Georgia Natural Wonder #218 - Battle Of Fort Peter - Camden County. (Part 2). 728

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Georgia Natural Wonder #218 - Battle of Fort Peter - Camden County Part 2)

We went deep on Camden County with our last post but we did not get to the County historical markers, the cities, or the notable people. Now there is plenty of wetland and beach in Camden County. Almost all the beach is on Cumberland Island and we covered that with GNW #15. There is only so much to say about salt marsh even though it is found only on the Atlantic Ocean Coast in Georgia and was lionized by Sydney Lanier one county north with "The Marshes Of Glynn".


St. Marys and the real 3rd Natural Wonder of Camden County, the marshes of Camden.

But I uncovered an interesting history tangent that I am going to confuse as a Natural Wonder. We can finish Camden County and make folks aware of the vulnerability of Georgia as we have been attacked and conquered many times in our 289 year history since Oglethorpe landed in 1733.

The War of 1812

I found this simple preface to today's post from World Atlas. The War of 1812 was between the US and Great Britain following disagreements on merchant's vessels. The US was for many years caught between France and Britain’s struggle to keep each other from trading with the US. The US attacked the British colony of Canada in an act of aggression towards Britain after Britain violated US maritime rights. The war, which took place during the reign of President Madison, received little recognition and many do not understand most of its details. The war ended in December 1814 after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.


December 1814 Ghent signing. The leading British delegate Lord Gambier is shaking hands with the American leader John Quincy Adams. The British Undersecretary of State for War and the Colonies, Henry Goulburn, is carrying a red folder.

Not So Fast My Friends

The Battle of Fort Point Peter was a successful attack in early 1815 by a British force on a smaller American force on the Georgia side of the St. Marys River near St. Marys, Georgia. The river was then part of the international border between the United States and British-allied Spanish Florida; it now forms part of the boundary between Georgia and Florida. Occupying coastal Camden County allowed the British to blockade American transportation on the Intracoastal Waterway. The attack on Forts St. Tammany and Peter occurred in January 1815, after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which would end the War of 1812, but before the treaty's ratification. The attack occurred at the same time as the siege of Fort St. Philip in Louisiana. The Fort Peter attack was part of the British occupation of St. Marys and Cumberland Island.


Fort St. Phillip in need of preservation and as seen from air years ago.

Apparently the British invasion at Point Peter was not the last battle of the War of 1812.  However, it occurred after the Battle of New Orleans. The last battle was fought on February 8, 1815, at the second siege of Fort Bowyer in Mobile, Alabama.


1st siege Fort Bowyer fought off British invasion, sunk Hermes. 2nd siege ended in American surrender.

Forts at St. Marys

Point Peter is the first landing site on the Georgia side of the St. Marys River. It is a peninsula between the North River and Point Peter Creek, which flow into the St. Marys River. James Seagrove and Jacob Weed received land grants nearby in 1787, and a military post was established on Point Peter around that time.


Seagrove one of the Revolutionary War Patriots buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.

In July 1794 Paul Hyacinth Perrault was commissioned to build a fort in St. Marys, probably Ft. St. Tammany. Initially a town stockade defense, located on the southwestern edge of town. The following year, costs exceeded $1,400. The War Department approved payments relating to the fort in 1797 and 1800. The garrison eventually included a fort, battery, and a mooring for naval vessels, and may also have been known as Fort Gunn in 1794. The fort in St. Marys, was located where Howard Gilman Memorial Waterfront Park is today.


Howard Gilman Memorial Waterfront Park and St. Marys from air. Fountain through entrance arch.

It is identified as Georgia Archaeological Site 9Cm164; to date there has been no detailed study of the ruins.


Fort in this park.

United States military posted at Point Peter were responsible for enforcing tariffs and protecting the nation's southern border with Spanish Florida. The fort became involved in the Quasi-War in 1798. Since its foundation in 1776, the United States has engaged in only five declared wars, versus more than 115 undeclared.


Scene depicting the action of 9 February 1799, when the USS Constellation (left), commanded by Captain Thomas Truxtun, captured the French frigate L'Insurgente (right). However, the French seized some 2,000 U.S. vessels during this conflict.

Between 1793 and 1805, United States military manned the fort, and $16,000 dollars were spent on the Point Peter garrison. However, by 1806 the fort was at least partially dismantled, and defenses relied instead solely on gunboats and a fixed battery, which might have contributed to the July 1805 St. Marys River incident involving British naval personnel and successive French and Spanish privateers.


Captured (Salvaged) Spanish Cannon in St. Marys.

In 1809, the block house and battery that formed the new American Fort Peter were approved.

1810–1814

In 1811, eleven of the United States Navy's 165 gunboats were stationed at St. Marys, making it the third-largest naval station in the United States prior to the War of 1812. The gunboats were powered by lateen sails and oars, and mounted heavy guns.


