Newspaper Page Text
on/t
|V g ’ f ' Mb Eg S? * MwaKiiliil
’?P $33% g » if I sgv i>
/ ■ * g * • I
j
-■ HM fB
> W| Ojt y OB ’Tj
_ _ <
wWWWBHI
Old fort at Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island near Brunswick, Georgia.
Battle Os Bloody Marsh
Where Spanish Lost Georgia
ST. SIMONS ISLAND—But
for a stout-hearted band of 18th
century Englishmen, two and a
quarter centuries ago, Georgia,
today, might be Spanish.
It was called the Battle of
Bloody Marsh, although by
modern standards it was an
ambush. Although outnumbered
six to one, 50 English soldiers
turned the tide of history by de
feating 300 Spanish, part of
a contingent of 3,000 bent on
destroying the fledgling colony
of Fort Frederica and the
mother colony of Savannah.
Had the Spanish succeeded,
more than likely Georgia never
would have been one of the
original 13 colonies that be
came the United States of
America.
Interesting historical side
lights such as this are all part
of a visit to Fort Frederica Na
tional Monumeat. beneath the
Spanish moss-festooned oaks on
this island, now knawn as one
of Georgia’s Golden Isles.
It’s not a widely ballyhooed
site, as is the case with most
national monuments. However,
that doesn’t prevent it from be
ing extremely interesting. You
may encounter the history of
the battle prior to reaching the
National Monument site If you
GRIFFIN
DAILYW NEWS
MAGAZINE
Griffin, Go., 30223, Sot. and Sun., April 6-7, 1968
visit the marker overlooking
the battle ground. However,
your detailed information on
this and other footnotes of his
tory comes when you visit the
modern visitors’ center. Here
pictorial panels, maps, a dio
rama and excavated objects
tell the story of the ancient co
lonial town and fort.
It’s best to refresh your
knowledge of (or perhaps learn
for the first time) the history of
the area. Then you can mean
der around the old town site,
muse at the ancient burying
grounds, and study the ponder
ous, smooth bore cannon (given
to the United States by the
Government of Jamaica) simi
lar to those that once defended
Fort Frederica.
Fort Frederica’s history is
interwoven with that of the
colony of Georgia. When Gen
eral James Oglethorpe estab
lished the colony at Savan
nah, it was obvious the Span
ish, only a short distance south
in Florida, would not permit the
English colony to thrive with
out resistance.
Oglethorpe in 1734, the year
after the founding of Savannah,
established Fort Frederica on
a high bluff on the western
shore of St. Simons, as a buffer
between the main colony and
the Spanish.
Among the colonist were two
clergymen who later started
Charles Wesley, the founder of
Methodism. They came to Fre
derica as missionaries of the
Church of England, and their
Georgia sojourn is detailed on
historical markers near the
ancient Christ Church, Spisco
pal, near Fort Frederica.
Soon after Frederica’s found
ing, the English established
other military outposts as Sea
Point on the south end of St. Si
mons, Fort St. George on Fort
George Island near the north
bank of the St. Johns River,
Fort St. Andrews on the north
western shore of Cumberland
Island, a fort at Darien, an out
post at the present site of
Brunswick, another on Turtle
River, Fort William on the
southwestern shore of Cumber
land island, and even a block
house on Amelia Island in
Spanish Florida.
A clash was inevitable. In
November, 1739, the Spanish
killed two of the Darien High
landers stationed on Amelia
Island. Oglethorpe immediate
ly invaded Florida and captur
ed several Spanish outposts. A
few months later, he opened his
grand attack on St. Augustine,
seeking to capture Castillo de
San Marcos. After a 27-day
siege, he was forced to with
draw because of the approach
ing hurricane season, knowing
the Spanish would return the
attack.
The Spanish did in July, 1742,
with a force of 51 ships and 3,-
000 men against Oglethorpe’s
thousand. Despite the English
defenses, the Spanish landed
on St. Simons. Capturing Fort
St. Simons, they began advanc
ing on the Fort Frederica-St.
Simons military road—t h e
route is now shown by histori
cal markers.
The stage was set for the
Battle of Bloody Marsh. Late in
the afternoon, 50 British sol
diers successfully ambushed 300
Spaniards, throwing them Into
such a panic that they retreat
ed believing they were outnum
bered. Instead of regrouping
and attacking again, the Span
ish withdrew, little realizing
they had lost Georgia forever.
Although the Spanish continu
ed to control Florida, Fort Fre
derica became less Important
when England and Spain
agreed that the land between
the Altamaha River and Flori-
Continued m page eight