HIGHLANDERS IN GEORGIA.
The second distinctive and permanent settlement of Highland Scotch in
the territory now constituting the United States of America was that in
what was first called New Inverness on the Alatamaha river in Georgia,
but now known as Darien, in McIntosh County. It was established under
the genius of James Oglethorpe, an English general and philanthropist,
who, in the year 1728, began to take active legislative support in
behalf of the debtor classes, which culminated in the erection of the
colony of Georgia, and incidentally to the formation of a settlement of
Highlanders.
There was a yearly average in Great Britain of four thousand unhappy men
immured in prison for the misfortune of being poor. A small debt exposed
a person to a perpetuity of imprisonment; and one indiscreet contract
often resulted in imprisonment for life. The sorrows hidden within the
prison walls of Fleet and Marshalsea touched the heart of Oglethorpe--a
man of merciful disposition and heroic mind--who was then in the full
activity of middle life. His benevolent zeal persevered until he
restored multitudes, who had long been in confinement for debt, and were
now helpless and strangers in the land of their birth. Nor was this all:
for them and the persecuted Protestants he planned an asylum in America,
where former poverty would be no reproach, and where the simplicity of
piety could indulge in the spirit of devotion without fear of
persecution or rebuke.
The first active step taken by Oglethorpe, in his benevolent designs was
to move, in the British House of Commons, that a committee be appointed
"to inquire into the state of the gaols of the kingdom, and to report
the same and their opinion thereupon to the House." Of this committee
consisting of ninety-six persons, embracing some of the first men in
England, Oglethorpe was made chairman. They were eulogized by Thompson,
in his poem on Winter, as
"The generous band,
Who, touched with human woe, redressive searched
Into the horrors of the gloomy gaol."
In the abodes of crime, and of misfortune, the committee beheld all that
the poet depicted: "The freeborn Briton to the dungeon chained," and
"Lives crushed out by secret, barbarous ways, that for their country
would have toiled and bled." One of Britain's authors was moved to
indite: "No modern nation has ever enacted or inflicted greater legal
severities upon insolvent debtors than England."[78]
While the report of the committee did honor to their humanity, yet it
was the moving spirit of Oglethorpe that prompted efforts to combine
present relief with permanent benefits, by which honest but unfortunate
industry could be protected, and the poor enabled to reap the fruit of
their toils, which now wrung out their lives with bitter and unrequited
labor. On June 9, 1732, a charter was procured from the king,
incorporating a body by name and style of the Trustees for Establishing
the Colony of Georgia in America. Among its many provisions was the
declaration that "all and every person born within the said province
shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunities of free
denizens, as if abiding and born within Great Britain." It further
ordained that there should be liberty of conscience, and free exercise
of religion to all, except Papists. The patrons, by their own request,
were restrained from receiving any grant of lands, or any emoluments
whatever.
The charter had in view the settling of poor but unfortunate people on
lands now waste and desolate, and also the interposing of the colony as
a barrier between the French, Spanish and Indians on the south and west
and the other English colonies on the north. Oglethorpe expressed the
purpose of the colonizing scheme, in the following language:
"These trustees not only give land to the unhappy who go thither;
but are also empowered to receive the voluntary contributions of
charitable persons to enable them to furnish the poor adventurers
with all necessaries for the expense of the voyage, occupying the
land, and supporting them till they find themselves comfortably
settled. So that now the unfortunate will not be obliged to bind
themselves to a long servitude to pay for their passage; for they may
be carried gratis into a land of liberty and plenty, where they
immediately find themselves in possession of a competent estate, in a
happier climate than they knew before; and they are unfortunate,
indeed, if here they cannot forget their sorrow."[79]
Subsidiary to this it was designed to make Georgia a silk, wine, oil and
drug-growing colony. It was calculated that the mother country would be
relieved of a large body of indigent people and unfortunate debtors,
and, at the same time, assist the commerce of Great Britain, increase
home industries, and relieve, to an appreciative extent, the impost on
foreign productions. Extravagant expectations were formed of the
capabilities of Georgia by the enthusiastic friends of the movement. It
was to rival Virginia and South Carolina, and at once to take the first
rank in the list of provinces depending on the British crown. Its
beauties and greatness were lauded by poets, statesmen and divines. It
attracted attention throughout Europe, and to that promised land there
pressed forward Swiss, German, Scotch and English alike. The benevolence
of England was aroused, and the charities of an opulent nation began to
flow towards the new plantation. The House of Parliament granted
£10,000, which was augmented, by private subscription, to £36,000.
Oglethorpe had implicit faith in the enterprise, and with the first
shipload, on board the Ann, he sailed from Gravesend November 17, 1732,
and arrived at the bar, outside of the port of Charleston, South
Carolina, January 13, 1733. Having accepted of a hearty welcome, he
weighed anchor, and sailed directly for Port Royal; and while his colony
was landing at Beaufort, he ascended the boundary river of Georgia, and
selected the site for his chief town on the high bluff, where now is the
city of Savannah. Having established his town, he then selected a
commanding height on the Ogeechee river, where he built a fortification
and named it Fort Argyle, in honor of the friend and patron of his early
years.
Within a period of five years over a thousand persons had been sent over
on the Trustee's account; several freeholders, with their servants, had
also taken up lands; and to them and to others also, settling in the
province, over fifty-seven thousand acres had been granted. Besides
forts and minor villages there had been laid out and settled the
principal towns of Augusta, Ebenezer, Savannah, New Inverness, and
Frederica. The colonists were of different nationalities, widely variant
in character, religion and government. There were to be seen the
depressed Briton from London; the hardy Gael from the Highlands of
Scotland; the solemn Moravian from Herrnhut; the phlegmatic German from
Salzburg in Bavaria; the reflecting Swiss from the mountainous and
pastoral Grisons; the mercurial peasant from sunny Italy, and the Jew
from Portugal.
The settlements were made deliberately and with a view of resisting any
possible encroachments of Spain. It was a matter of protection that the
Highlanders were induced to emigrate, and their assignment to the
dangerous and outlying district, exposed to Spanish forays or invasions,
is sufficient proof that their warlike qualities were greatly desired.
Experience also taught Oglethorpe that the useless poor in England did
not change their characters by emigration.
In company with a retinue of Indian chiefs, Oglethorpe returned to
England on board the Aldborough man-of-war, where he arrived on June 16,
1734, after a passage of a little more than a month. His return created
quite a sensation; complimentary verses were bestowed upon him, and his
name was established among men of large views and energetic action as a
distinguished benefactor of mankind. Among many things that engrossed
his attention was to provide a bulwark against inroads that might be
made by savages and dangers from the Spanish settlements; so he turned
his eyes, as already noted, to the Highlands of Scotland. In order to
secure a sufficient number of Highlanders a commission was granted to
Lieutenant Hugh Mackay and George Dunbar to proceed to the Highlands
and "raise 100 Men free or servants and for that purpose allowed to them
the free passage of ten servants over and above the 100. They farther
allowed them to take 50 Head of Women and Children and agreed with Mr.