St. Mary's fleet.


Bigger ships guarding Yankee City's. Constitution still in Boston Harbor. Constellation in Baltimore.

In 1811, the commander of Fort Point Peter, Lt. Col. Thomas Adam Smith, and his junior officers, Captain Abraham Massias, Captain Joseph Woodruff, Lieutenant Daniel Appling, Captain Fiedler Ridgeway, and Lieutenant Elias Stallings, received orders to assist an American takeover of Spanish Florida if a rebellion or invasion took place. However, few officers became involved in the Patriot War of East Florida over the next few years. President Madison and Secretary of State Monroe never gave direct orders to the Point Peter garrison to act in that conflict, unlike the later orders in the War of 1812.


General Thomas Adam Smith and Appling County marker.

In the fall of 1812, the Camden County Battalion was raised at Point Peter. It served in the 1st Brigade of General John Floyd. All part of the War of 1812, Floyd led the Battle of Autossee on November 29, 1813, during the Creek War, at the Creek towns of Autossee and Tallasee near present-day Shorter, Alabama.


Floyd, with 900 to 950 militiamen and 450 allied Creek, attacked and burned down both villages killing 200 Red Sticks in the process.

Weathering - The War of 1812

The Americans had to fight the weather just before the British attacked in September of 1813.




This sketch, from the Simcoe records in Welford, U.K., depicts a gunboat of 1794 built in Quebec.

Battle of Fort Point Peter 1815

On January 10, 1815, British forces under the command of Admiral Sir George Cockburn landed on Cumberland Island off the Georgia coast.


Cockburn had earlier in the war pillaged all around the Chesapeake Bay and in Hampton and Baltimore.


Focking Canadian Cockburn stands in front of Washington DC as it burns. The man who burned the White House.

The British force attacking Georgia consisted of the three Royal Marines Battalions (560 men in the 1st & 2nd, plus the six companies of the 3rd), ships' detachments of Royal Marines from the squadron (120 men), and two companies from the 2nd West India Regiment from The Bahamas (190 men).


Cockburn went on to be first naval lord from 1841-46. During this time, he oversaw the adoption of steam and screw (propeller) technology into the navy.

On January 13 a British force first bombarded Fort Peter and then landed on Point Peter by the town of St. Marys. The British attacked and took the fort without suffering any casualties.



The British land force then headed for St. Marys. On their way, they encountered a small American force of 160 soldiers of the 43rd Infantry Regiment and the Rifle Corps under Captain Abraham A. Massias. A skirmish ensued before the Americans retreated. Massias estimated the size of the British force as 1500 men. He reported that American casualties on 13 January included 1 killed, 4 wounded, and 9 missing. Although Massias believed that British suffered numerous casualties, they reported only three men killed and five wounded in the entire expedition.



The Forgotten Battle — The War of 1812




The Battle of North Point - A U.S. Army National Guard Heritage painting by Don Troiani

On 15 January the British captured St. Marys despite Fort St. Tammany just outside the town. American reports suggest that the British looted the town's jewelry store and stole fine china and other goods from the residents. British reports are that the town's inhabitants agreed to terms under which residents gave up all public property and British troops respected all private property. British forces captured two American gunboats and 12 merchantmen, including the East Indiaman Countess of Harcourt, which the American privateer Sabine had captured as Countess of Harcourt was on her way from London to Isle of France (Mauritius). Prize money for Countess of Harcourt, the bark Maria Theresa, goods from the ship Carl Gustaff, and the schooner Cooler, was paid in April 1824.



The British ended their occupation of St. Marys and Fort St. Tammany after about a week. They burned Fort Point Peter, including its blockhouses and barracks, and withdrew to Cumberland Island. The officers lived at Dungeness, the former mansion of the widow of deceased Revolutionary war hero General Nathanael Greene. Most British troops were stationed at the island's south end, and the British ships anchored in Cumberland sound.

The Last Battles of The War of 1812

The British did not fare so well in this later skirmish during it's occupation of St. Marys.



Hey, wait a minute, this was after the February British capture of Fort Bower in Alabama. Shouldn't this be last battle of war as sign notes?



At the end of February 1815, Rear Admiral Cockburn received news of the Treaty of Ghent through newspapers, but refused to accept such as official proof and continued to ship refugees away from Florida and Georgia. In all, the British freed 1485 slaves.

The Forgotten Battle’s — Black Refugees





The British departed from Cumberland Island on March 15, although a ship got stuck on a sandbar and the HMS Albion remained in Cumberland Sound until March 18.

Point Peter 1815–1821

In 1818, the federal government purchased the land. In 1819, the Adams–Onís Treaty was signed, and Florida was transferred to the United States in 1821.


