in May following they determined to anticipate an act on the part of
Governor Wright similar to that of Gage at Boston. Accordingly, on the
night of the eleventh of May,[[1775]] six of the members of the Council
of Safety, **** and others, broke open the magazine, (v) took out the
powder, sent a portion of it to Beaufort, South Carolina, and concealed
the remainder in their garrets and cellars. The governor offered a
reward of one hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the apprehension of
the offenders, but the secret was never revealed till the patriots used
the powder in defense of their liberties.
On the first of June, Governor Wright and the Loyalists of Savannah
prepared to celebrate the king's birth-day. On the night of the second,
some of the leading Whigs spiked the cannon on the battery, and hurled
them to the bottom of the bluff. Nineteen days afterward, a meeting
was called for the purpose of choosing a committee to enforce the
requirements of the _American Association_, put forth by the Congress of
1774. (vi) The first victim to his temerity in opposing the operations
of the committee was a man named Hopkins. He ridiculed the Whigs, and
they, in turn, gave him a coat of tar and feathers, and paraded him in a
cart through the town for four or five hours. About this time, a letter
from Governor Wright to General Gage was intercepted by the vigilant
Whigs of Charles-
* The only newspaper in the province (the Georgia Gazette, established
in 1762) was under the control of Governor Wright, and through it he
disseminated much sophistry, and sometimes falsehoods among the people.
** The committees of St. John's parish convened on the ninth of
February, 1775, and addressed a circular letter to the committees
of other colonies, asking their consent to the reception of a
representative in Congress from that particular parish. Encouraged by
the answer they received, they met again on the twenty-first of
March, and appointed Dr. Lyman Hall to represent them. When he went
to Philadelphia, he took with him, from Sunbury, one hundred and sixty
barrels of rice, and two hundred and fifty dollars, as a present to the
people of Boston.
*** The whole record of the proceedings of Congress on that day is
as follows: "Saturday, October 8, 1774.--The Congress resumed the
consideration of the letter from Boston, and, upon motion, Resolved,
That this Congress approve the opposition of the inhabitants of
Massachusetts Bay to the execution of the late Acts of Parliament; and
if the same shall be attempted to be carried into execution by force, in
such case, all America ought to support them in their opposition." The
proceedings of that one day should be written in brass and marble; for
the resolution then adopted was the first Federal gauntlet of defiance
cast at the feet of the British monarch. The eighth of October, 1774,
should be placed by the side of the fourth of July, 1776, as one of the
most sacred days in the calendar of Freedom.
**** These were Noble Wimberly Jones, Joseph Habersham, Edward Telfair,
William Gibbons, Joseph Clay, and John Milledge.
* (v) The magazine was at the eastern extremity of the town. It was sunk
about twelve feet under the ground, inclosed with brick, and secured
by a door in such a way that the governor did not consider a guard
necessary.
* (vi) This committee consisted of sixteen leading men of Savannah,
among whom was Samuel (afterward General) Elbert, and George Walton, one
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. M'Call (ii., 45)
says that, after the meeting adjourned, "a number of gentlemen dined at
Tondee's tavern, where the Union flag was hoisted upon the liberty-pole,
and two pieces of artillery were placed under it." The Union flag,
of thirteen red and white stripes, was not adopted until the first of
January, 1776, when it was first unfurled in the American camp, near
Boston.
[[[Intercepted Letter.--Seizure of Powder.--Imprisonment of the
Governor.--His Escape.--A Traitor.]]]
{726}ton. It contained a request for Gage to send some British troops to
suppress the rebellious spirit of the Georgians. *
[Illustration: 9736]
The Republicans were exceedingly indignant; and when, a day or two
afterward, it was known that Captain Maitland had arrived at Tybee
Island, at the mouth of the Savannah, with thirteen thousand pounds of
powder and other articles for the British and Indians, it was determined
to seize the vessel. The Georgia Assembly was then in session. ** The
leading Whigs approved of the enterprise, and on the night of the tenth
of July, thirty volunteers, under Commodore Bowen and Colonel Joseph
Habersham, embarked in two boats, took possession of the ship,
discharged the crew, and placed the powder in the magazine in Savannah,
except five thousand pounds, which they sent to the army then investing
Boston, under General Washington. ***
[Illustration: 8736]
The Indian hostilities, which occurred at this time on the western Miles
frontiers, we have considered in preceding chapters.
The spirit of resistance waxed stronger and stronger during the
autumn of 1775. In January, 1776, it assumed a form of strength and
determination hitherto unknown in Georgia. On the eighteenth of that
month, Colonel Joseph Habersham, **** who was a member of the Assembly,
raised a party of volunteers, took Governor Wright a prisoner, and
paroled him to his own house, (v) before which a sentinel was placed,
and forbid all intercourse between him and persons inimical to the
Republican cause. On the night of the eleventh of February,[[1776]]
during a storm, the governor escaped from a back window of his house,
with John Muloyne, and went down the river five miles, to Bonaventure,
the residence of that gentleman. There a boat and crew were waiting for
him, and he was conveyed to Tybec Sound, and took shelter on board the
armed ship Scarborough.
Royal rule had now actually ceased
* The Secret Committee at Charleston, who intercepted this letter,
placed another in the cover, with Governor Wright's name counterfeited,
and sent it on to Gage. In that letter they said (as if Governor Wright
was penning it), "I have wrote for troops to awe the people, but now
there is no occasion for sending them, for the people are again come to
some order." Gage was thus misled.
** They met on the fourth of July. On the fifteenth, they elected
Archibald Bullock, John Houstoun, John Joachim Zubley, Noble Wimberly
Jones, and Lyman Hall, to represent that province in the Continental
Congress. These were the first delegates elected by the representatives
of the whole people, for Hall represented only the parish of St. John's.
Fifty-three members signed their credentials. Zubley afterward became
a traitor. While the subject of independence was being debated in 1776,
Samuel Chase, of Maryland, accused Zubley of communicating with Governor
Wright. Zubley denied the charge, but while Chase was collecting proof,
the recusant fled.
*** One of the men engaged in this adventure was Ebenezer Smith Platt.
He was afterward made a prisoner, and being recognized as one of this
daring party, was sent to England, where he lay in jail many months,
under a charge of high treason. He was eventually considered a prisoner
of war, and was exchanged.
**** Joseph Habersham was the son of a merchant of Savannah, who died at
New Brunswick, in New Jersey, in August, 1775. Joseph Habersham held the
rank of lieutenant colonel in the Continental army. In 1785, he was a
member of Congress from Savannah; and in 1795, Washington appointed him
postmaster general of the United States. He held that office until 1800,
when he resigned. He was made president of the Branch Bank of the United
States, at Savannah, in 1802, which position he held until his death, in
November, 1815, at the age of sixty-five years. The name of his brother
James, late President of the Council, appears upon the first bill of
credit issued by the Provincial Congress of Georgia in 1776.
* ( v) Governor Wright's house was on the lot in Heathcote Ward, where
the Telfair House now stands. The Council House was on the lot where
George Schley. Esq., resided in 1849.
[[[Congressional Delegates.--Savannah Menaced.--British Repulsed.--Party
Lines.--Lee's Expedition.]]]
{727}in Georgia, and the Assembly assumed governmental powers. They
elected new delegates to the Continental Congress;[[1776]] passed a
resolution to raise a battalion of Continental troops;[[Feb. 4]] and
issued bills of credit in the form of certificates, and ordered them to
be received at par in payment of debts and for merchandise.
Governor Wright wrote a letter to the Assembly[[Feb. 13]] very
conciliatory in its tone, but receiving no answer, he resolved to allow
the armed vessels at the mouth of the river to force their way to the
town, and procure such supplies as they needed. Eleven merchant vessels,
laden with rice, were then at Savannah ready to sail. These were
seized by the war ships, and Majors Maitland and Grant landed, with
a considerable force, upon Hutchinson's Island, opposite Savannah,
preparatory to an attack upon the town[[March 6, 1776]] The patriots
were on the alert, and sent a flag to Maitland, warning him to desist.
