speech. After this, an alliance was concluded, and presents exchanged; which consisted, on the part of the Indians, of dressed skins; and, on that of Oglethorpe, of guns, red and blue cloth, powder, bullets, knives, and small whetstones; and, among the women he distributed linen and woolen garments, ear-rings, chains, beads, &c.
This business being despatched, the General called the freemen together, and communicated to them the contents of the letters which he had received from the Governor of St. Augustine; and this he did to prevent the ill impression that vague conjecture and idle reports might occasion, and then, in compliance with the requisition of the Governor of St. Augustine that hostile intrusion on the Spanish settlements might be prevented, he immediately fitted out a periagua and the marine boat, with men and provisions for three months; together with arms, ammunition, and tools, to sail to the southward, and cruise along the English side of the St. John’s, in order to detect and prevent any lawless persons from sheltering themselves there, and thence molesting his Catholic Majesty’s subjects, and to restrain the Indians.
This expedition was conducted by Captain Hermsdorff, who was to leave Major Richard and Mr. Horton his attendant, at some place on the Florida shore, whence they could proceed to St. Augustine to wait on the Governor with the despatches. The purport of these was to acquaint him, that, “being greatly desirous to remove all occasions of uneasiness upon the frequent complaints by his Excellency of hostile incursions upon the Spanish dominions, armed boats had been sent to patrol the opposite borders of the river, and prevent all passing over by Indians or marauders. The gentlemen were also directed to render him the thanks of General Oglethorpe for his civilities, and to express his inclination for maintaining a good harmony between the subjects of both crowns.”[1]
[Footnote 1: MOORE’S _Voyage_, p. 79.]
On the 22d of May, 1736, a respectable deputation of the Uchee Indians, from the neighborhood of Ebenezer, waited upon the General at St. Simons. They had painted themselves with various colors, and were dressed in their richest costume. Being introduced to him in the large apartment of the magazine store, the Indian King made a long speech; after which an alliance was entered into, and pledge presents interchanged.[1] This treaty was a very important one, because the Uchees claimed the country above Augusta to the border of the Creeks, and a portion below adjoining the Yamacraws; because they were an independent tribe, having no alliance with the others; and because they had been a little dissatisfied with the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer.
[Footnote 1: URLSPURGER, I. 844, and Appendix No. XIX.]
On the first of June intelligence was received that Major Richard and Mr. Horton, instead of being received as commissioned delegates, had been arrested and made prisoners at St. Augustine. Not explaining to the satisfaction of the Governor and his Council the situation of the forts and the design of the military force that was stationed in them, they were detained in custody, till Don Ignatio Rosso, Lieutenant Colonel of the garrison, with a detachment of men had made personal investigations; who, after an absence of five days, returned and reported that the islands were all fortified, and appeared to be filled with men; and that the shores were protected by armed boats. A council of war was then held, and it was resolved to send back Major Richard and Mr. Horton, and their suit, and with them an embassy, consisting of Charles Dempsey, Esq., Don Pedro Lamberto, Captain of the Horse, and Don Manuel D’Arcy, Adjutant of the garrison, with intimations that this formidable array was unnecessary. By private information, however, Oglethorpe was led to infer that, notwithstanding the fair professions that had been made by the Spaniards, there were evidently measures concerted to increase their forces, to procure guns and ammunition, and to arm the Florida Indians.[1]
[Footnote 1: MOORE’S _Voyage_, p. 79.]
In consequence of these and other indications that the Spaniards were commencing preparations for dislodging the English settlers, the General took all possible precautionary measures for repelling them. The fort and works on St. Simons were completed in the best manner, and a battery was erected on the east point of the island, which projects into the ocean. This commanded the entrance of Jekyl sound in such manner that all ships that come in at this north entry must pass within shot of the point, the channel lying directly under it.
St. Andrew’s fort, on Cumberland Island, with its munition of ordnance and garrison of well-disciplined soldiers, was much relied upon as a mean of defence; and even the outpost at St. George’s, on the north side and near the mouth of St. John’s river, was deemed of no inconsiderable importance as a check, at least, upon any attempted invasion by the Spaniards, and as serving to prevent their going through the inner passages.
In the month of July the General visited Savannah, to attend to affairs there, and to hold a conference with a Committee of the General Assembly of South Carolina respecting the Indian trade, which they charged him with aiming to monopolize, to the disallowance of their traders.
It may be necessary here to state, that, as the boundaries of Georgia separated the Indians on the west side of the Savannah river from the confines of South Carolina, they must be admitted as in affinity with the new Colony. At any rate, Oglethorpe deemed it so expedient to obtain their consent to the settlement of his people, and their good will was so essential to a secure and peaceful residence, that his earliest care had been to make treaties of alliance with them. That these treaties should include agreements for mutual intercourse and trade, seemed to be, not only a prudential, but an indispensable provision; particularly as Tomo Chichi and the Micos of the Creeks, who went with him to England, had requested that some stipulations might be made relative to the quantity, quality, and prices of goods, and to the accuracy of weights and measures, in what was offered for the purchase of their buffalo hides, and deer-skins and peltry.[1] Whereupon the Trustees proposed certain regulations of trade, designed to prevent in future those impositions of which the Indians complained. To carry these into effect, it was thought right that none should be permitted to trade with the Indians but such as had a license, and would agree to conduct the traffic upon fair and equitable principles. The Carolina traders, not being disposed to apply for a permit, nor to subject themselves to such stipulations and restrictions, were disallowed by the Georgia Commissary, who held a trading house among the Creeks.[2] This was resented by them, and their complaints to the Provincial Assembly led to the appointment of the Committee just referred to, and whose conference with Oglethorpe was held at Savannah on the 2d of August, 1736.[3] In their printed report they lay down these fundamental principles. “The Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and Catawba Indians, at the time of the discovery of this part of America, were the inhabitants of the lands which they now possess, and have ever since been deemed and esteemed the friends and allies of his Majesty’s English subjects in this part of the Continent. They have been treated with as allies, but not as subjects of the crown of Great Britain; they have maintained their own possessions, and preserved their independency; nor does it appear that they have by conquest lost, nor by cession, compact, or otherwise, yielded up or parted with, those rights to which, by the laws of nature and nations, they were and are entitled.”
[Footnote 1: McCALL, Vol. I. p. 46.]
[Footnote 2: Capt. FREDERICK McKAY, in a letter to THOMAS BROUGHTON, Esq., Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, dated July 12,1735, written to justify his conduct as Indian Commissary, in turning out four traders who would not conform to the rules stipulated in the licenses, has the following remarks on the difficulties which he had to encounter: “It was impracticable to get the traders to observe their instructions, while some did undersell the others; some used light, others heavy weights; some bribed the Indians to lay out their skins with them, others told the Indians that their neighboring traders had heavy weights, and stole their skins from them, but that they themselves had light weights, and that their goods were better.”]
[Footnote 3: “_Report of the Committee appointed to examine into the proceedings of the people of Georgia, with respect to the Province of South Carolina, and the disputes subsisting between the two Colonies_.” 4to. Charlestown, 1736, p. 121.
This tract was printed by Lewis Timothy. There was no printer in Carolina before 1730, and this appears to have been one of the earliest productions of the Charlestown press, in the form of a book. RICH’s _Bibliotheca Americana Nova_, p. 53.]
“The Committee cannot conceive that a charter from the crown of Great Britain can give the grantees a right or power over a people, who, to our knowledge, have never owned any allegiance, or acknowledged the sovereignty of the crown of Great Britain, or any Prince in Europe; but have indiscriminately visited and traded with the French, Spaniards, and English, as they judged it most for their advantage; and it is as difficult to understand how the laws of Great Britain, or of any Colony in America, can take place, or be put in execution in a country where the people never accepted of, nor submitted to, such laws; but have always maintained their freedom, and have adhered to their own customs and manners without variation or change.”
Hence the Committee inferred that the Regulations which were passed by the Trustees, could not be binding upon the Indians, nor serve to effect any exclusive trade with them. Oglethorpe acknowledged this independency of the Indians; and asserted that, in perfect consistency with it, they had entered into a treaty of alliance with the Colony of Georgia; and, having themselves indicated certain terms and principles of traffic, these were adopted and enjoined by the Trustees; and this was done, not to claim authority over the Indians, nor to control their conduct, but to indicate what was required of those who should go among them as traders.
In answer to the allegations that the Carolina traders had been excluded, he declared that, in granting licenses to trade with the Indians, he refused none of the Carolina traders who conformed to the Act, and gave them the same instructions as had been given by the Province of Carolina.[1] He also declared that he had given, and should always continue to give, such instructions to the Georgia traders, as had formerly been given by the Province of South Carolina to theirs; and in case any new instructions given by the Province of South Carolina to their traders shall be imparted, and appear to him for the benefit of the two Provinces, he would add them to the instructions of the Georgia traders; and, finally, that, pursuant to the desire of the Committee, he would give directions to all his officers and traders among the Indians, in their talk and discourses to make no distinction between the two Provinces, but to speak in the name and behalf of his Majesty’s subjects[2].
[Footnote 1: “To protect the natives against insults, and establish a fair trade and friendly intercourse with them, were regulations which humanity required, and sound policy dictated. But the rapacious spirit of individuals could be curbed by no authority. Many advantages were taken of the ignorance of Indians in the way of traffic.” RAMSAY’s _History of South Carolina_, Vol. I. p. 48. For other particulars stated by him, respecting the trade with the Indians, see p. 89,104.]
[Footnote 2: _Report of the Committee_, &c., p. 106, 107.]
It seems, however, that the Committee were not satisfied; primarily because licenses were required, and especially that they must come through the hands of the Governor of Georgia.
In a few days after this conference Oglethorpe returned to Frederica. On the latter part of September he renewed the commission of the Honorable Charles Dempsey, impowering him to state to the Governor of St. Augustine terms for a conventional adjustment of the misunderstanding between the two Provinces. This he eventually effected, and a treaty was concluded on the 27th of October following, much more conciliatory, on the part of the Spaniards, than he had expected. This, however, proved ineffectual, and the pleasing anticipations of restored harmony which it seemed to authorize, were shortly frustrated by a message from the Governor of St. Augustine to acquaint him that a Spanish Minister had arrived from Cuba, charged with a communication which he desired an opportunity of delivering in person. At a conference which ensued, the Commissioner peremptorily required that Oglethorpe and his people should immediately evacuate all the territory to the southward of St. Helena’s Sound, as that belonged to the King of Spain, who was determined to vindicate his right to it. He refused to listen to any argument in support of the English claim, or to admit the validity of the treaty which had lately been signed, declaring that it had erred in the concessions which had been made. He then unceremoniously departed, with a repetition of his demand, accompanied with menaces.
Perceiving that the most vigorous measures, and a stronger defensive force than the Province could supply, would be necessary to overawe the hostile purposes displayed by Spain, or repel them if put in execution, Oglethorpe resolved to represent the state of affairs to the British Ministers, and straightway embarking, set sail for England.[1] He arrived at the close of the year; and, presenting himself before the Board of Trustees, “received an unanimous vote of thanks, as he had made this second, as well as his first expedition to Georgia, entirely at his own expense.”[2]
[Footnote 1: HEWATT, II. 47, and GRAHAM, III. 200, _totidem verbis_.]
[Footnote 2: _London Magazine_, October, 1757, p. 545.]
CHAPTER X.
