Mark Carr

Mark Carr became an expert in conventional warfare when he was an officer in the army of James Edward Oglethorpe. and took part in bloody battles with Spanish forces from East Florida in the southern reaches of Georgia. He afterward received grants of land in the area, established plantations and a home, and became an expert in non-conventional war­fare when he more than once narrowly escaped death during Creek Indian attacks.

Carr became one of the wealthiest men in Georgia. He received grants of land in the Midway District and built a home there to be with his son who also owned a plantation and home in the district. His military and business expertise. and his acquaintanceships with leading men in Georgia, were apparently quite valuable to residents of the Midway District.

There can be no doubt but that Carr was regarded with some jealous suspicion by colonial authorities and military leaders in Georgia. They probably saw in him a possible threat to their positions because of his influential connections in England. He was a close friend of Oglethorpe and helped him recruit his army to fight the Spanish. Their friendship continued even after Oglethorpe returned to England for the last time. It was through Oglethorpe that Carr became friends with leading figures in England.

Residents of the Midway District, for the most part, had never been on good terms with colonial authorities in Georgia because of their religious affiliation. Carr must have found in them allies in a mutual distrust of royal representatives in Georgia. Those representatives, on the other hand, regarded all of them as possible deterrents to edicts they issued for the government of Georgia.

Carr was a member of the “old guard.” His knowledge of early affairs in Georgia was unsurpassed. The residents fully understood and respected that premise. He helped them in matters of self-government and defenses against Creek In­dians. They helped him in his business ventures which helped them also.