[Illustration: A War of Extermination 104]
Some of the barbarous features of the Revolutionary War in Georgia have
been briefly noted.
History has turned her eyes away from the more horrible details; but
by reading between the lines, and taking advantage of the hints and
suggestions, it is not hard to get a tolerably fair idea of the methods
that were pursued on both sides. Even Colonel Charles C. Jones, jun.,
whose "History of Georgia" is thus far the most complete that has been
written, touches lightly on the cruelties practiced in the efforts of
the British and Tories to wrest Upper Georgia from the control of the
Americans. There are matters that History cannot deal with and maintain
her dignity.
There can be no doubt that the British and the Tories began their
cruelties without considering the results to which their acts would
lead. It is an easy matter at this late day to see how naturally the
war, in the region tributary to Augusta, degenerated into a series of
crimes and barbarities foul enough to cause History to hold her hands
before her eyes. When Colonel Campbell, assisted by Colonel Brown,
advanced to attack Augusta, it was the only American post that had
not surrendered to the King's men, and its capture would complete the
subjugation of Georgia from a military point of view. The city fell
without a struggle, and the American forces retreated across the river.
It was natural that the British, and the Tories who were acting with
them, should take advantage of this victory to bring the whole region
above and around Augusta to terms. The sooner this was done, the sooner
would all Georgia be restored to her relations with his Majesty George
III. No time was to be lost. Therefore Colonel Campbell, the British
commander, tarried in Augusta but a few days. He left Colonel Brown
in charge, and marched in the direction of Wilkes County. Those of the
inhabitants who had Tory sympathies were to be encouraged; but those who
were disaffected were to be dealt with summarily, so as to put an end,
at once and forever, to the disloyalty that had been active in that
region. This plan was carried out promptly and violently. The severest
punishment was the portion of those who refused to take the oath of
allegiance. Plunder and the torch were the portions of those who chanced
to be away from home, fighting for their country. Their helpless
wives and children were left homeless, and destitute of provisions.
Fortunately a great many stanch Liberty Boys had carried their families,
their household effects, and their cattle, into South Carolina as soon
as they heard of the fall of Augusta; but many had remained at home, and
the sufferings of these were severe.
Another explanation of the extreme cruelty with which the war in Upper
Georgia was waged after the fall of Augusta, was the fact that Colonel
Brown, who had been left in command by Colonel Campbell, had some old
scores to settle. At the very beginning of the struggle he had been
arrested in Augusta by some of the Liberty Boys, tarred and feathered,
and paraded through the public streets, on account of his outspoken
loyalty to the King. Still another reason was the fact that Daniel
McGirth, who had been maltreated by an American officer, was among the
officers who had accompanied Colonel Brown. McGirth held every American
responsible for the treatment he had received, and he spared few that
fell into his hands. Thus, between the anxiety of the British to conquer
Georgia completely, and the desires of Brown and McGirth to revenge
themselves, the Americans in Upper Georgia were made the victims of the
most inhuman barbarities.
The Americans under Elijah Clarke lost no time in retaliating, and
thus was begun a contest that may be aptly described as a war of
extermination. Clarke was enabled to defeat the British and the Tories
wherever they opposed him on anything like equal terms, and this fact
added to the rigor with which they treated the Americans who were so
unfortunate as to fall into their hands. Shortly after the affair at
Musgrove's Mill, in which Clarke defeated the British and the Tories,
Lord Cornwallis addressed a circular letter to the officers commanding
the advanced posts. He declared, "The inhabitants of the Provinces who
have subscribed to and taken part in this revolt shall be punished
with the utmost rigor; and also those who will not turn out shall be
imprisoned, and their whole property taken from them or destroyed. I
have ordered," he goes on to say, "in the most positive manner, that
every militiaman who has borne arms with us, and afterwards joined the
enemy, shall be immediately hanged. I desire you will take the most
vigorous measures to punish the rebels in the district in which you
command, and that you obey in the strictest manner the directions I have
given in this letter relative to the inhabitants in this country."