Delegation of the Missionaries–JOHN WESLEY stationed at Savannah–Has a conference with Tomo Chichi–His Preaching deemed personal in its applications–He becomes unpopular–Meets with persecution–Leaves the Province and returns to England–CHARLES WESLEY attends Oglethorpe to Frederica–Finds himself unpleasantly situated–Furnished with despatches for the Trustees, he sets out for Charlestown, and thence takes passage for England–By stress of weather the Vessel driven off its course–Puts in at Boston, New England–His reception there–Sails thence for England–After a perilous voyage arrives–BENJAMIN INGHAM also at Frederica–Goes to Savannah to apprize John Wesley of the sickness of his brother–Resides among the Creeks in order to learn their language–Returns to England–CHARLES DELAMOTTE at Savannah–Keeps a School–Is much respected–GEORGE WHITEFIELD comes to Savannah–His reception–Visits Tomo Chichi, who was sick–Ministerial labors–Visits the Saltzburgers–Pleased with their provision for Orphan Children–Visits Frederica and the adjacent Settlements–Returns to England–Makes a second voyage to Georgia, and takes efficient measures for the erection of an Orphan House.
In order to show circumstantially the progress of colonization, by following Oglethorpe with his new and large accession of emigrants and military forces to their destined places of settlement on the borders of the Alatamaha and the southern islands, all mention of the reception and treatment of the Wesleys, whom he had brought over as religious missionaries, has been deferred. The relation is introduced now, as a kind of episode.
The delegation of these pious evangelists was encouraged by flattering suggestions, and acceded to with the most raised expectations; and its objects were pursued by them with untiring zeal and unsparing self-devotedness, through continual hindrances. The opposition which they met was encountered with “all long-suffering and patience;” but their best efforts were unavailing; “and their mission closed, too speedily, in saddened disappointment.”
I. JOHN WESLEY, though stationed at Savannah, did not consider himself so much a Minister to the inhabitants as a missionary to the Indians. Whenever he mentioned his uneasiness at being obstructed in his main design, he was answered “You cannot leave Savannah without a Minister.” To this he rejoined, “My plain answer is, I know not that I am under any obligations to the contrary. I never promised to stay here one month. I openly declared, both before, and ever since my coming hither, that I neither would nor could take charge of the English any longer than till I could go among the Indians.” It was rejoined, “But did not the Trustees of Georgia appoint you to be Minister at Savannah?” He replied, “They did; but it was done without either my desire or knowledge. Therefore I cannot conceive that that appointment could lay me under any obligation of continuing here longer than till a door is opened to the Heathen; and this I expressly declared at the time I consented to accept that appointment[1].”
[Footnote 1: _Life of Rev_. JOHN WESLEY, A.M., _in which is included the Life of his Brother_ CHARLES WESLEY, A.M. _By Rev_. HENRY MOORE. _Lond_. 1824, 2 vols. 8vo. Vol. I. p. 310.]
Oglethorpe had been so impressed with what he had seen of the natives, that he had written home that “a door seemed opened for the conversion of the Indians.” These favorable expectations were greatly increased by the visit to England of Tomo Chichi and his train. They seemed to be fully authorized by the declarations which were made by them to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and other clergy; and they appeared to be put in a train of accomplishment by the interest taken for facilitating that purpose by the manual of instruction for the Indians which was preparing by Bishop Wilson. But when Tomo Chichi came to welcome the Governor on his arrival, and was introduced to the intended teacher, it appeared that unforeseen obstacles had arisen. “I am glad you are come,” said the Mico, addressing him through the female interpreter. “When I was in England I desired that some would speak the great word to me; and our people then desired to hear it; but now we are all in confusion. The French on one side, and the Spanish on the other, and the Traders in the midst, have caused us much perplexity; and made our people unwilling. Their ears are shut. Their tongues are divided, and some say one thing, and some another. But I will call together our chiefs, and speak to the wise men of our nation, and I hope they will hear. But we would not be, made Christians as the Spaniards make Christians. We would be taught; and then, when we understand all clearly, be baptized.”[1] There was good sense in this remark. They would be informed of the evidences of the truth of Christianity, and have its principles and doctrines explained to them, and its precepts, tendency, and design illustrated; and hence be enabled to adopt it from conviction. This they would do, when they were made to understand how it was a divine revelation, and saw its effects in the life of its professors. But the reply of Wesley was not simple enough to be comprehended by him. It was this; “There is but one,–He that sitteth in the heaven,–who is able to teach man wisdom. Though we are come so far, we know not whether He will please to teach you by us, or no. If He teaches you, you will learn wisdom; but we can do nothing.” All the inference which the poor Indian could draw from this was, that he who had come as a religious teacher disclaimed his own abilities, and referred to a divine Instructer, of whom the Mico could know nothing as yet, by whom alone the converting knowledge was to be communicated.
[Footnote 1: Account of the Settlement of the Saltzburg Emigrants at Ebenezer, in Georgia. By Philip George Frederic von Reck. Hamburgh, 1777. 12mo, p. 7.]
Moreover, he had been an observer of the disposition and conduct of those who called themselves Christians; and, at another interview with Wesley, when urged to listen to the doctrines of Christianity, and become a convert, he keenly replied, “Why these are Christians at Savannah! Those are Christians at Frederica!” Nor was it without good reason that he exclaimed, “Christians drunk! Christians beat men! Christians tell lies! Me no Christian.”
Scenawki, however, had more courtesy. She presented the Missionaries with two large jars of honey, and one of milk; and invited them to come up to Yamacraw, and teach the children, saying, the honey represented the inclination of the people there, and the milk the need of their children. What a beautiful illustration of the mode of teaching practised by the Apostle! “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat;” adapting the instruction to the capacity of those to whom it was imparted, and “as they were able to receive it,” could properly digest it, “and be nourished thereby.”
Other conferences effected little; and as Mrs. Musgrove did not reside at Yamacraw, and could not often assist him as an interpreter; and, perhaps, could not readily make perspicuous in the Indian dialect what was somewhat more mystical than even his English hearers could comprehend, his cherished purposes for the conversion of the Indians seemed to be thwarted. Besides, the condition of the people at Savannah was such as to require clerical services, and he gave himself wholly to them.
For some time his labors as a preacher promised to be successful; “and all would have been well,” says Southey, “could he but have remembered the advice of Dr. Burton.” This was contained in a letter addressed to him a few days before embarking for Georgia. Among other things, this excellent friend suggested to him that, under the influence of Mr. Oglethorpe, giving weight to his endeavors, much may be effected in the present undertaking; and goes on to remark; “With regard to your behavior and manner of address, these must be determined according to the different circumstances of persons, &c.; but you will always, in the use of means, consider the great end; and, therefore, your applications will of course vary. You will keep in view the pattern of the Gospel preacher, St. Paul, who ‘became all things to all men, that he might save some.’ Here is a nice trial of christian prudence. Accordingly, in every case you will distinguish between what is indispensable, and what is variable; between what is divine, and what is of human authority. I mention this, because men are apt to deceive themselves in such cases; and we see the traditions and ordinances of men frequently insisted on with more rigor than the commandments of God, to which they are subordinate. Singularities of less importance, are often espoused with more zeal than the weighty matters of God’s law. As in all points we love ourselves, so, especially, in our hypotheses. Where a man has, as it were, a property in a notion, he is most industrious to improve it, and that in proportion to the labor of thought he has bestowed upon it; and, as its value rises in imagination, he is, in proportion, unwilling to give it up, and dwells upon it more pertinaciously than upon considerations of general necessity and use. This is a flattering mistake, against which we should guard ourselves.”
Unmindful of such counsel, the eagerness of Wesley to effect reformation was pressed too precipitately and carried too far. His sermons had such direct reference, not only to the state of affairs, but the conduct of individuals, that they were shrunk from as personal allusions. His zeal was excessive, and his practice exclusive.[1]
[Footnote 1: Mr. SOUTHEY has this remark–“He was accused of making his sermons so many satires upon particular persons; and for this cause his auditors fell off; for though one might have been very well pleased to hear others preached at, no person liked the chance of being made the mark himself.”–Moreover, “following the rubric, in opposition to the practice of the English church, he insisted upon baptizing children by immersion, and refused to baptize them if the parents did not consent to this rude and perilous method. Some persons he would not receive as sponsors, because they were not communicants; and when one of the most pious men in the Colony earnestly desired to be admitted to the communion, he refused to admit him because he was a Dissenter, unless he would be rebaptized. And he would not read the burial service over another for the same reason, or one founded on the same principle.” _Life of_ WESLEY, _by_ ROBERT SOUTHEY, _New York edition_, 1820. Vol. I. p. 108.–Instances of personal reference in preaching, and of its alienating effects, are mentioned by Mr. Stevens, in his Journal, Vol. I. pp. 15, 19, and elsewhere.]
For these and other reasons, and in some respects most unreasonably, the people at Savannah became prejudiced against him, and so disaffected that “he perceived that his preaching was not likely to be attended with beneficial influence. Hence, having in vain sought an accommodation with his opponents, without in the least relaxing from the enforcement of his principles, and disappointed in the prime object of his mission, that of preaching to the Indians, he resolved to quit the Colony, and return to his native land[1].”
[Footnote 1: _Memoir of the Rev_. John Wesley, prefixed to a volume of his Sermons, by Samuel Drew, page xvi.]
Another circumstance brought the whole scene of his trials to a catastrophe. Sophia Hopkins, the niece of Mrs. Causton, wife of Thomas Causton, Esq., chief magistrate of the place, had been a pupil to him to learn French, was a professed convert to his ministry, and become a member of the Church. Her beauty, accomplishments, and manners, were fascinating; and she appears, by some coquettish advances, to have won his affections. Delamotte, however, doubting the sincerity of her pretensions to piety, cautioned his friend Wesley against cherishing a fond attachment. The Moravian Elders, also, advised him not to think of a matrimonial connection. In consequence of this, his conduct towards her became reserved and distant; very naturally, to her mortification; though her own affections had been preengaged, for she soon after married a Mr. Williamson. But a hostile feeling had been excited against him by her friends, for the manifestation of which an opportunity was afforded about five months after her marriage. Wesley having discovered in her conduct several things which he thought blameworthy, with his wonted ingenuousness, frankly mentioned them to her; intimating that they were not becoming a participant of the Lord’s Supper. She, in return, became angry. For reasons, therefore, which he stated to her in a letter, he cautioned her not to come to the ordinance till she could do it in a reconciled temper.
The storm now broke forth upon him. A complaint was entered to the magistrates; an indictment filed, and a warrant issued, by which he was brought before the Recorder, on the charges of Mr. Williamson,–1st, That he had defamed his wife; and, 2dly, That he had causelessly repelled her from the Holy Communion. Wesley denied the first charge; and the second, being wholly ecclesiastical, he would not acknowledge the authority of the magistrate to decide upon it. He was, however, told that he must appear before the next court, to be holden at Savannah, August term, 1737. In the mean time pains were taken by Mr. Causton to pack and influence the jury. There were debates and rude management in the court. No pleas of defence were admitted. The evidence was discordant. Twelve of the grand jurors drew up a protest against the proceedings. The magistrates, themselves, after repeated adjournments, could come to no decision; and justice was not likely to be awarded. Wearied with this litigious prosecution, Wesley applied to his own case the direction given by our Lord to his Apostles, “If they persecute thee in one place, flee unto another;” and, shaking off the dust of his feet as a witness against them, he fled to Charlestown, South Carolina; whence, on Thursday, the 22d of December, 1737, he embarked for England. After a pleasant passage, he landed at Deal, February, 1738, as he remarks, “on the anniversary festival in Georgia, for Mr. Oglethorpe’s landing there.” As he entered the channel, on his return, Mr. Whitefield sailed through it, on a mission; not to be his coadjutor, as he expected, but, as it proved, his successor.
