become a warm supporter of Treutland, and openly denounced Button
Gwinnett as a scoundrel. As a result, Gwinnett challenged McIntosh
for a duel, which was promptly accepted, and fought with pistols at a
distance of eight feet, near Savannah, May 16, 1777. At the first shot
both were wounded, Gwinnett's leg being broken and he fell. It is said
he asked his seconds to raise him that he might shoot again, but his
request was denied, and he was taken from the field. The weather was
very warm, and septic fever soon developed, which proved fatal on the
27th of May following.
Thus ended the meteoric life of Button Gwinnett, who, within the short
space of less than two years, sprang from obscurity into prominence,
and whose life was brought to a sudden and tragic end at the hands of
another, and whose grave today is in some obscure and unknown spot.
"FORCED BY PIRATES TO WALK THE PLANK."
Theodosia Burr, wife of Governor Alston of South Carolina, was
considered a beautiful and unusually brave woman of Revolutionary days.
It is of her that this legend is told.
After her father's defeat as candidate for Governor of New York, in
1804, she left Charleston by water route to offer her sympathy and love
during his trying ordeal. The ship of which she was a passenger was
captured by pirates with murderous intent. Theodosia Burr was forced
to walk a plank backward into the watery deep, her eyes were tightly
blind-folded with a handkerchief and in this gruesome manner she met
her death.
Later on in years an old pirate confessed upon his death bed that this
beautiful daughter of Aaron Burr, whom he had helped put to death,
walked the plank with the greatest composure; never once did she
give vent to her feelings. This was the news conveyed to her parents
after years of fruitless search for their beloved daughter, Theodosia
Burr.--EDNA ARNOLD COPELAND, Stephen Heard Chapter, Elberton, Ga.
GEORGIA WOMEN OF EARLY DAYS.
When the full meed of recognition to which she is entitled, is given
by the historian to the part which woman played in the founding and
evolution of the colony of Georgia into one of the sovereign states of
the American union--when her part in the bloody tale of the achievement
of American Independence is fully told and final justice done on
history's page to the hardships which she suffered in freedom's name,
to her marvellous courage, to her fortitude, to her patience, to her
self-denial and heroic sacrifice, then will the poet find new themes
for epic song, the artist fresh riches for his easel, the romancer a
new field for historical fiction and every patriotic American a deeper
veneration for the flag whose primal baptism was of blood so precious
and heroic.
As a curtain-raiser to the story of the heroines of the Revolution, two
notable women of colonial days appear and claim the tribute of more
than a passing mention by reason of the picturesque place which they
occupy in the early history of the province, and because of the unique
and momentous service which they rendered to the colony of Georgia.
When General Oglethorpe, dreaming of an empire of the west, attempted
to secure a treaty with the aborigines and permission to plant his
colony on the virgin soil of Georgia, it was a woman's hand that
unlocked the door and bade him enter. It was a woman's diplomatic tact
and ascendant influence with the Indian tribes that accomplished the
cession of Georgia. Mary Musgrove, an Indian, the wife of a Carolina
planter, negotiated with Tomichichi, the Yamacraw Chief, for the
sale of the territory whose boundaries ran from the Savannah to the
Altamaha and westward to the mythical "South Seas,"--a body of lands so
vast that the Georgia of to-day is but a minor part of the territory
originally ceded.
Thus we find that the first real estate agent that ever closed a
"deal"--the biggest that ever was or ever will be in Georgia--was a
woman, and the first Georgia manufacturer was a woman as well--Mary
Camuse, the wife of Lewis Camuse.
From the business tact, enterprise and industry of Mary Camuse resulted
the first recorded exportation to England of the first manufactured
article which left our shores, forty-five pounds, two ounces
avoirdupois weight of silk, cultivated and woven by her hand.
A glance at the minutes of the trustees of the colony reveals this
quaint and interesting entry:
"August 7th, 1742. Resolved, That it is recommended to the common
council, to give Mrs. Camuse a gratuity for every person who shall
be certified to be properly instructed by her in the art of winding
silk."
