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In general Lincoln's letter to congress, he says "Count D'Estaing has undoubtedly the interest of America much at heart. This he has evi. denced by coming over to our assistance; by his constant attention during the siege; his undertaking to reduce the enemy by assault, when he despaired of effecting it otherwise; and by bravely putting himself at the head of his troops and leading them to the attack. In our service he has freely bled. I feel much for him; for while he is suffering the distresses of painful wounds on a boisterous ocean, he has to combat chagrin. I hope he will be consoled by an assurance, that although he has not succeeded according to his wishes, and those of America; we regard with high approbation his intentions to serve us, and that his want of success will not lessen our ideas of his merit."*

General Lincoln retreated to Ebenezer, and on the 19th of October he left the army for Charleston, with orders to march to that place.

There was great dissatisfaction expressed by the citizens of Georgia, at the determination of

After the war was ended; the state of Georgia, in general assembly, passed the following law : "And whereas, the general assembly of this state, resolved that grants of twenty thousand acres of land should issue to the vice-admiral, the count D'Estaing, in testimony of their respect for his meritorious services. Be it therefore enacted, That the vice-admiral, the count D'Estaing be, and he is hereby empowered and qualified, to receive and hold the grants of land aforesaid, and he is hereby admitted to all the privileges, liberties, and immunities of a free citizen of this state, agreeably to the constitution,”

D'Estaing to raise the siege: many of them had been under British protection, and having resumed their arms in opposition to the royal government, they were apprehensive of the consequences if they again fell into their hands. Notwithstanding these murmurs, general Lincoln by prudent management, suppressed the expressions of discontent, and the allied forces separated with mutual expressions of esteem and affection,

CHAPTER X.

AFTER the allied armies had retired from Georgia, the sufferings of the families of those who adhered to the American cause, were extreme: they had been accustomed to ease and comfort, and many of them to affluence. This regards the families of those who had been under British protection: the families of such as had steadily adhered to the cause of their country, were already stripped of their property by their plundering enemies and generally removed for the want of subsistence. Before they could be removed to a place of security, plundering banditti, under the denomination of loyalists, were let loose to pillage them of all that was moveable; such as negroes, stock, and furniture of every description; even clothing about their persons,

their ear and finger rings, and breast pins, were deemed good prizes, and taken off by these freebooters: children were beaten with severity, to extort from them a discovery of the secret deposits of valuable property. The condition of the people of Georgia, was abundantly worse after the unsuccessful enterprise against Savannah, than it was before the French landed. The militia who had been under protection of the British, not allowing themselves to doubt of the success of the allied forces, cheerfully participated in a measure which promised the recovery of the state to the union. Future protection was not to be expected, and nothing remained for them but the halter and confiscation from the British, or exile, for themselves, and poverty and ill-treatment, by an insolent enemy, for their wives and children who were ordered forthwith to depart the country without the means for travelling, or any other means, but a reliance on charity for subsistence on their way.

The obscene language which was used, and personal insults which were offered to the tender sex, soon rendered a residence in the country insupportable. Having neither funds nor means of conveyance for themselves and children, they were obliged to abandon the country, under the most deplorable circumstances, and seek a depen dent residence in the adjoining states, at the most inclement season of the year. Numbers, whose former condition enabled them to make their

neighbouring visits in carriages, were obliged to travel on foot; many of them without shoes, through muddy roads and deep swamps. If some charitable person furnished a lean pony, they would probably travel but a few miles before it was taken from them. The families of general M'Intosh, colonel John Twiggs, and colonel Elijah Clarke, with many others of respectability, experienced distresses of which this is but a faint representation. Though colonel Twiggs' family was removed under the protection of a flag, they were fired upon by the enemy, and a young man who accompanied them was killed; the colonel, himself, narrowly escaped by flight. General M'Intosh's family was reduced from affluence to extreme poverty. Such were the necessities of his lady, when she reached Virginia with her children, that she was obliged to apply to governor Jefferson to relieve her from want. He fur. nished her with ten thousand dollars, which sounds like a large sum; but so great was the de. preciation, and so much had clothing risen above their former prices, that it required seven hundred dollars to purchase a pair of shoes. Colonel Clarke's house was pillaged and burned, and his family ordered to leave the state. Mrs. Clarke and her two daughters set out for the north, without any other means of conveyance than a pony of little value. They had proceeded but a short distance before the horse was taken from

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them, and they were left in the road to travel

through an enemy's country, thinly inhabited, without any means of conveyance or subsistence. Among the ordinary incidents of human life, but few occurrences justify the killing of a fellowcreature; but when the delicacy of the tender sex is assailed, and barbarity practised toward them, the mind of the most humane is filled with a species of revenge, which is not easily resisted. Those who had practised such cruelties, were not spared when the fortune of war threw them into the hands of their adversaries. Retaliation on both sides, became the order of the day; and the war for freedom and independence, became a war of extermination. For the honour of the civilized world, the author would willingly throw a veil over these transactions; but a disclosure of facts, is a duty particularly imposed upon a historian.

After the metropolis of the state had fallen in. to the hands of the enemy, the legislature had dispersed without appointing a governor for the succeeding year. John Werreat, esquire, president of the executive council, continued the ope ration of the functions of government; and on the 4th of November issued a proclamation at Augusta, representing that several attempts to convene the legislature had failed, owing to the distracted state of the country; and required that a general election should be held on the second Tuesday in the same month, in conformity with the powers vested in him by the constitution, and that the members so elected, should convene at

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