Chapter VI: Part 6

Lord George Germain’s plan for the Southern campaign in 1778 was prepared with “minuteness of detail.” The reduction of Savannah was resolved upon. As a diversion, and with a view to distracting the attention of General Howe and the American forces concentrated for the protection of the then capital of Georgia, General Augustine Prevost was ordered to dispatch from St. Augustine two expeditions, one, by sea, to operate directly against Sunbury, and the other, by land, to march through and harrass the lower portions of Georgia, and, at Sunbury, form a junction with the former.

Responding to his instructions, that officer sent by water a detachment of infantry and light artillery under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Fuser for the capture of Sunbury. Lieutenant Colonel Mark Prevost was charged with the conduct of the expedition by land. He took with him one hundred British regulars. At Fort Howe, on the Alatamaha, he was joined by the notorious McGirth, with three hundred refugees and Indians. On the 19th of November this force entered the Georgia settlements, taking captive all men found on their plantations, and plundering the inhabitants of every article of value capable of transportation. At the point where the Savannah and Darien road crosses Bulltown swamp, Prevost was confronted by Colonel John Baker, who had hastily collected some mounted militia to dispute his advance. After a short skirmish the Americans retreated. Colonel Baker, Captain Cooper, and William Goulding were wounded. At North Newport Bridge, [afterwards called Riceborough Bridge,] further resistance was encountered at the hands of the Patriots, but it was too feeble to materially retard the progress of the invading forces. Meanwhile, Colonel John White,[204] having concentrated about one hundred Continentals and militia, with two pieces of light artillery, took post at Midway Meeting House and constructed a slight breastwork across the road at the head of the causeway over which the enemy must advance. His hope was that he might here keep Prevost in check until reinforcements could arrive from Savannah. An express was sent to Colonel Elbert to advise him of the hostile invasion, and Major William Baker, with a party of mounted militia, was detached to skirmish with the enemy and, at every possible point, interrupt his progress. On the morning of the 24th Colonel White was joined by General Screven with twenty militiamen. It was resolved to abandon the present and occupy a new position a mile and a half the other side of Midway Meeting House where the road was skirted by a thick wood in which it was thought an ambuscade might be advantageously laid. McGirth being well acquainted with the country, and knowing the ground held by Colonel White, suggested to Prevost the expediency of placing a party in ambush at the very point selected by the Americans for a similar purpose. It was further proposed, by an attack and feigned retreat, to draw Colonel White out of his works and into the snare. The contending parties arrived upon the ground almost simultaneously, and firing immediately commenced. Early in the action the gallant General Screven, renowned for his patriotism and beloved for his virtues, received a severe wound, fell into the hands of the enemy, and was by them killed while a prisoner and suffering from a mortal hurt. A shot from one of the field pieces passed through the neck of Prevost’s horse, and both animal and rider fell. Major Roman, commanding the artillery, supposing that the British commander had been killed, quickly advanced his two field pieces to take advantage of the confusion which ensued, and Major James Jackson, thinking the enemy was retreating, shouted _victory_. Prevost however soon appeared remounted, and advanced in force. Finding himself overborne by numbers, Colonel White retreated upon Midway Meeting House, breaking down the bridges across the swamp as he retired, and keeping out small parties to annoy the enemy’s flanks. Compelled to withdraw still further, and desiring by stratagem to retard the advance of the enemy, Colonel White “prepared a letter as though it had been written to himself by Colonel Elbert, directing him to retreat in order to draw the British as far as possible, and informing him that a large body of cavalry had crossed over Ogechee river with orders to gain the rear of the enemy, by which their whole force would be captured.” This letter was so dropped as in the end to find its way into Colonel Prevost’s hands, who seems to have considered it genuine. It is believed that it exerted much influence in retarding his advance, which was pushed not more than six or seven miles beyond Midway Meeting House in the direction of Savannah. Meanwhile, McGirth, with a strong party, reconnoitering in the direction of Sunbury, ascertained the fact that the expedition under Lieutenant Colonel Fuser had not arrived. This circumstance, in connection with the concentration of the forces of Colonels Elbert and White at Ogeechee ferry, where a breastwork was thrown up and preparation made vigorously to dispute his further progress, determined Prevost to abandon his enterprise and return to St. Augustine. Treating the population as rebels against a lawful sovereign, and utterly refusing to stipulate for the security of the country, Prevost, upon his retreat, burnt Midway Meeting House, and all dwellings, negro-quarters, rice-barns, and improvements within reach. The entire region was ruthlessly plundered;—the track of his retreating army being marked by smoking ruins. His soldiers, unrestrained, indulged in indiscriminate pillage, appropriating plate, bedding, wearing apparel, and everything of value capable of easy transportation. The inhabitants were subjected to insult and indignities. The region suffered terribly, and the patriotism of the people was sorely tried.[205] The scene was such as was subsequently repeated when General Augustine Prevost in 1779 raided through the richest plantations of South Carolina,[206] or when the Federal cavalry under General Kilpatrick, in the winter of 1864-1865, over-ran, occupied, and plundered Liberty county, converting a well ordered and abundantly supplied region into an abode of poverty, lawlessness, and desolation.

Delayed by head winds, Colonel Fuser did not arrive in front of Sunbury until Prevost had entered upon his retreat and was beyond the reach of communication. Late in November, 1778, his vessels, bearing some five hundred men, battering cannon, light artillery, and mortars, anchored off the Colonel’s island. A landing was effected at the ship yard. Thence, the land forces with field pieces, moving by the main road, marched upon Sunbury. The armed vessels sailed up Midway river in concert, and took position in front of the fort and in the back river opposite the town, simultaneously with its investment on the land side by the infantry and artillery. Colonel John McIntosh, with one hundred and twenty-seven Continental troops, and some militia and citizens from Sunbury,—numbering less than two hundred men in all,—held Fort Morris. The town was otherwise unprotected. Having completed his dispositions, Fuser made the following demand upon Colonel McIntosh for the surrender of the fort:

“SIR,

“You cannot be ignorant that four armies are in motion to
reduce this Province. One is already under the guns of your
fort, and may be joined, when I think proper, by Colonel
Prevost who is now at the Medway meeting-house. The resistance
you can, or intend to make, will only bring destruction upon
this country. On the contrary, if you will deliver me the
fort which you command, lay down your arms and remain neuter
until the fate of America is determined, you shall, as well
as all of the inhabitants of this parish, remain in peaceable
possession of your property. Your answer, which I expect in an
hour’s time, will determine the fate of this country, whether
it is to be laid in ashes, or remain as above proposed.

“I am Sir,

“Your most obedient, &c.,

“L. V. FUSER,
“Colonel 60th Regiment and Commander of his Majesty’s
Troops in Georgia, on his Majesty’s Service.”

“P. S.

“Since this letter was closed, some of your people have been
firing scattering shot about the line. I am to inform you, that
if a stop is not put to such irregular proceedings, I shall
burn a house for every shot so fired.”

To this demand the following brave response was promptly returned by Col. McIntosh:[207]

“FORT MORRIS, Nov. 25, 1778.

“SIR,

“We acknowledge we are not ignorant that your army is in motion
to endeavour to reduce this State. We believe it entirely
chimerical that Colonel Prevost is at the Meeting-House: but
should it be so, we are in no degree apprehensive of danger
from a junction of his army with yours. We have no property
compared with the object we contend for that we value a
rush:—and would rather perish in a vigorous defence than accept
of your proposals. We Sir, are fighting the battles of America,
and therefore disdain to remain neutral till its fate is
determined. As to surrendering the fort, receive this laconic
reply: COME AND TAKE IT.[208] Major Lane, whom I send with
this letter, is directed to satisfy you with respect to the
irregular, loose firing mentioned on the back of your letter.

“I have the honor to be Sir,

“Your most obedient Servant,

“JOHN MCINTOSH,
“Colonel of Continental Troops.”

In delivering this reply Major Lane informed Colonel Fuser that the irregular firing of which he complained was maintained to prevent the English troops from entering and plundering Sunbury. With regard to the threat that a house should be burned for every shot fired, Major Lane stated that if Col. Fuser sanctioned a course so inhuman, and so totally at variance with the rules of civilized warfare, he would assure him that Colonel McIntosh, so far from being intimidated by the menace, would apply the torch at his end of the town, whenever Colonel Fuser fired the town on his side, “and let the flames meet in mutual conflagration.”[209]

Instead of assaulting, Fuser hesitated and awaited a report from scouts whom he had sent into the country to ascertain the precise movements of Prevost and learn when his junction might be expected. That officer, as we have seen, unwilling, after the affair near Midway Meeting House, to hazard an engagement with the Continental forces supposed to be advancing from the Great Ogeechee, and surprised at the non-appearance of Fuser before Sunbury, had already commenced his retreat and was beyond the reach of easy communication. Surprised and chagrined at the intelligence, Fuser raised the siege, re-embarked his troops, and returned to the St. Johns river, where he met the returned forces of Prevost. Mutual recriminations ensued between these officers, each charging upon the other the responsibility of the failure of the respective expeditions. Remembering the superior forces at command, it cannot be doubted that either singly or in conjunction Prevost and Fuser could have speedily occupied Sunbury and compelled a surrender of Fort Morris, had their operations been vigorously pressed. When we consider the paucity of Continental troops and militia offering resistance to the invading column of the one, and the slender garrison opposed to the investing forces of the other, the small space and the short time to be overcome in accomplishing a junction, and the further fact that they both must have been aware of the near approach to Savannah of Colonel Campbell’s expedition from which these advances from Florida were distinctly intended to distract the attention of the Revolutionists, we cannot but be surprised that Colonels Fuser and Prevost should thus have abandoned their enterprise when a consummation was manifestly within easy grasp. Upon his retreat from Sunbury Colonel Fuser landed his British regulars at Frederica with instructions to repair and place in good defensive condition the military works which General Oglethorpe had planned and erected at that point.

Having collected his forces, Gen. Robert Howe marched to Sunbury. During his short stay there he did little more than point out and condemn the defenseless condition of the works, and memorialize Congress upon the dangers which threatened the Georgia coast, the lack of men and munitions of war, and the disorganization existing in his scattered army. He was one of those unfortunate officers who, lacking the energy and the ability to make the most of the resources at command, and harping upon the existence of defects and wants which inhered in the very nature of things, constantly clamored for the unattainable, indulged in frequent complaints, neglected careful organization, discipline and dispositions, and, on important occasions, became involved in unnecessary perplexities and loss.

