ng to her memory.

TWO SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION.

The pen of the historian is not always as impartial as it should be. It
has its spites and prejudices; and it frequently happens that the men
who wield the pen with which history is written, have their whims,
their likes, and their dislikes. It is certain that two of the hardest
fighters in the War for Independence--two of the most distinguished
officers that Georgia gave to the cause--have had tardy justice done
to their valor. The names of these men are General James Jackson and
General Elijah Clarke. The independence and the individuality of these
men stand clearly out in all the records that we have of them, and it
is no doubt true that these qualities made them to some degree unpopular
with those who inspired the early chroniclers of the Revolution in the
South. Neither of these officers was capable of currying favor with his
superiors, or of doing injustice to the humblest of his comrades. They
were not seekers after the bubble reputation, but had their minds and
all their energies bent on liberating Georgia and her sister Colonies.

General James Jackson was born in the county of Devon, England. He
came to this country in 1772, landing at Savannah penniless and almost
friendless. He began the study of law; but when the Liberty Boys began
their movement for resisting British oppression, he placed his books
on their shelves, and gave himself entirely to the cause of the people.
When only nineteen years old, he was one of the volunteers that fired
the British armed vessels sent to attack Savannah by water, while Major
Maitland and Major Grant attacked it by land. The crews of these vessels
were compelled to escape without their clothes and arms. General Jackson
served in the lower part of Georgia until the fall of Savannah in 1778,
when he and his friend John Milledge made their way to the patriot
troops, commanded by General Moultrie. Such was the condition of these
men, both of whom afterwards became governors of Georgia, that they
were compelled to make the greater part of their journey barefoot and in
rags. Their appearance was so much against them that they were arrested
as spies by some American soldiers, and would have been hanged but for
the timely arrival of a gentleman who knew them.

General Jackson was at the siege of Savannah, and, after the disastrous
result of that affair, returned to South Carolina. The victory of the
Americans at Blackstoc