Chapter IV: Part 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“FREDERICA, April 19th, 1778.

_Dear General_:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Omnia debentur morti._

III.

ABERCORN.

On a creek or branch of the Savannah, distant some three miles from its confluence with that river, and about fifteen miles above the town of Savannah, the village of Abercorn was located in 1733. Its original settlement consisted of ten families. The plan of the town embraced twelve lots, with two trust lots in addition,—one on either extremity. Old Ebenezer was ten miles to the west; and four miles below the mouth of Abercorn creek, was Joseph’s Town, where two Scotch gentlemen had selected plantations on the right bank of the Savannah. Journeying towards Savannah, in the early days of the Colony, the visitor would encounter successively Sir Francis Bathurst’s plantation, Walter Augustin’s settlement, Captain Williams’ plantation, Mrs. Matthews’ place, the Indian School-house Irene, the Horse Quarter, and the Indian lands reserved just outside the limits of Yamacraw. A strange fatality attended all these early attempts at colonization. Born of the subjugation of the forests, were malarial fevers and fluxes which engendered lassitude and death. Short lived were these little settlements, and it was only upon the introduction of slave labor that these plantations bordering upon the Savannah became permanent and productive. The white men who strove to bring them into a state of cultivation failed in the effort and quickly passed away. Others, who endeavored to complete their labors, encountered similar misfortune and disappointment.

The ten families who were assigned to Abercorn in 1733 were all gone in 1737. That year Mr. John Brodie, with twelve servants, occupied the settlement; but, after three years, he abandoned the place, leaving its improvements to ruin and decay. Most of the thirty servants who cultivated the lands of the Scotch gentlemen at Joseph’s Town died, and that plantation lapsed into neglect.

The Saltzburgers who came to Georgia under the conduct of Baron VonReck and the Rev’d Mr. Bolzius, in passing from Savannah to Old Ebenezer, were sheltered and refreshed at Abercorn. To that place their baggage was brought by water, and for some time all their supplies were delivered at that point whence they were carried, at much pains, up Ebenezer creek and through the woods. Before long, however, a road was cut from Abercorn to Old Ebenezer which facilitated the transportation. While at Abercorn the Saltzburgers suffered much from affections of the bowels.

Various efforts were made by the Trustees to increase the population and ensure the prosperity of Abercorn,—which was regarded as a convenient point for communicating with the Carolina settlements on the Savannah river;—but they all eventuated in disappointment. Such of the colonists as were sent there from time to time grew sick and tired of the abode, took no interest in its advancement, and abandoned it upon the earliest opportunity. The little life which this small place enjoyed was insignificant and without moment in the history of the Colony.

In December, 1739, Mr. Stephens visited the town in company with Mr. Jones, to inspect a large ferry-boat which, in obedience to General Oglethorpe’s orders, had been there constructed by one Bunyon,—a boat-builder by trade, and an inhabitant of the town. This boat was capable of transporting nine or ten horses at a time, and was intended to ply between Abercorn and Palachocolas. In perpetuating his impressions of the place Mr. Stephens says: “As there was no Place in the whole Province, of the like Allotment of fifty acres each, which in my eye seemed so desirable, being a most pleasant Situation on the Banks of such a River, with as good Land belonging to each Lot, as is readily to be found in most Parts of the Province; I never saw it but with Regret, that there never yet had been a number of Settlers there deserving it; but generally they happened to be loose, idle People, who after some short Abode, wandered elsewhere and left it: ... and there are at present five Families only remaining there, nor has there often been more at one Time. As the Trust-Lands seem to be now in some better way of cultivating by their own Servants, than hitherto; I proposed it to Mr. _Jones_ to send down a few _German_ families to work on the Trust-Lots there; which, by helping to fill the Place, very probably might induce others the sooner to occupy Lands there also: He agreed with me in Opinion, and said he would write of it to the General.”[165]

It is very questionable whether this opinion of Mr. Stephens,—formed during the winter,—of the desirableness of this locality, would have been confirmed by a residence there amid the heats and miasmatic influences of the summer and fall. Some Germans did settle in the neighborhood and cultivate the soil, but all efforts to promote the prosperity of the village and elevate it into the dignity of a town utterly failed. Like Joseph’s Town and Westbrook, Abercorn is little more than a name in the history of the Colony. In the end it passed into the hands of two English gentlemen who converted the village into a plantation cultivated with slave labor. So it continued under various owners until, by the result of the civil war, the negro has been liberated, and the fortunes of this region have become more unpromising than ever before.

After the capture of Savannah in December, 1778, Colonel Campbell advanced a strong force to this place as a convenient base for future operations against the interior of the State; and hence, in 1779, did a British detachment move, crossing over to Purysburg and attempting to surprise General Moultrie at Black-swamp.

The town had so entirely faded from the face of the earth that its location is not indicated on that admirable map of South Carolina and Georgia, published by William Faden at Charing Cross in 1780:—and the only mention made by White is as follows: “Abercorn, sixteen miles from Savannah, was a noted place in the early settlement of Georgia. No memorial of its former condition can now be seen.”

Savannah, increasing her borders, practically claims as part of herself the Indian lands opposite the northern end of Hutchinson island. Of the Horse Quarter nothing remains. Joseph’s Town long ago lost its identity; and Abercorn, New Ebenezer, Purisburg, and Palachocolas, have, within the recollection of more than one generation, been known simply as boat-landings on the water-highway between Savannah and Augusta.[166]

IV.

SUNBURY.

_Plan of the Town of Sunbury containing 3430 feet in Length from North to South, & 2230 in Breadth on the South Side, & 1880 in Breadth on the North._

_J. Bien, Photo. Lith. N. Y._]

On the 23rd of January, 1734, Mr. Oglethorpe, accompanied by Captain Ferguson and sixteen attendants,—including two Indians,—set out from Savannah in an open row-boat, followed by a yawl carrying provisions and ammunition, upon an exploratory expedition to the Southern frontiers of Georgia.[167] His course lay through the inner passages, and was pursued as far as St. Simons island. For the protection of the Colony it was then determined to form a military station and settlement near the mouth of the Alatamaha; and,—as an outpost and barrier against Spanish invasion,—to erect a strong fort on the high bluff on the western side of St. Simons island. These sites were shortly afterwards occupied and fortified, and were respectively named New Inverness and Frederica. It was during this reconnoissance that the eyes of the Founder of Georgia first rested upon that bold and beautiful bluff which, overlooking the placid waters of Midway river and the intervening low-lying salt marshes, descries in the distance the green woods of Bermuda island, the dim outline of the southern point of Ossabaw, and, across the sound, the white shores of St. Catherine. Although formal session had been made by the Lower Creeks of all lands along the sea-coast from the Savannah to the Alatamaha river, extending westward as high as the tide flowed, and including all islands except a few which the Indians specially reserved for the purposes of hunting, fishing, and bathing, no English settlements had, at that early day, been formed south of the Great Ogeechee river. Fort Argyle,—garrisoned by Captain McPherson and his troop of Rangers, and commanding the passes by which the Indians during the late wars were accustomed to invade Carolina,—was then the only military post of any consequence in the direction of the Spaniards. From this nameless bluff the Aborigines had not then removed, and their canoes might be seen passing and repassing to and from Hussoope, [Ossabaw], and Cowleggee, [St. Catharine], islands and the main. To the quiet woods and waters of this semi-tropical region the English were strangers. The Bermuda grass which, at a later period, so completely covered Sunbury bluff, did not then appear, but magnificent live oaks, in full grown stature and solemn mien, crowned the high-ground even to the very verge where the tide kissed the shore. Cedars, festooned with vines, over-hung the waters. The magnolia grandiflora,—queen of the forest,—excited on every hand the admiration of the early visitor. The sweet-scented myrtle, the tall pine, the odoriferous bay, and other indigenous trees lent their charms to a spot whose primal beauty had encountered no change at the hand of man. The woods were resonant with the songs of birds, whose bright plumage vied in coloring with the native flowers which gladdened the eye and gave gentle odors to the ambient air. Fishes abounded in the waters, and game on the land. Cool sea-breezes tempered the heat of summer, and the rigor of cold was unknown in the depth of winter. It was a gentle, attractive place,—this bold bluff,—as it came from the hand of Nature. Some scene like this did the Poet Waller have in view as he sang:

“Heav’n sure has kept this spot at earth uncurst,
To show how all things were created first.”

By a certain grant under the great seal of the Province of Georgia, bearing date the 4th of October, 1757, his Majesty George II conveyed to Mark Carr, his heirs and assigns forever, in free and common socage, “All that tract of land containing five hundred acres, situate and being in the District of Midway in the Province of Georgia, bounded on the east by the Midway river, on the west by land of Thomas Carr, on the south by vacant land, and on all other sides by marshes of the said river.”

