The time was during the Revolutionary War. At the outset the Georgia patriots had thrown out the Colonial Governor at Savannah and organized a new provincial government in which John Houstoun was elected governor January 10, 1778, and commander-in-chief of the militia. But before his one-year term expired, in December of that year, the British swept into Savannah American forces beat a fast retreat and Governor Houstoun departed so hastily that he left behind important personal papers. 1

Designated by the British as "the rebell Governor of Georgia," Houstoun was the object of a wide search. According to tradition, the British authorities got wind that he was hiding at the estate of his brother, George. A boat with a detail of soldiers was dispatched up the Vernon River and tributary creek, but the Governor was warned just in time to run from his pursuers.

Whether the details of the old tradition of his hiding in a tree are true or not, at least it is known that he soon arrived in Augusta where he had ordered the seat of government removed. His term as Governor expired shortly thereafter, in

l Edith Duncan Johnston, Savannah, Georgia, The Houstouns of Georgia (University of Georgia Press, Athens, 1950). The bulk of the material in this chapter is gleaned from Miss Johnston’s book.