The Murder of Sarah Collins

When thinking about past events it is easy to speed up time. For example, several events occurring over a few weeks can be interpreted in just a few days especially once they hit the movie screen.

Atlanta's involvement in the Civil War is one such example, and I blame the movie….not the book….Gone with the Wind for the "speedy" version most people have in their minds.

We see Aunt Pittypat upset because Yankees have reached Georgia as she is evacuating the city. The Battle of Atlanta occurs, Miss Melly has her baby and that scoundrel Sherman burns the town.

What a day!

However, those events occurred over several weeks.

The Battle of Atlanta occurred on July 22, 1864 with the Rebels retreating from the city.

The Mayor of Atlanta didn't surrender the city to the Union until September 2, 1864 following a five week siege.

Five long weeks….

While there were some heart wrenching events during those weeks of siege many folks in the city of Atlanta tried to get on with some semblance of normalcy.

In his book, The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta, Marc Josef Wortman states, "Thumbing their collective rebel noses at Sherman amid the siege, Atlanta's party life went blithely on. Distillers sold corn whiskey to soldiers, and prostitutes serviced the troops behind the lines. Officers went to festive balls, where bands played while fiery exploding shells passed overhead."

One such ball was given by the Atlanta Medical College on August 12, 1864 just twenty-one days after the Battle of Atlanta.

The Atlanta Medical College would eventually become Emory University's School of Medicine. The picture I've posted above is the school as it appeared in 1957. This image is a drawing that appeared in the Illustrated History of Atlanta by Edward Young Clarke.

I'm uncertain as to why the school decided to give a ball during the siege of Atlanta since they had suspended lectures on July 3rd, but they did.

One of the young ladies who attended the ball happened to be Sarah Collins, a woman described as beautiful and held a "high position in the first circles of the city."

Sarah had arrived in Atlanta a year earlier as a refugee from Memphis.

The Medical College ball would be her last event.

In the midst of war in a city that was under siege, Sarah was murdered.

The newspaper at the time....the Daily Intelligencer reported the murder of Sarah Collins describing the event as "the most horrible crime that has ever been committed in [the city of Atlanta]." She was found strangled in her bed. The Daily Intelligencer reported "her throat was perfectly black where she had been choked, her arms were bruised, and her body terribly mutilated; her clothing was torn and muddy as though she had been drug through the mud by some villain who had violated her person."

Unfortunately, due to the chaos of the times with no real law enforcement no one was ever brought to justice for the murder of Sarah Collins.

To my knowledge the murder remains an unsolved crime with very little written about it other than the article that appeared in the Daily Intelligencer during August, 1864 and a mention here and there in various books.

Atlanta by Gaslight

People lament all the time that the old Atlanta is gone – torn down, built over, swept away and forgotten.

I think the past is still with us in a tangible way such as the Tullie Smith house or the Wren’s Nest, but yes – sometimes we do have to be satisfied with historical memories via the written word or images presenting places long gone like the grand mansions that lined Peachtree Street once upon a time.

Then there ARE those situations where bits and pieces remain.

I find those fragments of history to be the most fascinating because they hide in the contemporary landscape with most never realizing they are passing a gateway to Atlanta’s past each and every day.

Take the three streetlights that stand in Piedmont Park near Park Drive Bridge, for example.

The streetlights stand as a testament to Atlanta’s history dating back to 1916 when the lights were placed in the park in remembrance of the Gate City’s proud history. 

That’s something isn’t it? Items still standing that date back to 1916.

But wait – there’s more.

The light poles actually date to 1855 when they were ordered from the Schofield Iron Works of Macon at a cost of twenty-one dollars each. The granite bases for the three poles were taken from some of the first pavement, or what existed as pavement, at the time in the city.

Originally the poles were topped with gas lamps and were installed along an Atlanta street by the Atlanta Gasworks. Today we know the company as the Atlanta Gas Light Company, the oldest corporation in the city and second oldest in the state.

Today’s news reports advise some of the streets in Atlanta are dangerous at night, but in 1855 the reasons were very different. Livestock roamed the streets and some of the pothole situations were described as virtual pits that someone could stumble into if they were wandering around in the dark.

The young city had been interested in the new technology of gas lamps but cost was a factor. A couple of proposals were made for a city gasworks, but the city council waited.

Finally, William E. Helme made his proposal. He was a businessman from Philadelphia who had installed the gasworks for the city of Augusta. He along with his partner, McIlhenny had patented gas meters and other equipment. You can find out more about McIlhenny here.

Apparently, dabbling in the gas works industry was very lucrative. This is the Helme home near Philadelphia in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It sat on eleven acres at Pike and St. David’s Road.

 

We must remember that in the early days, natural gas had not yet been harnessed for energy purposes. The plant Helme proposed to build would be one that burned coal in order to produce the gas.

The plant would cost $50,000. His exclusive contract was for a period of fifty years, and fifty street lamps would be provided initially at $30 per annum. 

Helme set to work laying the first three miles of pipe for the gas. Atlanta's citizens celebrated on December 25, 1855 when the first gas lamps were lit.

The gasworks company and the shareholders earned handsome dividends over time.

