Battle of Bloody Marsh Marker

On July 7th, 1742, the British and Spanish forces fought on St.Simon's Island in what would eventually be known as the Battle of Bloody Marsh. This battle was part of the War of Jenkins' Ear which was a major conflict between the British and Spanish forces for the land between South Carolina and Florida. This war lasted for nearly two centuries and yet this was the only time the Spanish attempted to invade Georgia. This battle became a major victory for the British forces led by General James Oglethorpe. General Oglethorpe's Victory of the Spanish here led to the British preservation of the State of Georgia and its inhabitants.

The Spanish Forces were led by the governor of St.Augustine, Don Manuel de Montiano. Two years prior, General Oglethorpe had lost a battle to the Spanish and had his reputation tarnished. Oglethorpe would not be caught unprepared for this battle. The Spanish forces had nearly five thousand men at their disposal. Oglethorpe learned of this and fortified St. Simon's Island in response. He had the British forces erect a fort overlooking the river which it was named after. Fort Frederica was built with the purpose of deterring the Spanish forces from attacking the nearby city of Savannah. Oglethorpe had a force of red coats, rangers, Native Americans, and a militia with little more than one thousand men in total. The Spanish had planned the invasion since mid-June. They landed near and occupied Fort St.Simon's on July 5th. 

As depicted in the first picture shown above, on the morning of July 7th, a Spanish scouting party moved towards Fort Frederica. They were met with a small platoon sized element of British redcoats, rangers, and Scottish allies. The two groups laid down fire on one another and sent runners to warn their respective superiors. When general Oglethorpe received word, he immediately gathered reinforcements and rode on horseback to the firefight. He reportedly rode directly into the Spanish element and once they saw the reinforcements they quickly dispersed. Once this skirmish was mostly over, general Oglethorpe left men to defend that position while he rode North to rally more men and prevent the Spanish from amassing near the fort.

Later that day, the Spanish forces sent more soldiers to that area. By the time they arrived, the British forces had dug in deep and were able to fire upon the invading force from a position of relative safety. The swamp also provided opportunities to ambush portions of the invading force which led to the engagement becoming known as the "Battle of Bloody Marsh." 

The Spanish reportedly only lost fifty men in the battle but were unable to gain the upper hand owing to the British defensive position and were forced to retreat on July 13th. This victory redeemed General Oglethorpe's reputation among some of the local militiamen and convinced the Spanish to refrain from ever invading Georgia again. As news spread throughout the colonies of the Spanish being repelled, morale rose and the southern colonists saw Britain as a bulwark against the potential threat of a Spanish invasion in ways that led some of the leading planters to maintain their loyalty to Britain in the early years of the American Revolution.