Simmonds to send a ship about, which he w'd not do unless they agreed
for 130 Men Heads certain. This may have led the trust into the mistake
That they were to raise only 130."[80]
The enterprising commissioners, using such methods as were customary to
the country, soon collected the required number within the immediate
vicinity of Inverness. They first enlisted the interest and consent of
some of the chief gentlemen, and as they were unused to labor, they were
not only permitted but required also to bring each a servant capable of
supporting him. These gentlemen were not reckless adventurers, or
reduced emigrants forced by necessity, or exiled by insolvency and want;
but men of pronounced character, and especially selected for their
approved military qualities, many of whom came from the glen of
Stralbdean, about nine miles distant from Inverness. They were commanded
by officers most highly connected in the Highlands. Their political
sympathies were with the exiled house of Stuart, and having been more or
less implicated in the rising of 1715, they found themselves objects of
jealousy and suspicion, and thus circumstanced seized the opportunity to
seek an asylum in America and obtain that unmolested quietude which was
denied them in their native glens.
These people being deeply religious selected for their pastor, Reverend
John MacLeod, a native of Skye, who belonged to the Dunvegan family of
MacLeods. He was well recommended by his clerical brethren, and
sustained a good examination before the presbytery of Edinburgh,
previous to his ordination and commission, October 13, 1735. He was
appointed by the directors of the Society in Scotland for Propagating
Christian Knowledge (from whom he was to receive his annual stipend of
£50) "not only to officiate as minister of the Gospel to the Highland
families going hither," and others who might be inclined to the
Presbyterian form of worship, but "also to use his utmost endeavors for
propagating Christian knowledge among natives in the colony."
The Trustees were greatly rejoiced to find that they had secured so
valuable an acquisition to their colony, and that they could settle such
a bold and hardy race on the banks of their southern boundary, and thus
establish a new town on the Florida frontier. The town council of
Inverness, in order to express their regard for Oglethorpe, on account
of his kind offers to the Highlanders, conferred on him the honor of a
burgess of the town, through his proxy, Captain George Dunbar.
Besides the military band, others, among whom were MacKays, Bailies,
Dunbars, and Cuthberts, applied for large tracts of land to people with
their own servants; most of them going over themselves to Georgia, and
finally settling there for life.
Of the Highlanders, some of them paid their passage and that of one out
of two servants, while others paid passage for their servants and took
the benefit of the trust passage for themselves. Some, having large
families, wanted farther assistance for servants, which was acceded to
by Captain Dunbar, who gave them the passage of four servants, which was
his right, for having raised forty of the one hundred men. Of the whole
number the Trustees paid for one hundred and forty-six, some of whom
became indentured servants to the Trust. On October 20, 1735, one
hundred and sixty-three were mustered before Provost Hassock at
Inverness. One of the number ran away before the ship sailed, and two
others were set on shore because they would neither pay their passage
nor indent as servants to the Trust.
These pioneers, who were to carve their own fortunes and become a
defense for the colony of Georgia, sailed from Inverness, October 18,
1735, on board the Prince of Wales, commanded by Captain George Dunbar,
one of their own countrymen. They made a remarkably quick trip, attended
by no accidents, and in January, 1736, sailed into Tybee Road, and at
once the officer in charge set about sending the emigrants to their
destination. All who so desired, at their own expense, were permitted to
go up to Savannah and Joseph's Town. On account of a deficiency in
boats, all could not be removed at once. Seven days after their arrival
sixty-one were sent away, and on February 4th forty-six more proceeded
to their settlement on the Alatamaha,--all of whom being under the
charge of Hugh MacKay. Thus the advanced station, the post of danger,
was guarded by a bold and hardy race; brave and robust by nature,
virtuous by inclination, inured to fatigue and willing to labor:
"To distant climes, a dreary scene, they go,
Where wild Altama murmurs to their woe,
Far different these from all that charmed before,
The various terrors of that distant shore;
Those matted woods where birds forget to sing,
But silent bats in drowsy clusters cling;
Those poisonous fields with rank luxuriance crown'd,
Where the dark scorpion gathers death around,
Where at each step the stranger fears to wake
The rattling terrors of the vengeful snake,
Where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey,
And savage men, more murderous still than they.
Far different these from every former scene."
--Goldsmith.
On their first landing at Savannah, some of the people from South
Carolina endeavored to discourage them by saying that the Spaniards
would shoot them as they stood upon the ground where they contemplated
erecting their homes. "Why then," said the Highlanders in reply, "we
will beat them out of their fort and shall have houses ready built to
live in." The spot designated for their town is located twenty miles
northwest from St. Simons and ten above Frederica, and situated on the
mainland, close to a branch of the Alatamaha river, on a bluff twenty
feet high, then surrounded on all sides with woods. The soil is a
brackish sand. Formerly Fort King George, garrisoned by an independent
company, stood within a mile and a half of the new town, but had been
abandoned and destroyed on account of a want of supplies and
communication with Carolina. The village was called New Inverness, in
honor of the city they had left in Scotland; while the surrounding
district was named Darien, on account of the settlement attempted on the
Isthmus of Darien, in 1698-1701. Under the direction of Hugh MacKay, who
proved himself to be an excellent officer and a man of executive
ability, by the middle of February they had constructed a fort
consisting of two bastions and two half bastions, which was so strong
that forty men could maintain it against three hundred, and on it placed
four pieces, which, afterwards was so enlarged as to demand twelve
cannon; built a guardhouse, storehouse, a chapel, and huts for the
people. One of the men dying, the rest joined and built a house for the
widow.
In the meantime Oglethorpe had sailed from London on board the Symonds,
accompanied by the London Merchant, with additional emigrants, and
arrived in the Tybee Road a short time after the Highlanders had left.
He had never met them, and desiring to understand their ways and to make
as favorable an impression on them as possible, he retained Captain
Dunbar to go with him to the Highlanders and to instruct him fully in
their customs. On February 22d he left St. Simons and rowing up the
Alatamaha after three hours, reached the Highland settlement. Upon
seeing the boat approaching, the Highlanders marched out to meet him,
and made a most manly appearance in their plaids, with claymores,
targets and fire-arms. Captain MacKay invited Oglethorpe to lie in his
tent, where there was a bed with sheets--a rarity as yet in that part of
the world. He excused himself, choosing to lie at the guard-fire,
wrapped in his plaid, for he had on the Highland garb. Captain MacKay
and the other gentlemen did the same, though the night was cold.
Oglethorpe had previously taken the precaution, lest the Highlanders
might be apprehensive of an attack by the Spaniards, Indians, or other
enemies, while their houses were in process of construction, to send
Captain James McPherson, who commanded the rangers upon the Savannah,
overland to support them. This troop arrived while Oglethorpe was yet
present. Soon after they were visited by the Indians, who were attracted
by their costume, and ever after retained an admiration for them, which
was enhanced by the Highlanders entering into their wild sports, and
joining them in the chase. In order to connect the new settlement with
direct land communication with the other colonists, Oglethorpe, in
March, directed Hugh MacKay, with a detachment of twelve rangers, to
conduct Walter Augustin, who ran a traverse line from Savannah by Fort
Argyle to Darien, in order to locate a roadway.
It was during Oglethorpe's first trip to the Highland settlement that he
encamped on Cumberland island, and on the extreme western point, which
commands the passage of boats from the southward, marked out a fort to
be called St. Andrews, and gave Captain Hugh MacKay orders to build it.
The work commenced immediately, thirty Highlanders being employed in the
labor. On March 26th Oglethorpe, visiting the place, was astonished to
find the fort in such an advanced stage of completion; the ditch was
dug, the parapet was raised with wood and earth on the land side, and
the small wood was cleared fifty yards round the fort. This seemed to be
the more extraordinary because MacKay had no engineer, nor any other
assistance in that way, except the directions originally given. Besides
it was very difficult to raise the works, the ground being a loose sand.
They were forced to lay the trees and sand alternately,--the trees
preventing the sand from falling, and the sand the wood from fire. He
returned thanks to the Highlanders and offered to take any of them back
to their settlement, but all refused so long as there was any danger
from the Spaniards, in whose vicinity they were now stationed. But two
of them, having families at Darien, he ordered along with him.
The Highlanders were not wholly engaged in military pursuits, for, to a
great extent, they were engaged in making their settlement permanent.
They engaged in the cultivation of Indian corn and potatoes; learned to
cut and saw timber, and laid out farms upon which they lived. For a
frontier settlement, constantly menaced, all was accomplished that could
be reasonably expected. In the woods they found ripe oranges and game,
such as the wild turkey, buffalo and deer, in abundance. But peace and
prosperity were not their allotted portion, for their lines were now
cast in troubled waters. The first year witnessed an appeal to arms and
a struggle with the Spaniards, which eventually resulted in a disaster
to the Highlanders. Deeds of heroism were now enacted, fully in keeping
with the tenor of the race.
The Spaniards, who had their main force at St. Augustine, were more or
less aggressive, which kept the advanced posts in a state of alarm. John
Mohr Macintosh, who had seen service in Scotland, was directed by
Oglethorpe to instruct the Highlanders in their military duty, and under
his direction they were daily exercised. Hugh MacKay, with a company,
had been directed to the immediate command of Oglethorpe.
Disputes early arose between the English colonists and the Spaniards
regarding the frontier line between the two nationalities, and loud
complaints were made by the latter on account of being harrassed by
Indians. Oglethorpe took steps to restrain the Indians, and to the
Spaniards sent friendly messengers, who were immediately seized and
confined and at once took measures against the colonists. A Spanish
warship sailed by St. Simon's island and passed Fort St. Andrews, but
was not fired upon by the Highlanders because she answered their
signals. She made her way back to St. Augustine when the report gained
currency that the whole coast was covered with war boats armed with
cannon. On June 8th the colonists were again threatened by a Spanish
vessel which came close to Fort St. Andrews before she was discovered;
but when challenged rowed away with the utmost precipitation. On board
this boat was Don Ignatio with a detachment of the Spanish garrison, and
as many boatmen and Indians as the launch could hold. It was at this
time that a Highland lad named Fraser distinguished himself. Oglethorpe
in endeavoring to meet the Spaniards by a flag of truce, or else obtain
a conference with them, but unable to accomplish either, and being about
to withdraw, saw the boy, whom he had sent forward, returning through
the woods, driving before him a tall man with a musket on his shoulder,
two pistols stuck in his girdle, and further armed with both a long and
short sword. Coming up to Oglethorpe the lad said: "Here, sir; I have
caught a Spaniard for you." The man was found to have in his possession
a letter from Oglethorpe's imprisoned messengers which imparted certain
information that proved to be of great value.
The imprisoned messengers were ultimately released and sent back in a
launch with commissioners to treat with Oglethorpe. In order to make a
favorable impression on the Spaniards, the Highlanders, under Ensign
MacKay, were ordered out. June 19th, Ensign MacKay arrived on board the
man-of-war Hawk, then just off from Amelia island, with the Highlanders,
and a detachment of the independent company, in their regimentals, who
lined one side of the ship, while the Highlanders, with their claymores,
targets, plaids, etc., did the same on the other side. The commissioners
were very handsomely entertained on board the war vessel, and after
dinner messages in writing were exchanged. While this hilarity and peace
protestations were being indulged, an Indian brought the news that forty
Spaniards and some Indians had fallen upon a party of the Creek nation
who, then depending upon the general peace between the Indians, Spanish
and English, without suspicion, and consequently without guard, were
surrounded and surprised, several killed and others taken, two of whom,
being boys, were murdered by dashing out their brains.
To the people of New Iverness the year 1737 does not appear to have been
a propitious one. Pioneers were compelled to endure hardships of which
they had little dreamed, and the Highland settlement was no exception to
the rule. The record preserved for this year is exceedingly meagre and
consists almost wholly in the sworn statement of Alexander Monroe, who
deserted the colony in 1740. In the latter year he deposed that at
Darien, where he arrived in 1736 with his wife and child, he had
cleared, fenced in and planted five acres of land, built a good house in
the town, and made other improvements, such as gardening, etc.; that he
was never able to support his family by cultivation, though he planted
the said five acres three years and had good crops, and that he never
heard of any white man being able to gain a living by planting; that in
1737 the people were reduced to such distress for want of provisions,
having neither corn, peas, rice, potatoes, nor bread-kind of any sort,
nor fish, nor flesh of any kind in store; that they were forced to go in
a body, with John Mohr Macintosh at the head, to Frederica and there
make a demand on the Trust's agent for a supply; that they were relieved
by Captain Gascoigne of the Hawk, who spared them two barrels of flour,
and one barrel of beef; and further, he launches an indictment against
John Mohr Macintosh, who had charge of the Trust's store at Darien, for
giving the better class of food to his own hogs while the people were
forced to take that which was rotten.[81]
While this statement of Monroe may possibly be true in the main, and
that there was actual suffering, yet it must be borne in mind that the
Highlanders were there living in a changed condition. The labor,
climate, soil, products, etc., were all new to them, and to the changed
circumstances the time had been too short for them to adapt themselves;
nor is it probable that five acres were enough for their subsistence.
The feeding of cattle, which was soon after adopted, would give them a
larger field of industry.
Nor was this all. Inevitable war fell upon the people; for we learn that
the troop of Highland rangers, under Captain MacKay, held Fort St.
Andrews "with thirty men, when the Spaniards attempted the invasion of
this Province with a great number of men in the year 1737."[82] Drawing
the men away from the settlement would necessarily cause more or less
suffering and disarrangement of affairs.
The record for the year 1738 is more extensive, although somewhat
contradictory, and exhibits a strong element of dissention. Oglethorpe
admitted the difficulties under which the people labored, ascribing them
to the Spanish alarms, but reports that John Mohr Macintosh, pursuant to
orders from the Trust, had disposed of a part of the servants to the
freeholders of Darien, which encouragement had enabled the settlement to
continue.
"The women were a dead charge to the Trust, excepting a few who mended
the Cloaths, dressed the Victuals and washed the Linnen of the Trustees
Men Servants. Some of the Soldiers who were Highlanders desiring to
marry Women, I gave them leave upon their discharging the Trustees from
all future Charges arising from them."[83]
The difficulties appear also to have arisen from the fact that the
freeholders were either unable or else unwilling--which is the more
likely--to perform manual labor. They labored under the want of a
sufficient number of servants until they had procured some who had been
indentured to the Trust for passage from Scotland.
