John Floyd

Brigadier General John Floyd (October 3, 1769 – June 24, 1839) was an American politician, planter and military officer who served in the 1st Brigade of the Georgia Militia during the War of 1812. One of the largest landowners and wealthiest men in Camden County, Georgia, Floyd also served in the Georgia House of Representatives, as well as the United States House of Representatives.

Early and family life John Floyd was born October 3, 1769, at Hilton Head, South Carolina in the Beaufort District, the only child of Charles Floyd and Mary Fendin. He went to live with his Dixon relatives, but three years later his uncle indentured the 9-year-old to a sea captain as a cabin boy. in Beaufort District. These men who favored independence raised a volunteer militia, the St. Helena Guards, whose hats bore a silver crescent with their motto, "Liberty or Death". Charles Davant had married Elizabeth Fendin (Bland) who was sister to Mary Fendin, so he was Charles Floyd's brother-in-law. At night a distant cousin, Bernard Elliott, tutored him in a variety of subjects including higher mathematics and French.

While returning home one afternoon, John Floyd met Isabella Maria Hazzard on the road as she returned from school. In any event, after her mother's death, Isabella was raised, educated and groomed for society by Mrs. Waight, her father's cousin, in Beaufort, South Carolina. Charles Rinaldo Floyd predeceased his parents, as did his brothers John (1802–1830) and Henry (1808–1811) and sister Melinda (1812–1831). His brother Samuel (1814–1878) did not fight for the Confederacy, nor did he ever formally marry, but sold the remains of Bellevue to a former slave, and lived in St. Marys with a mulatto women, with whom he had six children before he was buried in an unmarked grave in a town cemetery.

Georgia plantation career In 1795, Charles Floyd (with his wife, Mary) and John Floyd (with his wife, Isabella Maria) moved from South Carolina to McIntosh County, Georgia. In 1797, after the Treaty of Colerain, Charles Floyd ended the family's formal South Carolina ties by selling Walnut Hill Plantation to a wealthy planter, William Pope Sr.

John Floyd built Fairfield on Floyd's Creek for himself. Fairfield House was built in traditional Southern style. The house sat near a high bluff that overlooked Floyd’s Basin toward the west and Floyd’s Creek toward the east. In 1831, John Floyd gave Fairfield Plantation to his eldest son, Charles Rinaldo Floyd. Family lore claims that Floyd built Bellevue Plantation shaped as an anchor to symbolize their fortunes' link to the sea.

Two hundred acres south of Bellevue were set aside as parade grounds.

On May 25, 1808, John and Charles Floyd purchased Little Cumberland Island from the heirs of General (Nathaniel) Nathanael Greene for $500 (~$ in ). President Madison disowned Mathew's conquest of Fernandina island, and General Mathews died on August 30, 1812, in Augusta, Georgia en route to Washington to defend his actions.

Paramilitary operations in Florida Nonetheless, in October 1812, Floyd, along with about 120 volunteers, reached New Camp Hope in East Florida. Florida's Spanish Governor worked with the Seminoles and enlisted them to fight rebels as well as these invaders. Floyd wanted a fast and decisive strike, countering the Indians with a devastating blow. In September 1813, in response to the threats and to quell the Red Stick rebellion, General John Floyd was ordered to command Federal troops who were assembled at Camp Hope on the Ocmulgee River. These forces constructed forts in a defensive line along the Federal Road from the Ocmulgee River to the Alabama River. A stronghold, Fort Mitchell, was erected on the west bank of the Chattahoochee River. He recuperated over the Christmas holidays at Fort Mitchell. He was chairman of the committee who reported the survey results to the Executive Committee in Washington, D.C. While still a United States Congressman that March, Floyd attended the President Jackson's inauguration.

Other memorials Floyd County, Georgia was named to honor Floyd. Also, before it was extended, a portion of Abercorn Street in Savannah was named Floyd Street to recognize his contribution to the city's defenses in 1815.