The Early History of the Big Bend Country
of the
St. Marys River of Georgia and Florida
By John A. Outterson
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In Britain, England was in the process of extending its domination over Scotland. Many Scots, seeking to escape the yoke of English oppression, took advantage of the opportunities of the New World, especially in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. England extended its control over all of Scotland with the climactic Battle of Culloden in 1746. Many of the Scots who fought under the banner of St. Andrew's Cross and lost their homeland to the English, became a large group of the immigrants seeking a new life in the southern states, especially Georgia. They brought with them their strong feelings for self-determination, desire for independence and a strong work ethic. These personal attributes became the common characteristics of the people of Georgia. They gave Georgians the strength of purpose for the American Revolution, the tenacity to tame the wilderness, the commitment to states rights advocated by the Confederacy, and the stamina to sustain themselves during times of adversity.
In 1754, the English became engaged in what became known as the "French and Indian War" when the French occupied Ft. Duquesne (Pittsburgh) in Pennsylvania. In 1755, the English moved against the French people of Nova Scotia and relocated them to Louisiana. In 1759, after lengthy battles with the French, the English captured Quebec. In 1762, Spain joined France against the English. A peace treaty was signed in 1763, with France ceding Canada and all of its territory east of the Mississippi River to England. To Spain, its ally, France ceded all of its territory west of the Mississippi River, including the city of New Orleans. With the signing of the peace treaty with France, the English were given navigational rights to the Mississippi River and the right to use the port of New Orleans.
In 1763, the English signed a peace treaty with Spain, the Treaty of Paris. Spain was forced to give up all of its Florida territory in exchange for Havana, Cuba that the English had captured in 1762. Spain was the dominant colonizer of the West Indies and Havana was of greater importance to Spain than Florida. The first thing that the English did was to divide Florida into East Florida, with its center at St. Augustine, and West Florida, with its center at Pensacola.
Also in 1763, the Indians ceded to the Colony of Georgia the land directly west of the Savannah settlement, the land northward for about one hundred and twenty miles along the Savannah River and the coastal land southward to the St. Marys River. Aggression against the Indians continued which resulted in more Indian lands being ceded to the English in 1773. At this time, most of inland Georgia was still Indian land.
The American colonists became increasingly disenchanted with the yoke of English rule and on April 19, 1775, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Bunker Hill. In early 1776, France and Spain agreed to provide arms worth a million pounds of silver to support the colonists against their old enemy, the English. In 1778, France signed a treaty of aid with the Americans and sent a naval fleet in support of the American efforts.
During the war the British maintained a garrison of troops at Fernandina Beach in British Florida. A contingent of British troops was dispatched to western Nassau County and proceeded to cross the St. Marys River into Georgia where colonists had declared their independence from England. After a few miles the strong British force was met by a determined force of the Georgia Militia led by the Governor of Georgia, John Houston. Although badly outnumbered the patriots routed the British force. The intruders retreated south across the St. Marys River with the patriots in close pursuit. The British commander collected his forces and made a strategic stand at a place, which later became known as Alligator Bridge, located a few miles northeast of the present town of Callahan. The patriots were defeated but the British were placed on notice that any attempt to invade Georgia would be met with force and would be costly. The British never again during the war attempted to venture into Georgia.
The war continued for many years with many of the colonists who were loyal to the Crown, considered traitors by the Americans, retreating to safety in English Florida. By March 1782, the English cabinet came to the realization that the chances of subjugating the American colonists were nil and agreed to recognize the independence of the Americans. England and the United States signed a peace treaty on September 3, 1783, recognizing the thirteen colonies, with England retaining control of Florida whose boundaries extended from the eastcoast to the Mississippi River.
Many of the British loyalists who had retreated to Florida invested heavily in the colony where they had planned to make their new home. The loyalists were quickly disappointed when England traded Florida to Spain for the Bahamas. The harbor at the mouth of the St. Marys River became an embarkation point for the many loyalist Englishmen who chose to return to their native land.
After Spain took control of Florida, the Spanish maintained the division of East and West Florida with their respective centers at St. Augustine and Pensacola but made little effort to colonize Florida. Spanish East Florida became a sanctuary for run-a-way slaves from Georgia. Many of the English chose to leave Florida and settle in the Bahamas and West Indies. Spain required that all of the remaining settlers swear allegiance to Spain and practice Catholicism, the religion of Spain. Under the same requirements, Spain offered free land to settlers from Georgia but there were few takers. The United States made many efforts to buy Florida from Spain but to no avail.
On November 20, 1790, to attract more settlers to Florida, the Captain General in St. Augustine, following royal orders, offered the following:
That land will be granted only to those who take the oath of fealty, without bothering about their religion, as long as they make no public display of any religion except Catholic; that land granted shall be 1/3 X 2/3 and the long dimensions shall not be laid out on water front of rivers and creeks but towards the interior.
The concession of freedom of religion attracted a few settlers to take advantage of the invitation of the Spanish government. New settlers were bothered by the absence of a clear Spanish policy as to what and how much land to which they could claim ownership.
By order of the Spanish King to partly vary the rules established for concessions and distribution of lands, the Spanish Governor Enrique White, stationed in Fernandina, promulgated the following:
1st, that new settlers shall state the number and sex of their children and those under 8 shall receive nothing.
2nd, to each head of the family 50 acres and the same for each unmarried or single member of the family of both sexes. Also for each slave and each child between 8 and 16 years of age, 25 acres each.
3rd, those employed in the city shall be given land to be farmed by themselves or their slaves.
