Battle of Bloody Marsh - St. Simons Island, Georgia

The English victory at the Battle of Gully Hole Creek on the morning of July 7, 1742, stunned the Spanish army invading St. Simons Island and sent it reeling back on its base at Fort St. Simons (on the site of today's St. Simons Lighthouse). As English General James Oglethorpe pushed forces up the military road across the island and returned to Fort Frederica for reinforcements, Spanish commander Don Manuel de Montiano attempted to reverse the situation faced by his forces.

Bringing forward a stronger body of troops, Montiano started back up the military road. Aware that a second Spanish advance was likely, Oglethorpe had thrown the 42nd Regiment of Foot and a company of Highlanders from Darien into position on a low wooded bluff overlooking a marsh that the Spanish soldiers would have to cross. The miltiary road passed over the edge of the marsh by a low causeway.

On the afternoon of July 7, 1742, just hours after their defeat earlier in the day at Gully Hole Creek, the Spanish army marched into Oglethorpe's ambush. As Montiano's soldiers crossed into the open marsh, the English soldiers opened fire. A sharp battle erupted and by the time the smoke cleared, the Spanish were once again in retreat.

The battlefield would become known as Bloody Marsh, because legend holds that the wetlands ran red with the blood of Spanish soldiers. While this may have been true, only seven of Montiano's soldiers were killed in the fighting, far fewer than had died earlier in the day at Gully Hole Creek.

The Battle of Bloody Marsh is rememebered today as a landmark event in Georgia history. It forever ended Spain's hope of reclaiming is lost lands in Georgia and assured the survival of the English colony that would eventually become the State of Georgia. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/bloodymarsh.

Battle of Gully Hole Creek - St. Simons Island, Georgia

One of the least known but most important battles in Georgia history took place on July 7, 1742, in the marshes and thickets along Gully Hole Creek on St. Simons Island.

The War of Jenkins Ear was then underway. Named for the severed ear of an English sea captain and, so far as I know, the only war in human history named for a body part, the conflict between England and Spain spilled over to the American continent and led to fighting for control of what would become the state of Georgia.

General James Oglethorpe had instigated the fighting by leading a campaign south into Florida to capture St. Augustine. He failed and in July of 1742, Spanish Governor Don Manuel de Montiano retaliated by leading a fleet of warships and more than 5,000 troops north to St. Simons Island. Landing on the south end of the island and occupying Fort St. Simons, which stood at the site of today's St. Simons Lighthouse and had been evacuated by the English as Montiano landed, he prepared to move against Oglethorpe's main citadel at Fort Frederica.

Pushing an advance force up the military road that linked the two forts on July 7, 1742, Montiano prepared for his assault on Fort Frederica. Unfortunately for the Spanish, however, things quickly began to go wrong.

Informed of the Spanish advance, Oglethorpe left Fort Frederica with a company of Scottish Highlanders from Darien, Georgia, and some Indian volunteers to oppose Montiano's force while his main body of troops prepared to join the fighting. The hard fighting Highlanders and their Indian allies collided with the Spanish at a sluggish waterway called Gully Hole Creek. It was a bloody little battle filled with smoke, screams and the rattle of musketry.

Montiano was defeated and pulled back up the island to unite with his main force. Oglethorpe followed and waited to fight again.

To learn more about the Battle of Gully Hole Creek, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gullyholecreek.