II. The situation of CHARLES WESLEY was annoyed by like discomfitures, and followed by still greater disappointment. He had received the most flattering accounts of Georgia from the conversation of Oglethorpe, with whom he had been for some time acquainted; and from the little book which this gentleman had published. Implicitly confiding in the high wrought descriptions which had been given him, and indulging anticipations of a colonization of more than Utopian excellence, he attended his brother to Georgia, and attached himself to Oglethorpe, whose warm professions had won him to his service both as Secretary and Chaplain.
His destination was to the new settlement at Frederica; and there he arrived, with his patron, on the 9th of March, 1736. The first person who saluted him, as he stept on shore, was Ingham, his intimate, confidential, and highly valued friend; who had preceded him thither. The meeting was truly pleasant; but what he learned from him of the state of affairs there, and of “the treatment which he had met for vindicating the sanctity of the Lord’s day,” was a saddening indication of the reverse which his cherished anticipations were soon to meet. He was apprised by it, however, of the necessity of taking measures for procuring a more sober observance of the Sabbath in future. Accordingly, as he had been announced to the settlers as their religious instructer and guide, he spent the remainder of the week in visits to their families, and in seeking that personal acquaintance with them, without which, he well knew that general instruction would be of little use; but, he observes, “with what trembling should I call this flock mine!” In the evening he read prayers, in the open air; at which Oglethorpe was present. He observed that the lesson seemed remarkably adapted to his situation, and that he felt the power of it; particularly of the passage, “continue instant in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.”[1]
[Footnote 1: Colossians, IV. 3]
In the public discharge of his duties as a clergyman, he was solemn and fervent; and his preaching evinced “how forcible are right words.” But in his daily intercourse with this heterogeneous population, he was not always aware that clerical intimacy should never descend to familiarity. He overheard rude speeches and gossipping tattle; and was made acquainted with some domestic bickerings and feuds; and kindly, though not always discretely, endeavored to check them; but his mediation was repelled as uncalled-for interference.[1] To use the words of his biographer, “he attempted the doubly difficult task of reforming the gross improprieties, and reconciling some of the petty jealousies and quarrels with each other; in which he effected little else than making them unite in opposing him, and caballing to get rid of him in any way.”[2] Hence complaints were made to Oglethorpe, who, instead of discountenancing them decidedly, and vindicating, or at least upholding him whom he had brought over, and placed in an office where he ought to have demanded for him a treatment of deference and respect, himself listened too readily to complaints and invectives, and suffered them to prejudice him against the truly amiable, ingenuous, and kind-hearted minister. Instead of putting candid constructions on well-meant purposes, of cautioning his inexperience, or giving friendly advice, he treated him with coldness and neglect.[3] The only apology for this is that suggested by Southey.[4] “The Governor, who had causes enough to disquiet him, arising from the precarious state of the Colony, was teased and soured by the complaints which were perpetually brought against the two brothers, and soon began to wish that he had brought with him men of more practicable tempers.” In some hours of calmer reflection, however, he felt the compunctious visitings of conscience, and convinced of the injustice which he had done to Mr. Wesley, “in the most solemn manner he professed to him his regret for his unkind usage; and, to express his sincerity, embraced and kissed him with the most cordial affection.” Realizing, however, that the situation of this aggrieved and disheartened man was such that his usefulness here was at an end, and finding it necessary to make a special communication to the Trustees, relative to the internal distractions among the first settlers; to the Board of Trade on the subject of exports and commercial relations; and to the Government, respecting the exposed situation of the Colony, he commissioned him to carry the despatches.
[Footnote 1: “He that passeth by and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” _Proverbs_, XXVI. 17. He who inconsiderately engages in other men’s quarrels, whom he lights upon by chance, and in which he is not concerned, will assuredly suffer by his interference.]
[Footnote 2: SOUTHEY’s _Life of the Wesleys_, Vol. I. p. 107.]
[Footnote 3: In the life of Wesley by MOORE, is an affecting detail of particulars, taken from the unpublished Journal of Charles Wesley, Vol. I. p. 265-285.]
[Footnote 4: _Life of Wesley_, Vol. I. p. 107.]
On the 26th of July, 1736, he set out for Charlestown, to take passage to England; and, on the 16th of August, went on board the London Galley. But the passengers and sailors soon found that the Captain, while on shore, had neglected every thing to which he ought to have attended. The vessel was too leaky to bear the voyage; and the Captain drinking nothing scarcely but gin, had never troubled his head about taking in water; so that they were soon reduced to short allowance, which, in that sultry clime and season of the year, was a distressing predicament. Meeting, too, with violent squalls of wind, they were driven off their course. The leak became alarming, and their troubles increased so fast upon them, that they were obliged to steer for Boston in New England; where they arrived, with much difficulty and danger, on the 2d of September.
Wesley was soon known at Boston; and met a hospitable reception among the Ministers, both of the town and neighborhood. In a letter to his brother, he thus describes the attentions that were paid to him. “I am wearied with this hospitable people; they so teaze me with their civilities. They do not suffer me to be alone. The clergy, who come from the country on a visit, drag me with them when they return[1]. I am constrained to take a view of this New England, more pleasant even than the Old. And, compared with the region in which I last resided, I cannot help exclaiming, O happy country that breeds neither flies, nor crocodiles, nor prevaricators!”[2]
[Footnote 1: Referring to the weekly assembling of the Clergy from the neighboring towns to attend the Thursday Lecture.]
[Footnote 2: Having found that letters to his brother were intercepted and read, before they were delivered, he wrote sometimes in Latin, and even passages in Greek. This, dated Boston, October 5th, 1736, was in Latin, and I give the extract here, of which the text is a translation. “Tsedet me populi hujuser, ita me urbanitate sua divexant et persequuntur. Non patientur me esse solum. E rure veninnt Clerici; me revertentes in rare trahant. Cogor henc Anglicum contemplari, etiam antiqua amoeniorem; et nequeo non exclamare, O fortinata regio, nec muscas aleus, nec crocodilos, nec delatores!” [When Mr. C. Wesley was at Frederica, the _sand-flies_ were one night so exceedingly troublesome, that he was obliged to rise at one o’clock, and smoke them out of his hut. He tells us that the whole town was employed in the same way. By _crocodile_ he means the species called _alligator_. When at Savannah, he and Mr. Delamotte used to bathe in the river between four and five o’clock in the morning, before the alligators were stirring, but they heard them snoring all round them. One morning Mr. Delamotte was in great danger; an alligator rose just behind him, and pursued him to the land, whither he escaped with difficulty.]]
The repairs of the vessel detained him here till the 15th of October, when they sailed. They had a most perilous passage, and encountered violent storms; but on the third of December arrived opposite Deal; and the passengers went safe on shore.
III. INGHAM had his station assigned him at Frederica; and there his prudence preserved him from the vexations with which his cherished companion was annoyed. In behalf of that persecuted and dispirited friend, he went to Savannah, to inform John Wesley of the opposition of the people to his brother. He tarried there to supply John’s place during his absence on the visit of sympathy and counsel, of mediation or rescue. Returning to Frederica, he remained there till the 13th of May, when he accompanied Charles to Savannah, whither he went to receive the Indian traders on their coming down to take out their licenses. He accompanied them to the upper Creeks; among whom he resided several months, and employed himself in making a vocabulary of their language, and composing a grammar.[1]
[Footnote 1: SOUTHEY, I. 122, note; mention is also made of him in CRANZ’S _History of the United Brethren_, p. 228.]
On the 24th of February, 1737, it was agreed that he should go to England, and “endeavor to bring over, if it should please God, some of their friends to strengthen their hands in his work.”[1] By him John Wesley wrote to Oglethorpe, who had sailed for England, and to Dr. Brady’s associates, who had sent a library to Savannah.
[Footnote 1: MOORE’S _Lives of the Wesleys_, I. 315.]
Ingham is mentioned by Whitefield, in terms of high regard, as fellow-laborer with the Wesleys, and “an Israelite indeed.”
IV. DELAMOTTE remained, from the first, with John Wesley at Savannah. He kept a school, in which he taught between thirty and forty children to read, write, and cast accounts. “Before public worship on the afternoon of the Lord’s day, he catechized the lower class, and endeavored to fix some things of what was said by the Minister in their understandings as well as their memories. In the morning he instructed the larger children.”[1]
[Footnote 1: Here is a prototype of the modern Sunday-schools.]
He returned to England in the Whitaker, Captain Whiting; the ship that brought out Mr. Whitefield, June 2d, 1738. “The good people lamented the loss of him, and great reason had they to do so; and went to the waterside to take a last farewell.”
V. GEORGE WHITEFIELD was the intimate friend of the Wesleys and of Ingham; and he states, in his Journal, that when they were in Georgia he received letters from them; and that their description of the moral condition of the Colony affected his heart powerfully, and excited a strong desire to join them, to assist them in the work in which they were occupied, and become “a partaker with them in the afflictions of the gospel.” Such an undertaking was suited to his energetic and enterprizing character; and therefore engaged much of his attention. On the return of Charles Wesley to England, he learned more of the situation of the Colonists, and of their great need of religious instruction; and when Ingham came with special reference to procuring assistance, he expressed his readiness to go on the mission. In the letter which he received by him from John Wesley was this direct reference, “Only Delamotte is with me, till God shall stir up the heart of some of his servants, who, putting their lives in his hands, shall come over and help us, where the harvest is so great and the laborers are so few. What if thou art the man, Mr. Whitefield? Do you ask me what you shall have? Food to eat and raiment to put on; a house to lay your head in, such as your Lord had not; and a crown of glory that fadeth not away!” This, and another letter, strengthened the desire, which soon ripened into a purpose, for which all circumstances seemed favorable. Charles, too, became more explicit, and rather urged his going[1].
[Footnote 1: He addressed a poem to him in which are these verses:
“Servant of God! the summons hear.
Thy Master calls! arise! obey!
The tokens of his will appear,
His providence points out the way.
“Champion of God! thy Lord proclaim, Jesus alone resolve to know.
Tread down thy foes in Jesus’ name, And conquering and to conquer go!”]
He accordingly went up to London to tender his services to Oglethorpe and the Trustees; by whom he was accepted; and he left London on the latter part of December, 1737, in the 23d year of his age, to take passage in the Whitaker, Captain Whiting, master, on a voyage to Georgia. It was, however, the end of January before the vessel was fairly on its way, in consequence of contrary winds. They sailed from the Downs a few hours only before the vessel, which brought Wesley back, cast anchor there. He was attended on his passage by the Honorable James Habersham and his brother. They landed, after rather a circuitous and long passage, on the 7th of May, 1738. Delamotte, whom Wesley had left schoolmaster at Savannah, received him at the Parsonage house, which he found much better than he expected. Having met with some of his predecessor’s converts there, he read prayers on the morrow, and expounded, in the Court-house, and waited on the magistrates; but, being taken ill of a fever and ague, he was confined to the house for a week.
