letter did great good. It was turned over
to the Legislature by the governor, and thus made public; and its
sentiments were taken to heart by hundreds who had suffered the most
cruel wrongs at the hands of the Tories. General Greene's letter was
also made the basis of two proclamations, both issued by the governor
after conference with General Wayne. One opened the door to disaffected
Georgians who might desire to return to the ranks of the republicans,
and the other was addressed to the Hessian troops who had already
begun to sympathize with the Salzburghers at Ebenezer. Stevens, in his
"History of Georgia," says that many citizens who had been compelled
from various reasons to seek protection under the British Government,
and who had even joined the armies of the enemy, took advantage of the
proclamation which referred to them, returned to their State allegiance,
and joined the forces of General Wayne, where they proved their
sincerity by making the most zealous efforts to merit the pardon and
protection that had been promised them by the governor.

After a brilliant campaign, lasting from January to July, 1782, General
Wayne, assisted by Elijah Clarke, James Jackson, and other bold spirits
who had never suffered the fires of liberty to go out in Georgia,
cleared the State of the British. Savannah was occupied on the 11th of
July, the keys having been surrendered to James Jackson. This was the
end of British rule in Georgia.

A NEGRO PATRIOT.

[Illustration: A Negro Patriot 122]

Along with the emigrants from North Carolina who first settled Wilkes
County, there came a man named Aycock. He brought with him a mulatto boy
named Austin. This boy passed as Aycock's slave; but when the conflict
between the Liberty Boys and the Tories in that part of the country
became desperate,--when the patriots were fighting for their lives as
well as for the liberties of their country,--Aycock's neighbors called
on him to do his part. According to all accounts, Aycock was not much
of a warrior. His sympathies were with his liberty-loving neighbors;
but his enthusiasm did not invite him to expose himself to the fire of
musketry. It is said that he joined the neighbors, and strove to be a
faithful militiaman, but he was in a state of constant fear. Governor
Gilmer says of Aycock, that, from the time he was required to fight, he
saw a terrible Tory constantly pointing a loaded gun at him. His alarm
finally became so extreme that