Although relieved from the presence of the enemy, heavy shadows rested upon the inhabitants of St. John’s parish.[210] Desolation and ruin were on every hand. The gathered crops having been burnt, many were without sufficient means of subsistence, and not a few were compelled to look elsewhere for support. These tribulations, however, were but an earnest of sadder ones soon to follow,—trials so grievous that patriotic hearts were well-nigh overborne at thought and apprehension of distresses almost beyond human endurance. These peoples,—the first of the Colony to declare for freedom,—were on the eve of passing under a yoke far more oppressive than that from which not three years before they had sought to escape, and their homes were to become so desolate that expatriation would be found preferable to a perplexing residence and distressful life in the region where they had garnered up present possessions and future hopes.[211]

The year 1778 closed gloomily upon the patriots in Georgia. Its capital fell before the advance of Colonel Campbell. General Howe’s army, retiring in confusion and with much loss, crossed the Savannah river at Sister’s and Zubly’s ferries and rendezvoused in South Carolina, leaving the newly born State entirely open to the enemy. While at Cherokee Hill, on his retreat, General Howe dispatched Lieutenant Tennill with orders to Major Joseph Lane commanding at Sunbury to evacuate that post, and, retiring up the south side of Great Ogeechee river, to join the main army at Zubly’s ferry. This order was received in ample time, if promptly obeyed, to have ensured the salvation of the garrison; but Major Lane, moved by the persuasions of Captain Dollar,—commanding a company of artillery,—and the entreaties of the citizens of Sunbury, resolved to disregard the instructions of his General, and assumed the responsibility of remaining and defending the fort and town.[212] The account of the reduction of Fort Morris and the fall of Sunbury we give in the language of Captain McCall:

“On the first notice of the arrival of the transports [conveying Colonel Campbell’s command,] off the coast of Georgia, General Prevost [then in Florida] marched; and embarked in boats, two thousand men, consisting of artillery, infantry, loyalists, and Indians. On the 6th of January, [1778] that part of his army which moved by water was landed on Colonel’s island, seven miles south of Sunbury, about ten o’clock in the morning; and Prevost with the light infantry, marched and took possession of the town early on the ensuing day. Two American gallies and an armed sloop cannonaded the enemy, but with little effect. The following day the main body of the enemy arrived. Every exertion was made to prevent the landing of the cannon and mortars near the town, by the fire from the gallies and the fort. On the night of the 8th they took advantage of the low tide to pass behind a marsh island[213] opposite to the fort, with a few of their boats containing cannon, howitzers, and mortars, and landed them above the town and placed them on batteries previously prepared. On the morning of the 9th Prevost summoned the fort to surrender unconditionally, accompanied by a statement of his force and the weight of his metal. Major Lane replied that his duty, inclination, and means pointed to the propriety of defending the post against any force however superior it might be. The British batteries of cannon and mortars were opened on the fort and replied to. Lane soon discovered that his fortress would not be long tenable, and began to repent his disobedience of orders. He parlied to obtain better terms than unconditional surrender, but no other would be allowed him: and the time having elapsed for his acceptance or refusal, hostilities recommenced. He parlied again and requested until eight o’clock the next morning to consider of the conditions offered to him, which being peremptorily refused, he assented to them and surrendered the fort containing twenty-four pieces of artillery, ammunition, and provisions, and the garrison consisting of seventeen commissioned officers and one hundred and ninety-five non-commissioned officers and privates, including Continental troops and militia. The American loss was one Captain and three privates killed, and seven wounded. The British loss was one private killed and three wounded.

“The Washington and Bulloch gallies were taken to Ossabaw island, stranded on the beach, and burned by their crews, who took passage on board of Captain Salter’s sloop and sailed for Charleston, but were captured by a British tender and taken to Savannah. Captain John Lawson, of the sloop Rebecca, of sixteen guns, put to sea and got safe to Charleston.”[214]

After the fall of Sunbury the Continental officers captured at Savannah were sent to that place on parole.

When General Prevost, after the junction of his forces with those under Colonel Campbell, moved from the coast into the interior for the complete subjugation of Georgia, the command of Savannah and the adjacent country was confided to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Innes. Proclamations of the most stringent character were issued by him, by Colonel Campbell, and by Sir Hyde Parker. The inhabitants were enjoined to collect their arms and accoutrements of every description, and surrender them to the military storekeeper. Should these have been concealed or buried, as was not infrequently the case, they were to be uncovered and brought in under pain of rigid search, exposing the delinquent to punishment as an enemy to the King. Special places were designated for the arrival and departure of boats and trading vessels; and permits were required from the superintendents of such ports for the receipt or conveyance of property of any description. An infringement of these regulations worked confiscation of the goods, and punishment of the crews engaged. Peace, freedom, and protection were offered to all who would at once return to their allegiance and join the Royal standard. Three months were allowed for the incoming of the disaffected and deserters, and Savannah was designated as the place where the oath of allegiance would be administered. The proclamation of the 11th of January, 1779, was even more onerous. A reward of two guineas was offered for the apprehension of every citizen still adhering to the Rebel cause, and ten guineas were promised upon the surrender of a Committee or Assembly man to any commanding officer of the King’s garrisons. Prices were prescribed for all articles of merchandise and country produce. Any deviation from this scale of prices was punished by the confiscation of the articles exposed for sale. Only to those who had resumed their allegiance to the Crown were permits to trade granted, and a fine of one hundred pounds sterling was collectible against any merchant dealing with one not an acknowledged and loyal subject of the King. No produce could be exported except under a certificate of the superintendent of the port that it was not wanted for the use of the Royal troops. To the families of those who maintained their devotion to the Rebel cause no mercy was shown. Stripped of property,—their homes rendered desolate,—often without food and clothing,—they were thrown upon the charity of an impoverished neighborhood. The entire coast region of Georgia was now open, and the enemy overran and exacted the most stringent tribute. Many fled from St. John’s parish and from Sunbury upon the first approach of Prevost.

Writing from Purysburg on the 10th of January, 1779, to Colonel C. C. Pinckney, General Moultrie mentions the fact that thousands of poor women, children, and negroes were fleeing from Georgia,—they knew not whither;—“sad spectacle that moved the hearts of his soldiers.”[215]

For the time being the parish of St. John was in a deplorable condition. Multitudes of the inhabitants, unable to sustain themselves in the midst of the utter destitution which there prevailed, set out for Carolina, where they subsisted upon the charity of others until the opening spring afforded an opportunity for planting crops in their new homes. Others, possessing the means of subsistence, were so oppressed by the operation of Royal proclamations and restrictions, that they abandoned the region, seeking refuge in other quarters. Sunbury suffered a material diminution of population, and never recovered from the shock then experienced.

Although in the enemy’s possession, and paralyzed by the onerous exactions then imposed, Southern Georgia did not wholly cease from offering resistance. Colonels Twiggs, Few, and Jones, closely watched the British outposts, cutting off supplies, and harrassing the garrisons whenever opportunity occurred. Along the sea-coast were found private armed vessels, in the service of the Revolutionists, engaged in the removal of Rebel property in the interest of the owners, and in capturing craft in the employ of the King.

Ascertaining that some British officers had accepted an invitation from Mr. Thomas Young to dine with him at Belfast on the 4th of June, 1779, Captain Spencer, commanding an American privateer, determined to surprise and capture the party. For this purpose, proceeding up Midway river in the evening, he landed between eight and nine o’clock at night, and, with twelve of his men, entering the house, made Colonel Cruger and the English officers at the table prisoners of war. Intending to carry off some negroes, Captain Spencer kept his prisoners under guard until morning when, having taken their paroles, he permitted them to return to Sunbury. Colonel Cruger was soon after exchanged for Colonel McIntosh who had been captured at Briar Creek.

On the 28th of the same month Major Baker, advancing toward Sunbury, attacked and defeated a company of mounted recruits under Captain Goldsmith at the White-house. Several of the enemy were killed and wounded. Among the former was Lieutenant Gray, whose head was almost severed from his body by a sabre cut delivered by Robert Sallett. Major Baker entered Sunbury without opposition.[216]

It was by these, and kindred partizan exploits, that the British troops at various detached posts were held in partial check, and the drooping spirits of the oppressed inhabitants from time to time revived.

Upon the appearance of Count D’Estaing’s fleet off the coast of Georgia, General Augustine Prevost concentrated as rapidly as he could within the lines around Savannah the various detachments on duty in the vicinity. That under Lieutenant Colonel Cruger, at Sunbury, was ordered in and reached Savannah on the 10th of September, just two days prior to the landing of the French troops at Beaulieu.

It does not lie within the compass of this sketch to recount the operations of the allied armies under Count D’Estaing and General Lincoln which culminated in that bloody and disastrous repulse on the morning of the 9th of October, 1779. Suffice it to say that Sunbury had her patriotic representatives among the troops commanded by General Lachlan McIntosh, both during the progress of the siege and in the final assault. Two of them at least attested with their lives their supreme devotion to the patriot cause:—Major John Jones who had been for some years a resident of Sunbury, and who was at the time an aid to General McIntosh; and Charles Price, formerly a practising Attorney at Sunbury, and a young gentleman of promise in his profession.[217]

Upon the repulse of the allied armies, and after the departure of Count D’Estaing, and the retreat of General Lincoln into Carolina, the condition of the sea-coast of Georgia was more pitiable than ever. Exasperated by the formidable demonstration, and rendered more arrogant and exacting, the Loyalists set out in every direction upon missions of insult, pillage, and inhumanity. Plundering banditti roved about unrestrained, seizing negroes, stock, furniture, wearing apparel, plate, jewels, and anything they coveted. Children were severely beaten to compel a revelation of the places where valuable property and money were concealed. In the language of Captain McCall,[218] “The militia who had been under the protection of the British, not allowing themselves to doubt of the success of the allied forces, cheerfully participated in a measure which promised the recovery of the State to the union. Future protection was not to be expected, and nothing remained for them but the halter and confiscation from the British or exile for themselves, and poverty and ill-treatment by an insolent enemy for their wives and children who were ordered forthwith to depart the country without the means for travelling or any other means but a reliance on charity for subsistence on their way.

“The obscene language which was used, and personal insults which were offered to the tender sex, soon rendered a residence in the country insupportable. Having neither funds nor means of conveyance for themselves and children, they were obliged to abandon the country under the most deplorable circumstances and seek a dependent residence in the adjoining States at the most inclement season of the year. Numbers whose former condition enabled them to make their neighboring visits in carriages, were obliged to travel on foot; many of them without shoes, through muddy roads and deep swamps.”

Prominent among these raiding Tories was the renegade McGirth.

Under such depressing influences some portions of Liberty county were almost depopulated. Deprived of a support from the back-country, and with nothing to sustain commerce from abroad, Sunbury languished. Its decline, inaugurated when Prevost and Cruger demonstrated the insecurity of the position, and confirmed when Major Lane surrendered Fort Morris, was now day by day accelerated. All who could possibly get away fled the place, and those who remained led lives of disquietude, and penury. In the face of these difficulties, however, Commodore Oliver Bowen, Captains Spencer, Howell, Maxwell, Pray, Hardy, Lawson, Stiles, and others owning private armed vessels, made frequent voyages along the coast, capturing parties who were engaged in collecting provisions for the British troops in Savannah and transporting them through the inland passages, removing the property of the Whigs from the down-trodden districts, and occasionally executing summary vengeance upon the crews of such craft as were known to be employed upon missions of arson, robbery, and murder. Sometimes sharply contested naval engagements occurred, such as that between Captain Braddock with his two American gallies, and the brigantine, Dunmore, Captain Caldeleugh, mounting twelve guns. The Dunmore had sailed from Sunbury for Jamaica, and was attacked so soon as she crossed St. Catharine bar, on the 18th of September, 1779.

On the 4th of June of this year Captain Howell entered the inlet of Sunbury, and learned from a negro that he had been sent out to catch fish for Mr. Kitchins, the Collector of the port, with whom a party of British officers, both civil and military, were to dine that day,—it being the King’s birthday. Although Mr. Kitchins’ house was within four hundred yards of the fort,—now no longer called fort Morris, but named by its captors fort George in honor of his majesty, King George III,—presuming that the assembled guests on this festive occasion would indulge freely and be found entirely off their guard, Captain Howell resolved upon their capture. Ascending the river with muffled oars, and under cover of the night, the Captain with twelve men passed the fort without attracting its notice, and, landing at Sunbury, surrounded the house about eleven o’clock and took the entire party, numbering twelve persons, prisoners. Among the captured was Colonel Roger Kelsall, who had insulted and ill-treated Captain Howell while he was a prisoner of war. Incensed at the recollection of these indignities, Captain Howell was on the eve of taking him out and drowning him in the river, when the prayers of the lady of the house induced him to spare his life. Having exacted from his captives a pledge that they would not again take up arms until regularly exchanged, Captain Howell returned, without loss or molestation, to his privateer.

Upon the transfer of active operations to the Carolinas, Sunbury seems to have been but feebly garrisoned by the enemy. At times, and for a considerable portion of the year 1780, it appears doubtful whether any British force was there stationed. The Royal army in Georgia was then so much reduced that the garrison at Savannah did not exceed five hundred men.[219]

The truth is, the available forces of the State had been so largely withdrawn for service elsewhere, the entire coast region was so thoroughly impoverished, and so many of the Whig families had moved away, that there was scarcely any necessity for maintaining this post except as a matter of convenience in keeping open the land communication between Savannah and St. Augustine.

In this exhausted and comparatively quiet condition did matters remain until the close of the war. We are not aware that any events occurred in Sunbury, during the residue of the struggle, worthy of special mention or calculated to rouse the inhabitants from that quietude born of want and oppression, feebleness and present despair.

The successes of General Greene in Carolina enabled him to inaugurate such measures for the relief of Georgia that, in order to escape from the advancing and investing columns under General Wayne and Colonel Jackson, the British garrison embarked on the 11th of July, 1783, and Savannah, after having been more than four years and a half in the possession of the enemy, was formally surrendered to the Patriots who had already virtually achieved the independence of the thirteen Confederated States.

Colonel James Jackson was designated by General Wayne as the officer to receive the surrender of the town;—a compliment well merited in view of the patriotism and gallantry which had distinguished him during the whole war, and in recognition of the recent active and hazardous service performed by his command while operating in advance of the army of occupation.

Georgia’s losses, particularly along her south-eastern borders, had been very great. Her slave population, although quiet during the struggle, was essentially demoralized and reduced. It is estimated that between the 12th and 25th of July, 1783, not less than five thousand negroes made their escape from Savannah in sailing vessels. Upon the cessation of hostilities the agricultural and commercial interests of the State were in a most disastrous situation. Particularly was this the case in Liberty county where negroes and property of every description had been, from time to time during the continuance of the struggle, carried off, patriotic citizens driven into exile, plantations burned and converted into waste places, and the seeds of poverty and distress sown broadcast.

On the first Monday in August, 1783, Governor Martin convened the Legislature in Savannah. Courts of Justice were re-established, commissioners of confiscated estates appointed, and measures adopted for the rehabilitation of the State. It was not, however, until the assembling of the Constitutional Convention on the first Monday in January, 1784, when Lyman Hall was appointed Governor, George Walton, Chief Justice; Samuel Stirk, Attorney General; John Milton, Secretary of State; John Martin, Treasurer, and Richard Call, Surveyor General, that the machinery of reconstruction was fully set in motion.

With the incoming of peace many who had been absent in the army, and others who had sought, in South Carolina and elsewhere, temporary refuge from the devastations of the war, returned to their former homes in Sunbury and on the adjacent plantations, and entered with becoming spirit and energy upon the labor of rebuilding and repeopling the desolated region. For a season it seemed as if the prosperity of this seaport would be revived. Not a few of its inhabitants, however, having, during the continuance of hostilities, formed settlements elsewhere, determined to remain where they were, and so the ante bellum population was by no means regained. Others had died, and others still in their places of retreat found themselves so impoverished that they could not command the means requisite for a removal.

The first session of the Superior Court of Liberty county was held at Sunbury on the 18th of November, 1783,—their Honors, Chief Justice George Walton, and Assistant Judge Benjamin Andrew, Senior, presiding. On the 20th, the Grand Jury being empanneled and sworn, the Chief Justice delivered a charge in which,—having alluded to the fact that good order and subordination had everywhere characterized the courts presided over by him on this his first riding since the close of the war, and assured them that nothing could so much contribute to confirm the blessings of peace as an observance of the laws which had for their sole object the general happiness of the people,—he spoke as follows: “I congratulate you, gentlemen, on the news of a definitive treaty of peace by which our freedom, sovereignty, and independence are secured. The war which produced it was one of necessity on our part. That we were enabled to prosecute it with firmness and perseverance to so glorious an issue, should be ascribed to the protecting influence of the Great Disposer of events, and be a subject of grateful praise and adoration. While the result of the contest is so honourable and advantageous to us and to posterity, it is to be lamented that those moral and religious duties so essential to the order of society and the permanent happiness of mankind, have been too much neglected. To recover them into practice, the life and conduct of every good man should be a constant example. Your temples, which the profane instruments of a tyrant laid in ashes, should be built again: for nothing tends to harmonize the rude and unlearned organs of man more than frequent meetings in the places of holy worship. Let the monument of your brave and virtuous soldier and citizen,[220] which was ordered by Congress to his memory, be erected on the same ground, that his virtues and the cause in which he sacrificed his life may be seen together by your children and remembered through distant ages.[221]