Being informed that Tomo Chichi was sick, nigh unto death, as soon as he could venture abroad he made him a visit. The Mico lay on a blanket, thin and meagre. Scenawki, his wife, sat by, fanning him with feathers. There was none who could speak English, so that Mr. Whitefield could only shake hands with him and leave him. A few days after he went again, and finding Toonahowi there, who could speak English, “I desired him,” says Whitefield, “to ask his uncle whether he thought he should die;” who answered, “I cannot tell.” I then asked, where he thought he should go, after death? He replied “To heaven.” But alas! a further questioning led the solemn visiter to an unfavorable opinion of his preparedness for such a state of purity.
When Whitefield had recovered so as to commence his labors, he remarked that every part bore the aspect of an infant colony; that, besides preaching twice a day, and four times on the Lord’s day, he visited from house to house, and was in general cordially received, and always respectfully; “but from time to time found that _caelum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt_. ‘Those who cross the seas, change their climate, but not their disposition.'” Though lowered in their circumstances, a sense of what they formerly were in their native country remained. It was plainly to be seen that coming over was not so much a matter of choice as of restraint; choosing rather to be poor in an unknown country abroad, than to live among those who knew them in more affluent circumstances at home.[1]
[Footnote 1: Gillies’ _Memoirs of Whitefield_, p. 27.]
The state of the children affected him deeply. The idea of an Orphan-House in Georgia had been suggested to him by Charles Wesley, before he himself had any thought of going abroad; and now that he saw the condition of the Colonists, he said, “nothing but an orphan-house can effect the education of the children.” From this moment he set his heart upon founding one, as soon as he could raise funds. In the meantime, he did what he could. He opened a school at Highgate and Hampstead, and one for girls at Savannah. He then visited the Saltzburgers’ orphan-house at Ebenezer; and, if any thing was wanting to perfect his own design, or to inflame his zeal, he found it there. The Saltzburgers themselves were exiles for conscience’ sake, and eminent for piety and industry. Their ministers, Gronau and Bolzius, were truly evangelical. Their asylum, which they had been enabled to found by English benevolence for widows and orphans, was flourishing. Whitefield was so delighted with the order and harmony of Ebenezer that he gave a share of his own “Poor’s store” to Bolzius for his orphans. Then came the scene which completed his purpose. Bolzius called all the children before him, and catechized them, and exhorted them to give God thanks for his good providence towards them. Then prayed with them, and made them pray after him. Then sung a psalm. Afterwards, says Whitefield “the little lambs came and shook me by the hand, one by one, and so we parted.” From this moment Whitefield made his purpose his fate.[1]
[Footnote 1: PHILLIPS’ _Life and Times of Whitefield_, p. 73.]
As opportunity offered he visited Frederica, and the adjacent settlements; and says that he often admired that, considering the circumstances and disposition of the first settlers, so much was really done. He remarks that “the first settlers were chiefly broken and decayed tradesmen from London and other parts of England; and several Scotch adventurers, (Highlanders) who had a worthy minister named Macleod; a few Moravians, and the Saltzburgers, who were by far the most industrious of the whole;” and he adds, that he would cheerfully have remained with them, had he not felt obliged to return to England to receive priest’s orders, and make a beginning towards laying a foundation of the orphan-house, which he saw was much wanted.
In August he settled a schoolmaster, leaving Mr. Habersham at Savannah; and, parting affectionately with his flock, he went to Charlestown, South Carolina, and, on the 9th of September, went aboard the Mary, Captain Coe, for England, where he arrived in the latter part of November, 1738.
The Trustees for the Colony received him cordially; were pleased to express their satisfaction at the accounts which had been sent them of his conduct and services during his stay in the Colony; and having been requested by letters sent, unknown to him, from the magistrates and inhabitants, they most willingly presented to him the living of Savannah, (though he insisted upon having no salary), and as readily granted him five hundred acres of land, whereon to erect an Orphan-House, and make a garden and plantations; to collect money for which, together with taking priest’s orders, were the chief motives of his returning to England so soon[1].
[Footnote 1: GILLIES, p. 32.]
Without extending the account of this zealous, eloquent, and popular preacher any further, suffice it to say that he was greatly successful in the object of his visit, and his appeals to public charity in behalf of the Orphan-House; that he returned to Georgia, and on March 11th, 1742, laid the foundation of that edifice; and, both in America and in England, continued his measures for its establishment, till he saw it completed.
CHAPTER XI
Oglethorpe arrives in England–Trustees petition the King for military aid to the new Colony–A regiment granted–Oglethorpe appointed Commander in Chief of South Carolina and Georgia–Part of the regiment sent out–Oglethorpe embarks for Georgia the third time–Remainder of the regiment arrive–And two companies from Gibraltar–Prospect of war with Spain–Military preparations at St. Augustine–Oglethorpe makes arrangements for defence–Treason in the Camp–Mutiny, and personal assault on the General.
“At a meeting of the Trustees of Georgia, Wednesday, January 19th, 1737, Mr. Oglethorpe, newly returned hither, had the unanimous thanks of the board. He informed them that Savannah had greatly increased in building, and that three other towns had been founded within a year; namely, Augusta, Darien, and Frederica; that a new town, called Ebenezer, had been laid out for the Saltzburgers; and that there were several villages settled by gentlemen at their own expense. He gave them the pleasing intelligence that the remoter Creek nation acknowledged his Majesty’s authority, and traded with the new settlers; and that the Spanish Governor-General and Council of War of Florida had signed a treaty with the Colony.”[1] He added, however, that notwithstanding these seeming auspicious circumstances, the people on the frontiers were in constant apprehensions of an invasion, and that he had strong suspicions that the treaty would not be regarded; that the Spanish government at Cuba was wholly opposed to it; and that the indignant demand of the commissioner from Havana, and the threat which followed, implied an infraction, and would lead to consequences against which it was necessary to provide.
[Footnote 1: Extract from the Record of the Trustees, published in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, for 1737, Vol. XII. p. 59.]
Upon this communication some able remarks were made in the London Post. They were introduced by a statement of the benefits likely to accrue to the English nation from settling the colony of Georgia; and go on to mention that the colony was in the most thriving condition in consequence of royal patronage and parliamentary aid, seconded by the generosity of contributors, “whose laudable zeal will eternize their names in the British annals; and, carried into effect under the conduct of a gentleman, whose judgment, courage, and indefatigable diligence in the service of his country, have shewn him every way equal to so great and valuable a design. In the furtherance of this noble enterprise, that public spirited and magnanimous man has acted like a vigilant and faithful guardian, at the expense of his repose, and to the utmost hazard of his life. And now, the jealousy of the Spanish is excited, and we are told that that court has the modesty to demand from England that he shall not he any longer employed. If this be the fact, as there is no doubt it is, we have a most undeniable proof that the Spaniards dread the abilities of Mr. Oglethorpe. It is, of course, a glorious testimony to his merit, and a certificate of his patriotism, that ought to endear him to every honest Briton.”[1]
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman’s Magazine_, Vol. VII. p. 500. See, also, _History of the British Provinces_, 4to. p. 158.]
Reference is here made to the memorial of Don Thomas Geraldino, the Spanish ambassador at the British Court, in which, among other demands, he insisted that no troops should be sent over to Georgia, and particularly remonstrated against the return of Oglethorpe.
About the same time intelligence reached England that the Spaniards at St. Augustine had ordered the English merchants to depart, and were setting up barracks for troops that were daily expected; that an embarkation was preparing at Havana, in which two thousand five hundred soldiers were to be shipped in three large men-of-war, and eight transports; and that great quantities of provisions had been laid in for them. Upon this, and other hostile indications, of which the Trustees were apprised, they petitioned his Majesty that a regiment might be raised for the defence and protection of the Colony. This was granted. Oglethorpe was appointed General and Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty’s forces in Carolina and Georgia; and commissioned to raise a regiment for the service and defence of those two Colonies, to consist of six companies of one hundred men each, exclusive of non-commissioned officers and drums; to which a company of grenadiers was afterwards added. “This regiment he raised in a very short time, as he disdained to make a market of the service of his country, by selling commissions, but got such officers appointed as were gentlemen of family and character in their respective counties; and, as he was sensible what an advantage it was to the troops of any nation to have in every company a certain number of such soldiers as had been bred up in the character of gentlemen, he engaged about twenty young gentlemen of no fortune, to serve as cadets in his regiment, all of whom he afterwards advanced by degrees to be officers, as vacancies happened; and was so far from taking any money for the favor, that to some of them, he gave, upon their advancement, what was necessary to pay the fees of their commissions, and to provide themselves for appearing as officers.”[1]
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine_, for 1757, p. 546.]
“He carried with him, also,” says a writer of that day, “forty supernumeraries, at his own expense; a circumstance very extraordinary in our armies, especially in our plantations.”
With a view to create in the troops a personal interest in the Colony which they had enlisted to defend, and to induce them eventually to become actual settlers, every man was allowed to take with him a wife; for the support of whom some additional pay and rations, were offered.[1] In reference to this, Governor Belcher, of Massachusetts, in writing to Lord Egmont, respecting the settlement of Georgia, has these remarks; “Plantations labor with great difficulties; and must expect to creep before they can go. I see great numbers of people who would be welcome in that settlement; and have, therefore, the honor to think, with Mr. Oglethorpe, that the soldiers sent thither should all be married men[2].”
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman’s Magazine_, Vol. VIII. p. 164.]
[Footnote 2: Manuscript Letter Book of Governor Belcher, in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society.]
Early in the spring of 1738, some part of the regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Cochran, embarked for Georgia, and arrived at Charlestown, South Carolina, on the 3d of May. They immediately proceeded to their destined rendezvous by land; as the General had taken care, on his former expedition, to have the rout surveyed, and a road laid out and made passable from Port Royal to Darien, or rather Frederica itself; and there were a sufficient number of boats provided for passing the rivers.
As soon as Oglethorpe obtained the proper stores of arms, ammunition, military equipments, and provisions, he embarked for Georgia, the third time, with six hundred men, women, and children, including the complement of the new raised regiment, on the 5th of July, in the Hector and Blandford, men-of-war; accompanied by five transports. They arrived at St. Simons on the 9th of September, where their landing at the soldier’s fort, was announced by a discharge of artillery, and cheered by the garrison. The General encamped near the fort, and staid till the 21st, to forward the disembarkation, and give out necessary orders.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Letter from Frederica, in Georgia_, dated October 8th, 1738, in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, for January, 1739, p. 22.]
He then went to Frederica, and was saluted by fifteen pieces of cannon at the fort. The magistrates and townsmen waited on him in a body, to congratulate him on his return.
On the 25th the inhabitants of the town went out with the General, and cut a road through the woods down to the soldiers-fort, in a strait line; so that there is an open communication between them. This work was performed in three days, though it is a distance of three miles.
Several Indians came to greet the General. They hunted in the vicinity, and brought venison every day to the camp. They reported that the chiefs from every town of the Upper and Lower Creek nation would set out to visit him as soon as they received notice of his return.
The arrival of the regiment, so complete and in so good order, was a great relief to the people of Frederica, as they had been often, during the summer, apprehensive of an attack by the Spaniards, who had sent large reinforcements of troops to St. Augustine, and were understood to be providing a formidable embarkation at the Havana, notwithstanding the treaty which had been so lately concluded with Oglethorpe. Nay, the Floridians had actually attacked one of the Creek towns that was next to them; but, though the assault was made by surprise, they were repulsed with loss; and then they pretended that it was done by their Indians, without their orders.
