April 19, 1778, three Georgia galleys that were part of a force under the command of Colonel Samuel Elbert captured three superior British men-of-war in a narrows called Raccoon Gut in the Frederica River at St. Simons Island, Georgia. Elbert wrote an ecstatic letter to his commanding general reporting the victory. My 4th great-grandfather, Captain John Cutler Braddock, commanded one of the Georgia galleys. While preparing a presentation I made before the St. Simons chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution on the subject, I had the inspiration for the following:
APRIL 19, 1778
As he wrote with flourishing stroke,
Elbert rejoiced, and well he should:
His eyes beheld through clearing smoke
Raccoon Gut strewn with splintered wood,
And ragged stumps where masts had stood;
His galleys’ cannons well had spoke.
Hardee aboard the Washington,
Braddock commanding the Lee,
Hatcher on the Bulloch, these three,
Matched wit for wit and gun for gun
With awesome terrors of the sea
Until victory they had won.
None know how long St. Simons shook
From seeming endless cannon roar
Nor just how long the battle took;
But well we know the Hinchinbrook
And sloop Rebecca did no more
Terrorize the coast as before.
​
Britannia may rule the wave,
But not that day. To its regret,
Goliath had its David met
In form of men who freedom crave
Enough to choose it or the grave
And make the payments on its debt.
