LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF
SftN DJEQO
Revolutionary Reader
REMINISCENCES AND
INDIAN LEGENDS
COMPILED BY
SOPHIE LEE FOSTER
STATE REGENT
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA. GA.:
BYRD PRINTING COMPANY
1913
COPYRIGHTED 191S
BY
SOPHIE LEE FOSTER
D EDICA TION
As my work has been a labor of love, I therefore affection-
ately dedicate this book to the Daughters of the
American Revolution of Georgia.
September 4, 1913.
MRS. SHEPPARD "W. FOSTER,
Atlanta, Georgia.
My Dear Mrs. Foster : To say that I am delighted with
your Revolutionary Reader is to state the sheer truth in
very mild terms. It is a marvel to me how you could gather
together so many charmingly written articles, each of them
illustrative of some dramatic phase of the great struggle
for independence. There is much in this book of local
interest to each section. There is literally nothing which
does not carry with it an appeal of the most profound
interest to the general reader, whether in Georgia or New
England. You have ignored no part of the map. I con-
gratulate you upon your wonderful success in the prepara-
tion of your Revolutionary Reader. It is marvelously rich
in contents and broadly American in spirit.
Sincerely your friend,
(Signed) LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT.
September 8, 1913.
MRS. S. W. FOSTER,
711 Peachtree Street.
I like very much your plan of a Revolutionary reader.
1 hope it will be adopted by the school boards of the various
states as a supplementary reader so that it may have a wide
circulation.
Yours sincerely,
JOSEPH T. DERRY.
CONTENTS
PAGE
America 11
Washington's Name 12
Washington's Inauguration 13
Important Characters of the Revolutionary Period in Ameri-
can History 14
Battle of Alamance 20
Battle of Lexington 22
Signers of Declaration .... 35
Life at Valley Forge 37
Old Williamsburg 46
Song of the Revolution 52
A True Story of the Revolution 53
Georgia Poem 55
Forts of Georgia 56
James Edward Oglethorpe 59
The Condition of Georgia During the Revolution 61
Fort Rutledge of the Revolution 65
The Efforts of LaFayette for the Cause of American
Independence 72
James Jackson 77
Experiences of Joab Home 79
Historical Sketch of Margaret Katherine Barry 81
Art and Artists of the Revolution 84
Uncle Sam Explained Again 87
An Episode of the War of the Revolution 88
State Flowers 93
Georgia State History, Naming of the Counties 95
An Historic Tree 100
Independence Day , 101
Kitty 102
Battle of Kettle Creek 108
A Daring Exploit of Grace and Rachael Martin Ill
A Revolutionary Puzzle 112
South Carolina in the Revolution 112
Lyman Hall 118
A Romance of Revolutionary Times 120
PAGE
Fort Motte, South Carolina 121
Peter Strozier 123
Independence Day 125
Sarah Gilliam Williamson 127
A Colonial Hiding Place 129
A Hero of the Revolution 131
John Paul Jones 132
The Real Georgia Cracker 135
The Dying Soldier 136
When Benjamin Franklin Scored 139
A Revolutionary Baptising 139
George Walton 140
Thomas Jefferson 143
Orators of the American Revolution 150
The Flag of Our Country (Poem) 154
The Old Virginia Gentleman 155
When Washington Was Wed (Poem) 160
Rhode Island in the American Revolution 162
Georgia and Her Heroes in the Revolution 168
United States Treasury Seal 173
Willie Was Saved 174
Virginia Revolutionary Forts 175
Uncrowned Queens and Kings as Shown Through Humorous
Incidents of the Revolution 185
A Colonial Story 192
Molly Pitcher for Hall of Fame 195
Revolutionary Relics 196
Tragedy of the Revolution Overlooked by Historians 197
John Martin 204
John Stark, Revolutionary Soldier 206
Benjamin Franklin 209
Captain Mugf ord 211
Governor John Clark 214
Party Relations in England and Their Effect on the American
Revolution 221
Early Means of Transportation by Land and Water 228
Colonel Benjamin Hawkins 236
Governor Jared Irwin 240
Education of Men and Women of the American Revolution. . 243
Nancy Hart 252
Battle of Kings Mountain (Poem) 255
William Cleghorn 257
CONTENTS 7
PAGE
The Blue Laws of Old Virginia 259
Elijah Clark 264
Francis Marion 266
Light Horse Harry 274
Our Legacy (Poem) 276
The Ride of Mary Slocumb 277
The Hobson Sisters 284
Washington's March Through Somersett County, N. J 289
Hannah Arnett 293
Button Gwinnett 298
Forced by Pirates to Walk The Plank 300
Georgia Women of Early Days 301
Robert Sallette 308
General LaFayette's Visit to Macon 312
Yes ! Tomorrow's Flag Day (Poem) 317
Flag Day 319
End of the Revolution . 328
Indian Legends
Counties of Georgia Bearing Indian Names 330
Story of Early Indian Days 331
Chief Van House 332
Indian Tale 334
William White and Daniel Boone 336
The Legend of Lovers' Leap 337
Indian Mound 344
Storiette of States Derived from Indian Names 346
Cherokee Alphabet 348
The Boy and His Arrow 351
Indian Spring, Georgia 353
Tracing The Mclntosh Trail 367
Georgia School Song 369
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Facing
Page
Fraunces Tavern 11
Ruins of Old Fort at Frederica 58
Monument to Gen. Oglethorpe 60
Indian Treaty Tree 98
The Old Liberty Bell 130
Carpenter's Hall 170
Monument Site of Old Cornwallis 266
Birthplace of Old Glory 318
Chief Vann House 330
Map of Mclntosh Trail 366
Map of Georgia, Showing Colonial, Revolutionary and
Indian War Period Forts, Battle Fields and Treaty Spots 370
PREFACE.
Since it is customary to write a preface, should any one
attempt the somewhat hazardous task of compiling a book,
it is my wish, as the editor, in sending this book forth (to
live or die according to its merits) to take advantage of
this custom to offer a short explanation as to its mission.
It is not to be expected that a volume, containing so many
facts gathered from numerous sources, will be entirely free
from criticism. The securing of material for compiling this
book was first planned through my endeavors to stimulate
greater enthusiasm in revolutionary history, biography of
revolutionary period, Indian legends, etc., by having
storiettes read at the various meetings of the Daughters of
the American Revolution, and in this way not only creating
interest in Chapter work, but accumulating much valuable
heretofore unpublished data pertaining to this important
period in American history; with a view of having same
printed in book form, suitable for our public schools, to be
known as a Revolutionary Reader.
At first it was my intention only to accept for this reader
unpublished storiettes relating to Georgia history, but
realizing this work could not be completed under this plan,
during my term of office as State Regent, I decided to use
material selected from other reliable sources, and en-
deavored to make it as broad and general in scope as pos-
sible that it might better fulfill its purpose.
To the Daughters of the American Revolution of Georgia
this book is dedicated. Its production has been a labor of
love, and should its pages be the medium through which
American patriotism may be encouraged and perpetuated I
shall feel many times repaid for the effort.
To the Chapters of the Daughters of American Revolu-
tion of Georgia for storiettes furnished, to the newspapers
for clippings, to the American Monthly Magazine for
articles, to Miss Annie M. Lane, Miss Helen Prescott, Mr.
Lucian Knight and Professor Derry, I wish to express my
deep appreciation for material help given.
SOPHIE LEE FOSTER.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 11
AMERICA.
1. My Country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where our fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring.
2. My native Country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
3. Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees,
Sweet Freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake,
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
4. Our Father's God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright,
With Freedom's holy light,
Protect us with Thy might,
Great God, our King!
12 REVOLUTIONARY READER
WASHINGTON'S NAME.
At the celebration of Washington's Birthday, Maury
Public School, District of Columbia, Miss Helen T. Doocy
recited the following beautiful poem written specially for
her by Mr. Michael Scanlon :
Let nations grown old in the annals of glory
Retrace their red marches of conquest and tears,
And glean with deft hands, from the pages of story
The names which emblazon their centuried years
Bring them forth, ev'ry deed which their prowess bequeathed
Unto them caught up from the echoes of fame ;
Yet thus, round their brows all their victories wreathed,
They'll pale in the light of our Washington's Name !
Oh, ye who snatched fame from the nation's disasters
And fired your ambitions at glory's red springs,
To bask, for an hour, in the smiles of your masters,
And flash down life's current, the bubbles of kings,
Stand forth with your blood-purchased trappings upon you,
The need of your treason, the price of your shame,
And mark how the baubles which tyranny won you
Will pale in the light of our Washington's Name !
Parade your proud trophies and pile up your arches,
And flaunt your blood banner, oh, trumpet -tongued War !
But ruin and woe mark the lines of your marches,
While Liberty, captive, is chained to your car;
But, lo ! in the west there flasht out to defend her
A sword which was sheened in humanity's flame,
And Virtue, secure, glass'd her form in its splendor
The splendor which haloes our Washington's Name !
The kings whose dread names have led captive the ages
Now sink in the sands of their passion and lust;
Their blood-roll of carnage in history's pages
Is closed, and their names will go down to the dust.
But long as a banner to Freedom is flying
No shadow can rest on his sunshine of fame,
For glory has crowned him with beauty undying,
And time will but brighten our Washington's Name !
American Monthly Magazine.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 13
WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION.
BY REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY.
On April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall, George Washington
was duly inaugurated first President of the United States,
and the great experiment of self-government on these
Western shores was fairly begun.
The beginning was most auspicious. Than Washington
no finer man ever stood at the forefront of a nation's life.
Of Washington America is eminently proud, and of
Washington America has the right to be proud, for the
' ' Father of His Country ' ' was, in every sense of the word,
a whole man. Time has somewhat disturbed the halo that
for a long while held the place about the great man's head.
It has been proven that Washington was human, and all
the more thanks for that. But after the closest scrutiny,
from every part of the world, for a century and a quarter,
it is still to be proven that anything mean, or mercenary, or
dishonorable or unpatriotic ever came near the head or
heart of our first President.
Washington loved his country with a whole heart.
He was a patriot to the core. His first, last and only
ambition was to do what he could to promote the high
ends to which the Republic was dedicated. Politics, as
defined by Aristotle, is the "science of government."
Washington was not a learned man, and probably knew
very little of Aristotle, but his head was clear and his
heart was pure, and he, too, felt that politics was the science
of government, and that the result of the government
should be the "greatest good to the greatest number" of
his fellow citizens.
From that high and sacred conviction Washington
never once swerved, and when he quit his exalted office he
did so with clean hands and unsmirched fame, leaving
behind him a name which is probably the most illustrious
in the annals of the race.
14 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Rapid and phenomenal has been the progress of Wash-
ington's country! It seems like a dream rather than the
soundest of historical facts. The Romans, after fighting
''tooth and nail" for 300 years, found themselves with a
territory no larger than that comprised within the limits
of Greater New York. In 124 years the Americans are the
owners of a territory in comparison with which the Roman
Empire, when at the height of its glory, was but a small
affair a territory wherein are operant the greatest indus-
trial, economic, moral and political forces that this old
planet ever witnessed.
IMPORTANT CHARACTERS OF THE REVOLU-
TIONARY PERIOD IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
To make a subject interesting and beneficial to us we
must have a personal interest in it. This is brought about
in three ways : It touches our pride, if it be our country ;
it excites our curosity as to what it really is, if it be history ;
and we desire to know what part our ancestors took in it,
if it be war.
So, we see the period of the Revolutionary war possesses
all three of these elements ; and was in reality the beginning
of true American life "America for Americans."
Prior to this time (during the Colonial period) America
was under the dominion of the lords proprietors covering
the years of 1663 to 1729 and royal governors from 1729
to 1775 the appointees of the English sovereign, and
whose rule was for self-aggrandizement. The very word
"Revolutionary" proclaims oppression, for where there is
justice shown by the ruler to the subjects there is no revolt,
nor will there ever be.
"We usually think of the battle of Lexington (April 19,
1775,) as being the bugle note that culminated in the
Declaration of Independence and reached its final grand
chord at Yorktown, October 19, 1781 ; but on the 16th
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 15
of May, 1771, some citizens of North Carolina, finding the
extortions and exactions of the royal governor, Tryon, more
than they could or would bear, took up arms in self-defense
and fought on the Alamance Eiver what was in reality the
first battle of the Revolution.
The citizens ' loss was thirty-six men, while the governor
lost almost sixty of his royal troops. This battle of the
Alamance was the seed sown that budded in the Declaration
of Mecklenburg in 1775, and came to full flower in the
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
There were stages in this flower of American liberty
to which we will give a cursory glance.
The determination of the colonies not to purchase
British goods had a marked effect on England. Commercial
depression followed, and public opinion soon demanded
some concession to the Americans.
All taxes were remitted or repealed except that upon
tea ; when there followed the most exciting, if not the most
enjoyable party in the world's history the "Boston Tea
Party," which occurred on the evening of December 16,
1773.
This was followed in March, 1774, by the Boston Port
Bill, the first in the series of retaliation by England for
the "Tea Party."
At the instigation of Virginia a new convention of the
colonies was called to meet September, 1774, to consider
"the grievances of the people." This was the second
Colonial and the first Continental congress to meet in
America, and occurred September 5, 1774, at Philadelphia.
All the colonies were represented, except Georgia, whose
governor would not allow it.
They then adjourned to meet May 10, 1775, after
having passed a declaration of rights, framed an address
to the king and people of England, and recommended the
suspension of all commercial relations with the mother
country.
16
The British minister, William Pitt, wrote of that con-
gress: "For solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity and
wisdom of conclusion, no nation or body of men can stand
in preference to the general congress of Philadelphia. ' '
Henceforth the Colonists were knoAvn as "Continen-
tals," in contradistinction to the "Royalists" or "Tories,"
who were the adherents of the crown.
No period of our history holds more for the student,
young or old, than this of the Revolutionary war, or
possesses greater charm when once taken up.
No man or woman can be as good a citizen without some
knowledge of this most interesting subject, nor enjoy so
fully their grand country!
Some one has pertinently said "history is innumerable
biographies ; ' ' and what child or grown person is there who
does not enjoy being told of some ' ' great person ? ' ' Every
man, private, military or civil officer, who took part in the
Revolutionary war was great!
It is not generally known that the executive power of
the state rested in those troublesome times in the county
committees ; but it was they who executed all the orders of
the Continental Congress.
The provincial council was for the whoje state; the
district committee for the safety of each district, and the
county and town committees for each county and town.
It was through the thought, loyalty and enduring
bravery of the men who constituted these committees, that
we of today have a constitution that gives us "life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness ' ' in whatever manner pleases
us, so long as it does not trespass on another's well being.
We do not give half the honor we should to our ancestry,
who have done so much for us ! We zealously seek and pre-
serve the pedigrees of our horses, cows and chickens, and
really do not know whether we come from a mushroom or a
monkey !
When we think of it, it is a much more honorable and
greater thing to be a Son or Daughter of the American
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 17
Revolution, than to be a prince or princess, for one comes
through noble deeds done by thinking, justice-loving men,
and the other through an accident of birth. Let us
examine a little into a few of these "biographies" and see
wherein their greatness lies, that they like righteous Abel,
"though dead yet speak."
The number seven stands for completeness and per-
fection let us see if seven imaginary questions can be
answered by their lives.
James Edward Oglethorpe was born in 1696, and died
in 1785 two years after the Revolutionary war. He
planted the Colony of Georgia, in which the oppressed found
refuge. He had served in the army of Prince Eugene of
Savoy in the war with the Turks. He founded the city of
Savannah, Georgia. He exported to England the first silk
made in the colonies, of which the queen had a dress made.
King George II gave him a seal representing a family of
silk worms, with their motto: "Not for ourselves but for
others." He forbade the importation of rum into the
colony. He refused the command of the British forces
sent in 1775 to reduce, or subdue the American Colonies.
In this life told in seven questions, or rather answered, we
find much a religious man, a soldier, an architect (of a
city), one versed in commerce, a wise legislator and a man
who had the respect of the king the head of England.
The next in chronological order is Benjamin Franklin
(for whom our little city is named), born in 1706, died in
1790. He discovered the identity of lightning and elec-
tricity, and invented the lightning rods. He was an early
printer who edited and published "Poor Richard's
Almanac." Of him it was said, "He snatched the light-
ning from heaven and the sceptre from tyrants."
He founded the first circulating library in America.
His portrait is seen to-day on every one-cent postage
stamp. He was America's ambassador to France during
the Revolutionary war.
18 REVOLUTIONARY READER
He said after signing the Declaration of Independence,
"We must all hang together or we shall all hang
separately. ' '
In him, we find an inventor and discoverer, an editor
and author, a benefactor, a politician and statesman, and
one whose face we daily see on account of his greatness.
George Washington was born 1732, and died 1799. He
was the first president of the United States "The Father
of His Country," the commander-in-chief of the American
forces in the Revolutionary war. He was the hero of
Valley Forge, and the one to receive the surrender of Corn-
wallis at Yorktown.
He was the president of the convention that framed the
United States constitution. The one of whom it was said,
"He was the first in war, the first in peace, and the first
in the hearts of his countrymen. " It is his and his only
birthday America celebrates as a national holiday. Of him
Lord Byron said, "The first, the last, and the best, the
Cincinnatus of the West." How much do seven short
paragraphs tell!
Patrick Henry was born in 1736, died 1799, the same
year that Washington "passed away;" and like his, this
life can speak for itself. He was the most famous orator
of the Revolution. He said, "give me liberty or give me
death!" He also said, "We must fight. An appeal to
arms and to the god of battles is all that is left us. I
repeat it, sir, we must fight." Another saying of his was,
"Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Cromwell, and
George III may profit by their example." Again, "The
people, and only the people, have a right to tax the people. ' '
He won in the famous Parson's case, the epithet of "The
Orator of Nature." He was the first governor of the
Colony of Virginia after it became a state.
John Hancock was born in 1737, and died 1793. He
first signed the Declaration of Independence. He was a
rich Boston merchant as well as a Revolutionary leader.
He was chosen president of the Continental congress in
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 19
1775. He and Samuel Adams were the two especially ex-
cepted from pardon offered the "rebels" by the English.
As president of congress he signed the commission of
George "Washington as commander-in-chief of the army.
When he signed the Declaration of Independence he
said, "The British ministry can read that name without
spectacles ; let them double their reward. ' ' He was elected
the first governor of the state of Massachusetts in 1780.
Anthony Wayne was born in 1745, and died in 1796.
He was often called "Mad Anthony" on account of his
intrepidity. He was the hero of Stony Point. He built a
fort on the spot of St. Glair's defeat and named it Fort
Recovery. He was made commander-in-chief of the Army
of the Northwest in 1792. He gained a great victory over
the Miami Indians in Ohio in 1794. He, as a Revolutionary
general, banished whiskey from his camp calling it ' ' ardent
poison" from whence came the expression "ardent
spirits" when applied to stimulants. Major Andre com-
posed a poem about him called the ' ' Cow Chase, ' ' showing
how he captured supplies for the Americans.
Alexander Hamilton was born in 1757, and died in
1804. He was aide-de-camp to Washington in 1777 the
most trying year of the entire Revolutionary war. He
succeeded Washington as commander-in-chief of the United
States army. He was the first secretary of the treasury
of the United States. He founded the financial system of
the United States. He was the Revolutionary statesman
who said, "Reformers make opinions, and opinions make
parties" a true aphorism to-day. He is known as the
"prince of politicians, or America's greatest political
genius." His brilliant career was cut short at the age of
43 by Aaron Burr whose life is summed up in two sad,
bitter lines :
"His country's curse, his children's shame;
Outcast of virtue, peace and fame."
20 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
Although John Paul Jones was not a Revolutionary
soldier on the land, yet he was "the Washington of the
Seas."
He was born in 1747 and died 1792. He was the first
to hoist an American naval flag on board an American
frigate. He fought the first naval engagement under the
United States' national ensign or flag.
He commanded the Bon Homme Richard in the great
sea fight with the Serapis in the English Channel.
He said, after the commander of the Serapis had been
knighted, "if I should have the good fortune to meet him
again, I will make a lord of him. ' ' He was presented with
a sword by Louis XVI for his services against the English.
He was appointed rear-admiral of the Russian fleet by
Catherine II.
These are but a few of the many men who did so
valiantly their part during the Revolutionary period.
SUSIE GENTRY,
State Vice-Regent, D. A. R.
(A talk made to the public school teachers of Williamson
County at the request of the superintendent of instruction in
Franklin, Tennessee, January 13, 1906.) American Monthly
Magazine.
THE BATTLE OF ALAMANCE.
BY REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY.
At the battle of Alamance, N. C., fought May 16, 1771,
was shed the first blood of the great struggle which was to
result in the establishment of American independence.
All honor to Lexington, where the ' ' embattled farmers ' '
fired shots that were "heard around the world," but let it
not be forgotten that other farmers, almost four years be-
fore the day of Lexington, opened the fight of which Lex-
ington was only the continuation.
The principles for which the North Carolina farmers
fought at Alamance were identified with those for which
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 21
Massachusetts farmers fought at Lexington. Of the Mas-
sachusetts patriots nineteen were killed and wounded,
while of the Carolina patriots over 200 lay killed or crip-
pled upon the field and six, later on, died upon the scaffold,
yet, while all the world has heard of Lexington, not one
person in a thousand knows anything to speak of about
Alamance.
William Tryon, the royal Governor of North Carolina,
was so mean that they called him the "Wolf." In the
name of his royal master and for the furtherance of his own
greedy instincts Tryon oppressed the people of his province
to the point where they were obliged to do one or two
things resist him or become slaves. They resolved to
resist and formed themselves into an organization known
as "Regulators," a body of as pure patriots as ever shoul-
dered a gun.
Having protested time and again against the unlawful
taxation under which they groaned, they finally quit groan-
ing, raised the cry of freedom and rose in arms against
Tryon and King George.
To the number of 2,000 or 3,000 the Regulators, only
partly armed and without organization, met the forces of
the royal Governor at Alamance.
"Lay down your guns or I will fire!" shouted the
British commander. ' ' Fire and be damned ! ' ' shouted back
the leader of the Regulators. At once the battle opened,
and, of course, the Regulators were defeated and dispersed.
But old Tryon received the lesson he had so long needed
that, while Americans could be shot down on the battlefield,
they could not be made tamely to submit to the high-handed
oppression of King George and his creatures.
22 REVOLUTIONARY READER
THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON APRIL 19, 1775.
On the afternoon of the day on which the Provincial
Congress of Massachusetts adjourned, General Gage took
the light infantry and grenadiers off duty and secretly
prepared an expedition to destroy the colony's stores at
Concord. The attempt had for several weeks been expec-
ted, and signals were concerted to announce the first move-
ment of troops for the country. Samuel Adams and Han-
cock, who had not yet left Lexington for Philadelphia,
received a timely message from Warren, and in conse-
quence the Committee of Safety moved a part of the public
stores and secreted the cannon.
On Tuesday, the eighteenth of April, ten or more
British sergeants in disguise dispersed themselves through
Cambridge and farther west to intercept all communica-
tion. In the following night the grenadiers and light
infantry, not less than eight hundred in number, the flower
of the army at Boston, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Smith, crossed in the boats of the transport ships from the
foot of the Common at East Cambridge.
Gage directed that no one else should leave the town,
but Warren had, at ten o'clock, dispatched William Dawes
through Roxbury and Paul Revere by way of Charlestown
to Lexington.
Revere stopped only to engage a friend to raise the con-
certed signals, and two friends rowed him across the
Charles River five minutes before the sentinels received
the order to prevent it. All was still, as suited the hour.
The Somerset, man-of-war, was winding with the young
flood ; the waning moon just peered above a clear horizon,
while from a couple of lanterns in the tower of the North
Church the beacon streamed to the neighboring towns as
fast as light could travel.
A little beyond Charlestown Neck Revere was intercep-
ted by two British officers on horseback, but being well
mounted he turned suddenly and escaped by the road to
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 23
Medford. In that town he waked the captain and Minute
Men, and continued to rouse almost every house on the
way to Lexington, making the memorable ride of Paul
Revere. The troops had not advanced far when the firing
of guns and ringing of bells announced that their expedi-
tion had been heralded, and Smith sent back for a rein-
forcement.
Early on the nineteenth of April the message from
Warren reached Adams and Hancock, who at once divined
the object of the expedition. Revere, therefore, and Dawes,
joined by Samuel Fresco tt, "a high Son of Liberty" from
Concord, rode forward, calling up the inhabitants as they
passed along, till in Lincoln they fell upon a party of
British officers. Revere and Dawes were seized and taken
back to Lexington, where they were released, but Prescott
leaped over a low stone wall and galloped on for Concord.
There, at about two hours after midnight, a peal from
the bell of the meeting house brought together the inhabi-
tants of the place, young and old, with their firelocks, ready
to make good the resolute words of their town debates.
Among the most alert was William Emerson, the minister,
with gun in hand, his powder horn and pouch of balls slung
over his shoulder. By his sermons and his prayers his
flock learned to hold the defense of their liberties a part
of their covenant with God. His presence with arms
strengthened their sense of duty.
From daybreak to sunrise, the summons ran from house
to house through Acton. Express messengers and the call
of Minute Men spread widely the alarm. How children
trembled as they were scared out of sleep by the cries!
How women, with heaving breasts, bravely seconded their
husbands ! How the countrymen, forced suddenly to arm,
without guides or counsellors, took instant counsel of their
courage ! The mighty chorus of voices rose from the scat-
tered farmhouses, and, as it were, from the ashes of the
dead. "Come forth, champions of liberty; now free your
country ; protect your sons and daughters, your wives and
24 REVOLUTIONARY READER
homesteads; rescue the houses of the God of your fathers,
the franchises handed down from your ancestors." Now
all is at stake ; the battle is for all.
Lexington, in 1775, may have had seven hundred
inhabitants. Their minister was the learned and fervent
Jonas Clark, the bold inditer of patriotic state papers, that
may yet be read on their town records. In December, 1772,
they had instructed their representative to demand "a
radical and lasting redress of their grievances, for not
through their neglect should the people be enslaved." A
year later they spurned the use of tea. In 1774, at various
town meetings, they voted "to increase their stock of
ammunition," "to encourage military discipline, and to
put themselves in a posture of defense against their
enemies." In December they distributed to "the train
band and alarm list" arms and ammunition and resolved
to "supply the training soldiers with bayonets."
At two in the morning, under the eye of the minister,
and of Hancock and Adams, Lexington Common was alive
with the Minute Men. The roll was called and, of militia
and alarm men, about one hundred and thirty answered to
their names. The captain, John Parker, ordered everyone
to load with powder and ball, but to take care not to be
the first to fire. Messengers sent to look for the British
regulars reported that there were no signs of their
approach. A watch was therefore set, and the company
dismissed with orders to come together at beat of drum.
The last stars were vanishing from night when the
foremost party, led by Pitcairn, a major of marines, was
discovered advancing quickly and in silence. Alarm guns
were fired and the drums beat, not a call to village husband-
men only, but the reveille of humanity. Less than seventy,
perhaps less than sixty, obeyed the summons, and, in sight
of half as many boys and unarmed men, were paraded in
two ranks a few rods north of the meeting house.
The British van, hearing the drum and the alarm guns,
halted to load; the remaining companies came up, and, at
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 25
half an hour before sunrise, the advance party hurried
forward at double quick time, almost upon a run, closely
followed by the grenadiers. Pitcairn rode in front and
when within five or six rods of the Minute Men, cried out :
"Disperse, ye villains! Ye rebels, disperse! Lay down
your arms! Why don't you lay down your arms and
disperse?" The main part of the countrymen stood
motionless in the ranks, witnesses against aggression, too
few to resist, too brave to fly. At this Pitcairn discharged
a pistol, and with a loud voice cried "Fire!" The order
was followed first by a few guns, which did no execution,
and then by a close and deadly discharge of musketry.
Jonas Parker, the strongest and best wrestler in Lexing-
ton, had promised never to run from British troops, and
he kept his vow. A wound brought him on his knees.
Having discharged his gun he was preparing to load it
again when he was stabbed by a bayonet and lay on the
post which he took at the morning's drum beat. So fell
Isaac Muzzey, and so died the aged Robert Munroe, who
in 1758 had been an ensign at Louisburg. Jonathan
Harrington, Jr., was struck in front of his own house on the
north of the common. His wife was at the window as he
fell. With blood gushing from his breast, he rose in her
sight, tottered, fell again, then crawled on hands and knees
toward his dwelling ; she ran to meet him, but only reached
him as he expired on their threshold. Caleb Harrington,
who had gone into the meeting house for powder, was shot
as he came out. Samuel Hadley arid John Brown were
pursued and killed after they had left the green. Asabel
Porter, of Woburn, who had been taken prisoner by the
British on the march, endeavoring to escape, was shot
within a few rods of the common. Seven men of Lexington
were killed, nine wounded, a quarter part of all who stood
in arms on the green.
There on the green lay in death the gray-haired and
the young; the grassy field was red "with the innocent
26 REVOLUTIONARY READER
blood of their brethren slain," crying unto God for
vengeance from the ground.
These are the village heroes who were more than of
noble blood, proving by their spirit that they were of a
race divine. They gave their lives in testimony to the
rights of mankind, bequeathing to their country an assur-
ance of success in the mighty struggle which they began.
The expanding millions of their countrymen renew and
multiply their praise from generation to generation. They
fulfilled their duty not from an accidental impulse of the
moment; their action was the ripened fruit of Providence
and of time.
Heedless of his own danger, Samuel Adams, with the
voice of a prophet, exclaimed : ' ' Oh, what a glorious morn-
ing is this ! ' ' for he saw his country 's independence hasten-
ing on, and, like Columbus in the tempest, knew that the
storm bore him more swiftly toward the undiscovered land.
The British troops drew up on the village green, fired a
volley, huzzaed thrice by way of triumph, and after a halt
of less than thirty minutes, marched on for Concord.
There, in the morning hours, children and women fled for
shelter to the hills and the woods and men were hiding what
was left of cannon and military stores.
The Minute Men and militia formed on the usual
parade, over which the congregation of the town for near
a century and a half had passed to public worship, the free-
men to every town meeting, and lately the patriot members
of the Provincial Congress twice a day to their little senate
house. Near that spot Winthrop, the father of Massachu-
setts, had given counsel; and Eliot, the apostle of the
Indians, had spoken words of benignity and wisdom. The
people of Concord, of whom about two hundred appeared
in arms on that day, derived their energy from their sense
of the divine power.
The alarm company of the place Allied near the Liberty
Pole on the hill, to the right of the lexington road, in the
front of the meeting house. They went to the perilous
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 27
duties of the day "with seriousness and acknowledgment
of God," as though they were to engage in acts of worship.
The minute company of Lincoln, and a few men from
Acton, pressed in at an early hour ; but the British, as they
approached, were seen to be four times as numerous as the
Americans. The latter, therefore, retreated, first to an
eminence eighty rods farther north, then across Concord
River, by the North Bridge, till just beyond it, by a back
road, they gained high ground about a mile from the
center of the town. There they waited for aid.
About seven o'clock, under brilliant sunshine, the
British marched with rapid step into Concord, the light
infantry along the hills and the grenadiers in the lower
road.
At daybreak the Minute Men of Acton crowded at the
drum-beat to the house of Isaac Davis, their captain, who
"made haste to be ready." Just thirty years old, the
father of four little ones, stately in person, a man of few
words, earnest even to solemnity, he parted from his wife,
saying: "Take good care of the children," and while she
gazed after him with resignation he led off his company.
Between nine and ten the number of Americans on the
rising ground above Concord Bridge had increased to more
than four hundred. Of these, there were twenty-five men
from Bedford, with Jonathan Wilson for their captain;
others were from Westford, among them Thaxter, a
preacher; others from Littleton, from Carlisle, and from
Chelmsford. The Acton company came last and formed
on the right; the whole was a gathering not so much of
officers and soldiers as of brothers and equals, of whom
every one was a man well known in his village, observed
in the meeting houses on Sundays, familiar at town meet-
ings and respected as a freeholder or a freeholder's son.
Near the base of the hill Concord River flows languidly
in a winding channel and was approached by a causeway
over the wet ground of its left bank. The by-road from
the hill on which the Americans had rallied ran southerly
28 REVOLUTIONARY READER
till it met the causeway at right angles. The Americans
saw before them, within gunshot, British troops holding
possession of their bridge, and in the distance a still larger
number occupying their town, which, from the rising
smoke, seemed to have been set on fire.
The Americans had as yet received only uncertain
rumors of the morning's events at Lexington. At the sight
of fire in the village the impulse seized them ' ' to march into
the town for its defense." But were they not subjects of
the British king? Had not the troops come out in
obedience to acknowledged authorities? Was resistance
practicable? Was it justifiable? By whom could it be
authorized? No union had been formed, no independence
proclaimed, no war declared. The husbandmen and
mechanics who then stood on the hillock by Concord River
were called on to act and their action would be war or
peace, submission or independence. Had they doubted,
they must have despaired. Prudent statesmanship would
have asked for time to ponder. Wise philosophy would
have lost from hesitation the glory of opening a new era
for mankind. The small bands at Concord acted and God
was with them.
"I never heard from any person the least expression
of a wish for a separation, ' ' Franklin, not long before, had
said to Chatham. In October, 1774, Washington wrote:
"No such thing as independence is desired by any thinking
man in America." " Before the nineteenth of April,
1775," relates Jefferson, "I never heard a whisper of a
disposition to separate from Great Britain." Just thirty-
seven days had passed since John Adams published in
Boston, "That there are any who pant after independence
is the greatest slander on the province. ' '
The American Revolution grew out of the souls of the
people and was an inevitable result of a living affection
for freedom, which set in motion harmonious effort as
certainly as the beating of the heart sends warmth and
color through the system.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 29
The officers, meeting in front of their men, spoke a few
words with one another and went back to their places.
Barrett, the colonel, on horseback in the rear, then gave
the order to advance, but not to fire unless attacked. The
calm features of Isaac Davis, of Acton, became changed;
the town schoolmaster of Concord, who was present, could
never afterwards find words strong enough to express how
deeply his face reddened at the word of command. "I
have not a man that is afraid to go," said Davis, looking
at the men of Acton, and, drawing his sword, he cried:
"March!" His company, being on the right, led the way
toward the bridge, he himself at their head, and by his
side Major John Buttrick, of Concord, with John Robinson,
of Westford, lieutenant-colonel in Prescott's regiment, but
on this day a volunteer without command.
These three men walked together in front, followed by
Minute Men and militia in double file, training arms.
They went down the hillock, entered the by-road, came to
its angle with the main road and there turned into the
causeway that led straight to the bridge. The British be-
gan to take up the planks; to prevent it the Americans
quickened their step. At this the British fired one or two
shots up the river; then another, by which Luther Blan-
chard and Jonas Brown were wounded. A volley followed,
and Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmer fell dead. Three
hours before, Davis had bid his wife farewell. That after-
noon he was carried home and laid in her bedroom. His
countenance was pleasant in death. The bodies of two
others of his company, who were slain that day, were
brought to her house, and the three were followed to the
village graveyard by a concourse of neighbors from miles
around. Heaven gave her length of days in the land
which his self-devotion assisted to redeem. She lived to
see her country reach the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific;
Avhen it was grown great in numbers, wealth and power, the
United States in Congress bethought themselves to pay
30 REVOLUTIONARY READER
honors to her husband 's martyrdom and comfort her under
the double burden of sorrow and of more than ninety years.
As the British fired, Emerson, who was looking on
from an upper window in his house near the bridge, was
for one moment uneasy lest the fire should not be returned.
It was only for a moment ; Buttrick, leaping in the air and
at the same time partially turning around, cried aloud:
"Fire, fellow soldiers! for God's sake, fire!" and the cry
"fire! fire! fire!" ran from lip to lip. Two of the British
fell, several were wounded, and in two minutes all was
hushed. The British retreated in disorder toward their
main body; the countrymen were left in possession of the
bridge. This is the world renowned "Battle of Concord,"
more eventful than Agincourt or Blenheim.
The Americans stood astonished at what they had done.
They made no pursuit and did no further harm, except that
one wounded soldier, attempting to arise if to escape, was
struck on the head by a young man with a hatchet. The
party at Barrett's might have been cut off, but was not
molested. As the Sudbury company, commanded by the
brave Nixon, passed near the South Bridge, Josiah Haynes,
then eighty years of age, deacon of the Sudbury Church,
urged an attack on the British party stationed there; his
advice was rejected by his fellow soldiers as premature,
but the company in which he served proved among the
most alert during the rest of the day.
In the town of Concord, Smith, for half an hour,
showed by marches and counter-marches his uncertainty
of purpose. At last, about noon, he left the town, to retreat
the way he came, along the hilly road that wound through
forests and thickets. The Minute Men and militia who had
taken part in the fight ran over the hills opposite the
battle field into the east quarter of the town, crossed the
pasture known as the "Great Fields," and placed them-
selves in ambush a little to the eastward of the village, near
the junction of the Bedford road. There they were re-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 31
inforced by men from all around and at that point the
chase of the English began.
Among the foremost were the Minute Men of Reading,
led by John Brooks and accompanied by Foster, the
minister of Littleton, as a volunteer. The company of
Billerica, whose inhabitants, in their just indignation at
Nesbit and his soldiers, had openly resolved to "use a
different style from that of petition and complaint" came
down from the north, while the East Sudbury company
appeared on the south. A little below the Bedford road
at Merriam's corner the British faced about, but after a
sharp encounter, in which several of them were killed, they
resumed their retreat.
At the high land in Lincoln the old road bent toward
the north, just where great trees on the west and thickets
on the east offered cover to the pursuers. The men from
Wodburn came up in great numbers and well armed.
Along these defiles fell eight of the British. Here Pitcairn
for safety was forced to quit his horse, which was taken
with his pistols in their holsters. A little farther on Jona-
than Wilson, captain of the Bedford Minute Men, too
zealous to keep on his guard, was killed by a flanking
party. At another defile in Lincoln, the Minute Men at
Lexington, commanded by John Parker, renewed the fight.
Every piece of wood, every rock by the wayside, served as
a lurking place. Scarce ten of the Americans were at any
time seen together, yet the hills seemed to the British to
swarm with "rebels," as if they had dropped from the
clouds, and "the road was lined" by an unintermitted fire
from behind stone walls and trees.
At first the invaders moved in order ; as they drew near
Lexington, their flanking parties became ineffective from
weariness; the wounded were scarce able to get forward.
In the west of Lexington, as the British were rising Fiske 's
hill, a sharp contest ensued. It was at the eastern foot of
the same hill that James Hayward, of Acton, encountered
a regular, and both at the same moment fired ; the regular
32 REVOLUTIONARY READER
dropped dead; Hay ward was mortally wounded. A little
farther on fell the octogenarian, Josiah Haynes, who had
kept pace with the swiftest in the pursuit.
The British troops, "greatly exhausted and fatigued
and having expended almost all of their ammunition,"
began to run rather than retreat in order. The officers
vainly attempted to stop their flight. "They were driven
before the Americans like sheep." At last, about two in
the afternoon, after they had hurried through the middle
of the town, about a mile below the field of the morning's
bloodshed, the officers made their way to the front and by
menaces of death began to form them under a very heavy
fire.
At that moment Lord Percy came in sight with the first
brigade, consisting of Welsh Fusileers, the Fourth, the
Forty-seventh and the Thirty-eighth Regiments, in all
about twelve hundred men, with two field pieces. Insolent,
as usual, they marched out of Boston to the tune of
Yankee Doodle, but they grew alarmed at finding every
house on the road deserted.
While the cannon kept the Americans at bay, Percy
formed his detachment into a square, enclosing the fugi-
tives, who lay down for rest on the ground, "their tongues
hanging out of their mouths like those of dogs after a
chase. ' '
After the juncture of the fugitives with Percy, the
troops under his command amounted to fully two-thirds
of the British Army in Boston, and yet they must fly before
the Americans speedily and fleetly, or be overwhelmed.
Two wagons, sent out to them with supplies, were waylaid
and captured by Payson, the minister of Chelsea. From
far and wide Minute Men were gathering. The men of
Dedham, even the old men, received their minister's
blessing and went forth, in such numbers that scarce one
male between sixteen and seventy was left at home. That
morning William Prescott mustered his regiment, and
though Pepperell was so remote that he could not be in
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 33
season for the pursuit, he hastened down with five com-
panies of guards. Before noon a messenger rode at full
speed into Worcester, crying: "To arms!" A fresh horse
was brought and the tidings went on, while the Minute
Men of that town, after joining hurriedly on the common
in a fervent prayer from their minister, kept on the march
till they reached Cambridge.
Aware of his perilous position, Percy, resting but half
an hour, renewed his retreat.
Beyond Lexington the troops were attacked by men
chiefly from Essex and the lower towns. The fire from the
rebels slackened till they approached West Cambridge,
where Joseph Warren and William Heath, both of the
committee of safety, the latter a provincial general officer,
gave for a moment some appearance of organization to the
pursuit, and the fight grew sharper and more determined.
Here the company from Danvers, which made a breastwork
of a pile of shingles, lost eight men, caught between the
enemy's flank guard and main body. Here, too, a musket
ball grazed the hair of Joseph Warren, whose heart beat
to arms, so that he was ever in the place of greatest danger.
The British became more and more "exasperated" and
indulged themselves in savage cruelty. In one house they
found two aged, helpless, unarmed men and butchered
them both without mercy, stabbing them, breaking their
skulls and dashing out their brains. Hannah Adams, wife
of Deacon Joseph Adams, of Cambridge, lay in child-bed
with a babe of a week old, but was forced to crawl with her
infant in her arms and almost naked to a corn shed, while
the soldiers set her house on fire. Of the Americans there
were never more than four hundred together at any time ;
but, as some grew tired or used up their ammunition, others
took their places, and though there was not much concert
or discipline and no attack with masses, the pursuit never
flagged.
Below West Cambridge the militia from Dorchester,
Roxbury and Brookline came up. Of these, Isaac Gardner,
34 REVOLUTIONARY READER
of the latter place, one on whom the colony rested many
hopes, fell about a mile west of Harvard College. The
field pieces began to lose their terror, so that the Ameri-
cans pressed upon the rear of the fugitives, whose retreat
was as rapid as it possibly could be. A little after sunset
the survivors escaped across Charlestown Neck.
The troops of Percy had marched thirty miles in ten
hours ; the party of Smith in six hours had retreated twenty
miles ; the guns of the ship-of-war and the menace to burn
the town of Charlestown saved them from annoyance dur-
ing the rest on Bunker Hill and while they were ferried
across Charles River.
On that day forty-nine Americans were killed, thirty-
four wounded and five missing. The loss of the British in
killed, wounded and missing was two hundred and seventy-
three. Among the wounded were many officers ; Smith was
hurt severely. Many more were disabled by fatigue.
"The night preceding the outrages at Lexington there
were not fifty people in the whole colony that ever expected
any blood would be shed in the contest"; the night after,
the king's governor and the king's army found themselves
closely beleaguered in Boston.
''The next news from England must be conciliatory,
or the connection between us ends," said Warren. "This
month," so wrote William Emerson, of Concord, late
chaplain to the Provincial Congress, chronicled in a blank
leaf of his almanac, "is remarkable for the greatest events
of the present age." "From the nineteenth of April,
1775," said Clark, of Lexington, on its first anniversary,
"will be dated the liberty of the American world."
NOTE. The principal part of this account of the Battle of
Lexington is taken from Banecroft's history. American Monthly
Magazine.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 35
SIGNERS OF DECLARATION.
(Poem that embraces the names of the famous Americans.)
It will not be denied that the men who, on July 4, 1776,
pledged "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor"
in behalf of our national liberty deserve the most profound
reverence from every American citizen. By arranging in
rhyme the names of the signers according to the colonies
from which they were delegated it will assist the youthful
learner in remembering the names of those fathers of
American Independence.
I.
The Massachusetts delegation
That signed our glorious Declaration
Where Hancock, Gerry, Robert Paine,
The great John Adams, and again
Another Adams, Samuel by name.
n.
New Hampshire, called the "Granite State,"
Sent Whipple, Bartlett, Thornton great,
Alike in counsel and debate.
III.
Rhode Island's delegates, we see,
Were Stephen Hopkins and Ellery.
IV.
Connecticut, excelled by none,
With Wolcott, Williams and Huntington.
V.
New York as delegates employed
Lewis Morris and William Floyd,
With Francis Lewis and Livingston,
Who died before the war was done.
VI.
New Jersey to the congress sent
Her honored college president,
John Witherspoon, with Stockton, Clark,
Hart, Hopkinson all men of mark.
36 REVOLUTIONARY READER
VII.
Though Pennsylvania need not blush
For Morris, Morton, Wilson, Rush,
And though most men might seem as dross
To Cylmer, Taylor, Smith and Ross,
To Franklin each his tribute brings
Who neither lightning feared, nor kings.
VIII.
The men from Delaware indeed
As true as steel in utmost need
Were Rodney, with MeKean and Read.
IX.
"My Maryland" is proud to own
Her Carroll, Paca, Chase and Stone.
X.
On old Virginia's roll we see
The gifted Richard Henry Lee,
And, just as earnest to be free.
His brother, Francis Lightfoot Lee,
And Wythe and Nelson, patriots true,
With Harrison and Braxton, too;
But of them all, there was not one
As great as Thomas Jefferson.
XI.
North Carolina's chosen men
We know were Hooper, Hewes and Penn.
XII.
And South Carolina's vote was one
By Hey ward, Lynch and Middleton.
XIII.
From Georgia came Gwinnett and Hall
And Walton, too, the last of all
Who signed our precious Declaration
The pride and glory of the nation.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 37
LIFE AT VALLEY FORGE.
MRS. HARRIET D. EISENBERG.
I have chosen to look up particulars concerning the
daily life of the soldier at Valley Forge in the awful winter
of 1777-8. And as no historian can picture the life of any
period so vividly as it may be described by those who were
participants in that life, or eye witnesses of it, I have
gathered the materials for this paper from diaries of those
who were there, from accounts by men whose friends were
in the camp, from letters sent to and from the camp, and
from the orderly book of a general who kept a strict report
of the daily orders issued by the Commander-in-chief, from
the fall campaign of 1777, to the late spring of 1778.
It is unnecessary to reiterate what all of us know, that
the winter of '77-8 was the blackest time of the war of
Independence, and it was made so, not only by the machi-
nations of the enemies of Washington who were striving to
displace him as Commander-in-Chief, but by the unparal-
leled severity of the winter and the dearth of the com-
monest necessaries of life. The sombreness of the picture
is emphasized by contrast with the brightness and gaiety
that characterized the life in Philadelphia during that
same winter when the British troops occupied the city.
There a succession of brilliant festivities was going on, the
gaieties culminating in the meschianza that most gorgeous
spectacle ever given by an army to its retiring officer, when
Peggy Shippen and Sallie Chew danced the night away
with the scarlet-coated officers of the British army, while
fathers and brothers were suffering on the hills above the
Schuylkill.
Why did Washington elect to put his army in winter-
quarters? He himself answers the question, which was
asked by congress who objected to the army's going into
winter quarters at all. The campaign, which had seen the
battles of the Brandywine and of Germantown, was over;
the British were in possession of Philadelphia; the army
38 REVOLUTIONARY READER
was fatigued and there was little chance of recuperation
from sources already heavily drained. Hence a winter's
rest was necessary. And Washington's own words, as he
issued the orders for the day on December 23d, tell us why
Valley Forge was chosen.
"The General wishes it was in his power to conduct the troops
into the best winter quarters; but where are those to be found?
Should we retire into the interior portions of the country, we
should find them crowded with virtuous citizens who, sacrificing
their all, have left Philadelphia, and fled hither for protection.
To their distress, humanity forbids us to add. This is not all.
We should leave a vast extent of fertile country to be despoiled
and ravaged by the enemy. These and other considerations
make it necessary to take such a position (as this), and influenced
by these considerations he persuades himself that officers and
soldiers, with one heart and one mind, will resolve to surmount
every difficulty with the fortitude and patience becoming their
profession and the Sacred Cause in which they are engaged. He
himself, will share in the hardships, and partake of every incon-
venience."
And with this resolve on his part, kept faithfully
through the long weeks, the bitter winter was begun.
It was on December 12th that a bridge of wagons was
made across the Schuylkill and the army, already sick and
broken down, moved over. On that day, Dr. Waldo, a
surgeon from Connecticut made this entry in his diary:
"Sunset. We are ordered to march over the river. I'm sick
eat nothing no whiskey no baggage. Lord-Lord-Lord."
A few days later he makes this entry :
"The army, who have been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now
begin to grow sickly. They still show alacrity and contentment
not to be expected from so young troops.
"I am sick, discontented, out of humor. Poor food, hard
lodging cold weather fatigue nasty clothes nasty cooking
smoked out of my senses, vomit half my time the Devil's in it.
I can't endure it.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 39
"Here comes a bowl of soup full of burnt leaves and dirt.'
Away with it, boys. I'll live like the chameleon upon air. 'Pooh^
pooh,' says Patience. You talk like a fool. See the poor soldier
with what cheerfulness he meets his foes and encounters hardships.
If bare of foot he labors through mud and cold, with a song
extolling war and Washington. If his food is bad he eats it with
contentment and whistles it into digestion. There comes a
soldier his bare feet are seen through his worn out shoes. His
legs are nearly naked from his tattered remains of an old pair of
stockings his shirt hanging in strings, his hair dishevelled
his face meagre his whole appearance pictures a person for-
saken and discouraged. He comes and cries with despair I am
sick. My feet are lame my legs are sore my body covered with
tormenting itch my clothes worn out my constitution broken.
I fail fast. I shall soon be no more. And all the reward I shall
get will be 'Poor Will is dead."
On the 21st of December this entry appears :
"A general cry through the camp this evening: 'no meat no
meat.' The distant vales echo back 'no meat.' 'What have you
for dinner, Boys?' 'Nothing but fire cake and water, sir! At
night. 'Gentlemen, supper is ready.' 'What is your supper,
ladsf 'Fire-cake and water Sir.' "
Again on December 22d :
"Lay excessive cold and uncomfortable last night. My eyes
started out of their orbits like a rabbit's eyes, occasioned by a
great cold and smoke. Huts go slowly. Cold and smoke make
us fret. I don't know anything that vexes a man's soul more
than hot smoke continually blowing into one's eyes, and when
he attempts to avoid it, he is met by a cold and freezing wind."
On December 25th, Xmas, this entry :
"Still in tents. The sick suffer much in tents. We give them
mutton and grog and capital medicine it is once in a while."
January 1st:
"I am alive. I am well. Huts go on briskly."
I have quoted thus lengthily from this diary, which
gives, perhaps, the most vivid picture we possess of that
40 EEVOLUTIONARY READER
dark period, simply because it touches upon almost all that
concerns the life of the soldiers that winter, upon their
dwellings, their food, their health, their courage.
The Doctor repeatedly speaks of the huts which were
to shelter the men. In the order issued by Washington
to his generals early in December, directions were given
concerning the construction of these dwellings. According
to these directions, the major-generals, accompanied by
the engineers, were to fix on the proper spot for hutting.
The sunside of the hills was chosen, and here they construc-
ted long rows of log huts, and made numerous stockades
and bristling pikes for defence along the line of the trench.
For these purposes and for their fuel they cut off an
entire forest of timber. Can't you hear the steady crash of
the ax held by hands benumbed with the cold, as blow, by
blow, they felled the trees on the hillside, eager to erect the
crude huts which were to give better shelter than the tents
in which they were yet shivering and choking ? In cutting
their fire wood, the soldiers were directed to save such parts
of each tree as would do for building, reserving 16 or 18
feet of trunk for logs to rear their huts. "The quarter-
master-general, (so says the order of December 20th) is to
delay no time, but procure large quantities of straw, either
for covering the huts or for beds." This last item would
suggest the meagreness of the furnishing. Throughout the
entire winter the soldier could look for few of the barest
necessities of life. An order from headquarters directed
that each hut should be provided with a pail. Dishes were
a rarity. Each soldier carried his knife in his pocket, while
one horn spoon, a pewter dish, and a horn tumbler into
which whiskey rarely entered, did duty for a whole mess.
The eagerness to possess a single dish is illustrated by an
anecdote which has come down in my own family, if I may
presume to narrate it. My Revolutionary ancestor was a
manufacturer of pottery. In the leisure hours of this
bitter time at Valley Forge, he built a kiln and burnt some
pottery. Just as it was time to open the ovens, a band of
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 41
soldiers rushed upon them, tearing them down, and trium-
phantly marched off with their prize, leaving Captain
Piercy as destitute of dishes as before.
As for the food that was meant to sustain the defenders
of our liberty, the diary I have quoted, together with Wash-
ington 's daily orders, gives us sufficient information to
enable us to judge of its meagreness. Often their food
was salted herring so decayed that it had to be dug 'en
masse' from the barrels. Du Poncean, a young officer, aid
to Baron Steuben, related to a friend, a few years after the
war, some facts of stirring interest. "They bore," he says,
"with fortitude and patience. Sometimes, you might see the
soldiers pop their heads out from their huts and call in an
undertone 'no bread, no soldier;' but a single word from
their officer would still their complaint." Baron Steuben 's
cook left him at Valley Forge, saying that when there was
nothing to cook, any one might turn the spit.
The commander-in-chief, partaking of the hardships of
his brave men, was accustomed to sit down with his invited
officers to a scanty piece of meat, with some hard bread and
a few potatoes. At his house, called Moore Hall, they
drank the prosperity of the nation in humble toddy, and
the luxurious dessert consisted of a dish of hazel nuts.
Even in those scenes, Mrs. Washington, as was her
practice in the winter campaign, had joined her husband,
and always at the head of the table maintained a mild and
dignified, yet cheerful manner. She busied herself all
day long, with errands of grace, and when she passed along
the lines, she would hear the fervent cry, ' ' God bless Lady
Washington."
I need not go into details concerning the lack of
clothing the diary I have quoted is sufficiently suggestive.
An officer said, some years after the war, that many were
without shoes, and while acting as sentinels, had doffed
their hats to stand in, to save their feet from freezing.
Deserters to the British army for even among the loyal
American troops there were some to be found who could
42 REVOLUTIONARY READER
not stand up against cold and hunger and disease and the
inducement held out by the enemy to deserters would
enter Philadelphia shoeless and almost nakedi around
their body an old, dirty blanket, fastened by a leather belt
around the waist.
One does not wonder that disease was rampant, that
orders had to be issued from headquarters for the proper
treatment of the itch; for inoculation against smallpox,
for the care of those suffering from dysentery which was
widespread in the camp. On January 8, an order was
issued from the commander-in-chief to the effect that men
rendered unfit for duty by the itch be looked after by the
surgeon and properly disposed in huts where they could
be annointed for the disease. Hospital provisions were
made for the sick. Huts, 15 by 25 and 9 feet high, with
windows in each end, were built, two for each brigade.
They were placed at or near the center, and not more than
100 yards from the bridge. But such were the ravages of
the disease that long trenches in the vale below the hill
were dug, and filled in with the dead.
To turn to the activities of the camp, its duties, privi-
leges, and amusements, and even its crimes. Until some-
what late in the spring, when Baron Steuben arrived at
Valley Forge, there was little system observed in the drill-
ing of the several brigades. Yet each day's military duty
was religiously attended to, that there might, at least, be
some preparation for defence in case of an attack from the
superior force at Philadelphia. The duties of both rank
and file were strictly laid down by Washington, and any
dereliction was punished with military strictness.
In the commands issued on February 8, the order of
the day is plainly indicated. I give the words from
Orderly book :
"Reveille sounded at daybreak troop at 8 retreat at sunset
tattoo at 9. Drummers call to beat at the right of first line
and answer through that line. Then through the second and
corp of artillery, beginning at the left. Reserve shall follow
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 43
the second line immediately upon this. Three rolls, to begin,
and run through in like manner as the call. Then all the drums
of the army at the heads of their respective corps shall go
through the regular beats, ceasing upon the right which will be
a sign for the whole to cease."
Don't you imagine that you hear the rise and fall of
the notes as they echoed and re-echoed over the frozen hills
and thrilled the hearts that beat beneath the rags in the
cold winter morning ?
The daily drill on parade, the picket duty, the domestic
duties incumbent upon the men in the absence of the
women, the leisure hours, then taps, and the day 's tale was
told.
I should like to tell you of the markets established, for
two days each, at three separate points on the outskirts of
the camp, where for prices fixed by a schedule to prevent
extortion, the soldiers, fortunate enough to possess some
money might add to their meagre supplies some comforts
in food or clothing. I should like to tell of the sutlers that
followed each brigade, and the strict rules that governed
their dealings with the army, of the funerals, the simple
ceremonies of which were fixed by orders from head-
quarters; of the gaming among the soldiers, which vice
Washington so thoroughly abhorred that he forbade, under
strictest penalties, indulgence in even harmless games of
cards and dice. I should like to tell of the thanksgiving
days appointed by congress for some signal victory of the
northern army, or for the blessing of the French alliance,
on which days the camp was exempt from ordinary duty
and after divine service the day was given over to the men
Or I should like to tell of Friday the "Flag day" when
a flag of truce was carried into Philadelphia and letters
were sent to loved ones, and answers brought back con-
taining disheartening news of the gaieties then going on,
or encouraging accounts of the sacrifices of mothers and
daughters in the cause of liberty. And finally I should
like to tell you of the court martials, through the reports
44 REVOLUTIONARY READER
of which we get such a vivid picture of the intimate life
of the time: of the trial by court martial of Anthony
Wayne, who was acquitted of the charge of conduct un-
becoming an officer; of the trial of a common soldier for
stealing a blanket from a fellow soldier, and the punish-
ment by 100 lashes on his bare back ; of the trial of a Mary
Johnson who plotted to desert the camp and who, between
the lined up ranks of the brigade, was drummed out of
camp; of the trial of John Riley for desertion, and his
execution on parade ground, with the full brigade in
attendance ; of the dramatic punishment of an officer found
guilty of robbery and absenting himself, with a private,
without leave, and who was sentenced to have his sword
broken over his head on grand parade at guard mount. I
should like to tell, too, of the foraging parties sent out to
scour the country for food and straw; and the frequent
skirmishes with detachments of the enemy ; of the depreda-
tions made by the soldiers on the surrounding farmers,
which depredations were so deplored by Washington and
which tried so his great soul I wanted to speak of the great-
ness of the Commander-in-Chief in the face of all he had to
contend with the continued depredations of his men; the
repeated abuse of privilege; the frequent disobedience of
orders; the unavoidably filthy condition of the camp; the
suffering of the soldiers ; the peril from a powerful enemy,
all sufficient to make a soul of less generous mould
succumb to fate, yet serving only in Washington's case
to make him put firmer trust in an Almighty Power and in
the justice of his cause.
At the opening of the spring a greater activity pre-
vailed in the camp. With the coming of Baron Steuben,
the army w r as uniformly drilled in the tactics of European
warfare. With the new appropriation of congress, new
uniforms were possible and gave a more military appear-
ance to the army. It was no longer necessary, therefore,
for Washington to issue orders that the men must appear
on parade with beards shaven and faces clean, though
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 45
their garments were of great variety and ragged. And
with the coming of the spring, and of greater comforts in
consequence, Washington, in recognition of the suffering,
fidelity and patriotism of his troops took occasion to com-
mend them in these words :
"The Commarider-in-Chief takes this occasion to return his
thanks to the officers and soldiers of this army for that persevering
fidelity and zeal which they have uniformly manifested in all their
conduct. Their fortitude not only under the common hardships
incident to a military life, but also, under the additional suffering
to which the peculiar situation of these states has exposed them,
clearly proves them to be men worthy the enviable privilege of
contending for the rights of human nature the freedom and
independence of the country. The recent instance of uncom-
plaining patience during the late scarcity of provisions in camp
is a fresh proof that they possess in eminent degree the spirits of
soldiers and the magnanimity of patriots. The few who disgraced
themselves by murmuring, it is hoped, have repented such un-
manly behaviour and have resolved to emulate the noble example
of their associates 'Soldiers, American Soldiers, will despise the
meanness of repining at such trifling strokes of adversity, trifling
indeed when compared with the transcendent prize which will
undoubtedly crown their patience and perseverance.
"Glory and freedom, peace and plenty, the admiration of the
world, the love of their country and the gratitude of prosterity."
-American Monthty Magazine.
46 REVOLUTIONARY READER
OLD WILLIAMSBURG.
BY EMILY HENDREE PARK.
The screeching of the steam whistle at the Williams-
burg station seemed a curious anachronism, a noisy, push-
ing impertinence, a strident voice of latter-day vulgar
haste. But when the big engine had rolled away, puffing
and blowing and screaming as if in mischievous and irrever-
ent effort to disturb the archaic dreams of the fast-asleep
town, the "exceeding peace" which always dwells in Wil-
liamsburg, fell upon our hilarious spirits. We wandered
about the streets with hushed voices and reverent eyes.
The throbbing pulse of the gay, stirring, rebellious heart of
the old capital of Virginia had been still for a century.
On entering Bruton church, the eye is first attracted
on the right of the chancel to the novel sight of the gover-
nor's seat, high canopied and richly upholstered in crim-
son and gilt. The high-backed chair is railed off from
the "common folk," and the name Alexander Spotswood
in gold lettering runs around the top of the canopy. At
once you realize that this was indeed the court church of
the vice-regal court at Williamsburg, and that you are in
old Colonial Virginia. The lines ' ' He rode with Spotswood
and Spotswood men," the knights of the "Golden Horse
Shoe," run through the brain, and the knightly figure of
Raleigh, the chivalric founder of the colony, and brave
John Smith and a score of others, heroes of that elder day,
come from out the shadowy past, and hover about one.
You look at the quaint old pulpit, on the left of the church,
with its high-sounding board, and then glance down at
the pew on your right, which bears the name of George
Washington, and opposite the plate on the pew reads
Thomas Jefferson, and next are James Madison and the
seven signers of the Declaration of Independance, and
Peyton Randolph and Patrick Henry and the doughty
members of the house of burgesses who worshiped here,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 47
and whose liberty-loving spirits fired the world with their
brave protests against tyranny. When you read these
names, suddenly the church seems full of the men who
bore them, and you are surrounded by that goodly company
of heroes who made Virginia and America, the cradle of
liberty. The magic spell is upon you. You turn cold and
burning hot with high enthusiasm and the glory of the
vision. You are roused from your trance by the pleasant
voice of the young minister, Mr. John Wing, who is saying :
"Now we will go down into the crypt."
There are treasures in the crypt indeed. We follow in
a dazed fashion, and are shown the Jamestown communion
service; the communion silver bearing the coat-of-arms of
King George III; the ancient communion silver of the
College of William and Mary; the Colonial prayer book,
with the prayer for the president pasted over the prayer
for King George III; a parish register of 1662, the pre-
Revolutionary Bible; coins found while excavating in the
church, and brass head-tack letters and figures by which
some of the graves in the aisles and chancel were indentified.
We are told that the date of parish was 1632, first brick
church, 1674-83; present church 1710-15. Precious and
deeply interesting, but I imagined that I could hear the
tread of that ' ' knightly company ' ' upstairs, who let neither
silver nor gold nor the glitter of the vice-regal court at
Williamsburg seduce them from their love of liberty, nor
dull their hatred of tyranny in its slightest exercise. Ah !
there were giants in those days among those Virginia
pioneers, in whose veins ran the hot blood of the cavalier,
who loved truth and hated a lie, who loved life and despised
danger, and feared not death nor "king nor kaiser,"
descendants of the valiant Jamestown colonists to whom
Nathaniel Bacon cried one hundred years before : ' ' Come
on, my hearts of gold ! ' '
The tombstones in the aisle and chancel of the church
include the tombs of two Colonial governors Francis Fau-
quier and Edmund Jennings and the graves of the great-
48 REVOLUTIONARY READER
grandfather, the grandfather and grandmother of Mrs.
Martha Washington. After reading the quaint inscription
on the marble mural tablet in memory of Colonel Daniel
Parke and the inscriptions on the bronze mural tablets
memorial to Virginia churchmen and patriots, we climb to
' ' Lord Dunmore 's gallery, ' ' where, tradition says, the boys
of William and Mary College used to be locked in for their
soul's edification until service was over, and where we sat
in Thomas Jefferson's accustomed place, from whence he
looked down upon the heads of the members of the house
of burgesses and the Colonial vestrymen of distinguished
memory. Is it any wonder that in such environment the
boy's dreamy aspirations crystallized into the high resolve
of becoming a patriot and statesman ? For in those stormy
days preceding the Revolution this little Bruton parish
church was a very Pantheon of living heroes.
Fiske, the New England historian, says that "the five
men who more than any others have shaped the future of
American history were Washington, Jefferson, Madison,
Marshall and Hamilton." All but Hamilton were Virgin-
ians and worshipers at Bruton church, and two of them
were students of the College of William and Mary. Dis-
tinction unrivaled for the state, the church, the college.
And now we walk into the church yard, under venerable
trees, among crumbling grave stones and see the Poca-
hontas baptismal font and the tombs of the Custis children
and Colonial Governor Knott.
We are shown the home of George Wythe, the signer of
the Declaration, the teacher of Jefferson, Monroe and Mar-
shall. Great teacher of greater pupils! Inspirer of high
thoughts and immortal deeds! One of the students at
William and Mary, Jefferson, wrote the declaration, three
were presidents, and another, John Marshall, was Chief
Justice of the United States. The headquarters of Wash-
ington, the site of the first theater in America, 1732, the
Ancient Palace green on the right hand of which is the
fictional home of Audrey, and several ancient colonial
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 49
homes are pointed out to us. If any vestige remains of
the old Releigh tavern, whose "Apollo" room was famous
as the gathering place of the burgesses, who, after their
dismissal in 1769 asked an agreement not to use or import
any article upon which a tax is laid it was not shown to
us.
The old powder horn or powder magazine, a curious
hexagonal building, has been admirably restored and stands
as a reminder of that dramatic scene in Virginia history
in 1775 when, after Lord Dunmore had removed the powder
from the magazine into one of the vessels in the James,
fearing an uprising of the colonists, Patrick Henry, with
an armed force from Hanover, stalked into the governor's
presence and demanded the return of the powder or its
equivalent in money. Lord Dunmore, looking into those
dauntless eyes, beholds the dauntless soul of the "Fire-
brand of the Revolution" behind them, and yields at once
and pays down 330 sterling. Patrick Henry, with
splendid audacity, seizes a pen and signs the receipt,
' ' Patrick Henry, Jr. ' ' making himself alone responsible for
this act of high treason, and then, that there may be no
doubt as to his signature, he has it attested by two dis-
tinguished gentlemen. What heroic daring! What im-
passioned love of liberty! While Peyton, Randolph and
Richard Henry Lee counsel caution, Patrick Henry acts
and becomes the inspired genius of the revolution, fusing
the disunited and hesitating colonies into a nation by the
white heat of his burning passion for freedom.
First in importance of all the historic places in Wil-
liamsburg is the venerable college of William and Mary.
Founded in 1693, next to Harvard the oldest college in the
United States, it soon became the ' ' intellectual center of the
colony of Chesapeake Bay, ' ' the alma mater of the patriots
who fought for the life of the young republic and of the
statesmen who formed its constitution and guided its course
in its infant years. It has furnished to our country fifteen
senators and seventy representatives in congress; thirty-
50 REVOLUTIONARY READER
seven judges, and Chief Justice Marshall; "seventeen
governors of states and three presidents of the United
States Jefferson, Monroe and Tyler. James JBlair, a
Scotchman, was its first president and remained so for fifty
years. The ivy-clad buildings of the old college nestle
among ancient trees on a wide campus, and so venerable
is the look of the place that the new hall seems a modern
intruder, though of quiet and well-mannered architecture.
The quiet air of scholarly seclusion reminds one of Oxford.