This flag was detained, and another was fired upon. Further parley was
deemed unnecessary, and the next day two merchant vessels, lying in
the stream, were set on fire by the patriots. Floating down to the one
containing Maitland and Grant, with their men, great consternation was
produced. Some of the soldiers jumped overboard and swam ashore; some
stuck in the mud, and many lost their fire-arms; while the officers
escaped in boats to Hutchinson's Island. At this critical moment,
four hundred Carolinians, under Colonel Bull, arrived, and aided the
Georgians in repulsing the assailants. Three of the merchant vessels
were burned, six were dismantled, and two escaped to sea.
The breach between the Whigs and Tories was now too wide to be closed,
and the line was very distinctly drawn by stringent measures on the part
of the former. *** These tended to winnow the chaff from the wheat, and
many Tories, possessed of no property, left Georgia and took refuge in
East Florida, where Governor Tonyn was actively engaged in fitting out
privateers to prey upon the infant commerce of the Southern colonists,
and to ravage their coasts. The Tories there organized under the title
of the _Florida Rangers_, and were led by Thomas Brown, the Augusta
Loyalist, who afterward commanded the garrison at that place. A fort
built by Governor Wright's brother, on the St. Mary's, was their place
of rendezvous, whence they went out and levied terrible contributions,
in the way of plunder, upon the people of Southern Georgia, who were
thinly scattered over the country.
The war had now fairly commenced, and the flame of patriotism which
burned so brightly at the North was not less intense in Georgia. The
Declaration of Independence was received in Savannah with great
joy. **** [[August 10, 1776]] Pursuant to the recommendation of
the Continental Congress, the people turned their attention to the
organization of civil government, upon the basis of independence, and in
strengthening their military power. To weaken the British and Tories in
the South, an expedition against St. Augustine (then in possession of
the English) was planned, and General Charles Lee, then at Charleston,
was invited to take the command of troops that might be sent. Lee
perceived the advantages to be derived from such a measure, and
acquiescing, he immediately ordered Brigadier Robert Howe to proceed to
Savannah with troops. Howe had marched as far as Sunbury, at the mouth
of the Midway River,[[August, 1776]] when sickness, want of artillery
and
* Archibald Bullock, John Houstoun, Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and
George Walton.
** Lachlin Mflntosh was appointed colonel; Samuel Elbert, lieutenant
colonel; and Joseph Habersham, major.
*** When the British first appeared in the attitude of assailants, the
Committee of Safety appraised such houses in Savannah as were owned by
Republicans, with the determination of applying the torch if they could
not repulse the enemy. The houses of the Tories were not noticed; and
therefore, in the event of a general conflagration, their property would
not be accounted for.
**** Archibald Bullock, president of the council, convened that body,
on the receipt of the Declaration (which came by express in thirty-five
days from Philadelphia), when they ordered it to be publicly read
in front of the council-chamber. There, under a military escort, the
council proceeded to the liberty-pole, where they were saluted by
thirteen cannon-peals and small arms from the first Continental
battalion, under Colonel M'Intosh. Proceeding to the haltery, another
salute of thirteen guns was fired. The people then partook of a dinner
in a grove, where thirteen toasts were given. In the afternoon, there
was a funeral procession, and the royal government was buried, with
the customary ceremonies. In the evening, the town was brilliantly
illuminated.--M'Call, ii., 90.
[[[Boldness of the Tories.--Organization of Civil Government.--M'Intosh
and Gwinnett.--A Duel.]]]
{718}other necessaries for the campaign, caused Lee to abandon the
enterprise. The effect of this movement was disastrous to the Whigs.
[Illustration: 8738]
The Tories gained confidence; and on the seventh day of February, 1777,
they attacked Fort M'Intosh. * The garrison was commanded by Captain
Richard Winn, of South Carolina. After holding out for two days, he was
obliged to surrender.
The officers and privates of the garrison were all paroled except two
young officers, who were taken to St. Augustine and kept as hostages.
During the autumn of 1776, a convention was held in Savannah to form
a state Constitution, with a bullet in the thigh. M'Intosh recovered;
Gwinnett died, murder, at the instance of Gwinnett's friends, and was
acquitted.
It was adopted on the 5th of February following: Button Gwinnett, one of
the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was chosen president of
the council, an office equivalent in its functions to that of governor.
In consequence of military rivalry, a serious difficulty arose between
Gwinnett and Colonel M'Intosh, ** who had just been elected brigadier
general of the Georgia Continental troops. A duel ensued, when both were
wounded, each M'Intosh was tried for This quarrel produced a serious
local agitation, which at one time menaced the Republican stability of
Georgia, and the true friends of the cause were alarmed. To allay party
feeling, General M'Intosh consented to accept of a station at the
North; and Washington appointed him commander-in-chief of the Western
Department, with his head-quarters at Pittsburg, where we have already
met him. (See page 500.)
During the summer and autumn of 1777, Colonels Elbert, Scriven, Baker,
and others, attempted to dislodge the Tories from East Florida, and
several skirmishes occurred. These expeditions were fruitless of
advantage to the patriots, and much suffering ensued. Frederica was
attacked by the enemy; some Americans and negroes were captured,
and considerable property was carried off. Often, during the autumn,
predatory excursions were made
* This was a small stockade, one hundred feet square, with a block-house
in the center, and a bastion at each corner. It was situated upon the
northeast side of Saltilla River, in the present Camden county.
** Lachlin M'Intosh was born near Inverness, in Scotland, in 1727. He
was the son of John M., who was at the head of the Borlam branch of the
clan M'Intosh. He came to Georgia with General Oglethorpe in 1736, when
Lachlin was nine years of age. His father being made a prisoner and sent
to St. Augustine, Lachlin was left to the care of his mother at the age
of thirteen years. His opportunities for education were small, yet his
strong mind overcame many difficulties. Arrived at maturity! he went to
Charleston, where, on account of his fine personal appearance and the
services of his father, he commanded attention. He and Henry Laurens
became friends, and he entered that gentleman's counting-room as clerk.
He left commercial pursuits, returned to his friends on the Alatamaha,
married, and engaged in the profession of a land surveyor. He made
himself acquainted with military tactics, and when the War for
Independence broke out, he was found, when needed, on the side of
the Republicans. He was first appointed colonel, and in 1776 was
commissioned a brigadier. He was persecuted by his rival, Button
Gwinnett, until he could no longer forbear; and finally, pronouncing
that gentleman a scoundrel, a duel ensued, and Gwinnett was killed.
M'Intosh afterward commanded in the Western Department, and led an
expedition against the Indians. (See page 500). He returned to Georgia
in 1779, and was at the siege and fall of Savannah. He was with Lincoln
at Charleston, where he was made prisoner. After his release, he went
with his family to Virginia, where he remained until the close of the
war. When he returned to Georgia, he found his property nearly all
wasted; and in retirement and comparative poverty, he lived in Savannah
until his death, which occurred in 1806, at the age of seventy-nine.
General M'Intosh, when young, was considered the handsomest man in
Georgia.
[[[Expedition to Florida.--Troops under General Howe.--His public
Life.--Duel with Gadsden.]]]
{729}upon the southern frontiers of Georgia, the marauders frequently
penetrating as far as the Alatamaha and even beyond, and the settlements
suffered terribly.
During the winter and spring of 1778, the opponents of the new
government became formidable, and indications of an invasion of Georgia,
from Florida and from the Indian territory in the West, was perceived.
[Illustration: 8739]
Tories gathered at Ninety-Six] and crossed the Savannah, while those of
Florida, joined by the Indians, continued to scatter desolation along
the southern frontier. Robert Howe, * of North Carolina, now promoted
to the rank of major general, was in the chief command of the Southern
army, and favored the yet cherished design to march into Florida
and disperse the Loyalists. In fact, this measure had become a chief
desideratum, for the gathering storm on the frontier of that state was
pregnant with evil omens for the whole South. The Loyalists were
gaining strength on the St. Mary's, St. John's, and at Pensacola,
and re-enforcements of British troops were expected at St.
Augustine.[[April, 1778]] Howe moved his head-quarters from Charleston to
Savannah.
His regulars, who were in a condition to take the field, did not
exceed five hundred and fifty men. These were joined by the commands
of Colonels C. C. Pinckney, Bull, and Williamson. Governor Houstoun, of
Georgia, who was requested to furnish three hundred and fifty militia,
cheerfully complied.
