Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/134

 OGLETHORPE

OGLETHORPE

2.). 1861. to accept the colonelcy of the Sth Illinois volunteers. He commanded the 1st brigade. 1st division, under General Grant, at Forts Henrj' and Donelsou, and with his brigade w;isthe first to enter Fort Henry. He was pro- moted brigadier-general of volunteers. March 21, 1862, for gallantry at the capture of Fort Donelson, He was in command of the 2d brigade, 2d division, Army of West Tennessee, at the battle of Corinth, and was severely wounded, Oct. 3, 1802. He was promoted major-general of vol- unteers in November, 1862, and returned to active service in April. 1863, when he commanded the left wing of the 16tli Army corps. He resigned in May. 1864. He was three times elected governor of Illinois on the Republican ticket, serving, 1865-69, 1873 and 1885-89. He resigned in 1873 to take his seat in the U.S. senate as successor to Lyman Trumbull, and served in that body until March 3. 1879. declining re-election, and retiring to private life, 1889. He died in Elkhart, 111., April 24. iN'.i'J.

OGLETHORPE, James Edward, founder of the colony of Georgia, was born at Westbrooke Place, near London. England, Dec. 21, 1688; sou of Sir Theopiiilusand Eleanor (Wall) Oglethorpe. He matriculated at Corpus Christi college, Ox- ford, in 1704. but entered militarj- service about 1706, being commissioned ensign in 1710. He was attached to the suite of the Earl of Peterborough, ambassador to Sicily, in 1713, and was promoted lieutenant in the Guards of Queen Anne in 1714. He was aide-de-camp to Prince Eugene at the de- feat of the grand vizier Ali at Peterwaradin, Austria. Aug. 5, 1716, and at the siege and cap- ture of Belgrade in August, 1717. He returned in 1719. and resumed his studies at Oxford. He succeeded to the Westbrooke e.state in 1722, and was a member of Parliament from Haslemere, in Surrey. 1722-54. About 1728 he turned the atten- tion of Parliament to the relief of unfortunate debtors, large numbers of whom were imprisoned in London and cruelh" treated, and was appointed chairman of a committee to visit the prisons. He proposed to establish a colony for the perma- nent relief of about 700 persons confined for debt, believing that on their liberation from prison, they would need new surroundings and oppor- tunities. The scheme found especial favor with the king, because it was proposed to make the new colony a refuge for the persecuted Protes- tants of Germany and other countries in Europe, and he granted to Lord Percival, James Ogle- thorpe, Edmund Digby and others on June 9, 1732. a charter of incorporation, giving tliem title to the land on the coast of America between the

Savannah and Altamaha rivers. The colony was named Georgia in the kings honor, and Parlia- ment granted the proprietors £10,000. A large sum was also raised by subscription for provision- ing, arming, clotliing and transporting such poor people as sliould be selected. Oglethorpe, with the power of a colonial governor, reached Charles- ton, S.C., with the members of 35 families, num- bering 150 in all, Jan. 13, 1733. A settlement was made at Yaniacraw Bluff on the Savannah river, and shortly afterward a treaty of peace was concluded with the several tribes of Indians. Oglethorpe laid out the side of Fort Argyle in June, 1733, his object being to secure Georgia from invasion by the Spaniards of Florida. He returned to England in April, 1734. accompanied by the chief of the Yamacraws. together with his wife and his nepliew, the war captain of that tribe, five chiefs of the Creeks, and a chief from Palachicolas, all of whom were presented to King George and Queen Caroline at Kensington Palace, Aug. 1, 1734. Oglethorpe sent the Indians back, with 150 Scottish Highlanders to protect the colonists, and they reached Georgia in De- cember, 1734. Oglethorpe came back to Georgia in December, 1735, bringing with him nearly 300 immigrants, and Jolin and Charles Wesley, who preached and established missions in the colony and among the Indians. The colony progressed rapidh' under his management, but early in 1736 was attacked by the Spaniards. Convinced that war was inevitable, Oglethorpe hastened to Eng- land, raised a regiment of 600 men, secured the sum of £20,000. and was appointed colonel of a regiment to be raised in Georgia. He arrived in September, 1738, and in October, 1739, war was declared against Spain by England. In the mean- time Oglethorpe was diligently employed in erect- ing defensive works, in training his men, and in strengthening his Indian alliances. In obedi- ence to orders received in January, 1740, he in- vaded Florida. He made an unsuccessful attack on St. Augustine in the summer of 1741, and in May, 1742, learned that the Spaniards planned to drive the English from Georgia and South Caro- lina. He defeated the SpaJiiards at Frederica, St. Simons, Jekyl Island, St. Andrews, Fort Wil- liam and Fort Moosa. forcing them to retire. Oglethorpe went back to England in April, 1743, by order of the king and never returned to Georgia. He was married, Sept. 15, 1744, to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Nathan Wright of Cranham Hall, Essex, England. He was commissioned major- general in 1745 and lieutenant-general in 1747, and was sent to Scotland to oppose Charles Edward, the pretender. He complained to the Duke of Cumberland of cruelties practised upon the people of Scotland, who were adherents of Prince Charles, and was honorably acquitted by a court-