It was commencement day, and we found the buildings
decorated with white and yellow, the college colors. The
chapel, with its oil paintings of presidents, donors and
patriots, and the library with its rare volumes and price-
less old documents and portraits and engravings, are full
of interest. A marble statue of one of the old governors
Botetourt, I believe stands in the silence of the centuries
in front of the old college.
"Yas'm ris de place, de house er buggesses, dey call
it, 'cause de big bugs of ole Virginny sot dere er making
laws. 'Fo de Lawd, marm, dey wuz big bugs ; quality folks,
quality folks." And John Randolph, our colored coach-
man, waved his hand with a proud air of ownership, as if
he were displaying lofty halls with mahogany stairs and
marble pillars, instead of the mortar and brick foundation,
in its bare outline, of the old capitol, or House of
Burgesses.
"Walk right in, suh. Bring de ladies dis way, boss,"
John Randolph urged, in a tone of lordly hospitality.
"Right hyah is the charmber (room) whar Marse Patrick
Henry made dat great speech agin de king old Marse
King George or bossin' uv de colonies. He wuz er
standing on dis very spot, and he lif ' up his voice like a
lion and he sez, sez he "
"What did he say?" as the old man paused.
Striking a dramatic attitude, the gray-haired old
Virginia darky rolled out in sonorous voice, with impas-
sioned gesture:
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 51
"Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus, Charles the
First his Cromwell and George the Third " "Treason!
treason!" said the speaker of the house. "May profit by
their example. If that be treason, make the most of it."
In spite of John Randolph's oratory, RothermeFs paint-
ing came before me, and I could see the Virginia cavaliers
gazing at the speaker with startled, breathless look, while
the colonial dames with their powdered hair and stiff
brocade leaned eagerly forward in the gallery to catch each
note of the immortal voice; and in the doorway stood
Thomas Jefferson, the slim young student of William and
Mary College, electrified by the fiery eloquence, "such as
I had never heard from any other man," he said: "he
appeared to me to speak as Homer wrote."
"But why didn't you say 'Give me liberty or give me
death,' Uncle John?" asked the young interrogation point
of the party.
' ' 'Cause Marse Patrick never said dem words here,
chile. He spoke 'em in old St. John's Church up in Rich-
mond ten year arterwards. I gin you his Williamsburg
speech, his fust great speech. ' ' And the darky orator and
historian smiled with that superior wisdom which we had
seen illumminate the dark Italian features of Antonio
Griffenreid, the famous sexton of old St. John's as he
enlightened the ignorance of a party of sightseers Atlanta
Constitution.
52 REVOLUTIONARY READER
SONG OF THE REVOLUTION.
We love the men and women, too,
Who fought and worked and brought us through
Our glorious revolution;
Hard was the struggle, brave the fight,
That won for them the sovereign right
To frame a Constitution.
CHORUS.
This Constitution made us free
In this proud land of liberty
The best in all creation
And we'll stand by it while we live;
Whatever we may have we'll give
For its perpetuation.
Our Country is the fairest one
Kissed by the ever rolling sun
We glory in our nation ;
And we will see that it shall be
The happy land of liberty,
Through time's continuation.
Francis H. Orme.
This song has been adopted as a State song by the
Daughters of the American Revolution of Georgia, and as
a national song by the Continental Congress 1906.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 53
A TRUE STORY OF THE REVOLUTION.
BY MRS. M. S. D 'VAUGHN.
Archibald Bullock Chapter, D. A. E., Montezuma, Oa.
This is a story of how a woman 's wit and tact saved her
husband's life from the hands of the Tories, in the dark
days of the Revolution.
It was in South Carolina, the British General, Corn-
wallis, had ordered any American sympathizer caught, to
be hung or shot at sight. Numberless outrages had been
done and the feeling was intensely bitter against the Tories,
or Royalists, as they called themselves. Especially so was
it in the section of the country where lived Elizabeth
Robert. Her husband was fighting with Marion, the
"Swamp Fox," in another part of the state and the only
protector for herself and two young children was a faith-
ful slave called "Daddy Cyrus." Here on her plantation
Elizabeth spent her days living quietly enough. However,
she was no idler, but rather a most thrifty housewife and
her muscadine wine excelled any other and was known far
and wide for its delicious flavor.
Now, John Robert grew restless, as the days passed
and no word came from his wife, so obtaining leave of
absence from General Marion, he quietly slipped through
the lines, and by a devious route, appeared one dark night
at the door of his home. But some foreign eye had noted
the unusual happiness and excitement in the "big house"
as it was called, and in a short while it was surrounded, and
Capt. John was a prisoner in the hands of the Tories.
Mary, with tears, pleaded for her husband's life, but to no
purpose, and dawn was to see his dead body hanging from
the limb of a huge oak near by. Tears availing nothing,
Elizabeth 's quick brain began to teem with plans for John 's
escape.
Slipping down to "Daddy Cyrus' " cabin, she told him
of her plan of rescue, then back to her house she ran, her
54 REVOLUTIONARY READER
absence not having been noted. Then bringing all her
womanly beauty, graciousness and charm to bear upon the
Tories, she inticed them into the dining room, leaving her
husband tightly bound to the tree where he was to meet
his death, and then from her mahogany sideboard, she
served to them her famous muscadine wine. Drink after
drink, she offered them, while her smiles and gay repartee
allured them. More more and yet more, until their
befuddled wits were completely gone.
Then faithful old "Daddy Cyrus" waiting, watching,
guarding, with his sharp knife, cut the bonds of his "Young
Marster, ' ' and into the darkness Capt. John was gone back
to his comrades with a hurried kiss from the lips of his
wife who had saved him.
The Tories were persuaded that the wine was the cause
of their hazy belief of the capture of Capt. John Robert,
and no harm was done to Elizabeth.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 55
GEORGIA.
Poem composed by Mrs. C. M. O'Hara and read before
David Meriwether Chapter, Greenville, Ga., Georgia day,
1911.
Georgia, the baby of the original thirteen,
Not, however, youngest in importance, I ween,
Was born to the colonies in seventeen thirty-two,
To help those in prison their lives to renew.
What Oglethorpe planned for this child of his heart
Was that rum and slaves of it should not be a part,
But this wayward child would have her own way,
In spite of her mistakes she has made up to date,
Georgia is called of the South the Empire State.
She was the fifth of her sisters in secession to say,
"The Union she'd leave" when there was not fair play.
This child of famous men has sent her portion
From the "marshes of Glynn" to the Pacific Ocean.
Near Savannah, where Oglethorpe first planted his foot,
Ebenezer, the first orphanage, has taken firm root.
Another distinction, too, fair Georgia can claim
Is the first college for women, Wesleyan by name.
Towering intellects she reared in her Toombs and her Hills;
She can boast of her factories and her mills;
She has kept pace with her sisters in every movement
That tends to her children's uplift and improvement.
Now in heathen lands, across the deep waters,
Performing deeds of mercy are Georgia's sons and daughters.
56 REVOLUTIONARY READER
FORTS OF GEORGIA.
Miss FRANCIS CLARKE.
Prize Essay of Girls' High School, Atlanta, Georgia, for
the loving cup offered by Joseph Habersham Chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution.
The forts of Georgia, though for the most part hur-
riedly and roughly built for protection against Indian,
Spaniards, Englishman, or Federal, have nevertheless been
the scenes of the bravest defenses, of the most courageous
deeds. In them probably more than anywhere else, the
men of Georgia have shown their hardy spirits and dis-
tressing trials. Never has a Georgia fort been surrendered
except from absolute necessity, though its protectors were
weak from starvation.
The first of the long list of five hundred forts that have
been erected in Georgia is Fort Charles, on the northeastern
coast of Georgia. It was built about 1562 by the direction
of John Ribault, who with a party of Huguenots had come
from France with the approval of Admiral Coligny, the
Protestant leader at that time. Two years later the fort
was abandoned, and there is now no sign to point out the
spot where it once stood.
FORT ARGYLE.
Fort Argyle was the next fort on Georgia soil. It was
built by Oglethorpe in 1733 for the protection of his
Savannah colony. Then followed a wonderful series of
forts, when you consider the few people in Georgia at that
time and the dangers of traveling on account of the Indians.
But Oglethorpe, braving all perils in the next four or five
years had established Forts Thunderbolt, near Savannah;
St. Simon, on St. Simon's Island; Frederick, at Frederica,
on the same island; Fort William and Fort Andrews, on
Cumberland Island, besides several other unimportant ones
such as the fort on Jekyl Island and those along the Alta-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 57
maha. These forts, especially Fort William and Fort
Andrews, served as a great protection from the Indians
and the Spaniards; but as time went on, the Spaniards
ceased invading the country, the Indians were forced west-
ward, and the forts fell into disuse. Indeed by the opening
of the Revolution, scarcely a vestige remained of these once
important forts.
For some years preceding the Revolution the white
settlers on the frontier had much trouble with the Indians,
and they began to build forts inland to the westward. In
1774, at Fort Sherrill's, about three hundred men, women
and children were massacred. These dreadful massacres
continued all during the Revolution at the instigation of
the British, and added to the many other troubles of the
Georgians the expense of keeping up these frontier forts.
At the opening of the Revolution, though the forts were
in sad repair, nevertheless there was a great rush of the
Royalists and of the Rebels to get possession of them. The
Royalists were at first the more successful. Augusta with
Forts Grierson and Cornwallis, Savannah with Forts
Argyle and Halifax, Fort Barrington on the Altamaha,
and the recently erected Fort Morris south of Sunbury,
were all soon in the hands of the British. These positions
were all strong and well fortified. The Rebels were not
nearly so fortunate, The forts they held were mostly
ruins. Fort Mclntosh on the Satilla River was the first of
their possessions to be beseiged by the British. Captain
Richard Winn held the fort with all his powers of endur-
ance against Colonel Fuser, but, with his reinforcements
cut off, he was soon obliged to surrender.
PROCEED AGAINST AUGUSTA.
Soon, however, the opportunity of the patriots came.
1781 was the beginning of the change in affairs. Having
seized Fort Carr and Fort Howe as the center of operations,
the Americans proceeded against Augusta. Colonel Grier-
son, who was in charge of the fort that bore his name,
58 REVOLUTIONARY READER
soon surrendered here, but Colonel Brown was obstinate
and strong in his position at Fort Cornwallis. In the
end, after an eighteen days' siege, he, too, acknowledged
himself beaten.
After varying vicissitudes, the British were finally
forced to give up all their strongholds, and thus the Revolu-
tionary forts played their part in history.
During the years that followed there would have been
no necessity for any forts in Georgia had it not been for
the Indians, especially during the war of 1812, in which
the Indians were incited by the British to give trouble.
Until 1836 the forts in most general use against the In-
dians were Forts Hawkins, Mims, Scott and Mitchell.
With the passing of the Indian troubles the Georgia
forts were left to absolute ruin, and, when in 1861 the Civil
War burst upon the country, there was great need to
fortify the land against the enemy. Accordingly, Fort
Pulaski, on Cockspur Island, not far from Savannah, was
strongly fortified at the cost of $80,000, and Colonel Olm-
stead with 350 men was placed in command. Receiving
word from the enemy to surrender the fort, he answered,
"I am here to defend the fort, not to surrender it"; but
in 1862 the brave commander was obliged to surrender his
treasure.
DuPoNT EXPEDITION.
Fort McAllister, though not so strong as Fort Pulaski,
being only an earthwork with sand parapets, was notwith-
standing an equally important position. Admiral du Pont
in 1863 was sent to seize it, but the expedition failed; in
1864, General Hazen's division of General Sherman's army
took this fort from Major George W. Anderson. In his
letter north, General Sherman praised Georgia's sons for
their brave resistance. The surrender of Fort McAllister
led in a few days to the surrender of Savannah and the
quick ending of the war.
After the Civil War, forts were again neglected and
even the new forts began to decay. Throughout Georgia
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 59
today are to be seen her picturesque, ivy-grown forts, and
these are a source of never-failing interest to visitors.
The only regular military post now in Georgia is the
beautiful Fort McPherson. This fort covering about two
hundred and thirty-six acres, is four miles from Atlanta.
It was established by the United States government in 1867
with the name of McPherson 's Barracks ; it has a postoffice
and telegraph station. It has never yet been called into
service. Let us hope that it will be many days before Fort
McPherson adds its historic story to those of Georgia's
ether forts.
JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE.
James Oglethorpe came of a very old family in England.
His father, Sir Theophilus, was a soldier under James II,
and went into banishment with him. Just before the
abdication of James II, James Oglethorpe, the seventh
child and fourth son, was born. At sixteen he entered the
University at Oxford, when he was twenty-two, entered the
British Army as Ensign, and was soon made Lieutenant of
the Queen 's Life Guards. His soldier life was spent largely
on the continent. He became heir to the estate in Surrey
and was shortly after elected to the British Parliament, of
which body he remained a member for thirty-two years.
He was an active member of the House of Commons, a
Deputy Governor of the Royal African Society and a
gentleman of high position and independent means, and
withal a man of genuine piety. He conceived the plan of
establishing a colony in America, which should be a refuge
for poor people.
The following description of Oglethorpe is by Rev.
Thomas B. Gregory :
"February 12, 1733, Oglethorpe and his Colonists scaled
the Yamacraw bluffs on the Savannah River and began
laying the foundations of the State of Georgia.
60 REVOLUTIONARY READER
"The Empire State of the South had its origin in the
noblest impulses that swell the human heart. Its founder,
the accomplished and philanthropic Oglethorpe, witnessing
about him in the old world the inhumanity of man to man,
seeing the prisons full of impecunious debtors, and the
highways thronged with the victims of religious fanaticism
and spite, resolved that he would find in the new world
an asylum for the unfortunate ones where they should be
no more oppressed by the rich or dragooned by the bigoted.
The colony started out beautifully. The men who had
been pining in English jails because they could not pay the
exactions of their hard-hearted creditors, and the Salzbur-
gers and others, who, in Austria and Germany, had been
made to feel the terrors of religious fanaticism, were glad
to be free, and they were only too willing to accept the
founder's will that there would be no slavery in Georgia.
The institution got a foothold much later on, but it was not
the fault of the original colonists.
Beautiful, too, were the initial relationships between the
colonists and the red men. Old To-mo-chi-chi, the Chief of
the surrounding Indians, presenting Oglethorpe with a
Buffalo skin ornamented with the picture of an eagle, said
to him : ' I give you this which I want you to accept. The
eagle means speed and the buffalo strength. The English
are swift as the bird and strong as the beast, since like the
one, they flew over the seas to the uttermost parts of the
earth, and, like the other, they are strong and nothing can
resist them. The feathers of the eagle are soft and means
love ; the buffalo skin is warm and means protection. Then
I hope the English will love and protect our little families. '
Alas! the time was to come when the white man would
forget To-mo-chi-chi 's present and the spirit with which it
was made.
In 1743 Oglethorpe left Georgia forever, after having
given it the best that there was in his head and heart for
ten years. In 1752 Georgia became a royal province, and
remained such until the breaking out of the Revolution in
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 61
1775, through which she helped her sister colonies to fight
their way to victory, when she took her place among the
"old thirteen" free and independent states.
THE CONDITION OF GEORGIA DURING THE
REVOLUTION.
When the American Colonies of Great Britain deter-
mined to rebel at the stubborn demands of the mother
country, Georgia had least cause to join the revolutionary
movement.
This colony was by fifty years the youngest of the
"original thirteen," and had been specially favored by
England. She was the largest, but the weakest, of all the
provinces. The landless of other countries and of other
colonies had come in large numbers to obtain a home where
they might own the soil they tilled. At the beginning of the
Revolution the total population of Georgia was about
20,000 whites and 17,000 blacks.
Georgia was now exporting rice, indigo, and skins to
Europe, and lumber, horses, and provisions to the "West
Indies. Tobacco was cultivated with great success by the
settlers, and all necessaries of life were easily raised on her
soil.
The province boasted of one weekly newspaper, called
the "Georgia Gazette," which was published every Thurs-
day at Savannah.
Since 1760 the colony had prospered greatly under Sir
James Wright, who was one of the most capable and
devoted of the British provincial governors. There were
few local grievances, and many of the people did not wish
to defy the home authority.
But they realized that this restful condition could not
long continue, for they occupied an exceedingly dangerous
position. The sea coast was easily seized by the British,
and they were also exposed to the attacks of the British in
62 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Florida, as well as the many savage tribes of Indians on
the north and west.
Thus threatened on all sides, Georgia thought it best to
join her sister colonies, that she might have protection.
The news of the battle of Lexington removed all hesita-
tion, and united the people of Georgia in the determination
to assert their rights. Georgia rallied her mountaineer
riflemen to the cause of liberty.
Right manfully did her raw, untrained volunteers re-
spond to the burning, eloquent appeal of Patrick Henry,
the Virginian. His speech awoke the sleeping pride of the
South, and aroused her sons to action.
Georgia strove to equip her little band of patriots, but
she had but few resources. Congress gave her all the aid pos-
sible, but soldiers and funds were required everywhere,
and Georgia's share was very small. Her sole dependence
for protection was her 3,000 raw militia. There were
40,000 Indians to the north and west with 10,000 warriors !
The British bought the friendship of the Indians with
presents which the colonists could not afford.
From the first of this war Georgia kept her representa-
tives in the Continental Congress, which met to form
plans for mutual protection and defense. In these dark
days men thought little of government, nor was much
required. Liberty and food and clothing for their families
were the principals for which the patriots were now
striving.
Many deserters of the American cause took refuge in
Florida. These were called Tories. Many of them were
lawless men, and continually harassed the colonists of
South Georgia. They joined the British and Indians, and
made plundering expeditions, sweeping down on the
defenseless people, burning the houses, ruining the fields,
and committing the most atrocious crimes.
Up to this time, Georgia had often sent food supplies
to her countrymen in the north, but now food became so
63
scarce that the governor forbade the exportation of any
kind of provisions.
Colonel Brown, who vowed to wreak vengeance on
every American citizen, now fulfilled his vow to the utter-
most. His murderous bands made their raids in every
direction ; no mercy was shown to anyone who befriended a
patriot.
It seems that the spirit of resistance in the hearts of the
people of Georgia would have been crushed by these long
continued atrocities. But they never left the field, although
often forced to abandon their homes and sometimes even
to leave the state.
What better example of the hardihood of the pioneer
women of Georgia than in the story of Nancy Hart, a
remarkable woman who lived in Elbert County at this
time?
When many of the women and children who lived in
her neighborhood left their homes to escape the cruelty of
Brown's raiders, Nancy Hart remained at home to protect
her little property.
How we all love the story of how this rough, simple
mountaineer woman outwitted the band of British red
coats who demanded food at her cabin.
While she served the meal, she cleverly managed to
keep their attention diverted while she signaled for aid,
and hid their arms, which they had stacked in a corner.
Then, when she was discovered, she covered them with a
musket, and, true to her word, shot down the first who
stepped forward.
Thus did the women of Georgia meet the dangers to
which they were exposed in these perilous times.
When Augusta had been abandoned by the British,
many of the inhabitants who had refugeed, returned, hop-
ing for better times. Colonels Elizah Clarke and John
Dooly untiringly guarded the frontiers, which were con-
tinually threatened by the Tories and Indians. Their zeal
64 REVOLUTIONARY READER
encouraged the people, and kept the spirit of liberty awake
in the hearts of the sorely-tried patriots.
But their sufferings were not yet over. Savannah must
yet be taken from the British. In the long, weary struggle,
the brave revolutionists were greatly aided by the French.
The bombardment of Savannah lasted five days. The
unfortunate inhabitants suffered greatly. Houses were
riddled by shot and shell. Helpless women, children, and
old men were forced to seek safety in damp cellars, and
even then, many were killed by shots intended for the
enemy.
How sad to think of the many precious lives lost in
that bloody fray, and the hopes crushed in the hearts
of the survivors !
The British still held Savannah, the French sailed
away, and the American army retreated northward, leaving
Georgia to the enemy.
The death blow had been dealt to the hopes of Georgia.
The Tories, exulting in the humiliation of the state, now
made raids in every direction, insulting, robbing, and
persecuting, the discouraged patriots barbarously. They
seized whatever they coveted, clothing, jewels, plate, fur-
niture or negroes. They even beat little children to force
them to tell where valuables were hidden.
No mercy was shown to old men who had stayed at
home to protect their families. They and their families
were driven from the state. All means of conveyance being
taken away, even the women and children were forced to
make the journey on foot. But the majority of our people
were so poor that they were obliged to remain at home,
and endure trials more grievous than before.
The conduct of British soldiers in Savannah was such
that Whig families residing there found it almost un-
endurable. But the women bore these hardships with a
fortitude becoming the wives of patriots.
At last, three years after the seige of Savannah,
Georgia was free of the hated British. Gradually the
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 65
people returned to their former homes and vocations. But
what a sad home-coming ! War had laid its desolating hand
upon the face of the country.
The state was full of widows and orphans, fully one
half of all the available property of her people was swept
away, the fields were uncultivated, and there was no money
to repair losses. Her boundaries were not well defined,
and large tracts of land in her limits were still held by the
Indians. Truly, the condition of Georgia was deplorable !
But there was no repining, for the patriots, rejoicing in
their liberty, cheerfully set to work to lay the foundations
of future prosperity. Gladly they had given their all as
the price of Liberty ! Etowah Chapter.
FORT RUTLEDGE OF THE REVOLUTION.
BY MRS. P. H. MELL.
When the Calhoun plantation (in South Carolina),
upon which Clemson College is now located, was purchased
in 1826, it was called ' ' Clergy Hall. ' ' It received this name
because the original mansion was built by the Rev. James
Mcllhenny who resided there with his son-in-law, the Rev.
James Murphy. An old Revolutionary fort known in
history as Fort Rutledge was upon this estate, crowning a
hill overlooking the Seneca River and when Mr. Calhoun
took possession of the place, he changed its name to "Fort
Hill. ' ' Although fifty years had elapsed since the fort was
built and doubtless there were few remains of it to be seen
at that time, still many were living who remembered it
well, and the hill upon which it stood was known from the
earliest settlement of the country by the name of "Fort
Hill."
One of the most beautiful drives on the Clemson
property is the road to Fort Rutledge which is about a mile
from the college. This road winds through rich cornfields
66
of bottom land; it then rises gently to the top of a long
level ridge which slopes precipitously down to the fields on
one hand and the Seneca River on the other; trees and
shrubs thickly clothe the sides of this ridge and beautiful
and extended views can be seen in every direction. Looking
to the east, Clemson College, seated upon an opposite hill,
with its many buildings and the dwellings of the com-
munity presents an ideal picture of loveliness ; on the north,
the Blue Ridge mountains, forty miles away, are clearly
seen with several lofty ranges ; to the west and south, the
eye follows the river winding through smiling valleys, the
cultivated fields green with promise which is always ful-
filled.
This boldly commanding ridge, overlooking the sur-
rounding country, was well adapted for an outlook during
the conflicts between the Indians and the early settlers.
The Seneca Indians had one of their largest towns on the
river at the base of the hill, extending for four miles on
both sides, the hundreds of acres of inexhaustible bottom
land supplying them bountifully with corn even with the
crudest methods of cultivation.
Nothing remains of the old fort to-day but the aban-
doned well, which has been filled and is marked by a tangled
growth of weeds and shrubs, and the cellar of the old
lookout tower or five sided bastion ; this is faced with brick
and the shape can be seen distinctly.
One of the early battles of the Revolution was fought
near Fort Hill at Seneca town at its base. This town was
one of note among the Indians and up to this day arrow
heads and other implements of war or household use may be
found upon its site. For generations the Indians preserved
a strong attachment for this spot and up to the time that
the college began its active work, "Bushy Head," an
Indian Chief from the Cherokee reservation in North
Carolina, would lead a band here every summer.
The story of the battle here is taken from official reports
and from McCrady's "History of South Carolina."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 67
During the spring of 1776, the Tory leaders, Stuart and
Cameron, had informed the Cherokees that a British fleet
was coming to attack Charleston and as soon as they heard
of its arrival they must fall upon the up-country pioneer
settlements and destroy them. With the British to fight
in the south and the combined Tories and Indians in the
north it was believed that the province would soon be
subjugated. The news came to the Indians on the eve of
July 1st and at the dawn of day they were on the warpath
slaying every white person they could capture, without
distinction of age or sex. At this time the Hamptons were
massacred with many other families.
Mr. Francis Salvador lived on Corn-acre or Coronaca
creek in Ninety-six district. He was one of the few mem-
bers of the provincial congress from the up-country, a man
of much ability, enthusiasm and patriotism. When the
dreadful tidings of the Indian uprising reached him that
day, he mounted his horse and galloped to the home of
Major Andrew Williamson, twenty-eight miles away; he
found that officer already aroused to the horrors of the
situation and busily endeavoring to collect forces. But the
settlers were terror stricken, several hundred had been
murdered and the survivors had but one thought and that
was to get their families safely into the nearest forts. He
waited two days and only forty men had volunteered.
With this small band Major Williamson with Mr. Salvador
started on the 3rd of July for the Indian villages resolved
to punish them severely. But when the settlers had pro-
vided for the safety of their wives and children, many of
them hurried to join him and on the 5th there were 110
men with him, on the 8th his band increased to 222 and on
the 16th they numbered 450; re-inf or cements came from
Charlestown and also from Georgia and on the 22nd of
July he was at the head of 1,150 men. Meanwhile he had
been advancing from his home towards the Cherokee
country and was encamped on Baker's creek, a few miles
above Moffattsville. Here his scouts brought him the news
68 REVOLUTIONARY READER
that Alexander Cameron, thirteen white men and a band
of Indians were camped on Oconore Creek about thirty
miles away, and Williamson determined to surprise and
capture them before they could hear of his proximity. He
therefore selected with care three hundred and thirty horse-
men, the brave Mr. Salvador accompanying him and started
about six o'clock on the evening of July 31st planning to
surprise the enemy before day. About two in the morning
of the first day of August they drew near the town of
Essenecca (or Seneca) . A party of his men who had visited
the place two days before had reported to him that the
town was thoroughly evacuated; trusting to this report he
carelessly neglected to send out advance scouts, rode into
an ambush and was surprised and completely routed by the
Indians at this town. Quoting Major Williamson's report
of the event :
"The enemy either having discovered my inarch or laid
themselves in ambush with a design to cut off my spies or party I
had sent out, had taken possession of the first houses in Seneca,
and posted themselves behind a long fence on an eminence close
to the road where we were to march, and to prevent being dis-
covered had filled up the openings between the rails, with corn
blades, etc. They suffered the guides and advance guard to pass,
when a gun from the house was discharged (meant I suppose as a
signal for those placed behind the fence, who a few seconds after-
wards poured in a heavy fire upon my men), which being unex-
pected, staggered my advance party. Here Mr. Salvador received
three wounds and fell by my side; my horse was shot down under
me but I received no hurt. Lieut. Farar of Capt. Prince's Com-
pany immediately supplied me with his. I desired him to take
care of Mr. Salvador, but before he could find him in the dark,
the enemy unfortunately got his scalp which was the only one
taken. Capt. Smith, son of the late Capt. Aaron Smith, saw the
Indian, but thought it was his servant taking care of his master
or could have prevented it. He died about half-after two o'clock
in the morning, forty-five minutes after he received the wounds,
sensible to the last. When I came up to him after dislodging the
enemy, and speaking to him, he asked whether I had beat the
enemy, I told him yes, he said he was glad of it, and shook me
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 69
by the hand, and bade me farewell and said he would die in a
few minutes. Two men died in the morning, and six more who
were badly wounded I have since sent down to the settlements
and given directions to Dr. DeLaTowe and Eussell to attend them.
I remained on the ground till daybreak and burnt the houses on
this side of the river and afterwards crossed the river; the same
day reduced Seneca entirely to ashes."
An Extract from another report gives further particu-
lars :
"The Indian spies had observed the Major's march and
alarmed their camp; upon which about thirty Indians and as
many white men went to Seneca and placed themselves in ambush.
The Indians had one killed and three wounded.
"Seneca, four miles long on each side of the river with six
thousand bushels of corn, &c, burned August 1st.
"Sugar Town and Keowee, Aug. 4th."
The account given by McCrady in his History of South
Carolina is a little more unfavorable than Major William-
son's:
"Major Williamson's forces, completely surprised, broke away
and fled in the greatest confusion. The enemy kept up a constant
fire which the retreating militia returned at random, as dangerous
to their friends who were willing to advance against the enemy
as it was to the enemy themselves. Fortunately Lieutenant
Colonel Hammond rallied a party of about twenty men, and,
making an unexpected charge, repulsed the savage foe and
escaped. The Indians lost but one man killed and three wounded;
of Major Williamson's party three died from their wounds and
fourteen were badly injured. When daylight arrived he burnt
that part of Esseneca town which was on the eastern side of the
Keowee River, and later Col. Hammond crossed the river burnt,
that on the western side as well and destroyed all the provisions,
computed at six thousand bushels of Indian corn, besides peas
and other articles. The object of overtaking Cameron and his
associates having been thus defeated Williamson retreated and
joined his camp at Twenty-three Mile Creek."
The loss of Mr. Salvador was greatly deplored by the
province. He was a man of prominence, intelligence and
70 REVOLUTIONARY READER
worth and his services to the American cause would have
been most valuable. An interesting sketch of his life may
be found in Elzas "History of Jews of South Carolina,"
written by Mr. A. S. Salley.
On the 8th of August, 1776, Williamson marched with
640 men upon the Indian towns. They destroyed Ostatoy,
Tugaloo, Tomassee, Chehohee and Eustash ; every bit of the
corn was burned and the Indians were forced to live upon
roots and berries, etc. The expedition was most successful
and completely retrieved the defeat at Seneca. McCrady
states that about this time Major Williamson was appointed
colonel of the Ninety-six Regiment and upon Colonel Wil-
liamson's return to his camp he found that numbers of his
men had gone home, forced to do so from fatigue, want of
clothes, and other necessaries and that many who had
remained were in equal distress. He was obliged therefore
to grant furloughs ordering them to rejoin him at Esseneca
on the 28th to which place he marched on the 16th with
about six hundred men. Here he erected a fort, which in
honor of the president of South Carolina, he called Fort
Rutledge.
Upon the breaking out of this war application had been
made to North Carolina and Virginia to co-operate with
the forces of South Carolina in this region. Each of these
states complied and raised a body of troops. The first
under General Rutherford, to act in conjunction with the
South Carolinians on this side the mountains, and the other
under Colonel Christie, to act against the over-hill Chero-
kees. But Colonel Williamson had destroyed all the lower
settlements before the North Carolinians under General
Rutherford took the field.
Colonel Williamson now having increased his force to
2,300 men, broke up the camp at Esseneca; leaving 300
men as a guard to the inhabitants and as a garrison to
Fort Rutledge he marched with about 2,000 men to co-
operate with General Rutherford.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 71
History tells us that the campaign was successful; the
Indians received lessons they never forgot; in less than
three months the Cherokees lost 2,000 and humbled and
broken in spirit; they sued for peace on any terms. A
treaty of pacification was signed and the Indians yielded
to South Carolina a large tract of land embracing the
counties of Anderson, Pickens, Oconee and Greenville.
So this is the story of the building and holding of Fort
Rutledge. The remains of the old fort are well worth
preserving for its foundations were laid in a period of
storm and stress and suffering ; its rude walls frowned upon
the Indians early in the Revolution; its watch tower kept
guard so that the settler 's family in his humble cabin might
rest in peace ; with its little garrison of three hundred men
it did its work well and effectually intimidated the enemies
of the province in this part of the country.
After the Revolutionary war it was abandoned and
gradually fell into ruins and decay but the name "Fort
Hill" has always clung to it and the site never has been
forgotten. American Monthly, 1907.
72 REVOLUTIONARY READER
THE EFFORTS OF LAFAYETTE FOR THE
CAUSE OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
BY BESSIE CAROLYN McCLAiN.
Gloversville High School, Gloversville, N. Y.
Probably no other foreigner accomplished so much or
sympathized so deeply with the cause of American Inde-
pendence as did the Marquis de Lafayette. A French
nobleman by birth, an heir to an immense estate at thirteen,
married to one of the most beautiful ladies of the French
Court, he chose a life of privation and hardship, to one of
luxury and idleness. The love of liberty, inherent in his
soul, made him a champion of the cause which seemed the
last chance for liberty to obtain a foothold upon the earth.
From the time the situation of the English American
colonies was made known in France, in 1776, until they
became a free and independent nation, he gave himself,
heart and soul, to their cause. He served them both by his
personal qualities and by his active efforts, as a French
nobleman, and as an American soldier and general.
The qualities by which Lafayette most aided this
country in its great conflict, were his love of liberty,
enthusiasm, generosity and loyalty. His love of liberty
first made him interested in the struggle of the American
Colonies with their Mother Country, and this same love of
liberty kept him enthused in the cause, and gave him the
strength and courage to depart from his home, his friends
and his country. Indeed it was the root of the other
qualities by which he did us service.
When once his enthusiasm was aroused, nothing could
diminish it. When he heard that the credit of the "insur-
gents" was so low that they couldn't possibly provide him
a ship, he said in that case they needed him all the more,
and he bought one with his own money. It was enthusiasm
that led him to the front in the battle of Brandywine. It
was enthusiasm that made him ride seventy miles and back,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 73
for the French fleet when it was needed so sorely. Of
course, was not his motto ''cur mm?"
In all his dealings with this country, he showed his
generosity and disinterest. What was it if not generosity,
when at his own expense, he fitted out the ship that brought
him and the other officers to this country? How many
times during the war did he clothe his soldiers and supply
their wants when the country couldn't? He proved his
disinterested devotion to the satisfaction of Congress, when
he offered to serve as a volunteer without pay and at his
own expense. Gladly did he forego the comforts and
pleasures to which education and rank entitled him, and
bear with the soldiers every hardship and privation. When,
chiefly through his influence, France agreed to send aid to
America, and offered him a commission, he refused it so
as not to arouse jealousy among other Frenchmen. Was
not this unselfish love of liberty of the plainest type ?
His most striking characteristic, and I think the one by
which he did us the most service, was his loyalty. It
strengthened Washington to have one man upon whom he
could rely so completely. When Gates was trying to stir
up trouble against him and had appointed Lafayette to
take charge of an invasion into Canada over which he had
no control, he urged him to accept, because it would be
safer with him than any one else. Lafayette did accept
and he carried it out in such a way that Gates' scheme
failed completely. At the Battle of Monmouth, too, when
Washington sent Charles Lee to command over him, he
showed his loyalty to Washington by submitting quietly
and doing all he could to bring a victory out of a defeat.
But what counted most, perhaps, was the faithfulness with
which he carried out every order no matter how small and
unimportant.
Lafayette also aided this country by his active efforts as
a French nobleman. He induced France and Spain to
join in preparing a fleet against the British, and it was not
his fault that Spain kept putting it off until too late he
74 REVOLUTIONARY READER
made the effort. He did succeed in raising the popularity
of the Colonies in France, and in securing six thousand
troops under Rochambeau, a fleet under d'Estaing and
supplies for our soldiers. After the French forces arrived,
he was very useful in keeping harmony between the armies,
because of his influence over his own countrymen as well as
Americans.
Lafayette was one of the most faithful soldiers as well as
one of the best generals, this country had during the Revo-
lutionary War. From the time he offered himself as a
volunteer, until the war was over he served the country
faithfully and well. At the very beginning of his career
in this country, he became "Washington's aide-de-camp, and
as such learned a great deal of the latter 's methods of fight-
ing. In this capacity he was in the thick of the battle of
Brandywine and did much, by his ready daring to encour-
age the soldiers. Before a wound, which he received in this
battle, had entirely healed, and while he was out to recon-
noitre, he came unexpectedly upon a large body of Hes-
sians. He attacked boldly, and they, believing they were
fighting all of Greene's men, retreated. Thus he was ever
ready with his wit and daring.
Throughout the long dreary months when the army
was wintering at Valley Forge, Lafayette suffered with the
soldiers and helped alleviate the misery as best he could.
It was during this winter that Gates and Conway made the
conspiracy to put "Washington out of power and to put
Gates in his stead. To accomplish this, they wished to
secure Lafayette's help, so they contrived to put him at the
head of an expedition into Canada, with Conway second in
command. Upon Washington's entreaty he accepted the
commission, but under such conditions that they knew
beforehand that their scheme was a failure. When he
arrived at Albany, he saw that nothing was ready for an
invasion of Canada, and that the affair could be nothing
but a disappointment to America and Europe, and a
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 75
humiliation to himself, nevertheless he made the most of his
time by improving the forts and pacifying the Indians.
When the British left Philadelphia, "Washington
wished to follow and force a battle, and, when General Lee
laid down his command, put Lafayette in charge. Hardly
had the latter started, when Charles Lee asked for the com-
mand again. Washington could not recall Lafayette, yet he
wished to pacify Lee, so he trusted to Lafayette's affection
for himself, and sent Lee ahead with two extra divisions,
when, as senior officer, he would take charge of the whole.
Lafayette retired, sensibly, and did all he could to rally the
battle that Lee was conducting so poorly. Finally he sent
for Washington the only man that could save the day.
The only real opportunity Lafayette had, of showing
his generalship, was in the southern campaign of 1781,
when he was placed in charge of a thousand light infantry
and ordered to check the raids of the British. By a rapid
march he forestalled Philips, who was threatening valuable
stores at Richmond, and harrassed him all the way to the
Chickahominy River. Then, while he was separating the
stores, Cornwallis, joined by Philips, took a stand between
him and Albermarle where he had placed a large part of
the stores. While Cornwallis was preparing to fight,
Lafayette, keeping in mind the admonition of Washington
not to endanger his troops, escaped to Albermarle by an
unusued road. After this Cornwallis gave up hopes of
trapping "that boy," as he called Lafayette, and fortified
himself at Yorktown.
When Lafayette had been given the defense of Vir-
ginia, his soldiers, hungry and destitute, were on the point
of desertion. With ready tact he had supplied, from his
own pocket, the direst necessities, and then had given them
an opportunity of going north. Of course, when placed on
their honor, they followed him with good will. Having
received orders from Washington, not to let Cornwallis
escape, he took his stand on Malvern Hill, a good strategic
position, to await the coming of Washington and Rocham-
76 REVOLUTIONARY READER
beau. When the siege was on and the only possible escape
for Cornwallis was through North Carolina, this, Lafayette
closed and his light infantry also captured one of the
redoubts the British had fixed. The Siege of Yorktown
ended his services for the independence of this country;
the war was over and he was needed no more.
The results of Lafayette's efforts for the cause of
American Independence can hardly be estimated. They
say enthusiasm is contagious and it seemed so in his case,
for his very enthusiasm for the cause won others to it and
gave it greater popularity in Europe than it would other-
wise have had. In this country he improved the condition
of the soldiers by his ready generosity, and raised the
spirit of the army by his own example of disinterested
patriotism. He gave Washington what he most needed, at
that time, a friend whom he could trust implicitly, and
by his loyalty did his share towards keeping the army
undivided. The forces he secured from France encouraged
our soldiers and the supplies did a good deal towards satis-
fying their discontent. By inducing France to acknowl-
edge the United States of America, he did us one of the
greatest services possible. We were then one of the world 's
nations, and our credit went up accordingly. It isn 't likely
that the results of his efforts as an American soldier and
general, can ever be fully ascertained. He did so many
little things just when they seemed to be so needed, that it
is impossible to sum up their results. All we can say is
that he did his best for the cause of American Independ-
ence. Report of Sons of the Revolution 1911-12.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 77
JAMES JACKSON.
General James Jackson was born in Morton Hampstead,
in the beautiful English County of Devonshire. His father,
James Jackson, died when he was a boy and left rather a
large family. He heard much talk of the American Colonies
and had a great desire to go and live in them. His mother
and grandfather would not consent, and once he attempted
to sail, hidden in the hold of a vessel, but was brought back.
Seeing his determination to go, sooner or later, and
influenced by John Wereat, a leading Whig, the family
finally consented. Sailing at his earliest opportunity, he
landed in Georgia ; and at the age of fifteen began the study
of law in the office of an eminent lawyer in Savannah.
In 1775, in the beginning of Revolutionary Days, he was
one of the first lads to shoulder a musket for the cause of
freedom. He distinguished himself in several skirmishes
near Savannah. In 1776, Colonel Baker conducted an
attack upon Tybee Island, where some of the enemy from
Vessels-of-War were living, and they destroyed the build-
ings, and drove the enemy to their ships. In this attack,
Jackson distinguished himself, winning therewith honors
from the governor, and the thanks and admiration of the
people.
He served throughout the Revolutionary War, and
when Savannah surrendered, Gen Anthony Wayne, ordered
that the keys of Savannah be given to Jackson, because of
his gallant service to his state and country, and because "he
was the first American soldier to tread the soil of a town,
from which the arms of a tryant had too long kept its
lawful possessor."
At the close of the Revolutionary War, James Jackson
began the practice of law in Savannah.
Like Joseph, in the Bible story, he remembered and
longed for his youngest brother ; so he sent a request to his
parents that his brother Henry be permitted to come to
America, promising to educate him and care for him as a
78 REVOLUTIONARY READER
son, but in his stead the family sent his brother, Abram.
He kept his brother and gave him advantages, but again
sent for Henry. The latter came and James Jackson
educated him, and at his death left him a child's share of
his property. This Henry was for years professor at the
Georgia State University, and was interpreter to William
H. Crawford, when the latter was minister to France. His
son was General Henry R. Jackson, of Savannah, who was
a poet and a distinguished officer in both the Mexican and
Confederate "Wars.
General James Jackson had a brother, John, who was
in the British Navy and was killed during the Revolution-
ary War.
In one of her letters to James, his mother wrote how
much she wished she could see him, and said: "It is a
great and a deep water that divides us and when I think
of it my thoughts turn to my poor John." You see John
had been buried at sea, and it was not an easy matter in
those days for James to visit across the ocean, when it took
weeks to make the journey.
General Jackson held many offices and was one of
Georgia's greatest governors. He defeated the Yazoo
Fraud, resigning his place in the National Senate, and
going from there to the Legislature of his State in order
to do it. He is the only man in the history of our
country who ever gave up being a Senator to go to the
Legislature.
It has been said that if Jackson's heart were cut out
after his death, on it would have been found the beloved
word, "Georgia."
He died in Washington years after, again a Senator,
and is buried in the Congressional burial ground. His
epitaph was written by his friend John Randolph, and is
as follows:
"In the memory of Major-General James Jackson of Georgia,
who deserved and enjoyed the confidence of a grateful country,'
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 79
a soldier of the Revolution, he was the determined foe of foreign
tyranny, the scourge and terror of corruption at home."
James Jackson's maternal grandfather never forgave
him for fighting against England in the Revolutionary
War, and in his will left to his grandson, James, only
money enough to buy a silver cup. CAROLINE PATTERSON,
Mary Hammond Washington Chapter, D. A. R.
EXPERIENCES OF JOAB HORNE.
Compiled by one of his descendants, MRS. B. M. DAVIDSON,
Stone Castle Chapter D. A. R., Dawson Ga,
Away back in the misty past, Isaac Home, of Scotland,
crossed the Atlantic and settled in Edgecomb County,
North Carolina, on the Tar River. Isaac Home's name
figures in the early history of North Carolina. He was one
of the first commissioners appointed to establish the boun-
dary lines between the counties of the States. He was a
wealthy planter, but the greater portion of his property
was destroyed by the Tories. He was killed at "Gates
defeat." Isaac Home had three sons: William, Henry,
Joab. This story is of the youngest son, Joab, a gallant
Revolutionary soldier under General Francis Marion.
Joab Home met and wooed an English girl, Nancy
Ricks. They encountered parental objections to their
marriage on account of their youth, sixteen and fourteen,
respectively, but love won and so the union was consumated.
Their parents never forgave them, and refused to aid them
in any way. We can hardly imagine what hardships they
endured; but with his beautiful young wife to encourage
him he was determined to surmount all difficulties. Hear-
ing of the rich lands of Georgia, they decided to emigrate.
Joab had one mule, and he procured a "hogshead" through
which he ran a piece of scantling to serve as an axle, to
this axle shafts were attached; his mule was hitched to
this wonderful contrivance, their clothes put inside the
rolling hogshead, and thus the journey to Georgia was
begun.
80 REVOLUTIONARY READER
God had blessed their union with the gift of a little
child, but the exposure resulting from this mode of travel
was more than the little one could with-stand. A little
grave by the road side marked the first mile stone of real
sorrow in their lives. Finally, they reached their destina-
tion in Burke County, Georgia, on the Ogeechee River, and
began their new life in a new country. This country was
almost a wilderness at that time. The first preparation for
a home was a bush arbor, with a real Georgia bed-stead, and
fresh straw for a mattress ; but it was not long before they
had as comfortable a home as could be found in those days.
Trading seemed to be one of Joab 's characteristics. He
had two hats, a "Sunday" and an "every day hat," the
Sunday hat he traded for a wash-pot. Nancy, his wife,
would trade her jewelry, which she had brought from her
girl-hood home, for household necessities. Six children
blessed their union, four girls and two boys. Later they
moved to Pulaski County, near Hawkinsville, Ga. The
evening of their life was spent in prosperity, a sure reward
for such endurance, labor and love.
Nancy (Ricks) Home died at the age of sixty- three, on
their plantation in Pulaski County.
Joab moved, with his son Eli, who married Sarah Ander-
son of Hawkinsville, to west Florida, on the Yellow River ;
there he lived to the ripe old age of eighty-seven. Many a
night would he sit by the fire-side and entertain his chil-
dren and friends by relating experiences of other days.
He could truly say, with Columbus: "For the years will
give back what the years with-held, and the balance swing
level in the end. ' '
Joab Home is buried in Stewart cemetery, on Yellow
River, west Florida. The following is a copy of the epitaph
on his tomb :
"In Memory of Joab Home
Member of the Revolution
Born Dec. 301753
Died July 281840."
"Blow, gentle gale, and bear my soul away to Canaan's Land."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 81
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MARGARET KATHER-
INE BARRY, KNOWN AS "KATE BARRY,
HEROINE OF THE COWPENS."
Kate Barry, an important character during the Revolu-
tionary War, was noted as a scout, and once during her
husband's absence was flogged by the Tories to make her
disclose the whereabouts of her husband, and his company
of Rangers. Her husband, Captain Andrew Barry, was a
magistrate under King George III, and continued to exer-
cise that office till the Revolution began. He was also a
Captain in Colonial period, but at the beginning of the War
for Independence, 1776, was recommissioned Captain of
South Carolina Rangers by Governor Rutledge, and was a
daring and brilliant officer during the whole war.
He was at Musgroves' Mill, Cowpens, Cedar Springs,
and many other engagements, and was severely wounded
during the battle of Musgroves' Mill, 18th August, 1780,
but with the tender care of his wife Kate Barry, who was
always close by for scout duty, he was soon restored to
health.
Captain Andrew Barry was also a religious man, and
was one of the first elders elected by Nazareth Presbyterian
Church in Spantanburg County, S. C., in which capacity
he served the church 'till his death, June 17th, 1811. His
name appears in the book, "Heitman's Historical Register
of the Officers of the Continental Army."
The Richard Barry who signed the Mecklenburg Decla-
ration of Independence was of this family.
It is written of Kate Barry that she knew no fear, and
where duty pointed she dared to go, and where her love and
affections centered, she would risk any and all dangers to
guard and protect those whom she loved. Kate Barry was
as remarkable for piety as for patriotism, she came of a
religious family, and not only are there stories of deeds of
kindness and sympathy, well authenticated, handed down
in family traditions, but her sister, Rosa Moore, wife of
82
Richard Barry, was also noted as a ministering angel at the
beside of the dying ; and her prayers in hours of trial and
bereavement made indelible impressions.
During the "War of the Revolution Kate Barry acted as
a voluntary scout for the patriot Whigs of South Carolina,
and was so efficient that the patriot bands were seldom sur-
prised by the British. She was the idol of her husband's
company of Rangers, any one of whom would have
risked his own life to save hers.
After the war ended Major Crawford approached Cap-
tain Andrew Barry, and said: "It is your duty to kill
Elliott, the Tory who struck Kate Barry one cut with a
whip to intimidate her and make her disclose where the
patriots were encamped; but if you will not, then I will
kill him, for no man shall live who struck Kate Barry."
Then eleven men, including Captain Barry and Major
Crawford, went out in search of Elliott, whom they found
at a neighborhood gathering. So soon as they were seen
approaching, Elliott fled into the house, and sought con-
cealment under a bed. The doors were closed, and after
parleying with Captain Barry, and his friends, Elliott's
friends agreed that Captain Barry alone, but unarmed,
might enter the house, and see Elliott, with the promise
that Barry would not kill him, which he might easily have
done, as Barry is described by Dr. Howe in his "History
of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina," as a
handsome man, six feet and one inch in height and of
powerful muscular strength. Barry entered the house, and
the doors were again closed, and Elliott came out from
under the bed, when Captain Barry at once seized a three-
legged stool, with which he struck Elliott to the floor, ex-
claiming : ' ' I am now satisfied, I will not take his life. ' '
"When General Greene, after Gates' defeat at Camden,
was placed in command of the Army of the Southern
Department, he sent General Morgan into South Carolina
to assemble the scattered patriots, preparatory to reclaim-
ing South Carolina, which after Gates' defeat, and Buford's
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 83
annihilation at the Waxhaws, lay bleeding at the feet of
the British Lion. It was then that Kate Barry in her
voluntary capacity as scout for General Morgan, of whose
command her husband's company of Rangers was a part,
hunted up patriot bands and hurried them forward to
Morgan. In a short time General Morgan found himself
with sufficient force added to his little army of four hun-
dred regulars to give battle to Tarleton at the Cowpens.
To hurry up the South Carolina Rangers she swam her
horse across rivers, evaded the Tories, and encountered a
thousand dangers, but succeeded in recruiting Morgan's
little army with sufficient patriotic force to bring off the
best fought battle of the Revolution, and at a time when
all seemed lost to the patriot cause, and so followed
Carolina's redemption.
Who knows but Kate Barry's prayers were answered
when Broad River so suddenly rose from a descending
freshet, and cut off Cornwallis' pursuing army after the
Battle of the Cowpens. The same downflowing freshet
happened at Yadkin, Morgan making good his retreat to
Grane near Guilford Court House.
Kate Barry was a daughter of Col. Charles Moore, who
was born in Scotland in 1727, and who went into Ireland
from Scotland with the Duke of Hamilton, his relative, as
family tradition says Col. Charles Moore's mother was a
Hamilton.
Charles Moore was a college graduate, and a prominent
teacher at the time he removed to Carolina, and is described
as such in a deed for land now on file of record in North
Carolina, but what important part he took in the War of
the Revolution is not positively known; further than that
his son, Captain Thomas Moore, distinguished himself at
Cowpens, and was afterwards a General in the War of 1812.
But Col. Charles Moore's six sons-in-law all acted promin-
ent parts on the side of the patriots in the War of the Revo-
lution, viz: Captain Andrew Barry, husband of Margaret
Katherine Moore; Col. Jno. Lawson, husband of Alice
84 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Moore; Judge Richard Barry, husband of Rosa Moore;
Rev. R. M. Cunningham, D. D., husband of Elizabeth
Moore ; Capt. Robt. Hanna, 'husband of Moore. He
was on the staff of General Sumter at the Battle of Black-
stock ; Matthew Patton, husband of the two last sisters was
a noted soldier, but his rank is not known, except that he
was a staff officer.
Written by Mary S. Irwin Wood (Mrs. James S. Wood)
Regent of Savannah Chapter, a descendent of Captain Andrew
Barr yand Kate Barry from records and authenticated family
traditions, and read at June meeting of the Savannah Chapter
D. A. R. 1913, by her daughter Miss Rosalind Lawson Wood, by
request sent to Elijah Clark Chapter D. A. R., Athens, G-a., to
be read by Mrs. Augusta Wood DuBose, adso a descendant of
Kate Barry and her husband, Captain Andrew Barry.
ART AND ARTISTS OF THE REVOLUTION.
During the reign of George III, in the town of Boston,
with only eighteen thousand inhabitants, there hung in the
library of Harvard University a copy of "A Cardinal"
by Van Dycke. The New England states were opposed to
art as a principle, but showed signs of literary and artistic
activity at this time. Exhibitions were unknown, the
painters were "traveling artists" who went over the
country painting portraits on sign boards, stage coaches,
and fire engines, for practice and also a living. John
Singleton Copeley, in Boston, was the only American artist
who did meritorious work. Before he came under foreign
influences, he wielded his brush with great dexterity, ' ' The
Death of the Earl of Chatham" in the National Gallery in
London, being one of his famous pictures. The grouping
of the portrait figures is skillfully arranged. To our art,
the portraits he painted in Boston are of importance. The
lesson thus taught led us into the interior of the royalist
era, with carved furniture, showy curtains, peopled with
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 85
well-to-do men and women, lavishly robed, that suggests the
customs as well as the people of the Revolutionary period,
Benjamin West, a contemporary of Copely, had nothing in
common with the development of American art. He left
at an early age for England, where he climbed the pinnacle
of social, if not artistic success. He was a personal friend
of the king, was employed as his historical painter, succeed-
ing 'Sir Joshua Reynolds as president of the royal academy.
One of his pictures quite noted was "Christ Rejected."
' ' Death on the Pale Horse, ' ' the size of the canvas he used
was 200 by 264 feet. His daring innovation of dressing the
characters showed the costumes of the time and country in
which they lived. It was his picturesque personality more
than his art that attracts us to-day. In his native town.,
Philadelphia, it is said the Cherokee Indians taught him the
secret of preparing color. This was the first city in the
Union where opportunities for art growth and a moderate
patronage presented themselves. Charles Wilson Peale, a
man rather versatile, also a painter of some merit, estab-
lished the first "Art Gallery," a museum of historical
portraits, in his residence in Philadelphia.
John Trumbull was a different type, was not so richly
endowed by natural gifts. Every accomplishment meant
strenuous study, yet he is dear to us for his glorification of
revolutionary history. ' ' The Battle of Bunker Hill, " " The
Death of Montgomery ' ' and ' ' the Declaration of Independ-
ence, " are familiar. The growth of art was handicapped,
more than benefited America was now an independent
nation. The Royalists who could afford the luxury of art
left this country. Now three men stepped forth who bore
upon their brush tips the honor and progress of American
art, Thomas Sully, John Vanderlyn and Washington Alls-
ton. The first mentioned became rapidly the most fashion-
able portrait painter of the day. His sweet faces, with
robes draped gracefully, show great progress and execu-
tion. Sully was represented at the Philadelphia Academy
86 REVOLUTIONARY READER
by one hundred and sixteen pictures. It is said he painted
a full length portrait of Queen Victoria.
Vanderlyn lived in Rome painting. Washington
Allston painted on his enormous canvas "Belchazzer's
Feast." "The Angel Liberating St. Peter from Prison "-
is one of decided merit. Gilbert Stuart was not a follower
of the others, had a distinct and forceful individuality, the
striking details of his work being brilliance in coloring and
the natural life-like posing. He was the first American
master of painting. His early sketches were lost. At the
age of thirteen he received commission to paint two por-
traits. Two years later he went to Scotland. His stay
there was short, he pined for home, secured passage and
returned, later going to London in 1775, suffering privation.
Afterwards a pupil under West for five years, his success
was immediate; people of wit and fashion thronged his
studio. He tasked himself to six sitters a day. Then devot-
ed himself to society, living in great splendor. During
this period he painted Louis the Sixteenth, George III, and
Prince of Wales. Now his position was assured, he indulged
himself in refusing many sitters, money failed to tempt
him, only those who appealed to his artistic taste or afforded
the best opportunity for a good picture. He was willing
to give up all the golden opportunities Europe presented
that he might have the privilege and satisfaction of paint-
ing the one man, whose heroic qualities fascinated him most.
In 1792 he returned to the City of Brotherly Love, estab-
lishing his studio here, painted three portraits of Wash-
ington, unlike Peale, who made in all fourteen of Wash-
ington from life, painting him in the prime of his vigour.
Stuart depicts the late autumn of his life, a face in which
the lines of character are softened, a face chastened by
responsibilities, it is the face, who has conquered himself
as well as others ; he represents him indeed as ' ' The Father
of His Country." He said, "I copy the works of God,
leave clothes to the tailor, and mantua maker. ' '
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 87
In Washington he found sentiments, grace and charac-
ter. In the story of art, Gilbert Stuart holds a unique, and
dignified position. "The Course of Nature is but the Art
of God." Thomas Cole was a landscape painter. The
sketches he painted in the Catskills the banks, woods,
rocks and the Cascades gained recognition. He was an
ardent student of English literature, influenced by Sir
Walter Scott. In truth, was more of a poet than painter.
His noted pictures were ' ' The Voyage of Childhood, " ' ' The
Course of Empire," consisting of five canvasses, first rep-
resenting "A Nation's Rise, Progress, Decline and Fall."
These are at the Historical Society of New York. The last
picture of the serial, entitled ' ' Desolation, ' ' has rarely been
surpassed in solemn majesty, and depth of thought.
Miss Emily G. Morrow, American Monthly Magazine.
"UNCLE SAM" EXPLAINED AGAIN.
Troy, New York, is said to be the place where the name
"Uncle Sam" originated. After the declaration of war
with England by the colonies a New York contractor, Elbert
Anderson, visited Troy and made it his headquarters for
the purchase of provisions for the Continental army. The
supplies were duly inspected before shipment. One of the
inspectors was Samuel Wilson, brother of Ebenezer, also an
inspector and known as Uncle Sam to the workmen whom
he superintended.
The casks in which the beef and pork were packed were
marked with the initials of Elbert Anderson, the contractor,
and the United States, thus: "E. A. U. S." says the New
York Sun. The first pair of initials were of course familiar
to the men, but "U. S." mystified them. The fact was that
the name United States was then so new to these country-
men that its initials were a complete puzzle. They turned
to the nearest explanation, a humorous one and intended as
a joke on their boss. If ' ' E. A. " stood for Elbert Anderson,
88 REVOLUTIONARY READER
then they opined "U. S." must stand for " Uncle Sam"
Wilson. The joke spread to the Continental army, which
carried it to every part of the country.
AN EPISODE OF THE WAR OF THE
REVOLUTION.
In 1781 South Carolina was completely overrun by the
British. The English colonists were divided, the majority
being in favor of the Revolution, but there were a goodly
number of loyal men among them who conscientiously
espoused the cause of the Mother country and these were
called Tories. Those who took part in the Revolution were
called Whigs. Lancaster County was their stronghold.
They were mostly descendants of the Scotch-Irish. Among
these was Charles Mackey, their acknowledged leader.
The Whigs had always made Lancaster too hot for the
Tories, but the advent of the British with Tarleton at their
head, turned the tide of war, and now the Tories with
Tarleton drove the Whigs from Lancaster across the
Catawba and the Pedee Rivers to join General Marion.
Charles Mackey, as the leader of his band, had made
himself very obnoxious to the Tories and they impatiently
waited the time for vengeance. He was a man of medium
size, very active and energetic, a fine horseman, a splendid
shot, hot headed, impulsive, often running unnecessary
risks and doing dare-devil deeds. No work was too hazard-
ous for him. His wife, Lydia Mackey, was a woman of
good common sense, with a clear head and fine judgment.
In her coolness and self-possession she was far superior to
her husband.
They had a family of young children, and Charles
Mackey had not heard from them or seen any of them in
several weeks. Their home was not more than two and a
half miles from Tarleton 's camp, on the Hanging, Rock
Creek. He knew it would be hazardous for him to return
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 89
to his home so near Tarleston 's camp ; but his auxiety be-
came so great that he could no longer remain in doubt, so
he cautiously made his way home where he jiinwisely
loitered for a week, and during this time he had the
temerity to enter Tarleton 's lines more than once in search
of information which was most valuable to his country's
defenders.
His home had patches of corn and potatoes on either side
of a lane leading to the front of the house, while at the rear
was a large kitchen-garden extending back to a great
swamp, which was almost impenetrable to man or beast.
This swamp was surrounded by a quagmire from ten to
thirty feet wide. It was entered by jumping from tussock
to tussock of moss covered clumps of mold, a foot or two in
diameter and rising six to eight inches above the black
jelly-like mire which shook in every direction when passing
over it. A plank or fence-rail served as a temporary draw-
bridge, which was pulled into the swamp after passing
over.
When the country was infested by Tories, Charles
Mackey spent his days in this swamp if not out scouting.
At night he ventured home. He had good watch dogs and
they gave the alarm whenever any one approached, whether
by night or day. If at night, he would immediately lift a
loose plank in the floor of his bed room, drop through to
the ground, and out in the rear and run thirty or forty
yards across the garden with his gun in hand and disappear
in the swamp, pulling his fence rail draw-bridge after him.
There was no approach to the house from the rear, and his
retreat was always effected with impunity.
Once when he was at home, on the eve of leaving with
some valuable information for the American General, his
faithful watch dog failed to give warning of the approach
of strangers and the first notice of their presence was their
shouting "Hallo" in front of the house. Mrs. Mackey
jumped out of bed, threw open the window shutters, stuck
her head out, surveyed carefully tbe half dozen armed men,
90 REVOLUTIONARY READER
and said : ' ' Who is there ! " ' ' Friends, ' ' they replied. ' ' Is
Charlie Mackey at home ? ' ' She promptly answered ' ' No. ' '
In the mean time Charlie had raised the loose plank in the
floor, and was ready to make for the swamp in the rear,
when, stopping for a moment to make sure of the character
of his visitors, he heard the spokesman say: "Well, we are
sorry indeed, for there was a big fight yesterday on Lynch 's
Creek, between General Marion and the British, and we
routed the Redcoats completely. We have been sent to
General Davie at Lansford with orders to unite with
General Marion at Flat Rock as soon as possible, and then
to attack Tarleton. We do not know the way to Lansford
and came to get Charlie to pilot us." Mrs. Mackey, calm
and collected, said she was sorry her husband was not at
home. But her husband was just the reverse, hot headed
and impetuous. This sudden news of victory after so many
reverses excited him, and he madly rushed out into the
midst of the mounted men, hurrahing for Marion and
Davie, and shouting vengeance on the Redcoats and Tories,
and he began shaking hands enthusiastically with the boys
and asking particulars about the fight, when the ring-
leader cooly said: "Well, Charlie, old fellow, we have set
many traps for you, but never baited them right until now.
You are our prisoner." And they marched him off just
as he was, without hat or coat and without allowing him
a moment to say a parting word to his poor wife. They
took him to Col. Tarleton 's headquarters where he was tried
by court-martial and sentenced to death as a spy.
The next day, Mrs. Mackey, not knowing what had
happened to him, gathered some fruits and eggs, and with a
basket well filled made her way to Col. Tarleton 's. The
Colonel was on parade, but a young officer asked her to be
seated. He said: "You have something for sale, I pre-
sume?" She replied that she had fruit and eggs. He
gladly took what she had and paid for them. She then
said her basket of fruit was only a pretext to get to Col.
Tarleton 's headquarters. That she was anxious to see him
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 91
in person on business of great importance. She then
explained to him the capture of her husband and that she
wished to get him released if he were still alive, though she
did not know but what they had hung him to the first tree
they had come to.
The officer told her the Colonel was on parade and would
not return for two hours. Mrs. Mackey was a comely
woman of superior intelligence and soon interested the
young officer in her sad condition. He expressed for her
the deepest sympathy and told her that her husband was
near by under guard ; that he had been tried and sentenced
to death, and he feared there was no hope for him, as the
evidence against him by the Tories was of the most positive
kind. He told her Col. Tarleton was as cruel and unfeel-
ing as he was brave, and that he would promise her any-
thing to get rid of her, but would fulfill nothing. " How-
ever" said he, "I will prepare the necessary document for
your husband's release, filling in the blanks so that it will
only be necessary to get Col. Tarleton 's signature, but I
again frankly say that it is almost hopeless. ' '
At twelve o'clock Tarleton rode up, dismounted, and
entered the adjoining tent. As he passed along the young
officer said, "You must wait until he dines; another horse
will be brought and when he comes up to mount you can
approach him, but not till then. ' '
At the expected time the tall, handsome, clean-shaven
Colonel came out of his tent, and as he neared his charger,
he was confronted by the heroic Lydia Mackey, who in a
few words made known the object of her visit. He quickly
replied that he was in a hurry and could not at that time
stop to consider her case. She said the case was urgent;
that her husband had been condemned to death and he
alone had the power to save him. He replied : ' ' Very well,
my good woman, when I return later in the day I will
inquire into the matter. ' ' Saying this he placed his foot in
the stirrup and sprang up, but before he could throw his
right leg over the saddle, Mrs. Mackey caught him by the
92 EEVOLUTIONARY EEADER
coat and jerked him down. He turned upon her with a
scowl, as she implored him to grant her request. He was
greatly discomfited and angrily said he woudd inquire into
the case on his return. He then attempted again to mount,
when she dragged him down the second time, begging him
in eloquent terms to spare the life of her husband. "Tut,
tut, my good woman," said he, boiling with rage, "do you
know what you are doing? be gone, I say I will attend to
this matter at my convenience and not sooner. ' ' So saying
he attempted the third time to mount, and so the third time
Lydia Mackey jerked him to the ground. Holding by the
sword's scabbard, and falling on her knees, she cried:
"Draw your sword and slay me, or give me the life of my
husband, for I will never let you go until you kill me or
sign this document," which she drew from her bosom and
held up before his face.
Tarleton, trembling with rage, turned to the young
officer who stood close by intently watching the scene, and
said: "Captain, where is this woman's husband?" He
answered: "Under guard in yonder tent." "Order him
to be brought here, ' ' and soon Charlie Mackey stood before
the valiant Tarleton. "Sir" said he, "you have been con-
victed of bearing arms against His Majesty's government;
worse, you have been convicted of being a spy. You have
dared to enter my lines in disguise as a spy, and you cannot
deny it, but for the sake of your wife I will give you a
full pardon on condition that you will take an oath never
again to bear arms against the King's government."
"Sir," said Charlie Mackey, in the firmest tones, "I
cannot accept pardon on these terms. It must be uncon-
ditional or I must die, ' ' and poor Lydia Mackey cried out,
"I, too, must die." On her knees she plead with such
fervor and eloquence that Tarleton seemed lost for a mo-
ment and hesitated; then turning to the young Captain
he said with quivering lips and a voice choking with
emotion :
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 93
" Cap tain, for God's sake sign my name to this paper,
and let this woman go."
With this, Mrs. Mackey sank to the ground exhausted,
and Col. Tarleton rode off, doubtless happier for having
spared the life of the heroic Lydia 's husband.
The history of the American Revolution can hardly
present a more interesting tableau than that of Lydia
Mackey begging the life of her husband at the hands of the
brave and bloody Tarleton, and it is probable that the
i( Lydia Mackey victory" was the first ever gained over the
heart of this redoubtable commander, and it is very certain
that Charles Mackey was the only condemned prisoner
ever liberated by him without taking the oath of allegienco
to the Mother Country. MRS. F. H. OKME, Atlanta
Chapter, D. A. E.
STATE FLOWERS.
In most instances, the state floral emblems have been
adopted by the vote of the pupils of the public schools of
their respective states.
Alabama, goldenrod.
Arizona, suwarso.
Arkansas, apple blossoms.
California, California poppy.
Colorado, columbine.
Connecticut, mountain laurel.
Delaware, peach blossoms.
Florida, Japan camellia.
Georgia, Cherokee rose.
Idaho, syringa.
Illinois, rose.
Indiana, corn.
Iowa, wild rose.
Kansas, sunflower.
Louisiana, magnolia.
Maine, pine cone.
Michigan, apple blossom.
94 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Minnesota, moccasin flower.
Mississippi, magnolia.
