The reflector. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1817-1819, October 13, 1818, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextNO. 49. THE REFLECTOR. MILLEDGEVILLE, G. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1818. t'THKRN INDIANS. THIS FUV.VKLIS GAZETTE. Tom the Journal of a gentleman ng iii the suuthcrn section of the States. iaits, inhabiting the country lying Georgia and the Mississippi river, g into the field about 11,000 war- he Choctaws ... 4000 reeks - - . - 3300 herokccs 1400 hickasuws • • » • • 1300 eminoles ..... 1000 rce if embodied and hostile, would us enemy to the United States ; ly, however, there exists among nt tribes, jealousies and enmities prevent such an association ever ace, and enable the United States in of hostility with either, to employ allies, as any of the nations. The ere formerly the most warlike, but conflict in the year 1813, dimin- numbers and their spirits ; none re, however, enemies to be despised al courage 5 they are seldom defi nite all irregular troops, having combination, or that confidence e upon each, taught by discipline ed soldier, and so essential to vic- wili always be defeated unless they ’sailants, or are attacked on ground ly advantageous to them. Capacity to endure great fatigue, , hunger ; their personal activity, e of the forest, added to their cour ier them in a dose country an ex y dangerous foe. eminoles with whom wc waged the , inhabit a tract of country, part of within the United States, but the rtion lies beyond tho line separating Florida. They were originally a rtyof banished outlaws, driven from he upper and lower Creeks, who in- in number—living in a country ex- y difficult to penetrate—associated ves with a band of desperate runa- roes, and instigated by their natural , and the artifices of British traders, ays manifested a disposition itiimi- e United States, and have since the 13, been notorious for their depreda- >n the whites. gust last it was very well asccrtain- they were the authors of several committed upon the white inhabit- the frontier. A patient endurance, ing is always regarded by tho lo an indication oi‘ weakness, -and is iroducc a repetition of the insult or General Gaines demanded that the i should be given up, it was answer- aunt and defiance ;—and let it be rc- d, by those who accuse the country nga barbarous policy towards these ml endeavor to involve them in wars, n Pcpitieoxy, the principle warrior r, was asked why lie was thus hos- c United States, he replied, by ac ting, that, the government were al- dy to do him justice, and to make th him, hut that war was a fine crcise in which lie wished to prac- oung men! ! ! h regiment crossed the Flint river, the Indians, burnt Fowls-town and This act of war was premature ; wc had in the field, so far from Ic to subjugate the enemy, were to meet him in fair conflict. The scmblod, attacked a boat ascending captured it, and put to death 4() omposing its crew ; they advanced cr, surrtMinded our troops in fort d cut off their communication, aines called upon the state of Geor- 00 militia, these men unfortunately iled but for two months, and before approach towards flic enemy, that uired, and they returned to their 1 Gaines made a second call upon ’or 2000 men for six months ; they at Hartford ; general Jackson uthorised to accept the services of lessee volunteers, to call out the linns, and to take the field hi in- It his accustomed activity, he rap- lizcd these men for service, and m orders to concentrate at fort recorded to Hartford, and placing the head of the Georgia militia, n towards the same point. Gcn- n had in vain endeavored to pro- isiotrs for this force ; and a cor ay be formed of the intrepid cast aracter, from the circumstance ng, with 2000 men on a march of rough a wilderness, when his on • subsistence was a daily pint of h man and when he well knew, rrival at fort Scott he could pro- very scanty supply. At fort al Jackson found the regular ieudly Indian* The ipovcment of the Tennessee volunteers had not been marked with the same boldness as that of the older troops ; apprehensive of a waul ol provisions, they halted on the route anil had not yet joined. General Jackson ad vanced into the Indian country, destroyed their villages, and entering Florida took pos session of St. Marks. The Indians fled be fore him, and the Spaniards dared nut oppose nis progress. The state of Georgia affords but few of the necessaries for the. subsistence of ail ar my, and the lace of the country in which general Jackson operated, abounded with in vincible impediments to transportation in wheel carriages ; great, therefore, were the sufferings of the troops—subsisting upon a pint of corn—marching through swamps and morasses, wading creeks, and sleeping on the wet ground, without shelter—were priva tions endured from motives of the purest patriotism, and in which the general partici pated eqa.illy with the meanest soldier in his army. General Jackson was now about to move his troops from Florida, when ho discov ered that the governor of Pensacola, in stead of exerting himself to fulfil the treaty existing between the United States and his king, by which lie was hound to protect our citizens from savages within his dominions, had basely violated the Spanish faith, and protected, encouraged, and furnished with the means of war, a worthless band, at the same time, laying waste to the frontier ol Alabama territory, and waging a war of destruction against the most lovely and the most innocent part of our population. Gen eral Jackson considered that this breach <■! treaty authorised him to take possession of Pensacola, knowing well it was the only movement that could afford the effectual pro- te< tion he was bound to give to every indi vidual within his military command ; am! although politicians may argue in their clos ets that general Jackson exceeded uis author ity, and treated Spain with less respect than she was entitled to, yet the course of conduct he pursued will be, justified by every high minded man, having at heart the true honor and glory of his country.—What—was gen eral Jackson cpolly to remonstrate, and po litely correspond with the despicable repre sentative of an imbecile tyrant, with a pen dipped in the blood of his fellow citizens ; or, was he calmly to look on and witness th - butchery of his country men, while he waited two months to hear from Washington wheth er the violators of a treaty and the protector ol murderers, were, or were not to he chastised l Plie American general was not deferred from prolct ting the territory of the United States, and punishing those who encouraged the murder of his countrymen, by any flimsy, wire-drawn, sophistical arguments. The opposition of the Spanish troops was illy calculated to occasion a display of the full devotion of the American army. The governor retired at their approach, and shut ting himself up in the linrancas, declared Ins determination not to surrender. The Bar a nc as is a fortress, situated on the sou thern cape, of the bay of Pensacola ; it con sists of a heavy water battery on the beach, protected by, and communicating with a re gular work on the bluff. Although this work cost the king of Spain an immense sum of money ; yet the lower battery is entirely inadequate to guard the water communica tion into the hay, and the upper work cannot sustain an attack from the meanest train ol artillery. The parapet consists of a sand mound, supported by pine pickets and unprotected by glacis; conflagrate tliese pickets, the sand must fall into the ditch, and there is no impediment to a platoon marching to the. centre of the place. General Jackson cannonaded the fart, the garrison discovering tiiat scaling ladders, and other preparations were making for the assault, hoisted the white flag and surrender ed. General Jackson, with extraordinary forbearance, permitted the Indian chief who had sheltered himself in the fort, to accom pany the garrison to the Havana. General Jackson is a more extraordinary person than has ever appeared in our history. Nature has seldom gifted man with a mind so powerful and comprehensive, or with a bo dy better formed for activity, or capable of enduring greater privations, fatigue and hardships. She has been equally kind to him in the quality of his heart. General Jackson has no ambition, hut for the good of his country ; it occupies the w hole of Ids views, to the exclusion of all selfish or igno ble considerations. Cradled in the war ol the revolution ; nurtured amid the conflicts that afterwards took place between the Che rokee Indians and the Tennesseans ; being always among a people who regard the ap plication of force not as the ultima ratio re- giutn, hut as the first resort of individuals ; and who look upon courago as tho greatest of human attributes, bis character on this stormy ocean, has acquired an extraordina ry cast of vigor—a belief that any thing within the power of man to accomplish, he should never despair of e flee ting, and a con viction that courage, activity and persever ance can overcome, what, to an ordinary mind, would appear insuperable obstacles. Iii society, lie is kind, trank, unaffected and hospitable, endowed with much natural grace ami politeness, without the mechanical gen tility and artificial, flimsy polish, to he found in fashionable life. Among the people of the west, his popu larity is unbounded—old and young