The life of George M. Troup

Front matter

j-a-TOaijyJ Ci5-;'

THE LIFE aEORaE M. TROUP.

BY

Table Of Contents

CaAPTiir. I. Birth — Parentage — lii.s Boyhood — Academic, Collegiate and Legal Education — Service in the Legislature — Marriage— Death of liis tirst wife, <£c.; Ac 1 — 13.

Chapter II. Earlj' Career as a iniblic man — Election to Congresr — rolitical delations — Traits of Character 1! — 21.

Chapter III. State of the Country— Foreign Rciations— Meeting of Congress in 1SU7— Embargo — Mr. Troup's Speeches — Letter to Jlr. Ilarrif:, and to (!ov. Mitchell — Army Eill— Onnhoat System 22 — i7.

Chapter I

Birth, Parentage, Education, and First Ajyjjearance in Piihlic Life.

By the Charter of the Province, the boundaries of Georgia inchided all that territory " which lies from the most northern part of a stream, or river there, commonly called the Savannah, all along the seacoast to the southward, to the southern stream of a certain other great water or river, called the Alatamaha, and westwardly from the heads of the said rivers respectively, in direct lines to the South seas ; and all that share, circuit and precinct of land, within the said boundaries, with the islands on the sea, lying opposite to the eastern coast of the said lands, within twenty leagues of the same, which are not inhabited already, or settled by any authority derived from the Crown of Great Britain," &c.

By a royal proclamation, dated the seventh day of October, 1763, " all the lands lying between the rivers Alatamaha and St. Mary's," were added to the province of Georgia.

It is hardly necessary to remark that the term " South seas " * conveyed no definite idea of the western boundary of the province, or that the claim under that description never extended, practically, to the west of the Mississippi river. Accordingly, we find that, by the fourth article of the Treaty between the United States and Spain, dated the 27th October, 1795, " it is likewise agreed that the western boundary of the United States which separates them from the Spanish colony of Louisiana, is in the middle of the

* The Pacific Ocean was originally called the Soutli Sea.— Ed.

channel or bed of the river Mississippi, from the northern boundary of the said States to the completion of the thirtyfirst degree of latitude north of the equator." And by the Constitution of the State of Georgia, adopted the 30th day of May, 1798, the boundaries of the State were set out as follows : " that is to say, the limits, boundaries, jurisdiction and authority, of the State of Georgia, do and did, and of right ought to extend from the sea, or the mouth of the river Savannah, along the northern branch or stream thereof, to the fork or confluence of the rivers now called Tugalo and Keowee, and from thence along the most northern branch or stream of the said river Tugalo, till it intersects the northern boundary line of South Carolina, if the said branch or stream of Tugalo extends so far north, reserving all the islands in the said rivers Savannah and Tugalo to Georgia ; but if the head-spring or source of any branch or stream of the said river Tugalo does not extend to the northern boundary line of South Carolina, then a west line to the Mississippi to be drawn from the head-spring or source of the said branch or stream of Tugalo river, which extends to the highest northern latitude ; thence down the middle of the said river Mississippi until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the thirty-iirst degree of north latitude ; south by a line drawn due east from the termination of the line last mentioned, in the latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola or Chattahoochee ; thence along the middle thereof to its junction with Flint river, thence straight to the head of St. Mary's river, and thence along the middle of St. Mary's river to the Atlantic ocean ; and from thence to the mouth or inlet of Savannah river, the place of beginning ; including and comprehending all the lands and waters within the said limits, boundaries and jurisdictional rights ; and also all the islands within twenty leagues of the seacoast."

At the time of Gov. Troup's birth, 8th September, 1780, all the country Avest of the present western boundary of Georgia (except a small portion of "West Florida,) and

Chap. L] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &C. 3

within the limits aforesaid, were within the acknowledged limits of that State. It was within the bounds of the present State of Alabama, then a part of the territory of Georgia, that he was born.

The following letter to Col. Pickett, the historiographer of Alabama, will show this fact and the precise spot of his nativity more clearly. The statement of Col. Pickett having been questioned, he wrote to Gov. Troup on the subject, and received the following reply:

Yaldosta, ITovember 5th, 1852.