Missouri, goldenrod.
Montana, bitter-root.
Nebraska, goldenrod.
New Jersey, sugar maple.
Nevada, sage brush.
New York, moss rose.
New Mexico, crimson rambler rose.
North Carolina, chrysanthemum.
North Dakota, goldenrod.
Ohio, buckeye.
Oklahoma, mistletoe.
Oregon, Oregon grape.
Rhode Island, violet.
South Carolina, Carolina palmetto.
South Dakota, pasque flora.
Texas, blue bonnet.
Utah, sago lily.
Vermont, red clover.
Washington, rhododendron.
Wisconsin, violet.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 95
THE COUNTIES OF GEORGIA.
BY KATHARINE B. MASSEY.
When I was a little girl, our fad was the possession of
a charmstring. This was a string of buttons, obtained by
coaxing from our elders or barter with each other, and con-
stantly added to until some of them reached the length of
several yards. With delightful pride we told over the list
of our treasures. "This button," one would say, "came
from Cousin Mary's wedding dress; this my Uncle John
gave me ; this was sent to me from China by my aunt who
is a missionary in Canton ; and this bright brass one was on
my father 's uniform during the war. ' ' Much of family life
and many loving associations were thus strung together for
the little maiden. In some such way, but in a larger sense,
our state has used the naming of its counties as a cord of
gold on which to hang traditions of its past, memories of
its heroes, and reverences for those who helped us when help
was needed.
A group of seven counties embalms the names of the
Indian tribes who owned our hills and valleys before us,
who hunted the deer with flintheaded arrows where now
our cities stand, and threaded their trails in silent forests
where today our cotton fields are spread. They are Catoosa,
Chattahoochee, Chattooga, Cherokee, Coweta, Muscogee,
Oconee how musically the syllables fall upon the ear. It
is like a chime of silver bells.
Four counties may be set together as commemorating
large events in history. Columbia, Oglethorpe, Liberty,
and Union. The first of these was named for the dauntless
sailor who, possessed with the faith which cared naught for
all other men's unbelief and rising above poverty, discour-
agement, and mutiny, held his way westward over unknown
seas to find his prophetic vision a reality. Oglethorpe bears
the name of the brave soldier, courteous gentleman, and
broadminded philanthropist, who founded a colony for op-
96 REVOLUTIONARY READER
pressed debtors to give them a new chance in life. Liberty
County has a pretty little story of its own. A band of
Massachusetts Puritans, seeking a milder climate, settled
first in South Carolina, and not being fully satisfied, came
on to St. John's Parish, Georgia. Their distinguished devo-
tion to the cause of liberty in the perilous days of 1776-
1783 gained for them that name when the parishes were
changed into counties. Union County was so named be-
cause its citizens claimed to be known as Union men, when
the rest of the state stood for state rights.*
Another group of seven counties bears the name of
English statesmen who spoke for us in the halls of Parlia-
ment and withstood the tyranny of king and nation in
dealing with their brothers of America. They were the
fiery-tongued orator Edmund Burke, the commoners Glynn
and Wilkes, the Duke of Richmond, and the Earls of Chat-
ham, Camden, and Efimgham.
Three other foreigners, lovers of liberty, drew sword
and fought in our battles, side by side with our struggling
heroes. Georgia has honored herself by naming counties for
Baron DeKalb, Count Pulaski, and General LaFayette.
Next comes the long muster-call of heroes whose names
are written on the roll of fame as having fought for the
freedom of their country men whose names recall Bunker
Hill and Valley Forge, King's Mountain and Guilford
Court House, and all the grim experiences of a nation
struggling for existence. Georgia has named counties for
Baker, Bryan, Butts, Clarke, (Gen. Elijah, who fought the
Tories in our own state), Clinch, Early, Greene, (Gen.
Nathaniel, who settled on his grant of land in Georgia after
the war,) Jasper, (the brave sergeant who leaped over the
parapet to rescue the flag at Fort Moultrie,) Laurens, Lee
(Light Horse Harry, father of the grand General of the
Civil War,) Lincoln, Macon, Marion (the Swamp Fox of
South Carolina,) Meri wether, Montgomery, Morgan, New-
*But Georgia was at that time intensely Union, although
helieving in State rights.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 97
ton, Putnam, Screven, Stewart, Sumter, Twiggs, Taliaferro,
Warren (killed at the battle of Bunker Hill,) Wayne (Mad
Anthony,) Wilkerson, Paulding, White, Mclntosh grand
and glorious names that break upon the ear like a trumpet
call, inspiring to deeds worthy to be ranked with theirs.
The last of these names, Melntosh, was given in honor of a
whole family which had contributed many sons to freedom 's
cause.
Seven presidents of the United States have given names
to our counties. They are Washington, Jefferson, Madison,
Monroe, Polk, Taylor and Pierce.
The governors of Georgia have been a notable line,
strong men of iron will, believers in state's rights and up-
holders of the dignity of the commonwealth. More than
once they have withstood the national government. The
list of them includes some names famous for other services
to the state in the Revolution and the Civil War as well as
in the halls of Congress. Those for whom counties are named
are: Bulloch, Early, Elbert, Emanuel, Gilmer, Gwinnett,
Habersham, Hall, Heard, Houston, Irwin, Jackson (soldier
and statesman,) Jenkins (who saved the executive seal of
state at the close of the Civil War and kept it until military
rule was over and it could be returned to a governor legally
elected by the people,) Johnson, Lumpkin, Mitchell, Rabun,
Schley, Stephens (giant soul in a frail body, whose unheed-
ed counsels as Vice-president of the Southern Confederacy
might have prevented much of the bitterness that followed,)
Talbot, Telfair, Towns, Troup, Walton, Forsyth, and Tatt-
nall. Wisely and well they guided the ship of state and
left a priceless heritage of precedent to their successors.
Georgia has named fourteen counties for statesmen of
national fame Calhoun, Clay, Webster (these three made
the great triumvirate whose eloquence shook the land in
times when nullification and democracy were the questions
of the day,) Bibb, Franklin, Brooks, Carroll, Douglas,
Hancock (one of the first to lift his voice against British
oppression in Massachusetts,) Henry (the immortal orator
98 REVOLUTIONARY READER
of Virginia,) Lowndes, McDuffie, Murray, and Randolph
(quaint, eloquent, sarcastic John Randolph of Roanoke.)
Of her own sons whose voices have thundered in the
halls of Congress, or guided her councils at home, Georgia
has named counties for Abraham Baldwin (who first
planned the state university,) Ben Hill (of the trumpet
tongue, who first dared to reply to northern slanders, to
speak the truth about Andersonville, to show that we had
not food, clothing and medicine for our own soldiers and
that we did the best we could for the unfortunate prisoners
who fell into our hands ; claiming the respect of the nation
and the world for the maligned Southern Confederacy.)
Berrien, Clayton, Cobb, Colquitt, Crawford, (William H.,
our candidate for the presidency,) Crisp, Campbell, Charl-
ton, Dawson, Dougherty, Floyd, Haralson, Jones, Miller,
Spanding, Turner, Walker, and Ware.
Six of our counties bear the names of men who spent
their lives fighting the Indians. They are Appling, Coffee,
Butts, Wilcox, Thomas, and Dade. Of the first of these the
story is told that, in recognition of his services, the state
voted him a sword with an appropriate inscription. Before
it was ready for presentation the brave young soldier died.
As he left no heir, the sword was kept in the state house at
Milledgeville until that memorial autumn of 1864, when it
disappeared. Some soldier of Sherman 's army thus became
richer and the State of Georgia poorer by a handsome
sword.
The Mexican War left us the names of Echols, Faniiin,
Quitman, and Worth. Other brave soldiers of the state
who have been thus honored are Glascock, Milton, Pickens,
and Pike.
The Civil War gave to us the names of Bartow and
Toombs. Francis C. Bartow said: "I go to illustrate Geor-
gia," and fell on the field of the First Battle of Maiiassas.
General Robert Toombs escaped from Georgia on his mare,
Grey Alice, when every road and ferry was guarded by
soldiers watching for him, made his way to England, and
INDIAN TREATY TREE, MARIETTA, GA.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 99
lived there until it was safe for him to return, remaining to
the end of his life an ' ' unreconstructed rebel. ' '
Four counties, Dodge, lift, Gordon, and Upson, are
named for captains of industry. The United States Navy
gave us the name of Decatur. Banks and Terrell are called
for two beloved physicians who made their names blessed
in the homes of the people for the alleviation of pain and
the saving of life. In both cases the name was chosen for
the county by the citizens, in loving recognition of the
physician's services.
The Lost Cause left with us the name of its one presi-
dent, and we who are glad that it is the Lost Cause, that
slavery is no longer an institution in our midst and that
Georgia takes her rightful place in the sisterhood of states,
nevertheless claim the right to cherish our memories, to
welcome Dixie with the rebel yell, to cover our graves with
flowers on the twenty-sixth of April, to look back through a
mist of tears to Gettysburg and Appomattox, and to call
one of our counties Jeff Davis.
The noble preacher, Whitfield, who helped to establish
the Bethesda Orphan 's Home, gave his name to one county ;
and Henry Grady, silver-tongued and golden-hearted orator
who helped to heal the wounds of war and drew together
the North and the South into renewed brotherhood, is
remembered in the name of another. Rockdale is so called
from its granite rocks and wooded dales. One is named for
Robert Fulton, the inventor, one for Harris, a prominent
jurist, and last of all, Georgia has named one county for a
woman red-headed, cross-eyed, Tory-hating, liberty-loving
Nancy Hart.
100 REVOLUTIONARY READER
AN HISTORIC TREE.
MRS. R. C. LITTLE, Fielding Lewis Chapter.
More than a hundred years ago, a tiny acorn, dripped
by some frisky squirrel or flitting bird, fell to the ground,
where it lay unheeded and unknown. Pelted by winter
storms, it sank deep into the soft earth where it was
nourished and fed, sending out rootlets to take firm hold
of the kind mother who had sheltered it.
Soon the summer's sun called it from its underground
bed and still clinging with its thread-like roots, it pushed
up a green head and looked around the beautiful scenes of
woodland, mountain and sky.
Pleased with what it saw, it lifted its head brighter and
higher until it became a mighty oak, a monarch of the forest.
Birds and squirrels made their homes in it and beneath its
shade rested the weary.
All the country around belonged to and was inhabited
by the Cherokee Indians, of all known tribes the most
civilized and enlightened. No doubt their papooses swung
on the branches of this magnificent tree and played under
its wide spreading arms.
With the coming of the white man, a town grew up
lovely Marietta, still nestling amid the shadows of Kenne-
saw, and the Indians were asked to leave their happy homes,
and go to strange lands further West. Bewildered and
uncomprehending, they were unwilling to go, and groups of
them were often seen beneath this same mighty oak mighty
even them, conferring with the whites, and discussing by
signs and gestures, the momentous question. When, finally,
they were persuaded to accept the proposition of the gov-
ernment, they met in council beneath their favorite tree
and signed the treaty, by which they agreed to leave their
beautiful North Georgia homes forever.
Within the memory of the oldest inhabitants, the grand
oak became historic. It is still standing, and has showed no
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 101
signs of age, until a fiery bolt found its lofty height and
scathed it far down its trunk.
It stands in the yard of Mrs. H. G. Cole, and is, not-
withstanding its somewhat crippled condition, the admira-
tion of all beholders. Its girth near the ground is some-
what over eight feet, and seven feet from the ground it
measures considerably more than twelve feet around.
Mrs. Cole, though not aged herself, has seen four genera-
tions of her own family disporting beneath this noble tree,
and should it fall because of age and decay, she and her
children would miss and mourn it as a dear lost friend.
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Original poem by Mrs. C. M. O'Hara, Greenville, Ga.,
read on the Fourth of July, 1912, at the meeting of David
Meriwether Chapter:
It has been one hundred and thirty-six years
Since our forefathers laid aside all fears
Of the mother country, and boldly said:
The price of liberty in blood should be paid.
The Continental Congress in Philadelphia met
And resolved that we should independence get,
Thomas Jefferson wrote a long declaration,
Which England said was a sad desecration.
So our mother tried to exercise her right
To tax her children and foi'bidding the fight.
The battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill and others
Showed England that we were no longer brothers,
After the first gun of the revolution was heard
The Americans lost fear of King George the third;
They determined with Franklin together to stand
And hold fast at any cost the cherished land.
Over a century has passed, the patriots are dust,
In the homes of many daughters their good swords rust,
But the celebration of Independence on the Fourth of July
In the hearts of Americans we trust will never die.
102 REVOLUTIONARY READER
KITTY.
ETHEL HILLYER HARRIS.
Written for the Xavier Chapter of the D. A. R., Rome, Ga.
"Ah ! woman in this world of ours,
What boon can be compared to thee ?
How slow would drag life's weary hours,
Though man's proud brow were bound in flowers,
And his the wealth of land and sea,
If destined to exist alone
And, ne'er call woman's heart his own."
Morris.
PROLOGUE.
All day long there had been a vague unrest in the old
colonial home, all day the leaves had quivered on the banks
of the Mataponi River; the waves were restless, the dog in
his kennel howled fitfully ; the birds and the chickens sought
their roosts quiveringly, whimsically, and when night had
let her sable curtain down, a lurid glare shot athwart the
sky, in a strange curved comet-like shape. It was the
Indian summer, October in her glory of golden-rods,
sumachs, and the asters in the wood. But, hist! hark!
what breaks upon the autumn stillness and the quiet of the
colonial household on the Mataponi, ?
It was the cannon at the siege of Yorktown, forty miles
away. The French fleet were making blazing half circles
on the sky seen from their fortifications even thus far below.
Through the long night the boom ! boom ! boom ! con-
tinued, the simple, loyal folks knowing nothing of the
result.
At last, wearied and spent, with a prayer to the All
Father to save America, they sought their welcome couches.
Among them was Kitty, the idolized daughter of the family.
Soft ! step easy ! as we push aside the chintz curtains of
her four-poster and gaze upon the child, to exclaim: How
innocent is youth ! Her seventeen years lie upon her pink
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 103
cheeks, and shimmering curly tresses as lightly as a hum-
ning bird in the heart of roses. Her lithesome form makes a
deep indenture in the thick featherbed, the gay patchwork
quilt half reveals, and half conceals the grace of rounded
arm and neck and breast, a sigh escapes her coral lips, one
hand is thrust beneath the pillow, she dreams !
On the chair her quilted podusouy and long stays are
carelessly thrown. Her Louis Seize slippers with red heels
are on the floor, and the old clock on the stair is ticking,
ticking, ticking.
Kitty is dreaming. Of what? The greatest moment in
our national history. Dream on sweet maid, closer, closer
point the hands; it nears three o'clock Oct. 19, 1781. A
wild cry, and the whole household is awake.
Swift running to and fro,
Smiles, tears, shouts, "glory," "glory," "God be
praised. ' '
Such the sounds that faintly reach the dreaming senses
of our Kitty. And then her father with a kiss and hug
pulls her out of bed with "Awake lass! awake! awake!
Cornwallis has surrendered."
In her night gown from her latticed window Kitty saw
the courier galloping through the little hamlet ; pausing at
her father's gate to give the message of our conquest over
the British, and then galloping on towards the North, for
he was on the direct route from Yorktown to Philadelphia
where Congress was in session.
By the time Kitty had pompadoured her hair, and
donned her paviered print gown, all the parish bells were
ringing for joy. From Georgia to Maine bells were sound-
ing; peals of liberty and peace filled the air with prayers
and praise and service to God took up the glad hour and
over and over the refrain was sung "Cornwallis is taken!
Cornwallis is taken. ' '
Ah, dear Kitty, and quaint little tableau of the long ago,
five generations coming and going, in whose veins beats
your loyal blood still listen and tremble and glow with
104 REVOLUTIONARY READER
pride at your legend of the siege of Yorktown, and better
still, sweetest of all the long agone ancestors more than five
nations, indeed every nation honors and makes low
obeisance to the stars and the stripes. ' ' Old glory ! long may
she wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave."
CHAPTER FIRST.
"Thinkest thou existence doth depend on time?
It doth; but actions are our epochs."
In 1784 or 85, Mr. Carlton, who had his home on the
Mataponi River, moved with his family to Georgia.
After Cornwallis had delivered his sword to Washing-
ton, a little group of emigrants might have been seen at
Yorktown ; among them the families of Edmund Byne and
Robert Carlton.
Out in the blue harbour the nifty little brig "Nancy"
lay, all sails spread ready to embark to Savannah, Ga.
These two above named gentlemen, took passage with
their families, servants and household goods, and they were
said to be persons of sincere, and devoted piety, full of
hope and courage. They expected to reach Savannah in
three days.
However, contrary winds set in, and the brig daring
not hug the treacherous coasts of the Carolinas sped far out
to sea amid a terrific storm. She drifted for weeks at the
mercy of the waves, until the passengers almost despaired
of seeing land. If in our prologue, we saw a pretty, and
partly imaginary picture of Katherine Carlton, known as
Kitty, for she it is now eighteen years of age, we see her
again and in true historical facts receive her account of
long ago, of the peril. Thus reads her account : ' ' One time
it seemed as if the end had come. 'Twas night. The
passengers were lying in their berths enduring as well as
they could the dangers of the hour, when suddenly the ship
careened, seemingly falling on its side. It was then the
voice of one of those pious men was heard amidst the howl-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 105
ing winds 'Lord help us up,' and straightway the ship was
set upright and the danger was passed. ' '
The little party after landing on our beautiful south
Georgia coast, sweet with golden jasmines, and long moss
on the beautiful braided live oak, proceeded up the country,
in true emigrant fashion, in wagons.
Imagination, that merry, fantastic jade, will not let my
pen be steady. A thousand pictures obtrude. Kitty, her
head so curly, eyes so dark and soft, thrust from out the
wagons canvassed top, or again her snowy fingers playing
in the cool waters of a running brook, when the team stops
to feed and drink. Then Mr. Carlton, brave, resolute and
the camp fire, the smell of broiled bacon, the dog on trail
of a rabbit, the straw for seats, and weird firelight, and
above all, the eternal stars of heaven.
But we must hasten, though the chronicle, which is
reliable, states that it took five weeks to reach their desti-
nation in Burke County.
As they approached the Northern border of "Wilkes
County, the trees grew taller, and the red oak, the white
oak, burch, and maple, the crimson honeysuckle, and wild
violets and muscadine vines took the place of yellow jas-
mine, and moss and whispering pines.
It was indeed a forest primeval, a virgin soil, and a
new land. So on the last day of their tiresome journey,
early one morning, they came to a creek. There was no
bridge, and it was plain that the stream had to be forded.
The wagons were moving slowly along. Katherine and
her sister walking in front. A discussion arose: ''What
about the girls ? Here ! come Kitty ! " or " Stop, Kitty ! don 't
take off your slippers ; you can 't wade. ' ' About that time
up rode a gallant revolutionary soldier named Captain John
Freeman, who boldly said " I '11 take Kitty ' ' and in a trice
he had the fair young lady behind him on his own horse,
and the limpid waters of our clear Georgia stream were
laying its flanks as he proceeded across the stream.
106 REVOLUTIONARY READER
CHAPTER SECOND.
"The wagons have all forded the brook as it flows, and then the
rear guard stays
To pick the purple grapes that are hanging from the boughs."
Edward Everett Hale.
While our heroine is riding along in the dewy morn of
the day, and at the same time enjoying the beauties of
nature and no doubt with her lithe young body leaning
against the Captain, causing his heart to beat a double
quick, we will go on with our narrative.
Captain John Freeman was a native Georgian, a Revo-
lutionary soldier, he was present at the siege of Charles-
town and Savannah, a participant in the battles of Cowpens,
King's Mountain and Guilford Court House, at the battle
of Kettle Creek, and also at the capture of Augusta in
Georgia.
In most of his adventures in the Revolutionary war,
Captain Freeman had with him a colored boy named Am-
brose, who lived to a very great age and was well known to
the younger generation as "Uncle Ambrose." He had his
own cabin in Athens, Georgia. Incidents in regard to him
were handed by tradition. He had on his left arm the scar
of a sabre cut, made by British dragoons when General
Tarleton's men were attacking and endeavoring to get
away with the American trooper 's horses that had been left
at the camp, and which it was in part, the duty of the boy
Ambrose to keep. The British dragoons had possession of
the horses for awhile and Ambrose a prisoner also, but by a
rapid retaliation the horses and servants were recovered.
Old Ambrose used to tell about having been present at th(>
siege of Savannah, when Count Pulaski, one of the Ameri-
can Generals, was killed. He said that he was back in the
edge of the pine, or timber when the American army
charged on the British fort and breastworks. He described
Pulaski as mounted on a spirited horse, with a great white
plume in his hat, and how gallantly he led the Americans
in their advance. He saw Pulaski when he fell from the
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 107
horse, and was present at the point to which he was
brought back, mortally wounded.
CHAPTER THIRD.
"Blessed with that charmed certainty to please
How oft her eyes read his;
Her gentle mind, to his thoughts, his wishes, inclined."
ANONYMOUS.
As might be guessed, in a few short months after cross-
ing the creek together on horse-back, Captain John Free-
man led Kathrine Carlton to the altar.
In regard to her after-life, she was a wonder for those
times, a great reader and a fine housekeeper, a fine recon-
teur; yet with all, the soul of hospitality. She had a
healthy, strong mind; was imperious in her bearing, a
devoted member of the church, a power in her family, and
section.
Captain Freeman was a wealthy man, and took her at
times in a carriage to the Mountains of North Carolina on a
pleasure trip.
She bore him one child, Rebecca, of a temperamental
nature, and of deep piety like her mother. This child was
the author of many lovely poems.
Captain Freeman did not live to be very old. After
his death Mrs. Freeman met losses which she bravely bore,
Rebecca married Shaler Hillyer and from this union sprang
all the Georgia Hillyers. And to this day "Grandma
Freeman" is almost a sainted word in the family, so strong
was her character and so deep her love for others. She
lived to be eighty-nine years old. In her bedroom was an
old time tall clock that Captain Freeman had brought over
from England when he brought his blue china dishes. As
she drew her last breath, a beloved niece looked at the clock
but it had stopped. That clock is still owned by one of her
descendants, and it is not a legend but a fact, that when
anything important happens, in the family, if it is running,
it stops, if it is not running, it strikes.
108 REVOLUTIONARY READER
But to return to the Bynes : to show that we are journey-
ing on to meet those who are journeying on to meet us.
Mr. Bynes' daughter Annie, she who came in the brig
"Nancy" with Mr. Carlton, married a Mr. Harris, their
daughter married Mr. Hansell, and his granddaughter, the
beautiful golden haired Leila, a noted belle and beauty, of
Atlanta, Georgia, married a Mr. Llewelynn P. Hillyer, of
Macon, Georgia, the great grandson of Kitty Carlton.
If the writer may be pardoned for saying so, she is the
granddaughter of Junius Hillyer, the grandson of Kitty
Carlton ; and she also pleads guilty to the soft impeachment
of having married Hamilton Harris, a relative of the Byne
family, too.
Two shall be born the whole wide apart and time and
tide will finally bring them together. Affinity, congeniality,
fate! What?
Hurrah for the brave little sailing vessel, the nifty,
white winged brig, ' ' The Nancy. ' '
BATTLE OF KETTLE CREEK.
No battle of Revolutionary times was more instrumental
in making the surrender of Cornwallis, at Yorktown, pos-
sible than was the battle of Kettle Creek. As it was at that
period of the war the only American victory in the far
South, and though it seemed unimportant, it was a promi-
nent factor in holding the militia together and stimulating
them to fight to ultimate victory.
After the battle of Monmouth, the largest engagement
in the North closed, the scene drifted to the South. Georgia
was practically subdued by the British in January, 1779.
General Provost, commanding the British in South Caro-
lina, and Commodore Parker and Lieut. Campbell, on the
sea, had captured Savannah and being so encouraged, made
plans to aid the Tories in crushing all patriots who dared
to resist.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 109
On February 14th, 1779, at War Hill, Wilkes County,
Georgia, the battle of Kettle Creek was fought. Between
four hundred and five hundred Americans were in this
engagement under Col. Pickens, against seven hundred men
under Col. Boyd, a British officer, who was secretly em-
ployed by the British to organize a band of Tories in South
Carolina and who was on his way to join the British Army
and had planned to take Augusta on his route.
Col. Boyd was mortally wounded in this battle. As soon
as Col. Pickens heard of it he immediately visited his
opponent and offered him any assistance within his power.
The dying man left with him keepsakes and letters which
were promptly delivered to his wife after his death.
In Vol. II, "Wm. Bacon Stevens ' History of Georgia, New
York, 1847, Bishop Stevens gives the following account of
this battle :
"The enemy having effected a passage into Georgia, Pickens
and Dooly, now joined by Col. Clarke, resolved to follow; and
they accordingly crossed the Savannah on February 12, 1779,
and camped the following night within four miles of the enemy
Forming the line of march in the order of battle, the Americans
now prepared once more, at a great disadvantage of numbers, to
contest with the Tories for the supremacy of upper Georgia.
Much depended on this battle. If Boyd should be successful i-i
driving back the Americans under such men as Pickens and
Dooly and Clarke, he might rest assured that no further molesta-
tion, at least for a very long time,' would follow, and all would
yield to the British power, while on the other hand should the
Americans be successful, it would not only crush the Tory power,
already so galling to the people, but protect them from further
insult, and give a stimulus to American courage, which a long
series of disasters made essential. It was a moment big with
the fate of upper Georgia.
"Boyd, with a carelesness evincing great lack of military
skill and prudence, had halted on the morning of the 14th of
February, 1779, at a farm house near Kettle Creek, in Wilkes
County, having no suspicion of the near approach of the Ameri-
cans, and his army was dispersed in various directions, some killing
and gathering stock, others engaged in cooking and in different
110 REVOLUTIONARY READER
operations. Having reconnoitered the enemy's position, the
Americans, under Pickens, advanced in three divisions; the right
under Col. Dooly, the left under Col. Clarke and the center led
by the Commander himself, with orders not to fire a gun until
within at least thirty paces. As the center, led by Pickens,
marched to the attack, Boyd met them at the head of a select
party, his line being protected by a fence filled with fallen timber,
which gave him a great advantage over the troops in front.
Observing this half formed abatis, Pickens filed off to a rising
ground on his right, and thence gaining the flank of Boyd rushed
upon him with great bravery, the enemy fleeing when they saw
their leader shot down before them. He was sustained in this
charge by Dooly and Clarke, and the enemy after fighting with
great bravery, retired across the creek, but were rallied by Major
Spurgen on a hill beyond, where the battle was again renewed
with fierceness. But Col. Clarke, with about fifty Georgians,
having discovered a path leading to a ford, pushed through it,
though in doing so he encountered a severe fire and had his horse
shot down under him, and by a circuitous route rose upon the hill
in the rear of Spurgen, opening a deadly fire. The enemy hemmed
in on both sides, fled, and were hotly pursued by the victors, until
the conquest was complete. For an hour and a half, under great
disadvantage and against a force almost double, had the Americans
maintained the now unequal contest, and though once or twice it
seemed as if they must give way, especially when the Tories had
gained the hill and were reinforced under Spurgen; yet the
masterly stroke of Clarke, with his few brave Georgians, turned
the scale, and victory, bloody indeed, but complete, was ours."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 111
THE DARING EXPLOIT OF GRACE AND
RACHAEL MARTIN.
At the beginning of the War of the American Revolu-
tion, Abram and Elizabeth Martin were living in Ninety
Six District, now Edgefield County, South Carolina, with
their nine children. Seven of their eight sons were old
enough to enter the army, and were noted for their gallan-
try and patriotic zeal. The wives of the two eldest sons,
Grace Waring and Rachael Clay, during the absence of
their husbands, remained with their mother-in-law.
One evening the news reached them that a courier bear-
ing important despatches was to pass that night along the
road guarded by two British officers. Grace and Rachael
determined to waylay the party and obtain possession of
the papers. Disguised in their husbands' clothes, and well
provided with arms, they hid in the bushes at a point on the
road where the escort must pass. Darkness favored their
plans and when the courier and his guards approached they
were completely taken by surprise by the suddenness of the
attack. They had no choice but to surrender. The young
women took their papers, released the soldiers on parole,
and hastened home to send the important documents to
General Greene by a trusty messenger.
The paroled officers returned by the road they had come
and stopping at the home of the Martins, asked accommoda-
tions for the night. The hostess asked the reason for their
prompt return. They replied by showing their paroles, and
saying they had been taken prisoners by two Rebel lads.
The ladies rallied them on their lack of courage and asked
if they were unarmed. They said they were armed but were
suddenly taken off their guard.
They went on their way the next morning without a
suspicion that they owed their capture to the women whose
hospitality they had claimed. Grace L. Martin, Piedmont
Continental Chapter, D. A. R.
112 REVOLUTIONAEY READER
A REVOLUTIONARY PUZZLE.
These old rhymes were written in the early part of the
Revolutionary War about 1776. If read as written they
are a tribute to the king and his army, but if read down-
ward on either side of the comma, they indicate an unmis-
takable spirit of rebellion to both king and parliament.
The author is unknown :
Hark, hark, the trumpet sounds, the din of war's alarms
O'er seas and solid grounds, doth call us all to arms
Who for King George doth stand, their honors shall soon shine
Their ruin is at hand, who with the congress join.
The acts of parliament, in them I might delight,
I hate their cursed intent, who for the congress fight
The Tories of the day, they are my daily toast,
They soon will sneak away, who independence boast,
Who nonresistant hold, they have my hand and heart
May they for slaves be sold, who act the Whiggish part,
On Mansfield, North and Bute, may daily blessings pour,
Confusion and dispute, on congress evermore;
To North and British Lord, may honors still be done,
I wish to block and cord, to General Washington.
SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE REVOLUTION.
(Prize essay written by Miss Leota George of Sandy
Springs in competition for the medal offered by Cateechee
Chapter, D. A. R., to English class in Anderson College,
S. C.)
South Carolina had a large share in winning American
independence. Several decisive battles were fought on her
soil. For the struggle she furnished far-sighted statesmen,
brilliant leaders for the battlefield, and troops of patriotic,
devoted men. Her daughters brought to the conflict im-
measurable aid, comfort and influence. The men of South
Carolina saved their own state and were able to give invalu-
able aid to their countrymen in other sections.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 113
South Carolina had been settled by the Huguenots, Eng-
lish, Scotch-Irish, Welsh and Germans people from the
sturdiest and most progressive countries of the world.
Their experiences in their new environment tended to make
them independent and self-reliant. Their years of hard-
ships and strifes only served to make them more vigorous.
They increased rapidly in population and built up an active
trade. South Carolina became one of the most prosperous
of the colonies. The colonists of the lower country were
people of learning and culture. The settlers of the middle
and upper country were energetic, patriotic, and noble.
There was no aristocracy. There were quite a number of
able clergymen, skilled physicians, and well trained lawyers
among the South Carolinians. They had wealth without
luxury. They suffered no religious restraint. Every cir-
cumstance helped to develop them into a distinctive, inde-
pendent people.
The injustice and selfishness of British authority at
once aroused the anger of these spirited settlers. The
Stamp Act met with general opposition. South Carolina at
once protested against this unjust law and would not allow
the stamps to be sold. After the repeal of the Stamp Act
Great Britain made a second attempt to obtain money from
the colonists by placing a tax upon glass, wine, oil, paper,
painter's colors and tea. The vigorous objections of the
colonists caused her to withdraw the tax from everything
except tea. But the colonists were unwilling to accept any-
thing but full justice from the hands of Great Britain.
The South Carolinians had many determined and active
leaders in their opposition to British tyranny and in the
avowal of their rights to govern themselves. Christopher
Gadsen, William Henry Drayton, Arthur Middleton and
David Ramsay impressed upon the people the necessity of
fighting for their liberty and urged them to prepare for a
war with England. Christopher Gadsen, Thomas Lynch,
John Rutledge, Arthur Middleton and Edward Rutledge
were chosen by the South Carolinians to represent them at
114 REVOLUTIONARY READER
the first continental congress at Philadelphia in 1774. These
men had had a prominent part in that meeting. The broad-
minded, far-sighted Christopher Gadsen was the first man
to see that independence must eventually come. At this
meeting he was the first to suggest absolute independence.
"William Henry Drayton concluded one of his speeches in
South Carolina with this excellent advice: "Let us offer
ourselves to be used as instruments of God in this work in
order that South Carolina may become a great, a free, a
pious and a happy people."
On March 26, 1776, the provincial congress adopted a
new Constitution and South Carolina became a free and
independent state. She was the first of the thirteen colonies
to set up a government of her own. John Rutledge was
made president and Henry vice-president.
The first battle of the Revolution was fought November
12, 1775, when two British war vessels made an unsuccess-
ful attack on a South Carolina vessel. The British suffered
their first complete defeat in America at Charles Town,
June 28, 1776. Under Sir Peter Parker the enemy attacked
Ft. Moultrie. Under the blue Carolina flag with its cres-
cent and the word "Liberty," upon it, the patriots, with
Col. Moultrie as leader, courageously resisted the attack.
In this battle the immortal Jasper braved the enemy's fire
in rescuing the fallen flag and replacing it upon the fort.
The splendid victory at Ft. Moultrie gave more confidence
to the colonists and inspired them with new zeal. The
colonists under William Thompson defeated the British in
a second attempt to take Charles Town in June, 1776.
For about two years following this battle the British
army abandoned their attempt to conquer South Carolina.
However, she was far from being peaceful during this
period. Her settlers were not a homogeneous people. No
bond of sympathy united them in fighting for a common
cause. Bands of Tories had formed in the interior and were
as difficult to overcome as the British themselves. Under
Fletchall and Cunningham they committed many bloody
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 115
outrages and did an incalculable amount of harm. They
stirred up strife among the Indians and acquired their aid
in fighting the patriots. Some of the severest struggles of
the Revolution took place between the opposing factions in
South Carolina. Andrew Williamson, James Williams and
Andrew Pickens were active in defending the upland,
country against the Tories and Indians.
In April and May of 1780 the British under Gen. Clin-
ton again attacked Charles Town. For three months four
thousand ill-fed, ill-clad, and undisciplined patriots with-
stood the attacks of twelve thousand of the best of the
British troops. Finally, the South Carolinians were forced
to surrender. Fast following this defeat came pillage, de-
vastations and repeated disasters. In the upper country
the British under cruel Tarleton followed up their victories
with bloody outrages. Clinton left Cornwallis in command
of the British forces in the south. The cruelties of this
officer greatly aroused the anger of the Carolinians. Sum-
ter, Marion and Pickens suddenly appeared upon the scene
of battle. They rallied the scattered forces and began their
peculiar mode of warfare. By means of the ingenuity and
indomitable courage of Sumter, the spirited ' ' Game Cock, ' '
the enemy was harassed and numerous little victories were
won from them. These successes were a great encourage-
ment to the Carolinians. Sumter, aided by patriot bands
under John Thomas, Thomas Brandon and Edward Hamp-
ton, succeeded in driving the British out of northern Caro-
lina.
About this time, Gates and DeKalb were sent to the
relief of the South. On account of the poor generalship of
Gates the Americans were defeated at Camden, August 16,
1780, by the enemy under the command of Cornwallis.
Francis Marion, the elusive ' ' Swamp Fox, ' ' made repeated
attacks upon the British forces and with the help of Sumter,
Harden and McDonald, again gained control of the upper
country. On October 7, 1780, Sumter 's men led by Lacey,
116 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Williams, and Hill helped to win a battle from the enemy
under Ferguson at Kings Mountain.
In January, 1781, Gen. Daniel Morgan of Virginia, aid-
ed by Andrew Pickens with his body of riflemen, won a com-
plete victory over the British at Cowpens. Gen. Greene had
brought some troops into South Carolina. The combined
forces of Sumter, Pickens, Marion, Lee and Greene gradual-
ly drove the British into Charles Town. Charles Town was
evacuated December 14, 1782.
South Carolina 's activities were not confined to her own
borders. On several occasions she had sent troops to Geor-
gia to help defend this feeble colony. The South Caroli-
nians had captured a supply of powder in the early part of
the war and sent it north to Washington at the critical
point where his supply had given out. It was a South
Carolinian who had secured aid from France for the
patriots. This was exceedingly important since the French
army and fleet played an important part in the capture oi
Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In the great fight for independence South Carolina did
her share of the fighting and more than this. Besides fur-
nishing brilliant leaders and brave soldiers for the battle-
field, she produced eloquent orators and wise statesmen to
help manage the affairs of the colonists during this trying
period. Among the foremost of her statesmen was Henry
Laurens. In 1777 he succeeded John Hancock as president
of the continental congress. He proved himself an efficient
and wise officer. On his way to seek aid from the Dutch
he was captured by the British and imprisoned in the
Tower of London. At the close of the war he was exchanged
for Cornwallis. He then went to Paris, where he was one
of the commissioners who signed the treaty of peace be-
tween Great Britain and the United States.
John Laurens, a son of Henry Laurens, was also promi-
nent in the management of the civil affairs of the colonists.
It was he who secured aid from France. Never has anyone
been sent from America to Europe on so important mission.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 117
By his tact and unusual abilities he succeeded in the task in
which Franklin had failed.
Christopher Gadsen, Arthur Middleton, William Henry
Drayton, and David Ramsey were the great orators of
South Carolina during the Revolution period. At the be-
ginning of the war they accomplished much by inspiring
their fellow-countrymen with patriotism and courage.
John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and
Thomas Pinckney had much to do with managing the affairs
of the province during the war. The distinguished generals,
Sumter, Pickens, Marion and Hampton rendered valuable
service as statesmen services which are apt to be over-
looked on account of these men being such efficient partisan
officers. The men who signed the Declaration of Inde-
pendence for South Carolina were Thomas Heyward,
Thomas Lynch, Arthur Middleton and Edward Rutledge.
South Carolina's women were as loyal, devoted, and
heroic as her men. They supplied the soldiers with many
comforts by knitting and weaving garments for them. In
some instances they took an active part in the struggle.
Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Dillard made perilous rides to warn
the patriots of impending attacks of the enemy. "We will
long remember the patriotic spirit and self-sacrifice ex-
hibited by Mrs. Motte when she showed the Americans how
to set fire to her own house in which the British were
fortified. Mrs. Bratton nursed some wounded British sol-
diers who had threatened to kill her the day before. Our
state has sufficient cause to be proud of her noble women
of the Revolution.
The difficulties under which South Carolina labored
throughout the long struggle only add to her glory and
honor. Next to Georgia she was the feeblest of the colonies.
At the beginning of the war she had only ten thousand
available men. There were heavy drains upon her limited
resources. Much of the ammunition used during the war
was captured from the British. Reaping hooks and mowing
scythes were used for weapons when the supply of guns was
118 REVOLUTIONARY READER
inadequate. Saws were taken from sawmills to be made
into swords. Lead was removed from the housetops and
churches to be run into bullets. The soldiers had not half
enough tents, camp kettles, and canteens. Clothes, food
and medicines were often lacking. Added to all this were
the strifes created by the insurgent Royalists and Indians.
When we view the remarkable successes of the South Caro-
linians in the light of all these conditions, we can but agree
with the great historian Bancroft in his opinion that "the
sons of South Carolina suffered more, dared more and
achieved more than the men of any other state."
LYMAN HALL.
Lyman Hall, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, was born in Wallingford, Conn., April 12,
1724. He was the son of Hon. John Hall and Mary Street.
In 1747 Lyman Hall was graduated from Yale College in a
class of twenty-eight members. He then studied Theology.
In the twenty-eighth year of his age he moved to Dor-
chester, S. C., and for many years ministered to the needs
of those sturdy people.
Many of these settlers removed to Liberty County,
Georgia. Along with the second stream of immigration
came Lyman Hall.
When the storm of the Revolution began to lower, Dr.
Hall promptly took sides with the patriots and to them he
was a tower of strength. Dr. Hall was chariman of the
meeting at Midway, February 9th, 1775, which sent dele-
gates to the meeting at Charleston. He was elected to rep-
resent the people of St. John's Parish in the Continental
Congress, March 21, 1775.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed,
Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett and George Walton, in be-
half of the inhabitants of Georgia, affixed their names to
the famous document.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 119
When the British troops overran Georgia, the property
of those who had espoused the patriot cause was confiscated
and destroyed, and Dr. Hall's residence at Sunbury and
his plantation near Midway were despoiled. With his fam-
ily he removed to the North where he resided till 1782,
when he returned to Georgia and settled in Savannah.
In 1783 Dr. Hall was elected Governor of Georgia and
his administration was one of the most important in the
history of the State. After the expiration of his term of
office as Governor, he returned to Savannah and again took
up the practice of medicine. He removed to Burke County
in 1790 and settled upon a fine plantation near Shell Bluff.
Here he died, October 19, 1790, at the age of sixty-seven,
and was buried in a brick vault on a bold bluff overlooking
the river.
In 1848 his remains were removed to Augusta and
placed with those of George Walton beneath the monument
erected by patriotic citizens in front of the Court House.
In person, Dr. Hall was six feet tall and finely propor-
tioned. He was a man of great courage and discretion, and
withal gentle and easy in manner.
He was fitted to guide the ship of State in the storm of
the Revolution, and though he never bore arms, or won dis-
tinction as an orator, the people felt safe with his hand at
the helm. The State of Georgia has fittingly perpetuated
his memory by naming one of its counties for him, and, so
long as liberty and patriotism shall live, so long shall the
name of Lyman Hall be remembered. Compiled from
"Men of Mark of Georgia."
120 REVOLUTIONARY READER
A ROMANCE OF REVOLUTIONARY TIMES.
About 1768, the only son of Sir John Stirling, of Scot-
land, was sent to one of the West India Islands to look after
some property. If he needed money he was to write home
for it, putting a private mark on his letters. A serious
illness caused him to forget the private mark, so no atten-
tion was paid to his letters with request for money. So he
found himself stranded among strangers without money
and without health.
A kindly sea captain, whom he met, offered to take him
in his vessel to Connecticut without money. He gladly
accepted the offer and sailed for a more healthful climate.
Shortly after he left the West Indies, letters were received
there from his father inquiring for him. The answer was
sent to the father that his son had been very ill, and as he
had disappeared they supposed he was dead. In the mean-
time young Stirling had gone to Stratford, Connecticut,
where he taught school as a means of support. He soon
fell in love with one of his pupils, pretty Glorianna Folsom,
the beauty and belle of the village. Her father was a pros-
perous farmer. They were married in 1772. After the
birth of their first child, a young minister, who was going
to Scotland to be ordained, offered to hunt up his family
if he would give him the necessary proofs of his identity.
He did so, though reluctantly and hopelessly. The minister
sailed for Scotland and soon found the family who were in
deep mourning for the son they had supposed dead. They
were overjoyed to hear he was alive, and at once wrote him
to come home by the first vessel, not waiting for his wife
and child to get ready ; that they would send for them later.
He did so, and his sudden departure caused the gossips to
decide that Glorianna and her little daughters (for the
second one was born after he left) had been deserted. It
may have seemed a long period, but after he had had time
to prepare a home for her and a quantity of beautiful
clothing, he sent a ship to New York for her and she was
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 121
requested to embark immediately. She found everything
provided for her comfort and convenience and a servant
to wait on her. They lived near Stirling Castle and after-
wards in Edinborough and young Stirling succeeded to the
honors and estates of the Baronet in due time.
Glorianna was a woman of remarkable character as well
as beauty, and was the mother of eighteen children.
Grace Martin, Piedmont Continental Chapter, D. A. R.
"FT. MOTTE."
"As unto the bow the cord is,
So unto the man is woman,
Tho' she bends him she obeys him,
Tho' she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other."
We have in our county of Orangeburg an historic spot
which rightly in name is a monument to the self-sacrifice
and heroism of Mrs. Rebecca Motte, the wife of Col. Isaac
Motte.
This family had moved from Charleston to St. Matthew 's
Parish and owned a beautiful plantation home on the Con-
garee river, about where the present town of Fort Motte
stands.
As Nathaniel Greene, aided by the partisan leaders,
drove the British from post to post back into Charleston,
the British fortified Motte 's, the chief part of the post
being Mrs. Rebecca Motte 's home. The family had been
driven out by the British and were living in the neighbor-
hood.
Lee's and Marion's men built a mound of earth, which
is still to be seen, from which the riflemen could command
the inside of the fort, but the house protected the enemy
still. It was found necessary to burn it.
They informed Mrs. Motte that they would probably
have to burn her home, which stood in the center of the
122 REVOLUTIONARY READER
fort; she begged them that they would not consider her
house of any consequence in the general cause and with
great patriotism and firmness presented them with a bow
and quiver of arrows and showing them how to set fire to
the house, requested that they should burn it quickly.
By this means the "Whigs threw fire on the roof, com-
pelling the garrison commanded by Lieutenant McPherson
to surrender or be roasted. Mrs. Motte was extremely
rejoiced when she saw the garrison surrender.
Lee 's and Marion 's men extinguished the flames and the
house was afterwards rebuilt.
Some authorities say that the bow and arrows were a
present sent Mrs. Motte from India, others that they were
borrowed of a negro boy. However this may be the mound
of earth is all that is now visible as a reminder of Mrs.
Motte 's sacrifice.
The place where the house stood is at present a cotton
field and owned by Mrs. A. T. Darby.
Time, the eradicator, will eventually wipe out the mound
and all that will commemorate this brave deed will be the
name, "Fort Motte," on the written page. MRS. BESSIE
GOGGANS OWEN, Vice-Regent Moultrie Chapter, in Ameri-
can Monthly.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 123
PETER STROZIER.
About the year 1748, Peter Strozier, the hero of our
story, was born in Germany. We know nothing of his
childhood or early life, but in manhood we know him as
our worthy ancestor and find him bravely fighting for
American independence. He was married to Margaret
Dozier in his native land and he, with four brothers, came
to America about the time of the out-break of the Revolu-
tionary War and settled in Virginia.
To the call of the country that he had come to share its
reverses as well as its prosperity, and in the spirit of liberty
he was ready to draw the sword when the iron heel of op-
pression was set upon its cherished rights.
During the seven years of faithful service he gave to his
country, his wife and five children were left alone in a
country home, where their lives were in constant danger.
But God, in His all wise providence had sent into their
home an orphan boy who was left to care, as best he could,
for the family. This orphan boy, whose name was Captain
Paddy Carr, was reared by our worthy ancestor, and dur-
ing his life his gratitude never waned for his benefactor
and benefactress. In the meantime Captain Carr moved
the family to Georgia but found the condition of affairs
even worse than in Virginia. The Tories at this time held
full sway in Georgia and in no other state were they so
wicked and cruel. The people were divided into two
parties, the Tories and the Patriots. The Tories were those
who took the oath of allegience to the King, and those who
refused to take the oath and would rather suffer and fight
for American Independence, were called Patriots. So the
Tories and Patriots hated each other with a bitter hatred.
While these Patriots, brave and liberty loving men, were
ficrhting for their independence, the Tories were left un-
molested in their homes. The Patriots were forced to leave
their property and helpless families to the mercy of the
British and Tories. The Tories were far worse than the
British. They formed themselves into companies, roving
124 REVOLUTIONARY READER
over the country, committing all kinds of outrages ; robbing
and burning houses, throwing old grayheaded fathers and
grandfathers into prison and driving helpless wives and
children from their homes, showing mercy to no one who
favored the American cause.
One venerable great grandmother, Margaret Strozier,
fell a victim to a band of these Tories, who robbed and
burned her home and drove her away. She walked with
five children to South Carolina. When the young Patriot,
Captain Carr, heard of the robbery and burning, his fiery
blood boiled in his veins and he swore vengeance on all
Tories. Henceforth he lost no opportunity to avenge the
wrong done to the woman who was the only mother God
had given him, and to children who were his only brothers
and sisters. Tradition tells us that at the point of his own
gun, he captured at one time five Tories and held them
until his Company came up, and to them he showed no
mercy.
Having gone through the Revolutionary War, which
closed in 1782, Peter Strozier, with his family, settled in
Wilkes County, Georgia. Tradition also tells us that he
was a man of noble traits, with great force and dignity of
character. His last days were passed under a silver-lined
cloud, and in the old county of Wilkes he lies buried today.
After his death, his wife, Margaret Dozier Strozier, who had
shared with him the sufferings and hardships of the cruel
war, moved to Meriwether County, Georgia, with her son
Reuben Strozier, and she lies buried in the old family grave-
yard about four miles west of Greenville, Georgia, near the
old Strozier homestead.
We can say by tradition, from generation to generation,
that there sleep today no truer, no purer, no nobler ones
than Peter and Margaret Strozier. How we love and
cherish the memory of our fore-fathers! So will genera-
tions, after generations, and may we never tire in our
efforts to preserve the records of the lives and struggles of
those who fought and bled and died for our freedom.
NANNIE STROZIER THRASH.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 125
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Oh, happy Independence Day,
We love thy honored name,
Dear happy Independence Day
Is with us once again.
Over a hundred years ago,
This day first won its fame,
And tho' the long years come and go,
"Tis remembered just the same.
We are a band of people true,
We love our native home,
Its environments, its skies of blue,
From it we'll never roam.
Let us forget the soldiers never,
Who battle to be free,
Who fought King George's army,
From far across the sea.
They left their dear beloved home
To chase the cruel foe,
O'er deserted battle fields to roam
Midst suffering, pain and woe.
Those soldiers now are sleeping
To chase the cruel foe,
O'er deserted battle fields to roam
Midst suffering pain and woe.
Those soldiers now are sleeping
On plain, and hill, and shore,
Their titles we are keeping,
But they'll be here no more.
When wars wild note was sounded
When the cry for freedom came,
England's hosts had landed
To win her glorious fame.
126 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Alas, the British finally knew
They could no longer stay,
They left our brave and daring few
And quickly sailed away.
Alas, those dreadful day are gone,
No one remains to tell,
Of struggles made, and burdens bore,
For the land we love so well.
We love the mother country yet,
Her name we still adore,
Her kindness we can ne'r forget,
But we'll be bound no more.
Oh, happy Independence Day
How dear to us the name!
Oh, happy Independence Day
Is with us once again.
By Mamie Crosby.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 127
SARAH GILLIAM WILLIAMSON.
The most remarkable woman who lived in Georgia
during the Revolutionary War, perhaps, was Sarah Gilliam
Williamson. Considering her loyalty to the cause of the
colonies, her courage in managing the plantation and large
number of negro slaves during the absence of her husband
in the army, her sufferings at the hands of the enemy,
together with the success of her descendants, she stands
ahead of any of the Georgia women of her day.
Sarah Gilliam was born in Virginia about the year 1735.
Her father was William Gilliam, and her mother Mary
Jarrett, the sister of Rev. Devereau Jarrett, the distin-
guished Episcopal minister.
Sarah Gilliam married Micajah Williamson, a young
man of Scotch-Irish parentage. In 1768 the young couple
moved to Wilkes County, Georgia, and settled on a fine
body of land. It was while living here in peace and
abundance, with their growing family around them, that
the difference between the mother country and the colonies
began.
Sarah Williamson and her husband both warmly
espoused the cause of the colonies, and when hostilities
commenced a Georgia regiment took the field with Elijah
Clarke as Colonel, and Macajah Williamson as Lieutenant-
Colonel. Micajah Williamson was present in all the con-
flicts of this regiment and in the battle of Kettle Creek Col.
Clarke gave him full credit for his part in winning the
victory.
Many scenes of this nature were enacted in the neighbor-
hood of Sarah Williamson's home, and this fearless woman
not only witnessed the conflicts, but sometimes participated
in them. Her husband was twice wounded and to him she
gave the care of a devoted wife, nursing him back to health
and to the service of his country.
Year after year during this long struggle Sarah Wil-
liamson bravely assumed the part of both the man and the
woman. Under her excellent management the plantation
12& REVOLUTIONARY READER
was cultivated, supplies were furnished the army, and
spinning wheels were kept busy making clothes for husband,
children and slaves. Thus she toiled in the face of ever-
present danger, threatened always with hostile Indians,
cruel Tories and British soldiers.
Finally, one day the dreaded Tories, incensed at her
husband's activity in the cause of the colonies, made a raid
on the home and after taking all they wanted, destroyed by
fire every building on the plantation, and their fiendish
hearts not being yet satisfied with the suffering of this
loyal woman, they hung her eldest son, a handsome youth,
in the presence of his mother.
Her courage undaunted by this great calamity, Sarah
Williamson had the faithful slaves gather up the remaining
live stock running at large in the woods, and with her
entire household went as a refugee to the mountains of
North Carolina, where they remained until the close of the
war, when they returned to the plantation.
A few years later the family moved to "Washington,
Georgia. Here again it became necessary for her to manage
for the family when her husband was commissioned
Major- General of Georgia troops and led an army against
the hostile Cherokee Indians. Peace was made, however,
before a battle was fought.
Now Sarah Williamson began to reap the reward her
love, sacrifice, energy and labor had won. Her five sons
grew to be successful men, her six daughters to be refined,
educated and beautiful women, who became the wives of
prominent men. One daughter married John Clarke who
became Governor of Georgia.
To this Georgia mother belongs the distinguished honor
of being the first American woman to furnish from her
descendants two Justices of the Supreme Court of the
United States; Justice John A. Campbell of Alabama was
her grandson, and Justice L. Q. C. Lamar of Georgia and
Mississippi was her great grandson. RUBY FELDER RAY,
State Historian, D. A. R.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 129
A COLONIAL HIDING PLACE.
In sailing up the Hudson River, about one hundred
miles above New York, you will discover on the west side a
rather broad estuary, named by the old Dutch settlers, the
Katterskill Creek.
This creek flows through a cleft in the mountains, known
in the quaint language of the Dutch as the Katterskill
Clove.
This clove, nature's pass through the mountains, was
well known, and used by the tribes of the Six Nations, and
especially by the vindictive, and blood thirsty Mohawks, as
an easy trail by which they would descend upon the peace-
loving and thrifty Dutch settlers ; kill all the men who had
not fled for refuge to the strong stone houses which were
specially built for defence ; capture the women and children,
and kill all the live stock.
On the peninsula between the river and the creek, the
latter being wide and deep enough to float the magnificent
steamers which ply between Albany and New York, stood
the colonial mansion to which your attention is called.
This mansion, for it was a splendid structure for those
days, and the term would not be a misnomer in these, was
built in 1763 by a Madam Dies, a Dutch matron, who after-
wards married an English army officer. This man was so
infatuated with his Dutch "vrow," and her wealth, that he
deserted the colors, and would hide from search parties in
the place to be hereinafter described.
The house was built of the gray sand stone found in
that region, and was two stories high, with a capacious
cellar, and an immense garret. The walls were nearly three
feet thick, set in cement, which became so hard that when
the day of destruction came a few years ago, the workmen
were unable to tear the walls apart, but had to blow them
down with dynamite. One hundred and fifty years had
that cement been setting, and it was as hard as the stone
itself.
130 REVOLUTIONARY READER
In the cellar was a well to provide water in case of siege
by the Indians, and heat was obtained by huge fire places
in each of the eight large rooms, the smoke from which was
carried off by two giant chimneys, and on one of these
chimneys hangs the tale which is the excuse for this article.
Madam Dies, true to her name, was gathered to her
fathers, and her craven husband went to the place prepared,
for those who desert their colors.
Leaving no direct heirs, the house with its ten acres of
grounds, and known from its elegance and size as "Dies
Folly" passed into other hands, and finally, early in the
nineteenth century, was purchased by Major Ephriam
Beach, and remained in the family for nearly one hundred
years, until destroyed by the exigencies of business.
The huge chimneys reared their massive proportions
in the center of each side of the house, and Major Beach,
wishing to rearrange the interior of his dwelling, tore
down the one on the north side. As it was being taken
down, brick by brick, they came to where it passed through
the garret, and there the workmen discovered a secret
recess capable of holding several people.
It was cunningly conceived with the entrance so ar-
ranged as to exactly resemble the brick composing the
chimney, and an enemy might hunt for days and fail to
discover the secret hiding place. It was evidently intended
as a concealed refuge in case the house should be captured
by the Indians, but so far as known was never used for
that purpose, the village never being attacked after the
house was built. Some dishes and a water jar which were
found in the hidden chamber, served to prove that the
husband of Madam Dies used it to conceal himself from the
British soldiers when they were hunting him, but apart
from that undignified proceeding it was never used.
The house was well known to be haunted, and there
are many well authenticated ghost stories told in connec-
tion with it ; but the spooks were a decent and well behaved
THE OLD LIBKKTY BELL.
"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all
the inhabitants thereof."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 131
lot, and never disturbed the writer, who spent many years
within its substantial walls.
The daughter of the writer was the last of my children
born therein, and she never saw even a fairy Godmother,
although both of her grandmothers hovered around her
cradle.
The writer, Edward Cunningham Beach, is a grandson of
Major Ephriam Beach, herein mentioned and the baby daughter
in aforesaid is Mrs. Barrett Cothran, of Atlanta, Georgia.
Council Safety Chapter, D. A. R.
A HERO OF THE REVOLUTION.
The descendants of Grace (Pittman) Me Arthur still tell
to their children the story of Philip Pittman, her father,
as it has been handed down from father to son.
Philip was born July 7, 1765. He was one of eleven
children of John and Mary Pittman. His father served in
the Revolution, as Matross in Capt. Harman Davis' Com-
pany, 4th Artillery Regiment of South Carolina, com-
manded by Col. Barnard Beckman.
Though too young, probably, to enlist, the revolutionary
fires burned so brightly in the young patriots breast that he
was ready to give his life to his country even though he
might not carry sabre or musket.
As the story goes, Philip was overtaken by Tories at*
one time while he was making his way over the country
with provisions for his father John and some comrades.
Thinking this an easy way to find out the whereabouts
of the Patriot army the Tories commanded the boy to tell
where his father was, but they reckoned without their host.
The boy stoutly refused to tell, and even though strung
up and hung to a near by limb until almost too near dead
to talk, he still refused. Whereupon the officer, moved
perhaps by the extreme youth of the boy, ripped out an
oath and ordered him cut down, remarking that the
rascal would die before he would tell.
132 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
Philip did not die, but lived to grow to manhood,
enlisted in the war and served as one of Georgia's soldiers
line in the Revolutionary War.
He was three times married, raised a large family of
children whose allegiance to their country was only equaled
by that of their father. Philip died in south-west Georgia,
July 14, 1849. MRS. J. D. TWEEDY, (Lula McArthur),
Dawson, Ga., Dorothy Walton Chapter, D. A. R.
JOHN PAUL JONES.
What American or French girl or boy does not like to
hear of that ' ' wizard ' ' of the sea, John Paul Jones ! That
"Pirate," as he was called by the English minister in Hol-
land, when Jones took his captured psizes there, but he
was no more a Pirate than you or I. The word Pirate
means one who is at war with mankind, and John Paul
was holding an honest position in an honorable service and
fighting only the enemies of his adopted country America.
He was born July 6th, 1747, at Arbigland, Scotland, of
poor and obscure parents, his father being a gardener, but
the right material was in him to make a great man and he
won for himself a world-wide fame as a leading figure in
the American Navy. The only conquerer to whom he ever
lowered his colors was death.
At twelve years of age he was apprenticed, then went
to sea on the "Friendship" to visit his brother William
Paul, in Virginia. While in North Carolina, in 1773, he
changed his surname to Jones for the love he bore to a
family of that name living there. To show what one can
do when he tries and has faith in himself, I will tell you
that Jones was a poor sailor at twelve, officer at seventeen,
Naval Lieutenant at twenty-eight, Captain at twenty-nine,
Commodore at thirty-two, at forty-one a Vice-Admiral in
the Imperial Navy of Russia, at forty-three a prominent
figure in the French Revolution, and died at the age of
133
forty-five, deeply deplored by Napoleon, who expected to
do great things in conjunction with him.
Jones loved France and France loved him, and with
him and France we were able to gain our liberty from the
British yoke. He loved America because he loved liberty,
and he put all his grand titles aside when making his last
will and testament to sign himself, ' ' I, John Paul Jones, an
American citizen." Such men as Washington, Franklin,
Hamilton and LaFayette, were his staunch friends. Kings
and Queens delighted to do him favor. Louis XVI
knighted him and presented him with a sword of honor.
Catherine, of Russia, made him an Admiral and loaded him
with honors. These are only a few of his distinguished
friends.
In personal appearance he was slender and swarthy,
with black hair and eyes ; always well dressed, graceful and
courtly. He was as much at home at the most aristocratic
courts of Europe as when treading the deck of a man-of-
war. He was grave by nature, but quite witty.
A kinder heart never beat in the breast of any man.
He hoisted the first American Flag that ever flew from
an American war vessel, on his ship, the ' ' Ranger, ' ' and at
the same time Congress decided to accept the present form
of the flag, it made him Captain of the "Ranger," hence
his remark: "The flag and I are twins; born at the same
hour, from the same womb of destiny ; we cannot be parted
in life or death."
February 14th, 1778, the French naval commander, Lea
Motte Piquet, saluted for the first time from a foreign
power the Stars and Stripes, gave thirteen and received
nine guns.
Just a word right here about the flag, so dear to us:
When Betsy Ross made our flag, she objected to the
six pointed stars that General Washington wanted, because
the English used it, but told him it would be more ap-
propriate to use the five pointed star that the French and
134 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Dutch used, as they were friendly to the colonies ; and she
had her way.
I have'nt space to tell of the many victories of Jones,
but one of the greatest was when he captured the ' ' Serapis ' '
from the British, September 23, 1779. His own little weak;
vessel, the "Bonhomme Richard" went down with the flag
flying, but just before it sank, his antagonist thought he
was about to give up the fight, and asked him "if he had
struck his flag ? ' ' He answered, ' ' I 've just begun to fight. ' '
So he won the battle and captured the prize.
Jones died July 18, 1792, in Paris, of dropsy of the
chest. He was buried in the old St. Louis cemetery, in the
northeastern part of Paris, and lay there one hundred and
thirteen years before he was brought back to the United
States. General Horace Porter is the man who, after six
long years of search, finally found his body in the old
cemetery, which by this time was the dumping ground for
horses and dogs.
The body had been put in a leaden coffin, carefully
packed with straw and hay, and then filled with alcohol to
preserve it. Rear Admiral C. D. Sigsbee, was sent to
France to bring the remains of the hero home.
Knowing Jones' love for our flag, the Daughters of the
American Revolution Society presented Admiral Sigsbee
with a beautiful silk flag, June 15th, 1905, to be used in
connection with the return of Jones' remains. Afterward
it was hung in Continental Hall, Washington, D. C.
On July 25, 1915, the body of Jones was placed in a
brick vault, Naval Academy grounds, Annapolis, with
religious and military ceremonies. On April 29, 1906,
commemorative ceremonies were held in the Armory of the
Naval Academy, Annapolis, and then the casket was put in
Bancroft Hall. Here all that is mortal of the conquerer of
the "Serapis" lies, and in the battles of life when the odds
seem against us, may we be able to exclaim with him, "I've
just begun to fight." MRS. W. E. WIMPY, Piedmont Con-
tinental Chapter, D. A. R.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 135
THE REAL GEORGIA CRACKER.
There was a man named Oglethorpe,
Who didn't like old England's laws;
So he got into his little ship,
And sailed it straight across.
He swung around Carolina's point
And landed at a Bluff;
And when he found the soil so rich,
He said "tis good enough."
He named the place Savannah,
And then laid off a town,
You ought to seed the taters,
That grew thar in the ground.
He planted cotton, rice and corn,
And then a patch of backer:
That was the first beginning,
Of the Real Georgia Cracker.
Then he got some mules and plows,
And sat the boys to hoeing;
Ever since they stirred the soil,
The Georgia Cracker has been growing.
But now where once those taters grew,
Mount twenty tall church steeples;
And the place he named Savannah,
Dwell nigh a hundred thousand people.
Will stand a living factor;
While angels guard it overhead,
God bless the Georgia Cracker.
In Chippewa his monument,
Jesup, Ga. L. G. Lucas.
136 REVOLUTIONARY READER
THE DYING SOLDIER WHO GAVE HIS WIFE
FOR HIS FRIEND.
Many years ago there lived in Virginia a little boy whose
name was John Davenport. His father was a farmer who
planted and raised large crops of tobacco in the fields about
his home. His parents were good and wise people, and
carefully brought up and trained their children. John was
a good boy. He was honest, truthful, obedient, bold and
strong. If he had any thing to do, either in work or play,
he did it well. He grew up like other boys of his day. He
went to school and made many friends among his play-
mates by his manly conduct.
There lived in the same county in Virginia another
little boy of strong and sterling character whose name was
Harry Burnley. These two little boys were near neighbors
and great friends, and they played and hunted and fished
together all during their early boyhood days.
When John Davenport was quite a young man he met
and married Lucy Barksdale, a girl of great merit and
beauty who was just sixteen years old at the time of their
marriage in 1772.
This couple spent many happy days together ; children
came to gladden their home ; and life looked rosy and bright
before them. As these peaceful and happy days were glid-
ing by in their Virginia home a tempest was gathering a
great war cloud which was destined to bring much sorrow
to this happy pair.
England, the mother country, who at first dealt kindly
and justly with the colonists, had begun to be unkind to
them and to tax them unjustly. These oppressive and
burdensome taxes the colonists refused to pay. England
sent over trained soldiers to the American colonies to en-
force obedience to her unjust laws. The colonists were
weak, and had no trained soldiers ; but they raised an army
and determined to fight for their liberties. So war began.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 137
After the Declaration of Independence by the patriots
on July 4th, 1776, John Davenport, ever true to his country
and his convictions of right and wrong, though regretting
to leave his beautiful young wife and his happy children,
took up arms to fight for liberty. Harry Burnley went
with him to fight for the same noble cause. They were both
brave soldiers and fought in most of the prominent battles
of the Revolutionary war. They were mess-mates and
bunk-mates throughout the war.
On the night of March 14th, 1781, while the two oppos--
ing armies were encamped near Greensboro, at Guilford
Court House, North Carolina, and stood ready to join in
bloody battle the next day, these two devoted friends were
sitting by their camp fire, talking of the coming battle and
thinking of their loved ones at home. John Davenport
seemed sad and much depressed. Harry Burnley noticed
his depression and asked him why he was no downcast. He
said, " Harry, somehow I feel that I will be killed in battle
tomorrow. I almost know it." Harry Burnley tried to
dissipate his gloomy forebodings and cheer him up, by
laughing at him and by making light of presentiments and
by tusseling with him, but all without success. Determined
to cheer up his friend, Harry finally said, "John, if you
are killed tomorrow, I am going back home and marry your
widow, ' ' Harry being an unmarried man.
On the next day the cruel battle was fought. The
ground was covered with dead and dying men, soldiers on
both sides, covered with blood and dust. One of these
soldiers was John Davenport. He had been wounded and
would die ; and he was suffering from both pain and thirst.
When the battle was over, his devoted friend hurried to his
side and found him mortally wounded. "When he found
him, skulkers were stripping him of the silver buckles which
he wore.*
* These skulkers in their hurry to get away left five silver
buckles and epaulettes which were exhibited at the Exposition
in New Orleans some years ago.
138 REVOLUTIONARY READER
He was tenderly nursed by his life-long friend during
the few hours that he lived. Realizing that the end was
near, John Davenport said to his friend, ''Harry, I am
dying ; and you remember last night you said to me in jest
that if I lost my life today, that you were going home and
marry Lucy. You have been my best friend, you are a
noble and good man, and I now ask you in earnest to do as
you said you would in jest go back home after the war is
over, marry my wife, and take care of her and my five little
children. ' '
About one year after the death of John Davenport,
Harry Burnley and Mrs. Lucy Davenport were married.
