stances from his little army, which did not amount to more than seven hundred men. To animate

them with a spirit of perseverance, he exposed himself to the same hardships and fatigues with the common soldiers; and in the worst of events, could have secured the retreat of a considerable portion of his garrison through Alligator Creek, and his cut through Generals island. In the mean time the Spaniards had made several attempts to pierce through the woods, with a view to attack the fort, but met with such opposition from the deep morasses and dark thickets, defended by the Indians and highlanders, that every effort failed with considerable loss. Don Manuel de Monteano, had no other prospect left, and these difficulties must either be surmounted or the design relinquished for this purpose parties were kept in motion to explore the thickets, and to take possession of advantageous posts.

On the 7th of July, about nine o'clock in the morning, a ranger from the patrol, brought information to the general, that a body of the enemy had approached within two miles of Frederica. He ordered four platoons of the regiment immediately to follow him, and marched with some rangers, highlanders and Indians, who were then under arms, and attacked the enemy about a mile from the fort, as they were entering a savan, na, to take possession of a ditch which they intended to use as an intrenchment. The general attacked them with such vigor, that they were

soon defeated, and one hundred and twenty-nine killed and taken prisoners: the general took two prisoners with his own hand. Lieut. Scroggs, of the rangers, took capt. Sachio prisoner, who commanded the party. Tooanohowi* an Indian chief, was shot in the right arm by captain Mageleto; he drew his pistol with the left and shot the captain dead upon the spot. The general pursued the enemy two miles, and halted upon an advantageous piece of ground, until a reinforcement came up. He posted them with the highlanders, in a wood, with a large savanna in front, over which the Spaniards must pass on their way to Frederica. He hastened to the fort and ordered an additional force to be in readiness, in case of necessity. By the time this arrangement was made, three hundred of the enemy's best troops attacked the party he had left. He hastened to their relief and met three platoons, who in the smoke and drizling rain, had retreated in disorder, and the fire continuing, he ordered these platoons to rally and follow him, and rushed on with his party to the assistance of the other platoon and the highlanders, who continued the conflict; when he arrived he found that lieutenants Sutherland and Mackay, had entirely defeated the enemy. In this action Don Antonio de Barba, was mortally wounded, and several of

*Tooanohowi was the nephew of Tomochichi, and with him accompanied General Oglethorpe to England, in 1734.

the enemy were killed and taken. Captain Denr ere and ensign Gibbon, rallied their platoons, and came up to the ground. Captain Carr and his company of marines, and lieutenant Cadogan, with a party of the regiment, came up at the same time, and were followed by Major Heron, with another body of the regiment. In these two actions the enemy lost two captains, one lieutenant, two sergeants, two drummers and one hundred and sixty private soldiers; and one captain and nineteen privates, were taken prisoners.

The next morning he returned to Frederica, and as an encouragement and stimulus to bravery, lieutenants Primrose, Maxwell and Mackay, were appointed his aids-de-camp; lieut. Sutherland brigade major, and sergeant Stuart, ensign. On the 12th, one of the English prisoners escaped from the Spaniards, who reported, that on calling the rolls of the enemy, they had lost two hundred and forty men, and nineteen Indians. The Spanish commander, finding he could make no advantageous impression on the fort in this way, changed his plan of operations, and keeping his troops under cover of his cannon, proceeded with his gallies up the river with the tide, to reconnoitre the fort, and draw the general's attention to another quarter. The general fixed on an advantageous spot, and sent a party of Indians, with orders to lie in ambuscade in the woods and grass, and endeavor to prevent their landing, which succeeded. About the same time, another Eng

J

sh prisoner escaped from the Spanish camp, and brought advice to general Oglethorpe, of a difference subsisting in it, between the troops from Cuba, and those from Augustine; and that in consequence of this misunderstanding, they encamped in separate places. The general thought this afforded him a favorable opportunity of taking an advantage of the enemy, and he resolved to attempt a surprise upon one of the encampments. With the advantage of his knowledge. of the woods, he marched out in the night with three hundred regular troops, the highland company, rangers and Indians. Having advanced within two miles of the enemy's camp he halted, and went forward with a small party to take a view of their posture: but while he wished above all other considerations to conceal his approach, a Frenchman from his party, fired his musket, run off to the enemy and gave the alarm: Oglethorpe finding his design defeated by this traitor, thought it prudent to retreat to Frederica. Apprehensive that the deserter would discover his weakness to the enemy, he resorted to the operations of his genius, to devise a plan by which he might destroy the credibility of the deserter's information. For this purpose he wrote a letter, and addressed it to the traitor, in which he desired him to acquaint the Spaniards of the defenceless state of Frederica, and how easy and practicable it would be to cut him and his small garrison to pieces. He requested him to use every

art in urging them forward to an attack, and to assure them of success; but if he could not prevail with them to make that attempt, to use every influential argument to detain them two or three days longer upon the island, for within that time, according to advice he had received from Carolina, he should receive a reinforcement of two thousand land forces, and six British ships of war, with which he felt assured he would be able to give a good account of the Spanish invaders; and closed his letter with the strictest cautions against his subjecting himself to suspicion, reminding him of the great reward he was to receive from his king, in the event of success attending the plan; and urging the necessity of profound silence respecting Admiral Vernon's intentions against Augustine. This letter was given by Oglethorpe, to one of the Spanish prisoners, who for the sake of liberty and a small reward, promised to deliver it to the French deserter, privately, and conceal the circumstance from the knowledge of any other person; observing that the Frenchman was not a deserter, but a spy upon the Spanish camp. With these injunctions, the Spanish soldier was liberated, and as Oglethorpe wished and expected, the letter was delivered to the Spanish commander in chief. The conjectures and speculations, occasioned by this letter, were various; and the Spanish commandant was not a little perplexed to know what inference he ought to draw from it.