Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe
by
Thaddeus Mason Harris
Part 4 out of 6
This was a desperate measure; for the whole of the troops belonging to
the besiegers, including even the seamen, were much inferior in number
to the garrison. The town was also covered on one side by a castle,
with four bastions, and fifty pieces of cannon; from whence was run an
intrenchment, flanked with several salient angles to Fort Coovo, on
the river Sebastian. This intrenchment consisted of the neck of land
from the river Anastasia to that of St. Sebastian, and entirely
covered the town from the island.
Upon this the General drew in all the strength that he possibly could,
and sent for the garrison that he had left at Diego. Being joined by
them and by the Creek Indians, and having made a sufficient number
of fascines and short ladders, provided all other necessaries for
attacking the intrenchments, and brought up thirty-six cohorns, he
received notice that the Commodore had resolved to forego the attack;
declaring, that, as the season of hurricanes was approaching, he
judged it imprudent to hazard his Majesty's ships any longer on the
coast.[1]
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXIV.]
On the departure of the fleet, the place was no longer blockaded on
the sea side; of course the army began to despair of forcing the place
to surrender. The provincials, under Colonel Vanderdussen, enfeebled
by the heat of the climate, dispirited by fruitless efforts, and
visited by sickness, marched away in large bodies.[1] The General
himself, laboring under a fever, and finding his men as well
as himself worn out by fatigue, and rendered unfit for action,
reluctantly abandoned the enterprise. On the fourth of July everything
which he had on the island was reembarked, the troops transported to
the continent, and the whole army began their march for Georgia; the
Carolina regiment first, and the General with his troops in the
rear. On this occasion a very notable answer of the Indian Chief is
reported; for, being asked by some of the garrison to march off with
them, "No!" said he, "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."[2]
[Footnote 1: Dr. RAMSAY, the historian of South Carolina, with his
usual frankness and impartiality, closes his narrative of this siege
with the following remark. "On the 13th of August the Carolina
regiment had reached Charlestown. Though not one of them had been
killed by the enemy, their number was reduced, fourteen, by disease
and accidents."]
[Footnote 2: _London Magazine_, Vol. XXVII. p. 23.]
"Thus ended the expedition against St. Augustine, to the great
disappointment of both Georgia and Carolina. Many reflections were
afterwards thrown out against General Oglethorpe for his conduct
during the whole enterprise. He, on the other hand, declared that he
had no confidence in the Provincials, for that they refused to obey
his orders, and abandoned the camp, and returned home in large
numbers, and that the assistance from the fleet failed him in the
utmost emergency. To which we may add, the place was so strongly
fortified both by nature and art, that probably the attempt must
have failed though it had been conducted by the ablest officer, and
executed by the best disciplined troops."[1]
[Footnote 1: HARRIS's Voyage, II. 340.]
The difficulties which opposed his success, showed the courage that
could meet, and the zeal that strove to surmount them; and, while
we lament the failure, we perceive that it was owing to untoward
circumstances which he could not have foreseen; and disappointments
from a quarter whence he most confidently expected and depended upon
continued cooperation and ultimate accomplishment. Referring to this,
in a speech in the British house of Peers, the Duke of Argyle made
these remarks: "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."[1]
[Footnote 1: "Laudari viris laudatis"--to be praised by men themselves
renowned, is certainly the most valuable species of commendation.]
A writer, who had good authority for his opinion, declares, that,"
though this expedition was not attended with the success some
expected from it, the taking the fortress of St. Augustine, it was,
nevertheless, of no little consequence, inasmuch as it kept the
Spaniards for a long time on the defensive, and the war at a distance;
so that the inhabitants of Carolina felt none of its effects as a
Colony, excepting the loss suffered by their privateers, till the
Spaniards executed their long projected invasion in 1742, in which
they employed their whole strength, and from which they expected to
have changed the whole face of the Continent of North America; and,
even then, the people of Carolina suffered only by their fears."[1]
[Footnote 1: HARRIS's Voyages, Vol. II. page 340.]
In a letter to Lord Egmont, by Governor Belcher, dated Boston, May
24th, 1741, is this remark; "I was heartily sorry for the miscarriage
of General Oglethorpe's attempt on Augustine, in which I could not
learn where the mistake was, or to what it was owing, unless to a
wrong judgment of the strength of the place, to which the force that
attacked it, they say, was by no means equal. I wish that a part of
Admiral Vernon's fleet and General Wentworth's forces may give it a
visit, before the Spaniards sue for peace. It seems to me absolutely
necessary for the quieting of the English possessions of Carolina
and Georgia, that we should reduce Augustine to the obedience of the
British crown, and keep it, as Gibraltar and Mahon."[1]
[Footnote 1: Letter-book of his Excellency JONATHAN BELCHER, in the
archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. V. p. 254.]
CHAPTER XV.
Oglethorpe pays particular attention to internal Improvements--Meets
with many annoyances--The Creeks, under Toonahowi, make an incursion
into Florida--The Spanish form a design upon Georgia--Some of their
fleet appear on the coast--Oglethorpe prepares for defence--Applies
to South Carolina for assistance--Spaniards attack Fort
William--Dangerous situation of Oglethorpe--Spanish fleet enter the
harbor and land on St. Simons--In three successive engagements they
are defeated--A successful stratagem--Enemy defeated at Bloody Marsh--
Retire and attack Fort William, which is bravely defended by Ensign
Stewart--Spanish forces, repulsed in all their assaults, abandon the
invasion in dismay, and return to St. Augustine and to Cuba.
Of the year 1741 but few memorials are to be found. Oglethorpe resided
principally at Frederica; but occasionally visited Savannah; and,
every where, and at all times, actively exerted his powers of
persuasion, his personal influence, or his delegated authority to
reconcile the jarring contests and restore the social accordance
and peace of the community, while with vigilance and precaution
he concerted measures to guard the Colony against the threatening
purposes of the Spaniards. In reference to his peculiar trials and
vexatious annoyances, are the following remarks, copied from a letter
of a gentleman at Savannah, deeply read in the early history of the
Colony.[1]
[Footnote 1: WILLIAM B. STEVENS, M.D., _letter, October_ 19,1840.]
"The difficulties with which General Oglethorpe had to contend,
were peculiarly onerous and perplexing, not only with the
Spanish foes,--with the restless Indians,--with the clamorous
settlement,--with discontented troops,--with meagre supplies,--with
the defection of Carolina,--with the protest of his bills, and with
the refusal of a just naval protection;--but the officers of his
regiment were at enmity with him and with each other, and crimination
and recrimination followed, disturbing the peace, and weakening the
efficiency of the military corps. At a Court Martial, held in the
early part of January, 1739, composed of thirteen officers, they, in
their letter, dated 12th of January, to the General speak thus--'2d.
That we have observed a great spirit of mutiny among the soldiers,
particularly those of Lieutenant Colonel Cochran's company,' and '3d.
That by evidence given in Court, it appears to us that Lieutenant
Colonel James Cochran was in the knowledge of, and concealed a
mutiny.' The wonder is, that, with such opposing influences, and such
discordant materials, he effected _any thing_. That he achieved _so
much_, under such adverse circumstances, proves him to have been a
firm, bold, intrepid, and sagacious man; to have possessed the most
eminent military qualifications, and those sterling virtues which mock
at the petty malice of the envious, and triumph over the machinations
of malignity."
He was, also, fully aware that, as the Spanish of Florida and Cuba
entertained no good will towards him, they would seek an opportunity
to retaliate his "assault and battery," which, though it had proved
on his part a failure, had been to them a grievous annoyance. He,
therefore, kept scout-boats continually on the look out, to give
notice of the approach to the coast of any armed vessel. On the 16th
of August advice was conveyed to him that a large ship had come to
anchor off the bar. He immediately sent out the boat to ascertain
what it was; and it was perceived to be manned with Spaniards, with
evidently hostile purpose. Whereupon he went on board the guard sloop
to go in search of her; took, also, the sloop Falcon, which was in
the service of the Province; and hired the schooner Norfolk, Captain
Davis, to join the expedition. These vessels were manned by a
detachment of his regiment under the following officers: viz.: Major
Alexander Heron, Captain Desbrisay, Lieutenant Mackay, Lieutenant
Tamser, Ensign Hogan, Ensign Sterling, and Ensigns Wemyss and Howarth,
and Adjutant Maxwell; Thomas Eyre, Surgeon and Mate; six sergeants,
six corporals, five drummers, and one hundred and twenty-five
privates. Before they could get down to the bar, a sudden squall of
wind and storm of thunder and rain came on; and when it cleared up the
vessel was out of sight.
Unwilling, however, to lose the object of this equipment, on the next
day he sailed directly towards St. Augustine in pursuit of the ship.
On the 19th the Falcon sloop, being disabled, was sent back, with
seventeen men of the regiment; and the General proceeded with the
guard sloop and schooner. On the 21st, by day-break, they discovered a
ship and a sloop at anchor, about four or five leagues distant; and,
it being a dead calm, they rowed, till they came up to them, about
noon, when they found one to be the black Spanish privateer sloop,
commanded by a French officer, Captain Destrade, who had made several
prizes to the northward; and the other to be a three-mast ship; both
lying at anchor outside of the bar of St. Augustine. The General
issued orders to board them, when the wind freshing up, and the
English bearing down upon them, they began firing with great and small
arms, and the English returning the fire, they immediately left their
anchors, and run over the bar. The sloop and schooner pursuing them;
and, though they engaged them for an hour and a quarter, they could
not get on board. The Spanish vessels then run up towards the town;
and as they were hulled, and seemed disabled, six half-galleys came
down, and kept firing nine-pounders, but, by reason of the distance,
the shot did not reach the sloop or schooner. That night the General
came to anchor within sight of the castle of St. Augustine, and the
next day sailed for the Matanzas; but, finding no vessel there,
cruised off the bar of St. Augustine, and nothing coming out, the
whole coast being thus alarmed, he returned to Frederica.
There were three ships, and one two-mast vessel lying within the
harbor at the time that the English engaged the sloop and ship.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Annals of Europe_, page 404.]
This summer one of the Georgia boats off Tybee saved a three-mast
vessel which the Spaniards had abandoned, leaving eighteen Englishmen
on board, after having barbarously scuttled her, and choked the pumps,
that the men might sink with the ship; but the boat's men, getting on
board in good time, saved the men and the ship.
It seems that the Creeks, in retaliation of some predatory and
murderous outrages of the Florida outposts, made a descent upon them
in return. This is referred to in the following extract from a letter
of General Oglethorpe to the Duke of Newcastle, dated
Frederica, 12th of December, 1741.
My Lord,
"Toonahowi, the Indian who had the honor of your Grace's protection in
England, with a party of Creek Indians, returned hither from making
an incursion up to the walls of Augustine; near which they took Don
Romualdo Ruiz del Moral, Lieutenant of Spanish horse, and nephew to
the late Governor, and delivered him to me.
"The Governor of Augustine has sent the enclosed letter to me by some
English prisoners; and, the prisoners there, the enclosed petition. On
which I fitted out the vessels, and am going myself, with a detachment
of the regiment, off the bar of Augustine, to demand the prisoners,
and restrain the privateers."
In the early part of the year 1742, the Spaniards formed a design upon
Georgia, on which, from the time of its settlement, they had looked
with a jealous eye.[1] For this end, in May, they fitted out an
armament at Havanna, consisting of fifty-six sail, and seven or eight
thousand men; but the fleet, being dispersed by a storm, did not all
arrive at St. Augustine, the place of their destination. Don Manuel
de Monteano, Governor of that fortress, and of the town and region it
protected, had the command of the expedition.
