Oglethorpe, James Edward

o'g'l-thorp, James Edward (1696-1785), an English soldier. He was a native of London and served with distinction in various wars. He is of interest to American readers chiefly for the part he took in founding the city of Savannah, and for his services as governor of the colony of Georgia. In 1722 he became a member of Parliament. He called the attention of Parliament to the harsh methods pursued by the English in the treatment of debtors. It was the custom to shut up debtors in prison. He thought it a better plan to release them and send them to the New World, where they might have an opportunity to make homes for themselves. In 1732 he and a few associates received a grant of a tract of land along the Savannah River. In the following year he came in person to America with a party of these colonists. He landed at Charleston and soon after founded the city of Savannah. He aimed not only to relieve oppressed debtors, but the Protestants of Europe, wherever they might suffer from persecution. A number of Huguenots from France were induced by him to try their fortunes in the new colony. He acted as governor of Georgia for ten years. He made an effort to conciliate the Cherokees and attach them to the English. He conducted a siege, unsuccessfully however, of the Spanish city of St. Augustine. On his return to England he was criticized for failing to root out the Spaniards, but later was rewarded for his services by a high position in the English army. During the war of the American Revolution he never ceased to be a friend of America. See Georgia; Savannah; St. Augustine