Florida was the claws of the new American Eagle.

By the Civil War, Fort Point Peter had become a ruin. In 1870, Daniel Proctor purchased the property from the United States, who sold it to Alexander Curtis.

Present day

In 1953, Georgia placed a historical marker at the Point Peter battlefield, but it mainly spoke to Revolutionary War activity.

Point Peter



NOTE: State of Georgia Historic Marker for Point Peter - Fort Tonyn, located in St. Marys. Information appears to be in error. British Fort Tonyn (1776) was located in East Florida, one mile east of King's Ferry. Fort Pickering (1814) was located further upriver at Coleraine.



Battery at Point Peter

A Federal work located at Point Peter near the present-day Kings Bay U.S. Naval Base. Now this is the Fort that the British attacked during the War of 1812. Initially a log and earthwork battery, abandoned in 1802. Rebuilt in 1808 as a blockhouse with eight guns. This was also a U.S. Naval Station, with eleven gunboats stationed here by 1811. About 200 troops were posted here in 1814. The base was attacked and destroyed by the British in January 1815. Rebuilt in 1817 (possibly renamed Fort Scott), but the site was abandoned as a defensive position upon the military occupation of Amelia Island, Florida, in 1818. A military hospital was built here in 1819. In 2002, a planned housing development at Point Peter spurred archaeological interest in the former forts. The developer, required to survey the cultural resources being disturbed, hired Scott Butler (an archaeologist for Brockington and Associates) to conduct a study.

Point Peter Battery and the War of 1812





The Point Peter Military Reservation was formally acquired by the Federal government in 1818, sold in 1870, reacquired in 1885, and sold again in 1929. No additional coastal defense works were ever built.

Archeology Archives

It was the forgotten invasion of a forgotten war. In January 1815, more than 1,500 British troops attacked a thinly defended American battery on Georgia's coast, overwhelming its 36 defenders. The British then proceeded to sack the nearby town of St. Mary's and burn its fort before departing just weeks later.



The hostilities marked the last invasion and occupation of the U.S. mainland by foreign troops. The fighting was all the more remarkable because the War of 1812 had ended a month earlier with the Treaty of Ghent. By time the invaders pulled out, even Andrew Jackson's victory over the British at New Orleans--often considered the final battle of the war--was history. It had taken a month for word of peace to make its way across the Atlantic to both British and American forces.


The fort was lost to history until archaeologists recently found the remains of the garrison, including its well, above. (Courtesy Brockington and Associates)

Nearly two centuries later, an unlikely chain of events has resurrected the memories, as well as tangible traces of Point Peter's colorful history: the foundations of its military barracks, a blockhouse, a parade ground, traces of tent encampments, garbage pits, privies, and old wells that yielded unmistakable evidence of the British pillage of St. Mary's.


"This massive piece of oak once sat at the bottom of Point Peter's well.  Buckets lowered into the well would rest on it instead of disturbing the silt and sand at the bottom of the well." 

In 2002, when Atlanta-based Land Resource Companies unveiled plans for an upscale waterfront development at Point Peter, the proposal caught the attention of Daniel Elliott, president of the LAMAR Institute, a nonprofit Georgia archaeological organization. As part of a long-term effort to identify sites important to Georgia's pre-Civil War military heritage, Elliott had found fleeting references to fortifications at Point Peter that were part of George Washington's "First System" of seacoast defenses. The precise location of the fort was unknown, but Elliott warned local leaders that the planned 1,200-unit housing development known as Cumberland Harbor clearly had the potential to affect a "great cultural treasure" somewhere on the banks of Peter Creek.


Cumberland Harbor today.

Elliott's information and the fact that the Cumberland Harbor project required a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers were enough to trigger an archaeological survey of the adjoining upland. To conduct the survey, the developer hired Scott Butler, senior archaeologist at Atlanta-based Brockington and Associates, one of Georgia's several cultural management firms. Neither Butler nor Land Resource had an inkling that the effort would become one of the largest archaeological undertakings in the state and bring to light a little-known chapter of early American history.



Site excavations were conducted in 2004 before a waterfront housing development was constructed. Marker erected in 2008 on Spinaker Road at USS Kamehameha Avenue. As of 2009, archaeologists had found thousands of artifacts, including cannons, muskets, musket balls, knives, and uniform buttons.


British soldier here was example of the 2nd West India Regiment from The Bahamas (190 men).

Subsequent recovery found domestic and military artifacts, as well as melted window glass and fused artifacts showing that the barracks had been destroyed by fire.



The Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum in downtown St. Marys has opened a semi-permanent exhibit, "The Forgotten Invasion", in remembrance of the battle. The exhibit includes a recovered sunken anchor from a British warship in addition to finds from Scott Butler's excavation.

