What portion of the Savannah Church remained in America, after the
evacuation of the city of Savannah by the British, in 1782, we are not
able to state. But blessings and trials attended both that portion of
the flock which went abroad and that which remained. Andrew Bryan,
Hannah Bryan, Kate Hogg, and Hagar Simpson,[52] were among the last
converts received into the fellowship of the Negro Baptist church at
Savannah before the pastor, the Rev. George Liele, sailed for the West
Indies in 1782. These and probably others, like Jesse Peter, remained
in America after the restoration of peace between the United States
and the "mother-country," and labored under Andrew Bryan, their new
spiritual leader, for the continuation of the work which had been so
blessed of God under the labors of George Liele.
From Liele's departure, in 1782, to the time of Andrew Bryan's
ordination, in 1788, the little flock at Savannah, Georgia, was
bitterly persecuted, but its work for resuscitation, and progress, was
wonderful--wonderful because of the moral heroism which characterized
it. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that much of the opposition
to the church at Savannah from 1782 to 1787 was due to the
circumstances in which it had come into being, and not to any real
antipathy to the cause of Christ. For it must be borne in mind that it
was a creature of the Revolutionary War, and of British origin, having
been planted when the rightful people of Savannah were languishing in
exile, or heroically struggling with the enemy in other parts of the
country. Bryan and his associates were beaten unmercifully for their
persistency in holding on to the work, but they were prepared to yield
their lives in martyrdom[53] sooner than relinquish what George Liele
had instituted. So it lived--lived amid the fires of persecution.
Jesse Peter, a member of the church under Liele, and, after the
Revolutionary War, pastor of the church at Silver Bluff, saw what was
needed to end this persecution, and proceeded to change the aspect of
things. He was held in high esteem by the colonists, and Abraham
Marshall, of Kiokee, Georgia, was his chief admirer and friend.
Accordingly, he secured the services of Abraham Marshall in setting
things aright. The church was organized anew, the pastor was ordained
to the office of a Baptist minister, and the reestablished church,
with its preacher, was brought into membership with the Georgia
Baptist Association.[54] As Abraham Marshall was beloved by Georgia
Baptists as no other man of the State, it was enough that this church
should have his official approval and recognition. Referring to this
new order of things, instituted on the 20th day of January, 1788,
Marshall, the one associated with Jesse Peter in the undertaking,
recognizes Jesse Peter as taking the initiative, when he says, "I
assisted in the constitution of the church, and the ordination of the
minister."[55]
So ended the second period in the history of this church, as the dawn
of its new day began--a day in which the once-persecuted congregation
could say: "We enjoy the rights of conscience to a valuable extent,
worshipping in our families, preaching three times every Lord's Day,
baptizing frequently from ten to thirty at a time, in the Savannah,
and administering the sacred supper, not only without molestation,
but in the presence and with the approbation and encouragement of many
of the white people."[56]
Let us recapitulate. We began with the church at Silver Bluff, South
Carolina. We were next attracted to Canada, and then to far-off Africa
by the labors of David George, the first regular pastor at Silver
Bluff. Again we follow a portion of the Silver Bluff Church to
Savannah, Georgia. In Savannah we see a church growing under the
labors of George Liele, then we find Liele and Amos in the British
West Indies, leading large congregations of Negro Baptists. Once more
we turn our eyes homeward, and we are attracted to the church at
Silver Bluff, South Carolina, to the church at Augusta, Georgia, and
the church at Savannah, which, having endured the severest trials,
rejoices in recognition and peace--the church of today.