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The Military Exploits of An
Exceptional Revolutionary Hero, Samuel Elbert by R. E. Whitehead (based on an account by Stella Muse Whitehead) (NOTE: Much of this article is now available at Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Elbert.)
Over fifteen million people live in Samuel Elbert’s parents died in At an early age, Samuel was employed by a prosperous planter named John Rae,
one of the most important figures at that time, in both the commercial field
and in governmental affairs, in the entire State of Georgia. Mr. Rae had
built a beautiful home on his land near Savannah known as Rae’s Hall. It
was through John Rae's influence that Elbert was commissioned to go into Indian
country as a trader, and he had great success in his dealings with the Indians,
mostly because of his kind regard for those members of the human race termed
our “darker-skin brothers.” John Rae had a talented daughter, Elizabeth
Rae, and soon she and Elbert became engaged. In 1769, they were married at
Rae’s Hall, a marriage that, according to historian Charles C. Jones,
“confirmed Elbert’s social position and influence.” Although never seeking glory, it seemed to seek Elbert out and it wasn’t
long before he found himself a leader in Georgia’s movement for
independence. He was intensely loyal and it was difficult for him to
renounce his loyalty to the Crown, but events soon made it inevitable. He
was ambitious, but not to the point of sacrificing his principles. Later
in his career, when the General Assembly of Georgia requested that he take
command of all the Continental troops of the State to replace General McIntosh,
Elbert declined. He wrote that, “as long as General McIntosh desires that
position, I am unwilling to accept it.” Elbert placed his duty as a
soldier above his personal ambition, saying that he was bound to obey the
General. It is very much to his credit that he never entered into petty
quarrels, reserving his battles for the British. Joseph Clay, one of
Georgia’s outstanding political leaders and later delegate to the Continental
Congress, said of Samuel Elbert: “ - he is active, vigilant and brave and much respected by the
inhabitants.” Although not quite as well known as some of Georgia’s other leaders, Elbert
was nevertheless very active in the quest to obtain freedom from
Britain. Prior to the outset of Colonial disputes, Elbert, as did many
other Georgians, displayed an intense loyalty toward England. He became a
captain in the Colonial Militia and signed a pledge of allegiance to the King
of England as a pre-requisite to being commissioned a Captain in the Colonial
Army in 1774. His innate sense of justice, however, broke strong barriers
when the British sent battleships into Savannah Harbor, and burned rice
plantations along the Savannah river. This act of violent tyranny ended
once and for all any loyalty he might have had for the crown. It was in 1777 when Georgia’s president, Button Gwinnett, decided to conduct
an invasion of Florida to liberate that territory from the British. His
plan was to send Lt. Colonel Samuel Elbert with 400 continental troops in three
galleys and support craft by sea and another element of 109 mounted
militia led by Colonel John Baker by land. The two elements were to
rendezvous at Saw Pit Bluff, near the mouth of the Nassau River, a site that is
presently within the city limits of Jacksonville, Florida. Unfortunately at the very time this expedition was initiated, an ongoing
feud between President Button Gwinnett and the commander of Georgia’s
Continental troops, General Lachlan McIntosh, brought about the demise
of Mr. Gwinnett. A duel between these two individuals caused both to
suffer wounds and Button Gwinnett died of blood poisoning three days later on
May 19, 1977. General McIntosh apparently resented not having been put in
charge of the Florida expedition and it is entirely possible that with his more
skillful planning, the campaign just might have succeeded. Nevertheless, probably the single most important reason Florida never became
a part of Georgia can be found in the vagaries of the wind.* May 13, 1777
was to be the date for Elbert and Baker to combine their forces and drive back
the British. As it happened, about this time, the coastal winds chose to
blow strongly from a Southerly direction. This, together with opposing
currents, prevented Elbert’s sea expedition from reaching its destination
on the date selected. President and Commander in Chief Gwinnett, who
planned the sojourn, had failed to allow sufficient time for adverse conditions
to prevail. Colonel Baker’s mounted militia arrived at Saw Pitt Bluff as planned but
quickly moved to a new location when it became apparent that the British
already knew of their intentions. During this move, Colonel Baker’s men
were surprised by an overwhelming force of some 400 British troops and a brief
battle ensued in the vicinity of Thomas Creek just South of where it empties
into the Nassau River. Today, this site is just West of I-95 where it crosses
the Nassau River near Jacksonville. Greatly outnumbered and facing withering fire, most of Baker’s men
deserted. Colonel Baker together with his few remaining forces was obliged
to retreat, disengaging the enemy and returning to Georgia on May 17. It
was about three days later, after struggling with adverse winds, that Colonel
Elbert arrived and disembarked on the North end of Amelia Island. His
forces were joined by a few stragglers from Baker’s detachment, but after
reconnoitering, Elbert found the British well entrenched with troops and
artillery as well as an armed schooner and sloop guarding the passage between
Amelia Island and the mainland. While Elbert’s little band was busy trying to cut through the Amelia
Narrows, the British commander, Patrick Tonyn, was making plans to attack them
with vastly superior forces. To ensure total victory, the British war
ships Rebecca and Hawke were ordered out to block any attempt of Elbert’s
little flotilla to escape. But Mother Nature plays no favorites. After thwarting Elbert’s invasion
of Florida with uncooperative winds, the weather quickly changed. A
violent storm came up, and the British war ships were forced out to
sea. Before they could return, they encountered a rebel Brigantine of
sixteen guns. The ensuing battle damaged the Rebecca so badly, that it
could no longer carry on, leaving Elbert’s exit from Amelia Island
unopposed. Failing to surprise the British and not having the support of Baker’s
detachment, Elbert and his men returned to Georgia without much having been
accomplished. Shortly thereafter, Elbert concluded in a letter to General
McIntosh, “ I think --- that little can be done, unless by a
formidable invasion, which I judge to be rather too much for Georgia to
undertake till her forces are put on a more respectable footing, and therefore
recommend confining our operations entirely to the defensive till a more
favorable opportunity. We have too many secret enemies amongst us who keep
up a regular correspondence with our Florida neighbors, and until they are put
to a stop it will impossible for us to enter Florida without their having
timely notice of our approach.” A later attempt to invade Florida with a much larger army hardly got off the
ground. This attack, in which Elbert played a somewhat lesser role, was
initiated by Governor John Houston and General Robert Howe in 1778. It was
doomed to failure from the start by lack of a unified command. One of the
few, and most amazing, successes of this second invasion attempt came when Colonel
Elbert put 300 of his troops aboard three Rebel galleys and caused the
surrender of two British warships, his Majesty’s schooner Hinchinbrook and the
recently repaired sloop-of-war Rebecca, that had been harassing the Georgia
Rebels for almost two years. Also captured was a prize brigantine. At
the sight of the heavily manned Rebel galleys approaching, the British struck
their colors and abandoned ship. Elbert was ecstatic. The remarkable success of this enterprise encouraged
him to launch his Galleys against a third British vessel anchored at the North
end of It is interesting that the Galleys used by Colonel Elbert comprised almost
the entire Georgia Navy at that time. These vessels were named the Lee,
the Washington and the Bulloch. A fourth Galley, named the Congress,
completed all the ships authorized by the Continental Congress for the
State. The Congress, however, was not used by Elbert at this
time. The Galleys were about 70 feet in length and were powered by two
lateen sails as well as oars and had either a large cannon or two
carriage guns mounted in the bow. Although not suited for ocean going,
their maneuverability made them formidable in the shallow coastal waters of Meanwhile, Samuel Elbert, having been made acting brigadier-general,
continued with his Continental troops toward Elbert, now joined by General Howe, continued on and captured Elbert continued to be active in |
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For more information on the ships and battle, see GA Gen Web Page, "Georgia Revolutionary War" (http:/www.rootsweb.com/~gataylor/elbert.htm). |