were organized into two companies, the Highland Independent Company of Foot, an infantry force, and the Highland Rangers, a mounted force. By 1737 the constant military activity of the Darien colony was taking its toll. An additional 44 Highland settlers arrived to expand the town. Initially the settlers' economy was based on the cultivation of crops; however, after the first year, they suffered a succession of poor harvests. They concentrated on rearing cattle and harvesting timber for sale in nearby Savannah. In 1739 eighteen of the most prominent members of the Darien colony signed the first petition against the introduction of slavery into Georgia, in response to pleas to Oglethorpe and the trustees by inhabitants of Savannah to lift the prohibition of slavery. The Highlanders' petition was successful, but slavery was introduced ten years later in 1749 because the proprietors could not attract enough laborers to make the colony profitable. Conflicts continued with Spanish and Indian forces during this time. The War of Jenkins' Ear began in October 1739. In November, in response to two Scots garrisoned on Amelia Island being killed in an ambush by Spanish-allied Indians, the Darien settlers mobilized and, together with forces from South Carolina, captured the Spanish forts Picolata, San Francisco de Pupo, San Diego, and Mose, before attempting to lay siege to St. Augustine. The Spanish won the Battle of Fort Mose, resulting in the death or capture of 51 Darien settlers. After the battle, a number of the settlers abandoned Darien for South Carolina. By 1741 another shipload of 43 colonists had arrived. These colonists received land grants from the trustees which specified that the land was to pass to the male or female descendants of the original recipients, in "Tail General". The trustees were trying to keep settlers in the colony. Previously, all land grants in the American colonies had been granted in "Tail Male", descending to only the male children. The Highland settlers objected to the change, as it went against their traditional patrilineal landholding and inheritance practices. In the future, the majority of Georgia land grants were made in "Tail General". In January 1775, the city passed a resolution condemning slavery, saying: Civil War and after On June 11, 1863, Union troops stationed on St. Simons Island looted and destroyed most of the town, including the homes of black residents, mostly slaves. This was not part of Sherman's March to