Tangent - Georgia Under Fire

Before we move on to Camden County (Part 2), let's reflect on all the times Georgia has been attacked or has a military connection.

1526 There was the first slave revolt in America on Sapalo Island GNW #24.

1540 Desoto invaded Georgia in several post. Covered first in Macon GNW #66 (Part 1).

1541 Desoto at Gansagi - Chatsworth GNW #202. 

1562 There was the conquering of Frenchman Jean Ribault mentioned in yesterdays post GNW #217.

1684 Attack Thomas Jingle the Pirate GNW #15.

1702 Battle of Flint River GNW# 152 (Part 2)

1740 There was the Battle of Jenkins Ear where Georgian troops were beat back at Battle Fort Mose in Florida. This was covered in several post including the one on McIntosh County (Part 2) GNW #28 (Part 2). 



1742 The Spanish attacked Georgia in at the Battle Bloody Marsh GNW #60.



1758 French Indian Wars General Israel Putnam - Putnam County GNW #207.

1776 Bunker Hill General Israel Putnam - Putnam County GNW #207.

1776 Battle Princeton - Benjamin Taliaferro - Taliaferro County GNW #130 (Part 2)

1776 Battle of the Rice Boats Savannah GNW #106 (Part 3).

1777 Battle Thomas Creek Florida- 2nd Florida Expedition GNW #106 (Part 3).

1777 George Matthews hero of Brandywine Creek - Settler Goose Pond Broad River GNW #124.

1777 Chickamauga Cherokee band led by Dragging Canoe, Chickamauga Wars GNW #202. 

1178 Battle Alligator Creek Florida - 3rd Florida Expedition GNW #106 (Part 3). 

1778 There was a Revolutionary naval Battle in the river at Fort Frederica GNW #60.



1778 We talked about the Paul Revere of Georgia, Jimmy Blair,  and the Revolutionary War in Union County GNW #71.

1778 Capture of Savannah GNW #106 (Part 3).

1778 There was a lot Revolutionary War history Liberty County GNW #33 (Part 2).

1779 Battle Kettle Creek GNW #128 (Part 1).



1779 Revolutionary War battle in Augusta from 1779 to 1781 and Civil War action that same post GNW #58.

1779 Battle Briar Creek GNW #106 (Part 4).



1779 Sam Elbert Briar Creek - Elbert County - Nancy Hart Elbert County GNW #200.

1781 French landed at Thunderbolt for siege of Savannah GNW #39.

1781 Siege of Savannah GNW #106 (Part 4).


Death of Casimir Pułaski.

1781 Batle Fort Grierson GNW #106 (Part 4).

1781 Skirmish Heggies Rock Elijah Clarke and Thomas Burnfoot Brown from Brownsboro GNW #52.

1781 General Andrew Pickens Ring Fight Cherokee Indians - Pickens County GNW #125.

1781 Battle Cowpens SC - Daniel Morgan - Morgan County GNW #132 (Part 1).

1781 Sgt, William Jasper Siege of Savannah - City of Jasper GNW #125.


Jasper at Spring Redoubt.

1781 Last Battle of Revolutionary War in Georgia Delegal's point on Skiddaway Island GNW #106 (Part 4) .

1782 General James Jackson receives keys to Savannah - Jackson County GNW #122.

1783 Battle Jacks Creek - Creek Indians - Walton County GNW #129.

1783 Skirmish Lookout Mountain Valley Cherokee Indians - John Sevier GNW #150.

1787 The Burning of Greensborough GNW #211.



1793 Battle Hightower Rome against Cherokees - John Sevier GNW #54.

1793 Fort Yargo GNW #204.

1793 Fort Hollingsworth GNW #215.

1813 Attack Creek Indians Rutledge GNW #131 (Part 1).

1814 Battle Big Sandy Creek New York - Daniel Appling - Appling County GNW #114.

1815 Capture Cumberland Island and St. Marys GNW #218.

1817 Battle of Fowltown and the Scott Massacre. Attack on Fort Hughes. All part of the Creek War GNW# 152 (Part 2).

1817 Battle of Fort Hill near Currahee Mountain GNW #96.

1818 Indian War Trail Habersham County GNW #84 (Part 2).

1821 A dozen or more mills burned down by Indians Rockdale County GNW #189.

1833 Forced removal Cherokee from New Echota (could be included in several more post) GNW #202. 

1835 Dade Massacre Florida - Major Francis Langhorne Dade - Dade County GNW #150.



1836 Attack Roanoke - Battle of Chickasawachee Swamp Second Creek Wars GNW #104 (Part 1).



1836 220 Georgians killed at Battle Coleto Creek Texas - Fannin County GNW #105.

