CAMDEN COUNTY, GA - Abner Hammond to Gov.E Telfair complaint against J. Seagrove ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Tara D. Fields tutcher@camdencounty.org Extracted from: Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842 http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/ By Tara D. Fields tutcher@camdencounty.org March 06, 2004 History and Genealogy of Camden and Charlton Counties, Georgia http://www.camdencounty.org Extracted from: Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842 http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/ By Tara D. Fields tutcher@camdencounty.org March 06, 2004 History and Genealogy of Camden and Charlton Counties, Georgia http://www.camdencounty.org Document: TCC867 Petition and letter from A[bner] Hammond, 1793 Apr. 5, Camden County, [Georgia to] Edward Telfair, Governor [of Georgia ] / A[bner] Hammond author: Hammond, Abner date: April 5, 1793 extent: 8p summary: This document dated April 5, 1793 contains both a petition and an incomplete letter from Abner Hammond to Edward Telfair (Governor of Georgia, 1789- 1793). Hammond sends the petition on behalf of the inhabitants of Camden County, and in it he complains about the behavior of James Seagrove, local Superintendent of Indian Affairs. He accuses Seagrove of, among other things, mishandling public provisions, interfering with the high sheriff's duties, illegally imprisoning respectable County citizens and public servants, heading a mob that attacked and beat the sheriff, and holding a fraudulent election in which he was elected captain of the County militia unit. Hammond also details his own attempts to catch a group of Indians that killed a local family and Seagrove 's efforts to stop him. The document also includes the last page of a letter from Hammond to Telfair in which he asserts that recent depredations by the Creek Indians were intended only to thwart Seagrove in his misdirected policies. repository: Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries collection: Telamon Cuyler box: 76 folder: 19 document: 01 Page: [1] [ | ] Temple St. Marys River 5 Apr. [April] [document damaged: 1793] His Excellency Governor Telfair, Sir, Your Excellency is no doubt [illegible] informed. of [added: the] late depredation Commited [Committed] by the Creek Indian son the frontiears [frontiers] of Our County, as well by the receipt of my letter on that Subject, as thro' [through] the Indians of the SuperIntendant [Superintendent] of Indian Affairs. those distresses are renderd [rendered] doubly [deleted: distressing] imbarrassing [embarrassing] by the deranged State of Our Militia, together with the Violent & unpresedented [unprecedented] Outrages latly Commited [lately Committed] on the rights of the people, by some of those who have been appointed to dispence [dispense] Justice and Support Civil authority. -- It is not the intention of this letter to present your Excellency with a full detail of all those Abuses, & must here Observe that those facts which I am immediatly Calld [immediately Called] on to Communicate by a verry [very] large number of my fellow Citizens & County men Imposes on me a Truly disagreeable Task, and Such a One as I could not be induced to attempt but under the Strongest impressions of Duty. -- I shall indevour [endeavor] to be as Succinct as possible. The Conduct of James Seagrove is loudly Complaind [Complained] of here as SuperIntendant [Superintendent] of Indian affairs, and as a Judg [Judge] of Our inferior Courts, & in my humble Conception is Strongly reprehensible in both Cases, to him I am induced to believe wee [we] may impute the late Mischiefs, that is to say it Results from his miss Management [mismanagement] -- I am informed by the Oaths of divers [diverse] people that he had sold & Exported to a foreign nation, the publick [public] Corn deposited with him to distrabute [distribute] to Indians before those Mischiefs were Commited [Committed], & that he has Page: [2] [ | ] Continued to do so, and at the Same time refused to Supply a Single grain to the Support of a Troop of horse who were under necessity of imbodying [embodying] to guard Our frontiers, who had left their homes at a minutes warning to Save from [deleted: harm] [unclear: massacre] the defenceless famileys [defenseless families] that were exposd [exposed] -- with out the Immediate power to remove into Safety. at the time of The treaty, he declared himself at the head of the laws, and possitively [positively] forbid the High Sherrif [Sheriff] of this County to execute the legal duties of his office under the pains of Immediate Confinement, and the Sherriff [Sheriff] well knowing that Superior power Superceeded [Superceded] right, was Oblig'd [Obliged] to wave the execution of [deleted: of] his duty -- By Virtue of the Same power Seagrove Orderd [Ordered] into Confinement Hugh Brown, Esquire, one of the Justices of this County and him kept imprisond [imprisoned] for a Considerable time, without any legal warrent [warrant] or precept, without exhibiting any Charge of [unclear: Crime] or misdemenor [misdemeanor], and without any known Cause. -- and when he was Set at liberty refused to give any reasons why he [added: had] been so treated -- A bout the Same time he Seagrove, Orderd [Ordered], a Free White Citizen of this State to be Strip'd [Stripped] Tied up to a Tree and Caused to be inflicted the punishment of thirty nine lashes on his Bair [Bare] back -- without any Previous Trial & Concequently [Consequently], with [added: out] Conviction of Crime. Those are Abuses which militates in the most dangerous degree against good Government -- & Strongly menaces the Sacred priviledges [privileges] of all good Citizens -- Mr Seagrove has Since headed a Mob, & in a most unlawful manner, attack'd [attacked] Our Sherrif [Sheriff] in the Execution of his Office, Rescued a prisoner from under his Custody taken in Virtue of A legal process to the Said Sherriff [Sheriff] directed and the Said Sherrif [Sheriff] dangerously wonded [wounded] & Shamefuly [Shamefully] Beat and Rob'd [Robbed] of the process by which he held the prisoner -- Thus has the legal Cource [Course] of Justice been perverted -- the Page: [3] [ | ] Laws Trampled on -- and that Invaluable Right guaranteed by our Constitution to every individual Citizen, the Right of Trial By Jury violated and punishments inflicted, by Single fiat, of an Arbitrary Individual. Immediately after the execution of those Abuses, an Association was formd [formed] and an election held for Officers to Command them. James Seagrove was elected Captain, Elihu Habberd Lieut. [Lieutenant] and John McLeary ensign, and wee [we] are informd [informed] that a return of that Election, if it [document damaged: may] so termd [termed], has been Sent on to Your excellency, as a return of an election for Militia officers for this County -- if so it is a Missrepresentation [Misrepresentation] as no previous notice had been given to the people to attend for that purpose -- nor was the Election in any respect Consonent [Consonant] with the Militia law. we Can not Consider men as Our Officers who are Self Created, or Could wee [we] respect Officers whose first acts are marked with Open Violations of laws. -- Immediatly [Immediately] after the election James Seagrove and his Associates proceed[document damaged: ed] to the appointment of A Committy [Committee] Consisting of Five persons to execute their diabolical and arbitrary mandates Richard Caines, William Johnson, Elihu Hubberd James Wright, and Daniel Lyons were nominated, Their first Order was to proceed to the House of Mr Thomas Skrine one of the most respectable inhabitants of the Town of St Marys, and to Drive him out of the County -- this Order they Proceeded to execute -- and Mr Skrine was Orderd [Ordered] in the most peremptory terms to be without the limits of the County by the next day 10 O clock, or that they would tear down his hous [house] about his ears -- I was presint [present] myself on this Occasion, and protested against their proceedings, Page: [4] [ | ] and Warnd [Warned] them of the Consequences that must Result from Such unwarrantable violations of the peace & good Order -- I am Confident that they would have put those threats in execution if I had not for Bid their proceedings at their perril [peril] -- Mr. Skrine treated the Order [deleted: the Order] with that Contempt which every good Cittizon aught [Citizen ought], who was Conscious of having acted uprightly and of having [deleted: acted] violated the laws in no One instance. were the Boddy [Body] of the people as much dispos'd [disposed] to Act Violently as they are unanimous in the disapprobation of those unlawful & arbitrary proceedings, they Could easily Rid themselves of such a Mob. -- but wee [we] prefer the milder mode of Suppressing them by a due Cource [Course] of law, to whose Jures prudence wee [Jurisprudence we] Shall appeal for Justice, but in the mean time we feel it our duty to Communicate [deleted: to] those facts to your Excellency as Cheaf [Chief] Magistrate of the State. Conscious that wee [we] Shall have all the Support, that your Excellency may Judge the nature of the Case merits from the Executive department. I am authorized to Say that the County at large wish a proper arrangement of the Militia to take place, agreeable to the Spirit and Strict letter of the