[Illustration: 9739]
Thus prepared, Howe marched toward the Alatamaha, when he was informed
that a body of British regulars, under General Augustine Prévost, a
large force of Loyalists, under Colonel Brown, and numerous Indians,
were moving toward the St. Mary's for the purpose of invading Georgia.
Already Colonel Elbert had been victorious at Frederica, ** and Howe
felt certain of success, when, on the twentieth of May,[[1778]] he
reached the Alatamaha, and learned how rumors of his expe-
* Robert Howe was a native of Brunswick, North Carolina. History bears
no record of his private life, and his biography has never been written.
He appears to have been one of the earliest and most uncompromising of
the patriots of the Cape Fear region, for we find him honored with an
exception, together with Cornelius Harnett, when royal clemency was
offered to the rebels by Sir Henry Clinton, in 1776. He was appointed
colonel of the first North Carolina regiment, and with his command went
early into the field of Revolutionary strife. In December, 1775, he
joined Woodford at Norfolk (see page 536), in opposition to Lord Dunmore
and his motley army. For his gallantry during this campaign, Congress,
on the twenty-ninth of February, 1776, appointed him, with five others,
brigadier general in the Continental army, and ordered him to Virginia.
In the spring of 1776, British spite toward General Howe was exhibited
by Sir Henry Clinton, who sent Cornwallis, with nine hundred men, to
ravage his plantation near old Brunswick village. He was placed in
chief command of the Southern troops in 1778, and was unsuccessful in an
expedition against Florida, and in the defense of Savannah. His conduct
was censured, but without just cause. Among others whose voice was
raised against him, was Christopher Gadsden, of Charleston. Howe
required him to deny or retract. Gadsden would do neither, and a duel
ensued. They met at Cannonsburg, and all the damage either sustained was
a scratch upon the ear of Gadsden by Howe's ball. *
** Colonel Elbert, who was stationed at Fort Howe, on the Alatamaha,
early in the spring of 1778, went with three hundred men to Darien,
where he embarked on board three galleys, accompanied by a detachment
of artillery on a flat-boat, and proceeded to attack a hostile party at
Oglethorpe's Fort. He was successful. A brigantine was captured, and
the garrison, alarmed, fled from the fort to their boats, and escaped,
leaving Elbert complete victor. On board of the brigantine were three
hundred uniform suits, belonging to Colonel Pinckney's regiment,
which had been captured while on their way, in the sloop Hatter, from
Charleston to Savannah.
* Major André wrote a humorous account, in rhyme, of this affair, in
eighteen stanzas. Bernard Elliott was the second of Gadsden, and
General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of Howe. The duel occurred on the
thirteenth of August, 1778. After this affair, Howe and Gadsden were
warm friends.
[[[March toward Florida.--Divided Commands.--Failure of the
Expedition.--Minor Expeditions.]]]
{730}dition had alarmed the Tories of East Florida. His enterprise was
exceedingly popular, and the sympathy of the whole Southern people, who
were favorable to Republicanism, was with him. With scanty supplies, he
pushed forward in the midst of many difficulties, to Fort Tonyn, on
the St. Mary's,[[June, 1778]] which the enemy abandoned and partly
demolished on his approach. Here he ordered a general rendezvous of
all the troops, and of the galleys, under Commodore Bowen, preparatory
to making an assault upon St. Augustine.
On the day of his arrival at Fort Tonyn, Howe was informed that twelve
hundred men had marched from St. Augustine for the St. John's, and that
two galleys, laden with twenty-four pounders, had been sent to the
mouth of that river, to co-operate with the land force in opposing the
Americans. He was also informed by a deserter that the whole force of
the enemy was about fifteen hundred men fit for duty. Sudden, united,
and energetic action was now necessary, but Howe experienced the
contrary on the part of his compatriots. The governor of Georgia was
at the head of his own militia, and refused to be commanded by Howe;
Colonel Williamson (the imputed traitor) look the same course with
his volunteers; and Commodore Bowen would not be governed by any land
officer. The necessary consequence was tardy, divided, and inefficient
operations.
Sickness soon prostrated almost one half of the troops, for, unprovided
with sufficient tents, they slept exposed to the deadly malaria of the
night air among the swamps; and Howe clearly perceived that failure must
result in future movements unless the forces could be united under one
commander. He called a council of war, and ascertained that Houstoun
would not be governed by another, and that the army was rapidly melting
away. A retreat was unanimously agreed upon. Pinckney and the remains
of his command returned by water to Charleston, while Howe, with the
remnants of his force, reduced by sickness and death from eleven hundred
to three hundred and fifty, returned to Savannah by land. Thus ended an
expedition upon which the South had placed great reliance. Howe was much
censured, but the blame should properly rest upon those who, by proud
assumption of separate commands, retarded his movements and weakened his
power. No expedition was ever successful with several commanders.
The British, emboldened by this second failure of the Americans to
invade Florida, and counting largely upon the depressing influence
it would have upon the patriots, hastened to invade Georgia in turn.
Savannah was the chief point of attack. It was arranged that a naval
force, with land troops from the North, should enter the river and
invest the city; while General Prevost, who commanded in East Florida,
should march toward the same point from St. Augustine, with his whole
motley band of regulars, Tories, and Indians, to awe the people in
that direction, and by preliminary expeditions weaken the Americans. *
Hitherto the British arms had been chiefly directed against the Northern
and Middle States, but with little effect. The patriots had steadily
maintained their ground, and the area actually out of possession of the
Americans was very small. Sir Henry Clinton was master of New York city,
but almost every where else the Americans held possession. To the South
he looked for easier and more extensive conquests; and against
Savannah, the apparently weakest point he directed his first operations.
Lieutenant-colonel Campbell,
* Soon after the return of Howe, some regulars and Loyalists had made
a rapid incursion into Georgia, and menaced the fort at Sunbury, at
the mouth of the Midway River. The little garrison was commanded bv
Lieutenant-colonel John M'Intosh (a brother of General Mflntosh). The
enemy approached in two divisions, one with artillery, in boats, under
Lieutenant-colonel Fuser; the other by land, under Lieutenant-colonel
Mark Prévost, consisting of six hundred regulars. Fuser approached the
fort and demanded its surrender. M'Intosh replied, "Come and take it!"
The promptness and brevity of the reply indicated security, and Fuser
withdrew, although he could easily have captured the fort. In the mean
while, General Seriven, with others, were skirmishing with Colonel
Prevost, who had been joined by a band of Tories, under M'Girth, in one
of which the latter was mortally wounded. The invaders pressed forward
until within three miles of Ogeechee Ferry, where they were confronted
by Colonel Elbert and two hundred Continentals, at a breast-work thrown
up by a planter named Savage. Unable to proceed further, they retraced
their steps toward the Alatamaha, plundering and burning houses, and
laying the whole country waste. Midway church was destroyed, rice barns
were burned, and the people were made houseless.
[[[British Expedition against Savannah.--Preparations to receive
them.--Landing of the British.]]]
{731}an efficient and reliable officer, sailed from Sandy Hook on the
twenty-seventh of November,[[1778]] with more than two thousand land
troops, * covered by a small squadron, under Commodore Parker. The
fleet arrived at Tybee Island (see map, page 726), near the mouth of
the Savannah, on the twenty-third of December. Six days afterward, the
vessels and transports had crossed the bar, and the troops were landed
at daybreak[[Dec. 29]] without much opposition, three miles below the
town, above Five-fathom Hole, opposite Brewton's Hill. **
General Howe, whose army was now augmented to a little less than seven
hundred men, was at Sunbury when intelligence was received at Savannah
of the approach of the British fleet. Governor Houstoun immediately
sent an express to Howe with the information. At the same time, another
messenger arrived at Sunbury from the South, informing Howe that General
Prevost, with all his force, was on his way from St. Augustine to
invade Georgia. All was alarm and confusion when the latter intelligence
reached Savannah. The governor sent the public records to Purysburg for
safety, from whence they were afterward carried to Charleston. The small
battery on the eastern extremity of the city was strengthened, and the
people aided the soldiers in casting up intrenchments. ***
Howe hastened to his camp at Savannah to prepare for the invasion.
