George Mathews (soldier)

George Mathews (August 30, 1739 – August 30, 1812) was an American soldier and politician from the U.S. States of

Born in

George Mathews was born on August 30, 1739, in

On his father's death, Mathews was willed 300 acres (120 ha) of farm land[12] By 1762, George and a brother, Sampson Mathews, began a mercantile enterprise in Staunton, Virginia, and soon had acquired extensive property along the western frontier as far west as the Greenbrier district. The brothers established several outposts along this stretch, where they sold both frontier necessities and specialty goods, importing goods through Atlantic trade markets.^[13] The brothers additionally dealt in forced labor, mostly through contracts for convict servants from Ireland, but also African slaves.^[14][15] The brothers were among the "soul-drivers" in Virginia who bought convict servants wholesale from British transport ships at port, and traveled along established routes selling the convicts to farmers, planters, and others.^[16] Lodine-Chaffey suggests that the brothers' treatment of both convict servants and slaves was suspect, due to the frequency in which the servants and slaves escaped them; the brothers reported three slaves missing in 1769, and ten convicts missing in 1773.^[17] In total, their dealings in all ventures accounted for a "great share" of the trade in the region.^[18]

Mathews was elected to the Augusta Parish vestry in 1763, joining his brother Sampson who had been a member since 1761. The brothers maintained their seats on the vestry until a shift in political population caused them to be ousted by the Presbyterian majority.^[19]

The Mathews brothers were appointed trustees of Staunton in 1772.

Mathews eagerly sought a military commission on the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.^[30] On the creation of the 9th Virginia Regiment in the Continental Army in January 1776, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel. The regiment joined General George Washington's army in December 1776, in which it embarked on Washington's Philadelphia campaign. By February 1777, Mathews was promoted to colonel of the 9th Virginia Regiment.^[31]

Mathews's regiment saw its first significant action during the September 11, 1777, Battle of Brandywine. The battle, fought between Washington's army and the British army of General Sir William Howe, was both the largest battle of the Revolution, with nearly 30,000 total belligerents, and the longest single-day battle of the war, with continuous fighting for 11 hours.^[32] The British defeated the Americans and forced them into a retreat that "nearly developed into a stampede."^[33] Mathews's regiment was one of the last to leave the field of battle, causing some to credit him for saving the American army from rout.^[34]

Following its victory, the British army set up camp in

By 1779, however, Mathews recovered was granted a limited

During Mathews's military tour of the South, he had been impressed with the opportunities for political and financial gain on the Georgia frontier. When the 3rd Virginia Regiment was formally disbanded on January 1, 1783, he quickly petitioned the Georgia government for land, and received 1,900 acres (770 ha) in Wilkes County.^[46] He liquidated his property and settled his business affairs in Virginia and headed to the new Georgia frontier. There he and his wife, Ann Polly Paul,^[47] built a log cabin at Goose Pond. They had eight children: John, Charles Lewis, George, William, Ann, Jane, Margaret, and Rebecca.^[48] His wife Ann Polly died a few years after their arrival in Georgia. Mathews briefly returned to Staunton, Virginia, in 1790, where he married Margaret Reed, a widow. In 1793, Margaret went back to Virginia to visit friends and family, and when she later wrote to her husband to facilitate her return, he replied, "I didn't take you to Virginia, and I'm not going to trouble myself to go there and bring you back." The two never reconciled, and the Georgia legislature granted a divorce on February 3, 1797.^[49]

On the strength of his military reputation, Mathews quickly ascended to the top of Georgia state politics. He was appointed a judge in Wilkes County, and a town commissioner for

