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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 269
facts and stating that,, while Georgia seemed to be tardy and irresolute,
the province would be ready to evince at the proper time an uncompro
mising devotion to the patriotic cause. This document bore emphasis,
from the most radical standpoint, to the fact that Georgia was sincerely
attached to the mother-country, regardless of the influences which were
slowly but surely goading her to defy the edicts of the Crown.
But there was one parish in Georgia which needed no further time
for preparation and which was altogether too impatient to abide the
slow processes of conversion which were necessary to bring the colony
at large to the patriotic altars. This was the parish of St. John, one
"of the wealthiest of all the political subdivisions of the province. -Per
haps the zeal of the parish was due largely to the sympathetic bond of
kinship between the Puritan settlers at Midway and the Puritan suf
ferers in New England: and decidedly the largest contributions to the
New England fund came from St. John's Parish, which was later to fur
nish two signers to the Declaration: Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett.
But Dr. Hall was destined to be Georgia's first representative in the
Continental Congress, and to sit alone for several months in this august
assemblage of patriots. On withdrawing from the Provincial Congress
the parish of St. John decided to take independent action. Accordingly,
Dr. Hall was sent to Philadelphia; and, in due season, he took his seat
in the Continental Congress as the accredited delegate from the. parish
of St. John in the colony of Georgia. This bold leadership among the
parishes is today monumentalized in the county which includes the his
toric Midway settlement and which bears the sacred name of Liberty.
Within the next few days came the news of the battle of Lexington.
It brought the appeal of blood which Georgia could not resist. On the
evening of May 11, 1775, six young adventurers broke into the powder
magazine at Savannah and took possession of the stores of ammunition.
The beardless captain of the band was Maj. James Ilabersham. He was
the son of the old royalist, James Habersham, who ran the colony while
Governor Wright was in England. He fought through the Revolution,
and, when the Federal Government was duly organized, he became post
master-general under Washington. The other raiders were Noble W.
Jones, Edward Telfair, Joseph Clay, William Gibbons and John Mil-
ledge. Some of the captured booty was stored in secure vaults and cel
lars for future use, some sent to South Carolina, and some forwarded to
Boston where, in the great battle of Bunker Hill, it was destined to
weave the heroic shroud of General Warren.
Another call was now issued for the patriots to meet in Savannah.
It was signed by the same old advance guard of liberty, with the excep
tion that George Walton's name was substituted for John Walton's, and
the meeting was held on June 22d following. Besides designating an
ad interim Council of Safety, which included such representative men
of the colony as William Ewen, Edward Telfair, George Walton, Joseph
Habersham, Samuel Elbert, John Glen, William Le Conte, and others,
it was decided to summon the whole province together in conventional
assembly on July 4th ensuing. There now remained but little trace of
the conservative sentiment which had hitherto kept Georgia from send
ing delegates to Philadelphia. The most intense excitement prevailed;
and the signs in the sky caused the royal governor to shudder with pain-