In the opinion of the Reverend Mr. Strobel, to whose valuable sketch of the Saltzburgers and their descendants we are indebted for much of the information contained in these pages, Ebenezer attained the height of its importance about 1774. The population of the town proper was not less than five hundred, embracing agriculturists, mechanics, and shop-keepers, who pursued their respective avocations with energy and thrift. Trade with Savannah and Charleston was carried on by means of sloops and schooners. In a contemporaneous picture, representing the general appearance of the town, may be seen two schooners riding at anchor near the Ebenezer landing.[31] Although there arose a sharp division of sentiment when the question of direct opposition to the acts of Parliament was discussed at Ebenezer in 1774, and although quite a number of the inhabitants favored “passive obedience and non-resistance,” the response of the majority was: “We have experienced the evils of tyranny in our own land; for the sake of liberty we have left home, lands, houses, estates, and have taken refuge in the wilds of Georgia; shall we now submit again to bondage? No, never.” Among the delegates from the Parish of St. Matthew to the Provincial Congress which assembled in Savannah on the 4th of July, 1775, were the following Saltzburgers: John Stirk, John Adam Treutlen, Jacob Waldhauer, John Flöerl, and Christopher Craemer. Despite the fact that as a community the Saltzburgers espoused the cause of the Revolutionists, a considerable faction, headed by Mr. Triebner, maintained an open and a strenuous adherence to the Crown. Between these parties sprang up an angry controversy, replete with the bitterest feelings, and very prejudicial to the peace and prosperity of the congregation. In the midst of the discussion the Reverend Mr. Rabenhorst, who exerted his utmost influence to curb the dominant passions and inculcate mutual forbearance, crowned his long and useful life with a saintly death.