[Illustration: George Matthews and John Clarke 143]
In giving the history of the Yazoo Fraud, mention has been made of
General George Matthews, who was governor at the time, and who was
compelled to leave the State because he had been persuaded to sign the
bill. General Matthews was one of the most remarkable characters of his
time. Governor Gilmer has drawn a very interesting portrait of him.
It is not a pleasing picture in some respects, but it gives a very
interesting glimpse of a man who in his day was one of the strongest
characters in the State.
He was the son of an Irishman named John Matthews, who settled in
western Virginia in 1737. George Matthews began to fight the Indians at
an age when most boys are at school. In 1761 the Indians attacked and
murdered a family not far from his father's home. He heard the guns, and
thought that a shooting match was going on. With some companions of his
own age, he rode forward to join in the sport; but the youngsters saw
the dead bodies of their neighbors lying in the yard where they had been
left by the murderous savages, and at once turned their horses' heads
and fled. They were not a moment too soon; for the Indians, who had
been lying in ambush, rose and fired at the boys. Matthews had a narrow
escape; for a bullet cut off the wisp of hair (known as a queue) that
hung dangling from the back of his head. The danger that he had passed
through, and the sight of his murdered neighbors, roused young Matthews
to action. He collected a party of men, put himself at the head of them,
followed and overtook the savages, and killed nine of their number.
In the greatest battle that ever took place between the Virginians and
the Indians, Matthews commanded a company, and bore a very conspicuous
part. The battle took place at the junction of the Ohio River with the
Kanawha, on what was called Point Pleasant. The fight began at sunrise,
and was kept up all day, with no great success on either side. The
Indians held their ground, and refused to give way before the most
stubborn attacks of the Virginians. Near sundown, Matthews, with two
other captains, made a strategic movement. The three companies were
withdrawn from the battle. Out of sight of the enemy, they got into the
bed of a creek. Hidden by the banks of the stream, they marched to the
rear of the Indians, and from this point made an attack. The movement
had been so cleverly carried out, that the savages were taken completely
by surprise, and driven across the Ohio.
Early in the Revolutionary War, General Washington, who knew well the
value of the training Matthews had received on the frontier, ordered him
and the regiment which he commanded to join the main army. He took part
in the battle of the Brandywine; and at the battle of Germantown he
led his regiment against the British opposing him, drove them back, and
pushed on to the center of the town, where he captured a regiment of the
enemy. Shortly after this, while engaged in a skirmish, his courage led
him too close to the British. He was knocked down, severely wounded by
a bayonet thrust, and taken prisoner. He was sent to the British prison
ship in New York Harbor. He was there treated with so much cruelty that
he appealed to his government for relief. In response to that appeal,
Thomas Jefferson, who was then governor of Virginia, wrote him a
personal letter, in which he said, "We know that the ardent spirit and
hatred of tyranny which brought you into your present situation
will enable you to bear up against it with the firmness which has
distinguished you as a soldier, and look forward with pleasure to the
day when events shall take place against which the wounded spirit of
your enemies will find no comfort, even from reflections on the most
refined of the cruelties with which they have glutted themselves."
General Matthews was not exchanged until the close of the war. He then
joined the Southern army under General Greene, and commanded the Third
Virginia Regiment. While in the South, he bought a tract of land on
Broad River, known as the Goose Pond. He settled there with his family
in 1784. The fame he had won as a soldier made General Matthews at that
time the principal man in Georgia. He was elected governor in 1786. When
his term expired, he was sent to Congress. In 1794-95 he was again made
governor; and it was at this time, that, contrary to all expectations,
he was prevailed on to sign the Yazoo Act. No charge of corruption was
ever made against him. No thief or swindler was ever bold enough to try
to bribe such a high-spirited and fearless man. But excitement in
the State ran so high, that General Matthews was ruined so far as his
influence was concerned. He left Georgia, and never afterwards made the
State his home for any long period.
In 1811 a lot of runaway negroes, ruffians, and lawless men congregated
in Florida in such numbers that they were able to get control of
affairs. They formed a government of their own, and then petitioned
the United States to make Florida one of their territories. President
Madison appointed General Matthews the agent of the United States to
negotiate with the "constituted authorities" for the annexation of
Florida. General Matthews made a treaty with those who were in control
of Florida; but Spain protested, and the President finally declared that
the treaty had not been made with the "constituted authorities."
General Matthews was not a learned man (he knew nothing of books),
and he could not understand the fuss that was made over the term
"constituted authorities." He became very angry with the President, said
that that officer had a cowardly fear of Spain and Great Britain, and
declared that he would go to Washington to "thrash" the President. He
actually set out on that errand; but the fatigue and exposure which he
had experienced in Florida, and the high state of excitement under
which he labored, threw him into a fever while he was on his journey to
Washington, and he died in Augusta in March, 1812.
Previous to his Florida appointment, General Matthews had been nominated
to be governor of the Territory of Mississippi by President Adams; but
the opposition was so great that the President withdrew the nomination.
When General Matthews heard of this, he promptly set out for
Philadelphia to call the President to account. He rode to Mr. Adams's
house, gave a loud knock on the door, and told the servant he wished
to see the President. The servant said the President was engaged; but
General Matthews bristled with anger at the bare thought that any man,
even the President, could be engaged in any business more important
than talking to George Matthews, late colonel of the Virginia line, and
governor of the State of Georgia. Therefore he told the servant to go at
once and tell the President that a gentleman wished to speak to him;
and he added, that, if the message was not carried at once, the servant
would find his head taken from his shoulders. General Matthews wore his
Revolutionary sword and cocked hat, and he succeeded in convincing the
servant that he was not to be trifled with. He was promptly admitted
into the presence of Mr. Adams, and, with the touch of Irish brogue he
had caught from his father, he made himself and his business known. He
introduced himself, and then said to the President,--
"Now, sir, I understand that you nominated me to the Senate of these
United States, to be governor of the Territory of Mississippi, and that
afterwards you took back the nomination. Sir, if you had known me, you
would not have taken the nomination back. If you did not know me, you
should not have nominated me to so important an office. Now, sir, unless
you can satisfy me, your station as President of these United States
shall not screen you from my vengeance."
Mr. Adams at once made himself agreeable, for he had nothing but good
will for the stanch Georgia Federalist. The outcome of the meeting was
that the President promised to appoint the general's son John to be
supervisor of the revenue, and this promise he carried out.
Governor Gilmer, in his racy reminiscences of the people who settled
in the Broad River region, draws an interesting portrait of General
Matthews. He describes him as a short, thick man, with stout legs, on
which he stood very straight. "He carried his head rather thrown back.
His features were full and bluff, his hair light red, and his complexion
fair and florid. He admitted no superior but General Washington. He
spoke of his services to his country as unsurpassed except by those of
his great chief. He wore a three-cornered cocked hat, top boots, a shirt
full ruffled at the bosom and wrists, and sometimes a long sword at
his side. To listen to his talk about himself, his children, and his
affairs, one would have thought that he was but a puff of wind. Trade
or talk of history with him, and he was found to be one of the shrewdest
of men. Fight with him, and he never failed to act the hero. He was
unlearned. He spelled 'coffee' k-a-u-g-h-p-h-y. He wrote 'Congress' with
a K."
When it is considered that he had small opportunity to train himself in
any direction except rough fighting, General Matthews must be regarded
as one of the most remarkable men of his time.
Another remarkable man who figured largely in both the military and
political history of the State was General John Clarke, son of the
famous Elijah Clarke. John Clarke became a soldier in the Revolutionary
War when a mere boy. He had followed his father to camp, and remained
with him. He took part in many skirmishes; but at the battle of Kettle
Creek, in Wilkes County, he distinguished himself by his coolness and
courage. He fought through the war. He was made a lieutenant at sixteen
years of age, and when the war ended he was a major. After the war he
was made a brigadier, and then a major general of the militia. After
aiding to run the British out of the State, and subduing the Tories,
General Clarke turned his attention to the Indians. At the battle
of Jacks Creek, in Walton County, in 1787, he greatly distinguished
himself, having charge of one of the wings of the Georgia forces.
It was natural that a man raised in camp, and brought up in the midst of
the rough and tough elements that are collected together there, should
possess qualities not calculated to fit him for the polite transactions
that take place in drawing rooms and parlors. General Clarke's
self-reliance was extreme. Having commanded men from the time he was
sixteen, it was natural that his temper and his manners should be
offensive, to some extent, to those who were not thoughtful enough to
make due allowance for these things. It thus happened that when peace
came, John Clarke's methods and practices made him many bitter enemies.
On the other hand, the sterling qualities of his character made him many
strong friends.
Coming out of the war with neither trade nor profession, and with only
the rudiments of an education, John Clarke was compelled to turn his
attention to politics. With him politics was simply a modified form of
war. He had never given any quarter to the Tories, and he gave small
quarter to his political enemies. But he was as faithful to his friends
in politics as he had been to the cause of American liberty. He was
uncompromising, whether dealing with friends or enemies, and his temper
was such that he regarded his opponents as his personal enemies. Of
his political career, mention will be made in another place. It is
sufficient to say that a quarrel he had with a judge divided the people
of the State into two parties, and the contest between them was carried
on for several years. The prejudices that sprang up in that contest
lasted for more than a generation, and strong traces of them are to be
found in estimates of General Clarke's character written long after he
was dead.
Only a man of the strongest character, and possessing the most
remarkable qualities, could have made such a marked impression on the
political history of a commonwealth.