CHAPTER VII pages 120-146 By Charles C. Jones Volume II - Revolutionary Epoch, 1888 Submitted by: Dena Whitesell In March, 1768, the General Assembly passed an act "encouraging settlers to come into the Province. That substantial aid might be rendered to those who sought to avail themselves of its provisions, the sum of £1,815 sterling was appropriated to be disbursed in certificates by commissioners named for that purpose. Contrary to the expectation of the colonists this act was returned disapproved by the king. Meanwhile, resting upon the inducements extended in that bill, and encouraged by Messrs. Galphin and Rae, one hundred and seven Irish Protestants came to Georgia in December of that year. It was necessary that they should be cared for. The public faith of the colony, as expressed in the intentions of the legislature, stood pledged for their accommodation and assistance. During the recess of the legislature the governor and council, without hesitation, provided homes for them in the fork of Lambert Creek and the Great Ogeechee River, looking to the next General Assembly to reimburse them for all expenditures in this behalf, and in feeding these new-comers until they could clear their farms and plant and gather their crops. The town which they there builded was called Queensbury, and DeBrahm describes it as " inhabited by about 70, and its environs by above 200 families, mostly Irish, from which it is generally called the Irish settlement." Greene, the attorney-general, having resigned, James Hume was appointed as his successor. Charles Watson, for many years the efficient clerk of council, died, and Mr. Alexander Wylly was chosen in his stead. Anthony Stokes, an accomplished jurist and an honest man, was now the chief justice of the colony. Under his supervision the laws of the land were impartially and ably administered. The province prospered. Good order prevailed. Person and property were secure. An occasional alarm on the confines, a quarrel here and there in the Indian territory between some trader and the natives, was all that disturbed the apparent calm. And yet the heart of Georgia was deeply stirred. Earnest and emphatic were the protests against the encroachments of Parliament, but they were one and all couched in terms most respectful. In the language of Governor Wright, the public meetings, although presided over and managed by "Liberty Boys," were " without noise or disturbance," and the province was in every respect orderly and tranquil. There still lingered a love for the home government, an affection for the king, and a strong hope that the grievances complained of would be speedily and effectually redressed by England. Many there were who believed that the ministry did not seriously contemplate the distress and oppression of America. Even the most violent in their Btrictures and resolves did not yet anticipate an open rupture, or prophesy a separation from the mother country. At first retaliatory measures were devised and supported, not so much with a view to an assertion of independence as with the intention of forcing the ministry to a reconsideration of obnoxious acts, and of preserving unimpaired rights which were esteemed inviolable. The idea of a distinct nationality, however, was expanding ; and, is revolutions never turn backward, agencies and sentiments *ere at work which were destined at no distant day to rob the British Crown of some of its fairest jewels. In his famous speech on conciliation with America, Burke thus alludes to these influences : " Then, Sir, from these six capital sources, of descent, of form of government, of religion in the Northern provinces, of banners in the Southern, of education, of the remoteness of situation from the first mover of government, from all these causes a fierce spirit of liberty has grown up. It has grown with the growth of the people in your colonies, and increased with the increase of their wealth: a spirit that, unhappily meeting with an exercise of power in England which, however lawful, is not reconcilable to any ideas of liberty, much less with theirs, haa kindled this flame that is ready to consume us." The first session of the eighth General Assembly of the province of Georgia occurred at Savannah on the 21st of April, 1772. In perfecting its organization the Commons House elected Dr. Noble Wimberley Jones as its speaker. Officially informed of this action, Governor Habersham responded: " I have his Majesty's commands to put a negative on the Speaker now elected by the Commons House, which I accordingly do: and desire that you will inform the House that I direct them to proceed to a new choice of Speaker." After some time a message from the House was brought by Mr. Bulloch and Mr. Farley to his excellency, acquainting him with the fact that the Commons House " had proceeded to a second choice of a speaker and had reflected Noble Wimberley Jones, Esq., and desired to know when his Honor would please that the House should attend him to present their Speaker." In reply the governor again disapproved of the choice the House had made, and directed that body to " proceed to the selection of some other person as speaker." In the afternoon of the following day a committee from the House, consisting of Mr. LeConte and Mr. Farley, waited upon the governor and communicated to him the election of Archibald Bulloch as speaker of the Commons House. This choice having been approved, and the General Assembly being ready to proceed to business, Governor Habersham delivered the following address: "His Majesty having been pleased to grant his Excellency Governor Wright leave of absence to go to Great Britain, the government of this Province, on his Excellency's departure, devolved upon me. I am very sensible of the high and important trust committed to me, which calls for the utmost exertion of my best abilities to discharge so as to approve myself to our most gracious Sovereign by promoting the true interest and prosperity of his good subjects in this Province, to effect which you may depend on my most sincere and unwearied endeavours. My long residence in this Province, and the strong attachment I must have for its welfare from motives obvious to you, must make it extremely grateful to me to be in the least instrumental in furthering its growing prosperity, in which I am persuaded I shall have the candid advice and assistance of you Gentlemen, and of every Friend of this Country." He then proceeded to inform the General Assembly that he " had it in command from the King " to signify his majesty's disapprobation of the conduct of the last assembly in denying the light of the governor to negative the choice of a speaker. After bringing to the notice of the General Assembly several needful laws which required reenactment, and having advised the members that the Creek Indiana had responded to the demand made upon them and publicly executed the Tndian who murdered John Carey of Queensborough, he invited the members, by suitable legislation, to maintain the public faith and credit of the province. The address concluded with the following, exhortation: " Suffer me, Gentlemen, to persuade you to pursue peace and harmony, and carefully to avoid all unnecessary altercations which can -only tend to delay business and destroy that candour, unanimity, and confidence so necessary to promote the general good for which end you meet in General Assembly; and you may depend upon my hearty concurrence in every measure that may conduce to the service of his Majesty and the welfare of the Province, which are inseparable." In responding to this speech the assembly, after thanking the governor for his courteous words, expressed great satisfaction that the government of the province had, "in the absence of Governor Wright, devolved upon a Gentleman of your Honour's well known character and attachment to the real welfare of Georgia, from whence we entertain the firmest confidence that to promote its growing prosperity will be the favorite object of your administration; and you may be assured that we shall most readily and cheerfully concur with your Honour in every measure that may contribute to so desirable an end. These pleasant promises of amicable relations between the governor and the assembly were speedily broken. Upon inspecting the journal of the House, Governor Habersham ascertained that, in the face of his second disapproval, the House had a third time elected Dr. Jones as speaker, and that it was only in consequence of his declining to accept the position that the members made choice of Mr. Archibald Bulloch. He thereupon, on Saturday, the 25th of April, sent in this message: “I am extremely sorry to find by your Journals that some very exceptionable minutes are entered. I particularly mean your third choice of Noble Wimberly Jones Esqr as your Speaker, upon whom I had, agreeable to his Majesty's express instructions, twice put a negative, and that your choice of your present Speaker was only in consequence of his declining the chair. If this minute is to stand upon your Journals I have no choice left but to proceed to an immediate dissolution.. I desire therefore that you will come to a present and speedy determination to recede from it. If you do, I shall, with the most unfeigned satisfaction, proceed to business which you cannot but be sensible will be of the highest advantage to the Province. I shall expect your immediate answer to this message that my conduct may be regulated by it: and shall for that purpose remain in the Council Chamber." To this plucky communication the House promptly responded:— May it please your Honour. " We his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Georgia in General Assembly met, are very unhappy to find by your message to us of this day that any Minutes entered on our Journals should be construed by your Honour in a manner so very different from the true intent and design of this House. Conscious we are, Sir, that our third choice of Noble Wimberly Jones Esqr as our Speaker was not in the least meant as disrespectful to his Majesty, or to you his representative, nor , thereby did we mean to infringe on the just prerogative of tho Crown. We have seriously reconsidered that particular minute which seems to have given your Honour so much offence, and cannot perceive wherein it is contrary to the strict mode of Parliamentary proceeding, or repugnant to anything communicated to us by your Honour. We were hopeful that no further impediment would have arisen to retard the urgent business of the public, and still flatter ourselves that we may be permitted to do that justice to our constituents which they have a right to expect from us: and we sincerely assure your Honour that it is our hearty wish and desire to finish the business, by you recommended to us, with all harmony and dispatch. Archibald Bulloch, Speaker." Governor Habersham thereupon summoned the House before him in the Council Chamber and, after reviewing the wholee affair, peremptorily dissolved the assembly. The members composing the Commons House were Jonathan Bryan, Noble Wimberley Jones, Archibald Bulloch, and William Young for the town and district of Savannah; Nathaniel Hall for the parish of St. George; David Zubly for the village of Acton; Benjamin Andrews, John Stevens, and Audley Maxwell for Midway and the parish of St. John; Peter Sallins for the parish of St. Patrick; Edward Barnard, Alexander Inglis, and Thomas Shruder for Augusta and the parish of St. Paul; Thomas Carter for the parish of St. David; Henry Bourquin for the district of Little Ogeechee in the parish of Christ Church; William Ewen, Stephen Millen, and John Stirk for the town and district of Ebenezer in the parish of St. Matthew; Samuel Farley for the islands of Wilmington, Tybee, Skidoway, and Green Island in the parish of Christ Church; James Spalding for the parish of St. James; and William LeConte and Jonathan Cockran for the parish of St. Philip. George Mclntosh, elected for the parish of St. Andrew, took his seat on the 24th of April; and George Baillie for the parish of St. Thomas, and John Thomas for the parish of St. George, declined to serve as representatives. In a long letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, dated the 30th of April, 1772, Governor Habersham dwells upon the injurious effects of this dissolution of the assembly, and yet demonstrates its necessity in obedience to existing instructions from the Crown. He also comments freely upon the conduct of Dr. Jones and his friends in "opposing the public business" under the "specious pretence of Liberty and Privilege." " My Lord," he continues, "it is very painful to me to say or even to insinuate a disrespectful word of any one; and every person who knows me will acknowledge that it is contrary to my disposition to dip my pen in gall, but I cannot help considering Mr. Jones conduct for some time past in opposing Public Business as very ungrateful and unworthy a good man, as his family have reaped more advantages from Government than any I know in this Province. He was several years first Lieutenant and Surgeon of a Company of Rangers paid by the Crown, and in these capacities met with great indulgence. His father is the King's Treasurer and, if I am not mistaken, reaps very considerable emoluments from it." The truth is, while Governor Habersham was loyally seeking to carry out the instructions of the king and to support the authority of Parliament, Dr. Jones was in active sympathy with those who esteemed taxation without representation as wholly unauthorized, and were very jealous in the ------ regarded as the reserved rights of the colonists ------- of provincial legislatures. Both were true men, but ------ the situation from different standpoints. An honored ----the Crown, Mr. Habersham was confronted with ------ and stringent oaths. Dr. Jones, on the contrary, as a ------- elected by the people, was free to give expression to ----- and the sentiments of his constituents at an epoch when --- liberty was being freely proclaimed. Of each it ----- spoken, he was pure in purpose, wise in counsel, and less in action, enjoying, in a conspicuous degree, the esteem ---- the affection of the public. But their political paths hence --- diverged. The one adhered to his allegiance to the ---- and shared its fortunes, while the other cast his lot with the ---- and became a favorite leader of the patriot ---. Although Governor Habersham's conduct in disso-- assembly was fully approved by the king, the effect upon the colony was perplexing and deleterious. The was empty and no tax-bill had been digested. Impoutes were expiring by their own limitations, and no were framed for the orderly conduct of the province, pie viewed the dissolution as an arbitrary exercise power, as a violent suppression of the general prefe unjustifiable interference with legislative privilege, the sea there came no redress of grievances. At hollows multiplied, and the waves of popular unrest, disqipassion chafed more sullenly than ever against the the ministry had erected. President Habersbam failed to interpret the -- times; for as late as the 12th of January, 1773, he Earl of Dartmouth that the province was --large section unreadable--. The services of Governor Wright were recognized b; who, on the 8th of December, 1772, complimented baronetcy. About the middle of February, 1773, he in Savannah where he without delay resumed his –large section unreadable---. “And whereas the said Cherokee Indians having considered their ---large section unreadable---.” " And whereas the said Creek Indians, do also claim to ---- in consideration payment of the debts justly due from them to the persons t with them since the above period, have also consented and to join in the said cession and also to add some further land those proposed to be ceded by the Cherokee Indians: " And whereas his Majesty has been also pleased to app-- of the same and to direct that a cession of all the said land received and taken jointly from the Cherokee and Creek Indians: " It is therefore consented and agreed by -- between the -- Indian Chiefs present, and who have sigfced this treaty cession, as well Creeks as Cherokees, and who declare then selves to be fully and absolutely authorized empowered by the several Kings, Head-men, and Warriors of the Upper and Lower Creeks, and of all the Cherokee Country, and in behalf of themselves and their several nations and the tribes in manner and form following, that is to say: We the Chiefs, as well Creeks as Cherokees, do freely offer that the said Governor and Superintendent, in behalf the use of his most sacred Majesty King George the third his successors forever, will accept of a grant and the several lands hereinafter mentioned and described, that say: To begin at the place where the Lower Creek path intersects Ogguechee river, and along the main branch of said river to the source of the southermost branch of said river, and froi thence along the ridge between the waters of Broad river an Occonee river up to the Buffaloe Lick, and from thence in line to the Tree marked by the Cherokees near the -- of a branch falling into the Occonee river, and from thence along the said ridge twenty miles above the line already run by the Cherokees, and from thence across to Savannah river by a -- parallel with that formerly marked by them. "And the Creeks, by Saleachee and Taleachee and other lead-men of the Lower Creeks, also cede from the present boundary line at Phinholoway Creek on the Alatamaha river, up the said river to an island opposite to the mouth of Barber creek, and from thence cross to Ogueechee river opposite to the road it four miles above Buckhead where a canoe ferry used to be kept. " And we the said several Indian Chiefs, for ourselves and our several nations and tribes of Indians, do hereby solemnly declare that we do fully and clearly understand every part of this Treaty and Cession, it having been fully interpreted and explained to us, and that the same is made at our own requests and for our own benefit and advantage, and for and towards the payment and satisfaction of the several debts which are justly due and owing from us to the several persons who have traded and supplied us with goods as aforesaid. And we, the said Creek Indian Chiefs and Cherokee Indian Chiefs, in consideration aforesaid, do by these presents in the most solemn manner for us and our several nations and tribes fully and absolutely give, grant, and confirm unto his most sacred Majesty, King George the Third, all and singular the lands hereinbefore mentioned and described. And we do, for ourselves and our nations and tribes as aforesaid, and for each and every of us, and them, surrender and yield up all and each and every of our respective rights, titles, interest, claim, and property of and in the aforesaid lands unto his said Majesty King George the Third, to hold the same unto him and his successors forever. And we, the said Creek Indian Chiefs, do hereby fully and absolutely agree that from henceforth the above lines and boundary shall be the mark of division of lands between his Majesty's subjects in the Province aforesaid and us the said Creek Indians, notwithstanding any former agreement or boundary to the contrary, and that we will not disturb any of his his subjects in their settlements or otherwise within the aforesaid. ---large section unreadable--consideration whereof it is agreed on the part of his ---- arising by sale of the lands ceded as after defraying the expence of this Congress and such other charges and expences as will necessarily arise in carrying this measure into execution, shall be applied towards the payment and satisfaction of such debts as shall appear to be justly due and owing from the Indians to their traders as aforesaid." Simultaneously with the formal execution of this cession and treaty, releases were taken from the Indian traders holding claims against the Indians by which, in consideration of the surrender of this territory to his majesty, and in anticipation of receiving partial or entire payment of the several debts due to them by the Creeks and Cherokees from the moneys to be realized upon and from the sale of these lands, they absolutely acquitted and discharged the Indians from every demand whatsoever. Prominent among those signing these releases were George Galphin, James Jackson & Co., Martin Campbell & Son, Wood-gion, Rae, Whitefield & Co., Edward Barnard, Waters, James Grierson, James Spalding & Co., and Edward Keating. The aggregate indebtedness existing on the part of the Indians was estimated at from £40,000 to £50,000. The territory thus acquired embraced over two millions of acres of land, most of it well watered, and adapted to the cultivation of indigo, cotton, tobacco, corn, wheat, etc. Wilkes, Lincoln, Taliaferro, Greene, Oglethorpe, Elbert, and other counties were subsequently carved out of it. Goodly was the region, and offering many attractions to immigrants. In a memorial addressed to the king, Governor Wright submitted the most florid estimate of the benefits which would accrue to the province from the settlement of these lands. In order to engage the attention of the public and to attract settlers for this newly acquired and fertile domain, his excellency, on the 11th of June, 1773, issued a proclamation in which, after describing the cession and making known the fact that surveyors were actually engaged in running out and marking the boundaries, he states that the territory would u be parceled out in tracts varying from 100 to 1,000 acres the better to accommodate the buyers;" that in conformity to his majesty's instructions " one hundred acres would be sold to the master or head of a family, fifty acres additional for the wife and each child, and the same number of acres for each slave owned and brought in by the purchaser;" that in " further encouragement of the settling of the said lands the masters or heads of families will be allowed to purchase 50 acres for each able bodied white servant man they shall bring in to settle thereon,and also 25 acres for every woman servant from the age of 15 years to 40 years; that all persons were at liberty to come into the province and view these lands, and, as soon as they were surveyed, to make choice of such of them as they desired to purchase and settle upon; that grants would be executed on the most moderate terms, and that for a period of ten years the parcels purchased would be exempt from the payment of quit rents; that the lands offered were "in general of the most fertile quality and fit for the production of wheat, indico, Indian corn, tobacco, hemp, flax, &c &c. &c ; " that they comprised " a pleasant and very healthy part of the Province;" that they were " extremely well watered by Savannah River", Ogechee River, Little River, and Broad River, and by a great number of creeks and branches which ran throughout the whole country and emptied themselves into the aforesaid rivers;" that there was an abundance of springs, and that the water was very fine; that Little River, where the ceded lands began, was but twenty-two miles above the town of Augusta ; that at this place ready market would always be found for all produce and stock; that if Savannah was preferred as a point for trade there was easy transportation down the Savannah River, while a good wagon road led from Little River to that commercial metropolis of the province; that a fort would speedily be built and garrisoned within the ceded lands for the protection of the immigrants, and that all vagrants and disorderly persons would be promptly and severely dealt with; and finally, that these lands adjoined a well-settled part of the province, where law, justice, and good government obtained. A plan of settlement was carefully arranged, and Colonel Bartlett and Messrs. Young, Holland, and Maddox were appointed commissioners and vested with ample powers to negotiate sales. They were authorized to place a valuation upon each tract according to its quality. Not more than five shillings per acre were to be charged in any event, and five pounds sterling were to be paid as entrance money for every hundred acres. To facilitate the business, land courts were opened in Savannah, in Augusta, and at the confluence of Broad and Savannah rivers. At this last-named locality Captain Waters and his company were stationed. Here Fort James was builded. Its stockade was an acre in extent. Within this inclosure were officers' quarters and barracks for the garrison, consisting of fifty rangers, well mounted, and armed each with a rifle, two dragoon pistols, a hanger, a powder-horn, a shot-pouch, and a tomahawk. In each angle of this square stockade was erected a block-house in which swivel guns were posted. These structures rose one story above the curtains, which were pierced for small arms. The stockade crowned a gentle eminence in the fork of the Savannah and Broad, equidistant from those rivers and from the extreme point of land formed by their junction. On the peninsula above the fort was located the town called Dartmouth in honor of the earl whose influence had been exerted in persuading his majesty to favor the cession of this recently acquired territory. After a short and by no means robust existence Dartmouth gave place to Petersburg, which, during the tobacco culture in Georgia, attracted to itself a considerable population, and was regarded as a place of no little commercial importance. Settlements were rapidly formed on the Ogeechee and north of Little River, and the ceded lands were eagerly sought after. The Quakers who, through fear of the Indians, had abandoned their homes in the southern portion of what is now Columbia County, returned and diligently resumed their agricultural operations. The outlook for the speedy population of this new domain was most encouraging when the pleasing prospect was suddenly enveloped in doubt and disaster by the unexpected hostility of the Creeks. In January, 1774, a party of Lower Creek Indians wantonly attacked Sherrall's fortified settlement, in which were five white and three negro men and twelve women and children. Approaching stealthily, the Indians fired upon the men who were at work upon the fort. Sherrall and two others fell. The rest retreated into the houses where, encouraged by the valor of a negro who rushed upon an Indian and shot him through the head, they entered upon a vigorous defense. Thrice did the savages set fire to the structures, and as often were the flames extinguished. Two of the neighbors, attracted by the firing, approached. Discovered by the Indians they were pursued. Sue* ceeding, however, in making their escape, they notified Captain Barnard of the affair. Hastily collecting about forty men, he advanced to the relief of the besieged and, attacking the Indians in the rear, drove them into the swamp. Seven persons had been killed and five wounded within the fort. Of the Indians it is known that five were slain. Their wounded were carried off by their companions. A few days afterwards a skirmish occurred between twenty-five white settlers and one hundred and fifty Indians, Grant, Weatherford, Hammond, and Ayres were killed, and a fifth white man was wounded who died the next day at Wrightsboro. Several private forts and dwellings, which had been precipitately abandoned by their owners, were reduced to ashes by the savages. Collecting some men, Captain Few and Lieutenants Williams and BUhop buried the bodies of those who had fallen in the recent action. Lieutenant Samuel Alexander, with a few militia, attacked and dispersed a party of Indians who had become separated from the main body. Two of the Creeks were killed. For having thus, without authority, punished these Indians, Alexander was rebuked by Colonel Rae, an agent of Indian affairs. Apprised of the circumstances, however, Rae justified Alexander's conduct, aud expressed the opinion that when the chiefs of the nation should be made acquainted with the entire transaction they would note the provocation and acquiesce in the propriety of the retaliation. This sudden and disastrous invasion of the recently settled district caused general alarm and distrust. Many retreated to places of security. Forts were constructed on Savannah and Little rivers, and in them were deposited women and children, and personal property of special value. In cultivating their farms the husbandmen banded together for mutual protection. By a messenger dispatched by Mr. George Galphin, a principal agent for Indian affairs and a trader high in the confidence both of the colonists and of the savages, to ascertain from the chiefs of the Lower Creeks whether they were inclined to peace or war, and to demand an explanation of the recent outrages, answer was returned that the incursion was unauthorized and that the disposition of the Creeks toward the inhabitants of Georgia was pacific. Big Elk, the leader of the Creeks who attacked Sherralls fort, finding that his nation was averse to entering upon a war with the English, invited the Cherokees to join him in an invasion of Georgia. This the Cherokees declined to do. On his way home that chief and his party killed and scalped three white men. About the last of March, Head Turkey (Called also Mad Turkey.), a leading mico of the Upper Creeks, accompanied by two chiefs and an Indian trader, visited the Lower Creek towns to prevail upon the inhabitants to make peace with the Georgians. It was consented that he should wait upon Governor Wright and submit overtures. On his way to Savannah he was murdered in Augusta by Thomas Fee, who sought revenge for a kinsman of his who, on the northern frontier, had been butchered by the Indians. This lawless act produced a profound sensation and stirred the hearts of the savages to wrath and vengeance. Fee fled into South Carolina and there sought protection. A reward of £100 sterling was offered by Sir James Wright for his apprehension. He was arrested and lodged in the prison-house at Ninety-Six. While there detained, an armed party came in the night-time, forced the jail, and set him at liberty. Learning that Fee had been apprehended, and that he was in confinement, several of the Creek chiefs came to Savannah to witness his execution. Grievous was their displeasure when they ascertained that he had been forcibly released. When assured that Governor Wright's proclamation was still operative, that the governor of South Carolina had offered a further reward of £200 for his arrest, and that there was good reason to believe he would yet be brought to punishment for his crime, their wrath was measurably appeased. The governor then stated to the chiefs that within four months fifteen of his people had, without any provocation, been slain by the Creeks, and that eleven of the South Carolinians had, in like manner, been slaughtered by Long Cane. He thereupon demanded of them the blood of the Indians who had murdered these innocent colonists, and questioned the propriety of their asking that justice which they failed to accord. He assured them that the king of England, if he made a requisition for it, would send him a military force capable of exterminating the whole Indian nation, and that his amicable disposition and forbearance were proof positive that he did not desire war. He insisted, however, that the blood of his innocent people should no more be shed, and warned them that hereafter the Indians either murdered or robbed his people he would exact atonement for every offense. On the other hand he stood pledged to make proper reparation for every injury of which they might justly complain. In the future the chiefs promised that their nation should maintain peace with the English. When about to depart, the governor ordered Captain Saraue Elbert, with his company of grenadiers, to escort them through the white settlements that no harm might befall them at the hands of the inhabitants. During the absence of these chiefs from their nation several war parties crossed the frontiers of Georgia and committed theft and murder. In a little while commissioners from the Upper Creek towns visited the governor and reported that their warriors had killed the leader and two of the men who had been guilty of these recent depredations. These difficulties were all happily terminated, and a general peace was established at a congress held in Savannah on the twentieth day of October, seventeen hundred and seventy-four. The contracting parties on behalf of Georgia were his excellency Sir James Wright, governor, the Honorable John Stuart, superintendent of Indian affairs in the Southern District and one of his majesty's councilors, and the Honorable Noble Jones, James Edward Powell, Lewis Johnston, John Graham, James Read, Clement Martin, Anthony Stokes, and James Hume, members of council. On the part of the Indians the treaty of amity was signed by seven kings and head warriors of the Lower Creeks, and by thirteen head men of the Upper Creek nation. After reciting the existing treaties for the establishment and conservation of friendship between the races, after recounting the infractions which had of late occurred, notably in the murder of William White, his wife, and four children at his house near the head of Ogeechee River on the 25th of December, 1773, the unprovoked attack upon Sherrall's plantation in January, 1774, and the killing of Sherrall, four white persons, and two negroes, and the wounding of others, the murder of sundry white settlers, the robbery of houses, the theft of horses and cattle, and the retaliations which had been indulged in by the colonists, provision was made for the rendition of negro slaves and personal property eloigned, and for making full satisfaction by the execution of all murderers who were still at large so soon as they could be apprehended. Negroes escaping into the Indian territory were to be promptly returned, and the Indians were to refrairt from trespassing upon the lands ceded to the Crown. Former treaties were solemnly ratified, entire good-will, peace, and friendship were pledged for the future, and all past offenses were mutually condoned. It excites no surprise that these incursions of the savages and the insecurity of the New Purchase, as it was called, materially retarded the tide of immigration which at first turned towards these desirable lands. Confidence, however, was restored by the conclusions and covenants of the Savannah congress. Applicants for purchase soon reappeared in pleasing numbers, and those who had been driven from their partially improved homes returned and entered upon their labors with renewed hope of safety and success. In progress of time, as the moneys realized from the sale of these lands were collected and it became proper to disburse them in liquidation of the claims which the English traders held against the Indians, Governor Wright, in view of the unsettled condition of political affairs, assumed the responsibility of paying such traders as were loyal to the Crown the full amount of their demands and of withholding payment from others whom he regarded as sympathizers with the cause of the Revolutionists. He exhibited like partiality in granting the lands themselves. Against George Galphin, and some others who opposed the oppressive measures of the British government, Sir James discriminated most unjustly. Although their claims were large, and of their justice there could be no question, compensation to them was absolutely refused. While, as a matter of policy, this conduct was approved by the ministry, it can scarcely be indorsed in the forum of equity and good conscience. On the 6th of June, 1775, the demand of George Galphin was audited before the governor in council, approved for the sum of £9,791 15a. 5rf., and made payable from moneys which should be realized upon the sale of the lands lately ceded to his majesty by the Cherokee and Creek Indians. By the fortunes of war this territory became the property of the State of Georgia. As early as 1780, the interest of such of the traders as proved themselves to be "friends to America" was admitted by Georgia. That among this number Galphin should be properly classed there can be no question. By the royal assembly which convened in Savannah only a short time before his death was he attainted of high treason, and denounced as the " Rebel Superintendent of Indian Affairs." Of his pronounced sympathy with the American colonies in their effort to rid themselves of English rule, of the value of the services rendered by him in behalf of Georgia during the Revolution when his extensive influence was .exerted to the utmost in restraining the temper of the Creeks and in prevailing upon them to remain neutral in the struggle, and of the personal contributions he made to the new-born State, sadly deficient in provisions, men, and munitions, General Howe, Judge Walton, Major Joseph Habersham, and other well-approved patriots have borne ample testimony. The tardy recognition of his claim was a reproach to law and a perplexing denial of justice. During her colonial days George Galphin may justly be ranked among the most influential and enterprising citizens of Georgia. Although his home and depot of supplies were for many years located at Silver Bluff, on the Carolina side of the Savannah River below Augusta, his affiliations were all with Georgia, and his principal intercourse was with her people and with the Indian nations dwelling upon her borders. In the colonization of the province he took an active interest. His commercial transactions extended as far as Charlestown and Savannah on the one hand, and St. Augustine, Pensacola, and Mobile on the other. Time and again did he advance supplies to the colony when at remote points they were required by those engaged in the public service. By William Bartram, who visited him in 1776, he is described as "a gentleman of very distinguished talents and great liberality, who possessed the most extensive trade, connexions, and influence amongst the South and Southwest Indian Tribes." Those in authority often leaned upon him for aid and advice. Long was Silver Bluff a place of general resort and of much commercial importance. Hence were the annual royal presents for the Indians frequently distributed. Hither did the Indians, from an extensive territory, repair to exchange their peltry and animals for articles of European manufacture. From this point did traders depart amply supplied for distant expeditions and long sojourns among the red men. Here were storehouses, cattle pens, and structures erected for the accommodation of the rude visitors. Barges plied regularly between Silver Bluff and Charles-town and Savannah, and the landing place was the resort of multitudes of Indian canoes, many of them coming from remote points. It was a busy scene in the midst of the wild woods and by the swiftly moving waters of the tawny-hued Savannah, — this constant arrival and departure of a picturesque trading population, this ever-recurring receipt and dispersion of goods, this ceaseless exchange of commodities. Over all watched the observant eye of the proprietor. So just was he in his dealings with the sons of the forest, and so extensive were his transactions with them, that he acquired an influence at once potent and far-reaching. The years roll on, and an increasing population, overleaping stream and mountain barrier, fills the hills and valleys of a distant interior. Before its inexorable advance the red race retires, and upon its departure the occupation of the Indian trader here becomes obsolete. Bereft of ite importance this post lapses into decay, and the locality becomes the home of departed memories, the abode of traditions, and the dwelling-place of the phantoms of things that were. The same bold river with restless tide hastening onward to mingle its waters with the billows of the Atlantic, the same overarching skies, the same potent sun, kindred forests and voices of nature, but all else how changed! In a report on the condition of the province of Georgia, prepared by Governor Wright in response to certain inquiries propounded by the Earl of Dartmouth and dated on the 20th of September, 1773, we are informed that the territory of Georgia within the Indian boundary line was supposed to embrace 6,695,429 acres. About one hundred and twenty thousand acres were improved and cultivated, and these were distributed among fourteen hundred plantations. Titles to 140,915 acres were granted by the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America. Ninety-three thousand acres were held under grants from the governor of South Carolina, and all the rest, save a barony of twelve thousand acres claimed under a patent from the late Lords Proprietors of the Colony of South Carolina, was held under grants from his late majesty, and from King George III., witnessed by the respective governors of the province. These twelve thousand acres, constituting the barony, were claimed by Sir William Baker, whose title was disputed by certain soldiers of Greneral Oglethorpe's regiment, who asserted that when that regiment was disbanded in 1748 and 1749 these identical lands were set apart to them by the trustees, and that they had remained in the ownership and occupancy of them and their descendants ever since. The courts of the province consisted of a " court of Chancery," and of courts of " General and Common Pleas," and of " Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery." The rules observed in their conduct and the methods of procedure conformed to those in use in the courts of Great Britain. "The trade of this Province," writes Sir James, "is principally with Great Britain, from whence we are supplyed with Linnens and Woolens of all Sorts, Iron ware of all sorts, Hats, Shoes, Stockings, and all sorts of Apparel: Tea, Paper, Paints, and a great variety of other articles, and altho' the Negroes are brought here immediately from Africa, yet the Returns in payment for them are made to Great Britain so that that may also be deemed as a part of our Trade with Great Britain, to which place we export Deer skins, Rice, Indico, Naval Stores and sundry other Articles. The annual amount of our Imports from Great Britain is computed at £76,322 on an average for three years past, besides the Negroes imported which, in the last year, amounted to twenty thousand pounds. And our exports to Great Britain only in the year 1772 amounted to £68,688.10.2. sterling. And besides this we are supplyed with Rum and Sugar from the West Indies, and also with Rum, Flour,and Biscuit and other Provisions &ca from the Northern Colonys. To the West Indies we send Rice, Corn, Pease, Lumber, Shingles, Cattle, Horses and Live Stock, also Barrelled Beef and Pork. But the Northern Trade is an injurious trade as they take but little of our produce and drain us of every trifle of Gold and Silver that is brought here by giving a price for Guineas, Moidores, Johannes's Pistols, and Dollars, far above their real and intrinsic value, bo that we can never keep any amongst us. There is belonging to this Province that is owned and part owned here, five Ships, one Snow, seven Brigantines, thirteen Sloops and Schooners, and ten coasting vessels, in all to the amount of nineteen hundred and ninety tons, and trading boats that go up our rivers, and to which may belong about two hundred and twelve seafaring men. And we have entered and cleared at the Custom House in the Port of Savannah for the last year one hundred and sixty one sail of Vessels of different sorts, and at Sunbury fifty six: in the whole two hundred and seventeen, the Tonnage of which is computed at 12,124 Tons, and in-all which Vessels there may be em-ploy'd seventeen hundred seafaring men. In the year 1761 we only entered and cleared in the whole Province forty five vessels, the whole Tonnage of which amounted only to 1604 Tons, from which the increase of the Trade and Produce of this Province since that time is most evident. The staple commodities of the province were rice, indigo, deer skins, raw silk, pitch, tar, turpentine, beef, pork, Indian corn, peas, tobacco, staves, shingles, lumber of all sorts, live-oak for ship building, and a little hemp. To the West Indies cattle, horses, and other live stock were shipped. Bees-wax and beaver skins also formed articles of trade. The exports for five years past averaged £101,240 sterling. Of the mineral resources of the province but little was then known, although the presence of iron ore of a rich quality had been detected beyond Little River. The white population of Georgia was estimated at rather more than eighteen thousand, while the number of negro slaves was computed at fifteen thousand. Two thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight white males between the ages of sixteen and sixty were enrolled in the militia and commanded by officers commissioned by the governor. Six regular musters were had in each year, and the power resided with the governor to summon to the field the entire military force of the colony should invasion, insurrection, or rebellion occur. The defenses of the colony continued to be in a pitiable condition. Fort George, on Cockspur Island, commanding the entrance to Savannah River, which, in 1762, was built of mud walls faced with palmetto logs, was in ruins, and its garrison consisted of only a subaltern officer and three men " just to make signals. Of Fort Halifax, in the town of Savannah, erected in 1759 and 1760, and made of plank filled in with earth, "only two caponiers " remained. The tabby walls were all that were left to remind the visitor of Fort Frederick, constructed by General Oglethorpe at Fred-erica, on St. Simon's Island. No soldiers had been stationed there since 1767, when the Independent Company was disbanded. When in April, 1767, the Rangers " were broke," Fort Augusta, in the town of Augusta, faced with three-inch plank, was abandoned. It had now fallen into decay. Such, also, was the condition of Fort Barrington, on the Alatamaha River. It originally consisted of "a large Caponiere inclosed round with Punchions." Of the Indian nations resident within and adjacent to Georgia, the Choctaws were supposed to number seventy-five hundred, among whom were two thousand five hundred gun men. The Creeks, with their four thousand gun men, were set down at twelve thousand. The Chickesaws were conjectured to have four hundred and fifty warriors and an aggregate population of between thirteen and fourteen hundred. Three thousand gun men represented the military strength of the Cherokees, while the Catawbas, all told, could not number more than three hundred men, women, and children. No longer misguided by the French and Spaniards, these primitive peoples turned to the English for supplies and were largely influenced by the presents annually distributed among them. It was Governor Wright's impression that in the scale of civilization the Cherokees were half a century in advance of their neighbors the Creeks, who were the most treacherous of all these Indian nations. The revenue applied to the support of the provincial government, etc., was raised from the king's quit rents, and by an annual tax on houses, lands, negroes, money at interest, stock in trade, and on some other specified articles. There was also a duty on rum imported from the West Indies and the northern colonies. The sum thus realized for the year 1773 amounted to £5,121 15s. 10 1/2d. sterling. The civil establishment of the province consisted of the following officers: His excellency James Wright, baronet, governor, appointed by his majesty. His salary was £1,000 sterling per annum, with perquisites amounting annually to some £819. The secretary was the Honorable James Habersham, also appointed by the Crown, with a salary of £100. His official perquisites averaged annually £341. Besides these, his fees for recording deeds and other conveyances amounted annually to about £131. From these perquisites and fees, salaries of a deputy and clerks and incidental expenses, estimated at £350 per annum, were paid. Anthony Stokes was chief justice. His salary was £500 sterling per annum, and his perquisites and fees of office did not annually fall short of £520 sterling. Associated with him were three assistant judges who were entitled to neither salaries nor perquisites. They held their appointments from the governor. The receiver of quit rents, Sir Patrick Houstoun, baronet, appointed by the Lords of the Treasury, enjoyed a fixed salary of£100 sterling per annum, and fees of office amounting annually to £71 sterling. The surveyor general, Henry Yonge, also an appointee of the Lords of the Treasury, had a salary of £150 per annum. The gross fees of his office aggregated annually the sum of £373. Charles Pryce, attorney general, appointed in obedience to his majesty's royal sign manual, received a salary of £150 sterling per annum, and his fees of office for prosecutions and every other kind of business amounted annually to the sum of £215 sterling. During the absence of Mr. Pryce, by the king's permission, James Hume, by appointment of the governor, acted in his place. The provost marshal, Samuel Smith, appointed by the Crown at a salary of £100 per annum, resided in England. His dutiea were performed by an acting provost marshal, nominated by the governor, to whom the province paid an annual salary of £30. The fees earned by him in attending and recording elections, summoning juries, etc., amounted annually to £280 sterling. James Edward Powell, judge of the admiralty, and appointed by the Crown, found his office worth not more than £10 per annum. William Spencer, register of the admiralty, was also an appointee of the Crown, and his position did not bring in more than £12 per annum. Andrew Elton Wells, commissioned in like manner, did not make more than £15 sterling out of his office of marshal of the admiralty. Henry Preston and Charles Pryce, Jr., clerks of the Crown and Pleas, were appointed by the governor. They had no salary, but their fees amounted annually to £613 sterling. To the office of public or provincial treasurer no salary was attached, but that officer was allowed five per cent, upon the taxes received, and that percentage usually amounted to some £150 sterling per annum. Besides, his other fees of office did not fall short of £83 annually. The treasurer held his appointment from the governor. Alexander Thompson, collector of customs at the port of Savannah, appointed by the Lords of the Treasury and Commissioners of Customs, was in the receipt annually of a salary of £60 sterling, and of fees of office amounting to £298. William Brown, comptroller and searcher for the port of Savannah, appointed in the same manner as the collector, received as comptroller an annual salary of £50, and as searcher, £30 per annum. His fees as comptroller amounted annually to £70, and his fees as searcher to £90. James Kitchen, collector, of the port of Sunbury, held his appointment likewise from tha Lords of the Treasury and Commissioners of the Customs*receiving an annual salary of £65 sterling, and enjoying fees of office to the amount, annually, of £90. Isaac Antrobus, comptroller and searcher for that port, performed his duties by like authority. His salary was £60 per annum and the fees of his office amounted annually to £60. William Haven, naval officer, appointed by the governor in obedience to the royal sign manual of his majesty, was allowed no specified salary, but his fees amounted to £154. Besides these were minor officers, such as country waiters, inspectors of tobacco, hemp, etc., appointed by the government, whose duties were light and their compensations trifling. Alexander Wylly, clerk of council, holding his appointment from the governor, although not a salaried officer, received annually for his services in attending upon council and keeping its minutes, and for drawing land petitions, swearing parties, entering orders, and countersigning grants, £180 8s. 6d. sterling. As clerk of the Upper House of Assembly, his salary and allowances amounted annually to £70. Another officer, appointed by the governor and allowed- by the Crown an annual salary of £20, was Richard Cuningham Crook, the clerk of the Commons House of Assembly. For attending the House, recording bills, and copying its journals, he was annually paid £181 sterling. Clerk's hire and any incidental expenses connected with the discharge of his duties were payable out of this fund. James Edward Powell, captain of Fort George, was paid by the province £10 sterling per month. The officers of the troop of rangers for the protection of the settlers of the newly acquired territory were also under the pay of the colonial government. Moses Nunez, an Indian interpreter, was allowed £50 per annum out of the contingent fund. In the estimate for maintaining the civil establishment of the colony for the year endingf June 24, 1774, aggregating £3,086, appear an allowance of £116 for the support of a minister of the Church of England and two schoolmasters, an appropriation of £200 to pay the salary of the agent selected to solicit the affairs of the province in England, an allowance of £50 to the pilot stationed at the mouth of the Savannah River, an annuity of £100 to Mr. Ottolenghe, superintendent of the late Filature at Savannah, in consideration of his long and faithful services in promoting silk culture in Georgia, and an allowance of £500 for contingent expenses. Such, in a word, was the financial, agricultural, commercial, military, and civil condition of Georgia, and this the list of the king's servants charged with the administration of public affairs, but a little while anterior to the epoch when the differences between England and her American colonies were submitted to the arbitrament of the sword. Before narrating the stirring events which immediately antedated the inception of the Revolution, we pause for a moment to allude to a matter which, at the time, caused some uneasiness and provoked sharp comment. Jonathan Bryan, Esq., in concert with some of the principal gentlemen of East Florida, procured from a number of the chiefs and head men of the Creek nation a lease for ninety-nine years of a large tract of land known as the " Appalache Old Fields,91 bounded " on the west by the Gulph of Mexico and the Appa-lachicola river, on the north by a line drawn from the point where the Chattahooche and Flint rivers unite, to the source of the St. Mary's river, and on the southwest by a line running thence to the Gulph of Mexico." To the grantors Mr. Bryan agreed to pay annually one hundred bushels of Indian corn, if' demanded, at some convenient point within the bargained premises. The professed object of the grantee was to cultivate those lands, raise cattle thereon, and open a trading post for extensive commerce with the natives. To this deed of conveyance fifteen of the chiefs and head men of the Creeks attached their marks. When the business of the congress which convened at Savannah on the 20th of October, 1774, was about concluded, Governor Wright produced this deed and ordered the interpreters to inform the Indians of the precise character and extent of the conveyance. He also confessed his astonishment that they, so tenacious of their lands whenever a request was made on the part of the government for a cession of them, should, for light consideration, have parted with so large a tract in favor of an individual. When made to comprehend the genuine purport of the deed, the Indians were filled with surprise. Of what subsequently transpired in the congress with regard to this affair, we are informed by Messrs. John Stuart, N. Jones, James E. Powell, Clement Martin, Junior, John Graham, Lewis Johnston, James Reid, and James Hume, all <rf whom were present. Their account is substantially as follows: Talechee, one of those who had put their names or marks to the deed, stated that when he and some others came down to designate the lines, Mr. Bryan, bringing with him some white men and an Indian woman named Maria, who could speak English, requested through her that there should be granted to him a spot of land where he could establish a cowpen, cultivate corn, build a residence for himself, and open a store. He further said his understanding of the paper then presented was that it asked only for this, and contained a good talk to the Creek nation. When the deed was signed at Wood's Saw Mill, Mr. Bryan was informed that it must be carried to the Creek nation for confirmation. This had never been done. The other Indians present "seemed much enraged." One of them declared he would not leave the house where the congress was in session until the deed was burnt. Others called aloud to tear it up ; and one, in particular, expressed the opinion that if the paper was not destroyed the Creek nation would attach no credit to what had transpired in this convention. At the governor's suggestion the instrument was not wholly destroyed, but the Indians were permitted to tear from it their seals and marks. It appears that Mr. Bryan's object was to secure an extensive tract outsjde of the province of Georgia, and suitably located on some navigable stream, where he might engage in raising cattle on an extensive scale. He hoped also to attract many settlers, to build a town, and to promote the commercial prosperity of the region. He was restrained from putting forth similar exertions in Georgia because, in political sentiments, there existed a marked antagonism between himself and Governor Wright, who denounced his Florida scheme as one likely to beget " great confusion and bad consequences." When the lease was executed, some at least of the Indian chiefs did not understand that they were conveying away, at a merely nominal consideration and for a period of ninety-nine years, a domain which, in the judgment of the superintendent of Indian affairs, embraced not less than five million acres of land. When they apprehended the magnitude and terms of the alienation, they violently repudiated it, and intimated that if the effort was made to claim and occupy the territory described in the deed they would resist even to the extent of open war. Finding that the Creek nation was averse to the conveyance, Mr. Bryan dropped the matter, and thus an affair, which excited much comment and promised to beget a deal of trouble, lapsed into nothingness and forgetfulnese. Had Mr. Bryan carried his intention into effect and withdrawn himself from Christ Church Parish into the wilds of Florida, Georgia would have Io6t one of her purest, best, and most influential citizens, and the " Liberty Boys " a strong friend, a trusted adviser, and a brave leader.  BACK TO HISTORY INDEX   ©Genealogy Trails