John Reynolds, the first royal governor of Georgia, was not well-liked but his successors were better thought of. Still, by 1763, with Spain no longer a threat, Georgia, like the other colonies, recolied at British efforts to fund its success in war by taxing the colonies. "No taxation without representation," was a chorus to be heard through the next decade and more. Not all Savannahians were for independence. The Habersham trading family split along generational lines, setting, in the words of James Habersham, merchant and loyalist father of two rebellious sons, "Father against Son and Son against Father, and nearest relations and Friends combating with each other." The Sons of Liberty began meeting and confronted the Governor James Wright and his troops openly in 1765 over tax issues. By 1775 the Liberty Boys were in virtually open defiance of authority and the Governor and council at odds. In June cannon assembled for the King's birthday were spiked and rolled into the river, a Liberty Pole erected and a sailor tarred, feathered and forced to kiss the pole. By the next year Wright felt himself a prisoner in his residence. Tondee's Tavern, at the corner of Bull and Broughton, served as a gathering place for the Liberty Boys during the years leading up to rebellion. With the Declaration of Independence, the rebels took control of Savannah and the Georgia colony. Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration, became acting governor after the death of the first elected governor, Archibald Bulloch. Colonel Lachlan McIntosh of Darien, a veteran of the Bloody Marsh fight with the Spaniards, was placed in charge of the some 280 men on hand in early 1777. Gwinnett had aspirations of leading a military success and as commander in chief in Georgia, began issuing orders that often conflicted with McIntosh's. A feud developed between the two men. Gwinnett masterminded a campaign to capture Florida and McIntosh wound up wandering the swamps to the south with his troops in the futile attempt. Gwinnett, the politician, sidestepped most of the blame during the resulting inquiry and McIntosh was outraged. In front of the Georgia Assembly McIntosh called Gwinnett a "scoundrel" and a "lying rascal." A duel inevitably followed. Both men were wounded in the thigh but the shot that struck Gwinnett broke the bone and he fell. He died within four days of complications. McIntosh was tried for murder but found not guilty. However, ill feelings against the Scot remained and he decided to go north to fight with General Washington. back - next