Oglethorpe goes to Charlestown, South Carolina, to open his
Commission--Comes back to Savannah--Gives encouragement to the
Planters--Returns to Frederica--Excursion to Coweta--Forms a Treaty
with the Upper Creeks--Receives at Augusta a delegation of the
Chickasaws and Cherokees, who complain of having been poisoned by the
Traders--On his return to Savannah is informed of Spanish aggressions,
and is authorized to make reprisals.
As Oglethorpe was appointed General and Commander in Chief of the
military forces in South Carolina, as well as Georgia, he deemed it
proper to pay a visit to Charlestown, in order to have this assigned
rank duly notified to the Governor and people of the Province. He,
therefore, set out for that metropolis on the 10th of March, 1739;
arrived on the 15th, and, on the 3d of April, had his commission
opened and read in the Assembly. In reference to the exercise of
the authority which it conferred, some regulations in the military
establishment were adopted. On the 11th he returned to Savannah. To
encourage the industry of the planters, he proposed to those who would
persevere in doing what they could in the culture of their lands,
"a bounty of two shillings per bushel for all Indian corn, and one
shilling per bushel for all potatoes, which they should raise over and
above what the produce could be sold for after the next harvest[1]."
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS, I. 460.]
On the 18th he went to Frederica; but was obliged, in the summer, to
renew his visit to Savannah; and, on the evening of the 10th of July,
was received, under a discharge of cannon, by about forty of the
freeholders under arms, which, he was pleased to say, was more than he
expected. "His stay, being very likely to be short, many successively
sought audience of him, whose affairs he despatched with his usual
promptness."
"On the 17th he set off on his Indian expedition to Coweta: he
proceeded up the river, in his cutter, with Lieutenant Dunbar, Ensign
Leman, and Mr. Eyre, a cadet, besides attendants and servants. At
the Uchee town, twenty-five miles above Ebenezer, he quitted
water-conveyance, having appointed several of the Indian traders to
wait his coming there, with a number of horses, as well for sumpter as
riding, and also some rangers to assist."
On this journey, computed to be over three hundred miles, both he and
his attendants met with many and great hardships and fatigue. They
were obliged to traverse a continuous wilderness, where there was no
road, and seldom any visible track; and their Indian guides led them
often, unavoidably, through tangled thickets, and deep and broken
ravines, and across swamps, or bogs, where the horses mired and
plunged to the great danger of the riders. They had to pass large
rivers on rafts, and cause the horses to wade and swim; and to ford
others. During most of the way their resolute leader was under the
necessity of sleeping in the open air, wrapped in his cloak or
a blanket, and with his portmanteau for a pillow; or, if the
night-weather was uncomfortable, or rainy, a covert was constructed of
cypress boughs, spread over poles. For two hundred miles there was not
a hut to be met with; nor a human face to be seen, unless by accident
that of some Indian hunter traversing the woods. At length they
arrived at Coweta, one of the principal towns of the Muscoghe, or
Creek Indians, where the Chiefs of all the tribes were assembled,
on the 11th of August. "Thus did this worthy man, to protect the
settlement, which with so much pecuniary expense and devotedness of
time, he had planted, now expose himself to the hazards and toils of a
comfortless expedition, that would have proved unsurmountable to one
of a less enterprising spirit and steady resolutions." Oglethorpe,
and his suite, were received with great cordiality; and, after the
necessary introduction to individuals, and a little refreshment and
rest, a grand convention was formed. The assembly was arranged in due
order, with the solemn introductory ceremonies prescribed for such
occasions. A libation of the _foskey_,[1] or black-drink, followed; of
which Oglethorpe was invited to partake with "the beloved men," and of
which the chiefs and warriors quaffed more copious draughts. Speeches
and discussions followed; terms of intercourse and stipulations of
trade were agreed upon; and, after smoking the calumet, they unitedly
declared that they remained firm in their pledged fealty to the King
of Great Britain, and would adhere to all the engagements of amity and
commerce heretofore entered into with Oglethorpe as the representative
of the Trustees. They then renewed the former grants, in terms
more explicit and full, confirming the session of territory on the
sea-coast, with the islands, and now extending the southern boundary
to the river Matteo, or St. John's. And Oglethorpe, on his part,
covenanted that the English should not encroach upon, nor take up,
other lands, nor intrude upon any reserved privileges of the Creeks;
but would cause their rights to be respected, and the trade with them
to be conducted upon fair and honorable principles. This important
treaty was concluded on the 21st of August, 1739.
[Footnote 1: This is a decoction of the leaves of the YAUPON, _prinus
glaber_, and is of an exciting, and if taken freely, an intoxicating
effect. It is prepared with much formality, and is considered as
a sacred beverage, used only by the Chiefs, the War Captains, and
Priests ("beloved men") on special occasions, particularly on going to
war and making treaties. For an account of its preparation and use,
see LAWSON'S _Carolina_, p. 90; BERNARD ROMAN'S _Natural History of
Florida_, p. 94; ADAIR'S _History of the American Indians_, p.