Several years later they moved to Warren County, Georgia,
where they lived and died and were buried. Mrs. Lucy
Davenport Burnley was the mother of fourteen children,
five by her first marriage and nine by her second. Among
her descendants are to be found very many noble men and
women in America distinguished as writers, lawyers and
educators, and in every walk of life. Many of her sons
and grandsons have sacrificed their lives for their country.
MRS. ANNIE DAVIDSON HOWELL.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 139
WHEN BEN FRANKLIN SCORED.
Long after the victories of Washington over the French
and the English had made his name familiar to all Europe,
Benjamin Franklin was a guest at a dinner given in honor
of the French and English Ambassadors. The Ambassador
from England arose and drank a toast to his native land :
"To England the sun whose bright beams enlighten and
fructify the remotest corners of the earth.'
The French Ambassador, filled with his own national
pride, but too polite to dispute the previous toast, offered
the following: "To France the moon whose mild, steady,
and cheering rays are the delight of all nations, consoling
them in darkness and making their dreariness beautiful. ' '
Then arose "Old Ben Franklin," and said in his slow
but dignified way: "To George Washington the Joshua
who commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, and
they obeyed him."
A REVOLUTIONARY BAPTIZING.
After the cold winter at Valley Forge, Captain Charles
Cameron was sent home to Augusta County, Virginia, to
recruit his Company. On his way back to the Continental
Army, he and his men captured a Tory on the right bank of
the Potomac River and decided to convert him, by baptism,
into a loyal Patriot. Taking him down to the river bank
they plunged him in.
Once "Hurrah for King George !" came from the stru-
gling Tory as he arose from the water.
Twice "Hurrah for King George! Long live King
George ! ' ' The Tory was again on top.
Three times "Hurrah for King George! Long live
King George! King George forever!"
The men looked helplessly at their Captain. "Loose
him," were the orders, "and let him go. He is uncon-
vertible."
140 REVOLUTIONARY READER
GEORGE WALTON.
The youngest of the three signers of the Declaration of
Independence, from Georgia, was George Walton, who was
born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, in 1749. He be-
came an orphan when quite young and his guardian did
not care to be burdened with his education, so he was given
to a carpenter as an apprentice and put to hard work.
After his days work he would light a fire of fat pine and
study until the wee small hours of the night, thus gaining
an education most boys would let go ; by. The good
carpenter, seeing him so industriously inclined and anxious
for an education, allowed him to keep the money he earned
and helped him all he could and at last relieved him of
his apprenticeship, and he then decided to come to Georgia.
At twenty years of age he went (by private conveyance) to
Savannah, which was then a small town of only a few
thousand people. He studied law in the office of Henry
Young and was soon admitted to the bar.
In June, 1775, a call signed by George Walton, Noble
W. Jones, Archibald Bullock and John Houston, was issued
asking people to meet at Liberty Pole to take measures to
bring about a union of Georgia with her sister colonies
in the cause of freedom. The meeting was a success, a
council of Safety Chapter organized, of which George
Walton was a member, the Union Flag was raised at the
Liberty Pole, and patriotic speeches were made.
In July, 1775, a Congress of Representatives from all
over Georgia was held in Savannah. This Congress has
been called " Georgia's first Secession Convention" for it
declared the colony was no longer bound by the acts of
England, since the mother country was acting unjustly and
oppressively. George Walton was present and though only
twenty-six years old, he was recognized as one of the most
influential representatives of the convention.
In December, 1775, George Walton became President of
the Council of Safety and practically had charge of the
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 141
colony. He was sent as a delegate to the Continental Con-
gress in Philadelphia in 1776. The war had begun and
the country was much excited. It was decided that Inde-
pendence was the only proper course, so July 4th, 1776,
the Declaration of Independence was signed by all dele-
gates.
In 1777, George Walton married Dorothy Chamber;
1779 he was Governor of Georgia, then he went back to
Philadelphia as a member of Congress, where he stayed
until October, 1781. In December, 1778, he became Colonel
in the First Regiment of Foot Militia for the defence of
Georgia. The British were then bent on capturing Savan-
nah. Col. Walton with one hundred men was posted on the
South Common to guard the approach to Great Ogeeche
Ferry. General Robert Howe was in command of the
American forces, and Colonel Walton had informed him of
a pass through the swamp by which the enemy could attack
them in rear, but General Howe paid no attention to this.
The result was this pass being left unguarded, the British
made their way to the rear of the American forces and fell
upon them with great disaster. Col. Walton was shot in
the thigh, the bone being broken ; and falling from his
horse, was captured by the British. The enemy entered
Savannah and held that city captive. Col. Walton was
taken prisoner to Sunbury, where he was well cared for
until his recovery. He never, however, regained complete
use of his leg, for he limped the rest of his life. He was
exchanged for a Captain of the British Navy and
proceeded to Augusta. Soon after his return to Augusta
he was made Governor of Georgia, but the state being so
over-run by British, he had little to do.
Peace came to the colonists in 1782, and the British
withdrew from Savannah. America was free and the
states independent in 1783. George Walton was made
Chief Justice of Georgia, and for seven years was a beloved
judge in all parts of Georgia. In 1789 he was again made
Governor of Georgia for a term of one year. While he
142 REVOLUTIONARY READER
was governor he received a copy of the Constitution of the
United States which had been framed by the delegates from
all the states.
In 1795 and 1796, George Walton was sent as a Senator
to the Congress of the United States. For many years,
and up to the time of his death he was judge of the middle
circuit of Georgia. During the latter part of his life, his
home was near Augusta at a beautiful country place named
Meadow Garden. The house is still standing, and was
bought by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and
is being preserved by them as a memorial to George Walton.
He died February 2nd, 1804, at Meadow Garden, in the
fifty-fifth year of his life. He was buried several miles
from Augusta, at Rosney, here his body rested until 1848,
when it was reinterred, being brought to Augusta and
placed under the monument on Greene Street, in front of
court house, the body of Lyman Hall being placed there at
the same time. The grave of Button Gwinnett could not be
found; so only two of the signers of the Declaration rest
under this stately memorial.
Few men have received as many honors as George
Walton. He was six times elected representative to Con-
gress, twice Governor of Georgia, once a Senator of the
United States, four times Judge of the Superior Court,
once the Chief Justice of the state. He was a Commissioner
to treat with the Indians, often in the State Legislature,
a member of nearly every important committee on public
affairs during his life. His name occurs in the State's
Annals for over thirty years of eventful and formative
history. Compiled from "Men of Mark of Georgia."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 143
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
In writing of a man like Jefferson, whose name has been
a household word since the birth of the Nation, it is well-
nigh impossible to avoid being commonplace ; so that in the
beginning, I ask you indulgence, if in reviewing his life,
I should recount facts that are as familiar to you as the
Decalogue.
Yet, in studying that life, I find such a richness of
achievement, such an abundance of attainment, such a
world of interest, that I am at a loss how to prepare a paper
that will not require an extra session for its reading.
Thomas Jefferson was the eldest child of a seemingly
strange union ; the father, an uneducated pioneer, surveyor,
and Indian fighter, living in the mountains of Virginia
the mother, Jane Randolph, coming from the best blood of
that blue blooded commonwealth. I think we need dig no
further around Jefferson's family tree in order to under-
stand how a gentleman of education, culture, and aristo-
cratic instincts could affect a dress so different from men
of his class, and could so deeply and sincerely love the
masses as to spend his life in their behalf. And this he
certainly did. He worked, thought, planned, and accom-
plished for them yet, throughout his life, his associations
were always with the upper classes.
He began life in 1743, in the small village of Shadwell,
Va., where he spent his childhood and youth among the
freedom of the hills. Afterwards, whenever he escaped
from public duty, it was to retire to this same neighborhood,
for it was on one of his ancestral hills that Monticello was
built.
Thanks to his mother, he was carefully educated at Wil-
liam and Mary College, from which he graduated at the
age of eighteen. The Brittanica draws the following picture
of him as a young man:
"He was an expert musician, a good dancer, a dashing
rider, proficient in all manly exercises; a hard student;
144 BEVOLUTIONARY READER
tall, straight, slim, with hazel eyes, sandy hair, delicate
skin, ruddy complexion; frank, earnest, sympathetic,
cordial, full of confidence in men, and sanguine in his
views of life. ' ' Is not that a pleasing portrait ?
Being the eldest son, his father's death, while he was
at college, left him heir to his estate of nineteen hundred
acres, so that he could live very comfortably. Jefferson
lived in a day when a man's wealth was measured in great
part by the land he owned. It is indicative of his thrift and
energy that his nineteen hundred acres soon grew to five
thousand "all paid for," we are told. Indeed, he was
strictly honest in paying his debts.
He was a born farmer, and to the end of his life retained
his love for that mode of existence.
However, he chose the law for his profession. That he
did not have to watch his practice grow through a long
season of painful probation is shown by the record of sixty-
eight cases before the chief court of the Province during
the first year after his admission to the Bar, and nearly
twice that many the second year.
Although, as I said, he loved a farmer's life, he was
allowed little leisure to follow it, serving in succession as
member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, member of
Congress, Governor of Virginia, member of Congress again,
Minister to France, Secretary of State, Vice-President, and
President.
Perhaps many other men have served the public for as
long a term, but I challenge historj^ to find another who
has accomplished so much for his country.
From the founding of Jamestown to the present day, no
man, Washington not excepted, has had the influence over
the nation that Jefferson wielded.
To have been the author of the great Declaration, it
would seem, were fame enough for one American, but for
him that was only the beginning. Independence achieved,
he set about making his own state really free and intro-
duced into the Virginia Legislature bill after bill which
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 145
cut off the exeresences of a monarchial system, lingering in
the practices of a new-born nation. These bills were not
all carried when he proposed them, by any means, but hear
what, in the end they gave to Virginia, and remember that
these things came through the efforts of one man : religious
freedom, the fight for which began in '76 and continued
till 1785 ; the system of entails broken up ; the importation
of slaves prohibited, and primo-geniture discontinued.
Jefferson was not a fluent speaker, but a clear thinker.
Besides this, he had a great antipathy to appearing in
print. Therefore, when it was necessary to say or do any-
thing, he had only to tell somebody what to say or do, and
the thing was accomplished.
Leicester Ford, who has compiled a very thorough Life
of Jefferson, says that "he influenced American thought
more than any other person, yet boasted that he never
wrote for the press. By means of others, he promulgated
that mars of doctrine, nowhere formulated, known as The
Jeffersonian Principles." The doctrine that goes by the
name of Monroe was probably his also.
That the principles of the Democratic Party have
remained unchanged from his day to ours only shows the
clearness and correctness of his logic. Not only is this true,
but he thoroughly and conscientiously believed in the
things he taught, the theory of States Bights being a child
of his own brain.
During his two terms as President, and throughout the
remainder of his life, such was the faith of his party in
his wisdom, foresight, and political integrity, that he had
only to express a wish, and it became, unquestioned, the law
of the land.
After his retirement, his party proposed no measure
until a visit was first made to the "Sage of Monticello,"
and his opinion obtained.
President followed President, Jefferson became old and
infirm, but to the day of his death, he was undisputed
leader of the American nation.
146 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Did he not deserve the name of seer ? Years before the
Revolution, he warned the people against slavery, declaring
that "nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate
than that these people are to be free." He owned the
slaves that came to him from his father and his wife, but is
said never to have purchased any.
Among the things accomplished during his presidency
are the extermination of the Mediterranean pirates, the
exploration of the West, public debt diminished, emigration
of Indians beyond the Mississippi promoted, and the
wonderful Louisiana purchase.
Though his second term was clouded by constant war
in Europe, and the continued depredations on American
commerce, at its close, he was urged to serve for the third
term, the Legislatures of five States requesting it, showing
that he was not held responsible for the condition of affairs.
His was a many sided nature. Great statesman that he
was, great political scientist, his ability did not stop there.
His interest in commerce, agriculture, literature, history,
music, education, and the natural sciences was unbounded,
and his private collections, perhaps, were unexcelled at that
time.
No man has done more for the cause of education among
us than he. He it was who proposed a bill for "the free
training of all free children, male and female. ' ' This was
ten years before the admission of girls to the common
schools of Boston. His reason for wanting good schools in
Virginia was unique he said he objected to being a beggar
for the crumbs that fell from the tables of the North. He
pleaded for nonsectarian schools, and was, therefore,
called by many atheistic.
This was one of the obstacles that he had to overcome
in his fight for the University of Virginia. Princeton was
then sectarian William and Mary was controlled by the
Episcopal Church. The result of all this thought and
desire exists for us today in the University of Virginia
the first real University in America.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 147
Thomas Nelson Page says, "No stranger story of self
sacrifice and devotion to a high ideal in the face of trials,
which to lesser genius might have appeared insurmount-
able, and of disappointments which to less courage must
have proved fatal, has ever been written than that which
recounts the devotion of the last twenty years of the life of
Thomas Jefferson to the establishment of a great univer-
sity. " The corner stone of Central College, which was
afterwards enlarged to the University of Virginia, was
laid in 1816 by President Monroe, in the presence of
Jefferson and Madison, ex-presidents.
Not only did Jefferson see the need for this school, and
work to carry it through, but he actually drew the plans
for the buildings, modelling them after those of ancient
Greece and Rome.
Page says, to quote from the same author and, if you
want to read an interesting book, read his ' ' Old Dominion ' '
"If any pile of buildings in the world is fitted by its
beauty to be the abode of philosophy it is this. * * * * The
University has excelled in scholastic results any similar
institution in the country. She has a larger representa-
tion in Congress than any other, a larger representation on
the bench and a larger representation in the medical de-
partments of both army and navy. This has been accom-
plished on an income less than that of many second rate
colleges. ' '
This result, and the high standard prevailing in the
University today, have more than justified Jefferson for
all his labor. His constant refrain was, "We are working
for posterity. ' '
The project was in his brain five years before he began
work on it. One of his proudest titles is "Father of the
University of Virginia."
Jefferson's writings consist mostly of letters and ad-
dresses, besides "A Summary View of the Rights of
British America, ' ' written before the Revolution, circulated
148 REVOLUTIONARY READER
in England, and attributed to Burke, and the well known
and valuable ' ' Notes on Virginia. ' '
He loved his home and his family, and seems to have
been peculiarly blessed in them. He married a rich young
widow Martha Skelton though it does not appear that
he did so because she was rich.
Of several children only two grew to maturity, and
only one survived him. His wife lived just ten years after
their marriage, and almost with her last breath begged him
not to give her children a step-mother. He made and kept
the promise.
I know I have given a rose-colored account of him, yet
some shadow belongs to the portrayal. No one could do the
things that he did and not have enemies. Particularly do
politicians not handle each other with gloves. Jefferson
has been called all the ugly names in man's vocabulary,
but very little, if any, real evidence can be adduced to
support any of this.
With all his gifts, he was unfitted to lead a people in
the trying time of war; consequently, his governorship of
Virginia, occurring during the Revolution, and his second
term as President were not eminently successful. No one
can deny the bitter emnity between him and Hamilton any
more than any one can prove that the former was more to
blame than the latter. Admit that he was often theoretical
and visionary, yet the work he accomplished proves that
he was even more practical and farsighted.
That he was not free from idiosyncrasies is shown by
the manner in which he went to his first inauguration, and
the fact that he always dressed as a farmer never as a
President.
All this was to prove his steadfastness of faith in
democratic ways and institutions. He would not indulge
in making a formal speech at the opening of Congress, but
wrote and sent his "message" by hand a practice followed
by every President since, with the exception of President
Wilson, 1913.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 149
In all things he was a strict constructionist. But none
of these things can detract much from the name and fame
of a man who has put such foundation stones in our civiliza-
tion.
I have drawn my data mostly from the writings of one
who holds the opposite political tenets yet I find it record-
ed that "Jefferson's personal animosities were few" that
he couldn't long hold anger in his heart that "to this day
the multitude cherish and revere his memory, and in so
doing, pay a just debt of gratitude to a friend, who not
only served them, as many have done, but who honored and
respected them, as very few have done."
His hospitality and the public desire to see him were
so great that his home was for many years a kind of un-
profitable hotel, because everything was free of charge. It
was always full, and sometimes his housekeeper had to
provide fifty beds. This great expense, added to some
security debts, left him a poor man. In fact, he was in
need, but when the public found it out, money came in
in sufficient quantities to enable him to continue his mode
of life.
Like Shakespeare, he wrote his own epitaph, any one
item of which would entitle him to the love of posterity:
"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declara-
tion of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia,
lor religious freedom, and Father of the University of
Virginia. ' '
I fear I have been tedious, I know I have been trite
yet I beg you to read for yourselves the history and letters
of this great man.
That his death occurred on the 4th day of July, 1826,
just fifty years from the day when the wonderful Declara-
tion was made, and coincident with that of his former col-
league, another ex-president, seems a fitting close to a most
remarkable career.
150 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ORATORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
Miss SUSIE GENTRY, Vice State Regent, Tennessee.
Time, the artificer, makes men, as well as things, for
their day and use.
The Revolution was the evolution of an idea one
inherent in all humanity Liberty!
First, was the thought of a home, the most sacred and
best of man's sanctuaries. These pioneer Colonists, fleeing
from religious persecution, debt and poverty, often came
to an untrodden wilderness of limitless forest and plain, to
form a local habitation and a name.
After the establishment of the home, education and its
application followed, through the teaching and oratory of
the pulpit to the white man and Indian. Next in order was
self-government. The Revolutionary period was productive
not only of the general and soldier, but the statesman and
orator, who set forth the "grievances of the people" in
most glowing and convincing terms. The term "orator"
has two specific meanings in common language, one who
delivers an oration, a public speaker; and technically, one
who prays for relief, a petitioner. The orators of the Revo-
lutionary period were both in one. The true orator is the
poet of the practical. He must be an enthusiast ; he must
be sincere ; he must be fearless, and as simple as a child ; he
must be warm and earnest, able to play upon the emotions,
as a skillful musician his instrument that responds to his
every touch, be it ever so light and delicate. So shall his
words descend upon the people like cloven tongues of fire,
inspiring, sanctifying, beautifying and convincing; for an
orator 's words are designed for immediate effect.
When the "Stamp Act" was repealed, March 18, 1766,
Jonathan Mayhew delivered a thrilling speech, known as
"A Patriot's Thanksgiving," in which he said: "The
repeal has restored things to order. The course of
justice is no longer obstructed. All lovers of liberty have
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 151
reason to rejoice. Blessed revolution ! How great are our
obligations to the Supreme Governor of the world ! ' '
Even the conservatives, Benjamin Franklin and George
Washington, take of the promethean fire of patriotism ; it is
seen in Franklin's writings, in Washington's "Farewell
Address" his masterpiece of prophetic admonition, de-
livered in the style and diction of a gifted orator. A long
and faithful career of usefulness, and the very human
touch he had gained as a soldier and general, particularly
during that terrible year of 1777, developed the hitherto
unknown gift.
Of the men who composed the Second Colonial and
First Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia,
September 5, 1774, William Pitt said in his speech to the
House of Lords: "History has always been my favorite
study, and in the celebrated writings of antiquity I have
often admired the patriotism of Greece and Rome, but, my
lords, T must avow that in the master states of the world I
know not a people or senate who can stand in preference to
the delegates of America assembled in general congress at
Philadelphia."
. Samuel Adams was one of the foremost orators and
patriots of America, and was of Massachusetts' famous
bouquet James Otis, Joseph Warren, Josiah Quincy, John
pnd John Quincy Adams and left his work on the history
of America as a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
James Otis, rext in chronological order, was a bold,
commanding orator, and the first to speak against the taxing
of the colonies. He was called "the silver-tongued orator"
and "a flame of fire." His death was as unusual as his
gift he was killed by a stroke of lightning May, 1772.
Joseph Warren and Josiah Quincy were both men of
great talents and power, Warren was elected twice to
deliver the oration in commemoration of the massacre of
the fifth of March; he rendered efficient service by both
his writing and addresses; and was distinguished as a
152 REVOLUTIONARY READER
physician, especially in the treatment of smallpox. He was
killed while fighting as a volunteer at Bunker Hill.
Josiah Quincy's powers as an orator were of a very
high order. It is sad to think that he died the very day
he reached his native land, after a voyage to Europe in the
interest of the colonies. One does not wonder that John
Adams possessed influence, when in voting for the Declara-
tion of Independence he exclaimed : ' ' Sink or swim, live of
die, survive or perish, I give my heart and hand to tliis
vote ; ' ' nor that the son of such a father was called ' ' The
Old Man Eloquent." and the "Champion of the Rights of
Petition," who thought "no man's vote lost which is cast
for the right."
John Adams is the one man who remembered liberty
and the people, for when he died July 4, 1826, his last words
were, "It is the glorious Fourth of July ! God bless it
God bless you all ! "
From this cursory glance of the orators of Massachu-
setts, we can well understand how, like the "alabaster
box" of old, the perfume of their noble deeds for the cause
of right still lingers.
Alexander Hamilton was an orator that accomplished
much for the colonies with his forceful, facile and brilliant
pen, as did Madison and Jay, in the ' ' Federalist. ' ' Patrick
Henry, the red feather, of the Revolutionary period, as is
E. "W. Carmack of to-day is by the South regarded the
Magna Stella of that marvelous galaxy of stars. It is prob-
able that his oratory was not as much a product of nature
as was thought at the time when it was so effective. It was
somewhat an inheritance, as he was the great-nephew of
the Scotch historian Robertson, and the nephew of William
Winston who was regarded as an eloquent speaker in his
day.
Patrick, after six weeks study of law, we are told, con-
menced the practice of law (having the incumbrance of a
family and poverty) and with what success, all the world
knows. It was in the celebrated "Parson's case" that he
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 153
won his spurs, and the epithet of ' ' the orator of Nature ; ' '
also his election to the House of Burgesses, of Virginia.
Nine years after he made his famous speech in which he
told George III he might profit by the examples of Ceasar
and Charles I, he delivered his greatest effort of oratory
in which he said, ' ' I know not what course others may take,
but give me liberty, or give me death ! ' '
Thomas Jefferson was the father of that instrument,
the Declaration of Independence 1 that gives us "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness, " in so far as we tres-
pass not on the moral and civil rights of our neighbor
and was persuasive and eloquent, as well as an acute poli-
tician. He was the acknowledged head of his party; and
his work was of the uttermost importance to both the
colonies and states. No one politician and orator has left a
more indelible impression upon succeeding generations than
he.
Thomas Paine also did his quota as an orator and
writer; and great were the results accomplished by his
"Common Sense" and the first "Crisis." Paine was not
only a writer and orator, but a soldier. Under General
Nathaniel Greene he rendered such efficient and valuable
service that he was called the "hero of Fort Mifflin."
Although he was an Englishman, who came to America and
espoused the cause of the Continentals, the English nation
are glad to own him. William Cobbett (the English
statesman) says "whoever wrote the Declaration, Paine was
its author."
Paine was one of the most noted orators, if we remember
that an ' ' orator is one who prays for relief a petitioner, ' '
whether it be viva voce or with the pen. We wish it were
possible in the time allotted to us to give extracts from the
speeches and writings of these orators of the Revolution.
How grateful we should be, and what a debt of gratitude
we owe each of them, for their labors that have long since
received the encomium from God and man "well done,
thou good and faithful servant. ' ' American Monthly.
154 REVOLUTIONARY READER
THE FLAG OF OUR COUNTRY.
The flag of our country, how proudly it waves
In the darkness of night, in the light of the sun,
In silence it watches our patriots' graves,
In splendor it tells of their victories won!
It waves, as it waved in the brave days of old,
An emblem of glory, of hope, and of life;
A pledge to the world in each star and each fold
Of a love that endures through all danger and strife.
Of love that is deep as the sea 'neath its blue;
Of a love that is pure as the light of each star;
0, flag of our country, the brave and the true
Await thee, and greet thee, and bless thee afar!
The flag of our country, the flag of the free,
The hope of the weary, the joy of the sad,
May our eyes at the last, still thy bright promise see
That each slave shall know thee, arise and be glad !
The flag of our country, the flag of our love,
Our hearts are aflame with thy red, white and blue;
May thy glory increase while thy stars shine above,
To thy promise and pledge may the children be true.
0, the red, white and blue ! 0, the flag of the free !
Sweet liberty calls to the nations afar,
Thy glory illumines the land and the sea,
0, flag of our country, earth's beautiful star!
Metta Thompson in American Monthly.
KEMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 155
THE OLD VIRGINIA GENTLEMAN.
Many of you have no doubt heard or read the famous
lecture of Dr. Bagley, entitled "Bacon and Greens," and
chuckled over his vivid description of "The Old Virginia
Gentleman." You may be interested in knowing that a
portrait of the Hon. James Steptoe, of Federal Hill, Bed-
ford County, Virginia, painted by Harvey Mitchell in 1826,
was the inspiration of this interesting lecture.
This ' ' Old Virginia Gentleman ' ' was a worthy represen-
tative of the House of Steptoe, whose forefathers played
an important part in the history of the ' ' Old World. ' ' The
progenitor of this interesting family was Anthony Steptoe,
the third son of Sir Philip Steptoe, of England. Anthony
and his wife, Lucy, came to the Colony in 1676, and located
in Lancaster County, Virginia, and they were the great
grandparents of Hon. James Steptoe.
' ' The Old Virginia Gentleman ' ' was one of four broth-
ers, George, James, Thomas, and William; they had four
half sisters, Elizabeth and Ann Steptoe; Mary and Anne
Aylett; and two step-sisters, Elizabeth and Ann Aylett;
thus the families of Steptoe and Aylett are often con-
founded.
Col. James Steptoe, M. D., of "Homany Hall," West-
moreland County, Virginia, was born in the year of 1710,
and died in 1778. He was a distinguished physician, and
held many positions of honor and trust in affairs of Church
and State. He married firstly Hannah Ashton, and second-
ly Elizabeth Aylett, the widow of Col. William Aylett and
a daughter of Col. George Eskridge. The descendants of
Colonel Steptoe and Colonel Aylett are often confounded.
Col. Aylett married first Ann Ashton, a sister of Colonel
Step toe's first wife, and had two daughters, Elizabeth and
Ann. Elizabeth Aylett married William Booth, and Ann
married William Augustin Washington (a half-brother of
our beloved Gen. George Washington). Colonel Aylett
married secondly Elizabeth Eskridge, and had two daugh-
156 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ters, Mary and Anne ; Mary married Thomas Ludwell Lee,
of "Bell Vieu;" and Anne married Richard Henry Lee, of
"Chantielly."
Col. James Steptoe had two daughters by his first mar-
riage, Elizabeth and Ann; Elizabeth married first Philip
Ludwell Lee, of "Stratford," and secondly Philip Richard
Fendall; and Ann married first Willoughby Allerton, and
secondly Col. Samuel Washington, a younger brother of
Gen. George Washington. Of the four sons of Col. James
Steptoe, George and Thomas never married ; William mar-
ried Elizabeth Robinson, and they resided at the old
Robinson homestead, "Herwich. " The Hon. James Step-
toe, the original "The Old Virginia Gentleman," was born
in the year of 1750, at "Homany Hall," Westmoreland
County, Virginia. He was educated at William and Mary
College, and while there was a fellow student of Thomas
Jefferson. They formed a close friendship, which continued
throughout life. It was through the influence of Jefferson
that James Steptoe was appointed to an office under Secre-
tary Nelson, after which he was transferred in 1772, at the
early age of 22, to the clerkship of the District Court at
New London, in Bedford Co., Va. This position he held
until his death in 1826, having served fifty-four years. He
married Frances Galloway, a daughter of Col. James Gallo-
way, of Bedford County.
The Hon. James Steptoe built the mansion house known
as ' ' Federal Hill, ' ' and it was here that he spent his useful
life surrounded by his family, and noted for his sincerity
and hospitality. This mansion was situated three miles
from "Poplar Forest," the abode of his friend, Thomas
Jefferson, who loved to seek seclusion there during his
intervals of rest from public service.
Upon one occasion when Gen. Andrew Jackson, on his
way to Washington just after the battle of New Orleans,
had stopped to dine with his friend, James Steptoe, he met
Thomas Jefferson just at the gateway. The two great men
dismounted from their horses and exchanged salutations
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 157
with each other and with their host, who awaited them with-
in upon the lawn. Mr. Jefferson, with his courtly manner,
waving his hand, stood back for "Old Hickory" to pass
before him; but that gallant soldier, bowing low, said:
"Surely, Mr. Jefferson does not think that I would go be-
fore an ex-President of the United States." To which Mr.
Jefferson graciously replied: "It would ill become me to
take precedence of the hero of New Orleans. ' ' Thus these
two distinguished men stood bowing and scraping to each
other in the roadway in true "Gaston and Alfonse style,"
while Mr. Steptoe waited for them with, I am sure, amused
impatience ; until at length General Jackson threw his arms
about Mr. Jefferson and gently lifted him quite over the
threshold, and then the General's aide and the other gentry
coming up, we may be sure they had a jolly good time a
"feast of reason and a flow of soul," not forgetting Mrs.
Steptoe 's bountiful dinner served on the famous Steptoe
silver, a veritable feast of "wines on the leas," which to
read about makes us long more than ever for a return of
those good old times.
But once a shadow fell upon the friendship of Mr.
Jefferson and Mr. Steptoe, as clouds will fall upon human
friendships. James Steptoe had another valued friend,
Major Gibbon, a gallant officer of the Revolutionary army,
who had led the forlorn hope at the battle of Stony Point.
This old hero had been given the appointment of collector
of customs at Richmond, but had been removed by Jefferson
because it had been represented to him that Major Gibbon
was 011 familiar terms with Aaron Burr, who was then on
trial at Richmond for acts charged against him as treason-
able. Soon after the removal of Major Gibbon Mr. Jefferson
was on one of his visits at Poplar Forest, but his old friend,
James Steptoe, who was usually the first to welcome him,
the illustrious visitor, to his summer home, neither went in
person nor sent a message of salutation to his life-long
friend. Days lengthened into weeks, and still he made no
sign, and at length Mr. Jefferson, on a bright summer morn-
158 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ing, rode over to Mr. Step toe's and dismounted from his
horse at the gate, and on entering the yard found Mr.
Steptoe walking to and fro on his porch, apparently uncon-
scious of his guest's arrival.
Mr. Jefferson advanced with outstretched hand and
cordial smile, but Mr. Steptoe gazed cold and stern upon his
visitor, returning no look or word of kindness for the
offered greeting of the President, who thus addressed him :
' ' Why, James Steptoe, how is this ? I have been for weeks
within a stone 's throw of you, and though you have usually
been the first to welcome me home, your face is now turned
from me, and you give me no welcome to your house. ' ' To
this Mr. Steptoe coolly replied: "Mr. Jefferson, I have been
disappointed in you, sir, you are not the man I took you
to be. You know as well as I do that Maj. James Gibbon
was a brave, a meritorious officer in the Revolutionary
army, that he served under Aaron Burr, who was also a
gallant soldier, and his officers were greatly attached to him.
Now when Colonel Burr has been brought to Richmond
for trial, committed to prison and every indignity heaped
upon him, and just because Major Gibbon has supplied his
old commander with some necessaries and comforts, you,
from hatred of Burr, have wreaked your vengeance on
Gibbon and deprived a faithful old soldier of an office
which was his only means of support." "Why, Steptoe,
is that all?" said Jefferson, "I assure you the matter had
not been so presented to me before. But the same hand that
removed Major Gibbon can replace him, and justice shall
be done him at once." "Then you are, indeed, my friend,
and welcome as ever to my home and heart," cried James
Steptoe.
James Steptoe 's land and silver are gone, his bones have
turned to dust; and ere long his name may be forgotten,
but let us now honor the man who would refuse the prof-
fered hand of the President of the United States, when
that hand was stained by an unworthy act. Would there
were more men of such mettle in our day !
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 159
James Steptoe was not only noted for his hospitality
and justness, but also for his charity. Driving along in his
coach and four, he passed the house of a certain widow,
Mrs. Chaffee. Upon noticing a crowd gathered around, he
sent his coachman, Ben, to inquire the cause. Hearing that
the poor woman was being sold out for debt he descended
from his carriage, stopped the auction, paid the mortgage,
and added one more noble act of charity to his record.
James Steptoe was beloved by everyone, and especially
so by his slaves, whom he had taught different trades that
they might support themselves after his death when, by
his will, they were all set free. A handsome monument in
the old family burying ground in Bedford County, bears
this inscription, "James Steptoe, born 1750, died 1826, for
fifty-four years the Clerk of Bedford County. ' '
The office of clerk of the Court of Bedford County has
been held by the Steptoe family in its lineal and collateral
branches for more than a hundred years.
The character of James Steptoe may be described in a
few words, integrity, independence, and the strictest form
of republican simplicity. Though descended, as has been
shown, from a long line of the better class of English
gentry, he never alluded to it himself; in fact, it was not
known in his family until after his death, when they learned
it through his correspondence. He was a man who held
very decided opinions on all subjects, and would at times
express them as to men and public affairs in very strong
language, being strong in his friendships and equally strong
in his dislikes. As a clerk, he was everything that could be
desired, polite and obliging, as all Old Virginia Gentlemen
are; careful and attentive in the business of his office and
in court, and ever ready at all times to give information
and advice to those who needed it.
The Hon. James Steptoe and his wife, Frances Galloway,
were the parents of five sons and four daughters, as follows :
Major James, who succeeded his father as Clerk of Bedford,
and who married Catherine Mitchell; Dr. William, of
160 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Lynchburg, who married first Nancy Brown, and second
Mary Dillon; George, of Bedford County, who married
Maria Thomas; Robert, of Bedford County, who married
Elizabeth Leftwich; Thomas, who inherited the old home,
married Louise C. Yancy ; Elizabeth Prentise, who married
Hon. Charles Johnston, of Richmond, Va. ; Frances, who
married Henry S. Langhorne, of Lynchburg, Va. ; Sallie,
who married William Massie, of Nelson County, Virginia ;
Lucy, who married Robert Penn, of Bedford County,
Virginia. James Step toe's descendants are scattered
throughout the United States, and are among our most
distinguished citizens. He has also descendants in England.
The old portrait by Harvey Mitchell is now owned by
the Rt. Rev. James Steptoe Johnston, Bishop of Western
Texas ; and a fine copy of the same is owned by Mrs. Wil-
liam Waldorf Astor, of Cliveden-on-the-Thames, England,
EDNA JONES COLLIER, in American Monthly.
WHEN WASHINGTON WAS WED.
Who does not wish that he might have been there,
When Martha Custis came down the stair
In silk brocade and with powdered hair,
On that long ago Saturday clear and fine,
A. D. Seventeen fifty-nine?
Out from St. Peter's belfry old,
Twelve strokes sounded distinct and bold,
So in history the tale is told,
When Dr. Mossen, preacher of zest,
Long since gone to his last long rest,
There in the Custis drawing room,
New world house, with an old world bloom,
Spake out the words that made them one,
Martha Custis and Washington.
Trembling a little and pale withal,
She faced her lover so straight and tall,
Oh, happiest lady beneath the sun !
Given as bride to George Washington.
KEMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 161
Brave was the groom and fair the bride,
Standing expectant side by side,
But how little they knew or guessed
What the future for them possessed;
How the joys of a wedded life
Would be mingled with horrors of blood and strife;
How in triumph together they'd stand,
Covered with plaudits loud and grand,
Yes covered with glory together they'd won,
Martha Custis and Washington.
Where is the gown in which she was wed?
Brocade, woven with silver thread?
Where are the pearls that graced her head?
Where are her high-heeled silken shoon
That stepped in time to the wedding tune?
Where are her ruffles of fine point lace?
Gone all gone with their old world grace.
But the world remembers them every one,
And blesses the lady of Washington.
It is difficult to give the proper credit for the above
poem. Mrs. "Walter J. Sears, New York City Chapter,
found a few beautiful lines, author unknown, added some
lines herself, and then sent the whole to "Will Carlton,"
who revised and added to them. Mrs. Sears recited the
poem at the celebration of Washington's wedding day by
the New York City Chapter, D. A. R., in January, 1909.
162 REVOLUTIONARY READER
RHODE ISLAND IN THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.
The American colonies, though subjects of Great
Britain, stoutly resisted the payment of revenues of
customs; not because they doubted the justice, but they
did object to the intolerant manner of demanding the
revenues. Rhode Island, the smallest of the thirteen
colonies, was destined to take an important part in this
resistance which brought about the American Revolution.
The English parliament, in 1733, passed the famous
"Sugar Act" which laid a heavy tax upon West India
products imported into the northern colonies. Rhode
Island protested, declaring that only in this way could she
be paid for her exports to the West Indies and thus be able
to purchase from England. The other colonies also ob-
jected and Richard Partridge, the appointed agent to look
after the interests of the Rhode Island colony, conducted
this affair for all the colonies. In his letter he declared
that the act deprived the colonists of their rights as Eng-
lishmen, in laying taxes upon them without their consent
or representation. Thus, thirty-seven years before the
Declaration of Independence, the war-cry of the Revolu-
tion was first sounded and by the Quaker agent of Rhode
Island.
In 1764 a new "Sugar Act" was passed. Parliament
hoped that a reduction from six pence to three pence would
conciliate the colonies. Neither the "Sugar Act" nor the
proposed "Stamp Act" was accepted. The colonists still
contended such an act and its acceptance to be inconsistent
with the rights of British subjects. A special session of the
Rhode Island assembly was convened. A committee of cor-
respondence was appointed to confer with the other
colonies and the agent was directed "to do anything in his
power, either alone or joining with the agents of other
governors to procure a repeal of this act and to prevent
the passage of any act that should impose taxes inconsistent
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 163
with the rights of British subjects." Thus did Rhode
Island expressly deny the right of Parliament to pass such
an act and also declare her intention to preserve her privi-
leges inviolate. She also invited the other colonies to
devise a plan of union for the maintenance of the liberties
of all.
The following year the "Stamp Act" was passed and
disturbances followed. The assembly convened and
through a committee prepared six resolutions more concise
and emphatic than any passed by the other colonies, in
which they declared the plantation absolved from all
allegiance to the King unless these "obnoxious taxes"
were repealed. Bold measures ! But they show the spirit
of the colony. Johnston, the stamp-collector for Rhode
Island, resigned, declaring he would not execute his office
against "the will of our Sovereign Lord, the People." In
Newport three prominent men who had spoken in defence
of the action of Parliament were hung in effigy in front
of the court house. At evening the effigies were taken down
and burned. The revenue officers, fearing for their lives,
took refuge on a British man-of-war lying in the harbor
and refused to return until the royal governor would
guarantee their safety. The assembly appointed two men
to represent Rhode Island in the convention about to as-
semble in New York. This convention, after a session of
nearly three weeks, adopted a declaration of the rights and
grievances of the colonies. The Rhode Island delegates
reported the assembly and a day of public thanksgiving
was appointed for a blessing upon the endeavors of this
colony to preserve its valuable privileges. The day before
the "Stamp Act" was to take effect all the royal governors
took the oath to sustain it, except Samuel Ward, governor
of Rhode Island, who stoutly refused.
The fatal day dawned. Not a stamp was to be seen.
Commerce was crushed. Justice was delayed. Not a
statute could be enforced. The leading merchants of Amer-
164 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ica agreed to support home manufacturers and to this end
pledged themselves to eat no more lamb or mutton.
The following year, January, 1766, the papers of remon
strance had reached England; and Parliament turned its
attention to American affairs. The struggle was long and
stormy; but the "Stamp Act" was repealed, with the
saving clause that "Parliament had full right to bind the
colonies in all cases whatsoever."
Meanwhile, patriotic societies were being formed in
all the colonies under the name of "Sons of Liberty."
Rhode Island has the peculiar honor of organizing a
similar society: "Daughters of Liberty." By invitation
eighteen young ladies assembled at the house of Dr.
Ephriam Bowen, in Providence, and spent the day in
spinning. They agreed to purchase no goods of British
manufacture until the "Stamp Act" should be repealed
and cheerfully agreed to dispense with tea. This society
rapidly increased and became popular throughout Rhode
Island.
England kept her faith but a little while and then
proposed to raise a revenue by imposing duties on glass,
lead, paint and paper, and a tax of three pence a pound on
tea. This aroused fresh indignation throughout the
colonies. In Virginia the house of burgesses passed a series
of resolutions that in them was vested the sole right of
taxing the colony. Copies were sent to every colonial
assembly. The Rhode Island assembly cordially approved.
The next month the British armed sloop Liberty, cruis-
ing in Narraganset Bay in search of contraband traders,
needlessly annoyed all the coasting vessels that came in
her way. Two Connecticut vessels suspected of smuggling
were taken into Newport. A quarrel ensued between the
captain of one of the vessels and the captain of the Liberty.
The yankee captain was badly treated and his boat fired
upon. The same evening the British captain went ashore,
was captured by Newport citizens and compelled to sum-
mon all his crew ashore except the first officer. The people
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 165
then boarded the Liberty, sent the officer on shore, then cast
the cable and grounded the Liberty at the Point. There
they cut away the masts, scuttled the vessel, carried the
boats to the upper end of the town and burned them. This
occurred July, 1769, and was "the first overt act of
violence offered to the British authorities in America."
But armed vessels continued their molestations. The
Rhode Island colony was not asleep but awaiting a favor
able opportunity which came at last and the capture of the
Oaspce was planned and accomplished. Rewards were
offered for the apprehension of the perpetrators of this
deed, but without effect. Some of Rhode Island's most
honored citizens were engaged in the affair and some of the
younger participants are said to have boasted of the deed
before the smoke from the burning vessel had ceased to
darken the sky. The capture of the Gaspee in June, 1772,
was the first bold blow, in all the colonies for freedom.
There was shed the first blood in the war for Independence.
The Revolution had begun.
Then followed resolutions from Virginia that all the
towns should unite for mutual protection. Rhode Island
went a step farther and proposed a continental congress,
and thus has the distinguished honor of making the first
explicit movement for a general congress, and a few weeks
later she was the first to appoint delegates to this congress.
The "Boston Port Bill" followed, and Massachusetts
records tell of the money and supplies sent from Rhode
Island to Boston 's suffering people. England ordered that
no more arms were to be sent to America. Rhode Island
began at once to manufacture fire arms. Sixty heavy can-
non were cast, and home-made muskets were furnished to
the chartered military companies. "When the day arrived
upon which Congress had decreed that the use of tea should
be suspended, three hundred pounds of tea were burned
in Market Square, Providence, while the "Sons of Liberty"
went through the town with a pot of black paint and a
paint-brush and painted out the word "Tea" on every
166 REVOLUTIONARY READER
sign-board. This was February 1, 1775. The fight at Lex-
ington followed on the 19th of April. Two weeks after
this battle the Rhode Island assembly suspended Gov
Walton, the last colonial governor of Rhode Island. He
repeatedly asked to be restored and was as often refused.
At the end of six months he was deposed. This was a bold
act, but men who could attack and capture a man-of-war
were not afraid to depose from office one single man who
was resolved to destroy them.
The British war-ship Rose was a constant menace to the
vessels in Rhode Island waters. Altercations ensued. Cap-
tain Abraham Whipple, who headed the expedition to burn
the Gaspee, discharged the first gun at any part of the
British navy in the American Revolution. Two armed
vessels were ordered for the protection of Rhode Island
waters ; and this was the beginning of the American navy.
Passing over much of interest we come to the last im-
portant act of Rhode Island colonial assembly: an act to
abjure allegiance to the British crown. It was a declara-
tion of independence and it was made on May 4, 1776, just
two months before the Declaration of Independence, signed
at Philadelphia. This act closed the colonial period and
established Rhode Island as an independent state. The
records of the assembly had always closed with "God save
the King!" This was changed to "God save the United
Colonies!" The smallest of the colonies had defied the
empire of Great Britain and declared herself an independ-
ent state !
Dark days followed. The British army occupied New-
port. By command of congress, Rhode Island had sent her
two battalions to New York, thus rendering herself defense-
less. The militia was organized to protect the sea-coast.
I may not linger to tell of the capture of Gen. Prescott ; of
the unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the British, nor of the
battle of Rhode Island, in which Col. Christopher Greene
with his famous regiment of blacks distinguished himself,
and which Lafayette afterwards declared was the best-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 167
planned battle of the war. For three years the English
army held this fair island and left it a scene of desolation.
Newport never recovered. Her commerce was destroyed.
Her ships never returned.
Meanwhile momentous events were occurring at the seat
of war. Philadelphia was threatened and the continental
congress had been moved to Baltimore. Washington, with
less than twenty-three hundred men, recrossed the Dele-
ware at night. The men he placed in two divisions, one
under General Greene, the other under Gen. Sullivan, and
successfully attacked the Hessians at Trenton capturing
nine hundred prisoners (Dec. 26th, 1776).
Washington recrossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania
with his prisoners and spoils that very night. On January
1st, 1777, with 5,000 men he again crossed the Delaware and
took post at Trenton. The next day Cornwalli's appeared
before Washington's position with a much larger forces.
Only a creek separated the two armies. The Rhode Island
brigade distinguished itself at the successful holding of the
bridge and received the thanks of Washington. That night
Washington withdrew, leaving his camp fires burning.
Next morning, January 3rd, 1777, Cornwallis was amazed
to find Washington gone and still more astaunded, as he
heard in the direction of Princeton the guns of the Ameri-
cans, who won that day another decisive victory.
We must not dwell upon the record of Gen. Nathaniel
Greene. His campaign in South Carolina was brilliant.
He has been called the saviour of the South. It was he, a
Rhode Island general, who, because of his military skill,
stood second only to Washington.
At the closing event of the war, the siege of Yorktown,
a Rhode Island regiment under Capt. Stephen Olney, head-
ed the advancing column. Sword in hand the leaders broke
through the first obstructions. Some of the eager assail-
ants entered the ditch. Among these was Capt. Olney who,
as soon as a few of his men collected, forced his way be-
tween the palisades, leaped upon the parapet and called in
168 REVOLUTIONARY READER
a voice that rose above the din of battle "Capt. Olney's
company form here!" A gunshot wound in the arm, a
bayonet thrust in the thigh and a terrible wound in the
abdomen which he was obliged to cover with one hand,
while he parried the bayonets with the other, answered
the defiant shout. Capt. Olney was borne from the field,
but not until he had given the direction to "form in
order." In ten minutes after the first fire the fort was
taken. Three days later Cornwallis accepted terms of sur-
render, which were formally carried out on October 19th,
1781. The war was over. The gallantry of Olney was lauded
by Lafayette in general orders and more handsomely recog-
nized in his correspondence. But the historian, thus far,
has failed to record the fact, noted by Arnold, that the
first sword that flashed in triumph above the captured
heights of Yorktown was a Rhode Island Sword! ANNA
B. MANCHESTER in American Monthly Magazine.
GEORGIA AND HER HEROES IN THE
REVOLUTION.
At the outbreak of the Revolution Georgia was the
youngest of the colonies. Although there had been some
unsatisfactory relations with the mother country, there
had been no unfriendly relations until the passage of the
famous Stamp Act. On account of the liberal laws granted
by England and the fatherly care of General James Ogle-
thorpe, the Colony of Georgia had least cause to rebel.
But she could not stand aside and see her sister colonies
persecuted without protesting.
In September, 1769, a meeting of merchants in Savan-
nah protested against the Stamp Act. Jonathan Bryan
presided over this meeting, and was asked by the royal
governor, Sir James Wright, to resign his seat in the
governor's council for having done so. About the same
time Noble W. Jones was elected Speaker of the Assembly.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 169
Governor Wright refused to sanction the choice because
Noble W. Jones was a Liberty Boy. These two acts of the
governor angered the people and made them more deter-
mined to resist. Noble W. Jones has been called "the
morning star of liberty, ' ' on account of his activity in the
cause of liberty at this time. A band of patriots met in
August, 1774, and condemned the Boston Port Bill. Six
hundred barrels of rice were purchased and sent to the
suffering people of Boston.
About the same time a Provincial Congress was called
to choose delegates to the first Continental Congress to
meet soon in Philadelphia, but through the activity of the
royal governor, only five of the twelve parishes were repre-
sented. No representatives were sent because this meeting
did not represent a majority of the people. St. John's
parish, the hotbed of the rebellion, sent Lyman Hall to
represent that parish alone in the Continental Congress.
On account of the patriotic and independent spirit of its
people, and this prompt and courageous movement, the
legislature in after years conferred the name of Liberty
County 011 the consolidated parishes of St. John, St.
Andrew and St. James.
After the news of Lexington arrived great excitement
prevailed. On the night of May 1, 1775, a party of six men
led by Joseph Habersham broke open the powder magazine
and took out all the ammunition. Some of this powder
was sent to Massachusetts and used at the Battle of Bunker
Hill. The people proceeded to take charge of the govern-
ment. A Council of Safety and Provincial Assembly were
elected.
The patriots captured a British schooner containing
fourteen thousand barrels of powder. This captured
schooner was the first ship to be commissioned by the
American nation. The Council of Safety ordered the
arrest of Governor Wright. Joseph Habersham with six
men easily did this, but the governor soon escaped. The
incident is famous because John Milledge and Edward
170 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Telfair, known as two of the best loved of Georgia gover-
nors in after years, were members of this brave band.
Joseph Habersham himself became famous afterwards, be-
ing Postmaster-General in Washington 's cabinet.
While these events were taking place the second Con-
tinental Congress was framing the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. George Walton, Button Gwinnett, and Lyman
Hall signed that great document for Georgia. Button
Gwinnett did not live to see Georgia's independence estab-
lished, but Lyman Hall and George Walton saw her take
her place in the union. They were honored with the high-
est offices of the state. There were many other men who
became famous on account of their activities for the cause
of liberty at this time. Chief among these were Lachlan
Mclntosh, of whom Washington said, "I esteem him an
officer of great merit and worth:" Archibald Bulloch,
James Jackson, David Emanuel, John Adam Treutlen,
Samuel Elbert, John Baker, John Wereat, and John
Houston.
With the exception of a few unsuccessful expeditions
against Florida there was no fighting in Georgia until
December, 1778. The people hoped that the war would be
fought elsewhere, but such was not to be. General Prevost
who commanded the British in Florida was ordered to
invade Georgia from the South. Colonel Campbell was
sent by General Howe with three thousand five hundred
troops to attack Savannah. Colonel Campbell landed
December 27, 1778, and by a skillful flank movement
drove a small army of nine hundred patriots from their
intrenchments near Savannah and pursued them with such
terrible slaughter that barely four hundred escaped. Many
were run down with the bayonet in the streets of Savan-
nah, almost within sight of their families. James Jackson
and John Milledge, both of whom were afterward governor
of Georgia, were among the numbe. that escaped and
while going through South Carolina to join General
Lincoln's army they were arrested by the Americans who
CARPENTER'S HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Chestnut, Between 3d and 4th Streets.
The First Continental Congress Assembled Here
September 5, 1774,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 171
thought they were English spies. Preparations were made
for hanging them when an American officer came up who
recognized them, and they were set free. It was certainly
a blessing to the state that these men did not suffer an
ignorinous death for they rendered invaluable service in
after years by fighting the Yazoo Fraud.
The force of British from Florida captured Fort Morris
and united with the British force at Savannah. This com-
bined force pressed on toward Augusta. Ebenezer was
captured. A force of patriots under the command of
Colonels John Twiggs, Benjamin and "William Few, de-
feated the British advance guard under the notorious
Tories, Browne, and McGirth, but the Americans' efforts
were in vain and Augusta fell without a struggle.
The cause of liberty was crushed for a while. The royal
governor was restored to power, England could say that
she had conquered one of her rebellious colonies at least.
But the spirit of liberty was not dead. Colonels Elijah
Clarke and John Dooly of Georgia, with Pickens of South
Carolina, nearly annihilated a band of plundering Tories
at Kettle Creek. This aroused the Georgians with renewed
vigor. The British hearing that a French fleet was coming
to attack Savannah, began to withdraw to that place. The
British outpost at Sunbury was ordered to retreat to
Savannah. Colonel White with six men captured the entire
garrison of one hundred and forty men through strategy.
When the French fleet under Count d'Estaing arrived,
General Lincoln brought the Continental Army to assist
in the recapture of the city. The combined French and
American force beseiged the city for three weeks all in vain.
Finally it was decided to attempt to take the place by
assault which resulted disastrously to the American cause.
The French and Americans were driven back having lost
over eleven hundred men, among them the Polish patriot,
Pulaski, and Sergeant Jasper, the hero of Fort Moultrie.
The French fleet sailed away and General Lincoln retreated
172 REVOLUTIONARY EEADER
to Charleston leaving Georgia once more completely in the
hands of the British.
Tories went through the state committing all kinds of
outrages. Colonel John Dooly was murdered in the presence
of his family by a band of Tories. The next day the same
murderous Tories visited Nancy Hart, a friend of Colonel
John Dooly. Nancy overheard them talking of the deed
and she began to think of vengeance. She slid several of
their guns through the cracks of the log cabin before the
Tories saw her. When the Tories noticed her she pointed
one toward them. One Tory advanced toward her and
was shot down. The others afraid, dared not move. Mean-
while Nancy's daughter signaled for Nancy's husband who
was in command of a band of patriots that carried on
guerilla warfare in the neighborhood and on their arrival
the Tories were taken out and hung. Nancy Hart is the
only woman for whom a county has been named in Georgia.
After the fall of Charleston in 1780, Augusta was again
occupied by the British. Colonel Elijah Clarke collected
a force to recapture the place. His first attempt was un-
successful September 14-18, 1780. He retreated leaving
thirty wounded men behind. The cruel Colonel Browne
hung thirteen and. turned the others over to his Indian allies
to be tortured. It is worthy of note that John Clarke, son
of Elijah Clarke, was fighting with his father at this battle
although he was only sixteen years old. He afterwards
became governor of Georgia and founder of the Clarke
party in Georgia. "Light Horse Harry" Lee, father of
Robert E. Lee, and General Pickens brought reinforce-
ments to Clarke and the combined force again besieged
Augusta with renewed vigor May 15th, June 5th, 1781.
After much hard fighting Colonel Browne was forced to
surrender June 5th, 1781. On account of his cruelties he
had to be protected from violence by a special escort.
The British were gradually forced back into Savannah.
When Cornwallis surrendered, only four places were in
their possession in Georgia. In January, 1782, "Mad"
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 173
Anthony Wayne came to Georgia to drive the British out.
He routed Colonel Browne, who had collected a band of
Tories and Indians at Ogeechee Ferry, after his exchange.
The British were hemmed in Savannah. Finally in May,
1782, orders came to the royal governor from the king to
surrender Savannah and return to England. Major James
Jackson was selected by General Wayne to receive the keys
of the city. They were formally presented by Governor
Wright and Major Jackson marched in at the head of his
troops. The city was again in the hands of the state after
having been occupied by the British for three and one-half
years. The great struggle was over. Georgia was weakest
of the colonies and none had felt the hard hand of war any
more than she. The heroic deeds of her sons during that
awful struggle are sources of pride to every true Georgian.
Prize Essay by JULIUS MILTON, Nathanial Abney
Chapter.
UNITED STATES TREASURY SEAL.
The design of the seal of the treasury of the United
States in all its essential features is older than the national
government. From the days of the confederation of the
colonies down through the history of the republic the Latin
motto on the seal has been "The Seal of the Treasury of
North America." These facts have just been developed,
says the Newark News, by an investigation by the treasury
department tracing the history of the seal. The Continen-
tal Congress ordered its construction Sept. 26, 1778, ap-
pointing John Witherspoon, Gouverno Morris and R. H.
Lee a committee on design. There is no record of the
report of the committee, but impressions of the seal have
been found as early as 1782.
The original seal was continued in use until 1849, when,
worn out, it was replaced by a new cut, made by Edward
Stabler of Montgomery county, Md. He was directed to
make a facsimile of the old seal, but there were some neg-
174 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ligible differences. The symbols, however, are the same.
There are the 13 stars, representing the 13 colonies; the
scales as the emblem of justice and keys, in secular heraldry
denoting an office of state.
WILLIE WAS SAVED.
We had a Sane Fourth I was not
Allowed to fire a single shot;
If I'd 'a made a cracker pop
I'd a' been hauled in by th' cop.
If me or any of th' boys
Had dared to make a bit o' noise
They would 'a slapped us all in jail
An' held us there till we gave bail,
An' so our Fourth, I will explain
Was absolutely safe an' sane.
Pa's feelin' better 't least no worse,
I heard him tell th' new trained nurse,
He played golf nearly all th' day
With Mister Jones and Mister Shea
Until 'bout half past three o'clock
An' then he had an awful shock,
Th' sun was boilin' hot, an' he
Was playin' hard as hard could be,
An' he got sunstruck, but he'll be
Up in two weeks, or mebbe three.
Ma's conshus now. They think her arm
Ain't re'lly suffered serious harm,
Except it's broke. An' where her face
Got cut will heal without a trace,
Ma went out ridin' with th' Greens
"To view th' restful country scenes."
A tire blew up an' they upset
They didn't have no landin' net!
Th' doctor says that sleep an' rest
For her will prob'ly be th' best.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 175
My sister's better, too, although
They had to work an hour or so
To bring her to she purt' near drowned
An' looked like dead when she was found.
She went to row with Mr. Groke
An' he he says 'twas for a joke
He rocked th' boat an' they fell out,
An' people run from miles about
To save their lives. She was a sight
When they brought her back home last night.
I wasn't hurt though, I'll explain,
Because my Fourth was Safe an' Sane.
Wilbur D. Nesbit.
VIRGINIA REVOLUTIONARY FORTS.
BY MRS. MARY C. BELL CLAYTON.
In a mental vision of that galaxy of stars which em-
blazon our national flag, that bright constellation the
thirteen original states, we pause to select the one star
which shines with purest ray serene, and as we gaze upon
the grand pageant from New Hampshire to Georgia and
recall the mighty things achieved by the self-sacrificing
devotion of their illustrious statesmen and generals with
the united efforts of every patriot, it is with admiration for
all that we point with reverence to that star which stands
for her who cradled the nation, that infant colony at
Jamestown in Virginia, who made defense first against the
tomahawk of the Indians, growing stronger and stronger
with an innate love for truth and justice, 'till we hear the
cry "Give me liberty or give me death," which resounded
from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the sunny
lands of Georgia, and is echoed there in her legend, "Wis-
dom, justice and moderation."
You, our sisters, the Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion of South Carolina, whose state is strong in state craft
176 REVOLUTIONARY READER
and brave as the bravest, and whose star shines as a beacon
light in the constellation of states, to those who would
infringe on the rights of others, you call to us, in your
study of the defences of the revolutionary period, to show
our "Landmarks," the signs of our ancestor's devotion to
patriotism, that you with us, may reverence their loyalty
and with pride cherish every evidence of their struggle for
liberty, remembering always that "he who builded the
house is greater than the house." We would tell you of
facts in the military annals of Virginia, deeds of prowess,
more enduring than memorials of stone, which have become
the sacred heritage of us all, but to these, at this time, our
attention is not to be given. And if we fail to show but a
few of her strongholds, you must remember that within
the present bounds of Virginia there were few important
positions held against assault, and her "Northwestern
Territory" was far away from the main contest. Her
troops were kept moving from place to place, their defences
often were not forts, but earthworks, hastily constructed,
often trees, houses, fences, etc. For instance the first
revolutionary battle fought on Virginia soil was at Hamp-
ton, a little town between the York and James rivers.
'The Virginians sunk obstacles in the water for protection,
but during the night the British destroyed them and turned their
guns upon the town. In this fight we had no fire-arms but rifles
to oppose the cannons of the English, so when the attack began
the riflemen had to conceal themselves behind such meagre de-
fences as I have mentioned, houses, fences, trees, etc., opening
fire upon the British vessels. The men at the guns were killed and
not a sailor touched a sail without being shot. Confusion was
upon the British decks, and in dismay they tried to draw off and
make escape into the bay, but without success; some of the
vessels were captured, many men were taken prisoners, and the
whole fleet would have been captured but for the report that a
large body of the British were advancing from another direction."
Small was the defense, but great was the result at this
first battle of the Revolution on Virginia soil.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 177
THE FORT AT GREAT BRIDGE.
"After the attack on Hampton, Lord Dunmore determined
to make an assault on Norfolk. He erected a fort at Great
Bridge where it crosses a branch of the Elizabeth river. This
bridge was of importansce as it commanded the entrance of
Norfolk. The Virginians held a small village near by. At these
points the armies were encamped for several days ready for the
moment to begin the fight. In order to precipitate a contest, the
Virginians had recourse to a stratagem. A negro boy belonging
to Major Marshall was sent to Lord Dunmore. He represented
himself as a deserter and reported that the Virginians had only
three hundred 'shirt men/ a term used to distinguish the patriot,
whose only uniform was a graceful hunting shirt, which after-
wards became so celebrated in the Revolution. Believing the
story, Lord Dunmore gave vent to his exultation, as he thought he
saw before him the opportunity of wreaking his vengeance upon
the Virginians. He mustered his whole force and gave the order
for marching out in the night and forcing the breastworks of
his hated foe. In order to stimulate his troops to desperate
deeds, he told them that the Virginians were no better than
savages, and were wanting in courage and determination, that in
all probability they would not stand fire at all, but if by any
chance they were permitted to triumph, the English need expect
no quarter, and they would be scalped according to the rules of
savage warfare. Early in the morning of December 9th, 1775,
the Virginians beheld the enemy advancing towards their breast-
works. They were commanded by Capt. Fordyce, a brave officer,
Waving his cap over his head, he led his men in the face of a
terrible fire, which ran along the American line, directly up to thfe
breastworks. He received a shot in the knee and fell forward,
but jumping up as if he had only stumbled, in a moment he fell
again pierced by fourteen bullets. His death threw everything
into confusion. The next officer was mortally wounded, other
officers were prostrate with wounds, and many privates had fallen.
In this desperate situation a retreat towards their fort at Norfolk
was the only resource left to the English. They were not allowed
to escape without a vigorous pursuit. It was conducted by
brave Col. Stevens, who captured many prisoners and ten pieces
of cannon. The loss of the British was one hundred and two
killed and wounded. The only damage to our men was a wound
in the finger of one of them."
178 REVOLUTIONARY READER
The British had built a fort for their defence, the Vir-
ginians had breastworks.
FORT NELSON.
"During the Revolution Sovereign Virginia erected Fort Nel-
son to resist Lord Dunmore, should he ever attempt to return to
the harbor of Norfolk and Portsmouth. It was named for the
patriot Governor Nelson, who gave his private fortune to aid the
credit of Virginia, and risked his life and sacrificed his health on
the battlefields of the American Republic. On account of its
location it was never the scene of any bloody battle, but like the
'Old Guard,' it was held in reserve for the emergencies of war.
On the 9th of May, 1779, a great British fleet, under Admiral Sir
George Collier entered Hampton Roads, sailed up Elizabeth river,
and landed three thousand royal soldiers under General Matthews
in Norfolk County, where Fort Norfolk now stands, to flank this
fortification and capture its garrison composed of only 150 sol-
diers. Maj. Matthews, the American commander, frustrated the
designs of the British general by evacuating the fort, and retired
to the northward. On the llth of May, the British took posses-
sion of the two towns, and gave free hand to pillage and destruc-
tion. Sir George Collier, after satisfying his wrath sailed back
to New York. Varying fortunes befell Fort Nelson during the
remainder of the war until the evacuation by Benedict Arnold,
after which no British grenadier ever paced its ramparts. After
the close of the Revolution, it was rebuilt and for many years
was garrisoned by regular soldiers of the United States; but
since, abandoned as a fortification, it has been a beautiful park
and a home for sick officers and sailors of our navy.
"The garrison of Fort Nelson, under the glorious stars and
stripes, on the 22nd of June, 1813, stood to their shotted guns, to
meet the British invaders, who were defeated at Crany Island,
by our Capt. Arthur Emerson and other gallant heroes. Here
thousands of soldiers marched in response to the call of Virginia
in 1861."
In the naval park at Portsmouth, the site of Fort Nel-
son, there is a monument whose granite body embraces a
real Revolutionary cannon. This gun was selected from
a number of guns known to be of the period of the Ameri-
can Revolution. It is believed that one, at least, of these
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 179
was mounted at Crany Island for the defense of Ports-
mouth and Norfolk. The honor of erecting this monument
is due to the ladies of the Fort Nelson Chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution and to Admiral P.
F. Harrington of the United States Navy, and also Medical
Director R. C. Person of the navy. It is said that with
proper care this gun will last centuries and ' ' It will carry
down to distant generations a memorial of the patriots of
the American Revolution, a mark of the formation of a
nation and the token of the later patriots, the Daughters
of the American Revolution, to whose efforts is due this
important national service to which the gun has been
dedicated. ' '
After these first assaults, for about three years of the
war, there was almost no fighting in Virginia, but during
that term she was furnishing her full quota of men, money
and inspiration to the cause, with devoted loyalty, assisting
in the north and in the south, wherever an attack was made.
Directing her attention to the main army she built no de-
fences of any importance on her own territory east of the
Alleghanies. "The British success in the north and fol-
lowed by still more decided victories in the south. Thus
later the English began to look forward, with certainty, to
the conquest of the entire country, and as Virginia was
regarded as the heart of the rebellion, it was decided to
carry their victorious arms into the state, as the surest way
of bringing the war to a speedy conclusion." We had no
time, then, for building forts, and when we recall the
traitor Arnold's advance on Richmond, with the two days
he spent there destroying public and private property
his taking of Petersburg, burning the tobacco and vessels
lying at the wharves, with Col. Tarleton's raids, scouring
the country of every thing; in fact all of Cornwallis'
reign of terror, which was soon to end in that imposing
scene at Yorktown, we realize truly that ' ' the battle is not
to the strong, nor the race to the swift," but that a
country's bulwark often are not forts and strong towers,
180 REVOLUTIONARY READER
but her courageous heart, and her staunch friends, such
men as Lafayette, De Rochambeau, De Grasse and Steuben,
who with Washington, led the allied Americans and French
forces at Yorktown, and besieged the British fortifica-
tion, the surrender of which virtually closed the Revolu-
tionary War on the 19th of October, 1781. The place is
sacred, their devotion reverenced.
FORTS OP THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY, KASKASKIA, CAHOKIA
AND VINCENNES.
"While the communities of the sea coast were yet in a fever
heat from the uprising against the stamp act, the first explorers
were toiling painfully to Kentucky, and the first settlers were
building their palisaded hamlets on the banks of the Wautauga.
The year that saw the first Continental Congress saw also the
short grim tragedy of Lord Duninore's war. The battles of the
Revolution were fought while Boone and his comrades were laying
the foundation of their Commonwealth. Hitherto the two chains
of events had been only remotely connected, but in 1776, the year
of the Declaration of Independence, the struggle between the king
and his rebelb'ous subjects shook the whole land and the men of
the western border were drawn headlong into the full current of
the Revolutionary war. From that moment our politics became
national, and the fate of each portion of our country was thence-
forth in some sort dependent upon the welfare of every other.
Each section had its own work to do; the east won independence
while the west began to conquer the continent, yet the deeds of
each were of vital consequence to the other. The Continentals
gave the west its freedom, and took in return, for themselves and
their children, a share of the land that had been conquered and
held by the scanty bands of tall backwoodsmen."
Kentucky had been settled chiefly through Daniel
Boone 's instrumentality in the year that saw the first
fighting of the Revolution, and had been added to Virginia
by the strenuous endeavorers of Major George Rogers
Clark of Albermarle, Virginia, whose far seeing and ambi-
tious soul prompted him to use it as a base from which to
conquer the vast region northwest of the Ohio. ' ' The country
beyond the Ohio was not like Kentucky, a tenantless and
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 181
debatable hunting ground. It was the seat of powerful
and warlike Indian confederacies, and of cluster of ancient
French hamlets which had been founded generations before
Kentucky pioneers were born. It also contained forts that
were garrisoned and held by the soldiers of the British
king. " It is true that Virginia claimed this territory under
the original grant in her charter, but it was almost an
unknown and foreign land, and could only be held by force.
Clark's scheming brain and bold heart had long been plan-
ning its conquest. He looked about to see from whence
came the cause of the Indian atrocities on the whole Ameri-
can frontier, and like Washington he saw that those Indian
movements were impelled by some outside force. He dis-
covered that the British forts of Detroit, Kaskaskia and St.
Vincent were the centers from which the Indians obtained
their ammunition and arms to devastate the country. He
resolved to take these forts. "He knew that it would be
impossible to raise a force to capture these forts from the
scanty garrisoned forts and villages of Kentucky, though
he knew of a few picked men peculiarly suited to his pur-
pose, but fully realized that he would have to go to Vir-
ginia for the body of his forces. Accordingly, he decided
to lay the case before Patrick Henry, the governor of Vir-
ginia. Henry's ardent soul quickly caught the flame from
Clark's fiery enthusiasm, but the peril of sending an ex-
pedition to such a wild and distant country was so great,
and Virginia's forces so exhausted that he could do little
beyond lending Clark the weight of his name and influence.
Finally though, Henry authorized him to raise seven com-
panies, each of fifty men, who were to act as militia, and to
be paid as such. He also advanced him a sum of twelve
hundred pounds and gave him an order on the authorities
at Pittsburg for boats, supplies and ammunition; while
three of the most prominent gentlemen of Virginia, Thomas
Jefferson, George Mason and George Wythe, agreed, in
writing, to do their part to induce the legislature to grant
to each of the adventurers three hundred acres of the con-
182 REVOLUTIONARY READER
quered land, if they were successful. Clark was given the
commission of colonel with the instruction to raise his men
from the frontier counties west of the Blue Ridge, so as not
to weaken the sea coast region in their struggle against the
British." To this instruction he did not strictly adhere.
There was a company of soldiers from Bedford County,
Virginia, under his command, a list of whose names are on
our county records. Two of these are connections of the
mother of Mrs. R. B. Clayton, the regent of the Peaks of
Otter Chapter of Virginia Daughters, which facts enhance
our pride and interest in the capture of the western forts
by Colonel Clark, which perhaps, prevented a vast and
beautiful region of our country from being a part of a
then foreign and hostile empire.
THE CAPTURE OP FORT KASKASKIA.
"Port Kaskaskia, an old French fort of western Illinois,
situated on Kaskaskia River, and garrisoned by the British was,
at the time of its capture in splendid repair with a well drilled
militia and spies constantly on the lookout. Rochenblave, the
commandant of the fort, had two or three times as many men as
Col. Clark, and would have made a vigorous fight if he had not
been taken by surprise. Clark's force after the toil and hardships
of much traveling across rivers and tangled pathless forests, was
much reduced, and it was only his audacity and the noiseless
speed of his movements, that gave him a chance of success with
the odds so heavily against him. He ferried his men across the
stream under cover of darkness and profound silence. Inside the
forts, lights were lit, and through the windows came the sound of
violins. The officers of the fort had given a ball, the young men
and girls were dancing, revelling within, while the sentinels had
left their posts. One of the men whom Clark had captured, on
his approach to the fort, showed him a postern gate by the river
side, through which he entered the fort, having placed his men
about the entrance. Advancing to the great hall, where the revel
was held he leaned silently, with folded arms, against the door
post, looking at the dancers. An Indian lying on the floor of the
entry suddenly sprang to his feet uttering the unearthly war
whoop. The dancing ceased, the women screamed, while the men
ran towards the door, but Clark standing unmoved and with
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 183
unchanged face, grimly bade them continue their dancing, but to
remember that they now danced under Virginia and not Great
Britain. At the same time his men seized the officers, including
the commandant, Rochenblave, who was sent a prisoner to Wil-
liamsburg, Virginia."
Among his papers falling into the hands of Colonel
Clark, were the instructions which he had from time to time
received from the British Governor of Quebec and Detroit,
urging him to stimulate the Indians to war by the proffer
of large bounties for the scalps of the Americans. This
shows of what importance the capture of this fort was at
that period, a defence against the scalping knife of the In-
dians as well as the power of the British tyrant.
THE CAPTURE OF COHOKIA AND VINCENNES.
After the capture of Kaskaskia, without the shedding
of a drop of blood, Clark pushed on to the taking of fort
Cohokia, where the French, as soon as they were made to
know that France had acknowledged the independence of
America, shouted for freedom and the Americans. Clark
then marched to fort Vincennes which, without the firing of
a gun, surrendered, and the garrison took the oath of alle-
giance to Virginia July 19th, 1778. Very soon after this
the British under Governor Hamilton, left Detroit and
recaptured Vincennes, only to be forced by Clark to sur-
render it a second time in February, 1779, and to yield
himself a prisoner of war. The taking of this fort the
second time was a most remarkable achievement.
"Clark took, without artillery, a heavy stockaded fort, pro-
tected by cannon and swivels and garrisoned by trained soldiers
Much credit belongs to Clark's men but most belongs to their,
leader. The boldness of his plan and the resolute skill with which
he followed it out, his perseverance through the intense hardship
of the midwinter march of two hundred miles, through swamps
and swollen rivers, with lack of force, the address with which he
kept the French and Indians neutral, and the masterful way in
which he controlled his own men, together with the ability and
courage he displayed in the actual attack, combined to make his
184 REVOLUTIONARY READER
feat the most memorable of all the deeds done west of the
Alleghenies in the Revolutionary war. It was likewise the most
important in its results, for had he been defeated in the capture
of these forts we would not only have lost Illinois but in all
probability Kentucky also."
As it was ' ' he planted the flag of the Old Dominion over
the whole of the northwestern territory, and when peace
came the British boundary line was forced to the big lakes
instead of coming down to the Ohio, and the State of Vir-
ginia had a clear title to this vast domain, out of which
were carved the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin,
Michigan and a part of Minnesota." Virginia's share in
the history of the nation has been gallant and leading, but
the Revolutionary war was emphatically fought by Ameri-
cans for America ; no part could have won without the help
of the whole, and every victory was thus a victory for all
in which all alike can take pride American Monthly
Magazine.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 185
UNCROWNED QUEENS AND KINGS, AS SHOWN
THROUGH HUMOROUS INCIDENTS OF
THE REVOLUTION.
One by one the years have dropped into the abyss of
the past, since the close of the war for American Inde-
pendence. Time has spread his brooding wings over the
gulf and much of the horror and of the pathos of that
tremendous struggle is now veiled from us; yet we are
still perhaps too prone to remember only the dreadful in
the events of the war, too anxious to recall only the dark
days, leaving out the traces of cheerfulness which even
in those troublous times, were experienced here and there ;
for there were many incidents connected with the American
Revolution which were in lighter vein ; incidents which did
not, it is true, abolish the gloom and the suffering, but
which lightened the sombreness and shed rays of glimmer-
ing light through the shade.
It has always seemed to me almost incredible, that the
Colonists could have found anything to laugh at during
those awful years. They were threatened with absolute loss
of liberty as a country; they were menaced by starvation,
and they were obliged to pass through the rigors of the
winters, without proper food or clothing. The sanctity of
their homes was invaded by the grim monster of war, who
was no respecter of persons, and to whose voracious palate
all persons were equally attractive.
If the British won their cause, the Colonists had
nothing better to which to look forward than slavery and
injustice; if the colonists won theirs, they must face the
future poorly equipped in every way. The waste of their
country must be repaired, their desolate homes must be
rebuilt; their business, which was crushed, must be re-
stored, they must begin from the beginning. "Whatever
the result, the outlook was dark. As the days went on,
the husbands and fathers were obliged to forsake their
plows, and go, perhaps with but a moment's warning, to
186 REVOLUTIONARY READER
bloody fields of battle. Poorly clothed, they fought in
their shirt sleeves and with their feet bare, their bloody
foot prints often standing out as symbols of the struggle.
The women must remain at home, to plow and sow and
reap. The American soldiers must have spent many sleep-
less nights thinking of their unprotected ones at home,
alone and defenceless. How could there be anything of
humor connected with the struggle? And yet, while the
American Revolution can in no sense of the word be said to
have had its humorous side, yet there was much of humor
connected with many Revolutionary occurrences, the stories
of which have lived until the present time and have gained
perhaps in their humorous aspect since the close of the
great struggle.
One of the first incidents of the war, which I have found
to savor of the humorous, was the meeting of General
John Burgoyne and the Irish patriot immediately after
the surrender of the British General. All through the
march of the General, to Saratoga, he had boasted of the
of the calamities which he would bring upon the
Americans. Pompously up and down his quarters he
would strut, composing high sounding sentences and lis-
tening to the fine roll of his voice, revelling in his verbos-
ity and smiling with satisfaction at his thoughts which
he deemed so great. The manifestos which he issued so
frequently, were words, words, words, and these reiterated
over and over again, the direful things which would en-
compass the Americans, did they not surrender with all
haste and with becoming deference. He made himself
ridiculous by the manifestos, but he did not realize this
until he made his way through the streets of Albany, a
conquered rather than a conquering hero, and met a funny
little Irishman, who had evidently studied the harangues
of the General to good purpose.
On the march through the Albany streets, Burgoyne
was surrounded by men, women and children, who would
fain look upon the face of this pompous British General.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 187
Suddenly in the crowded part of the street, there bobbed
up in front of him, a blue-eyed, red-haired Celt, his bright
eyes dancing with mirth and his tongue ready with the
wit of his mother country. "Make way there, ye spal-
peens," he shouted, "sure don't ye see the great Ginral
Burgyne a comin' along? Sthand back fer the great
Ginral. Wud yees be standin ' in the way of the conquerer ?
If ye don't sthand back and give the great man room,
shure I'll murther ivy mither's son of ye."
History does not record how the boasting Briton re-
ceived the onslaught of the Irishman, but we can readily
imagine that his face lengthened a little, as he heard the
laughs on every side. Still it is quite possible that he did
not see the joke until the following week. Someway, that
march of Burgoyne and his army, always struck me as
humorous to a certain extent. While there was the sad-
ness caused by the loss of many lives, and while the battle
of Saratoga was one of the great battles of the world, still
Burgoyne himself, with his verbosity and his pomposity,
was so ludicrous a figure oft times, that he gave a humorous
tinge to the entire campaign.
The saying of General Starke at Bennington which has
come down to us with such pleasing patriotism : ' ' Here
come the Red Coats and we must beat them to-day, or
Mollie Starke is a widow, "was not a humorous saying, nor
was the battle of Bennington a humorous incident. But
Bill Nye, the immortal, has written something exceedingly
funny concerning both. Nye said, "This little remark of
Starke 's made an instantaneous hit, and when they counted
up their prisoners at night they found they had six hun-
dred souls and a Hessian." Nye's description of Bur-
goyne 's surrender is well worth repeating. He wrote : "A
council was now held in Burgoyne 's tent and on the ques-
tion of renewing the fight, stood six to six, when an eigh-
teen pound hot shot went through the tent, knocking a
stylograph pen out of Burgoyne 's hand. Almost at once
he decided to surrender, and the entire army of 6999 men
188 REVOLUTIONARY READER
was surrendered, together with arms, portable bath tubs
and leather hat boxes. ' '
Nearly all of our American soldiers were brave; that
goes without saying. One of the bravest of these was
Lieutenant Manning. His deeds of prowess were many
and great. He was hero in one extremely humorous inci-
dent at the battle of Eutaw. After the British line had
been broken, the "Old Buffs" started to run. This par-
ticular regiment was as boastful as General Burgoyne.
Manning knew this and he was delighted to follow hard
after them with his platoon. Excited in his pursuit he did
not notice that he was getting away from his men, until he
found himself surrounded by British soldiers and not an
American in sight. Something must be done at once and
Manning was the man to do it. He siezed a British officer
standing near, and much to that officer's amazement he not
only felt himself violently handled, but he heard the sten-
torian voice of the American shouting "You are my
prisoner. ' ' His sword was wrested from his grasp, and he
was made a human shield for this preposterously impudent
American. But instead of making a break for liberty, he
began to relate his various titles to Manning. ' ' I am sir, ' '
he said, "Sir Henry Barry, Deputy Adjutant General of
the British Army, Captain in the 52d Regiment, Secretary
to the Commandant of Charleston."
' ' Enough Sir, ' ' said Manning, ' ' You are just the man I
have been looking for. Fear nothing; you shall screen me
from danger and I will take special care of you, ' ' which he
did, holding the astonished man of title in front of him,
until he reached the Americans and handed him over as a
prisoner.
Colonel Peter Horry was another brave man of the
south. He was afflicted by an impediment in his speech
and at one time the impediment nearly worked disaster for
him. He was ordered to await in ambuscade vrith his
regiment for a British detachment, and he soon had them
completely within his power; but when he tried to com-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 189
mand his men to fire, his speech failed him. In vain he
corrugated his brows and twisted his jaws ; the word would
not come out. "Fi, fi, fi, fi," he shouted, but could get no
further. Finally in his desperation he howled, "shoot,
blank you, shoot. You know very well what I would say.
Shoot and be blanked to you." Horry was a determined
character. At one time in battle a brother officer called to
him:
"I am wounded, Colonel." "Think no more of it,
Baxter, but stand to your post," called back Horry. "But
I can't stand, Colonel, I am wounded a second time."
"Then lie down, Baxter, but quit not your post." "Col-
onel," cried the suffering man, "they have shot me again,
and if I remain longer here I shall be shot to pieces. " "Be
it so Baxter," returned Horry, "but stir not."
The part that women took in the Revolution has been
sung by poets and made the nucleus of writers' efforts for
a hundred years and more. Those Revolutionary women
had brawn as well as brain. They were able to defend their
homes from the depredations of the Royalists; they could
bid the Indian begone, not only by word of mouth but at
the musket's end. They could plow and sow and reap;
they could care for their families and they could take up
arms in liberty's cause if the need arose. Oh, those women
of the American Revolution ! What a history of bravery
and fortitude and endurance they bequeathed to their
descendants ! There is some humor, too, in the stories left
to us in record of their heroism.
It was the fashion among certain circles of Whig
women, during the dark days of the Revolution, to wear
deep mourning as an indication of their feelings. The
black typified the darkness of the times and was worn by
the town ladies who could afford it. One of these ladies, a
Mrs. Brewton, was walking along Broad street in Charles-
ton one morning, when she was joined by an insolently
familiar British officer. At that very moment, the crepe
flounce on her dress was accidently torn off. She quickly
190 REVOLUTIONARY READER
picked it up and passing just at that time the house of the
absent Governor, John Rutledge, she sprang up the steps
before the astonished eyes of the officer and decked the
door with crepe, saying in ringing tones, "Where are you,
dearest Governor? Surely the magnanimous Britons will
not deem it a crime if I cause your house as well as your
friends to mourn your absence." Colonel Moncrief, the
English engineer, was occupying the house at the time,
and his feelings were hurt at the action of Mrs. Brewton,
as were those of the officer who had been with her, and
she was arrested a few hours afterward and sent to Phila-
delphia.
One of the most marked women of the Revolution, a
woman who figured in many a ludicrous as well as serious
incident, was Nancy Hart, of Georgia. Nancy had a fright-
ful temper, a big ungainly body, and she suffered from a
most marked obliquity of sight. In fact Nancy was so
cross-eyed, that her own children never could tell when
their mother was looking at them and were perhaps better
behaved on that very account. One time a party of Tories
entered her modest home on food intent. They had taken
the precaution of providing food for themselves, shooting
Nancy's last remaining gobbler. Mrs. Hart had her head
muffled up and no one had noticed her cross-eyes. The
soldiers stacked their arms within reach and Nancy passed
between them and the table, assiduous in her attention
to the diners. The party had a jug, of course, and when
they were becoming right merry, Nancy suddenly tore the
mufflers from her head and snatching up one of the guns,
swore that she would kill every last man who tried to get
his gun or who delayed in getting out of the cabin. The
men looked at Nancy's eyes and each man thinking she
was aiming at him only, made a hasty and determined
exit. But the terrible woman killed three Tories that day
with her own hands. One day Nancy was boiling soap.
As she industriously stirred, one of her eyes caught a
glimpse of a Tory peeking through a chink in the cabin.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 191
Stirring busily away, Nancy kept one eye on the soap and
the other on the chink. When the spy again appeared she
let drive full at the chink, a good big ladle full of hot
soap. A scream satisfied her that she had hit the mark,
and she finished her soap-making with great satisfaction.
This woman was termed by one of the patriots : " A honey
of a patriot, but the devil of a wife. ' '
The Revolutionary woman's resources were indeed
great, and the strategy she employed was as satisfactory
as it was many times humorous. A Whig woman of New
York State, a Mrs. Fisher, was one morning surprised by
the hurried entrance of a Whig neighbor, who begged of
her to conceal him as the Tories were pursuing him. Just
outside her door was an ash heap four or five feet high.
Seizing a shovel, Mrs. Fisher immediately excavated a
place in the ashes and buried her friend in it. But first she
had taken precaution to place a number of quills one in
the other and extend them from the prisoner 's mouth to the
air, that he might breathe, and there he remained snugly
ensconced until the Tories had come and gone, and even
though they ran over the ash heap, they never suspected
what lay beneath it.
Equally resourceful was that woman of the Revolu-
tion, who when her husband was pursued by Tories,
hustled him down cellar and into a meat barrel partially
filled with brine and meat. The Tories went into the cellar
and even peered into the barrel, but they did not discover
the man, who at the risk of terribly inflamed eyes, ducked
his head beneath the brine, when he heard the soldiers'
hands on the head of the barrel. Inflamed eyes were
easier to bear than imprisonment in the hands of the
British.
Bill Nye's description of the close of the war is as
humorous as it is correct. Nye wrote: "The country was
free and independent, but oh, how ignorant it was about
the science of government. The author does not wish to be
personal when he states that the country at that time did
192 REVOLUTIONARY READER
not know enough about affairs to carry water for a circus
elephant. It was heavily in debt, with no power to raise
money. New England refused to pay tribute to King
George and he in turn directed his hired men to overturn
the government; but a felon broke out on his thumb and
before he could put it down, the crisis was averted and the
country saved."
And so it goes; the sad and the humorous are blended
on every side in life's struggles either in war or peace.
Fortunate is the man or woman who can halt a little by the
wayside and for a few moments laugh dull care away.
Compiled from Federation Magazine.
A COLONIAL STORY.
A long time ago, before the hand of progress had
stamped the land with a net work of steel, or commerce
and trade had blackened the skies of blue, John Hamilton
and Tabitha Thweatt were married. There was no cutting
of Dutchess satin or charmeuse draped with shadow lace,
for it took time in those days to prepare for a wedding.
Silk worms had to be raised, thread spun and woven into
cloth before the bride's clothes could be fashioned. Wait-
ing was no bar to happiness; the bride-to-be sang merrily
while spinning or weaving at her loom and as the shuttles
went in and out her day dreams were inter-mingled with
the weaving of her wedding garments.
In the year of our Lord, 1770, the making of silk in the
colonies was a new industry and when Mistress Tabitha
decided on silk for her wedding dress she had to plant mul-
berry twigs and wait for them to grow. She had to pick
the leaves to feed the worms until they wrapped themselves
in their silken cocoons and as soon as the cocoons would
web they were baked to keep them from cutting the raw
silk. It took one hundred cocoons to make one strand of
silk. After all these preparations this colonial girl 's dream
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 193
of a silken wedding gown grew into a realization. She not
only raised the silk worms, but spun the silk that they
had webbed and wove it into shimmering cloth, from which
her wedding gown was made. She also knit her wedding
stockings of silk; but only one pair of silk went into her
trousseau for the rest were knit of cotton.
The family records say that this couple had no worldly
goods except what their own hands had wrought. They
were God-fearing people of the Puritan type. He felled
the trees and sawed them into logs out of which their home
was constructed. The logs that went toward the building
of their home were mortised and pinned together with
wooden pegs. The floors were puncheon flat slabs split
from whole tree trunks and the doors and windows were
made of oak and were swung on great wooden hinges.
The chimney was of "stick and dirt" and across the broad
fire place hung the crane from which were suspended the
cooking utensils.
John Hamilton was a member of one of Virginia 's most
distinguished families. He possessed an iron will that
defied adversity; he blazed the way through his state and
was brave enough to "hew down forests and live on
crumbs. ' ' Mistress Tabitha was a help-meet to her pioneer
husband. She not only cooked his meals but carried them
to him when he worked in the field. He had the honor,
and in those days it was indeed an honor, to be elected as a
representative from his state to Congress. The frugal and
beautiful Tabitha accompanied him to Washington. Her
preparation for the replenishing of her ward-robe was
quite as elaborate as those formerly made for her wedding.
With deft hands she carded from the snowy cotton piles
of rolls that were spun into thread and she wove many
yards of cloth from which she made her underwear. From
carefully carded bats of cotton she spun many spindles of
fine smooth thread that was woven into fine cream cotton
goods, some of which were dyed with copperas. Some was
spread day and night on the grass where the dew would
194 REVOLUTIONARY READER
fall to bleach it. From the bleached cotton this industrious
woman made her dresses and the snowy whiteness of some
of her gowns was the envy of her neighbors. She also
carried in her little hair trunk to Washington, not only
many well made cotton garments, but was the proud pos-
sessor of one black silk dress and two black silk aprons.
The dress was afterward described as being so heavy that
it could ' ' stand alone. ' ' Mistress Tabitha, although a little
overworked, was not too weary after reaching Washington
to attend the Presidential ball and dance the minuet with
the gallant Washington and the noted LaFayette.
John and Tabitha Hamilton had eleven children. All
were born in Virginia except one, who came after they
moved to Hancock County, near Sparta, Georgia, in 1791.
Their home was destroyed twice by the Tories and once
by a Tornado. Mr. Hamilton had just completed a nice
dwelling for his family when the memorable tornado and
cyclone passed over that portion of Georgia in April, 1805.
All of the family except Jack and Everard were away from
home. There was but one small house left on the place,
their new house having been blown away, none of it left
standing. Some of the doors were found six miles off in
an adjoining county. Clothing, books and papers were
carried promiscuously away. Jack was much bruised,
having been struck by many things. His booksack was
blown away, and his "Ovid" was found forty miles over
in Baldwin County and returned to him. This book is now
in possession of one of his descendants. Everard was car-
ried into the air and lodged in a swamp about a quarter of
a mile away, where he was caught up by the whirl wind.
Madame Hamilton took this misfortune as coming from
God and helped her husband to collect anew his scattered
fortune. Later we read of them as living on their planta-
tion surrounded by their servants, who ministered to their
comforts and attended their broad fields.
In reading about the women who lived in the early days
of Georgia, their splendid lives stand as a beacon to the
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 195
reckless and extravagant ones of today. They not only
spun the thread and wove the cloth used in their homes,
but they made all of the clothes their children wore, and
reared them to be God-fearing men and women. They
visited their neighbors for thirty miles away and extended
a glad welcome and cordial hospitality for any and every
guest. One with impunity may ask the question: "Are
they pleased with their descendants, these women of
Georgia's pioneer days?" MRS. J. L. WALKER, Lyman
Hall Chapter, D. A. R.
MOLLY PITCHER FOR HALL OF FAME.
The movement to place in the hall of fame a bust of
Molly Pitcher, the only woman sergeant in the United
States army, has the enthusiastic support of former Sena-
tor Chauncey M. Depew.
It was in the important movements of the year 1778
that at the battle of Mommouth Molly Pitcher was carrying
water to her husband, who was a gunner of a battery at
one piece of artillery. He was disabled and the lieutenant
proposed to remove the piece out of danger, when Molly
said, "I can do everything my husband could," and she
performed her husband's duties at his old gun better than
he could have done.
The next morning she was taken before General Wash-
ington, her wonderful act was reported and its influence
upon the outcome of the battle, which was a victory, and
Washington made her at once a sergeant in the army to
stand on the rolls in that rank as long as she would.
It seems appropriate now for us to place among the
immortals and in the hall of fame this only woman ser-
geant of the United States army, who won her title fight-
ing for her country upon the field of battle. National
Magazine.
196 REVOLUTIONARY READER
REVOLUTIONARY RELICS.
Great grandmother's spinning wheel stands in the hall,
That is her portrait there;
Great grandfather's sword hangs near on the wall,
What do you girlies care,
That in seventeen hundred and seventy-six,
One bitter winter's night,
When the air was full of sleet and snow,
And the kitchen fire burned bright.
He stood with a face so thoughtful and sad
With his hand on her hair,
"Asenath, I start at the break of day,"
Oh, that bride was so fair!
But country was dearer than home and wife,
Proudly she lifted her head,
"Go, David, and stay till is ended the strife,
God keep you, dear," she said.
Toward the loom in the kitchen she drew,
She had finished that day,
A beautiful blanket of brown and blue,
"Was it plaided this way?"
It was just like this but faded and worn,
And full of holes and stain,
When our soldier grandsire came back one morn,
To wife and child again.
When his eyes were dim and her hair was white,
Waiting the Master's call,
She finished this blanket one winter's night,
That hangs here on the wall.
And dreaming of fifty years before,
When she stood by that wheel,
And that cradle creaked on the kitchen floor,
By that swift and reel.
There's a rare old plate with a portrait in blue,
Of England's George the Third,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 197
A porringer small and a stain shoe,
That five brave hearts has stirred,
There's an ancient gun all covered with rust,
A clock, a bible worn,
"Fox Book of Martyrs" and "Holy Wars,"
A brass tipped powder horn.
.
Great grandfather sat in that old arm chair,
Grandmother rocked by his side,
Till the Master called through the sweet June air,
They both went out with the tide.
Florence I. W. Burnham in American Monthly Magazine.
TRAGEDY OF THE REVOLUTION OVER-
LOOKED BY HISTORIANS.
BY T. H. DREHER, M. D.
Before the William Thompson Chapter, D. A. R., in-
vaded this neck of the moral vineyard and put its delicate,
historical fingers upon the tendrils of local happenings,
there was no blare of trumpets over a foul and bloody deed
which occurred near the "Metts Cross-Roads, " in this
county, during the Revolutionary war. But the gruesome
case was never without intense interest to those concerned
in the episodes of a past age. The strange and mysterious
always throws an additional halo over our heroes. This
feeling is intensified, in this case, by virtue of the fact that
the same blood which ran in the veins of the victim of the
"cross-roads plot," now pulsates in the arteries of many
lineal, living descendants who are part and parcel of Cal-
houn County's sturdy citizenship.
The malignant, cruel and cowardly feature of this das-
tardly crime, garbed in a plausible and hypocritical cloak,
make it unique, even in the gory annals of criminal warfare
and harks our memories back to the murder of Duncan,
King of Scotland. Here, as there, we have no doubt, but
that souls grew faint over the details of the foul conspiracy
198 REVOLUTIONARY READER
and ' ' their seated hearts knocked at their ribs ' ' until spur-
red to the "sticking place" by the evil eloquence of some
overpowering and unnatural genius, like unto Lady Mac-
beth. John Adams Treutlen (for that was the name of
our hero) is in his grave.
"After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well,
Treason has done his worst ; nor steel nor poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing,
Can touch him further."
That is true. The cold pen of a true chronicler, how-
ever, must again allude to the utter negligence and gross
indifference of an earlier age to a proper appreciation of
significant events. That a noted Governor of Georgia
should be brutally done to death by revengeful Tories be-
cause of the intense Whig fires which consumed his very
soul; that children, and children's children, should grow
up around the scene of his untimely taking-off, and still his
home and his grave should be, today, unidentified spots on
the map of Calhoun County force us to exclaim with Mark
Antony: "But yesterday the word of Caesar might have
stood against the world. Now lies he there and none so
poor to do him reverence. ' '
The salient facts in the life of Treutlen are interesting.
Born in Berectsgaden, 1726, as a German Salzburger, he
was brought to this country in a boat load of Salzburgers
that landed at Savannah in 1734. If early impressions
count for anything, there is no wonder that the spirit of
liberty and independence sank deep into the very inmost
recesses of his soul. His father, along with thousands of
other German Protestants, was exiled by a fanatical decree
of Archbishop Leopold, which drove out from his domain
all who would not accept the Catholic faith. It was this
Salzburger strain and religion which was unterrified and
unwashed, amid the raging tempests of an angry sea, while
others aboard, including John Wesley, trembled for life,
and confessed to a livelier awakening to the rejuvenating
and sustaining power of God upon frail humanity.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 199
Some 25 miles from Savannah these brave and devout
pilgrims, after singing a psalm "set up a rock and in the
spirit of the pious Samuel, named the place Ebenezer
(stone of help) 'for hitherto hath the Lord helped us.' '
Amid these crude but inspiring surroundings the young
Treutlen received a splendid education, for that day, under
the strict tutelage of his scholarly Lutheran pastors, Bol-
zius and Gronau. Thus it was that, when the red gloom of
impending war was already visible on the distant horizon,
and the Provincials had gathered at Savannah to take steps
against the high-handed measures of England, John Adam
Treutlen answered the roll-call from the Ebenezer country
and was one of its leading and most aggressive spirits.
Thus it was that, in the teeth of strong Tory influence and
friends he espoused the patriot cause with all the ardor of
a Knight Templar, thus becoming the chief object of
Loyalist hatred and vengeance, his property being con-
fiscated, and his home, with many of its treasures, burned
to ashes.
Elected first Governor of Georgia under an independ-
ent Constitution by the Legislature, in 1777, there was not
as yet the fearful carnage and bloody battles which were
still to come, and which were to make the South and its
manhood a synonym for courage and endurance the world
over. It is true that the immortal conflict on Sullivan's
Island had been fought and won, but Clinton and Parker,
still hopeful under drooping plumes, had shifted the scene
to the North.
The "blue bloods" of the Palmetto State with the
exception of Charleston's brave firebrand, (Christopher
Gadsden, were still praying for that peace, borne of wealth,
intelligence and luxurious ease. Georgia, now perched
upon the top-most round of empire pre-eminence was
then weak in its swaddling clothes and viewed only as a
promising child to be brought up in the aristocratic South
Carolina Sunday School. With a cool and calculating
diplomacy which smacked somewhat suggestively of the
200 REVOLUTIONARY READER
rising Talleyrand, we are told that the gentle ripples on the
waters little betokened the torpedoes which were being laid
beneath. Bludgeons, not the velvety hand of artful dip-
lomacy, were calculated to narcotize the grim-visaged ruler
of the satrapy across the Savannah, as all accounts agree
that Truetlen was a somewhat "stormy petrel," a sort of
pocket edition of Oliver Cromwell, the greatest civilized
dictator that the world has ever produced who could
rout a parliament of sitting members, lock the door and
put the key in his pocket.
And so it came to pass that, when the Governor heard of
the so-called "Machiavellian scheme" to annex his little
kingdom to the great Palmetto Commonwealth, by a coup
d'etat, he pounded the floor viciously with his "condemna-
tory hoof" and shot a fiery proclamation over the official
mahogany, denouncing the conspiracy in bitter vein and
offering a heavy reward for the chief emissary Drayton.
When the Georgia patriot Government fell in 1779, Treut-
len, along with hundreds of others, took British protection
and fled to St. Matthews Parish, in the present County of
Calhoun; and the road he travelled was a thornier path
than that from Jerusalem to Jerico with
"Injuns on the upper way,
And death upon the lower."
It is not for me to split fine hairs over the principle
involved in conditional agreements during the days of war,
when every man is showing his teeth and reaching at the
throat of his enemy. Suffice to say, that he chafed under
the Tory bit and would have none of it. A born fighter and
a man of rugged individuality, it was impossible for him
to hug both sides of any fence. A dictator by instinct (and
by Georgia statute,) well educated, and fresh from the
Gubernatorial eiderdown he would naturally bring around
his head swarms of bitter enemies, in times of war, and he
was a marked man. He met his doom on a dreary night
in 1780 under peculiarly atrocious conditions.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 201
It is said that a small band of vindictive Tories went
to his home during that fateful evening, and enticed him-
out, on a treacherous plea of surrender on certain plausible
conditions. As he emerged from his door, he was seized,
and not only brutally butchered, but, (all traditions agree,)
literally hacked to pieces. The exact spot where the frag-
ments of his dismembered body were buried will probably
never be known. But there is every reason to believe that
his bones rest in the vicinity of his home, from the fact that
his tenure of life in this section was short; that he was
without relatives beyond his family circle, and those rel-
atives continued to live in the neighborhood. The mere
fact that a Governor of Georgia could come here and be
brutally and foully murdered by Tories, in the heat of war
passions, and not a line recorded about it, in any South
Carolina history or newspaper bearing upon that period,
should open our eyes to the danger of swallowing the
spurious pill offered to us by the Emily Geiger extermina-
tors.
But for the Georgia records and a straight line of
descendants, hereabouts, the Treutlen individuality and
tradition would be tabooed as a "myth" and fabrication
from beginning to end. Through the laudable efforts of
the local D. A. R. and particularly its regent, Mrs. F. C.
Cain a "marker" has been promised from the quarter-
master general's office, "Washington, D. C. It will stand in
the vicinity of the ' ' Metts Crossroads ' ' and will remind the
passerby of as true and loyal a Whig as lived during those
perilous days.
Treutlen 's general appearance, even in repose, as ex-
hibited in an old photograph now in the possession of a de-
scendant, is interesting. The orthodox military coat, un-
bottoned and spread abroad over his shoulders, brings into
bold relief a ' ' dicky ' ' shirt front, emerging into a high and
ferocious collar, which nestles snugly and smugly under his
lower jaws. There is a profuse shock of hair, futilely bom-
barding an obstinate "cow-lick," the whole showing little
202 REVOLUTIONARY READER
or no subserviency to comb and brush. His large, piercing
eyes, fringed by shaggy brows, with a drooping upper lid,
produces a sad, if not sinister, aspect. The nose has a Ro-
man slant, which meets a bold, intellectual forehead in an
almost unbroken line. Marked cheek bones and a thin face
ease down, more or less hastily, to a sharp and angular
chin. A pair of thin lips, closely plastered to each other,
bespeak firm determination; and his whole contour im-
presses one, forcibly, that he was not a safe man to take too
many liberties with.
As intimated at the outset, there is an interesting rami-
fication of descendants from the Treutlen family, many of
whom are still living in Calhoun County. Some have
gained prominence in Alabama, Washington, D. C., and
other places, but I will note only those of local (and some,
at least, of state- wide) interest. There were three sons
and three daughters : John Adam Treutlen, Jr., Christian,
Depew, Mary, Elizabeth and Hannah. Mary married
Edward Dudley. From this union was born Mary Dudley,
who married Adam Amaker, February 10, 1820, and from
the latter was born Adam Perry Amaker, who married
Augusta Zimmerman, and they, in turn, were the parents
of Perry and T. A. Amaker, now living the former of
Denver, Col., and the latter a leading business man of St.
Matthews. Amanda Amaker (alive) married Major Whit-
marsh Seabrook Murray, of Edisto Island, who recently
died here. They moved to this place after the war and
leave many descendants.
Elizabeth Treutlen, another daughter, married William
Kennedy and from them descended John W. Kennedy, who
resided here for years, and now at Tyron, N. C. His only
daughter, Vernon, married Dr. A. McQueen Salley, origi-
nally of Orangeburg, and a son of the present sheriff of
that county, now of Saluda, N. C. John Adam Treutlen,
Jr., married Margaret Miller. Their son, Gabriel, married
Ann Connor and to them was born Caroline Treutlen, who
married Jacob Dantzler. Their son, Col. 0. M. Dantzler,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 203
of Confederate war fame, was the father of O. M. Dantzler,
the popular sheriff of Calhoun County, who recently died ;
Fred and Thos. W., of St. Matthews; Mortimer O., of
Orangeburg and Charles G., an eminent jurist (deceased.)
Rachael Treutlen, daughter of John Adam Treutlen, Jr,
married the Rev. J. J. Wannamaker, of St. Matthews*
From this union were born Mary Ann (who first married
Joel Butler and later William Reeves) and W. W. Wan-
namaker, deceased, who for many years was a leading
physician of this community, and who married Adelia
Keitt. To the last couple was born Agelina, who married
the Rev. Artemus B. Watson, a well known minister of the
Methodist Church, who died recently. Their son, Whit-
field W. Watson, married May, daughter of the Hon.
Samuel J. Dibble, and a daughter Adele Watson, deceased,
married A. C. Hane, Fort Motte. Other children of Dr. W.
W. Wannamaker were: John Keitt, who married Chloe
Watson, both dead. He bequeathed $20,000 for a Methodist
Church here. W. W. Wannamaker, a successful farmer of
this community, who married Lou Banks, deceased. A son
bears the honored patronymic of ''Treutlen." Mary B.
Wannamaker, deceased, who married Dr. W. T. C. Bates,
of St. Matthews, the well known ex-State Treasurer.
Emma C., a daughter of Rev. J. J. Wannamaker, mar-
ried Dr. W. L. Pou, an eminent physician of St. Matthews,
now 84 years old, and who has been actively practicing his
profession for over 60 years. A daughter of Dr. and Mrs.
Pou, Emma, deceased, married A. K. Smoke, a prominent
and influential citizen of this town, while Blanche, another
daughter, is living, and the joy and pride of her aged par-
ents. A son of Rev. J. J. Wannamaker and Rachael Treut-
len, his wife, was Capt. Francis M., deceased, a noted lawyer
in his day, who married Eleanor Bellinger, of Bamberg.
From the last couple were born the following: Jennie B.,
who married J. B. Tyler, of Georgia, both dead ; Mary B.,
deceased, who married J. H. Henagan, of St. Matthews:
Rachael Treutlen, who married H. A. Raysor, a successful
204 REVOLUTIONARY READER
merchant and prominent citizen of St. Matthews; J. S.
Kottowe, a leading banker and merchant of St. Matthews,
who married Lillian Salley, of Orangeburg; Francis M.,
who married the writer; William H., professor of German
in Trinity College, N. C., who married Isabella Stringf el-
low, of Chester, and Olin M., professor of English in the
Alabama Polytechnic College at Auburn, who married
Katherine Hume, of New Haven, Conn.
JOHN MARTIN.
When quite a little boy in his home in Caroline
County, Virginia, John Martin adopted as his motto: "I
will do my best. ' ' It helped him even in childhood to have
this motto, for whenever he had any diffcult task to per-
form, either at home or school, he remembered his motto
and did his best.
In his veins flowed the blood of a noble ancestry and
many sterling merited qualities helped him in the forma-
tion of a manly character.
He was born in 1751, amid turbulent scenes in Virginia,
for the Indians were frequently incited by the French to
commit deeds of violence and cruelty upon the English
colonists, and in consequence of this, his early impressions
were of preparations for war. At a tender age John wit-
nessed the departure of his father, Abner Martin, to join
Colonel Washington on his way to Fort Duquesne. He saw
him buckle on his sword and sabre and mount his charger
and set his face towards the Ohio Valley. And after that
parting he experienced some of the horrors of war, for in
the silent hour of night, the stealthy tread of the Indian
noiselessly approached the Martin plantation and applied
the torch to the barns and outhouses, and morning found
them in ruins. He shared the general feeling of uneasi-
ness and insecurity that had settled down upon the home
circle in consequence of his father's absence, and his grand-
father's illness. His mother at this time was for him his
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 205
tower of strength, and his ark of safety, for she it was who
devised means for their protection and safety. As he grew
older and thought upon these stirring scenes, no wonder that
his martial spirit was stirred within him and that he
resolved ' ' some day I '11 go too, and I can if I do my best, ' '
and he did.
About 1768, the Martin family removed from Virginia
to South Carolina and settled at Edgefield. The sons were
sent to Virginia to be educated, and it was there that John
formed a close personal friendship for George Washington,
which ripened with the coming years. When the war for
American Independence was declared, John Martin, and
his seven brothers, all officers, had his life 's desire fulfilled,
and following the footsteps of his father saw service in the
defence of his country. He also served with distinction in
the state legislature and afterward was made General in
command of the South Carolina state troops. He married
Elizabeth, the daughter of Colonel Nathaniel Terry, of
Virginia. Many years later General John Martin was on
a visit to his son Marshall Martin, in Meriwether County,
Georgia at the time when Georgia was called upon to fur-
nish her quota of troops for the war of 1812. John Martin
was then 70 years old and still the fires of patriotism were
not extinguished nor the love of battle front subdued.
The talk of another war with England made him forget
his years, and his infirmities, and as his son Marshall re-
counted the probabilities of renewed encounters, and spoke
of his own enlistment, the old "war horse sniffing the battle
from afar," exclaimed excitedly, "My son let me go in your
stead."
Afteh this visit John Martin returned to his Edgefield
home, where he died in 1820.
Boys and girls who would develop fine character must
have high ideals even in childhood. "Sow a thought and
you reap a habit, sow a habit and you reap a character,
sow a character and you reap a destiny" M. M. PARK,
David Meriwether Chapter, D. A. B., Greenville.
206 REVOLUTIONARY READER
JOHN STARK, REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER.
The victory of the little band of patriots at Bennington
early in the Revolutionary War made John Stark famous,
and shortly afterward he was christened "Old Benning-
ton, ' ' first by the soldiers and then by the American colon-
ists generally. At the time of the victory Stark was close
to fifty years of age, and had had a long and distinguished
career as an Indian fighter.
In early life John Stark was a New Hampshire farmer,
and in that state he was born of Irish parents, and there he
died in 1822, at the advanced age of 94. His farm was
located in the wildest part of the forest country of New
Hampshire, and Indian fighting was a hobby with him.
Several years prior to the Revolution he and his little band
of frontiersmen had succeeded in driving the Indians from
their neighborhood, so that they were no longer troubled
with them. Then for several years Stark settled down to
the enjoyment of farm life. At this vocation he continued
until tidings reached him of the battle of Lexington.
Promptly upon the receipt of this news he mounted his
horse, and at the head of several hundred of his neighbors,
set out to join the Colonial Army at Cambridge. Upon his
arrival there he was appointed a colonel, and in one day he
had organized a regiment of 800 hardy backswoodsmen.
Then came the memorable Bunker Hill day. Stark and
his men were stationed a few miles away from the scene of
this conflict, but in full sight of both Bunker and Breed's
hills. Seeing that a battle was inevitable, he waited for
no orders, but set out at once for the ground, which he
reached just before the conflict began. He led his men
into the fight saying : ' ' Boys aim at their waistbands, ' ' an
order that has become historical.
In the heat of this action a soldier came to Stark with
the report that his son, a youth of 16, who was with him on
the field had been killed.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 207
' ' This is not the moment to talk of private affairs, ' ' was
the grim reply ; ' ' go back to your post. ' '
As it proved, the report was false, and young Stark
served as a staff officer through the war.
After the patriots were compelled to evacuate Boston,
Stark marched with his regiment to New York, but was
shortly directed to take part in the ill-starred expedition
against Canada. The retreating army reached Ticonderoga
on the 7th of July. Here on the following day the Declara-
tion of Independence reached the soldiers in the field and
Col. Stark had the satisfaction, on the scene of his former
exploits, to hear the proclamation read to his cheering
troops.
Then Gen. Stark proceeded south to assist Washington
and to gain his full share of applause in the battle of
Trenton. In March, 1777, he returned to his native state to
recruit the ranks of his regiment, and while there news
came to him that a new list of promotions had been made
in which his name was omitted, while younger officers had
been advanced in rank. This injustice he bitterly resented
and resigned from the army and retired to his farm.
But Stark was still the patriot and when the informa-
tion reached him that the enemy were moving south from
Canada, and that Gen. St. Clair had retreated and that
Ticonderoga had been captured, New Hampshire flew to
arms and called for Stark to command her troops.
Stark was at Bennington when he learned that a detach-
ment of six hundred men under Col. Baum had been dis-
patched by Burgoyne on a foraging expedition in that
section, sending a party of Indians in advance on a scout-
ing raid. Upon learning of this Stark sent out expresses
to call in the militia of the nighborhood, he marched out to
meet Baum, who entrenched himself in a strong position
about six miles from Bennington.
This was on the 14th of August. A few miles out he
met Lieut.-Col. Gregg retreating, with the enemy close at
hand. Stark at once halted and drew up his men in order
208 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
of battle. The enemy, seeing this, at once stopped also and
entrenched themselves. Thus the armies remained for two
days, contenting themselves with skirmishing, in which the
Americans had much the best of the game. Baum's In-
dians began to desert, saying that "the woods were filled
with Yankees."
On the morning of the sixteenth Stark prepared for
an attack. Before advancing he addressed his men with
that brief but telling address which has made his name
historic : ' ' There are the red coats ; we must beat them to-
day or to-night Molly Stark sleeps a widow. ' '
They beat them and "Molly" had the satisfaction of
long enjoying the fame that came to John, instead of
wearing the widow's weeds. The victory was decisive and
by a band of raw militia, poorly armed and without dis-
cipline, but led by one of the most fearless men of the
revolution.
Of the one thousand British soldiers engaged in this
fight, not more than a hundred escaped, and it was this
victory of "Old Bennington" which led ultimately to the
surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. Col. Baum, who was
mortally wounded, said of the provisionals, "They fought
more like hell-hounds than like soldiers." Washington
spoke of the engagement as "the great stroke struck by
Gen. Stark near Bennington." and Baroness Riedessel, then
in the British camp, wrote : ' ' This unfortunate event para-
lyzed our operations. ' '
"Old Bennington" was a splendid type of the class
of men who gave success to the American Revolution.
Congress, after Bennington, hastened to repair its former
action by appointing Stark a brigadier-general, and he
continued in the army till the end of the war. He lived
to see the country firmly established, and when he died in
1822 he was buried on the banks of the Merrimae River at
Manchester.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 209
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
BY GEORGE FITCH,
Benjamin Franklin was an ordinary man with an ex-
traordinary supply of common sense who flourished in the
eighteenth century and is still regarded as one of the
finest of American products.
Franklin was born in Boston, but was one of the few
Boston wise men to succeed in getting away from that
city. His family was not distinguished and when he left
Boston, after having run a newspaper with more brilliance
than success, no committee of city officials appeared to bid
him goodbye.
Franklin arrived in Philadelphia with enough money
left to buy two rolls of bread and paraded the town wear-
ing one loaf under his arm and eating the other. This
successfully quarantined him from Philadelphia society
and he was enabled to put all his time into the printing
business with such success that he was sent to London in
1824 by the governor to get a printing outfit. He worked
for eighteen months in a London printing house and was
probably the most eminent employee that London Journal-
ism ever had, though England has not yet waked up to
this fact.
Franklin then returned to Philadelphia and purchased
The Gazette, which he began to edit with such success that
he frequently had to spend all day making change for eager
subscribers. It might be well to mention here that at this
time he was only 23 years old, having been born January
17, 1706, and having been a full-fledged editor at the age
of 15. Genius often consists in getting an early start and
keeping started.
At the age of 26 Franklin's "Poor Richard's Alma-
nac, ' ' the sayings of a wise old man, had the largest circula-
tion of anything printed in the Colonies, and people sought
his advice on everything from love to chicken raising. At
210 REVOLUTIONARY READER
the age of 31 he was a member of the Pennsylvania Assem-
bly. At 40 he had diagnosed lightning and had exhibited
the first electricity ever in captivity in a bottle, having
caught it with a kite string and a key. He had also charted
the course of North American storms, and explained the
gulf stream.
Franklin helped the Colonies to declare their independ-
ence and secured the treaty of alliance with France. At
79 he was elected governor of Pennsylvania. At 82 he
helped write the Constitution of the United States. He
also devised the American postal system. He died at the
age of 84, and Philadelphia is prouder of his tombstone
than she is of the Liberty Bell.
Through all his long and busy life Franklin never had
time to dress up and adopt the social usages of his day.
But this did not prevent him from dazzling the exquisite
court of France at its most brilliant and useless period. He
was one of the few men who gave to the earth more wisdom
than he absorbed from it, but he never was a bonanza for
the tailors. Had he spent his youth keeping four tailors
and three haberdashers in affluence, Franklin relics would
probably not command the high price which they now do.
211
CAPTAIN MUGFORD RAN THE BRITISH BLOCK-
ADE AND CAPTURED POWDER SHIP.
Had Great Britain made peace with the American
colonies after the British army had been driven from
Boston, James Mugford would be a popular hero today.
But Great Britain continued the war for eight long years,
and so many heroes were made that the name of Jamea
Mugford, "the world forgetting, and by the world for-
got," was lost.
Mugford died in 1776. He and his 27 companions were
attacked by 200 British marines. They fought most all
night, and the British were whipped, but the gallant cap-
tain was killed by a pike thrust.
The British under General Gage evacuated Boston, in
March, 1776. The British fleet remained behind in Boston
to blockade the port. General "Washington hurried to New
York with the main Colonial army to dispute the proposed
British landing there. General Artemas "Ward was left
in command of a pretty sizeable American army around
Boston; but Washington had taken all the powder and
most of the guns.
The Americans were at the mercy of the British ships,
only the British didn't know it. General Ward zealously
guarded the fact that his powder supply was nil, and
planned to fill his magazines at the invader's expense.
Accordingly two small ships, the schooners Hancock
and Franklin, were outfitted and ordered to sea for the
purpose of capturing a supply ship. Captain Samuel
Tucker commanded the Hancock. James Mugford, a citi-
zen of Marblehead, Mass., was appointed master of the
Franklin. His vessel carried a crew of 21, including him-
self.
On May 7 Captain Tucker captured two brigs laden
with valuable supplies ; but no powder. He took his prized
to Lynn. General Ward communicated with Captain Mug-
212 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ford and explained to him the desperate straits the army
was fronting.
"I'll get some powder," said the short-spoken Marble*
head. And he did.
The British ship Hope, carrying war munitions for the
British, was due. It had powder for the Beet. Captain
Mugford heard of its expected arrival and put to sea.
Almost within sight of the British fleet he met the Hope
and captured it. But how to land the prize? He didn't
have men enough to take it to Lynn or any other port very
distant. The British fleet lay between him and the Ameri-
can army in Boston.
Captain Mugford chose to run the British blockade
and fight the whole fleet of a dozen ships or more, if neces-
sary. He put a few of his best men aboard the Hope and
made the British crew sail it. Then, in the Franklin, he
arrogantly sailed toward the British fleet and dropped a
few cannon balls its way.
The British were astounded. What could this crazy
skipper mean by attacking a fleet with one dinky little
schooner ? They would teach him a lesson. The whole fleet
maneuvered round to blow the Franklin off the bay. Mean-
while the Hope sneaked in the harbor, and then Captain
Mugford outsailed the British fleet and got in himself. In
the hold of the Hope the Americans found 75 tons of pow-
der and other war stores needed just then more than men
or gold. Mugford had made good his word.
Very naturally the British were angry. The admiral
issued an order that James Mugford was to be captured by
any hook or crook and promptly killed. Somebody told
Captain Mugford about the order.
' ' Oh, piffle ! " he said, or something like that. " I '11 run
by his derned old fleet every day in the week and twice on
Sunday if I want."
The Sunday following, May 19, 1776, Captain Mugford,
in the Franklin, with 21 men, and Captain Cunningham, in
the privateer Lady Washington, a vessel carrying seven
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 213
men and a few small swivel guns, started to puncture
the British blockade again. They would have succeeded,
but the Franklin grounded. A flotilla of small boats from
the fleet, carrying 200 well-armed men, started for the
attack. Captain Cunningham refused to leave his com-
panion, so both he and Captain Mugford prepared for
battle.
It was a fiercely fought contest and lasted the better
part of the night. On May 20 General Ward made the fol-
lowing report of the engagement:
"Captain Mugford was very fiercely attacked by 12 or
13 boats full of men, but he and his men exerted themselves
with remarkable bravery, beat off the enemy, sunk several
of their boats and killed a number of their men ; it is sup-
posed they lost 60 or 70. The intrepid Captain Mugford
fell a little before the enemy left his schooner. He was
run through with a lance while he was cutting off the hands
of the pirates as they were attempting to board him, and
it is said that with his own hands he cut off five pairs of
theirs. No other man was killed or wounded on the
Franklin. Kansas City Star.
214 REVOLUTIONARY READE&
GOVERNOR JOHN CLARKE.
Among the historical sketches penned by Miss Annie M.
Lane for the American Journal of History, that touching
the life of Governor John Clarke, received the highest
award, and through the kindness of the author we are per-
mitted to reproduce it.
"Why are the dead not dead? Who can undo
What time has done ? Who can win back the wind ?
Beckon lost music from a broken lute 1 ?
Renew the redness of a last year's rose?
Or dig the sunken sun-set from the deep 1 ?"
I sometimes think there are more interesting things and
people under the ground than above it, yet we who are
above it do not want to go below it to get acquainted with
them, but if we can find out anything from the outside we
enjoy it. In a previous article, I said there was no spot in
Georgia so full of buried romance as Wilkes County, and
no manuscript so fascinating as the musty and yellow old
records of a hundred years ago, which lie unmolested in
our courthouse, especially those of 1777.
One cannot but feel after reading these books that he
has been face to face with the grand old gentlemen of Revo-
lutionary days : the men who walked our streets with their
ruffled shirts three-cornered hats and dangling swords
yet so different are they in personality and character that
the weaving together of their lives makes to me a grand and
beautiful fabric, "a tapestry or reminiscent threads."
Some rich, some dark and sombre in shade, making a
background so fitting for the crimson and purple and gold
for the conspicuous, inflaming color of impetuous
natures, toned down with characters as white and cool as
the snowflakes which fall upon our Southern violets.
You have but to close your eyes to the scene of today
to recall ex-Governor Talbot, Governor Matthews, General
Clarke, together with Jesse Mercer, Mr. Springer and
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 215
Duncan C. Campbell, who were familiar figures once upon
the streets of Washington.
In the painting of character sketches we would not do
the individual justice if we did not remember his environ-
ments, and above all his inherited nature, for are we not
all bound by heredity ? My last sketch was of Jesse Mercer,
now it is of John Clarke. How striking the contrast. The
life of Jesse Mercer was as quiet and majestic as was his
nature. John Clarke just three years his senior, born and
reared at no great distance had a life of adventure. He was
the son of our stalwart General Elijah Clarke and his wife,
Hannah, and was the youngest soldier whose name appears
upon the roster of Kettle Creek, being 13 years of age.
(Battle of Kettle Creek, 1779, John Clarke, born 1766.)
I will refer you to history to convince you of how his
whole nature was fired by the blood within his veins, in-
herited from both mother and father. He came of fighting
stock in a fighting age ! In "White's Historical Collections
of Georgia," there is an account of the life of Hannah
Clarke, who survived her husband, Elijah Clarke, twenty
years, dying at the age of 90 (in 1829.) The burning of
her house by a party of British and Tories is recorded, and
the turning out of herself and children while General
Clarke was away.
When General Clarke was so desperately wounded at
Long Cane in Carolina, she started to him and was robbed
of the horse on which she was riding. On one campaign
she accompanied him and when she was moving from a
place of danger, the horse on which she and two of her
younger children were riding was shot from under her.
Later, she was at the siege of Augusta. All this time
General Elijah Clarke's right hand man was young John.
Being reared in the army, this boy became wild and in-
petuous; by nature he was intense, so when cupid's dart
entered his heart it was inflamed as deeply with love as
it had been with hatred for the British. His love story ends
216 REVOLUTIONARY READER
with Meredith's words, "Whom first we love, we seldom
wed."
About four miles from the hill on which the little battle
of Kettle Creek was fought, there lived an orphan girl,
the stepdaughter of Artnial Weaver, and the youngest sis-
ter of Sabina Chivers, who married Jesse Mercer. John
Clarke loved this girl, but there was opposition to the un-
ion. But as yet not knowing the meaning of the word
defeat, he induced her to elope with him.
It was his thought to take her to the home of a friend
of his father's, Daniel Marshall, near Kiokee, but the
weather was severe, and a snowstorm set in. They were
compelled to stop at a farm house where lived the mother
of Major Freeman (related to Dr. S. G. Hillyer.) Miss
Chivers was taken ill that night with congestion of the
lungs, and died. In the absence of flowers the good woman
of the house adorned the dead girl with bunches of holly,
entwined them in her beautiful black hair and placed them
in her clasped hands. The grave they covered with the
same beautiful crimson and green holly, upon which the
snow recently fell. This was the first real sorrow in the
life of John Clarke, and many were to follow.
To some the years come and go like beautiful dreams,
and life seems only as a fairy tale that is told, yet there
are natures for which this cannot be. Some hands reach
forth too eagerly to cull life's sweet, fair flowers, and often
grasp hidden thorns. Feet that go with quick, fearless
steps are most apt to be wounded by jutting stones, and
alas! John Clarke found them where 'er he went through
life 's bright sunlight or its shaded paths, these cruel, sharp
piercing thorns; those hard, cold, hurting stones.
We next see John Clarke just before he enters into
his political life. From ' ' The History of Wilkes County, ' '
in our library, I copy the following, viz: "Micajah Wil-
liamson kept a licensed tavern in the town of Washington
on record, we find that he sold with meals, drinks as fol-
lows: Good Jamaica spirits, per gill, 2d; good Madeira
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 217
wine, per bottle, 4s 8d; all white wines, per bottle, 3s 6d;
port, per bottle, Is 9d ; good whiskey and brandy, per gill,
6d & C. & C. at that time a shilling was really 22c., a penny
7-5 of a cent."
In front of this tavern was a large picture of George
Washington hanging as a swinging sign. John Clarke used
to come to town, and like most men of his day got
drunk. They all did not "cut up," however, as he did on
such occasions. He went into stores and smashed things
generally, as tradition says, but he always came back and
paid for them like a gentleman. Once he came into town
intoxicated and galloped down Court street and fired
through the picture of General Washington before the
tavern door. This was brought up against him later when
he was a candidate for governor, but his friends denied it.
Soon after this he married the oldest daughter of
Micajah Williamson, while Duncan C. Campbell married
the youngest.
The stirring events which followed we have all learned
in history, how the state was divided into two factions, the
Clarkeites and those for Crawford and Troup. The state
was so evenly divided that the fight was fierce. The com-
mon people and owners of small farms were for Clarke, the
"gentry" and well-to-do educated folk for Crawford, and
sent him to the United States Senate. Clarke and Craw-
ford from youth had been antagonistic. Clarke, while un-
educated, was brilliantly intelligent, but deeply sensitive.
Crawford was polished and of courtly bearing, a man of
education, but was very overbearing. Had he lived today
our public school boy would say "he was always nagging
at Clarke. " Be that as it may, it was nip and tuck between
them in the gubernational campaign. Clarke fought a duel
with Crawford at High Shoals, and shattered his wrist.
Later he tried to get Crawford to meet him again, but he
persistently refused. One ugly thing to me was the horse-
whipping of Judge Tate by Governor Clarke on the streets
of Milledgeville, then the capital. This did Clarke no good.
218 REVOLUTIONARY READER
General Clarke twice defeated Mr. Troup for governor.
Troup was at last elected, defeating Matthew Talbot, who
was on Clarke's side in 1823. General Clarke was defeated
by Talbot himself. There is never an article written about
Clarke that his bad spelling is not referred to. Not long
ago I read in a magazine published in Georgia that Clarke
spelled coffee "kaughphy." This is not true, that honor
belongs to Matthews, another one of the familiar figures
once on the streets of Washington. Even the best educated
of our Revolutionary heroes did not spell correctly as we
call it, from George "Washington down.
I rather enjoy their license for I think English spelling
is a tyrannical imposition. After the defeat of Clarke the
tide was against him. Many untrue things were said about
him and they cut him deeply. He was misunderstood
often, and in chagrin he left the state.
Rise, Muse, in the wrath of thy rapture divine,
And sweep with a finger of fame every line
Till it tremble and burn as thine own glances burn
Through the vision thou kindlest wherein I discern
All the unconcious cruelty hid in the heart
Of mankind; all the limitless grief we impart
Unawares to each other; the limitless wrong
We inflict without need, as we hurry along
In this boisterous pastime of life.
Beneath the rough exterior there never beat a kinder
heart than that in the breast of John Clarke. Although he
had the brusque manner of a soldier of Revolutionary days,
with those he loved he was as tender and gentle as a child.
On one occasion soon after his first election to the governor-
ship of Georgia there was a banquet given in his honor.
The decorations on the white linen of the table were wreaths
of holly, thought to be very beautiful and tasty. When the
governor entered with his friends he stopped stock still in
the doorway turning deathly pale. He ordered every piece
of holly dashed from the window. The occurrence was
spread far and wide all over the state and criticism ran
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 219
high, and even his friends disapproved of the uncivil act
of one in his high station. He never made an explanation
until years afterwards.
Memories with him did not die, though beneath the
ashes of the silent past. If he might call them dead, and
bury them, it seems they only slept, and ere he knew, at but
a word, a breath, the softest sigh, they woke once more
and moved here as he thought they would not evermore.
Clarke owned large tracts of land in Wilkes county (be-
fore it was cut up into other counties.) One deed is made
to Wylie Pope in 1806. He reserves twenty feet where his
two children are buried, Elijah Clarke and George Walton
Clarke. Leaving Georgia he settled in Washington county,
Florida, on the shores of the beautiful "Old Saint An-
drews. ' ' Here he entertained his friends and here he spent
the last ten years of his life within the sound of the rest-
less, surging waters of the gulf. October 12th, 1832, Gov-
ernor Clarke passed from this life, and eight days later his
wife joined him in the Great Beyond. They were buried
near the seashore in a beautiful grove of live oaks, and a
marble shaft erected over them bears the following inscrip-
tion:
Here reposes the remains of
John Clarke
Late Governor of Georgia
And
Nancy Clarke
His Wife
( NORTH FACE OF MONUMENT)
John Clarke
Born Feb. 28th, 1760
Died October 12th, 1832
As an officer he was vigilant and brave
As a statesman energetic and faithful
As a father and friend devoted and sincere.
(WEST FACE)
This monument was erected hy their surviving children, Ann
Campbell and Wylie P. Clarke.
220 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Not far from the monument are two little graves with
flat slabs and the following inscription :
Erected to the memory of John W. and Ann W. Campbell.
Ann Hand
Born January 24th, 1823
Died Sept. 3rd, 1829
Marcus Edwin
Born Feb. 25th, 1831
Died Feb. 3rd, 1833
"Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.'"
Seventy-five years have passed and the once beautiful
spot is now desecrated. The oaks are cut, the toombstones
are broken, and the grave of Georgia's governor is tres-
passed upon in a shameful manner. However, overshadow-
ing his tomb, and keeping guard is a holly tree in all its
beauty, filled with long waving wreathes of Spanish moss,
and no doubt it whispers to the passing breeze that hurries
on to ocean, the story of a lost love!
Aye, what is it all if this life be all
But a draught to its dregs of a cup of gall,
A bitter round of rayless years,
A saddened dole of wormwood tears,
A sorrowful plaint of the Spirit's thrall
The graves, the shroud, the funeral pall
This is the sum, if this life be all.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 221
PARTY RELATIONS IN ENGLAND AND THEIR
EFFECT ON THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
(A paper read before the Ralph Humphreys Chapter, Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution, of Jackson, Mississippi, by Dr.
James Elliott Walmsley, professor of history in Millsaps College.)
George Eliot says somewhere that all beginnings are
make-believes. Especially is this statement found true in
attempting to trace the origin of the American Revolution.
Every cause assigned is at once seen to be the effect of some
more remote cause, until one might go back step by step
to the liberty-loving ancestors of the early Saxons in their
forest home of Northern Germany. Without undertaking
any work so elaborate it is the purpose of this study to
show the effects of one of these causes.
All free governments have developed parties, but as the
word is used at present true political parties in England
did not arise till after the wars of the Puritans and Cava-
liers in the seventeenth century. The men who migrated
to America, with the exception of the aristocratic element
that located largely in the South between 1640 and 1660,
were of the party who believed in restricting the power of
the king, and were opposed by the party who professed im-
plicit faith in the divine right of kings. By the time of the
accession of William of Orange the former party was recog-
nized by the name of Whigs, while the loyal devotees of
regal infallibility were called Tories.
The first king of the Hanover line, George I, was seated
on his throne through a successful piece of Whig politics, so
admirably described by Thackeray in Henry Esmond, and
his government was conducted by a Whig minister, Robert
Walpole, assisted by a Whig cabinet. The power remained
in the hands of a few families, and this condition, which
amounted to an aristocratic rule of "Old Whigs, " lasted
down to the accession of George III, in 1760. The new
king, who was destined to be the last king in America, was
not like his father and grandfather, a German-speaking
222 REVOLUTIONARY READER
prince who knew nothing of England and her people, but
one who gloried in the name Briton. Brought up by his
mother with the fixed idea he should never forget that he
was king, his ambition was to restore the autocratic power
of William I. or Henry II. To attain this end he set him-
self to overthrow the Whig party and so recall to favor
the Tories, who had by this time given up their dreams of
' ' Bonnie Prince Charlie ' ' and Stuart restorations.
This misguided monarch, who was a model of Christian
character in private life, but who in the words of a great
English historian, wrought more lasting evil to his country
than any other man in its history, determined first to over-
throw William Pitt, the elder, the greatest statesman that
the English speaking race has ever produced that man
who sat in his room in London and planned campaigns in
the snow covered mountains of Silesia and the impassable
swamps of Prussia, on the banks of the Hugli in India and
on the Plain of Abraham in Canada, in the spicy islands
of the East Indies and the stormy waters of the Atlantic,
who brought England from the depths of lowest dejection
to a point where the gifted Horace Walpole could say in
1759, ''We must inquire each morning what new victory
we should celebrate." This great man was overthrown
by the king in 1761, and there came into power the extreme
Tory wing, known as the "king's friends," whose only rule
of political guidance was the royal wish. These men, led by
the Earl of Bute, followed the king on one of the wildest,
maddest courses that English partisan politics has known.
At this point we must pause and examine the constitu-
tion of the British Empire. England, Scotland, and Wales
were governed by their own Parliament, but so defective
was the method of representation that villages which had
formerly flourished but had now fallen into decay or even
like Old Sarum, were buried under the waves of the North
Sea, still returned their two members to Parliament, while
important cities like Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham,
which had grown up in the last hundred years, were en-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 223
tirely unrepresented. The Whigs in England, as least the
New Whigs, the progressive element, were contending for
the same principle of representation that inspired the
Americans. In addition to the home-land, England ruled,
as colonies, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands,
sea fortresses, such as Gibraltar and Malta, Asiatic posses-
sions, including in India an empire twenty times as popu-
lous as the ruling country, Canada, Jamaica, the Barba-
does, the Thirteen Colonies, etc. Our own thirteen colonies,
which were not united among themselves and which were
not different in the eyes of an Englishman from any other
of the colonies, formed a small part geographically of the
empire and had for their peculiar distinction only the
larger proportion of English residents.
Furthermore, the modern idea of governing colonies for
the welfare of the colonies had not yet been invented. A
colony was considered as a farm or any other wealth pro-
ducing piece of property. Adam Smith's epoch-making
work, "The Wealth of Nations," the first serious attempt
to discuss Political Economy, was not published till 1776,
and in his chapter on colonies he for the first time proposed
the doctrine of removing restrictions and > allowing to
colonies free trade and free government. It is significant
of the contentions of this article that Adam Smith's book
was at once read and quoted in Parliament by the leaders
of the Whigs, especial attention being given to it by the
young William Pitt, who was described by an enthusiastic
Whig as "not a chip of the old block but the old block
itself."
With this preliminary statement we can take up the
course of party relations. One of the first distinctively
party acts of George's reign was the Stamp Act passed
against the active opposition of the Whigs ; and the down-
fall of the Grenville ministry and the accession of the
Marquis of Rockingham, the Whig prime minister, marked
by the repeal of this act in 1766. In the next year, how-
ever, the Rockingham ministry fell, and Townshend, the
224 REVOLUTIONARY READER
moving spirit in the succeeding administration, carried
through the series of acts that led directly to the Boston
Tea Party and its momentous results.
Finally when George III, who openly proclaimed him-
self a Tory, succeeded in becoming supreme in the govern-
ment, he called into office, in 1770, Lord George North,
who for twelve years was the king's tool in carrying out a
policy which he disliked. It was only his ' ' lazy good nature
and Tory principles, ' ' which led him to defer to the king 's
judgment and advocate the doctrine, in a far different
sense from the present meaning of the words, that "the
king can do no wrong. ' ' From this day it was natural that
the Whigs in opposition should oppose the government
measures and should identify the cause of free government
in America with that in England and that every New
Whig should become an enthusiastic supporter of the
American contentions. In fact George and the Tory party
realized that if the American theory of taxation condi-
tioned on representation prevailed it would be necessary
to yield to the demand of the New Whigs for reform in
the representation in England.
This fact explains some intricate points in the politics
of the time. It shows for instance why we fought a war
with England and then in securing a treaty of peace con-
spired with our enemy, England, to wrest more favorable
terms from our ally, France. We fought a Tory England,
but Lord North's ministry fell when the news of Yorktown
came, and we made a treaty of peace with a whig England,
and the Whigs were our friends. The Whigs in Parlia-
ment spoke of the American army as ' ' our army, ' ' Charles
Fox spoke of Washington's defeat as the "terrible news
from Long Island," and Wraxall says that the famous
buff and blue colors of the Whig party were adopted from
the Continental uniform. Even the "Sons of Liberty"
took their name from a phrase struck out by Colonel Barre,
the comrade of Wolfe at Quebec, in the heat of a parlia-
mentary debate.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 225
Illustrations of this important point might be multi-
plied, but it may be better to take up more minutely the
career of one man and show how the conflict of Whig and
Tory politics affected the actual outcome of the struggle.
Lord George Howe was the only British officer who was
ever really loved by the Americans, and there is to-day in
Westminister Abbey a statue erected to his memory by the
people of Massachusetts. After his death at Ticonderoga
in 1758 his mother issued an address to the electors of
Nottingham asking that they elect her youngest son Wil-
liam to Parliament in his place. William Howe, known in
American history as General Howe, considered himself as
the successor of his brother and as the especial friend of
the Americans. When war was threatened in 1774 he told
his constituents that on principle the Americans were
right and that if he were appointed to go out against them
he would as a loyal Whig refuse. Of course this was a
reckless statement, for an officer in the army can not
choose whom he will fight. He was put in supreme com-
mand in America when General Gage was recalled, but was
directed by his government to carry the olive branch in
one hand. That he obeyed this command, which was to his
own liking, even too literally, is easily established.
There is one almost unwritten chapter in American
history which I would like to leave in oblivion, but candor
demands its settlement. Our people were not as a whole
enthusiastic over the war, in many sections a majority were
opposed to it, those who favored it were too often half-
hearted in their support. Had the men of America in 1776
enlisted and served in the same proportion in which the
men of the Southern States did in 1861, when fighting for
their "independence," Washington would have had at all
times over 60,000 in his army. As a matter of fact there
never were as many as 25,000 in active service at any one
time, the average number was about 4,000, and at certain
critical times he had not over 1,000. General Knox's offi-
cial figures of 252,000 are confessedly inaccurate, and by
226 REVOLUTIONARY READER
including each separate short enlistment make up the total
enlistment for the six years, sometimes counting the same
man as often as five times. At the very time when Wash-
ington's men were starving and freezing at Valley Forge
the country people were hauling provisions past the camp
and selling them to the British in Philadelphia.
Much more might be said, but enough for a disagree-
able subject. No careful historian to-day will deny that
considering the lack of support given to Washington and
his army, the Revolution could have been crushed in the
first year, long before the French alliance was a possibility,
had the English shown one-half the ability of the adminis-
tration in the recent South African War. Among the
causes assignable for this state of incompetence the political
situation deserves more attention than it has hitherto been
given.
No one has ever explained Howe's inexcusable careless-
ness in letting Washington escape after Long Island, no
one can explain his foolish inactivity during the succeed-
ing winter, except by the fact that Howe was a Whig, his
sympathies were with the Americans, the Whigs had said
repeatedly that the Americans could hold out against a
good army and it seemed now that they were helping ful-
fill their own prophecy.
It is rarely stated in our American histories that Howe
was investigated by a committee of Parliament after his
evacuation of Philadelphia, that he was severely condemned
for not assisting Burgoyne and for not capturing Wash-
ington's starving handful of men at Valley Forge, that
Joseph Galloway, the noted American loyalist, who was a
member of the first Continental Congress, openly accused
him of being in league with a large section of Whigs to let
the Revolution go by default and to give America its
independence, and that immediately after his return to
England he resumed his seat in Parliament and spoke and
worked in opposition to the king and in behalf of the
Americans.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 227
The case of General Howe is typical and can be dupli-
cated in the other departments of the government. The
leading Tory ministers claimed that the rebellion would
have failed but for the sympathy in the House of Commons,
and this charge was made in the very House itself.
It would be a gross exaggeration to say that our Revo-
lution was merely the result of a party quarrel in England,
but the unfortunate party attitude of King George III.
certainly was one of the most potent causes of trouble, and
the progress of the war reacted most strongly on the party
situation in England. When William Pitt, the younger,
at the age of twenty-five took into his hands the premier-
ship of England in December 1783, he did it as the repre-
sentative of the English people, and the revolution which
began in this country was completed in the English Parlia-
ment. Up to 1776 the history of America and England
flowed in the same channel, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and
Pitt are ours as much as England's, and it should always
be remembered that just when the countries were in the
act of separating the system of George III. was shaken off
and shattered by the free people of the two great Anglo-
Saxon powers, and the Whig statesmen of England could
join with their party friends in America in welcoming a
new self-governing people to the council of nations.
American Monthly Magazine.
228 REVOLUTIONARY READER
EARLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION BY
LAND AND WATER.
The facilities for conveniently carrying persons or
property from one place to another affects in a measure the
physical welfare of every human being, and all progressive
nations desire to secure the advantages to be derived from
the best systems of transportation. This country of ours
has tried many experiments and been rapidly benefited in
the results obtained. It hardly seems to us possible, in
this day of improved and rapid travel, that the entire
system of transportation is still in the transition state, and
in some parts of the country the very expedients which we
have tried, improved upon and cast away, are at present in
use. But our topic deals with other days than these, and
we must hasten back to the beginning of things here in
America.
According to Indian tradition, it is believed that within
a brief period prior to the discovery of America by Colum-
bus, the Indians had travelled over a large portion of the
country between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and were
familiar with the topographical features of the continent.
Their frequent wars and their long continuance in the
hunter state, made them necessarily a migratory race and
their pathways were the first trails for the white settlers
when they came. When we travel over crooked roads and
even crooked streets in our towns, how many of us stop to
think that we are travelling the same road as blazed out for
us by an Indian or trodden down for us by an early set-
tler's straying cow?
As the Indian, as a guide through the almost impene-
trable forests was of great aid to the early settlers, so also
was the canoe of the Indian a great service. Of course the
white man crossed the ocean in larger boats, but when it
came to travelling from point to point, after reaching
America, the lighter craft of the Indians was the only
possible means of water travel, for the numerous falls or
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 229
rapids, and the frequent portages between distinct water
systems, made the use of a heavy boat impossible. These
canoes were of birch bark, buffalo skin, stretched over
wooden frames, or even large trees felled, the trunk cut
into sections and split, then hollowed out by burning first
and the ashes scooped out with the hands or pieces of shell,
until the sides and bottom were reduced to the utmost thin-
ness consistent with buoyancy and security. The method
of propelling these canoes was usually by paddle, but some
had sails. The size varied from twelve feet to forty feet
in length, and they were capable of carrying from two to
forty men. Of course the larger canoes were used princi-
pally for state occasions, military purposes, or when large
stores of supplies were to be transported.
One old historian tells of the way the sails were used.
The Indian stood in the bow of the canoe and with his
hands held up two corners of his blanket, and the other two
corners were either fastened to his ankles or simply placed
under each foot, while in the stern of the canoe, the squaw
sat and steered. The scheme was an ingenious one and
must have been a grateful change to the poor squaw, who
otherwise would have had to propel the canoe by means of
the paddle.
Of the Indian canoe Longfellow says:
The forest's life was in it,
All its mystery and its magic,
All the lightness of the birch tree,
All the toughness of the cedar;
All the larches supple sinews.
And it floated on the river
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn,
Like a yellow water lily
On account of the dense forests and the difficulty
experienced in penetrating them, the early settlements
were upon the banks of streams and consequently the
water channels and seaports, for communication between
the various settlements, as well as with the mother country,
230 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
were a necessity and the very first legislation with regard
to transportation related to boats, canoes and landings. It
was a long time before any internal development of the
land took place, because these waterways formed the main
reliance for all movements of persons or property. Each
of the thirteen original colonies had one or more seaports
and the main current of trade, during the colonial period,
and in fact up to much later times, was between these
ports and the interior districts on the one hand, and the
outer world and the ocean on the other. Commerce between
the colonies was limited and all movements from one colony
to another were by various kinds of sea going vessels. All
the boats subsequently built by the European settlers
showed the influence of the Indian canoe. The raft was
another method of the Indian for transporting property,
and from this grew the various kinds of floatboats. The
raft itself is still in use but more as a means of transport-
ing the lumber of which it is composed than as a means for
carrying other freight.
For land travel, when the Indians had burdens to carry
they did it by means of the burden strap, an arrangement
of leather bands which fitted around the forehead and was
lashed to a litter borne upon the back. It was usually
about fifteen feet in length and braided into a belt in the
center, three or four inches wide. This carrying of bur-
dens upon the back is the one method of transportation
which combines the greatest amount of human effort with
the least practical effect. But it was at the time the only
method available and formed one of the most serious
privations and discomforts of savage life.
It is recorded in the case of a white man, who helped
the Indians in one of their wars, early in 1600, that he was
wounded and could not walk. Thereupon he was placed
in a basket of wicker work, doubled up, and fastened with
cords until he could scarcely move, and so carried upon the
backs of Indians for several days.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 231
In winter we are told they had some sort of primitive
sledges, and they used dogs in some sections. Then, of
course, they had the snow shoe, which, to them, was a rapid
way of travelling, but when the poor white explorers or
captives travelled with the Indians on winter expeditions,
they suffered sharply until they caught the hang of it.
Chilblains were not the worst of the suffering, for the tie
over the instep and the loops over the toes caused friction,
and bleeding, frozen feet were the result.
When the white man came, he, in time, brought horses
and these were much appreciated by the Indians, who seem-
ed to know intuitively how to manage and use them. In
place of carrying burdens upon his own back, the red man
fastened one end of his tent poles to the horse and fastened
upon them the skins which composed his tent, and allowed
the poles to trail upon the ground. This support furnished
a method of transporting baggage, household effects and
even women and children vastly superior to the old way.
The old trails of the red man, over which for many
years they had traveled with their peculiar but rapid walk,
now furnished bridle paths for the white man and his
horse, and many of those bridle paths are today in use. Of
course, the first sturdy settlers walked these trails as did
the Indians, and we have the history of one journey of
Governor Winthrop, when he was carried, at least over
streams, "pick-a-pack" upon the back of an Indian. This
is a very human, if undignified, picture of the worthy
governor.
An early explorer in Virginia said that had she ''but
horses and kine and were inhabited with English, no realm
in Christendom were comparable to it. ' ' As these blessings
were all added to Virginia in course of time, we must
believe her the fairest of colonies. As the Indians were too
poor to buy the carefully guarded horses of the early set-
tlers, and could not steal them, they were compelled to wait
until races of wild horses were developed from the horses
brought to Florida, Mexico and California by the Span-
232 REVOLUTIONARY READER
iards. The better grade of horse was used by the warrior
and for travel, but the poorer horses for the drudgery and
were quite naturally called "squaw ponies." In the early
days before the carriage was introduced, wounded or sick
persons were carried upon stretchers between two horses.
The early means of transportation on land, in the
colonies, was by horseback, for either persons or property,
and this was the universal method of travel until nearly the
beginning of the 19th century. It was a common custom for
the post rider to also act as a squire of dames, and some-
times he would have in charge four or six women travelling
on horseback from one town to another. It was to the
north that the carriage came first, and in the early days
only the very wealthy families had them. And with the
coming of the carriage, the colonists realized that they
needed something better than an Indian trail or bridle
path, and the agitation for good roads had its birth. One
can form some idea of what the co-called roads must have
been in 1704, when we read that the mail from Philadel-
phia to New York ' ' is now a week behind and not yet com 'd
in." The mail after 1673 was carried by horseback be-
tween New York and Boston, but as late as 1730, the post-
master was advertising for applications from persons who
desired to perform the foot post to Albany that winter.
The route was largely up the Hudson river on skates. In
1788 it took four days for mail to go through from New
York to Boston in good weather in winter much longer.
The commerce between the settlements on the coast and
those in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Virginia
was carried on by pack horse. The people in these districts
sent their peltry and furs by pack horse to the coast and
there exchanged them for such articles as they needed in
their homes and for work upon their farms. Several fami-
lies would form an association, a master-driver would be
chosen and the caravan move on its slow way to the settle-
ment east of the mountains. Afterwards this pack horse
system was continued by common carrier organizations.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 233
The earliest legislation in reference to highways was in
the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639, providing for super-
visors, and the relaying of the roads so as to be more con-
venient for travel, with authority to ' ' lay out the highways
where they may be most convenient, notwithstanding any
man 's property, or any corne ground, so as it occasion not
the pulling down of any man's house, or laying open any
garden or orchard." The law in force in Pennsylvania,
prior to the grant to Penn was part of the system estab-
lished for the New York Colony in 1664. In 1700 a revis-
ion of existing road laws was made, giving control of
county roads to county officials, but the king 's highway and
public roads to be controlled by governor and council.
The fact appears that while the early roads in the
American colonies were bad, England had few, if any, good
roads, and the improvement, when begun, was so rapid that
driving for pleasure was introduced here long before it
was known in England. In fact, the idea was carried back
to England by officers who fought in the Revolution.
When stage coaches were started in the colonies in 1718,
from Boston to Rhode Island, there was no wagon road
over this route, it not being built until 1721. It was a
common thing for the passengers of the early stage coaches
to have to get out, and help lift or push the stage coach out
of the mud, and the objection raised to this was the reason
for the introduction of the corduroy road. If one has had
the doubtful pleasure of riding over a short portion of such
road, one knows that it was a question whether long
stretches of it and being shaken around in the coach like
peas in a pod, was much improvement over being dumped
out into the mud, while the coach was lifted out of the
mire with which the old roads were padded. With the
development of stage routes, came bridges, ferries, turn-
pikes and national roads. As the passengers and light
baggage were carried by stage, the freight traffic was car-
ried on by the old time teamsters, with their huge wagons,
with six or eight horses attached to each, and moving along
234 REVOLUTIONARY READER
the turnpikes, traveling together for company and protec-
tion. These turnpikes presented a bustling appearance,
with the dashing stage coaches, parties on horseback, the
long trains of teamsters' huge wagons, and the many
taverns that lined these thoroughfares. The passenger on
the stage coach had time to study nature and his sur-
roundings as he passed along, and to be fortunate enough
to secure the box seat with the stage driver and hear, as
one rode along, the gossip of the route, made a joy one does
not experience in our days of rapid travel.
Following the institution of national roads and staging,
came the introduction of canals and artificial waterways,
as a means of transportation for freight in the carrying
on of commerce. A short canal, for the transporting of
stone, was built in Orange County, New York, as early as
1750. The first public canal company was the James River
Company, incorporated in 1785. From that time on there
have been vast improvements in methods and much of our
freight is moved by means of the large canals all over our
country.
The next development in transportation facilities was
the railroad, the first of which was the "Experiment" rail-
road built to carry stone to Bunker Hill Monument. Oliver
Evans, in 1772, began to experiment upon the construction
of a steam carriage to run upon the ground, but it re-
mained for John Stevens to combine the steam carriage and
the railway. The first rail cars, or coaches, were run by
horse power. It is interesting to read Mr. Evans' predic-
tion, which is as follows :
"I do verily believe that the time will come when car-
riages propelled by steam will be in general use, as well
for the transportation of passengers as goods, travelling at
the rate of fifteen miles an hour, or three hundred miles
per day." In 1813 he predicted that the time would come
when a traveller could leave Washington in the morning,
breakfast at Baltimore, dine at Philadelphia and sup at
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 235
New York, all in the same day, travelling " almost as fast
as birds fly, fifteen to twenty-miles an hour."
In 1811, Robert Fulton, journeying by stage to Pitts-
burgh, said, ' ' The day will come, gentlemen, I may not live
to see it, though some of you who are younger will prob-
ably when carriages will be drawn over these mountains
by steam engines at a rate more rapid than that of a
stage on the smoothest turnpike."
A howl of protest went up from the old stage drivers
when the railroad was projected, but as every public
necessity had its will, the railroads had come to stay.
There were many accidents on these primitive roads, and
these were made the most of by the opposition. One old
stager said, ' ' You got upset in a stage coach, and there you
were. You got upset in a rail car and where are you ? ' '
From trail in the days of the Indians to T-rail of recent
years seems a slow, tedious advance, but as some one has
said:
"When we reflect upon the obstinate opposition that
has been made by a great majority to every step towards
improvement ; from bad roads to turnpikes, from turnpikes
to canals, from canal to railways for horse carriages,
it is too much to expect the monstrous leap from bad roads
to railways for steam carriages at once. One step in a gene-
ration is all we can hope for." CLARA D. PATTERSON,
East on, Pen nsyliwnia.
236 REVOLUTIONARY READER
COLONEL BENJAMIN HAWKINS.
BY MRS. J. L. WALKER, Waycross.
Colonel Hawkins, patriot, soldier, United States senator
and Indian agent, was born August 15, 1754, in the county
of Butts, now Warren County, North Carolina. He was
the son of Colonel Philemon and Delia Hawkins. He at-
tended Princeton College until his senior year when the
institution was closed on account of the Revolutionary
War.
His knowledge of the French language led Washington
to press him into service as a member of his staff to act as
intrepreter with the French allies. He was one of the
founders of the Society of Cincinnati in 1783.
He was a gallant Revolutionary soldier, having partici-
pated in several important engagements, among the number
the Battle of Monmouth. After North Carolina ratified the
federal constitution he was elected United States Senator
from that state, taking his seat in 1790. At the close of his
term in the senate he was appointed agent of the three
great Indian tribes east of the Mississippi and entered
upon his duties in the part of Georgia now known as Craw-
ford County, but at that time called "The Agency
Reserve. ' '
This place became an important trading post and was
selected by Colonel Hawkins as a convenient locality for the
transaction of duties that devolved upon him. He infused
progression, activity and thrift into the little village. Mills,
workshops, and comfortable homes appeared on every side.
"Colonel Hawkins brought his own slaves from his old
home in North Carolina, and under the right conceded to
his office, he opened and cultivated a large plantation at
the agency, making immense crops of corn and other pro-
visions. ' '
"While he lived his cattle brand was rigidly respected
by the red men; although soon as his death, if reports be
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 237
true, the Creeks, oblivious of former obligations, stole num-
bers of his cows and hogs. ' '
To him does the state of Georgia owe a debt of special
gratitude. He not only risked his life for the state of his
adoption, but preserved the history of the Creek country,
some of which is most valuable and interesting.
The French general, Moreau, who in exile, was his
guest for some time, was so much impressed with his char-
acter and labors, that he pronounced him one of the most
remarkable men he met in America.
Colonel Hawkins possessed great adaptability and
through his beneficence he acquired the respect of the
Indians. It is said he gained their love and bound them to
him by "ties as loyal and touching as those of old feudal
allegiance and devotion."
He was closely associated with Generals Floyd, Black-
shear and John Mclntosh, and Governors Troup, Mitchell
and Early.
The Indians of Chehaw were closely allied to Colonel
Hawkins. They frequently furnished him with valuable
information in regard to the treachery of the British and
the unfriendly Indians.
It has been conceded to some of our patriots that they
were great in war. Benjamin Hawkins was not only great
in war, but, like Washington, was great in peace. It was he
who most strongly advocated terminating the War of 1812.
He knew well how to approach the ' ' children of the forest. ' '
The simple and diplomatic way in which he addressed the
Indians is displayed in his quaint letter to the Ammic-cul-le,
who lived at the Indian town of Chehaw :
"The time is come when we are to compel our enemies
to be at peace, that we may be able to sit down and take
care of our families and property without being disturbed
by their threatening and plundering of us.
"General Blackshear is with you to protect and secure
the friendly Indians on your river, and to aid in punish-
ing the mischief-makers. Go you to him ; see him ; take him
238 REVOLUTIONARY READER
by the hand, and two of you must keep him. You must
point out sixty of your young warriors, under two chiefs,
to be with, and act under the orders of the general till you
see me. He will supply them with provisions and some
ammunition.
"You must be very particular about spies. You know
all the friendly Indians, and all who are hostile. If any
spies come about you of the hostiles, point them out to the
general. And your warriors, acting with the general must
be as quick and particular as his white soldiers to appre-
hend or put to death any enemy you meet with. Your
warriors will receive the same pay as the soldiers in the
service of the United States.
' ' Tell your women and children not to be afraid, that
friends have come for their protection, and that I am at
the head of the Creek warriors.
"I am your friend and the friend of your nation."
Colonel Hawkins was closely identified in the negotia-
tion of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the In-
dians. His name, together with George Clymer and
Andrew Pickens, was signed as commissioners on the part
of the United States to the Treaty held at Coleraine, in
Camden County, Georgia, March 18, 1797.
A treaty of limits between the United States and the
Creek nation of Indians, was held near Milledgeville, at
Fort "Wilkinson, on the part of the United States. The
signers were Benjamin Hawkins and Andrew Pickens.
This treaty was signed by forty chiefs and warriors. Treaty
with the Creeks at the agency, near Flint River, on Nov-
ember 3, 1794, signed by Hopoie Micco and other Indians,
also bore Hawkins' signature.
"In 1802 Colonel Hawkins recommended the establish-
ing of a fort and trading post on the Old Ocmulgee Fields. ' '
The right to establish such a post was obtained by the Fort
Wilkinson treaty. Colonel Hawkins selected a site on an
eminence near the river, where the city of Macon now
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 239
stands. A tract of one hundred acres of land was set apart
for the use of the post.
Fort Hawkins was built in 1806 and was garrisoned by
troops from Fort Wilkinson early in the following year.
The fort was named in honor of Benjamin Hawkins, one
of the few honors bestowed upon him by the state he had
so ably served. "This fort was considered one of the most
formidable on the frontier. Two block houses, each twenty-
eight feet square with two stories and a basement were
built with heavy mortised logs. This place was provided
with port holes for both cannon and musketry, and stood
at the southeast and northwest corner of a strong stock-
ade. During the war of 1812 the fort was a strong point
for the mobilization of troops."
Colonel Hawkins died at the i agency in Crawford
County, June 6, 1816, and was "buried on a wooded bluff
overlooking the Flint River." The little graveyard that
served as a last resting place for those who lived around
the agency has long since been abandoned. The unmarked
grave of a patriot is there, sleeping unhonored amid the
tangled vines and weeds.
240 REVOLUTIONARY READER
GOVERNOR JARED IRWIN.
Jared Irwin was born in Mecklenburg, N. C., in 1750,
about two years after his parents arrived from Ireland.
They emigrated from Mecklenburg County, N. C., and
came to Burke County, Georgia, when Jared was seven
years old. Years afterward Jared moved to Washington
County.
He was a faithful soldier in the Indian wars, serving
as a Brigadier-General in the Georgia Militia. In the
Revolutionary War he served as Captain and afterwards as
Colonel, fighting in the siege of Savannah and Augusta
and in the battles of Camden, S. C., Briar Creek, Georgia,
Black Swamp, and others.
Just after the first siege of Augusta, in 1780, Colonel
Williamson was placed in command of Colonel Clarke's
forces and on April 16th, 1781, he led them to Augusta
and fortified his camp within twelve hundred yards of the
British works. Here Captain Dun, and Captain Irwin
with the Burke County men, joined him, where they
guarded every approach to Augusta for nearly four weeks,
never for a moment relaxing their vigilance, but waiting
impatiently for the promised assistance 'from General
Greene.
At last, the militia, destitute of almost every necessity
of life, wearied of their hard service, and giving up all
hope of aid, determined to return to their homes. The
encouragement of Colonel Jackson roused their drooping
spirits, inspired them with hope and courage, and saved
them from tarnishing the laurels they had already won.
The militia afterwards nobly did their part in all the
fights around Augusta.
Jared with his three brothers John, William, <and
Alexander, built a fort in Washington County known as
Fort Irwin, which was used as a defence against the
British and with his private money he equipped his com-
pany of soldiers for the war.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 241
Jane, the Governor's youngest child, received a claim
through our great members, Alexander H. Stephens and
Robt. Toombs, in the United States Congress, to the amount
of ten thousand dollars for money expended by her father
in the defence of his section of the country in time of the
Revolutionary War.
Jared Irwin represented Washington County in the
Legislature and was President of the State Senate at
different times from 1790 to 1818. He was in the Con-
vention for revising our Constitution in 1789, and was
president of the body which revised it in 1798. At the
close of the war of Independence he was a member of the
Legislature that convened under our present form of
government.
In 1796, the Legislature assembled in Louisville, then
the Capitol of eGorgia, and on the second day of the ses-
sion, January 17th, he was elected Governor. The Legis-
lature at once took up the Yazoo Act over which the State
was greatly excited.
A committee of investigation pronounced it not binding
on the State on account of the fraud used to obtain it.
James Jackson introduced a bill known as the ''Rescind-
ing Act." This was at once passed by both houses and
signed by Gov. Irwin, Feby. 13th, 1796.
It was resolved to burn the papers of the Yazoo Act
and thus purge the records of everything relating to it.
So on Feby. 15th, 1796, wood was piled in front of the
State House, and, in the presence of Gov. Irwin and both
branches of the Legislature, fire was kindled by the use of
a lens and the records and documents were burned "with a
consuming fire from heaven. ' '
After the death of General James Jackson, United
States Senator, Governor Milledge was elected to fill his
place by the Legislature at an extra session held in June,
1806, and in September following tendered his resignation
as Governor. In this way, Jared Irwin, President of the
Senate, again became Governor, and when the Legislature
242 REVOLUTIONARY READER
met in November he was elected to that office for a full
term, thus filling the Governor's chair from the 23rd of
September, 1806, to the 7th of November, 1809.
His administration as Governor was distinguished for
justice and impartiality. The spotless purity of his
character, his affable disposition, his widespread benevol-
ence and hospitality, made him the object of general affec-
tion. To the poor and distressed he was benefactor and
friend.
In every position of public life, as a soldier, a statesman
and a patriot, the public good was the object and the
end of his ambition, and his death was lamented as a
national calamity.
Governor Irwin married Isabella Erwin, his cousin, and
they had four children, Thomas, John, Elizabeth and Jane.
Thomas was among the nine in the first class that graduated
from the University of Georgia on Thursday, May 31st,
1804, and had a speaker's place at Commencement. Jane
the youngest child, lived and died an old maid ; she said she
would not marry for fear that the Irwin name might run
out. She was spirited, a good talker, and affable in her
manner, a patriotic, whole-souled, noble woman.
Governor Irwin died on March 1st., 1818, at the age
of sixty-eight and was buried at his home at Union Hill,
in Washington County.
In 1856 there was an appropriation by the Georgia
Legislature to erect a monument to his memory; and in
1860, a Committee consisting of Colonel R. L. Warthen,
Captain S. A. H. Jones and Colonel J. W. Rudisill, was
appointed to select a site for same. It was decided to
erect the monument in Sandersville, Ga., the county site
of Washington County ; and here it still stands on Court
House square a shaft of pure white marble a gift from
the State to the memory of her noble son who gave his life,
love and ability to his beloved Georgia, "Empire State of
the South." Governor Jared Irwin Chapter, D. A. R.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 243
EDUCATION OF MEN AND WOMEN OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
BY MRS. DEB. RANDOLPH KEIM.
Regent Berks County, Reading Pa., Chapter and Honorary
Vice-President General, T>. A. R.
Again you are assembled to do honor to the memory of
George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continen-
tal armies during the war for Independence, this being the
one hundred and severity-ninth anniversary of his birth.
The first steps to the establishment of a school of
systematic education of young men was "William and Mary
College, of Williamsburgh, the capital of Virginia, in 1617,
twenty-six years before the foundation of Harvard in
Massachusetts. But the character of the former was not
granted until 1693, or fifty years after. The first common
school established by legislation in America was in Massa-
chusetts, in 1645, but the first town school was opened at
Hartford, Conn., before 1642, and I feel proud to say I
graduated from this same school over two hundred years
later, then known as the Hartford Latin Grammar School
and later Hartford Boy's and Girls' High School.
The only established schools of higher learning io
America after William and Mary in Virginia and Harvard
in Massachusetts for the education of young men later
prominent in the Revolution were : St. John 's, Annapolis,
Md., 1696; Yale, New Haven, Conn., 1701; University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1740; Princeton, N. J., 1746:
Washington and Lee, Lexington, Va., 1749; Columbia,
New York, 1754.
Only the sons of men of means could avail themselves
of these advantages. Therefore the great mass of those
who became more or less prominent picked up whatever
they knew as best they could. In Virginia, Patrick Henry,
Washington and others had the limited opportunity and
means of the old "Field or Plantation School" which was
244 REVOLUTIONARY READER
the only road to the rudest forms of knowledge. These were
generally taught by men of fair education, but adventurous
life, who were paid by the planters within a radius of eight
or ten miles.
A notorious pedagogue, by the suggestive name Hobby,
celebrated in Virginia annals for the brisk coercive switch-
ing of the backs of his ' ' boys ' ' as the most effective road to
knowledge, is made famous in history as the rudimentary
educator of the great man whose beginning of life 's journey
dates from this day. Washington's parents having remov-
ed from the place of his birth when a child resided within a
journey of thirteen miles of the despotic jurisdiction of
Hobby, and thither the boy walked or rode daily except
Sundays in all kinds of weather, even being obliged to row
across the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg, where
this vigorous applier of the ferrule held forth.
At eleven years, the death of Washington's father put
an end to even this limited supply of "schooling." But
the young man fortunately had a mother who was one of
the few educated women of that period. We learn from a
primitive record that Mary Ball, the name of Washington 's
mother, was educated by a young man graduated from
Oxford, England, and sent over to be assistant to the
rector of the Episcopal parish in which she lived. At the
age of fifteen she could read, write and spell. In a letter
preserved she wrote to a young lady friend: "He (her
tutor) teaches Sister Susie and me and Madame Carter's
boy and two girls. I am now learning pretty fast. ' '
It was Governor Berkeley who, in a letter to his friends
in England, boastingly "thanked God that there were no
schools and printing in Virginia."
Washington was always methodical, and what he under-
took was done well. This trait he inherited from his
mother, as she was a woman worthy of imitation. From
her stern disciplinary character and pious convictions her
son learned self-control and all the characteristics of ad-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 245
dress and balance, which carried him through the most
intricate and discouraging experiences of his career.
The tastes of Washington in childhood were instinct-
ively military; all his amusements pointed that way. At
twenty-one his first mission to the French at le Boeuf , fixed
his career as a fearless man of action. The rescue of Brad-
dock 's Regulars from destruction by the savages was his
baptism of fire; the rest, a manifestation of human great-
ness put the stamp of military prowess upon him. Virginia
furnished more of the leaders of the first rank in the contest
with the Crown than any other one colony, and yet some of
the men who contributed most to the incisive work of the
conflict had few opportunities of education.
For instance, Patrick Henry, who electrified the issue
in his famous epigram which struck the fulminate of the
combat for independence : ' ' Caesar had his Brutus, Charles
the First his Cromwell and George the Third" (Treason,
treason being shouted), rejoined, "if this be treason, make
the most of it." This same authority, being criticised by
aristocratic loyalists for his lack of education, replied:
"Naiteral pairts are more acount than all the book lairn-
ing on the airth. "
Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, was a man of
higher education. The private schoolhouse ten feet square
on the Tuckahoe plantation, thirteen miles west of Rich-
mond, in which Thomas Jefferson and his kinsman, Thomas
Marr Randolph, were educated, in part by a private tutor,
was in a good state of preservation when I had the pleasure
of visiting Tuckahoe at the time of the international review
at Hampton Roads.
What we today call free school education began in a
simple form under the Quakers of Philadelphia in the
earliest years of the Provincial government of Penn, the
first proprietary. Thomas Holme in bad rhyme and not
much better grammar tells about these schools in 1696. In
what the Germans would call the hinterland the school was
at a low ebb. There being no towns there were no facilities
246 EEVOLUTIONARY READER
to get enough scholars together to make the pay of a teacher
worth the while. The Germans, the dominant element,
when educated at all, were under the tuition of teachers of
parochial schools of the evangelical denominations and sects
of their own, frequently pastors or missionaries in the lan-
guage of the Fatherland. In Pennsylvania among the
emigrants who came over in colonies there was a preacher
and a schoolmaster. This was particularly so among the
Dutch, Swedes and Germans. The English Quakers began
schools in Philadelphia very soon after the foundation of
that town. In the interior schools were rare as the settle-
ments were scattered.
Reading was not founded until 1748, therefore educa-
tion had not made headway at the time when the men
prominent in Berks affairs during the Revolution were at
the educational age. Yet those who figured during that
period in prominent places held their own with any of their
city contemporaries. Among the people generally, accord-
ing to the oath of allegiance list, handwriting was evidently
not widespread, judging from the number of ''his (cross)
mark," substituted for signatures in 1777-1778.
In 1714 Christopher Dock, a German, opened a school at
Skippach, below what is now Pottstown, about thirty miles
from this large assemblage of educated young ladies. Chris-
topher Dock was a man of real learning, unexcelled by any
outside of Pennsylvania in his time. His "Schule Ord-
nung" written in 1750 and printed by Christopher Sauer,
of Germantown, 1770, was the first treatise on education
produced in type in the American colonies. The leaders in
the German emigration prior to the American Revolution
were often men of the highest scholastic training.
In New England began the earliest systematic prelimi-
naries and expansion in the line of schooling. It has the
honor, as I have shown, of founding the second institution
of higher learning which survives today. James Otis,
Samuel and John Adams, foremost agitators on the legal
technicalities of opposition to England, were the best types
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 247
of the output of New England's educational opportunities
of the times.
It is one of the greatest tributes to our forefathers that
with these limited and more frequently rude means of get-
ting an education there should have been so many examples
of brain and culture to meet the educational requirements
of the conflict with the British Crown, the preparation of
documents which stood the most critical scrutiny, and as
well the preparation and negotiating of correspondence,
conventions and treaties to compare favorably with the
most advanced university educated statesmen of the Old
World.
What I have said applies to men, but what about the
young women of the same period? Except in the few
largest towns where some enterprising woman was cour-
ageous enough of her own volition to establish a school
for young ladies, the education of women was not con-
sidered of importance. The Moravians were the first and
most notable exceptions. The seminary at Bethlehem,
almost in sight of where we are now gathered, was famous
in Revolutionary days.
In New York and Philadelphia there was an occasional
fashionable "school" for young ladies.
Abigail Smith, who became wife of John Adams, one of
the earliest agitators and leaders of the contest, one of the
committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence,
first Vice-President and second President of the United
States, was a woman of education. Being the daughter of
a Congregational preacher and having a taste for books, her
father devoted much care to her instruction.
As John Adams, on account of his radical patriotism
was the man the British authorities most feared, and were
looking for, the letters of Mrs. Adams to her husband and
his replies are valuable contributions to American history.
They were perfect in writing, spelling, grammar and
composition. I may add, though, of a date long after, his-
tory is indebted to her letters to her daughter for the only
248 REVOLUTIONARY READER
eye witness account we have of the trials and tribulations
of the journey of the President's family from Philadelphia
to Washington, in the fall of 1800, then the new seat of
government, getting lost in the woods and taking possession
of the unfinished President's palace, as it was called, with-
out firewood during bleak November days and nights with
no looking glasses, lamps, nor anything else to make a
President's wife comfortable.
As a rule, young women were not educated in books, but
taught to sew, knit, spin, weave, cook, wash, iron and per-
form all other household requirements. Her value in the
scale of life was in proportion as she was skilled in the
duties of a housewife. This was the real type of woman-
hood in those days, and should always be, with a cultivated
mind added.
When we read of their heroic maintenance of the home,
care and training of children, management of the farm,
sale of its products and often facing hardships in keeping
the wolf from the door, while husbands, sons and brothers
were fighting for liberty and independence, we care not
whether they could read, write, spell, cast up accounts or
not, but think of their woman's contribution to the success
of the contest.
It is positive that the fathers of the Revolution would
not have been successful but for the women, perhaps un-
educated in books but competent and self-sacrificing in
maintaining the home, while the men were fighting for
liberty and free exercise of all its enjoyments. If this great
nation is a testimonial of what women without the aid of
books contributed in laying the foundation, what must now
be expected of women having every advantage of educa-
tion from kindergarten and primary schools to the woman 's
college ?
I might mention sixteen colleges now exclusively de-
voted to the education of young women in New York, Mas-
sachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 249
Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, and Illinois with a roll of eight
thousand young women students.
The first seniority is Mount Holyoke, Mass., founded
in 1837, having 755 scholars; the largest is Smith College,
Northampton, Mass., 1,620 young women; next "Wellesley,
Mass., 1,375, and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1,125. To
show the difference between now and the days of our revo-
lutionary fathers, the school houses were built of logs, one
story high, with bark roofs and puncheon or dirt floors,
which on account of incessant tramping usually became
covered several inches deep with dust. The teacher sat in
the center of the room.
In the log walls around were driven wooden pegs upon
which were laid boards that formed the desks. The seats
were rough stools or logs. All sat with backs to the teacher.
The windows to admit light were fitted with white paper
greased with lard instead of glass. The boy scholars wore
leather or dried skin aprons and buckskin tunics and leg-
gins, when they could not get woven materials. And the
girls, coarsely woven flax or wool bodices, skirts, kerchiefs,
and aprons and footwear of wood, coarse leather, not a
few going barefoot.
The writing equipment in Revolutionary days consisted
of ink which was of home manufacture from an ink powder,
quills and a pen knife, cutting pens from goose quills being
an art. The rest of the materials were paper, pumice, a
rule, wax, and black sand, shaken from a pepper box ar-
rangement, instead of blotting paper.
The earliest method of teaching before school text-books
were known was by what was termed the hornbook, a tablet
of wood about 5 by 2 inches upon which was fastened a
paper sheet containing the alphabet in capitals and small
letters acros sthe top and simple syllables like, ab, ad, etc. ;
below and underneath the whole the Lord's Prayer. The
paper containing this course of study was covered with a
sheet of transparent horn fastened around the edges. At the
lower edge was a small handle with a hole through it and a
250 REVOLUTIONARY READER
string to go around the neck. By this means the advant-
ages of a colonial education stayed by the scholars if they
wished to avail of them or not.
These hornbooks were made of oak, bound with metal
for common folks, but for the rich of iron and metal, often
silver. Some were wrought in silk needle work. Their
popularity is shown by their advertisement for sale in the
Pennsylvania Gazette, December, 1760, and New York
Gazette, May, the same year. Battledore book was another
name. Another style was the printed cardboard battle-
dore, about fifteen inches long and folded over like a pocket
book.
The primer succeeded the hornbooks, the New England
Primer being one of the earliest. It is recorded that three
millions of these were sold, so great was the desire for
education in times preceding the Revolution. These little
books were five by three inches and contained 80 pages.
They gave short tables of easy spelling up to six syllables ;
also some alphabetical religion in verse, as
K for King Charles the good,
No man of blood.
In the Revolutionary days this was transposed to
K jfor Kings and queens,
Both have beens.
Z appears to have been a poser in this alphabetical array
of rhythmic religion, rendered
Zaccheus he
Did climb a tree
His Lord to see.
The hours of study were eight a day.
There were also text-book writers in those early times.
Among the titles one reads : " A delysious syrup newly
claryfied for young scholars yt thurste for ye swete lycore
of Latin speche." Another: "A young Lady's Accident
or a short and easy introduction to English Grammar de-
signed principally for the use of young learners, more
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 251
especially for those of the fair sex though proper for
either. ' ' Fifty-seven pages. It had a great sale.
It was the style of the time to set books of instruction
in doggerel verse, even spelling, grammar and arithmetic.
The latter was taught by means of "sum books," simply
"sums" copied by the learner from an original furnished
by the teacher.
Alphabet lessons were similar to the alphabet blocks
children play with to-day, generally beginning with verses
from the Bible. An interesting fact is that we find the
child's prayer, "Now I lay me down to sleep," in the New
England Primer catechism as far back as 1737. A more
beautiful tribute could not be paid to this invocation of
childhood than the thought of the generations of American
children who were thus taught in their everyday lessons
their dependence upon the Supreme Being.
Some of the most interesting contributions we have to
the literature of the Revolutionary period are the letters
of the educated women of the time. They are the more
pleasing because they relate to the affairs of home and
social life.
You, of this age of education of women are expected to
exert a large share in their extension and enjoyment.
American Monthly Magazine.
252 REVOLUTIONARY READER
NANCY HART.
Many people believe that Nancy Hart was a myth. But
not so. In the "Life and Times of William H. Crawford,"
by J. E. D. Shipp, of Americus, the story is reproduced, as
the Hart family lived not far from the home of the Craw-
fords. Col. Shipp says:
On the north side of Broad River at a point about
twelve miles from the present city of Elberton, Ga., and
fourteen from historic Petersburg, in what is now Elbert
County, was situated the log house in which Benjamin Hart
and his wife, Nancy Morgan Hart, lived at the commence-
ment of the Revolution. The spot is easily located to this
day as being near Dye's and "Will's ferries, and on the op-
posite side of the river from which Governor Matthews
settled in 1784, near a small and romantic stream known as
"War Woman's Creek. " This was the name given to it by
the Indians in honor of Nancy Hart, whom they admired
and feared. Her home was near the entrance of the stream
into the river.
The State records show that Benjamin Hart drew 400
acres of land on Broad River, and afterwards another body
of land in Burke county. He was a brother to the celebra-
ted Col. Thomas Hart of Kentucky, who was the father of
the wife of Henry Clay. He was a well-to-do farmer, and
was compelled to take his stock and negroes to the swamp
to protect them and his own life from the unrestrained
Tories. As captain of a small company of 'Partisans,' he
would sally forth from his hiding place only whenever
there was a chance of striking the enemy an effective blow.
The Tories generally spared the women, but killed the
men, though unarmed. Nancy Hart, alone with six boys
Morgan, John, Thomas, Benjamin, Lemuel and Mark
and her two girls, Sally and Keziah, presents a unique
case of patriotic fervor, courage and independence of
character. Rough, six feet tall, spare, bigboned and ex-
ceedingly strong, she was highspirited, energetic and
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 253
shrewd. The "Whigs loved her the Liberty boys called
her "Aunt Nancy." The Tories hated her.
When General Elijah Clark moved the women and
children away from Broad River settlement to a place of
safety in Kentucky most of them were anxious to go, but
Nancy refused, and remained alone with her children after
her Whig neighbors had departed. Her house was a meet-
ing place for her husband's company. She aided as a spy
and kept him informed of the movements of the enemy.
She always went to the mill alone and was an expert
equestrienne. One day while on her rounds she was met by
a band of Tories with the British colors striped on their
hats. They knew her and demanded her "pass." She
shook her fist at them and replied : ' ' This is my pass ; touch
me if you dare. ' '
Tories lived on the opposite side of the river from her,
and she had many trials with them. Some are noted. One
night "Aunt Nancy" was boiling a pot of lye soap in the
big fireplace of her stack chimney. Suddenly she noticed a
pair of eyes and a bearded face at a crack between the logs.
Pretending not to see the prowler, she went on stirring the
soap and chatting with the children. Biding her time, she
deftly threw a ladleful of the boiling soap into the face of
the intruder, whom, blinded and roaring, Nancy bound fast
and the next morning marched him across the river, wading
the ford, and delivered him to Colonel Clark. She had many
encounters, capturing Tories and taking them to the com-
mander.
But of all her acts of heroism this one eclipses all others.
From the detachment of British soldiers sent out from
Augusta, and which murdered Colonel Dooly, there were
five who diverged to the east and crossed Broad River to
examine the neighborhood and paid a visit to Nancy Hart.
They unceremoniously entered her cabin. Being hungry,
they ordered her to cook food for them. She replied that
the Tories and the villains had put it out of her power to
feed them, as she had nothing. ' ' That old gobler out there
254 REVOLUTIONARY READER
is all I have left. ' ' The leader of the party shot down the
turkey, brought it in and ordered Nancy to prepare it
without delay. She and her children went to work at the
task. Finally she heard her unwelcome guests boasting of
killing Col. Dooly. Then she appeared in good humor and
exchanged rude jests with them. Pleased with her free-
dom they invited her to partake of their liquor, which she
accepted with jocose thanks. While the turkey was cooking
Nancy sent her eldest daughter to the spring for water,
with directions to blow the conch shell, which sound her
father would interpret. The Tories became merry over the
liquor, pouring it from the jug with laughter, as they
hurried up Nancy, anticipating a good feast. They were
at ease. They stacked their arms within easy reach, and
Nancy would ocasionally pass between the men and their
muskets. The Tories again called for water and Nancy
again sent the daughter to the spring for water and to
blow the signal for Captain Hart. Nancy was thinking
fast. Through a crack between the logs she slipped out-
side two of the five guns. When the third was being put
out she was discovered, and the men sprank to their feet.
In an instant Nancy brought the musket to her shoulder,
declaring she would kill the first man that moved. Ap-
palled by her audacity and fury, the men for a moment
stood still ; then one of them made a quick movement to
advance on her. She shot him dead. Instantly seizing the
other musket at her side she leveled it, keeping the others
at bay. By this time the daughter returned from the
spring and took the other gun out of the house, saying:
' ' Father and the company will soon be here. ' ' This alarm-
ed the Tories and they proposed a general rush. So Nancy
fired and brought down another man dead at her feet. The
daughter handed her another gun and Nancy, moving to
the doorway, demanded surrender of the three living.
"Yes, we will surrender, and let's shake hands on the
strength of it." But Nancy did not shake hands. When
Captain Hart and company arrived Nancy would not let
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 255
them shoot, saying: "These prisoners have surrendered to
me ; they have murdered Colonel Dooly. I heard them say
so." And George Dooly, brother of Colonel Dooly, and
McCorkle followed and saw that the captured murderers
were hanged.
John Hart, second son of Nancy, became an influential
citizen of Athens. Nancy lived with him after the death
of Capt. Hart. In 1787, when the two Virginia preachers,
Thomas Humphries and John Majors, were holding a great
campmeeting in Wilkes County, Nancy became a staunch
adherent of the new faith and joined the church Wesley 's.
She finally moved to Kentucky, where her relatives, the
Morgans, lived. Hart County was named for her, and the
town of Hartford, which in 1810 was the county seat of
Pulaski.
BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN.
BY MARION JACKSON HALL.
They heard the guns a-roaring,
They sounded far and wide;
They saw the rebels coming,
Up every mountain side.
The mountaineers, no longer tame,
From every hill and thicket came,
They rushed up every mountain side
To plunge into the swelling tide.
Ferguson knew, both good and well,
He would have to fight, on hill or dell,
But the number of rebels, he could not tell.
They were advancing, and walking fast,
When now they blew a long, shrill blast.
A smoke now covered the battlefield
With deaf ning sound, of warlike peal.
256 REVOLUTIONARY READER
The British flag was waving high,
When through the smoke there came a cry
A cry from amidst the cloud did ring
From men that fought for England's king.
The English flag, they took it down,
Their leader was dead, and on the ground,
And panic stricken, they were found.
The rebels raged and charged again
And captured more than a thousand men;
They raised their flag up at top mast,
They saw and knew they were gaining fast.
The thunder roared, the lightning flashed,
And through the cloud some horsemen dashed,
The field was high, but there was mud,
For it was wet and red with blood.
It was a short, but bloody fight,
It filled the Tories all with fright
They whipped the Tories, that was right.
The battlefield with blood was red,
And covered with wounded and with dead.
They smote and fell, who raised a hand,
To wipe the rebels from the land.
The Americans won that glorious fight
That put them all to thinking right,
They believed they should soon make their laws
And God was with their righteous cause.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 257
WILLIAM CLEGHORN.
In the spring of 1728, a handful of sturdy Scotchmen
started from Chelmart, Scotland, for America, "The Land
of the Free and the Home of the Brave." Among these
were the parents of the boy William Cleghorn, whose true
story is herein narrated.
He was a frail lad and partly for the love of the sea
and partly for his health, he enlisted in the Navy. We find
him enrolled at Brunswick, N. C., September 8th, 1748, as a
member of Capt. Samuel Corbin's Company. He proved a
daring sailor, yet he was not so interested in the Navy but
that he had time to fall desperately in love with sweet
Thankful Dexter, of Falmouth.
Now, Thankful 's father was a man of wealth, great
wealth, for those days, and a son-in-law, with nothing to
recommend him but good looks and a fine record as a
daring sailor, did not appeal to him, but demure, sweet
Thankful had a will of her own. She saw that young Wil-
liam was worthy of any woman's love, so never for an
instant did she even think of giving him up.
As time went on our hero began to be a power in the
colonies. He was interested in everything pertaining to
their welfare. He soon began to prosper financially, and
on February 12, 1782, we find recorded that he gave secur-
ity for twenty thousand ($20,000.00) dollars, and took
command of the ten-gun ship "Virginia." Rickerton, the
historian, tells us in his history that our hero was "one of
the earliest and most intelligent ship masters" but "all
the world loves a lover," and I started to tell you chiefly
about his love affair.
Thankful was always dreaming of William's bright,
cheery face, and we may be sure she lost no apportunity to
say to her worldly, bustling father, ' ' Didn 't I tell you so ? "
every time William brought new honors upon himself.
As time went on this energetic young man conceived the
idea of building a sloop, which he did and named it the
258 REVOLUTIONARY READER
"Betsy." We wonder why he did not call it "The Thank-
ful" but perhaps Thankful had something to say about
that.
"William loaded the "Betsy" with an immense cargo of
oil and sailed around Cape Horn. This was the very first
voyage ever made around the Cape, and can you not
imagine how proud young William Cleghorn was? And
can you not almost hear Thankful telling her father about
the wonderful journey around Cape Horn?
The father was now convinced that William was not
only valiant in war and a persistent lover, but that he was
an excellent business man as well, so he withdrew his
objections and Thankful Dexter became the happy wife of
William Cleghorn.
We can almost see the radiant Thankful in her home-
spun gown and pertly poke bonnet, and the erect happy
William with the air of a conquerer, coming side by side
from the little church, through the narrow paths of
Martha's Vineyard, to the home all ready for the happy
couple, for William was now a well-to-do young man.
We must not take them all through life's journey, for
this is to be a child's story, but alas for human joys, while
on a visit to Boston in 1793, William Cleghorn was stricken
with appoplexy and very suddenly passed away.
When you go to Boston, go out to the old Granary
Cemetery, so well known by lovers of history, and inclosed
in an iron railing you see a white stone standing alone.
Draw near and read the inscription and you will see that
there lies your hero, William, for on the stone you read :
Captain William Cleghorn
of
New Bedford.
Who died in a fit of appoplexy on a visit to this town,
February 24, 1793, in the 60th year of his age.
"Here lies entombed beneath the tufted clod,
A man beloved, the noblest of God.
With friendly throbs the heart shall beat no more,
Closed the gay scene, the pomp of life is o'er."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 259
In the record of his will we find the following, which
will show you how our ancestors made their wills :
Two mahogony tables, I square table, 16 leather bottom
chairs, 1 mahogony desk, 7 looking glasses, 1 set of china
(42 pieces), 1 coffee set (30 pieces), 34 linen sheets, 25
pair pillow cases, 1 pew in First Congregational Meeting
House, 1 pew in Second Congregational House, etc., etc.,
besides a long list of notes and other properties.
This is very different from the wills of today, isn't it?
I presume we have many boys as brave and true as Wil-
liam, and many girls as dear and sweet as Thankful, and
perhaps one hundred years from now other boys and girls
will be reading about some of you. So let us live in such
a way that we may have our story written and enjoyed as
is this true story of Thankful Dexter and William Cleg-
horn EVELYN CLEGHORN DIMOCK HENRY, Xavier Chap-
ter, D. A. R., Rome, Ga.
THE BLUE LAWS OF OLD VIRGINIA.
Usually in discussion of blue laws, those very Draconian
regulations which have so aroused the ire or the respect of
moderns, depending upon which way they look at it, the
debaters confine themselves mostly to New England Puritan
forms, or those of New York, Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
In the days the Puritans formulated the blue laws,
Virginia was looked upon as the home of high living and
frivolity. Even to this day few would look for such
measures among that old aristocratic colony.
As a matter of fact, the Virginians of the seventeenth
century, had a habit of enacting indigo-tinted laws, and
likewise enforcing them, which might have made the Puri-
tans sit up late at night to beat them.
Aside from the stern and vindictive intolerance which
finds utterance in the acts of the Virginia Assembly be-
tween the years 1662 and 1680, the most striking element in
260 REVOLUTIONARY READER
them is the tremendous premium placed upon spying and
informing. In most every case in which such a reward is
possible the law encouraged the man to spy upon his neigh-
bor.
If the Virginia husbands agreed with Kipling that "a
woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke, ' ' the
following act must have been the occasion of much domestic
infelicity.
"If a married woman shall slander a person the woman shall
be punished by ducking, and if the damages shall be adjudged
more than 500 pounds of tobacco her husband shall pay, or the
woman receive a ducking for every 500 pounds so adjudged
against her husband if he refused to pay the tobacco."
Unless a man was well stocked with the divine weed it
was worth while to attend church with promptness and
regularity :
"Enacted that the Lord's Day be kept holy and no journeys or
work done thereon, and all persons inhabiting in this country
shall resort every Sunday to church and abide there quietly and
orderly during the common prayers and preaching, upon the
penalty of being fined fifty pounds of tobacco."
Devices for public instruction and amusement were not
to be neglected with impunity, even by the courts of the
colony, as witness the following :
"The Court in every county shall set up near the courthouse,
in a public and convenient place, a pillory, a pair of stocks, a
whipping post and a ducking stool. Otherwise the Court shall be
fined 5,000 pounds of tobacco."
There is no record of the Court ever having been
mulcted of tobacco for depriving the people of the oppor-
tunity to watch the sufferings of their friends and neigh-
bors.
Severe laws were directed against Quakers. Prior legis-
lation had attempted to put a damper on being any kind of
a "separatist," which meant any fellow who didn't agree
with the Established Church. Evidently a little further
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 261
law on the subject was thought necessary, for in 1663 the
Virginia Assembly passed the following act :
"Any person inhabiting this country, and entertaining a
Quaker in or near his house, shall, for every time of such enter-
tainment, be fined 5,000 pounds of tobacco, half to the county,
half to the informer."
Even Virginia hospitality might well have paused in
the face of such a flying start toward bankruptcy.
That a stowaway might prove costly is demonstrated
by the following :
"Every master of a vessel that shall bring any Quakers to
reside here after July 1 of this year shall be fined 5,000 pounds
of tobacco, to be levied by distress and sale of his goods, and he
then shall be made to carry him, her or them out of the country
again."
Evidently a little thing like a couple of years in servi-
tude did not deter the lovers of pork chops from appro-
priating their neighbors' swine, for in 1679 the Assembly
delivered themselves of the following act :
"The first offense of hog stealing shall be punished according
to the former law; upon a second offense the offender shall stand
for two hours in the pillory and shall lose his ears, and for the
third offense shall be tried by the laws of England as in case of
felony."
As the English law of the period usually prescribed
hanging for a twice convicted felon, it is presumed that the
third dose of justice proved an efficient remedy.
Not only in the stringency of their laws did the gray
cavaliers of the Old Dominion run neck and neck with the
grim-visaged gentry of Plymouth Rock, but the doubtful
honor of being the last to relinquish the gentle art of witch-
craft persecution probably belongs to them as well.
The witchbaiters around Salem and throughout New
England generally ceased to a considerable extent their
punishment for alleged witchcraft before the eighteenth
century, but the Virginian records show the arrest and per-
262 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
Becution of Grace Sherwood, of Princess Anne County, for
witchcraft in 1706.
For six months this young woman was imprisoned, be^
ing brought time and again before the court in an effort to
convict her. Finding no evidence in her actions to justify
the persecution, the Attorney-General caused the Sheriff of
the county to impanel a jury of women to examine Grace
Sherwood physically and instructed them to find something
to indicate that she was a witch. This the women failed to
do and they were threatened with contempt of court for
their failure.
Everything else having failed, it was decided to put
Miss Sherwood to the water test, which consisted in tying
her hands and feet and throwing her overboard in the
nearest lake or river. If she sank she was innocent, but if
by her struggles she managed to keep afloat for a few
moments, she was guilty of witchcraft.
The full account of this trial is preserved by the Vir-
ginia Historical Society, and the last two court orders in
the case are of interest as marking the close of witchcraft
persecution in the colonies.
"Whereas, Grace Sherwood, being suspected of witchcraft,
have a long time waited for a fit opportunity for a further ex-
amination, & by her consent & approbacon of ye court, it is
ordered that ye sheriff take all such convenient assistance of
boats and men and shall be by him thought fit to meet at Jno.
Harpers plantation, in order to take ye Grace Sherwood forth-
with and BUTT her into the water above a man's debth & try
her how she swims therein, always having care of her life to pre-
serve her from drowning, & as soon as she comes out that he
request as many antient and knowing women as possible he can
to search her carefully for all spottes & marks about her body
not usuall on others, & that as they find the same to make report
on oath to ye truth thereof to ye court, and further it is ordered
that some woman be requested to shift and search her before she
goes into ye water, that she carry nothing about her to cause
further suspicion."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 263
On the afternoon of July 10, 1706, the court and county
officers and populace assembled on John Harper's plan-
tation, and the arrangements being completed, Grace Sher-
wood was carrid out to a narby inlet of Lynnhaven Bay.
The official court reporter tells quaintly the rest of the
story :
"Whereas, on complaint of Luke Hill in behalf of her
Magisty, that now is against Grace Sherwood for a person suspec
ted of witchcraft, & having had sundry evidences sworn against
her, proving manny cercumstances, & which, she could not make
any excuse or little or nothing to say in her own behalf, only
seeming too rely on what ye court should do, and thereupon con-
sented to be tried in ye water, & likewise to be serched againe
with expermints; being tried, and she swimming when therein &
bound, contray to custom and ye judgments of all ye spectators,
& afterwards being searched by five antient women who have all
declared on oath that she is not like them; all of which cercum-
stances ye court weighing in their consideraoon, do therefore
order that ye sheriff take ye said Grace Sherwood into his custody
& comit her body to ye common goal of this county, there to
secure her by irons, or otherwise there to remain till such time as
he shall be otherwise directed."
The woman was finally turned free, and thus ended the
last legal prosecution for witchcraft in the colony.
264 REVOLUTIONARY READER
ELIJAH CLARKE.
BY MRS. JOHN H. MORGAN, Regent Brunswick Chapter,
T). A. R.
It is to be regretted that our historians have given so
little space to one of our Georgia patriots of the Revolu-
tion Elijah Clarke. One of our greatest national needs is
that of commemorating the memories of our men who
"did greatly," who fought, suffered and endured for our
national independence. This is one of the prime objects
of the existence of the Society of the Daughters of the
American Revolution; "To perpetuate the memory of the
Spirit of the men who achieved American Independenct. "
Among the many contributed to this great cause by
Georgia, was Elijah Clarke. After the fall of Georgia, for
the time being, many of our most distinguished men be-
came voluntary exiles among their "brethren" in the
West. Among tn"e most prominent of these was Colonel
Clarke; one to whom our liberty and the justness of the
cause was dear.
He did not give up hope; for his heart was filled with
the desire to return and renew the contest. He employed
his entire time in the preparation of a sufficient force that
would enable him to return when the opportunity should
present itself.
Augusta was the key to the northern part of the state,
and its possession was of great importance to our patriots.
Upon hearing that the time for the arrival of the annual
Indian presents was near, the desire to recover Augusta
became, to Colonel Clarke, irresistible. He immediately set
about collecting troops and his arguments were so success-
ful that in a very short time five hundred enthusiastic
warriors and men from the hills were assembled and
marched to Augusta.
Upon their arrival, the division under Major Taylor
attacked the Indian camp on Hawks Gully, thereby draw-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 265
ing the British under Colonel Thomas Brown to the sup-
port of the Indian allies, leaving the south and west of the
city unguarded. Colonel Clarke entered at the points, with
the remainder of his army, captured the garrison and
finally, driving out Colonel Brown, occupied the town.
The British under Colonel Brown, after being driven
out of Augusta, took refuge in a strong house called Sey-
mour's White House, which they had fortified.
Colonel Clarke besieged them and was on the point of
capturing them, after a four days siege, when Col. Cruger,
coming with another British force compelled Clarke to
retreat.
Lord Cornwallis ordered Colonel Ferguson to intercept
Colonel Clarke. Just as Col. Ferguson started to carry
out these orders, he heard that a new enemy was approach-
ing, for the very purpose of doing just what Colonel
Clarke had failed to do. This force consisted of rifle
militia and had been drawn from Kentucky, the western
country of Virginia and North Carolina, and was under the
command of the famous independent colonels, Campbell,
Cleveland, Williams, Sevier and Shelby. Upon hearing of
Clarke's repulse and of Ferguson's orders to intercept
Clarke, they gave up their enterprise on Colonel Brown,
and turned against Ferguson ; which ended in a crushing
defeat for the British and the destruction of Colonel Fer-
guson at King's Mountain.
"Although Clarke failed in the reduction of Augusta,
his attempt led to the destruction of Ferguson; and with
it to the present relief of North Carolina." Such is the
testimony of "Light Horse" Harry Lee, his companion in
arms, and the father of our beloved General Robert B.
Lee.
General Clarke, as he became, was brave and patriotic,
and his services during the Revolution were valuable to the
country, and deserve the recognition of his state. He died
December 15th, 1799 one day after the death of Wash-
ington.
266 REVOLUTIONARY READER
"Poor is the nation that boasts no heroes, but beggared
is that country that having them, forgets. ' '
General Clarke was one of Georgia's heroes. Let us
honor him.
GENERAL FRANCIS MARION.
The subject of this sketch is General Francis Marion
and a pleasant duty it is to revive the memory of this
almost forgotten hero who was one of the most famous
warriors of the American Revolution. General Nathaniel
Greene had often been heard to say that the page of his-
tory had never furnished his equal.
He was born near Georgetown, South Carolina, of
French parents, who were refugees to this country after
the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. From them he
inherited that love of liberty which had caused them to
forsake home and friends and commence a new life among
strangers that they might enjoy freedom of thought and
guson at King's Mountain.
He manifested early in life a love of adventure. His
first warlike experience was against the Indians. He served
as a Lieutenant of volunteers. In his encounters with the
savages he showed such courage and skill that he soon be-
came famous, and to his credit, it must be said, he was
always humane and just.
When war was declared against England and troops
had to be raised, Marion received a Captain's commission.
He went forth to raise a company. Money was lacking and
he had to depend entirely on volunteers. He very soon,
however, succeeded in getting his complement of men and
was unexcelled in his dealings with these raw recruits. He
could enter into their feelings and appreciate their con-
duct. He did not exact impossibilities of them and he was
celebrated for what was called his patience with the militia.
No service was ever more strictly voluntary than that
of those who constituted the company known as "Marion's
MONUMENT, SITE OF OLD FORT CORNWALLIS, AUGUSTA, GA,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 267
Men" and he led them to perform deeds of valor which
seem almost incredible. There was an air of mysterious
daring in what he undertook, which gave a charm to the
life his followers led, while they had the most perfect con-
fidence in their leader. Insubordination was rare among
his men on account of their devotion to him. If it did
occur he usually visited it by dismissal from his band.
This ignorminy was dreaded more than any other mode of
punishment. He seldom resorted to the military methods of
severe discipline. His band was composed largely of the
planters, and some of them were boys who lived in the sec-
tion of the country where his daring exploits harrassed so
severely the British. These men were devoted to field
sports and were consequently fine riders and marksmen.
Marion and his men are connected ;with the most
romantic adventures of the Revolution, equal to any we have
read of in song or story. The writer has often listened
with intense interest to the accounts given by her grand-
father of the recitals of his party. William Pope, who was
one of "Marion's Men," tells of the many hazardous under-
takings against the British and Tories. The famous rides
at night when they would leave their hidden places in the
swamps, or some forest so densely wooded that they alone
knew the trails by which they found their way in and out ;
how they would start on one of their swift rides to inter-
cept the passing of British troops from one post to another
or attack an army wagon train with provisions and ammu-
nition, etc. The descent of Marion and his men would be
so sudden that the enemy would be completely demoralized.
Marion kept bands of scouts constantly watching the
enemy and by this means he was enabled to give our army
most valuable information.
At one time our hero and his men learning of the en-
campment of some British troops near a river, started out
to attack them at midnight. They had to ride many miles
to reach the river and in crossing the bridge the noise of
the horses aroused the sentinels of the enemy and they
268 REVOLUTIONARY READER
were prepared for resistance. The fight which ensued was
a fierce one, but ever after that experience, when Marion
found it necessary to cross a bridge, he made the men dis-
mount and spread their blankets over the bridge to muffle
the sound of the horses feet. It was a rule with him never
to use a bridge when he could ford a river, and he burned all
bridges for which he had no use. These long rapid rides
were exhausting to man and beasts. They returned as
rapidly as they went forth and when they reached their
place of safety, they would secure their horses, throw them-
selves on the ground with only a blanket and a saddle for
a pillow and sleep so soundly they would be unconscious of
the falling rain and often awaken in the morning to find
themselves surrounded by water. Amid all these scenes of
hardship there were times when this band of devoted
patriots indulged in revelry, as they were safely gathered
around the camp fires among the lofty moss-draped cypress
trees and gum trees of the swamps to enjoy the captured
supplies from the enemy's commissary stores, which en-
abled them to supply themselves with clothing, arms
and ammunition. Thus they largely provided for their own
subsistence by their daring prowess.
The British established a line of military posts in South
Carolina extending from Georgetown to Charleston. They
found it exceedingly difficult to hold any communication,
for Marion's scouts were always on the lookout to report
their movements. Colonel Watson, of the enemy, attemp-
ted to take a regiment from one post to another. He was
so harrassed by the sharpshooting of ' ' Marion 's Men ' ' who
lay in ambush along his route, that he sent a letter by flag of
truce to Marion reproaching him for fighting like a savage
and invited him to come out in open field and fight like a
gentleman. But Marion was too shrewd to put in open
field his comparatively small band, with their peculiar mode
of warfare, against a far greater number of finely drilled
regulars of the enemy and Colonel Watson had to retreat
and encamp his men in the first open field he could find
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 269
Marion had a number of interviews by flag of truce with
British officers. One of the most noted is the one in which
he entertained the officer at dinner. After business affairs
had been settled General Marion invited the officer to dine
with him and he accepted. Marion ordered dinner. The
officer looked around with curosity as he saw no prepara-
tions for dinner and his surprise was great when the cook
placed before him on a piece of bark a few sweet potatoes
which had been roasted in the fire near by. The officer
remarked to Marion that he supposed his supplies had
fallen short, endeavoring to relieve Marion of any embar-
rassment he thought he might feel in offering him such
meager fare, but Marion replied that he considered himself
fortunate, as he had a guest that day, he had that much
to offer him. The officer was amazed and profoundly im-
pressed with what he had seen. He returned to his com-
mand with such feelings of admiration and respect for men
who endured so cheerfully such privations and so many
hardships for the sake of liberty, that he said it was use-
less to fight such men, that they were entitled to liberty and
he would not continue to fight against them. He resigned
his commission in the army.
The enemy at this time had absolute command of this
portion of South Carolina excepting as they were dis-
turbed by Marion. He shifted from swamp to swamp and
thicket to thicket and never relaxed his struggle for liberty.
So harrassed were the enemy by him, they determined a
number of times to make a special effort to capture him or
drive him out of the state. All in vain. Marion was too
alert and often met them with more promptness than they
desired.
Colonel Tarleton, a British officer, with a reputation
for great activity undertook one of these expeditions
against Marion and narrowly escaped being captured him-
self. He retreated from his attack exclaiming to his men
"Come on boys, we will go back, there is no catching this
270 REVOLUTIONARY READER
' Swamp Fox '. ' ' By this same name he was ever afterward
called by his followers.
When Gen. Nathaniel Greene took command of the
Southern Army, he wrote to General Marion and begged
him to remain in his independent position and keep the
army supplied with intelligence, in which important part
he rendered most active service, also in the battles of
Georgetown, Ninety Six, Charleston, Savannah and others.
So highly appreciated by the Government was the brave
and valuable part performed by Marion and his men, that
Congress passed a series of resolutions expressing the
gratitude of the country to them.
Governor Rutledge appointed him Brigadier-General.
In addition to the usual military rank, extraordinary
powers were conferred upon him, such as were only granted
to extraordinary men.
In the circumstances of life, there was a remarkable
resemblance between him and the great Washington. They
were both volunteers in the service of their country. They
learned the military art in Indian warfare. They were
both soldiers so vigilant that no enemy could ever surprise
them and so equal in undaunted valor that nothing could
disturb them, and even in the private incidents of their
lives, the resemblance between these two great men was
closer than common. They were both born in the same
year, both lost fathers early in life, both married excellent,
wealthy wives, both left widows and both died childless.
In reviewing the life of Gen. Marion, we find patient
courage, firmness in danger, resolution in adversity, hardy
endurance amid suffering and want. He lived that liberty
might not die and never relinquished his sword until the
close of the war. He then retired to his plantation near
Eutaw, where he died. His last words were : ' ' Thank God,
since I have come to man 's estate, I have never intentionally
done wrong to any man. ' '
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 271
Marion 's remains are in the church yard at Belle Isle in
the parish of St. John's Berkely. Over them is a marble
slab upon which is the following inscription :
" Sacred to the memory of Brigadier-General Francis
Marion, who departed this life on the twenty-ninth of
February, 1795, in the sixty-third year of his age, deeply
regretted by all of his fellow citizens. History will recall
his worth and rising generations will embalm his memory
as one of the most distinguished patriots and heroes of
the American Revolution ; who elevated his native country
to honor and independence and accrued to her the bless-
ings and liberty of peace. ' ' This tribute of veneration and
gratitude is erected in commemoration of the noble and
distinguished virtues of the citizen and of the gallant ex-
ploits of the soldier who lived without fear and died with-
out reproach.
This brief and imperfect sketch of one of the most
noted military men of his day has led to the reflection that
many of the most valiant leaders of the Revolution are
comparatively little known among the rising generation.
The old histories written in the early part of this century
which recorded their brilliant deeds and virtues, are out
of print, a few to be found in old libraries, and the old
readers which were used in the schools forty and fifty years
ago were full of the accounts of their achievements, which
thrilled the hearts of the students and stimulated in them
a love of country, as only such deeds of valor could inspire.
But today these heroes who taught us such lessons of
patriotism have passed away forgotten, others scarcely a
memory. Ought it to be so ?
As our society is for the purpose of advancing the cause
of patriotism, no effort on the part of its members would
do more to bring this about than for some of them situated
in different parts of our country to unite in collecting
material for a new reader for the use of schools in which
the deeds of these revolutionary patriots would be once
272 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
more revived and made conspicuous to those who should
ever hold them in grateful veneration.
This thought is one that might advantageously engage
the attention of some national publisher who might employ
compilers from different localities of our country for this
purpose.
Among the ' ' Readers ' ' alluded to, was a tribute to Gen.
Marion and his men, which was at the same time a graphic
account of their lives and services. It was written by one
of our favorable national poets, William Cullen Bryant, and
was a favorite selection for declamation among American
juvenile orators many years ago. It has disappeared from
the modern editions of "Readers," but would fitly embel-
lish a new "American Speaker," a book which would be
popular throughout our land in these days of Sons and
Daughters of the Revolution.
This suggestion will be enhanced by the reproduction
of the ringing lines with which this article will close :
SONG OF MARION'S MEN.
Our band is few, but true and tried,
Our leader frank and bold;
The British soldier trembles
When Marion's name is told.
Our fortress is the good green wood,
Our tent the cypress tree;
We know the forest 'round us,
As Seamen know the sea;
We know its wall of thorny vines,
Its glades of reedy grass;
It's safe and silent islands
Within the dark morass.
Woe to the British soldiery,
That little dread us near;
On them shall light at midnight
A strange and sudden fear;
When waking to their tents on fire,
They grasp their arms in vain,
EEMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 273
And they who stand to face us
Are beat to earth again,
And they who fly in terror deem
A mighty host behind
And hear the tramp of thousands
Upon the hollow wind.
Then sweet the hour that brings release
From dangers and from toil;
We talk the battle over
And share the battle spoil.
The woodland rings with laugh and shout
As if a hunt were up,
And woodland flowers are gathered
To crown the soldiers' cup.
With merry sounds we mock the wind
That in the pine top grieves,
And slumber long and sweetly
On beds of oaken leaves.
Well knows the fair and friendly moon,
The band that Marion leads;
The glitter of their rifles,
The scampering of their steeds.
'Tis life to guide the fiery barb,
Across the moonlit plain ;
'Tis life to feel the night wind
That lifts his tossing mane.
A moment in the British camp,
A moment and away;
Back to the pathless forest,
Before the peep of day.
Grave men there are by broad Santee,
Grave men with hoary hairs.
Their hearts are all with Marion,
Tor Marion are their prayers ;
And lovely ladies greet our band
With kindliest welcoming,
With smiles like those of summer,
And with tears like those of spring.
2*74 REVOLUTIONARY READER
For them we wear these trusty arms
And lay them down no more,
Till we have driven the Briton
Forever from our shore.
Mrs. F. H. Orme, Atlanta Chapter, D. A. R.
"LIGHT HORSE HARRY."
The Lee family was illustrious both in England and
America. They clearly trace their ancestry to the Norman
Conquest, Launcelot Lee being the founder of the family.
The Lees were prominent in English history down to the
colonization of this country. Robert E. Lee is descended
from Richard Lee, a younger son of the Earl of Litchfield,
who was sent to this country in 1641 during the reign of
Charles I. He came as colonial secretary under Sir Wil-
liam Berkeley. He was loyal to the royal party during the
struggle between the Cavaliers and Roundheads. Richard
Lee, second son of the Richard mentioned above, was born
in Virginia in 1646 and educated in England and studied
law. He took an active part in colonial legislation. His
son, Thomas, was the first to establish himself in West-
moreland County. He was very prominent in the early
history of the state. The fine mansion of Stratford was
built for him by the East India company, and several of
the prominent Lees were born in that home. Henry Lee,
the son of Richard Lee, filled no prominent place in colonial
history. He married a Miss Bland and had three children,
the second son being Henry, who married a Miss Grymes
in 1753. He left six sons and five daughters, the third son
being Henry, the ancestor of R. E. Lee. He went to Prince-
ton and was preparing to study law when hostilities with
England changed his plans. When quite young he raised a
company of cavalry and soon after the battle of Lexington
joined Washington's forces. He soon became noted as an
able leader and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel and had command of "Lee's Legion," consisting
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 275
of infantry and cavalry. He was actively engaged in the
service to the close of the war and was conspicuous in this
state for some time. Owing to his rapid movements he was
known as "Light Horse Harry." About 1781 he married
his cousin, a daughter of Colonel Philip Ludwell Lee, of
Stratford. Four children were born to them, all of whom
died except one son. The wife died in 1790. He was elec-
ted to congress and afterwards was governor of Virginia.
He next married Miss Anne Hill Carter, daughter of
Charles Carter, of Shirley. He again entered political life
and was elected to the general assembly. The children of his
second marriage were Charles Carter, Sidney Smith,
Robert E., Anne and Mildred. Robert Edward Lee was
born in the Stratford mansion in which two signers of the
Declaration of Independence were born. In 1811 Henry
Lee moved to Alexandria to educate his children. Here
he was made major-general during the war of 1812. He
was the author of "First in war, first in peace, first in the
hearts of his countrymen," when pronouncing a eulogy on
Washington. His health failed in 1817 and he was induced
to make a trip to the West Indies, but finding that he was
not benefited, he returned and landed on the coast of Geor-
gia, where he enjoyed the hospitality of a daughter of his
old friend, General Nathaniel Greene, who was living in
the family residence on Cumberland Island. After linger-
ing a short time he died and was buried there, March
25, 1818.
General A. C. Long wrote the memoirs of R. E. Lee.
He publishes an incident which occurred in 1862, when
Lee was sent to this state to examine our lines and means
of defense. General Long accompanied him. When they
reached Savannah General Lee secured a vessel and went
to Cumberland Island. He had the boat anchored and the
two went on shore. They entered the old Greene mansion,
which was in bad condition. Going through that to the
rear, General Lee went alone to an old neglected cemetery.
After that he returned with a flower in his hand, but never
276 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
spoke a word about the visit to his father's grave. In
silence he showed his reverence ; with his usual modesty he
refrained from speaking about it. From that old cemetery
on Cumberland Island the body of "Light Horse Harry"
Lee, ninety-five years after his death, was carried back to
his old Virginia home and laid in its final resting place.
OUR LEGACY.
Our brave Forefathers : give them place
In Hall of Fame the Nation's heart;
They met the foe, aye face to face:
Each man a hero, did his part
Invincible to fear, and wrought
For us and ours, beyond his thought.
fair Republic: pride and boast
Of children who cannot forget
From lake to gulf, from coast to coast
Where waves the Flag with colors set
In patriot blood, which ne'er shall fade
That Flag is ows, its price they paid.
We, daughters of a loyal line,
Would weave their deathless deeds in song,
With memory's fairest flowers entwine
Sweet garlands which shall linger long,
Who die for Grod and Country share
Immortal honors other-where.
Hannah A. Foster in American Monthly Magazine
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 277
THE RIDE OF MARY SLOCUMB.
In the prologue to "The Princess," Tennyson makes
one of the group of collegemates assembled during the
holiday season at Vivian Place find in an old chronicle the
story of a brave woman whom a wild king besieged. But
she armed
"Her own fair head, and sallying through the gate,
Had beat her foes with slaughter from the walls."
"When this story was read to the ladies present, one of
the men asked: "Where lives there such a woman now?"
To which
"Quick answer'd Lilia 'There are thousands now
Such women, but convention beats them down.' "
On the first day of February, 1776, General McDonald,
chief of the McDonald clan in the Cape Fear region, issued
a proclamation, calling upon all true and loyal Highlanders
to join his standard at Cross Creek, now Fayetteville, and
prepare to assist General Clinton and Governor Martin in
maintaining the king's authority in the province of North
Carolina. About fifteen or sixteen hundred of them obeyed
the summons. From Cross Creek they marched down the
Cape Fear River until they came to Moore's creek, where
they were met on February 27th by a Whig force about a
thousand strong under the command of Richard Caswell,
The following from a letter from Caswell to Cornelius
Harnett shows the result of the meeting:
"I have the pleasure to acquaint you that we had an engage-
ment with the Tories, at Widow Moore's creek bridge, on the 27th
current. Our army was about one thousand strong, consisting of
the Newbern Battalion of Minute Men, the militia from Craven,
Johnston, Dobbs and Wake, and a detachment of the Wilmington
Battalion of Minute Men, which we found encamped at Moore's
Creek the night before the battle, under the command of Colonel
Lillington. The Tories by common report were three thousand,
but General MacDonald, whom we have prisoner, says there were
278 REVOLUTIONARY READER
about fifteen or sixteen hundred; he was unwell that day and not
in the battle. Captain McLeod, who seemed to be principal com-
mander, and Captain John Campbell, are among the slain."
This was the first pitched battle of the Revolution won
by the Whigs; the only victories of an earlier date being
the capture of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point on
May 10, 1775. It would be difficult to overestimate the im-
portance of the victory. Besides the capture of about 900
prisoners and 2,000 stands of arms of which the Americans
stood in great need, the crushing of the Tory spirit and the
corresponding rise of the Whig spirit, meant untold
strength to the cause of freedom.
But it is not the political nor the military result of this
battle with which this story is to deal. With the foregoing
as an introduction, it is interesting now to turn to the story
of the heroine of Moore's creek, Mary Slocumb.
Mary Slocumb was the young wife of Ezekiel Slocumb,
of Wayne County. He afterwards became a prominent
member of the house of commons, serving in the session of
1812 to 1818. She was but yet a girl when her husband
rode away from home to join Caswell in crushing McDonald
and the enemies of liberty. The men of that section, more
than eighty strong, rode away one calm Sunday morning,
under the lead of Slocumb. Before the long ride was
begun, his young wife went out with the colonel to inspect
the men. She says that she looked at them well, and could
see that every man meant mischief. No doubt it was a
sturdy, stern and determined band that rode away that day
to battle for their rights. These men rode away in high
spirits, some to a glorious death, some to a glorious victory ;
none to defeat or dishonor.
It is easy to imagine what a long, lonely day the young
wife had at home that quiet Sabbath day; it is easy to
imagine where her thoughts were ; it is easy to imagine how
she concealed the anxiety of her heart under the assumed
cheerfulness of her face. "I slept soundly and quietly that
night, ' ' she says, ' ' and worked hard all the next day ; but
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 279
I kept thinking where they had got to, how far, where and
how many of the regulars and Tories they would meet;
and I could not keep from that study."
Going to bed in this anxious state of mind, her sleep was
disturbed by a terrible dream. She seemed to see lying on
the ground, surrounded by the dead and wounded, a body,
motionless, bloody, ghostly, wrapped in her husband's
cloak. With a cry of alarm she sprang to her feet into the
middle of the room. So vivid was the impression that it
remained with her even after she awakened from sleep
and in rushing forward to the place where the vision ap-
peared, she ran into the side of the house. The light was
dim ; all around was quiet arid peaceful, but her heart kept
up a great commotion. "If ever I felt fear," she says, "it
was at that moment. ' ' The more she reflected on the vision
the more vivid and more fearful it became, until at last she
could bear the suspense no longer and starting up she
said aloud:
' ' I must go to him. ' '
In the stable was her favorite and own particular horse,
"as fleet and easy a nag is ever traveled." In an instant,
leaving her baby and the house in the care of the nurse,
she rushed out to the barn, saddled her mare, and in less
time than it takes to tell it, was flying down the road at
full speed.
The night air was cool; the spirit of the race was in
the nag; and mile after mile was quickly left behind, as
the sound of her rapidly falling hoofs fell clear and distinct
in the quiet night air. All alone, urged onward by love and
fear, this brave little woman swept on through the dark
night, dashing over bridges, whirling through dark woods,
flashing past farm houses, until when the sun began to
appear in the east thirty miles lay between her and her
quiet home. Shortly after sunrise she passed a group of
women and children anxiously awaiting news from the
troops. From these she learned the exact route taken by
Caswell and with only a few minutes' stop she was again
280 REVOLUTIONARY READER
skimming over the ground. There was no flagging in her
spirits, nor those of the mare. On the contrary, the excite-
ment became more and more intense the nearer they got to
the end of their journey. It seemed as if the woman had
infused her spirits into the horse.
The sun was well up when a new excitement was added
to the race she heard a sound like thunder rolling and
rumbling in the distance. She pulled her mare up sud-
denly. What was it? Though she had never heard the
sound before, she knew it must be the roar of the cannon ;
and as she thought of what it meant, the blood coursed
more rapidly than ever through her veins; she was more
than ever impatient to be on the scene, and away she dashed
again. But then a thought rushed into her mind that for
a moment made her feel very foolish to be here so far
away from home and child, on what might after all be but
a fool's errand.
"What a fool I am," she thought. "My husband could
not be dead last night, if the battle is only fighting now. ' '
But she had come too far now to turn back and so she
pressed on faster than before. As she drew nearer, she
could hear the roar of the deadly muskets, the fatal rifles,
and the triumphant shouts of the victors. But from which
side did they come ? Did those shouts mean the defeat of
her husband ; or did they mean his triumph ? This was the
most trying moment of all this terrible suspense. If it
was his victory, then he would rejoice to have her share
his glory; if his defeat, then he would need her to soothe
his sufferings ; so on she pressed to share Math him weal or
woe. Crossing the Wilmington road a few hundred yards
below the bridge, she saw a clump of trees under which
were lying perhaps twenty wounded men. What was this
she saw? Her blood froze in her veins; her heart leapt to
her mouth, for there was the vision realized. The scene
before her she know it as well as if she had seen it a
thousand times ; the spot, the trees, the position of the men,
the groans of the wounded, and her sight fell upon a body
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 281
lying in the midst of the group, her brain became dizzy,
and the world seemed whirling around her at the rate of
ten thousand miles a second there lay a body, motionless,
bloody, ghostly, wrapped in her husband's cloak. Her
whole soul became centered in that one spot. "How I
passed from my saddle to this place I never knew," she
said afterwards ; but in some way she succeeded in reaching
the body, and mechanically uncovered the head. She saw
before her an unrecognizable face crusted with dust and
blood from a gash across the temple. What a relief to her"
aching heart was the strange voice which begged her for a
drink of water! Her senses came back to her at once so
she was able to minister to the sufferer's wants. She gave
him a swallow as she held the drooping head in her lap ; and
with what remained of the water, bathed the dirt and gore
from the face. From the ghastly crust came the pale face
of one of her neighbors, Frank Cogdell. Under the gentle
care of his nurse, he revived enough to speak, and when
she attempted to dress the wound on the head, he managed
to gasp out:
"It's not that; it's the hole in my leg that's killing me."
Lifting the wounded leg from the puddle of blood in
which it lay she gently cut away the trousers and stock-
ings and found a shot hole through the fleshy part of the
limb. What nerve it must have taken for this young girl,
unused to such work, alone, without help or advice, to go
through with the painful ordeal. But she was of the stuff
of which North Carolina moulds her heroes, and she did
not flinch from her duty. Gathering a handful of heart
leaves, the only thing in sight suitable for binding the
wound, she tied these tight to the hole and the bleeding
stopped. No sooner had she completed this pressing duty,
than she turned to others of the unfortunate men who lay
in pain and need and, as she says, "dressed the wounds of
many a brave fellow who did good fighting long after that
day." During all this time, the first anxiety for her hus-
band relieved, she had not had time to make inquiries after
282 REVOLUTIONARY READER
him, but with true heroism devoted herself to the more
pressing duties of the moment. While she was busily
engaged in bringing home to these poor fellows the bless-
ings of a woman's care, General Caswell rode up. With
great surprise at seeing Mrs. Slocumb, he raised his hat and
was about to address her with a compliment, when she
interrupted him with the question :
' ' Where is my husband ? ' '
"Where he ought to be, madam; in pursuit of the
enemy. But pray, how came you here?"
"Oh," she replied, carelessly, "I thought you would
need nurses as well as soldiers. See ! I have dressed many
of these good fellows. " Then pointing to Frank Cogdell,
she continued, "Here is one who would have died before
any of you men could have helped him." As she spoke
she lifted Frank's head in her arms and gave him a drink
of water. When she raised her head, there before her stood
her astonished husband, "as bloody as a butcher and as
muddy as a ditcher."
"Why, Mary," he exclaimed, "what are you doing
there, hugging Frank Codgell, the greatest reprobate in
the army?"
"I don't care," she cried. "Frank is a brave fellow, a
good soldier and a true friend of congress. ' '
"True, true, every word of it," exclaimed Caswell, who
stood by much amused at the scene. "You are right,
madam," with a bow that would have shamed Chesterfield
himself.
Mrs. Slocumb says she could not tell her husband what
had brought her there. "I was so happy," she says, "and
so were all. It was a glorious victory; I came just at the
height of the enjoyment. I knew my husband was sur-
prised, but I could see that he was not displeased with me. ' '
It was of course long into the night before the excite-
ment sudsided. The news spread like wild fire, and the
Whigs all over the country heard it with rejoicing and
thanksgiving ; and everywhere the news of the victory was
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 283
heard, went also the story of the heroine, her brave ride,
her heaven-sent aid, her soothing care of the wounded and
suffering. Many a soldier breathed a prayer of thanks
for the vision which came to her and for her courageous
response. But the prettiest side of the story is the simple
and unaffected way in which she looked upon her act.
Nothing of force or beauty can be added to her own simple
and touching words about her return home. After staying
in camp long enough to offer intercession in behalf of the
unfortunate prisoners and to receive assurance from
Caswell that they would be well treated, she prepared to
start home. "In the middle of the night," she says simply,
without thinking apparently of her course, "I again
mounted my mare, and started home. Caswell and my hus-
band wanted me to stay till next morning and they would
send a party with me, but no ! I wanted to see my child,
and told them they could send no party that could keep up
with me. What a happy ride I had back ! and with what
joy did I embrace my child as he ran to meet me!"
This is a story full of meaning and significance to him
who loves his state ; who admires her noble women, and
brave men; who glories in her heroic deeds and great
achievements. As long as the old North State can produce
such women as Mary Slocumb, she need entertain no fears
as to what her men will be. R. D. W. CONNOR, Wilming-
ton, N. C., in American Monthly Magazine.
284 REVOLUTIONARY READER
THE HOBSON SISTERS.
"Come in girls, I'll find her. She just knows every-
thing about everybody's grand parents. Oh, Grand-
mother!" called Agnes, as she ushered the bevy of girls
about her own age into the cherry sitting room, one Octo-
ber afternoon, and ran to tell her grandmother of her
visitors.
It did not require a second call for Mrs. Martin to
respond, and in her quaint way she cordially greeted her
youthful quests, well known to her and her grand-daugh-
ter's friends, "Elizabeth," "Mary" and "Lucy Kent."
When the customary salutations and courteous inquiries
had been exchanged, Lucy Kent, anxious to make known
the object of their visit, explained:
"Agnes said you knew everything about everybody's
ancestors, and our teacher told us today that we must bring
in tomorrow our lines of descent, as far back as we could
trace ; also tell any family tradition or any incident in the
lives of our ancestors in connection with the war of the
Revolution, especially, she said, anything the women did."
' ' I don 't see how the women could have done anything,
when it was all fighting. ' ' added Mary, as if in apology.
And I said, "Grandmother, you could tell us, because
I had heard you go over it all, way back to Adam," said
Agnes reassuringly.
"Not quite so far back, my dear, yet I can give each
of you some interesting accounts of your ancestors, but the
story would have to be a long one and you might weary of
it, ' ' said Mrs. Martin hesitatingly.
"Oh do, Grandmother," pleaded Agnes.
"But Wednesday is my day for darning the stockings,
and"
"Oh, we'll darn the stockings, so do begin," exclaimed
several voices in chorus, and a rush was made for the
sewing basket, and then the little girls sat demurely, wait-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 285
ing to hear the promised story, industriously plying the
needle, and filling the holes with the thread.
"This portrait that you see here on the wall," began
Mrs. Martin, pointing to the one in front of them, "is the
grandmother of my grandmother. She is one of the Hob-
son sisters and you, Anges, are seventh in direct line of
descent from her through the Bacons and Carrs and Wares.
It is a singular coincidence that you and your little friends
here, all come from this same family of Hobson. 'Birds
of a feather flocking together,' " chuckled the old lady,
evidently pleased to see the friendship existing between the
children in this generation, who were representatives of
one of the best Georgia families and of the staunchest and
truest supporters of the cause of American Independence.
"These Hobsons, " continued she, "were daughters
and sons of Nicholas Hobson, of Lunenburg County, Vir-
ginia, son of Matthew Hobson, of Henrico. As you already
know, Georgia was largely settled by colonists from Vir-
ginia. It is not surprising to find the younger members of
the Hobson family removing later to Georgia, for young
folks are always looking for the best place to locate, and
this is what the husbands and wives in the Hobson family
did, moved to Georgia and located at Augusta. ' '
"But you were telling about the portrait," interposed
Mary. ' ' Is she Agnes Hobson ? ' '
"Yes, Agnes Hobson, born July 4th, 1740, and wife of
William Bacon, born January 29, 1732, who was a Revolu-
tionary soldier, and a member of the Provincial Congress
1775, as was also his brother John Bacon. Agnes had
sisters Elizabeth, Sarah, Obedience, Mary and Margaret,
and brothers Matthew, William, Nicholas and John Hob-
son. Ten children in the Hobson family, in the home in
Lunenburg County, Virginia. My! what fine men and
women, with the love of country, and the sacredness of the
cause of freedom instilled in their hearts from infancy."
"Well, what did Agnes Hobson do?" questioned Mary.
286 REVOLUTIONABY READER
' ' I was just about to tell you Mary, men and women are
great and are heroic when they can rise to meet the occas-
ion which necessity presents. So at this particular crisis
in the affairs during the war of the Revolution, it became
necessary to convey a message from Colonel Clark, in Geor-
gia, to General Nathaniel Greene, who was then in South
Carolina. In 1781, the British being in possession of Au-
gusta, General Greene determined to march into South
Carolina, and Colonel Clark and McCall proceeded to
co-operate by annoying the British posts in Georgia. Gen-
eral Clark determined in May to attack. This information
must be conveyed to General Greene at once. As the enemy 's
line would have to be crossed, it would not be possible to
send the despatch by a man with the hope that he would
ever reach General Greene alive. He would not only be
held as a prisoner, but searched and probably hung. In
those days petticoats were flags of truce. So, here was a
woman's opportunity. But what woman would? In those
days the country's affairs were freely and intelligently
discussed by men and women, and there were no braver
women than the Hobsons. Nothing daunted, Agnes volun-
teered to convey the despatch. Her brother-in-law,
Nathaniel Bacon, had gone to South Carolina to assist
Colonel Pickens who was maneuvering between Augusta
and Ninety Six. Nathaniel was a Captain in Pickens'
Brigade. She would reach him and through him convey
this message to General Greene's headquarters. With the
papers safely folded in her bosom she plunged into the
swollen current of the Savannah River, and borne by her
trusty horse, reached the Carolina shore in safety. Reach-
ing her destination and fulfilling her mission, she recrossed
the enemy's line, performing the act of a courier, swim-
ming on horse back the Savannah River, and riding many,
many miles unattended, because a woman's service was
needed at this crisis in the war for American Independ-
ence."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 287
' ' Did you say one of these Hobson sisters was my ances-
tor, and did she do anything heroic ? ' ' asked Mary inspired
by this recital.
"Oh, yes" answered Mrs. Martin, "This was Elizabeth,
the wife of Capt. Sherwood Bugg. There is a love story
there."
"A love story" inquired Lucy Kent, "How interesting
it grows ! Please tell us this one. ' '
Grandmother, pleased at her interested audience, con-
tinued her story of the Hobson sisters.
"Elizabeth Hobson, wife of Capt. Sherwood Bugg,
(Legionary Corps, Jackson Legion) came with her husband
and her brothers John and Matthew Hobsoii to Richmond
County, Georgia, 1765-67. John died soon after his arrival
in Georgia. Matthew married Miss Burke. He also lived
in Augusta, was a Revolutionary soldier and an ardent
patriot. It was at his house that the Executive Council
met after the capture of Savannah by the British. It is
said that General Washington was the guest of Matthew
Hobson during his stay in Augusta, while on his triumphant
tour through Georgia and the South."
"Elizabeth Hobson was no less a heroine than was her
sister Agnes, nor less a patriot than were her brothers
Matthew, William and Nicholas. Her house on her planta-
tion, near Augusta, Beech Island, she converted into a
refuge and hospital for the patriots and Continental Sol-
diers, where they were cared for and nursed back to health.
Among these patriots were Colonels Clark and McCall, and
Major Carter, who in spite of the care bestowed upon him
died there from his wounds. Another, Colonel John Jones,
of Burke County, received the tenderest treatment at the
home of Mrs. Bugg. Colonel Jones had received eight
sabre cuts on the head and was desperately wounded at
Earle Fort, on the Pacolet River, during the night attack
by the British and Tories. During his illness at Beech
Island, his brother Abraham Jones and sister Sallie Jones
came to visit him. The acquaintance thus brought about
288 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
between the Jones and Bugg families, culminated later in
the marriage of two couples. Sarah Ann Jones married
young Shirwood Bugg, and following their example Abram
Jones married Sally Bugg. From these descended the
Phinizys and Hamiltons and Jones and Lamars, from
whom you, Elizabeth and Mary and Lucy Kent are de-
scended. ' '
"You said, grandmother, that 'Ned Brace' of 'The
Georgia Scenes, ' came from the Hobson sisters, ' ' reminded
Agnes, anxious that nothing be left untold.
"So he did; 'Ned Brace,' who was Edmund Bacon, was
a grandson of Obedience Hobson, who married John Bacon.
I spoke of him in the beginning as the brother of William
Bacon, who married Agnes Hobson, and there is a sweet
story tradition which tells of Obedience. On one occasion
she was approached by a British officer, who had reason to
believe that Obedience knew the whereabouts of her hus-
band, John Bacon. 'Do you know where he is?' sternly
demanded the officer as he leveled his gun at her head.
'Yes,' replied Obedience, not daring to tell a lie."
" 'Where?' thundered the officer. Gaining strength
at each stage of their interview, Obedience lifted her head
and replied defiantly :
"I have hid him in my heart and you will have to
kill me to find him. ' '
"Then, there was another sister, Sarah, who married
William Fox. The old people used to speak of them as
'Sister Bacon' and 'Sister Bugg' and 'Sister Fox.'
Margaret married a Telfair and Mary Married William
Bilbo. Nicholas Hobson married Miss de Graffenried and
William, well, my memory fails me now, but I suppose
I have given you tradition and incident sufficient for to-
morrow's lesson, so far as you are personally interested."
"Oh, yes, and thank you so much" exclaimed each of
the circle of friends, and with affectionate goodbyes their
pleasant interview ended. SALLIE MARSHALL MARTIN
HARRISON, Oglethorpe Chapter, Columbus, Ga.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 289
WASHINGTON'S MARCH THROUGH SOMERSET
COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
ADELINE W. VOORHEES STILLWELL.
The battle of Trenton thoroughly aroused General
Howe, who at once collected 7,000 men at Princeton.
Washington had but 5,000 men. On January 3 the battle
of Princeton took place and the Americans were again
victorious, but the men were so completely exhausted that
Washington was forced reluctantly to abandon his project
of capturing the stores at New Brunswick and to seek
the hill country, where his men might obtain the rest and
refreshment they so much needed.
Reforming his columns, the General passed along the
King's Highway to Van-Tillburgh 's Inn, at Kingston,
which was standing not many years ago. Here, turning to
the left on the narrow Rocky Hill road, he marched his
way-worn men down the valley of the Millstone.
Arrayed in the Continental blue and buff as he sat on
his horse with all that martial dignity peculiar to himself,
Washington came as a conqueror, welcomed by the enthusi-
astic populace.
Much of interest appertaining to this march to Morris-
town is to be learned from the manuscript diary of Captain
Thomas Rodney of the Dover Light Infantry, which is pre-
served by his descendants.
When the van of the American army reached the bridge
which spanned the Millstone in front of the residence of
Christopher Hoagland, near Griggstown, the British
cavalry appeared in considerable force on the opposite
bank. The condition of Washington's men was such that
he desired neither~to pursue nor be pursued, so he ordered
the bridge broken up. This being done the enemy was
forced to retire, which would lead one to suppose that the
depth of the river was much greater then than now. Com-
missaries were sent forward to notify the inhabitants of
290 EEVOLUTIONAEY EEADER
the approach of the troops and to direct that food be pre-
pared for their refreshment. The home of Abraham Van
Doren, like many others, was the scene of great excitement
and special activity that day. I quote from a paper read
before the Somerset County Historical Society several years
ago by his great-grandson, Rev. Wm. H. Van Doren:
"Abraham Van Doren was a most prosperous and promi-
nent member of the community. He owned the grist mill
which did a large business between Trenton and New
Brunswick. Besides the mill he owned the store (ruins of
which are still standing), a feed mill, a saw mill, a carding
mill and power loom, a cider mill and distillery, a cooper-
age, a work and wagon shop, two blacksmith shops and a
lath mill, besides six or seven hundred acres of land. The
mills and store houses were filled with flour, grain, whiskey
and lumber, awaiting a favorable opportunity of shipment
to New York. The general 'killing,' as it was called, had
just been finished. The beeves and hogs and other animals
designed for the next year's use had just been laid down,
so that, what had never before occurred in the history of
the settlement, there was now a whole year's labor stored
up, a Providential supply for a great necessity which 110
human wisdom could have foreseen. Before noon the whole
hamlet of Millville, as Griggstown was then called, was
ablaze with excitement and activity. Soon the old Dutch
ovens were roaring hot and bread and pone, shortcake,
mince and other pies, beef, ham and pork, sausage and
poultry, were cooking and roasting to feed the General and
his staff. Not the officers alone, but the whole rank and
file of the army was coming and right royally they
feasted. ' ' There are many interesting traditions which are
cherished in the Van Doren family relating to this visit of
Washington and his army.
As soon as the troops had been fed and had an hour or
two of rest, Washington found that Cornwallis, enraged
that he had been so tricked as to allow his foe to escape
while he slept, and fearing for his military stores at New
EEMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 291
Brunswick, had put his whole army in motion. So hur-
riedly calling his men to "fall in," Washington hastened
with them to Somerset Court House, now Millstone. It was
about dusk and here they encamped for the night. Wash-
ington and some of his staff quartered at the residence of
John Van Doren, which is this house. Here also still stands
the old barn where the General's horse was stabled. Until
recently the house was occupied by a great-grandson of
the man who was the proud host for one night of the
Father of our Country. This family, too, have many
interesting traditions of this memorable visit. We note that
two men by the name of Van Doren, within twenty-four
hours, were honored by being permitted to entertain the
commander-in-chief of the Continental army.
The main body of the army encamped for the night near
the present Dutch Church parsonage, in close proximity to
the Court House, which was afterward burned. Early the
following morning the column was again pushing north-
ward, crossing the Raritan at Van Veghten's bridge, now
Finderne. Not far from this bridge stood the old First
Dutch Church of the Raritan on the ground donated by
Michael Van Veghten, whose tombstone is still standing in
the little "God's Acre," which surrounded the edifice.
This building, like the Court House, was burned with all
the priceless records by General Simcoe's men.
Rodney states that Washington was again tempted to
march to New Brunswick, still having in mind the rich
stores there which would be of such inestimable value to
him. However, again out of consideration for his troops,
he abandoned the project. After crossing at Finderne they
marched up the river to the old road turning west, just
north of Bernard Meyers' house to Tunison's Tavern, now
the "Somerset" in Somerville, field to the right, passed up
Grove Street and continued over the hills to Pluckemin.
The sick and wounded were cared for in the village while
the Lutheran Church was used as a temporary prison for
the captured men.
292 REVOLUTIONARY READER
It was at this time that Leslie, the young British officer
who had been wounded and so tenderly cared for by Dr.
Rush of Philadelphia, having died, was laid to rest with full
military honors. Many of us have seen the stone in the
church yard at Pluckemin which marks his resting place.
Sunday, January 5, 1777, was a great day for Plucke-
min. News of Washington 's presence, and that of his army,
quickly spread throughout the surrounding country, and
we can well imagine the eagerness with which the people
flocked in to get the latest news of the war and perchance
of their loved ones. The Mathew Lane house is said to be
the house where the General was quartered.
Early on the morning of January 6 Pluckemin lost, sud-
denly as it had gained, the distinction of being the head-
quarters of the army.
Rested and refreshed, it was probably the most peace-
ful and satisfactory march experienced since leaving Hack-
ensack three months before with Cornwallis at their heels.
Secure now from pursuit the little army in good heart
travelled slowly along the narrow road called the Great
Road from Inman's Ferry, New Brunswick, passing Bed-
minster Church to Bedminster. Some authorities say they
then crossed the north branch of the Raritan at Van der
Veer's Mills, but Mr. Joshua Doughty, of Somerville, who
seldom makes an assertion which he cannot prove by the
records, tells me that they did not cross the river at that
point, but filed to the right, going through "Muggy Hol-
low," the road which Lord Sterling used in going from
his place to the sea shore at Amboy; then passing through
Liberty Corner and Basking Ridge, with frequent halts,
they climbed the Bernards hills to Vealtown, Bernards-
ville, and on to New Vernon, and just as the sun was sink-
ing in the west reached Morristown. After a weary pil-
grimage they were for the time being safe in winter quar-
ters. American Monthly Magazine.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 293
HANNA ARNETT.
BY MRS. MARY LOCKWOOD.
The days were dark and hopeless, the hearts of our
forefathers were heavy and cast down. Deep, dark des-
pondency had settled upon them. Defeat after defeat had
followed our army until it was demoralized, and despair
had taken possession of them. Lord Cornwallis, after his
victory at Fort Lee, had marched his army to Elizabeth-
town, New Jersey, and there encamped. This was in that
memorable December, 1776. The Howe brothers had
already issued their celebrated proclamation, that offered
protection to all that would seek refuge under the British
flag within sixty days and declare themselves British sub-
jects, and take an oath binding themselves to not take up
arms against the mother country or induce others to do so.
In one of the many spacious homes of the town, there
had assembled a goodly number of the foremost men of the
time to discuss the feasibility of accepting the proffered
proclamation. We are much inclined to the belief that en-
thusiasm, bravery, indomitable courage and patriotism
were attributes that took possession of our forefathers and
held on to them until they became canonized beatitudes,
upon which the sires alone had a corner, but we find on
close scrutiny that there were times when manly hearts
wavered, and to courage was added a prefix, and this was
one of them.
For hours the council went on, the arguments were
sincere, grave but faltering. Some thought that the time
had fully come to accept the clemency offered others shook
their heads, but the talk went on until every soul in the
room had become of one mind, courage, bravery, patriotism,
hope, honor, all were swept away by the flood-tide of dis-
aster.
There was one listener from whom the council had
not heard. In an adjoining room sat Hannah Arnett, the
294 REVOLUTIONARY READER
wife of the host. She had listened to the debate, and when
the final vote was reached she could no longer constrain
herself. She sprang to her feet and, throwing open the
parlor door, in her majesty confronted that group of
counsels.
Picture a large room with a low ceiling, furnished with
the heavily-carved furniture of those days, dimly lighted
by wax candles, and a fire in the huge fire-place. Around a
table sat a group of anxious disheartened-looking men. Be-
fore them stood the fair dame in the antique costume of
the day. Imagination will picture her stately bearing as
she entered into their august presence. The indignant
scorn upon her lips, the flash of her blue eyes, her com-
manding figure and dignified presence brought every man
to his feet.
Consternation and amazement for the moment ruled
supreme. The husband advanced toward her, shocked and
chagrined that his wife had so forgotten herself; that she
should come into the midst of a meeting where politics and
the questions of the hour were being discussed. He would
shield her now. The reproof he would give later on, and
so he was quickly at her side, and whispering, said to her :
"Hannah! Hannah! this is no place for you. We do
not want you here just now. ' '
He would have led her from the room.
She was a mild, amiable woman, and was never known
to do aught against her husband's wishes, but if she saw
him now she made no sign, but turned upon the astonished
group :
' ' Have you made your decision, gentlemen ? ' ' she asked.
' ' I stand before you to know ; have you chosen the part of
men or traitors ? ' '
R was a direct question, but the answer was full of
sophistry, explanation, and excuse.
' ' The case was hopeless, the army was starving, half
clothed and undisciplined, repulses everywhere. We are
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 295
ruined and can stand out no longer against England and
her unlimited resources. ' '
Mrs. Arnett, in dignified silence, listened until they
had finished, and then she asked: "But what if we should
live after all?"
"Hannah! Hannah!" said her husband in distress.
"Do you not see that these are no questions for you? We
are doing what is best for you for all. Women have no
share in these topics. Go to your spinning-wheel and leave
us to settle affairs. My good little wife, you are making
yourself ridiculous. Do not expose yourself in this way
before our friends."
Every word he uttered was to her as naught. Not a
word had she heard; not a quiver of the lip or tremor of
an eyelash. But in the same strangely sweet voice she
asked : ' ' Can you tell me if, after all, God does not let the
right perish, if America should win in the conflict, after
you had thrown yourself on British clemency, where will
you be then ? ' '
' ' Then, ' ' said one, ' ' we should have to leave the country.
But that is too absurd to think of in the condition our
country and our army are. ' '
"Brother," said Mrs. Arnett, "you have forgotten one
thing which England has not, and which we have one
thing which outweighs all England's treasures, and that is
the right. God is on our side, and every volly of our
muskets is an echo of His voice. We are poor, and weak,
and few, but God is fighting for us; we entered into this
struggle with pure hearts and prayerful lips; we had
counted the cost and were willing to pay the price, were
it in our own heart 's blood. And now because for a time the
day is going against us, you would give up all, and sneak
back like cravens to kiss the feet that have trampled upon
us. And you call yourselves men the sons of those who
gave up home and fortune and fatherland to make for
themselves and for dear liberty a resting place in the
wilderness? Oh, shame upon you cowards !"
296 REVOLUTIONARY READER
"Gentlemen," said Arnett, with an anxious look on his
face. "I beg you to excuse this most unseemly interrup-
tion to our council. My wife is beside herself, I think.
You all know her, and know it is not her wont to meddle
in politics, or to bawl and bluster. Tomorrow she will see her
folly, but now I pray your patience."
Her words had already begun to leaven the little man-
hood remaining in their bosoms, but not a word was spoken.
She had turned the light of her soul upon them, and in the
reflection they saw photographed their own littleness of
purpose or want of manly resolve.
She still talked on : " Take your protection if you will ;
proclaim yourselves traitors and cowards, false to your
God ! but horrible will be the judgment you will bring upon
your heads and the heads of those that love you. I tell you
that England will never conquer. I know it, and feel it in
every fibre of my heart. Has God led us so far to desert
now? Will He who led our fathers across the stormy,
wintry sea forsake their children, who have put their trust
in Him ? For me, I stay with my country, and my hand
shall never touch the hand nor my heart cleave to the heart
of him who shames her."
While these words were falling from her lips she stood
before them like a tower of strength, and, turning toward
her husband, she gave him a withering look that sent a
shock through every fibre of his body. Continuing, she
said : ' ' Isaac, we have lived together for twenty years, and
through all of them I have been to you a true and loving
wife ; but I am the child of God and my country, and if you
do this shameful thing I will never own you again as my
husband. ' '
"My dear wife!" answered Isaac, excitedly, "you do
not know what you are saying. Leave me for such a thing
as this!"
"For such a thing as this?"
"What greater cause could there be?" answered the
injured wife. ' ' I married a good man and true, a faithful
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 297
friend, and it needs no divorce to sever me from a traitor
and a coward. If you take your protection you lose your
wife, and I I lose my husband and my home."
The scornful words, uttered in such earnestness; the
pathetic tones in which these last words were spoken ; the
tears that dimmed her sad blue eyes, appealed to the heart
of every man before her. They were not cowards all
through, but the panic sweeping over the land had caught
them also.
The leaven of courage, manliness and resolution had
begun its work. Before these men left the home of Hannah
Arnett that night every man had resolved to spurn the
offered amnesty, and had taken a solemn oath to stand by
their country through good days and bad, until freedom
was written over the face of this fair land.
There are names of men who fought for their country
and won distinction afterward, who were in this secret
council, but the name of Hannah Arnett figures on no roll
of honor.
Where will the ' ' Sons and Daughters of the Revolution ' '
place Hannah Arnett ? American Monthly Magazine.
298 REVOLUTIONARY READER
BUTTON GWINNETT.
Georgia was the youngest of the thirteen original
colonies. At the Provincial Congress which convened in
Savannah, January 20, 1776, there were elected five dele-
gates to the Continental Congress, namely: Dr. Lyman
Hall, Button Gwinnett, George Walton, Archibald Bulloch,
and John Houston. Of these Button Gwinnett, Dr. Lyman
Hall, and George Walton were present at the session of the
National Assembly, which convened in Philadelphia on
May 20th, and pledged Georgia with the United Colonies
on July 4, 1776, by affixing their signatures to the Declar-
ation of Independence.
Button Gwinnett, the subject of this sketch, was said
to have been born in England about 1732. He was a
merchant in Bristol, England, from which place he emi-
grated to America in 1770, located in Charleston, S. C.,
and in 1772 moved to Savannah, Georgia, at which time
he bought a large part of St. Catharine's Island, and en-
gaged in farming. He died tragically on May 27, 1777, as
a result of a pistol shot wound in a duel with General
Lachlan Mclntosh, near Savannah on the morning of May
16, 1777.
The records give only limited information, and from
careful investigation, at times it appears that the state-
ments do not bear out the correct facts with regard to the
biography of Button Gwinnett. In Harper 's ' ' Cyclopaedia
of United States History," Page 190, Vol. 4, the state-
ment is made that Gwinnett was "cautious and doubtful,
and took no part in political affairs until after the Revo-
lutionary War was begun. ' ' Also that Mclntosh challenged
Gwinnett for a duel. Subsequent acts would not indicate
that the first statement conforms to his real temperament,
and it appears from the best obtainable data that Gwinnett
issued the challenge to Mclntosh. It is true that having
been a resident of America only a few years, he was in
some doubt at first as to whether he would support the
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 299
colonies, or throw his influence against them, but he was a
man of strong convictions, ambitious, and possessed of
great force of character, and his brief political career was
meteoric. Unfortunately his strong prejudices and desire
for political preferment led to the tragedy of his premature
death.
He located in Georgia in 1772, was elected a delegate to
the Provincial Congress, which convened in Savannah,
January 20, 1776, and by this congress was made a delegate
to the Continental Congress, which convened in Philadel-
phia, May 20, 1776. July 4, 1776, he signed the Declara-
tion of Independence. He became a member of the Council
of Safety, and was an important factor in framing the
first Constitution of Georgia.
Archibald Bulloch, who was the first President and
Commander-in-Chief of Georgia, died suddenly in Feb.
1777. Button Gwinnett, on March 4th, was elected to fill
this vacancy until a Governor could be duly elected. Col.
Lachlan Mclntosh had been promoted to the rank of
Brigadier-General, and was placed in charge of the Militia
of Georgia. Button Gwinnett was envious of this promo-
tion of General Mclntosh, and through jealousy and
revenge he so interfered with the military affairs as to
seriously jeopardize discipline, and create insubordination
towards General Mclntosh as Commander-in-Chief. Per-
sonally ambitious, Gwinnett planned an expedition against
Florida, and further humiliated and insulted General Mc-
Tntosh by ignoring him as Banking Military Officer of
Georgia, and took command of the expedition himself. It
is a matter of historical record that the expedition was a
complete failure.
John Adams Treutland was elected Governor over
Gwinnett. Mclntosh had become a warm supporter of
Treutland, and openly denounced Button Gwinnett as a
scoundrel. As a result, Gwinnett challenged Mclntosh for
a duel, which was promptly accepted, and fought with
pistols at a distance of eight feet, near Savannah, May 16,
300 REVOLUTIONARY READER
1777. At the first shot both were wounded, Gwinnett's leg
being broken and he fell. It is said he asked his seconds
ta 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 grue-
some 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.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 301
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 Geor-
gia 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 forti-
tude, 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 his-
torical fiction and every patriotic American a deeper vener-
ation 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 accom-
plished the cession of Georgia. Mary Musgrove, an Indian,
the wife of a Carolina planter, negotiated with Tomi-
chichi, the Yamacraw Chief, for the sale of the terri-
tory whose boundaries ran from the Savannah to the Alta-
maha 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.
302 REVOLUTIONARY READER
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 manufac-
turer 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
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 303
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 in-
troduced 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 recog-
nition 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 sculp-
tor'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
304 REVOLUTIONARY READER
political heroine in Georgia, of the Revolution. This
picturesque and remarkable woman was the widow of Tele-
mon 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 dis-
pleasure, 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 trans-
ported to Philadelphia, where her expenses were paid by
the commonwealth of Georgia in recognition of her valu-
able 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 authori-
ties. 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
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 305
manned by her negroes to make the rounds of these floating
prisons and administer such aid and bring such deli-
cacies as she could command to the imprisoned patriots.
This brave and noble woman endeared herself to the Con-
tinental captives and in consequence of these missions of
mercy and her brave solicitude for the unfortunate pris-
oners, 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 impor-
tant 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 op-
portunity 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 romantio
career of Sarah Swinton Mclntosh, nor to depict the quaint
personality of Winnifred Mclntosh, 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
306 EEVOLUTIONARY READER
with the fierce flame of vengeance against the brutal Royal-
ists, 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 con-
sidered 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 sol-
diers, to be nursed back to life again by every kindly
ministration known to the helpful women of these stirring
times.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 307
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 fami-
lies 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 Revolu-
tionary 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.
308 REVOLUTIONARY READER
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-conscious-
ness 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 trooops 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 reckless-
ness. 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 his-
torian, 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
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 309
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 fore-
head 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 horse
back, 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
310 REVOLUTIONARY READER
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 descend-
ed 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 par-
ticular 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
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 311
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.
312 REVOLUTIONARY READER
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. Chil-
ders, 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 Com-
mittee 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 ap-
proach, when the ladies and gentlemen proceeded to form
lines on Bridge Street near the ferry. Owing to the rap-
idity 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 ascend-
ing 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 con-
stant friend of this republic in her revolutionary contest, would
be only to say what had been acknowledged by the past and
present generation.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 313
"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:
"That he was thankful for the manner in which the citizens
of Macon were placed to receive him; that he perfectly accorded
in the opinion that a representative Democracy was the best cal-
culated to secure the liberties of the people, and requested that
the people of Macon would rceeive his thanks for the manner in
which they had been pleased to treat him."
A procession then formed and he was conducted to his
quarters at the Macon Hotel. During the moving of the
procession a national salute was fired. Soon after his
arrival he was waited upon by the ladies, who were in-
dividually introduced to him ; after which every citizen
who wished was introduced, to whom General Lafayette
gave a cordial grasp of the hand.
He was then waited on at his quarters by the brethren
of Macon Lodge, No. 34, and was addressed as follows by
Worshipful Ambrose Baber, Master of the Lodge :
"Brother and General Lafayette: In our humble capacity as
brothers of the mystic union, we welcome you to our infant
314 REVOLUTIONARY READER
village. No triumphal arch, no tinsel show of earthly grandeur
greeted your entry. We offer you a triumph more lasting and
noble the triumph of gratitude.
"Admonished by that resplendent luminary which rules and
governs the day, and imparts an equal lustre on all mankind twice
in every year, that we have all once been and must again be upon
a level, we have ventured to hail your arrival among us, and to
offer you a welcome in unalloyed gratitude, the spontaneous
effusion of our hearts.
"Illustrious benefactor of mankind. What a train of associa-
tions does thy eventful life excite. Companion and associate of
our immortal Washington. Thine efficient arm hath prostrated
oppressive tyranny succored, and relieved distressed and agon-
ized humanity, and established a nation in the full enjoyment of
freedom. The glittering offerings of princes could not dissuade,
nor the appalling frowns of royalty deter you from a life of
benevolent usefulness. The assassins of sanguinary demagogues
nor the loathsome cells of the dungeon mar or destroy your feel-
ings of philanthropy. Unaltered and unchanged didst thou
remain amidst the calamities and vicissitudes which harrassed
thine own distracted country.
"Behold thy compensation. The gratitude of ten millions of
freemen, the applause and admiration of every nation. Even the
wilderness smiles with joy and the savage is gladdened at thy
presence.
"Amidst this jubilee of feeling, permit me to offer you again
the grateful rejoicings of my associates and brethren of the
society of Free Masons, in beholding you among us. Royal
tyranny may condemn, ignorance may reproach and blaspheme
the holy mysteries of our institution; yet with Lafayette for
her support the science of Massonry will continue ti illumine and
harmonize mankind to endless ages. Gratitude must have fled
from the breast of man, humanity lose its refuge on earth, and
memory lose its seat ere the virtuous deeds of the generous,
amiable, distinguished and exemplary Lafayette shall be forgotten.
To which the General replied in an animated manner:
"The very grateful reception I have met among my brethren
demands of me an expression of my most sincere and affection-
ate acknowledgements. Permit me to declare to you particularly,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 315
and the brethren of your Lodge, an unfeigned obligation for
the very flattering regard you have been pleased to express for
me.
"The science of Free Masonry, to which I have for many
years been an humble votary, is wonderfully calculated to alle-
viate the many distresses and calamities to which mankind are
exposed in their variegated and manifold duties in society, and
when I recur to those scenes, to which you have been pleased so
delicately to allude, I am constrained to acknowledge how much
I have been cheered, sustained and animated in the various vicis-
situdes of my life, by the holy precepts and examples of our
institution.
"That you and your Lodge may be blessed with prosperity
and harmony, that the rising town of Macon may continue in
its advancement, that Masonry may flourish, and the citizens
enjoy all the social and intellectual blessings it so eminently
inculcates, I pray you, sir, with the rest of my brethren to accept
as my most sincere and ardent wish."
He remained in town but about two hours and a half,
during which time, he in company with a large number of
our citizens, partook of an excellent dinner prepared by
Mr. Stovall. After dinner the following toast was given by
Edward D. Tracy, Esq. :
"Our illustrious guest the friend of our country, of liberty,
and of man."
To which the General replied, and gave :
"The town of Macon may its prosperity continue to be one
of the strongest arguments in favor of republican institutions."
Very soon after dinner he bade an affectionate adieu to
the gentlemen and ladies around him and resumed his
carriage, at which time another national salute was fired.
He was accompanied by the Committee, Commissioners of
the town and a number of our citizens, on horseback,
several miles on his way. It is understood he intended to
lodge at the Agency; making the whole distance traveled
during the day about sixty miles.
316 REVOLUTIONARY READER
SINGULAR COINCIDENCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE HISTORY
OP LAFAYETTE AND BOLIVAR.
South Carolina was the first place in the United States
in which they both landed, and at no very distant spots
the one near Georgetown, and the other at Charlestown.
Lafayette, a Frenchman, came by the way of France.
Both have most materially contributed to the independence
of the New World the one in North, the other in South
America; and what is most singular, at the very period in
which the one is receiving the homage of national gratitude
in the former the other has succeeded in his efforts for
the cause of freedom in the latter place.
Among the persons who received Gen. Lafayette at Col-
umbia, was Judge Waites, who is the only survivor of the
party that first received him at landing on the soil of South
Carolina, at Gen. Huger's in Georgetown.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 317
YES. TOMORROW'S FLAG DAY.
(Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag Day in the United States.)
When Freedom, from her mountain height,
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night
And set the stars of glory there.
She mingled with the gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure celestial white
With streaklings of the morning light;
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle to bear down,
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land.
Majestic monarch of the cloud,
Who rear'st aloft thy regal form
To hear the tempest trumpings loud
And see the lightning lances driven,
When strive the warriors of the storm
,And rolls the thunder drum of heaven ;
Child of the sun, to thee 'tis given
To guard the banner of the free,
To hover in the sulphur smoke,
To ward away the battle stroke,
And bid its blendings shine afar,
Like rainbows on the cloud of war,
The harbingers of Victory.
Flag of the brave, thy folds shall fly,
The sigh of hope and triumph high,
When speaks the signal trumpet tone,
And the long line comes gleaming on.
Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,
Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,
Each soldier eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born glories burn,
And as his springing steps advance,
Catch war and vengeance from the glance ;
318 REVOLUTIONARY READER
And when the cannon mouthings loud
Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,
And gory sabres rise and fall,
And cowering foes shall shrink beneath
Each gallant arm that strikes Tjelow
That lovely messenger of death.
Flag of the seas, on oceans wave
Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;
When death, careering in the gale,
Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,
And frighted waves rush wildly back
Before the broadside's reeling rack,
Each dying wanderer of the sea
Shall look at once to heaven and thee,
And smile to see thy splendors fly
Iii triumph o'er his closing eye.
Flag of the free heart's hope and home,
By angel hands to valor given,
The stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever float that standard sheet!
Where breathes a foe but falls before us,
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us?
Drake.
It was here that Betsy Ross designed and made the
first American flag- the original Old Glory.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 319
FLAG DAY.
Hats off! This is The Flag's birthday. The banner of
blue, crimson and white, is one hundred and thirty-six
years old, 1913. Honor the colors today. The flag repre-
sents more than just stars and stripes. It represents the
history of the Great Republic from its cradle to this very
moment :
"Sea fights and land fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and save the State;
Weary marches and sinking ships,
Cheers of victory on dying lips.
Sign of a nation, great and strong,
To ward her people from foreign wrong.
Pride and glory and honor all
Live in the colors, to stand or fall."
Throughout the country the D. A. R. 's are celebrating
this great anniversary of our flag. Honor the flag. It
belongs to every American citizen, whether we live under
Northern or Southern skies, whether the American spirit is
enthroned over civilization struggles with its problems
upon the shores of the Pacific, or turns to problems as grave
on this side.
And we are conquering the world under the emblem of
Old Glory. The world turns to us as the maker of Peace,
the mightiest since civilization's dawning, for genuine
rule those ' ' common people, ' ' of whom Lincoln said, ' ' The
Lord must love them, he made so many."
The first flag hoisted on American soil about which we
have any authentic record, was that seen by the earliest
voyagers to our coasts. They found that the North Ameri-
can Indians carried a pole covered with wing feathers of
the eagle as a standard.
Columbus, when he landed, October 12th, 1492, on the
island of San Salvador, unfurled upon the shores of the
320 REVOLUTIONARY READER
new world the first European banners. The son of Colum-
bus records that his father, dressed in scarlet, came ashore
with the royal standard of Isabella emblazoned with the
arms of Castile and Leon. He planted this standard to-
gether with its companion, a white flag with a green cross,
on this small island. In the pictures of the ships of the
time of Columbus these flags may be seen streaming from
the ship 's mast.
In 1499, the Eastern coast of South America was ex-
plored by the Florentine, Amerieus Vespucius. About the
same time the Cabots planted the banners of England and
of St. Mark of Venice on the North American shores.
The Red Cross of St. George was first raised on Ameri-
can shores at Jamestown, Virginia, in May 1607 and when
the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620 there floated
from the mast of the Mayflower also the red cross of St.
George. Our Pacific coast had been visited in the preceding
century by Francis Drake, in his voyage around the world.
Into the New York Harbor sailed Hudson with the Dutch
flag, a tri-color, orange, white and blue. This banner, with
the letters W. I. C., floated over Manhattan Island, pro-
claiming the rights of the Dutch West India Company.
About the same time the Swedes floated their royal banner
in the sunlight on the banks of the Delaware. This colony
from the frozen north of Europe was so charmed with our
country that to Cape Horn they gave the name of Paradise
Point, and called their little settlement Christiana, after
their far-away Queen.
During the period of our history known as Colonial and
Provincial, the English flag was used from Maine to Geor-
gia, with various devices and mottoes. Some flags were all
red, with horizontal stripes, or red and blue stripes. Others
were red, blue, white or yellow. The flags so frequently
mentioned in the newspapers of 1774, were the ordinary
English ensigns, bearing the Union Jack. These almost
always bore a patriotic motto like "Liberty," "Liberty
and Property," and "Liberty and Union."
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 321
So I could go on and dwell on the different flags, but I
must hurry to our own, our native flag.
It is not generally known, and comes as a surprise to
many, that the stars and stripes is one of the oldest National
flags in existence, France being next; and England's pres-
ent flag was not adopted until 1801.
The anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and
Stripes by the Continental Congress, June 14th, 1777,
should be observed by every American citizen.
In the year 1775, Congress appointed a Committee, of
which Franklin was chairman, to consider and devise a
national flag. This resulted in the adoption of the ' ' King 's
colors, ' ' so called, as a union or corner stone, while thirteen
stripes of alternate red and white stood as at present.
This flag was publicly accepted, recognized and saluted at
Washington's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., January
2, 1776, from which fact it was often called the "Cam-
bridge Flag," though sometimes the "Flag of the Union."
After the Declaration of Independence this flag lost its
point, as nobody except the Tories wanted to see "King's
colors." So in the Spring of 1777, Congress appointed
another committee to design another suitable flag. George
Washington and Robert Morris were members of the com-
mittee. So Washington and Robert Morris called upon
Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, and
from a pencil drawing of General Washington 's, Mrs. Ross
made the first flag. She suggested six pointed stars instead
of five as Washington suggested and sketched. He accepted
her suggestion, and so the flag was made.
Most interesting is the fact that the making of the
American flag is largely woman 's work. That the manufac-
ture of flags has grown to be a large industry is proven by
the fact that every year enough flags, great and small, are
made to give one to every man, woman and child in the
United States. Betsy Ross made flags for the government
for many years; after her death, in 1836, her daughter,
Mrs. Clarissa Wilson, succeeded to the business. Miss
322 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Sarah Wilson, great granddaughter of Betsey Ross, still
makes duplicates of the original flag.
The great battle ships that are steaming around the
world, flying our flag under circumstances that have made
the nation assume a new importance in the eyes of millions
who never before knew much about us, have the proper flag.
It would never do for the American Government to fly an
incorrect American Flag. It is a huge task to replace all
the banners used. These are the facts, that keep busy
hands at work, guiding the electrically driven sewing
machines that take 3600 stitches a minute. Even though
the machine that cuts the stars for the silk and wool bunt-
ing flags can create three thousand an hour, its operators
have plenty to do. The stripes are cut from great rolls of
colored bunting or silk, sometimes by skilled operatives,
and again by machinery. The unions are cut in the same
way. The stars are first pinned on the unions, and then
sewed by machinery. That is, so far as the bunting flags
are concerned. The silk flags are wholly hand work, even
to the cutting out of the stars. The latter are embroidered
on the blue field and then all the extra cloth is deftly
scissored away.
The major number of small flags is printed. This is
accomplished by the aid of the engraver and presses some-
thing like those on which newspapers are printed. Even
in this mechanical work, women are found to be more
serviceable than men. It always has been their field, and
seems likely to so remain. There has been almost as much
of an evolutionary process in the manufacture, as in the
arrangement of the American flag.
On the same day that Congress adopted the stars and
stripes, John Paul Jones received command of the Ranger,
in Portsmouth. He immediately displayed the new flag
at the main top, probably being the first person to hoist
these colors over a United States warship. Jones is said
to have remarked, pointing to the flag, "That flag and I
are twins ; we cannot part in life or in death. So long as
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 323
we will float, we will float together; if we must sink, we
shall go down as one. ' '
The first recognition of our flag was by the flag of
France. The first display over military forces took place
on August 2, 1777, at Fort Stanwix, afterward Schuyler,
New York. The fort was besieged by the British ; its garri-
son had no colors, so they manufactured a standard of the
approved pattern. They cut up their shirts as white
material ; for stars and stripes, an officer 's coat supplied the
blue ; and small sections of red flannel undergarments fur-
nished the third color. It is said that the flag thus pieced
together was greeted with great enthusiasm and warmly
defended.
The following September the stars and stripes were
first displayed in battle at Brandywine. They first waved
over a captured port at Nassau in the succeeding January.
It was first borne around the world by Capt. John Ken-
drick, of the Ship Columbia, sailing from Boston in 1787.
It had first been displayed in China, three years before, by
Captain John Green, of the Empress. When the first ship
appeared flying the Stars and Stripes, the new flag excited
much interest and curiosity among the people of Canton.
A strange new ship had arrived in port, they said, bearing
a flag as beautiful as a flower, and everybody wanted to see
the flower-flag ship. By this name of Flower-Flag the
Chinese continued for many years to speak of our ensign,
and its poetic beauty has often appealed to our own people.
The sobriquet which appeals most strongly to the nation
as a whole seems to be that of "Old Glory." Captain
Stephen Driver was the first man to christen our flag ' ' Old
Glory." He was born at Salem, Mass., March 17, 1803.
Just before he sailed on the brig Charles Doggett, in the
year 1831, he was presented with a large American flag.
As it was hoisted he called it "Old Glory" and this was
the name he evermore used for it. This flag was always
with the Captain on the sea and when he retired, he carried
it home with him to Nashville, Tenn. His fondness for his
324 REVOLUTIONARY READER
flag was widely known, as also his being a Union man.
During the late unpleasantness his neighbors desired to
get hold of this particular flag but they searched his house
and all in vain. The Captain had made a comforter out of
it, having quilted the Old Glory with his own hands. He
made his comforter his bed fellow. When peace was re-
stored, he took the flag to the Capitol Building in Nash-
ville. As he saw it on top of the building he exclaimed,
"Now that Old Glory is up there, gentlemen, I am ready
to die." He died in Nashville in 1886.
The original flag made by Betsy Ross remained un-
changed until 1795. At this time, two new states had been
added to the Union, Vermont and Kentucky, and it became
evident some recognition of these States should appear upon
the flag. Accordingly the number of stars was changed
from thirteen to fifteen, though much opposition was shown
to this change.
For twenty-three years the flag of thirteen stripes was
the national standard. Under this banner, the United States
fought and won three wars to maintain her existence. They
were the wars with France in 1799, with the Barbary
States in 1801, and with England in 1812. This was the
"Star Spangled Banner" in honor of which Francis Scott
Key composed our national song. A large national flag
is kept floating over the grave of Francis Scott Key and is
never taken down except to be replaced by a new one. This
was the flag under which the good ship Constitution sailed.
In the year 1818, the number of States had increased
to twenty, and five were in no way represented in the flag.
Congress finally decided to have thirteen stripes, and a
provision that for every State added to the Union a new
star should appear in the galaxy upon the blue field, and
that this star should appear upon the Fourth of July
next following the admission of the new State. By this
happy arrangement, the flag typifies at once the country
as it was when first it became independent and as it is today.
There is no law as to the method of arrangement for the
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 325
stars, but the Army and Navy regulated this to suit them-
selves
We think of ourselves as a new country, yet oddly
enough our flag is one of the oldest in the world today.
That of Denmark is the oldest European standard, dating
back to 1219. Next is the Swiss flag, which was adopted in
the seventeenth century.
In 1911, to the Army of the United States there were
furnished 1207, storm and recruiting flags, 342 post flags,
31 garrison flags; the year previous, 1076 storm and 355
post flags. These sewed together would nearly, if not
entirely, reached around the United States. Each battle ship
of the American Navy is entitled to 250 flags every three
years, though many are renewed oftener than this. The
cost of the flags for each battle ship is about twenty-five
hundred dollars, nothing small in this bill of Uncle Sam's
for equipment, especially when you remember he has
twenty-seven first and second class battleships in commis-
sion, to say nothing of the cruisers, torpedo boats, torpedo
boat destroyers, submarine monitors, gun boats, supply
ships, training and receiving ships, about seventy in all.
For the naval flags the United States uses up about
forty-three thousand dollars worth of material every year ;
pays seventeen thousand dollars for wages, and produces
an average of about sixty thousand flags of four hundred
and eight different patterns. The material of which the flag
is made must stand severe tests, for there are storms to be
weathered and a sixty mile gale can whip average cloth to
tatters. A strip of bunting two inches wide must have a
strength of sixty-five pounds when proved on the testing
machine. Two inches of filling must stand forty-five
pounds. The bunting is American made and all wool and
nineteen inches wide. It is washed for twenty-four hours
in soap and fresh water and next day given a like treat-
ment with salt water. Then for ten days it is exposed to
the weather, thirty hours of sunshine being stipulated. The
326 REVOLUTIONARY READER
largest United States flag, 36 x 19, costs the government
only forty dollars.