The grantee of these lands, which embraced the site of the future town of Sunbury, had been for some twenty years a man of means and of mark in the Colony of Georgia. In 1741 he had been sent by General Oglethorpe to Virginia to raise recruits for the Colony.[168] In his last will and testament, dated June 8th, 1767, and proven before his Excellency Sir James Wright on the 4th of December of the same year, Captain Carr describes himself as being “of the Parish of St. Patrick in the Province of Georgia, Esquire.” He owned lots in the town of Frederica, an island on the north side of Midway river, a tract of land on the main fronting that island, which he had purchased from John Cubbage, and “a plantation on the main over against Jekyll island.” This was his favorite residence. Here, on the 18th of March, 1741,—despite the presence of a guard of soldiers there stationed by General Oglethorpe,—the Indians made an attack very early in the morning, killing several of the soldiers and servants, wounding others, “locking down the women and children in the cellar,” pillaging the house, and carrying away the booty in a large boat belonging to the plantation.[169]

The grant of this five hundred acre tract on Midway river to Mark Carr in fee simple, was made under the operation of the rules adopted by the Common Council in May, 1750, which essentially enlarged the tenures of grants already existing, and provided that future alienations should convey “an absolute inheritance to the grantees, their heirs and assigns.” It will be remembered that under the regulations at first prescribed by the Trustees, five hundred acre tracts were conveyed only to persons well approved by the Trust;—parties who should at their own expense, and within twelve months from the date of the grant, bring ten able-bodied men servants not younger than twenty years of age, and settle upon the lands.

Former alienations of this magnitude had been coupled with other conditions, among which the following may be enumerated as the most important:

I. The grantee obligated himself to abide in Georgia with his servants for a term of not less than three years, building houses and cultivating the lands.

II. Within ten years from the registry of the grant, at least two hundred of the five hundred acres were to be cleared and cultivated.

III. No alienation of the lands thus granted, either in whole or in part, for a term of years or otherwise, was permitted except by special leave.

IV. After the lapse of eighteen years from the date of the grant, should any part of the five hundred acres remain uncultivated, unplanted, uncleared, and without a worm-fence, or pales six feet high, such portion should revert to the Trust, and the grant, _pro tanto_, was to become void.

V. These grants were in Tail Male.[170]

On the 20th of June, 1758, Mark Carr conveyed three hundred acres of this five hundred acre tract, including that portion bordering upon Midway river, to “James Maxwell, Kenneth Baillie, John Elliott, Grey Elliott, and John Stevens, of Midway, Esquires,” ... in trust that the same should be laid out as a town by the name of _Sunbury_;—one hundred acres thereof being dedicated as a common, for the use of the future inhabitants;—and in further trust “that they, the said James Maxwell, Kenneth Baillie, John Elliott, Grey Elliott, and John Stevens and their successors, should sell and dispose of all and singular the lots to be laid out in the said town of Sunbury to and for the proper use and behoof of the said Mark Carr.”

Captain McCall[171] suggests that “the town was called Sunbury,—the etymology of which is probably the _residence of the sun_,—from the entire exposure of this place to his beams while he is above the horizon.” We believe that this projected village was named for Sunbury, a quiet and beautiful town in Middlesex County, on the left bank of the Thames, only a little way above Hampton Court, and distant some eighteen miles by land from London;—it being a pleasant custom among the colonists to perpetuate in their new homes the memories of persons and places dear to them in the mother country.

In ancient records, says Lysons, this place (Sunbury in England) is called _Sunnabyri_, Sunneberie, Suneberie, &c. Sunnabyri is composed of two Saxon words,—sunna, the sun, and _byri_, a town,—and may be supposed to denote a place exposed to the sun, or with a southern aspect.

A name better suited to this locality could scarcely have been suggested. It recalls the peaceful memories of one of the gentle towns of old England, and typifies the genial influences of the “King of Day” as, from early dawn until sunset, he irradiates with floods of light the bold bluff “on the westermost bank of the river Midway.”

Two of the Trustees,—John Stevens and John Elliott,—were prominent members of the Midway Congregation. James Maxwell had been for several years a resident of St. John’s Parish. He and John Stevens were members of the Provincial Congress which assembled at Tondee’s Long-room in Savannah on the 4th of July, 1775.[172]

Kenneth Baillie and Grey Elliott were active and influential citizens. The latter was subsequently selected by the General Assembly to act as an assistant from the Colony of Georgia to Dr. Benjamin Franklin who had been chosen by several of the Provinces,—Georgia among the number,—and sent on a special mission to England to represent the wants and grievances of the Colonies, remonstrate against such acts of the Crown as were deemed oppressive, and oppose taxation without representation.[173]

All the Trustees, therefore, were men of position and character, commanding the respect of the community. Their selection for the trust indicated sound judgment and well-placed confidence on the part of Mark Carr.