here are not so thick as in other Places. The sweet Zephyrs preserve a delicious coolness notwithstanding the scorching Beams of the Sun. There are very fine Meadows, in which a great Quantity of Hay might be made with very little Pains: there are also Hillocks, very fit for Vines. The Cedar, Walnut, Pine, Cypress and Oak make the greatest part of the Woods. There is found in them a great Quantity of Myrtle Trees out of which they extract, by boiling the Berries, a green Wax, very proper to make Candles with. There is much Sassafras, and a great Quantity of those Herbs of which Indigo is made, and Abundance of China Roots. The Earth is so fertile that it will bring forth anything that can be sown or planted in it; whether Fruits, Herbs, or Trees. There are wild Vines, which run up to the Tops of the tallest Trees; and the Country is so good that one may ride full gallop 20 or 30 miles an end. As to Game, here are Eagles, Wild-Turkies, Roe-Bucks, Wild-Goats, Stags, Wild-Cows, Horses, Hares, Partridges, and Buffaloes.”[5] Upon the return of Mr. Oglethorpe and the Commissary to Savannah, nine able bodied Saltzburgers were immediately dispatched, by the way of Abercorn, to Ebenezer, to cut down trees and erect shelters for the Colonists. On the 7th of April the rest of the emigrants arrived, and, with the blessing of the good Mr. Bolzius, entered at once upon the task of clearing land, constructing bridges, building shanties, and preparing a road-way to Abercorn. Wild honey found in a hollow tree greatly refreshed them, and parrots and partridges made them “a very good dish.” Upon the sandy soil they fixed their hopes for a generous yield of peas and potatoes. To the “black, fat, and heavy” land they looked for all sorts of corn; and from the clayey soil they purposed manufacturing bricks and earthen ware. On the 1st of May lots were drawn upon which houses were to be erected in the town of Ebenezer. The day following, the hearts of the people were rejoiced by the coming of ten cows and calves,—sent as a present from the Magistrates of Savannah in obedience to Mr. Oglethorpe’s order. Ten casks “full of all Sorts of Seeds” arriving from Savannah, set these pious peoples to praising God for all His loving kindnesses. Commiserating their poverty, the Indians gave them deer, and their English neighbors taught them how to brew a sort of beer made of molasses, sassafras, and pine tops. Poor Lackner dying, by common consent the little money he left was made the “Beginning of a Box for the Poor.” The repeated thunderstorms and hard rains penetrated through the rude huts and greatly incommoded the settlers. The water disagreed with them, causing serious affections of the bowels, until they found a brook, springing from a little hill, which proved both palatable and wholesome. By appointment, Monday the 13th of May was observed by the congregation as a season of Thanksgiving.

Depending entirely upon the charity of the Trustees for supplies of sorts, and having but few mechanics among them, these Saltzburgers labored under great disadvantages in building their little town in the depths of the woods, and surrounding themselves with fields and gardens. Patient of toil, however, and accustomed to work, they cut and delved away, day by day, rejoicing in their freedom, blessing the Giver of all good for His mercies, and observing the rules of honesty, morality, and piety, for which their sect had been so long distinguished. Communication with Savannah was maintained by way of Abercorn; to which place supplies were transported by water.

Early in 1735 the settlement was materially strengthened and encouraged by the arrival of fifty-seven more emigrants under the conduct of Mr. Vatt. Among the new-comers were several mechanics whose knowledge, industry, and skill were at once applied to hewing timber, splitting shingles, and sawing boards, to the manifest improvement of the dwellings in Ebenezer.

About a year afterwards occurred what is known as the great embarcation. Including some eighty Germans from the city of Ratisbon, under the control of Baron VonReck and Captain Hermsdorf, twenty-seven Moravians under the care of the Rev’d David Nitschman, the Rev’d John and Charles Wesley, and the Rev’d Mr. Ingham,—Missionaries to the Indians,—and a number of poor English families, this accession to the Colony of Georgia aggregated some two hundred and twenty-seven persons, of whom two hundred and two were conveyed upon the Trust’s account. Francis Moore was appointed keeper of the stores. Oglethorpe in person accompanied the Colonists, and exercised a fatherly care over them during the voyage. They were transported in the Symond of 220 tons,—Capt. Joseph Cornish,—and the London Merchant, of like burthen,—Capt. John Thomas.[6] During the voyage the German Dissenters “sung psalms and served God in their own way.” Turnips, carrots, potatoes, and onions, issued with the salt provisions, prevented scurvy. In order to promote comfort and good order, the ships had been divided into cabins, with gangways between them, in which the emigrants were disposed according to families. The single men were located by themselves. Weather permitting, the vessels were cleaned between decks and washed with vinegar to keep them sweet. Constables were appointed “to prevent any disorders,” and so admirably was discipline preserved, that there was no occasion for punishment except in the case of a boy, “who was whipped for stealing of turnips.” The men were exercised with small arms, and instructed by Mr. Oglethorpe in the duties which would devolve upon them as free-holders in the new settlement. To the women were given thread, worsted, and knitting needles; and they were required to employ “their leisure time in making Stockings and Caps for their Family, or in mending their Cloaths and Linnen.” In this sensible way were matters ordered on these emigrant ships, and the colonists, during a protracted voyage, prepared for lives of industry in their new homes.

On the 5th of February, 1736, these ships, with the first of the flood, were carried over Tybee bar and found safe anchorage within. The emigrants were temporarily landed on Peeper island, where they dug a well and washed their clothes. It was Mr. Oglethorpe’s purpose to send most of these Saltzburgers to Frederica that they might assist in the development of that town and the construction of its fortifications. Desiring the benefit of their ministers, not wishing to divide their congregation, and being reluctant to go to the Southward where “they apprehended blows,”—fighting being “against their religion,”—they persuaded Mr. Oglethorpe to permit them to join their countrymen at Ebenezer, whither they accordingly went some days afterwards and were heartily welcomed. It will be remembered, however, that Captain Hermsdorf, with his little company, assured Mr. Oglethorpe “that he would never forsake him, but serve with the English to the last.” His offer was accepted, and on the 16th he set out with Mr. Oglethorpe for Frederica.

By this second accession the population of Ebenezer was increased so that it numbered in all some two hundred souls. Contentment and prosperity did not obtain in the town. In the fertility of the soil the inhabitants had encountered disappointment. Much sickness prevailed, and they were oppressed with the isolated character of their location. The creek upon which the town was situated was uncertain in volume, serpentine, and difficult of navigation. Although the distance from Old Ebenezer to the Savannah river by land did not exceed six miles, by following this, the only outlet by water, twenty-five miles must be passed before its confluence could be reached.[7]

Moved by these and other depressing considerations, the Reverend Messrs. Bolzius and Gronau visited Savannah at the instance of their flock, and conferred with Mr. Oglethorpe as to the propriety of changing the location of the town. Moore says the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer were so discontented that they “demanded to leave their old Town, and to settle upon the Lands which the Indians had reserved for their own Use.”[8]

Having patiently listened to the request, Mr. Oglethorpe, on the 9th of February, 1736, set out with the Saltzburger ministers and several gentlemen for Ebenezer, to make a personal inspection of the situation and satisfy himself with regard to the expediency of the removal. He was received with every mark of consideration, and proceeded at once to consider the causes which induced the inhabitants to desire a change. Admitting that the existing “dissatisfaction was not groundless, and that there were many embarrassments connected with their situation,” he nevertheless endeavored to dissuade them from their purpose by reminding them that the labor already expended in clearing their lands, building houses, and constructing roads would, upon removal, be almost wholly lost. The hardships incident upon forming an entirely new settlement were urged upon their serious consideration. He also assured them that in clearing the forests, and in bringing the lands on the bank of the Savannah river under cultivation they would encounter the same diseases which afflicted them in their present location. He concluded, however, by assuring them that if they were resolved upon making the change he would not forbid it, but would assist them, as far as practicable, in compassing their design.

After this conference, and upon Mr. Oglethorpe’s return to Savannah, the question of a change of location was again considered by the Saltzburgers, who resolved among themselves that a removal was essential to the prosperity of their colony.[9] Acting upon this determination the community, without delay, set about migrating to the site selected for the new town. This was on a high ridge, near the Savannah river, called “Red Bluff” from the peculiar color of the soil. It received the name of New Ebenezer; and, to the simple-minded Germans, oppressed by poverty and saddened by the disappointments of the past, seemed to offer future happiness and much coveted prosperity. The labor of removal appears to have been compassed within less than two years. In June, 1738, Old Ebenezer[10] had degenerated into a cow-pen, where Joseph Barker resided and “had the care of the Trust’s Cattle.” William Stephens gives us a pitiable view of the abandoned spot when he visited it on the 26th of that month:—Indian traders, returning from Savannah, lodging for the night with Barker, who was unable to give due account of the cattle under his charge, and a servant, Sommers, moving about with “the Small-Pox out full upon him.”[11] Thus early did “Old Ebenezer” take its silent place among the lost towns of Georgia. Its life of trials and sorrow, of ill-founded hope and sure disappointment, was measured by scarcely more than two years, and its frail memories were speedily lost amid the sighs and the shadows of the monotonous pines which environed the place.

The situation of the new Town, Mr. Strobel says, was quite romantic. “On the east lay the Savannah with its broad, smooth surface and its every varying and beautiful scenery. On the south was a stream, then called Little Creek, but now known as Lockner’s Creek, and a large lake called ‘Neidlinger’s Sea;’ while to the north, not very distant from the town, was to be seen their old acquaintance, Ebenezer Creek, sluggishly winding its way to mingle with the waters of the Savannah. The surrounding country was gently undulating and covered with a fine growth of forest trees, while the jessamine, the woodbine and the beautiful azalia, with its variety of gaudy colors, added a peculiar richness to the picturesque scene. But unfortunately for the permanent prosperity of the town, it was surrounded on three sides by low swamps which were subject to periodical inundation, and consequently generated a poisonous miasma prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants.”[12]

The plan adopted in laying out the town was prescribed by General Oglethorpe, and closely resembles that of Savannah;—the size of the lots and the width of the streets and lanes being in each case quite similar. To John Gerar, William DeBrahm, his Majesty’s Surveyor General for the Southern District of North America, who in 1757 erected a fort at Ebenezer, are we indebted for an accurate plan of that town.[13] As the village increased, this plan was extended;—its distinctive characteristics being retained. From contemporaneous notices we learn that New Ebenezer, within a short time after its settlement, gave manifest token of substantial growth and prosperity. The houses there erected were larger and more comfortable than those which had been built in the old town. Gardens and farms were cleared, enclosed, and brought under creditable cultivation, and the sedate, religious inhabitants enjoyed the fruits of their industry and economy.

Funds received from Germany for that purpose were employed in the erection of an Orphan House, in which, for lack of a Church, the community worshipped for several years.

We presume the account of the condition of Ebenezer in 1738-9, furnished by Benjamin Martyn,[14] is as interesting and reliable as any that can be suggested. It is as follows: “Fifteen miles from Purysburg on the Georgia side, is Ebenezer, where the Saltzburghers are situated; their Houses are neat, and regularly set out in Streets, and the whole Œconomy of their town, under the Influence of their Ministers, Mess. Bolzius and Gronau, is very exemplary. For the Benefit of their Milch Cattle, a Herdsman is appointed to attend them in the Woods all the Day, and bring them Home in the Evening. Their Stock of out-lying Cattle is also under the Care of two other Herdsmen, who attend them in their Feeding in the Day, and drive them into Cow-Pens at night. This secures the Owners from any Loss, and the Herdsmen are paid by a small Contribution among the People. These are very industrious, and subsist comfortably by their Labour. Though there is no regular Court of Justice, as they live in Sobriety, they maintain great Order and Decency. In case of any Differences, the Minister calls three or four of the most prudent Elders together, who in a summary Way hear and determine as they think just, and the Parties always acquiesce with Content in their Judgment. They are very regular in their public Worship, which is on Week-Days in the Evening after their Work; and in the Forenoon and Evening on Sundays. They have built a large and convenient House for the Reception of Orphans, and other poor Children, who are maintained by Benefactions among the People, are well taken Care of and taught to work according as their Age and Ability will permit. The Number computed by Mr. Bolzius in June, 1738, whereof his Congregation consisted, was one hundred forty-six, and some more have since been settled among them. They are all in general so well pleased with their condition, that not one of their People has abandoned the Settlement.”

General Oglethorpe received a letter, dated Ebenezer, March 13, 1739, signed by forty-nine men of the Saltzburgers and verified by their Ministers, in which they assured him that they were well settled and pleased with the climate and condition of the country; that although the season was hotter than that of their native land, having become accustomed to it, they found it tolerable and convenient for working people; and that their custom was to commence their out-door labor early in the morning and continue it until ten o’clock; resuming it again from three in the afternoon until sun-set. During the heated term of mid-day, matters within their houses engaged their attention. The General was also informed that they had practically demonstrated the falsity of the tale told them on their arrival that rice could be cultivated only by negroes. “We laugh at such a Talking,”—so they wrote, “seeing that several People of us have had, in last Harvest, a greater Crop of Rice than they wanted for their own Consumption. Of Corn, Pease, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Cabbage, &c., we had such a good Quantity that many Bushels are sold, and much was spent in feeding Cows, Calves and Hogs.” The letter concludes with an earnest petition that negroes should be excluded from their town and neighborhood, alleging as a reason that their houses and gardens would be robbed by them, and that, “besides other great inconveniences, white people were in danger of life from them.”[15]

Of humble origin and moderate education, of primitive habits, accustomed to labor, free from covetousness and ambition, temperate, industrious, frugal and orderly, solicitous for the education of their children and the maintenance of the needy and the orphan, meddling not in the affairs of their neighbors, acknowledging allegiance to the Trustees and the King of England, maintaining direct connection with the Lutheran Church in Germany, and submitting without question to the decisions of their ministers and elders in all matters, whether of a civil or ecclesiastical nature, engaging in no pursuits save of an agricultural or a mechanical character, and little given either to excitement or wandering, these Saltzburgers for years preserved the integrity of their community and their religion, and secured for themselves a comfortable existence. As early as 1738 the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer made some limited experiment in growing cotton and were much encouraged;—the yield being abundant, and of an excellent quality. The Trustees, however, having fixed their hopes upon silk and wine, the cultivation of this plant was not countenanced.[16]

It was estimated by Mr. Benjamin Martyn, Secretary of the Trustees, that up to the year 1741, not less than twelve hundred German Protestants had arrived in the Colony. Their principal settlements were at Ebenezer, Bethany, Savannah, Frederica, Goshen, and along the road leading from Savannah to Ebenezer. They were all characterized by industry, sobriety, and thrift.

About the year 1744 the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer and along the line of the public road running from that town to Savannah, through the assistance of friends in Germany, were enabled to build two comfortable and substantial houses for public worship,—one at New Ebenezer, called Jerusalem Church, and the other about four miles below, named Zion Church. The joy experienced upon the dedication of these sacred buildings was soon turned to grief by the death of one of their faithful pastors,—the Reverend Israel C. Gronau,—who, in the supreme moments of a lingering fever, desiring a friend to support his hands uplifted in praise of the Great Master whom he had so long and so truthfully served, exclaimed “Come, Lord Jesus! Amen!! Amen!!!” and with these words,—the last upon his lips,—entered into peace.[17]

Reverend Mr. Bolzius continued to be the principal pastor and, as an assistant, the Reverend Mr. Lembke was associated with him.

As early as January 31, 1732, Sir Thomas Lombe[18] certified to the Trustees of the Colony that silk produced in Carolina possessed “as much natural Strength and Beauty as the Silk of Italy.” In his “New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia,”[19] Mr. Oglethorpe enumerated among the chief revenues which might be anticipated from the settlement of Georgia, profits to arise from the manufacture of silk. His opinion was that between forty and fifty thousand people might be advantageously employed in this business. In view of the encouragement which might reasonably be expected from Parliament, and the cheapness of the labor and land, he estimated that the cost of production would be at least twenty-five per cent. lower than that then current in Piedmont. Sharing in this belief, the Trustees sent to Italy for silk-worm eggs, and engaged the services of several Piedmontese to go to Georgia and instruct the Colonists in the production of silk.[20] In the grants of land to parties emigrating to Georgia either at their own expense or at the charge of the Charity, may be found covenants on the part of the grantees to “keep a sufficient number of white mulberry trees standing on every acre,” or else to “plant them where they were wanted.” A special plea is entered by Benjamin Martyn in behalf of silk-culture in Georgia and the manifest benefits to be expected.[21]

The early accounts all agree in representing the production of silk as one of the most important matters to be considered and fostered in connection with the establishment and development of the Colony of Georgia.

In 1735, Queen Caroline, upon the King’s birth-day, appeared in a full robe of Georgia silk; and in 1739 a parcel of raw silk, brought from Georgia by Samuel Augspourguer, was exhibited at the Trustees’ office in London to “Mr. John Zachary,—an eminent raw-silk merchant,—and to Mr. Booth,—one of the greatest silk-weavers in England,”—both of whom “declared it to be as fine as any Italian silk, and worth at least twenty shillings a pound.”[22]

With that industry and patience so characteristic of them as a people, the inhabitants of New Ebenezer were among the earliest and the most persevering in their efforts to carry into practical operation Mr. Oglethorpe’s wishes in regard to the production of silk. In 1736 each Saltzburger there was presented with a mulberry tree, and two of the congregation were instructed by Mrs. Camuse in the art of reeling.

Under date of May 11th, 1741, Mr. Bolzius, in his journal, records the fact that within the preceding two months twenty girls succeeded in making seventeen pounds of cocoons which were sold at Savannah for £3, 8s. The same year £5 were advanced by General Oglethorpe to this Clergyman for the purchase of trees. With this sum he procured twelve hundred, and distributed them among the families of his parish.

On the 4th of December, 1742, five hundred trees were sent by General Oglethorpe to Ebenezer, with a promise of more should they be needed. Near Mr. Bolzius’ house a machine for the manufacture of raw-silk was erected, and the construction of a public Filature was contemplated. Of the eight hundred and forty-seven pounds of cocoons raised in the Colony of Georgia in 1747, about one-half was produced by the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer. Two years afterwards this yield was increased to seven hundred and sixty-two pounds of cocoons, and fifty pounds thirteen ounces of spun silk. Two machines were in operation in Mr. Bolzius’ yard, capable of reeling twenty-four ounces per day. It was apparent, however, that while, by ordinary labor, about two shillings could be earned, scarcely a shilling per diem could be expected by one engaged in the manufacture of silk. This fact proved so discouraging to the Colonists that, except at Ebenezer, silk culture was generally relinquished. The Germans persevered, and as the result of their energy, over a thousand pounds of cocoons and seventy-four pounds, two ounces of raw-silk were raised at Ebenezer in 1750, and sold for £110 sterling. The community was now pretty well supplied with copper basins and reeling machines. Considerable effort was made in England to attract the notice of the Home Government to this production of silk in Georgia, and to enlist in its behalf fostering influences at the hands of those in authority. In 1755 a paper was laid before the Lords of Trade and Plantations, signed by about forty eminent silk throwsters and weavers, declaring that “having examined about 300 wt. of Georgia raw-silk they found it as good as the Piedmontese, and better than the common Italian silks.” Assurance was given that there was the utmost reason to afford “all possible encouragement for the raising of so valuable a commodity.”[23]

In 1764 fifteen thousand two hundred and twelve pounds of cocoons were delivered at the Filature in Savannah, then under the charge of Mr. Ottolenghe, of which eight thousand six hundred and ninety-five pounds were contributed by the Saltzburgers. In 1766 the production of silk in Georgia reached its acme, and from that time, despite the encouragement extended by Parliament, continued to decline until it was practically abandoned a few years before the inception of the Revolution. Operations at the Filature in Savannah were discontinued in 1771; and Sir James Wright, in his message to the Commons House of Assembly, under date 19th of January, 1774, alludes to the fact that the Filature buildings were falling into decay, and suggests that they be put to some other use.