During the Civil War the city took over the company. Since Helme and many of the shareholders were Northerners, they were declared “alien enemies”. The seized shares were soon auctioned off to folks of the Confederate persuasion.

However, Helme and his investors weren’t the Yankees the city council should have been concerned with since it was General Sherman who ordered the Gas Works to be burned in 1864.

Following the war it took a while, but by 1880 all of the city’s lamps were lit again, and by 1881 the city converted all 426 gas lamps into electric ones.

One of the lamp posts can be seen at Oakland Cemetery as seen below (photo credit: Robert Lz/Flicker)

 

You can view pictures of one of the three Piedmont Park lamps mentioned above at History Atlanta, one of my new blog finds that I ADORE here.  Fantastic site and great scholarly research!

The Confederate Rosie the Riveter

One of the iconic images of World War II happens to be Rosie the Riveter representing thousands of women who entered the work force at a time when the majority of Americans felt a woman's place was at home. Conditions were often harsh, pay was not equal, and most had to deal with unfavorable treatment by men working beside them.

It took a strong woman to become "Rosie the Riveter".

It took a fighter.

One Georgia native - Helen Dortch Longstreet - was a fighter. In fact, over and over during her life she had earned the nickname "fighting lady".

In 1894, she was appointed assistant state librarian - the very first woman in Georgia to hold that position. In 1896, the Dortch Bill passed the state legislature. It was named for Helen Dortch Longstreet and paved the way for any woman to be able to hold state office.

In 1897, Helen met General James Longstreet through her college roommate. He was 76. She was 34. The same year the General was busy with Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, Helen was born!

Though they were only together for six years before General Longstreet died, it must have been a very special relationship. Found among Helen's papers stored at the Atlanta History Center you can find an unpublished essay written by Helen that details their courtship titled Wooed to the Warrior's Tent.

Wooed?  Why General Longstreet!  I do declare!

I really need to get to the Atlanta History Center and look through Helen's papers.

After the marriage, Helen took on the job as postmistress in Gainesville, a post she held though 1913. She also championed her husband's reputation as the controversial general who failed to follow orders at Gettysburg. She fought until the end of the General's life and then her own to portray his life correctly in history. In 1905, Helen published Lee and Longstreet at High Tide to that end.

In 1911, Helen fought unsuccessfully with Georgia Power over their wish to build hydroelectric dams along the Tallulah River citing that no one knew for sure what the impact the dams would have on the river or to Tallulah Gorge. Her fight is considered to be one of the first efforts at conservation in Georgia.

During World War II at the age of 80, Helen Dortch Longstreet packed a lunch, picked up her tools, and stood alongside other Georgia women at Bell Bomber (Lockheed) building B-29s. Life magazine featured Helen in their issue dated December 27, 1943 as the "Confederate General's Widow".  The picture below appeared in Life.

During the 1950s, Helen Dortch Longstreet led an unsuccessful write-in campaign against Herman Talmadge for governor.

Think of that!  A woman running for governor in the 1950s, even if it was a write-in campaign.  Helen was most certainly a woman before her time.

Another first for Helen involved her portrait hanging at the state capitol building in Atlanta. Yes, hers was the first portrait to hang alongside important men throughout Georgia's history.

Several resources state Helen Dortch Longstreet was, at the time of her death, the last surviving widow of a Confederate General. It's hard to know for sure since records weren't kept very well on the Confederate side. One thing can't be disputed - Georgia did have a Confederate Rosie the Riveter, and she knew how to fight for issues she believed in.

Facing North

If we are really honest with ourselves we all have a few enemies.

Some are real, and some are imagined.

Some enemies are bad habits while others are thoughts and feelings, too.

Sometimes we have a collective enemy like William Ezra Curtis of Carroll County, Georgia.

His enemy happened to be the United States of America because Curtis was a solder in the Confederate Army.

The Curtis family goes way back to the earliest thoughts of Carrollton. William Ezra Curtis' father, Henry, provided the land where Carrollton's town square is located today. Henry Curtis was also the trustee of Carrollton's first school, the Carrollton Academy, and served with the Interior Court as the reviewer of roads. Today the Curtis home is the location of the Carroll County Historical Society.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, William Ezra Curtis joined the Carroll Guards, one of the first volunteer units to be organized in Carroll County. Curtis was placed in Company F of the 19th Georgia and was sent to Virginia early in the war.

By March, 1862 Curtis was appointed Lt. Colonel, and he was given the 41st Georgia Regiment to command. The group was sent to the Army of the Mississippi. Curtis was captured at Vicksburg and paroled there July, 1863.

Rather than just giving up and returning home Curtis decided to face his enemy once more and head back into the thick of battle. By this time the 41st was in Georgia and William Ezra Curtis faced his enemy on home territory and watched folks on the home front scatter before Sherman's onslaught towards Atlanta.

Curtis was wounded somewhere at Mill Creek Gap on February 25, 1864. He was taken to his in-laws home near Newnan, Georgia where he died March 24, 1864.

William Ezra Curtis had one last request. He wanted to be buried facing the enemy, so that is why his is the only grave in the Carrollton City Cemetery that faces north to south rather than east to west.

