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ENCOUNTER AT GULLY HOLE CREEK
15" X 20" Oil Painting
Video
British ambush Spanish Florida invaders from St. Augustine at St. Simons Island, Georgia frontier, 1742.
During the eighteenth century, the continent of North America was colonized by the old kingdoms of Europe. Foremost in these activities were the nations of Britain and Spain. Conflicts between these kingdoms carried over to the new continent. The English built colonies along the mid-Atlantic seaboard in the areas of Virginia and the Carolinas. Spain concentrated its interests in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico coastline. The point of friction between these two empires centered in the coastal area of what is now Georgia.
British General James Oglethorpe petitioned King George of England to expand the colonial territory southward from the Carolinas into an area he was to name Georgia in his honor. A fort was constructed on the coastal island of St. Simons and named Fort Frederica.
Alarmed by this expansion southward toward Spanish-owned Florida, a military force was recruited with Grenadiers from Havana and City Militia from St. Augustine. The Spanish sailed from St. Augustine to the island, where they disembarked to attack the British fort. While the Spanish wound through the thick, wooded swamp, the British Highlanders and their Indian allies advanced to meet them. At a spot known as Gully Hole Creek, the invaders were attacked head on. Severely injured, the Spaniards retreated from the fight. Later, the Spanish were again ambushed by the British at a point in the swamp thereafter known as "Bloody Marsh". The beaten invaders struggled back to their ships and returned to Florida.
After this successful defense of Fort Frederica, Oglethorpe took the offensive by following the vanquished Spanish into Florida. His efforts were defeated at Fort Mosa, located on the north side of St. Augustine. The conflict was settled when England eventually prevailed and Spain ceded Florida to Britain's rule.
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