The Reverend John MacLeod, who abandoned the colony in 1741, made oath
that in the year 1738 they found by experience that the produce from the
land did not answer the expense of time and labor, and the voice of the
people of Darien was to abandon their improvements, and settle to the
northward, where they could be free from the restraints which rendered
incapable of subsisting themselves and families.[84] The declaration of
Alexander Monroe is still more explicit:
"That in December, 1738, the said inhabitants of Darien finding that
from their first settling in Georgia, their labors turned to no
account, that their wants were daily growing on them, and being weary
of apprehension, they came to a resolution to depute two men, chosen
from amongst them, to go to Charleston, in South Carolina, and there
to make application to the government, in order to obtain a grant of
lands to which the whole settlement of Darien to a man were to remove
altogether, the said John McIntosh More excepted; but that it being
agreed among them, first to acquaint the said Colonel with their
intentions, and their reasons for such resolutions, John McIntosh L.
(Lynvilge) was employed by the said freeholders to lay the same
before him, who returned them an answer 'that they should have credit
for provisions, with two cows and three calves, and a breeding mare
if they would continue on their plantations.' That the people with
the view of these helps, and hoping for the further favor and
countenance of the said Colonel, and being loth to leave their little
all behind them, and begin the world in a strange place, were willing
to make out a livelihood in the colony; but whilst they were in
expectation of these things, this deponent being at his plantation,
two miles from the town, in Dec., 1738, he received a letter from
Ronald McDonald, which was sent by order of the said McIntosh More,
and brought to this deponent by William, son of the said McIntosh,
ordering him, the said deponent, immediately to come himself, and
bring William Monro along with him to town, and advising him that,
'if he did so, he would be made a man of, but, that if he did not, he
would be ruined forever.' That this deponent coming away without loss
of time, he got to the said McIntosh More's house about nine of the
clock that night, where he found several of the inhabitants together,
and where the said McIntosh More did tell this deponent, 'that if he
would sign a paper, which he then offered him, that the said Colonel
would give him cattle and servants from time to time, and that he
would be a good friend to as many as would sign the said paper, but
that they would see what would become of those that would not sign
it, for that the people of Savannah would be all ruined, who opposed
the said Colonel in it.' That this deponent did not know the contents
of the said paper, but seeing that some before him had signed it, his
hopes on one side, and fears on the other, made him sign it also.
That upon his conversing with some of the people, after leaving the
house, he was acquainted with the contents and design of said paper,
which this deponent believes to be the petition from the eighteen,
which the trustees have printed, and that very night he became
sensible of the wrong he had done; and that his conscience did
thereupon accuse him, and does yet."[85]
The phrase "being weary of oppression" has reference to the accusation
against Captain Hugh MacKay, who was alleged to have "exercised an
illegal power there, such as judging in all causes, directing and
ordering all things according to his will, as did the said McIntosh
More, by which many unjust and illegal things were done. That not only
the servants of the said freeholders of Darien were ordered to be tied
up and whipt; but also this deponent, and Donald Clark, who themselves
were freeholders, were taken into custody, and bound with ropes, and
threatened to be sent to Frederica to Mr. Horton, and there punished by
him; this deponent, once for refusing to cry 'All's well,' when he was
an out-sentry, he having before advised them of the danger of so doing,
lest the voice should direct the Indians to fire upon the sentry, as
they had done the night before, and again for drumming with his fingers
on the side of his house, it being pretended that he had alarmed the
town. That upon account of these, and many other oppressions, the
freeholders applied to Mr. Oglethorpe for a court of justice to be
erected, and proper magistrates in Darien, as in other towns in Georgia,
that they might have justice done among themselves, when he gave them
for answer, 'that he would acquaint the trustees with it'; but that
this deponent heard no more of it."[86]
One of the fundamental regulations of the Trustees was the prohibition
of African slavery in Georgia. However, they had instituted a system of
servitude which indentured both male and female to individuals, or the
Trustees, for a period of from four to fourteen years. On arriving in
Georgia, their services were sold for the term of indenture, or
apportioned to the inhabitants by the magistrates, as their necessities
required. The sum which they brought when thus bid off varied from £2 to
£6, besides an annual tax of £1 for five years to defray the expense of
their voyage. Negro slavery was agitated in Savannah, and on December 9,
1738, a petition was addressed to the Trustees, signed by one hundred
and sixteen, and among other things asked was the introduction of Negro
slavery. On January 3, 1739, a counter petition was drawn up and signed
by the Highlanders at Darien. On March 13th the Saltzburghers of
Ebenezer signed a similar petition in which they strongly disapproved of
the introduction of slave labor into the colony. Likewise the people of
Frederica prepared a petition, but desisted from sending it, upon an
assurance that their apprehensions of the introduction of Negroes were
entirely needless. Many artifices were resorted to in order to gain over
the Highlanders and have them petition for Negro slaves. Failing in this
letters were written to them from England endeavoring to intimidate them
into a compliance. These counter petitions strengthened the Trustees in
their resolution. It is a noticeable fact, and worthy of record, that at
the outbreak of the American Revolution the Highlanders of Darien again
protested against African slavery.
Those persons dissatisfied with the state of affairs increased in
numbers and gradually grew more rancorous. It is not supposable that
they could have bettered the condition under the circumstances.
Historians have been universal in their praise of Oglethorpe, and in all
probability no one could have given a better administration. His word
has been taken without question. He declared that "Darien hath been one
of the Settlements where the People have been most industrious as those
of Savannah have been most idle. The Trustees have had several Servants
there who under the direction of Mr. Moore McIntosh have not only earned
their bread but have provided the Trust with such Quantities of sawed
stuff as hath saved them a great sum of money. Those Servants cannot be
put under the direction of anybody at Frederica nor any one that does
not understand the Highland language. The Woods fit for sawing are near
Darien and the Trustees engaged not to separate the Highlanders. They
are very useful under their own Chiefs and no where else. It is very
necessary therefore to allow Mr. Mackintosh for the overseeing the
Trust's Servants at Darien."[87]
That such was the actual condition of affairs in 1739 there is no doubt.
However, a partial truth may change the appearance. George Philp, who at
Savannah in 1740, declared that for the same year the people "are as
incapable of improving their lands and raising produces as the people in
the northern division, as appears from the very small quantity of Indian
corn which hitherto had been the chief and almost only produce of the
province, some few potatoes excepted; and as a proof of which, that he
was in the south in May last, when the season for planting was over, and
much less was done at Frederica than in former years; and that the
people in Darien did inform him, that they had not of their own produce
to carry to market, even in the year 1739, which was the most plentiful
year they ever saw there, nor indeed any preceding year; nor had they
(the people of Darien) bread-kind of their own raising, sufficient for
the use of their families, from one crop to another, as themselves, or
some of them, did tell this deponent; and further, the said people of
Darien were, in May last, repining at their servants being near out of
their time, because the little stock of money they carried over with
them was exhausted in cultivation which did not bring them a return; and
they were thereby rendered quite unable to plant their lands, or help
themselves any way."[88]
It was one of the agreements made by the Trust that assistance should be
given the colonists. Hence Oglethorpe speaks of "the £58 delivered to
Mr. McIntosh at Darien, it was to support the Inhabitants of Darien with
cloathing and delivered to the Trustees' Store there, for which the
Individuals are indebted to the Trust. Part of it was paid in discharge
of service done to the Trustees in building. Part is still due and some
do pay and are ready to pay."[89]
The active war with Spain commenced by the murder of two unarmed
Highlanders on Amelia Island, who had gone into the woods for fuel. It
was November 14, 1739, that a party of Spaniards landed on the island
and skulked in the woods. Francis Brooks, who commanded a scout boat,
heard reports of musketry, and at once signaled the fort, when a
lieutenant's squad marched out and found the murdered Highlanders with
their heads cut off and cruelly mangled. The Spaniards fled with so much
precipitation that the squad could not overtake them, though they
pursued rapidly. Immediately Oglethorpe began to collect around him his
inadequate forces for the invasion of Florida. In January, 1740, he
received orders to make hostile movements against Florida, with the
assurance that Admiral Vernon should co-operate with him. Oglethorpe
took immediate action, drove in the Spanish outposts and invaded
Florida, having learned from a deserter that St. Augustine was in want
of provisions. South Carolina rendered assistance; and its regiment
reached Darien the first of May, where it was joined by Oglethorpe's
favorite corps, the Highlanders, ninety strong, commanded by Captain
John Mohr McIntosh and Lieutenant MacKay. They were ordered, accompanied
by an Indian force, to proceed by land, at once, to Cow-ford (afterwards
Jacksonville), upon the St. Johns. With four hundred of his regiment,
Oglethorpe, on May 3d, left Frederica, in boats, and on the 9th reached
the Cow-ford. The Carolina regiment and the Highlanders having failed to
make the expected junction at that point, Oglethorpe, who would brook no
delay, immediately proceeded against Fort Diego, which surrendered on
the 10th, and garrisoned it with sixty men under Lieutenant Dunbar. With
the remainder he returned to the Cow-ford, and there met the Carolina
regiment and McIntosh's Highlanders. Here Oglethorpe massed nine hundred
soldiers and eleven hundred Indians, and marched the whole force
against Fort Moosa, which was built of stone, and situated less than two
miles from St. Augustine, which the Spaniards evacuated without offering
resistance. Having burned the gates, and made three breaches in the
walls, Oglethorpe then proceeded to reconnoitre the town and castle.
Assisted by some ships of war lying at anchor off St. Augustine bar, he
determined to blockade the town. For this purpose he left Colonel
Palmer, with ninety-five Highlanders and fifty-two Indians, at Fort
Moosa, with instructions to scour the woods and intercept all supplies
for the enemy; and, for safety, encamp every night at different places.
This was the only party left to guard the land side. The Carolina
regiment was sent to occupy a point of land called Point Quartel, about
a mile distant from the castle; while he himself with his regiment and
the greater part of the Indians embarked in boats, and landed on the
Island of Anastatia, where he erected batteries and commenced a
bombardment of the town. The operations of the beseigers beginning to
relax, the Spanish commander sent a party of six hundred to surprise
Colonel Palmer at Fort Moosa. The Spaniards had noted that for five
nights Colonel Palmer had made Fort Moosa his resting place. They came
in boats with muffled oars at the dead of night, and landed unheard and
undiscovered. The Indians, who were relied on by Palmer, were watching
the land side, but never looked towards the water.
Captain Macintosh had remonstrated with Colonel Palmer for remaining at
Fort Moosa more than one night, until it produced an alienation between
them. The only thing then left for MacIntosh was to make his company
sleep on their arms. At the first alarm they were in rank, and as the
Spanish infantry approached in three columns they were met with a
Highland shout.
The contest was unequal, and although the Highlanders rallied to the
support of MacIntosh, their leader, and fought with desperation, yet
thirty-six of them fell dead or wounded at the first charge. When
Colonel Palmer saw the overwhelming force that assaulted his command, he
directed the rangers without the wall to fly; but, refusing to follow
them, he paid the debt of his obstinacy with his blood.
The surprise at Fort Moosa led to the failure of Oglethorpe's
expedition. John Mohr MacIntosh was a prisoner, and as Oglethorpe had no
officer to exchange for him, he was sent to Spain, where he was detained
several years--his fate unknown to his family--and when he did return to
his family it was with a broken constitution and soon to die, leaving
his children to such destiny as might await them, without friends, in
the wilds of America, for the one who could assist them--General
Oglethorpe--was to be recalled, in preparation to meet the Highland
Rising of 1745, when he, too, was doomed to suffer degradation from the
duke of Cumberland, and injury to his military reputation.
It was the same regiment of Spaniards that two years later was brought
from Cuba to lead in all enterprises that again was destined to meet the
remnant of those Highlanders, but both the scene and the result were
different. It was in the light of day, and blood and slaughter, but not
victory awaited them.
The conduct of the eldest son of John Mohr MacIntosh is worthy of
mention. He was named after his grand uncle, the celebrated Old Borlum
(General William MacIntosh), who commanded a division of the Highlanders
in the Rising of 1715. William was not quite fourteen years of age when
his father left Darien for Florida. He wished to accompany the army, but
his father refused. Determined not to be thwarted in his purpose, he
overtook the army at Barrington. He was sent back the next day under an
armed guard. Taking a small boat, he ferried up to Clarke's Bluff, on
the south side of the Alatamaha, intending to keep in the rear until the
troops had crossed the St. Mary's river. He soon fell in with seven
Indians, who knew him, for Darien had become a great rendezvous for
them, and were greatly attached to the Highlanders, partly on account of
their wild manners, their manly sports and their costume, somewhat
resembling their own. They caressed the boy, and heartily entered into
his views. They followed the advancing troops and informed him of all
that transpired in his father's camp, yet carefully concealing his
presence among them until after the passage of the St. Mary's, where,
with much triumph, led him to his father and said "that he was a young
warrior and would fight; that the Great Spirit would watch over his
life, for he loved young warriors." He followed his father until he saw
him fall at Fort Moosa, covered with wounds, which so transfixed him
with horror, that he was not aroused to action until a Spanish officer
laid hold of his plaid. Light and as elastic as a steel bow, he slipped
from under his grasp, and made his escape with the wreck of the corps.
Those who escaped the massacre went over in a boat to Point Quartel.
Some of the Chickasaw Indians, who also had escaped, met a Spaniard, cut
off his head and presented it to Oglethorpe. With abhorence he rejected
it, calling them barbarian dogs and bidding them begone. As might be
expected, the Chickasaws were offended and deserted him. A party of
Creeks brought four Spanish prisoners to Oglethorpe, who informed him
that St. Augustine had been reinforced by seven hundred men and a large
supply of provisions. The second day after the Fort Moosa affair, the
Carolina[90] regiment deserted, the colonel leading the rout; nor did he
arrest his flight until darkness overtook him, thirty miles from St.
