The capture of Augusta restored all the northern counties to the Americans, and the Continental army in the State was strong enough to protect them from the advances of the British. The citizens who had been driven from their homes during the past two years now returned, and in August, 1781, the General Assembly met at Augusta and elected Dr. Nathan Brownson governor.
The British still held the city of Savannah, where Governor Wright was claiming to act as governor, but Ebenezer, on the Savannah River, and the posts on the Great Ogeechee Ferry and at Sunbury were the only outposts held by them. The Continental troops in Georgia were commanded by General Twiggs and Major James Jackson. Major Jackson attempted to take the Ogeechee post, but was forced to retreat. However, he compelled the British to abandon Ebenezer and retire to within a few miles of Savannah.
On the 19th of October, 1781, General Cornwallis, commander of the British forces at Yorktown, Va., surrendered his entire army to General Washington. The news of this victory filled the patriots with joy, and the Tories lost heart. It was evident to every one that the States would win their independence. The British occupied only a few places in America, and the English people were not willing to equip new troops to continue the war.
In January, 1782, the General Assembly met at Augusta and elected John Martin governor. Although the people were rejoicing in the certainty of victory, much distress prevailed in Georgia. Food was scarce and sickness was general. Prices for all the necessaries of life were very high. Salt sold at two dollars a quart, and a pair of shoes for twenty-five or thirty dollars. As the farmers had turned to soldiers, or had been driven from their homes, few crops had been raised, and a famine threatened the whole country.
The soldiers who were fighting the battle of liberty were only half-clothed and many of them barefooted. One hundred and fifty Virginia troops had marched three hundred miles barefoot over mountains and hills to join the Georgia army. When they arrived they were in great distress for shoes, and other clothing, but the people of Georgia were powerless to help them. It was difficult to furnish them even with food.
In January, 1782, General Anthony Wayne, known in history as "Mad Anthony," was sent to Georgia by the Continental Congress to take command of the Continental troops. He brought with him a body of dragoons and a detachment of artillery, and was joined soon after his arrival by three hundred mounted men from South Carolina. The presence of General Wayne's army greatly strengthened the State. Governor Martin at once issued proclamations, inviting all citizens who had submitted to the British rule to unite themselves with the State of Georgia, and calling upon the soldiers to desert the king. Many former citizens who had been compelled to accept the protection of the British government, and some who had joined the British army, took advantage of this offer and came into General Wayne's camp.
The British were very much alarmed when they heard of General Wayne's arrival, and prepared to defend Savannah. The garrison there amounted to only a little over a thousand men, and these were scantily supplied with food and arms. The American army hemmed them in on all sides, and cut off supplies from every direction except by sea. The notorious Colonel Brown, who had collected a body of Indians near Ogeechee Ferry, was pursued by General Wayne. Wayne pushed through a thick swamp, reached the Indian camp in the dead of night, and drove Brown and his party into the woods. All the arms and horses of the party were captured, together with thirty prisoners. This was the last battle of the Revolution in Georgia.
In May, 1782, orders came from the king to Governor Wright to surrender Savannah and to return to England. Governor Wright opened correspondence with General Wayne, and all the details were arranged between them. The king had sent ships to take away the British soldiers and the Tories who had taken refuge in Savannah. By the 21st of July everything was ready for the departure of the British, and the American army was drawn up in dress parade to occupy the city. Major James Jackson had been selected by General Wayne to receive the city. The honor was conferred on him because of his bravery, and the prominent part he had taken in driving the British from Georgia. Governor Wright formally delivered the keys of Savannah to Major Jackson, and he marched into the city at the head of his troops. The first capital of Georgia, which had been held by the British for three and a half years, was again in the hands of the State.
Governor Martin and the other State officers came at once to Savannah. The legislature was called together and much important business was transacted. The home of one of the royalists, which had been confiscated, was presented to Major James Jackson in recognition of his distinguished services. Two plantations were bought by the legislature, and one of these was presented to General Greene and the other to General Wayne, both of whom became citizens of Georgia.
The long war was over. Peace and liberty had come. A preliminary treaty of peace was signed at Versailles on the 30th of November, 1782, in which England recognized the independence of Georgia and the other States in America, and settled their boundaries. All the other states in Europe had already recognized the independence of the American States.
The final treaty of peace was not signed until September 3, 1783. This treaty made the Mississippi River the western boundary of Georgia, and the thirty-first parallel of latitude the southern boundary between the Mississippi River and the Chattahoochee. The same day England signed a treaty of peace with France and one with Spain, the two European states that had come to our assistance in our struggle for independence. All three treaties took effect at the same time. In the treaty with Spain, England ceded back to that nation East and West Florida. The northern boundary line of West Florida had originally been the thirty-first parallel of latitude; but a few years before the Revolution, the province had extended northward to the mouth of the Yazoo River, and a line extending from that point east to the Chattahoochee had been made the northern boundary. The people of Georgia and the other States knew nothing of this change. But the Spanish troops under General Galvez, Governor of Louisiana, had captured the Floridas during the war and occupied the country along the Mississippi as far as the present site of Vicksburg, where they had a fort. If the student will draw this line on the map it will be seen that the territory between the mouth of the Yazoo River and the thirty-first parallel of latitude was in this way ceded to the United States as a part of the State of Georgia, and also to Spain. Both Georgia and Spain claimed this territory, and a few years later a great deal of trouble grew out of the conflicting claims. The people of Georgia never admitted that the change of the northern boundary line of West Florida had been legally made.
[Anthony Wayne was born in Pennsylvania in 1746. He was a farmer and land surveyor. In 1775 he entered the Continental army as colonel, and distinguished himself throughout the Revolutionary War. After the war he became a citizen of Georgia, and lived upon the plantation which the legislature presented to him. He was a delegate from his county to the State Convention in 1787 to frame a constitution. He was one of the representatives from Georgia in the Second Congress of the United States, serving from October, 1791, to March, 1792. Major James Jackson contested his seat, and it was declared vacant. A new election was ordered, but he refused to be a candidate, and John Milledge was elected. Shortly after, he reentered the military service of the United States, being commissioned Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the armies sent against the Indians in the Northwest Territory. He died in December, 1796, and was buried in his native county of Chester, Pennsylvania.]
[Nathan Brownson was a physician of Liberty County. He was an early supporter of the rights of his country, and was connected with the Georgia Brigade as surgeon. He was quiet and dignified, and full of good sense. He died on his farm in Liberty County, 1796.]
[John Martin was an active defender of the rights and liberties of his country. He was a member of the first Provincial Congress. He entered the army as a captain, and afterwards rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He represented Chatham County in the legislature. It was during his term of office that provisions were very scarce in Georgia. The legislature had to purchase supplies for the governor and council.]
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