4th, these concessions shall die as if not made if the parties do not appear to take possession and cultivate the land within 6 months.
5th, no one can transfer or sell land without permission of the government.
6th, if anyone wants to move, he can arrange with the government.
7th, wood or pasture land shall be conceded and trespassers forbidden.
8th, land granted shall be surveyed to avoid disputes.
9th, anyone who does not cultivate for 2 years may have his land assigned to another after it has been publicly announced.
These concessions brought many new settlers to north Florida. The ancestors of many of the settlers who received the Spanish land grants still reside in the area. In western Nassau County, the family names of Higginbotham, Kingsley and Pickett, whose ancestors were awarded large Spanish land grants, are quite common.
In the years following the Revolutionary War, the citizens of Georgia pushed the Indians farther westward, culminating with the Indians ceding parcel after parcel of their lands. As the Indian lands were opened for development, the land was given to each settler at a rate of two hundred acres and fifty acres for each member of his family at no cost, with the condition that the settler would work the land. Mar veterans were also given land bounties for their service to the cause. A great deal of speculation and fraud accompanied this land distribution and about 1800 it was stopped.
The government of Georgia was not able to provide the needed protection to the settlers who were constantly harassed by marauding Indians. By 1800, most of the eastern states, Georgia was no exception, had ceded the western lands of their state to the United States on the condition that the United States provide the needed protection of the settlers in the land retained by the states. It was agreed that the western boundary of Georgia would be the Chattahoochee River. It southeast Georgia, the western section of Camden County was acquired from the Indians in 1802 and was distributed among the settlers by the lottery of 1805.
In 1802, the Indians ceded to Georgia a narrow strip of land from south of the Altamaha River to the St. Marys River, which bordered Spanish East Florida. This land was west of the original northern Glynn and southern Camden coastal counties. This new county was named Wayne and embraced the St. Marys River "Big Bend Country" which later was to become Charlton County. In 1805, the southern half of Wayne County was disassociated and assigned to Camden County.
In 1803, Governor John Milledge advanced a new land distribution system of newly acquired ceded Indian lands. This system provided that all newly ceded Indian lands be surveyed and divided into lots of 202 1/2 acres or 490 acres depending on the value of the land. The lots were then distributed by lottery in which every citizen was eligible to participate. Every free white male citizen of the United States and a resident of Georgia for twelve months was allowed one chance in the lottery. This distribution system was used until the last of the public lands was distributed. About three-fourths of all the land of Georgia was distributed in this manner. This availability of land enticed many settlers from both North and South Carolina to Georgia. They had only to live in Georgia one year and then they were qualified to participate in the free land lottery. The new settlers swelled the population of the state. Georgia in 1790 had a population of about 82,000 people but by 1820 the population had grown to 340,000. Georgia had become the state of opportunity.
The United States still desired to obtain both East and West Florida from Spain but with no success. In 1808, Congress authorized the President to seize and hold for the United States the Spanish land east of the Perdido River so as to provide a security zone from any foreign invader. Troops were dispatched southward through Camden County which was infested with hostile Indians. Upon arriving at the East Florida border, the St. Marys River, the troops found that the river was teeming with British boats smuggling tariff-free goods into the United States. Many of these boats were hauling slaves into the country. Both Georgia and the United States had passed laws making the importation of slaves illegal. In East Florida, the town of Fernandina on Amelia Island, which guarded the entrance to the St. Marys River, was an open port. Goods from all over the world were being smuggled into the country as American ports were closed to foreign ships. Fernandina became a port for smugglers, pirates and a haven for cutthroats and criminals. Many American and Spanish settlers profited from the illegal trade. Florida's Spanish government was too weak to stop this illicit activity.
In 1808, the United States banned the importation of slaves, with the death penalty for its violation. Fernandina became a favorite slave-smuggling port. The American Navy gunboats that plied the waters off the coast were constantly on the lookout for slave traders. The Navy's vigilance crippled the trading in slaves. Facing the death penalty if caught trading in slaves caused many a ship's captain to dump his slave cargo overboard. Without a market for the slaves, many were released and given their freedom in the Fernandina area of East Florida. By 1811, under Spanish control, the town of Fernandina grew to about eight hundred people and became the major port to the markets of east Florida and Georgia. It was not uncommon to find as many as 150 square rigged schooners in the harbor at one time.
In 1812, American troops advanced upon the Spanish stronghold of St. Augustine, only to be repulsed. The American troops by 1813 were withdrawn from Spanish East Florida. The United States with its desire to control Spanish West Florida invited Americans to settle in the area. By 1813, the land between the Pearl River and Perdido River of West Florida was occupied and controlled by Americans although Spain claimed the land. Spain was too weak to resist the takeover.
The War of 1812 brought the blockade of the coastal ports of the United States by British warships. The British captured the town of St. Marys located on the Georgia side of the St. Marys River. From here the British were able to control the river traffic on the St. Marys River. During the war a British flotilla of twenty-three barges loaded with soldiers attempted to travel up the St. Marys River for the purpose of destroying the large Clarke mill located near the present city of Folkston. Captain William Cone of the Georgia Militia with a band of twenty-eight settlers, by secreting themselves along the banks, firing a volley at the invaders, withdrawing to the next vantage point and shooting again, repeatedly, forced the British to turn and retreat to the town of St. Marys. The British losses were staggering. One hundred and eighty British soldiers were killed and an equal number wounded. Captain Cone did not lose a single man. During the remainder of the war the British never again attempted to invade Georgia.
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