Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum
   You are in: Museum of History >> International Hall >> World Leaders >> James Oglethorpe





The Seven Flags of the New Orleans Tri-Centennial

For More Information go to New Orleans 300th Birthday


 


James Oglethorpe

1696-1785

Soldier & Founder of Georgia



Click on an image to view full-sized


 

James Edward Oglethorpe

 

OGLETHORPE, James Edward, founder of Georgia, born in London, England, 21 December, 1698; died in Cranham Hall, Essex, 30 January, 1785. The Oglethorpes were originally from Yorkshire, but the branch from which James Edward was descended had been settled for some time in London and its neighborhood. His father was Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, of Godalming, Surrey, but the son was born in St. Martins-in-the-Field, then in the outskirts of the metropolis. He studied for a short time at Oxford, but at a very early age he entered the army, having obtained a commission in the Guards, probably in 1714. He was on the continent with the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene shortly afterward, and in the campaign against the Turks, in 1716-'17, he was aide-de-camp and secretary to the latter, and took an active part in the siege of Belgrade. In 1722 he was elected to parliament for Hazlemere, which he continued to represent for thirty-two years, immediately after entering parliament he gave his attention to the wretched condition of unfortunate debtors, who in large numbers languished in London prisons, and projected a colony for their permanent relief. Oglethorpe's conviction was that liberation from prison was no benefit to the debtor. What was wanted for him was a new sphere, with new surroundings and new opportunities.

The scheme found favor; all the more so, that it was proposed to make the new colony an asylum as well for the afflicted Protestants of Germany and other parts of the European continent. Parliament granted £10,000, a large sum was raised by subscription, and in June, 1732, King George II. granted to Oglethorpe and twenty other persons all that region of territory that lies between Savannah and Altamaha rivers. It was named Georgia in honor of the king.

In January, 1733, Oglethorpe arrived at Charleston, at the head of a company of 150 persons, comprising about thirty-five families. The Savannah river was explored, and a site for the new settlement was selected on what was known as Yamacraw bluff. There were la, id the foundations of what is the town of Savannah. In April, 1734, he went to England, taking with him the Yamacraw chief, several members of his family, and some of his men, and on 1 August, the chief had an interview with the king at Kensington palace. During this visit he sent out about 150 Scottish Highlanders as a protection to the colonists, who had been largely increased by bands of German Protestants from Salzburg and its neighborhood. In 1735 he returned to Georgia, accompanied by about 300 emigrants, among whom, with others of less note, were John and Charles Wesley, whom Oglethorpe had induced to accept ecclesiastical appointments in the colony. Under his rule the colony made satisfactory progress, but he had not a little trouble with the Spaniards, who were then in possession of Florida. Being convinced that war was inevitable, he hastened to England, raised a regiment of about 600 men, obtained a grant of £20,000, "rod was back again in Georgia before the close of 1738. In October of the following year war was declared by England against Spain, and the American colonies were ordered each to contribute its quota to a grand expedition against the Spanish possessions in the West Indies. Aided by supplies and re-enforcements from South Carolina, Oglethorpe, in obedience to orders, invaded Florida, and made an unsuccessful attack on St. Augustine in the summer of 1741.

In the following year the Spaniards made preparations for the invasion of Georgia, and the purpose was not concealed that, if success attended them, they would drive the English out of that colony and South Carolina as well. Oglethorpe made a spirited resistance, and compelled the Spaniards to retire. In 1743 he went to England to reply to charges that had been made against him by Captain Cook, one of his own officers. The trial was by court-martial. Oglethorpe was acquitted, and the charges were pronounced false and malicious, Cook being dismissed the army and declared incapable of further serving the king. Oglethorpe did not return to Georgia, but he had the satisfaction of knowing that he had successfully laid the foundations of a prosperous state. In 1745 he was made major-general, and sent north against the forces of the pretender. Failing to overtake them, he not only incurred much odium, but came under grave suspicion. He was again tried by court-martial, and again acquitted. In 1752 he resigned his charter of Georgia to the British government. In 1754 he retired from parliament to his seat in Essex, where he continued to entertain his many friends, among whom were some of the most eminent men of the day. In February, 1765, he was put on half-pay, as a retired general. When, in 1775, General Gage returned to England, the command in America was offered to Oglethorpe, but he refused to accept unless he was furnished with powers of concession and conciliation, he was one of the first to call on John Adams on his arrival as ambassador in England, and to assure him of his regard for the United States, and of his satisfaction and gratitude because the war was ended.