His little army was encamped southeast of the town, near the eastern
extremity of the present remains of the French works. There he anxiously
awaited promised re-enforcements from South Carolina, under General
Lincoln. The militia from the surrounding country came in very slowly,
day after day; and on the morning of the battle which ensued, his whole
force was about nine hundred men. Believing the British army to be
really weaker than it appeared, he resolved to defend the town; and
when, on the morning of the twenty-eighth, the fleet appeared at
Five-fathom Hole, where Fort Jackson now is, he prepared for battle. On
that morning, Colonel Elbert, perceiving the necessity of keeping the
enemy from the advantageous position of Brewton's Hill, offered to
defend it with his regiment; but Howe, believing they would march
immediately toward the town, rejected the proposition. He placed his
center at the head of the causeway; his left, under Colonel Elbert,
fronted the rice-fields, and was flanked by the river: and his right,
commanded by Colonel Isaac Huger, covered the morass in front, and
was flanked by the wooded swamp and one hundred Georgia militia, under
Colonel George Walton. Having made this disposition, he detached Captain
J. C. Smith, of South Carolina, to occupy and defend Brewton's Hill. His
little force proved inadequate; and soon after landing, the British took
possession of that eminence. Howe now perceived the superiority of the
British force, and at ten o'clock in the morning called a council of war
to consider the expediency of abandoning the town. It was then too late
to deliberate, for the enemy were forming for attack. It was resolved
first to fight, and then to retreat, if necessary.
After Campbell had formed his army on Brewton's Hill, he moved forward,
and took a position within eight hundred yards of the American front,
where he maneuvered in a man-
* These troops consisted of the 71st regiment of foot, two battalions of
Hessians, four of provincials, and a detachment of the royal artillery.
** From the landing-place (which was the nearest the ships could
approach) a narrow causeway, with a ditch on each side, led through a
rice swamp six hundred yards, to firm ground. The 7lst regiment of
royal Scots led the van across the causeway, and was attacked by some
Americans. Captain Cameron and two of his company were killed, and five
were wounded. The Highlanders were made furious, and, rushing forward,
drove the Americans into the woods.
*** More clearly to understand the nature of the attack, defense, and
result, it is necessary to know the position of the town at that time.
It is situated upon a high bluff of forty feet altitude, and then, as
now, was approachable by land on three sides. From the high ground of
Brewton's Hill and Thunderbolt on the east, a road crossed a morass upon
a causeway, having rice-fields on the north side to the river, and
a wooded swamp, several miles in extent, on the south of it. It was
approached from the south by the roads from White Bluff, on Vernon
River, and from the Ogeechee Ferry, which unite near the town; and from
the westward by a road and causeway over the deep swamps of Musgrove's
Creek, where, also, rice-fields extend from the causeway to the river
on the north. From the western direction, the Central Rail-way enters
Savannah. From the eastern to the western causeway was about three
fourths of a mile.
[[[Battle.--Defeat of the Americans.--Disastrous Retreat.--The Loss.]]]
{732}ner to excite the belief that he intended to attack the center and
left. This was at three o'clock in the afternoon. This movement was
only a diversion in favor of a body of infantry and New York volunteers,
commanded by Sir James Baird, who, under the guidance of an old negro
named Quamino Dolly, withdrew unperceived, and by a by-path through
the swamp at the South, were gaining the American rear. To this by-path
Walton had called Howe's attention in the morning, but knowing its
obscurity, the general did not think it worthy of regard. Sir James
and his party reached the White Bluff' road unperceived, and pressing
forward, attacked Walton's Georgia brigade on flank and rear. Walton was
wounded and taken prisoner, and such was the fate of a large portion of
his command. At the same moment Campbell moved forward and attacked the
Americans in front. The patriot line was soon broken, and, perceiving
the growing panic and confusion, Howe ordered a retreat over the
causeway across Musgrove's Swamp, west of the town. To that point
Colonel Roberts, in obedience to early orders, if the contingency should
occur, hastened with the artillery, to cover the retreat. Already the
enemy was there in force to dispute the passage. By great exertions, the
American center gained the causeway and escaped without loss. The right
flank also retreated across, but suffered from an oblique enfilading
fire; while to Colonel Elbert, with the left, the passage was closed
after a severe conflict. He and his troops attempted to escape by the
rice-fields, but it being high water in the creek, none but those who
could swim succeeded, and these lost their guns and accoutrements. Many
were drowned, and the remainder were taken prisoners. While the British
were pursuing the Americans through the town toward Musgrove's Creek,
many citizens, some of whom had not been in the battle, were bayoneted
in the streets; but when the action was over, life and property were
spared. Campbell's humanity and generosity as a man were equal to his
skill and bravery as a soldier, and the active terrors of war in the
city ceased with the battle. * Yet deep sadness brooded over Savannah
that night, for many bereaved ones wept in bitter anguish over relatives
slain or mortally wounded. ** Those few who escaped across Musgrove's
Swamp, retreated up the Savannah and joined Howe, who, with the center,
fled as far as Cherokee Hill, eight miles distant, and halted. The whole
fugitive force then pushed up the Savannah to Zubley's Ferry, where
they crossed into South Carolina. Howe saved three field-pieces in his
flight. ***
When Lieutenant-colonel Campbell had secured his prize by garrisoning
the fort at Savannah, and by other measures for defense, he prepared to
march against Sunbury, the only post of any consequence now left to
the Americans, near the Georgia sea-board. He issued orders to the
commanders of detachments in the lower part of the state to treat
the people leniently, and by proclamation he invited them to join the
British standard. These measures had their desired effect, and timid
hundreds, seeing the state under the heel of British power, proclaimed
their loyalty, and rallied beneath the banner of St. George.
While arranging for his departure southward, Campbell received
intelligence that the garrison at Sunbury had surrendered to General
Prevost. That officer had left St. Augus-
* Like credit can not be given to Commodore Parker. For want of other
quarters the prisoners were placed on board of ships, where disease
made dreadful havoc daily during the succeeding summer. Parker not only
neglected the comforts of the prisoners, but was brutal in his manner.
Among those confined in these horrid prison ships, was the venerable
Jonathan Bryan, aged and infirm. When his daughter pleaded with Hyde
Parker for an alleviation of the sufferings of her parent, he treated
her with vulgar rudeness and contempt. The bodies of those who died were
deposited in the marsh mud, where they were sometimes exposed and eaten
by buzzards and crows.--See M'Call's History of Georgia, ii., 176.
** About one hundred Americans were either killed in the action or
drowned in the swamp, and thirty-eight officers and four hundred and
fifteen privates were taken prisoners. The fort; which only commanded
the water, and was of no service on this occasion, with forty-eight
pieces of cannon, twenty-three mortars and howitzers, eight hundred and
seventeen small arms, ninety-four barrels of gunpowder, fifteen hundred
and forty-five cannon shot, one hundred and four ease ditto, two hundred
shells, nine tons of lead, military stores, shipping in the river, and
a large quantity of provisions, fell into the hands of the victors.
The British lost only seven killed and nineteen wounded. The private
soldiers who refused to enlist in the British army were confined in
prison ships; the Continental officers were paroled to Sunbury.
*** Ramsay, ii., 4: Gordon, ii.. 403; Marshall, i., 293; M'Call, ii.,
168; Stedman. ii., 66.
[[[Sunbury taken by the British.--Sketch of the Public Life of General
Lincoln.]]]
{733}tine with about two thousand men (including Indians) and several
pieces of artillery, on the day when Campbell reached Tybee Island. One
division took a land route, the other proceeded in armed boats. They
reached the vicinity of Sunbury on the sixth of January, and proceeded
to attack the fort.
[Illustration: 9743]
The garrison consisted of about two hundred Continental troops and
militia, under Major Lane, who, when Prevost demanded an unconditional
surrender on the morning of the ninth, promptly refused compliance.
Prevost then placed his cannon in battery and opened upon the fort. Lane
soon perceived the folly of resistance, and after considerable parleying
he surrendered. The spoils of victory were twenty-four to the command in
the Southern department where we find him in the summer of 1779 pieces of
artillery, with ammunition and provisions; and the men of the garrison
were made prisoners of war. The Americans lost one captain and three
privates killed, and seven wounded. The British loss was one private
killed and three wounded. Two American galleys in the river were taken
by their crews to Assabaw Island, stranded, and burned. The crews
escaped in a sloop, but, while on their way to Charleston, were captured
and carried prisoners to Savannah.
The fall of Sunbury was the death-blow to Republican power in East
Georgia, and the conquest of the whole state now appeared an easy thing.
The march of Campbell to Augusta, under the direction of Prevost, who
proceeded from Sunbury to Savannah; the establishment of military
posts in the interior; Campbell's sudden retreat from Augusta, and the
subsequent battle at Brier Creek, we have already considered. Previous
to these events, and soon after the failure of Howe's summer campaign
against East Florida, General Lincoln * had been appointed [[Sept. 26,
1778]] and Howe was ordered to the North, at Verplanck's Point.
* Benjamin Lincoln was born on the third of February, 1733. He was
trained to the business of a farmer, and had few educational advantages.
He continued in his vocation in his native town (Hingham, Massachusetts)
until past forty years of age, when he engaged in civil and military
duties. He was a local magistrate, representative in the Colonial
Legislature, and held the appointment of colonel of militia, when, in
1774, he was appointed a major general of militia. He was very active
until the close of 1776, in training the militia for the Continental
service, and in February, 1777, he joined Washington, at Morristown,
with a re-enforcement. On the nineteenth of that month, Congress
appointed Lincoln, with Lord Stirling, St. Clair, Mifflin, and Stephen,
major general in the Continental army. He was active during the summer
and autumn of that year in opposition to Burgoyne, while on his march
toward Saratoga. He was severely wounded on the seventh of October, at
Saratoga, which kept him from active service until August, 1778, when he
joined Washington. He was appointed to the chief command in the Southern
department, in September, and arrived at Charleston in December. By
judicious management he kept Prévost and his troops below the Savannah
River most of the time, until October, when, in concert with D'Estaing,
he laid siege to Savannah. The effort was unsuccessful. In May
following, he, with the largest portion of the Southern army, were made
prisoners at Charleston by the British, under Sir Henry Clinton. He was
permitted to return to Hingham on parole. In November he was exchanged,
and the following spring he joined Washington on the Hudson. He was at
the surrender of Cornwallis, and was deputed to receive that commander's
sword. He was elected Secretary of War a few days after this event,
which office he held for three years, and then retired to his farm.
In 1786-7 he commanded the militia in the suppression of Shays's
insurrection. He was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in
1787. He was appointed collector of the port of Boston in 1789, which
office he held for twenty years, when he was succeeded by General
Dearborn. He died in Hingham, on the ninth of May, 1810, at the age of
seventy-seven years. He lived with his wife fifty-five years. General
Lincoln was temperate and religious. No profane word was ever heard
uttered by his lips. A great part of his life he was a deacon in the
Church.
* The signature of Howe on page 729 is from a letter written by him
under date of "Verplanck's Point, July, 1779."
[[[Royal Government re-established.--Appearance of the French
Fleet.--Alarm of the British.--Savannah strengthened.]]]
{734}Several minor expeditions were planned and executed both by
Prevost and Lincoln, but they had little effect. The latter arrived
at Purysburg, upon the Savannah, on the third of January, 1779, and
established his head-quarters there. His force consisted of about
twenty-five hundred effective men, and it continually augmented by
recruits from the militia. The marches and counter marches of
these generals in attempts to foil each other will be noticed while
considering the attack upon Charleston in May following, and its
immediate antecedent events. *
On the twentieth of July,[[1779]] Sir James Wright returned from England
and resumed the government of Georgia. It had been under military rule
since the fall of Savannah. Governor Wright did not long remain in
quiet, for the strong arm of our French ally held the falchion over
the head of British power in the South. Early in September, the Count
D'Estaing, with twenty ships of the line and eleven frigates, having on
board six thousand soldiers, suddenly appeared off the Southern coasts.
He had battled successfully with Admiral Byron in the West Indies, and
now he came to assist in driving the British out of the Southern States.
So sudden was his appearance off Tybee Island[[Sept. 3, 1779]] that four
British vessels fell into his hands without a contest. A plan was soon
arranged between Lincoln and D'Estaing to besiege Savannah. The latter
urged the necessity of early departure from our coast as a reason for
prompt action, and he entreated Lincoln to press forward with his army
as rapidly as possible.
From the moment when the French fleet appeared off Tybee, Provost
felt uneasy. He recalled his detachments from the advanced posts, and
directed Colonel Maitland, who, with eight hundred men, was stationed at
Beaufort, to be in readiness to leave that post. He began in earnest
to strengthen the fortifications of the city; and Colonel Moncrief, the
talented chief of the engineers, pressed into his service every hand not
otherwise employed, including three hundred negroes collected from the
neighboring plantations. Thirteen redoubts and fifteen batteries, with
lines of communication, were speedily completed, with strong _abatis_ in
front. Upon these batteries seventy-six pieces of cannon were placed, of
six, nine, and eighteen pounds caliber. These were manned by seamen from
the vessels of war in the harbor. Several field-pieces were placed in
reserve, to be used at any required point at a moment's warning, and
intrenchments were opened to cover the reserved troops and artillery.
On the evening of the fourth of September the French fleet disappeared,
and Prevost rejoiced in the belief that Savannah was not its
destination. Still, he continued his preparations for attack. The works
on Tybee Island were strengthened, and the garrison there was increased
by one hundred infantry under Captain Moncrief. On the sixth the fleet
reappeared with increased force; and on the ninth it anchored off
Tybee Island, and landed some troops on the south side of it. Moncrief,
perceiving resistance to be useless, spiked the guns, embarked the
troops, and fled to Savannah. The English shipping near Tybee sailed up
to Five Fathom Hole, and the whole British land force in Georgia was
now concentrated at Savannah. The next day all the cannons of the
armed vessels, except a few which were left to defend the channel, were
brought on shore and placed in battery. Every thing was now ready for an
attack.
Lincoln marched from Charleston to Zubley's Ferry, where he concentrated
his troops on the twelfth of September. Count Pulaski, with his legion,
and General M'Intosh, with his
* On one occasion two American galleys went down the Savannah and
captured and destroyed two vessels belonging to the English. Prevost on
another occasion sent a party to surprise Beaufort, and capture
stores there; and on the fourth of June, Colonel Cruger (who afterward
commanded at Ninety-Six), with a party of Loyalists, while celebrating
the king's birth-day at a plantation at Belfast, on the Midway, was
captured by Captain Spencer. Cruger was afterward exchanged for Colonel
John M'Intosh. On the south side of the Ogeeehee, at a place called
Hickory Hill, a party, under Colonel Twiggs, had a skirmish with some
British soldiers, who attacked them. The enemy lost seven killed, ten
wounded, and the remainder were taken prisoners. The Americans had two
wounded. Major Baker, with thirty men, attacked and defeated a party of
British soldiers near Sunbury, on the twenty-eighth of June, the same
dav when Twiggs had his engagement near the Ogeeehee. These were Georgia
Loyalists.
[[[American Army at Savannah.--Pulaski.--D'Estaing's summons to
Surrender refused.--His Error]]]
{735}command, were dispatched toward Savannah, a little in advance of
the main army, to attack the British outposts. Both parties had several
skirmishes with the enemy before they reached the French army, already
landed at Beaulieu, or Beuley.
[Illustration: 8745]
This junction effected, M'Intosh returned to Miller's plantation, three
miles from Savannah, where Lincoln, with the main army, arrived on the
sixteenth, and made his headquarters.
While Lincoln and his force were approaching, the French effected a
landing at Beuley and Thunderbolt, without opposition. M'Intosh linked
D'Estaing to make an immediate upon the attack British works. D'Estaing
would not listen, but advanced within three miles of Savannah,
[[Sept. 16, 1779]] and demanded an unconditional surrender to the
King of France. Prevost refused to listen to any summons which did not
contain definite provisions, and asked for a truce until the next day
to consider the subject. This was granted by D'Estaing, and, in the
meanwhile, twelve hundred white men and negroes were employed in
strengthening the fortifications, and mounting additional ordnance.