1836 Battle Brushy Creek Lowndes County GNW #110.

1861 VP Confederacy Alexander Stephens GNW #130.

1861 Bombing Fort Pickens GNW #46.



1862 Southern Confederate States Navy Yard Early County GNW #172.

1862 to 1864 Civil War activity in Rome GNW #54.

1862 Attacks of Confederate Bushwacker John P. Gatewood - Fannin County GNW #105.

1862 Robert Toombs Burnside Bridge Antinem - Washington Georgia GNW #128.

1862 Andrews Raiders GNW #136.



1863 Burning of Darien 1863 GNW #28 (Part 2).

1863 Battle Of Chickamauga (Part 1) GNW #195.

1863 Battle of Chickamauga (Part 2) GNW #196.



1863 Night Attack Wauhatchie Station GNW #150.

1863 Battles Lookout Mountain GNW #90.

1864 Battle Dug Gap GNW #97.



1864 Barnsley Gardens - Battle of Adairsville GNW #162.

1864 Battle Kingston - Burning of Cassville GNW #153 (Part 2).

1864 Battle New Hope Church GNW #192 (Part 1).

1864 Battle Picketts Mill GNW #192 (Part 1).



1864 Battle of Dallas GNW #192 (Part 2).

1864 Battles Lost Mountain - Acworth GNW #134.

1864 Death General Polk Pine Mountain GNW #135.



1864 Battles in Cobb County GNW #133 (Part 3).

1864 Battle Brushy Mountain GNW #136.

1864 Kolb's Farm GNW #137.

1864 Battle Kennesaw Mountain GNW #133 (Part 1).

1864 Battle Pigeon Hill Little Kennesaw Mountain GNW #131.

1864 Cheatham Hill GNW #138.



1864 Nickajack Gorge - Smyrna/Ruff Mill Line GNW #139.

1864 Johnston River Line - Shoupades - Smyrna GNW #140.

1864 Battle Of King's Tanyard GNW #204 (Part 1).

1864 Crossing Chattahoochee Vinings GNW #141.

1864 Burning of Sope Creek Mills GNW #142.

1864 Capture Roswell - Lost Mill Workers GNW #144 (Part 2).

1864 Crossing Chattahoochee Civil War GNW #184.



1864 Burning New Manchester Mill Sweetwater Creek - Exile Mill Women GNW #173.

1864 Garrard Calvary Raids Gwinnett County GNW #188.

1864 Battle of Narrows GNW #216.

1864 Capture of Conyers GNW #189.

1864 Battle Allatoona Pass GNW #155.



1864 Occupation of Madison GNW #132 (Part 2).

1864 The Civil War in Macon GNW #66 (Part 2).

1864 Looting of Milledgeville GNW #64 (Part 2).



1864 March to Sea Washington County GNW #197.

1864 Battle of Athens GNW #100 (Part 2).

1864 Drowning of Slaves Ebeneezer Creek GNW #51.



1864 Camp Lawton POW Civil War GNW #118.

1864 Seige Fort McAllister Bryan County GNW #37 (Part 1).

1864 Occupation of Savannah GNW #106 (Part 5).

1865 Last cabinet meeting of Jefferson Davis - Lost Confederate Treasury GNW #128.

1865 Capture Ft. Tyler West Point GNW #208.

1865 Last Battle Civil War Columbus GNW #59 (part 2).

1867 Tunis Campbell Freed Black Slave Uprising - St. Catherines and other Islands GNW #31.

1942 German U Boats sunk some ships off St. Simons GNW #60.



1942 Parachute Training Mt. Currahee GNW #96.

1943 Blimps and Liberty Ships in Brunswick GNW #63.

1943 Bell Bombers Marietta GNW #133 (Part 4).

1944 Camp Frank D. Merrill - Merrill's Marauders in Burma GNW #107.

Haven't even been to Atlanta yet, so all those Civil War Battles to cover...

Battle Moore’s Mill & Nancy Creek

Tanyard Creek Park / Battle Peachtree Creek

Wheeler Calvary Decatur 

Hardee's Night March

Battle of Utoy Creek / Cascade Springs

Oakland Cemetery 

Battle of Atlanta

Deaths General Walker & McPherson

Battle of Leggett’s Hill

Battle of Ezra Church 

West-view Cemetery

Aftermath Battle of Atlanta

Plus we have Civil War Battles and activity in Counties we we haven't touched on yet. 

Rossville

Resaca

Battle of Brown’s Mill

Battle of Lovejoy's Station

Jonesboro

The Battle of Moore's Bridge Carroll County

Stoneman Raids McCook too

Battle Sunshine Church  

Andersonville Prison Sumter County

But back today's post, that tangent took 5 hours and all day again on new Forum.

