War of 1812 on the Georgia Coast

Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island

I've added two new pages to my site ExploreSouthernHistory.com that focus on War of 1812 actions on the Georgia coast.

The first tells the story of the British Raid on St. Simons Island and the other the virtually unknown story of the Battle of the St. Mary's, the last land battle of the War of 1812.

Georgia was the focus of the last campaign of the War of 1812. As a major British army moved against New Orleans in December 1814, a second amphibious force struck Cumberland Island on the Georgia Coast. Commanded by Rear Admiral George Cockburn, the same officer who had burned Washington, D.C., British forces landed on Cumberland on January 11, 1815. Two days later they took the U.S. Army battery and fort at Point Petre (Point Peter) near St. Mary's in a small but sharp battle.

Slave cabin on a plantation raided by the British in 1815.

Then, near the end of January 1815, Cockburn ordered his forces to invade St. Simons Island. Coming ashore on the island's southern end, they raided homes and plantations while liberating African American slaves and inviting them to join the British military.

Old Fort Frederica, on the west side of the island, became the command post for the operation and was the scene of one of the largest military emancipations of slaves in Georgia history.

To learn more about the raid on St. Simons Island, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stsimons1812.

Sailing vessel on the St. Mary's River

The final offensive action of the War of 1812 took place along Georgia's southern border on the St. Mary's River. A small flotilla of seven barges and a captain's gig rowed up the river to destroy the American outpost of Camp Pinckney near what is now Folkston.

On February 24, 1815, the British Royal Marines and sailors were attacked by U.S. Army troops and "Patriot" revolutionaries from Spanish Florida in what is known as the Battle of the St. Mary's. The action took place after the Battle of New Orleans, the Battle of Point Petre (Point Peter) and the Second Battle of Fort Bowyer, all of which have been labeled by various historians as the last battle of the War of 1812.  So far as is known, however, British and American land forces never fought against each other again after the Battle of the St. Mary's.

To learn more about the Battle of the St. Mary's, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stmarysbattle.

Don't forget, you can read about dozens of other Georgia historic sites anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.  Just scroll down the page to the index and look for the Georgia section.

Georgia Ghost Stories for your Halloween reading fun!

St. Simons Island Lighthouse
Home to a Restless Ghost?

Stories of ghosts, monsters and "things that go bump in the night" are important in Southern culture and folklore.

Whether you believe in such tales or not, they were commonly told by our ancestors. Newspapers of the 19th century, in fact, often reported ghost and "wild man" (Bigfoot) sightings along with the other important news of the day.

Georgia is home to dozens of historically documented ghost and monster stories and I thought you might enjoy checking out a few of them this Halloween!

Bigfoot Attack in the Okefenokee

Ghost of Allatoona Pass

Ghosts of Jekyll Island

Ghosts of Midway Cemetery

Ghosts of the Old Georgia Medical College

Ghost of St. Simons Lighthouse

Ghost of Springer Opera House

Ghost of Tallulah Gorge

Ghost of the Headless Horse in Albany

Murderer's Ghost in Macon


A number of these stores are well over 100 years old.  Some are quite a bit "wilder" than others, but I find all of them interesting and love the fact that they were known to our ancestors long before any of us were born.

Be sure to check out other stories from all around the South at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ghosts.

Halloween 2011: Ghost of the St. Simons Lighthouse

St. Simons Lighthouse

One of the most popular landmarks of the Golden Isles of the Georgia coast, the historic St. Simons Lighthouse stands on the waterfront and its light still shines out to warn ships of dangerous waters ahead.

Running the lighthouse was a serious and important job and, if the stories told about the historic old tower are true, at least one former keeper remains determined to keep the light shining....long after he passed from this earth.

Frederick Osborne was the keeper of the St. Simons light in 1880. His job was to keep the beacon operating 24-hours per day, seven days a week. He and his assistant, John Stephens, shared quarters in the adjacent lighthouse keeper's house. Osborne lived on the ground floor, while Stephens lived with his wife on the second floor.

Trouble began when Osborne supposedly spoke to Mrs. Stephens in an "inappropriate" manner. An argument broke out and John Stephens got a gun and shot the keeper. Osborne died from his wounds and Stephens was arrested and charged with murder. A jury, however, acquitted him of all charges after hearing the details of the case.
Since that time, however, a mysterious figure that some say is the ghost of Frederick Osborne has lurked in the darkness of the St. Simons Lighthouse.

Sightings of the ghost have been documented as far back as 1908 and some say they continue to this day! To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gastsimons2.

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.

The Marshes of Glynn - Glynn County, Georgia

It is a little known fact that Georgia has (and protects) more salt marsh than any other state on the East Coast of the United States. Perhaps the best known of these grasslands are the Marshes of Glynn, which separate Jekyll, St. Simons and the other Golden Isles from the mainland of Georgia.

Vast seas of grass that team with life, the Marshes of Glynn are part of one of the most productive eco-systems in the world. They are the breeding grounds for Georgia shrimp, blue crab and oysters and also filter pollutants from water.

The marshes have long attracted the attention of mankind, but they owe their greatest fame to the poet Sidney Lanier. In 1878, he penned his beautiful poem "The Marshes of Glynn," a widely acclaimed work that provides one of the finest word pictures ever written of an American landscape.

The marshes can be seen from the causeways leading to both St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. The overlook at the Jekyll Island Welcome Center provides a spectacular panoramic view of the marshes, and they can also be seen from many points along the interior coast of Jekyll Island. A particularly beautiful spot is on the grounds of the Horton House Historic Site.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/marshesofglynn.

Fort St. Simons - St. Simons Island, Georgia

Often overlooked because it stands in the shadow of the popular and historic St. Simons Lighthouse, a small monument marks the site of Fort St. Simons, one of Georgia's least known coastal forts.

Built in 1738 by the English under James Oglethorpe, the fort was an outpost of nearby Fort Frederica and stood on the southern tip of St. Simons Island. Its purpose was to prevent enemy warships - primarily those of Spain - from entering St. Simons Sound. A bastioned work of earth and wood, Fort St. Simons was armed with 18-pounders, relatively heavy guns for the day.

The fort was tested in 1742 during a key battle of the War of Jenkins' Ear, a conflict between England and Spain named after the severed ear of an English sea captain who had been captured by the Spanish. Despite the strength of its artillery, the fort was unable to hold back a a large Spanish fleet that stormed into the sound in July. Passing the fort, the Spanish landed an army of nearly 5,000 men.

Realizing that he could not hold Fort St. Simons against such an overwhelming force, Oglethorpe spiked its guns and withdrew to his main defenses at Fort Frederica. The Spanish then occupied the ruined fort, using it as a base for their operations on the island over the coming weeks. Troops marched out from the fort for the Battles of Gully Hole Creek and Bloody Marsh.

To learn more about Fort St. Simons, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortstsimons.