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Battle of Bloody Marsh
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The Battle of Bloody Marsh took place on July 7, 1742. The battle involved two forts, Fort Frederica and Fort St. Simons, on St. Simons Island, Georgia. These forts lay about seven miles apart. Between the two, there ran a road, that was the width of one wagon, upon which the army and nearby settlers received supplies from Fort St. Simons. The battle took place during a Spanish invasion of present-day Georgia.
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The Battle of Bloody Marsh took place on July 7, 1742. The battle involved two forts, Fort Frederica and Fort St. Simons, on St. Simons Island, Georgia. These forts lay about seven miles apart. Between the two, there ran a road, that was the width of one wagon, upon which the army and nearby settlers received supplies from Fort St. Simons. The battle took place during a Spanish invasion of present-day Georgia. The battle was a victory for British troops under the command of General James Oglethorpe.
The battle took place during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, caused partially by a Spanish officer cutting off one of Robert Jenkins’ ears. Robert Jenkins was an English sea captain. On October 30, 1739, Great Britain declared war on Spain. Spain and Great Britain had been disputing the border between Georgia and La Florida. James Oglethorpe led the colonization of Georgia by Great Britain, choosing Savanah as the principal port for the colony.
The threat of Spanish invasion caused Oglethorpe to seek to increase protection to the south of Savanah. Accompanied by rangers and two native American guides, Oglethorpe explored the coast south of Savannah and picked St. Simons Island as the site for a new town and fort. In 1734, Oglethorpe was able to convince the Parliament and the colonial trustees that a new military settlement was needed. A company of Highland Scots were recruited to come with their families to live at Darien, on the mouth of the Altamaha River. The trustees also selected a large new group of colonists for St. Simon’s Island. The ships bearing the settlers and supplies arrived at Tybee Island early in 1736. From there, some of them went to the mainland while others set off south in periaguas to St. Simon’s Island to found the new town of Frederica. Frederica and its fort were built on the elbow of a river to control the approaches from both directions.
In 1737, Oglethorpe went back to England to get more funding and permission to raise a regiment of soldiers, and was successful in convincing parliament that it was necessary. He was also appointed commander in chief of all British forces in the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia.
The Spanish commander was Don Manuel de Montiano, the Spanish governor of La Florida. Spanish forces greatly outnumbered the British forces. On July 5, Manuel de Montiano sailed to St. Simon through the firing guns of the English. Oglethorpe and his men retreated from the fort, before the Spanish could mount an assault. (The Spanish had just landed more than 50 ships near Gascoigne Bluff,close to the Frederica River.) The Spanish took over Fort St. Simons the following day and soon began to scout out their opposition on foot.
They found the narrow road between Fort St. Simons and Fort Frederica, but assumed that it was just a farm road. After realizing their mistake, Montiano sent about 300 men to reconnoiter the road. On July 7, Spanish troops. A group of English soldiers, under command of Nobel Jones, patrolling the road, skirmished with them. The Spanish soldiers, defeated by the English, informed the English that the whole Spanish army was advancing along the road from Fort St. Simons to Frederica, and Oglethorpe positioned some men as rear guards.
Oglethorpe then left to get more recruits. There was then another skirmish between English and Spanish troops and because the English were so greatly outnumbered, in the confusion of smoke and rain, the English began to retreat. When they reached a bend in the road, Lieutenants Southerland and Macoy decided to stop, and their regiments and some Indians, hid in the dense forests. Then, to their surprise, thinking that the English had retreated for good, the Spanish broke rank, staked arms, and taking out their kettles, prepared to cook dinner. The English seized this opportunity that the Spanish were off-guard and attacked. Though Oglethorpe was not present, this resulted in a victory for the English and he was given credit for this victory. General Oglethorpe did everything he could to run the Spanish off the island. A few days later, as Oglethorpe approaches a Spanish settlement on the south side of the island, he learned of a French man who deserted the English, and went to the Spanish. Afraid that he might inform the Spanish of the lesser the numbers of English soldiers, Oglethorpe spread out his drummers, so that all around, all which could be heard, was the sound of military drums. He also sent a letter by way of Spanish prisoner to the deserter, speaking as if the man was a spy for the English, telling lies to the Spanish, and saying that he just needed to continue a little while longer, until England could send more men. The prisoner took the letter not to the man, but to the Spanish officers, as was hoped. Oglethorpe also arranged for some British ships to sail near, as if to make to Spanish think the men were arriving. This caused the Spanish to leave the island, and there never really was a full out Spanish invasion in colonial Georgia again. Florida was even given to the English in 1763. Oglethorpe was later appointed brigadier general. He left Georgia for the last time around 1744 and married an heiress in England. If the English had not won the battle, Georgia would probably have been called Guale, the Spanish name for Georgia.
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