The art of wearing silk, with grace and elegance, could, I feel
assured, be taught to any one who might seek to profit thereby, by the
stately matrons whose names adorn the roster of the Atlanta Chapter of
the Daughters of the American Revolution, but the art of winding silk,
such as the trustees encouraged by their bounty, is, I very much fear,
at this time in Georgia what we might call one of the "lost arts."
Passing from Mrs. Musgrove and Mrs. Camuse to the Georgia women of the
Revolution, I beg leave to state that I have sought in this paper to
give only such names and incidents as are authenticated by historical
reference or by well established tradition. I am by no means assured
that the list is full,--indeed, I am strongly inclined to the opinion
that it is largely incomplete, notwithstanding the somewhat exhaustive
research which has been made in ancient archives and time-worn
histories.
It is generally accepted that the most conspicuous figure among the
Georgia women of the Revolution is the famous Amazon of Elbert County,
the redoubtable Nancy Hart. She was undoubtedly the foremost fighter
from the ranks of the colonial dames North or South, and her brave and
thrilling exploits were indubitably of a rank and character to entitle
her to an exalted place in the American temple of fame.
The portrait of Nancy Hart while in repose, is that of a formidable
warrior--when in action, she must have been a female Apollyon, dire and
terrible, a veritable incarnation of slaughter and threatenings. Six
feet in height, cross-eyed, ungainly in figure, redheaded, big hands,
big feet, broad mouth, massive jaw, sharp of tongue and rude in speech,
she was a picture before which a Redcoat, a Tory, or a bachelor, well
might quail. "She was a honey of a patriot but the devil of a wife," is
the reading of the record--the tribute of a neighbor who lived in the
bloody times which made her known to fame.
It is related that in later years, a resolution was introduced in the
legislature of Georgia providing for an equestrian statue of General
Jackson--representing his horse in the act of plunging forward, the
warrior pointing his sword with martial eagerness towards the foe--to
be placed in the capitol of Georgia. A patriotic member of the body
arose in the assembly and protested that he would not vote for the
resolution unless the legislature should likewise authorize a painting
of Nancy Hart fording the Broad River with a tory prisoner, bare-headed
and bare armed, her dress tucked up, her jaws set, her big hands
suggestively pointing the musket at her cringing captive.
It does seem a matter for regret that some such recognition is not
given by the State to the daring and valor of this Georgia heroine. The
history of no other nation can boast of a braver or more invincible
woman, and it should be a matter of state pride among Georgians to
honor her memory and commemorate with painter's brush, or sculptor's
chisel, her splendid and heroic achievements in the cause of American
Independence.
The fame which Nancy Hart achieved as a fighting patriot is perhaps
equaled by Jane Latouche Cuyler as the political heroine in Georgia,
of the Revolution. This picturesque and remarkable woman was the
widow of Telemon Cuyler, a wealthy mariner. She lived at the corner
of Bull and Broughton streets in Savannah. Mrs. Cuyler was of French
descent and inherited the fiery and mercurial temperament of her
Gallic ancestors. She is accorded the distinction of being the first
patriot at Savannah to don a liberty cap, which she persistently wore,
to the grim displeasure, and despite the intimidating attitude, of
the crown governor, Sir James Wright. Political meetings were held by
the patriots at Mrs. Cuyler's house and it is said, that at one of
these assemblies, a resolution was passed which afterwards formed the
basis of the action of the Provisional Congress in declaring Georgia's
adherence to the revolting colonies and her purpose to join with them
in armed resistance to the authority of the English crown.
At the fall of Savannah, she was taken to Charleston under an escort of
Continental troops and after Charleston had surrendered to Sir Henry
Clinton, the Commissary General of Georgia is said to have caused her
to be transported to Philadelphia, where her expenses were paid by the
commonwealth of Georgia in recognition of her valuable services to the
patriots' cause. So active was her participation in fanning the flame
of revolution and in fomenting armed resistance to the encroachments
of the Crown that Sir James Wright is stated to have offered a reward
for her capture and delivery to the British authorities. She died in
New Jersey after the Revolution, having lived, however, to see the
independence of the colonies for which she had striven with such fervor
and eclat, brought to a happy and successful issue.
After the fall of Savannah, the Continental prisoners were crowded
by the British on board ships lying at anchor in the Savannah River.
