514 RICHMOND COUNTY. 



election of members of the Legislature to be held on the 

 second Tuesday of that month, and that the members so 

 elected should convene at Augusta without delay. Most of 

 the leading friends of the American cause in Georgia having 

 retreated to Augusta after the siege of Savannah was raised, 

 all the members that constituted this body were elected in 

 Richmond county. William Glascock was appointed Speaker 

 of the House, and George Walton, Governor. After the sur- 

 render of Charleston, the Governor and a part of the Council 

 retreated to North Carolina. Augusta was again taken pos- 

 session of by the British in 1780, under the command of Col. 

 Brown, and in September of the same year was the theatre 

 of a severe battle. Col. Elijah Clarke made an unsuccessful 

 attempt to take the town. In the engagement which took 

 place at McKay's trading-house, called the White House, 

 twenty-eight Americans were taken prisoners. Twelve of 

 the number, including Capt. Ashby, were hanged on the stair- 

 case of the White House, where Brown was lying wounded, 

 in order that he might have the satisfaction of seeing the vic- 

 tims of his vengeance expire. The remainder of the prisoners 

 were given up to the Indians, by whom they were immediately 

 killed. About this time many of the inhabitants of Augusta 

 were hanged, without even the formalities of a trial. The 

 limits of this work will not permit a statement of the re- 

 capture of Augusta. It may be found in McCall's History of 

 Georgia, and Lee's Memoirs. Lee says, " in no part of the 

 South was the war conducted with so much barbarity as in 

 this quarter." 



The members of the first Council in Augusta were George 

 Walker, James Pearre, Robert Creswell, Andrew Innis, Isaac 

 Herbert, and William Longstreet. Immediately after their 

 election they met at the house of Mr. Nathaniel Durkee, and 

 chose Thomas Gumming unanimously as Intendant, and Joseph 

 Hutchinson, Clerk. 



The Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State was com- 

 menced in 1786, and was the first newspaper published in Au- 

 gusta. 



The Drama made its first appearance in Augusta in 1798. 

 From the books in the office of the Clerk of the Superior 

 Court, the following items have been gathered. 