The human journey through life is an interesting one full of happy moments, sad moments, moments of great success and devastating failure, but one of the most important aspects of our character, I think, has to do with facing our enemies.

Have you identified your enemies?

Devise a plan, and face them!

The Chattahoochee Isn't Just a River

The subject of the Confederate Navy is not generally touched on during history courses in our high schools, middle schools, or even the history curriculum I used to teach fourth and fifth graders a few years ago. The only scant mention involves the match-up between the CSS Virginia (Merrimac) and Monitor, but even then it's given drive-by treatment since the Confederate Navy isn't tested, and quite frankly there is other content to introduce.

I would hope Georgia history teachers at the 8th grade level discuss Georgia's part in building the Confederate Navy, but then again, I'm not so sure it's done for many different reasons.

The Confederate States of America established their Navy on February 21, 1861. From the outset the goal was not to match the size of the United States Navy. Instead, the Confederates planned on using innovative technological advances to gain tactical superiority utilizing new ideas such as submarines, torpedo boats, mines, and ironclads.

The Confederate goals were simple. They wanted to hinder the Union efforts by attacking U.S. merchant ships world-wide, and break the Union blockade along southern coasts that had put a strangle-hold on the southern economy.

While I could write volumes regarding the Confederate Navy, I want to touch on a little known part Georgia had to play regarding naval development.

First, we look to Columbus, Georgia along the Chattahoochee River. The Iron Works in Columbus had been in operation for a long time making farm equipment, stoves, and decorative iron pieces, but by June, 1862, the Confederate Navy leased the Columbus Iron Works, and led by John H. Warner, a former U.S. Navy engineer, the Iron Works grew into the largest manufacturer of naval machinery within the Confederacy.

One of the gunboats commissioned was the CSS Chattahoochee.

The CSS Chattahoochee?

Yes, it's not just the name of a river that winds it's way through points north of Atlanta and far south. It was also the name of a Confederate gunboat built on the river of the same name.

The story surrounding the Chattahoochee took place in Saffold, Georgia. Today, Saffold, located in Early County is about as far south as you can travel in Georgia without being in Florida. It's as remote today as it was back in 1862 when the ship was built even though there are some houses on the property today. Saffold is 175 miles south of Columbus and 140 miles upriver from Apalachicola.

In the Fall of 1861 Confederate Navy officers and the chief engineer for the Columbus Naval Works selected Saffold as the spot to build the Chattahoochee because it was so remote, plus the area had an abundance of timber. In fact, several of the sources I have reviewed state as many as five thousand board feet of lumber a day could be had from the local sawmill. 

Another reason for choosing the Saffold location had to do with David S. Johnston, a planter living in Saffold. I like to think of him as Georgia's answer to Noah. Johnston had a strong desire to help the Confederacy, but other than the location of his plantation, the fact he had access to the lumber, and had a ready-made labor force of 90 slaves, Johnston had absolutely NO experience building a boat of any kind.

Johnston's contract with the Confederate Navy called for the ship to be delivered in 120 days at a cost of $47,500.

This website has a few pictures of the Saffold site and describes the Chattahoochee as a three-masted steam vessel armed with four smoothbore 32-pounders in broadside, a 9-inch Dahlgren on a front pivot and a 32-pounder rifle on the rear pivot.

Some sources have described the Chattahoochee as a riverboat and ocean sailing craft all rolled into one equipped with steam engines and sails. The mission plan for the CSS Chattahoochee was simple - steam downriver, break the blockade and open the port of Apalachicola in order to return supply ships and trade to the region.

But there were problems, of course.

First, the deadline for Johnston to deliver the ship came and went which is not really a surprising detail since Johnston and his slaves had no ship building experience.

Realizing skilled workers were needed for certain aspects of the ship's design Johnston placed an ad in the Columbus Daily Sun touting "steady employment and good wages for ship carpenters, joiners, caulkers", etc.

To further entice folks a line at the bottom of the ad said, "All hands employed at the Confederate States Naval Yard are exempt from military duty and anyone in the army can be furloughed to work there."

Navy officers also began suspecting Johnston was using the yard at Saffold for personal business rather than completing the contract, so a strict timetable was put into place.

Finally, ten months past the original deadline the CSS Chattahoochee was delivered on December 8, 1862.

It's clear that originally the Confederate Navy had great plans for the Chattahoochee based on the fact that Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones was chosen to command the gunboat. Jones had become a famous southern hero when he commanded the CSS Virginia (Merrimac) against the USS Monitor. In case you are wondering.....the "ap" in Jones' name is Welsh meaning "son of".

The Chattahoochee was finally launched in February, 1863. Unfortunately, it ran aground and seriously damaged its hull its first day out.

By the time it was ready to go again the Confederates had sunk obstructions in the Apalachicola River to keep Union ships from venturing up the river. Those same obstructions dashed the hopes of the Chattahoochee's crew from engaging the enemy. During most of 1863, the ship remained  above the obstructions basically serving as a glorified gun battery occasionally holding drills, but that's about it.

It was safe duty, but also boring duty.

Jones moved on to another post and Lt. J.J. Guthrie took command. In late May, 1863 the Chattahoochee steamed down the Apalachicola to aid the schooner Fashion that had taken on cotton and was planning to run the blockade. It had been captured by the Union below the obstructions, but many historians believe Lt. Guthrie intended on ramming the obstructions, but many historians believe Lt. Guthrie intended on ramming the obstructions to give the Fashion assistance.

This site advises further:

Tragically, neither the captain nor his crew knew that a severe early season hurricane was about to move in from the Gulf. The wind and rain increased through the night and by the morning of May 27, 1863 when Guthrie returned, the vessel was already feeling the brunt of the approaching storm. These conditions probably contributed greatly to what happened next. As the crew prepared to raise steam for the trip upriver, an argument broke out over how much water was in the boiler. Reportedly, a gauge was not working and before the ship's chief engineer could intervene, a massive steam explosion rocked the vessel.

It is widely believed this malfunctioning gauge caused the crew to unknowingly allow the boiler to grow red hot before filling it with water. When water poured in hitting the red hot metal casing, it instantly vaporized and burst through various sections of piping attached to the boiler. Sixteen members of the crew were killed within minutes, through being scalded by the steam. Another was mortally injured from a large lump of flying metal ripping upwards through the deck. Two more men were severely wounded and another four received minor injuries. Panicked into believing the ship's gunpowder store adjacent to the magazines might explode, the remaining crew opened plugs in the ship's hull and let her sink to the bottom of the muddy river. Descriptions of what conditions on the deck of the Chattahoochee were like vary; but most confirm a total loss of order by her officers, with men running about frantic with fear and in pain from their wounds. Many jumped overboard and at least three bodies were recovered downstream some days later. The dead and wounded were eventually taken ashore despite an increasing and raging storm.....The ship was quickly recovered and towed upriver to Columbus where she was again refitted.

Refitted again?

Yes, but again the ship didn't see any service. As the Union gained ground in April, 1864 and got closer to Columbus the crew of the Chattahoochee sank their ship in the Chattahoochee River to prevent its capture by the Union.

It would be one hundred years before the ship saw the sunlight again when it was located and raised. 

Part of the hull and the original steam engines are on display at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia.

Yes! Columbus, Georgia has a naval museum....

Instead of blowing through the town on my way to Florida next time, I think we need to spend the night and investigate Columbus a little.

Atlanta Pioneer: Er Lawshe

Some months ago my husband and I took a little field trip over to the Atlanta Zoo. While there we visited the Cyclorama, too. Walking through the exhibits I noticed a picture of this house.

The Lawshe House.

I came home, downloaded the pictures and meant to refresh my memory regarding the Lawshe family and their home, but forgot....until now.

The home, built in 1859, sat on the west side of Peachtree one lot north of Cain Street. It's a classic for the time period with porches on both levels.

Er Lawshe (yes, that's his real name) came South from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania with two of his brothers in 1848. Lawshe had apprenticed as a cabinetmaker in Philadelphia. When arrived in Atlanta he had $7.25 in his pocket.

The picture below shows Mr. Lawshe with his bride, Sarah.

Originally, Lawshe partnered with Riley Baker in a jewelry business selling watches and other items. Later he struck out on his own and was very successful to the point he was able to build the fine two-story home at 224 Peachtree Street which adjoined property owned by his in-laws.

During the Civil War Er Lawshe fought for Confederacy meaning that he was actually fighting against many of his family members. The Lawshe family left Atlanta in February, 1865 and headed to Augusta leaving their home basically abandoned as so many others. This made many of Atlanta's fine Peachtree Street mansions readily available for Union officers once they entered the city, and the Lawshe home was no different.

Brigadier General Felix Salm-Salm and his wife Agnes arrived in Atlanta on July 7, 1865 and chose the Lawshe home to live while he was in command of the Atlanta post. Salm-Salm was a  rather colorful fellow. He was from Westphalia, Prussia and was actually a prince of royal blood. He had served in the Prussian cavalry and once the Civil War broke out he joined the Union where he was commissioned in the 8th New York regiment. His wife was an American - the former Agnes Clerq of Baltimore. She was so in love with her husband she never wanted to be apart from him. Agnes would actually join him on the battlefield. She shocked Atlantans by riding through town astride her horse rather than sidesaddle as ladies of good breeding did at the time, but it is said she showed sympathy and compassion for the folks of Atlanta while she was here. They entertained at the Lawshe home by giving simple dinners and teas before leaving the city in October, 1865. 

When the Lawshe family returned following the end of the war Atlanta was of course in ruins, but their home was one of just a few still standing. Lawshe would not replace the boards that clearly showed shell damage.

Er Lawshe set about rebuilding his business at 47 Whitehall, but since there were no materials he resorted to using some of items Union soldiers had used to construct huts with while the city was occupied. In some cases the materials were just debris. Later when he was able he built a three-story brick building on the site of the store.

Er Lawshe also wrote various stories for The Atlanta Constitution later in his life. He was very well thought of in Atlanta and many claimed this was due to his integrity so much so he earned the nickname "Old Reliable".