“In the course of the conflict with an enemy whose conduct was generally marked with cruelty, the whole State has suffered undoubtedly more than any in the Confederacy. The citizens of Liberty County, with others, have drunk deep in the stream of distress. Remembering these things, we should not lose sight of the value of the prize we have obtained. And now that we are in full possession of our freedom, we should all unite in our endeavours to benefit and perpetuate the system, that we may always be happy at home and forever freed from the insults of petty tyrants commissioned from abroad.”[222]

The grand jurors to whom this charge was delivered, were Joseph Law, William Baker, Senior, James Maxwell, James Jeffries, John Mitchell, Junior, Palmer Goulding, John Elliott, John Whitehead, William West, Thomas Bradwell, William Peacock, Senior, Nathan Taylor, John Hardy, William Baker, Junior, Nathaniel Saxton, James Powell, William Way, John Myers, Senior, John Way, John Winn, Edward Way, Joseph Way, and William Quarterman.

By an act approved the 26th of February, 1784, Sunbury was designated as the place for holding the Superior and Inferior Courts of Liberty County. They were there held until, by the act of 1797, Riceborough was made the county seat.[223]

On the 10th of February, 1787, John Baker, John Hardy, and Alexander McIver were, by the Legislature, appointed Commissioners for the port of Sunbury, and were invested with powers similar to those conferred in and by the law regulating the pilotage of Savannah.

For the better encouragement of trade, the Governor was authorized to draw on the treasurer of the State in favor of the Commissioners for the port of Sunbury for £100. The act further appointed a harbor and tonnage master, and provided for the collection of tonnage duties, and an additional sixpence to be levied and set apart for erecting lighthouses and supporting pilots.

Commerce revived to a considerable extent, but the trade of Sunbury did not reach that activity or volume which existed at the inception of the Revolutionary war.

The Indians were still troublesome on occasions, coming from beyond the Alatamaha in predatory bands and making short but sometimes cruel inroads into the white settlements. On the 24th of October, 1787, a man was scalped within eighteen miles of Sunbury, and on the 9th of the following January, Rogers, Queeling, and Bennett were killed and scalped within the limits of the Midway settlement, by a party of Indians. During this year skirmishes occurred with the Indians at Phinholloway creek and at Shepherd’s plantation. On the first of May the savages attacked Mr. Girardeau’s plantation, carrying off some of his negroes, and wounding a young man named Smallwood. Seven days afterwards they appeared at Colonel Maybank’s plantation and captured a number of his slaves. At Sapelo a young man was killed by them while milking his cow. On the 6th of June, on the plantation of John Houstoun, Esq., McCormick was killed by the Indians, his son scalped, and three of his daughters and a little boy carried into captivity. In September, thirteen negroes were stolen by them from Mr. Quarterman’s plantation. Captain Sumner and Lieutenant Burnley pursued and overtook them in a swamp on Taylor’s creek. The Indians fled and the negroes were recovered.[224]

The militia of the county was constantly on duty to repel these incursions, and the citizens generally went armed to church to guard against surprises. To assist the militia, the inhabitants of Liberty County, at their own charge, placed and maintained in service for three months “a company of Horsemen” under the command of Captain Elijah Lewis. This troop acted as scouts. In September, 1788, a “Body of Light Horse,”—consisting of a captain, two lieutenants, two sergeants, and forty privates,—was raised for the defense of the county, and supported by the voluntary subscriptions of the inhabitants. It was commanded by Captain Rudolph, and subsequently by Lieutenant Whitehead. This company was paid off and disbanded at Newport Bridge [afterwards called Riceborough] on the 28th of March, 1789:—six privates and one sergeant being retained in service to act as scouts.[225]

In these matters of home defense, and in the subsequent military service which, rendered necessary in 1793, was continued until, by the treaty of Colerain, a peace was concluded with the Indians, the citizens of Sunbury bore their full part.

On the 8th of December, 1791, an act was adopted entitled “An act for the better regulating of the town of Sunbury.”[226] Until its passage no legislative provision had been made for the incorporation or government of this town, then in the thirty-third year of its existence.

The general provisions of that act were as follows: On the second Monday in January next ensuing, and on the second Monday in January in every third year thereafter, all proprietors of lots or houses in the town of Sunbury, of full age, were required to meet at the place of holding the courts in said town and, under the direction of two or more justices of the peace for the county of Liberty, proceed to ballot for five persons,—each of whom should be the proprietor of a house or lot in Sunbury, and an inhabitant thereof, and of full age,—who should be styled “Commissioners of the Town of Sunbury.”

On the Monday next following such election it was made the duty of these Commissioners, or a majority of them, to assemble and appoint a clerk and such other officers as they might regard as proper and necessary for the execution of the provisions of the act.

Full power was lodged with these Commissioners to make such by-laws and regulations, and impose such pains, penalties, and forfeitures as they might deem conducive to the good order and government of the town, provided the same were not repugnant to the constitution and laws of the State, and did not extend to life or member.

