Pages 81 - 107

In the beginning of the country's development, slaves were used as pawns by both sides and used as both rewards for friends and as a punishment to political enemies. Slaves were subject to being used for traps, such as being forced to call out to rebels before the regiment was captured by hidden British troops and then forced back to their loyalist owners (p. 88). Runaway slaves were especially vulnerable to this tactic, fugitive slaves were subject to violence by white groups both public and military. (Scarlett).

Whig raids in Georgia sent white families to Savannah, which was protected by Hessians, Slaves, and even some Native Americans, a wide of variety of races and cultures coming together amongst the citizens. It's interesting that as the city's defenses deteriorated, enslaved persons were brought to attention to reinforce the fortifications, as well as take up positions of defense, but only be armed which the time called for it. (Scarlett).

During bouts of fighting, the south was suffering from severe financial loss in the forms of slaves being taken by British troops to supplement labor and fighting power. Most families that experienced slave depopulation were plantation owners who then had to report their losses as both documentation of insurance and missing goods withheld by the crown. Slaves taken were often men of healthy age, while pregnant and nursing women were left aside. (Scarlett).

The British invaded Georgia in 1778 and the British took control over Savannah and then controlled Georgia. The British were spread thin trying to control Georgia and relied on powerful white families to maintain control. States like South Carolina worried about potential invasions and what would happen to the populations of enslaved individuals. White slave owners tried to prevent the enslaved individuals from escaping however some also abandoned them on empty plantations. Fugitive slaves were very vulnerable while they attempted to escape. Thus, there was a slave exit from Georgia because of the fighting. The colonists also used enslaved individuals to create obstacles for the British. However, the fighting reduced the agriculture production in Georgia during this period. (Suzanne Ferraro).

There was a great deal of instability in Georgia, and the state assembly in Augusta sold enslaved individuals captured in the siege of Savannah. During the British occupation of the state, there was no tax bill, and the government relied on borrowing. High-ranking officers were paid in land grants and the payment of enslaved individuals. The state of Georgia was facing a financial disaster. As British troops withdrew from the state, slaves escaped. The army kept slavery functioning following the fighting. The British withdrawal from Savannah collapsed their efforts to fight in the south. I think this is an important point that connects land ownership today with the policies of the past. (Suzanne Ferraro).

White southerners became extremely distrustful of the British government due to their use of slaves to force southerners to become subservient under the British army. This distrust was furthered due to how violent the British army was to white southerner's homes and property. Both of these factors, “hardened the determination of many of the South's leading white families to resist British tyranny to the end.” This would be one of the major causes for the British need to back out of Georgia. (Lauren)

Under the British army black Georgians were still under the conditions of slavery. They were forced to work in fields and be hard laborers to support the British. The slaves in Georgia gained no benefit from being used by the British against white Southerners. Some would escape to only then be captured shortly after and be forced back into slavery. The slaves that successfully avoided capture would be forced to become re-enslaved due to lack of resources caused by violence towards land and property. (Lauren)

Although the British used slaves to mainly support the British troops through cultivating food to support the army; slaves were also sometimes used to fight against the rebels. An example of this is when, “two companies of black volunteers” successfully partnered with natives to defend Savannah from rebels. Black volunteers would be credited by the British for their effectiveness in the protection of Savannah by Governor Wright and the Virginia Gazette. (Lauren)

It seems as though Georgia was taken almost without a fight. There were of course, militia groups that produced some counter-raiding, but most fled. This led to a slave exodus in Georgia, and militia groups scrambled for control. In absolute chaos, the production collapsed due to fleeing plantation owners, and that was actually undesirable for the British. They didn't want collapse, which would effectively strand their loyalists still living in Georgia. The enslaved remained hopeful within Georgia, some just up and left after being deserted. - Keller D

Slaves faced a no-win situation in Georgia and other southern colonies during the war. Often, they were subjugated to fighting for the British against rebels, or at least made to carry out many of the manual labor aspects of war. Slaves could not “escape” either as both sides believed they should be put to work. Declan F.

The harbor at Savannah housed the most concentrated group of loyalists and the British believed they could renew the offense and restore the royal government. Georgia became the base for the 'reconquest of the southern colonies.” Many British commanders conducted raids and freed numerous slaves along the way. However, a significant portion of Georgia's enslaved population also supported the Revolution. (Connor H)

Georgia was picked as the loyalist base for the southern campaign due to the many resources in the colony. Georgia had an abundance of timber for naval ships, food, and livestock. Georgia also had a large number of enslaved people, which was key for the British. Many enslaved people were loyalists and would take up arms against the colonists and help the British fight. (Hank L.)

After the royal government was re-established in Georgia, Whig guerrilla fighting gangs began to pop up. This problem was countered by the formation of loyalist gangs but also by commission from the British military. Some of these leaders were already infamous outlaws who merely continued their pillaging of the Georgia countryside, but this time under commission by the British in the name of restoring order. The anarchy and chaos of the region eroded trust in the British by white Georgians. In the chaos and desperate circumstances, the British found themselves increasingly relying on the support of the enslaved and Indians. (Colin R.)

After 1780, the situation in Georgia continued to deteriorate, with an increasing number of people fleeing as refugees as farms and boats were plundered and burned. By 1781, after Whig control was re-established in the Georgia backcountry, refugees who had fled the chaos began returning to Georgia, while a new wave of refugees still loyal to the British fled. The restored constitutional government faced extreme logistical problems regarding supplies for the army and refugees, and funds. (Colin R.)

The black population in Georgia began a decline (by about 5-6,000 in July 1782) after the British were forced to evacuate Savannah. Many slaves saw an opportunity with the British for freedom or to advance the cause of their freedom. Many tried to use the war as a springboard to advance their own interests, although to little to no avail. This solidified many white Georgians’ distaste for the British. Many slaves who escaped early on in the war with such hopes were either captured or forced to return due to the conditions of the countryside, namely the scarce provisions (Colin R.)

The British Army struggled during its occupation of Georgia in part due to the problem of slave labor. The British Army sought to use slaves as bargaining pieces and compensation, but there quickly became two needs for slaves that were completely mutually exclusive. The army wanted to use slaves to bolster their workforce for instances like the siege of Savannah, but they also didn’t want the Southern economy to totally collapse by taking all of the slaves and turning public opinion against them. - Ewan H

The British army aided slavery during their Southern occupation in a paradoxical way. Instead of taking away all of the slaves for their cause or leaving all of the slaves alone, the British army skirted a fine line between the two. They “liberated” some slaves to come and do manual labor for them, but also sometimes this involved continuing to work on plantations but with better conditions. Also since the British army used slaves as bargaining chips and compensation, they helped further ingrain the institution while they were occupying Georgia. - Ewan H