John Barnwell

Background

Barnwell's exact origins are uncertain.

Career

By the time of the Tuscarora outbreak he had become a trusted official in the colony of South Carolina, serving as deputy secretary, clerk of the council, and comptroller. He had also taken part as a volunteer against the French and Spaniards in Queen Anne's War. The Tuscaroras in North Carolina, alarmed by the establishment of a Swiss colony at New Bern, had perpetrated an appalling massacre in 1711. Aid was summoned from Virginia and South Carolina, and the latter province responded by sending Col. Barnwell. He conducted a skilful forest march from Charleston to the Neuse River, at the head of a small body of militia and several hundred Indians. He assaulted the palisaded fort in January 1712, and inflicted a considerable blow upon the Tuscaroras. For this service he was thanked by the authorities of North Carolina, though a few months later the government of that colony was dissatisfied with his conduct. The grounds of criticism appear to have been that he made a treaty with the Indians, and then allowed the treaty to be violated. The matter has proved a subject of controversy among local historians

Barnwell was, however, apparently highly esteemed throughout the region for many years after, and was known popularly as "Tuscarora John. " In 1715 he was employed in his own colony in warfare with the Yemassee Indians. In 1720 Barnwell was in London as the agent of the temporary government, since South Carolina had just overthrown the rule of the Proprietors. He cooperated with the other agent Boone in urging action upon the Board of Trade and Plantations, showing the need of protection from natives, Spaniards, and pirates. He was consulted on the preparation of a report on the new form of government, and his advice was asked especially on the establishment of a frontier post.

Returning with the new governor, Nicholson, he built in 1721 a post named Fort King George on the Altamaha River, thereby giving offense to the Spaniards. His last public office was as a member of the committee of correspondence to confer with agents on colonial matters.

Achievements

• He was considered well-informed in military affairs and therefore commanded troops in the southern part of the colonies. He also worked to revive the relationship between the colony and its former allies the Yamasee.

Connections

He was married to Anne Berners, according to tradition a sister of an English merchant residing in Charleston.

Wife:

Anne Berners

References

• The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, 1670-1717
• Christoph Von Graffenried's Account of the Founding of New Bern: Edited with an Historical Introduction and an English Translation (Classic Reprint)