Camden County (Part 2)

Historical Markers and War Memorials in Camden County, Georgia



There are 47 Markers in Camden County. A lot of these are just plaques and 24 markers are part of the St. Mary's History Walk. I have selected to feature the following markers.

Tabby Sugar Works of John Houston McIntosh



The ruins of the sugar works can be seen in the background.



USS George Bancroft



USS George Bancroft SSBN- 643 was a 640-class Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarine homeported in Charleston, South Carolina and Kings Bay, Georgia. Built in Groton, Connecticut the boat was launched 20 March 1965 and commissioned 22 January 1966. The boat completed 19 deterrent patrols with the Polaris A-3 missle, 27 deterrent patrols with the Poseidon missile and 13 deterrent patrols with the Trident I missile. The boat was decommissioned 21 September 1993. The crew earned two Meritorious Unit Commendations and four Battle Efficiency "E" awards.
"So Rests A Good Ship"


41 For Freedom - the USS George Bancroft (SSBN-643) Bancroft established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.


Bancroft in his library.

Post Road



Post Road Marker (looking south along US Highway 17) Post Road Marker (looking southeast along Old Jefferson Highway)



City of St. Marys



City of St. Marys Marker along Osborne Street.



Clark-Bessant House


U.S. Major Archibald Clark’s home. After refusing to hand over more than $120,000 in currency and bonds, U.S. Major Archibald Clark, St. Marys customs collector, was imprisoned aboard HMS Primrose, anchored in Cumberland Sound. Admiral Cockburn occupied Clark’s home until the British departure in 1815.


Aaron Burr and General Winfield Scott stayed here too.

First Pecan Trees Grown Here About 1840



First Presbyterian Church



St. Marys Methodist Church Established 1799-1800



The St Marys Peace Garden





Washington Pump & Oak



The Washington Oak was cut down several years ago. Only the stump remains.





Refuge Plantation





Refuge Plantation burned in 1970.



Loading Timber Products and Turpentine - Satilla River





Satilla River is GNW #120 more upstream toward Douglas and Coffee State Park.



Cities
 
Kingsland

Kingsland is a city in Camden County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,337 at the 2020 census.



The Kingsland Commercial Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1994. It includes the area surrounding South Lee Street between King Street and William Street. It hosts an annual Catfish Festival on Labor Day weekend.



It is also home to Neutral Zone Studios, where Star Trek fans can come and make Star Trek fan films, the most notable being Star Trek Continues.

History

Kingsland was platted in the 1894 when the railroad was extended to that point, and named after William Henry King, the original owner of the site.



Nestled on the southeast coast of Georgia, Kingsland is a small community surrounded by the beautiful marshes and creeks of the Georgia Coast.  Over 20 hotels and popular restaurants to chose from along with easy I-95 access.
   
St. Marys

St. Marys is a city in Camden County, Georgia, United States, located on the southern border of Camden County on the St. Marys River. The Florida border is just to the south across the river, Cumberland Island National Seashore is to the northeast, and Kingsland, Georgia, is to the west; Jacksonville, Florida, is 38 miles south, and Savannah, Georgia, is 110 miles north.



The city is home to the National Seashore's visitor center and boat access; the annual St. Marys Rock Shrimp Festival; the St. Marys Submarine Museum, and Crooked River State Park. It is bordered by Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, home port for several Ohio-class submarines.



First explored in the mid-16th century as part of the settlement of Spanish Florida, by the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,256.

History

The St. Marys river area was first explored in the mid 16th century as part of the settlement of Spanish Florida, with nearby St. Augustine as the established capital. The original Spanish settlement was founded in 1566 making it the second-oldest continuously-inhabited European-established settlement in the contiguous U.S. Settlement for Georgians became legal after the Treaty of Paris in 1763.



Local inhabitants of Camden County gathered on Cumberland Island and signed a charter for "a town on the St. Marys" on November 20, 1787. There were twenty charter members who each received four town lots and one marsh lot (outside the boundary of the town on the east side in the marshes); each lot was 4 acres square, with the total town area being 2,041 acres. These twenty city founders are named on an historical marker in downtown St. Marys: Isaac Wheeler, William Norris, Nathaniel Ashley, William Ashley, Lodowick Ashley, James Seagrove, James Finley, John Fleming, Robert Seagrove, Henry Osborne, Thomas Norris, Jacob Weed, John Alexander, Langley Bryant, Jonathan Bartlett, Stephen Conyers, William Keady, Prentis Gallup, Simeon Dillingham and Richard Cole.



The original boundaries of the town correspond to the modern waterfront, Bartlett Street, North Street, and a block east of Norris Street. There were two public town squares. However, in the original deed the town was unnamed, and for several years afterwards in public documents it was referred to as either St. Marys or St. Patrick's, and colloquially as simply "the New Town". Accounts differ regarding the origin of the name itself—some say it is named after the St. Marys River, while others say it comes from a seventeenth-century Spanish mission, Santa Maria, on nearby Amelia Island, Florida. St. Marys was recognized by an act of the Georgia legislature on December 5, 1792, with the result of incorporation in November 1802.