Col. A. J. Pickett,

Dear Sir : I have uniformly said to those who have appealed to me for facts connected with the history of persons and things in past time, and particularly such as relate to myself and family, that I have not a scrap of paper in the form of a record, memorial or authentic manuscript, that has been preserved for the purpose, or, indeed, any whatever, to my knowledge, spared by time, or by those yet more active destroyers, rats and mice. I must except the Bible, treasured by every family, and thus saved from the wasting influences of both. I have one of these, an old Oxford edition of 1772, in which is found recorded, in the hand-writing (the most beautiful and legible I ever saw,) of my father, the birth-place of six of his children. I copied this, word for word, into a new family Bible, and now have both before me. The following is a literal extract from the former, and all that appears in my father's hand-writing.

" John Mcintosh Troup, born the od of December, 1778, at Mobile in West Florida.

" George Michael Troup, born at Mcintosh's Blufl', on the river Tombigby, 8th of September, 1780.

" David Troup, born at London, 8th ]S"ovember, 1781.

" Koderick William Troup, born at Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday the 28th of February, 1783, at halfpast three o'clock in the morning.

" Kobert Lachlan Troup, born at Savannah, the day

" John James McGillivray Troup, born at Savannah, the Slstof August, 1786."

You would not receive an historical fact better authenticated. It was the possession of this Bible which emboldened me to send you anything for your history, touching the life of myself and family. Its chronology and register of places rendered it invaluable. It seems that mother or father, or both, were in Mobile in 1778 ; at Mcintosh's Bluff, on the Tombigby, in 1780 ; at London in 1781 ; at Charleston in the early part of 1783 ; at Savannah in 1784, and in Savannah still in 1786 ; and, finally, that having removed from Savannah, he was (although not in his handwriting, but in the hand-writing of his chief clerk, an enlightened and educated man,) in 1778 in Mcintosh county, (old Georgia, if you please,) at his residence called Belleville, where he lived, died, and was buried.

Thus you have, upon what I consider unquestionable evidence, the fact of my birth-place, to which I never ascribed any importance, and in which I could not imagine that any, out of our family, would feel the least interest. I never, for any moment of my life, doubted that I was born on the Tombigby. I was as much a native of Georgia as if born on the southern bank of the Savannah river, where Oglethorpe built his town, whether in possession and under the jurisdiction of Spaniards, Englishmen or Americans. The English occupation was short-lived, and acquired by force. Our constitutional and chartered rights were undoubted, and were never to be surrendered without our consent. The civilians may differ, but, if driven to the wall, I would be a Georgian or Alabamian by the law of Postliminium. You will see that what the registry of the family Bible exhibits, I implicitly adopt. What I had presumed to submit to you from the store-house of my frail memory, I deemed unreliable, and already T think that errors may be detected in that part which relates to the connection and alliances between the different branches of the Mclntoshes — a part which could only have been learned from my family and their friends, and in my earlier life.

Chap. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &C. 5

Major William Mclutosb, of Savannah, son of Col. John, and brother of the late Colonel who fell so gallantly imder the walls of Mexico, can, better than anybody else, make the correction, and, if they interest yon at all, you can use them as you please. There have been other mistakes besides the birth-place, and more amusing. Some of my kind friends, to assure themselves of my personal identity, have set me down in print and in writing with a middle name which I do not answer to, and Mcintosh has been preferred to Michael, on account, I presume, of my mother's name and genealogy, and my knov/n connection with that family.

But certainly I have written enough on this subject, writing from a sick bed, and snatching intervals of pain. First, your urgent request ; second, the claims of truth, even in little things ; and third, the gratification of gratifying the rational and harmless curiosity of esteemed friends, will be my apology, which will, I think, have been anticipated before you come to it. Yet I cannot close it without saying that my friend. Col. J. W. Jackson, had written a memoir, published in White's Statistics of Georgia, in which he not only eschews the mistake, but gives the true place and time as if from the original. lio man is more sensitive to every omission or departure from truth, and it would have pained him to have committed the most innocent error. This work, entirely of his own observation and research, according to the best lights extant, (I could aflord him nothing,) was the offspring of an affluence of friendship, was penned with a sedulous regard to matter of fact, and lofty disdain of everything that would savor of flattery or embellishment. Whilst he has most happily succeeded in the first, he may not, with all his care, have been so entirely successful in the last ; but, as far as it goes, and as far as it purposed, it is a true history, and greatly better than any I could have written myself, and has saved me a vast deal of trouble.

