The History of Georgia, containing brief sketches of the most remarkable events, up to the present day

Front matter

THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA, CONTAINING BRIEF SKETCHES OF THE MOST REMARKABLE EVENTS, UP TO THE PRESENT DAY. BY CAPT. HUGH M'CALL. With a vast benevolence of soul, To ran"-e like oglethorpe from pole to pole. ° POPE. SAVANNAH : PRINTED «H PUBLISHED BY SEYMOUR & WILLIAMS. 1811. District of Georgia. BE it remembered, that on the twenty-ninth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eleven, and in the thirty-sixth year of the Independence of the United States of America, Captain Hugh M'Call, of Savannah, in said Dis trict, hath deposited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as Author, in the words follow ing, to wit : " The History of Georgia, containing brief sketches of the most " remarkable events, up to the present day. By Captain Hugh " M'Call ; in two volumes : volume one. .."

With a vast benevolence of soul, " To range like Oglethorpe from pole to pole.* POPE. In conformity to the Act of the United States, entitled " An " Act for the encouragement of learning-, by securing the copies of " Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and proprietors of " such copies during the times therein mentioned." RICHARD M. ST1TES, Clerk. DEDICATION. The Honorable the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF A FREE AND INDEPENDENT PEOPLE, THE HISTORIAN OF A COUNTRY NATURALLY LOOKS FOR PATRONAGE. TO YOUR HONORABLE BODY, THIS HUMBLE EFFORT JS MOST RESPECTFULLY MEDICATED BT THE AUTHOR. TO THE PUBLIC. THIS volume will bring the History of Georgia up to the commencement of the revolutionary war, and the author is now employed in collecting materials for the se cond, which will embrace that interesting period.

He earnestly invites the correspon dence of those gentlemen, who participated in the glorious struggle which gave freedom and independence to the United States; and solicits copious communications, con taining the dates of battles and skirmishes, the names of the officers and number of troops on each side, a description of the ground, the number killed, wounded and taken prisoners. No state in the union suffered more than Georgia — none made greater struggles — none had such difficulties to encounter, and none has been so little noticed in the general history of the war. Every read er is capable of contributing his mite, and the most unpolished narrative of interest ing facts, will be thankfully received. Savannah, Nov. 1811.

Preface

. IT is the practice of almost every writer" to preface his productions with apologies. Per haps their are few who have a better claim to the lenity and indulgence of critics, than the au thor of this work : never having contemplated ap pearing in the character of an historian, he has re luctantly, and not entirely with his own consent, offered the following sheets to the press. With out map or compass, he entered an unexplored forest, destitute of any other guide than a few ragged pamphlets, defaced news-papers, and scraps of manuscripts. In many instances he has been obliged to resort to the aged, and appeal to their memories for a connection of events, relating to the history of Georgia in its infancy. In commencing the enquiries and collecting the facts which have terminated in this work, it was the author's intention to proffer them to an historian, who was capable of doing justice to the task, and he made the offer to several gentlemen whose talents were equal to the undertaking, but he uniformly found that their avocations inters fered with the accomplishment of a plan, which PREFACE, he had so deeply at heart ; he was therefore com pelled to offer this humble effort to the public, or suffer the product of his exertions to remain use less, and moulder amongst the many important papers which have been consigned to oblivion.

The occurrences of a new country, when dres sed in their best attire, are not very engaging, and it is to be expected that many interesting facts have escaped the author's notice, owing to the limited scope of his researches, in conse quence of his affliction under a portion of disease and decripitude, almost without a parallel in the history of human life. TUB HISTORY OF GEORGIA.

