Chapter V: Part 5

The road from Savannah to New Inverness in the Darien settlement which, in 1736, in obedience to Mr. Oglethorpe’s orders, was located by Captain Hugh MacKay, Jr., with his company of Rangers, and Indian guides furnished by Tomo-chi-chi, had been completed. Various settlements on the Savannah, Vernon, and Great Ogeechee rivers, and also on St. Simons island and the Alatamaha river having been confirmed, between 1740 and 1750 planters with their families and servants began to move in and occupy desirable localities intermediate the Great Ogeechee and Alatamaha rivers. The sites, at first selected, lay along the line of the Savannah and New Inverness road, and upon high-grounds adjacent thereto bordering upon salt-water streams and swamps emptying into them. Between the Great Ogeechee and South-New Port rivers was formed the Midway settlement.

This district derived its name from its location, which was about _midway_ between the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha then constituting the northern and southern boundaries of the colony. It has been suggested, and the belief is current with some, that the true spelling is Medway, and that both the District and the river which permeates it were named for one of the well-known streams of merrie old England.[174]

On the only plan of Sunbury the writer has been able to procure, and in some of the early records, this river is written _Medway_. It may be fairly stated, however, that while by some the river may have been called Medway, the district was universally known as _Midway_. The time-honored church, which still stands, and its predecessor which so long stood near the intersection of the Savannah and Darien, and the Sunbury roads, are both remembered as the _Midway_ and not _Medway_ congregational meeting houses. We are persuaded that the river as well as the district were both named _Midway;_—the former being called for the latter.

By an act dividing the several districts and divisions of the Province of Georgia into Parishes, passed the 15th day of March, 1758,[175] it was provided that “the town of Hardwick and district of Ogechee, on the south side of the river Great Ogechee, extending northwest up the said river so far as the Lower Indian trading path leading from Mount Pleasant, and southward from the town of Hardwick as far as the swamp of James Dunham, including the settlements on the north side of the north branches of the river Midway, with the islands of Ossabaw, and from the head of the said Dunham’s Swamp in a north-west line, shall be and forever constitute a parish by the name of ‘The Parish of St. Philip’: from Sunbury in the district of Midway and Newport from the southern bounds of the parish of St. Philip, extending southward as far as the north line of Samuel Hastings, and from thence southeast to the south branch of Newport, including the islands of St. Katharine and Bermuda, and from the north line of the said Samuel Hastings northwest, shall be and forever continue a parish by the name of ‘The Parish of St. John’: the town and district of Darien, extending from the south boundary of the parish of St. John to the river Alatamaha, including the islands of Sapelo and Eastwood, and the sea islands to the north of Egg island northwest up the river Alatamaha to the forks of the said river, shall be and forever continue a parish by the name of ‘The Parish of St. Andrew:’ and the town and district of Frederica, including the islands of Great and Little St. Simons, and the adjacent islands shall be and forever continue a parish by the name of ‘The Parish of St. James.’”

Such were the territorial limits of the four southern parishes of the province, approved by Governor Ellis, and designed to promote the establishment of religious worship according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England.[176]

As the early population of Sunbury was largely drawn from the members of the Midway congregation,—the most pronounced society existing within the limits of St. John’s parish at the time of its formation,—a brief sketch of that congregation and its establishment in Georgia, may not be deemed irrelevant.

Early in 1697 a body of Puritans from the Towns of Dorchester, Roxbury, and Milton, in Massachusetts, taking with them their pastor,—the Reverend Joseph Lord,—and proclaiming as a leading object the encouragement of churches and the promotion of religion in the Southern plantations, removed with their families and personal effects and formed a new home at Dorchester, in the province of South Carolina. The church which they there established was the first Congregational or Independent Church within the confines of that Colony. All the other religious societies belonged to the established Church of England.

After a residence of more than fifty years, finding their lands impoverished and insufficient for the rising generation,—Dorchester and Beach-Hill proving very unhealthy,—the good reports of the lands in Georgia having been confirmed upon the personal inspection of certain members of the Society who had been sent for that purpose, and a grant of 22,400 acres of land having been secured from the authorities in Georgia,—which grant was subsequently enlarged by the addition of 9,950 acres,—the members of the Dorchester Society commenced moving in 1752 into what is now the swamp region of Liberty County. The settlement lay between Mount Hope Swamp,—the head of Midway river,—on the North, and Bull-Town Swamp on the South. At first, however, it was not so comprehensive. It extended neither to the pine barrens on the West, nor to the salt water on the East. This immigration, begun in 1752, was continued until 1771, when it ceased.[177] According to the records of the Society, there were forty-four removals in all, of which one family came from Charlestown, four from Pon-Pon, and the remaining thirty-nine from Dorchester and Beach-Hill. These removals were most numerous during the years 1754, 1755, and 1756. These immigrants brought their negroes with them, and it appears probable, from the best lights before us, that the population of this colony, after its full establishment, consisted of about 350 whites, and 1500 negro slaves.

The region into which the Dorchester Congregation immigrated was already known as the _Midway District_. To the General Assembly which convened in Savannah in 1751, Audley Maxwell, Esquire, was sent as a delegate;—its population then entitling it to such representation. It would appear that a number of families residing in the Midway District previous to the arrival of the Dorchester Congregation, united with that Society after it was regularly domiciled in its new home. The Dorchester Colony did not immigrate, in its entirety, to Georgia. Some families continued to dwell at Dorchester and Beach-Hill, where their descendants may yet be found. Others removed elsewhere. With the formation of the new settlement in St. John’s parish, however, the old Dorchester colony in South Carolina lost its integrity and distinctive characteristics.