This truce Lincoln at once perceived was fatal to the success of the
besiegers, for he had ascertained that Maitland, with eight hundred men,
was on his way
* Count Casimir Pulaski was a native of Lithuania, in Poland. He was
educated for the law, but stirring military events had their influence
upon his mind, and he entered the army. With his father, the old Count
Pulaski, he was engaged in the rebellion against Stanislaus, king of
Poland, in 1769. The old count was taken prisoner, and put to death.
In 1770, the young Count Casimir was elected commander-in-chief of
the insurgents, but was not able to collect a competent force to act
efficiently, for a pestilence had swept off 250,000 Poles the previous
year. In 1771, himself and thirty-nine others entered Warsaw, disguised
as peasants, for the purpose of seizing the king. The object was to
plaee him at the head of the army, force him to act in that position,
and call around him the Poles to beat back the Russian forces which
Catharine had sent against them. They succeeded in taking him from his
carriage in the streets, and carrying him out of the city; but were
obliged to leave him, not far from the walls, and escape. Pulaski's
little army was soon afterward defeated, and he entered the service
of the Turks, who were fighting Russia. His estates were confiscated,
himself outlawed. He went to Paris, had an interview there with
Dr. Franklin, and came to America in 1777. He joined the army under
Washington, and, as we have seen, was placed in command of cavalry.
[Illustration: 9745]
* His legion did good service at the North. Early in the spring of 1778
he was ordered to Little Egg Harbor, on the New Jersey coast. His
force consisted of cavalry and infantry, with a single field-piece from
Proctor's artillery. While on his way from Trenton to Little Egg Harbor,
and when within eight miles of the coast, he was surprised by a party
of British, and a large portion of his infantry was bayoneted. Julien,
a deserter from his corps, had given information of his position;
the surprise was complete. His loss was forty men, among them
Lieutenant-eolonel Baron De Botzen. Pulaski was ordered to the South in
February, 1779, and was in active service under Lincoln until the siege
of Savannah, in October of that year, where he was mortally wounded. His
banner, as we have noticed on page 392, was preserved, and carried to
Baltimore. He was taken to the United States brig Wasp, where he died,
and was buried under a large tree on St. Helen's Island, about fifty
miles from Savannah, by his first lieutenant and personal friend,
Charles Litomiski. Funeral honors were paid to his memory at Charleston,
and, on the 29th of November, Congress voted the erection of a monument
to his memory. Like other monuments ordered by the Continental Congress,
the stone for Pulaski's is yet in the quarry. The citizens of Savannah
reared the one delineated on page 720, in commemoration ot the services
of Greene and Pulaski.
[[[Arrival of Maitland--Victory lost by Delay.--Plan of the Siege of
Savannah.]]]
{736}from Beaufort, to re-enforce Prevost, and that his arrival within
twenty-four hours was the object hoped to be gained by a truce for that
length of time. Such proved to be the fact; Maitland, under cover of a
fog, eluded the vigilance of the French cruisers, and entered the town
on the afternoon of the seventeenth. * His arrival gave Prevost courage,
and toward evening he sent a note to D'Estaing bearing a positive
refusal to capitulate. The golden opportunity was now lost to the
combined armies. **
[Illustration: 0746]
* Finding the French in possession of the only channel at the mouth
of the Savannah which was navigable, when he arrived at Dawfuskie,
Maitland, conducted by a negro fisherman, passed through a creek with
his boats, at high water, and, concealed by a fog, eluded the French.
D'Estaing, ignorant of the geography of the country about Savannah, had
no idea that there was any other way than by the regular channel for
boats to reach the town.
** Lee, in his Memoirs, says, "Any four hours before the junction of
Lieutenant-colonel Maitland was sufficient to have taken Savannah."
* Explanation of the Plan.--1, Georgia volunteers, under Major Wright.
2, Picket of the 71st. 3, First Battalion of Delancey's corps, under
Lieutenant-colonel Cruger. 4, Georgia militia. 5, Third battalion Jersey
volunteers, under Lieutenant-colonel Allen. 6, Georgia militia.
7, Picket of the line and armed negroes. 8, General's quarters;
convalescents of the line. 9, South Carolina Royalists. 10,
Georgia militia and detachment of the fourth battalion of the 60th,
Lieutenant-governor Graham. 11, Fourth battalion 60th dismounted
dragoons and South Carolina Royalists, Captain Taws. 12, North Carolina
Loyalists, Lieutenant-colonel Hamilton, Governor Sir James Wright. 13,
14, King's rangers, Lieutenant-colonel Brown. A, First battalion of
the 71st, Major M'Arthur. B, Regiment of Trombach. C, Second battalion
Delancey's corps, Lieutenant-colonel Delancey. D, New York volunteers,
Major Sheridan. E. Light infantry, Major Graham. F, Weisenbach's
regiment. G, Second battalion 71st, Major M'Donald. II, 60th Grenadiers,
three companies and one of marines, Lieutenant-colonel Glazier. I, North
Carolina Loyalists, under Colonel Maitland. The working of the artillery
during the siege was under the direction of Captain Charlton. This map
is copied from one in Stedman's History, drawn under the direction of
Colonel Moncrief. Neither the French nor Americans made any drawings,
and hence we are unable to give the positions of the various parts of
the combined armies, in detail. The city extended, at the time of the
siege, on the west to the present Jefferson Street, on the east to
Lincoln Street, on the South to South Broad Street, and contained six
squares and twelve streets. There were about four hundred and thirty
houses in the city.
[[[Operations of the Siege.--D'Estaing's Proposition to Storm the
Works.--Remains of the French Lines.]]]
{737}It was now perceived that the town must be taken by regular
approaches, and not by assault. To that end all energy was directed. The
heavy ordnance and stores were brought up from the landing-place of
the French, and on the morning of the twenty-third,[[Sept. 1779]] the
combined armies broke ground. The French frigates, at the same time,
moved up to the sunken vessels within gunshot of the town, and compelled
the British ships to take shelter under the guns of the battery. Night
and day the besiegers applied the spade, and so vigorously was the work
prosecuted, that in the course of twelve days fifty-three pieces of
battery cannon and fourteen mortars were mounted. Prevost, cautious and
skillful, did not waste his strength in opposing the progress of the
besiegers by sorties, but reserved all for the decisive moment.
[Illustration: 9747]
During the twelve days, only two sorties were made; one under Major
Graham,[[Sept. 24]] and the other under Major M'Arthur.[[Sept. 27]]
Several were killed on each occasion, but the general operations were
not affected.
On the morning of the fourth of October, the batteries being all
completed and manned, a terrible cannonade and bombardment was opened
upon the British works and the town. The French frigate Truite also
opened a cannonade from the water. Houses were shattered, some women
and children were killed or maimed, and terror reigned supreme. Families
took refuge in the cellars, and in many a frame the seeds of mortal
disease were planted while in those damp abodes during the siege. There
was no safety in the streets, for a moment. Day and night an incessant
cannonade was kept up from the fourth until the ninth; but, while many
houses were injured, not much impression was made upon the British
works. Slowly but surely the sappers and miners approached the batteries
and redoubts. The beleaguered began to be alarmed, for their guns made
very little impression upon the works or camp of the combined armies,
and the hope that Admiral Byron would follow and attack D'Estaing's
vessels, lying off Tybee, faded away.
Another promised victory was now before the besiegers, and almost within
their grasp, when D'Estaing became impatient. He feared the autumn
storms, and the British fleet which rumor said was approaching. A
council was held, and when his engineers informed him that it would
require ten days more to reach the British lines by trenches, he
informed Lincoln that forthwith, or an attempt be made to carry the
place by storm. The latter alternative was chosen, and the work began
on the morning of the following day.[[Oct. 9]] To facilitate it, the
_abatis_ were set that afternoon by the brave Major L'Enfant and five
men, while exposed to heavy volleys of musketry from the garrison, but
the dampness of the air checked the flames, and prevented the green wood
from burning.
Just before dawn on the morning of the ninth, about four thousand five
hundred men of the combined armies moved to the assault in the midst of
a dense fog, and under cover of a heavy fire from all the batteries. **
They advanced in three columns, the principal one
* These remains are in the southeastern suburbs of the city, about half
way between the Negro Cemetery and the residence of Major William Bowen,
seen toward the right of the picture. The banks have an average height,
from the bottom of the ditch, of about five feet, and are dotted with
pines and chineapins or dwarf chestnuts, the former draped with moss.
The ground is an open common, and although it was mid-winter when I
was there, it was covered with green grass, bespangled with myriads of
little flowers of stellar form. This view is from the direction of the
town looking southeast.
* Three thousand five hundred were French, a little more than six
hundred were American regulars (chiefly North Carolinians), and about
three hundred were militia from Charleston.
[[[Storming of the Spring Hill Redoubt.--D'Estaing Wounded.--Death of
Pulaski and Jasper.]]]
{738}commanded by D'Estaing in person, assisted by General Lincoln;
another main column by Count Dillon. The first was directed against the
Spring Hill redoubt * (between 11 and 12 on the right side of the map);
the second was to move silently along the edge of a swamp, pass the
redoubts and batteries, and assail the rear and weakest point of the
British lines, toward the river on the east; the third column, under
General Isaac Huger, was to make a feigned attack in front, to attract
attention from the other two. Fog and darkness allowed D'Estaing and
Lincoln to approach very near the Spring Hill redoubt before they were
discovered. Terrible was the conflict at this point just as the day
dawned. The French column led to the assault, and were confronted by
a blaze of musketry from the redoubt and by a cross-fire from the
adjoining batteries. Whole ranks were mowed down like grass before the
scythe. D'Estaing was wounded in the arm and thigh early in the
action, and was carried to his camp. The Americans pressed forward:
Lieutenant-colonel Laurens led the light troops on the left of the
French, while General M'Intosh, with another column, passed the
_abatis_, and entered the ditch north of the Spring Hill redoubt.
Regardless of the destructive storm, the gallant troops leaped the
ditch, and planted the crescent ** and the _lily_ upon the parapet.
The gallant and accomplished Maitland commanded this right wing of the
besieged, and was prepared for a vigorous assault. *** His practiced eye
at once perceived the peril of the garrison, if this lodgment should
be sustained. He united the grenadiers and marines nearest the point
of attack, and ordered Lieutenant-colonel Glazier to lead them to a
recovery of the lost ground. Within five minutes after receiving this
order, Glazier, at the head of his men, rushed to the parapet, and
made a furious charge with the bayonet upon the worried ranks of the
assailants. This blow by flesh and vigorous men, could not be withstood.
The standards of France and of our Carolina were torn down, and the
gallant men who had assisted in planting them there were pressed from
the parapet into the ditch, and driven through the _abatis_.
While the carnage was occurring at the Spring Hill redoubt, Huger and
Pulaski were endeavoring to force the enemy's works on different sides
of the town; Huger, with his party, waded almost half a mile through
rice-fields, and assailed the works on the east. They were received with
a sharp fire of cannon and musketry, and, after losing twenty-eight men,
retreated. Pulaski, at the same time, with about two hundred horsemen,
endeavored to force his way into the town a little eastward of the
Spring Hill redoubt. At the head of his troops he had passed the
_abatis_, banner in hand, and was pressing forward, when a small cannon
shot struck him in the groin, and he fell to the ground. His first
lieutenant seized the banner, and for a few minutes kept the troops
in action; but the iron hail from the seamen's batteries and the field
artillery, traversing the columns of the assailants in all directions,
compelled the whole force of the combined armies to yield, and they
retreated to the camp. Back through the smoke, and over the bodies
of the dead and dying, some of Pulaski's soldiers returned, found the
expiring hero, and bore him from the field. Already the French had
withdrawn, and the Continentals, under Lincoln, were retreating. At
ten o'clock, after about five hours' hard fighting, the combined armies
displayed a white flag, and asked a truce in order to bury the dead.
Prevost granted four hours, and during that
* The Spring Hill redoubt was at the entrance of the Augusta road into
the town, on the western side. The buildings of the rail-way station now
cover its site.
** The American standards were those of the second South Carolina
regiment, embroidered and presented to them by Mrs. Susanna Elliott,
three days after the battle at Fort Moultrie, in 1776, and were planted
by Lieutenants Hume and Bush. The French standard was raised by one of
D'Estaing's aids, who, with Hume and Bush, soon fell, mortally wounded,
leaving their colors fluttering in the breeze. Lieutenant Gray, of
the South Carolina regiment, seeing his associates fall, seized the
standards and kept them erect, when he, too, was prostrated by a bullet.
Sergeant Jasper, whom we shall meet hereafter, sprang forward, secured
the colors, and had just fastened them upon the parapet, when a rifle
ball pierced him, and he fell into the ditch. He was carried to the
camp, and soon afterward expired. Just before he died, he said to Major
Horry, "Tell Mrs. Elliott I lost my life supporting the colors she
presented to our regiment."
*** A sergeant of the Charleston grenadiers deserted during the night
of the eighth, and communicated the general plan of attack, to Prevost.
This gave the garrison a great advantage, for they strengthened the
points to be attacked.
[[[The Siege raised.--Withdrawal of the combined Armies.--Effect of the
Movement.--Colonel Jackson.]]]
{739}interval D'Estaing and Lincoln consulted in relation to further
operations. The latter, although his force was greatly diminished by the
action just closed, wished to continue the siege; but D'Estaing, whose
loss had been heavy, resolved on immediate departure. * The siege was
raised, and on the evening of the eighteenth[[Oct. 1779]]the combined
armies withdrew; the Americans to Zubley's Ferry, and the French to
Caustin's Bluff, whence they repaired to their ships at Tybee[[Oct. 20]]
Lincoln and his little army hastened to Charleston, where we shall meet
them again, besieged and made prisoners of war. These events closed the
campaigns in the South for that year. **
The result of the siege was a death-blow to the hopes of the South, and
never since the beginning of hostilities had such gloom gathered over
the prospects of the future, or so much real distress prevailed in
Georgia. *** Toward the sea-board every semblance of opposition to royal
power was crushed, and only in the interior did the spirit of armed
resistance appear. This increased during the following winter and
spring, and at last disturbed the quiet of the royal forces in Savannah.
These events, sometimes trivial in themselves, but important in the
great chain of circumstances, are related in detail by M'Call, Stevens,
White, and other chroniclers of the state. The most important we have
already considered; let us now glance at the closing events of the war
in Georgia.
When General Greene raised the siege of Ninety-Six, Major James Jackson
**** was appointed to the command of the garrison at Augusta. Greene
also ordered a legionary corps (composed of part cavalry and part
infantry) to be raised in Georgia, and appointed Major Jackson its
colonel. As soon as it was organized, Jackson went out with it upon
active service.
* The whole force of the combined armies was four thousand nine hundred
and fifty, of which two thousand eight hundred and twenty-three
were French. The whole British force in Savannah, including a few
militia, some Indians, and three hundred negroes, was two thousand eight
hundred and fifty. The French lost, in killed and wounded, six hundred
and thirty-seven men, and the Americans four hundred and fifty-seven.
The whole loss of the British did not exceed one hundred and twenty.
Lieutenant-colonel Maitland was attacked with a bilious disease during
the siege, and died a few days afterward.
** Ramsay, Gordon, Marshall, Moultrie, Steelman, M'Call. Lee.
*** Indescribable were the sufferings of the people of Savannah,
particularly the families of the Whigs. The females were exposed to
daily insults from the brutal soldiery, and many, reduced from affluence
to poverty, unable to bear the indignities heaped upon them, traveled
away on foot, some of them even without shoes upon their feet, and took
refuge in the Carolinas.
**** James Jackson was born in the county of Devon, England, on the
twenty-first of September, 1757. In 1772, he came to America, and began
the study ot the law in Savannah. At the age of eighteen, he shouldered
a musket and prepared to resist British power. He was active in
repulsing the British at Savannah in 1776. In 1778, he was appointed
brigade major of the Georgia militia, and was wounded in the skirmish
when General Scriven was killed. He participated in the defense of
Savannah at the close of the year, and when it fell into the hands of
Campbell, he was among those who fled into South Carolina, where he
joined General Moultrie's command. While on his way, so wretched was his
appearance, that some Whigs arrested, tried, and condemned him as a spy.