Despite the disinclination existing in other portions of the Colony to devote much time and labor to the growing of trees and the manufacture of silk, the Saltzburgers,—incited by their worthy magistrate, Mr. Wertsch,—redoubled their efforts, and in 1770, as the result of their industry, shipped two hundred and ninety-one pounds of raw-silk. At the suggestion of the Earl of Hillsborough, who warmly commended the zeal of these Germans and interested himself in procuring from Parliament a small sum to be expended in aid of the more indigent of the community, Mr. Habersham distributed among them the basins and reels then being in the unused public Filature in Savannah.

“So popular had the silk business become at Ebenezer that Mr. Habersham, in a letter dated the 30th of March, 1772, says: ‘Some persons in almost every family there understand its process from the beginning to the end.’ In 1771 the Germans sent four hundred and thirty-eight pounds of raw silk to England, and in 1772 four hundred and eighty-five pounds:—all of their own raising. They made their own reels, which were so much esteemed that one was sent to England as a model, and another taken to the East Indies by Pickering Robinson.”[24]

In the face of the distractions encountered upon the commencement of hostilities between the Colonies and the Mother Country, silk culture languished even among these Germans, and was never afterwards revived to any considerable degree. The unfriendliness of climate, the high price of labor, the withdrawal of all bounty—which had been the chief stimulus to exertion,—and the larger profits to be derived from the cultivation of rice and cotton combined to interrupt silk-raising, and, in the end, caused its total abandonment.

The construction of a bridge over Ebenezer creek materially promoted the interests and the convenience of those residing at Ebenezer; and the erection of Churches at Bethany and Goshen,—the former about five miles northwest of Ebenezer, and the latter some ten miles below and near the road leading to Savannah,—indicated the growth of the German plantations along the line of the Savannah river.

The settlement at Bethany was effected in 1751 by John Gerar William DeBrahm, who there located one hundred and sixty Germans. Eleven months afterwards these Colonists were joined by an equal number,—“the Relations and Acquaintance of the former.” The Saltzburgers then numbered about fifteen hundred souls.[25] Alluding to the location and growth of these plantations, and the agricultural pursuits of their cultivators, Surveyor-General DeBrahm says: “The German Settlements have since Streatched S: Eastwardly about 32 miles N: W-ward from the Sea upon Savannah Stream, from whence they extend up the same Stream through the whole Salt Air Zona. They cultivate European and American Grains to Perfection; as Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats; also Flax, Hemp, Tobacco and Rice, Indigo, Maize, Peas, Pompions, Melons—they plant Mulberry, Apple, Peach, Nectorins, Plumbs and Quince Trees, besides all manner of European Garden Herbs, but, in particular, they Chose the Culture of silk their principal Object, in which Culture they made such a Progress, that the Filature, which is erected in the City of Savannah could afford to send in 1768 to London 1,084 Pounds of raw Silk, equal in Goodness to that manufactured in Piemont; but the Bounties to encourage that Manufactory being taken off, they discouraged, dropt their hands from that Culture from year to year in a manner, that in 1771 its Product was only 290 Pounds in lieu of 1,464, which must have been that year’s Produce, had this Manufactory been encouraged to increase at a 16 years rate. In lieu of Silk they have taken under more Consideration the Culture of Maize, Rice, Indigo, Hemp & Tobacco: But the Vines have not as yet become an Object of their Attention, altho’ in the Country especially over the German Settlements, Nature makes all the Promises, yea gives yearly full Assurances of her Assistance by her own Endeavours producing Clusture Grapes in Abundance on its uncultivated Vines; yet there is no Person, who will listen to her Addresses, and give her the least Assistance, notwithstanding many of the Inhabitants are refreshed from the Sweetness of her wild Productions. The Culture of Indigo is brought to the same Perfection here, as in South Carolina, and is manufactured through all the Settlements from the Sea Coast, to the Extent of the interior Country.”[26]

On the 19th of November, 1765, the Ebenezer congregation was called upon to mourn the loss of its venerable Spiritual Guide, the Reverend Mr. Bolzius, who had been at once teacher and magistrate, counsellor and friend during the thirty years of poverty and privation, labor and sorrow, hope and joy, passed in the wilds of Georgia. He was interred, amid the lamentations of his people, in the cemetery near Jerusalem Church, and no stone marks his grave.

After his demise the conduct of the Society devolved upon Messrs. Lembke and Rabenhorst. This involved not only the spiritual care of this people, but also the preservation and proper management of the mill-establishments and public property belonging to the Ebenezer Congregation. “These two faithful men,” writes the Reverend P. A. Strobel,[27] “labored harmoniously and successfully in the discharge of their heavy civil and religious obligations, and gave entire satisfaction to those with whose interests they were intrusted.” During their administration the large brick house of worship, known as Jerusalem Church, was built at Ebenezer. The materials used in its construction were, for the most part, supplied by the Saltzburgers, while the funds necessary to defray the cost of erection were contributed by friends in Germany.

Upon the death of Mr. Lembke, the Reverend Christopher F. Triebner “was sent over by the reverend fathers in Germany as an adjunct to Mr. Rabenhorst. Being a young man of talents, but of an impetuous and ambitious disposition, he soon raised such a tumult in the quiet community that all the efforts of the famous Mr. Muhlenburg, who was ordered on a special mission to Ebenezer in 1774 to heal the disturbances which had arisen, scarce saved the congregation from disintegration. The schism was, however, finally cured, and peace was restored.” For the better government of the Society, articles of discipline were prepared by Dr. Muhlenburg, which were formally subscribed by one hundred and twenty-four male members. This occurred at Jerusalem Church on the 16th of January, 1775, and affords substantial evidence of the strength of the congregation.

The property belonging to the Church, according to an inventory made by Dr. Muhlenburg in 1775, consisted of the following:

“1. In the hands of Pastor Rabenhorst a capital of £300. 16s. 5d.

2. In the hands of John Casper Wertsch, for the store, £300.

3. In the mill treasury, notes and money, £229. 16s. 2d.

4. Pastor Triebner has some money in hands, (£400) the application of which has not been determined by our Reverend Fathers.

5. Belonging to the Church is a Negro Boy at Mr. John Flöerl’s, and a Negro Girl at Mr. David Steiner’s.

6. A town-lot and an out-lot, of which Mr. John Triebner has the grant in his hands.

7. An inventory of personal goods in the mills belonging to the estate.

8. And, finally, real estate, with the mills, 925 acres of land.”

Including certain legacies from private individuals, and donations from patrons of the Colony in Germany, which were received within a short time, it is conjectured that this church property was then worth not much less than twenty thousand dollars.

So long as the congregation at Ebenezer preserved its integrity, direct allegiance to the parent Church in Germany was acknowledged, its precepts, orders and deliverances were obeyed, its teachers welcomed and respected, and accounts of all receipts, disbursements, and important transactions regularly rendered. Its pastors continued to be charged with the administration of affairs, both spiritual and temporal, and were the duly constituted custodians of all church funds and property. Upon their arrival in Georgia these Saltzburgers, wearied with persecutions and stripped of the small possessions which were once theirs, were at first quite dependent upon public and private charity for bare subsistence. They were then unable, by voluntary contributions, to sustain their pastors and teachers, and build churches. Foreign aid arrived, however, from time to time, and this was supplemented in a small, yet generous way, by the labor of the parishioners and such sums and articles as could be spared from their slow accumulations. With a view to providing for the future, all means thus derived were carefully invested for the benefit of church and pastor. This system was maintained for more than fifty years, so that in the course of time not only were churches built, but reasonable provision was made for clergyman, teacher, and orphan, aside from the yearly voluntary contributions of the members of the Society. The education of youths was not neglected; and DeBrahm assures us that in his day a library had been accumulated at Ebenezer in which “could be had Books wrote in the Caldaic, Hebrew, Arabec, Siriac, Coptic, Malabar, Greek, Latin, French, German, Dutch and Spanish, beside the English, viz: in thirteen Languages.”[28]

In the division of the Province of Georgia into eight Parishes, which occurred on the 15th of March, 1758, “the district of Abercorn and Goshen, and the district of Ebenezer—extending from the northwest boundaries of the parish of Christ Church up the river Savannah as far as the Beaver Dam, and southwest as far as the mouth of Horse-Creek on the river Great Ogechee”—were declared a Parish under the name of “The Parish of St. Matthew.”[29] The parish just below, on the line of the Savannah river, and embracing the town of Savannah, was known as “Christ Church Parish.”

The Parish of St. Matthew, and the upper part of St. Philip lying above the Canouchee river, were, by the Constitution of Georgia adopted at Savannah on the 5th of February, 1777, consolidated into a county called Effingham.[30]

In the opinion of the Reverend Mr. Strobel, to whose valuable sketch of the Saltzburgers and their descendants we are indebted for much of the information contained in these pages, Ebenezer attained the height of its importance about 1774. The population of the town proper was not less than five hundred, embracing agriculturists, mechanics, and shop-keepers, who pursued their respective avocations with energy and thrift. Trade with Savannah and Charleston was carried on by means of sloops and schooners. In a contemporaneous picture, representing the general appearance of the town, may be seen two schooners riding at anchor near the Ebenezer landing.[31]

Although there arose a sharp division of sentiment when the question of direct opposition to the acts of Parliament was discussed at Ebenezer in 1774, and although quite a number of the inhabitants favored “passive obedience and non-resistance,” the response of the majority was: “We have experienced the evils of tyranny in our own land; for the sake of liberty we have left home, lands, houses, estates, and have taken refuge in the wilds of Georgia; shall we now submit again to bondage? No, never.” Among the delegates from the Parish of St. Matthew to the Provincial Congress which assembled in Savannah on the 4th of July, 1775, were the following Saltzburgers: John Stirk, John Adam Treutlen, Jacob Waldhauer, John Flöerl, and Christopher Craemer. Despite the fact that as a community the Saltzburgers espoused the cause of the Revolutionists, a considerable faction, headed by Mr. Triebner, maintained an open and a strenuous adherence to the Crown. Between these parties sprang up an angry controversy, replete with the bitterest feelings, and very prejudicial to the peace and prosperity of the congregation. In the midst of the discussion the Reverend Mr. Rabenhorst, who exerted his utmost influence to curb the dominant passions and inculcate mutual forbearance, crowned his long and useful life with a saintly death.

Three days after the capture of Savannah by Colonel Campbell, a strong force was advanced, under the command of Lieut. Col. Maitland, to Cherokee Hill. The following day [January 2, 1779,] Ebenezer was occupied by the British troops. Upon their arrival they threw up a redoubt within a few hundred yards of Jerusalem Church and fortified the position.[32] The remains of this work are said to be still visible. The moment he learned that Savannah had fallen before Colonel Campbell’s column, Mr. Triebner hastened to that place, proclaimed his loyalty, and took the oath of allegiance. The intimation is that he counselled the immediate occupation of Ebenezer, and in person accompanied the detachment which compassed the capture of his own town and people. He was a violent, uncompromising man,—at all times intent upon the success of his peculiar views and wishes. Influenced by his advice and example, not a few of the Saltzburgers subscribed oaths of allegiance to the British Crown, and received certificates guaranteeing Royal protection to person and property. Prominent among those who maintained their adherence to the Rebel cause were Governor John Adam Trentlen, William Holsendorf, Colonel John Stirk, Secretary Samuel Stirk, John Schnider, Rudolph Strohaker, Jonathan Schnider, J. Gotlieb Schnider, Jonathan Rahn, Ernest Zittrauer, and Joshua and Jacob Helfenstein.

“The citizens at Ebenezer and the surrounding country,” says Mr. Strobel, “were made to feel very severely the effects of the war. The property of those who did not take the oath of allegiance was confiscated, and they were constantly exposed to every species of insult and wrong from a hired and profligate soldiery. Besides this, some of the Saltzburgers who espoused the cause of the Crown became very inveterate in their hostility to the Whigs in the settlement, and pillaged and then burnt their dwellings. The residence on the farm of the pious Rabenhorst was among the first given to the flames. Among those who distinguished themselves for their cruelty was one Eichel,—who has been properly termed an ‘inhuman miscreant,’—whose residence was at Goshen, and Martin Dasher, who kept a public house five miles below Ebenezer. These men placed themselves at the head of marauding parties, composed of British and Tories, and laid waste every plantation or farm whose occupant was even suspected of favoring the Republican cause. In these predatory excursions the most revolting cruelty and unbridled licentiousness were indulged, and the whole country was overrun and devastated.... The Salzburgers, nevertheless, were to experience great annoyances from other sources.... A line of British posts had been established all along the western bank of the Savannah river to check the demonstrations of the Rebel forces in Carolina. Under these circumstances, Ebenezer, from its somewhat central position, became a kind of thoroughfare for the British troops in passing through the country from Augusta to Savannah. To the inhabitants of Ebenezer, particularly, this was a source of perpetual annoyance. British troops were constantly quartered among them, and to avoid the rudeness of the soldiers and the heavy tax upon their resources, many of the best citizens were forced to abandon their homes and settle in the country, thus leaving their houses to the mercy of their cruel invaders.

“Besides all this, they were forced to witness almost daily acts of cruelty practised by the British and Tories toward those Americans who happened to fall into their hands as prisoners of war; for it will be remembered that Ebenezer, while in the hands of the British, was the point to which all prisoners taken in the surrounding country were brought and from thence sent to Savannah. It was from this post that the prisoners were carried who were rescued by Sergeant Jasper and his comrade, Newton, at the Jasper Spring, a few miles above Savannah.

“There was one act performed by the British commander which was peculiarly trying and revolting to the Salzburgers. Their fine brick church was converted into a hospital for the accommodation of the sick and wounded, and subsequently it was desecrated by being used as a stable for their horses. To this latter use it was devoted until the close of the war and the removal of the British troops from Georgia. To show their contempt for the church and their disregard for the religious sentiments of the people, the church records were nearly all destroyed, and the soldiers would discharge their guns at different objects on the church; and even to this day the metal “Swan” (Luther’s coat of arms) which surmounts the spire on the steeple, bears the mark of a musket ball which was fired through it by a reckless soldier. Often, too, cannon were discharged at the houses; and there is a log-house now standing not far from Ebenezer, which was perforated by several cannon shot.... The Salzburgers endured all these hardships and indignities with becoming fortitude; and though a few were overcome by these severe measures, yet the great mass of them remained firm in their attachment to the principles of liberty.”[33]

It is suggested that the establishment of tippling houses in Ebenezer, during its occupancy by the British, and constant intercourse with a licentious soldiery, corrupted the lives of not a few of the once sober and orderly Germans. That the protracted presence of the enemy, the confiscation of estates, the interruption of regular pursuits, the expulsion of such as clave to the Confederate cause, and the general demoralization consequent upon a state of war, tended to the manifest injury and depopulation of the town, cannot, for a moment, be questioned. Indications of decay and ruin were patent in Ebenezer before the cessation of hostilities. From the time of its occupation by Maitland, shortly after the capture of Savannah by Colonel Campbell in December, 1778,—with the exception of the limited period when its garrison was called in to assist in the defense of Savannah against the operations of the allied army under the command of Count D’Estaing and General Lincoln in the fall of 1779,—Ebenezer continued in the possession of the British until a short time prior to the evacuation of Savannah in July, 1783. In his advance toward Savannah, General Anthony Wayne established his head quarters at this town. The Tory pastor, Triebner, who, during the struggle had sided with the Royalists and remained unmoved amid the sufferings and oppressions of his people, betook himself to flight so soon as the English forces were withdrawn, and found a refuge in England, where he ended his days in seclusion.

Upon the evacuation of Savannah, many of the Saltzburgers returned to Ebenezer. Its aspect was sadly changed. Not a few of the abandoned dwellings had been burned. Others had fallen into decay. Smiling gardens had been trampled into desert places, and the impress of stagnation, neglect, and desolation was upon everything. Jerusalem Church was a mass of filth, and very dilapidated. Notwithstanding this sad condition of affairs, much energy was displayed in the purification and renovation of this temple of worship, and in the rehabilitation of the town.

The arrival of the Reverend John Ernest Bergman,—a clergyman of decided talents and of considerable literary attainments,—and the revival of the parochial school greatly encouraged the depressed inhabitants and promoted the general improvement of the place. The population began to increase. It assumed an apparently permanent character, and countenanced the hope that the ante-bellum quiet, good order, thrift, and prosperity would be regained. This expectation, however, was not fully realized. The former trade never revived. The mills were never again put in motion. Silk-culture was renewed only to a limited degree. Having for twenty-five years more remained about stationary, New Ebenezer commenced visibly to decline; and, when scarcely more than a century old, took its place, in silence and nothingness, among the dead towns of Georgia.[34]

The act of February 26th, 1784,[35] provided for the erection of the “Court House and Gaol” and for holding public elections in Effingham County at Tuckasee-King, near the present line of Scriven County. The situation proving inconvenient, three years afterwards the county-seat was removed to Elberton, near Indian Bluff, on the north side of the Great Ogeechee river.

On the 18th of February, 1796, the Legislature of Georgia[36] appointed Jeremiah Cuyler, John G. Neidlinger, Jonathan Rawhn, Elias Hodges, and John Martin Dasher “commissioners for the town and common of Ebenezer,” with instructions to have the town “surveyed and laid out as nearly as possible in conformity to the original plan thereof, to sell all vacant lots, and such as had become vested in the State, [reserving such only as were necessary for public uses,] and appropriate the proceeds to the erection of a County Court House and Jail.” Any over-plus was to be applied to building a public Academy. For three years only did Ebenezer remain the County Town of Effingham County. In 1799, its public buildings were sold, and the village of Springfield was designated by the Legislature as “the permanent seat for the public buildings of the County of Effingham.”[37] David Hall, Joshua Loper, Samuel Ryals, Godhelf Smith, and Drurias Garrison were appointed commissioners to carry this change into effect.

In 1808 the Ebenezer Congregation received legislative permission to sell the glebe lands which it owned. By degrees all the real estate held by the society was disposed of. The proceeds arising from these sales were invested in lands, mortgages, and securities;—the interest accruing being applied to the payment of the pastor’s salary and the current expenses of the church.[38]

Until about the year 1803 all the religious services observed by the Saltzburgers were conducted in the German language; and, in the church at Ebenezer, for a long time subsequent to that date, the religious exercises continued in that tongue. Methodist and Baptist Churches springing up in the neighborhood drew away many of the younger members of the congregation. The introduction of the English language into all the Saltzburger Churches was effected in 1824 through the instrumentality of the Reverend Christopher F. Bergman.

Year by year Ebenezer became more sparsely populated. Many of its citizens removed into the interior and upper parts of the county. Quite a number formed settlements in Scriven County, while others went to Savannah, and to Lowndes, Liberty, and Thomas counties. Others still,—more enterprizing than their fellows,—sought new homes in South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

We close this sketch with a picture of Ebenezer painted by one of the late Pastors[39] of Jerusalem Church,—a gentleman of cultivation and of piety, who saw the last waves of oblivion as they closed over the town and obliterated its decayed traces from the grass covered bluff of the Savannah.