speak ol him with rapture, and at his call, 50.000 of the most efficient warriors on this continent, would rise, armed, and ready for any enemy. Having entered the military service of his country nt a late period in life,general Jack- son appears unaware, of the necessity of strict discipline and subordination, and be ing utterly fearless of responsibility himself, and always taught to believe that his person al liability would he a justification of his con duct, lie does not sufficiently reflect how inti mately the character of the country is asso ciated with his own, now he is an officer ; and that although he may freely offer his personal sacrifice, yet it places the govern ment in a most delicate situation to accept it-.’’ CIVILIZATION OF THE INDIANS. Dr. Mitchell has communicated to the Editor of the American Magazine, a very interesting paper on the progress of the hu man mind from rudeness to refinement, as> exemplified in the method pursued by Col. Benjamin Hawkins, U. S. agent, to civilize i ertain tribes of savages within our territo ry—Col. Hawkins was a member of the se nate when the interesting question was de bated whether it was best to civilize or to exterminate the savages ; and having warm ly espoused the cause of benevolence and humanity, was at length induced to quit pol ished society, and enter upon the arduous duties of his agency, among the Creeks and Clierokees of our southern frontier.—Ilis first endeavors were treated with rudeness and insult.—The men s offed and jeered at his plans, a , 1 he finally told them that lie was done with the men, but would address himself to the other sex. Among these savages women were treated but little better than beasts of burden.—Sub jected to every hardship, and particularly t hunger and nakedness, it was not a difficult thing to learn them to spin, to weave, and tend a patch of corn Thus they became better fed and clothed than the men, and in some degree independent of them. “It was now that the agent advised the young women to refuse favors to their sweet hearts, and the married women to repel tin caresses ol their husbands, unless they would associate with them, and assist them in their daily labors. This expedient, though per haps not rigidly enforced nor in all cases ad hered to, was however not without its effect in breaking the ferocity of the. masculine temper, and reducing it to a milder and suft- cr tone. “ The influence of music was tried with remarkable benefit among the Clierokees.— The young women had clothed themselves handsomely, after our manner, in cotton fa brics of their own manufacture. They then were qualified to dance to the times of the violin. Care was taken to teach the steps, figures and gestures of tho white people.— They soon became active and graceful dan cers. This had a surprising effect upon the young men. For they were excluded from their company unless they would dress them selves in a decent manner. The attire and the occasion obliged them to behave them selves properly. And thus were their man ners softened and refined.” POLITICAL. JACKSON AND THE k LOltlDAS. TO Till? EDITORS OF THE XASUVILI.E WHIG. So much lias been said and written alrea dy, in relation to the occupation of l'ensacola, by the troops of the U. States, lately under the command of General Jackson, that any new light upon the subject, is, at this hour, scarcely to be expected. Considering what has passed in the councils of the nation touch ing our foreign relations ; that % negotiation is pending between the U. States and Spain, in the course of which, the Floridas are like ly to ho brought under consideration j and recollecting the course previously taken by the Executive, in relation to Amelia Island, an appendage of Florida, and belonging to Spain, and that too with the approbation of CongresB : adverting to these facts I say, it seems difficult to account, For the unusual in terest, apparent feelings, which are manifest ed by some Editors of Newspapers, in rela tion to this subject. Most of these Editors, assume it as a fit subject to little disputation, that ill this af fair, tho President of the U. States, or Gen eral Jackson, has acted in a manner incom patible with the highly responsible duties im posed by the office, which they respectively hold in our government. Taking the state ment in the National Intelligencer, of July . artli, to be correct, and which seems to bo considered as a semiofficial expose of tho case, it manifestly appears, that the forego ing supposition is wholly untenable ; and ■ hat in its adoption there has existed some defect of investigation, or some design in the concealment of facts, which, alone can furnish the basis, of any reasonable conclu sion in tliis affair. It is indeed, curious to remark by what varied and dissimilar rea soning, different hffiividuals have forcibly arrived at the samecnnclusion. The Pres ident has done much too little, or General Jackson has done a great deal too much, ii\ the conduct of the Seminole war! Though differing in every thing else, in this conclu sion most appear to agree ; and lawyer-like having made up an issue he * en General Jackson and the President, one, or the other, must he greatly in the wrong ! The Presi dent has failed to give the orders to the gen eral necessary for the protection of tho Country, or the general has violated his duty as an oiliccr of the army, in exceeding such orders as he actually did receive from tho Executive. Let us examine the verity of these induct ions, so confidently announced, by the list of facts, as they have appeared, and see, what foundation is afforded, to support the seem ingly fashionable conclusion which have been drawn from them, by sonic Editors of news papers in different parts of the union. In relation to the President’s instructions, to Geueral Jackson, it should be recollected, that the four orders, alluded to in the Intel ligencer, were in all probable conjecture, di rected to General Gaines ; who had the com mand of our troops, on the Georgia frontier, betorc General Jackson was ordered to re-, pair to that quarter. In the latter part of December, Major Bankhead, by the com mand of government, took possession of A- melia Island, to which place, General Gaines, commanding in that quarter, is understood to have been ordered to proceed. Early in tho succeeding year of 1817, the war com menced with tlic Seminole Indians, and the repetition of indiscriminate massacre and pillage, committed upon the .unprotected and unoffending frontier inhabitants, claimed and called forth the energies of the government, to stay the tomahawk and scalping knife, already red with the blood of Americans ; and which still threatened to he the source of additional calamity. The hostility of the Seminole Indians, which was considered in its commencement, as the irregular and de sultory incursions of a horde of murderers and tree hooters, at length, however, assum ed a more serious and perhaps unexpected aspect. The President at the least, consid ered it of a character so important, as to or der General Jackson, who was in the milita ry command of one half of the nation, to proceed from his Head-quarters at Nash v i!lc, and personally to direct the movements ol' the army. This order to General Jackson, must doubtless have been accompanied by instruc tions from the Executive, to employ ail law- tal means to put an effectual termination to the Semin dj war ; a war, which in its com mencement was marked by great cruelty and outrage, and w hich, in its progress, wesdai- Ij acquiring a much more formidable and uis trussing character. Under these circum stances, we repeat, it was, that the President thought it necessary to engage in the war much additional force, and to order General Jackson in person to take command of the troops. In such a state of things, it cannot reasonably he supposed, but that the charac ter ol General Jackson’s orders from the Executive, was marked by a latitude and de cision, which the consummation of its ob ject necessarily demanded. It. is hence we conclude, and wc deem with an irrrsi.'ible presumption for its support, that General Jackson must have been invested in the out set cf the campaign, with everv authority, winch might he lawfully employed, for tho speedy termination of this embarrassing aud savage w arfare. It is stated, that “ no alternatives were left to the United States, bntto have our frontiers exposed to the mercy of savages, or to carry the war into Florida; and thus to chi lor Spain, what, she confessed herse lf unable to do lor herself, by terminating by force, the Hostility of the savages.” A fourth order was issued by the government, to this effect, and directing “ that if the Indians should take refuge under a Spanish fort, not to at tack them in that situation, hut to report the case to the department of war.” It must at all times be kept in mind, that most of the savages, with whom the United States were at this time at war, had their res idence within the territorial limits of Flori da ; that wc were in peace aud amity with the Spanish government; and that there ex isted a treaty between she United States and Spain, in which it is expressly stipulated by the latter power, that they w i'll “ restrain by force, all hostilities on the part of the Indian

Georgia Historic Newspapers

The reflector. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1817-1819, October 13, 1818, Image 1