tate suffered but little from Indian aggression during
the War for Independence. Nor was that feeling extinct among the Creeks
for a period of fifty years, or until they believed that the people of
Oglethorpe had passed away.

The year 1743 opened with fresh alarms of a new invasion, jointly of the
French and Spanish. The Governor of Cuba offered to invade Georgia and
Carolina, with ten thousand men, most of whom were then in Havanna.
Oglethorpe, with his greatly reduced force, was left alone to bear the
burden of defending Georgia. Believing that a sudden blow would enhance
his prospects, he took his measures, and accordingly, on Saturday,
February 26, 1743, the detachment destined for Florida, consisting of a
portion of the Highlanders, rangers and regulars, appeared under arms at
Frederica, and on March 9th, landed in Florida. He advanced upon St.
Augustine, and used every device to decoy them into an ambush; but even
failed to provoke the garrison. Having no cannon with him, he returned
to Frederica, without the loss of a man. This expedition was attended
with great toil, fatigue and privation, but borne cheerfully. A few
slight eruptive efforts were made, but each party kept its own borders,
and the slight conflicts in America were lost in the universal
conflagration in Europe.

The Highlanders had borne more than their share of the burdens of war,
and had lost heavily. Their families had shared in their privations. The
majority had remained loyal to Oglethorpe, and proved that in every
emergency they could be depended on. In later years the losses were
partially supplied by accessions from their countrymen.

With all the advantages that Georgia offered and the inducements held
out to emigrants, the growth was very slow. In 1761 the whole number of
white inhabitants amounted to but sixty-one hundred. However, in 1773,
or twelve years later, it had leaped to eighteen thousand white and
fifteen thousand black. The reasons assigned for this increase were the
great inducements held out to people to come and settle where they could
get new and good lands at a moderate cost, with plenty of good range for
cattle, horses and hogs, and where they would not be so pent up and
confined as in the more thickly settled provinces.

The Macintoshes had ever been foremost, and in the attempt to
consolidate Georgia with Carolina they were prominent in their
opposition to the scheme.

Forty years in America had endeared the Highl