Here was authority broad enough to cover every crime that the British
and the Tories might see fit to commit, and they stretched it to the
utmost limit. They burned houses and destroyed property. They insulted
and inhumanly treated women and children. They hanged the innocent. They
went about the country practicing every barbarity that their savage and
bloodthirsty natures could suggest. It was no wonder that the Americans
retaliated whenever they had the opportunity. It was no wonder that
Elijah Clarke, naturally independent and irritable, should fail to see
the justice or necessity of treating the Tories he captured as prisoners
of war.
The situation of the Americans became so serious that Clarke determined
to strike a heavy blow. He returned from Carolina to Wilkes County in
September, 1780, and in two days succeeded in placing in the field
three hundred and fifty men. With this force, strengthened by eighty men
recruited in Carolina, he boldly marched on Augusta. The movement was so
unexpected, that, but for the fact that the advance guard fell in with
an Indian camp which it was compelled to attack, Colonel Brown would
have been taken completely by surprise. But the retreating Indians gave
him notice, and he took refuge with his command in a strong building
known as the White House. The siege began on the 14th. By daylight on
the 16th Clarke had succeeded in cutting the garrison off from its water
supply. The sufferings of the men, especially the wounded, became most
intense. The Americans could hear their cries for water and for medical
aid. Brown appears to have been as brave as he was cruel. Though he was
shot through both thighs, he remained at the head of his men; and his
great courage sustained the spirits of his followers. Clarke summoned
him to surrender on the 17th. He not only refused, but warned the
American commander that the demonstration he was making against the
King's men would bring destruction to the western part of Georgia.
Meanwhile some of Clarke's men had gone to visit their families, and
others were more interested in securing plunder than in forwarding
the cause of independence. Colonel Brown, as soon as he heard of the
approach of the Americans, had sent several messengers by different
routes to inform Colonel Cruger of the state of affairs. Cruger, who was
in Carolina at Ninety-six, promptly set his men in motion, and on the
morning of the 18th appeared on the bank of the Savannah, opposite
Augusta. Under the circumstances, Clarke was compelled to retreat. He
had suffered a loss of sixty, killed and wounded. In retreating, he was
compelled to leave twenty-nine of his wounded men behind. Among these
was Captain Ashby, one of the bravest and most humane of the officers
of the American army. This unfortunate officer and the men with him fell
into the hands of the enemy. Colonel Brown was so severely wounded that
he was unable to move about; so he ordered Captain Ashby and twelve of
the wounded prisoners to be hanged on the staircase of the White House,
where he might see their sufferings and gloat over their agonies. These
men were cruelly strangled before Brown's eyes. But their fate was a
happy one compared with that of their wounded companions. Those men were
turned over to the red savages, who were the allies of the British. The
Indians received the prisoners with howls of delight, and began at once
to torture them in every conceivable way. They formed a circle, and
marched around the Americans, cutting and slashing them with their
knives. The end of the unfortunates was most horrible. They were ripped
with knives, scalped, and then burned. No doubt, Colonel Brown enjoyed
this scene more thoroughly than he did the tame and commonplace
spectacle of strangling Captain Ashby and his companions.
Before raising the siege, Elijah Clarke paroled the officers and men
whom he had captured,--fifty-six men, all told. This fact is mentioned
to show that the Georgia militia had not then begun those acts of
retaliation which have attracted the notice of historians. They had
had, as we know, abundant provocation; but after the horrible crimes
perpetrated by Brown reached their ears, they threw off all restraint.
Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and the men who acted
with Elijah Clarke thought that the best way to preserve the lives of
themselves and their families was to destroy the Tories as fast as they
caught them. The fact is chronicled by Colonel Jones, and it is worth
noting, that the officers and men paroled by Clarke, in utter disregard
of their obligations, took up their arms as soon as the Americans
had departed. The probability is that they were driven to this by the
commands of Brown.
It is well known, that, as soon as Clarke and his men had retreated,
Colonel Brown sent detachments of troops in all directions, with orders
to arrest all persons who had taken part in the siege, or who had
sympathized with the efforts of the Americans to recapture Augusta.
Under this sweeping order, men of all ages and conditions were dragged
from their homes and thrown into prison. Those who were suspected of
taking part in the siege, or of belonging to Clarke's command, were
seized and hanged out of hand. Old men, no longer able to bear arms,
were imprisoned for welcoming the return of members of their families
who had fought on the American side. One instance out of many that
might be cited was the arrest of the father of Captains Samuel and
James Alexander. In the seventy-eighth year of his age, this old man
was arrested at his home, tied to the tail of a cart, and dragged forty
miles in two days. When caught leaning against the cart to rest his
feeble limbs, he was whipped by the driver. It was at this time that
in the region round about Augusta the hopes of the patriots grew very
faint. The women and children assembled, and begged Elijah Clarke to
take them out of the country; and in response to the appeals of these
defenseless ones, he undertook the movement that culminated in the
glorious victory of Kings Mountain.
[Illustration: Old man whipped at the tail of a cart 111]
The winter of 1780 was the darkest hour of the Revolution in Upper
Georgia. There was no trade. Farming was at a low ebb. The schoolhouses
were closed. Many of the patriots had carried off their families.
Many had gone with Elijah Clarke to Kentucky. The patriots had betaken
themselves to South Carolina, though the services they rendered there
have been slurred over by the historians of that State.
When General Greene began his Southern campaign, and gradually rid South
Carolina of the British and the Tory element, the patriots of Upper
Georgia ventured to return to their homes. Captain McCall, who was among
them, says, in his history, that they returned in parties of ten and
twelve, so as to attract as little attention as possible. They appointed
Dennis's Mill, on Little River, as a place of meeting. "When these small
parties entered the settlements where they had formerly lived," says
Captain McCall, "general devastation was presented to view; their aged
fathers and their youthful brothers had been murdered; their decrepit
grandfathers were incarcerated in prisons where most of them had been
suffered to perish in filth, famine, or disease; and their mothers,
wives, sisters, and young children had been robbed, insulted, and
abused, and were found by them in temporary huts more resembling a
savage camp than a civilized habitation." Though Captain McCall was
an eyewitness of some of the scenes he describes, the picture he draws
might seem to be too highly colored were it not supplemented by a great
mass of evidence. One more instance out of many may be given. In a
skirmish with the Americans under Colonel Harden, Brown captured several
prisoners. Among them was a youth only seventeen years old named Rannal
McKay, the son of a widow who was a refugee from Darien. Being told that
her son was a prisoner in the hands of Brown, Widow McKay, providing
herself with some refreshments that she thought might suit the taste of
the British commander, went to Brown's headquarters, and begged that
her son might be set free. The cruel wretch accepted the present she
had brought him, but refused even to let her see her son, and caused the
sentinels to put her out of the camp by force. Next day young McKay and
four other prisoners were taken out of the rail pen in which they had
been confined. By Brown's order they were hanged upon a gallows until
they were nearly strangled. They were then cut down and turned over to
the tender mercies of the Indians, by whom they were mutilated, scalped,
and finally murdered in the most savage manner.
The cruelty of Colonel Brown and the Tories acting under him was so
unbearable that the patriots of that region felt that their existence
depended on the capture of Augusta. They decided on an aggressive
movement when they met again at Dennis's Mill, on Little River.
Colonel Clarke, who was suffering from the results of smallpox, was
too feeble to lead them. His place was taken for the time by Lieutenant
Colonel Micajah Williamson; and on the 16th of April, 1781, the
Americans moved to the vicinity of Augusta. They were there reënforced
by a detachment from southern Georgia under Colonel Baker, and by a
number of recruits from Burke County. A few days afterwards they were
joined by some Carolina militiamen under Colonel Hammond and Major
Jackson.
With this force, Colonel Williamson took up a position twelve hundred
yards from the British works, and fortified his camp. The Americans were
compelled to wait nearly a month for the aid they expected from General
Greene. The militia, worn out with waiting for the reënforcements, were
about to withdraw from the camp in despair, when Jackson, that truly
great Georgian, made them an address full of the most passionate and
patriotic eloquence, and this appeal changed their purpose. Jackson's
voice was afterwards heard in the halls of Congress; but we may be sure
that he was never more in earnest or more truly eloquent than when he
pleaded with the faint-hearted Americans to stand to their cause and
their arms. Jackson's address revived their courage; and when, on
the 15th of May, Elijah Clarke rode into camp, restored to health
and accompanied by one hundred fresh recruits, the confidence of the
militiamen was fully renewed.
It was at this time that General Pickens and "Light Horse Harry" Lee
(the father of General Robert E. Lee) were ordered by General Greene to
march on Augusta and capture that post When Lee reached the neighborhood
of Augusta, he learned, from a party of light horse which he had sent on
ahead to collect prisoners and gain information, that the annual royal
present intended for the Indians had arrived at Fort Galphin, some
distance below Augusta. The present comprised blankets, liquor, salt,
small arms, powder, and ball. There was a great lack of these articles
in the American camp, and Lee resolved to capture them. The supplies
were so valuable, that Brown, the British commander, had sent two
companies from Augusta to garrison Fort Galphin. This was the situation
when "Light Horse Harry" arrived on the ground. The British in Augusta
had not yet discovered his approach, and promptness was necessary.
Leaving Eaton's battalion, the artillery, and the footsore men of the
legion, to follow more slowly, Lee mounted a detachment of infantry
behind his dragoons, and made a forced march to Fort Galphin.
This point he reached on the 21st of May, 1781. The weather was
extremely hot, and for miles the troopers and their horses had been
unable to find a drop of water: consequently neither the men nor the
animals were in a condition to make the attack when the command was
brought to a halt under the pines that skirted the field surrounding
the fort. The British within the fort were resting quietly, and were
not aware that an enemy was at hand. A prompt and decisive movement was
necessary; and when his men and horses had rested a little while, Lee
dismounted the militiamen he had brought with him, and ordered them to
make a demonstration against the fort on the side opposite the position
he had taken. This famous commander reasoned, that, as soon as the
militiamen appeared before the fort, the garrison would sally from the
stockade. The militia would retreat, the garrison pursuing, and he would
seize upon that moment to assault and capture the post left defenseless.
To carry out this plan, Captain Rudolph (who was supposed to be some
great general in disguise), with a detachment of picked infantry, was
held in readiness to rush upon the fort; while the rest of the troops,
supported by the dragoons, were placed where they could shield the
militia from the pursuit of the British.
The affair took place just as Lee had foreseen. The garrison sallied out
to the attack. The militia, before making a show of resistance, began
a retreat. The garrison gave pursuit. Captain Rudolph dashed across the
field, and captured the fort without any trouble, The end came, when the
militia rallied, and the foot soldiers and dragoons closed around the
soldiers of the garrison. During the engagement the Americans lost one
man from sunstroke. The enemy lost only three or four men. The rest,
together with the valuable stores in the stockade, fell into the hands
of the patriots.
Following this successful affair, which was of more importance than it
seems now to be, Lee formed a junction with General Pickens; and these
two then joined their forces with those of Clarke, who commanded the
Georgia militia, and the siege of Augusta began. The first movement
was the capture of Fort Grierson, so called in honor of the man who
commanded its garrison. Grierson, hard pressed, threw open the gates of
the fort, and endeavored to escape. Thirty of his men were killed, and
forty-five wounded and captured. Grierson was made a prisoner, but was
killed by a Georgia rifleman. He was as cruel and vindictive as Brown
himself. He was a monster who had made himself odious to the followers
of Clarke. In his history, Captain McCall strongly hints that Grierson
was shot by one of the sons of the aged Mr. Alexander, who had been made
prisoner and dragged to Augusta tied to the tail of a cart. A reward
was offered for information that would lead to the arrest of the man who
shot Grierson, but the reward was never claimed. The whole army probably
knew who had fired the fatal shot, and no doubt the commanders knew,
but their knowledge was not official. No further notice was taken of the
matter.
The capture of Fort Grierson cheered the hearts of the besiegers, and
gave them renewed courage. Fort Cornwallis was next invested. This
stronghold was commanded by Colonel Brown himself, who was as bold as
he was cruel. He was mean enough to expose to the American fire the aged
Mr. Alexander and other unfortunate patriots who had long been held as
prisoners. Captain Samuel Alexander commanded one of the companies close
to the fort, and could see and recognize his venerable father, who had
been placed in an exposed position by Brown.