Oak Grove Cemetery is included in the St. Marys Historic District and was laid outside the western border of St. Marys during its founding in 1787.Oak Grove is among the oldest public cemeteries in Georgia. It’s not well-known outside the area, nor does it often appear on lists of Georgia’s historic burial grounds, but it’s an anchor of the St. Marys historic district and is a great place to have a picnic or spend a leisurely hour or two. Just remember to bring insect repellent!



On June 29, 1796, the Treaty of Colerain was signed just up the river from St Marys between the United States and the Creek Nation. St. Marys town founder Langley Bryant served as the official interpreter between the Creek Indians and the United States. St. Marys was made a United States port of entry by act of the U.S. Congress March 2, 1799. The first Collector was James Seagrove. During the antebellum period, Archibald Clark served as the U.S. Customs Collector from 1807 until his death in 1848.



After the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves took effect in 1808, St. Marys became, along with Spanish Amelia Island, a center for smuggling, especially during the period between 1812-1819 when various rebel groups held Amelia Island.



During the War of 1812 the Battle of Fort Peter occurred near the town, at the fort on Point Peter along the St. Marys River. The British captured the fort and the town and occupied it for about a month as discussed above. The United States Navy bombarded the town's shoreside buildings during the American Civil War.


St. Marys 1862.

St. Marys served as Camden County's seat of government from 1869 until 1923.
   
Woodbine

Woodbine is a city in, and the county seat of, Camden County, Georgia, United States, an original county established when the state constitution was adopted in 1777. The population was 1,412 at the 2010 census.



The East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile long system of trails connecting Maine to Florida, runs along the Woodbine Riverwalk.



Spaceport Camden is being developed adjacent to the city.

History

Records in 1765 show that John Burns, Burford Clark, Rob Baird and Hank Higginbotham petitioned English authorities for 1,400 acres south of the Satilla River. They were granted the land named Pile's Bluff, which historians believe to be near Woodbine.



A tract of land was granted to Anton Cunning by the state in 1808. It became known as the Woodbine Plantation. Luke John Bailey purchased it in 1835 and held it through the Civil War, during which the house was burned by Union troops. James King Bedell acquired the property, constructed a new house, and restored the plantation. The railroad entered Camden County in 1893, and Bedell sold a right-of-way across his land, but required that the first rail community be named "Woodbine".



Woodbine was incorporated as a town on August 13, 1908, and the word is the common English name for the honeysuckle, Lonicera. The town grew more after the Atlantic Coastal Highway was constructed during 1927 and the county seat relocated there the following year. Woodbine re-incorporated as a city in 1953.

Census-designated place

Kings Bay Base

Kings Bay Base is a census-designated place in Camden County, Georgia, United States; it is home to the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.



The population was 1,777 at the 2010 census.



Unincorporated communities
   
Dover Bluff

The community most likely was named after the White Cliffs of Dover, in England.


Listing Dover Bluff Road.
   
Hopewell

Hopewell is an unincorporated community in Camden County, Georgia, United States. It lies at an elevation of 10 feet.


More Real Estate images from Hopewell Image Google.
   
Spring Bluff

Spring Bluff is an unincorporated community in Camden County, Georgia, United States. Located at 31°6′21″N 81°37′47″W, it lies at an elevation of 20 feet.


Spring Bluff Real Estate.

Historian Kenneth Krakow wrote in 1975 that the name Spring Bluff was "over 200 years" old. This bluff is located near U.S. highway 17 on the south side of the Little Satilla River. The name refers to the mineral spring three miles to the east.
   
Waverly

Waverly is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Camden County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Not to be confused with Waverly Hall, Georgia.


Old abandoned General Store and current Post Office Waverly.

It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 281.

History

A post office called Waverly was established in 1894.



A community located 16 miles southwest of Brunswick, which took its name from the old Waverly Plantation on which it was located.


Only the landscape is left from Waverly Plantation.

The plantation took its name from Sir Walter Scott's historical novels, which characterized its hero Captain Edward Waverly of Waverly Honor.
   
White Oak

White Oak is an unincorporated community in Camden County, Georgia, United States.

History

A post office called White Oak was established in 1894. The community took its name from nearby White Oak Creek.


White Oak Creek.

A community about four miles north of Woodbine on U.S. 17 and on White Oak Creek, a tributary of the Satilla River. This is the birthplace
of novelist, Erskine Preston Caldwell (1903-1987). You know Moreland Georgia claims he was born there along with Lewis Grizzard.


Died of emphysema from smoking.

Historic communities

Trader's Hill

Trader's Hill was a trading post and small settlement on the St. Marys River in Georgia. Historical markers are in Charlton County.



It is now a ghost town.


Spanish Moss always spooky.

History

In 1793, Trader's Hill was the site of several murders by Creek Indians.



Fort Alert was constructed at Trader's Hill in 1812. After the War of 1812 ended, the fort was unmanned, but became active again from 1817 to 1819 during a time of heightened alarm mostly due to Creeks, but also due to the takeover of Fernandina by various rebel factions.


The 3rd Marker is about some Masonic Lodge now in Folkston.

In 1854, Charlton County was created out of Camden County. Trader's Hill was selected as the first county seat. During the Civil War, Trader's Hill became a refugee site for local people, including residents of St. Marys, seeking to get away from the coast.


2nd Marker involves Clark from St. Marys.

After the construction of the Savannah, Florida & Western Railway, the center of commerce in the area shifted from the river to the railway. In 1901, the county seat was moved to Folkston.Today, a Georgia Historical Marker two miles away from the site of old Trader's Hill commemorates the commercial center.

Welcome to Traders Hill Recreation Area

Located off Hwy 121 about seven miles south of Folkston.



Has primitive campsites, picnic tables, barbecue pits, picnic shelter, rest rooms, nature trails, boat ramp, and fishing dock.

Notable People
   
James Seagrove: appointed Creek Indian Agent by the federal government and Superintendent of Creek Indian Affairs in 1789. Also a local trader associated with Trader's Hill and founder of St. Marys.


Seagrove later lived at Rock Landing on the Oconee River south of Milledgeville.
   
Duncan Lamont Clinch: After serving in the Seminole Wars, partially in Camden County, Clinch retired to planting near Jefferson on the Satilla River, and later began his political career. Fort Clinch (and Fort Clinch State Park) on Amelia Island, Florida is named for Clinch.


Clinch and Grave.
   
Thomas Buckingham Smith: Born on Cumberland Island in 1810, Smith was a diplomat, antiquarian, and scholar. Notable Spanish translator and author of works on southern Native Americans.


Thomas Buckingham Smith.
   
John Floyd (October 3, 1769 – June 24, 1839): was an American politician and brigadier general in the First Brigade of Georgia Militia. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, as well as the US House of Representatives.


Floyd and St. Marys Home.
   
Charles Rinaldo Floyd (1797-1845): led the first U.S. campaign into the Okefenoke Swamp during the Seminole Wars. The Floyds were the largest planting family in Camden County.


Mr. Kotter?
   
Catherine Littlefield Greene: Wife of General Nathaniel Greene. Lived on Cumberland Island and built the county's largest antebellum home, Dungeness.


   
Travis Taylor: American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football league (NFL) for eight seasons during the 2000s. Taylor played at Camden High School and then played college football for the University of Florida. A first-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams.


   
Stump Mitchell: American football coach and former professional player. He served as head football coach at Morgan State University from 1996 to 1998 and Southern University from 2010 to 2012, compiling an overall college football record of 14–42. Mitchell played collegiality at The Citadel and thereafter was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was a running back and return specialist for the Cardinals from 1981 to 1989.


   
Ryan Seymour: American football offensive guard for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and has also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns. He played college football for Vanderbilt.


   
Alicia Patterson: Founder and editor of Newsday.



While not from Camden County by birth, her remains are interred at her private hunting lodge in Kingsland.


   
Jarrad Davis: Former linebacker for the Camden County Wildcats, the University of Florida, and current linebacker for the Detroit Lions.


   
Jason Spencer: former State Representative for district 180 in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011–2018, is a longtime resident of the center of the district, Woodbine. He appeared in second episode of Sacha Baron Cohen's series Who Is America? where he partially disrobed and chanted racial epithets after being prompted by a disguised Cohen as part of what was said to be counter-terrorism training. Spencer resigned from the Georgia House of Representatives on July 31, 2018.



Spencer had previously publicly made statements regarding Islamophobia and threatened a former State Representative, LaDawn Jones, that she "might go missing in the Okefenokee", a swamp partially in Spencer's district, if she continued to advocate for the removal of monuments.
   
William J. Hardee, Confederate general.



Wow, man overboard on Camden County. Today's GNW Gals are a throwback. Heroines of the War of 1812 ....


Lydia B. Bacon - Dolly Madison - Laura Secord - Mystery Heroine

Alright I know you are thinking I gypped you on the GNW gals today, so I reprieve the Submarine babes in tribute to Kings Bay again. Loosely identified as Submarine Gals mainly just babes in uniform today.


30 year old babes who have been 18 for 12 years. Hey I squeezed in one last 1812 reeference.