Volume 44 - No. 09
February 27, 2014
by lyle e davis
Georgia!
That great southern state where folks talk right purty like . . . where the women are all beautiful, where the Azaleas bloom, where you can get grits and peaches and great barbecue . . . but also caviar . . . a romantic state with a rich, rich history. How did it come to be?
It happened because at high noon on November 16, 1732, there appeared off our shores a beautiful ship, Anne. Her white sails had carried her from Jolly Olde England (which sometimes was not all that Jolly) across the Atlantic Ocean, with a distinguished British general, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist James Oglethorpe, and his 120 emigrants. The ship reached Charleston, South Carolina, on January 13, 1733, and cast anchor just outside the harbor bar. Oglethorpe, leaving his people on board, was rowed to shore in an open boat, and was received with great honor by Governor Robert Johnson and the Legislature of South Carolina, which was then in session.
The Governor had been notified several weeks before that Oglethorpe was coming and he was prepared to extend to him a hearty welcome. The people of South Carolina were very glad that an English colony was to be planted in Georgia. They knew they’d likely have problems with those fierce and predatory rascals The Paper - 760.747.7119
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from Spain and one more colony would offer that much more protection.
Governor Robert Johnson offered to do anything in his power to help Oglethorpe. He appointed Colonel William Bull, one of the most prominent
men in South Carolina, to act as Oglethorpe's guide and assistant in settling his colony in Georgia and offered to take care of the emigrants until a suitable location could be found for them. At the head of the bay was
the little town of Beaufort, where there was a fort garrisoned by 100 South Carolina soldiers. A new barracks building had just been erected for the soldiers but, they had not yet moved into it. Governor Johnson turned this building over to the use of the
Georgia . . . on my mind Continued on Page 2