Augustine. Other circumstances operating against him, Oglethorpe
commenced his retreat from Florida and reached Frederica July 10, 1740.
The inhabitants of Darien continued to live in huts that were tight and
warm. Prior to 1740 they had been very industrious in planting, besides
being largely engaged in driving cattle for the regiment; but having
engaged in the invasion of Florida, little could be done at home, where
their families remained. One writer[91] declared that "the people live
very comfortably, with great unanimity. I know of no other settlement in
this colony more desirable, except Ebenezer." The settlement was greatly
decimated on account of the number killed and taken prisoners at Fort
Moosa. This gave great discontent on the part of those who already felt
aggrieved against the Trust.
The discontent among many of the colonists, some of whom were
influential, again broke out in 1741, some of whom went to Savannah,
October 7th, to consider the best method of presenting their grievances.
They resolved to send an agent to England to represent their case to
the proper authorities, "in order to the effectual settling and
establishing of the said province, and to remove all those grievances
and hardships we now labor under." The person selected as agent was
Thomas Stevens, the son of the president of Georgia, who had resided
there about four years, and who, it was thought, from his connection
with the president, would give great weight to the proceedings. Mr.
Stevens sailed for England on March 26, 1742, presented his petition to
parliament, which was considered together with the answer of the
Trustees; which resulted in Mr. Stevens being brought to the bar of the
House of Commons, and upon his knees, before the assembled counsellors
of Great Britain, was reprimanded for his conduct, and then discharged,
on paying his fees.
A list of the people who signed the petition and counter petitions
affords a good criterion of the class represented at Darien, living
there before and after the battle of Moosa. Among the complainants may
be found the names of:
James Campbell, Thomas Fraser, Patrick Grahame, John Grahame, John
McDonald, Peter McKay, Benjamin McIntosh, John McIntosh, Daniel
McKay, Farquhar McGuilvery, Daniel McDonald, Rev. John McLeod,
Alexander Monro, John McIntire, Owen McLeod, Alexander Rose, Donald
Stewart.
It is not certain that all the above were residents of Darien. Among
those who signed the petition in favor of the Trust, and denominated the
body of the people, and distinctly stated to be living at Darien, are
the names of:
John Mackintosh Moore, John Mackintosh Lynvilge, Ronald McDonald,
Hugh Morrison, John McDonald, John Maclean, John Mackintosh, son of
L., John Mackintosh Bain, John McKay, Daniel Clark, first, Alexander
Clarke, Donald Clark, third, Joseph Burges, Donald Clark, second,
Archibald McBain, Alexander Munro, William Munro, John Cuthbert.
During the autumn of 1741, Reverend John McLeod abandoned his Highland
charge at Darien, went to South Carolina and settled at Edisto. In an
oath taken November 12, 1741, he represents the people of Darien to be
in a deplorable condition. Oglethorpe, in his letter to the
Trustees,[92] evidently did not think Mr. McLeod was the man really fit
for his position, for he says:
"We want here some men fit for schoolmasters, one at Frederica and
one at Darien, also a sedate and sober minister, one of some
experience in the world and whose first heat of youth is over."
The long-threatened invasion of Carolina and Georgia by the Spaniards
sailed from Havana, consisting of a great fleet, among which were two
half galleys, carrying one hundred and twenty men each and an
eighteen-pound gun. A part of the fleet, on June 20th, was seen off the
harbor of St. Simons, and the next day in Cumberland Sound. Oglethorpe
dispatched two companies in three boats to the relief of Fort William,
on Cumberland island, which were forced to fight their way through the
fire from the Spanish galleys. Soon after thirty-two sail came to anchor
off the bar, with the Spanish colors flying, and there remained five
days. They landed five hundred men at Gascoin's bluff, on July 5th.
Oglethorpe blew up Fort William, spiked the guns and signalled his ships
to run up to Frederica, and with his land forces retired to the same
place, where he arrived July 6th. The day following the enemy were
within a mile of Frederica. When this news was brought to Oglethorpe he
took the first horse he found and with the Highland company, having
ordered sixty men of the regiment to follow, he set off on a gallop to
meet the Spaniards, whom he found to be one hundred and seventy strong,
including forty-five Indians. With his Indian Rangers and ten
Highlanders, who outran the rest of the company, he immediately attacked
and defeated the Spaniards. After pursuing them a mile, he halted his
troops and posted them to advantage in the woods, leaving two companies
of his regiment with the Highlanders and Indians to guard the way, and
then returned to Frederica to await further movements of the enemy.
Finding no immediate movement on the part of his foes, Oglethorpe, with
the whole force then at Frederica, except such as were absolutely
necessary to man the batteries, returned to the late field of action,
and when about half way met two platoons of his troops, with the great
body of his Indians, who declared they had been broken by the whole
Spanish force, which assailed them in the woods; and the enemy were now
in pursuit, and would soon be upon them. Notwithstanding this
disheartening report, Oglethorpe continued his march, and to his great
satisfaction, found that Lieutenants Southerland and MacKay, with the
Highlanders alone, had defeated the enemy, consisting of six hundred
men, and killed more of them than their own force numbered. At first the
Spanish forces overwhelmed the colonists by their superior numbers, when
the veteran troops became seized with a panic. They made a precipitate
retreat, the Highlanders following reluctantly in the rear. After
passing through a defile, Lieutenant MacKay communicated to his friend,
Lieutenant Southerland, who commanded the rear guard, composed also of
Highlanders, the feelings of his corps, and agreeing to drop behind as
soon as the whole had passed the defile. They returned through the brush
and took post at the two points of the crescent in the road. Four
Indians remained with them. Scarcely had they concealed themselves in
the woods, when the Spanish grenadier regiment, the _elite_ of their
troops, advanced into the defile, where, seeing the footprints of the
rapid retreat of the broken troops, and observing their right was
covered by an open morass, and their left, as they supposed, by an
impracticable wall of brushwood, and a border of dry white sand, they
stacked their arms and sat down to partake of refreshments, believing
that the contest for the day was over. Southerland and MacKay, who, from
their hiding places, had anxiously watched their movements, now from
either end of the line raised the Highland cap upon a sword, the signal
for the work of death to begin. Immediately the Highlanders poured in
upon the unsuspecting enemy a well delivered and most deadly fire.
Volley succeeded volley, and the sand was soon strewed with the dead and
the dying. Terror and dismay seized the Spaniards, and making no
resistance attempted to fly along the marsh. A few of their officers
attempted, though in vain, to re-form their broken ranks; discipline was
gone; orders were unheeded; safety alone was sought; and, when, with a
Highland shout of triumph, the hidden foe burst among them with levelled
musket and flashing claymore, the panic stricken Spaniards fled in
every direction; some to the marsh, where they mired and were taken;
others along the defile, where they were met by the claymore, and still
others into the thicket, where they became entangled and perished; and a
few succeeded in escaping to their camp. Barba was taken, though
mortally wounded. Among the killed were a captain, lieutenant, two
sergeants, two drummers and one hundred and sixty privates, and a
captain and nineteen men taken prisoners. This feat of arms was as
brilliant as it was successful. Oglethorpe, with the two platoons, did
not reach the scene of action, since called the "Bloody Marsh," until
the victory was won. To show his sense of the services rendered, he
promoted the brave young officers who had gained it on the very field of
their valor. But he rested only for a few minutes, waiting for the
marines and the reserve of the regiment to come up; and then pursued the
retreating enemy to within a mile and a half of their camp. During the
night the foe retreated within the ruins of the fort, and under the
protection of their cannon. A few days later the Spaniards became so
alarmed on the appearance of three vessels off the bar that they
immediately set fire to the fort and precipitately embarked their
troops, abandoning in their hurry and confusion, several cannon, a
quantity of military stores, and even leaving unburied some of the men
who had just died of their wounds.