There is a statute law which prohibits the use of our
flag for advertising purposes or decorating.
Where better can you realize the beauty of the
American flag, and that which it represents, than when you
see it flying over school houses or play grounds? The re-
spect paid by the school children to the flag by rising and
standing and with right hand raised to a line with their
forehead while they pledge allegiance to their flag is most
appropriate, but the pledge that appeals to me most is that
for the children of the primary schools, which is, "I give
my head and my heart to God and my country, one lan-
guage and one flag. ' '
When you see the hands of ten, nay, twenty, nationali-
ties raised, while foreign tones mingle with those of our
children expressing allegiance to one flag, where better
can you realize the beauty of "Old Glory?" And though
your word, your flag, your tiny nosegay may fall into the
hands of just a
"Little dirty fellow, in a dirty part of town,
Where the windy panes are sooty and the roofs are tumble down ;
Where the snow falls back in winter, and the melting, sultry heat,
Comes like pestilence in the summer through the narrow dirty
street,"
you are giving into his hands the flag you would have him
love, and in later years honor and defend.
The Sons of the Revolution print these regulations:
"The flag should not be hoisted before sunrise, nor allowed to
remain up after sunset.
"At sunset spectotors should stand at attention and uncover
during the playing of 'Star Spangled Banner.' Military men are
required to do so by regulation.
"When the national colors are passing on parade, or in review,
the spectator should, if walking, halt; if sitting, arise and stand
at attention, and uncover.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 327
"In placing the flag at half staff, it should first be hoisted to
the top of the staff and then lowered to position, and preliminary
to lowering from half staff it should be first raised to the top."
There is one general rule for the care of the flag which
should always be remembered. "Treat the flag of your
country with respect this is the fundamental idea. What-
ever is disrespectful is forbidden in dealing with symbols
of national existence. Do not let it be torn; if it should
become snagged or torn accidentally, mend it at once. Do
not let the flag be used in any way dishonorable. ' '
I once heard of a flag used to cover the floor of a stage
when an officer of the navy present took up the flag, saying :
"I will never allow anyone to stand on the flag while I
am present."
The national flag is raised on school buildings on all
national or state holidays and on anniversaries of memor-
able events in our country's history. Most all schools now
know the Star Spangled Banner and when it is brought
forward every pupil rises and gives a military salute and
distinctly repeats: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and to
the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible,
with liberty and justice to all."
The eye of the home-comer catches sight of the large
American flag which floats from a steel pole 300 feet high
at Mt. Claire, New Jersey, before even he sees the Statue of
Liberty.
Here's our love to you, flag of the free and flag of the tried and
true;
Here's our love to your streaming stripes and your stars in a
field of blue;
Native or foreign, we're children all of the land over which you
fly,
And native or foreign, we love the land for which it were sweet
to die.
328 REVOLUTIONARY READER
On June 14, 1777, in old Independence Hall, Philadel-
phia, Congress adopted the following resolution :
Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be
thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thir-
teen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation,
the stars to be arranged in a circle.
It was thirty-seven years before the Song to Immortal-
ity, the name of our Star Spangled Banner, was written.
END OF THE REVOLUTION.
BY REV. THOMAS B. GREGORY.
The last battle of the Revolutionary war was fought at
Blue Lick, Kentucky, August 20, 1782.
England died hard, and in ways that were far from
being in strict keeping with international law tried to post-
pone the final surrender as long as she could. It was in
consequence of such tactics that the battle of Blue Lick
was fought.
On the 16th of August, 1782, a force of several hundred
Canadians and "Wyandotte Indians laid siege to Bryan's
Station, some five miles from the present city of Lexington,
the capital of the famous Blue Grass region.
The next day a party of 180 frontiersmen, commanded
by Daniel Boone, John Todd and Stephen Trigg, hastened
to the rescue, notwithstanding the fact that they were
greatly outnumbered by the enemy.
Upon reaching the near neighborhood of the station
a council of war was held to determine upon the line of
attack. Boone 's advice was to march silently up the river
and fall upon the rear of the enemy, while, at the same
time, the main attack should be delivered in front.
Unfortunately, this sensible advice was spoiled by the
rash action of a major named McGray, who dashed his
horse into the river, shouting: "Let all who are not cow-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 329
ards follow me. ' ' Of course, McGray 's action was madness,
but it was a madness that became instantly contagious,
and soon most of the men were fording the stream hard
after the rash major.
Crossing without molestation they reached the top of the
ridge, when their troubles began in dead earnest. From
front and flanks they received a deadly fire from the In-
dians and their Canadian allies. They had been ambushed,
and the invisible foe shot them down like dogs.
Outnumbered three to one, and presently quite sur-
rounded, they fought like the brave men they were until
they realized that to remain longer was to be annihilated,
whereupon they broke through the fiery cordon and escaped
as best they could.
Sixty-seven Kentuckians were killed outright and many
of the wounded were afterward massacred. The loss of the
Canadians and Wyandottes was never known, as they car-
ried away their killed and wounded.
But the redmen made no more trouble for Kentucky.
The treaty of peace deprived them of their British backing,
and the United States was left to deal with them after its
own way. The memory of the brave fight that was put up
by the handful of frontiersmen lingered with them, and,
with no hope of help from England, they gave the Ken-
tuckians a grand letting alone.
Such, in brief, is the story of the last battle of the war
of the Revolution. Beginning away up in Massachusetts,
the great struggle ended at Blue Lick, Kentucky, a region
that was an unknown wilderness when the struggle began.
330 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Indian Legends
COUNTIES OF GEORGIA BEARING INDIAN
NAMES.
Seven of the counties in Georgia have been named to
perpetuate the memory of the first American, the Indian.
Of peculiar interest is the derivation and meaning of the
names of these counties.
Catoosa: Gatusi in Cherokee language and means
"mountain."
Chattahoochee : ( Creek : Chatu ' ' rock ' ' hutchas ' ' mark, ' '
"design": "pictured rocks"). A former Lower Creek
town on the upper waters of Chattahoochee River to which
it gave its name ; seemingly in the present Harris County,
Georgia. So called from some pictured rocks at that point.
Chatooga: (Also Chatuga, a corruption of the Cherokee
Tsatugi, possibly meaning ' ' he drank by sips, " or "he has
crossed the stream and come out on the other side," but
more likely of foreign origin).
Cherokee: The tribal name is a corruption of Tsalagi
or Tsaragi, the name by which they commonly called them-
selves, and which may be derived from the Choctaw Chiluk-
ki, "cave people," in allusion to the numerous caves in
their mountain country.
Coweta: (Kawita). The name of the leading tribe
among the Lower Creeks, whose home was at one time on
the Ocmulgee, and later on the western side of Chattahoo-
chee below the falls. According to one old Creek tradition
the name means ' ' those who follow us, ' ' and was given them
by the Kasihta Indians, another Creek tribe who tradition-
ally marched in advance when the Creeks invaded Alabama
and Georgia.
Muscogee : (Muscogee, properly Maskoki) meaning un-
known. Its derivation has been attributed to an Algon-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 331
quian terra signifying "swamp" or "open marshy land."
Muscogee is the name by which the dominant tribe of the
Creek confedracy knows itself and is known to other
tribes.
Oconee : Was the name of a tribe which anciently
lived on Oconee River, but subsequently moved first to
the east bank of the Chattahoochee and later to Florida
where it found a nucleus of the people later known as
Seminoles. Oconee, their chief town, was situated, accord-
ing to Hawkins, about four miles below Milledgeville.
Weekachumpa, their chief, known to the English as Long
King, and one of his warriors were among the Indians
assembled to welcome Oglethorpe when he arrived in Geor-
gia in 1732. Compiled by MRS. J. S. LOWREY.
STORY OF EARLY INDIAN DAYS.
A pretty story of early times in America is that of the
restoration of a little girl to her parents by the Indians. It
is quoted from Currey 's ' ' Story of Old Fort Dearborn, ' ' by
the New York Post. The child, who was nine years old at
the time of her capture in western Pennsylvania, was well
treated, came to regard the chief and his mother with love
and reverence, learned their language and customs, and
almost forgot her own. At the end of four years, this chief
was invited by a colonel who was very popular with the
red men to bring the girl to a council fire at Ft. Niagara.
He accepted the invitation upon condition that there should
be no effort to reclaim the child. When the boat in which
the chief and his captive had crossed the Niagara River
touched the bank, the girl sprang into the arms of her wait-
ing mother. The chief was deeply moved. "She shall go,"
he said. "The mother must have her child again. I will
go back alone." In the words of her daughter-in-law,
who wrote of this period many years afterward :
"With one silent gesture of farewell he turned and
stepped on board the boat. No arguments or entreaties
332 REVOLUTIONARY READER
could induce him to remain at the council; but having
gained the other side of the Niagara, he mounted his horse,
and with his young men was soon lost in the depths of the
sheltered forests. ' '
The girl became the wife of John Kinzie, "Chicago's
pioneer."
CHIEF VAN HOUSE.
At the foot of one of the highest peaks of Cohuttah
Mountains in North Georgia, there stood, one late autumn
day, an Indian girl, the daughter of a Cherokee Chief, and
her half-breed lover.
As they talked she told him how the young men of
her tribe hated him and how they taunted her about her
pale faced lover, and told her he would be cruel and false
to her. The old chiefs had told her of the great white
chief, DeSoto, who had built the fort on this very mountain
where they stood, when he rested in his journey from the
Indian village, Chiaha (the place where the city of Rome,
Ga., now stands) . They told her how cruelly his followers
had treated her people, tearing down their wigwams,
desecrating their graves, in their search for Tau-lan-neca
(yellow money) and they warned her that he belonged to
that same cruel race.
He answered her, his heart swelling with love for his
father's people, that they were not false and cruel but kind
and good. He told her of his recent trip to "Washington
where he had gone as interpreter for their great Chief,
Ridge, who loved the white people. He said they had seen
the great white father and he had talked kindly to them
and had advised them to sell their lands to the white peo-
ple who would pay them well for it and would give them
lands just as beautiful in the far west, which would be
theirs as long as ' ' grass grew and water ran. ' '
He told her that if her people should be guided by
Chief Ridge, and go to this far away land, he, too, would
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 333
go with them and try to make her happy among her own
people. If they did not go he would stay among them and
build her a house like the white people lived in, a house
good and strong that would last as long as their love, which
would be forever. (It seems a prophecy for it is still
standing).
He kept his promise to her and the house he dreamed
of was built. What a marvelous thing it was to those
savage people to watch the building of this house, with its
carved mantels that reach to the ceiling, and the wonderful
spiral stairway that excites the admiration of the skilled
workmen of today and the hinges of the doors of beaten
brass.
This palefaeed lover little dreamed of what the future
held in store, that he (David Vann) should become a chief
of his Nation and go again to Washington with Chief Ridge
and bring back to their tribe the purchase money for their
lands, how dissensions had arisen among them in regard
to the division of the money, how he buried the money
near his home and how the wife that loved him begged him
not to tell her where he buried it for fear the Indians would
come and torture her and make her tell where it was buried.
Little did he dream that he and Chief Ridge would be
basely murdered by the Indians.
This house has never been known by any other name but
the Chief Van house. It is impossible to find out the exact
time it was built, as there were no white people living here
at that time. White, in his Georgia Statistics, says that
when the Moravian Mission was started in Spring Place
that Chief Van gave them the land for their buildings near
his house and sent his children to their school. That was
in 1802, so the house had been built before that date.
Judge George Glenn in a published article has told of
Chief Van's later life, his marriage to an Indian princess,
his visits to Washington, his receiving and burying the
gold, and his murder by the Indians, all of which is
authentic.
334 REVOLUTIONABY READER
The material for the house was said to have been car-
ried on the backs of Indian ponies from Savannah, Ga.,
but other accounts say that Chief Van taught the Indians
to make and burn the brick there.
Thus ends the romance, mingled truth, and tradition,
but the house in fairly good repair is still standing in
Spring Place, Ga., today. This little town was the only
place of any size at that time. In the jail at this place
John Howard Payne was imprisoned, accused of being a
spy. The jail is still standing. MRS. WARREN DAVIS, His-
torian, John Milledge Chapter, D. A. R., Dalton, Ga.
INDIAN TALE.
"Grandfather, tell me about the Indians," said little
Annie Daniel, as she climbed upon the arm of a large
rocking chair in which Mr. Abel Daniel was sitting, dream-
ing of the past with its many varied experiences. The per-
son thus addressed had even now reached his fourscore
years and ten, yet his mind was keenly alert, his carriage
erect and his immaculate dress revaled the "Gentlemen
of the old school." "Washington County, Georgia, was
proud to claim so distinguished a son, so valiant a hero and
such a cultured gentleman. Capt. Daniel had survived
three noted wars; the "War of 1812," the Indian and the
Mexican, in all of which he had been a true soldier and
had won honor for his home and native state. His gallant
service in the wars with the British and the Mexicans
interested the grown people. How he helped General
Gaines and his men capture the little village in Clay
County on the banks of the Chattahoochee, which is now
called Fort Gaines and drive the Indians back into Florida,
always delighted the young boys and his lullabies sung in
the Indian language pleased little Annie, but tonight she
begged for a real Indian story.
"Well, dear, I shall tell you of one which relates to my
own life and is really a great part of it, ' ' said grandfather.
335
"After helping to expel the Indians from our borders, I
decided to go live with them for a time in order to learn
their crafts and become better acquainted with a people
whom I believed to be honest and loyal."
''Having crossed the border and tied my handkerchief
to a leafy branch and waived it aloft as a flag of truce,
they quickly responded and gave me a most cordial wel-
come. During the seven years of my stay with them, I was
known as the 'White Man' arid treated as some superior
being. The best of all they possessed was at my command
and they counted nothing too dear that would add to my
pleasure. I was made a sharer in all their hunting and
fishing sports, having been presented with one of their
very best ponies.
' ' All went well until one day I discovered that the Chief
was plotting a marriage between me and his beautiful
daughter. As a marriage dowry he would present us with
several barrels of specie, thus showing in what esteem he
held me. I could never think of marrying this Indian
maiden so I at once began to plan my escape. The next
day I rode my pony as far as possible, taking my gun along
as a pretense of hunting, but returned the following day
with my game. After letting my pony rest a day I started
out a second time to test her strength still further. This
time I stayed two days and two nights and decided my pony
was equal to any undertaking. After a second rest we
started out the third time and made a safe flight across the
line to my own people.
"Before reaching the old homestead a neighbor had in-
formed me of my father's death and my mother's total
blindness. The dear old soul was seated on the porch as I
rode up ; near her was a water bucket over which was hang-
ing a long handled gourd. Just as her feeble hands
reached out for the gourd, I handed it to her, saying:
'Here it is, mother.' She recognized my voice as that of
her baby boy and fainted away. From that day I never
left my aged mother, but tried to make amends for the sor-
336 REVOLUTIONARY READER
row my wanderings must have caused, by attending to her
every want and making her last days as comfortable, happy
and free from care as ever a loving child could.
''My Indian pony was treasured as a relic of the years
spent with the Indians and my fortunate escape from the
hand of his daughter.
"But my little girl is getting sleepy, so kiss grandfather
good night, and he'll tell you more another time." MRS.
ANNIE (DANIEL) CLIFTON, Stone Castle Chapter, D. A. R.
WILLIAM WHITE AND DANIEL BOONE.
In 1750, William White and Daniel Boone settled at
what is now known as Bull Bradley Springs in Tennessee.
The Indian trail from the Hiwassee town Northward, pass-
ed near this home.
One evening, two of the boys, aged ten and twelve,
went out into the forest to cut and prepare wood for the
night. When darkness came on and the boys did not
return, a search was made and their axe was found leaning
against a small hickory tree which the boys must have been
cutting down when they stopped their work. Signs of In-
dians were discovered. These were followed next morning
and were found to lead into the Indian trail. There
seemed to have been a large party of the Indians going
Northward. The pursuers failed to overtake the Indians
and despite all their efforts were unable to rescue the boys.
Years afterward an officer in Wisconsin had published,
for the benefit of any relatives of the parties concerned,
that two white men, past middle age, had been found with
one of the Northwest tribes. These men had forgotten all
knowledge of the English language. They remembered that
they had been captured by Indians while engaged in cutting
wood and that their captors had brought them many miles,
but in what direction they were uncertain.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 337
This description, though meager, made all certain that
these men were no others than the lost sons of William
White. They had become so thoroughly ' ' Indianized ' ' that
they refused to leave the tribe and come back to their
people.
.On the day of the boys' capture, William White was
getting out a rock for a hearth. These rocks were cut from
a single stone, and were called ' ' Hath-stones. " When no
trace of his boys could be found, Mr. White went on with
his hearth making, laying the "hath-stone" in its place,
and on it he carved the date of their capture. The stone
is still to be seen in a hearth in the home now located where
White's house stood. The date and names are plainly
visible. Some of White's descendants still reside in the
historical home. ROBERTA G. TURNER, Xavier Chapter, D.
A. R., Rome, Ga.
A LEGEND OF LOVER'S LEAP, COLUMBUS,
GEORGIA.
One mile above the city of Columbus, Georgia, the Chat-
tahoochee's turbid waters dash, fret and foam in angry
surges over and among a group of giant bowlders forming
what was called by the Red Men of the forest, "Tumbling
Falls."
From the eastern bank of the river rises a rugged, per-
pendicular cliff to a lofty height, which is covered almost
to its verge by majestic trees, vines and shrubs of a semi-
tropical growth. This is crowned by a colossal bowlder of
dark granite, and from its summit is one of the most magni-
ficent and picturesque views of river scenery that nature
has produced.
This is "Lover's Leap," famous in song and story;
where the "Young Eagle" of the Cowetas clasped to his
brave heart the bright "Morning Star" of the Cussetas and
leaped into the deep, restless waters below.
338 REVOLUTIONARY READER
The Alabama hills, forming a long, undulating chain,
and covered with verdant beauty, arise across the river,
which, below the precipice, flows gently onward until it
reaches the city limits, where the waters again dash with
insane fury over clustering bowlders and form the Coweta
Falls, which are there arrested and utilized by the pale-
faced stranger to turn thousands of looms and spindles for
his own use and profit.
A short distance below the Leap is the "Silver Wam-
pum," a lovely stream of pellucid water, which rises
beneath a clump of sweet-scented bays and magnolias, and
flows and quivers in sunlight and moonlight, like a silver
girdle, along its green and flowerdecked banks, until it
reaches a rocky bed, where it falls by a succession of cas-
cades, which form an exquisite fringe to the "Wampum"
before dropping into the Chattahoochee.
There the beautiful "Morning Star" would often sit
indulging in love dreams, as she beaded the gay moccasins,
bags and wampums, while the "Young Eagle" followed
the chase. There he would bring her the first fruits and
flowers of the season.
From some warmer climate unknown to his rivals he
would often procure boughs of the fragrant calycanthus,
queenly magnolias and sweet-smelling jasmines, and secret-
ly adorn this sylvan retreat in anticipation of her com-
ing, long before the native buds began to expand their
beauty. Frequently she would be startled in her blissful
reveries by the rolled petal of a magnolia falling like a
great snow-flake at her feet.
This she recognized as a private dispatch from "The
Young Eagle," Cohamoteker (blow gun) to apprise her
of his approach and hastily arising she would eagerly await
his coming.
At a later date, when duty required her attentions at
the wigwam, she would frequently find rare products of the
chase suspended without. This was always prepared with
unusual care, and relished by her father, the chief, who
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 339
was too old to indulge often in his favorite pastime, and
was somewhat dependent upon his braves for many luxuries
of that kind.
Consequently, he did not question the source from which
they came, but when particularly pleased with his repast he
would say:
"Yaho Hadjo (Crazy Wolf) is good. In his wigwam
will be found the richest venison and rarest birds of the
air. He is a worthy mate for the Morning Star ! ' '
When a child she had been betrothed to Young Eagle,
the noble son of the Coweta chief. Their love had grown
with their growth and strengthened with their strength,
until it had reached an intensity where death appeared
preferable to a life apart.
A rivalry had suddenly sprung up between the two
tribes, who had so long smoked the calumet of peace to-
gether. The pledged word of the veterans was broken, and
a feud more deadly than that of the Montagues and Capu-
lets then existed between the brave Cowetas and Cussetas,
who were of equal prowess.
The aged chief of the latter could no longer follow the
warpath with the alacrity of his youth, but by the council
fire all did reverence to his eloquence, and were ready to
rally at his battle-cry.
His lion-hearted sons, the pride of a war-like sire, had
gone in the vigor of their early manhood to the Spirit Land
and the chieftain stood alone, like a giant oak of the
forest, stately and grand in age and decay, with the once
vigorous branches all leafless and dead save one, which
still flourished in pristine beauty.
His daughter, with her starry eyes and step as fleet and
graceful as a wild fawn, was the idol of his heart. In
childhood he had called her "Minechee" (smart, active.)
As she grew in stature and beauty, twining herself more
closely around his heart, he called her ' ' The Morning Star. ' '
for she would arise with the birds, and often waken him
340 REVOLUTIONARY HEADER
from slumber with songs and merry laughter while prepar-
ing for his comfort.
By the latter name she was known among the tribe.
''The Morning Star is up and shames the laggard to
the chase! He should have been over the hills and far
away. ' '
The young warriors likened her to some ideal being,
who basked in the smile of the Great Spirit, and wor-
shiped her with truly loyal hearts. If we could raise the
curtain of time, and read the thoughts that agitated the
dusky bosoms of those fearless young braves, it would be
evident that the affection and attention lavished on their
old chief was partially due to their admiration for the
bright and beautiful Morning Star.
Among her many suitors was Yaho Hadjo, who had
cunningly ingratiated himself into her father's favor, and
had long vainly sought the hand and heart of the bright-
eyed maiden. In his fierce wrath, he had secretly vowed
vengeance against a more successful rival. Under the garb
of friendship and loyalty to his chief, he had secured a
firm footing in his wigwam, and thus constituted himself
a spy on the actions of the unsuspecting daughter.
She had waited long and patiently, hoping that time
would soften the feud and remove every impediment to
her union with the peerless Young Eagle, while he had en-
deavored to conciliate his tribe by every possible means
that a brave warrior could to restore peace to the nation.
Alas! jealousy, that hydra-headed monster, had com-
pletely enslaved the heart of Yaho Hadjo, and at its bid-
ding he continued to secretly add fresh fuel to each expir-
ing flame until it had reached enormous proportions, and
open hostilities seemed inevitable.
The lovers no longer dared to meet by day, but beside
the Silver Wampum, when the Great Spirit marshalled his
starry hosts through the blue vaulted sky, they met to re-
new vows of eternal love.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 341
The stealthy footsteps of Yaho Hadjo had followed the
Morning Star to the trysting place, and his watchful eye
had witnessed the tender meeting with the Young Eagle.
The plans of the jealous rival were immediately formed
with characteristic craftiness. He then cautiously retraced
his steps and sought the presence of his chief.
Into his ear the wily creature whispered a malignant
falsehood of broken faith, treachery and a contemplated
raid by the Cowetas upon the Cussetas.
The old warrior's anger was instantly aroused. With
all the venom of his nature rankling in his savage heart,
he arose to give the war-whoop to his sleeping braves.
But Yaho Hadjo urged extreme caution, saying the
Young Eagle was the ruling spirit and instigator of the
intended diabolical assault, and was perhaps now prowling
around like a hungry fox with a hope of capturing the
Morning Star. A better and surer plan would be to offer
privately a handsome reward for the person or scalp of the
Young Eagle.
By that means the villainous savage thought to have
his unsuspecting rival cruelly assassinated and his body
secretly disposed of without arousing any suspicion of the
dark deed among the Cowetas.
He doubted not the success of his cowardly undertak-
ing; and then, without opposition, he would secure the
beautiful maiden for his squaw.
He dared not insinuate to the chief that his daughter
would have been a willing captive, for he had confidence
in her integrity, and knew she would never forsake him to
link her fate with his enemy. She had made a promise
to this effect, and the Morning Star never dealt falsely.
At the conclusion of Yaho Had jo's heartless suggestion,
the old man bowed his head in troubled thought for a brief
period, and then rising to his full stature, he said :
"Yes, yes; it is best! Go say to my young warriors
that he who brings the chief the person or scalp from the
dead head of the daring Young Eagle of the base Cowetas,
342 REVOLUTIONARY READER
shall wear on his brave heart the Morning Star of the
Cussetas. ' '
Yaho Hadjo hastened to arouse a few sleeping braves
from their couches and they hurried forth rapidly but
noiselessly to the Silver Wampum.
The unsuspecting lovers were totally oblivious of sur-
rounding danger, and loth to separate, they lingered for a
last farewell and final embrace, when stealthy footsteps
were heard approaching.
They gave a startled glance around and beheld Yaho
Hadjo and his followers with uplifted tomahawks rushing
madly upon them.
Minchee threw her arms wildly around her lover.
For a brief second the assailants halted, not daring to
strike the daughter of their chief.
The Young Eagle clasped her firmly to his bosom and
bounded away with the speed of an antelope, he knew not
wither.
Onward, over rocks and dells he flew with his precious
burden, her arms thrown protectingly around and above
him. Upon the narrow defile to the fearful precipice he
bore her and then suddenly halted. He thought to release
her there, believing she could return safely to her father,
but she grappled to him as though her slight arms were
hooks of steel.
The hot breath of the hated rival was felt upon his
cheek, and his tomahawk flashed like a meteor above him.
The Young Eagle gave the would-be assassin one proud,
defiant glance, and folding the Morning Star in a closer
embrace, he leaped into the foaming torrent below.
Yaho Had jo's uplifted weapon fell forward with a
sudden impetus which forced him headlong down the lofty
pinnacle, among the sharp, rugged bowlders, where his
body was afterwards found a mangled, lifeless corpse.
The remaining warriors were transfixed with horror
and dismay as they gazed wildly into the furious river.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 343
To attempt a rescue would have been folly and madness,
as no breathing creature could have survived the fall.
Slowly and sadly they then retraced their steps and
silently entered the presence of the childless patriarch.
Alarmed by the expression of their grief-stricken faces
he exclaimed:
"Where is Yaho Had jo? Why does the Morning Star
linger in the forest ? ' '
The boldest of them dropped his head and answered
slowly and hoarsely:
"The Great Spirit has taken her from us to brighten
his own beautiful land. She will come no more to gladden
our hearts. The Morning Star will never beam on the
hunter's pathway again!"
The chief listened in silence, but evidently did not com-
prehend. An explanation was sternly demanded.
At length the sad story was told with all of its tender
and heart-rending details.
He realized at last his total bereavement, and acknowl-
edged it was the result of Yaho Hadjo's jealousy and
falsehood. Fierce and vindictive was the malediction
pronounced upon the cowardly murderer.
A dead calm followed; then rising and clasping his
hands high above his head, he stood for a moment like a
splendid bronze statue of despair, and in singularly
pathetic tones exclaimed:
"Minechee! Minechee! Bright Morning Star! Sole
treasure of my aged heart ! Gone, gone, forever, and I am
desolate ! ' '
He gave one long, low, piercing wail and tottering as a
tree beneath the final stroke of the woodman's axe, he fell
prostrate to the earth.
His companions exerted themselves in behalf of the
stricken chieftain and partially succeeded in restoring him
to consciousness, but he refused to be comforted and de-
clined all nourishment.
344 REVOLUTIONARY READER
After a prolonged interval of silence, he arose, quitted
their presence and slowly descended the hill to a ravine
in the bluffs and seated himself.
He signified a desire to be alone. He wished to humble
himself before the Great Spirit, that he might take pity
on him. Finding he could not be persuaded to leave the
place, his braves stretched a mat above his bowed head and
placing food and water within reach they left him alone
in his sorrow.
A few days after they found him occupying the same
position, but cold and lifeless. MRS. MARY COOK.
INDIAN MOUND, EARLY COUNTY, GEORGIA.
On the outskirts of Blakely, County Seat of Early
County, and commanding a view of a beautiful stretch of
landscape, rises the famous old Indian Mound, supposed
to have been made by the Creek Indians, who hunted and
fished and roved so happily through the tall pines and
magnolias, the great oaks and low marshes. While tradi-
tion associates this particular mound with the Creeks and
Cherokees, it has been argued by scientists that it must
have been built by a race of people who preceded the In-
dians and were partly civilized; however, that may be,
the visitor to Early has missed a rare bit of romance and
historic thought, who fails to see the Indian Mound,
reminiscent as it is of the sacredness of a brave race, now
almost extinct.
The Mound is fully seventy-five feet high and is almost
five hundred feet in circumference. It is covered with
large trees of oak and the same dense foliage of bamboo,
pine and cedar as that which grows so profusely over the
surrounding country as far as the eye can reach. The
picturesque and fertile valleys below have now become a
favorite place for pleasure seekers each spring, for picnic
grounds and camping, and the Indian Mound cannot fail to
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 345
impress the most heedless as it rises mysteriously and
majestic. Parties in search of buried treasures have
penetrated the Mound to a depth of fifty feet, but nothing
has ever been found except human bones. Then later
scientists have sunk a shaft in the very center of this
Mound to a great depth and have reached a mass of bones
five feet in thickness. Nothing to throw light upon the
builders of this huge old relic has ever been unearthed but
bones, and the people of the County, with interested
visitors, have nearly all associated the site with the Indians
who inhabited so thickly this part of Georgia before Early
County was created.
Early County was created by Legislature, October 1818,
and included then the Counties of Baker, Calhoun, Decatur,
Miller, Mitchell and Dougherty. It was named in honor
of George Peter Early, Chief Executive of Georgia in 1813.
Governor Early, previous to the purchase of these lands
from the Indians, had rendered great service to the white
settlers here in protecting them from the Indians, in both
their treaties with the Indians and in protection to their
lives. In gratitude for this service Early County was
named.
While it has never been positively decided whether the
Mound Builders or the Indians are the original makers of
Indian Mound, it stands a grim memorial of a dead and
gone race, worthy of a visit, with its great trees yellow
with age, and weeds and moss overgrown, the only epitaphs
to the mystery within its depths. MRS. WALTER THOMAS,
Regent, Governor Peter Early Chapter, D. A. R.
346 REVOLUTIONARY READER
STORIETTE OF STATES DERIVED FROM
INDIAN NAMES.
So many States are derived from Indian names, so I
write this storiette, using all that have Indian origin.
Illinois Tribe of Red Men.
Alabama Here we rest.
Arizona Small Springs.
Arkanses Bend in the Smoky Water.
Connecticut (Long River.
Idaho Gun of the Mountain.
Indiana Indian's Land.
Iowa Beautiful Land.
Kansas Smoky Water.
Kentucky At the head of the river.
Massachusetts Place of Blue Hills.
Michigan Fish Wier.
Mississippi Great Father of Water.
Mississippi Great Father of Water.
Missouri 1 Muddy (River).
Nebraska Water Valley.
North and South Dakota, allies :
Ohio Beautiful River.
Oklahoma Home of the Red Men.
Tennessee River with a Great Bend.
Texas ^Friends.
Utah Ute.
Wisconsin Gathering of the waters.
Wyoming Great Plains.
Once upon a time a tribe of Red Men (Illinois) set out
to find a Plan of the Blue Hills (Massachusetts.) Their
canoes were safely launched in the Long River (Connecti-
cut). At the Bend in the Smoky Water (Arkansas) they
were surprised to see a canoe coming their way and that
it was guided by a maid Minnehaha, the beautiful daughter
of Uakomis of the Ute (Utah) Tribe of Indians. "Young
maid" said the gallant Chief Hiawatha, "Is this where the
Indians Land?" (Indiana). "Yes," replied the maid,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 347
"This Water Valley (Nebraska) is the home of the Red
Men" (Oklahoma). Then spoke the Chief, who had at
once been attracted to the Maid:- "This is indeed a Beauti-
ful Land (Iowa) and I dare say you are the Gem of the
Mountain" (Idaho). The maid smiled and said: "I hope
we will be friends" (Texas.) "Let us row to the Head of
the River" (Kentucky). As they drifted near the bank
they decided to tarry by the Beautiful River (Ohio).
"Here we rest" (Alabama), said Hiawatha and whispered
words of love. As they returned to the other members of
their tribe, who had pitched their tents on the mountain
side by some Small Springs (Arizona) each man looked up
as the two approached and read the happiness that was
theirs, by their smiling faces. "We will return" said
Hiawatha, ' ' to Nakomis and his Allies, of the Great Plains
near the River" (Missouri), "the Great Father of Waters
(Mississippi), and there on the Banks of the Sky-Tinted
Water (Minnesota) we will pitch our Wigwam near the
Fish Wier (Michigan) and there watch the gathering of the
Waters (Wisconsin) and live in peace and happiness until
we journey to our Happy Hunting Ground. ' ' MRS. WILL
CHIDSEY, Rome, Ga., Xavier Chapter, D. A. R.
348 REVOLUTIONARY READER
SEQUOIA, INVENTOR OF THE CHEROKEE
ALPHABET.
The invention of the Cherokee alphabet by Sequoia, or
George Guess, in 1815, was the most remarkable achieve-
ment in the history of the Indian tribes of America.
Sequoia was in appearance and habits, a full Cherokee,
though he was the grandson of a white man. He was born
in Tennessee about 1765, and he lived at one time near
Chiaha, now Rome, Georgia, but for some years before the
Cherokees were moved to the West, he lived at Alpine, in
Chattooga County, on what was later known as the Samuel
Force plantation.
This American Cadmus was an illiterate Cherokee In-
dian. He could neither write or speak English, and in his
invention of the alphabet he had to depend entirely on his
own native resources.
He was led to think on the subject of writing the Chero-
kee language, by a conversation which took place one eve-
ning at Santa. Some young men were remarking on the
superior talents of the white people. They saw that the
whites could "put a talk" on paper and send it to any
distance, and it would be understood by those who received
it. This seemed strange to the Indians, but Sequoia de-
clared he could do it himself ; and picking up a flat stone,
he scratched on it with a pin, and after a few minutes read
to his friends a sentence which he had written, by making
a mark for each word. This produced only a laugh among
his companions. But the inventive powers of Sequoia's
mind were now aroused to action, and nothing short of
being able to write the Cherokee language would satisfy
him. In examining the language he found that it is com-
posed of the various combinations of about ninety mono-
sylables and for each of these sylables he formed a charac-
ter. Some of the characters were taken from an English
spelling book, some are English letters turned upside down,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 349
some are his own invention; each character in the Chero-
kee alphabet stands for a monosylable.
From the structure of the Cherokee dialect, the syllabic
alphabet is also in the nature of a grammar, so that those
who know the language by ear, and master the alphabet,
can at once read and write. Owing to the extreme sim-
plicity of this system, it can be acquired in a few days.
After more than two year's work his system was com-
pleted. Explaining to his friends his new invention, he
said, "we can now have speaking papers as well as white
men. ' '
But he found great difficulty in persuading his people
to learn it ; nor could he succeed, until he went to Arkansas
and taught a few persons there, one of whom wrote a letter
to a friend in Chiaha and sent it by Sequoia, who read it
to the people. This excited much curiosity. Here was
"talk in the Cherokee language," come from Arkansas
sealed in a paper. This convinced many, and the newly
discovered art was seized with avidity by the people of the
tribe, and, from the extreme simplicity of the plan, the
use of it soon became general. Any one, on fixing in his
memory the names and forms of the letters, immediately
possessed the art of reading and writing. This could be
acquired in one day.
The Cherokees, (who, as a people, had always been
illiterate) were, in the course of a few months, able to read
and write in their own language. They accomplished this
without going to school.
The Cherokee Council adopted this alphabet in 1821,
and in a short time the bible and other books were printed
in the language, and a newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix,
devoted entirely to the interests of the Indians, was pub-
lished, in 1826, at New Echota, the capitol of the Cherokee
Nation, situated about five miles west of Calhoun, in
Gordon County, Georgia.
This paper was edited by Chief Elias Bondinot, one of
the signers of the New Echota Treaty.
350 REVOLUTIONARY READER
Sequoia spent much of his time with his kindred who
had already gone to the West, and a few years after the
final removal of the Cherokees from Georgia, he was
instrumental in establishing several newspapers in their
new home.
This Indian remains today the only man, in the long
history of the aborigines, who has done anything for the
real and lasting benefit of the race. His Cherokee alphabet
is in general use by every Indian tribe in America.
Scientists have honored him by naming the largest tree
that grows in California the Sequoia Gigantia. This name
was given to the big red wood tree by Dr. Eulicher, the
famous Hungarian botanist, who was born 1804 and died
1849. The tree is native to California and is the largest
known, often measuring thirty to thirty-six feet in diame-
ter, height from two hundred to four hundred feet, bark is
often fifteen inches thick.
In 1908, a specimen of the Sequoia Gigantia came in a
letter from California. The tiny sprig was five inches high
and one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and was planted on
Myrtle Hill cemetery in Rome, Georgia. It is now (1913)
about thirty inches high and one inch in diameter.
The Sequoia Gigantia is an evergreen monument to the
American Cadmus, a one-time resident of Rome, Georgia.
In his honor, Oklahoma has named a County Sequoyah.
BEATRICE O'REAR TREADAWAY, Xavier Chapter, D. A. R.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 351
THE BOY AND HIS ARROW.
The Barbadoes or Winward Islands have long been the
territory of Great Britain and her colonies were planted
there as early as on the main land of America.
Early in the eighteenth century dissatisfaction arose
concerning taxes and other injustices, and some of these
colonists removed to the continent, chiefly to Virginia and
the Carolinas. Among these was Edmond Reid, with his
family, landing at Norfolk, Virginia. He brought with
him quite a number of slaves. These slaves were remark-
able in many ways. They must have been part Carib;
they had thin lips, straight noses and arched feet. They
were erect and alert. Some of these slaves in the fourth
generation came to my mother and were above the ordinary
African and were so dark they evidently had no Caucasian
blood.
John Reid, son of Edmond Reid, married Elizabeth
Steppe, and served in the Revolution. James, the son of
John and Elizabeth, was born during the Revolution,
February 21st, 1778. Archery was a great sport in those
days, handed down no doubt from our British ancestry
and kept alive by the bows and arrows of the Indians,
some of whom were still among the neighbors in the colonies.
At twelve years of age James Reid was shooting arrows,
and as an experiment shot one up straight toward the sky.
Quickly it went up, but more quickly, with accelerated
speed it returned and pierced the eye of the little archer.
Painfully the arrow (in this case a pin point) was taken
from the eye. Youth and a fine constitution combined to
heal the wound without disfigurement of the eye, and so
he seemed to have two perfect eyes, while one was sight-
less.
Our young Republic was just beginning to try her pow-
ers when England provoked the war of 1812. James Reid,
now in the prime of manhood, enlisted when the British
threatened New Orleans. As many others did, he left his
352 REVOLUTIONARY READER
wife and two little ones at home under the protection of
slaves.
A few days after his return from the war, on a summer
day, a pain came to the eye pierced so long ago by the
arrow. The local physician was sent for, but his lotions and
applications failed to give relief. At that time no surgeon,
except those perhaps in France, understood surgery of the
eye. So nature took her course, seemingly a cruel, dreadful
course. The suffering man could neither sleep nor eat and
finally could not stay in the house. He went out under the
trees in the grove and when unable to stand rolled around
on the grass in great agony. His wife and children and
servants followed him with cold water and pillows a sor-
rowing and helpless procession. After several days and
nights the abscess in his eye bursted and gave instant
relief. All the fluids of the eye escaped leaving it sightless
and shrunken, and so it remained ever after. I never see
a shrunken eye but what I recall the old man, so spirited,
so cheery, so kind, our own grandfather who passed away
many years ago MRS. R. H. HARDAWAY, Regent, Sarah
Dickinson Chapter, D. A. R.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 353
INDIAN SPRING, GEORGIA.
ROMANTIC DISCOVERY.
In 1792, when the country in this vicinity was clothed
in its swaddlings of nature, and the red man and wild
beasts alone trod the hills and valleys west of the Ocmulgee,
a solitary huntsman was wending his way north, south of
the Towaliga, about where the public road to Forsyth is
now being turnpiked. The party was a model of his class
large, muscular, completely equipped, a frame strong in
its every development, and a general contour which indica-
ted that he knew nothing of fear, and dreaded not the
dangers of the wilderness in which he was traveling. A
deep melancholy on his face, the flashing of his dark eyes,
and an occasional sight, evidenced he carried an "iron in
his soul," and was actuated by a purpose that knew no
turning. This was Gabriel Dunlap a Georgian. His
object in thus absenting himself from society will be seen
hereafter.
Dunlap was a careful and wary hunter, and in this
hitherto untrodden field was specially on the alert. He
knew that dangers lurked around, and was cautious at
every step. While thus walking and watching, he was
startled by the war whoop of the savages, which seemed to
burst from every ambush around him. He knew his retreat
was cut off, for a hundred savages emerged from the thick-
ets lining the Towaliga. Therefore, but one course was left
to be pursued that of taking a due north direction. Leav-
ing the river and crossing the hills, he ran without any
purpose beyond making his escape. And thus he ran for
miles as the yells of his pursuers would subside, hope
bracing him up, again depressed by the reiteration of the
voices of his enemies. At length, when almost ready to
fall from exhaustion and thirst his vitals scorched as with
fire hope whispered "a little farther." And soon, over-
joyed and exhausted, he was able to spring into a canebrake
354 REVOLUTIONARY READER
dark as night, where he slept unconscious of anything that
occurred around him.
REINFORCEMENTS.
When he awoke, yet half dreaming, Dunlap gazed about
him some time before he could "realize the situation."
With great effort he arose, staggered forward, but fell
against a larger stone, and here, to his delight, he heard
the trickling of water. Quickly he sought to slake
his burning thirst, and soon found, and enjoyed, what
seemed ice water in a canebrake in August. He drank until
every desire for water was satisfied, yet none of the un-
pleasant feelings that often follow such indulgence were
experienced. On the contrary, he felt new life and vigor,
and set out to place a greater distance between himself and
his enemies. His only safe course he knew, was to travel
in a northerly direction, and, after imbibing another
copious draught from the welcome fountain, he set out,
toiling through the cane that covered the bottom. When he
was about reaching the northern edge of this dense retreat,
a well known signal greeted his ear. To this he responded.
His response was replied to by another signal, when he
quickly emerged from the brake, ascended the hill, and on
approaching a large oak then standing on the site of the
present Elder Hotel, was greeted thus:
"Hallo, Gabe! whar did you cum from? Have you
been squattin ' in the thicket yonder ? ' '
"I'll be smashed," answered Dunlap, "If here aint
Jube Cochran. And, Jube, I'm gladder to see you than
if I had knocked out a panther's eye with old Betsey here,
and without picking her flint, on a two hundred yard line.
Cause why I'm lost and aint nowhar ef you aint some
place. ' '
And next the two friends met with a hearty shake
of hands and a union of warm hearts, such as convention-
alities and civilization have long since driven from the
brightest spot in Georgia. The huntsmen refreshed the
inner man, recounted their several recent adventures, and
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 355
then sought a place of rest, which they soon found among
the rocks skirting the river.
Here they slept until midnight, when the report of a
gun aroused them. Snuffing danger in the breeze, they at
once not only became watchful, but sought to discover the
whereabouts of their daring neighbor; and finally, in the
darkness, almost ran against two human forms, whether
paleface or Indian they could not make out, when Cochran
hailed :
"Who'sthar?"
"Watson," was the reply, and soon there was another
happy greeting; when all four of the party (one a small
boy named Ben Fitzpatrick) walked to the top of the hill
between two creeks, and again rested until day break, recit-
ing the customary yarns of the border.
Douglas Watson was about eighteen years of age, six
feet in height, and boasted of possessing a well developed
muscular frame. His companion, Fitzpatrick, was an or-
phan boy, who had the temerity common to adventurous
youth to follow Watson in these wilds.
Seated by their camp fire Dunlap explained to Watson
the invigorating effect the water in the canebrake, at the
foot of the hills, had had upon him in his fainting con-
dition the day previous, when the whole party again sought
the cooling spring, and, after search, found it. This was
Indian Spring, and this was the first party of whites who
are known to have drunk of its water. At this gathering
Watson admitted to his comrades that about a month
previous he had found the spring, but in consequence of
its smelling like gunpowder he fled the vicinity.
Watson and Cochran were scouts, sent out by the Gov-
ernment in the Spring of 1792. Fitzpatrick was the
shadow of Watson ; and Dunlap divulged to his new friends
his history and mission while they lingered around the
spring.
356 REVOLUTIONARY READER
DUNLAP'S HISTORY.
To be brief : Twelve years previous, during an Indian
raid in Bibb County, a little friend a ward of his father
was stolen and carried away. Then and there, ere the
triumphant yells of the foe were silenced, he had registered
an oath in Heaven, which was baptized by the falling rain,
never again to seek peace until he found it in the rescue
of "Bright Eyes" his lost Nora. Since that hour his
home had been between the Towaliga and Ocmulgee, and
his whole exertion was to find the lost one and restore her
to her friends.
A BATTLE AND RETREAT.
In the morning the party left the Spring, traveling
down stream, but in a few moments the shoals were reached.
Here was another mystery, which to Watson appeared more
wonderful than did the gunpowder spring. They had
traveled down stream; of this they were certain; yet they
encountered an opposite current, and were amazed. Fitz-
patrick, however, soon explored the vicinity and discovered
the meeting of the waters near the Spring. Here two
creeks, running in almost opposite directions, met fraternal-
ly and formed the Big Sandy, which then flowed in an
easterly direction until it united with the Ocmulgee.
Crossing at the foot of the shoals, the party started
down the stream, hunting and traveling leisurely. Noon
found them at a little spring near the present site of Tan-
ner's bridge, where they halted, kindled a fire, and prepared
to cook the choice bits of game they had secured. Here
they were again doomed to be disappointed; for suddenly
their foe burst upon them in overwhelming numbers. The
odds were fearful, but rather than surrender which would
have been death the contest was entered upon.
Many heroes whose names emblazon the pages of history
never exhibited the coolness and calculating courage of
Ben Fitzpatrick in his first battle. He stood fearlessly by
the side of his companions, fighting bravely until Cochran
fell senseless, having been struck by the war club of an In-
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 357
dian. As the Indian stooped to scalp his victim, Ben
plunged his hunting knife to his heart, and, when the brave
uttered his death yell, the boy attempted to remove his
wounded comrade. At this moment young Watson handed
Ben his gun, gathered up Cochran, and crying out "Now
is our time, Ben," ran through the creek into the dark
swamp beyond.
They were now safe, for deep darkness had fallen, and
their enemies feared to pursue them. Cochran recovered
during the night, but diligent search failed to ascertain
anything as to the fate of Dunlap; and, warned by the
signal smokes of the enemy, the trio started early next
morning for the nearest block-house east of the Ocmulgee.
DUNLAP AND NORA.
But Dunlap was not lost. He was shot through the
left shoulder when the attack was first made, fainted and
fell, and was scalped and left for dead. He lay hours, until
nightfall half waking, half sleeping and dreaming. Sud-
denly he felt a soft hand bathing his fevered head. He knew
this kindness came not from savage hands, nor from the
rough goodness of a fellow huntsman, for the sweetness of
an angel's breath fanned his face. Pain was forgotten,
yet he was afraid to move lest the charm should be broken
and the vision vanish. Half unconscious, he whispered, as
if by inspiration, "Nora." And the guardian angel hover-
ed about him proved to be the Nora for whom he had been
searching. She suppressed an involuntary scream as she
recognized the object of her compassion, and, laying her
hand on the face of her old friend, in a trembling voice
said:
" Oh ! my more than brother, have we met at last, after
so many long and weary years of separation, each of which
has seemed an eternity ? ' '
The recognition was mutual, but the meeting was too
happy, too full of sacred joy, to be intruded upon. The
wounds of Dunlap were carefully bound up by Nora, after
the fashion of her companions from girlhood, and they at
358 REVOLUTIONARY READER
once removed as far as possible from the vicinity of the
fight. They were not discovered the next morning and then
commenced a long and weary journey homeward, which
extended through many days. At last they saw the curling
smoke arising from their native cabin. Here the long lost
were greeted with joy, and at an early day there was a
wedding Dunlap and Nora were united, and at once set-
tled down to the realities of life.
In 1796, fearing other molestations from the savages,
who were then hostile to the whites, the Dunlap family sold
their lands in Bibb and removed to Liberty County, Geor-
gia, where, at the present time, many of their children's
children may be found occupying high social positions.
FATE OP OUR HEROES.
The boy, Ben Fitzpatrick, grew up to manhood in com-
pany with his friend, Watson. Subsequently he removed
to Montgomery, Ala., where he died a short time since. His
career in his adopted State was an honored one, he having
served in both branches of the National Congress and as
Governor of the State. Governor Fitzpatrick was a cousin
of Mrs. Cynthia Varner, of Indian Spring. After the In-
dians, were removed from this section, Douglas Watson
settled in Monroe County, where he resided until his de-
cease, which occurred a few years^ago. Of the career of
Cochran we have been unable to obtain any data.
The foregoing history of the discovery of Indian Spring
by the whites is not all fiction. It is an "o'er true tale."
"Duggie" Watson, the hero of the foregoing pages he
who feared the smell of gunpowder when he first looked
upon the halfhidden spring, and fled has often repeated
the history as we have given it in our hearing.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The Indians entertained a superstition that it would be
unwise for any of their tribe to make a permanent resi-
dence near this "Healing water" because the noise and
gambols of the squaws and papooses would drive the spell.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 359
from the water. Thus, as late as 1800, the visits of the raca
to the Spring, though frequently made, were only tem-
porary, and for a special purpose in each instance. The
tents of the red man were always found on the adjacent
hills, filled with invalids who were brought to be cured,
and again returned to the war path or their hunting
grounds. About the date named, Gen. "Wm. Mclntosh, a
half breed, and a cousin of Gov. Troup, erected a cabin for
his own use, and afterwards spent the summers here with
his family. This broke the spell; and subsequently a Mr.
Ollison erected a double-cabin, which was dignified with the
title of hotel and for years was the only house of accomo-
dation afforded visitors. The same gentleman afterwards
erected a small corn mill, which stood near or on the site
of the new mill now being completed by Col. H. J. Lamar.
These were the only improvements made until after the
treaty of 1821, and are remembered by a number of our
old citizens. The Mclntosh cabin and the mill, were des-
troyed by fire; what became of the hotel which stood upon
the site of the north end of the Varner House, we cannot
state.
The "spell" was broken, and both races pitched their
tents around the Spring annually for a number of years,
mingling without open hostility. Watson and Fitzpatrick
continued to act as scouts for the Government, making the
Mclntosh cabin headquarters. Among the visitors were
Messrs. Dred and Jonathan Phillips, of Jasper county,
who brought a friend that had been afflicted with rheuma-
tism, and unable to walk for years. A short stay served to
restore the affllicted to his original health, when the party
returned to their homes. While here the Phillips brothers
observed the excellent condition of the Indian stock, which
was attributed to the superabundance of cane then covering
the extensive bottoms, and, as a speculation, brought over
a large drove of cattle to pasture, which was left in the
canebrake, but occasionally visited to be salted and in-
360 REVOLUTIONARY READER
spected. Subsequently this movement was interfered with,
as we shall show.
FIRST OUTBREAK.
The rival factions of the Creeks were severally headed
by Melntosh and Napothlehatchie the latter termed Big
Warrior. Another leader with the Big Warrior clan was
Hopoethleyoholo, who was said to have been the most bril-
liant orator of the tribe. Through his influence the largest
number of the tribe joined Big Warrior, and he subse-
quently took an active part in opposing the treaties of 1821
and 1825, concluded at Indian Spring. Notwithstanding
the factions were bitterly opposed to each other, we have
no record of any outbreak occurring until 1807. The Phil-
lips brothers were also left undisturbed in their pursuit.
The first disturbance occurred in June, 1807, when Big
Warrior, with a party of his braves, entered the stables of
Melntosh at night and stole all his horses. The same party
also carried off the Phillips cattle. When advised of their
loss, the Phillips brothers gathered their neighbors, and,
on being joined by Watson and Fitzpatrick, pursued and
overtook the plunderers about seventy miles lower down the
Ocmulgee. After a desperate conflict the stock was recov-
ered and Hopoethleyoholo made prisoner. This brave re-
fused to smoke the pipe of peace with his captors, and
actually spat in the face of the leader of the whites, who
tendered the symbol of peace. This act aroused the ire of
the whites, who were with difficulty persuaded by
Watson to spare his life. The discussion among the whites
was suddenly disturbed by Big Warrior, who rushed in
with his followers, who had been reinforced, and recaptured
the favorite orator. During this second brief struggle
Dred Phillips was shot through the fleshy part of the left
arm. The cattle were then driven back to the canebrakes
of the Big Sandy, and again apparent quiet was the rule.
But the fires of hatred were only smothered in the
breast of Big Warrior. Watson and his companions were
conversant with the machinations of the unfriendly chief,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 361
and anticipated an outbreak against both the whites and
Mclntosh party, but no opportunity occurred, and all re-
mained quiet until the war of 1812 was inaugurated. In
this war the Mclntosh party which had been gradually
gaining strength joined with the forces of the State and
Government, and Big Warrior united with the public
enemy. The struggle in Georgia during the war was bitter,
and involved the loss of many whites as well as friendly
Indians, and a heavy expense to the State. Upon the
declaration of peace between Great Britain and the United
States, peace again reigned in Georgia.
At the close of the war the whites again began to re-
sort to the Spring, and the sick were gathered from all
quarters. The fame of the waters spread, and the wonder-
ful cures effected appeared more like the result of magic
than the effects of one of nature's great restorers. In 1816,
Mrs. C. H. Varner, who yet lives in our midst, spent some
time here ; and the scenes of primitive beauty and interest
she then looked upon, and also the incidents that occurred,
are distinctly remembered by the venerable lady, as if it
were but yesterday. Gen. John W. Gordon first visited the
Spring in 1819, and continued to spend a large portion
of his time here every year until his death. During the
sojourns of this gentleman at Indian Spring, he contributed
largely to the improvements that were made ; and especial-
ly was his generosity, through a long series of years, ex-
hibited for the benefit of the needy and afflicted. At his
decease he left numbers at Indian Springs who will ever
bless his memory for the fruits of the seeds of kindness he
was constantly in the habit of sowing.
Among the early visitors was the veritable "Simon
Suggs," who subsequently became distinguished as a wit
and humorist. Douglass Walton, in his capacity of Gov-
ernment scout, continued to make his headquarters here.
In 1819, Mr. Jesse Jolley, Mr. John Lemon, and Mrs. Free-
man, with her husband and family, located in Butts. The
362 REVOLUTIONARY READER
three first named are still living, and are among the most
honored citizens of the county.
PUBLIC TREATIES.
Prior to 1721, efforts were made by the Government to
secure possession of the lands in Georgia lying west of
the Ocmulgee. The Mclntosh party favored such a treaty,
while Big "Warrior and his adherents opposed it. After
many consultations between the two parties, favorable con-
clusions were arrived at, and the pipe of peace was passed.
Big Warrior alone broke the faith thus cemented around the
council-fires of his tribe ; Mclntosh was again faithful, and
in 1821, he concluded a treaty with the agents of the
government, by which the hunting grounds between the
Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers were forever ceded away, ex-
cepting a portion of the Ward plantation and six hundred
and forty acres around the Spring. These reservations were
made by Mclntosh for himself. The first embraced a large
body of fertile land and the second the Spring, the medical
properties of which Mclntosh well understood. This treaty
was ratified in Washington, March 2d, 1821.
This action of Mclntosh and his adherents aroused an-
other feud between the rival wings of the tribe, which ended
in a fierce battle. A heavy loss was sustained on both sides,
the Mclntosh party suffering most severely. Big Warrior
was slain, and thus his party were left without a leader. A
little later the orator chief and Mclntosh met and smoked
the calumet. How faithless the first named could prove to
this solemn covenant will be shown. In 1823, General Mc-
lntosh and Joel Bailey erected the main building of the
Indian Spring Hotel, and opened it for the reception of
visitors. This building is still yearly occupied for the
purposes originally intended. About the same date other
improvements were made, and Indian Spring became a
favorite resort at that day. The visits of the whites
increased rapidly, and they sought to secure residences, or
camped out ; while the Indians, now peaceable, also flocked
to the "Healing Water,"
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 363
By an agreement, all parties met at Indian Spring to
consider a second treaty, early in February, 1825. The
Government agents were protected by United States troops,
and large forces of the opposing Indian factions were pres-
ent. The negotiations were conducted in the hotel, and
concluded February 7th, 1825. Under this treaty all the
Indian possessions in Georgia were ceded to the whites, and
an early removal of the tribe arranged for.
The agency of General Mclntosh in bringing about this
treaty resulted in his death within a few months. When
it was announced that the treaty was concluded, Hopoethle-
yoholo seized the occasion to give vent to his long pent-up
wrath. The Indians of both the old factions were present
in large numbers. All were excited. At last the orator
chief mounted the large rock yet seen at the south end of
the Varner House, and gave vent to his feelings and pur-
poses in the following characteristic talk:
''Brothers, the Great Spirit has met here with his
painted children of the woods and their paleface brethren.
I see his golden locks in the sunbeams ; he fans the warrior 's
brow with his wings and whispers sweet music in the
winds ; the beetle joins his hymn and the mocking bird his
song. You are charmed ! Brothers, you have been deceiv-
ed! A snake has been coiled in the shade and you are
running into his open mouth, deceived by the double-
tongue of the paleface chief (Mclntosh), and drunk with
the fire-water of the paleface. Brothers, the hunting
grounds of our fathers have been stolen by our chief and
sold to the paleface. Whose gold is in his pouch?
Brothers, our grounds are gone, and the plow of the pale-
face will soon turn up the bones of our fathers. Brothers,
are you tame? Will you submit? Hopoethleyoholo says
no!" Then turning to Mclntosh, who was standing with
the commissioners at a window a few feet distant, he
continued: "As for you, double-tongued snake, whom I see
through the window of the paleface, before many moons
364 REVOLUTIONARY READER
have waned your own blood shall wash out the memory of
this hated treaty. Brothers, I have spoken. ' '
By this treaty the Spring became the property of the
State and the ceded land was laid out in lots in 1826, the
Commonwealth reserving ten acres arond the Spring for the
benefit of her citizens then and thereafter. The act estab-
lishing Butts County was passed in 1826. The village of
Indian Spring was incorporated by legislative enactment in
1837, and in 1866, a second act changed the name to Mc-
Intosh and extended the limits of the incorporation.
DEATH OF MC!NTOSH.
General Mclntosh and family removed to his planta-
tion on the Chattahoochee, and evidently rested secure.
But the avenger was on the war path, and the distinguished
chieftain, who had rendered the whites such signal service,
was doomed.
In compliance with the advice of Hopoethleyoholo, a
secret council was held, at which one hundred braves were
selected to secure the vengeance desired, and these, headed
by the wily orator, set out westward. When near his resi-
dence, Mclntosh and his son-in-law, Hawkins, were seen by
their hidden foe riding together. "They could then have
been easily killed," says White's Statistics, "but their lives
were spared for the moment to preserve a consistency so
common in all plans of the Indians. They had determined
to kill Mclntosh in his own yard, in the presence of his
family, and to let his blood run upon the soil of that
reservation which had been secured to him by the treaty. ' '
From the same authority we learn Mclntosh rode home
unconscious of danger, while the savages prepared for their
work. Lightwood was procured to fire the buildings.
About three o'clock the premises were surrounded, and it
was not until the torch had been applied to the outbuildings
that the sleepers were aroused. Chilly Mclntosh, the chief's
son who is yet living escaped through a window of one
of the outhouses, and, running the gauntlet, swam the
river. General Mclntosh, upon discovering his assailants,
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 365
barricaded the door arid stood near it when it was forced.
He fired on them, and at that moment one of his steadfast
friends, Toma Tustinugse, fell upon the threshold riddled
with balls. The chief then retreated to the second story,
with four guns in his hand, which he continued to discharge
from a window. He fought with great courage, and, aware
that his end was near, determined to sell his life as dearly
as possible. He was at this time the only occupant of the
burning house ; for his two wives, Peggy and Susannah,
who had been dragged into the yard, were heard imploring
the savages not to burn him up, but to get him out of the
house, and shoot him, as he was a brave man and an Indian
like themselves. Mclntosh came down to the first floor,
where he fell pierced with many balls. He was then seized
and dragged into the yard. While lying there, the blood
gushing from his wounds, he raised himself on one arm and
surveyed his murderers with looks of defiance, and it was
while so doing he was stabbed to the heart by an Ocfuskee
Indian. The chief was scalped and the buildings plunder-
ed and burned. The party then sought for Hawkins,
whom they also killed. His body was thrown into the
river.
AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT.
The family of General Mclntosh spent the summer of
1826, at Indian Spring, where his two youngest daughters,
who had been highly educated, spent their time in associat-
ing alternately with the dusky maidens of their tribe and
their palefaced sisters. During the visit one of the
sisters created a decided sensation by eloping with an In-
dian lover. A gentleman now residing in the vicinity who
at that time was a little boy, whose parents were camped
at the Spring, was at the Mclntosh cabin then situated on
the lot north of the Varner Hotel when the occurrence
took place. There were hundreds of Indians camped on
the adjacent hills the friendly party on the south side
of the creek and the adherents of Hypoethleyoholo on the
north bank. The lover was a leading chief of the latter
366 REVOLUTIONARY READER
party, and the match was bitterly opposed by the Mclntosh
family and their adherents who keenly remembered the
sad events of the previous year ; but the young lovers, who
had long since determined upon their course, cared not for
opposition and well arranged their plans.
On a bright Sunday morning our little white friend
now an aged and respected citizen was swinging in the
cabin with the two girls when an unusual commotion in
the yard attracted the attention of all, and they rushed to
the door. The young girl's favorite pony was hitched out-
side. Coming up the hill from the creek was seen the
determined lover, mounted, and accompanied by a score of
his braves. On seeing him approach, his intended rushed
into the cabin, and, amidst the tears and vehement protes-
tations of her mother and sister, who were weeping bitterly,
she rapidly cast off the habiliments of civilization and ar-
rayed herself in a complete Indian costume. This accomp-
lished, she turned to her weeping friends, and after much
talk in the language of her tribe, she embraced them with-
out shedding a tear, and rushed out, kissing her little
friend, who was gazing upon the scene with wonder. The
lover and his escort were drawn up near the gate; not a
word was said, and the girl sprang upon her pony and
took her place in the line behind her intended. Silently
the party then moved down the hill, crossed the creek, and
were soon out of sight. They were legally married at
Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia, and the union
was a happy and prosperous one. Jackson, (Go,.,} Argus.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 367
TRACING THE M'INTOSH TRAIL.
The Mclntosh trail begins as far west as Talladega, Ala.,
and perhaps further, going eastward 3 miles above Senoia,
in Coweta County, Georgia, where it diverges, one trail
going to Augusta and the other via Indian Springs to
Macon. Mrs. Yeandle has traced the trail from Augusta to
Senoia. Perhaps some daughter will trace it to Macon
from its point of divergence. I am tracing it west from
the neighborhood of Senoia to Talladega, Ala. The trail
runs about 3 miles north of Senoia, and near there Mc-
lntosh built a fort, the ruins of which may still be seen.
Senoia was given the name of a princess of the Cowetas.
Her name is about all that remains of her, her history being
buried in oblivion. The trail runs north of Turin, crosses
Hegg Creek near the home of the Rev. Mr. Rees, then
through Sharpsburg, north of Raymond, following part of
the old Mclntosh road entering Newnan on the southeast,
down Greenville street across Mrs. Atkinson's lot to La-
Grange street, across Miss Long's lot and a livery stable
lot into Spring street. The direct route is here uncertain,
because of home-building, but it crosses the Central Rail-
road into Roy Pork, on to an unusual road called Rocky
road, which leads over a creek to the Chattahoochee, where
it crosses the river west of the Mclntosh reserve. The
reserve is a square mile in a sharp bend of the river, and
on both sides of 'the Chattahoochee, being partly in Carroll
County and party in Coweta, and at this bend the river
runs for some distance west instead of south. On the
Carroll side the Chief Mclntosh had his home, and there
he was murdered by his race, in 1826. And there he is
buried. The trail now runs almost due west across the
southern part of Carroll County, Georgia, and across the
northern parts of Clay and Randolph Counties, Alabama,
into Talladega County, to the town of Talladega. This
part of the trail is more certain than elsewhere, because the
pioneers blazed the trail, cutting three notches into the
368 REVOLUTIONARY READER
numerous trees of the unbroken forest. Over this trail
Andrew Jackson marched his troops against the British in
1812-13-14-15, Mclntosh and his force going with him. The
forests have gone down before the fields, and here is per-
haps the finest white yeomanry in Georgia. It is considered
that they produce the finest short staple cotton in the world.
Schools and churches abound and the population is fast
advancing in culture. But to take up the trail again: It
leaves the reserve, going through Lowell, thence to Tyrus
by Mexico campground ; then one-half mile north of Black
Jack mountain through Buchanan town into Alabama, one-
half mile north of Gratan postoffice by Bethel campground.
Then crossing the little Tallapoosa on Saxon's bridge near
Saxon's mill, on the Big Tallapoosa, where it crosses at
Ridley's bridge through Chillafinnee, then goes on north of
Ironton to Talladega, Alabama. Perhaps this trail goes
further west than Talladega, but an effort to trace it has
failed so far. Our Chapter still hopes to find whether it
continues. No doubt the whole country was a network of
trails, and this must antedate the time of Mclntosh. It
must go back to the days when the Indians had no beasts
of burden. MRS. R. H. HARDAWAY, Newnan, Ga.
REMINISCENCES AND INDIAN LEGENDS 369
GEORGIA SONG.
I
Blest is thy land, fair Georgia;
From the mountains to the sea.
The purpose of whose founders was
The opprest from wrongs to free.
REFRAIN :
Then hail to thee, our Georgia!
For of the "Old Thirteen"
No brighter star shone ever,
Or ever shall be seen.
II
"Not for themselves, but others,"
Was the way their motto ran;
And in the path of mercy
Did they early lead the van.
Ill
Our fathers sought the "new world,"
With a motive grand and high,
And faith in God hath ever
Led our hopes unto the sky.
IV.
And so on strong foundations,
We see stately columns rise,
As symbols of those virtues,
That our Georgia people prize.
V.
A soldier guards the portals
While a sunburst from above,
Illumines arch and pillars
With God's all protecting love.
VI
God grant our solons Wisdom,
Let strict Justice hold the scale
And Moderation guide the hand,
That must make the law prevail.
By J. T. Derry.
370 EEVOLUTIONABY READER
Many of the states have a state song for the school children.
Georgia has never yet had one. There are efforts being made to
supply this deficiency.
The founders of the colony of Georgia had a threefold purpose :
First To provide a home for the honest debtor class of Great
Britain, so that in the new world they might have a new chance.
Second To offer to persecuted sects of Europe a refuge form
oppression.
Third -To oppose a barrier against Spanish aggression upon
the colony of South Carolina.
The raising of silk and indigo were to be the chief industries
of the new colony. The trustees were to make for themselves no
profit out of their enterprises. Hence on one side of the seal
adopted for the colony of Georgia by the trustees was a represen-
tation of silk worms busy at their work and the motto was: "Non
sibi, Sed Aliis," which means, "Not for themselves, but for others."
When Georgia became a state a seal was adopted on the
front side of which are represented three columns, marked :
"Wisdom, Justice, Moderation," which support the arch of the
constitution. On arch and pillar shine the rays of the rising sun.
A soldier with drawn sword guards the approaches.
With these two seals, one of the colony and the other of the
state as the inspiration, the above song has been suggested, the
words being by Professor J. T. Derry and the music by Mrs.
Albert T. Spalding, both of Atlanta, Ga.
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