In locating their plantations amid the swamps of St. John’s parish, the following plan was adopted: After laying by their crops in Carolina in the fall of the year, the planters came with able-bodied hands, and, during the winter, cleared land and built houses. In a season or two having thus sufficiently prepared the way, they brought their families and servants in the early spring, and at once entered upon the cultivation of the soil. Thus was the removal rendered as safe and comfortable as the nature of the case permitted.

Strange to say, their dwellings and plantation quarters were invariably located on the edges of the swamps, in utter disregard of the manifest laws of health. In such malarial situations was the entire year passed. Their houses at first were built of wood, one story high, with dormer windows in the roofs, small in size, without lights, with no inside linings, and with chimneys of clay. The negro-houses were made either of clay or poles. For market, rice was the only article cultivated. While corn was planted on the upland, chief attention was bestowed upon the clearing, ditching, and drainage of the swamps. A miasmatic soil was thus exposed to the action of the sun, at their very doors. The consequence of such injudicious location, and of a general inattention to domestic comfort, was violent sickness and considerable mortality. So frequent were the deaths among children that they seldom arrived at puberty. Those who attained the age of manhood and womanhood possessed feeble constitutions. According to the register kept by the Society, from 1752 to 1772,—the period during which this settlement was being formed,—193 births and 134 deaths occurred. The mortality was greatest during the months of September, October, and November. April, May, June, and August appear to have been the healthiest months:—June particularly so. Bilious fevers in the fall, and pleurisies in the winter and spring, were the diseases which proved most fatal. It used to be said of such as survived a severe attack of bilious fever in the fall, that they would certainly die of pleurisy in the winter or spring.

The Indians being in the vicinity, and at times indulging in acts of hostility, some of the houses of these early settlers were made of hewn cypress logs after the fashion of block houses, and were bullet proof.

The style of agriculture in vogue was of the most primitive sort. The ground was tilled with hoes only. Ploughs were not in use. All rails for fencing were carried on the heads and shoulders of the negroes, and in the same manner was rice transported from the fields. This grain was not only threshed but also beaten by hand: and thus was the crop prepared for market. At first some of the planters sold their crops in Savannah. A trip to that place was the event of the year, and the anticipated journey was talked of in the neighborhood for some time before it was undertaken. Horses were specially fed and carefully attended for a week or more preparatory to the jaunt. Ordinary journeys to church, and of a social character, were performed on horseback. Hence horse-blocks were to be seen at every door. When he would a-wooing go, the gallant appeared mounted upon his finest steed and in his best attire, followed by a servant on another horse, conveying his master’s valise behind him.

Shortly after the Revolutionary war stick-back gigs were introduced. If a woman were in the vehicle and unattended, the waiting man rode another horse, keeping along side of the shaft horse and holding the check rein in his left hand. When his master held the lines, the servant rode behind. Men often went armed to church for fear of the Indians.

The country was filled with game. Ducks and wild geese in innumerable quantities frequented the rice-fields. Wild turkeys and deer abounded. Bears and beavers were found in the swamps, and buffalo herds wandered at no great remove to the southward and northward. There was no lack of squirrels, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, snipe, wood-cock, and quail. Wildcats and hawks were the pest of the region, while the cougar was sometimes heard and seen in the depths of the vine-clad swamps. The waters which they held were alive with fishes, alligators, terrapins, and snakes.

Such, in a few words, was the condition of the swamp region of the Midway District when the town of Sunbury was located. Responding to the trust reposed in them by the conveyance from Mark Carr, Messrs. James Maxwell, Kenneth Baillie, John Elliott, Grey Elliott, and John Stevens, with due dispatch set about laying off the town upon the “westermost bank” of Midway river. The plan, as matured and carried out by them, embraced three public squares,—known respectively as _King’s_, _Church_, and _Meeting_,—and four hundred and ninety-six lots. These lots had a uniform front of seventy feet, and were one hundred and thirty feet in depth. Lots numbers one to forty, inclusive, fronting on the river, were denominated _Bay Lots_, and carried with them the ownership of the shore to low-water mark. Four lots constituted a block, bounded on three sides by streets, and on the fourth by a lane. The streets were seventy-five feet broad, and the lanes twenty feet wide. The plan of the town was entirely regular. The streets in one direction ran at right angles to the river, and were, at right angles, intersected by the cross streets and lanes. From north to south the length of Sunbury, as thus laid out, was 3430 feet. Its breadth on the south side was 2230 feet, and on the north, 1880 feet.

Within a short time substantial wharves were constructed, the most marked of which were subsequently owned and used by the following merchants: Kelsell & Spalding, Fisher, Jones & Hughes, Darling & Co., and Lamott.

That Sunbury must rapidly have attracted the notice of the colonists and quickly secured a population by no means insignificant or destitute of influence in that day of small things, is evidenced by the fact that as early as 1761 the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of his council, established and declared it to be a port of entry, and appointed Thomas Carr, Collector, John Martin, Naval Officer, and Francis Lee, Searcher. These appointments were confirmed by the Commissioners of his Majesty’s Customs.[178]

By deed prepared by Thomas Bosomworth, Malatche Opiya, Mico, Emperor of the Upper and Lower Creeks, in consideration of ten pieces of stroud, twelve pieces of duffles, two hundred weight of powder, two hundred weight of lead, twenty guns, twelve pairs of pistols, and one hundred weight of vermilion, on the 14th day of December, 1749, conveyed to Thomas and Mary Bosomworth [formerly Musgrove] Hussoope or Ossabaw island, Cowleggee or St. Catherine island,[179] and Sapelo, with their appurtenances, warranting the same to them, their heirs, and assigns, so long as the sun should shine, or the waters flow in the rivers.[180] This claim to the ownership of these valuable islands proved a very annoying one to the colonists. After years of litigation, the dispute was finally settled in 1759, by Royal command, by admitting a demand of Mrs. Bosomworth for £450 for goods alleged to have been expended by her in his Majesty’s service during the years 1747 and 1748, by allowing her a back salary at the rate of £100 per annum for sixteen years and a half, during which she had acted in the capacity of government agent and interpreter, and by confirming to her and her designing husband full right and title to St. Catherine island, in consideration of the fact that they had fixed their residence and planted there.[181]

St. Catherine island was the home of the Bosomworths when Sunbury was settled. Some fourteen years afterwards it formed the residence of the honorable Button Gwinnett, who, having disposed of his stock of merchandise in Charleston, South Carolina, with the proceeds purchased some negroes and a tract of land on St. Catherine, where he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits until, on the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, he was summoned from his retirement by the voice of his fellow-citizens.[182]

Captain McCall, in alluding to the early history of Sunbury, says: “Soon after its settlement and organization as a town, it rose into considerable commercial importance; emigrants came from different quarters to this healthy maritime port, particularly from Bermuda: about seventy came from that island, but unfortunately for them and the reputation of the town, a mortal epidemic broke out and carried off about fifty of their number the first year: it is highly probable they brought the seeds of the disease with them. Of the remainder, as many as were able, returned to their native country. This circumstance, however, did not very much retard the growing state of this eligible spot: a lucrative trade was carried on with various parts of the West Indies in lumber, rice, indigo, corn, &c. Seven square-rigged vessels have been known to enter the port of Sunbury in one day, and about the years 1769 and 1770 it was thought by many, in point of commercial importance, to rival Savannah. In this prosperous state it continued with very little interruption until the war commenced between Great Britain and America.”[183]

In his report on the condition of the Province of Georgia, dated the 20th of September, 1773, Sir James Wright mentions Savannah and Sunbury as being the only ports in the Province. The inlet to the latter he describes as “very good; and, although the river is not more than twenty two miles in length, fifteen feet of water may be carried up to the town distant twelve miles from the sea.” From the same source we learn that during the year 1772 fifty-six vessels of various sorts were entered and cleared at the custom house in the port of Sunbury.[184] The collector of the port at this time was James Kitchen, with a salary of £65 stg, and fees of office amounting to £90. The comptroller and searcher was Isaac Antrobus: salary £60: fees of office amounting to a like sum.

Sunbury soon commanded the rice crop from the adjacent swamp regions. Indigo was planted on the island just below, then called Bermuda, and now known as the Colonel’s Island. The principal trade was with the West Indies and with the Northern Colonies. From the former, supplies of rum and sugar were obtained, and from the latter rum, flour, biscuits, and provisions. To the West Indies were shipped rice, corn, peas, indigo, lumber, shingles, live stock, and barreled beef and pork. Governor Wright regarded the trade with the Northern Colonies as injurious to the Province of Georgia, because, says he, “they take of but little of our produce, and drain us of every trifle of Gold and Silver that is brought here, by giving a price for Guineas, Moidores, Johannes’s Pistols and Dollars far above their real and intrinsic value, so that we can never keep any amongst us.” So anxious was Sunbury to concentrate all the trade of the interior, that at one time it was proposed to connect Midway and North Newport rivers by a canal running between Bermuda island and the main. This project, however, was never consummated. Occasionally vessels arrived from English ports bringing manufactured goods, but such generally sought Savannah as the port of entry and discharge. The purchases of the Sunbury merchants were largely made in or through Savannah, and were thence conveyed in coasting sloops and schooners through the inland passages. Below the town, and on the road to the Colonel’s island, is a locality to this day known as the _stave landing_, whence, in these early days, constant shipments of staves and shingles were made. On the eastern side of that island, the site of the old shipyard is still pointed out where vessels were repaired and new ones built. It was here that the British landed during the Revolutionary war, when, under Lieut. Col. Fuser, they attempted the reduction of Sunbury.

The health of Sunbury from the time of its settlement until, and even after the Revolutionary war, was good. It became a pleasant residence for the families of many planters whose plantations were located in the swamp regions.

The following is a “list of the Proprietors of the Town of Sunbury in Georgia,” and of the Lots owned by them or their representatives about the period of the war of the Revolution:

Lot No. 1. Mark Carr.
” ” 2. Arthur Carnaby.
” ” 3. Grey Elliott.
” ” 4. Do.
” ” 5. Francis Arthur.
” ” 6. William Graves.
” ” 7. Francis Arthur.
” ” 8. John Cubbidge.
” ” 9. James Maxwell.
” ” 10. Mary Spry.
” ” 11. Samuel Bennerworth.
” ” 12. Stephen Dickinson.
” ” 13. James Fisher. Schmidt & Mölich.
” ” 14. Do. Do.
” ” 15. Swinton & Co.
” ” 16. Darling & Munro.
” ” 17. Francis Arthur.
” ” 18. James Derwell.
” ” 19. Swinton & Co.
” ” 20. Thomas Peacock.
” ” 21. Andrew Darling.
” ” 22. Thomas Young.
” ” 23. Do.
” ” 24. Roger Kelsall.
” ” 25. John James.
” ” 26. Joseph Bacon.
” ” 27. John Stewart, Sen’r.
” ” 28. John Lupton.
” ” 29. Dunbar, Young & Co.
” ” 30. Do.
” ” 31. John Elliott.
” ” 32. James Dunham.
” ” 33. Lyman Hall.
” ” 34. Do.
” ” 35. Samuel Miller.
” ” 36. Kenneth Baillie, Sen’r.
” ” 37. Samuel Bennerworth.
” ” 38. Do.
” ” 39. William Sererson.
” ” 40. Do.
” ” 41. Mark Carr.
” ” 42. Tabitha Bacon.
” ” 43. Do.
” ” 44. John Winn.
” ” 45. David Jervey.
” ” 46. Do.
” ” 47. Francis Arthur.
” ” 48. Francis Lee.
” ” 49. John Quarterman, Jr.
” ” 50. James Dowell.
” ” 51. John Irvine.
” ” 52. Jeremiah Irvine.
” ” 53. Darling & Co.
” ” 54. Matthew Smallwood.
” ” 55. William Peacock.
” ” 56. Isaac Lines.
” ” 57. John Osgood.
” ” 58. Rebecca Way.
” ” 59. John Stewart, Sr.
” ” 60. John Lupton.
” ” 61. James Dunham.
” ” 62. John Shave.
” ” 63. Jacob Lockerman.
” ” 64. Paynter Dickinson.
” ” 65. John Lawson.
” ” 66. Do.
” ” 67. Thomas Ralph.
” ” 68. John Quarterman, Sr.
” ” 69. Thomas Gouldsmith.
” ” 70. James Houstoun.
” ” 71. John Stevens.
” ” 72. Mark Carr.
” ” 73. Hugh Clark.
” ” 74. Do.
” ” 75. Kenneth Baillie, Sr.
” ” 76. Do.
” ” 77. Paris Way.
” ” 78. Nathaniel Yates.
” ” 79. William Dunham.
” ” 80. Charles West.
” ” 81. Daniel Slade.
” ” 82. Jacob Lockerman.
” ” 83. Samuel West.
” ” 84. Thomas Carter, P. Schmidt.
” ” 85. John Elliott.
” ” 86. Do.
” ” 87. William Baker.
” ” 88. Do.
” ” 89. Audley Maxwell.
” ” 90. Elizabeth Simmons.
” ” 91. John Graves.
” ” 92. Do.
” ” 93. Robert Bolton.
” ” 94. John Baker.
” ” 95. John Humphreys.
” ” 96. James Fisher, Francis Guilland.
” ” 97. John Lupton.
” ” 98. Do.
” ” 99. Henry Saltus.
” ” 100. Donald McKay.
” ” 101. Stephen Dickinson.
” ” 102. Do.
” ” 103. William Clark.
” ” 104. Thomas Christie.
” ” 105. Samuel Jeanes.
” ” 106. Moses Way.
” ” 107. William David.
” ” 108. Paynter Dickinson.
” ” 109. Francis Lee.
” ” 110. Do.
” ” 111. James Harley.
” ” 112. Samuel Bacon.
” ” 113. Tabitha Bacon.
” ” 114. John Stewart, Snr.
” ” 115. Do.
” ” 116. Do.
” ” 117. Stephen Dickinson.
” ” 118. Do.
” ” 119. John Elliott.
” ” 120. Do.
” ” 121. Benjamin Stevens.
” ” 122. John Lynn.
” ” 123. Do.
” ” 125. John Sutherland.
” ” 126. Do.
” ” 127. Samuel Jeanes.
” ” 128. Do.
” ” 129. Joseph Tickener.
” ” 130. William Miller.
” ” 131. Richard Mills.
” ” 132. Do.
” ” 133. Peter McKay.
” ” 134. James Miller.
” ” 135. Do.
” ” 136. David Jervey.
” ” 137. William Davis.
” ” 138. Do.
” ” 139. Joseph Serjeant.
” ” 140. John Jones.
” ” 141. Strong Ashmore.
” ” 142. Francis Arthur.
” ” 143. Donald McKay.
” ” 144. Do.
” ” 145. Andrew Way.
” ” 146. James Fisher.
” ” 147. George Monis.
” ” 148. Thomas Way.
” ” 149. James Hatcher.
” ” 150. Do.
” ” 151. Francis Arthur.
” ” 152. Do.
” ” 153. Do.
” ” 154. Do.
” ” 155. John Perkins.
” ” 156. Do.
” ” 157. William Lowe.
” ” 158. Do.
” ” 159. Charles West. Schmidt & Mölich.
” ” 160. Do. Do.
” ” 161. Do.
” ” 162. Do.
” ” 163. William Peacock.
” ” 164. Do.
” ” 165. Charles West.
” ” 166. Do.
” ” 167. William Davis.
” ” 168. Do.
” ” 169. Francis Lee.
” ” 170. Do.
” ” 171. Thomas Vincent.
” ” 172. Benjamin Baker.
” ” 173. Grey Elliott.
” ” 174. Do.
” ” 175. Do.
” ” 176. Do.
” ” 177. John Lupton.
” ” 178. Do.
” ” 179. Do.
” ” 180. Do.
” ” 181. T. Quarterman.
” ” 182. Joseph Bacon.
” ” 185. Susannah Jones.
” ” 186. Do.
” ” 189. Barnard Romans.
” ” 190. Do.
” ” 191. Barnard Romans.
” ” 192. Do.
” ” 200. John K. Zubley.
” ” 205. Edward Way.
” ” 206. Do.
” ” 207. James Fisher.
” ” 208. Do.
” ” 209. Edward Maham.
” ” 210. Do.
” ” 211. Richard Spencer.
” ” 212. Do.
” ” 213. William Swinton.
” ” 214. Do.
” ” 215. Do.
” ” 216. Do.
” ” 217. Samuel Jeanes.
” ” 218. Do.
” ” 219. Do.
” ” 220. Henry Saltus.
” ” 221. James Read.
” ” 222. Do.
” ” 223. Charles West.
” ” 224. Do.
” ” 225. John Shave.
” ” 226. Do.
” ” 227. Richard Baker.
” ” 228. Do.
” ” 229. Marn’k Perry.
” ” 230. Do.
” ” 231. Thomas Dunbar.
” ” 232. Joshua Snowden.
” ” 233. Samuel Burnley. Schmidt & Mölich.
” ” 234. Do.
” ” 235. Do.
” ” 236. Do.
” ” 237. John Milchett.
” ” 238. Do.
” ” 239. James Andrew.
” ” 240. Do.
” ” 241. William Dunham.
” ” 242. Do.
” ” 243. Samuel Jeanes.
” ” 244. Winw’d McIntosh.
” ” 245. David Jervey.
” ” 246. Do.
” ” 247. Francis Lee.
” ” 248. Samuel Morecock.
” ” 249. Mark Carr.
” ” 250. Do.
” ” 251. George Bodington.
” ” 252. Mary Bateman.
” ” 253. John Goff.
” ” 257. Robert Bolton.
” ” 258. Do.
” ” 265. Mark Carr.
” ” 266. Do.
” ” 267. John Bryan.
” ” 268. Do.
” ” 269. Patrick M. Kay.
” ” 270. Do.
” ” 271. Benjamin Andrew.
” ” 272. Do.
” ” 273. Morgan Tabb.
” ” 274. Do.
” ” 275. Morgan Tabb.
” ” 276. Do.
” ” 277. James Watcher.
” ” 278. Do.
” ” 279. Francis Arthur.
” ” 280. Do.
” ” 281. John Bryan.
” ” 282. Samuel Richardson.
” ” 283. John Gaspar Stirkey.
” ” 284. Do.
” ” 285. John Jones (mulatto.)
” ” 289. Thomas Carter.
” ” 290. Do.
” ” 305. Do.
” ” 306. Do.
” ” 307. Do.
” ” 308. Do.
” ” 309. Do.
” ” 313. Samuel Tomlinson.
” ” 314. Do.
” ” 315. Do.
” ” 317. William Swinton.
” ” 318. Do.
” ” 319. Do.
” ” 320. Do.
” ” 340. Peter McKay.
” ” 341. Do.
” ” 342. Do.
” ” 343. Do.
” ” 344. Do.
” ” 345. Do.
” ” 346. Do.
” ” 347. Peter McKay.
” ” 348. Do.
” ” 349. Do.
” ” 350. Do.
” ” 351. Do.
” ” 352. Thomas Quarterman.
” ” 353. Barrack Norman.
” ” 354. Do.
” ” 355. Do.
” ” 356. Tarah, Senior.
” ” 357. Francis Arthur.
” ” 358. Do.
” ” 359. Frederick Hobrendorff.
” ” 360. Do.
” ” 361. Joseph Richardson.
” ” 362. Do.
” ” 373. John Ford.
” ” 403. Thomas Christie.
” ” 404. Do.
” ” 431. Marmaduke Gerry.
” ” 432. Do.
” ” 433. Do.
” ” 434. Robert Smallwood.
” ” 435. Do.
” ” 436. John Winn.
” ” 437. Francis Arthur.
” ” 438. Do.
” ” 473. Do.
” ” 474. Do.
” ” 475. Do.
” ” 476. Do.
” ” 477. Do.
” ” 478. Samuel Bacon.
” ” 479. Francis Lee.
” ” 480. John Tutes.

In the Spring of 1773 William Bartram, at the request of Dr. Fothergill of London, set out “to explore the vegetable kingdom,” and search the Floridas and the western portions of Carolina and Georgia “for the discovery of rare and useful productions of nature.” In his charming narrative of travels and observations, he presents us with this glimpse of our lost town: “After resting, and a little recreation for a few days in Savanna, and having in the meantime purchased a good horse, and equipped myself for a journey southward, I sat off early in the morning for Sunbury, a sea-port town beautifully situated on the main between Medway and Newport rivers, about fifteen miles south of great Ogeeche river. The town and harbour are defended from the fury of the seas by the north and south points of St. Helena and South Catharine’s islands; between which is the bar and entrance into the sound: the harbor is capacious and safe, and has water enough for ships of great burthen. I arrived here in the evening in company with a gentleman, one of the inhabitants, who politely introduced me to one of the principal families, where I supped and spent the evening in a circle of genteel and polite ladies and gentlemen.”[185]

The following day was occupied in exploring Bermuda [now Colonel’s] island, whose soil, plantations of indigo, corn, and potatoes, Indian tumuli of earth and shell, flora and fauna, greatly interested and delighted him.

“On the morrow,” continues Mr. Bartram, “obedient to the admonitions of my attendant spirit, curiosity, as well as to gratify the expectations of my worthy patron, I again sat off on my southern excursion and left Sunbury in company with several of its polite inhabitants who were going to Medway meeting, a very large and well constructed place of worship, in St. John’s parish, where I associated with them in religious exercise and heard a very excellent sermon delivered by their pious and truly venerable pastor, the Rev. —— Osgood. This respectable congregation is independent, and consists chiefly of families and proselytes to a flock which this pious man led, about forty years ago,[186] from South Carolina, and settled in this fruitful district. It is about nine miles from Sunbury to Medway meeting-house, which stands on the high road opposite the Sunbury road. As soon as the congregation broke up I reassumed my travels, proceeding down the high-road towards Fort Barrington, on the Alatamaha, passing through a level country well watered by large streams, branches of Medway and Newport rivers, coursing from extensive swamps and marshes, their sources: these swamps are daily clearing and improving into large fruitful rice plantations, aggrandizing the well inhabited and rich district of St. John’s parish.”[187]