“To one visiting the ancient town of Ebenezer, in the present day [1855] the prospect which presents itself is anything but attractive; and the stranger who is unacquainted with its history would perhaps discover very little to excite his curiosity or awaken his sympathies. The town has gone almost entirely to ruins. Only two residences are now remaining, and one of these is untenanted. The old church, however, stands in bold relief upon an open lawn, and by its somewhat antique appearance seems silently, yet forcibly, to call up the reminiscences of former years. Not far distant from the church is the cemetery, in which are sleeping the remains of the venerable men who founded the colony and the church, and many of their descendants who, one by one, have gone down to the grave to mingle their ashes with those of their illustrious ancestors.

“Except upon the Sabbath, when the descendants of the Saltzburgers go up to their temple to worship the God of their fathers, the stillness which reigns around Ebenezer is seldom broken, save by the warbling of birds, the occasional transit of a steamer, or the murmurs of the Savannah as it flows on to lose itself in the ocean. The sighing winds chant melancholy dirges as they sweep through the lofty pines and cedars which cast their sombre shades over this ‘deserted village.’ Desolation seems to have spread over this once-favored spot its withering wing, and here, where generation after generation grew up and flourished, where the persecuted and exiled Saltzburgers reared their offspring in the hope that they would leave a numerous progeny of pious, useful, and prosperous citizens, and where everything seemed to betoken the establishment of a thrifty and permanent colony, scarcely anything is to be seen, except the sad evidences of decay and death.”

II.
FREDERICA.

Click image for larger version

Plan of the Town of Frederica, on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia

J. Bien, Photo. Lith. N. Y.

“As the Mind of Man cannot form a more exalted Pleasure than what arises from the Reflexion of having relieved the Distressed; let the Man of Benevolence, whose Substance enables him to contribute towards this Undertaking, give a Loose for a little to his Imagination, pass over a few Years of his Life, and think himself in a Visit to Georgia. Let him see those, who are now a Prey to all the Calamities of Want, who are starving with Hunger, and seeing their Wives and Children in the same Distress; expecting likewise every Moment to be thrown into a Dungeon, with the cutting Anguish that they leave their Families expos’d to the utmost Necessity and Despair: Let him, I say, see these living under a sober and orderly Government, settled in Towns, which are rising at Distances along navigable Rivers: Flocks and Herds in the neighbouring Pastures, and adjoining to them Plantations of regular Rows of Mulberry-Trees, entwin’d with Vines, the Branches of which are loaded with Grapes; let him see Orchards of Oranges, Pomegranates, and Olives; in other Places extended Fields of Corn, or Flax and Hemp. In short, the whole Face of the Country chang’d by Agriculture, and Plenty in every Part of it. Let him see the People all in Employment of various Kinds, Women and Children feeding and nursing the Silkworms, winding off the Silk, or gathering the Olives; the Men ploughing and planting their Lands, tending their Cattle, or felling the Forest, which they burn for Potashes, or square for the Builder; let him see these in Content and Affluence, and Masters of little Possessions which they can leave to their Children; and then let him think if they are not happier than those supported by Charity in Idleness. Let him reflect that the Produce of their Labour will be so much new Wealth for his Country, and then let him ask himself, Whether he would exchange the Satisfaction of having contributed to this, for all the trifling Pleasures the Money, which he has given, would have purchas’d.

“Of all publick-spirited Actions, perhaps none can claim a Preference to the Settling of Colonies, as none are in the End more useful.... Whoever then is a Lover of Liberty will be pleas’d with an Attempt to recover his fellow Subjects from a State of Misery and Oppression, and fix them in Happiness and Freedom.

“Whoever is a Lover of his Country will approve of a Method for the Employment of her Poor, and the Increase of her People and her Trade. Whoever is a Lover of Mankind will join his wishes to the Success of a Design so plainly calculated for their Good: Undertaken, and conducted with so much Disinterestedness.”

By such suggestions did Benjamin Martyn[40] seek to enlist the public sympathy in behalf of the then projected but not established Colony of Georgia.

Mr. Oglethorpe, in a contemporaneous publication,[41] had assigned, among the weightiest reasons for founding the Colony, the ample opportunity which would be afforded in Georgia for persons reduced to poverty at home and constituting a positive charge upon the Nation, to be made happy and prosperous abroad and profitable to England. The conversion of the Indians, the confirmation of the development and security of Carolina, and a lucrative trade in silk, rice, cotton, wine, indigo, grain, and lumber, were enumerated as additional inducements to the enterprize.

On the 9th of June, 1732, his Majesty, George the Second, by Charter, granted to the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America and their successors, all the Lands and Territories from the most northern stream of the Savannah river along the sea-coast to the southward unto the most southern stream of the Alatamaha river, and westward from the heads of the said rivers respectively in direct lines to the south seas. Not only the lands lying within these boundaries, but also all islands within twenty leagues of the coast were, by this Royal feoffment, conveyed “for the better support of the Colony.”[42]

During the first year of the foundation of the Colony, Mr. Oglethorpe’s attention was directed to providing for the emigrants suitable homes at Savannah, Joseph’s Town, Abercorn, and Old Ebenezer, to concluding necessary treaties of cession and amity with the Natives, and the erection of a fort on the Great Ogeechee river to command the main passes by which the Indians had invaded Carolina during the late wars, and afford the settlers some security against anticipated incursions from the Spaniards. This fortified post,—as a compliment to his honored patron John, Duke of Argyle,—was called Fort Argyle, and was garrisoned by Captain McPherson and his detachment of Rangers. At this time no English plantations had been established south of the Great Ogeechee river. Having confirmed the Colonists in their occupation of the right bank of the Savannah, and engaged the friendship of the venerable Indian Chief, Tomo-chi-chi, and the neighboring Lower Creeks and Uchees, in January, 1734, Mr. Oglethorpe set out to explore the coast, and determine upon such settlement as appeared most advantageous for the protection of the southern confines of the Colony. During a heavy rain on the 26th of that month, he and his party landed “on the first Albany bluff of St. Simon’s island” and “lay all night under the shelter of a large live-oak-tree and kept themselves dry.” This reconnoissance, which was continued as far as the sea-point of St. Simon’s island, and Jekyll island, convinced Mr. Oglethorpe it was expedient and necessary for the proper defence of the Colony that a military station and settlement should be formed, at the earliest practicable moment, near the mouth of the Alatamaha river; and that, as an outpost, a strong fort should be built on St. Simon’s island.

This plan was in part compassed in January, 1735, when one hundred and thirty Highlanders, and fifty women and children, who had been enrolled for emigration at Inverness and its vicinity, arrived at Savannah, and, a few days afterwards, were conveyed in periaguas to the southward. Ascending the Alatamaha river to a point about sixteen miles above St. Simon’s island, they there landed and entered upon a permanent settlement, which they called New Inverness. Here they erected a fort,—mounting four pieces of cannon,—built a guard-house, a store, and a chapel, and constructed huts for temporary accommodation preparatory to putting up more substantial structures. These Scots were a brave, hardy people,—just the men to occupy this advanced position. In their plaids, and with their broad-swords, targets, and firearms, Oglethorpe says they presented “a most manly appearance.”

Upon their arrival in Savannah some of the Carolinians endeavored to dissuade them from going to the southward by telling them that the Spaniards, from the houses in their fort, would shoot them upon the spot selected by the Trustees for their future home. Nothing daunted, these doughty countrymen of Bruce and Wallace responded[43] “we will beat them out of their fort and shall have houses ready built to live in.” This valiant spirit found subsequent expression in the effective military service rendered by these Highlanders during the wars between the Colonists and the Spaniards, and by their descendants in the primal struggle for independence. To John Moore McIntosh, Captain Hugh MacKay, Ensign Charles MacKay, Colonel John McIntosh, General Lachlan McIntosh, and their gallant followers, Georgia, both as a Colony and a State, owes a special debt of gratitude.

On the 5th of February, 1735,[44] two hundred and two persons, upon the Trust’s account, conveyed in the Symond and the London Merchant, and conducted by Oglethorpe in person, arrived at the mouth of the Savannah river. It was his intention to locate all these emigrants at St. Simon’s island, but, in compliance with their earnest entreaty, such of them as were German Lutherans were permitted to join their friends at Ebenezer. Upon leaving London it was contemplated that the Symond and the London Merchant should sail directly for Jekyll sound, and land their passengers at the point where it was proposed that the new town should be located. The timidity of the captains, however, who, in the absence of experienced pilots, feared the dangers of an unknown entrance, caused this deviation in the voyage.

Having engaged the services of fifty Rangers and one hundred workmen, and having dispatched Captain McPherson with a part of his command to march by land to the support of the Highlanders on the Alatamaha, Mr. Oglethorpe who, since his arrival, had been busily occupied in arranging matters at Savannah and Old Ebenezer, returned to the ships which were still lying in Tybee roads. Finding their captains unwilling to risk their ships without having previously acquired a knowledge of the entrance into Jekyll sound, he bought the cargo of the sloop Midnight, which had just arrived, on condition that it should be at once delivered at Frederica, and with the understanding that captains Cornish and Thomas should go on board of her, acquaint themselves with the coast and entrance, and then return and conduct their vessels to Frederica. During their absence these ships,—the Symond and the London Merchant,—their cargoes still on board,—were to remain at anchor at Tybee roads in charge of Francis Moore, who was appointed keeper of the stores. Mr. Horton and Mr. Tanner, with thirty single men of the Colony, and cannon, arms, ammunition and entrenching tools, were ordered to proceed to the southward with the sloop Midnight. The workmen who had been engaged at Savannah, and Tomo-chi-chi’s Indians were directed to rendezvous at convenient points whence they might be transported as occasion required. The sloop sailed for St. Simon’s island on the morning of the 16th, and at evening of the same day Mr. Oglethorpe set out in the scout boat to meet the sloop at Jekyll sound. Captain Hermsdorf, two of the Colony, and some Indians went with him, and Captain Dunbar accompanied him with his boat. They passed through the inland channels lying between the outer islands and the main. “Mr. Oglethorpe being in haste,” says one of the party, “the Men rowed Night and Day, and had no other Rest than what they got when a Snatch of Wind favoured us. They were all very willing, though we met with very boisterous Weather.... The Men vied with each other who should be forwardest to please Mr. Oglethorpe. Indeed he lightened their Fatigue by giving them Refreshments, which he rather spared from himself than let them want. The Indians seeing the Men hard laboured, desired to take the Oars, and rowed as well as any I ever saw, only differing from the others by taking a short and long Stroke alternately, which they called the Yamasee Stroke.” On the morning of the 18th they reached St. Simon’s island and found that the sloop had come in ahead of, and was waiting for them. Mr. Oglethorpe at once set all hands to work. The tall grass growing upon the bluff at Frederica was burnt off, a booth was marked out “to hold the stores,—digging the ground three Foot deep, and throwing up the Earth on each Side by way of Bank,—and a roof raised upon Crutches with Ridge-pole and Rafters, nailing small Poles across, and thatching the whole with Palmetto-leaves. Mr. Oglethorpe afterwards laid out several Booths without digging under Ground, which were also covered with Palmetto Leaves, to lodge the Families of the Colony in when they should come up; each of these Booths was between thirty and forty Foot long, and upwards of twenty Foot wide.... We all made merry that Evening, having a plentiful Meal of Game brought in by the Indians.

“On the 19th, in the Morning, Mr. Oglethorpe began to mark out a Fort with four Bastions, and taught the Men how to dig the Ditch, and raise and turf the Rampart. This Day and the following Day were spent in finishing the Houses, and tracing out the Fort.”[45]

Such was the simple beginning of Frederica.[46] Near the town Mr. Oglethorpe fixed the only home he ever owned in the Province. In its defence were enlisted his best energies, military skill, and valor. Brave are the memories of St. Simon’s island. None prouder belong to the colonial history of Georgia.

Three days afterwards arrived from Savannah a periagua with workmen, provisions, and cannon, for the new settlement. Captains Cornish and Thomas returned from the southward to Tybee roads on the 26th and, although assured of the fact that there was ample water for the conveyance of their vessels to Frederica, still refused to conduct the Symond and the London Merchant to the southward. Mr. Oglethorpe was consequently compelled to consent that their cargoes should be unloaded into the “Peter and James,” which could not carry above one hundred tons, and the rest transferred in sloops to Savannah for safe storage until such time as opportunity offered for conveying it to its destination. He was also put to the great inconvenience of collecting periaguas[47] sufficient for the transportation of the Colonists.

Much incensed at the conduct of the Captains of the transports, and inconvenienced by the demurrage consequent upon their timidity, he was also indignant at the delay thus caused in the consummation of his plans, annoyed at the additional charges for transfer of passengers and cargo, and solicitous for the health of the colonists who would be exposed in open boats, at an inclement season, during the passage from Tybee roads to Jekyll sound.

It was not until the 2nd of March that the fleet of periaguas and boats, with the families of the Colonists on board, set out from the mouth of the Savannah river. Spare oars had been rigged for each boat. With their assistance,—the men of the Colony rowing with a will,—the voyage to Frederica was accomplished in five days. Mr. Oglethorpe accompanied them in his scout-boat, keeping the fleet together, and taking the hindermost craft in tow. As an incentive to unity of movement, he placed all the strong beer on board one boat. The rest labored diligently to keep up; for, if they were not all at the place of rendezvous each night, the tardy crew lost their ration. Frederica was reached on the 8th, and there was general joy among the colonists.

So diligently did they labor in building their town and its fortifications, that by the 23rd of March a battery of cannon, commanding the river, had been mounted, and the fort was almost finished. Its ditches had been dug, although not to the required depth or width, and a rampart raised and covered with sod. A store-house, having a front of sixty feet, and intended to be three stories in height, was completed as to its cellar and first story. The necessary streets were all laid out. “The Main Street that went from the Front into the Country was 25 yards wide. Each Free-holder had 60 Foot in Front by 90 Foot in Depth, upon the high Street, for their House and Garden; but those which fronted the River had but 30 Foot in Front, by 60 Foot in Depth. Each Family had a Bower of Palmetto Leaves, finished upon the back Street in their own Lands: The Side towards the front Street was set out for their Houses: These Palmetto Bowers were very convenient Shelters, being tight in the hardest Rains; they were about 20 Foot long and 14 Foot wide, and, in regular Rows, looked very pretty, the Palmetto Leaves lying smooth and handsome, and of a good Colour. The whole appeared something like a Camp; for the Bowers looked liked Tents, only being larger and covered with Palmetto Leaves instead of Canvas. There were 3 large Tents, two belonging to Mr. Oglethorpe, and one to Mr. Horton, pitched upon the Parade near the River.”

Such is the description of the town in its infancy as furnished by Mr. Moore, whose “Voyage to Georgia” is one of the most interesting and valuable tracts we have descriptive of the colonization.

That there might be no confusion in their constructive labors, Mr. Oglethorpe divided the Colonists into working parties. To some was assigned the duty of cutting forks, poles, and laths for building the bowers. Others set them up. Others still gathered palmetto leaves, while a fourth gang,—under the superintendence of a Jew workman, bred in Brazil and skilled in the matter,—thatched the roofs “nimbly and in a neat manner.”

Men accustomed to the agriculture of the region, instructed the Colonists in hoeing and planting. Potatoes, Indian corn, flax, hempseed, barley, turnips, lucern-grass, pumpkins, and water-melons were planted. The labor was common and enured to the benefit of the entire community. As it was rather too late in the season to prepare the ground fully and get in such a crop as would promise a yield sufficient to subsist the settlement for the coming year, many of the men were put upon pay and set to work upon the fortifications and the public buildings.

Mr. Hugh MacKay, about this time, arrived in Frederica and reported, that with the assistance of Messrs. Augustine and Tolme, and the guides furnished by Tomo-chi-chi, he had surveyed and located a road, practicable for horses, between Savannah and Darien. This information was very gratifying to the Colonists on St. Simons, assuring them, as it did, that their situation was not so isolated as they at first supposed.

Frederica was located in the midst of an Indian field[48] containing between thirty and forty acres of cleared land. The grass in this field yielded an excellent turf which was freely used in sodding the parapet of the fort. The bluff upon which it stood rose about ten feet above high-water mark, was dry and sandy, and exhibited a level expanse of about a mile into the interior of the island. The position of the fort was such that it fully commanded the reaches in the river both above and below. With their situation the Colonists were delighted. The harbor was land-locked,[49] having a depth of twenty-two feet of water at the bar, and capable of affording safe anchorage to a large number of ships of considerable burden. Surrounded by beautiful forests of live-oak, water oaks, laurel, bay, cedar, sweet-gum, sassafras, and pines, festooned with luxuriant vines, [among which those bearing the Fox-grape and the Muscadine were peculiarly pleasing to the Colonists,] and abounding in deer, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, wild-turkeys, turtle-doves, red-birds, mocking birds, and rice birds,[50] with wide extended marshes frequented by wild geese, ducks, herons, curlews, cranes, plovers, and marsh-hens,—the adjacent waters teeming with fishes, crabs, shrimps, and oysters, and the island fanned by South-East breezes prevailing with the regularity of the trade winds—the strangers were charmed with their new home. Within their fort were enclosed and preserved several of those grand old live-oaks which for centuries had crowned the bluff, and whose shade was refreshing beyond any shelter the hand of man could devise. The town sprang into being as a military post. It was ordered and grew day by day under the immediate supervision of Oglethorpe. The soil of the island was fertile, and its health unquestioned. Lieutenant George Dunbar, on the 20th of January, 1739, made oath before Francis Moore, Recorder of the Town of Frederica, that since his arrival with the first detachment of Colonel Oglethorpe’s regiment the preceding June, all the carpenters and many of the soldiers had been continuously occupied in building clap-board huts, carrying lumber and bricks, unloading vessels, [often working up to their necks in water,] in clearing the parade, burning wood and rubbish, making lime, and in other out-door exercises,—the hours of labor being from daylight until eleven or twelve M. and from two or three o’clock in the afternoon until dark. Despite these exposures, continues the Affiant, “All the time the men kept so healthy that often no man in the camp ailed in the least, and none died except one man who came sick on board and never worked at all; nor did I hear that any of the men ever made the heat a pretence for not working.”[51]

Beyond question Frederica was the healthiest of all the early settlements in Georgia, and St. Simon’s island has always enjoyed an enviable reputation for salubrity. Until marred by the desolations of the late war, this island was a favorite summer resort, and the homes of the planters were the abodes of beauty, comfort, and refinement. A mean temperature of about fifty degrees in winter, and not above eighty-two degrees in summer, gardens adorned with choice flowers, and orchards enriched with plums, peaches, nectarines, figs, melons, pomegranates, dates, oranges and limes,—forests rendered majestic by the live-oak, the pine, and the magnolia grandiflora, and redolent with the perfumes of the bay, the cedar and the myrtle,—the air fresh and buoyant with the South-East breezes, and vocal with the notes of song-birds,—the adjacent sea, sound, and inlets, replete with fishes,—the shell roads and broad beach affording every facility for driving and riding,—the woods and fields abounding with game in their season, and the culture and generous hospitality of the inhabitants, impressed all visitors with the delights of this favored spot. Sir Charles Lyell, among others, alludes with marked satisfaction to the pleasures he there experienced.

Among the reptiles which not only attracted the notice of, but, to a considerable degree, upon first acquaintance, disquieted the early Colonists, the alligators were the most noted. Listen to this description furnished by an eyewitness[52] in 1736: “They are terrible to look at, stretching open an horrible large Mouth, big enough to swallow a Man, with Rows of dreadful large sharp Teeth, and Feet like Draggons, armed with great Claws, and a long Tail which they throw about with great Strength, and which seems their best Weapon, for their Claws are feebly set on, and the Stiffness of their Necks hinders them from turning nimbly to bite.” In order that the public mind might be disabused of the terror which pervaded it with respect to these reptiles, Mr. Oglethorpe, having wounded and caught one, had it brought to Savannah and made the boys bait it with sticks and finally pelt and beat it to death.

The rattle snakes, too, were objects of special dread.

Leaving his people busily occupied with the labors assigned to them at Frederica, Mr. Oglethorpe set out on the 18th of March[53] for the frontiers, “to see where his Majesty’s Dominions and the Spaniards joyn.”[54] He was accompanied by “Toma-Chi-Chi, Mico, and a Body of Indians, who, tho’ but few, being not forty, were all chosen Warriors and good Hunters.” They were conveyed in two Scout Boats, and the next day were joined by the periagua, commanded by Captain Hugh MacKay, with thirty Highlanders, ten men of the Independent Company, and entrenching tools and provisions on board. Upon the north-western point of Cumberland island[55] washed by the bay on the one side, and on the other by the channel running to the southward, Oglethorpe marked out a fort, called it St. Andrews, and left Captain MacKay with his command to build it, and some Indians to hunt and shoot for them while thus employed.

Proceeding on his voyage, Mr. Oglethorpe named the next large Island to the South, Amelia,[56]—“it being a beautiful Island, and the Sea-shore cover’d with Myrtle, Peach-Trees, Orange-Trees, and Vines in the wild Woods.” Tomo-chi-chi conducted him to the mouth of the St. Johns, pointed out the advanced post occupied by the Spanish Guard, and indicated the dividing line. It was with difficulty that the old chief and his followers could be restrained from making a night attack upon the Spaniards, upon whom they thirsted to take revenge for the killing of some Indians during the Mico’s absence in England. Stopping at fort St. Andrews on his way back, Oglethorpe was surprised to find the work in such a state of “forwardness,—the Ditch being dug, and the Parapet raised with Wood and Earth on the Land-side, and the small Wood clear’d fifty yards round the Fort.” This seemed the more extraordinary, adds Francis Moore, because Mr. MacKay had no engineer, or any assistance other than the directions which Mr. Oglethorpe gave. The ground consisting of loose sand, it was a difficult matter to construct the parapets: “therefore they used the same Method to support it as Cæsar mentions in the Wars of Gaul, laying Trees and Earth alternately, the Trees preventing the Sand from falling, and the Sand the Wood from Fire.”

Upon their return to Frederica the Indians encamped near the town, and, on the 26th, favored Mr. Oglethorpe and all the people with a War Dance. “They made a Ring, in the middle of which four sat down, having little Drums made of Kettles, cover’d with Deer-skins, upon which they beat and sung: Round them the others danced, being naked to their Waists, and round their Middles many Trinkets tied with Skins, and some with the Tails of Beasts hanging down behind them. They painted their Faces and Bodies, and their Hair was stuck with Feathers: In one Hand they had a Rattle, in the other Hand the Feathers of an Eagle, made up like the Caduceus of Mercury: They shook these Wings and the Rattle, and danced round the Ring with high Bounds and antick Postures, looking much like the Figures of the Satyrs.

“They shew’d great Activity, and kept just Time in their Motions; and at certain times answer’d by way of Chorus, to those that sat in the Middle of the Ring. They stopt, and then stood out one of the chief Warriors, who sung what Wars he had been in, and described (by Actions as well as by Words) which way he had vanquish’d the Enemies of his Country. When he had done, all the rest gave a Shout of Approbation, as knowing what he said to be true. The next Day Mr. Oglethorpe gave Presents to Toma-chi-chi and his Indians, and dismiss’d them with Thanks for their Fidelity to the King.”[57]

For the further protection of the approaches to Frederica by the inland passages, a strong battery,—called Fort St. Simons,—was erected at the south end of St. Simons’ island. It was designed to command the entrance to Jekyll sound. Adjacent to it was laid out a camp containing barracks and huts for the soldiers. At the southern extremity of Cumberland island Fort William was afterwards built with a view to controlling Amelia sound and the inland passage to St. Augustine. Upon San Juan island to the south, and near the entrance of the St. Johns river, Oglethorpe had observed the traces of an old fort. Thither he sent Captain Hermsdorf, and a detachment of Highlanders, with instructions to repair and occupy it. Having ascertained that this island was included in the cession of lands made by the Indians to his Majesty, he named the island George, and called the fortification fort St. George. With the exception of one or two posts of observation, this constituted the most southern defense of the Colony, and was regarded as an important position for holding the Spaniards in check, and for giving the earliest intelligence of any hostile demonstration on their part.[58] The energy and boldness displayed by the Commander in Chief in developing his line of occupation so far to the south, and in the very teeth of the Spaniards in Florida, are quite remarkable, and indicate on his part not only a daring bordering upon rashness, but also no little confidence in the courage and firmness of the small garrisons detailed to fortify and hold these advanced and isolated positions.

Returning to Frederica from this tour of observation, Mr. Oglethorpe found the workmen busily occupied in constructing the fort, whose outer works were being “palisaded with Cedar Posts to prevent our Enemies turning up the green Sod.” Upon the bastions, platforms of two inch plank were laid for the cannon. A piece of marsh lying below the fort was converted into a water battery, called “the Spur,” the guns of which,—being on a level with the water,—were admirably located for direct and effective operation against all vessels either ascending or descending the river.

A well was dug within the fort which yielded an abundant supply of “tolerable good water.” The people having no bread, and the store of biscuits being needed for the crews of the boats which were kept constantly moving from point to point, an oven was built, and an indented servant,—a baker by trade,—was detailed to bake bread for the Colony. For the flour furnished by each individual an equal weight was returned in bread, “the difference made by the water and salt” being the baker’s gain. This fresh bread, in the language of one who partook of it, was a great comfort to the people. Venison brought in by the Indians was frequently issued in lieu of salt provisions; and poultry, hogs, and sheep were occasionally killed for the sick. Such domestic animals, however, were, at that early period, so scarce in the settlement, that they were carefully guarded for the purpose of breeding. A little later, live stock came forward in abundance, by boats from Port Royal and Savannah.

Grave apprehensions were entertained of an attack from the Spaniards, and Mr. Oglethorpe was untiring in his efforts to place the southern frontier in the best possible state of defense. It is remarkable how much was accomplished under the circumstances. His energy was boundless, his watchfulness unceasing. Scout boats were constantly on duty observing the water approaches from the south as far as the mouth of the St. Johns. Indian runners narrowly watched the walls of St. Augustine, and conveyed intelligence of every movement by the enemy. Look-outs were maintained at all necessary points to give warning of threatened danger. Mr. Bryan and Mr. Barnwell promised, in case Frederica or its out-posts were attacked, to come to their support with a strong body of volunteers from Carolina. Chiefs of the Cheehaws and the Creeks volunteered their assistance.

Acting upon the belief that it was better to confront the Spaniards upon the confines of the Colony than abide the event of their invasion, volunteers came in such numbers from Carolina and Georgia that General Oglethorpe was compelled to issue orders that all who had plantations should remain at home and cultivate them until actually summoned to arms.

Hearing a report that the Spaniards were intent upon dislodging the settlers from Frederica, Ensign Delegal, taking thirty men of the Independent Company under his command, and rowing night and day, reached Frederica on the 10th of May and tendered his services. Without permitting them to land, Oglethorpe ordered English strong beer and provisions on board, sent a present of wine to Ensign Delegal, and, upon the same tide, in his scout boat conducted the party to the east point of St. Simons island where it is washed by Jekyll sound, and there posted the company, locating a spot for constructing a fort, and commanding a well to be dug. By the 16th, Ensign Delegal had succeeded in casting up a considerable entrenchment and in mounting several cannon.

This post,—strengthened on the 8th of June by the arrival of Lieutenant Delegal, with the rest of the Independent Company and thirteen pieces of cannon belonging to them,—was subsequently known as Delegal’s Fort at the Sea-point.

The workmen at Frederica were diligently employed in building a powder magazine under one of the bastions of the fort. It was made of heavy timber covered with several feet of earth. The construction of a large store-house, a smith’s forge, a wheelwright’s shop, and a corn-house also engaged their attention. The men capable of bearing arms were trained in military exercises each day by Mr. McIntosh. The Colonists were in a state of constant alarm, and everything was made subservient to the general defense. Even the feeble avowed their willingness to sacrifice their lives in protecting their new homes. Inspired by the intrepidity and vigilance, the fearlessness and the activity of the General,—who was constantly on the move, visiting the advanced works, pressing his reconnoissances even within the enemy’s lines, and making every available disposition of men and munitions which could conduce to the common safety,—soldiers and citizens kept brave hearts, labored incessantly and cheerfully, observed a sleepless watch upon the sea and its inlets, and stood prepared to offer stout resistance to the Spaniard. It was a manly sight, that little colony fearlessly planting itself upon island and headland, separated from all substantial support, and yet extending itself on land and water to the very verge of hostile lines held by an enemy greatly superior in men and the appliances of warfare.

This state of uncertainty and alarm continued along the southern frontier of Georgia until, by conference between Mr. Oglethorpe and the Spanish Commissioners in Jekyll sound on the 19th of June, there occurred an amicable adjustment of pending disputes. The healths of the King and Royal Family of Great Britain, and of the King and Queen of Spain, were drank amid salvos of artillery from the sloop Hawk and the Sea-Point Battery; and when the Spaniards set out on the 22d to return to St. Augustine, they expressed themselves pleased with their reception and amicably inclined towards the Colony and its knightly General. This period of tranquility was of but short duration. In the fall of the year a peremptory demand was made by the Spanish Government for the evacuation by the English of all territory lying south of St. Helena’s sound.

Perceiving that vigorous measures and a stronger force were requisite for the preservation of the Colony, and yielding to the solicitations of the Trustees that he should be present at the approaching meeting of Parliament to influence larger supplies for Georgia, Mr. Oglethorpe, having made the best possible arrangements for the government and protection of the province during his absence, embarked for England on the 29th of November, 1736.[59]

During his absence in England, nothing of special moment transpired on the southern frontiers. Mr. Horton appears to have been left in general charge of the defenses in that quarter. He established himself at Frederica, whence he made frequent tours of inspection to its out-posts and dependent works. Of a visit which he paid to the town early in February, 1737, Mr. Stephens, Secretary of the Colony, gives us rather a stupid account,[60] from which we gather that the inhabitants were living “in perfect Peace and Quiet, without Fear of any Disturbance from Abroad, and without any Strife or Contention at Law at Home, where they sometimes opened a Court, but very rarely had any Thing to do in it.” Only slight improvements had been made during the preceding year in clearing and cultivating land, because of the constant apprehension of incursion by the Spaniards, and the amount of military service the able-bodied men were obliged to perform.

Moved by the indications of hostility on the part of the Spaniards, and yielding to the entreaties of the Trustees[61] that additional troops be provided for the protection of the Colony, his Majesty, in June, 1737, appointed Oglethorpe General of all forces in Carolina as well as in Georgia, and authorized him to raise a regiment. In October of that year, and before his regiment had been fully recruited, he was commissioned as Colonel. The relief of Georgia being regarded as important, a body of troops was sent thither from Gibraltar, which reached Savannah early in May, 1738, and was transferred from that point to the South for the defense of the frontiers. The famous clergyman George Whitefield, detailed to take Mr. Wesley’s place in the Colony, was a passenger on board the ship in which these soldiers were transported. About the same time two or three companies of the General’s own regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Cochrane, arrived in Charleston, and were marched southward by the road which ran from Port Royal to Darien.[62] Oglethorpe’s regiment was limited to six companies of one hundred men each, exclusive of non-commissioned officers and drummers. To it a grenadier company was subsequently attached. Disdaining to “make a market of the service of his country” by selling commissions, the General secured the appointment, as officers, only of such persons as were gentlemen of family and character in their respective counties. He also engaged about twenty young gentlemen of no fortune to serve as cadets. These he subsequently promoted as vacancies occurred. So far from deriving any pecuniary benefit from these appointments, the General, in some cases, from his private fortune advanced the fees requisite to procure commissions, and provided moneys for the purchase of uniforms and clothing. At his own expense he engaged the services of forty supernumeraries,—“a circumstance,” says a contemporaneous writer, “very extraordinary in our armies, especially in our plantations.”

In order to engender in the hearts of the enlisted men an interest in and an attachment for the Colony they were designed to defend, and with a view to induce them eventually to become settlers, permission was granted to each to take a wife with him. For the support of the wife, additional pay and rations were provided.[63] So carefully was this regiment recruited and officered, that it constituted one of the best military organizations in the service of the King.

Sailing from Portsmouth on the 5th of July, 1738, with the rest of his regiment,—numbering, with the women, children, and supernumeraries who accompanied, between six and seven hundred souls,—in five transports convoyed by the men of war Blandford and Hector, General Oglethorpe arrived safely in Jekyll sound on the 18th of the following September.[64] The next day the troops were landed at the Soldiers Fort, on the south end of St. Simon’s island. This arrival was welcomed by an artillery salute from the battery, and by shouts from the garrison. Upon coming within soundings off the Georgia coast on the 13th, Sir Yelverton Peyton, in the Hector, parted company and sailed for Virginia. Until the 21st, the General encamped near the Fort, superintending the disembarcation and issuing necessary orders. His regiment was now concentrated, and every officer is represented to have been at his post.

Frederica was visited on the 21st, and there Oglethorpe was saluted with fifteen guns from the fort. The Magistrates and towns-people waited upon him in a body, tendering their congratulations upon his return. Several Indians were present who assured him that the Upper and Lower Creeks were in readiness to come and see him so soon as they should be notified of his presence.[65] In a letter[66] to Sir Joseph Jekyll, under date 19th September, 1738, General Oglethorpe, alluding to the fact that the Spaniards, although having fifteen hundred men at St. Augustine,—there being nothing but the militia in Georgia,—had delayed their contemplated attack until the arrival of the Regular Troops, acknowledges that God had thus given “the greatest marks of his visible Protection to the Colony.” He advises Sir Joseph that the passage had been fine,—but one soldier having died,—and that the inhabitants who had hitherto been so harrassed by Spanish threats were now cheerful, believing that the worst was over, and that,—relieved from the constant guard duty which they had been compelled to perform, some times two days out of five, to the neglect of their crops and improvements,—they might now prosecute their labors and make comfortable provision for the future. Realizing the necessity of opening direct communication between Frederica and the Soldiers Fort at the south end of the island, on the 25th General Oglethorpe set every male to work cutting a road to connect those points. So energetically was the labor prosecuted, that although the woods were thick and the distance nearly six miles, the task was compassed in three days.

To the Honorable Thomas Spalding[67] are we indebted for the following description of this important avenue of communication: “This road after passing out of the town of Frederica in a south-east direction, entered a beautiful prairie of a mile over, when it penetrated a dense, close oak wood; keeping the same course for two miles, it passed to the eastern marsh that bounded St. Simon’s seaward. Along this marsh, being dry and hard, no road was necessary, and none was made. This natural highway was bounded on the east by rivers and creeks and impracticable marshes; it was bounded on the west, (the island side) by a thick wood covered with palmetto and vines of every character so as to be impracticable for any body of men, and could only be traveled singly and alone. This winding way along the marsh was continued for two miles, when it again passed up to the high land which had become open and clear, and from thence it proceeded in a direct line to the fort, at the sea entrance, around which, for two hundred acres, five acre allotments of land for the soldiers had been laid out, cleared, and improved. I have again been thus particular in my description, because it was to the manner in which this road was laid out and executed, that General Oglethorpe owed the preservation of the fort and town of Frederica.... His fort and batteries at Frederica were so situated as to water approaches, and so covered by a wood, that no number of ships could injure them. And he now planned his land route in such a manner, that again the dense wood of our eastern islands became a rampart mighty to save. And fifty Highlanders and four Indians occupying these woods did save.”

We learn from that admirable “History of the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the Colony of Georgia,” contained in Dr. Harris’ Complete Collections of Voyages and Travels,[68] that “on the arrival of the Regiment of which Mr. Oglethorpe was appointed Colonel, he distributed them in the properest manner for the Service of the Colony; but notwithstanding this was of great Ease to the Trustees, and a vast Security to the Inhabitants, yet Colonel Oglethorpe still kept up the same Discipline, and took as much Care to form and regulate the Inhabitants with respect to military Affairs as ever. He provided likewise different Corps for different Services; some for ranging the Woods; others, light armed, for sudden Expeditions; and he likewise provided Vessels for scouring the Sea Coasts, and for gaining Intelligence. In all which Services he gave at the same time his Orders and his Example; there being nothing he did not which he directed others to do; so that if he was the first Man in the Colony, his Pre-eminence was founded upon old Homer’s Maxims: He was the most fatigued, and the first in Danger, distinguished by his Cares and his Labours, not by any exterior Marks of Grandeur, more easily dispensed with, since they were certainly needless.”

The finances of the Trust being in a depressed condition, the General drew largely upon his private fortune and pledged his individual credit in conducting the operations necessary for the security of the southern frontiers and in provisioning the settlers. To Alderman Heathcote he writes: “I am here” [at Frederica] “in one of the most delightful situations as any man could wish to be. A great number of Debts, empty magazines, no money to supply them, numbers of people to be fed, mutinous soldiers to command, a Spanish Claim and a large body of their Troops not far from us. But as we are of the same kind of spirit, these Difficulties have the same effect upon me, as those you met with in the City, had upon you. They rather animate than daunt me.”[69]

Again, on the 16th of November, 1739, he advises the Trustees:[70] “I am fortifying the Town of Frederica & hope I shall be repaid the Expences; from whom I do not know, yet I could not think of leaving a number of good houses and Merch’ts Goods and, which was more valuable, the Lives of Men, Women and Children in an open Town at the mercy of every Party, and the Inhabitants obliged either to fly to a Fort and leave their Effects, or suffer with them.”

That the Trustees might be fully informed of the condition and needs of the Province, Mr. Horton,—who commanded the Southern Division during Oglethorpe’s absence,—was sent to London about the close of the year 1739. The letter[71] of advice which he bore, contains an interesting account of the affairs of the Colony. In it General Oglethorpe states that his Regiment of Foot being unable to perform garrison duty and undertake the requisite marches on the main to overtake Indians and horsemen, he had been compelled to associate Indian allies whom he had armed, supplied with ammunition, fed, and clothed, in consideration of their services. Sixty Rangers, to act as scouts, had been recruited and mounted. By means of his boats, and the Colony Periagua,—which had been fitted out with four guns and a crew of forty men,—he had succeeded in driving the Spaniards out of the mouth of the St. Johns river. The forts having been originally built of earth and hastily constructed, had fallen sadly out of repair. To place them in proper condition was then his earnest endeavor. “Upon the Hostilities being committed,” so runs the letter, “I thought I should be answerable for the blood of these people before God and man if I had left them open to be surprised by Spanish Indians, and murdered in the night and their houses burnt, and if I did not take all proper means for their defence, they being under my charge.” With this end in view, he resolved to enclose the town of Frederica with fortifications. This defensive work is thus described: “It is half an Hexagon with two Bastions, and two half Bastions and Towers, after Monsieur Vauban’s method, upon the point of each Bastion. The Walls are of earth faced with Timber, 10 foot High in the lowest place, and in the highest 13, and the Timbers from eight inches to twelve inches thick. There is a wet Ditch 10 foot wide, and so laid out that if we had an allowance for it, I can by widening the Ditch double the thickness of the Wall and make a covered way. I hope in three months it will be entirely finished, and in that time not only to fortify here but to repair the Forts on Amelia and Saint Andrews. The Expence of these small above mentioned Works, which is all that I can now make, will not be great. Frederica will come within £500, St. Andrews £400, and Amelia £100.”[72]

In the midst of his multifarious engagements and perplexities, in which General Oglethorpe exhibited the highest executive ability, and an activity and self abnegation worthy of all admiration, he was embarrassed by treachery within his camp which well nigh eventuated in the most serious consequences. A plan,—set on foot by one of the soldiers who had been in the Spanish service,—to murder the officers and escape to the enemy with such plunder as could be secured, was discovered in time to prevent its execution. The ring-leaders were tried, convicted, whipped, and drummed out of the regiment.

Early in November, 1738, General Oglethorpe took up his temporary quarters at Fort St. Andrew, on Cumberland island, that he might personally superintend and encourage the construction of the military defenses which were being there erected. This island was then garrisoned by the companies which had been detailed from Gibraltar. In addition to their pay these troops, for a limited period after their arrival in Georgia, had been allowed extra provisions from the King’s store. When, in November, these rations were discontinued, conceiving themselves wronged and defrauded of their rights, the men became dissatisfied. As the General was conversing at the door of his hut with Captain MacKay, a turbulent fellow had the temerity to come up unannounced and demand a renewal of the allowance. Oglethorpe replied that the terms of enlistment had been fully complied with: and that if he desired any favor at his hand such rude and disrespectful behavior was not calculated to secure a favorable consideration of his application. The fellow thereupon became outrageously insolent. Captain MacKay drew his sword, which the desperado wrested from him, broke in half, and, having thrown the hilt at that officer’s head, rushed away to the barracks. There snatching up a loaded gun and crying aloud “One and All,” he ran back, followed by five or more of the conspirators, and fired at the General. Being only a few paces distant, the ball whizzed close by Oglethorpe’s ear, while the powder scorched his face and singed his clothes. Another soldier presented his piece and attempted to discharge it. Fortunately it missed fire. A third drew his hanger and endeavored to stab the General, who, however, having by this time unsheathed his sword, parried the thrust. An officer coming up ran the ruffian through the body. Frustrated in their attempt at assassination, the mutineers sought safety in flight, but were apprehended and put in irons. After trial by court martial the ring-leaders were found guilty and shot.[73]

Thus wonderfully was the General preserved for the important trusts committed to his care, and so narrowly was a calamity averted which would have plunged the Colony into the depths of uncertainty and peril. Had she been deprived, at this trying moment, of Oglethorpe’s guidance, Georgia, feeble and uncertain, would have been left well-nigh naked to her enemies.

Spanish emissaries from St. Augustine endeavored to inaugurate an insurrection among the negroes of South Carolina. To them freedom and protection were promised. Every inducement was offered which could encourage not only desertion from, but also massacre of their owners. Of the run-away slaves the Governor of Florida had formed a regiment, appointing officers from among them, and placing both officers and enlisted men upon the pay and rations allowed to the regular Spanish soldiers. Of this fact the Carolina negroes were advised.[74] The pernicious influence of such tampering with this servile population may be more readily conjectured than described. Thus did Spain grow daily more and more offensive in the development of her plans for the destruction of the English Colonies adjacent to her possessions in Florida. To the vigilance of Oglethorpe is Carolina largely indebted for her escape from the horrors of a servile insurrection.[75]

By his personal interview with the Indians at Coweta town, Oglethorpe had secured the good will of the Creeks, the Cousees, the Tallapousees, the Cowetas, the Choctaws and the Chickesas, thus thwarting the machinations of the Spanish and French, and relieving the Colony from apprehensions of a most serious character. His energies were all directed to a careful preparation to meet the Spanish storm which was gathering and almost ready to burst upon the southern frontier of the Province. Referring to this perilous and protracted journey performed by General Oglethorpe to propitiate these Indian tribes and secure from them pledges whose observance was essential to the continuance of the Colony, Mr. Spalding[76] justly remarks, “When we call into remembrance the then force of these tribes,—for they could have brought into the field twenty thousand fighting men,—when we call to remembrance the influence the French had everywhere else obtained over the Indians,—when we call to remembrance the distance he had to travel through solitary pathways from Frederica, exposed to summer suns, night dews, and to the treachery of any single Indian who knew, and every Indian knew, the rich reward that would have awaited him for the act from the Spaniards in St. Augustine or the French in Mobile; surely we may proudly ask what soldier ever gave higher proof of courage? What gentleman ever gave greater evidence of magnanimity? What English governor of an American province ever gave such assurance of deep devotion to public duty?”

But for this manly conference with the Red men in the heart of their own country, and the admiration with which his presence, courage, and bearing inspired the assembled Chiefs, Oglethorpe could not have compassed the pacification and secured that treaty of amity so essential to the welfare of the Colony now on the eve of most serious difficulties with the Spaniards in Florida.

On the 5th of October, 1739, at his little town four miles from Savannah, the venerable Tomo-chi-chi,—Oglethorpe’s earliest and best friend among the Indians,—yielding to the effects of a lingering illness, died at the advanced age of ninety-seven years. The General acted as one of the pall-bearers, and the body of the old Chief, in accordance with his wish, was interred, with becoming honors, in one of the public squares in Savannah. In his last moments he expressed no little concern that he was about to be taken away at a time when his services might prove of special value to his friends, the English, against the Spaniards, and counseled his people never to forget the favors he had received, when in England, from the King, and to persevere in their amicable relations with the colonists.[77] These injunctions were not unheeded. Toonahowi—the favorite nephew of the aged Mico—accompanied General Oglethorpe in his expedition against St. Augustine; and again, leading a party of Creek Indians, brought off from the very walls of that city Don Romualdo Ruiz del Moral, lieutenant of Spanish horse and nephew to the late governor of Florida, and delivered him a prisoner to Oglethorpe. During the memorable and successful resistance maintained when St. Simon’s island was attacked by the Spaniards in 1742, this brave Indian, illustrating the valor, personal courage, and friendship which characterized his distinguished uncle, remained firm in his attachment to the colonists and rendered valuable military service. On the 7th of July, although wounded in the right arm by Captain Mageleto, he drew his pistol with the left, and shot the Captain dead on the spot. This brave warrior and faithful ally was finally killed in 1743, at Lake di Papa, while valiantly fighting for the English against the Yemasee Indians.[78]

The disputes existing between England and Spain culminated in a declaration of war in October, 1739. On the 15th of November intelligence was brought to Frederica that a party of Spaniards had recently landed on Amelia island in the night, and, concealing themselves in the woods, had, on the ensuing morning, shot two unarmed Highlanders who were in quest of fuel, and then, in the most inhuman manner, hacked their bodies with their swords. Francis Brooks,—commanding the scout-boat,—heard the firing and gave the alarm to the fort, which was garrisoned by a detachment from Oglethorpe’s regiment. Although pursued, the enemy escaped, leaving behind them the proofs of their inhuman butchery.[79] Informed of the outrage, Oglethorpe manned a gunboat and followed in the hope of overtaking the party. The effort proved futile, and the General, by way of retaliation, passing up the St. Johns drove in the guards of Spanish horse posted on that river, and detached Captain Dunbar to ascertain the location and force of the enemy’s fort at Picolata. This incursion was followed by another in January, which resulted in the capture of Forts Picolata and St. Francis, the garrisons being made prisoners of war. In the assault upon the latter work General Oglethorpe narrowly escaped death from a cannon shot.[80]

Chafing under these repeated annoyances experienced at the hands of the Spaniards, advised that the garrison at St. Augustine was suffering for lack of provisions, and ascertaining that the galleys having been sent to Havana for reinforcements and supplies, the St. Johns river and the Florida coast were in a comparatively defenseless condition, the General deemed it a fitting opportunity to attempt the reduction of St. Augustine and the expulsion of the Spaniards from Florida. Admiral Vernon was instructed to assume the offensive against the Spanish possessions in the West Indies, while General Oglethorpe should conduct all available forces against the seat of their dominion in Florida. The assistance of Carolina was urgently invoked, but the authorities at first would not acquiesce in the feasibility of the enterprise.[81] A rapid movement being regarded essential to success, General Oglethorpe repaired to Charleston to urge early and potent co-operation. As a result of the conference which there ensued, the Legislature, by an act passed April 5th, 1740, agreed to contribute a regiment of five hundred men to be commanded by Colonel Vanderdussen, a troop of Rangers, presents for the Indians, and three months’ provisions. A large schooner,—conveying ten carriages and sixteen swivel guns, and fifty men under the command of Captain Tyrrell,—was also furnished for the expedition. Commodore Vincent Price, with a small fleet, pledged his assistance.

On the first of April General Oglethorpe published a manifesto, in which, recognizing Alexander Vanderdussen, Esq., as Colonel of the Carolina regiment, he empowered him for the space of four months to hold regimental court martials for the trial of all offenders. At the expiration of that period all connected with that regiment were to be suffered to return to their homes. To the naval forces uniting in the expedition a full share of all plunder was guaranteed. To the maimed and wounded, and to the widows and orphans of such as might perish in the service, was promised whatever share of the spoils should fall to the lot of the General in Chief. Indian enemies, if taken captive, were to be treated as prisoners of war, and not as slaves.[82]

The mouth of the St. Johns was designated as the point of rendezvous.

Runners were sent from the Uchee town to the Indian allies to inform them of the contemplated demonstration against St. Augustine, and to request a junction of their forces at Frederica at the earliest moment. This done, the General returned at once to St. Simons island where he devoted himself to equipping his forces and collecting the requisite munitions of war.

Anticipating the concentration of his forces, and wishing to reduce the posts through which the enemy derived supplies from the country, General Oglethorpe, with four hundred men of his own regiment and a considerable force of Indians led by Molochi,—son of Prim, the late Chief of the Creeks,—Raven, war chief of the Cherokees, and Toonahowi, nephew of Tomo-chi-chi, on the 9th of May passed over into Florida, and within a week succeeded in capturing Fort Francis de Papa[83] seventeen miles north of St. Augustine, and Fort Diego[84] situated on the plains twenty-five miles from St. Augustine. The latter work was defended by eleven guns and fifty regulars, besides Indians and negroes. Leaving Lieutenant Dunbar and sixty men to hold this post, the General returned with the rest of his command to the place of rendezvous where, on the 19th of May, he was joined by Captain McIntosh with a company of Highlanders, and by the Carolina troops under Colonel Vanderdussen. The anticipated horsemen, pioneers, and negroes, however, did not arrive.

From the best information he could obtain,—gathered from prisoners and otherwise,—General Oglethorpe ascertained that the Castle of St. Augustine at that time consisted of a fort, built of soft stone. Its curtain was sixty yards in length, its parapet nine feet thick, and its rampart twenty feet high, “casemated underneath for lodgings, and arched over and newly made bomb-proof.” Its armament consisted of fifty cannon,—sixteen of brass,—and among them some twenty-four pounders. The garrison had been for some time working upon a covered-way, but this was still in an unfinished condition. The town of St. Augustine was protected by a line of intrenchments with ten salient angles, in each of which some field pieces were mounted. In January, 1740, the Spanish forces in Florida, by establishment, consisted of the following organizations:[85]

It was General Oglethorpe’s original purpose, as foreshadowed in his dispatch of the 27th of March, 1740,[86] with four hundred regular troops of his regiment, one hundred Georgians, and such additional forces as South Carolina could contribute, to advance directly upon St. Augustine, and attack, by sea and land, the town and the island in its front. Both of these, he believed, could be taken “sword in hand.” He would then summon the castle to surrender, or surprise it. Conceiving that the castle would be too small to afford convenient shelter for the two thousand one hundred men, women, and children of the town, he regarded the capitulation of the fortress as not improbable. Should it refuse to surrender, however, he proposed to shower upon it “Granado-shells from the Cohorns and Mortars, and send for the Artillery and Pioneers and the rest of the Aid promised by the Assembly;[87] also for Mortars and Bombs from Providence;” and, if the castle should not have yielded prior to the arrival of “these Aids,” he was resolved to open trenches and conduct a siege which he reckoned would be all the easier, the garrison having been weakened by the summer’s blockade.

About the time of the concentration of the Georgia and Carolina forces for combined operations against St. Augustine, that town was materially reinforced by the arrival of six Spanish half-galleys,—manned by two hundred regular troops and armed with long brass nine-pounder guns,—and two sloops loaded with provisions.

Warned by the preliminary demonstration which eventuated, as we have seen, in the capture of forts Francis de Papa and Diego, the enemy massed all detachments within the lines of St. Augustine, collected cattle from the adjacent region, and prepared for a vigorous defense.

Apprehending that he might not be able to carry the town by assault from the land side,—where its entrenchments were strong and well armed,—unless supported by a demonstration in force from the men of war approaching the town where it looks toward the sea and where it was not covered by earth-works, and being without the requisite pioneer corps and artillery train for the conduct of a regular siege, before putting his army in motion General Oglethorpe instructed the naval commanders to rendezvous off the bar of the north channel, and blockade that and the Matanzas pass to St. Augustine. Captain Warren, with two hundred sailors, was to land on Anastasia island and erect batteries for bombarding the town in front. When his land forces should come into position and be prepared for the assault, he was to notify Sir Yelverton Peyton, commanding the naval forces, and St. Augustine would thus be attacked on all sides. Shortly after the middle of May, 1740, General Oglethorpe, with a land army numbering over two thousand regulars, militia, and Indians, moved upon St. Augustine. Fort Moosa,[88] situated within two miles of that place, lay in his route. Upon his approach the garrison evacuated it and retired within the lines of the town. Having burnt the gates of this fort and caused three breaches in its walls, General Oglethorpe, on the 5th of June, made his reconnoissances of the land defenses of St. Augustine and prepared for the contemplated assault. Everything being in readiness, the signal previously agreed upon to insure the coöperation of the naval forces was given; but, to the General’s surprise and mortification, no response was returned. His forces being disposed and eager for the attack, the signal was repeated, but failed to evoke the anticipated answer. Satisfied that the town could not be carried without the assistance of the naval forces, and being ignorant of the cause of their non-action, the General reluctantly withdrew his army and placed it in camp at a convenient distance, there to remain until he could ascertain the reason of the failure on the part of the navy to coöperate in the plan which had been preconcerted. This failure was explained in this wise. Inside the bar, and at such a remove that they could not be affected by the fire of the British vessels of war,—the Flamborough, the Phœnix, the Squirrel, the Tartar, the Spence, and the Wolf,—Spanish gallies and half gallies were moored so as to effectually prevent the ascent of the barges intended for the attack, and preclude a landing of troops upon Anastasia island. The shallowness of the water was such that the men of war could not advance near enough to dislodge them. Under the circumstances therefore, Sir Yelverton Peyton found himself unable to respond to the important part assigned him in the attack.

Advised of this fact, and chagrined at the non-realization of his original plan of operations, Oglethorpe determined at once to convert his purposed assault into a siege. The ships of war lying off the bar of St. Augustine were directed to narrowly observe every avenue of approach by water, and maintain a most rigid blockade. Colonel Palmer, with ninety-five Highlanders and forty-two Indians, was left at Fort Moosa with instructions to scout the woods incessantly on the land side and intercept any cattle or supplies coming from the interior. To prevent surprise and capture, he was cautioned to change his camp each night, and keep always on the alert. He was to avoid anything like a general engagement with the enemy. Colonel Vanderdussen, with his South Carolina regiment, was ordered to take possession of a neck of land known as Point Quartel, about a mile distant from the castle, and there erect a battery. General Oglethorpe, with the men of his regiment and most of the Indians, embarked in boats and effected a landing on Anastasia island, where, having driven off a party of Spaniards there stationed as an advanced guard, he, with the assistance of the sailors from the fleet, began mounting cannon with which to bombard the town and castle.[89] Having by these dispositions completed his investment, Oglethorpe summoned the Spanish Governor to a surrender. Secure in his strong-hold, the haughty Don “sent him for answer that he would be glad to shake hands with him in his castle.” Indignant at such a response, the General opened his batteries upon the castle and also shelled the town. The fire was returned both by the fort and the half gallies in the harbor. So great was the distance, however, that although the cannonade was maintained with spirit on both sides for nearly three weeks, little damage was caused or impression produced.[90] It being evident that the reduction of the castle could not be expected from the Anastasia island batteries, Captain Warren offered to lead a night attack upon the half gallies in the harbor which were effectually preventing all ingress by boats. A council of war decided that in as much as those galleys were covered by the guns of the castle, and could not be approached by the larger vessels of the fleet, any attempt to capture them in open boats would be accompanied by too much risk. The suggestion was therefore abandoned.

Observing the besiegers uncertain in their movements, and their operations growing lax, and being sore pressed for provisions, the Spanish Governor sent out a detachment of three hundred men against Colonel Palmer. Unfortunately that officer, negligent of his instructions and apprehending no danger from the enemy, remained two or three consecutive nights at Fort Moosa. This detachment, under the command of Don Antonio Salgrado, passed quietly out of the gates of St. Augustine during the night of June 14th, and after encountering a most desperate resistance, succeeded in capturing Fort Moosa at day light, the next morning. Colonel Palmer fell early in the action. The Highlanders “fought like lions,” and “made such havoc with their broadswords as the Spaniards cannot easily forget.” This hand-to-hand conflict was won at the cost to the enemy of more than one hundred lives. Colonel Palmer, a Captain, and twenty Highlanders were killed. Twenty-seven were captured. Those who escaped made their way to Colonel Vanderdussen at Point Quartel. Thus was St. Augustine relieved from the prohibition which had hitherto estopped all intercourse with the surrounding country.

Shortly after the occurrence of this unfortunate event, the vessel which had been blockading the Matanzas river was withdrawn. Taking advantage of the opportunity thus afforded, some small vessels from Havana, with provisions and reinforcements, reached St. Augustine by that narrow channel, bringing great encouragement and relief to the garrison. This reinforcement was estimated at seven hundred men, and the supply of provisions is said to have been large. “Then,” writes Hewitt,[91] whose narrative we have followed in the main, “all prospects of starving the enemy being lost, the army began to despair of forcing the place to surrender. The Carolinean troops, enfeebled by the heat, dispirited by sickness, and fatigued by fruitless efforts, marched away in large bodies. The navy being short of provisions, and the usual season of hurricanes approaching, the commander judged it imprudent to hazard his Majesty’s ships by remaining longer on that coast. Last of all, the General himself, sick of a fever, and his regiment worn out with fatigue and rendered unfit for action by a flux, with sorrow and regret followed, and reached Frederica about the 10th of July, 1740.”

The Carolineans, under Colonel Vanderdussen, proved themselves inefficient, “turbulent, and disobedient.” They lost not a single man in action, and only fourteen deaths occurred from sickness and accident. Desertions were frequent.[92]

Upon Oglethorpe’s regiment, and the Georgia companies, devolved the brunt of the siege. On the 5th of July the artillery and stores on Anastasia island were brought off, and the men crossed over to the mainland.[93] Vanderdussen and his regiment at once commenced a disorderly retreat in the direction of the St. Johns, leaving Oglethorpe and his men within half-cannon shot of the castle. In his dispatch to the Secretary of State, dated Camp on St. Johns in Florida, July 19th, 1740, the General thus describes his last movements: “The Spaniards made a sally, with about 500 men, on me who lay on the land side. I ordered Ensign Cathcart with twenty men, supported by Major Heron and Captain Desbrisay with upwards of 100 men, to attack them; I followed with the body. We drove them into the works and pursued them to the very barriers of the covered way. After the train and provisions were embarked and safe out of the harbour, I marched with drums beating and colours flying, in the day, from my camp near the town to a camp three miles distant, where I lay that night. The next day I marched nine miles, where I encamped that night. We discovered a party of Spanish horse and Indians whom we charged, took one horseman and killed two Indians; the rest ran to the garrison. I am now encamped on St. Johns river, waiting to know what the people of Carolina would desire me farther to do for the safety of these provinces, which I think are very much exposed to the half-galleys, with a wide extended frontier hardly to be defended by a few men.”

In one of the Indian chiefs Oglethorpe found a man after his own heart. When asked by some of the retreating troops to march with them, his reply was, “No! I will not stir a foot till I see every man belonging to me marched off before me; for I have always been the first in advancing towards an enemy, and the last in retreating.”[94]

This failure to reduce St. Augustine may be fairly attributed

I; to the delay in inaugurating the movement, caused mainly, if not entirely, by the tardiness on the part of the South Carolina authorities in contributing the troops and provisions for which requisition had been made;

II; to the reinforcement of men and supplies from Havanna introduced into St. Augustine just before the English expedition set out; thereby materially repairing the inequality previously existing between the opposing forces;

III; to the injudicious movement against forts Francis de Papa and Diego, which put the Spaniards on the alert, encouraged concentration on their part, and foreshadowed an immediate demonstration in force against their stronghold; and

IV; to the inability on the part of the fleet to participate in the assault previously planned, and which was to have been vigorously undertaken so soon as General Oglethorpe with his land forces came into position before the walls of St. Augustine.

V. The subsequent destruction of Colonel Palmer’s command,—thereby enabling the enemy to communicate with and draw supplies from the interior,—the lack of heavy ordnance with which to reduce the castle from the batteries on Anastasia island,—the impossibility of bringing up the larger war vessels that they might participate in the bombardment,—the inefficiency of Colonel Vanderdussen’s command,—the impatience and disappointment of the Indian allies who anticipated early capture and liberal spoils,—hot suns, heavy dews, a debilitating climate, sickness among the troops, and the arrival of men, munitions of war, and provisions through the Matanzas river, in the end rendered quite futile every hope which at the outset had been entertained for a successful prosecution of the siege.

Great was the disappointment upon the failure of the expedition, and unjust and harsh the criticisms levelled by not a few against its brave and distinguished leader.[95] We agree with the Duke of Argyle who, in the British House of Peers, declared “One man there is, my Lords, whose natural generosity, contempt of danger, and regard for the public prompted him to obviate the designs of the Spaniards, and to attack them in their own territories; a man whom by long acquaintance I can confidently affirm to have been equal to his undertaking, and to have learned the art of war by a regular education, who yet miscarried in the design only for want of supplies necessary to a possibility of success.”

Although this attempt,—so formidable in its character when we consider the limited resources at command, and so full of daring when we contemplate the circumstances under which it was undertaken,—eventuated in disappointment, its effects were not without decided advantages to the Colonies. For two years the Spaniards remained on the defensive, and General Oglethorpe enjoyed an opportunity for strengthening his fortifications on St. Simons island, so that when the counter blow was delivered by his adversary he was in condition not only to parry it, but also to severely punish the uplifted arm.[96]

For two months after the termination of this expedition, Oglethorpe lay ill of a continued fever contracted during the exposures and fatigues incident upon his exertions and anxieties during the siege. When, on the second of September, Mr. Stephens called to see him at Frederica, he found him still troubled with a lurking fever and confined to his bed. His protracted sickness had so “worn away his strength” that he “seldom came down stairs, but retained still the same vivacity of spirit in appearance to all whom he talked with, though he chose to converse with very few.”[97]

Four companies of the regiment were now encamped at the south-east end of St. Simons island, and the other two at Frederica. So soon as the men recovered from the malady contracted at St. Augustine, they were busily occupied in erecting new fortifications and strengthening the old. From these two camps detachments garrisoned the advanced works, St. Andrew, Fort William, St. George, and the outposts on Amelia island;—the details being relieved at regular intervals.[98]

During the preceding seven years, which constituted the entire life of the Colony, General Oglethorpe had enjoyed no respite from his labors. Personally directing all movements,—supervising the location, and providing for the comfort, safety, and good order of the settlers,—accommodating their differences,—encouraging and directing their labors,—propitiating the Aborigines,—influencing necessary supplies, and inaugurating suitable defences, he had been constantly passing from point to point finding no rest for the soles of his feet. Now in tent at Savannah,—now in open boat reconnoitering the coast,—now upon the southern islands,—his only shelter the wide-spreading live-oak,—designating sites for forts and look-outs, and with his own hands planning military works and laying out villages,—again in journeys oft along the Savannah, the Great Ogeechee, the Alatamaha, the St. Johns, and far off into the heart of the Indian country,—frequently inspecting his advanced posts,—undertaking voyages to Charlestown and to England in behalf of the Trust, and engaged in severe contests with the Spaniards, his life had been one of incessant activity and solicitude. But for his energy, intelligence, watchfulness, and self-sacrifice, the enterprise must have languished. As we look back upon this period of trial, uncertainty, and poverty, our admiration for his achievements increases the more narrowly we scan his limited resources and opportunities, the more intelligently we appreciate the difficulties he was called upon to surmount. Always present wherever duty called or danger threatened, he never expected others to press on where he himself did not lead. The only home he ever owned or claimed in Georgia was on St. Simons island. The only hours of leisure he ever enjoyed were spent in sight and sound of his military works along the southern frontier, upon whose safe tenure depended the salvation of the Colony. Just where the military road connecting Fort St. Simon with Frederica, after having traversed the beautiful prairie,—constituting the common pasture land of the village,—entered the woods, General Oglethorpe established his cottage. Adjacent to it were a garden, and an orchard of oranges, figs and grapes. Magnificent oaks threw their protecting shadows above and around this quiet, pleasant abode, fanned by delicious sea-breezes, fragrant with the perfume of flowers, and vocal with the melody of song-birds. To the westward, and in full view, were the fortifications and the white houses of Frederica. Behind rose a dense forest of oaks. “This cottage and fifty acres of land attached to it,” says the honorable Thomas Spalding in his “Sketch of the life of General James Oglethorpe,”[99] “was all the landed domain General Oglethorpe reserved to himself, and after the General went to England it became the property of my father.... After the Revolutionary war, the buildings being destroyed, my father sold this little property. But the oaks were only cut down within four or five years past, and the elder people of St. Simons yet feel as if it were sacrilege, and mourn their fall.” Here the defences of St. Simons island were under his immediate supervision. His troops were around him, and he was prepared, upon the first note of warning, to concentrate the forces of the Colony for active operations. In the neighborhood several of his officers established their homes. Among them, “Harrington Hall,”—the country seat of the wealthy Huguenot, Captain Raymond Demeré, enclosed with hedges of cassina,—was conspicuous for its beauty and comfort.

Including the soldiers and their families, Frederica in 1740 is said to have claimed a population of one thousand.[100] This estimate is perhaps somewhat exaggerated, although much nearer the mark than that of the discontents Tailfer, Anderson, and Douglas, who, in their splenetic and jacobinical tract entitled “A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in America,” assert that of the one hundred and forty-four lots into which the town was divided, only “about fifty were built upon,” and that “the number of the Inhabitants, notwithstanding of the Circulation of the Regiment’s money, are not over one hundred and twenty Men, Women, and Children, and these are daily stealing away by all possible Ways.”[101]

As we have already seen, the town was regularly laid out in streets called after the principal officers of Oglethorpe’s regiment; and, including the military camp on the north, the parade on the east, and “a small wood on the south which served as a blind to the enemy in case of attack from ships coming up the river,” was about a mile and a half in circumference. The fort was strongly built of tabby and well armed. Several eighteen pounders, mounted on a ravelin in front, commanded the river, and the town was defended on the land side by substantial intrenchments. The ditch at the foot of these intrenchments was intended to admit the influx of the tide, thus rendering the isolation of Frederica complete, and materially enhancing the strength of its line of circumvallation. We reproduce from “An Impartial Enquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia”[102] the following contemporaneous notice: “There are many good Buildings in the Town, several of which are Brick. There is likewise a Fort and Store-house belonging to the Trust. The People have a Minister who has a Salary from the Society for propagating the Gospel. In the Neighbourhood of the Town, there is a fine Meadow of 320 Acres ditch’d in, on which a number of Cattle are fed, and good Hay is likewise made from it. At some Distance from the Town is the Camp for General Oglethorpe’s Regiment. The Country about it is well cultivated, several Parcels of Land not far distant from the Camp having been granted in small Lots to the Soldiers, many of whom are married, and fifty-five Children were born there in the last year. These Soldiers are the most industrious, and willing to plant; the rest are generally desirous of Wives, but there are not Women enough in the Country to supply them. There are some handsome Houses built by the Officers of the Regiment, and besides the Town of Frederica there are other little Villages upon this Island. A sufficient Quantity of Pot-herbs, Pulse, and Fruit is produced, there to supply both the Town and Garrison; and the People of Frederica have begun to malt and to brew; and the Soldiers Wives Spin Cotton of the Country, which they Knit into Stockings. At the Town of Frederica is a Town-Court for administering Justice in the Southern Part of the Province, with the same Number of Magistrates as at Savannah.”

At the village of St. Simon, on the south point of the island, was erected a watch-tower from which the movements of vessels at sea might be conveniently observed. Upon their appearance, their number was at once announced by signal guns, and a horseman dispatched to head quarters with the particulars. A look-out was kept by a party of Rangers at Bachelor’s Redoubt on the main, and a Corporal’s guard was stationed at Pike’s Bluff. To facilitate communication with Darien a canal was cut through General’s island. Defensive works were erected on Jekyll island, where Captain Horton had a well improved plantation, and there a brewery was established for supplying the troops with beer. On Cumberland island were three batteries,—Fort St. Andrew,—built in 1736, on high commanding ground, at the north-east point of the island,—a battery on the west to control the inland navigation,—and Fort William,—a work of considerable strength and regularity,—commanding the entrance to St. Mary’s river. Two companies of Oglethorpe’s regiment were stationed near Fort St. Andrew. As many of the soldiers were married, lots were assigned to them which they cultivated and improved. Near this work was the little village of Barrimacké of twenty-four families.

Upon Amelia island, where the orange trees were growing wild in the woods, were stationed the Highlanders with their scout boats. They had a good plantation,—upon which they raised corn enough for their subsistence,—a little fort, and “a stud of horses and mares.”[103]

“Nowhere,” remarks Mr. Spalding,[104] “had mind, with the limited means under its control, more strongly evinced its power. And it will be seen hereafter, that it was to the great ability shown in the disposition of these works, that not Georgia only, but Carolina owed their preservation; for St. Simon’s was destined soon to become the Thermopylæ of the southern Anglo American provinces.” Besides compassing the improvement of, and garrisoning his defensive works along the southern frontier with the men of his regiment, Oglethorpe kept in active service considerable bodies of Indians whose mission was to harrass the Spaniards in Florida, annoy their posts, and closely invest St. Augustine. So energetically did these faithful allies discharge the duty assigned them, and so narrowly did they watch and thoroughly plague the garrison and inhabitants of St. Augustine, that they dared not venture any distance without the walls. Adjacent plantations remained uncultivated; and, within the town, food, fuel, and the necessaries of life became so scarce that the Spanish government was compelled to support the population by stores sent from Havana. To the efficient aid of his Indian allies was Oglethorpe on more than one occasion indebted for the consummation of important plans. It would not be an exaggeration to affirm that to their friendship, fidelity, and valor, was the Colony largely beholden not only for its security, but even for its preservation. “If we had no other evidence,” writes Mr. Spalding, “of the great abilities of Oglethorpe but what is offered by the devotion of the Indian Tribes to him, and to his memory afterwards for fifty years, it is all-sufficient; for it is only master minds that acquire this deep and lasting influence over other men.”

In his letter to the Duke of Newcastle, dated Frederica, May 12th, 1741, Oglethorpe advises the Home Government of a reinforcement of eight hundred men newly arrived at St. Augustine, and of a declared intention on the part of the Spanish authorities to invade the provinces of Georgia and Carolina so soon as the result of Admiral Vernon’s expedition in the West Indies should have been ascertained. He makes urgent demand for men-of-war to guard the water approaches, for a train of artillery, arms, and ammunition, and for authority to recruit the two troops of Rangers to sixty men each, and the Highland company to one hundred, to enlist one hundred boatmen, and to purchase or build, and man two half-galleys. Alluding to the expected advance of the Spaniards, the writer continues: “If our men of war will not keep them from coming in by sea, and we have no succour, but decrease daily by different accidents, all we can do will be to die bravely in his Majesty’s service.... I have often desired assistance of the men-of-war, and continue to do so. I go on in fortifying this town, making magazines, and doing everything I can to defend the Province vigorously, and I hope my endeavors will be approved of by his Majesty, since the whole end of my life is to do the duty of a faithful subject and grateful servant. I have thirty Spanish prisoners in this place, and we continue so masters of Florida that the Spaniards have not been able to rebuild any one of the seven forts which we destroyed in the last expedition.”

It does not appear that the men-of-war and ordnance requested were ever furnished.

With a little squadron composed of the Guard sloop, the sloop “Falcon,” and Captain Davis’ schooner “Norfolk” carrying a detachment of his regiment under command of Major Heron, General Oglethorpe on the 16th of August, 1741, bore down upon a large Spanish ship lying at anchor, with hostile intent, off the bar of Jekyll sound. A heavy storm intervening, the Spanish vessel put to sea and was lost to sight. Unwilling to dismiss his miniature fleet until he had performed more substantial service, the General boldly continued down the coast, attacked and put to flight a Spanish man-of-war, and the notorious privateer “Black-Sloop” commanded by Destrade, a French officer, challenged the vessels lying in the inner harbor of St. Augustine to come out and engage his small squadron, remained at anchor all night within sight of the castle, cruised for some days off the Matanzas, and, after having alarmed the whole coast, returned in safety to Frederica.

In the midst of these labors and anxieties incident upon his preparations to resist the threatened Spanish invasion, and at a time when harmony and content were most essential to the well-being of the Colony, Oglethorpe was annoyed by sundry complaints from evil-minded persons. Most of them were frivolous, and a few quite insulting in their character. The publication of two tracts, one entitled “An Impartial Enquiry into the State and Utility of the Province of Georgia,”[105] and the other “A State of the Province of Georgia attested upon Oath in the Court of Savannah, November 10, 1740,”[106]—both presenting favorable views of the Colony and disseminated in the interest of the Trust,—irritated these malcontents and gave rise to several rejoinders, among which, as particularly reflecting upon the conduct of the commander-in-chief and his administration of affairs, may be mentioned “A Brief Account of the Causes that have Retarded the Progress of the Colony of Georgia in America, attested upon Oath, being a Proper Contrast to ‘A State of the Province of Georgia attested upon Oath,’ and some other misrepresentations on the same subject.”[107] The charge was openly made that some of the magistrates at Savannah and Frederica (the principal towns in Georgia) had wilfully injured the people by declaring “from the Bench that the Laws of England were no laws in Georgia,” by causing “false imprisonments,” by “discharging Grand Juries while matters of Felony lay before them,” by “intimidating Petit Juries,” and, in short, “by sticking at nothing to oppress the people.” It was further alleged that there was no way of applying for redress to his Majesty. General Oglethorpe was accused of partiality and tyranny in his administration. In support of these charges various affidavits were obtained from parties claiming to be residents of Frederica, Darien, Savannah, Ebenezer, and Augusta,—most of them, however, being sworn to and verified outside the limits of Georgia. Those who are curious with regard to the contents of these affidavits, so far as they reflect upon the conduct of the Frederica magistrates, are referred to the depositions of Samuel Perkins, John Roberson, and Samuel Davison.[108]

A desire to sell forbidden articles, and to ply trades for which special permission had been granted to others, opposition to the regulation which prohibited the owners of hogs and cattle from allowing them to run at large on the common and in the streets of Frederica, alleged misfeasance in the conduct of bailiffs and under-magistrates in the discharge of their duties, the unprofitableness of labor, overbearing acts committed by those in authority, and similar matters formed the burthen of these sworn complaints. While they tended to distract the public mind and to annoy those upon whose shoulders rested the administration of affairs, they fortunately failed in producing any serious impression either within the Colony or in the mother country. We allude to the subject in its proper connection simply as a matter of history, and to show how ill-judged and ill-timed were these efforts of the malcontents, among whom Pat Tailfer, M. D., Hugh Anderson, M. A., and Da: Douglas should not be forgotten.

The utter destruction of the provinces of Georgia and South Carolina was the avowed object of the Spaniards, who promised to extend no quarter to English or Indians taken with arms in their hands. The struggle was to be desperate in the extreme. To the urgent applications for assistance forwarded by General Oglethorpe, Lieutenant-Governor Bull turned a deaf ear; and the Carolinians, instead of furnishing supplies and munitions of war, and marching to the south to meet the invader where the battle for the salvation of both Colonies was to be fought, remained at home, leaving the Georgians single-handed to breast the storm.[109]

The Gentleman’s Magazine[110] contains the following estimate of the Spanish forces under the command of Don Manuel de Monteano, Governor of Augustine and Commander-in-Chief of the expedition, and Major General Antonio de Rodondo, Engineer General, participating in the attack upon St. Simons island:

“2 Colonels with Brevits of Brigadiers.

“One Regiment of Dragoons, dismounted, with their Saddles and Bridles.

“The Regiment call’d The Battalion of the Havannah.

“10 Companies of 50 each, draughted off from several Regiments of Havannah.

“One Regiment of the Havannah Militia, consisting of 10 Companies of 100 Men each.

“One Regiment of Negroes, regularly officer’d by Negroes.

“One ditto of Mulattas, and one Company of 100 Miguelets.

“One Company of the Train with proper Artillery.

“Augustine Forces consisting of about 300 Men.

“Ninety Indians.

“And 15 Negroes who ran away from South Carolina.”

From the various accounts of this memorable struggle we select that prepared by Oglethorpe himself, written on the spot, with the scars of battle fresh around him, and the smoke of the conflict scarce lifted from the low-lying shores and dense woods of St. Simons island. The commanding eye that saw, the stern lips which answered back the proud defiance, and the strong arm which, under Providence, pointed the way to victory, are surely best able to unfold the heroic tale. We present the report as it came from his pen:[111]

“Frederica in Georgia, 30th July, 1742.

“The Spanish Invasion which has a long time threatened the Colony, Carolina, and all North America has at last fallen upon us and God hath been our deliverance. General Horcasilas, Governour of the Havannah, ordered those Troops who had been employed against General Wentworth to embark with Artillery and everything necessary upon a secret expedition. They sailed with a great fleet:[112] amongst them were two half Galleys carrying 120 men each & an 18 pound Gun. They drew but five feet water which satisfied me they were for this place. By good great Fortune one of the half Galleys was wrecked coming out.[113] The Fleet sailed for St. Augustine in Florida. Capt. Homer the latter end of May called here for Intelligence. I acquainted him that the Succours were expected and sent him a Spanish Pilot to shew him where to meet with them. He met with ten sail[114] which had been divided from the Fleet by storm, but having lost 18 men in action against them, instead of coming here for the defence of this Place he stood again for Charles Town to repair, and I having certain advices of the arrival of the Spanish Fleet at Augustine wrote to the Commander of His Majesty’s Ships at Charles Town to come to our assistance.[115]

“I sent Lieut. Maxwell, who arrived there and delivered the letters the 12th of June, and afterwards Lieut. MacKay, who arrived and delivered letters on the 20th of June.

“Lieut. Colonel Cook who was then at Charles Town, and was Engineer, hastened to England, and his son-in-law Ensign Eyre, Sub-Engineer, was also in Charles Town, and did not arrive here till the action was over; so, for want of help, I myself was obliged to do the duty of Engineer.

“The Havannah Fleet, being joined by that of Florida, composed 51 sail, with land men on board, a List of whom is annexed: they were separated, and I received advice from Capt. Dunbar (who lay at Fort William with the Guard Schooner of 14 Guns and ninety men) that a Spanish Fleet of 14 sail had attempted to come in there,[116] but being drove out by the Cannon of the Fort and Schooner they came in at Cumberland Sound. I sent over Capt. Horton to land the Indians and Troops on Cumberland. I followed myself and was attacked in the Sound, but with two Boats fought my way through. Lieut. Tolson, who was to have supported me with the third and strongest boat, quitted me in the fight and run into a River where he hid himself till next day when he returned to St. Simons with an account that I was lost but soon after found. I was arrived there before him, for which misbehaviour I put him in arrest and ordered him to be tryed. The Enemy in this action suffered so much[117] that the day after they ran out to sea and returned for St. Augustine and did not join their great Fleet till after their Grenadiers were beat by Land.

“I drew the Garrison from St. Andrews, reinforced Fort William, and returned to St. Simons with the Schooner.

“Another Spanish Fleet appeared the 28th off the Barr: by God’s blessing upon several measures taken I delayed their coming in till the 5th of July. I raised another Troop of Rangers, which with the other were of great service.

“I took Captain Thomson’s ship[118] into the service for defence of the Harbour. I imbargoe’d all the Vessells, taking their men for the service, and gave large Gifts and promises to the Indians so that every day we increased in numbers. I gave large rewards to men who distinguished themselves upon any service, freed the servants,[119] brought down the Highland Company, and Company of Boatmen, filled up as far as we had guns. All the vessels being thus prepared[120] on the 5th of July with a leading Gale and Spring Tide 36 sail of Spanish vessels run into the Harbour in line of Battle.

“We cannonaded them very hotly from the Shipping and Batterys. They twice attempted to board Capt. Thomson[121] but were repulsed. They also attempted to board the Schooner, but were repulsed by Capt. Dunbar with a Detachment of the Regiment on board.

“I was with the Indians, Rangers, and Batterys, and sometimes on board the ships, and left Major Heron with the Regiment. It being impossible for me to do my duty as General and be constantly with the Regiment, therefore it was absolutely necessary for His Majesty’s service to have a Lieut. Colonel present, which I was fully convinced of by this day’s experience. I therefore appointed Major Heron to be Lieut. Colonel, and hope that your Grace will move His Majesty to be pleased to approve the same.

“The Spaniards after an obstinate Engagement of four hours, in which they lost abundance of men, passed all our Batterys and Shipping and got out of shot of them towards Frederica. Our Guard Sloop was disabled and sunk: one of our Batterys blown up, and also some of our Men on board Capt. Thomson, upon which I called a Council of War at the head of the Regiment where it was unanimously resolved to march to Frederica to get there before the Enemy and defend that Place. To destroy all the Provisions, Vessels, Artillery, &c., at St. Simon’s, that they might not fall into the Enemy’s hands.

“This was accordingly executed, having first drawn all the Men on shoar which before had defended the shipping. I myself staid till the last, and the wind coming fortunately about I got Capt. Thompson’s Ship, our Guard Schooner, and our Prize Sloop to sea and sent them to Charles Town. This I did in the face and spite of thirty-six sail of the Enemy: as for the rest of the Vessells, I could not save them, therefore was obliged to destroy them.

“I must recomend to His Majesty the Merchants who are sufferers thereby, since their loss was in great measure the preserving the Province.

“We arrived at Frederica, and the Enemy landed at St. Simon’s.[122]

“On the 7th a party of their’s marched toward the Town: our Rangers discovered them and brought an account of their march, on which I advanced with a party of Indians, Rangers, and the Highland Company, ordering the Regiment to follow, being resolved to engage them in the Defiles of the Woods before they could get out and form in the open Grounds. I charged them at the head of our Indians, Highland Men and Rangers, and God was pleased to give us such success that we entirely routed the first party, took one Captain prisoner, and killed another, and pursued them two miles to an open Meadow or Savannah, upon the edge of which I posted three Platoons of the Regiment and the Company of Highland foot so as to be covered by the woods from the Enemy who were obliged to pass thro’ the Meadow under our fire.[123] This disposition was very fortunate.[124] Capt. Antonio Barba and two other Captains with 100 Grenadiers and 200 foot, besides Indians and Negroes, advanced from the Spanish Camp into the Savannah with Huzzah’s and fired with great spirit, but not seeing our men by reason of the woods, none of their shot took place, but ours did.[125]

“Some Platoons of ours in the heat of the fight, the air being darkened with the smoak, and a shower of rain falling, retired in disorder.

“I hearing the firing, rode towards it, and at near two miles from the place of Action, met a great many men in disorder who told me that ours were routed and Lieut. Sutherland killed. I ordered them to halt and march back against the Enemy, which orders Capt. Demere and Ensign Gibbon obeyed, but another Officer did not, but made the best of his way to Town. As I heard the fire continue I concluded our Men could not be quite beaten, and that my immediate assistance might preserve them: therefore spurred on and arrived just as the fire was done. I found the Spaniards intirely routed by one Platoon of the Regiment, under the Comand of Lieut. Sutherland, and the Highland Company under the Comand of Lieut. Charles MacKay.

“An Officer whom the Prisoners said was Capt. Don Antonio Barba[126] was taken Prisoner, but desperately wounded, and two others were prisoners, and a great many dead upon the spot. Lieut. Sutherland, Lieut. Charles MacKay and Sergt. Stuart having distinguished themselves upon this occasion, I appointed Lieut. Sutherland Brigade Major, and Sergt. Stuart second Ensign.

“Capt. Demere and Ensign Gibbon being arrived with the men they had rallied, Lieut. Cadogan with an advanced party of the Regiment, and soon after the whole Regiment, Indians, and Rangers, I marched down to a causeway over a marsh very near the Spanish Camp over which all were obliged to pass, and thereby stopt those who had been dispersed in the fight in the Savannah from getting to the Spanish Camp.[127] Having passed the night there, the Indian scouts in the morning advanced to the Spanish Camp and discovered they were all retired into the ruins of the Fort and were making Intrenchments under shelter of the cannon of the ships. That they guessed them to be above 4,000 men. I thought it imprudent to attack them defended by Cannon with so small a number but marched back to Frederica[128] to refresh the soldiers, and sent out Partys of Indians and Rangers to harrass the Enemy. I also ordered into arrest the officers who commanded the Platoons that retired.

“I appointed a General Staff: Lieut. Hugh MacKay and Lieut. Maxwell Aids de Camp, and Lieut. Sutherland Brigade Major.[129] On ye 11th of July the Great Galley and two little ones came up the river towards the Town. We fired at them with the few Guns, so warmly that they retired, and I followed them with our Boats till they got under the cannon of their ships which lay in the sound.

“Having intelligence from the Spanish Camp that they had lost 4 Captains and upwards of 200 men in the last Action, besides a great many killed in the sea-fight, and several killed in the night by the Indians even within or near the camp, and that they had held a Council of War in which there were great divisions, insomuch that the Forces of Cuba separated from those of Augustine and the Italick Regiment —— of Dragoons separated from them both at a distance from the rest near the woods, and that there was a general Terror amongst them, upon which I was resolved to beat up their Quarters in the night and marching down with the largest body of men I could make, I halted within a mile and a half of their camp to form, intending to leave the Troops there till I had well reconitred the Enemy’s disposition.

“A French Man who without my knowledge was come down amongst the volunteers fired his Gun and deserted. Our Indians in vain persued and could not take him. Upon this, concluding we were discovered, I divided the Drums in different parts and beat the Grenadiers march for about half an hour, then ceased, and we marched back with silence.

“The next day[130] I prevailed with a Prisoner, and gave him a sum of money, to carry a letter privately and deliver it to that French Man who had deserted. This Letter was wrote in French as if from a friend of his, telling him he had received the money that he should strive to make the Spaniards believe the English were weak. That he should undertake to pilot up their Boats and Galleys and then bring them under the Woods where he knew the Hidden Batterys were; that if he could bring that about, he should have double the reward he had already received. That the French Deserters should have all that had been promised to them. The Spanish Prisoner got into their Camp and was immediately carried before their General Don Manuel de Montiano. He was asked how he escaped and whither he had any letters, but denying his having any, was strictly searched and the letter found, and he upon being pardoned, confessed that he had received money to deliver it to the Frenchman, for the letter was not directed. The Frenchman denied his knowing anything of the contents of the Letter or having received any Money or Correspondence with me, notwithstanding which, a Council of War was held and they deemed the French Man to be a double spy, but General Montiano would not suffer him to be executed, having been imployed by him: however, they imbarqued all their Troops,[131] and halted under Jekyl, they also confined all the French on board and imbarked with such precipitation that they left behind them Cannon, &c., and those dead of their wounds, unburied. The Cuba Squadron stood out to sea to the number of 20 sail: General Montiano with the Augustine Squadron returned to Cumberland Sound, having burnt Captain Horton’s houses, &c., on Jekyll. I, with our boats, followed him. I discovered a great many sail under Fort St. Andrew, of which eight appeared to me plain, but being too strong for me to attack, I sent the Scout Boats back.

“I went[132] with my own Cutter and landed a man on Cumberland who carried a letter from me to Lieut. Stuart at Fort William with orders to defend himself to the last extremity.

“Having discovered our Boats & believing we had landed Indians in the night they set sail with great haste, in so much that not having time to imbarque, they killed 40 horses which they had taken there, and burnt the houses. The Galleys and small Craft to the number of fifteen went thro’ the inland Water Passages. They attempted to land near Fort William, but were repulsed by the Rangers; they then attacked it with Cannon and small Arms from the water for three Hours, but the place was so bravely defended by Lieut. Alexander Stuart that they were repulsed and ran out to sea where twelve other sail of Spanish vessells had lain at anchor without the Barr during the Attack without stirring, but the Galleys being chased out, they hoisted all the sails they could and stood to the Southward. I followed them with the Boats to Fort William, and from thence sent out the Rangers and some Boats who followed them to Saint Johns, but they went off rowing and sailing to St. Augustine.

“After the news of their defeat in the Grenadier Savannah arrived at Charles Town, the Men of War and a number of Carolina People raised in a hurry set out and came off this Barr after the Spaniards had been chased quite out of this Colony, where they dismissed the Carolina vessels, and Capt. Hardy promised in his Letters to cruise off St. Augustine.

“We have returned thanks to God for our deliverance, have set all the hands I possibly could to work upon the Fortifications, and have sent to the Northward to raise men ready to form another Battalion against His Majesty’s Orders shall arrive for that purpose. I have retained Thompson’s ship, have sent for Cannon Shott, &c., for Provisions and all kinds of stores since I expect the Enemy, who (tho’ greatly terrified) lost but few men in comparison of their great numbers, as soon as they have recovered their fright will attack us with more caution and better discipline.

“I hope His Majesty will approve the measures I have taken, and I must entreat Your Grace to lay my humble request before His Majesty that he would be graciously pleased to order Troops, Artillery and other Necessarys sufficient for the defence of this Frontier and the neighboring Provinces, or give such direction as His Majesty shall think proper, and I do not doubt but with a moderate support not only to be able to defend these Provinces, but also to dislodge the Enemy from St. Augustine if I have but the same numbers they had in this expedition.”[133]

That a small force of between six and seven hundred men, assisted by a few weak vessels, should have put to flight an army of nearly five thousand Spanish troops, supported by a powerful fleet, and amply equipped for the expedition, seems almost incapable of explanation.[134] General Oglethorpe’s bravery and dash, the timidity of the invaders, coupled with the dissentions which arose in their ranks, and the apprehensions caused by the French letter, furnish the only plausible explanation of the victory. Whitefield’s commentary was: “The deliverance of Georgia from the Spaniards is such as cannot be paralleled but by some instances out of the Old Testament.” The defeat of so formidable an expedition by such a handful of men was a matter of astonishment to all. Had Don Manuel de Monteano pushed his forces vigorously forward, the stoutest resistance offered along his short line of march and from the walls of the town would have been ineffectual for the salvation of Frederica. Against the contingency of an evacuation of this strong-hold Oglethorpe had provided, as best he could, by a concentration of boats in which to transport the garrison to Darien[135] by way of the cut previously made through General’s island. This necessity, however, was fortunately never laid upon him. If the naval forces at Charleston had responded to his requisitions, a considerable portion of the Spanish fleet might have been captured. Oglethorpe’s success in his military operations may be explained by the fact that he constantly acted on the offensive. He was never content to grant any peace to an enemy who was within striking distance. The temerity and persistency of his attacks inspired his followers, and impressed his antagonist with the belief that the arm delivering the blow was stronger than it really was.

The memory of this defense of St. Simons island and the southern frontier is one of the proudest in the annals of Georgia. Thus was the existence of the Colony perpetuated. Thus was hurled back in wrath and mortification a powerful army of invasion whose avowed object was to show no quarter,[136] but crush out of existence the English colonies. Had success attended the demonstration against Frederica, the Enemy would have advanced upon the more northern strong-holds. Appreciating this, and deeply sensible of their great obligations to General Oglethorpe for the deliverance vouchsafed at his hands, the Governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina,[137] addressed special letters to him “thanking him for the invaluable services he had rendered to the British-American Provinces; congratulating him upon his success and the great renown he had acquired; and expressing their gratitude to the Supreme Governor of Nations for placing the destiny of the southern colonies under the direction of a General so well qualified for the important trust.”

Upon the disappearance of the Spanish forces Oglethorpe at once bent his energies to strengthening the fortifications at Frederica and repairing the damages which had been sustained by the southern forts. For a long time he seems to have counted upon a return of the expedition, and could not bring his mind to believe that the enterprise upon which so much preparation and money had been expended would be thus hastily and almost causelessly abandoned. Within a few months the works upon St. Simons, Jekyll, and Cumberland islands were stronger than ever. What those additional defensive works at Frederica were, we shall shortly see. Not content with having repulsed the Spaniards in their effort to crush the colony, General Oglethorpe was soon again engaged in “carrying the war into Africa.” Finding the enemy so strong in St. Augustine that they defeated all the parties of Indians he sent against them, ascertaining that a large detachment was marching towards the river St. Mattheo, and concluding that this was a movement to extend their quarters so as to be prepared for the proper location and accommodation of reinforcements expected from Havana in the spring, taking with him a considerable body of Creek warriors, a detachment from the Highland company of Rangers, and a portion of his regiment, Oglethorpe landed by night in Florida in March, 1743, and, moving rapidly, drove the enemy, with loss, within the lines of St. Augustine. Having disposed his command in ambush, the General, with a small party, advanced within sight of the town, intending to skirmish and draw the garrison out. The enemy declined to leave their fortifications;[138] and the English, being too weak to attack, and having compelled the Spaniards to abandon their advanced posts in Florida, returned, having performed the extraordinary march of ninety-six miles in four days.[139] This was the last expedition led by the General against the Spaniards.[140]

Still persuaded that the attack upon Frederica would be renewed at an early day, he continued to place the frontier in the best possible state of defense. Until he left Georgia on the 23d of July, 1743, never again to return, he resided at his cottage on St. Simons island. Of all the places planted and nurtured by him, none so warmly enlisted his energies and engaged his constant solicitude as the fortified town at the mouth of the Alatamaha.

Upon the General’s departure, William Stephens was left as Deputy General of the Colony, and Major Horton, as military commander at Frederica. With the civil matters of the province Major Horton had no concern except where his assistance, as commander in chief of the military, was occasionally invoked to enforce the measures of the president and council. In such instances he acted with calmness and humanity, and secured the respect and esteem of the better class of the colonists.

On the 22nd of March, 1743, the magazine at Frederica was blown up, to the general alarm and regret of the inhabitants. Although it contained, at the time, three thousand bombs, so well bedded were they, but little damage occurred. A vagabond Irishman was suspected of having fired the magazine.[141]

We have two descriptions of Frederica in 1743,—the period of its greatest prosperity and importance,—which we make no apology for transcribing.

The first is from the lips of a captain conversant with the appearance and condition of the town.

Captain John MacClellan, who had left Georgia on the 31st of January, 1743, on his arrival in England reported the colonists busily engaged in placing themselves in the best posture of defense, in anticipation of a second attack from the Spaniards; that Fort William had been fortified anew with brick work, and that “great numbers of Men were employ’d in compleating the Fortifications at Frederica, the Walls whereof are judged strong enough to be Proof against Eighteen-Pound Shot;” that two towers,—one at each corner of the town walls,—capable of holding one hundred men each, and designed to protect the flanks by means of small arms, had been erected; that the men were “full of spirits and unanimous to make a vigorous Defence to the last Drop of Blood;” that General Oglethorpe had been reinforced by two hundred men from Virginia, raised by Major Heron, many of whom were disciplined soldiers from Colonel Gouge’s late regiment, and that thirty horsemen were on their way to Georgia to “recruit the Rangers.”[142]

The second is from the pen of an intelligent traveler, who made his observations early in 1743. It reads as follows:

“Frederica, on the Island of St. Simon, the chief Town in the Southernmost Part of the Colony of Georgia, is nearly in Lat: 31° 15´ North. It stands on an Eminence, if consider’d with regard to the Marshes before it, upon a Branch of the famous River Alatamaha, which washes the West side of this agreeable little Island, and, after several Windings, disembogues itself into the Sea at Jekyl Sound. It forms a kind of a Bay before the Town, and is navigable for Vessels of the largest Burden, which may lie along the wharf in a secure and safe Harbour; and may, upon Occasion, haul up to careen and refit, the Bottom being a soft oozy Clay, intermix’d with small Sand and Shells. The Town is defended by a pretty strong Fort of Tappy,[143] which has several 18 Pounders mounted on a Ravelin in its Front, and commands the River both upwards and downwards; and is surrounded by a quadrangular Rampart, with 4 Bastions, of Earth, well stockaded and turfed, and a palisadoed Ditch which include also the King’s Storehouses, (in which are kept the Arsenal, the Court of Justice, and Chapel) two large and spacious Buildings of Brick and Timber; On the Rampart are mounted a considerable Quantity of Ordnance of several sizes. The Town is surrounded by a Rampart, with Flankers, of the same Thickness with that round the Fort, in Form of a Pentagon, and a dry Ditch; and since the famous attempt of the Spaniards in July 1742,[144] at the N. E. and S. E. Angles are erected two strong cover’d pentagonal Bastions, capable of containing 100 men each, to scour the Flanks with Small Arms, and defended by a Number of Cannon; At their Tops are Look-outs which command the View of the Country and the River for many miles: The Roofs are shingled,[145] but so contriv’d as to be easily clear’d away, if incommodious in the Defense of the Towers. The whole Circumference of the Town is about a Mile and a Half, including, within the Fortifications, the Camp for General Oglethorpe’s Regiment, at the North Side of the Town; the Parades on the West, and a small Wood to the South, which is left for Conveniency of Fuel and Pasture, and is an excellent Blind to the Enemy in case of an Attack; in it is a small Magazine of Powder. The Town has two Gates, call’d the Land-port, and the Water-port; next to the latter of which is the Guard-house, and underneath it the Prison for Malefactors, which is an handsome Building of Brick. At the North End are the Barracks, which is an extremely well contriv’d Building in Form of a Square, of Tappy work, in which, at present, are kept the Hospital, and Spanish Prisoners of War. Near this was situated the Bomb Magazine which was blown up on March 22, 1744,[146] with so surprizingly little Damage.[147]

“The town is situated in a large Indian Field. To the East it has a very extensive Savannah (wherein is the Burial Place) thro’ which is cut a Road to the other Side of the Island, which is bounded by Woods, save here and there some opening Glades into the Neighboring Savannah’s and Marshes, which much elucidate the Pleasure of looking. Down this Road are several very commodious Plantations, particularly the very agreeable one of Capt. Demery, and that of Mr. Hawkins. Pre-eminently appears Mr. Oglethorpe’s Settlement, which, at Distance, looks like a neat Country Village, where the consequences of all the various Industries of an European Farm are seen. The Master of it has shewn what Application and unbated Diligence may effect in this Country. At the Extremity of the Road is a small Village, call’d the German Village, inhabited by several Families of Saltzburghers, who plant and fish for their Subsistence. On the River Side one has the Prospect of a large Circuit of Marshes, terminated by the Woods on the Continent, in Form like an Amphitheatre, and interspers’d with the Meanders of abundance of Creeks, form’d from the aforesaid River. At a Distance may be seen the white Post at Bachelor’s Redoubt, also on the Main, where is kept a good Look-out of Rangers. To the North are Marshes, and a small Wood, at the Western Extremity of which are the Plantations of the late Capt. Desbrisay, and some others of less note; together with a Look-out wherein a Corporal’s Guard is stationed, and reliev’d weekly, called Pike’s, on the Bank of the River, from whence they can see Vessels a great way to the Northward. On the South is a Wood, which is, however, so far clear’d as to discover the Approach of an Enemy at a great Distance; within it, to the Eastward, is the Plantation of Capt. Dunbar; and to the Westward a Corporal’s Look-out. The Town is divided into several spacious Streets, along whose sides are planted Orange Trees,[148] which, in some Time, will have a very pretty Effect on the View, and will render the Town pleasingly shady. Some Houses are built entirely of Brick, some of Brick and Wood, some few of Tappy-Work, but most of the meaner sort, of Wood only. The Camp is also divided into several Streets, distinguished by the names of the Captains of the several Companies of the Regiment; and the Huts are built generally of Clap-boards and Palmetto’s, and are each of them capable to contain a Family, or Half a Dozen Single men. Here these brave Fellows live with the most laudable Œconomy; and tho’ most of them when off Duty, practise some Trade or Employment, they make as fine an Appearance upon the Parade, as any Regiment in the King’s Service; and their exact Discipline does a great deal of Honour to their Officers; They have a Market every Day; The Inhabitants of the Town may be divided into Officers, Merchants, Store-Keepers, Artisans, and People in the Provincial Service; and there are often, also, many Sojourners from the neighbouring Settlements, and from New York, Philadelphia, and Carolina, on account of Trade. The Civil Government does not seem yet to be quite rightly settled by the Trustees, but is, at present, administered by three Magistrates, or Justices, assisted by a Recorder, Constables, and Tything Men. The Military is regulated as in all Garrison-Towns in the British Dominions. In short, the whole Town, and Country adjacent, are quite rurally charming, and the Improvements everywhere around are Footsteps of the greatest Skill and Industry imaginable, considering its late Settlement, and the Rubs it has so often met with; and as it seems so necessary for the Barrier of our Colonies, I am in Hopes of, one Time, seeing it taken more Notice of than it is at present.”[149]

For the ensuing few years, and during the retention of Oglethorpe’s regiment on St. Simons island, but little change occurred in the condition of Frederica. It retained its importance as a military post, and was regarded as the safe guard of the Province against Spanish invasion. The expectations, if indeed any were seriously entertained, of elevating this town into commercial importance, were practically abandoned previous to the withdrawal of the troops. In fact, even before the existing difficulties with Spain were formally accommodated by treaty, and it became manifest that there would in all likelihood occur no further serious demonstrations along the southern frontier, the population of Frederica began to decrease.

The home authorities, however, were loth to acknowledge its manifest tendency to decadence, and for some time, by occasional reports and notices, endeavored to assure the public of the continued prosperity of a town which had attracted such special attention in connection with the progress and perils of the Colony of Georgia.

An article having appeared in the “Daily Gazetteer” giving “a most scandalous and untrue account of the present state of the Colony of Georgia, particularly levelled at the Southern Part thereof (which is the Frontier against the French and Spaniards)” in justice to the public, William Thomson and John Lawrence, Jr., who had been trading with the Colony for some years and who had left Georgia in June, 1747, on business calling them to England, united in a card to the editor of the London Magazine[150] in which they stated: “That instead of the false Representation in the said Gazetteer ‘That only seven Houses were in the Town of Frederica,’ the said Town has several Streets, in every one of which are many good Houses, some of Brick, some of Tappy (which is a Cement of Lime and Oyster Shells;) That the High Street is planted with Orange Trees and has good Houses on both sides. That the Fort, besides other Buildings has two large Magazines, three Stories high, and sixty Feet long; That there are Barracks in the Town, on the North side, ninety Feet Square, built of Tappy, covered with Cypress Shingles, and a handsome Tower over the Gateway of twenty Feet square; That there are two Bastion Towers, of two stories each, in the Hollow of the Bastions, defended on the Outside with thick Earth-works, and capable of lodging great Numbers of Soldiers, the two long Sides being nearly fifty Feet, and the short Sides twenty-five; And that instead of the Inhabitants removing from thence, several Families were come and more coming from North Carolina to settle in Georgia, who will certainly establish themselves there unless they are prevented by any Fears which may arise from the Reduction of the Rangers and Vessels which have hitherto made that Frontier safe: That before the Barracks were finished, very good Clap-board Huts were built sufficient for the lodging of two Companies who do Duty at Frederica (with their Wives and Families) which by an Accident of Fire were lately burnt down; since which others have been made for married Soldiers; and the Soldiers have the Privilege of cutting Timber and building Houses for their Families, which many have done, and thrive very well, and we know the Soldiers are regularly paid and kindly treated. We also certify that there are several Farms which produce not only Indian Wheat and Potatoes, but English Wheat, Barley, and other Grain. In short, Provisions in general are plentiful, Venison, Beef, Pork, at Two Pence Half-Penny per Pound, and sometimes under. Fish extremely cheap.”

Upon the confirmation of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in April, 1748, most of the troops were withdrawn from St. Simons island and the fortifications soon began to fall into decay.

The Trustees having surrendered their charter, Captain John Reynolds was, in 1754, appointed by the King, Governor of Georgia, with the title of “Captain General and Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Province of Georgia, and Vice-Admiral of the same.” He entered upon his duties in October of that year, and early, the following Spring, made a tour of inspection through the southern portion of the Province. Arriving at Frederica, he found the town “in ruins,” the fortifications “decayed,” and the “houses falling down.” Twenty pieces of cannon were lying dismounted and “spoiled for want of care.” The melancholy prospect was presented of “houses without inhabitants, barracks without soldiers, guns without carriages, and streets grown over with weeds.”[151] Fort Frederick was entirely dismantled. Not a gun was mounted, and neither powder nor ball could be found. Among his recommendations for the defense of the Colony, the Governor suggested the construction of a work at Frederica “in the form of half a hexagon, nine hundred and sixty feet each, with two whole and two demi-bastions towards the land, and two demi-bastions and a citadel towards the sea, on which were to be placed fifty cannon manned by three hundred regulars.” This fortification was never built, and no effort was made to repair the works then crumbling and abandoned.

This dilapidation and neglect continued without any effort on the part of the Colonial authorities to check their annihilating influences. Frederica had now ceased to be a place of any note. In his report of the condition of the Province of Georgia, submitted to the Earl of Dartmouth on the 20th of December, 1773, Sir James Wright, then Governor of the Colony, represents Fort Frederick at Frederica as “going to decay very fast.” “There is still,”—such is the language of the report,—“some Remains of good Tabby Walls, &c., but there has been no men there since the Independent Company were broke in the Year 1767.”[152]

In March, 1774, William Bartram visited Frederica and St. Simons island and was most hospitably entertained by Mr. James Spalding who was there engaged in an extensive trade with the Indian tribes of East Florida. Following the old highway across the savannah, he devoted a day to exploring the island and was charmed with the magnificent forests of pines and oaks perfumed with the fragrant breath of the white lily and the sweet bay. The venerable live-oaks still overshadowed the spacious avenue leading to the former seat of General Oglethorpe, but that distinguished gentleman was no longer there, and his quiet cottage had passed into the ownership of another. The delights of the woods and waters, the delicious breezes wafted from groves filled with birds of bright plumage and sweet voices, the commingled perfumes of the yellow jasmine, the lonicera, the andromeda and the azalea, and the solemn sound of the incoming surf were, in the recollection of this happy traveller, associated with generous hospitality, a plentiful repast of venison, and an agreeable “drink of honey and water strengthened by the addition of brandy.”

Although nature was as balmy, as attractive, and as beautiful as ever, Bartram was oppressed by the indications of desolation which confronted him all over the island. He speaks of “vestiges of plantations, ruins of costly buildings, and highways overgrown with forests.” The fort he found entirely dilapidated, and nothing of the town remaining except ruins. From the crumbling walls of the deserted houses peach trees, figs, and pomegranates were growing.[153] And so this brave town dwindled away into nothingness.

The last detachment of troops stationed there consisted of ten Royal Americans; but even these were withdrawn during the early part of the administration of Governor Wright.

The rupture between Great Britain and her Colonies being imminent, the Council of Safety ordered all guns at Frederica to be secured, and they were used in fortifying other points on the coast deemed of greater importance. During the progress of the expedition projected from Sunbury, by Governor Gwinnett, against Florida, Colonel Elbert, who was in command, on Sunday, the 11th of May, 1777, landed at Frederica “to air” his troops. The following entry occurs in his Order-Book: “Frederica was once a pretty little Town, as appears by the Ruins, having been burned down some years since; the Fort at this place, with a little expence, might be made defensible, and might, if properly garrisoned, be a means of protecting great part of our Southern Frontiers. There are about twelve men that bear arms here; in my opinion all Tories. Their Captain, Ditter, says otherwise of himself, and informed me that about 6 or 8 of the inhabitants had lately gone to Florida for protection.”[154]

By the provisions of the act of the 15th of March, 1758,[155] dividing the Province into eight Parishes, “the town and district of Frederica, including the islands of Great and Little St. Simons and the adjacent islands,” were declared a parish and named “St. James.” Under the writs of election issued by Sir James Wright, Lachlan McIntosh was returned as member for Frederica.

On the 10th of August, 1777, some boats from a British armed vessel lying in St. Andrews Sound landed on St. Simons island, and their crews captured and carried away Captain Arthur Carney, five citizens, several negroes, and as much household furniture as could be conveyed in the barges. Carney had been appointed to the captaincy of the fourth company in the first Continental Battalion of Georgia troops. After his capture, he espoused the Royal cause and proved himself not only an active Tory but a great cattle thief.[156]

While General Robert Howe was concentrating his forces on the Southern frontier of Georgia with a view to the invasion of Florida, Colonel Elbert, who was commanding at Fort Howe,—the place of rendezvous,—achieved an exploit which imparts another distinct and gallant memory to the neglected settlements, “Where wild Altama murmurs to their woe.”

The details of the affair are thus narrated in a letter to General Howe:

“Frederica, April 19th, 1778.

Dear General:

I have the happiness to inform you that about 10 o’clock this forenoon, the brigantine Hinchinbrooke, the sloop Rebecca, and a prize brig, all struck the British tyrant’s colors and surrendered to the American arms.

Having received intelligence that the above vessels were at this place, I put about three hundred men, by detachment from the troops under my command at Fort Howe, on board the three galleys, the Washington,—Captain Hardy,—the Lee,—Captain Braddock,—and the Bulloch,—Captain Hutcher;—and a detachment of artillery with two field pieces, under Captain Young, I put on board a boat. With this little army we embarked at Darien, and last evening effected a landing at a bluff about a mile below the town, leaving Colonel White on board the Lee, Captain Melvin on board the Washington, and Lieutenant Petty on board the Bulloch, each with a sufficient party of troops. Immediately on landing I dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Ray and Major Roberts, with about one hundred men, who marched directly up to the town and made prisoners three marines and two sailors belonging to the Hinchinbrooke.

“It being late, the galleys did not engage until this morning. You must imagine what my feelings were to see our three little men-of-war going on to the attack of these three vessels, who have spread terror on our coast, and who were drawn up in order of battle; but the weight of our metal soon damped the courage of these heroes, who soon took to their boats; and as many as could, abandoned the vessel with everything on board, of which we immediately took possession. What is extraordinary, we have not one man hurt. Captain Ellis, of the Hinchinbrooke, is drowned, and Captain Mowbray, of the Rebecca, made his escape. As soon as I see Colonel White, who has not yet come to us with his prizes, I shall consult with him, the three other officers, and the comanding officers of the galleys, on the expediency of attacking the Galatea now lying at Jekyll.”

While Colonel Elbert was preparing to attack her, the Galatea made her escape to sea.[157] This successful enterprize encouraged the troops at Fort Howe, who were in a very dispirited mood.

Upon his retreat, by water, from Sunbury in December, 1778, Fuser left the regular troops of his expedition at Frederica, with instructions to repair the old military works at that point. These orders were only partially observed, and the force was soon withdrawn.

During the continuance of the Revolutionary war St. Simons island, in common with other isolated localities along the Georgia coast, suffered from privateers and armed parties who pillaged the houses of the inhabitants and led captive negroes and domestic animals. Similar annoyances and losses were encountered during the war of 1812-1815. So ruthless had been the spoliations and devastations by the British troops during the progress of the Revolution, that upon its termination but little remained of Frederica save the sites of burnt houses and heaps of ruin. The town had almost entirely disappeared. Subsequent attempts to revive it were feeble and unsuccessful. Of the State legislation with regard to Frederica, the following synopsis may not be deemed inappropriate:

On the 17th of December, 1792, James Spalding, John Braddock, Raymond Demeré, John Palmer, John Burnett, John Piles, Moses Burnett, Samuel Wright, and William Williams were appointed Commissioners of the towns and commons of Frederica and Brunswick. They were directed, after three months’ published notice, to cause surveys to be made of those towns, according to their original plans, and to have the same recorded in the Surveyor General’s office, and in the office of the Surveyor of Glynn county. Any vacant lots, except such as were originally reserved for public uses, were then to be sold upon four weeks’ public notice; and the proceeds arising from such sales, after deducting the necessary expense of survey, devoted to the building and support of an Academy in Glynn County.[158]

In February, 1796, special Commissioners were named for the town of Frederica. They were John Cooper, William McIntosh, James Harrison, James Moore, and William Clubbs. It was made their duty to lay off the town, as nearly as practicable, according to its original plan, cause the streets to be opened, the lots to be plainly marked or staked off, the commons to be resurveyed, and an accurate map prepared and recorded in the Surveyor General’s office within two months after the passage of the act. The survey of the town having been completed, the Commissioners were required, by notice in one of the public gazettes of the State, to call upon the owners and holders of lots to make due return thereof to the Commissioners within nine months, and pay the sum of one dollar per lot in defrayal of the cost of the survey.

All lots not returned within the prescribed period were, after six weeks public advertisement, to be sold to the highest bidder,—one half of the purchase money to be paid in cash and the remainder in twelve months thereafter;—the deferred payment being secured by bond with mortgage on the premises purchased. The proceeds of such sales, after defraying the expences incurred in laying off the town and commons, were to be applied to the support of an academy or seminary of learning in Glynn County.

Any person attempting to run up or appropriate any part of the town common was declared liable to a fine of five hundred dollars, to be recovered in the Superior Court of Glynn County by the Commissioners or any inhabitant or lot owner in the town;—one half the fine to enure to the benefit of the academy, and the other half to go to the party suing for the same.

All surveys previously made, and grants surreptitiously obtained, were declared null and void, and any person in possession by virtue of such survey or grant was liable to the fine above mentioned, to be recovered in the manner indicated.[159]

In 1801 Frederica is mentioned by Sibbald as “a pleasantly situated town on the island of St. Simons, latitude 31° 15´ North,” but he gives no statistics either of its population or commerce.[160]

By an act assented to November 26th, 1802,[161]—the front range of lots in the town of Frederica being “too distant from the water for the convenient storage or shipping of produce, or the landing of goods imported to that place,”—the Commissioners were empowered “to cause a range of lots to be laid off in front of said town, commencing at low water mark, and running back so far as to leave a street eighty feet between the present front range of lots and those to be laid off.”

These new lots were to be sold at public outcry upon sixty days’ notice, and the moneys realized upon such sale, after defraying the expences of the survey, were to be paid over to the Commissioners of the Academy of Glynn county to be by them expended for the benefit of that institution.

Two correct plans of these water lots were to be prepared and certified by the surveyor, one to be transmitted by the Commissioners to the Surveyor General for record in his office, and the other to be delivered to the County Surveyor of Glynn county to be by him recorded in his office.

On the 18th of November, 1814,[162] the Commissioners of the towns of Brunswick and Frederica were authorized to levy a tax upon the lots in those towns, whether improved or unimproved, and pay over the moneys thus raised to the Justices of the Inferior Court of Glynn county for the purpose of erecting a Court House and Jail. To the same object was to be applied one-fourth of the future rents of the town commons.

All efforts to revivify the dead town, to perpetuate something like a corporate existence, to realize a revenue by special taxation of abandoned premises, to maintain a semblance of public streets, commons, and private lots, to clothe water fronts with the dignity of commercial wharves, and transmit the physical impressions of the older days, proved utterly futile.[163] Frederica lost its importance when it ceased to be the strong-hold of the southern frontier. Its mission was accomplished when the Spaniard no longer threatened. Its doom was pronounced in the hour of its triumph. Upon the withdrawal of Oglethorpe’s regiment its decadence began, and ceased not until its fort became a white ruin, its public parade a pasture ground, and its streets and gardens a cotton field.[164]

Omnia debentur morti.

III.
ABERCORN.