Very truly and respectfully, your friend,

G. M. Troup.

P. S. It surprised me exceedingly, tliat you should have found among the old white Indian traders, any memorial or tradition of our family, although we had an uncle who was one of them — an uncle on our mother's side, and named Mcintosh — a very respectable man, I believe, for I never saw him but once, when a very small boy, he came from the Nation on a visit to my mother. Pie must have been the son of Capt. John, of Mcintosh Bluif. It is yet more remarkable they should have corroborated our Bible, as they assuredly did, when they said I was taken from the Tombigby when I was two or three years old. A few years after, I was a child at school with Miss Stuart at Savannah. G. M. T.

The reader having been thus introduced to Major W. J. Mcintosh, of Savannah, we prefer to continue this narrative in his own words, reduced to writing at the request of the author, and bearing date

Savannah, 1st February, 1858.

Dear Sir : In compliance with your request respecting my recollections of the early life of the late Gov. Troup, of Georgia, I will reply briefly and as accurately as I can in connection with his family, but must go back prior to the first settlement of Georgia by its founder. General Oglethorpe, to trace his descent, especially on his mother's side, whose family was a branch of the Mclntoshes of Borlam, Inverness, Scotland; and I feel myself also called on by Gov. Troup, in a letter to Col. A. J. Pickett, the historian of Alabama, tv state the connection of the two families. And this induces me, necessarily, to introduce the name of Mcintosh so prominently, in speaking of this truly great and good man.

Of his father's descent or history I know but little ; though, when a young boy, I was often in his house, a playmate of his sons, at his residence called Belleville, a beautiful site on Sapelo river in the county of Mcintosh — • which name it still bears, but long since passed from the proprietorship of his family. The axe, neglect, and the

Chap. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &C. 7

ravages of time have left it but a faint picture of what it was when forest-clad, and under the improving hand of Mr. Troup. Here he became a planter, here he died, and here his remains were interred. He bore the reputation of a well-bred and honorable gentleman, born and educated in England ; and at one period of his life was extensively and successfully engaged in commerce, but was never for any length of time 3onfined to one locality. He married Catharine, the daughter of Captain John Mcintosh, and we find from an old, well-preserved Bible — ■ the family record — that although Mr, Troup had six sons, no two were born in the same place, except the two youngest. ^ * * -if

These sons are all deceased. The Governor, who survived his brothers, was called George Mcintosh Troup, from his known connection with the family, instead of George Michael, his real middle nime. His eldest brother it was who bore the name of Mslntosh after his grandfather. The initial of their middle names being the same, the imimportant mistake was easily made, but was never adopted or sanctioned by the Governor himself.

Mr. Troup, the father, married, as before stated, Catharine, the daughter of Captain John Mcintosh, brother of the eccentric Captain Roderick Mcintosh, of the British army, commonly called Rory, with whom the late Mr. John Couper, of St. Simon's Island, a distinguished and intelligent planter, was well acquainted during the Revolutionary war, and of whom he gives some amusing anecdotes in White's Historical Collections. Mrs. Troup's father and his eccentric brother were relations of John More Mcintosh, the progenitor of the name in Georgia, and who served under General Oglethorpe, as commander of the Highlanders, in their battles with the troops of Spain in Georgia and in Florida. Many of this clan suifered severely in the Rebellion of 1715 and in that of '45, in consequence of their adhesion to the interest of the Stuarts, and taking up arms in their cause under the Earl of Mar against the Hanoverian succession to the crown of England ; not because those

8 LITE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Chap. I.

Highlanders believed in the " Divine right '' of their kings, but the right to war against the usurpation of a throne, the rightful heir to which they believed to be a descendant of the House of Stuart.

Captain John Mcintosh had also a son, William, brother of Mrs. Troup, and who was a captain in the British army, and also an agent of that government, under Col. Stuart, to the Muscogee or Creek nation of Indians during the Eevolutionary war, and who was the father of the Indian Chief, Gen. William Mcintosh, the friend of civilization among his own people, and the friend of Georgia, and who won for himself a Brigadier's commission from the United States, by bravely fighting against and subduing the hostile Indian tribes in Georgia, in Alabama and in Florida, under Gen. Jackson. This warrior-chief had a brother named after liis grand-uncle, the eccentric Captain Rory, and who, it has been said, was in council what his brother was in the field. These men were the first (Indian) cousins of Gov. Troup, and it was remarked of their father, the Governor's uncle, that he was a " brave and generous man, and was qualified, physically and morally, to have figured in the most desperate strife." This gentleman, after the Revolutionary war, m^arried a sister of the late Gen. John Mcintosh, of the Revolution, which drew closer the connecting tie of the two families.

The father * of Gov. Troup, though often removing from place to place, was a lover of books, and had secured a well selected little library for his residence at Belleville, where his son George received the rudiments of his early education, under the guidance of a private tutor and the eye of his father ; and in this library, where he had free access, he acquired the taste for reading, and that delight in books, not usual with boys of his age. His hours of relaxation from study were spent with his horse, his dogs and his gun, in the use of which he was indulged by his father, his oldest

* It seems that this gentleman was at one time engaged in mercantile business at Charleston, S. C, and Sunbury, Ga., with Col. John Baker, of Liberty county, who died in the year 1792.— Ed.

Chap. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &c. §

brother having died early, and the others being too .young to participate fully in their enjoyment. He was afterwards sent to school in Savannah, and, at a proper age, to Erasmus Hall, an academy then of great repnte in Flatbush, on Long Island, New York, where many youths of the South were educated ; at the head of which was Doctor Peter Wilson, an elderly and religious Scotch gentleman of great learning, afterwards of Columbia College in the city of New York.

The Doctor was a stern, unbending Republican, much respected by the students ; and many of them here doubtless took their bia?, and imbibed their predilections in favor of the cause he was known to espouse ; and during the contest for the Presidency, between Mr. Adams and Mr. Jefferson, and when the excitement was high and boisterous in Flatbush, amongst the village politicians, there were frequent gatherings to discuss the claims of the candidates. "When these were seen, and yonng Troup could by any means be present, there he would be, amongst the old nien, ready to engage in argument, and could scarcely be restrained by older heads and less excited friends, from mingling in the crowd and taking part in the discussion, unmindful or I'cgardless of the danger to which his youth and fiery zeal in favor of Mr. Jefferson, would expose him, I was at Flatbush with him, and frequently witnessed the great concern he manifested for the success of the Republican candidate.

He was of a slender frame, fair complexion, good figure, and rather handsome ; of a feeling heart, and susceptible of the kindest emotions. He was studious, and of a warm temperament, polite and friendly to his fellow-students, but never seemed to have formed any close, boyish or bosom friendships, so common among youths of his age ; inclined to taciturnity and reflection, though not backward in the enjoyment of the manlier sports of the time. He was exceedingly tenacious of his honor ; and any reflection calculated to impair it, would be instantly met by a pungent reproof, in a seemingly quiet way, yet sufficiently significant of his determination, if the insult were not 2 retracted, to proceed to extreme measures ; and his decision of character was so well known, that he never had the trouble of doing more. I never knew him to be concerned in any senseless, wicked or mischievous act, that would reflect discredit on his name, or involve him in unpleasant scrapes, which were common enough then and there ; and when he thought himself sufficiently advanced in his studies for college, he left Erasmns Hall, for Princeton, with an unsullied reputation. It was supposed, by his associates, that he woitld not look higher, on entering college, than the Sophomore class; but they were soon surprised, on learning, that, without difficulty, he became a member of the Junior class ; and in due time he graduated with distinction.

He returned to Georgia, and commenced the study of law in Mr. Noel's office in Savannah ; and, whilst so engaged, he wrote many political essays, over the signature of Z, much admired as coming from so young a man. About this time, he was appointed, by his friend and patron, Gen. James Jackson, then Governor of Georgia, and the scourge of evil-doers, his Aid, with the tit'o of Colonel, then considered more honorable than now, from the indiscriminate manner in which the title is conferred.

Emerging from his minority, in 1801, he was elected to the Legislature, where he at once occupied a high position. In 1804, he removed to Bryan county, having previously married Miss McCormick ; and, as soon as constitutionally eligible, was elected to Congress, of which he was a member until 1815, when he retired to private life. His support was given to the administrations of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison ; and he possessed the entire confidence of both these eminently great men, and was chairman of the committee on Military Affairs during the war — a position arduous and of great responsibility.

In the year 1809,""' having been a widower for some

* The exact Jats of Col. Troup's second marriage was the 8th of November, 1809. The fact w.ia thus announced in the Savannah Keptiblican. of 25th November. 1S09:

Chap. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, iic. |1

years, and without children, he married Miss Carter, a lady of Virginia, by whom he had six children, three of whom, two daughters and a son, arrived at maturity. The eldest daughter married Thomas Br3'an, Esq. ; by which union there were born to Gov. Troup several grand-children.

I find that I have already gone beyond the limit of your request, to wit, my recollection of Gov. Troup's early life, the characteristics of his boyhood, &;c., &c. I trust an exact and impartial history of his public life, services and character, may soon be accessible to all.

Truly, your friend and obedient servant,

W. J. McIntosh.

The precise year of Gov. Troup's graduation at Princeton, was 1797, one year after that of his cotemporary, Judge Berrien, and two before that of Mr. Forsyth. On his return to^Georgia, he entered the law olfice of the Hon. John Y. Noel, at Savannah. On the 29th day of May, 1800, he was admitted, before the Superior Court of Chatham county, the Hon. Thomas P. Carnes presiding, to plead and practice, as an attorney, solicitor and proctor, in the several courts of law and equity in the State, on the certificate of Thomas Gibbons, Chayles Harris and William B. Bulloch, Esquires, stating, that, " after due examination, we conceive him fully entitled to admission, and recommend him accordingly." It does not appear that he ever practiced law to any extent. Even had his taste lain in that direction, his early connection with political and public life would have interfered with the duties and calls of a profession, requiring, for its active pursuit, all the zeal -^and energy of early manhood and mature life. In 1800, he declined an election to the Legislature, (at the call of the Republican

"Alexandria, Nov. 11.

'• Jfairied, on the 8th instant, by the Kev. Mr. Gibson, tieorgc M. Troup, Esq., member of the Ilouse of Kepresentative s from Georgia, to the amiable and accomplished Miss Ann Carter. daughter of the late George Carter, Esq."

Besides Florida, (the wife of Thomas M. Forman, Eaq.,) who died several years before iiejfather. Col. Troup left, by this marriage, two other children — Oralio, who is yet living, and George M., who died within two years after the decease of his father. Mrs. Troup died in May, 1828, many years before the Governor.— Ed.

party of Chatham county,) on account of his minority. In 1801, he consented to serve, and was elected a Kepresentative ; and he was re-elected to the same post, in 1802, and again in 1803. The General Assembly then sat at Louisville ; and there, on the 30th of October, 1803, he was married to Miss Ann St. Clare McCorraick, eldest daughter of Dr. James McCormick, then late of that place. In 1804, he removed to the county of Bryan, and settled at a place, near Hardwicke, now known as Troup's Old Field. x\t this place, he had the misfortune to lose his wife, on 30th September, 1801r, less than a year after his marriage.* The exact length of his residence in Bryan county is not known ; but the county records show, that, in the year 1805. he was placed, by the Inferior Court, on the list of those owning slaves liable to do road duty, and that he was also put on the grand jur}'- list ; though the minutes of the Court do not show that he was drawn, or that he ever served, as a juror. It was probably because of his domestic loss, that he returned to Savannah, where he seems to have been residing at his election to Congress in 1806.

We may close this portion of the narrative, by remarking, that if, as a boy, his manner was reserved and unobtrusive, so, when he came to act a part in tlie drama of life, he seems to have been unconscious of possessing those qualities which endeared him to his fcUow-citizens, and which were fitting him to pass, with honor, through scenes as trying as they were checkered.

