Archive for {The American Revolution in South Georgia}

Ardoch

Posted in --MCINTOSH COUNTY GA-- with tags , , , , , on July 25, 2011 by Brian Brown

The text of this historic marker, on U. S. Highway 17 notes: Near here was Ardoch Plantation, home of the McDonalds and Gignilliats from Colonial Days through the Civil War when it was sold to former slaves. During the Revolutionary War these McDonalds were Loyalists, as were many families of Coastal Georgia. In 1782, Patriot companies of Captain Patrick Carr and Captain Samuel West deserted the command of General Anthony Wayne and plundered St. Andrew’s Parish. They murdered eleven Loyalists, including Ardoch’s owner, Charles McDonald. McDonald was killed in his own doorway in the presence of his wife and children and the house was burned. The plantation was confiscated by the State but later returned to his widow.

Cunningham Plot, Old City Cemetery

Posted in --MCINTOSH COUNTY GA--, Darien GA with tags , , , , , , on July 24, 2011 by Brian Brown

Old City Cemetery, Darien

As noted in the subsequent entry, Darien’s old City Cemetery was in use from 1736 until 1806. Though this plot is essentially all that remains of the cemetery, it was the burial place of many of the Highland Scots who settled the seaport town. A marker erected in 1977 lists the following families among the burials: Hugh Clark, John Cunningham, Donald Fraser, John Grant, Major Elisha B. Hopkins, James Mackay, Archibald McBean, Alexander McDonald, Lt. Colonel William McIntosh, Thomas McKenzie, Angus McLean, Donald McLeod, Hugh Morrison, Alexander Munro, Alexander Murray, David Stewart, Robert Sutherland, Colonel Abitha Thomas.

D. A. R. Patriot’s Arch, 1913, Colonial Park Cemetery

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

This monumental arch was erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution to memorialize the Revolutionary War veterans buried in Colonial Park Cemetery.

General Samuel Elbert, Georgia Patriot

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

Colonial Park Cemetery

(1740 – 1 November 1788)

Samuel Elbert, who migrated to Georgia from South Carolina, served on the Council of Safety and the first Provincial Congress of Georgia in 1775.  He was Lieutenant Colonel of the first Continental regiment raised in Georgia, commanded the Georgia Line at the fall of Savannah in 1778, was captured by the British at Briar Creek in 1779, and later took part in the Battle of Yorktown. After his promotion to Brigadier General in the Continental Army in 1783, he served as Governor of Georgia, Sheriff of Chatham County, and Grand Master of Georgia Masons.

Grounds of Colonial Park Cemetery, Savannah

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

One of the most beautiful and serene public spaces in Savannah, Colonial Park is a veritable museum of the history of early Georgia. While just over 600 graves are marked, the cemetery is reputed to have been the site of as many as 10,000 burials.

James Habersham & Sons, Georgia Pioneers

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

Colonial Park Cemetery

James Habersham (1712? – 28 August 1775) was one of the most prominent merchants and public servants of the Colonial Era in Georgia. Soon after his arrival in the colony in 1738, he helped establish, with Reverend George Whitefield, the Bethesda Orphanage. By the 1740s he had established the most successful commercial enterprise in Savannah; his many posts included Provincial Secretary, President of His Majesty’s Council for Georgia, and Acting Provincial Governor from 1771 until 1773. Though he was opposed to the oppressive acts of Parliament, he remained a fierce Loyalist. His loyalties, though, did not tarnish the universal respect held for him by his fellow Georgians. He died visiting New Jersey.

James Habersham, Jr. (1745 – 2 July 1799) was a founding Trustee of the University of Georgia.

Joseph Habersham (28 July 1751 – 17 November 1815) was an ardent Son of Liberty and member of the Council of Safety. In 1775 he took part in the raid on the King’s powder magazine and in 1776 personally affected the arrest of Sir James Wright, the Royal Governor. He later served as Mayor of Savannah, and Postmaster General of the United States, from 1793 until 1801.

John Habersham (23 December 1754- 17 December 1799) was twice taken prisoner during the Revolutionary War. A member of the Continental Congress in 1785, he later served as a Commissioner of the convention that established the Georgia – South Carolina Border, and first Collector of Customs at Savannah.

Lachlan & James S. McIntosh, Georgia Pioneers

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

Colonial Park Cemetery

General Lachlan McIntosh (17 March 1725 – 20 February 1826)

Colonel John S. McIntosh (1784 – 1847)

General Lachlan McIntosh, whose father John Mor Mackintosh founded the seaport town of Darien, was Georgia’s most illustrious officer in the American Revolution. Commisioned Colonel of the first Continental regiment raised in Georgia, General McIntosh was transferred to General Washington’s headquarters after his duel with Button Gwinnett. Washington later gave him command of the Western Department at Fort Pitt. Returning to Georgia in 1779, General McIntosh took part in the Siege of Savannah. His war service culminated in his capture at during the fall of Charlestown (Charleston) in 1780.

Colonel James S. McIntosh was a great-nephew of General Lachlan McIntosh. He was a hero of the War of 1812 and later in life provided gallant service during the Mexican War. He died from wounds suffered at the storming of El Molina del Rey on 8 September 1847.

Hugh McCall, Author of the First History of Georgia

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

Colonial Park Cemetery

17 February 1767 – 10 June 1824

McCall published the first installment in his History of Georgia at Savannah in 1811.

James Johnston, Georgia’s First Newspaper Publisher

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

Colonial Park Cemetery

1738 – 1808

Johnston, a native of Scotland, came to Savannah in 1761, and was appointed Public Printer of the Province the following year. The first issue of Georgia’s first newspaper, The Georgia Gazette, was brought out by Johnston on 7 April 1763. Johnston was a Loyalist, and after briefly Savannah, he returned when British rule was restored in 1779, resuming publication of the newspaper under the title Royal Georgia Gazette. Interestingly, the Patriots allowed his return to Savannah after the war, and the paper was published from 1783 until 1802 as Gazette of the State of Georgia.

Major John Berrien, Continental Army

Posted in --CHATHAM COUNTY GA--, Savannah GA with tags , , , , , , , on June 23, 2011 by Brian Brown

Colonial Park Cemetery

1759 – 6 November 1815

Berrien came to Georgia from New Jersey in 1775, and soon thereafter, at the age of 17, was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in Georgia’s first Continental Brigade. Within a year, he was promoted to Captain. Berrien was a strong supporter of Lachlan McIntosh and followed him to Valley Forge in 1777, where he served as brigade major of the North Carolina troops stationed there. After the war, he returned to Georgia and was active in the early bureaucracy. His father’s home in Rock Hill, New Jersey, was the scene of General Washington’s farewell address to the army. His son, John McPherson Berrien (1781 – 1856) served Georgia in the United States Senate and was Andrew Jackson’s Attorney General. Berrien County is named in his honor.

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