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXV.]
About the end of May, or beginning of June, the schooner, which had
been sent out on a cruise by General Oglethorpe, returned with the
information that there were two Spanish men of war, with twenty guns
each, besides two very large privateers, and a great number of
small vessels, full of troops, lying at anchor off the bar of St.
Augustine. This intelligence was soon after confirmed by Captain
Haymer, of the Flamborough man of war, who had fallen in with part of
the Spanish fleet on the coast of Florida, and drove some vessels on
shore.
Having been apprized of this, the General, apprehending that the
Spaniards had in view some formidable expedition against Georgia or
Carolina, or perhaps both, wrote to the Commander of his Majesty's
ships, in the harbor of Charlestown, urging him to come to his
assistance. Lieutenant Maxwell, the bearer, arrived and delivered the
letter on the 12th of June. Directly afterwards he sent Lieutenant
Mackay to Governor Glenn, of South Carolina, requesting his military
aid with all expedition; and this despatch reached him on the 20th.
He then laid an embargo upon all the shipping in Georgia; and sent
messages to his faithful Indian allies, who gathered to his assistance
with all readiness.
And now the design of the Spaniards was manifest. On the 21st of June
the fleet appeared on the coast; and nine sail of vessels made an
attempt on Amelia Island, but were so warmly received by the cannon
from Fort William, and the guard-schooner of fourteen guns and ninety
men, commanded by Captain Dunbar, that they sheered off. When the
General was informed of this attack, he resolved to support the
fortifications on Cumberland Island; and set out with a detachment of
the regiment in three boats; but was obliged to make his way through
fourteen sail of vessels. This was very venturesome, and, indeed, was
considered as presumptuously hazardous. For, had a shot from one of
the galleys struck the boat in which he was, so as to disable or
sink it, or had he been overtaken by a gun-boat from the enemy, the
colonial forces would have become the weakly resisting victims of
Spanish exasperated revenge. But by keeping to the leeward, and thus
taking advantage of the smoke, he escaped the firing and arrived in
safety.
After having withdrawn the command from St. Andrews, and removed the
stores and artillery that were there, and reinforced Fort William,[1]
where he left one of the boats, he returned to St. Simons.
[Footnote 1: These two Forts were on Cumberland Island.]
He now sent another express to the Governor of South Carolina, by Mr.
Malryne, informing him of his situation, and urging the necessity of
a reinforcement. This application was not promptly complied with, in
consequence of an unfortunate prejudice arising from the failure
of his attempt upon St. Augustine. But as Georgia had been a great
barrier against the Spaniards, whose conquest of it would be hazardous
to the peace and prosperity of South Carolina, "it was thought
expedient to fit out some vessels to cruise down the coast, and see
what could be done for its relief."[1]
[Footnote 1: WILLIAMS's _History of Florida_, p. 185.]
In the perilous emergency to which he was reduced, Oglethorpe took,
for the King's service, the merchant ship of twenty guns, called the
_Success_,--a name of auspicious omen,--commanded by Captain Thompson,
and manned it from the small vessels which were of no force. He also
called in the Highland company from Darien, commanded by Captain
McIntosh; the company of rangers; and Captain Carr's company of
marines.
On the 28th of June the Spanish fleet appeared off the bar below
St. Simons; but from their precaution for taking the soundings and
ascertaining the channel, was delayed coming in, or landing any of the
troops, for several days; in which time "the General raised another
troop of rangers; and, by rewarding those who did extraordinary duty,
and offering advancement to such as should signalize themselves on
this occasion, he kept up the spirits of the people, and increased the
number of enlistments."[1] He was placed, indeed, in a most critical
situation; but he bore himself with great presence of mind, and
summoned to the emergency a resolution which difficulties could not
shake, and brought into exercise energies which gathered vigor from
hindrance, and rendered him insensible to fatigue, and unappalled by
danger. This self-collected and firm state of mind, made apparent in
his deportment and measures, produced a corresponding intrepidity in
all around him; inspired them with confidence in their leader; and
roused the determined purpose with united efforts to repel their
invaders.
[Footnote 1: The passages distinguished by inverted commas, without
direct marginal reference, are from the official account.]
At this critical juncture, his own services were multiplied and
arduous; for Lieutenant Colonel Cook, who was Engineer, having gone
to Charlestown, on his way to London,[1] the General was obliged to
execute that office himself, sometimes on ship-board, and sometimes
at the batteries. He therefore found himself under the necessity of
assigning the command to some one on station, during his occasional
absences; and accordingly appointed Major Alexander Heron; raising him
to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
[Footnote 1: We shall see, in the sequel, that the absence of this
officer, whatever its pretence, was with treacherous purpose, as may
be surmised by the following extract from a letter to the Duke of
Newcastle, dated 30th of July, 1741; where, mentioning the despatches
sent to Governor Glen, earnestly requesting some military aid, the
General informs his Grace that "Lieutenant Colonel Cook, who was
engineer, and was then at Charlestown, hastened away to England; and
his son-in-law, Ensign Erye, sub-engineer, was also in Charlestown,
and did not arrive here till the action was over; so, for want of
help, I was obliged to do the duty of an engineer."]
On Monday, the 5th of July, with a leading gale and the flood of tide,
a Spanish fleet of thirty-six sail, consisting of three ships of
twenty guns, two large snows, three schooners, four sloops, and the
rest half-galleys, with landsmen on board, entered the harbor; and,
after exchanging a brisk fire with the fort, for four hours, passed
all the batteries and shipping, proceeded up the river. The same
evening the forces were landed upon the island, a little below
Gascoigne's plantation. A red flag was hoisted on the mizzen-top of
the Admiral's ship, and a battery was erected on the shore, in which
were planted twenty eighteen-pounders. On this, the General, having
done all he could to annoy the enemy, and prevent their landing, and
finding that the Fort at St. Simons had become indefensible, held a
council of war at the head of his regiment; and it was the opinion of
the whole that the fort should be dismantled, the guns spiked up, the
cohorns burst, and that the troops there stationed should immediately
repair to Frederica, for its defence. He accordingly gave orders for
them to march, and sent for all the troops that were on board the
vessels to come on shore.
As his only measures must be on the defensive, "he sent scouting
parties in every direction to watch the motions of the enemy; while
the main body were employed in working at the fortifications, making
them as strong as circumstances would admit."[1]
[Footnote 1: McCALL, I. 179.]
The Creek Indians brought in five Spanish prisoners, from whom was
obtained information that Don Manuel de Monteano, the Governor of
St. Augustine, commanded in chief; that Adjutant General Antonio de
Rodondo, chief engineer, and two brigades, came with the forces from
Cuba; and that their whole number amounted to about five thousand men.
Detachments of the Spaniards made several attempts to pierce through
the woods, with a view to attack the fort; but were repulsed by
lurking Indians. The only access to the town was what had been cut
through a dense oak wood, and then led on the skirt of the forest
along the border of the eastern marsh that bounded the island
eastward. This was a defile so narrow, that the enemy could take no
cannon with them, nor baggage, and could only proceed two abreast.
Moreover, the Spanish battalions met with such obstruction from the
deep morasses on one side, and the dark and tangled thickets on the
other, and such opposition from the Indians and ambushed Highlanders,
that every effort failed, with considerable loss.
On the morning of the 7th of July, Captain Noble Jones, with a small
detachment of regulars and Indians, being on a scouting party, fell
in with a number of Spaniards, who had been sent to reconnoitre the
route, and see if the way was clear, surprised and made prisoners of
them. From these, information was received that the main army was
on the march. This intelligence was immediately communicated, by an
Indian runner, to the General, who detached Captain Dunbar with a
company of grenadiers, to join the regulars; with orders to harass the
enemy on their way. Perceiving that the most vigorous resistance was
called for, with his usual promptitude he took with him the Highland
company, then under arms, and the Indians, and ordered four platoons
of the regiment to follow. They came up with the vanguard of the enemy
about two miles from the town, as they entered the savannah, and
attacked them so briskly that they were soon defeated, and most of
their party, which consisted of one hundred and twenty of their best
woodsmen and forty Florida Indians were killed or taken prisoners. The
General took two prisoners with his own hands; and Lieutenant Scroggs,
of the rangers, took Captain Sebastian Sachio, who commanded the
party. During the action Toonahowi, the nephew of Tomo Chichi, who
had command of one hundred Indians, was shot through the right arm by
Captain Mageleto, which, so far from dismaying the young warrior, only
fired his revenge. He ran up to the Captain, drew his pistol with his
left hand, shot him through the head, and, leaving him dead on the
spot, returned to his company.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman's Magazine_, XII. 497.]
The General pursued the fugitives more than a mile, and then halted on
an advantageous piece of ground, for the rest of the troops to come
up, when he posted them, with the Highlanders, in a wood fronting the
road through the plain by which the main body of the Spaniards, who
were advancing, must necessarily pass. After which he returned, with
all speed, to Frederica, and ordered the rangers and boat-men to make
ready, and all to use their utmost endeavors to resist the invaders.
During his temporary absence on this pressing emergency, Captain
Antonio Barba, and two other Captains with one hundred grenadiers,
and two hundred foot, besides Indians and negroes, advanced from the
Spanish camp into the savannah with drums and huzzas, and halted
within an hundred paces of the position where the troops left by
Oglethorpe lay in ambuscade. They immediately stacked their arms, made
fires, and were preparing their kettles for cooking, when a horse
observed some of the concealed party, and, frightened at the uniform
of the regulars, began to snort. This gave the alarm. The Spaniards
ran to their arms, but were shot down in great numbers by their
invisible assailants; and, after repeated attempts to form, in which
some of their principal officers fell, they decamped with the utmost
precipitation, leaving the camp equipage on the field. So complete was
the surprise, that many fled without their arms; others, in a rapid
retreat, discharged their muskets over their shoulders at their
pursuers; and many were killed by the loaded muskets that had been
left on the ground. Generally the Spaniards fired so much at random,
that the trees were pruned by the balls from their muskets.[1]
[Footnote 1: McCALL's _History_, I. 185.]
The General, returning with all expedition, heard the report of the
musketry, and rode towards it; and, near two miles from the place of
action, met some platoons, who, in the heat of the fight, the air
being so darkened by the smoke that they could not see where to
direct their fire, and a heavy shower of rain falling, had retired in
disorder. He ordered them to rally and follow him, apprehending that
immediate relief might be wanting. He arrived just as the battle
ceased; and found that Lieutenant Sutherland, with his platoon, and
Lieutenant Charles Mackay, had entirely defeated the enemy.
In this action Don Antonio de Barba, their leader, was made a
prisoner, but mortally wounded. "In both actions, the Spaniards lost
four captains, one Lieutenant, two sergeants, two drummers, and more
than an hundred and fifty privates. One captain, one corporal, and
twenty men were taken prisoners. The rest fled to the woods, where
many of them were killed by the Indians, who brought in their
scalps."[1]
[Footnote 1: From the great slaughter, the scene of this action has
ever since been called "the bloody marsh."]
Captain Demerey and ensign Gibbon being arrived, with the men they had
rallied, Lieutenant Cadogan with the advanced party of the regiment,
and soon after the whole regiment, Indians and rangers, the General
marched down to a causeway over a marsh, very near the Spanish camp,
over which all were obliged now to pass; and thereby stopped those
who had been dispersed in the fight, from getting back to the Spanish
camp. Having passed the night there, the Indian scouts in the morning
got so near the Spanish place of encampment, as to ascertain that
they had all retired into the ruins of the fort, and were making
intrenchments under shelter of the cannon of the ships. Not deeming
it prudent to attack them while thus defended, he marched back to
Frederica, to refresh the soldiers; and sent out parties of Indians
and rangers to harass the enemy. He now, at a general staff, appointed
Lieutenant Hugh Mackay and Lieutenant Maxwell, Aids de camp, and
Lieutenant Sutherland, Brigade Major.
While signal instances of heroism were thus honored, he warned the
troops of the necessity of union and vigilance, of prompt attention to
orders, and of maintaining an unflinching firmness in every emergency;
for in these, under God, depended their safety.
Although he thus encouraged others, he was himself filled with
perplexity. He began to despair of any help from Carolina. His
provisions were bad and scarce, and, while the enemy commanded the
river and the harbor, no supplies could be expected. Of all this,
however, he gave no intimation, but, firm and self-possessed,
submitted to the same fare with the meanest soldier, exposed himself
to as great fatigue, and often underwent greater privations. At the
same time his fixed resolution and irrepressible zeal in the defence
and protection of his people, nerved him to further and even greater
exertions.
On the 11th the great galley and two small ones, approached within
gun-shot of the town; but they were repulsed by guns and bombs from
the fort, and the General followed them in his cutter, with attendant
boats, well manned, till he got under the cannon of their ships, which
lay in the sound.
This naval approach, as appeared afterwards, was in consequence of a
concerted plot. It seems that, at the commencement of the siege of
St. Augustine, a Spanish officer quitted one of the outer forts and
surrendered himself to Oglethorpe, who detained him prisoner of war.
He was readily communicative, and gave what was supposed important
information. After the close of the war, he might have been exchanged;
but he chose to remain, pretending that the Spaniards looked upon him
as a traitor. He, at length, so artfully insinuated himself into
favor with the magnanimous Oglethorpe, that he was treated with great
courtesy. On this invasion he begged permission to retire into the
northern colonies of the English, saying that he apprehended that
if he should fall into the hands of the Spaniards, they would deal
rigorously with him. The General, not being aware of any treacherous
design, gave him a canoe to go up the river till he was out of danger;
whence he might proceed by land to some back settlement. Some days
past and he came back to Frederica, pretending that he could not
make his way through, nor by, the fleet without being discovered and
captured. Most fortunately, some days after his return, an English
prisoner, who had escaped from one of the ships of war, acquainted the
General with the treachery of this officer, assuring him that he had
been aboard at such a time, and talked over his insidious project
of setting fire to the arsenal which contained all the powder and
military stores, and that its explosion should be the signal to the
Spanish galleys to approach, and, in the confusion of the occasion,
make an assault upon the fort. This disclosure confirmed suspicions
which had been excited by some of his management since his return;
and he was put under guard. In consequence of this precaution, the
concerted signal could not be given; and the ruinous project was most
happily defeated.[1]
[Footnote 1: URLSPURGER, IV. p. 1260.]
July 12th, two English prisoners who had effected an escape, one
from the fleet, and one from the camp, informed the General that the
Spaniards, not having anticipated such vigorous resistance, had become
restless and dispirited, especially since they had ascertained by
their roll how great was their loss of men; and that the state of the
wounded was distressing. They added that these discomfitures were
increased by the want of water on board the ships, which was so great
that the troops were put upon half allowance, which, in this hot
weather was a grievous deprivation, and that several, from the effect
of the climate, were sick and unfit for service. They apprized him,
also, that they had holden a council of war, in which there were great
divisions, insomuch that the troops of Cuba separated from those of
Augustine, and encamped at a distance near the woods.
This latter circumstance suggested the idea of attacking them while
divided; and his perfect knowledge of the woods favored the project of
surprising one of their encampments. In furtherance of this design,
he drew out three hundred regular troops, the Highland company, the
rangers, and Indians, and marched in the night, unobserved within a
mile and a half of the Spanish camp. There his troops halted, and he
advanced at the head of a select corps to reconnoitre the enemy.
While he was using the utmost circumspection to obtain the necessary
information without being discovered, an occurrence of the most
villanous nature, disconcerted the project. As the particulars of this
have been variously narrated, I am happy in being enabled to give the
General's own account of the affair.[1] In his official despatch to
the Duke of Newcastle, dated at Frederica, in Georgia, 30th of July,
1742, he says,--"A Frenchman who, without my knowledge was come down
among the volunteers, fired his gun, and deserted. Our Indians in vain
pursued, but could not take him. Upon this, concluding that we should
be discovered, I divided the drums into different parts, and they beat
the Grenadier's march for about half an hour; then ceased, and we
marched back in silence. The next day I prevailed with a prisoner, and
gave him a sum of money to carry a letter privately, and deliver it to
that Frenchman who had deserted. This letter was written in French, as
if from a friend of his, telling him he had received the money; that
he should try 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 batteries were;
that if he could bring that about he should have double the reward he
had already received; and 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 the General, Don Manuel de
Monteano. He was asked how he escaped, and whether he had any letters;
but denying he had 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 any thing 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 decreed the
Frenchman to be a double spy; but General Monteano would not suffer
him to be executed, having been employed by him. However they embarked
all their troops with such precipitation that they left behind their
cannon, &c., and those dead of their wounds, unburied."
[Footnote 1: Transcribed from the Georgia Historical documents, by my
excellent friend T.K. TEFFT, Esq., of Savannah. The particulars of
this singularly interesting _ruse de guerre_ are detailed in all the
accounts of the Spanish invasion; and in each with some variation, and
in all rather more circumstantially than the above. See _Gentleman's
Magazine_ for 1742, p. 695; _London Magazine_ for 1758, p. 80;
HEWATT'S _History of South Carolina_, Vol. II. p. 117; McCALL'S
_History of Georgia_, I. p. 184; RAMSAY'S _History of the United
States_, I. 167, and MARSHALL'S _History of the Colonies_, p. 289.]
The Spanish General now deemed it expedient to relinquish a plan
of conquest attended with so many difficulties, and the further
prosecution of which would put to hazard the loss of both army and
fleet, and perhaps of the whole Province of Florida.
"On the 14th of July the Spaniards burned all the works and houses on
the south end of St. Simons and Jekyl islands.
"On the 15th the large vessels, with the Cuba forces on board, stood
out to sea; and the Governor and troops from St. Augustine embarked
in the galleys and small vessels, and took the inland passage, and
encamped on the north end of Cumberland island, at Fort St. Andrews.
"The next day the General pursued the enemy, and, landing where
they had encamped, sent an express in the night to Ensign Alexander
Stewart, who commanded at Fort William, directing him, in case of an
attack, to defend the place to the last extremity; and that he would
reinforce him early the next day. At day-light twenty-eight sail of
the Spanish line appeared off Fort William, fourteen of which came
into the harbor, and demanded a surrender of the garrison. Stewart
replied that it should not be surrendered, and could not be taken.
They attacked the works from their galleys and other vessels, and
attempted to land; but were repulsed by a party of rangers, who had
arrived by a forced march down the island. Stewart, with only sixty
men, defended the fort with such bravery, that, after an assault of
three hours, the enemy discovering the approach of Oglethorpe, put to
sea, with considerable loss. Two galleys were disabled and abandoned;
and the Governor of St. Augustine proceeded with his troops by the
inward passage. Ensign Stewart was rewarded, by promotion, for the
bravery of his defence."[1]
[Footnote 1: McCall, Vol. I. p.188.]
"On the 20th, General Oglethorpe sent his boats and rangers as far as
the river St. John. They returned the next day with the information
that the enemy were quite gone."
A few days after, the armed ships from South Carolina came to St.
Simons; but the need of them was then over; and even of the British
men of war upon the American station, though they had a month's
notice, none appeared upon the coast of Georgia until after the
Spanish troops were all embarked, and their fleet was upon its return
to Havana and to St. Augustine.
In the account of the Spanish invasion, by the Saltzburg preachers
at Ebenezer, are these very just reflections: "Cheering was the
intelligence that the Spaniards, with all their ships of war and
numerous military force, had raised the siege in shame and disgrace,
and retired to Augustine! Doubtless they feared lest English ships of
war should approach and draw them into a naval combat, for which they
could have no desire. Nay, they feared, no doubt, that their own
Augustine would suffer from it."
Devoutly acknowledging the protecting and favoring providence of God
in this wonderful deliverance from a most formidable invading foe,
General Oglethorpe appointed a day of Thanksgiving to be observed by
the inhabitants of the Colony.[1]
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXVI.]
Thus was the Province of Georgia delivered, when brought to the very
brink of destruction by a formidable enemy. Don Manuel de Monteano had
been fifteen days on the small island of St. Simons, without gaining
the least advantage over a handful of men; and, in the several
skirmishes, had lost a considerable number of his best troops, while
Oglethorpe's loss was very inconsiderable.[1]
[Footnote 1: McCALL, I. 188.]
The writer of a letter from Charlestown, South Carolina, has this
remark; "that nearly five thousand men, under the command of so good
an officer as the Governor of St. Augustine, should fly before six
or seven hundred men, and about one hundred Indians, is matter of
astonishment to all."[1]
[Footnote 1: Gentleman's Magazine for 1742, p. 895. See also Appendix,
No. XXVII. for an account of the forces.]
The Rev. Mr. Whitefield, in a letter to a noble Lord, says, "The
deliverance of Georgia from the Spaniards, one of my friends writes
me, is such as cannot be paralleled but by some instances out of the
Old Testament. I find that the Spaniards had cast lots, and determined
to give no quarter. They intended to have attacked Carolina, but,
wanting water, they put into Georgia, and so would take that Colony
on their way. But the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong. Providence ruleth all things. They were wonderfully repelled
and sent away before our ships were seen."[1] "A little band chased a
thousand; and a small one overcome a large people."
[Footnote 1: _Letters_, V.I. let. CCCCLXXXIX. p. 467.]
The writer of the _History of the rise, progress, and settlement of
the Colony of Georgia_, so often quoted in this chapter, closes his
account of this invasion with the following remark: "Instead of
raising and heightening their success, to do honor to the General's
character; we ought rather to lessen or diminish some of the
circumstances, to render it, in such an age as this, more credible.
But we have taken no liberties at all. The facts are represented,
step by step, as they happened; and the reader left to make his own
inferences, estimate, and opinion."[1]
[Footnote 1: HARRIS's _Voyages_, II. 345.]
The Governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia and North Carolina, addressed letters to Oglethorpe,
"congratulating him upon the important services rendered to the
Colonies; and assuring him of the interest which they felt in the
honor he had acquired by his indefatigable exertions, constant
exposure, extraordinary courage, and unequalled military conduct; and
offering their humble thanks to the Supreme Governor of nations for
placing the fate of the Southern Colonies under the direction of a
General so well qualified for the important trust."[1]
[Footnote 1: For some of the letters see the work last quoted.]
CHAPTER XVI.
Oglethorpe, informed that the Spaniards were making preparations for
a renewal of hostilities, takes measures to repel them--Meets with an
alarming accident--Lands on the Florida side of St. John's--Proceeds
towards St. Augustine--The Spanish do not venture out to attack
him--Returns to the Islands--Sees that the Forts are repaired--Takes
passage to England to attend a Court Martial on an insidious charge
against him by Lieutenant Cook--Is honorably acquitted, and Cook is
dismissed from the service.
