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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 197
It may well be doubted whether his service in this particular was of
value to the province. Pie did not succeed in securing and holding the
cordial assistance of South Carolina or of the British fleet; and so the
expedition failed, in spite of his own earnestness and activity. It might
be argued with. some plausibility that his taking the offensive in this
campaign prevented the Spanish from invading Georgia; but it seems
more likely that this provocation and the fact that the English were not
very successful led to the Spanish invasion in 1742.
The repelling of the Spanish in the latter attempt was the high water
mark of his career, and it was of genuine service to Georgia. He' drove
off a superior force of the enemy by a stratagem that was well con
ceived and well executed. The strictly military features of the cam
paign reflect little credit on Mm, for they were insignificant; but the
general results were very important, as much so as if a decisive battle
had been won by the English, since the Spanish retired to trouble Geor
gia no more during the remainder of the proprietary period. In this
campaign, as in the former one in Florida, General Oglethorpe was act
ing as an officer in the British regular army; and, while his services
affected Georgia, he was not acting in any capacity as a Georgian or as
an official of the province.
For his bravery and good service in repulsing the enemy, the king
of his own accord promoted Oglethorpe to be a brigadier-general.* He
was much troubled, however, about the state of his accounts with the
treasury department; and so he sought leave to come to England for
the purpose of settling the financial difficulties and of answering several
charges that had been preferred against him. On July 23, 1743, lie left
the province never to return. He was easily cleared of the charges
against him; and he held the command of his regiment in Georgia in
name at least until it was disbanded in 1748.
Resuming our study of his relations to the trustees after 1740, we
find that in spite of his exclusion from civil affairs he could not refrain
entirely from interfering to some extent; and this was still resented by
the trustees. Toward the close of 1741, the general wrote to President
Stephens at Savannah signifying his pleasure that a certain lot in Sa
vannah be granted to one Papott; but the president and assistants over
ruled the request, assigning to him their reasons therefor.f About
four months later, he wrote them that notwithstanding the reasons given
by them his request might and ought to be granted; but they again
denied his authority to direct their action by refusing to accede to his
proposal, .t At almost the same time that the above request was made
by Oglethorpe, he wrote another letter to President Stephens signifying
his pleasure that certain money sent to the colony by the trustees should
be turned over to an agent he was sending to receive and apply it. The
trustees had already given directions as to the application of the funds;
and the president and assistants in this matter also denied the request
of the general, directing that the president "do pursue his first orders
received from the trust without variation therefrom."'**
*C. E. V: 679.
t C. R. VI: 16.
t Ibid., 29.
** Ibid., 16.