By the third section the Commissioners, or a majority of them, were required “yearly and every year to make, lay, and assess a rate or assessment upon all and every person or persons who do or shall inhabit, hold, use, occupy, possess, or enjoy any lot, ground, house, building, tenement, or hereditament within the limits of the town of Sunbury, for raising such sum or sums of money as the said Commissioners or a majority of them shall judge necessary for and towards carrying this act into execution: and in case of a refusal or neglect to pay such rate or assessment, the same shall be levied and recovered by warrant of distress and sale of the offender’s goods, under the hands and seals of the said Commissioners or a majority of them, or under the hand and seal of any justice of the peace for the County of Liberty.”

The concluding section appointed such Commissioners superintendents of pilotage for the port of Sunbury, and invested them with the power and authority of Justices “so far as to keep the peace and preserve good order in the said town.”

By the act of December 12th, 1804,[227] it was provided that the election of Commissioners should occur annually on the first Monday of August, and be held in the Sunbury Academy.

The Justices of the Peace of Liberty County having “neglected to hold an election for Commissioners for the town of Sunbury, to the great injury of said town,” the Legislature on the 2d of December, 1805,[228] directed the Justices of the Inferior Court of Liberty County “to call an election for that purpose, giving ten days’ notice of the same at the most public place in the town.”

In case of failure, at any time thereafter, to elect Commissioners on the day appointed, it was made the duty of the Inferior Court, when notified of the fact, to advertise an election.

This is all the legislation appearing on the Statute books with reference to the government of the town of Sunbury. These Commissioners continued to hold office in a quiet way,—looking after the police and order of the town,—until about the year 1825, when elections went by default, and such of the citizens as remained, by common consent managed their premises each after his own fashion, having the taller weeds in the streets and along the Bay “chopped down” at irregular intervals, and permitting the cows and the Bermuda grass to strive for the mastery in the lanes and upon the common.

In 1801 Sunbury was described as “a seaport in Liberty County, favoured with a safe and convenient harbour,” as being “a very pleasant, healthy place,” and promising without doubt to become “a port of commercial consequence.” “It is resorted to,” says Sibbald, “by many persons during the Summer months; it has an Academy under an able instructor.”[229]

The most famous institution of learning in Southern Georgia, for many years, was the SUNBURY ACADEMY. It was established by an act of the Legislature assented to the first of February, 1788.[230] Abiel Holmes, James Dunwody, John Elliott, Gideon Dowse, and Peter Winn were nominated in the act as Commissioners. To them, or a majority of them, was authority given to sell at public sale, and upon previous notice of thirty days in one of the gazettes of the State, any confiscated property within the county of Liberty to the amount of £1,000. This sum, when realized, was to be by them expended in the construction of a building suitable for the purposes of the Academy. Each Commissioner was required to execute a bond, in favor of the Governor of Georgia, in the penalty of £1,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of the trust. In 1803 the number of Commissioners was increased to seven, but two years afterwards the Legislature directed a return to the original number, which was five.[231]

As late as December 4th, 1811, the Legislature directed a grant and conveyance to the Commissioners of Sunbury Academy, for the sole use and benefit of that institution, of one-third of a tract of land adjoining Sunbury, known as the Distillery Tract; the same having been confiscated as the estate of Roger Kellsall, and being then the property of the State.

The administration of the affairs of this academy during the long course of its valuable existence appears at all times to have been conducted by its trustees with prudence and skill. Certain it is that until the marked decadence of Sunbury this institution maintained an enviable reputation, and attracted scholars in no inconsiderable numbers from various portions of the State, and even from sister States. The teacher whose name is for the longest period and most notably associated with the management of this Academy, and who did more than all others to establish a standard of scholarship and maintain rules of study and discipline unusual in that period and among these peoples, was the Reverend Dr. William McWhir. Great was the obligation conferred upon the youths of Southern Georgia, for certainly two generations, by this competent instructor and rigid disciplinarian. A native of Ireland, a graduate of Belfast College, and licensed to preach by the Presbytery of that city, he came to America in 1783 and settled in Alexandria, Virginia. There, for ten years he was the Principal of the Academy of which General Washington was a trustee. He was frequently a guest at Mount Vernon, enjoying the hospitality of that noted mansion. On one occasion while he was dining with the family, General Washington, as his custom was, asked the usual blessing. Mrs. Washington, somewhat surprised that Mr. McWhir had not been invited to do this, remarked to General Washington, “You forgot that we had a clergyman at table with us to-day.” “No, madam,” he replied, “I did not forget. I desire clergymen, as well as all others, to see that I am not a graceless man.”

About 1793 he removed to Sunbury where he became the Principal of the Academy and, for nearly thirty years, made it the leading institution of learning in this entire region. A thorough Greek, Latin, and English scholar, an uncompromising observer of prescribed regulations, and a firm believer in the virtue of the birch as freely applied in those days in the English and Irish schools in which he had received his training, he was a terror to all dolts and delinquents. To the studious and the ambitious, he always proved himself a generous instructor, full of suggestion and encouragement. The higher branches of mathematics were also taught; and, as a preparatory school, this institution, under his guidance, had no superior within the limits of the State. The average attendance was about seventy. Pupils were attracted not only from Liberty, but also from the adjacent counties of Chatham, Bryan, McIntosh, and Glynn. Some came from even greater distances. Two generations sat at the feet of this venerable preceptor. Fathers and sons in turn responded to his nod, and feared his frown. Although

“A man severe he was, and stern to view,”

so impartial was he in the support of whatever was just and of good report, and so competent and thorough as a teacher, that for more than a quarter of a century his numerous pupils found in him, above all others, their mentor, guide, and helper in the thorny paths of knowledge. Strongly did he impress his character and influence upon the generations in which he lived, and his name and acts are even now well remembered. The evening of his days was spent, as inclination prompted, at the residences of his old scholars, by whom a cordial welcome was always extended. That welcome was recognized by him as peculiarly genuine and agreeable when accompanied by a generous supply of buttermilk and a good glass of wine. The latter might be dispensed with: a failure to provide the former was, in his eyes, an unpardonable breach of hospitality, and materially impaired the comfort of his sojourn, and the tranquility of the venerable guest.

Among the other teachers at this Academy may be mentioned Mr. James E. Morris, the Rev. Mr. Lewis, the Rev. Mr. Shannon, the Rev. Mr. Thomas Goulding, Uriah Wilcox, Rev. Mr. John Boggs, Captain William Hughes, Mr. C. G. Lee, Rev. A. T. Holmes, Rev. S. G. Hillyer, Major John Winn, Mr. W. T. Feay, and Mr. Oliver W. Stevens. The building—a large two story and a half double wooden house, about sixty feet square and located in King’s Square,—was pulled down and sold some time about the year 1842.

As early as 1797 it being manifest that the population of the town was steadily decreasing, and that its commercial importance could not be reëstablished, it was resolved by a large majority of the citizens of Liberty that Sunbury,—the then seat of justice,—was inconveniently situated for conducting the public business, and that North New Port Bridge was the most eligible location for the Court House and Jail. Matthew McAllister, Esq. had very generously offered to convey in fee simple, for public uses, a piece of ground two hundred and thirty feet in length and one hundred and fifty feet in width, situated near “the Bridge,” without “price or consideration other than a wish on his part to promote the growth of the town of Riceborough and benefit the inhabitants thereof.” The middle and upper portions of the county had by this time the controlling vote in public matters, and the Legislature was memorialized, in opposition to the feebler will of the residents of Sunbury and its vicinity, to authorize a removal of the seat of justice. Accordingly, on the 1st of February, 1797, an act was passed appointing Thomas Stevens, Daniel Stewart, Peter Winn, Joel Walker, and Henry Wood, Commissioners to superintend the admeasurement of the land offered by Mr. McAllister, receive the titles therefor, and erect thereon and keep in repair a Court House and Jail for the County of Liberty. The act further provided that after its passage “all courts and elections heretofore held, and all public business heretofore transacted at said town of Sunbury, should be held and transacted at the said town of Riceborough,” to which place the County offices and records were to be removed.[232]

Riceborough was a more convenient point for shipping to Savannah the rice, cotton, and agricultural products of the County, and was much more central for the facile convocation of the citizens and the transaction of public business. Sunbury, however, still remained the favorite resort of the wealthier planters during the summer months, and maintained a permanent population of perhaps four hundred. The hurricane of 1804, with its wild devastations, begat a sense of insecurity in the minds of not a few dwellers on the coast, and to some extent diminished the population of the town. Soon afterwards, Bermuda grass began to overspread the bluff and cover, with its deep mat, the streets and lanes. With its importation the health of the place became sensibly affected. Chills and high grades of bilious fever grew frequent in the fall of the year, and from time to time removals occurred to healthier localities. Many citizens still clung to their old homes rendered so pleasant by the refreshing sea-breezes and the never-failing stores of the waters and the orchards, and Sunbury for many years continued to be the abode of culture, hospitality, and ease. Then came the hurricane of 1824 blowing down out-houses, bearing away fences, bringing in the sea in great masses, and carrying fear to many, and even death to some who resided at exposed points. The wild indigo disappeared more rapidly than ever, and the dark Bermuda grass asserted its dominion on every hand. From the numerous cattle accustomed to feed upon its common and wander through its streets and lanes, and from the refuse of the town, now no longer new, the original sandy soil became saturated with fertilizing matter, and grew rich. Thence, under the heat of autumnal suns, year by year rose exhalations annually more and more prejudicial to health. Chills and fevers were more frequent, and Sunbury proved less and less attractive as a summer resort. In 1829 Sherwood describes the town as having “a flourishing academy, a house of worship for the Baptists, twenty dwelling houses, two stores, three offices, and a population of one hundred and fifty.”[233]

Ten years before, the Sunbury Female Asylum had been incorporated by the Legislature of Georgia.[234] Supported by the generous charities of kind-hearted women, it never enjoyed a vigorous existence, and after some years suffered a languishing death.

Although by resolutions adopted on the 18th of November, 1812, and the 12th of November, 1813, the Legislature provided for stationing troops in the counties of Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden, for the protection of the sea-coast of Georgia, it does not appear that any permanent detail was made for Sunbury. The fort, however, was again placed in tolerable condition, the planters furnishing the labor requisite for cleaning out the ditch, strengthening the parapet, and mounting such guns as there remained and were deemed trustworthy. A few light pieces were obtained from Savannah and added to the armament. Such gun-carriages as were manufactured in the county were made by Jonathan Goulding, of Taylor’s Creek. Not a shot, however, was fired from the fort during the war of 1812-1815.

Although British vessels of war were constantly upon the coast, and the smoke of merchantmen captured, robbed, and burnt by them was on several occasions seen from Sunbury, the enemy never ascended Midway river. A company composed of the citizens of the town and its vicinity, numbering some forty men and commanded by the honorable John A. Cuthbert, and another company consisting of the larger boys then students at the Sunbury Academy, and under the command of Captain [afterwards Brigadier General] Charles Floyd, were formed for local defense, drilled at regular intervals, and held themselves in readiness to act as occasion might require.