In the absence of records it is impossible to specify, with any degree of accuracy, the ratio of increase which characterized the population of Sunbury during the first twenty years of its existence. That at an early period it became a favorite resort not only for commercial purposes but also for health, admits of no doubt. The probability is that this town culminated in prosperity, population, and importance, about the beginning of the Revolutionary war, when its inhabitants, white and black, numbered, we should say, between eight hundred and a thousand. That, until the retarding influences of the Revolutionary struggle were encountered, Sunbury had steadily, although slowly, advanced in material wealth, influence, and population, may be safely asserted. Bermuda island, too, was comfortably settled by agriculturists, on small plantations, busied chiefly with the production of indigo. Sunken spaces, indicating where the old vats were located, may be seen to this day. A rich and by no means inconsiderable back country was entirely tributary to Sunbury. Rice, cattle, lumber, shingles, staves, and other articles of commerce, brought from the furthest practicable distances, were here concentrated for sale and shipment; and quite an extensive territory drew its supplies from the store-houses and shops of the Sunbury merchants. On one or two occasions cargoes of Africans were landed and sold in this port. The houses, although of wood, were some of them large, and even imposing. The wharves were faced with palmetto and live oak logs, and filled in with oyster shells, sand, and stone-ballast. Among the residents were not a few of gentle birth, refinement, and education. As a rule, the inhabitants led easy, comfortable, simple lives, and were much given to hospitality. No one was ever in a hurry, and the mornings and afternoons, among the better class, were largely devoted to amusements, such as fishing, sailing, riding, and hunting. The evenings were spent in visiting and in social intercourse. It was a good, easy life that these planters, even at that early day, began to lead upon the Georgia coast. It became more striking, abundant, and attractive after the Revolution; but the delightful germs of the most pleasing existence this country has ever known were then present. No aid seems to have been invoked from the Colonial Council in either supporting the town or indicating the manner in which it should be governed. We find no public resolutions or acts on the subject prior to the legislation of 1791. In all likelihood a Magistrate’s Court, and the concurrent views of a few of the prominent citizens, invoked on an emergency, sufficed for the preservation of order and the maintenance of peace.

The general council, however, from time to time, appointed packers, inspectors, and “cullers of lumber” for the port.

By an act passed the 26th of March, 1767, it was made obligatory upon the inhabitants to “clear and keep clear the several squares, streets, lanes, and common” within the town. In consideration of such service they were declared exempt from road duty in the parish of St. John.[188] By the constitution, adopted in convention at Savannah on the 5th day of February, 1777, the parishes of St. John, St. Andrew, and St. James, were consolidated into one county called LIBERTY. The counties then named and defined within the limits of Georgia were eight in all:—Wilkes, Richmond, Burke, Effingham, Chatham, Liberty, Glynn, and Camden. While to each of the other counties was accorded a representation of ten members, fourteen were allowed to Liberty in consideration of its extent and importance. Sunbury was permitted two special and additional members to represent the trade of the place; and, for like purpose, Savannah was empowered to send four.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war the parish of St. John possessed nearly one-third the wealth of the entire province; and its inhabitants were remarkable for their upright and independent character.[189] Three hundred and seventeen of the four hundred and ninety-six lots into which the town of Sunbury was divided, had been sold, and were, many of them at least, occupied by their respective proprietors and their tenants. Among the prominent citizens was Dr. Lyman Hall, a native of Connecticut and a member of the Midway congregation. Although owning and cultivating a rice plantation situated on the Savannah and Darien road a few miles beyond Midway meeting house in the direction of Savannah, he was the proprietor of and resided upon two of the most desirable lots in Sunbury, numbered 33 and 34 on the plan of that town, and fronting upon the river. He was the leading physician not only of the place but also of the adjacent country for many miles. It was mainly through his influence that the parish of St. John acted independently and in advance of the Republican party in Georgia. In acknowledgment of the decided stand then assumed by him, he was, on the 21st of March, 1775, unanimously elected as a delegate to represent the parish in the next general Congress.[190] On the 13th of May following, upon the production of his credentials, he was unanimously admitted to a seat in Congress “_as a delegate from the parish of St. John in the Colony of Georgia_, subject to such regulations as the Congress should determine relative to his voting.” He carried with him from Sunbury, as a present to the suffering Republicans in Massachusetts, one hundred and sixty barrels of rice, and fifty pounds sterling.

It was not until the 15th of July, 1775, that the Convention of Georgia acknowledged complete allegiance to the general Confederacy, and appointed Archibald Bulloch, John Houstoun, the Rev’d Dr. Zubly, Noble W. Jones, and Lyman Hall as delegates to the Provincial Congress.

Intermediately between the time when Dr. Hall took his seat in Congress as a delegate from the parish of St. John, and this action of the Convention, as he represented only a portion of the Colony of Georgia, he declined voting upon questions which were to be decided by a vote of Colonies. He, however, participated in the debates, advocated the necessity and value of the present Congress, recorded his opinion in all cases except such as required an expression of sentiment by Colonies, and declared his earnest desire and conviction “that the example which had been shown by the parish which he represented would be speedily followed, and that the representation of Georgia would soon be complete.”

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, of the three members from Georgia whose names were affixed to that memorable document, two—Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett,—were from St. John’s parish: and we may add, from the town of Sunbury:—for, although Gwinnett then resided on St. Catharine island, his home was within sight of that flourishing seaport, all his public and much of his private business was there transacted, he was constantly seen in its streets, was known and honored of its citizens, and in very truth constituted one of them. Two Signers of the Declaration of Independence from one little town in St. John’s parish! and that town clean gone from the face of that beautiful, lonely, and bermuda-covered bluff! It is in perpetuating acts and names like these that memory stays the engulfing waves of oblivion, and administers signal rebuke to “time which antiquates antiquities and hath an art to make dust of all things.”[191] Did the limits of this sketch permit, it would be interesting to detail the efforts made by the parish of St. John to persuade positive resistance to English rule and inaugurate steps contemplating an absolute separation from the mother country when the greater part of Georgia was not persuaded of the expediency of such action and was actually opposed to the proceedings of the Continental Congress. So determined and independent was the rebel spirit in Sunbury, throughout the Midway settlement, and at Darien, that it actually brought about, for the time being, a voluntary political separation from the other parishes of the Colony. So annoyed were the citizens of St. John’s parish by the temporizing policy which characterized the Savannah Convention, that on the 9th of February, 1775, they applied to the Committee of Correspondence in Charleston “requesting permission to form an alliance with them and to conduct trade and commerce according to the act of non-importation to which they had already acceded.” It was strongly urged that having detached themselves from the other parishes in Georgia which hesitated to participate in the movement, they ought to be considered and received as a “separate body comprehended within the spirit and equitable meaning of the Continental Association.”[192]

While admiring the patriotism of the parish, and entreating its citizens to “persevere in their laudable exertions,” the Carolinians conceived it improper, and “a violation of the Continental Association to remove the prohibition in favor of any _part_ of a province.”

Disappointed, and yet not despairing, the inhabitants of the parish of St. John “resolved to prosecute their claims to an equality with the Confederated Colonies.” Having adopted certain resolutions by which they obligated themselves to hold no commerce with Savannah, or elsewhere, except under the supervision of a Committee, and then only for the absolute necessaries of life, they appointed Dr. Hall, as we have already seen, an independent delegate to represent the parish in the general congress of provinces.

The patriotic spirit of its inhabitants, and this independent action of St. John’s parish in advance of the other parishes of Georgia, were afterwards acknowledged when all the parishes were in accord in the Revolutionary movement. As a tribute of praise, and in token of general admiration, by special act of the Legislature the name of LIBERTY COUNTY was conferred upon the consolidated parishes of St. John, St. Andrew, and St. James. Sir James Wright was not far from the mark when he located the head of the rebellion in St. John’s parish, and advised the Earl of Dartmouth that the rebel measures there inaugurated were to be mainly referred to the influence of the “descendants of New England people of the Puritan Independent sect” who, retaining “a strong tincture of Republican or Oliverian principles, have entered into an agreement amongst themselves to adopt both the resolutions and association of the Continental Congress.” On the altars erected within the Midway district were the fires of resistance to the dominion of England earliest kindled; and Lyman Hall, of all the dwellers there, by his counsel, exhortations, and determined spirit, added stoutest fuel to the flames. Between the immigrants from Dorchester and the distressed Bostonians existed not only the ties of a common parentage, but also sympathies born of the same religious, moral, social, and political education. Hence we derive an explanation of the reason why the Midway settlement declared so early for the Revolutionists. The Puritan element cherishing and proclaiming intolerance of established church and the divine right of Kings, impatient of restraint, accustomed to independent thought and action, and without associations which encouraged tender memories of and love for the mother country, asserted its hatreds, its affiliations, and its hopes with no uncertain utterance, and appears to have controlled the action of the entire parish.[193]

When it became evident that England was resolved to coerce her Colonies, the inhabitants of Sunbury and of St. John’s parish determined to place themselves in the best possible condition for effective resistance. While some of the citizens joined the State militia and the regularly constituted Colonial forces, others formed themselves into an infantry company, and a troop of horse, for local defense. The latter was commanded by Captain John Baker, who afterwards attained the rank of Colonel, and, in association with Colonels Cooper and Andrew Maybank, and Major Charles West, rendered signal service in the partisan warfare which ensued.

For the immediate protection of Sunbury a fort was built just below the town upon the point where the high ground ended and the wide impracticable marshes between the main and Bermuda island commenced.

A small defensive work may have existed here at an earlier date. The Record Book of Midway Church discloses the fact that in 1756 a letter was received from the honorable Jonathan Bryan,—one of his Majesty’s council for the Colony,—conveying the intelligence that the Indians were much incensed at several of their people having been killed by some settlers on the Great Ogeechee river in a dispute about cattle, and advising the Midway congregation, with expedition, to construct a fort for their protection. “People,” continues the Journal, “are very much alarmed with the news, and consultations were immediately had about the _building and place for a fort, and it was determined by a majority that it should be at Captain Mark Carr’s, low down, and upon the river near the sound, at about seven or eight miles distance from the nearest of the settlement of the Society, which accordingly was begun on the 20th September, 1756_.”[194]

On the 11th of July following, apprehending an attack from a French privateer, the Midway people were summoned to Sunbury, where they “raised a couple of batteries and made carriages for eight small cannon which were at the place.” These were probably nothing more than field works thrown up on the bluff just in front of the town. It is to these little forts that Governor Ellis alluded when, upon his second tour of inspection through the southern portion of the Province, he “was pleased to observe that the inhabitants of the Midway District had enclosed their church within a defence, _and had erected a battery of eight guns at Sunbury in a position to command the river_.”[195]

The State of Georgia being under consideration, it was resolved by Congress, on the 5th of July, 1776, to raise two battalions (one of them to consist of riflemen) to serve in Georgia; that blank commissions be sent to the Convention of Georgia to be filled up with the names of such persons as the Convention should deem proper; that the Legislatures of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina be recommended to allow recruits for these battalions to be enlisted in their several States; that four galleys be built for the defense of the sea-coast, and that two artillery companies, of fifty men each, be enlisted _to garrison two forts which the State was to erect at Savannah and Sunbury_.[196]

It may, we presume, be safely asserted that the heavy earthwork on Midway river, just south of Sunbury, was laid out and erected about the period of the commencement of the Revolutionary war. If any prior defense there existed, it was so modified and enlarged as completely to lose its identity.

The names of those who were specially charged with the construction of this fort have not been perpetuated, but it lives in tradition that the planters of Bermuda island and of the Midway District, and the citizens of Sunbury contributed mainly to its erection. It was built chiefly by slave labor, and was armed with such cannon as could be procured on the spot, or obtained elsewhere.[197] That its armament was by no means inconsiderable will be conceded when it is remembered that twenty-five pieces of ordnance were surrendered by Major Lane when he yielded the ownership of this work to Colonel A. Prevost. These guns, however, were small, consisting of 4, 6, 9, 12, and 18-pounders, with perhaps one or two 24-pounders. It was called by the Americans, FORT MORRIS;[198] but, upon its capture by Colonel Prevost, its name was by him changed to FORT GEORGE.