The massacre of Fort Moosa was more than doubly avenged, and that on the
same Spanish regiment that was then victorious. On the present occasion
they had set out from their camp with the determination to show no
quarter. In the action William MacIntosh, now sixteen years of age, was
conspicuous. No shout rose higher, and no sword waved quicker than his
on that day. The tract of land which surrounded the field of action was
afterwards granted to him.
A brief sketch of Ensign John Stuart will not be out of place in this
record and connection. During the Spanish invasion he was stationed at
Fort William, and there gained an honorable reputation in holding it
against the enemy. Afterwards he became the celebrated Captain Stuart
and father of Sir John Stuart, the victor over General Ranier, at the
battle of Maida, in Calabria. In 1757 Captain Stuart was taken prisoner
at Fort Loudon, in the Cherokee country, and whose life was saved by his
friend, Attakullakulla. This ancient chief had remembered Captain Stuart
when he was a young Highland officer under General Oglethorpe, although
years had rolled away. The Indians were now filled with revenge at the
treachery of Governor Littleton, of Carolina, on account of the
imprisonment and death of the chiefs of twenty towns; yet no actions of
others could extinguish, in this generous and high-minded man, the
friendship of other years. The dangers of that day, the thousand wiles
and accidents Captain Stuart escaped from, made him renowned among the
Indians, and centered on him the affections and confidence of the
southern tribes. It was the same Colonel John Stuart, of the
Revolutionary War, who, from Pensacola, directed at will the movements
of the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws and Choctaws, against all, save
Georgia. That state suffered but little from Indian aggression during
the War for Independence. Nor was that feeling extinct among the Creeks
for a period of fifty years, or until they believed that the people of
Oglethorpe had passed away.
The year 1743 opened with fresh alarms of a new invasion, jointly of the
French and Spanish. The Governor of Cuba offered to invade Georgia and
Carolina, with ten thousand men, most of whom were then in Havanna.
Oglethorpe, with his greatly reduced force, was left alone to bear the
burden of defending Georgia. Believing that a sudden blow would enhance
his prospects, he took his measures, and accordingly, on Saturday,
February 26, 1743, the detachment destined for Florida, consisting of a
portion of the Highlanders, rangers and regulars, appeared under arms at
Frederica, and on March 9th, landed in Florida. He advanced upon St.
Augustine, and used every device to decoy them into an ambush; but even
failed to provoke the garrison. Having no cannon with him, he returned
to Frederica, without the loss of a man. This expedition was attended
with great toil, fatigue and privation, but borne cheerfully. A few
slight eruptive efforts were made, but each party kept its own borders,
and the slight conflicts in America were lost in the universal
conflagration in Europe.
The Highlanders had borne more than their share of the burdens of war,
and had lost heavily. Their families had shared in their privations. The
majority had remained loyal to Oglethorpe, and proved that in every
emergency they could be depended on. In later years the losses were
partially supplied by accessions from their countrymen.
With all the advantages that Georgia offered and the inducements held
out to emigrants, the growth was very slow. In 1761 the whole number of
white inhabitants amounted to but sixty-one hundred. However, in 1773,
or twelve years later, it had leaped to eighteen thousand white and
fifteen thousand black. The reasons assigned for this increase were the
great inducements held out to people to come and settle where they could
get new and good lands at a moderate cost, with plenty of good range for
cattle, horses and hogs, and where they would not be so pent up and
confined as in the more thickly settled provinces.
The Macintoshes had ever been foremost, and in the attempt to
consolidate Georgia with Carolina they were prominent in their
opposition to the scheme.
Forty years in America had endeared the Highlanders of Darien to the
fortunes of their adopted country. The children knew of none other, save
as they heard it from the lips of their parents. Free in their
inclinations, and with their environments it is not surprising that they
should become imbued with the principles of the American Revolution.
Their foremost leader, who gained imperishable renown, was Lachlan
Macintosh, son of John Mor. His brother, William, also took a very
active part, and made great sacrifices. At one time he was pursued
beyond the Alatamaha and his negroes taken from him.
To what extent the Darien Highlanders espoused the cause of Great
Britain would be difficult to fathom, but in all probability to no
appreciable extent. The records exhibit that there were some royalists
there, although when under British sway may have been such as a matter
of protection, which was not uncommon throughout the Southern States.
The record is exceedingly brief. On May 20, 1780, Charles McDonald,
justice of peace for St. Andrew's parish (embracing Darien), signed the
address to the King. Sir James Wright, royal governor of Georgia,
writing to lord George Germain, dated February 16, 1782, says:
"Yesterday my Lord I Received Intelligence that two Partys of about
140 in the whole were gone over the Ogechee Ferry towards the
Alatamaha River & had been in St. Andrews Parish (a Scotch
settlement) & there Murdered 12 or 13 Loyal Subjects."[93]
The Highlanders were among the first to take action, and had no fears of
the calamities of war. The military spirit of their ancestors showed no
deterioration in their constitutions. During the second week in January,
1775, a district congress was held by the inhabitants of St. Andrew's
Parish (now Darien), at which a series of resolutions were passed,
embodying, with great force and earnestness, the views of the
freeholders of that large and flourishing district. These resolutions,
six in number, expressed first, their approbation of "the unparalleled
moderation, the decent, but firm and manly, conduct of the loyal and
brave people of Boston and Massachusetts Bay, to preserve their
liberty;" their approval of "all the resolutions of the Grand American
Congress," and their hearty and "cheerful accession to the association
entered into by them, as the wisest and most moderate measure that could
be adopted." The second resolution condemned the closing of the land
offices, to the great detriment of Colonial growth, and to the injury of
the industrious poor, declaring "that all encouragement should be given
to the poor of every nation by every generous American." The third,
animadverted upon the ministerial mandates which prevented colonial
assemblies from passing such laws as the general exigencies of the
provinces required, an especial grievance, as they affirmed, "in this
young colony, where our internal police is not yet well settled." The
fourth condemned the practice of making colonial officers dependent for
salaries on Great Britain, "thus making them independent of the people,
who should support them according to their usefulness and behavior." The
fifth resolution declares "our disapprobation and abhorrence of the
unnatural practice of slavery in America," and their purpose to urge
"the manumission of our slaves in this colony, upon the most safe and
equitable footing for the masters and themselves." And, lastly, they
thereby chose delegates to represent the parish in a provincial
congress, and instruct them to urge the appointment of two delegates to
the Continental Congress, to be held in Philadelphia, in May.
Appended to these resolutions were the following articles of agreement
or association:
"Being persuaded that the salvation of the rights and liberties of
America depend, under God, on the firm union of the inhabitants in
its vigorous prosecution of the measures necessary for its safety,
and convinced of the necessity of preventing the anarchy and
confusion which attend the dissolution of the powers of government,
we, the freemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of the province of
Georgia, being greatly alarmed at the avowed design of the Ministry
to raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the bloody scene now
acting in the Massachusetts Bay, do, in the most solemn manner,
resolve never to become slaves; and do associate, under all the ties
of religion, honor and love of country, to adopt and endeavor to
carry into execution, whatever may be recommended by the Continental
Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention that shall be
appointed, for the purpose of preserving our Constitution, and
opposing the execution of the several arbitrary and oppressive acts
of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation between Great
Britain and America, on constitutional principles, which we most
ardently desire, can be obtained; and that we will in all things
follow the advice of our general committee, to be appointed,
respecting the purposes, aforesaid, the preservation of peace and
good order, and the safety of individuals and private property."
Among the names appended to these resolutions there may be selected such
as:
Lach. McIntosh, Charles McDonald, John McIntosh, Samuel McClelland,
Jno. McCulloch, William McCullough, John McClelland, Seth McCullough.
On July 4, 1775, the Provincial Congress met at Tondee's Long Room,
Savannah. Every parish and district was represented. St. Andrew's parish
sent:
Jonathan Cochran, William Jones, Peter Tarlin, Lachlan McIntosh,
William McIntosh, George Threadcroft, John Wesent, Roderick McIntosh,
John Witherspoon, George McIntosh, Allen Stuart, John McIntosh,
Raymond Demere.
The resolutions adopted by these hardy patriots were sacredly kept.
Their deeds, however, partake more of personal narration, and only their
heroic defense need be mentioned. The following narration should not
escape special notice:
"On the last of February, 1776, the Scarborough, Hinchinbroke, St.
John, and two large transports, with soldiers, then lying at Tybee,
came up the river and anchored at five fathoms. On March 2nd, two of
the vessels sailed up the channel of Back river, The Hinchinbroke, in
attempting to go round Hutchinson's island, and so come down upon the
shipping from above, grounded at the west end of the island, opposite
Brampton. During the night there landed from the first vessel,
between two and three hundred troops, under the command of Majors
Grant and Maitland, and silently marched across Hutchinson's island,
and through collusion with the captains were embarked by four A.M.,
in the merchant vessels which lay near the store on that island. The
morning of the 3rd revealing the close proximity of the enemy caused
great indignation among the people. Two companies of riflemen, under
Major Habersham, immediately attacked the grounded vessel and drove
every man from its deck. By nine o'clock it became known that troops
had been secreted on board the merchantmen, which news created
intense excitement, and three hundred men, under Colonel McIntosh,
were marched to Yamacraw Bluff, opposite the shipping, and there
threw up a hasty breastwork, through which they trained three
four-pounders to bear upon the vessels. Anxious, however, to avoid
bloodshed, Lieutenant Daniel Roberts, of the St. John's Rangers, and
Mr. Raymond Demere, of St. Andrew's Parish, solicited, and were
permitted by the commanding officer, to go on board and demand a
surrender of Rice and his people, who, with his boat's crew, had been
forcibly detained. Although, on a mission of peace, no sooner had
they reached the vessel, on board of which was Captain Barclay and
Major Grant, than they were seized and detained as prisoners. The
people on shore, after waiting a sufficient length of time, hailed
the vessel, through a speaking-trumpet, and demanded the return of
all who were detained on board; but receiving only insulting replies,
they discharged two four-pounders at the vessel; whereupon they
solicited that the people should send on board two men in whom they
most confided, and with them they agreed to negotiate. Twelve of the
Rangers, led by Captain Screven, of the St. John's Rangers, and
Captain Baker, were immediately rowed under the stern of the vessel
and there peremptorily demanded the deputies. Incensed by insulting
language, Captain Baker fired a shot, which immediately drew on his
boat a discharge of swivels and small arms. The batteries then
opened, which was briskly answered for the space of four hours. The
next step was to set fire to the vessels, the first being the
Inverness, which drifted upon the brig Nelly, which was soon in
flames. The officers and soldiers fled from the vessels, in the
utmost precipitation across the low marshes and half-drained
rice-fields, several being killed by the grape shot played upon them.
As the deputies were still held prisoners, the Council of Safety, on
March 6th, put under arrest all the members of the Royal Council then
in Savannah, besides menacing the ships at Tybee. An exchange was not
effected until the 27th."
As already stated, Darien experienced some of the vicissitudes of war.
On April 18, 1778, a small army, under Colonel Elbert, embarked on the
galleys Washington, Lee and Bullock, and by 10 o'clock next morning,
near Frederica, had captured the brigantine Hinchinbroke, the sloop
Rebecca and a prize brig, which had spread terror on the coast.
In 1779 the parishes of St. John, St. Andrew and St. James were erected
into one county, under the name of Liberty.
In March, 1780, the royal governor, Sir James Wright, attempted to
re-establish the old government, and issued writs returnable May 5.
Robert Baillie and James Spalding were returned from St. Andrew's
parish.
The settlement of Darien practically remained a pure Highland one until
the close of the Revolution. The people proved themselves faithful and
loyal to the best interests of the commonwealth, and equal to such
exigencies as befell them. While disasters awaited them and fierce
ordeals were passed through, yet fortune eventually smiled upon them.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 78: Graham's "History of United States," Vol. II, p. 179.]
[Footnote 79: "Georgia Historical Collections," Vol. I, p. 58.]
[Footnote 80: Oglethorpe's letter to the Trustees, Feb. 13, 1786, in
"Georgia Hist. Coll.," Vol. III, p. 10.]
[Footnote 81: Georgia Hist. Society, Vol. II, p. 115]
[Footnote 82: _Ibid_, Vol. III, p. 114 Oglethorpe to H. Verelst, May 6,
1741.]
[Footnote 83: Oglethorpe to H. Verelst, Dec. 21, 1738, Georgia Hist.
Society, Vol. III p. 67.]
[Footnote 84: Georgia Hist. Society, Vol. II, p. 113.]
[Footnote 85: Georgia Hist. Coll. Vol. II, p. 116.]
[Footnote 86: _Ibid._]
[Footnote 87: Oglethorpe to the Trustees, Oct. 20, 1739. Georgia Hist.
Coll., Vol. III, p. 90.]
[Footnote 88: Georgia Hist. Coll., Vol. II, p. 119.]
[Footnote 89: Oglethorpe to H. Verelst, Dec. 29, 1739. Georgia Hist.
Coll., Vol. III, p. 96.]
[Footnote 90: See Appendix, Note H.]
[Footnote 91: Thomas Jones, dated Savannah, Sept. 18, 1740 Georgia Hist.
Coll., Vol. I, p. 200.]
[Footnote 92: Dated April 28, 1741. Georgia Hist. Coll., Vol. III, p.
113.]
[Footnote 93: Georgia Hist. Coll., Vol. III, p. 370.]