The Georgia legislature sought to relieve its burden of its unprotected western lands by encouraging purchase offers from private land speculators.^[62] When representatives from four private groups sought to buy 35 million acres extending to the Mississippi River at less than two cents per acre, Mathews initially rejected the proposal.^[63][64][65] However, the groups bribed many Georgia politicians to favor the bill, and this increased political pressure combined with waning popularity caused Mathews ultimately to accept and sign the Yazoo land bill.^[66] The public became outraged on learning the details of the bill, leading to protests to federal officials and Congressmen. Mathews, though he did not personally profit from the bill, became its public face.^[67] Jared Irwin and U.S. Senator James Jackson led the reform efforts. Irwin was elected governor of Georgia to replace Mathews, and on February 13, 1796, less than two months after taking office, he signed a bill nullifying the Yazoo Act.^[68]

Mathews never again held a public office. He thought for a time about leaving the United States, and even wrote to George Washington asking for a character recommendation in preparation for his removal from the country, to which Washington obliged.^[69] However, in 1797, Mathews, who had by this time remarried again to Mary Carpenter, instead turned to the Mississippi Territory, where his wife owned property.^[70][71] Mathews again returned to land speculation, buying stock in a land company the claimant of extensive acreage in the territory. He also lobbied friends in Congress for a political appointment in the territory.^[72]

In 1798, he was appointed the first governor of the Mississippi Territory by President

In November 1810, George Mathews learned from West Florida Governor Don Vicente Folch that Folch might be willing to peacefully transfer West Florida to the United States, on account of the weakening of the Spanish monarchy due to its involvement in the Napoleonic Wars.^[74] Mathews brought this to the attention to President James Madison, who wished to build on the expansionist policies of his predecessor, Thomas Jefferson. Madison, with ambitions raised, determined to annex both West and East Florida all at once.^[75]

Madison and Mathews met in

Mathews and McKee created an intelligence network throughout East Florida, with Mathews writing to Secretary of State James Monroe frequently. Monroe in turn encouraged Mathews to continue so long as the opportunity remained realistic.^[81] Over the weeks, however, Mathews would write many letters to Monroe that would receive no reply. Though unsettled, Mathews viewed this as an implicit endorsement of his plan, assuming the Madison administration was acting discreetly and desiring not to leave evidence of U.S. involvement.^[82][83] However, Madison historian J.C.A. Stagg suggests that the Madison administration followed an informal practice in which "silence implied not consent but its opposite." This practice, which the administration did not explain, resulted in several misunderstandings with high-level officials throughout the Madison administration.^[84]

Mathews became infected with

This confirmed to Mathews the Madison administration's support of his plans in lieu of direct correspondence, and additionally proved beneficial to his recruiting efforts. By the end of 1811, he had filled leadership positions for his rebellion with wealthy Spanish planters and businessmen.^[88] Still, he had not found enough local interest to fill out a fighting force. Mathews therefore turned to the recruitment of volunteers from Georgia to play the part of his rebel Patriots.^[89] By early 1812, Mathews' Patriots numbered about 125. To bolster his force, Mathews worked out a plan for 75 U.S. troops at the border to desert the U.S. army and enlist as Patriots, while Mathews would subsequently ensure their pardon and restoration to their prior military rank at the end of the mission.^[90] However, days before the Patriots were to cross into Florida, Major Jacint Laval—Mathews' housemate in St. Mary's -- discovered Mathews's plan to lure men of his division into desertion, and objected, raising alarm.^[91] Mathews then knew he did not have the numbers needed to take St. Augustine. Fearing his window for a surprise attack was closing, he turned his attention to the lightly guarded city of Fernandina on Amelia Island, just across the river from St. Mary's.^[92] He would take Fernandina, call in U.S. troops, and move to St. Augustine from there.^[93]