In the beginning of the year 1743, General Oglethorpe, having
had information that the Spaniards of St. Augustine were making
preparations for another invasion of Georgia,[1] took measures to
repel it; and set out, at the head of a force consisting of a company
of grenadiers, a detachment of his own regiment, the Highlanders, and
the Georgia rangers, and a numerous collection of Indians.
[Footnote 1: "They were so apprehensive of this at South Carolina,
that the fortifications of Charlestown were repaired and augmented."
BOYSE's _Historical Review_, Vol. I. p. 381.]
He came very near being killed in his shallop, while sailing to
reconnoitre St. Augustine; but Providence averted the fatality of the
blow which he received. One of his cannon burst, and a piece of a
sail-yard struck the head of the General, and so wounded him that the
blood gushed from his ears and nose. The injury, happily, was not so
great but that he soon collected himself, and cheered up his alarmed
attendants.[1]
[Footnote 1: URLSPURGER, IV. 2073.]
On the 6th of March he landed on the Florida side of St. John's river,
and attacked a much more numerous party of the Spanish troops than
that under his command, quartered at Fort Diego, forty of whom were
killed in the engagement and pursuit, and the rest made their escape
into the castle.
After this he proceeded to the neighborhood of St. Augustine; and,
having placed the greatest part of his troops in ambuscade, marched
with the rest almost to the walls of the fortress, in hopes that the
Spaniards, upon seeing so small a party, would have sallied out
to have engaged it, in which case he was resolved to have made a
retreating fight, in order to draw the enemy into the ambush which he
had prepared for them. But, it seems, that by accident they discovered
the concealment of the troops, and deemed it prudent to remain in
their stronghold. This stratagem having been frustrated, Oglethorpe,
perceiving that an assault would be unavailing, marched back to the
river, where he continued for some time, expecting that the enemy
would come out, and endeavor to drive him from their territory, but,
as they made not the attempt, and as the affairs of the Colony as well
as his own, required his presence in England, he returned, to make
arrangements for going thither.
Having seen that the fortifications on St. Simons and the other
islands were repaired and greatly improved, Oglethorpe took passage
on the 23d of July, 1743, in the guard-ship commanded by Captain
Thompson, having with him Colonel Heron, Mr. Eyre, sub-engineer, and
several others belonging to the regiment, and arrived in London on the
25th of September, where his personal presence was required to meet
and answer an impeachment lodged against him in the War-office by
Lieutenant Colonel William Cook. As soon as Oglethorpe arrived, he
insisted that the allegations should be examined by a board of General
Officers; but, as Cook gave in a list of several persons in Georgia
and some in South Carolina, who, he said, were material witnesses, no
investigation could be had till they should be heard. In consequence
of this, and other delays, the Court Martial was not opened till the
4th of June, 1744. It continued two days in session; when, after a
strict scrutiny into the complaint, article by article of the nineteen
specific charges, the board were of opinion that "the whole and
every article thereof was groundless, false, and malicious." On the
presentation of the Report to his Majesty he was pleased to order that
the said Lieutenant Colonel Cook should be dismissed the service.
This indictment by one who had been treated with great kindness, and
who owed his preferment to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to the
particular favor of the General, was not only ungrateful, but
insidious and base.
The faithful Annalist of America, the Reverend Doctor Holmes, closes
his reference to this transaction with this just and honorable
reflection: "By the decision of this board, the character of this able
General now appeared in resplendent light; and his contemporaries
acknowledged, what impartial history must record, that to him Carolina
was indebted for her safety and repose, as well as Georgia for
existence and protection."[1]
[Footnote 1: _American Annals_, II. 19.]
And here closes the history of the settlement of Georgia; in a great
degree the project and the furtherance of one man, who must be allowed
to possess the foremost rank among those, who, by well-concerted
plans, and judicious and persevering measures for their
accomplishment, have high claims on public gratitude, as warm and
devoted patriots, and enlightened philanthropists. Embracing in one
comprehensive view the effectual relief of the reduced or neglected,
the planting of a Colony, and the promotion of its progressive
improvement and welfare, it is the appropriate praise of the founder
of Georgia, that, with a sagacity and foresight which are never
sufficiently to be admired, a zeal and fortitude never exceeded, and
a devotedness to the object which never relaxed, he commenced and
carried on the arduous enterprise.
In "An account, showing the progress of the Colony of Georgia in
America from its first establishment; published by order of the
Honorable, the Trustees," London, 1741, is the following eulogy of
Oglethorpe, made by those who best knew how truly it was deserved.
"A Gentleman who may be justly termed the Romulus, father and founder
of Georgia; a gentleman who, without any view but that of enlarging
his Majesty's dominions, propagating the Protestant religion,
promoting the trade of his country, and providing for the wants and
necessities of indigent christians, has voluntarily banished himself
from the pleasures of a Court, and exposed himself repeatedly to the
dangers of the vast Atlantic ocean in several perilous and tedious
voyages; instead of allowing himself the satisfaction which a
plentiful fortune, powerful friends, and great merit entitle him to
in England, has inured himself to the greatest hardships that any the
meanest inhabitant of this new Colony could be exposed to; his diet
has been mouldy bread, or boiled rice instead of bread, salt beef,
pork, &c., his drink has been water; and his bed the damp earth,
without any other covering than the canopy of heaven to shelter him:
and all this to set an example to this new Colony how they might bear
with such hardships in their new settlement."
A recent publication bestows also a tribute of commendation, in the
following terms: "As governor of the new Colony, he was exposed to
numberless difficulties and vexations; but persevered with great ardor
in the scheme, and expended large sums out of his private fortune with
a view to ensure its success."[1]
[Footnote 1: GEORGIAN AERA; or _Memoirs of the most eminent persons
who have flourished in Great Britain from the accession of George I.
to the death of George IV_. Lond. 1834. 4 vol. Vol. II. p. 43.]
I give, also, an extract from "lines to General Oglethorpe, on the
settlement of Georgia," published in the _South Carolina Gazette,
June_, 1733.
"The fame of Tyrants should, if justice swayed,
Be bowled through deserts their ambition made;
But OGLETHORPE has gained a well-earned praise,
Who made the heirs of want, the lords of ease:
The gloomy wood to plenteous harvests changed,
And founded cities where the wild beasts ranged.
Then may the great reward assigned by fate
Crown his own wish to see the work complete!"
CHAPTER XVII.
Oglethorpe's residence in England--Marriage--Military appointments--A
Major General under the Duke of Cumberland for the suppression of
the rebellion in 1745--Arraigned at a Court Martial and
acquitted--Domestic and social life, and character--Death.
Having accomplished the great design of settling the Colony of
Georgia, watched over its nascent feebleness, cherished its growth,
defended it from invasion, vindicated its rights, and advanced its
interests and welfare, Oglethorpe resigned the superintendence and
government into other hands, and retired to his country seat at
Godalming, "to rest under the shade of his own laurels."
In March, 1744, he was appointed one of the officers under Field
Marshal, the Earl of Stair, to oppose the expected invasion from
France.
Having been so happy as to form a tender attachment to an amiable
lady, which was reciprocated, he married, on the 15th of September,
1744, Elizabeth, the only daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, Baronet, of
Cranham Hall, Essex.[1]
[Footnote 1: On this occasion some congratulatory verses were written
by the Rev. MOSES BROWN, and printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, Vol.
XIV. p. 558.]
His chief residence was at his country seat; but he spent his winters
in the venerable family mansion in St. James, Westminster, London, to
attend his duties as member of Parliament and enjoy the society of men
of the first respectability for rank, talents, and literature.
On the 25th of March, 1745, he was promoted to the rank of Major
General; and the Rebellion breaking out in that year, he was placed at
the head of four companies of cavalry, one of which bore the title
of "Georgia Rangers."[1] They had been raised at the expense of some
loyal individuals, to act against the insurgents; "and," (says an
Historian who had the best authority for the declaration,)[2] "they
did very signal service to their country." Their uniform was blue,
faced with red; and they wore green cockades. They did not encamp with
the foot, but were quartered in the towns.
[Footnote 1: Marshal Wade, the Commander in Chief, had under him
the following officers, viz.: Lieutenant Generals Lord Tyrawly, and
Wentworth; the Major Generals Howard, Huske, and Oglethorpe; and the
Brigadier Generals Mordaunt and Chemondelly.]
[Footnote 2: See _Impartial History of the Rebellion in 1745, from
authentic memoirs, particularly the Journal of a General Officer; and
other original papers; with the characters of the persons principally
concerned_. By SAMUEL BOYSE. 8vo. Dublin. 1748. p. 80.]
As this expedition was commenced late in the fall, the King's troops
were retarded in their operations by the rigor of the season, their
late forced marches, and a most uncomfortable diarrhoea, which
prevailed among the soldiers; but good quarters, proper refreshments,
and the extraordinary care of their officers, relieved these
difficulties, and put the army into so good a condition as enabled
them to go through the campaign with fewer inconveniences and much
less loss than could reasonably be expected, considering the great
hardships and excessive fatigues to which they were exposed.
As soon as Marshal Wade had intelligence at Newcastle of the route
which the rebels had taken, he resolved, notwithstanding the severity
of the season, to march thence to the relief of Carlisle. Accordingly,
on the 16th of November, the army began to move for that purpose. His
Excellency intended to have begun his march as soon as it was light;
but, moving from the left, the troops which had the van, delayed their
motions several hours, to the great prejudice of the expedition; for
the weather being extremely cold, and the travelling impeded by a deep
snow, or made rough by frozen ground, the troops suffered very
much. The Major Generals Howard and Oglethorpe, and the Brigadiers,
Cholmondley and Mordaunt, marched on foot at the head of the infantry
to encourage the soldiers. It was eight at night and very dark before
the front line got into the camp at Ovington; and though the soldiers
resolutely pressed forward, yet, the roads being terribly broken and
full of ice, it was foreseen that many of the last column might drop,
through excessive fatigue; and therefore the Major Generals Huske and
Oglethorpe sent out countrymen with lights and carts to assist the
rear guard, and bring up the tired men. In this service they were
employed till near nine the next morning.
On the 17th the Marshal continued his march to Hexham, where he
arrived, with the first line, about four in the afternoon, but the
rear of the army did not come up till near midnight. Having received
intelligence that Carlisle had surrendered, he resolved to march back
to Newcastle; but, the weather continuing bad, and the roads become in
a manner impassable, he did not arrive there with his army till the
16th; and, even then, the forces under his command were so exhausted
by fatigue, and lamed by travelling, that, if it had not been for the
great care taken of them by the people of Newcastle, they must have
been, not only disheartened, but disqualified for service.
In the meantime the Duke of Cumberland's army was forming in
Staffordshire; for, upon the approach of the Rebels, it was resolved
that his Royal Highness should be sent down to command the forces in
that part of the kingdom; and he arrived at Litchfield on the 28th of
November.
Towards the latter end of the month, the army, under the command of
Marshal Wade, began to move; the cavalry having reached Darlington
and Richmond by the 25th. On the 29th the infantry was at Persbridge,
whence he proposed to march to Wetherby, and there canton the
whole army in the adjacent villages; looking upon this as the most
convenient station either for distressing the enemy, should they
attempt to retire, or for cooperating with the forces of his Royal
Highness, as occasion should render necessary.
On the 8th of December the Marshal held a council of war, at
Ferry-bridge, to consider of the most effectual means for cutting off
the Highlanders on their retreat; and, in this council it was resolved
to march directly to Wakefield and Halifax into Lancashire, as
the most likely way of intercepting the rebels. Having arrived at
Wakefield on the 10th, and having advice that the main body of the
rebels was at Manchester, and their van-guard moving from thence
towards Preston, and finding that it was now impossible to come up
with them, he judged it unnecessary to fatigue the forces by hard
marches, and, therefore, detaching Major General Oglethorpe, on the
11th, with the cavalry under his command, he began the march, with the
rest of the forces to Newcastle. On the 13th a great body of the horse
and dragoons under Oglethorpe arrived at Preston, having marched a
hundred miles in three days over roads naturally bad, and at that time
almost impassable with snow and ice; "which," says the Historian, "was
a noble testimony of zeal and spirit, especially in the new raised
forces."
His Royal Highness immediately gave his orders for continuing the
pursuit of the rebels, with the utmost diligence. Accordingly
Oglethorpe advanced towards Lancaster; which place the Duke reached
on the 16th. Oglethorpe, continuing his pursuit at the heels of the
rebels, arrived on the 17th in front of a village called Shap, where
their rear was supposed to be, just before night-fall, in very bad
weather. Here he held a consultation with his officers, in which it
was decided that the lateness of the hour, and the exhaustion of the
troops, rendered it inexpedient to make the attack that night. He,
therefore, entered the neighboring village to obtain forage, and to
refresh. Meanwhile the Duke pressed on; and, next morning, when he
came to Shap, found that it had been abandoned by the rebels; but was
surprised at seeing on his right, towards the rear, an unexpected body
of troops. It turned out to be Oglethorpe's corps, which, from being
the van-guard of the army, had thus unaccountably become the rear.
Vexed at the disappointing occurrence, he caused Oglethorpe to be
arraigned before a Court Martial, for having "lingered on the road."
His trial came on at the Horse-guards on the 29th of September, and
ended the 7th of October, 1746; when "he was honorably acquitted, and
his Majesty was graciously pleased to confirm the sentence."[1]
[Footnote 1: See _London Gazette_ for October 20th, 1746; and the
_Memoir_ in _European Magazine_ for 1785.
CROKER, in a note to his edition of BOSWELL's _Life of Johnson_, Vol.
I. page 97, says that "though acquitted, he was never again employed.
It is by no means surprising that this neglect should have mortified
a man of Oglethorpe's sensibility; and it is to be inferred, from Mr.
Boswell's expressions, that, late in life, he had in vain solicited
for 'some mark of distinction, 'to heal his wounded feelings." The
last intimations are confuted by the advancements in military rank
stated in the following pages of these memorials. The "mark of
distinction," deserved, perhaps expected, but certainly not
"solicited," might be that of _Knight_, a title worn by his father, as
also by the father of his wife.]
As a still higher proof that he stood high in public estimation, on
the 13th of September, 1747, he was made Brigadier General in the
British army.
On the establishment of the British Herring Fishery, in 1750, he took
a very considerable part, and became one of the Council; in which
situation, on the 25th of October he delivered to the Prince of Wales
the Charter of incorporation in a speech which was printed in the
public journals.
In 1754 he was candidate for the borough of Haslemere, which he had
represented in former Parliaments; but on the close of the poll, the
numbers were found to be for J. Moore Molyneaux, 75; Philip Carteret
Webb, 76; Peter Burrel, 46; and Oglethorpe only 45.
On February 22d, 1765, he was raised to the rank of General of all his
Majesty's forces; and for many years before his death was the oldest
general officer on the staff.[1]
[Footnote 1: In the _Army list, issued from the War Office_, 20th
July, 1781, and in STOCKDALE's _Calendar for the year_ 1785, (the year
of Oglethorpe's death,) both of which are now before me, his name is
_first on the list_.]
Here, perhaps, is the proper place to introduce an anecdote given
by Major McCall, in his _History of Georgia_, Vol. I. p. 325,
too striking to be omitted. "At the commencement of the American
Revolution, being the senior officer of Sir William Howe, he had the
prior offer of the command of the forces appointed to subdue the
Rebels. He professed his readiness to accept the appointment, 'if
the Ministry would authorize him to assure the Colonies that justice
should be done them.' His proposal appeared to be the result of
humanity and equity. He declared that 'he knew the Americans well;
that they never would be subdued by arms; but that obedience would be
secured by doing them justice.' A man with these views was not a fit
instrument for the British Government, and therefore, agreeably to his
own request, he was permitted to remain at home."
McCALL refers to "the Annual Register," for his authority; but, after
careful searching, I do not find the statement. The intermediate
comments, and the last sentence, are undoubtedly the Major's. The
anecdote is also related in RAMSAY's _History of the United States_,
Vol. III. p. 166.
I much doubt, however, that an official offer was made to him, as he
was too old to engage in such a service; and deem the statement not
sufficiently authenticated to be relied on.
He continued to reside, principally, at Cranham Hall, in Essex, a fine
country seat of which he became possessed by his marriage with the
heiress of Sir Nathan Wright. In this beautiful retreat, favored with
the enjoyment of uninterrupted health, the possession of worldly
competence, and the heart-cheering comforts of connubial life, he
looked back upon the chequered scene of his former services with
lively gratitude that he had escaped so many dangers, and been an
honored instrument of effecting so much good; and the present happy
condition of his lot was heightened by its contrast with past
hardships, fatigues, and perils.
He passed his winters in London, where he enjoyed the acquaintance
and even intimacy of some of the most honorable and distinguished
characters of the day. "A gentleman and a soldier, he united the
virtue of chivalrous honor and magnanimity with the acquirements of
learning and that love of polite literature which associated him with
the first scholars of the age." One who knew him intimately has said,
"This extraordinary person was as remarkable for his learning and
taste, as for his other eminent qualities; and no man was more prompt,
active, and generous in encouraging merit."[1]
[Footnote 1: BOSWELL, in the _of Johnson_, Vol. I. p. 97, of CROKER'S
edition.]
To the celebrated Dr. Johnson he was respectfully attached; and
was fond of having him often as a guest. Boswell has detailed some
pleasing particulars of these interviews; and, after relating one,
adds in a note the following remarks: "Let me here pay a tribute of
gratitude to the memory of that excellent person, my intimacy with
whom was the more valuable to me, because my first acquaintance with
him was unexpected and unsolicited. Soon after the publication of
my 'Account of Corsica,' he did me the honor to call on me, and
approaching me with a frank, courteous air, said, 'Sir, my name is
Oglethorpe, and I wish to become acquainted with you.' I was not a
little flattered to be thus addressed by an eminent man, of whom I had
read in Pope from my early years,
"Or, driven by strong benevolence of soul,
Will fly like Oglethorpe from pole to pole."
"I was fortunate enough to be found worthy of his good opinion,
insomuch that I was not only invited to make one of the many
respectable companies whom he entertained at his table, but had
a cover at his hospitable board every day when I happened to be
disengaged; and in his society I never failed to enjoy learned and
animated conversation, seasoned with genuine sentiments of virtue and
religion."[1]
[Footnote 1: Vol. III. p. 225.]
Dr. Warton, referring to Oglethorpe, says, "I had the pleasure of
knowing him well;" and, in a note upon the couplet quoted from Pope,
says, "Here are lines that will justly confer immortality on a man who
well deserved so magnificent an eulogium. He was, at once, a great
hero, and a great legislator. The vigor of his mind and body have
seldom been equalled. The vivacity of his genius continued to great
old age. The variety of his adventures, and the very different scenes
in which he had been engaged, made me regret that his life has never
been written. Dr. Johnson once offered to do it, if the General would
furnish him the materials. Johnson had a great regard for him, for he
was one of the first persons that highly, in all companies, praised
his 'London.' His first campaign was made under Prince Eugene against
the Turks, and that great General always spoke of Oglethorpe in the
highest terms. But his settlement of the Colony of Georgia gave a
greater lustre to his character than even his military exploits."
With Goldsmith, too, he was intimate. In the lately published
biography of this poet by Prior,[1] referring to the occasional relief
contributed to him in his exigences, it is added, "Goldsmith was
content, likewise, to be made the channel of conveyance for the
bounty of others, as we find by a letter of General Oglethorpe,
a distinguished and amiable man, at whose table he met with good
society, and spent many agreeable hours, and who now, at an advanced
period of life, displayed the same love for the good of mankind, in a
private way, that he had exerted on a more extended scale." With the
letter he sent five pounds, to be distributed in aid of a charitable
institution, in whose behalf Goldsmith seems to have taken an active
interest; and the letter concluded with this kindly expressed
invitation; "If a farm, and a mere country scene will be a little
refreshment from the smoke of London, we shall be glad of the
happiness of seeing you at Cranham Hall."
[Footnote 1: Vol. II. p. 457.]
It is asserted that "his private benevolence was great. The families
of his tenants and dependants were sure of his assistance whilst they
deserved it; and he has frequently supported a tenant, whose situation
was doubtful, not merely forbearing to ask for rent, but lending him
money to go on with his farm."[1]
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman's Magazine_ for July, 1785, p. 518.]
Of his public liberality, repeated mention has been made in the course
of this work, more particularly in the settlement of Georgia; in the
furtherance of which he not only bore his own expenses, but procured
various outfits. He also contributed pecuniary assistance and
conferred favors to encourage exertion, or reward well doing. No
one excelled him in those smaller attentions to the interests and
gratification of his friends and acquaintance; which, though they do
not of themselves constitute a great character, are, certainly, very
pleasing recommendations of it.
It is not denied that he had his imperfections and errors; and some,
for which the plea of human frailty alone may not be a sufficient
excuse. He was rather passionate in his temper, impatient of
contradiction, and quick in his resentments; but, upon any ingenuous
concession, was placable and ready to admit an apology. To the humble
offender he was reconcilable, and to the submissive, magnanimous. In
the heyday of life, a soldierly pride, or military point of honor,
sometimes betrayed him into indiscretions or involved him in
rencounters, to which, as he became more mature in age and in
judgment, a dignified sense of true greatness rendered him superior.
Some instances of rashness have been noted by Walpole with unsparing
vituperation;[1] and some self-complacent or boasting sallies, have
been pointed at by Croker with a sarcastic sneer. But, admitting
that these were far from being venial faults, yet it would be very
uncharitable now to recall them from the forgetfulness and forgiveness
in which they have long been passed over; especially as they were
fully redeemed by noble qualities and beneficent deeds. Surely, he
who was celebrated by Pope and Thompson, honored by the Reverend Dr.
Burton, vindicated and praised in Parliament by the excellent Duke
of Argyle, and favored by the regards of Dr. Johnson, "the English
moralist,"[2] must have had a large prevalence of what, in the opinion
of the best judges, is estimable in disposition and conduct, and
irreproachable in character!
[Footnote 1: "All the stories of Horace Walpole are to be received
with great caution; but his Reminiscences, above all, written in
his dotage, teem with the grossest inaccuracies and incredible
assertions." LORD MAHON'S _History of England_. Lond. 1837. Vol. II.
p. 174, _note_.]
[Footnote 2: This honored friend he outlived; and, while attending
the sale of his library, February 18th, 1785, the fine characteristic
portrait of him was taken by S. Ireland, an engraving of which makes
the frontispiece of this volume.]
He had a pleasing talent at narrative, and when animated by the
cheering attention of his friends, he would give full scope to it.
Anecdotes of times past, incidents and scenes of his eventful life,
and occurrences which had passed under his observation, when detailed
by him at length, and set off with his amusing episodical remarks and
illustrations, made him a most entertaining chronicler. These were
sometimes enlivened with a sportive humor that gave a charm to the
social hour, and contributed to the amusement of his guests and
friends. If in his extreme old age he indulged in egotisms or
loquacity, still his observations were those of one who had seen and
read much, and was willing to communicate his acquired knowledge and
the results of his observation and experience; and few who attended to
him, did so without receiving information and entertainment. Even his
old stories of his own acting, served to confirm what he said, and he
made them better in the telling; so that he was rarely troublesome
with the same tale told again, for he gave it an air of freshness.
Polite in his address and graceful in his manners, the gallant veteran
was a favorite visiter in the parties of accomplished ladies that
occasionally met at the house of Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Garrick, Mrs.
Boscawen, and Mrs. Carter.--Hannah More, in a letter to her sister,
in 1784, says, "I have got a new admirer; it is the famous General
Oglethorpe, perhaps the most remarkable man of his time. He was
foster-brother to the Pretender; and is much above ninety years old;
the finest figure you ever saw. He perfectly realizes all my ideas of
Nestor. His literature is great; his knowledge of the world extensive;
and his faculties as bright as ever. He is one of the three persons
still living who were mentioned by Pope; Lord Mansfield and Lord
Marchmont are the other two. He was the intimate friend of Southern,
the tragic poet, and all the wits of that time. He is, perhaps, the
oldest man of a _Gentleman_ living. I went to see him the other day,
and he would have entertained me by repeating passages from Sir
Eldred. He is quite a preux chevalier, heroic, romantic, and full
of the old gallantry."[1] In another letter, she mentions being in
company with the General at Mrs. Vesey's, where the Dutchess of
Portland and Mrs. Delany were present, and where "Mr. Burke talked
a great deal of politics with General Oglethorpe. He told him, with
great truth, that he looked upon him as a more extraordinary person
than any he had ever read of, for he had founded the province of
Georgia; had absolutely called it into existence, and had lived to see
it severed from the Empire which created it, and become an independent
State."[2]
[Footnote 1: _Life and Letters_, Vol. I. p. 181.]
[Footnote 2: Ibid. 204.]
The late President, John Adams, saw Oglethorpe in 1785, a short time
before his decease. Within a day or two after his arrival in London,
as Ambassador from the United States, had been announced in the
public prints, the General called upon him; as was very polite and
complimentary. "He had come to pay his respects to the first American
Ambassador and his Family, whom he was glad to see in England;
expressed a great esteem and regard for America; much regret at the
misunderstanding between the two countries; and felt very happy to
have lived to see the termination of it."[1] There was something
peculiarly interesting in this interview. He who had planted Georgia,
and provided for it during the earliest stages of its _dependent
condition as a Colony_, held converse with him who had come to a Royal
Court, the Representative of its NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE!
[Footnote 1: See a letter from President Adams to Dr. Holmes.
_Annals_, Vol. II. p. 530.]
A writer in the year 1732, and within the month on which the charter
for Georgia was issued, made the following remarks: "If the Trustees
give liberty of Religion, establish the people free, fix an agrarian
law, and go upon the glorious maxims of liberty and virtue, their
Province, _in the age of a man_, by being the asylum of the
unfortunate, will become more and more advantageous to Britain than
the conquest of a kingdom."[1] The suggestion here made was seasonable
and judicious; and the prospective intimation was a prophecy,
accomplished in a sense not imagined, and surely not anticipated
by the writer. The Province did become, whilst its founder was yet
living, and therefore "in the age of a man," a highly advantageous
acquisition to Great Britain in a commercial relation; and, though
dismembered from the Empire, an important independent State.
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine_ for 1732, p. 198.]
This remarkable man, abstemious in his mode of living, regular in his
habits, and using much exercise, enjoyed good health to extreme old
age; and such was his activity, that he could outwalk persons more
than half a century younger. At that period of advanced life, when
the weight of years usually bears down the elasticity of the mind,
he retained all that spring of intellect which had characterized the
promptitude of earlier days; his bodily senses seemed but little
impaired; and his eye-sight served him to the last.
He died at his seat at Cranham, of a violent fever, 30th of June,
1785.
"And dropt like Autumn fruit, which, ripening long,
Was wondered at because it fell no sooner."[1]
[Footnote 1: The library of General Oglethorpe was sold by Calderwood
in 1788. It comprised standard works of Ancient and Modern History, of
the Drama, Poetry, and Polite Literature.]
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
The preceding pages have given details of some principal actions
and exploits of a very remarkable man; whose projects, dictated by
benevolence and inspired by philanthropy, were all prospective. Their
first, and, apparently, principal object, was to provide relief for
the indigent, and an asylum for the oppressed. Their second, to unite
the pensioners on the liberally contributed bounty, in a social
compact for mutual assistance, and a ready cooperation for the general
good. But even this, beneficent as it was, fell short of his aim. He
considered himself to be engaged in forming a Colony, destined to
extend and flourish under the salutary principles of order and
justice, and the sustaining sanctions of civil law, and a form of
government, which his breast swelled with the patriotic hope, would be
well constituted and wisely administered.
This very statement of the origin of these political institutions,
bears on it the indications of their perpetuity, especially as the
_freedom_ obtained for the first emigrants from rigorous exaction in
their native country, was remembered and cherished in that which they
settled, till it formed the constituents of civil liberty, which
at length "threw off every yoke," for the attainment of NATIONAL
INDEPENDENCE.
Hence, his agency, services and expenditures in settling the Province
of Georgia, his disinterested devotedness to its establishment and
progressive welfare, and his bravery and personal exposure in its
defence, enrolled among the important achievements of his long and
eventful life, constitute the most splendid trophy to his fame, and
will ensure to his name a memory as lasting as that of America itself.
On a mural tablet of white marble, in the chancel of Cranham Church,
is the following inscription, drawn up by CAPEL LOFFT, Esq.
Near this place lie the remains of
JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE, Esq.
who served under Prince Eugene,
and in 1714 was Captain Lieutenant in the
first troop of the Queen's Guards.
In 1740 he was appointed Colonel of a Regiment
to be raised for Georgia.
In 1745 he was appointed Major General;
in 1747 Lieutenant General; and
in 1760, General of his Majesty's forces.
In his civil station,
he was very early conspicuous.
He was chosen Member of Parliament
for Haslemere in Surry in 1722,
and continued to represent it till 1754.
In the Committee of Parliament,
for inquiring into the state of the gaols,
formed 25th of February, 1728,
and of which he was Chairman,
the active and persevering zeal of his benevolence
found a truly suitable employment,
by visiting, with his colleagues of that generous body,
the dark and pestilential dungeons of the Prisons
which at that time dishonored the metropolis;
detecting the most enormous oppressions;
obtaining exemplary punishment on those who had been
guilty of such outrage against humanity and justice;
and redressing multitudes from extreme misery
to light and freedom.
Of these, about seven hundred, rendered, by long confinement for debt,
strangers and helpless in the country of their birth, and desirous
of seeking an asylum in the wilds of America, were by him conducted
thither in 1732.
He willingly encountered in their behalf
a variety of fatigue and danger,
and thus became the founder of
the Colony of Georgia;
a Colony which afterwards set the noble example
of prohibiting the importation of slaves
This new establishment
he strenuously and successfully defended
against a powerful attack of the Spaniards.
In the year in which he quitted England
to found this settlement,
he nobly strove to secure
our true national defence by sea and land,
--a free navy--
without impressing a constitutional militia.
But his social affections were more enlarged
than even the term Patriotism can express;
he was the friend of the oppressed negro,--
no part of the globe was too remote,--
no interest too unconnected,--
or too much opposed to his own,
to prevent the immediate succor of suffering humanity.
For such qualities he received,
from the ever memorable John, Duke of Argyle,
a full testimony, in the British Senate,
to his military character,
his natural generosity,
his contempt of danger,
and regard for the Public.
A similar encomium is perpetuated in a foreign language;[1]
and, by one of our most celebrated Poets,
his remembrance is transmitted to posterity
in lines justly expressive of
the purity, the ardor, and the extent of his benevolence.
He lived till the 1st of July, 1785;
a venerable instance to what a duration
a life of temperance and virtuous labor
is capable of being protracted.
His widow, Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Nathan Wright of Cranham hall, Bart.
and only sister and heiress of Sir Samuel Wright, Bart.
of the same place,
surviving, with regret,
but with due submission to Divine Providence,
an affectionate husband,
after an union of more than forty years,
hath inscribed to his memory
these faint traces of his excellent character.
"Religion watches o'er his urn,
And all the virtues bending mourn;
Humanity, with languid eye,
Melting for others' misery;
Prudence, whose hands a measure hold,
And Temperance, with a chain of gold;
Fidelity's triumphant vest,
And Fortitude in armor drest;
Wisdom's grey locks, and Freedom, join
The moral train to bless his shrine,
And pensive all, around his ashes holy,
Their last sad honors pay in order melancholy."[2]
[Footnote 1: Referring to the encomium of the Abbe Raynal, in his
_Histoire Philosophique et Politique_.]
[Footnote 2: These last verses were added by the old friend of the
General, the Rev. Moses Browne.]
OBITUARY NOTICE
OF
MRS. ELIZABETH OGLETHORPE,
WITH EXTRACTS FROM HER WILL.
OBITUARY NOTICE
COPIED FROM THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE FOR 1787, PAGE 1025
October 26th, 1787, died, at her seat, Cranham Hall, Co. Essex,[1]
aged 79, Mrs. Elizabeth Oglethorpe, widow of the late General
Oglethorpe. She was daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, Bart., (nephew
to the Lord Keeper,) by Abigail, his fourth wife, who survived and
married Mr. Tryst. Sir Nathan, by his first wife, (Anne Meyrick)
had two sons; Nathan, who succeeded him in title, and who married a
daughter of Sir Francis Lawley, and died in April, 1737; and John, who
died without issue. By his second wife, (Elizabeth Brage) he had a
son, Benjamin, who died before him. By his third wife, (Elizabeth
Bowater) he had no issue. By the fourth he had a son, Samuel, and Mrs.
Oglethorpe. Sir Nathan, the son, had one son and two daughters; and
the son dying without issue, his half-brother, Samuel, succeeded to
the title and part of the estate. He dying a bachelor, Mrs. Oglethorpe
became his heir, and has died without leaving any child. September
15, 1744, she married the late General Oglethorpe, who died July
1,1785;[2] and to her magnanimity and prudence, on an occasion of much
difficulty, it was owing that the evening of their lives was tranquil
and pleasant, after a stormy noon. Very many and continual were her
acts of benevolence and charity; but, as she would herself have been
hurt by any display of them in her lifetime, we will say no more. Not
to have mentioned them at all would have been unjust to her memory,
and not less so to the world, in which such an example may operate as
an incitement to others to go and do likewise.
[Footnote 1: This old mansion, situated on a pleasant rising ground,
was built about the end of the reign of James I. In the hall is a
very fine whole-length picture of Mr. _Nathan Wright_, a considerable
Spanish merchant in the beginning of Charles the First's time, who
resided long in that country, by Antonio Arias, an eminent painter of
Madrid; and the more curious, as perhaps there is not another picture
of that able master in England. _Gentleman's Magazine_, LV. 518.]
[Footnote 2: The date for the time of the death of General Oglethorpe,
which is given on the 296th page of this volume, was taken from the
public Gazettes. As it took place late in the night, it might be
rather uncertain as to its being the close of one day or the beginning
of another. But the above, corroborated by the testimony of the
monumental inscription, must be correct. I regret, however, that I did
not perceive it sooner. T.M.H.]
By her will, which is very long, and dated May 30, 1786, and has four
codicils, the last dated September 11, 1787, she leaves her estate at
Westbrook, in Godalming, Co. Surrey, bequeathed to her by the General,
to his great nephew, Eugene, Marquis of Bellegarde, in France, then in
the Dutch service, but born in England, and his heirs, with all her
plate, jewels, &c.; to her nephews, John and Charles Apreece, and
their sister Dorothy, wife of ---- Cole, an annuity of L100 amongst
them, and the survivor for life; and if either John or Charles succeed
to the Baronet's title, the annuity to go over to the other; but if
their sister survive, she to have only L200 per annum; also four
annuities, of L50 each, to four of her female friends or neighbors.
All these annuities are charged on the Cranham estate, which she
gives in trust to Sir George Allanson Wynne, Bart., and Mr. Granville
Sharpe, for the use of her nephew, Sir Thomas Apreece, of Washingley,
Co. Huntingdon, for life, remainder in tail to his issue male or
female, remainder to his brothers John and Charles, and sister
Dorothy, successively, remainder to her own right heirs. The manor of
Canewdon Hall, Essex, to be sold to pay legacies, viz.: L100 to Sir
G.A. Wynne; L1000 to the Princess of Rohan, related to her late
husband; L500 to the Princess de Ligne, her late husband's niece;
L1000 to Samuel Crawley, Esq., of Theobalds, Co. Herts; L500 among the
Miss Dawes's, of Coventry; L500 to James Fitter, Esq., of Westminster;
L500 to the Marquis of Bellegarde. The manor of Fairstead Hall, Co.
Essex, to Granville Sharpe, for life, paying L50 per annum to his
friend Mr. Marriott, relict of General Marriott, of Godalming, and
to settle the said estate to charitable uses after his death, at his
discretion. To Edward Lloyd and Sarah his wife, her servants,
L500; and L10 each, to other servants. By a codicil: to Maria Anne
Stephenson L1000 stock out of any of her property in the funds; to
Miss Lewis, who lives with Mrs. Fowle, in Red-lion square, and to
Miss Billinghurst, of Godalming, L50 each; to the poor of Cranham,
Fairstead, Canewdon, and Godalming, L20 each; her turn of patronage
to the united livings of St. Mary Somerset and St. Mary Mounthaw,
in London, to the Rev. Mr. Herringham, of South Weald. By another
codicil, L1000 more to the Marquis of Bellegarde; L1000 to Count
Bethisy; L200 to Granville Sharpe. By another, revokes the legacies
to the Princess de Ligne and Count Bethisy, and gives them to the two
younger daughters of the Marquis of Bellegarde, at the age of 21, or
marriage. As the Marquis resides in France, and it may be inconvenient
to him to keep the estate, she gives the manors of Westbrook and
Brimscombe, and Westbrook-place in Godalming, in trust to G. Sharpe,
and William Gill, Esqrs., and their heirs, to be sold, and the money
paid to the Marquis. Her executors are Mr. Granville Sharpe, and Mrs.
Sarah Dickinson, of Tottenham; the latter residuary legatee.
At the foot of the monument erected to the memory of General
Oglethorpe, was added the following inscription:
"His disconsolate Widow died October 26,1787,
in her 79th year,
and is buried with him,
in the vault in the centre of this Chancel.
Her fortitude of mind and extensive charity
deserve to be remembered,
though her own modesty would desire them to
be forgotten."
OGLETHORPE'S
ACCOUNT OF
CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.
This article is extracted from SALMON'S _Modern History_, Vol. III.
page 770, 4th edition; where it is introduced in these words: "The
following pages are an answer from General OGLETHORPE to some
inquiries made by the author, concerning the State of Carolina and
Georgia."
ACCOUNT OF CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.
Carolina is part of that territory which was originally discovered by
Sir Sebastian Cabot. The English now possess the sea-coast from the
river St. John's, in 30 degrees, 21 minutes north latitude. Westward
the King's charter declares it to be bounded by the Pacific ocean.
Carolina is divided into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia;
the latter is a province which his Majesty has taken out of Carolina,
and is the southern and western frontier of that province, lying
between it and the French, Spaniards, and Indians.
The part of Carolina that is settled, is for the most part a flat
country. All, near the sea, is a range of islands, which breaks
the fury of the ocean. Within is generally low land for twenty
or twenty-five miles, where the country begins to rise in gentle
swellings. At seventy or eighty miles from the sea, the hills grow
higher, till they terminate in mountains.
The coast of Georgia is also defended from the rage of the sea by a
range of islands. Those islands are divided from the main by canals
of salt water, navigable for the largest boats, and even for small
sloops. The lofty woods growing on each side of the canals, make very
pleasant landscapes. The land, at about seven or eight miles from the
sea, is tolerably high; and the further you go westward, the more it
rises, till at about one hundred and fifty miles distance from the
sea, to the west, the Cherokee or Appallachean mountains begin, which
are so high that the snow lies upon them all the year.
This ridge of mountains runs in a line from north to south, on the
back of the English colonies of Carolina and Virginia; beginning
at the great lakes of Canada, and extending south, it ends in the
province of Georgia at about two hundred miles from the bay of
Appallachee, which is part of the Gulf of Mexico. There is a plain
country from the foot of these mountains to that sea.
The face of the country is mostly covered with woods. The banks of the
rivers are in some places low, and form a kind of natural meadows,
where the floods prevent trees from growing. In other places, in the
hollows, between the hillocks, the brooks and streams, being stopt by
falls of trees, or other obstructions, the water is penned back. These
places are often covered with canes and thickets and are called, in
the corrupted American dialect, swamps. The sides of the hills are
generally covered with oaks and hickory, or wild walnuts, cedar,
sassafras, and the famous laurel tulip, which is esteemed one of the
most beautiful trees in the world. The flat tops of the hillocks are
all covered with groves of pine trees, with plenty of grass growing
under them, and so free from underwood that you may gallop a horse for
forty or fifty miles an end. In the low grounds and islands in the
river there are cypress, bay-trees, poplar, plane, frankincense or
gum-trees, and aquatic shrubs. All part of the province are well
watered; and, in digging a moderate depth, you never miss of a fine
spring.
What we call the Atlantic ocean, washes the east and southeast coast
of these provinces. The gulf stream of Florida sets in with a tide in
the ocean to the east of the province; and it is very remarkable that
the banks and soundings of the coast extend twenty or twenty-five
miles to the east of the coast.
The tides upon this coast flow generally seven feet. The soundings are
sand or ooze, and some oyster banks, but no rocks. The coast appears
low from the sea, and covered with woods.
Cape Fear is a point which runs with dreadful shoals far into the sea,
from the mouth of Clarendon river in North Carolina. Sullivan's Island
and the Coffin land are the marks of the entry into Charlestown
harbor. Hilton head, upon French's island, shows the entry into Port
Royal; and the point of Tybee island makes the entry of the Savannah
river. Upon that point the Trustees for Georgia have erected a noble
signal or light-house, ninety feet high, and twenty-five feet wide.
It is an octagon, and upon the top there is a flag-staff thirty feet
high.
The Province of Georgia is watered by three great rivers, which
rise in the mountains, namely, the Alatamaha, the Ogechee, and the
Savannah; the last of which is navigable six hundred miles for canoes,
and three hundred miles for boats.
The British dominions are divided from the Spanish Florida by a noble
river called St. John's.
These rivers fall into the Atlantic ocean; but there are, besides
these, the Flint and the Cahooche, which pass through part of Carolina
or Georgia, and fall into the gulf of Appellachee or Mexico.
All Carolina is divided into three parts: 1. North Carolina, which is
divided from South Carolina by Clarendon river, and of late by a line
marked out by order of the Council: 2. South Carolina, which, on the
south is divided from 3. Georgia by the river Savannah. Carolina is
divided into several counties; but in Georgia there is but one yet
erected, namely, the county of Savannah. It is bounded, on the one
side, by the river Savannah, on the other by the sea, on the third by
the river Ogechee, on the fourth by the river Ebenezer, and a line
drawn from the river Ebenezer to the Ogechee. In this county are the
rivers Vernon, Little Ogechee, and Westbrook. There is the town of
Savannah, where there is a seat of judicature, consisting of three
bailiffs and a recorder. It is situated upon the banks of the river of
the same name. It consists of about two hundred houses, and lies upon
a plain of about a mile wide; the bank steep to the river forty-five
feet perpendicularly high. The streets are laid out regular. There
are near Savannah, in the same county, the villages of Hampstead,
Highgate, Skidoway, and Thunderbolt; the latter of which is a
translation of a name; their fables say that a thunderbolt fell, and a
spring thereupon arose in that place, which still smells of the bolt.
This spring is impregnated with a mixture of sulphur and iron, and
from the smell, probably, the story arose. In the same county is
Joseph's town and the town Ebenezer; both upon the river Savannah; and
the villages of Abercorn and Westbrook. There are saw mills erecting
on the river Ebenezer; and the fort Argyle, lies upon the pass of this
county over the Ogechee. In the southern divisions of the province
lies the town of Frederica, with its district, where there is a
court with three bailiffs and a recorder. It lies on one side of the
branches of the Alatamaha. There is, also, the town of Darien, upon
the same river, and several forts upon the proper passes, some of four
bastions, some are only redoubts. Besides which there are villages in
different parts of Georgia. At Savannah there is a public store house,
built of large square timbers. There is also a handsome court house,
guard house, and work house. The church is not yet begun; but
materials are collecting, and it is designed to be a handsome edifice.
The private houses are generally sawed timber, framed, and covered
with shingles. Many of them are painted, and most have chimneys of
brick. At Frederica some of the houses are built of brick; the others
in the Province are mostly wood. They are not got into luxury yet in
their furniture; having only what is plain and needful. The winter
being mild, there are yet but few houses with glass windows.
The Indians are a manly, well-shaped race. The men tall, the women
little. They, as the ancient Grecians did, anoint with oil, and expose
themselves to the sun, which occasions their skins to be brown of
color. The men paint themselves of various colors, red, blue, yellow,
and black. The men wear generally a girdle, with a piece of cloth
drawn through their legs and turned over the girdle both before and
behind, so as to hide their nakedness. The women wear a kind of
petticoat to the knees. Both men and women in the winter wear mantles,
something less than two yards square, which they wrap round their
bodies, as the Romans did their toga, generally keeping their arms
bare; they are sometimes of woolen, bought of the English; sometimes
of furs, which they dress themselves. They wear a kind of pumps, which
they call moccasons, made of deer-skin, which they dress for that
purpose. They are a generous, good-natured people; very humane to
strangers; patient of want and pain; slow to anger, and not easily
provoked, but, when they are thoroughly incensed, they are implacable;
very quick of apprehension and gay of temper. Their public conferences
show them to be men of genius, and they have a natural eloquence, they
never having had the use of letters. They love eating, and the English
have taught many of them to drink strong liquors, which, when they do,
they are miserable sights. They have no manufactures but what each
family makes for its own use; they seem to despise working for hire,
and spend their time chiefly in hunting and war; but plant corn enough
for the support of their families and the strangers that come to visit
them. Their food, instead of bread, is flour of Indian corn boiled,
and seasoned like hasty-pudding, and this called hommony. They also
boil venison, and make broth; they also roast, or rather broil their
meat. The flesh they feed on is buffalo, deer, wild turkeys and other
game; so that hunting is necessary to provide flesh; and planting for
corn. The land[1] belongs to the women, and the corn that grows upon
it; but meat must be got by the men, because it is they only that
hunt: this makes marriage necessary, that the women may furnish corn,
and the men meat. They have also fruit-trees in their gardens, namely,
peaches, nectarines, and locust, melons, and water-melons, potatoes,
pumpkins, onions, &c. in plenty; and many kinds of wild fruits, and
nuts, as persimons, grapes, chinquepins, and hickory nuts, of which
they make oil. The bees make their combs in the hollow trees, and the
Indians find plenty of honey there, which they use instead of sugar.
They make, what supplies the place of salt, of wood ashes; use for
seasoning, long-pepper, which grows in their gardens; and bay-leaves
supply their want of spice. Their exercises are a kind of
ball-playing, hunting, and running; and they are very fond of dancing.
Their music is a kind of drum, as also hollow cocoa-nut shells. They
have a square in the middle of their towns, in which the warriors sit,
converse, and smoke together; but in rainy weather they meet in the
King's house. They are a very healthy people, and have hardly any
diseases, except those occasioned by the drinking of rum, and the
small pox. Those who do not drink rum are exceedingly long-lived. Old
BRIM emperor of the Creeks, who died but a few years ago, lived to one
hundred and thirty years; and he was neither blind nor bed-rid, till
some months before his death. They have sometimes pleurisies and
fevers, but no chronical distempers. They know of several herbs that
have great virtues in physic, particularly for the cure of venomous
bites and wounds.
[Footnote 1: That is _the homestead_.]
The native animals are, first the urus or zoras described by Caesar,
which the English very ignorantly and erroneously call the buffalo.
They have deer, of several kinds, and plenty of roe-bucks and rabbits.
There are bears and wolves, which are small and timorous; and a brown
wild-cat, without spots, which is very improperly called a tiger;
otter, beavers, foxes, and a species of badger which is called
raccoon. There is great abundance of wild fowls, namely, wild-turkey,
partridges, doves of various kinds, wild-geese, ducks, teals, cranes,
herons of many kinds not known in Europe. There are great varieties of
eagles and hawks, and great numbers of small birds, particularly the
rice-bird, which is very like the ortolan. There are rattlesnakes,
but not near so frequent as is generally reported. There are several
species of snakes, some of which are not venomous. There are
crocodiles, porpoises, sturgeon, mullet, cat-fish, bass, drum,
devil-fish; and many species of fresh-water fish that we have not in
Europe; and oysters upon the sea-islands in great abundance.
What is most troublesome, there, are flies and gnats, which are
very numerous near the rivers; but, as the country is cleared, they
disperse and go away.
The vegetables are innumerable; for all that grow in Europe, grow
there; and many that cannot stand in our winters thrive there.
APPENDIX. This portion of the work contains additional notes, original
documents, and notices of some of the distinguished friends of
Oglethorpe.
APPENDIX
No. I
FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE.
The following genealogical memoranda are taken principally, from a
note in Nichols's _Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century_, Vol.
II. p. 17, on his having given the title of a book ascribed to the
subject of the foregoing memoir
"This truly respectable gentleman was the descendant of a family very
anciently situated at Oglethorpe, in the parish of Bramham, in the
West Riding of the County of York; one of whom was actually Reeve
of the County (an office nearly the same with that of the present
high-sheriff) at the time of the Norman Conquest. The ancient seat of
Oglethorpe continued in the family till the Civil Wars, when it was
lost for their loyalty; and several of the same name died at once in
the bed of honor in the defence of monarchy, in a battle near Oxford.
"William Oglethorpe, (son of William) was born in 1588. He married
Susanna, daughter of Sir William Sutton, Knight and sister to Lord
Lexington. He died in November, 1634 leaving two children, Sulton,
born 1612, and Dorothy (who afterwards married the Marquis of Byron, a
French nobleman,) born 1620.
"Sutton Oglethorpe, being fined L20,000 by the Parliament, his estates
at Oglethorpe, and elsewhere, were sequestered, and afterwards given
to General Fairfax, who sold them to Robert Benson of Bramham, father
of Lord Bingley of that name. Sutton Oglethorpe had two sons, Sutton,
and Sir Theophilus. Sutton was Stud-master to King Charles II.; and
had three sons, namely, Sutton, Page to King Charles II.; John, Cornet
of the Guards; and Joseph, who died in India.
"Sir Theophilus was born in 1652; and was bred to arms. He fought,
under the Duke of Monmouth, in the affair at Bothwell bridge, where a
tumultary insurrection of the Scots was suppressed, June 22, 1679.
He commanded a party of horse at Sedgmoor fight, where the Duke was
defeated, July 6, 1685; and was Lieutenant Colonel to the Duke of
York's troop of his Majesty's horse-guards, and Commissioner for
executing the office of Master of the Horse to King Charles II.
He was afterwards first Equerry and Major General of the army of
King James II.; and suffered banishment with his Royal Master." After
his return to his native country he purchased a seat in the County
of Surrey, called "the Westbrook place," near adjoining the town of
Godalming; a beautiful situation, in a fine country. It stands on the
slope of a hill, at the foot of which are meadows watered by the river
Wey. It commands the view of several hills, running in different
directions; their sides laid out in corn fields, interspersed with
hanging woods. Behind it is a small park, well wooded; and one side is
a capacious garden fronting the south-east.
Sir Theophilus was for several years a member of Parliament for
Haslemere, a small borough in the south-west angle of the county of
Surrey. This place was, afterwards, in the reigns of Anne, George I.,
and George II., successively represented by his three sons, Lewis,
Theophilus, and James. He died April 10,1702, as appears by a pedigree
in the collection of the late J.C. Brooke, Esq., though the following
inscription in the parish church of St. James, Westminster, where he
was buried, has a year earlier.--"Hie jacet THEOPHILUS OGLETHORPE,
Eques auratus, ab atavo Vice-comite Eborum, Normanno victore, ducens
originem. Cujus armis ad pontem Bothwelliensem, succubuit Scotus:
necnon Sedgmoriensi palude fusi Rebellos. Qui, per varies casus et
rerum discrimina, magnanimum erga Principem et Patriam fidem, sed non
temere, sustinuit. Obiit Londini anno 1701, aetat. 50."
Sir Theophilus married Eleanora Wall, of a respectable family in
Ireland, by whom he had four sons and five daughters; namely, Lewis,
Theophilus, Sutton, and James; Eleanora, Henrietta, Mary, and
Frances-Charlotte.
I. LEWIS, born February, 1680-1; admitted into Corpus Christi College,
in the University of Oxford, March 16,1698-9. He was Equerry to Queen
Anne, and afterwards Aid-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough; and, in
1702, member of Parliament for Haslemere. Having been mortally wounded
in the battle of Schellenburgh, on the 24th October, 1704, he died on
the 30th.
The following inscription to his memory is placed below that of Sir
Theophilus.
"Hujus claudit latus LUDOVICUS OGLETHORPE, tam paternae virtutis,
quam fortunae, haeres; qui, proelio Schellenbergensi victoria
Hockstatensis preludio tempestivum suis inclinantibus ferens
auxilium vulnere honestissima accepit, et praeclarae spe Indolis
frustrata.--Ob. XXII aetatis, Anno Dom. 1704.
"Charissimo utriusque marmor hoc, amantissima conjux et mater possuit,
Domina Eleonora Oglethorpe."
II. THEOPHILUS, born 1682. He was Aid-de-camp to the Duke of Ormond;
and member of Parliament for Haslemere in 1708 and 1710. The time of
his death is not recorded. He must have died young.
III. ELEONORA, born 1684; married the Marquis de Mezieres on the 5th
of March, 1707-8, and deceased June 28, 1775, aged 91. The son of this
lady was heir to the estate of General Oglethorpe. He is mentioned, in
the correspondence of Mr. Jefferson, as highly meritorious and popular
in France, (1785.)
IV. ANN [mentioned in Shaftoe's narrative.]
V. SUTTON, born 1686; and died in November, 1693.
VI. HENRIETTA, [of whom we have no account.]
VII. JAMES, [see the next article.]
VIII. FRANCES-CHARLOTTE ... Married the Marquis de Bellegarde, a
Savoyard.[1] To a son of this union is a letter of General Washington,
dated January 15, 1790, in the 9th volume of Sparks's _Writings of
Washington_, p. 70.
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman's Magazine_, Vol. LVII. p. 1123.]
IX. MARY, who died single.
The ARMS of the family are thus described: "Argent, a chevron, between
three boar's heads, erased, sable armed, or, lingued proper."
CREST. "A boar's head, as before, holding an oaken branch, vert,
fructed or."
II
DISCUSSION RESPECTING THE BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE.
There are great difficulties in ascertaining the age of Oglethorpe.
The newspapers, soon after his decease, in 1785. and the _Gentleman's_
and _London Magazine_, contain several articles about it.
While these inquiries, investigations, and statements were going the
round of all the periodicals of the day, it is unaccountably strange
that the family did not produce the desired rectification, and yet
more surprising that in the inscription on the monument erected to his
memory by his widow, and which was drawn up by her request, she should
not have furnished the writer with the date of his birth, and the
years of age to which he had arrived.
The _London Gazette_, first announcing his death, stated it _one
hundred and four years_. The _Westminster Magazine_ for July 1785,
(a periodical published in the very neighborhood of the old family
mansion,) in the monthly notice of deaths, has "June 30th, General
Oglethorpe, aged 102. He was the oldest general in England." And I
have a fine engraved portrait of him taken in February preceding his
decease, or which is inscribed "he died 30th of June, 1785, aged 102."
A writer in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for September, 1785 p. 701,
who was one of the first emigrants to Georgia, and personally and
intimately acquainted with the General, declares that "he lived to be
_near a hundred years old_, but was not _one hundred and two_, as has
been asserted."
In the Biographical Memoir of him in the 8th volume of the _European
Magazine_; in NICHOLS's _Anecdotes of Literature_ and in McCALL's
_History of Georgia_, his birth is said to have been in 1698; and yet
it is asserted by the best authorities, that he bore the military rank
of Ensign in 1710, when, according to their date of his nativity,
he could have been but _twelve years of age_; and this before his
entering College at Oxford.
Again, some make him Captain Lieutenant in the first troop of the
Queen's Guards in 1714; the same year that others put him to College.
According to such statements, he must on both these military
advancements, have been of an age quite too juvenile for military
service, and more so for military rank. And yet, to account for his
obtaining such early, and, indeed, immature promotion, the writers
suggest that "he withdrew precipitately from the sphere of his
education." But I see no reason for supposing that he left the
University before he had completed the usual term of residence for
obtaining a degree; though he did not obtain that of _Master of Arts_
till the 31st of July, 1731.[1]
[Footnote 1: See _Catalogue of Oxford Graduates_.]
PRIOR, in _The Life of Goldsmith_, page 457, expressly says that
Oglethorpe, "_after being educated at Oxford_, served under Prince
Eugene against the Turks."[1]
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