From Pickett's History of Alabama, (vol. 2, beginning

* The circumstancBS connectad with the death of this lady, possess a melancholy interrst, and may not be out of pltice here. Colonel Troup had prepared himself for a life of conju{.;al happiness, and had fitted up his house with the luxuries as well as the comforts of life. Mis. Troup having been taken suddenly ill, a physician was sought in vain. As the only resort, a neighbor, who had considerable experience in blood-letting, was sent for, as the Bympton.'S seemed to warrant the belief that bleeding would relieve the patient. On his arrival, the nsigiibor proceeded to bind up the arm, and was about to apply the lancet, when, in his anxiety, Col. Troup asked : " W s, do you think you can bleed her?" The reply was, " No!"

The arm was immediately unbound, and the patient died. It seems that the question of the anxious husband conveyed to the mind of the proposed operator, a doubt whether the operation would be successfully performed ; and, to use the language of the latter, so " unmanned" him as to destroy his confidence in his own skill. In relating these facts to the writer, nearly fifty years after their occurrence, the gentleman, to whom reference is made, did not eeem to entertain any doubt that venesection would have relieved the patient— Ed.

Chap. I.] BIRTH, PARENTAGE, &c. 13

at page 198,) published in 1851, we make the following extract :

" At the close of our last chapter, it was stated that the first American Court held in Alabama, was at Mcintosh Bluff, which is situated upon the western bank of the Tombigby, between its confluence with the Alabama and the town of St. Stephen's. Connected with this Bluff, there is, to us, a pleasing historical reminiscence. Alabama has the honor of being the birth-place of George M. Troup, late Governor of Georgia, and who is one of the most vigorous and expressive political and epistolary writers of the age. His grandfather, Captain John Mcintosh, the chief of the Mcintosh clan, was long attached to the army of West Florida ; and his valuable services were rewarded, by the King of England, with the grant of Mcintosh Bluff, and extensive tracts of land upon the Mississippi. He had a son, who was also a British officer, and a daughter, a native of Georgia. The latter, while on a visit to England, married an officer of the royal army, named Troup. She sailed from England to Mobile, and, arriving at the latter place, entered a barge, and went up the Tombigby river to the residence of her father, at Mcintosh Bluff, where, in the wilds of Alabama, Governor Troup was born, in September, 1780."

An article has recently appeared in a Georgia newspaper, from which the following is extracted :

" A paper was published in Louisville, Jefferson county, prior to 1800, by Ambrose Day. It was called the Louisville Gazette & Reviiblican Trumpet^ and George M. Troup, at that time a lawyer in Savannah, contributed to its editorial columns, althougli not generally known as the editor."

Having no reason to question the correctness of the above, in other respects, it is yet certain that Colonel Troup was not admitted to the Bar until 1800.

14: LIFE OF GEORGE M. TROUP. [Chap. II.

CHAPTEE II.

Earlij Career an a Publir Man.

Theke is every reason to believe that tlie subject of tliis memoir would have become eminent in the higher branches of the legal profession, had he devoted his manhood to the study and practice of law. Such was the opinion of his legal preceptor, a gentleman of distinction and of great acquirements in the science, and who was well qualified to form a proper judgment of the mental capacity of his student. The rigid course of preparation then necessary to bring a young man forward as a candidate for professional honors and emolument, favored the development of those qualities which are necessary to the successful practice of a science, in which, although many accumulate property, comparatively few acquire a solid or lasting reputation. The progress of this history will tend only to strengthen the opinion thus formed of Gov. Troup's talents, at a time when the future statesman contemplated probably little more than the strifes of the forum, and the promotion which, especially in a free Government, attends the career of the diligent and well-trained lawyer. His retirement from the bar, at an early period after his admission, was owing, perhaps, as much to want of taste for forensic display, as to the times when he graduated as a lawyer, and which were calculated to draw into the service of the State young men of talents and patriotism. His habits were always retiring ; yet, the probability is, that, in weighing the chances of usefulness to the ])ublic, he settled down into a conviction that he could be more serviceable in political life ; the more especially, as it was one from which, v/ithout injury to private interests, he could at any moment retire — as he always did — whenever no public emergency seemed to render his services necessary. That he deferred much to the j udgraent