mass Fzgq Book . ^S4 PRESENTER) BY -- ■ ■ COLLECTIONS Georgia Historical Society Vol. VII PART III THE SPANISH OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE ATTACK ON THE COLONY OF GEORGIA, IN AMERICA, AND OF ITS DEFEAT ON ST. SIMONS ISLAND BY GENERAL JAMES OGLETHORPE Published by The Georgia Historical Society Savannah, Ga. Savannah, 6a. Savannah Morning News 1913 Yzs<\ KAR W 1314 PREFACE The translation that follows was made from manuscripts in the library of Mr. W. J. DeRenne, copied from the origi- nal documents preserved in the Archives of the Indies at Seville. Each of these manuscripts bears a heading giving the provenance of its original, and each is further certified as being a true copy. Heading and certificate are reproduc- ed with the first document of the translation, but it has not been thought worth while to repeat them with the remain- der. The papers of this collection fall more or less naturally into groups : — Letters and orders, diaries, reports and re- turns. The list of sea- and shore-signals, and one set of naval instructions, have with the returns been placed last as being somewhat detached, logically, from the substance of the other papers. They have their significance and in- terest, however, in that they reveal the extreme care be- stowed on the expedition. It will be noticed that the list of signals and the set of naval instructions relate to an earlier expedition, planned but not carried out. The sketches of guns and mortars are due to Lieutenant J. W. Lang, 9th Regiment of Infantry, United States Army. They are reproduced from illustrations in the catalogue of the Artillery Museum at Madrid. The Treaty of Vienna, November 18, 1738, gave Spain but a short respite from war. Claims and counterclaims arising chiefly out of colonial questions, led to much diplo- matic parleying with England, and in January, 1739, she saw herself obliged to pay that country an indemnity of £95,000. On the presentation of a demand for a counter- indemnity, England threatened war; on August 20th au- thorized reprisals, and finally on October 30, 1739, declared war. It is of this war, terminated by the Treaty of Aix-la- Chapelle, October 18, 1748, that the events of the following pages form a part. War or no war, the Spanish had long been contemplating an expedition against the English Colony of Georgia. They kept such an expedition on the stocks, as it were, to be launched when opportune; and finally did launch it in June of 1742 to overwhelm the English King's new Colony "in the place called Georgia." To the King of Spain, and to his subjects in Cuba and Florida, the chief object was puni- tive : the insolent and perfidious English were to be chas- tised and the chastisement was to be extermination. There was no notion of conquest; once the object attained and the English swept off the face of the earth, troops and ships were to return to their respective garrisons in St. Augus- tine and Havana. So much stress, indeed, was laid on this withdrawal as to justify the belief that its accomplishment was almost as much a matter of concern as the advance it- self. This concern undeniably affected the morale of the commanding general, if not of the entire expedition. In forming an estimate of the events dealt with in the following pages, it is needful to place one's self in a proper point of view. If we place ourselves abroad, the events are inconspicuous ; if we recross the Atlantic, they loom large. In reality, we must not regard the attempt of Spain on New Georgia as an affair between small numbers in a dis- tant and unimportant land ; it was Spain and England striv- ing for mastery in a vast continent, and although Spain, as already said, had no notion of conquest, to England, that is to Oglethorpe, the notion of permanency was ever present and fundamentally real. To him the question was whether his beloved Georgia should be a Spanish waste, or a living, free, English colony, a potential State. How he answered this question we all know : he brought to naught as grave a danger as ever threatened the Colonies, and he did it alone. The point of view must needs then be local, but with a national outlook ; it follows that the papers in this collec- tion acquire a double interest. And this interest grows with the conviction, begot of an examination of the records, that Oglethorpe- by all the rules of the game, should have been beaten. He was out-manned, out-shipped, and out- gunned. But he was a soldier, and knew his business ; al- though men, and ships, and guns are necessary, alone they are not sufficient. They must first be welded into a homo- geneous instrument and then intelligently used, before pos- itive results can be expected. This homogeneity was lack- ing to his adversaries, a fact that he must have been ac- quainted with ; moreover, they had not had time to know their commander, Montiano, nor he his troops. And lastly, it is in the highest degree probable that Oglethorpe had measured his antagonist. That Montiano had failed to take his own measure, is proved by his pitiable report to his King. Without in the least intending it, in complete unconsciousness, he strips his own inefficiency bare for our inspection and examina- tion. Psychologically, conditions were against the Span- iards from the outset, but this must not in the least be taken to detract from Oglethorpe : he had to reckon on the one hand with a force much greater than any he could muster, and on the other hand, with certain possibilities in his favor ; but in respect of these he might very easily have been in error. The Spaniards sailed into St. Simons gallantly enough, and landed their men between the forts and the town of Frederica. No resistance was offered. Bearing in mind that a landing under fire is, for the landing party, a delicate operation, we may well ask why Oglethorpe should have neglected this opportunity to do his adversary a serious harm. But a little reflection will show that this case really offered no opportunity. As soon as it became evident that the run-past of the ships was, or would be, successful, the evacuation of the forts was imposed. To leave troops in the forts, even if they could have held out, was folly so clear that we need waste no time over the matter. But once withdrawn, where should they go? Should they pro- ceed to resist this disembarkation, either alone, or in junc tion with other forces brought down for the purpose? But Oglethorpe could not tell where the Spaniards would land : it was not inconceivable that they would deliver their first attack on the town itself. If, however, they should choose to land between the town and the forts, then it was the part of wisdom to leave them to follow this course; for once ashore, they would have miles of swamp to cross be- fore reaching him, and his inferiority in numbers would be more than compensated by the advantage of positions se- lected in advance. If he had attempted to oppose this land- ing, he would have had the morasses at his back, and so in case of check, have converted an admirable natural defence into a most serious obstacle to successful withdrawal. Moreover, so few were his men that he could not afford to divide them ; and lastly, and quite apart from any other consideration, he had no guns to oppose to the Spanish naval artillery, against which any musketry fire that he could bring to bear, ineffective in those days beyond two hundred yards, would have been powerless. The issue proved the wisdom of his dispositions. The first attempt of the Spaniards to push their way through the morasses was also their last, nor did they later make any effort of any other sort. This failure to undertake any- thing more must be regarded as discreditable to the "glory and reputation of the arms of the King," particularly if the Spanish account of losses be correct. That it is not, we know from other sources. Indeed, so great were Montia- no's losses, and among his best troops, so sudden and un- expected his check, so uncompromising his defeat, that the matter was really then and there settled. In plain English, he had no stomach for further business. After that disas- trous beating when his grenadiers fell only to incarnadine the waters of the swamp in which they were entrapped, he sent out only Indians to see "if they could find some other road to Frederica". Meanwhile his rations were being reduced, he had not got his guns ashore, and rumors unnerved him. In these straits he fell to calling councils of war and so was lost. That he had made only one genuine effort to reach his objective, that in spite of the failure of this effort, he still outnumbered Oglethorpe, that in any case his fleet was substantially intact, these things made no impression on him. His one concern was to withdraw. And yet so blind was he to his own shortcomings that he attributes his fail- ure to the Almighty and actually asks his King to approve his conduct of affairs and to bestow honors upon him. To be sure, he had razed a few earthworks evacuated by their garrisons, carried off a few guns spiked by the enemy, burned a few houses abandoned by the inhabitants. And here we may now well leave him, recounting his victories over inanimate things, and glossing his failure, for this fail- ure made the State of Georgia possible. C. DeW. W. West Point, New York, October 19, 1912. GENERAL ARCHIVES OF THE INDIES: AUDIENCE OF SAN DOMINGO, LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA. Report Upon the Expulsion of the English from the Territories They Have Usurped in Florida, and Survey of Limits and Incidences. From 1738 to 1743; Case 87, Drawer 1, File 3. Affidavit of Juan Castelnau, a Prisoner in Georgia. Havana, July 24, 1739.* Don Juan Francisco de Guemes y Horcasitas transmits the depositions made by Juan Castelnau, a native of Los Pasages in Guipuzcoa, on the present state of the Settle- ments of New Georgia, where he was held a prisoner for 18 months, and of its fortifications, forces and establishments. Sir: Juan Castelnau, who says he is a native of Los Pas- ages in Guipuzcoa, having come from Cartagena in this dis- patch boat now on her way to those kingdoms [i. e. Castile and Leon, or Spain] with the order and permission consist- ing in a decree petitioned for by him of Lieutenant General Don Bias de Lesso, I have taken the declarations that follow to substantiate the reasons he gave to obtain the said per- mission. As I find from them that he has told the truth, and given an exact account and trustworthy news of the state of the towns of New Georgia, its fortifications, forces and es- tablishments, both as these were at the time of the expedi- tion intended and planned for the past year of 1738, and as they were after the arrival of the Commanding General Don Diego Ogletop,** I have thought it proper to send your Lordship the testimony of his declarations, to the end that His Majesty may be thoroughly informed of past and pres- ent conditions, because it agrees with all the inquiries and news which I had made and acquired for the expedition, and with those of the Governor of Saint Augustine in •It should be recollected that these dates are Gregorian; those of the contemporaneous English accounts are Julian. The difference, as is well known, was at this epoch, eleven days. •* Oglethorpe's name has in all cases, been left exactly as the Spaniards wrote it. Part C A R O Savannah Sound §KL ATLANTIC K Xvaffiai S t FCathenne'3 I. r Ocean o a a *.*.*-•-* * » + *_ * * * *- *. J.ri^A Gr. S l Simon's I J#Sim.niE fctyll. ^Cumberland I. .j t. *- *, *. *..*-+. *_ Note : The Figures are Fathoms at . low Water upon die Bars ipecified t?^' ♦-*-%_%_%_ ou Kith diefe Draug}it3;and at high j ♦ + - *-*- Wiiier.it.tekvl Bar there is 4Fathoms ^ , »_ Water and atTvbee Bar there is 4j Fathoms Water.and over both Bars ^oGun Ships may go and Anchor (aftly in both Sounds . "V*-*"*-' .1 *.%**- y 4 7 - *» /• 5 *K, ^~ * ? 3" Note: Tlie latitude shows the Scale N & s. and is "" ■•'<•!. There Is no E & \v Soale. This map reproduced from the original In the possession of W. J. DeRenne, Wormsloe, Ga. 8 THE SPANISH OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE Florida, made after the return of Don Diego Ogletorp to those Colonies. God keep your Lordship many years. Havana, July 24, 1739. Your most obedient servant kisses your hand. Don Juan Francisco de Guemes y Horcasitas. To Sefior Don Joseph de la Quintana. DECLARATION. In the city of Havana, on the 18th day of July, 1739, Don Juan Francisco de Guemes y Horcasitas, Field Marshal of the Armies of His Majesty, his Governor and Captain Gen- eral over the said city and of the Island of Cuba, said: — That the day before yesterday, the 16th of the current month, there came into this port [Havana] from that of Cartagena of the Indies, the dispatch frigate on her way to the kingdom of Castile and aboard of her, Juan Castelnau, a native of Los Pasages in the Province of Guipuzcoa, who was for 18 months a prisoner in New Georgia and other settlements, which the English have occupied ; and that up- on his liberation, he succeeded in passing through Virginia and other parts to the city of Santo Domingo in the island of Hispaniola, and thence to Cartagena aforesaid. Here he presented himself to His Excellency Don Bias de Leso,* Lieutenant General of His Majesty's fleets, Commander of the Galleons there stationed, and of all the naval forces in America, who upon request ordered him to proceed here in the dispatch frigate. In order now to possess ourselves of all that he has seen, surveyed, and understood, let him appear forthwith, and under oath, clearly and distinctly set forth the matter, according to the questions that may be made to him. And by these presents, I so provide, com- mand and sign. Guemes. Before me, Miguel de Ayala, Chief Clerk, State and War. * Leso, or Lezo, is mentioned by Altamira (Historia de Espana, Vol. IV., 194) as one of the celebrated Spanish seamen of the time. ATTACK ON THE COLONY OF GEORGIA 9 Declaration of Juan Castelnau. His Lordship, the Governor and Captain General imme- diately caused Juan Castelnau, a native of Los Pasages, to appear before him, who being sworn before God and on the Cross according to law, promised in consequence to tell the truth, whereupon the following questions were put to him; Asked why he had come to this place in the dispatch boat that had anchored in its port, the 16th instant, on its way from Cartagena to Spain, he said, that finding himself in Cartegena, he had asked permission of His Excellency Don Bias de Leso, Lieutenant General of the Fleets of His Majesty, Commander of the Galleons in that port, and of all the naval forces in America, to go to Havana and make report to His Lordship of the state of the Colonies of New Georgia in which the English had kept him a prisoner for 18 months, as appears from the petition which he presented to the said Don Bias de Leso and from his decree in evi- dence. Asked why and when he had been apprehended by the English of the Colonies of New Georgia, where he de- clared he had been, he answered that it was because they took him for a spy of Spain, and that it was in the beginning of the year 1737 on passing from Florida to Carolina, when he was examined by two tribunals ; that after two months of confinement on account of said suspicion, the tribunals finding him guiltless, had enlarged him. Asked how he had passed from Florida to Carolina, and for what reason he was in Florida, he said he had gone from Pensacola, where he had assisted the paymaster of that post, to Florida with the idea of crossing Carolina on his way to Europe in order to return to his own country, and that to that end he had received authority from the Governor of Saint Augustine in Florida, who was then Don Francisco del Moral Sanchez, to make a journey through Carolina. Asked where he had been after being set at liberty in Carolina, as declared by him, and for how long, he answer- ed that returning to Florida for the purpose of seeing if he could not earn some money on account of having spent and consumed that which he had before while a prisoner in Carolina, he had embarked in a pirogue at Port Royal and arrived at Savannah, a town which they said was the cap- ital of New Georgia, through fear of falling in with the English commanding officers of the other ports. He put to sea with the master of the said pirogue, and bad weather 10 THE SPANISH OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE coming on, they were driven in and compelled to save their lives by going ashore on an island called Emilia, whence a guard of four Englishmen there stationed took him to Saint Simon's. Here had his residence a commanding of- ficer called Captain Gasquin, who, after enquiring into the reasons which had brought him thither put him aboard the manual or coast guard vessel of the place, invariably forbid- ding him to communicate with whatever Spanish vessel might be in those waters, until the Commander Don Diego Obletor having arrived from London, he recovered his liberty. Asked in what manner he had proceeded from those parts to Cartagena, he said that Don Diego Obletor had assisted him to embark in a ship sailing to Virginia, whence he had gone by land to Mallorca.* Here he embarked in a bilan- der bound for the French coast of San Domingo, and having arrived, he betook himself to the city, and made report to the President of all that had befallen him ; and the Presi- dent after taking his declaration, had sent him on to Car- tagena, to Don Bias de Leso. Asked if he had been able to learn anything of the posts occupied by the English in those parts, of what strength they were and how fortified before the coming out of the Commander Don Diego Obletor, he answered that he had, that the established posts were Savannah or New Georgia,** containing some 200 houses of wood, very far each from the other, for which reason they take up much room ; the town situated on a bank of the river of the same name, on a bluff forty feet high with a battery of 10 pieces, about 8-pound- ers, without any garrison whatever, the service of the bat- tery being undertaken by the citizens themselves ; that only the area surrounding the battery is inclosed by a stockade of pine logs about 18 feet high and one foot thick, and that the rest of the settlement is open ; that at the mouth of the river stood a tower of wood constructed both as a lookout * Evidently New York; elsewhere in these papers we have Noyorca: the scribe could readily write Mallorca, with which name he was acquainted, for Noyorca, of which he had probably never heard before. ** It will be remarked that to the affiant, Savannah and New Georgria mean the same thing. Similarly, in the papers that follow, Florida is fre- quently used where we should write Saint Augustine. Sometimes the con- text enables us to distinguish between the chief town and the Colony, some- times it does not. Thus, when Horcasitas tells Montiano "to raze and destroy Carolina and its plantations," he may mean Charleston and surrounding plantations, or the Colony, though the former is perhaps the more likely. Where no doubt can exist, the name of the town has been given in the trans- lation. In other cases the MS. has been followed. ATTACK ON THE COLONY OF GEORGIA 11 and as a beacon for that port, which the English call Tebi, and we Cnices. And farther to the south lies the Island of Saint Simon, before reaching which there is another fort facing the Island of Santa Cathalina which they call Darien, garrisoned by about thirty Scotchmen, and mounting six guns of the same calibre. That in the aforementioned is- land [of Saint Simon] there is a town called Frederica sit- uated on the bank of the river Saint Simon, and said to contain thirty or forty houses or huts of boards and palm leaves, with another battery also of ten guns of the said* caliber, without any troops for its service, the citizens act- ing as guard. South of this town, say a league and a half, is a careening ground with three or four houses of boards, and on the point on the south of the island they have con- structed a battery of sixteen guns of the same calibre to sweep the entrance of the Harbor of Gualquini, which the English call Fort Frederica, beneath whose guns lay the manual in which he was a prisoner. Continuing further south, on the Point of Bejecez, on the Isle of Whales stands a fort which they called Saint Andrew with sixteen or twenty men commanded by Captain Makay, mounting ten guns of the same calibre. Still farther south yet is the Is- land of Emilia which we Spaniards call San Pedro, where they keep four men as a lookout, and have one gun and a stone mortar. That these were at the time in question the settlements, fortifications and forces which they had. He was further of the opinion that all the settlers to be found might number three hundred men, all of whom were capa- ble of bearing arms. Asked on what date he set forth from those Colonies to go to Virginia, when the Commander Don Diego Obletor arrived, and what troops he brought with him, he answered, that he himself set out on Nov. 4, 1738, of the past year, and that the Commander Don Diego Obletor arrived in the pre- ceding September of the same year with five transports and one vessel mounting more than twenty-two guns, and said to be a warship called the Blandfort, and that in the said transports he had brought over about five hundred men and more according to appearances, said to be regular troops; that in the month of July of said year, Lieutenant Colonel Cocran had arrived from Gibraltar with three hun- dred men drawn from its garrison, that after the arrival • i. e. said of the battery at Savannah. ">/„- 4o/ ground P/an of Frerlen'cci . < f!rf,'K An/A, >XL/#uJt /\ w fry'/&/ ; /«* OAaJcA:, & tftc_ i!#ijye/'£j Jcrh /t/artait. 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