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CUMBERLAND ISLAND

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Natural History

Cumberland Island is part of a chain of barrier islands that stretches nearly 150 miles from the middle of the South Carolina coast to the mouth of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. These barrier islands separate the mainland of Georgia from the Atlantic Ocean. The barrier island groups that border the Georgia coast are composed of two sets of islands formed during separate geological time periods: the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The first set of islands, including Cumberland Island, a small portion of Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island, Sapelo Island, St. Catherines Island, Ossabaw Island, and Skidaway Island, were formed 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. The Holocene Islands--Little Cumberland Island, portions of Jekyll Island, Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island, Wolf Island, Nannygoat Island, Cabretta Island, Blackbeard Island, and Wassaw Island--were formed approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.

These barrier islands are subject to large daily tides, reaching upwards of 8 feet in amplitude. The fluctuation of the tides restricts marsh vegetation between the islands and the mainland to a few species that can tolerate saltwater inundation followed by drying out in full sun exposure. The flow of freshwater into the ocean from nearby rivers creates estuaries, areas with low salinity that serve as nurseries for many species of molluscs, andromenous and marine fish. These unique environments created by the barrier islands are extremely important in maintaining the health of the natural world.

Settlement

When the Spanish first arrived on Cumberland Island in the 1550s, a group of Native Americans called the Timucua were living there. These native inhabitants lived off the salt marsh lagoons that surrounded the island. They depended on shellfish, fishing, and the hunting of small game animals for food. In 1587, a Spanish priest was sent to Cumberland Island to build a mission and to attempt to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. This mission was called San Pedro de Tacatacuru. Historical records tell us that, until 1681, there were approximately 300 natives and Spanish missionaries living on Cumberland Island. In 1683, French pirates attacked Cumberland Island, looting and burning many of the buildings, causing many of the natives and the Spanish missionaries to flee. Another attack in 1684, by the Spanish pirate Thomas Jingle, resulted in the abandonment of the island.

In 1736, Colonel James Edward Oglethorpe sent a group of Scottish Highlanders to Cumberland Island. They built a military fort, called Fort St. Andrews to protect the English colonies from the Spanish. It was located in an area of the island now called Terrapin Point. In 1740, a second fort, Fort William, was built on the southern end of the island. Fort William had two 18-pound cannons mounted on moving platforms. In the summer of 1742, Fort William and its cannons repulsed a huge Spanish attack on the Georgia colonies. At the end of the battle, the Spanish left the Georgia coast forever, making the English colony secure.

Life on the Island

The 1760s witnessed the beginnings of plantation life on Cumberland Island. A group of wealthy Georgians and South Carolinians petitioned the British Crown for grants of land on the island to grow indigo, rice, and cotton. The Pleistocene islands of the Georgia coast were especially important to cotton growers. The rich soil and sea breezes provided the perfect conditions for growing Sea Island cotton. Sea Island cotton was a rare, long-fibered cotton that was imported from the Caribbean in 1786. The first major planters on Cumberland Island were Catherine and Phineas Miller. They built a large mansion called Dungeness on the southern end of the island. Growing the cotton was labor-intensive. One bale of cotton required the work of approximately 53 people. To meet this demand, the Millers owned 210 enslaved Africans, all of whom lived on the island.

The ratio of white owners to enslaved Africans on the island was dramatic. Records show that, in 1846, the population of Cumberland Island consisted of 36 white people and 400 enslaved Africans. Enslaved individuals were responsible for almost every task required to support the island. These tasks included tending cotton fields, mending dikes and ditches, handling and repairing boats, ginning cotton, cooking and storing food, cutting wood, providing sanitation, tending livestock, fishing, and sometimes working on the mainland railroads.

Liberation and the War of 1812

The War of 1812 began on June 12, 1812, and lasted until the spring of 1815. During the War of 1812, the British hoped to weaken the United States by attempting to free and relocate unhappy residents and enslaved individuals. Admiral Alexander Cochrane issued a proclamation stating that any unhappy slaves could join British forces and be relocated to the British colonies with their families. The British were hoping that these former slaves would help them fight against the Americans. They also hoped to disrupt the American plantation economy by freeing its enslaved workers.

In January, 1815, a British squadron landed on Cumberland Island after its successful attack on the town of St. Marys. The British leader, Admiral George Cockburn, set up his headquarters at the Dungeness mansion. Cockburn declared the island to be "occupied territory." He said any enslaved Africans on the island were free. Slaves seeking freedom started flocking to the island from all over the coast. The response was so great that a group of 66 slaves paddled 23 miles in a wooden canoe to reach the island. In all, approximately 1,500 enslaved Africans joined the British squadron on Cumberland Island. As the encampment on Cumberland Island grew, food, water, and clothing became scarce. Sailors were quartered on their ships. Soldiers and former slaves camped on the island, and the sick and wounded were placed in a makeshift hospital on the lower floor of Dungeness. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, was signed on December 24, 1814. News of the peace had to be carried overseas by ship. In February, the forces at Cumberland Island learned of the treaty. Cockburn, his squadron, and the freed slaves sailed out of Cumberland Harbor in March 1815. The majority of the freed slaves were settled in Trinidad, where their descendants still live today.