At the inception of the Revolutionary war the coast defenses of Georgia were in a most pitiable and dilapidated condition. All her forts were in ruins, or nearly so. On the 20th of September, 1773, Sir James Wright,—who makes no mention of any defensive work at Sunbury,—reports Fort George on Cockspur island, which was built in 1762 of mud walls faced with palmetto logs, with a caponiere inside to serve for officers’ apartments, as “almost in ruins, and garrisoned only by an officer and three men, just to make signals, &c.” Fort Halifax, within the town of Savannah, constructed in 1759 and 1760, and made of plank filled in with earth, with the exception of two of its caponieres, was totally down and unfit for use. Fort Frederick, at Frederica, erected by General Oglethorpe when his regiment was stationed there, had been without a garrison for upwards of eight years, and although some of its tabby walls remained, the entire structure was fast passing into decay. Fort Augusta, in the town of Augusta, made of three-inch plank, had been neglected since 1767 and was rotten in every part. Fort Barrington on the Alatamaha river was in like condition. Of the fort at New Ebenezer, of Fort William on the southern extremity of Cumberland island, of Fort Argyle, and of the other minor defenses erected in the early days of the Colony, scarce a vestige remained.

_J. Bien, Photo. Lith. N. Y._]

Located some three hundred and fifty yards due south of Sunbury, and occupying the bluff where it first confronts Midway river as, trending inward from the sound, it bends to the north, Fort Morris was intended to cover not only the direct water approach to the town, but also the back river by means of which that place might be passed and taken in reverse. Its position was well chosen for defensive purposes. To the south stretched a wide-spread and impracticable marsh permeated by Pole-haul and Dickerson creeks,—two tributaries of Midway river,—whose mouths were commanded by the guns of the fort. This marsh also extended in front of the work, constituting a narrow and yet substantial protection against landing parties, and gradually contracting as it approached the southern boundary of Sunbury. This fortification was an enclosed earth-work, substantially constructed. Its walls embraced a parade about an acre in extent. The eastern face, confronting the river, was two hundred and seventy-five feet in length. Here the heaviest guns were mounted. The northern and southern faces were respectively one hundred and ninety-one, and one hundred and forty feet in length, while the curtain, looking to the west, was two hundred and forty-one feet long. Although quadrangular, the work was somewhat irregular in shape. From the southern face and the curtain, no guns could be brought to bear upon the river. Those there mounted served only for defense against a land attack. The armament of the northern face could be opposed to ships which succeeded in passing the fort, until they ascended the river so far as to get beyond range. It also commanded the town and the intervening space. The guns were mounted _en barbette_, without traverses. Seven embrasures may still be seen, each about five feet wide. The parapet, ten feet wide, rises six feet above the parade of the fort, and its superior slope is about twenty-five feet above the level of the river at high tide. Surrounding the work is a moat at present ten feet deep, ten feet wide at the bottom, and twice that width at the top. Near the middle of the curtain may be seen traces of a sally-port or gateway, fifteen feet wide. Such is the appearance of this abandoned work as ascertained by recent survey. Completely overgrown by cedars, myrtles, and vines, its presence would not be suspected, even at a short remove, by those unacquainted with the locality. Two iron cannon are now lying half buried in the loose soil of the parade, and a third will be found in the old field about midway between the fort and the site of the town. During the recent war between the States, two 6-pounder guns were removed from this fort and carried to Riceboro. No use, however, was made of them. Two more, of similar calibre, of iron, and very heavily reinforced at the breech, were taken by Captain C. A. L. Lamar,—whose company was then stationed at Sunbury,—and temporarily mounted on the bluff to serve as signal guns. Despite their age and the exposure to which they had so long been subjected, these pieces were in such excellent condition that they attracted the notice of the Ordnance department, and were soon transported to Savannah. There they were cleaned, mounted upon siege carriages, and assigned to Fort Bartow, where they remained, constituting a part of the armament of that work, until upon the evacuation of Savannah and its dependent forts by the Confederate forces in December, 1864, they passed into the hands of the Federal army.[199]

Sunbury was occupied by the Revolutionists as a military post, and its fort garrisoned at a very early period in the Colonial struggle for independence.[200] In 1776 when Gen. Charles Lee, after full conference with the venerable Jonathan Bryan, projected a plan of operations against St. Augustine for the relief of the southern frontier of Georgia, which had been constantly and sorely vexed by raiding bands from Florida, and to destroy what promised to be a stronghold for the English, the Virginia and North Carolina troops who were in the expedition were ordered to rendezvous at Sunbury. It being the sickly season of the year, and the men being unaccustomed to the climate, much suffering was encountered from fevers. The mortality became so great,—from ten to fifteen dying in a single day,—that the soldiers were removed to the sea-islands in the vicinity for health.[201]

As we all know, through the failure of General Lee to concentrate the requisite men and munitions, the contemplated movement from which so much was anticipated never took place; and when, on the 20th of September, he went North to assume the command to which he had been appointed, he ordered the troops in the neighborhood of Sunbury to follow him.

This project was renewed by General Robert Howe, who advanced as far as Fort Tonyn. There, however, a council of war decided a further prosecution of the enterprise unadvisable. The sick and convalescent,—of whom there was a considerable number,—in gallies and such boats as could be procured were, under the command of Colonel C. C. Pinckney, conducted by the inland passage to Sunbury where, for a time, they were allowed to rest and recruit. They were subsequently transferred to Charleston by the way of Port Royal.[202] Colonel John McIntosh was left in command of Sunbury with one hundred and twenty-seven men. The remnants of Elbert’s and White’s regiments proceeded to Savannah.[203] So far, Sunbury had suffered no molestation at the hands of the King’s forces.