After Lawshe passed away his home was sold for $18,000 to the Gate City Guards where they would eventually build their armory.

Hood's Headquarters

While many tend to think General John Bell Hood's headquarters was the residence of James E. Williams it was merely just one of the locations the general moved to during the summer of 1864 when he led the defense of the city.  

Today the location is found within the confines of Oakland Cemetery and is marked with a historical marker since the home is long gone.  

Recently I wrote an article at Examiner.com discussing the confusion regarding Hood's headquarters which was officially located in the southwestern portion of the city at the home of L. Windsor Smith, an attorney.

Smith's home is pictured below:

A Monumental Find....

As you might already be aware historical research interests me.  

No surprise there, right?

I realize it might not be your thing…but it’s mine.  I conduct the research in order to find the quirky things that draw people in…..the hidden information that never makes it to the textbook or your eleventh grade history teacher’s lesson plan.   

I use it to remind folks about things they know, but have filed them away somewhere in the dark recesses of their minds. 

I use the research to write curriculum so other educators can share it with their students.
 

I use the research to feed my need to write…..and learn.

I do the research to find little pieces of larger history puzzles I’m trying to put together, and that’s where the irony comes in.   Most of the time I find little puzzle pieces here and there when I least expect them…..most certainly when I’m NOT looking for them.  

Sometimes those little puzzle pieces are monumental because they hold the key to solving a historical mystery.     

I’ve never been that fortunate locate something like that, but Hugh Harrington has experienced  the joy of a monumental find while looking for something else.   

Hugh was on the hunt for information regarding a mass escape from a woman’s prison, so he was pouring over microfilmed issues of the Southern Recorder, a Milledgeville paper that was published during the Civil War.    He happened upon a list of soldiers who had died at Brown Hospital during the last months of the Civil War.

The hospital, named for Governor Joseph Brown had been in Atlanta, but then moved under the direction of Dr. R.J. Massey to Milledgeville when General Sherman began marching south.

The list of soldiers had nothing to do with what Herrington was searching for, but he had hunch that the list might be important.

He knew there was a Confederate Memorial at Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville  to unknown dead.   He knew this because he had been involved in indexing the many of the graves at the cemetery.   He knew at least two of the soldiers were named in the Confederate section and…….their names were on the same list he had just found in the newspaper archives.  

It was more than a hunch…..He had stumbled upon the identities of the unknown soldiers….all of them.

He did just what I would have done.    He went to the cemetery….walked to the memorial and announced to the men at rest there……”I know who you are…..”

What a personal moment of joy for Mr. Herrington…..

Then he met with members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and shared his discovery.   They immediately agreed with him that he had found a resource to identify the graves.

He went through the list to determine which men were shipped home….and narrowed the list to 24 names.   He determined they all died in 1864.   The men had died in August or September, 1864 while patients of the hospital.   They all died of disease of one sort or another.   They were all citizens of Georgia and part of the militia.

However, between September 6, 1864 when the newspaper article provided the names of the men who died and 1868 when the monument was erected folks didn’t remember a list existed, and the names had been lost all that time until Hugh Herrington happened to be looking for……..

…..something else.

Astounding!

I have to wonder thought if Mr. Herrington ever found anything on those wild women who broke out of prison.

You can find out more about Herrington’s discovery and the graves here,  here and here.

I’ve written about Dr. R.J. Massey….the head surgeon at Brown Hospital.   He was instrumental in saving the State House in Millledgeville from Sherman’s torch and happened to live in my little town for a bit.   You can read my article here.

Views of Atlanta's Civil War Depot and State Square

If we could travel back in time to Atlanta in 1864 it would be hard to realize we were in the same city with or without Sherman’s efforts to destroy the city.   

Here are a few images of Atlanta’s train depot and State Square....you can click on each image to isolate it and make it a little bigger:

This is the depot before Sherman ordered it destroyed.  Source:  http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/Atlanta-Railroad-Georgia-nearer.htm

This picture is part of the Federal encampment that took possession of State Square near the depot.  The large building in the middle is Atlanta's City Hall    Source:  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ga/es_ga_atlanta_1_e.html

A view of the rail yard    Source:  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/madness-genius-shermans-ruthless-march/

The depot as it appeared after November, 1864   Source:  http://www.civilwar.org/150th-anniversary/the-gathering-storm-2.html

Another image of the depot and some of the rail yard    Source:  http://www.shorpy.com/node/6484

Some of the buildings surrounding State Square including hotels and stores    Source:  http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/CivilWar/sep164.htm

Another view of the rail yard and the destroyed depot   Source:  http://www.shorpy.com/node/10236

Some of the buildings on State Square including the Atlanta Intelligencer  office.....a newspaper.   Source:  http://atmo4.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241/

More of the  Federal tents on State Square.  The building  on the left is the Trout House Hotel while the building on the right is the Masonic Hall     Source:  http://irapl.altervista.org/nit/viewpics.php?title=%5BAtlanta,+Ga.+Railroad+depot;+a+nearer+view%5D

For more information regarding Atlanta’s train depot and State Square head to this article.

Georgia's Civil War Generals

The men I’ve featured in my photo collage all have something in common as you can tell by my title……

They lived in Georgia….they were Confederate Generals…..and they all are buried at Oakland Cemetery.

Top row, left to right:   John Brown Gordon, Alfred Iverson, Jr., and Clement Anselm Evans

Bottom row, left to right:  Lucius Jeremiah Gartrell, William Stephens Walker

If you would like to find out more about each General you can access my article here.

A Lone Grave

We’ve become very accustomed to seeing macabre crosses and wreaths on the side of the road marking some terrible tragedy, but an actual lone grave on the side of the road begs some explanation even though hundreds of people pass it each day with nary a notice.

At one time someone did take notice and surrounded the grave with a fence and actually enclosed the grave with bricks and a marker. A bench was added, a decorative sundial and the remnants of a few plantings still exist.

The grave is at the intersection of Burris and Land Roads in the Clayton Community of Cherokee County, and is at the outer edge of the property belonging to Clayton Elementary School.

The grave is marked Aaron Burris…..1796-1864. The year of death leads one to think perhaps Mr. Burris was a soldier in the Civil War, and was slain by an enemy bullet, but look at the birth and death dates again. Do some elementary subtraction and we discover Mr. Burris was 68 at the time of his death – a little old to be traipsing off to whoop some Yankee butt.

The story goes Mr. Burris was one of a few handful of men who were left behind with the ladies while their men folk marched gallantly off to defend the ill-fated Confederate cause. Some ailment took hold of Mr. Burris and he passed away.

Suddenly the women living in the Clayton Community had a neighbor to bury and no men were around to do the necessaries.

Now…….I consider myself to be a very strong Southern woman. In fact, if you knew half of what I’ve experienced over the last four to five years you would beg me to let you off my crazy roller coaster ride, BUT….prepare my neighbor’s body for burial and dig the grave????

I’m not THAT woman, but – perhaps I need to rethink here – my quickness in doubting my abilities betray the memories of those women and one in particular Sarah Emmaline Land (Cline), wife of James Johnson Land, my great-great grandmother.

The Civil War/Atlanta page at The Examiner has more information regarding women on the home front.

Georgia's Paul Revere...

Listen my children and you shall hear
of the midnight ride of John Wisdom
on the third of May, in sixty-three….
Something isn’t quite right, is it?

I introduce The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Wadsworth, to my fourth graders when we discuss Lexington and Concord, and the visual I provide them with is the painting seen here by Grant Wood. Recently, over at History Is Elementary I detailed how I use other paintings by Mr. Wood in my classroom.

Near the end of the year as we are discussing the Civil War I spiral back to Wadsworth’s poem to remind children where we have already been in our studies. I write the opening words of the poem on the board except I switch the name Paul Revere with the name John Wisdom and the date.

As students begin to correct me I say, “Oh yeah, sure, it was John Wisdom. He warned people the enemy was approaching. He may have saved people and the towns of Lexington and Concord on his midnight ride.”

I love the chorus of no, no, no I receive from adamant students who love to point out when I’m wrong. They tell me that Paul Revere and several others were charged with the duty of calling out the Minutemen, and the date was 1775 not 1863. Our sprial review is successful and completed. Students have remembered information concerning the Revolution though it has been several weeks since it was taught.

I turn to present matters and pose the question…”Well, I wonder then why the name John Wisdom popped into my head? Who could he be? I wonder if he did something important? We are about to study the Civil War. Based on what you know already about the war write two or three sentences in your notebook predicting who you think John Wisdom is and why I’m bringing him up.”

Students begin to write and then share their predictions. Finally, I get my chance to share.

John Wisdom, seen in the picture here, was a real person. He was a mail carrier….you know, through the dark night, through rain, sleet, snow, hail…yeah, that mail system. It can be argued that he is the very man who saved Rome, Georgia from destruction during the Civil War at least for a short period of time. He is often thought of as Georgia’s version of Paul Revere.

In May, 1863, Rome was only about sixty miles south of the Confederate lines at Dalton, Georgia. There were only old men, wounded soldiers, and young boys available to protect the town and the arsenal. I guess you coul say the leaders of the South were asleep at the wheel as far as Rome goes.

Why would Rome have been important to the Union?

First of all, the city is located strategically at the point where the Etowah and Oostanaula Rivers meet forming the Coosa. Railroad lines that connected Atlanta and Chattanooga ran through Rome. Many of the farms in the region provided food supplies for the Confederates, and the hospital provided medical supplies and care for the wounded. The city had numerous foundries including the one owned by James Noble, Sr. and his six sons. Their foundry had been instrumental in providing the Rome Railroad with a locomotive by 1857. Cannons and cannonballs as well as other items to assist the Confederacy were manufactured in Rome.

Rumors abounded in the countryside the Union Colonel, A.D. Streight, was on the move. Was he heading for Rome’s arsenal? Was he attempting to cut the Confederate supply line between Atlanta and Chattanooga? Actually it was the latter, but Wisdom felt a burning need to let the countryside know the Union troops were nearby and up to no good. Haven’t you ever heard a rumor and was just dying to tell others?

Wisdom, apparently was unaware that General N.B. Forrest was already in pursuit of Streight and it was a good thing he didn’t know or didn’t care. Had someone have said, “Awww….Forrest is already after him,” Wisdom might have just gone about his duties as a stage driver delivering mail and other parcels. Nope, Forrest opted to get involved.

Forrest was able to capture Streight’s calvary after three to five full days (depends on the source you use) of marching and fighting. The Confederate officer managed to do this with a force less than half the size of Streight’s. Forest had several advantages over Streight, however. The Confederates were riding horses while the Union solders were using mules. In fact some sources refer to Streight’s group and others that utilized mules as “Jackass Forces”. It was hard for these forces to get around unnoticed as the mules often took to braying and could be heard for miles. At some point during the chase Streight (pictured at left) dispatched approximately 200 men to serve as an advance party to head for Rome to scout the area. It was this scouting party that Wisdom heard about and set out to warn his surrounding neightbors.

It is at this point I will defer to the website Rome.Georgia.com as it explains the arduous journey of Wisdom better than I can:

He left Gadsden at 3:30 in the afternoon by buggy and after 22 miles at Gnatville his horse was completely exhausted. A widow Hanks at that place owned the only horse- a lame pony- which she loaned to Wisdom. The pony only lasted five miles until he came to Goshen. Here he was able to get a fresh and stronger horse which carried him to Spring Garden where he was able to get two horses. At a point about one mile south of Cave Spring, Georgia, his mount was exhausted and darkness had come.
Farmers were relunctant to loan their animals nevertheless he walked on and even used a mule for several miles until he was able to get two good mounts in Vann's Valley in succession and raced into Rome after midnight.
Rome’s citizens were quick to act once they were alerted:

The covered wooden bridge over which the Union troops would be forced to move was barricaded with bales of cotton and the bridge floor covered waist deep with hay soaked in oil which was to be set afire in the event the invaders could not be stopped by other measures.
The engineers of the Rome Railroad made trips into the countryside warning the people and bringing the planters who responded to the call to arms. They brought their squirrel rifles, muskets, and muzzle loading shotguns.
The Union advance troop got a good look at Rome from the hill at Shorter College where they could see the fortifications the town had hastily put together. They knew even with their small number they could have taken the city with the element of surprise, but since the citizens had prior warning and had prepared it was fruitless. They returned to rejoin Streight’s command and eventually wound up as prisoners of war with their comrades.

Wisdom receieved $400 and a silver service for his basically unkown ride. General Forrest is honored with a statue at the corner of Broad and Mrytle Streets where Myrtle Hill Cemetary is located. One of the inscriptions state: “On Sunday, May 3, 1863, General Nathan B. Forrest by, his indomitable will, after a running fight of three days and nights, with 410 men, captured Col. A.D. Streight’s Raiders, numbering 1600, thereby saving Rome from destruction.”

Students always end the discussion asking about the fate of Streight. He ended up at Libby Prison outside of Richmond, Virginia. He escaped with 108 other prisoners in right under the noses of Southern guards through a tunnel on February 9, 1864.

Following the thwarted raid earthen fortifications were built to serve as some protection for Rome, however the city was eventually taken and held by Union forces. Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis took Rome without specific orders in May, 1864 during his search for a bridge that didn’t exist across the Oostenaula River around the time of the Battle of Resaca. Gen. Davis communicated to Sherman that, “[Rome was] the strongest fortified place I have seen in Dixie.” More Union forces were sent to the city after General John Bell Hood began to strike at Sherman’s supply lines in North Georgia. It was from Rome that Sherman telegraphed Grant concerning his plan to “March to the Sea”. Once it was approved he set out from Rome around November 10th and 11th heading South. On their way out of the city many of the downtown buildings and Noble’s Foundry was destroyed by fire.

the Rome History Museum has a CD for sale that would be great to use in the classroom. The content of the CD gets children to think about more modern technology such as the radio. If the radio had been around on May 3, 1863, in what way would it have made a difference ? This would be a great question for students to ponder.

This post first ran in July, 2007 here at Georgia on My Mind. If you are wondering why I’m repeating certain postings see the post HERE for an explanation.

The Methodist Split According to Andrew

It is already well known the issue of slavery was very divisive in the United States prior to the Civil War. The issue split families, split friendships, split business ties, and even split church denominations including the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Prior to the 1844 split the Methodist church in America was referred to as the Methodist Episcopal Church, and it was during their 1844 conference that the church had to face the issue of slavery head-on. The controversy centered on Bishop James Osgood Andrew, a Georgia Methodist minister who found himself in the position of slave owner not once but a few times even though records suggest he never actually purchased the slaves.

During the 1844 conference a resolution remembered as the Finley Resolution was passed by delegates asking Bishop Andrew to step down from his position as long as he had slaves in his possession. In retaliation many of the southerners drew up a Plan of Separation, and they withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church. The newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church, South held their first conference in Virginia in 1846.

The split in the church resulted in two factions…one in the north where many members supported the abolitionist movement, and one in the south where views were somewhat different regarding holding slaves.