Oglethorpe was a man of fine feeling, of excellent taste, and of culture far beyond the men of his class, he commanded admiration from such men as Alexander Pope, James Thomson, and Samuel Johnson, who expressed a willingness to write his life if the material were put into his hands. Thomson alludes to his philanthropic labors in the poem of " Winter," and Pope's couplet in his praise is well known. His own account of the St. Augustine campaign, published immediately after the close of the struggle (London, 1742) is still a readable book. Oglethorpe's life has been written by Thaddeus M. Harris, D. D. (Boston, 1841); Robert Wright (London, 1867) ; and William B. O. Peabody in Sparks's "American Biography." His " New and Accurate Account of the Colonies of South Carolina, and Georgia" and his letters to the trustees of the colony and others are printed in the "Collections" of the Georgia historical society.

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyT


Start your search on James Oglethorpe.


The Congressional Evolution of the United States Henry Middleton


Unauthorized Site: This site and its contents are not affiliated, connected, associated with or authorized by the individual, family, friends, or trademarked entities utilizing any part or the subject's entire name. Any official or affiliated sites that are related to this subject will be hyper linked below upon submission and Evisum, Inc. review.

Copyright© 2000 by Evisum Inc.TM. All rights reserved.
Evisum Inc.TM Privacy Policy

Search:

About Us

 

 

Image Use

Please join us in our mission to incorporate The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America discovery-based curriculum into the classroom of every primary and secondary school in the United States of America by July 2, 2026, the nation’s 250th birthday. , the United States of America: We The People Click Here

 

Historic Documents

Articles of Association

Articles of Confederation 1775

Articles of Confederation

Article the First

Coin Act

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Emancipation Proclamation

Gettysburg Address

Monroe Doctrine

Northwest Ordinance

No Taxation Without Representation

Thanksgiving Proclamations

Mayflower Compact

Treaty of Paris 1763

Treaty of Paris 1783

Treaty of Versailles

United Nations Charter

United States In Congress Assembled

US Bill of Rights

United States Constitution

US Continental Congress

US Constitution of 1777

US Constitution of 1787

Virginia Declaration of Rights

 

Historic Events

Battle of New Orleans

Battle of Yorktown

Cabinet Room

Civil Rights Movement

Federalist Papers

Fort Duquesne

Fort Necessity

Fort Pitt

French and Indian War

Jumonville Glen

Manhattan Project

Stamp Act Congress

Underground Railroad

US Hospitality

US Presidency

Vietnam War

War of 1812

West Virginia Statehood

Woman Suffrage

World War I

World War II

 

Is it Real?



Declaration of
Independence

Digital Authentication
Click Here

 

America’s Four Republics
The More or Less United States

 
Continental Congress
U.C. Presidents

Peyton Randolph

Henry Middleton

Peyton Randolph

John Hancock

  

Continental Congress
U.S. Presidents

John Hancock

Henry Laurens

John Jay

Samuel Huntington

  

Constitution of 1777
U.S. Presidents

Samuel Huntington

Samuel Johnston
Elected but declined the office

Thomas McKean

John Hanson

Elias Boudinot

Thomas Mifflin

Richard Henry Lee

John Hancock
[
Chairman David Ramsay]

Nathaniel Gorham

Arthur St. Clair

Cyrus Griffin

  

Constitution of 1787
U.S. Presidents

George Washington 

John Adams
Federalist Party


Thomas Jefferson
Republican* Party

James Madison 
Republican* Party

James Monroe
Republican* Party

John Quincy Adams
Republican* Party
Whig Party

Andrew Jackson
Republican* Party
Democratic Party


Martin Van Buren
Democratic Party

William H. Harrison
Whig Party

John Tyler
Whig Party

James K. Polk
Democratic Party

David Atchison**
Democratic Party

Zachary Taylor
Whig Party

Millard Fillmore
Whig Party

Franklin Pierce
Democratic Party

James Buchanan
Democratic Party


Abraham Lincoln 
Republican Party

Jefferson Davis***
Democratic Party

Andrew Johnson
Republican Party

Ulysses S. Grant 
Republican Party

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican Party

James A. Garfield
Republican Party

Chester Arthur 
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland
Democratic Party

Benjamin Harrison
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland 
Democratic Party

William McKinley
Republican Party

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican Party

William H. Taft 
Republican Party

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic Party

Warren G. Harding 
Republican Party

Calvin Coolidge
Republican Party

Herbert C. Hoover
Republican Party

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic Party

Harry S. Truman
Democratic Party

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican Party

John F. Kennedy
Democratic Party

Lyndon B. Johnson 
Democratic Party 

Richard M. Nixon 
Republican Party

Gerald R. Ford 
Republican Party

James Earl Carter, Jr. 
Democratic Party

Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Republican Party

George H. W. Bush
Republican Party 

William Jefferson Clinton
Democratic Party

George W. Bush 
Republican Party

Barack H. Obama
Democratic Party

Please Visit

Forgotten Founders
Norwich, CT

Annapolis Continental
Congress Society


U.S. Presidency
& Hospitality

© Stan Klos

 

 

 

 


Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum