Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-07-29
Misturp pf' $. Garulima.
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES
OF THE
EarIy Settlement of South Carolina.
BY REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.

by REV, kUb6hT LATHAM.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.
It is not certain what part Governor Moore
took in the military expedition which result
ed in the battle at Flint river. The probabili-
ty is that he knew nothing at all about it un-
til after it was ended. One of the charges
brought against the Governor, by very re,
spectacle number ofthe most worthy inhabit'
ants of the colony, was his barbarous treat
ment of the Indians Whether Governor
Moore introduced into the colony the traffic
in Indians or not,sone thing is certain, he
practiced it to an extent and in manner un.
precedented in the History, it would seem. Q!
any of the colonies in America. Before his
time, Indians captured in war were reduced
to slavery, and, in some instances, they were
sent off and sold into bondage. In some in
stances, victorious tribes brought those
whom they had captured from their enemies,
and sold them to the colonists for triie.
Governor Moore, however, instituted new
system of reducing the Indian tribes; or
rather, he adopted plan for securing slaves,
different from any heretofore practiced in the
colony. He sent out parties to capture In
dians. The object was to secure slaves for his
own use. The Indians from whom he was
most solicitous to make captives, and thus re-
duce them to bondage, were friends of the
Spaniards, and, consequently, the enemies of
the English. The Appalachees were the al
lies of the Spanish, and the Greeks of the
English. This being the case, the two tribes
were hostile to each other. Governor Moore
sent out party of his minions, under the d.
rection of Anthony Dodsworth and Robert
MacKoone, to capture, for the purpose of
making slaves of them, as many Appalachees
as they could. In this vile work, they were
assisted by the Creeks.
This band Of kidnappers had made their
way on one of their scouting expeditions out
of the present limits of the State, when they
were apprised of the approach of nine hun
dred Appalachees, under the direction of the
Spaniards, to make an attack upon the colony
at Charles Town. Such being the facts in the
case, we are prepared to say that, bad as the
Spaniards we're, they sometimes were not
wholly in the wrong. No one can censure
the Spaniaras for defending their allies.
This Indian traffic of Governor Moore is
the worst feature in his history. No pallia'
tion can be offered for it, All the best men
of the colony, at the time, declared it was Gun
just and barbarous in itself, and will in all
probability draw upon us an Indian war with
all the dreadful consequences of it"
The attempted invasion fthe colony by the
Spaniards and Appalachees, in the early part
of 1902, cannot be offered as even pretext
for the expedition against St. Augustine in
the latter part of the same year. Neither can
it be said that it grew out of the fact that war
had been declared by the English government
against Spain. The fact is, it was an expe'
dition planned by James Moore and underta.
ken by him for the sole purpose of plunder
Neither the advancement of The English gov
ernment nor the prosperity of the colony in
South Carolina were consulted. The Spanish
of St. Augustine had never, it is true, respect
ed any treaties of peace entered into between
the home government and that Of England
and besides, being the first to make an attack
upon the colony at Charles Town, had ever
acted the part of depredators upon the colony
and infamers of the worst passions of the In
dians against it; but the expedition planned
and undertaken by Governor Moore against
St. Augustine, was in no sense strateglcal
movement to avenge these wrongs. The I'M
preston was made upon the minds of the AS
sembly that the object of the expedition was
to maintain the security of the colony. Ithad
been discovered that ST.. Augustine was in
such condition as to render it probable that
it could be taken with comparative ease.
The people were greatly incensed at Gov
ernor Moore on account of the manner in
which the election of 170l had been conducted.
In order to becloud their minds and thus
screen his fraudulent conduct from an inves-
tigation !; and at the same time oppressed with
debts, and withal of an avaricious disposition,
his fertile brain devised an expedition against
St. Augustine.
Although the matter was debated in low
tones and with closed doors, it was not kept a
secret from the Spaniards. They sent to Ha-
wanna for aid, and in the meantime busily
employed themselves in removing to the castle
all that was valuable in the town. In this
stronghold they stored away a sufficient
amount of food for four months.
The Assembly, ia order to meet the expen-
ses of the war, levied tax of two thousand
pounds-about ten thousand dollars-on "real
and personal estates, and of and from the profits
and revenues of the Inhabitants The ships
in the harbor were seized for the purpose of
conveying the troops. Port Royal was fixed
upon as the place of general rendezvous. An
army of twelve thousand men was collected
one-half of whom were Indians. At 6rst
COL Robert Daniel was made commander-in-
chief of the expedition but for some reason
this order was changed, and Governor Moore
was assigned to this post of honor and Col.
Daniel made second in command. Col. Dan
iel entered into the affair with all his soul,
and was brave man and skillful officer.
In September, 1902, the troops assembled
at Port Royal, and the final arrangements
were made for the grand expedition. Colonel
Daniel, with part of the troops, took the in
land route, whilst Governor Moore, with the
remainder, proceeded by sea. On his way,
Daniel took the two Spanish villages, St.
Johns and St. Mary's. On arriving at St.
Anpnstine. he boldly attacked the town and