law, and hope your Excellency will not receive any returns here to fore Sent on -- as no Election has yet been held, but by a few unlawful associates without the Knowledge of the Community at large & at a time when all was in alarm, numbers nesesarily Confind [necessarily Confined] to the fronteers [frontiers] on guard -- Page: [5] [ | ] the day after the murder was Commited [Committed] on the Traveling people near the Burnt fort on Satilley, I Collected eight of my neighbors, to follow the perpetrators with hopes to retake the property, and retaliate on them, on Our way we were Joind [Joined] by James Seagrove and Twelve men from the town of St. Marys with whome wee [whom we] proceeded to the Spot where the murder was Commited [Committed]; Exasperated by a view of the mutilated family we hurried on their trail in pursuit & in frew [few] hours Came to where they had Camp'd [Camped] the night before, we found they had taken with them A number of Cows with young Calves and Concluding from that Sir Cumstance [Circumstance] that they must move Slow [added: we] Continued Our pursuit and about nine O clock [added: at night] Came up to their fire Still Burning fresh, here they had killd [killed] and Barbecued a beef, and from all appearances Could not have been gone more than an hour -- being Still within the limits of this Stae [State] I was anxious to persue [pursue], But Mr Seagrove declind [declined] going any further, and by exagerating [exaggerating] the danger that attended the further pursuit So inclined the men that I Could not prevale [prevail] on a Sufficient number to prosecute the pursuit, tho' [though] they all agreed that it Could not take us more than two hours to Overtake them, and their numbers was Known not to exceed ten -- I am fully perswaided [persuaded] from the knowledge I have of Indian movements that we Should have Come up with them in Six or eight miles, when I am Confident we Should have Page: [6] [ | ] Retook the property, and perhaps [added: have made prisoners of] the greater part of the Indians; Such a Sir cumstance [Circumstance] would have been of infinite Consequence to us at this time. The indians are attentive to their first enter prizes [enterprises] in war, if they are fortunate it presages Continual Success, if they are unsuccessful, they are discouraged and are often known to relinquish a war on the failure of their first enterprize tho verryTrifleing [enterprise though very Trifling] in its nature. I indevourd [endeavored] to prevale [prevail] on Seagrove to proceed, but Could not, the want of that Confidence which is assential [essential] to the the [the] Soldier, was too visible on this occasion. -- perhaps the feelings which were produced by the recent View of the Barberous [Barbarous] murders Commited [Committed] by those Savages might have Stimulated me to Over run the Bounds of prudence and have influenced my hazarding too much : had it been so I flatter my self it was a pardonable error, but in the Calmer moments of Reflection, I can discover nothing of the appearance of rashness, in the further prosecution of the pursuit, urged by me on the Occasion, nor Can I reconcile the Timidity I discovered in the Conduct of Seagrove. It is the Opinion of Every person here that, he is the principal in the House of Robert Seagrove & co. -- & he has refused to give pasports [passports] to any of the Tradres [Traders] from this quarter, except Such as have taken their goods from that house, he has possitivly [positively] thrown every imbarrassment [embarrassment] in his power in the way of every other [unclear: Inactment [Enactment]] here [Signed] A. [Abner] Hammond Page: [7] [ | ] [page(s) missing?] and Others imploy'd [employed] removing, Our women and Children Out of the way of the Savages -- It is my Opinion that it is not the intention of the Creek Nation to go to war with us, and that the late mischiefs were intended only to opperate [operate] against the Super intendant -- of this however your excellency will be better inabled [enabled] to Judge by a view of the Several Communications you will receive from other quarters. This will be h and ed to your Excellency by Mr. Skrine, -- he is a man of Truth and information -- & Can give your Excellency further information on those Subjects -- I have the Honr. [Honor] to be with the utmost respect Your Excellency's Most Ob. Hble Servt [Obedient Humble Servant] [Signed] A. [Abner] Hammond Page: [8] [ | ] His Excellency Edward Telfair Governor & Commander in Chief in & Over the -- State of Georgia favord [favored] by Mr. Skrine Petition from sundry Inhabitants Camden County & Letter from A. [Abner] Hammond 5 Apl [April] 1793 Filed 20th Aprl [April] 1793