Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest: - UGA Laboratory of Archaeology ...

The rock dwelling of Thomas Ansley more commonly known as the Rock House, was a fortified dwelling
in the Wrightsborough community. Some sources place the age of the rock building at ca. 1758, while
conflicting sources state that it was not constructed until after the American Revolution (ca. 1785) (Baker
1965; Georgia Historical Commission 1990; The New Georgia Encyclopedia 2008). One fact is known,
that Wrightsborough was fortified in some fashion but the location and configuration of such fort is
presently unknown.
McGirth’s Little River Camp
Two prominent 19 th century historians noted that, in the days prior to the battle, Colonel Daniel McGirth
was camped on Little River, only a few miles south of Kettle Creek (Stevens 1847, Volume 2:190-192;
Jones 2001). There McGirth and his Loyalist militia troops waited to unite with Colonel Boyd’s forces and
march to Augusta to join with Colonel Archibald Campbell and the British forces. Had this union been
successful, the combined army of British and Loyalist militia likely would have been unstoppable and
Georgia’s interior would have been conquered for the duration of the war. McGirth’s Camp was a
temporary encampment that was probably only used for a few days. It has not been located archeologically.
This camp was one of the destinations of Colonel Boyd’s force. Had their forces united prior to the battle of
February 14, the outcome of the struggle for control of the Georgia back country may have been
completely different, which in turn could have affected the outcome of the American Revolution.
McGirth’s camp, if it can be located archeologically, would offer a glimpse of a brief event in the
American Revolution in Georgia. At present, however, there are few clues available for an easy discovery.
BPROPERTY OWNERSHIP AND KETTLE CREEK
The entire Kettle Creek watershed was located within the “Ceded Lands” of Georgia. This portion of the
State was acquired by a cession of Creek and Cherokee nations, held in Augusta in 1773. Shortly after
these talks were completed a survey team was dispatched to the region and a map was prepared (Yonge
1773). From 1773 to 1775 the British government may have issued land grants in the newly ceded section
that included Kettle Creek, but none of these were located. Colonial documents for the Ceded Lands
included several north of Little River. What is apparent from a review of these documents is that many
settlements and improvements already existed in the area, prior to the 1773 land cession. A few documents
have survived that refer to Kettle Creek lands in 1773 (Davidson 1933, Volume 1).
McCall (2004, Volume I:11) observed that many of those people who received bounty land grants in the
former “Ceded Lands” following the war had served under Colonel Clarke’s command in the Wilkes
County militia. Therefore, the early land records in this area are another clue of possible participants in the
battle of Kettle Creek. For this reason, this research team compiled readily available land records in the
Kettle Creek vicinity and abstracts of these land transactions are presented in the following narrative.
Grace Davidson transcribed and published a vast number of Wilkes County land records and other court
records (Davidson 1933). Davis and Thomas (1975, Appendix D:142-150) presented a thorough history of
the chain of ownership of property in the vicinity of the Kettle Creek battlefield. Their evidence merged
both land plat information and recorded deeds and other legal documents. More recently Phil McGinty
(2007) has scanned dozens of early plats in Wilkes County and has created two composite maps showing
their relative locations in the Kettle Creek and Little River vicinities. One of McGinty’s maps, which
include the Kettle Creek study area, is reproduced in Figure 19. The efforts by Davidson, Davis, Thomas,
and McGinty were extensive and their results need not be repeated in this volume. A few key aspects of the
land ownership are discussed.
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