Chapter I. Xt

is natural and right that we should feel a lively interest and concern in the lives and fortunes of our ancestors. When we behold them braving the horrors of the desert ; surmounting the difficulties of an inhospitable climate ; exploring forests infested with wild beasts, and surfounded by savages ; their courage and perseverance inspire us With astonishment and admiration. We are pleased with a recital of the dangers they have escaped, and the difficulties they have encountered, in planning and executing the establishment of a country, in which we now en joy the blessings of liberty, peace and plenty. These reflections, justly fill us with enthusiastic esteem, respect and affection, for the stock from which we have descended. B 1584. From the best sources of information which can be resorted to at the present day, Sir Wal ter Raleigh is the reputed discoverer of that part of the United States, now denominated Georgia.

This man, so greatly distinguished for his genius, courage, enterprise, and unmerited fate, under the government of a pusillanimous monarch, had been deeply interested in the adventures of his half brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert ; and anx ious to complete the discoveries which he had commenced, determined to prosecute them with vigor. Accordingly Sir Walter made application to queen Elizabeth for a patent similar to the one granted to Gilbert, which was obtained on the 26th of March, 1584, to explore North- America, and take possession of such countries as he might discover ; and on the 23d of April, he dispatched two ships under the command of captains Amadas and Barlow, for the purpose of visiting the countries of which he contemplated the future settlement. And to avoid the errors of Gilbert in shaping his course too far to the frozen regions of the North, took the route by the West India Islands, and approached the North American continent at the Gulf of Florida, from whence he coasted and occasionally touched the land, visiting and conversing with the natives, until they reached Pamplico sound on the bor ders of North-Carolina, thence along the coast northward, and returned to England in Sep tember ; reporting that he had discovered a fine 1584. country called Windangocoa, to which the queen gave the name of Virginia.

It is doubted by some historians whether Sir Walter Raleigh accompanied this expedition in person, or ,wheth« er he ever visited North-America.* When James Edward Oglethorpe, the principal foun der of the colony of Georgia, came over from England, it is said he brought with him Sir Walter Raleigh's written journal ; and by the latitude of Savannah and the traditions of the natives, it appears that Sir Walter Raleigh landed at the mouth of Savannah River, and visit ed the bluff on which the city was afterwards built.f During his wild and chimerical attempts for finding El Dorado or the golden country, it is not improbable that this bold persevering ad venturer, visited many places on the coast, of which we have no account. Having been strip ped of the royal favor on the accession of king James, after the death of queen Elizabeth, of * Burke of Virginia. j Extract of a letter published in a South-Carolina Gazette, dated Charleston, 22d of March, 1733.

" Mr. Oglethorpe has with him, Sir Walter Raleigh's written journal, and by the latitude of the place, the marks and traditions of the Indians, it is the place where he first went on shore, and talked with the Indians, and was the first Englishman they ever saw ; and about half a mile from Savannah is a high mount of earth under which lies their clues King : and the Indians inform. ed Mr. Oglethorpe, that their King desired before he died, that he might be buried at the spot where he talked with that great good man." This extract was republished in a pamphlet, written by Benjamin Martyn, the trustees secretary. 1534—1719. whom he was a favorite ; and having been un justly imprisoned under an unfounded charge of treason, by which he fell a victim to policy and not to justice ; therefore it is net improbable that such a series of persecutions occasioned the loss of memoranda, which would have been valuable and interesting at the present day.

When Mr. Oglethorpe communicated the con tents of Sir Walter's journal to the Indians in Georgia, they stated from traditional communica tions handed down to them, that their fathers once held a conference with a warrior who came over the great waters, whose memory they had been taught to revere from the high opinion formed of him by their ancestors, and pointed out to Mr. Oglethorpe at a little distance from Yamacraw bluff, a high mound of earth where the Indian king was intered, who talked with the English warrior ; he having desired to be buried where this conference was held. The reader must be left at liberty to draw his own conclusions. The State of Georgia was included in a patent granted to South-Carolina ; first as a proprietary government ; and in 1719, it became a regal one, bounded by the thirty-first and thirty-sixth degrees of north latitude.

The policy of planting a new colony south of Savannah river, on principles essentially different from those by which South-Carolina was governed, was an object of great importance 1584—1719. to that province. A jealousy had long existed between Great-Britain and Spain, respecting the boundaries of their settlements in North and South America, in which those nations charged each other with unjust annoyance to trade be tween the mother countries and their colonies. The rapidity of population in North- America, and its growth into commercial consequence, promised a rich source of traffic as well as mari time strength to England. Agriculture was the prime object, and the culture of rice, which held up the most promising source of wealth, could not be carried on successfully without the as sistance of Africans, whose constitutions seem formed by nature to bear the heat and exposure of a climate, most favorable for its production.

The colony of South- Carolina at that time was numerously stocked with negroes, who had been brought from Africa by British merchants, and sold to the planters, whose wealth was estimated almost exclusively by the number of their slaves. It was the interest of Spain to throw every pos sible obstacle in the way of the planters of the British colonies, and none promised to be more effectual than that of inveigling the negroes from the service of their owners, pointing out to them the happiness of freedom, and promising them all the privileges of his catholic majesty's subjects. In order that these allurements might be the more effectually accomplished, a black regiment was formed, consisting entirely of runaway slaves 1720—22. from Carolina. As there was no war then exist ing between the two nations, remonstrances were presented to the governor of Augustine, without having the desired effect.

The boundaries be tween the British provinces and Florida, had not been settled by any public agreement between England and Spain, neither were they marked or well understood. To prevent negroes escaping from the Carolinas to Augustine, a fort was built on the Alatamaha river, and garrisoned. This gave offence to the governor of Augustine, who complained of it to the court of Madrid, as an encroachment on the dominions of his royal master. The Spanish embassador at London lodged the complaint before the court of Great- Britain, and demanded that orders should be sent to remove the troops, and demolish the fort. It was agreed that the governors of the respec tive nations in America, should meet in an amicable manner, and adjust the respective boundaries between the British and Spanish dominions in that quarter ; accordingly Don Francisco Me nandez, and Don Joseph De Robiero, in behalf of Spain, went to Charleston, to hold a conference on the subject, with the executive offi cers of government.

At this meeting, Ar thur Middleton, president of the council, de monstrated to the Spanish deputies, that the fort against which complaint had been made, wras built within the bounds of the charter granted to the proprietors ; that the pretensions of Spain to 1722—28. the lands in question were groundless ; and that the fort in question was erected for the purpose of defending themselves and their property, against the depredations of the Indians, under the jurisdiction of Spain ; and begged to know the reasons why his catholic majesty's governor, in Florida, protected felons and debtors that fled to them ; and why negroes were encouraged to leave their master's service, and take refuge in Augustine ? The deputies replied, that the governor of Florida would deliver up all felons and debtors ; but that he had express orders of twenty years standing, to detain all slaves who should fly to St. Augustine for liberty and pro tection, and that the design of his royal master was the exercise of humanity, and a disposition to convert them to the christian religion ; and that the king had ordered compensation to be made to the owners of runaway slaves, in money, which, however, was seldom or never complied with.

The negociation ended unsatisfactorily to both parties, the fort was soon after burned down, and the southern frontier of South-Caroli na was again left exposed and defenceless. The principal object of Spain in possessing the coast north of the Mississippi, was to secure the Indian trade brought down that river, as well as those north of it. The coast was garrisoned with troops, and agriculture was but lit tle attended to. Spain justified herself in these acts of aggression, on the common right of all the 1728-32. human race to freedom. The colonists in re« turn claimed a right to the labour of slaves, for whom they had paid a price equal to the value of their services, and urged that their condition in that capacity was greatly ameliorated, by bringing them from a country where wretched ness, misery and want, were the common lot of the whole race.

In this diversity of opinion held out by two nations, separated but a short distance from each other, it is easily perceived that discord would soon kindle into hostility. Anxious for the adoption of some plan by which Carolinians would be relieved from an evil from which they foresaw the destruction of their colony, they readily encouraged the planting of anoth er between them and their troublesome neigh bours in Florida. With these views they held out the advantages of forming a new colony be tween Savannah and the Alatamaha rivers, and encouraged the formation of a company in Eng land, consisting of men of wealth, influence, and respectability, who were willing to embark in the humane design of sending over a number of poor people who had neither lands, or oth er means of -supporting themselves and families : accordingly twenty-one persons petitioned the throne, and on the 9th of June 1732, obtained a charter* for a separate and distinct province from Carolina, between the Savannah and Alata- • See appendix No. 1. 1732. iriaha rivers, by the name of Georgia, in honor of the king by whom this charter was granted.

His majesty George the second, by his letters patent, recited amongst other things, that ma ny of his poor subjects were through misfor tunes and want of employment, reduced to great necessities, and would be glad to be settled in any of his majesty's provinces in America, where by cultivating the waste and desolate lands, they might not only gain a comfortable subsistence, but also strengthen his majesty's colonies and in crease the trade, navigation and wealth of his majesty's realms ; and that the province of North America had been frequently ravaged by Indian enemies, more especially that of South-Carolina, whose southern frontier continued unsettled and lay open to the neighboring savages ; and that to relieve the wants of the said poor people and to protect his majesty's subjects in South-Carolina, a regular colony of the said poor people should be settled and established on the southern fron tiers of Carolina ; did for the considerations afore said, constitute a corporation by the name of the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, in America.

The king's trusty and well beloved John Lord Viscount Purcival, Edward Digby, George Carpenter, James Oglethorpe, George Heathcote, John Laroche, James Vernon, Wil liam Beletha, Stephen Hales, Thomas Tower, Robert Moore, Robert Hucks, Roger Holland, William Sloper, Francis Eyles, John Burton. c 173t. Richard Bandy, Arthur Bradford, Samuel Smitfc, Adam Anderson and Thomas Coram, Esq'rs. and such other members as might thereafter be appointed ; were vested with powers to purchase and take kinds, to sue, and be sued, to have a common seal, and to choose members of the said corporation on the third Thursday in March year ly, with restraining clauses.

That no member of the said corporation should have any salary, per quisites, fee, benefit or profit whatsoever for acting therein, or have any office, place or employment of profit under said corporation ; with a direction for the said corporation every year to lay an account in writing before the lord chancellor, chief justice of the king's bench, master of the rolls, chief justice of the common pleas, and chief baron of the exchequer, or any two of them, of all monies or effects by them received or expended for carrying on the good purposes aforesaid, with a power to make by-laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances ; and granted a mongst other things to the said corporation and their successors, under the reservations therein mentioned, seven undivided parts (the whole into eight equal parts to be divided) of all those lands, countries and territories, situate, lying and being in that part of South-Carolina in America, which lies from the most northern stream of a river there commonly called Savannah, all along the sea coast to the southward, unto the most southern stream of a certain other great water or 1732. river called the Alatamaha, and westward from the heads of said rivers respectively in direct lines to the south seas ; to have and to hold the same, to them the said corporation and their successors forever, for the better support of the said colony under the yearly rent of four shillings proclama tion money of South-Carolina, for every hundred acres of the said lands forever ; which the said corporation should grant, demise, plant or settle, but not to commence until ten years after such grant, demise, planting or settling : and erected and created the said lands, countries, and territo ries into one independent and seperate province by the name of Georgia, and made the inhabi tants who should reside therein, free and not sub ject to any laws, orders, statutes, or constitutions of South-Carolina, except the commander in chief of the militia : and authorised the said corporation for the term of twenty-one years from the date ©f the said letters patent, to form and pie - pare laws, statutes and ordinances for the govern ment of the said colony, not repugnant to the laws and statutes of England, to be presented under their common seal to his majesty in coun cil, for his approbation or disallowance : and that the said laws so approved of, should be in full force and virtue within the said province : and empowered the common council for the time be ing of the said corporation, or the major part of them, to dispose of, expend and apply, all the monies and effects belonging to the said corpo- 1732. ration, and to make contracts for carrying and effecting the good purposes therein intended : and that they should from time to time appoint a treasurer, and such other officers, ministers and servants of the said corporation, as they should see proper, for the good management of their affairs , and at their pleasure, to remove them and appoint

others in their stead ; and that they should appoint reasonable salaries, perquisites and other rewards, for their labor or services; and that such officers should be sworn, before they act, for the faithful and due execution of their respective offices and places ; and declared, that the treasurer and secretary for the time being, should be incapable of being members of the said corporation : and granted to the said corpo ration that it should be lawful for them, their of ficers and agents, to transport and convey into the said province, such of his majesty's subjects and foreigners, as were willing to go and inhabit and reside there ; and declared all persons born within the said province, and their children and posterity, to be free denizens, as if they had been born within any of his majesty's dominions.

And empowered the said common council, in the name of the corporation, and under their com mon seal, to distribute, convey and assign, and set over such particular portions of the said lands, tenements and hereditaments, unto such of his majesty's subjects, and others, willing to live in the said colony, upon such terms, and for such 1732. estates, and upon such rents, reservations and conditions, as the same might lawfully be granted ; and as to the said common council, or the major part of them, should seem sit and proper ; provided that no grant should be made of any part of the said lands, unto, or in trust for, or for the benefit of any member of the said corporation : and that no greater quantity of the said lands be granted either entirely or in parcels, to, or to the use of, or in trust for any one person, than five hundred acres ; and declared that all grants made contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, should be absolutely null and void.

And granted, that the said corporation for the term of twenty one years from the date of the letters patent, should have powers to erect and constitute judicatures and courts of record, or other courts, to be held in his majesty's name, for the hearing and determining of all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, processes, plaints, actions, matters, causes and things whatsoever, arising or happening within the said province, or between persons inhabiting or residing there, and for awarding and making out executions there upon ; and directed the said corporation to regis ter or cause to be registered, all leases, grants, plantings, conveyances, settlements and improvements whatsoever, as should at anj time be made of any lands, tenements or hereditaments, within the said province ; and yearly transmit authentic accounts thereof, unto the auditor of the plants- 1732: tions, or his deputy, and to the surveyor of Souths Carolina, to inspect and survey the same, to as certain the quit-rents that should become due ac cording to the reservation before mentioned ; but not to have, or take any gratuity, fee or reward, for such survey or inspection, on forfeiture of their offices; with a proviso that all leases, grants or conveyances, to be made of any lands within the said province, or a memorial containing the substance or effect thereof, should be registered with the auditor of the plantations, within one year from the date thereof ; otherwise that the same should be void.

And directed, that all rents, issues or profits, which should come to the said corporation, issuing or arising out of, or from the said province, should be applied in such manner as would most improve and enlarge the said colony, and best answer the good purposes therein mentioned, and for defraying all ether charges about the same ; and directi d the said corporation from time to time, to give in to one of the secreta ries of state, and to the commissioners of trade and plantations, accounts of the progress of the said colony. And directed, that the said common council should from time to time, for the said term of twenty-one years from the date of the said letters patent, have power to appoint all such governors, judges, magistrates, ministers and of. fleers, civil and military, both by sea and land, within the said district, as they should think fit and needful for the government of the said 1732. colony, except such officers as should be appointed for managing, collecting and receiving such of his majesty's revenues as should arise within the said province, with a proviso, that every governor so appointed, should be approved by his majesty, and qualify himself, as of ten as governors in America, are by law re quired to do, and give security for observing the acts of parliament relating to trade and navigation ; and obeying all instruction from his majesty or any acting under his authority, pursuant to the said acts.

And granted, that the said corporation, for the said term of twen ty-one years, from the date of the said letters patent, should have power by any commander or other officer for that purpose appointed, to train, instruct, exercise and govern the militia, for the special defence and safety of the said colony ; to assemble in martial array, and put in war like posture, the inhabitants of the said colony ; and in time of actual war, invasion or rebellion, to use and exercise the law martial, and also to erect forts, and fortify any place or places within the said colony, and the same to furnish with all necessary ammunition, provision and stores of war for offence and defence, and from time to time to commit the custody and government of them to such person or per sons, as to them should seem meet ; declaring that the governor or commander in chief of South-Carolina, should have the chief command 1732; of the militia of Georgia, and that they should observe his orders.

And granted, that the said corporation should have power to import or export their goods, at or from any port or ports that should be appointed by his majesty within the said province for that purpose, without be-» ing obliged to touch at any other port in Caroli na. And declared, that after the end of the said twenty-one years, such form of government and method of making laws, statutes and ordinan ces for the government of the said province and its inhabitants, should be observed and established within the same, as his majesty, his heirs and successors should ordain and appoint, and should be agreeable to law ; and that after the end of the said twenty-one years, the governor and all of ficers, civil and military, within the said province, should be appointed by his majesty, his heirs and successors.

In pursuance of this charter, the trustees (of whom lord Purcival was president) met in London about the middle of July, for the purpose of fixing on some fit person to superintend the settlement of the colony, and to establish rules for its government : and in order to fulfil the intents and purposes therein expressed, it was thought neces cessary for the trustees to send over such poor people and foreign protestants, as were willing to live in Georgia, not only to cultivate the lands, but at the same time to strengthen the other colonies. The inhabitants were to be consid- 1732. ered as planters and soldiers, and were provided with arms for their defence, as well as tools for Cultivation ; and a due portion of attention Wasi occasionally to be turned to the exercise of both. Towns Were to be laid out for their settlements, and lands allotted to each of them for their main* tenance as near to these towns as convenient, that they might never have occasion to be too far distant from their towns, which were to be regarded as their garrisons, so that each man might reach his post of defence at short notice, in case of emergency.

As the military strength of the pro vince was particularly to be taken care of, it was deemed necessary to establish such tenures of lands as might most effectually preserve the num ber of planters, or soldiers, equal to the number Of lots of land within a narrow compass ; there fore each lot of land was to be considered as a military fief, and to contain so much in quantity as should be deemed equal to the support of a plan ter and his family— fifty acres were judged sufficient, and not too much for that purpose, and pro vision was made to prevent an accumulation of several lots into the claim or possession of any 6ne person, lest the garrison should be lessened and the defence weakened ; and likewise to pre vent a division of these lots into smaller parcels, sinee each lot when entire, was deemed no more than sufficient for one planter, but if sub-divided, would be too scanty for a subsistence, and be come useless.

D 1732. In the infancy of the colony, the lands were to be granted in tail male, in preference to any other tenure, as the most likely to answer these purposes ; for if the grants were to be made in tail general, it was thought that the strength of each township would soon be diminished, in as much as every female heir in tail, who was un married, would have been entitled to one lot, and consequently have taken from the garrison the portion of one soldier ; and by intermarriages, several lots might have been united into one ; and if such tenant in tail general, had several daughters, his lot must have been divided equally amongst them as coparceners. Other incon veniencies were thought likely to arise from es tates in tail general : women being incapable of acting as soldiers, or serving on juries ; these duties and many others, such as watchings, ward ings, &.c. would return so much oftener to each man, in proportion as the number of the men in the township was lessened, and by that means become very burthensome to the remaining male lot holders ; and in case of an attack from an ene my, the township would be less able to make a defence ; and as it was not thought proper to grant estates in tail general, it appeared to be more inconvenient to grant them in fee simple, which estate would have been attended with all the objections before mentioned, incident to es tates in tail general.