Under circumstances of so much jeopardy, the people were so often diverted from their daily labor, that their culture and husbandry had been greatly neglected; and there was the appearance of such a scarcity, that many would be reduced to actual want before the next crop could be got in. But, in consequence of the measures now taking for their security, and of some supplies which were brought, in addition to the military stores, and of more that would be sent for, the anxiety was removed, and they resumed their labors.
“The utmost care was taken by the General, that in all the frontier places the fortifications should be put in the best state of defence; and he distributed the forces in the properest manner for the protection and defence of the Colony; assigning different corps for different services; some stationary at their respective forts; some on the alert, for ranging the woods; others, light-armed, for sudden expeditions. He likewise provided vessels, and boats for scouring the sea-coast, and for giving intelligence of the approach of any armed vessels. He went from one military station to another, superintending and actually assisting every operation; and endured hardness as a good soldier, by lying in tents, though all the officers and soldiers had houses and huts where they could have fires when they desired; and indeed they often had need, for the weather was severe. In all which services, it was declared that he gave at the same time his orders and his example; there being nothing which he did not, that he directed others to do; so that, if he was the first man in the Colony, his preeminence was founded upon old Homer’s maxims, ‘He was the most fatigued, the first in danger, distinguished by his cares and his labors, and not by any exterior marks of grandeur, more easily dispensed with, since they were certainly useless.'”[1]
[Footnote 1: HARRIS’S _Voyages_, II. p. 332.]
But there was treachery lurking in the camp, which, though for some time suspected, had been so vigilantly watched and guarded against, that the conspirators found no opportunity for carrying into effect their insidious purpose.
It seems that among the troops lately sent over, there was one soldier who had been in the Spanish service, and two others who were Roman Catholics and disclaimed allegiance to the British Government, who had enlisted as spies, and been bribed to excite a mutiny in the corps, or persuade those among whom they were stationed to desert the service.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman’s Magazine_, Vol. IX. 739, p. 22.]
Their attempts, however, to gain over accomplices, were unavailing; for those with whom they tampered had the fealty to reject their overtures, and the honesty to make a discovery of their insidious machinations. Upon this the traitors were seized, convicted, and, on the beginning of October, 1738, sentenced to be whipt and drummed out of the regiment.[1]
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XX.]
Hardly had this secret plot been defeated, when an affray took place at Fort St. Andrews, in which an attempt was made to assassinate the General, who was there on a visit.
Some of the soldiers who came from Gibraltar had been granted six months provisions from the King’s stores, in addition to their pay. When these rations were expended, about the middle of November, one of the murmurers had the presumption to go up to the General, who was standing at the door with Captain Mackay, and demanded of him a continuance of the supply. To this unceremonious and disrespectful requisition the General replied, that the terms of their enlistment had been complied with; that their pay was going on; that they had no special favor to expect, and certainly were not in the way to obtain any by such a rude manner of application. As the fellow became outrageously insolent, the Captain drew his sword, which the desperado snatched out of his hand, broke in two pieces, threw the hilt at him, and made off for the barrack, where, taking his gun, which was loaded, and crying out “One and all!” five others, with their guns, rushed out, and, at the distance of about ten yards, the ringleader shot at the General. The ball whizzed above his shoulder, and the powder burnt his face and scorched his clothes. Another flashed his piece twice, but the gun did not go off. The General and Captain were immediately surrounded by protectors; and the culprits were apprehended, tried at a Court-Martial, and, on the first week in October, received sentence of death. The letter which gives a circumstantial account of this affair, written from Frederica, and dated December 26th, adds, “Some of the officers are not very easy, and perhaps will not be till the mutineers are punished, _in terrorem_; which has been delayed by the General’s forbearance[1].” I quote, with pleasure, this testimony to his lenity, given by one who must have intimately known all the aggravating circumstances, because some accounts state that he took summary vengeance.
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman’s Magazine_, Vol. IX. p. 215.]
By the defeat of insidious plottings to induce the desertion of the frontier garrison, and the suppression of the insurgent mutiny, the spirit of insubordination was entirely quelled; and the people of the Colony were relieved from their apprehensions of an attack from the Spaniards, “as they had Oglethorpe among them, in whom they and the Indians had great confidence.”
CHAPTER XII.
Oglethorpe visits Savannah–Troubles there–Causton, the store-keeper, displaced–Oglethorpe holds a conference with a deputation of Indians–Town-meeting called, and endeavors used to quiet discontents–Goes back to Frederica, but obliged to renew his visit to Savannah.
On the 8th of October, 1738, Oglethorpe set out from Frederica in an open boat, with two others attending it; and, after rowing two days and two nights, arrived at Savannah. “He was received, at the water-side, by the magistrates, and saluted by the cannon from the fort, and by the militia under arms; and the people spent the night in rejoicing, making bonfires,”[1] &c. But, notwithstanding this show of public joy, he had soon to learn particulars of the situation of the inhabitants, that rendered his visit unpleasant to himself, and not very welcome to some of those to whom it was made. Those who were duly sensible of his disinterested devotedness to the advancement and welfare of the settlement, were actuated, on this occasion, by a principle of real regard and gratitude; those who were apprehensive that their conduct in his absence might be investigated and disapproved, joined in the acclaim, that they might conciliate his favor; and those who had been discontented grumblers, did not care openly to exhibit indications of dissatisfaction.
[Footnote 1: Letter, dated Savannah, in Georgia, October 22,1738; published in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, for January, 1739, p. 22.]
On the day after his arrival he received information that the grand jury of Savannah had prepared a representation, “stating their grievances, hardships, and necessities,” and complaining of the conduct of Mr. Thomas Causton, the first magistrate of the town, and keeper of the public store[1]. They alleged that he had expended much larger sums than the Trustees authorized, and thus brought the Colony in debt; that he had assumed powers not delegated to him, and had been partial and arbitrary in many of the measures which he had pursued[2].
[Footnote 1: This is inserted in the _Narrative of the Colony of Georgia_, by P. Tailfer, M.D., Hugh Williamson, M.A., and D. Douglas. Charlestown, S.C. 1741. It was signed September 12th, 1737.]
[Footnote 2: Letter last quoted, and Stephens’s Journal, Vol. I. p. 305.]
Upon an investigation of these allegations, Oglethorpe, as Governor-General of the Colony, deemed it expedient to displace him; to issue an order that the books, papers, and accounts, belonging to the stores, should be delivered to Thomas Jones, Esq., who had come over with the transports with the appointment of Advocate of the Regiment; and that security should be given by Causton, to answer the charges against him, by an assignment of his estate at Oakstead, and his improvements elsewhere. The office thus rendered vacant was supplied by the appointment of Colonel William Stephens, who had been sent over with the commission of Secretary for the affairs of the Trustees in the Province.[1]
[Footnote 1: This worthy gentleman wrote a Journal, which commences on his arrival at Charlestown, in the Mary-Ann, Captain Shubrick, October 20, 1737, and comes down to October 28,1741. It gives a minute account of every thing which occurred; and bears throughout the marks of correctness, of ingenuousness, and frankness in the narrative of transactions and events; and of integrity, strict justice, and unflinching fidelity in the discharge of his very responsible office. As exhibiting “the form and pressure of the times,” it is of essential importance to the Historian of Georgia; and, happily, it was printed, making three octavo volumes. But the work is exceedingly rare, especially the third volume. A complete set is among the EBELING books in Harvard College Library.
He had been at Savannah before, for in p. 46, is this remark; “All which was evident to myself, as well from what I observed, _when here formerly_, as more especially now, since my arrival.” And again, p. 54, mentioning Mr. Fallowfield, “a constable, whose temper I was better acquainted with, _having lodged at his house during my former abode here_.”
After the departure of General Oglethorpe, he was President of the Council, and acting Governor from July 11, 1743, to April 8, 1757, when he was succeeded by Henry Parker, Esq.]
The great mismanagement of the trust-funds which had been sent for the support of the Colony, rendered it also necessary to retrench the ordinary issues, “that something might remain for the necessary support of life among the industrious part of the community, who were not to be blamed.”
On the 11th, Tomo Chichi came to wait upon the General. He had been very ill; but the good old man was so rejoiced at the return of his respected friend, that he said it made him moult like the eagle.[1] He informed him that several Indian chiefs were at Yamacraw to pay their respects to him, and to assure him of their fidelity.
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXI.]
This embassy consisted of the Micos or chiefs of the Ocmulgees, the Chehaws, the Ouchasees, and the Parachacholas, with thirty of their warriors, and fifty-two attendants. As they walked up the hill, they were saluted by a battery of cannon, and then conducted to the town-hall by a corps of militia, where the General received them. They told him that the Spaniards had decoyed them to St. Augustine, on pretence that he was there; but they found that they were imposed upon, and therefore turned back with displeasure, though they were offered great presents to induce them to fall out with the English. These single-hearted foresters had now come to remove from the mind of their pledged friend all apprehension of their alienation, and to assure him that their warriors shall attend his call. They closed their conference with a pressing invitation to him to come up to their towns in the course of the summer; and, with his promise to do so, they took a respectful leave.
On the 17th the General called the inhabitants to assemble at the town-hall, and “there made a pathetic speech to them;”[1] which he began by thanking them for the measures which they had pursued for mutual help and the common good. He apprized them of the great exertions made by the Trustees to support, protect, and defend the Colony; but that their being obliged to maintain the garrisons, and lay in various stores till the arrival of the troops, and the dear price of provisions the last year, occasioned such an increased demand upon them, that they would not be able to continue further allowance, nor assume further responsibilities, unless a supply should be granted by parliament. This state of embarrassment he greatly regretted, inasmuch as those whom he addressed were suffering by the failure of their crops. He told them that, with surprise and great grief, he found that there was more due from the public store than there were goods and articles in it to pay; but that he had given orders that all persons should be paid as far as these effects would go. He said that he was fully aware of the privations already felt, and of the greater to which they were exposed; and, therefore, informed those who, on this account, or for any reason, supposed that they could better their condition by going out of the Province, that they had his full consent to do so. At the same time he requested such to come to his quarters, and acquaint him with their grievances, their wishes, and their purposes, and he would give them his best advice, and all the aid in his power. How many, or how far any, availed themselves of this overture, is not known; but the writer who has given an account of this address, adds, “It is remarkable that not one man chose to leave the Province, though they very well knew that they must endure great hardships before the next crop should come in, for there was very little money stirring, and very few had provisions sufficient to keep them till next year. However, they all seemed resolved rather to stay, than to leave the country now in its distress[2].”
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS’S _Journal_, I. p. 305.]
[Footnote 2: Letter from Savannah, October 22, 1738.]
To lessen the demands upon the Trustees, Oglethorpe made retrenchments in the public expenditures. He disbanded the troop of Rangers, who guarded the country on the land side, though they offered to serve without pay; but he deemed it improper that they should be on service without remuneration. The garrisons were relieved by the regiments; so that that expense ceased. He aimed to reconcile the disaffected, by his good offices; and to gain their affections by unexpected and unmerited liberalities. With very timely largesses he assisted the orphans, the widows, and the sick; and contributed towards the relief of the most destitute; but, adds the writer of the letter above quoted, “we are apprehensive such contributions cannot last long, unless assisted from England, for the expenses are too great for any single man to bear.”
The General pursued, with anxious scrutiny, his investigation into the management of business, and found the charges and accounts to be very perplexed, and the result evincing mismanagement and unfaithfulness. “He settled the officers, civil and military, among whom changes had taken place; filled vacancies; and took the most judicious measures that the whole municipal establishment should be properly organized. Then, calling them all to his lodgings, he gave it in charge that they should do their duties with care and vigilance. He exhorted them to use their best endeavors to preserve peace; especially at this time, when ill-disposed persons, taking advantage of people’s uneasiness at those inevitable pressures under which they labored, and must necessarily for some time be subjected to, might craftily incite them to insurrection. Withal, he recommended earnestly to them to preserve unanimity among themselves, which would strengthen and support a due authority, and restrain the licentious into due obedience.”[1]
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS’S _Journal_, I. 309.]
On Wednesday morning, October 25th, Oglethorpe set out for the south, leaving, as Col. Stephens remarks, “a gloomy prospect of what might ensue; and many sorrowful countenances were visible under the apprehensions of future want; which deplorable state the Colony has fallen into, through such means as few or none of the settlers had any imagination of, till the Trustees, in their late letters, awakened them out of their dream; and the General, when he came, laid the whole open, and apprized them that they were but little removed from a downright bankruptcy. Now was a time when it would be fully apparent, who were the most valuable among them, by showing a hearty endeavor to contribute, what in them lay, to appease the rising discontents, and wait with patience to see better things, which were not yet to be despaired of.”[1]
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS’S _Journal_, I. 312.]
It appears that Mr. Causton discovered not only reluctance and perversity in explaining and authenticating his accounts; but, by disingenuous insinuations reflected on the conduct of Oglethorpe, “as if he very well knew that extraordinary occasions had created these great exceedings, which the Trustees approving of, he [Causton] was given up to be driven to utter ruin.”[1] Mr. Jones deemed it necessary to write to the General to inform him of the reflections which had thus been cast upon his honor, and of the impediments which he himself met in the business assigned to him. Upon the receipt of this letter, Oglethorpe set out on a return to Savannah, where he arrived early in the morning of Saturday, November 11th, and, as the bell was ringing for attendance on prayers, he went and joined the orisons of the congregation. This was more grateful to his feelings than the military salute and parade of the preceding visit; and the devotional exercises in which he engaged soothed his vexed spirit, and the petition for pardon of offences against God produced a livelier disposition in his heart of lenity and forgiveness towards those who had offended against him. In the course of the day, he looked again into the concerns of the store, and despatched some other affairs of consequence. In the evening he sent for Mr. Causton, when, “in a very mild manner, and gentler terms than could be expected, upon such a provocation, he reprehended him for the freedom he had taken with his name, and advised him to use no delays or shifts in making up his accounts.”
[Footnote 1: Ibid. p. 325.]
On Sunday he attended public worship; and after that took boat, and went back to the south.
In both these visits to Savannah, Oglethorpe discovered among the inhabitants indications of the prevalence of not only a dissatisfied, but of a factious spirit; more to be lamented than a failing harvest, or a stinted market.
It was extremely mortifying to him to perceive that his greatest exertions and most assiduous services were underrated; his devotedness to their welfare unacknowledged; and his sacrifices and exposures that he might establish them in security and peace, were not merely depreciated, but miscalled and dishonored. While he was zealously engaged in strengthening the Colony, by locating large accessions of brave and industrious settlers on the frontiers, and erecting forts, and supplying them with troops and ammunition, the people who were “sitting under their own vines and fig-trees, with none to molest or make them afraid,” and who had been best and longest provided for, were insensible to the hardships and dangers to which others were exposed; and, cavilling at the circumstances in which they were placed, complained as if he must be personally accountable for certain restrictions in the plan of settlement, and subsequent financial and commercial affairs, to which the Trustees had deemed it proper to subject them; restrictions which might have been submitted to by them with as good a grace as they were by the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer and the Scots at Darien, “who murmured not, neither were unthankful.” In fact, it was very apparent, that by their indolence and improvidence these dissatisfied ones had brought upon themselves the chief of the evils which they suffered. Their allegations, therefore, were unreasonable, and the disposition which dictated them criminally ungrateful. But Oglethorpe, instead of reproaching the discontented for their ingratitude, and the murmurers for their unkind imputations, stifled his own justifiable feelings of displeasure, in the hope that such forbearance would refute the injustice of theirs. Well might the poet exclaim:
“What magnanimity!–May ne’er again
Unkind returns thy generous ardor chill, Nor causeless censure give thy bosom pain, Nor thankless hearts reward thy good with ill!
“But honoring gratitude its column raise, To bear inscriptions of deserved praise; And when through age the record is obscure, A nobler let posterity procure.”
CHAPTER XIII.
Oglethorpe goes to Charlestown, South Carolina, to open his Commission–Comes back to Savannah–Gives encouragement to the Planters–Returns to Frederica–Excursion to Coweta–Forms a Treaty with the Upper Creeks–Receives at Augusta a delegation of the Chickasaws and Cherokees, who complain of having been poisoned by the Traders–On his return to Savannah is informed of Spanish aggressions, and is authorized to make reprisals.
As Oglethorpe was appointed General and Commander in Chief of the military forces in South Carolina, as well as Georgia, he deemed it proper to pay a visit to Charlestown, in order to have this assigned rank duly notified to the Governor and people of the Province. He, therefore, set out for that metropolis on the 10th of March, 1739; arrived on the 15th, and, on the 3d of April, had his commission opened and read in the Assembly. In reference to the exercise of the authority which it conferred, some regulations in the military establishment were adopted. On the 11th he returned to Savannah. To encourage the industry of the planters, he proposed to those who would persevere in doing what they could in the culture of their lands, “a bounty of two shillings per bushel for all Indian corn, and one shilling per bushel for all potatoes, which they should raise over and above what the produce could be sold for after the next harvest[1].”
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS, I. 460.]
On the 18th he went to Frederica; but was obliged, in the summer, to renew his visit to Savannah; and, on the evening of the 10th of July, was received, under a discharge of cannon, by about forty of the freeholders under arms, which, he was pleased to say, was more than he expected. “His stay, being very likely to be short, many successively sought audience of him, whose affairs he despatched with his usual promptness.”
“On the 17th he set off on his Indian expedition to Coweta: he proceeded up the river, in his cutter, with Lieutenant Dunbar, Ensign Leman, and Mr. Eyre, a cadet, besides attendants and servants. At the Uchee town, twenty-five miles above Ebenezer, he quitted water-conveyance, having appointed several of the Indian traders to wait his coming there, with a number of horses, as well for sumpter as riding, and also some rangers to assist.”
On this journey, computed to be over three hundred miles, both he and his attendants met with many and great hardships and fatigue. They were obliged to traverse a continuous wilderness, where there was no road, and seldom any visible track; and their Indian guides led them often, unavoidably, through tangled thickets, and deep and broken ravines, and across swamps, or bogs, where the horses mired and plunged to the great danger of the riders. They had to pass large rivers on rafts, and cause the horses to wade and swim; and to ford others. During most of the way their resolute leader was under the necessity of sleeping in the open air, wrapped in his cloak or a blanket, and with his portmanteau for a pillow; or, if the night-weather was uncomfortable, or rainy, a covert was constructed of cypress boughs, spread over poles. For two hundred miles there was not a hut to be met with; nor a human face to be seen, unless by accident that of some Indian hunter traversing the woods. At length they arrived at Coweta, one of the principal towns of the Muscoghe, or Creek Indians, where the Chiefs of all the tribes were assembled, on the 11th of August. “Thus did this worthy man, to protect the settlement, which with so much pecuniary expense and devotedness of time, he had planted, now expose himself to the hazards and toils of a comfortless expedition, that would have proved unsurmountable to one of a less enterprising spirit and steady resolutions.” Oglethorpe, and his suite, were received with great cordiality; and, after the necessary introduction to individuals, and a little refreshment and rest, a grand convention was formed. The assembly was arranged in due order, with the solemn introductory ceremonies prescribed for such occasions. A libation of the _foskey_,[1] or black-drink, followed; of which Oglethorpe was invited to partake with “the beloved men,” and of which the chiefs and warriors quaffed more copious draughts. Speeches and discussions followed; terms of intercourse and stipulations of trade were agreed upon; and, after smoking the calumet, they unitedly declared that they remained firm in their pledged fealty to the King of Great Britain, and would adhere to all the engagements of amity and commerce heretofore entered into with Oglethorpe as the representative of the Trustees. They then renewed the former grants, in terms more explicit and full, confirming the session of territory on the sea-coast, with the islands, and now extending the southern boundary to the river Matteo, or St. John’s. And Oglethorpe, on his part, covenanted that the English should not encroach upon, nor take up, other lands, nor intrude upon any reserved privileges of the Creeks; but would cause their rights to be respected, and the trade with them to be conducted upon fair and honorable principles. This important treaty was concluded on the 21st of August, 1739.
[Footnote 1: This is a decoction of the leaves of the YAUPON, _prinus glaber_, and is of an exciting, and if taken freely, an intoxicating effect. It is prepared with much formality, and is considered as a sacred beverage, used only by the Chiefs, the War Captains, and Priests (“beloved men”) on special occasions, particularly on going to war and making treaties. For an account of its preparation and use, see LAWSON’S _Carolina_, p. 90; BERNARD ROMAN’S _Natural History of Florida_, p. 94; ADAIR’S _History of the American Indians_, p. 108; CATESBY’S _Natural History of Carolina_, II. 57; and BARTON’S _Elements of Botany_, part II. p. 16.]
Oglethorpe ingratiated himself highly with the Creeks on this occasion, by his having undertaken so long and difficult a journey to become acquainted with them, and secure their favor; trusting himself with so few attendants in a fearless reliance on their good faith; by the readiness with which he accommodated himself to their mode of living; and the magnanimity of his deportment while among them.
The chief business being finished to mutual satisfaction, the General, with his attendants, set out on their return; and, after enduring the like hardships, exposures, and fatigue, arrived, on the 5th of September, at Fort Augusta, an outpost on the Savannah, where he had placed a garrison on his first expedition to Georgia; and under the protection of which, a little settlement was now formed, inhabited mostly by Indian traders. There he was waited on by the chiefs of the Chickasaws, and the chiefs of the Cherokees;[1] the last of whom came with a heavy complaint that his people had been poisoned by the rum which had been brought to them by the traders. At this they expressed high resentment, and even threatened revenge. As this was an affair of quite an alarming nature, the General made strict inquiry into it; and ascertained that some unlicensed traders had, the preceding summer, carried up the small pox, which is fatal to the Indians; and that several of their warriors, as well as others, had fallen victims to the distemper. It was with some difficulty that he convinced the Indians that this was the real cause of the calamity. At the same time he assured them that such were the precautions and strict examination used, before any applicant for leave to trade could obtain it, that they need not apprehend any danger from such as came to them with a license. With this explanation and assurance they went away satisfied.
[Footnote 1: By some early writers of Carolina these chiefs are called “Caciques.” Whether this be the same as Mico, I know not; but the title, though often used so, does not seem to be appropriate. Where justly applied, it is the title of the legislative chief, in distinction from the war chief.]
On the 13th of September, while yet at this place, an express arrived from Savannah to acquaint him that a sloop from Rhode Island had brought the intelligence, that the Governor of that Colony had, by orders from Great Britain, issued commissions for fitting out privateers against the Spaniards. This was not a little surprising to him. He could not conceive how a distant Colony should have any such orders, before they were sent to him who was most in danger of being attacked, in case of any rupture with Spain. However, he deemed it expedient to hasten his return, in order to obtain more direct information. On the 22d he reached Savannah, where he received and published his Majesty’s orders for reprisals. In consequence of these, a stout privateer of fourteen guns, was immediately fitted out by Captain Davies, who had suffered by having had a ship and cargo, to the value of forty thousand pieces of eight, captured and most unjustly condemned by the Spaniards; and, therefore, felt that he had a right to avail himself of the present opportunity for obtaining redress.[1]
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine, for_ 1757, page 592.]
For several years, the British trade to America, particularly that to the West Indies, had suffered great interruption and annoyance from the Spanish _guarda-costas_, which, under various pretences, seized the merchant ships, and carried them into their ports, where they were confiscated. This piratical practice had increased to such a degree that scarcely any vessels were safe in those seas; for the Spaniards pretended that wherever they found logwood, cocoa, or pieces of eight on board, the capture was legal. Now, the first two of those commodities were the growth and produce of the English islands, and the last was the current specie of all that part of the world; so that there was hardly a ship homeward bound but had one or other of these on hoard.
These depredations were also aggravated by circumstances of great inhumanity and cruelty; the sailors being confined in loathsome prisons, at the Havana, and at Cadiz; or forced to work with irons on their legs; with no sustenance but salt fish, almost putrid, and beds full of vermin, so that many died of their hard captivity[1].
[Footnote 1: _History of the Colonies planted by the English on the Continent of North America_, by JOHN MARSHALL. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1824. Chap. X.]
The increasing complaints of the merchants, and the loud clamors of the nation, at length forced the British minister to abandon his pacific system; and war was declared against Spain on the 23d of October, 1739. A squadron, commanded by Admiral Vernon was detached for the West Indies, with instructions to act upon the defensive; and General Oglethorpe was ordered to annoy the settlements in Florida.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Historical Review of the Transactions of Europe, from the commencement of the War with Spain, in_ 1739, _to the Insurrection in Scotland, in_ 1745, by SAMUEL BOYSE. 8vo.. Dublin, 1748. Vol. I. p. 27.]
It now became necessary for Oglethorpe to take the most prompt and effective measures for the protection of the Colony; and, as his settlement had, from the beginning, been opposed by the Spaniards at St. Augustine, and would now have to encounter their resentful assaults, he must put into requisition all his military force, and see to their adequate equipment. He immediately took measures for raising a troop of thirty rangers, to prevent the Spanish horse and Indians at St. Augustine from making incursions into the Province; and likewise to intercept the runaway negroes of Carolina, on their way through the country to join the Spaniards. At the same time he summoned four hundred Creeks, and six hundred Cherokee Indians to march down to the southern borders. He then viewed the arms of the militia, to ascertain that they were all in good order, and gave directions that powder, balls, and flints, should be issued out of the magazine, for supplying each member with a proper quantity. But aware that all this would be too inconsiderable for effectual resistance, he perceived it to be expedient to seek the protection of the West India fleet, and to apply to the Assembly of South Carolina for cooeperation in a cause, in the event of which their own safety was involved. Accordingly he immediately sent up to Charlestown to desire assistance, and to consult measures with the commanders of the men of war then on the station, in order immediately to block up St. Augustine before the Spaniards could receive supplies and reinforcements from Cuba; which, if properly executed, the place would, in all probability, be soon reduced.[1] This application was laid before the General Assembly, and, on the 8th of November, a Committee was appointed to take the same into consideration. Their Report was discussed in both Houses of Assembly; but no decision was obtained.
[Footnote 1: See his letter in the _History of the Rise and Progress of Georgia_, HARRIS’S _Voyages_, II. p. 338, dated 21st of September, 1739.]
Having taken these preparatory measures, he returned to Frederica to make all the arrangements which the exigences of the case required, in the equipment of his own forces, and by calling upon his Indian allies; waiting, with impatience, however, the result of his application to the sister Colony.
Towards the middle of November a party of Spaniards landed in the night time upon Amelia island, and skulked in the thicket till morning, when two Highlanders, unarmed, went into the woods for fuel; upon whom the Spaniards fired, first five and then ten shot; which was heard by Francis Brooks, who commanded the scout-boat upon the coast. He immediately made a signal to the Fort, which was then garrisoned by a detachment of General Oglethorpe’s regiment. Upon this a party instantly went out, but they arrived too late, for they found their comrades dead, and that the assassins had taken to their boat, and put out to sea. The bodies of the soldiers were not only rent with shot, but most barbarously mangled and hacked. The periodical publication from which this account is taken, has the following remarks:[1] “Whence it was apparent that the Spaniards had first, out of cowardice, shot them, and then, out of cruelty, cut and slashed them with their swords. If they had not been most scandalous poltroons, they would have taken the two unarmed men prisoners, without making any noise; and then they might have lurked in the wood till they had found an opportunity of getting a better booty, or at least of making more prisoners. And, if they had not been most barbarously cruel, they would have been satisfied with simply killing these unresisting men, (which might have been without such a volley of shot,) and not have so mangled their bodies after they were slain. From such cowardly and cruel foes no mercy can be expected; and every one sent against them must despair if he finds himself in danger of being overpowered, and wrought up to desperation and revenge when he finds himself any thing near upon an equal footing.”
[Footnote 1: _Annals of Europe_, for 1739, p. 410.]
Upon being informed of this outrage, Oglethorpe fitted out and manned a gun boat, and pursued them by water and land, above a hundred miles; but they escaped. By way of reprisal, however, he passed the St. John’s into Florida; drove in the guards of Spanish horse that were posted on that river; and advanced as far as a place called the Canallas; at the same time sending Captain Dunbar with a party to find out the situation and force of the fort at Picolata, near the river, upon what were then called “the lakes of Florida,” eighty miles from the mouth of the river. They attacked the garrison, but were repulsed, having no artillery. They accomplished, however, the intentions of Oglethorpe, as they reconnoitred both that place and another fort called St. Francis.
In January he returned to Frederica, where he met with Captain Warren,[1] who had lately arrived with the Squirrel man of war. When their consultation was concluded, Captain Warren went and cruised off the Bay of St. Augustine, while Oglethorpe, with a detachment of troops on board of the boats, and some artillery, went up the Lakes of Florida, rowing by day, and sailing by night, so that he attacked the two forts Picolata and St. Francis, took both the same day, and made the soldiers in the garrisons prisoners of war.
[Footnote 1: Afterwards Sir PETER WARREN, an excellent naval officer.]
Captain Hugh Mackay, in a letter to Colonel Cecil, dated Frederica, 24th of January, 1740, says, “The General escaped very narrowly being killed by a cannon ball at Fort St. Francis, or, as the Spaniards called it, ‘San Francisco de Papa.'”
CHAPTER XIV.
Oglethorpe addresses a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Bull, suggesting an expedition against St. Angustine–Follows this, by application in person–Promised assistance, and cooeperation–Returns to Frederica–Collects his forces–Passes over to Florida–Takes several Spanish forts–Is joined by the Carolinean troops–The enemy receive supplies–Oglethorpe changes the siege into a blockade–Takes possession of Anastasia Island–Colonel Palmer and his men surprised and cut to pieces–Spanish cruelties–English fleet quit the station–Siege raised, and Oglethorpe returns to Frederica.
By the information which Oglethorpe was able to obtain from the prisoners, which confirmed the accounts received from other sources, he learned that the garrison at St. Augustine was in want of provisions; and that, the half-galleys having been sent to the Havana for troops and supplies, the river and sea-board were destitute of defence. Such being the case, he conceived that a fitting opportunity now offered for the reduction of the place, taking the enemy by surprise, before the reinforcements arrived; and thereby dispossessing the Spaniards of Florida. He, therefore, sent an express to Lieutenant-Governor Bull, urging an immediate compliance with his application for assistance. The consideration was accordingly renewed in the Assembly on the 4th of February. At length Oglethorpe, impatient of delays occasioned by their continued demurring about the feasibility of the project, presented himself before them, that they might be made acquainted more fully with his intentions, and with every thing relative to their being carried into execution. After many conferences, a scheme of action was agreed upon, and an Act of Assembly passed, April 5th, 1740, for the raising of a regiment of four hundred men, to be commanded by Colonel Vanderdussen; a troop of rangers;[1] presents for the Indians; and supply of provisions for three months.[2] They also furnished a large schooner, with ten carriage and sixteen swivel guns, in which they put fifty men under the command of Captain Tyrrell.
[Footnote 1: As the Rangers could not be procured, the Assembly afterwards voted an addition of two hundred men.]
[Footnote 2: The term of service, and, of course, the amount of supply, were afterwards extended to four months.]
With this encouragement, and the promise of cooeperation by Commodore Vincent Price, who commanded the small fleet on that station, the place of rendezvous was appointed at the mouth of St. John’s river. The General then published his manifesto,[1] and immediately hastened back to Georgia to prepare his forces for the Expedition.
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXII.]
On the beginning of April he went to the Uchee town to engage runners to his Indian allies to inform them of his intended assault of St. Augustine; to bespeak their assistance, and request their chiefs and warriors to join his forces at Frederica, whither he immediately repaired. There he completed the equipment of his forces; selected the field-pieces and their carriages, balls and powder; and attended to the military accoutrements, stores and provisions.
On the 9th of May he passed over to Florida with four hundred selected men of his regiment, and a considerable party of Indians, headed by Molochi, son of Prim the late chief of the Creeks; Raven, war-chief of the Cherokees; and Toonahowi, nephew of Tomo Chichi. On the evening of the 10th, part of the Carolina forces arrived.
[Illustration]
As the first thing to be done was to take the forts that kept open the communication of the Spaniards with the country, and thus cut off their supplies, the General, impatient of losing time, invested the small fort called Francis de Pupa, seventeen miles north of St. Augustine, commanded by a sergeant and twelve men, who surrendered without a contest. Thence he proceeded to Fort Diego, situated on the plains, twenty-five miles from St. Augustine, defended by eleven guns, and fifty regulars, besides Indians and negroes. In his sortie upon this, he made use of a little stratagem, as well as force; which was by appointing three or four drums to beat, at the same time, in different places in the woods, and a few men now and then to appear suddenly, and withdraw out of sight again. At this, the enemy in the fort were so confounded, with the apprehension that they were surrounded by a great number of troops, that they made only a feint of opposition; and, being summoned to surrender, did so, on condition of being treated as prisoners of war, and, (what they principally insisted on) not to be delivered into the hands of the Indians, from whom they were conscious that they had incurred the most condign reprisals for former aggressions.[1] The other articles were that they should deliver up the guns and stores, which consisted of nine swivel and two carriage guns, with the powder and shot, &c.; that they should have liberty to keep their baggage; that Seignior Diego Spinosa, to whom the fort belonged, it having been built at his expense, and on his land, should hold his plantation and slaves, and such other effects as were not already plundered in the field; and, finally, that no deserters or runaways from Charlestown should have the benefit of this capitulation. Here he left a garrison of sixty men, under the command of Lieutenant Dunbar, to secure the retreat of the army, in case of accidents, and to preserve a safe communication with the settlements in Georgia. He then returned to the place of rendezvous, where he was joined on the 19th of May by Captain M’Intosh, with a company of Highlanders, and Colonel Vanderdussen, with the rest of the Carolina troops, but without any horse, pioneers, or negroes.
[Footnote 1: Stephens, II. 389.]
By this time six Spanish half-galleys, with a number of long brass nine pounders, manned with two hundred regulars, and attended by two sloops loaded with ammunition and provisions, had entered the harbor of St. Augustine, so that the forces in the town and castle were very nearly equal in numbers to the land forces brought against them, and their artillery much superior.
Notwithstanding all the reinforcement which Oglethorpe had received, it was judged impracticable to take the place by assault from the land side, unless an attack could be made at the same time by the boats of the men of war, and other small craft, on the sea side, on which the town had no intrenchments; and to begin a regular siege on the land side was impossible, as he had neither force enough for investing the place, nor any pioneers for breaking the ground, and carrying on the approaches. For this reason it was concerted between him and the sea commanders, that as soon as they arrived off the bar of the north channel, he should march up with his whole force, consisting of about two thousand men, to St. Augustine, and give notice by a signal agreed on, that he was ready to begin the attack by land; which should be answered by a counter signal from the fleet of their readiness to attack it by sea. Accordingly the General marched, and arrived near the intrenchments of St. Augustine, June 4th, at night, having in his way taken Fort Moosa, about three miles from St. Augustine, which the garrison had abandoned upon his approach. He ordered the gates of the fort to be burnt, and three breaches to be made in the walls.
As soon as it was proper to begin the attack, he made the signal agreed on, but had no countersign from the men of war. This was to his utter surprise and disappointment. The reason which was afterwards assigned, was, that the fleet had ascertained that their promised cooperation had been rendered impracticable; as the galleys had been drawn up abreast in the channel between the castle and the island, so that any boats which they should send in must have been exposed to the cannon and musketry of the galleys, as well as the batteries of the castle; and, as no ships of force could get in to protect them, they must have been defeated, if not wholly destroyed; and that it was impossible to make an attack by sea, while the galleys were in that position. It being presumptuous to make an attack without the aid of the fleet, the General was under the necessity of marching back to Fort Diego, where he had left all his provisions, camp furniture, and tools; because he had neither horses nor carriages for taking them along with him by land, nor had then any place for landing them near St. Augustine, had he sent them by water.[1]
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine_, Vol. XXVII. p. 22.]
Disappointed in the project of taking the place by storm, he changed his plan of operations, and resolved, with the assistance of the ships of war, which were lying at anchor off the bar, to turn the siege into a blockade, and to shut up every channel by which provisions could be conveyed to the garrison. For this purpose, he stationed Colonel Palmer, with his company, at Fort Moosa, to scour the woods, and intercept all supplies from the country, and “enjoined it upon him, for greater safety, to encamp every night in a different place, and, by all means to avoid coming into action.” He also charged him, if he should perceive any superior party sallying forth from St. Augustine, to make a quick retreat towards Fort Diego, where it was certain the enemy would not follow him, for fear of having their retreat cut off by a detachment from the army. He sent Colonel Vanderdussen, with his regiment, to take possession of Point Quartell, at a creek which makes the mouth of the harbor opposite Anastasia; and this he did “because they would be safe there, being divided from St. Augustine, and covered from any sally that would be made by the garrison.”[1]
[Footnote 1: _History of the British Settlements in North America_. Lond. 1773, 4to, page 163.]
As there was a battery on Anastasia, which defended the entry to St. Augustine, the Commodore suggested that, if a body of troops should be sent to land upon that island, under favor of the men of war, and dispossess it, he would then send the small vessels into the harbor, which was too shallow to admit the ships. Upon this, the General marched to the coast, and embarked in the boats of the men of war, with a party of two hundred men, and most of the Indians. Captain Warren, with two hundred seamen, attached themselves to this expedition.
Perceiving that the Spaniards were advantageously posted behind the sand-hills, covered by the battery upon the island, and the fire from the half-galleys which lay in shoal water where the men of war could not come, he ordered the heavy boats to remain and seem as though they intended to land near them, while he, with Captain Warren and the pinnaces, rowed, with all the speed they could, to the southward about two miles. The Spaniards behind the sand-hills strove to prevent their landing, but before they could come up in any order, the boats had got so near to the shore that the General and Captain Warren, with the seamen and Indians, leaped into the water breast high, landed, and took possession of the sand-hills. The Spaniards retreated in the utmost confusion to the battery; but were pursued so vigorously, that they were driven into the water, and took shelter in the half-galleys.[1]
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine_, Vol. XXVII. p. 22.]
All hands were now set to work to erect the batteries, whence a cannonade was made upon the town. This, however, was to little effect; partly from the distance, and partly from the condition of some of the field pieces which were employed. The enemy returned a brisk fire from the castle and from the half-galleys in the harbor. The latter, chiefly annoying the camp, it was agreed to attack them; but though Commodore Price had proposed that measure to Colonel Vanderdussen first, he altered his opinion and would not consent to it.
“Thirty-six pieces of cannon, together with planks for batteries, and all other necessaries, with four hundred pioneers were to have come from Carolina; but only twelve pieces of cannon arrived. Of course, for want of planks for batteries, they were obliged to fire upon the ground, the consequence of which was, that their carriages were soon broken, and could not be repaired.”[1]
[Footnote 1: _History of British Settlements in North America_, p. 165.]
The Spaniards, on the other hand, had surprised and cut to pieces the detachment under Colonel Palmer. Of this disastrous event, the particulars are given by one who could say,–“Quos ego miserrimus vidi, et quorum pars magna fui.” [Which I had the misfortune to see, and greatly to share.] I refer to a letter from Ensign Hugh Mackay to his brother in Scotland, dated at Fort St. Andrews, on Cumberland Island, August 10th, 1740.
After some introductory remarks, he gives the following account of the action:
“On the 9th of June the General sent out a flying party of militia, Indians, and thirteen soldiers, in all making one hundred and thirty-seven men, under the command of Colonel Palmer, a Carolina gentleman, an old Indian warrior, of great personal resolution, but little conduct. Under him I commanded the party, and had orders to march from St. Diego, the head-quarters, to Moosa, three miles from St. Augustine, a small fort which the Spaniards had held, but was demolished a few days before; there to show ourselves to the Spaniards, and thereafter to keep moving from one place to another to divert their attention, while the General took another route, and intended to come to Moosa in five days. The orders were just, and might with safety be executed, had a regular officer commanded; but poor Colonel Palmer, whose misfortune it was to have a very mean opinion of his enemies, would by no means be prevailed upon to leave the old fort, but staid there, thinking the Spaniards durst not attack him. He was mistaken, as will appear presently.
“Upon the 15th day of June, about four in the morning, we were attacked by a detachment of five hundred, from the garrison of St. Augustine, composed of Spaniards, negroes, and Indians, besides a party of horse to line the paths, that none of us might escape. Apprehending that this would happen, I obtained leave of Colonel Palmer, and therefore ordered our drum to beat to arms at three o’clock every morning, and to have our men in readiness till it was clear day. Thus it was upon the fatal 15th of June, as I have said, when the Spaniards attacked us with a very smart fire from their small arms; in which Colonel Palmer fell the first. We returned the fire with the greatest briskness that can be imagined; and so the firing continued for some time; but, unluckily, we were penned up in a demolished fort; there was no room to extend. The Spaniards endeavored to get in at the ruinous gate; and our party defended the same with the utmost bravery. Here was a terrible slaughter on both sides; but the Spaniards, who were five times our number, got at last, by dint of strength, the better; which, when I saw, that some prisoners were made, I ordered as many of my party then as were alive to draw off. We had great difficulty to get clear, for the Spaniards surrounded the fort on all sides. However, by the assistance of God, we got our way made good; drew up in sight of the enemy, and retired, without being pursued, till we were in safety. I had no more than twenty-five men, and some of them very ill wounded, of which number I was, for I received three wounds at the fort gate, but they were slight ones. Several of the poor Highlanders, who were in the engagement, and fought like lions, lost their lives,–some of them your acquaintance.
“I commanded, next Colonel Palmer, as captain of the horse, on the militia establishment. My lieutenant was killed. My cornet and quartermaster were made prisoners of war, with four more of the Highlanders. Charles Mackay, nephew to Captain Hugh Mackay, who was ensign of militia, received five wounds in the action, and lost one of his fingers; and, thereafter, rather than fall into the hands of the Spaniards, ventured to swim an inlet of the sea, about a mile broad, and had the good fortune to get to the side he intended, and so to the General’s camp.
“As the Indians fled several different ways, no more account is yet heard of them, only that some of them were killed in the action, and others wounded and taken prisoners. I believe there were sixty killed, and twenty taken prisoners of our whole party. To some of our Creek Indians who were taken by the enemy, leave was given (to curry favor with their nation) to return home. They told me that we killed a great number of the Spaniards at Moosa, and that they were dying by fives and sixes a day after getting into the town; so miserably were they cut by our broad swords; yet by their great numbers they got the day; but were sadly mauled, otherwise they would have pursued me.”
The fate of Colonel Palmer was the more affecting, from the consideration that he had raised one hundred and fifty good men, who had come with him as volunteers; that he was in a fort in which a breach had been made, and of course was no adequate protection; and that he was beyond the reach of any assistance. It has, indeed, been said that he was not enough mindful of the directions that had been given him, and presumptuously exposed himself to danger.[1]
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXIII.]
Mr. Stephens remarks that “the most bloody part of all fell to the unhappy share of our good people of Darien, who, almost to a man engaged, under the command of their leader, John Moore McIntosh; a worthy man, careful director among his people at home, and who now showed himself as valiant in the field of battle; where, calling on his countrymen and soldiers to follow his example, they made such havoc with their broadswords, as the Spaniards cannot easily forget.”[1] This brave champion was taken prisoner, and suffered severe and cruel treatment.[2]
[Footnote 1: _Journal_, II. 436.]
[Footnote 2: He was sent to Old Spain, where he remained a prisoner, at Madrid, for several months; and was finally exchanged, and returned home to Darien.]
The principal commander of the Spaniards fell at the first onset.
The Spanish took several prisoners; basely insulted the bodies of the dead; and would have inflicted vengeful cruelties on their captives, one of whom was an Indian named Nicholausa, whom they delivered over to the Yamasees to burn, but General Oglethorpe sent a drum with a message to the Governor from the Indian chief of the Cherokees, acquainting him that if he permitted Nicholausa to be burnt, a Spanish horseman who had been taken prisoner should suffer the same fate. He also mentioned that, as the Governor was a gentleman and a man of honor, he was persuaded that he would put an end to the barbarous usage of that country; and expected from the humanity of a Spanish cavalier that he would prohibit insults to the bodies of the dead, and indignities to the prisoners; and he rather wished it, as he should be forced, against his inclination, to resort to retaliation, which his Excellency must know that he was very able to make, since his prisoners greatly exceeded those made by the Spaniards. Upon this the Governor submitted to the rescue of Nicholausa from the fate to which he had been destined. It was, also, agreed that the Indians, on both sides, should be treated as prisoners of war; so that an end was put to their barbarous custom of burning the unhappy wretches who fell into their hands.
Oglethorpe continued bombarding the castle and town until the regular troops came over from the land side, and the Carolina militia were removed from Point Quartel to Anastasia. He then summoned the Governor to surrender, but received an indignant refusal.
Soon after some sloops, with a reinforcement of men, and a further supply of military stores and provisions from Havana, found means to enter the harbor through the narrow channel of the Matanzas.
Upon this, all prospect of starving the enemy Was lost; and there remained only the chance of a forcible assault and battery.
As the dernier resort, it was agreed, on the 23d of June, that Captain Warren, with the boats from the men of war, the two sloops hired by General Oglethorpe, and the Carolina vessels, with their militia, should attack the half-galleys; and, at a given signal, the General should attack the trenches.