As British, This Region Resisted the American Revolution
Clay County History: James Grant and East Florida
By HISTORICAL ARCHIVES CENTER STAFF
As what many view as the 14th colony, Florida’s place in the formation of our great nation is often forgotten. When teaching about the American Revolution, most lessons understandably focus on the thirteen colonies located north of Florida but there is so much more to the story.
The British colonies began with the British West Indies, ran through Florida and the thirteen other colonies, and then continued into the British Canadian colonies of Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario and New Brunswick. St. Augustine and Florida more broadly comprised the center of the British Empire in the Western Hemisphere.
When James Grant of Ballindalloch, Scotland, disembarked his sloop (a one-masted sailboat), The Ferret, in St. Augustine, he did so as the first governor of British East Florida. The year was 1764, and Britain had just gained Florida from the Spanish. The border between West Florida and East Florida was the Apalachicola River.
Grant’s mission was to develop the colony into a profitable venture for the British crown. The crown was already dealing with some rumblings of unrest in the thirteen other colonies, and it desperately wanted to make Florida successful. Grant looked north to his friends in South Carolina for guidance on how to colonize East Florida. South Carolina was among the wealthiest of all the existing colonies, but it had taken about 70 years to reach that status.
Grant, who had the strong backing of both Parliament and King George III, felt he could get Florida up and running in about five years. He succeeded, and East Florida turned a profit.
East Florida became a magnet for loyalists from the other colonies, land speculators, merchants, tradesmen and the like. The economy was driven by agriculture, as vast swaths of land were made available through grants. Doctor’s Lake in Clay County was surrounded by such plantations.
The main crop was indigo, which was worth its weight in gold. Timber and naval stores were a close second. Naval stores are resinous products made from pine trees and other conifers—primarily turpentine, rosin and tar—historically used in shipbuilding to caulk seams and preserve rope. Thanks to Florida’s mild weather, several crops a year could be grown.
The British imported many, many slaves to the region to keep those plantations running. Loyalists in other states were starting to face social and financial repercussions, which is why they began to flee to Florida. They brought their wealth, experience and slaves with them, further enhancing East Florida.
As British East Florida governor, Grant was able to hand-select certain, more favorable land grants for his friends in high places and gained favor with those who held the crown’s purse strings. Grant often lobbied the King and members of Parliament directly, without using a middleman provincial agent as the other thirteen colonies often had to use.
However, East Florida did have a crown agent on the payroll named William Knox. He was, in his own right, very effective in getting funds for the colony and procuring military aid and provisions.
Grant also dealt with the Native Americans in a very effective way. He treated them as trading partners and made them his allies. He hammered out the Treaty of Picolata wherein the Creeks and other tribes agreed to stay on the west side of the St. Johns River. The actual boundary line was further inland and ran straight through the Trail Ridge region of Clay County.
Grant’s style of leadership was different than most but effective. It came down to this: Grant was in charge. His governor’s council consisted of his hand-picked men, some of whom were his friends and allies. Two such men were John Moultrie and William Drayton. Grant never had public meetings, as all his council meetings were conducted instead over tabletop at lavish dinner parties held in his home.
His French chef kept the Grant and his guests happy with culinary delights. Despite, or maybe because of the ten to twelve bottles of wine consumed those nights, problems were easily solved, laws were passed, and Grant remained in control. Governor Grant was like a sheriff, peacemaker, judge and social worker all rolled into one.
In 1771, Grant had to return home to his beloved Highlands in Scotland. He had gout and a death in the family. Grant worried about leaving, as he knew the colony was very dependent on his leadership. He wrote to Will Hills, Lord Hillsborough (as in Hillsborough County, Florida) who was the British Secretary of State,” People are accustomed to me...but I am afraid of them trusting themselves.”
Sure enough, East Florida began to unravel. Its wasn’t the colonists as much as it was the Revolutionary War. East Floridians saw the Continental Congress as rabble-rousers who posed a great threat to an economy that was working in their favor. East Florida could feed itself, defend itself, and produce profits, but once the Crown became preoccupied with the rebels, the glory days of East Florida were in the rear-view mirror.
When news of the signing of the Declaration of Independence reached St. Augustine on August 11, 1776, a large mob of loyalists burned the effigies of John Hancock and Samuel Adams in the town square. British East Florida, of course, sent no representatives to the Continental Congress. St. Augustine soon became a base of operations from which the British dealt with the southern colonies.
Troops and munitions were amassed there, and refugees from the other thirteen colonies flooded the streets. The war drained Britain's coffers until 1784 when Britain was forced to concede American independence.
Having lost control of the majority of colonies, Britain had little interest in keeping Florida. On September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution, and Britain recognized the independence of the United States. Under a separate treaty, England ceded Florida back to Spanish control in exchange for the Bahamas, ending British Florida.
James Grant was a career military officer, and as a second son, he did not inherit the family estate at Ballindalloch, Scotland. Due to primogenitor laws, the military was often the career choice for sons who were not born first. He was a well-educated man who attended Edinburgh University.
His stint as governor in Florida was over in 1771, but he reported for duty in 1776 and returned to America. He fought with British General Howe and led brigades in the battles of Long Island, Brandywine and Germantown.
He died on April 13, 1806, and is buried with a view of Ballindalloch, and, always in control, in a spot he chose himself.
This information can be found at Ancestry.com, Florida Historical Quarterly April 1976 East Florida As a Loyalist Haven by Linda Kay Willimas, James Grant, British East Florida and the Impending Imperial Crisis 1764-1771 by Susan Swartz, Ancestry.com, Find A Grave.com, and in subject files and court records maintained locally at the Archives Center. For more information about this topic or about anything related to Clay County history, please contact Archives Division personnel by email at clayarchives@clayclerk.com. The Archives Center is part of the Old Jail at the county’s Historic Triangle (21 Gratio Place, Green Cove Springs) and is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., excluding holidays. Stop by to take a self-guided tour of the Old Jail or to seek research assistance from staff.