On the night of March 13, 1812, Mathews, with his Patriots and support from nine

By late 1811, James Madison had become convinced of the inevitability of war with Great Britain on the Canadian border (he would officially declare war with Britain in June 1812, setting off the War of 1812^[99]).^[100] On learning of Mathews' request for further U.S. military support in Florida, as well as Spain's outrage towards the mission, Madison worried about the possibility of provoking Spain and its allies, the British, to join forces against the U.S.^[101][102] Further, a scandal had broken in national newspapers about Madison's purchase of dirt on political opponents from a British secret agent in New England mere days before the news of Mathews' seizure of Fernandina broke in the papers.^[103] While Monroe in particular admitted "much cleverness" in Mathews's plan, and hoped to salvage his efforts, he and Madison agreed that the political costs of publicly supporting Mathews at present were too high.^[104] Madison publicly repudiated Mathews, relieving him of duty on April 4, 1812.^[105] Madison then assigned Georgia Governor David Mitchell as his new special agent in East Florida, tasked with keeping Mathews' Patriot army intact and preserving its military occupations.^[106] Mitchell quickly informed East Florida Governor Juan José de Estrada that any attempt to drive out the Patriots would not be tolerated by the United States.^[107]

Mathews, furious with the Madison administration's repudiation, set off to Washington, D.C., where he'd "be damned if [he] didn't blow them all up."^[108] However, on the way he suffered from a recurrent malarial fever and was forced to stop in Augusta, Georgia. He died there on his 73rd birthday, and is buried in Saint Paul's Church.^[109]

Legacy and historical interpretations

Historians have been divided over the legacy of the Patriot War of East Florida. Some conclude that Mathews overstepped his authority and deliberately departed from Madison's intentions,^[110] while others believe Mathews fulfilled Madison's intentions, and that Madison repudiated Mathews for political reasons.^{[111][112][113]} These differences in analysis are exacerbated by the fact that Madison and Mathews left no notes of their meeting to discuss the campaign.^[114]

J.C.A. Stagg, in George Mathews and John McKee, Revolutionizing East Florida, Mobile, and Pensacola in 1812 (2007), states, "[i]t is now reasonably clear that the actions of Mathews and McKee in Florida and on the Gulf Coast between 1810 and 1812 departed far more from the policies of the [Madison] administration than they fairly reflected them,"^[115] and additionally deems the Patriot War, "an embarrassing and shameful moment in the history of early American foreign policy."^[116]

However, James G. Cusick, in The Other War of 1812 (2007), states, "[i]n truth, the administration's displeasure over an attack on East Florida rested on its timing and in the unfortunate publicity it received, not on the results."^[117] G. Melvin Herndon draws a similar conclusion. In George Mathews, Frontier Patriot (1969), he states, "[i]t is generally agreed that Mathews was the victim of a vacillating administration whose dictates he had served faithfully according to his own lights. He succeeded too well; and, under pressure from several sources, President Madison and Secretary Monroe deemed it necessary to sacrifice Mathews to quell the criticism of their Florida policy.^[118] Similarly, Frank Owsley, in Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800-1821 states, "Mathews probably interpreted Madison's wishes accurately, and very likely had oral instructions from the government assuring him that his understanding of the orders was absolutely correct."^[119]

Paul Kruse, in A Secret Agent in East Florida: General George Mathews and the Patriot War (1952) observes that whatever Mathews' instructions, a letter from Mathews to Monroe, "written more than seven months before the invasion was actually attempted, fully disclosed General Mathews' revolutionary designs upon East Florida. Not to have checked the plan on such a notice made the government a party to them."^[120] Stephen F. Knott, in Secret and Sanctioned: Covert Operations and the American Presidency (1996) states: "I believe Mathews' admission that he could not achieve the seizure of East Florida without additional overt American military support pushed the administration over the edge. Months of silent acquiescence by the Madison White House came to an end."^[121]

Physical appearance

Rembert Patrick describes his appearance during an 1811 meeting with James Madison as thus:

In one hand he held his old three-cornered cocked hat; he had on worn knee breeches, high-topped boots, and a shirt with little ruffles at the bosom and wrists. A sword, the symbol of his military valor, dangled at his side. He was short, thick-set, with stout muscular legs; he stood straight with his head thrown back, his red hair wind-blown, and his dark blue eyes framed by a weathered face.^[122]

Memorials

Several

• Seminole Wars, has a short section on the Patriot War

Notes

References