It is not necessary to describe all the events of the siege. Brown held
out as long as he could, but was finally compelled to surrender. On the
5th of June, 1781, Brown, with three hundred men, marched out of Fort
Cornwallis, and that stronghold was immediately taken possession of by
Captain Rudolph. A strong guard was detailed by the American commanders,
to protect Brown from the just anger of the Georgia soldiers, under
Clarke, Williamson, and Jackson. To insure his safety, he was carried
to the quarters of "Light Horse Harry" Lee. The next day he and a few of
his officers were paroled and sent down the river in charge of a party
of infantry instructed to guard him. Ramsay, in his "History of the
Revolution of South Carolina," says that Brown was recognized at Silver
Bluff by Mrs. McKay, who thus addressed him: "Colonel Brown, in the late
day of your prosperity I visited your camp, and on my knees supplicated
for the life of my son; but you were deaf to my entreaties. You hanged
him, though a beardless youth, before my face. These eyes have seen him
scalped by the savages under your immediate command, and for no better
reason than that his name was McKay. As you are now prisoner to the
leaders of my country, for the present I lay aside all thoughts of
revenge; but when you resume your sword, I will go five hundred miles to
demand satisfaction at the point of it, for the murder of my son." The
probability is that Mrs. McKay used no such stately language. No doubt
she walked up to Brown, shook her finger in his face, and exclaimed,
"You miserable villain! I can't get at you now; but if the day ever
comes, I'll flay you alive for the murder of my poor boy."
The fall of Augusta was received with rejoicings by the patriots
everywhere, and the British and the Tories were correspondingly
depressed. Men who had been overawed by the cruelty of the Tories, now
came out boldly for the cause of independence, and the forces of the
Americans were rapidly strengthened. Preparations were made for an
aggressive campaign in Georgia by the Liberty Boys; and in this purpose
they had the active aid and sympathy of General Greene, whose skill and
ability as a commander were not greater than the wisdom he displayed in
dealing with the people.
In January, 1782, General Greene ordered General Anthony Wayne to take
charge of the campaign in Georgia. At the same time he wrote a letter
to Governor Martin that displays better than any document now extant
the sagacity and conservatism that were the basis of General Greene's
character and the source of his great success as a commander. "I cannot
help recommending to your Excellency," he wrote to the governor of
Georgia, "to open a door for the disaffected in your State to come
in, with particular exceptions. It is better to save than to destroy,
especially when we are obliged to expose good men to destroy bad. It
is always dangerous to push people to a state of desperation; and the
satisfaction of revenge has but a momentary existence, and is commonly
succeeded by pity and remorse. The practice of plundering, which, I am
told, has been too much indulged with you, is very destructive to the
morals and manners of the people. Habits and dispositions founded
on this practice soon grow obstinate, and are difficult to restrain;
indeed, it is the most direct way of undermining all government, and,
never fails to bring the laws into contempt, for people will not stop at
the barriers which were first intended to bound them after having tasted
the sweets of possessing property by the easy mode of plunder. The
preservation of morals and an encouragement to honest industry should be
the first objects of government. Plundering is the destruction of both.
I wish the cause of liberty may never be tarnished with inhumanity, nor
the morals of people bartered in exchange for wealth." This letter was
intended to put an end to the war of extermination that the Tories of
Upper Georgia had begun, and to prevent the patriots from carrying out
their plans of revenge. The letter did great good. It was turned over
to the Legislature by the governor, and thus made public; and its
sentiments were taken to heart by hundreds who had suffered the most
cruel wrongs at the hands of the Tories. General Greene's letter was
also made the basis of two proclamations, both issued by the governor
after conference with General Wayne. One opened the door to disaffected
Georgians who might desire to return to the ranks of the republicans,
and the other was addressed to the Hessian troops who had already
begun to sympathize with the Salzburghers at Ebenezer. Stevens, in his
"History of Georgia," says that many citizens who had been compelled
from various reasons to seek protection under the British Government,
and who had even joined the armies of the enemy, took advantage of the
proclamation which referred to them, returned to their State allegiance,
and joined the forces of General Wayne, where they proved their
sincerity by making the most zealous efforts to merit the pardon and
protection that had been promised them by the governor.
After a brilliant campaign, lasting from January to July, 1782, General
Wayne, assisted by Elijah Clarke, James Jackson, and other bold spirits
who had never suffered the fires of liberty to go out in Georgia,
cleared the State of the British. Savannah was occupied on the 11th of
July, the keys having been surrendered to James Jackson. This was the
end of British rule in Georgia.