Battle of Bloody Marsh

Spain and Britain Fight on St Simons Island

Mar 28, 2006

Long before the Indian uprisings on coastal Georgia in the early 1600s, the British had their thoughts on previously Spanish held St. Simons Island. In time, the Spanish

Prior to 1597, the Spanish invaded St. Simons, one of many islands that borders the present-day state of Georgia. The Spanish attempted to Christianize the Creek Indians who occupied the island but failed.

Even though the Creeks balked at this earlier attempt the Christians continued their efforts. In the late 1590s, St. Simons Island became the location for three missions; Asao near Ft. Frederica, Ocotonico between the lighthouse and Frederica River, and Santo Domingo de Talaxe near Butler Point. But more disasters were to come.

During the 1600s the local Indians began uprising and pirates raided along the coast. If these two combined happenings weren't enough along came disease. With all of this taking its toll it wasn't long before the Spanish missions as well as the local Indians nearly disappeared.

The British had for sometime had their eyes on this coastal paradise and began moving to Georgia from their colony in Charleston, South Carolina. Giving up on the island, the Spanish departed for Florida.

For some fifty years afterwards there was only a handful of Indians remaining on St. Simons and other nearby islands. Then English colonists moved in.

At the beginning of British occupation of St. Simons the Spanish had a strong grasp on Florida while the British now had colonies reaching as far south as Charleston. The land between these two locations, including the coast of Georgia, soon became the subject of conflict, lasting for more than a decade. But the British were making advancements.

A British colony was established in Savannah in 1733. Three years later they settled Fort Frederica and Fort St. Simons, both on St. Simons Island under the leadership of James Oglethorpe. Another three years passed and the British declared war on Spain.

Not to be outdone, the Spanish showed up of St. Simon with 52 ships and more than 3,000 men. With only 630 men, Oglethorpe with bravery and cunning drove off the entire Spanish force. The long-term result of this battle, the Battle of Bloody Marsh, was that the territories northward would be British and the English language would be spoken instead of Spanish.

Schoettle, H. E. Taylor. A Naturalist's Guide to St. Simons Island. Watermarks Printing Company, St. Simons Island, GA, 1993.

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