108; CATESBY'S _Natural History of Carolina_, II. 57; and BARTON'S
_Elements of Botany_, part II. p. 16.]
Oglethorpe ingratiated himself highly with the Creeks on this
occasion, by his having undertaken so long and difficult a journey to
become acquainted with them, and secure their favor; trusting himself
with so few attendants in a fearless reliance on their good faith;
by the readiness with which he accommodated himself to their mode of
living; and the magnanimity of his deportment while among them.
The chief business being finished to mutual satisfaction, the General,
with his attendants, set out on their return; and, after enduring
the like hardships, exposures, and fatigue, arrived, on the 5th of
September, at Fort Augusta, an outpost on the Savannah, where he had
placed a garrison on his first expedition to Georgia; and under the
protection of which, a little settlement was now formed, inhabited
mostly by Indian traders. There he was waited on by the chiefs of the
Chickasaws, and the chiefs of the Cherokees;[1] the last of whom came
with a heavy complaint that his people had been poisoned by the rum
which had been brought to them by the traders. At this they expressed
high resentment, and even threatened revenge. As this was an affair of
quite an alarming nature, the General made strict inquiry into it; and
ascertained that some unlicensed traders had, the preceding summer,
carried up the small pox, which is fatal to the Indians; and that
several of their warriors, as well as others, had fallen victims to
the distemper. It was with some difficulty that he convinced the
Indians that this was the real cause of the calamity. At the same time
he assured them that such were the precautions and strict examination
used, before any applicant for leave to trade could obtain it, that
they need not apprehend any danger from such as came to them with a
license. With this explanation and assurance they went away satisfied.
[Footnote 1: By some early writers of Carolina these chiefs are called
"Caciques." Whether this be the same as Mico, I know not; but the
title, though often used so, does not seem to be appropriate.
Where justly applied, it is the title of the legislative chief, in
distinction from the war chief.]
On the 13th of September, while yet at this place, an express arrived
from Savannah to acquaint him that a sloop from Rhode Island had
brought the intelligence, that the Governor of that Colony had,
by orders from Great Britain, issued commissions for fitting out
privateers against the Spaniards. This was not a little surprising to
him. He could not conceive how a distant Colony should have any such
orders, before they were sent to him who was most in danger of being
attacked, in case of any rupture with Spain. However, he deemed
it expedient to hasten his return, in order to obtain more direct
information. On the 22d he reached Savannah, where he received and
published his Majesty's orders for reprisals. In consequence of these,
a stout privateer of fourteen guns, was immediately fitted out by
Captain Davies, who had suffered by having had a ship and cargo,
to the value of forty thousand pieces of eight, captured and most
unjustly condemned by the Spaniards; and, therefore, felt that he had
a right to avail himself of the present opportunity for obtaining
redress.[1]
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine, for_ 1757, page 592.]
For several years, the British trade to America, particularly that to
the West Indies, had suffered great interruption and annoyance from
the Spanish _guarda-costas_, which, under various pretences, seized
the merchant ships, and carried them into their ports, where they were
confiscated. This piratical practice had increased to such a degree
that scarcely any vessels were safe in those seas; for the Spaniards
pretended that wherever they found logwood, cocoa, or pieces of
eight on board, the capture was legal. Now, the first two of those
commodities were the growth and produce of the English islands, and
the last was the current specie of all that part of the world; so that
there was hardly a ship homeward bound but had one or other of these
on hoard.
These depredations were also aggravated by circumstances of great
inhumanity and cruelty; the sailors being confined in loathsome
prisons, at the Havana, and at Cadiz; or forced to work with irons on
their legs; with no sustenance but salt fish, almost putrid, and beds
full of vermin, so that many died of their hard captivity[1].
[Footnote 1: _History of the Colonies planted by the English on the
Continent of North America_, by JOHN MARSHALL. 8vo. Philadelphia,
1824. Chap. X.]
The increasing complaints of the merchants, and the loud clamors of
the nation, at length forced the British minister to abandon his
pacific system; and war was declared against Spain on the 23d of
October, 1739. A squadron, commanded by Admiral Vernon was detached
for the West Indies, with instructions to act upon the defensive; and
General Oglethorpe was ordered to annoy the settlements in Florida.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Historical Review of the Transactions of Europe, from
the commencement of the War with Spain, in_ 1739, _to the Insurrection
in Scotland, in_ 1745, by SAMUEL BOYSE. 8vo.. Dublin, 1748. Vol. I. p.
27.]
It now became necessary for Oglethorpe to take the most prompt and
effective measures for the protection of the Colony; and, as his
settlement had, from the beginning, been opposed by the Spaniards
at St. Augustine, and would now have to encounter their resentful
assaults, he must put into requisition all his military force, and see
to their adequate equipment. He immediately took measures for raising
a troop of thirty rangers, to prevent the Spanish horse and Indians at
St. Augustine from making incursions into the Province; and likewise
to intercept the runaway negroes of Carolina, on their way through
the country to join the Spaniards. At the same time he summoned four
hundred Creeks, and six hundred Cherokee Indians to march down to the
southern borders. He then viewed the arms of the militia, to ascertain
that they were all in good order, and gave directions that powder,
balls, and flints, should be issued out of the magazine, for supplying
each member with a proper quantity. But aware that all this would be
too inconsiderable for effectual resistance, he perceived it to be
expedient to seek the protection of the West India fleet, and to apply
to the Assembly of South Carolina for coöperation in a cause, in
the event of which their own safety was involved. Accordingly he
immediately sent up to Charlestown to desire assistance, and to
consult measures with the commanders of the men of war then on the
station, in order immediately to block up St. Augustine before the
Spaniards could receive supplies and reinforcements from Cuba; which,
if properly executed, the place would, in all probability, be soon
reduced.[1] This application was laid before the General Assembly,
and, on the 8th of November, a Committee was appointed to take the
same into consideration. Their Report was discussed in both Houses of
Assembly; but no decision was obtained.
[Footnote 1: See his letter in the _History of the Rise and Progress
of Georgia_, HARRIS'S _Voyages_, II. p. 338, dated 21st of September,
1739.]
Having taken these preparatory measures, he returned to Frederica to
make all the arrangements which the exigences of the case required,
in the equipment of his own forces, and by calling upon his Indian
allies; waiting, with impatience, however, the result of his
application to the sister Colony.
Towards the middle of November a party of Spaniards landed in the
night time upon Amelia island, and skulked in the thicket till
morning, when two Highlanders, unarmed, went into the woods for fuel;
upon whom the Spaniards fired, first five and then ten shot; which was
heard by Francis Brooks, who commanded the scout-boat upon the coast.
He immediately made a signal to the Fort, which was then garrisoned
by a detachment of General Oglethorpe's regiment. Upon this a party
instantly went out, but they arrived too late, for they found their
comrades dead, and that the assassins had taken to their boat, and put
out to sea. The bodies of the soldiers were not only rent with shot,
but most barbarously mangled and hacked. The periodical publication
from which this account is taken, has the following remarks:[1]
"Whence it was apparent that the Spaniards had first, out of
cowardice, shot them, and then, out of cruelty, cut and slashed them
with their swords. If they had not been most scandalous poltroons,
they would have taken the two unarmed men prisoners, without making
any noise; and then they might have lurked in the wood till they had
found an opportunity of getting a better booty, or at least of making
more prisoners. And, if they had not been most barbarously cruel, they
would have been satisfied with simply killing these unresisting men,
(which might have been without such a volley of shot,) and not have
so mangled their bodies after they were slain. From such cowardly and
cruel foes no mercy can be expected; and every one sent against them
must despair if he finds himself in danger of being overpowered, and
wrought up to desperation and revenge when he finds himself any thing
near upon an equal footing."
[Footnote 1: _Annals of Europe_, for 1739, p. 410.]
Upon being informed of this outrage, Oglethorpe fitted out and manned
a gun boat, and pursued them by water and land, above a hundred miles;
but they escaped. By way of reprisal, however, he passed the St.
John's into Florida; drove in the guards of Spanish horse that were
posted on that river; and advanced as far as a place called the
Canallas; at the same time sending Captain Dunbar with a party to find
out the situation and force of the fort at Picolata, near the river,
upon what were then called "the lakes of Florida," eighty miles from
the mouth of the river. They attacked the garrison, but were repulsed,
having no artillery. They accomplished, however, the intentions of
Oglethorpe, as they reconnoitred both that place and another fort
called St. Francis.
In January he returned to Frederica, where he met with Captain
Warren,[1] who had lately arrived with the Squirrel man of war. When
their consultation was concluded, Captain Warren went and cruised
off the Bay of St. Augustine, while Oglethorpe, with a detachment of
troops on board of the boats, and some artillery, went up the Lakes of
Florida, rowing by day, and sailing by night, so that he attacked the
two forts Picolata and St. Francis, took both the same day, and made
the soldiers in the garrisons prisoners of war.
[Footnote 1: Afterwards Sir PETER WARREN, an excellent naval officer.]
Captain Hugh Mackay, in a letter to Colonel Cecil, dated Frederica,
24th of January, 1740, says, "The General escaped very narrowly being
killed by a cannon ball at Fort St. Francis, or, as the Spaniards
called it, 'San Francisco de Papa.'"