A Time magazine article from March, 1923 advises many Southerners argued that the issue of slavery was a civil issue and not a religious one. Southerners also argued against the Finley Resolution stating that by passing it the resolution would serve to destroy the church in states where emancipation of slaves was prohibited. The resolution passed by a vote of 110 to 69.
The Methodist churches in Georgia followed in lock-step other Methodists across the south and joined the newly formed Method Episcopal Church, South.

The New Georgia Encyclopedia states:

Despite such divisions, in 1861 the Georgia Conference of the MECS retained a clear majority of the Methodists in the state. The MECS remained active during the Civil War, providing chaplains and religious material to Confederate soldiers.

On the flip-side the Time article advises:

During the Civil War, Lincoln said of the Methodist Church in the North that it “sent more soldiers into the field, more nurses to the hospitals, and more prayers to heaven than any other.”

I happened upon the Time article while I was researching something else and decided to find out more about the split in the church. When I teach students about the American Revolution we always take a look at major denominations and how they influenced the cry for liberty or the cry for long live the king. I think it would be interesting to present the same information to students regarding the influence of the church approximately seventy years after the Declaration of Independence during the years leading up to the Civil War.

Bishop Andrew’s story opens up many questions such as:

How did a religious man condone slavery?

How did Bishop Andrew end up with slaves if he didn’t purchase them?

Why would it matter if slavery was considered a civil or religious issue?

Why couldn’t Bishop Andrew just free the slaves if he was the owner and his owning them was causing issues in the church?

James Osgood Andrew was a native Georgian and the son of John Andrew, the first native Georgian to enter the Methodist ministry. It would seem that there is no firm paper-trail regarding how Bishop Andrew ended up owning slaves, but the most accepted story is he became a slave owner through his wives. An article at New Georgia Encyclopedia suggests Bishop Andrew married Ann Amelia MacFarlane in 1816. When she died in 1842, she left the ownership of a slave to him. Andrew’s second wife, Leonora Greenwood, owned slaves as well and upon her death Bishop Andrew took possession of them.

The same article referenced above from New Georgia Encyclopedia states:

Some evidence exists, however, to suggest that Andrew may have first acquired slaves earlier than 1842. A man named James Osgood Andrew is listed on the 1830 Athens census as the owner of two slaves, although this man may not have been the bishop. The U.S. census of 1840, taken four years after Andrew is known to have moved to Newton County, lists him as a resident of that county and the owner of thirteen slaves.

The issue remains murky as there were no laws that required any recordation of bills of sale regarding slaves .

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t that easy for Bishop Andrew to free the slaves that had been willed to him. Going all the way back to 1801 the state of Georgia General Assembly had passed legislation banning manumission of negro slaves. The same law (Georgia Laws 1801, Vol. 1, page 71 Sequential #024) also made it illegal for the Clerk of Superior Court or any Officer of the state to record a manumission. By 1815, the law was amended (Georgia Laws 1815, Vol 1, Page 15 Sequential #010) to allow recording of Wills and Testaments that call for manumission of slaves as long as said Will [did] not have for its object the manumission of slaves only. Parts of the said Will pertaining to the manumission of slaves [were] to be disregarded. Wills whose sole object [was] the manumission of a slave or slaves [could not] legally be recorded. Finally, in 1859, the Georgia General Assembly passed an act making it illegal to free a slave on the death of the master within or without the state though a Supreme Court Decision states that a slave can be removed to another state by the executor(s) of the will to be set free providing all estate debts of the late owner have been paid (Georgia Laws 1859, Vol. 1, Page 68 Sequential #093, Law #091)

Clearly Bishop Andrew had a dilemma…a dilemma that would be the perfect fodder for my students to research, analyze, and discuss.

Throw in the story of Miss Kitty and Bishop Andrew I’ve posted at History Is Elementary (see the link below) and the story takes on a real twist.

We end up with a clergyman who finds he owns slaves but didn’t purchase them…yet he can’t free them because he will then be in violation of state law and subject to fines and arrest. He could sell the slaves under his ownership, but they might end up in a worse condition with a master who would treat them poorly…as if being a slave wasn’t poor treatment enough. To make matters worse Bishop Andrew then becomes the focus of the split in the Methodist Church.

Bishop Andrew did lead the Southern churches in their split and later became the first bishop of the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church, South. During the Civil War he resided in Alabama and retired from his post in 1866. Bishop Andrew is buried in Oxford, Georgia and is remembered as the namesake for Andrew College in Cuthbert, Georgia.

The Time article from 1923 I reference to above indicates there were two Georgia clergymen who prompted this split in the Methodist church. I was only able to find information regarding Bishop Andrew. If someone knows the identity of the other minister please drop me an email or leave a comment.

The Methodist Episcopal Church remained split until Reconstruction when talks began to unify the two factions, but it actually took until 1939 for the two divisions to become one again.

A History of the Methodist Church, South in the United States by Gross Alexander, D.D. written in 1894 is a good resource to read online regarding the Methodist Church. Information regarding the Finley Resolution begins around page 23.

For more on the story of Bishop James Osgood Andrew visit my post at History Is Elementary titled From Eye of the Beholder to Presenting History Accurately