He was about to be executed, when he was recognized by a gentleman of
reputation from Georgia. Major Jackson was in the siege of Savannah
in October, 1779. In August, 1780, he joined Colonel Elijah Clark's
command, and was at the battle at Blackstocks. In 1781, General Pickens
made Jackson his brigade major, and his fluent speech often infused new
ardor into the corps of that partisan. He was at the siege of Augusta,
and was left in command of the garrison after the expulsion of the
British. He subsequently commanded a legionary corps, with which he
did good serviee. He joined Wayne at Ebenezer, and was active with that
officer until the evacuation of Savannah by the British. The Georgia
Legislature gave him a house and lot in Savannah at the close of the
war. He married in 1785; was made brigadier in 1786; and in 1788 was
elected governor of Georgia, but modestly declined the honor on account
ol his youth and inexperience, being only about thirty years of age.
He was one of the first representatives in Congress under the Federal
Constitution. He was elected a major general in 1792, and during the
three succeeding years was a member of the United States Senate. He was
chiefly instrumental in framing the Georgia Constitution in 1798. From
that year till 1801, he was governor of the state, when he again took a
seat in the Senate of the United States. He held that office until his
death, which occurred on the nineteenth of March, 1806. He was buried
about four miles from Washington City. Subsequently, his remains were
deposited in the Congressional burial-ground. The inscription upon
the stone which covers them was written by John Randolph, his personal
friend and admirer. There never lived a truer patriot or more honest man
than General James Jackson.
[[[Operations of Captain Howell.--Chastisement of the Indians.--Arrival
of Wayne.--Skirmish near Savannah.]]]
{740}During the spring of 1781, Captain Howell, the Hyler of the Georgia
Inlets, captured several British vessels lying in the bays and the
mouths of the rivers on the coast, and finally compelled all that
escaped to take refuge in the Savannah.
[Illustration: 9750]
Military matters in Georgia were very quiet during that summer; but
in the autumn, the volunteers collected by Colonel Twiggs and his
associates became so numerous, that he determined to attempt the capture
of British outposts, and confine them within their lines at Savannah,
until the arrival of General Wayne, then march-ins from the North.
Twiggs marched toward the sea-board, preceded by Jackson and his legion,
who skirmished with patroles all the way to Ebenezer. Jackson
attempted the surprise and capture of the garrison at Sun-bury, but was
unsuccessful, and returned, when he found Twiggs ready to march westward
to quell the Indians and Tories then assembling on the frontier. Twiggs
halted at Augusta on learning that Pickens had marehed on the same
errand.[[Jan. 1782]]
That brave partisan chastised the Indians severely. Every village and
settlement eastward of the mountains was laid in ashes, and nothing
but a heavy fall of snow prevented his crossing the great hills and
spreading desolation over a wide extent of country.
General Wayne arrived early in February,[[1782]] and established his
head-quarters at Ebenezer. His force was inferior to that of the British
in Savannah, then commanded by Brigadier-general Alured Clarke, * and
he was obliged to content himself with petty warfare upon outposts and
foraging parties, while watching an opportunity to attack Savannah at
night. Fearing this, Clarke summoned his detachments to the city, to man
the extensive fortifications. They came with provisions plundered from
the inhabitants, and applying the torch on the way, left a broad track
of desolation behind them.
General Clarke, perceiving the gathering strength of the Republicans,
and that he was likely to be shut up within the narrow limits of his
lines, sent for the Creeks and Cherokees to come in a body to his
relief. They were yet smarting under the chastisement of Pickens, and
hesitated. A party sent out to keep a way open to the city were attacked
by Major Jackson. Colonel Brown was sent to their aid. He was attacked
and defeated by Wayne, after a severe skirmish, but he retreated by
by-paths in safety to Savannah.
On the night of the twenty-second of June,[[1782]] three hundred Creek
Indians, led by Guristersigo, a powerful warrior, approached Wayne's
encampment. He intended to fall upon the American pickets, but
ignorantly attacked the main body at three o'clock in the morning.[[Jan.
23]] The infantry seized their arms; the artillery hastened to their
guns. Wayne was at a house a short distance from camp, when intelligence
came that the whole British force from Savannah was upon him. He leaped
into his saddle, rode to the aroused camp, and shouting, "Death or
Victory!" ordered a bayonet charge. At that moment his horse was shot
dead under him, and he saw his cannons seized by the savages. With sword
in hand, at the head of Parker's infantry, he led to the recapture of
his field-pieces. A terrible struggle ensued. Tomahawk and rifle were
powerless against bayonets, and Guristersigo and seventeen of his chief
warriors and white guides were slain. The Indians fled when they saw
their leader fall, leaving behind them one hundred and seven-
* General Clarke was governor of Canada in 1807.
[[[Treaty with the Indians.--Cessation of Hostilities.--Evacuation
of Savannah.]]]
{741}teen pack-horses loaded with peltry. Wayne pursued the fugitives
far into the forest, captured twelve of them, and at sunrise they were
shot. The Americans lost only four killed and eight wounded.
In September,[[1782]] Pickens and Clarke again chastised the Indians,
and completely subdued them.
[Illustration: 9751]
Tired of the conflict, and fearful of the scourge which Pickens still
held in his hand, they gladly made a treaty by which all the lands
claimed by the Indians south of the Savannah Rivcr and east of the
Chattahoochie were surrendered to the Slate of Georgia, as the price of
peace. This established the boundary line between the State of Georgia
and the Indian domain.
Early in 1782, the British Parliament, perceiving the futility of
attempts hitherto to subdue the Americans, now began to listen to
the voice of reason and of humanity, and steps were taken toward the
establishment of peace, between the United States and Great Britain,
upon the basis of the independence of the former. On the fourth of
March,[[1782]] the House of Commons passed a resolution in favor of
peace, and active hostilities ceased. Preparations were now made for
the evacuation of Savannah, and on the eleventh of July the British army
evacuated it, after an occupation of three years and a half. Wayne, in
consideration of the services of Colonel James Jackson, appointed him to
"receive the keys of Savannah from a committee of British officers."
He performed the service with dignity, and on the same day the American
army entered Savannah, when royal power ceased in Georgia forever. * A
few days afterward, Colonel Posey, with the main body of the Americans,
marched to join Greene in South Carolina. Wayne soon followed with the
remainder; hostilities ceased, *** and the beams of peace shed their
mild radiance over the desolated state, and gave promise of that
glorious day of prosperity and repose which speedily followed.
Governor Martin called a special meeting of the Legislature in
Savannah,[[Aug. 1782]] about three weeks after the evacuation. They
assembled in the house of General M'Intosh, which is yet (1852) standing
on South Broad Street, between Drayton and Abercorn Streets. The
session was short, but marked by decision and energy. On the first
Monday in January following, the constitutional session commenced at the
same place. Every branch of the new government was speedily organized,
and the free and independent State of Georgia began its Career. *
* Between the twelfth and the twenty-fifth of July, seven thousand
persons, according to British accounts, left Savannah, consisting of
twelve hundred British regulars and Loyalists, five hundred women and
children, three hundred Indians, and five thousand negroes. Governor
Wright, and some of the civil and military officers, went to Charleston;
General Clarke and part of the British regulars to New York; Colonel
Brown's rangers and the Indians to St. Augustine; and the remainder,
under convoy of the Zebra frigate, the Vulture sloop of war, and other
armed vessels, to the West Indies. It is estimated that nearly seven
eighths of the slaves in Georgia were carried off now, and on previous
occasions, by the British.
** Colonel Jackson had a skirmish with some forces on Skidaway Island,
below Savannah, on the twenty-fifth of July, and this was the last
fought battle for independence, in Georgia.
*** This house is the third eastward from Drayton Street, and is said
to be the oldest brick house in Savannah. Broad Street, upon whieh it
stands, is a noble avenue, shaded by four rows of Pride-of-India-Trees.
**** Lyman Hall, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence,
was chosen governor in January, 1784; George Walton, chief justice;
Samuel Stirk, attorney general; John Milton, secretary of state; John
Martin, treasurer; and Richard Call, surveyor general.
[[[Revolutionary Remains.--Visit to Jasper's Spring.--Its historical
Associations.]]]
{742}