These ships were veritable pest houses and many of the prisoners died
of infection and for the want of proper sustenance. Mrs. Mordecai
Shefthall made it her mission to go out in boats provisioned and
manned by her negroes to make the rounds of these floating prisons and
administer such aid and bring such delicacies as she could command to
the imprisoned patriots. This brave and noble woman endeared herself to
the Continental captives and in consequence of these missions of mercy
and her brave solicitude for the unfortunate prisoners, she acquired
the beautiful soubriquet of "the Angel of the Prison Ships."
Yet another woman who administered to the wants and necessities of
these unfortunate soldiers was Mrs. Minis. General Shefthall himself
a Captain, records two important ministrations which she rendered to
his succor and comfort. He says: "In this situation I remained for two
days, without a morsel to eat, when a Hessian officer named Zaltman,
finding that I could talk his language, removed me to his room and
sympathized with me on my situation. He permitted me to send to Mrs.
Minis, who sent me some victuals."
But an equally important service--more of a luxury perhaps than a
necessity, but a most delightful luxury to a gentleman--followed, when
on application to Col. Innis, General Shefthall, records: "I got his
leave to go to Mrs. Minis for a shirt she had taken to wash for me, as
it was the only one I had left, except the one on my back, and that was
given to me by Captain Kappel, as the British soldiers had plundered
both mine and my son's clothes."
In the time allotted for this paper, I have not the opportunity to
discuss at length the character and adventures of Mrs. Johnathan Bryan
who, amidst constant danger from marauding Tory bands, successfully
operated and managed her husband's plantation while he was fighting for
the cause of liberty; nor to deal with the exciting and romantic career
of Sarah Swinton McIntosh, nor to depict the quaint personality of
Winnifred McIntosh, Spinster, the brave and loyal sister of the dashing
"Rory"; nor to draw the picture of Mrs. John Dooly, the tragic murder
of whose husband by the Tories is said to have fired the soul of Nancy
Hart with the fierce flame of vengeance against the brutal Royalists,
who with fire and sword lay waste the unprotected homes of the patriots.
I, therefore, close this crude and hasty sketch with a romance of the
Revolution, a tale which must appeal to every heart because of its
human interest, its bloody setting, its gratifying sequel and by reason
of the fact that one of your own members is a _lineal descendant_ of
the _heroine_ of this pleasing and delightful romance of love and war.
My story is a note from the life of Sarah Ann Jones who was sent from
Burke County, Georgia, to Savannah to a boarding school for young
ladies kept by gentlewomen in sympathy with the Royalist faction of
the colony. So far did the school management display its royalist
sentiment that the school girls were coerced into knitting socks and
making shirts for the enemy during the hours for play and recess, and
were sternly instructed to be true and loyal servants to the King. This
coercion only made the colonial girls more devoted secretly to the
cause of liberty, and when Savannah fell into the hands of the British,
the times were past when educational advantages could be considered
and our little school friend was sent for, and brought home, where it
was thought she could find a safer asylum. With three brothers in the
army, and all her heart with them, she was happy to be at home. But
she was destined to do more for the cause of liberty than fell to the
lot of every quiet maiden of those eventful days. She was sent for not
a great while after her return home to go at once to Beech Island,
near Augusta, to the plantation of Mrs. Sherwood Bugg to help nurse
her brother, Captain John Jones, who had been severely wounded and who
had been brought there, along with many other wounded soldiers, to be
nursed back to life again by every kindly ministration known to the
helpful women of these stirring times.
And so she went and helped to nurse her brother, and there the long,
anxious days were crowned by a budding romance.
Captain Jones was able again to enter the fight for freedom, and then
it was that his lovely young sister, Sarah Ann Jones, found time for
seeing much of the youngest son of her hostess, Sherwood Bugg, Jr.
Love soon bound the young soldier with silken strands, their troth
was plighted and with the consent of both families their marriage was
arranged for. Nothing marred their plans and the young couple settled
after their marriage, on land in Columbia County, Georgia, granted
their families for services rendered during the struggle of 1776 when
young girls and mere boys (too young for regular soldiers) found an
opportunity for working for the cause of their country as nobly as ever
did the soldiers of the line.
Today in a little home of one of your members are to be found two very
plain, _solid, old mahogany tables_ that span these years reaching back
to the Revolution, that belonged to this young couple--a fitting table
on which to pen a love letter and the best exponent of the character of
Revolutionary times, serving not one, but five generations, and even
now in daily use.
This little romance lends additional charm to the beauty and strength
of these old tables, and today, they tell us of the force and nobility
of earlier days and a simpler life.--JAMES WADDY AUSTIN. Read before
Atlanta Chapter by Mrs. Joseph Morgan.
ROBERT SALLETTE.
In studying the lives of noted individuals, we find the written history
of them in many ways so very different.
Some are always before the eyes of the public. They seem to know just
how to arrange, that their words and deeds are known and read of all
men.
Then there are others, perhaps as worthy or perchance even more
so, who are reticent and modest, and the very simplicity of their
lives causes them to shrink from the lime-light, the glare of the
torch and the noise of the trumpet of victory, preferring rather the
inner-consciousness of having done well that which was committed unto
them.
Apart from either of these classes, we find a few who are
unconstrained, who take destiny into their own hands, rough hewing
as they will, and are indifferent alike to either public censure or
applause. In this last division, we would have to place our patriot,
Robert Sallette.
"Neither history nor tradition gives us the place of his birth or the
date of his death, yet it is known that he played a more important part
in the struggle in the Colony than any one man who had no troops at his
command." Like Melchizedek, he seems to have had no beginning or ending
or length of days. It is known that his grave lies in the noted old
cemetery at Midway, Georgia along with many famous revolutionary heroes.
Sallette's bravery was beyond dispute, even to recklessness. His hatred
of the Tories and all subjects of the King was so bitter, that it
caused a price to be set upon his head. Most of us are familiar with
the traditions which the historian, Harris, tells of in his "Stories of
Georgia," where "A Tory of some means offered a reward of one hundred
guineas to any one who would bring him the head of Sallette." The
Tory had never seen Sallette, but his alarm was such, that he offered
a reward large enough to tempt some one to assassinate the daring
partisan. When Sallette heard of the reward, he disguised himself as a
farmer, placed a pumpkin in a bag and took it to the home of the Tory.
He was invited in and deposited the bag on the floor beside him, the
pumpkin striking the boards with a thump. "I have brought you the head
of Robert Sallette," he said. "I hear that you have offered a reward of
one hundred guineas for it."
"Where is it," asked the Tory.
"I have it with me," replied Sallette, shaking the loose end of the
bag. "Count me out the money and take the head."
The Tory neither doubting nor suspecting counted out the money and
placed it on the table.
"Now show me the head," said he.
Sallette removed his hat, tapped himself on the forehead and said,
"Here is the head of Robert Sallette."
The Tory was so frightened that he jumped from the room and Sallette
pocketed the money and departed.
An old inhabitant of Liberty County tells that once two Tory robbers
had gone to some worthy man's house in the lower part of the county
and demanded his money. When he refused, they put a rope around his
neck. Bob Sallette seems to have appeared on the scene and saw what
was taking place across the field. Sallette rushed up on horseback,
yelling with all his might, "Come on, boys, here they are." The Tories,
thinking they were outnumbered and would be captured, ran away.
Sallette took the man in trouble on horseback with him and they made
their escape.
Sallette was not wanting in humor, as we see in the little encounter he
had with the advance guard of the British.
Observing that a dead man, who was a remarkably large man, had on a
pair of good boots, Sallette determined to get them. While pulling them
off, his companion called for him to get away quickly, or he would be
killed. "I must have the boots, I need them, I want them for little
John Way." This was fun in the midst of tragedy, as Mr. Way was a
remarkably small man.
It will be remembered that at a very early period, the citizens of St.
John's Parish (now the County of Liberty) took a very firm stand in
favor of independence. The early, open, and determined resistance, of
this parish did not escape the notice of the enemy, and accordingly it
was made to feel the full measure of royal vengeance. Added to this,
Sallette must have had some special cause for the bitter animosity
and hatred he felt for all Britishers. It was thought (as his name
would indicate) that he descended from the French Acadians, who had
previously suffered much, and often, at the hands of the Britishers,
hence his motto, which was, "never forgive a Tory." If one was ever
liberated he made it his business to follow him and, if possible, take
his life.
Sallette was a roving character, belonging to no particular command. He
fought valiantly and zealously, but always in his own peculiar way and
style. He didn't seem to especially value his own life and, never, the
life of his foe.
Once he dressed as a Britisher and dined with a party of them. While
toasting and merry-making he suddenly drew his sword and killing the
man on either side of him, he jumped on his horse and rode off unhurt,
though he stood not on the order of his going.
We can well understand that with such a daring spirit and cool
calculating brain he was greatly feared by the Tories.
Evidently his thinking was independent, for his style of warfare and
sudden actions kept the enemy uncertain where he would next appear.
Often during a battle he would leave his command and go to the rear of
the enemy and kill a number before he would be discovered.
When Major Baker defeated a body of Tories at the White House near
Sunbury, among the enemies slain was Lieutenant Grey, whose head was
almost severed from his body by a stroke of Robert Sallette's sabre.
Sallette, the scout, was a personal friend of Major Fraser of the
Revolutionary War. Tradition has it that these two men did valiant and
effective service in running out the Tories.
One story is, that these two met a couple of Tories in the road at the
ford of Taylor's Creek and the Tories were never afterwards seen or
heard of, which was characteristic of his manner of dealing with the
enemy.
We know that often when General Marion of South Carolina wanted
some special work done he sent to Liberty County, Georgia, for the
distinguished and intrepid scout, Robert Sallette.
This daring scout performed many deeds to free this land from English
oppression and to enable us to sing:
My country 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty
* * * * *
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King.
GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S VISIT TO MACON.
The Nation's Guest--Arrangements for his Reception.
(From the Georgia Messenger, Macon, Ga, March 23, 1825.)
A signal gun will be fired as soon as the General and his suite arrive,
on the hill at the old fort. The ladies and gentlemen will proceed to
form themselves immediately in two lines on Bridge Street, near the
ferry, under the direction of the Town Marshal, and A. Mandell, J.
S. Childers, G. B. Wardlaw, E. McCall, R. McCall and Isaiah Chain,
Marshals for the day; the arrangements to be as follows: First, the
Commissioners of the town and Committee of Arrangements on horseback;
second, the ladies; third, the citizens generally. He will be received
by the Commissioners and Committee near the ferry, where he will be
addressed by James S. Frierson, Esq., in behalf of the citizens.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30TH.--RECEPTION OF LAFAYETTE.
At 12 o'clock yesterday a signal announced his approach, when the
ladies and gentlemen proceeded to form lines on Bridge Street near the
ferry. Owing to the rapidity with which he now travels, he was entirely
unattended by any military escort. The only persons with him were his
son and secretary, and two of the Governor's aids, Cols. Thaddeus G.
Holt and Henry G. Lamar. He dismounted from his carriage and crossed
the river, where he was received by the Committee and Commissioners.
On ascending the bluff he was welcomed to our town in behalf of the
citizens by James S. Frierson, Esq., who said:
"General Lafayette. Sir: I am deputed by the citizens of Macon and
its vicinity to welcome you to this place.
"To tell you, sir, that you were the early, steadfast and constant
friend of this republic in her revolutionary contest, would be
only to say what had been acknowledged by the past and present
generation.
"But that glorious struggle in which your destinies were pledged in
common with the illustrious characters of that day, has eventually
proved that a system of government, now in the history of the
world, a confederative representative democracy, is the best
guarantee for the liberties of a great people, is now confirmed by
the experience of thirty-six years.
"The first State, sir, which you will enter after leaving this,
and those you are now to visit are prominent testimonials of this
sublime truth, unknown in the Revolutionary struggle; a barren
wilderness where the foot of civilized man had scarcely trod,
in this short period had grown in numbers nearly equalling the
original States, entertaining the same political views, the same
veneration for your person and character that we do; you will there
be greeted with the same hospitality that you have met here.
"With hearts full of gratitude for your past service, with
the earnest and intense interest for your future welfare and
prosperity, we all unite in wishing that the evening of your days
may be spent in that calm tranquility and repose of which you were
deprived in your earlier life."
To which the General replied in substance: