The Four Georgians

Here’s an interesting fact….Helena, Montana was founded by the “Four Georgians” following a gold discovery along the Last Chance Creek on October 30, 1864.

Hmmmm…..the “Four Georgians”.

Who are these folks and how did they get a label like that?

The four Georgians are thought to be John Cowan, D.J. Miller, John Crab, and Reginald (Robert) Stanley. History is really a strange thing because only one of the four was a true Georgian…John Cowan. The others hailed from other places. D.J. Miller came from Alabama, John Crab was an Iowan, and Reginald Stanley was from England.

Many folks who have researched the four men had come up with the theory that the gang of four was called the Four Georgians not because they were from Georgia but because they used the Georgian method of placer mining.

The four had moved about Montana for six weeks looking for gold and finally returned to one of the first places they had visited. They had aptly named it Last Chance Gulch because they decided to try it one last time before giving up.

On July 14, 1864 they found flat gold nuggets and gold dust and the Last Chance Bonanza had begun. Three years later the four men sold out their claims and went about their lives as wealthy men.

This site states, “Once the news spread about the gold discovery, Helena became a boom town seemingly overnight. In only a few short years, several hundred businesses opened up shop in Helena, and more than 3,000 people called Helena home. Also, many previous mining strikes in other areas of Montana began to play out. As a result, many miners in these areas gravitated toward Helena.As the gulch began to fill up with people, the miners decided they needed to come up with a name for the town. The name “Helena” was not immediately bestowed upon the town. The “Four Georgians” originally named it Crabtown after John Crab, one of the founders. However, many of the miners from Minnesota began to call the town Saint Helena, after a town in Minnesota. The name was eventually shortened to Helena, its current name.”

Today, the same creek where the Four Georgians found their gold, runs underneath Helena’s main street. Helena even has an elementary school named for the Four Georgians.

Of course, as many historical events go there are two sides to the story. John Cowan returned home to site of the old mill (the original burned awhile back) is now a great restaurant. The website for the The Old Mill Restaurant advises John Cowan did travel to Montana with his cousins Frank and Tom Cowan. Also along for the trip were John Boring, Bill Palmer, and Henry Rusk all from Forsyth County.

Notice that Cowan’s traveling companions are not the same men mentioned in the local area history I found for Helena listed earlier in this article.

The Old Mill Restaurant website further states that after several months John Boring and Tom Cowan returned home to Georgia. Along the way John Boring was killed by Indians, but Tom made it home. This left John Cowan, Frank Cowan, Henry Rusk, and Bill Palmer in Montana….four men, four Georgians.

Hmmm….the only Georgian we know for sure was in Helena is John Cowan.

I just hate it when I research something and can’t find the answers I want.

I’ve sent an email to The Old Mill Restaurant…..perhaps they can clear this up for us.

For now we have a mystery on our hands.

Yes, you aren’t seeing things. This post ran here at Georgia on My Mind in September, 2009 and the reason why I’m re-running it can be found here. I never did hear back from the Old Mill Restaurant. :(

Theodore Roosevelt's Southern Roots....The Bullochs of Roswell

My parents were like many young people that come from a small town where everyone knows each other and more than likely has some sort of family connection to every face they see. Once they married they moved away, and in the case of my parents they exchanged small town Canton, Georgia for the big city of Atlanta.

As a little girl living in the southern suburbs of Atlanta I made the trek to Canton with my parents often and loved the trip. Over the years our route would change depending on which new roads had opened in an ever growing city. One of our routes utilized I-285, or the Perimeter, that totally encircles Atlanta. We would follow Roswell Road through Sandy Springs, Roswell, and enter Cherokee County via state route 140.

This was my favorite route to visit the grandparents. I loved to look out the window at all of the businesses, apartments, and restaurants that lined Roswell Road. I loved going across the Chattahoochee River and would get excited as we turned this way and that up the long hill towards the oldest part of Roswell. Funny.... today the hill doesn't seem to be as long, as curvy, or as steep as I remember it.

Even before the city fathers promoted their historical past, old Roswell had a historic atmosphere. Once we got to the top of the hill and passed by quaint shops and restaurants such as Panos and Pauls I would beg my mom to turn down the side streets so I could see the old homes such as Mimosa Hall, Barrington Hall, and Bulloch Hall.

Bulloch Hall had such a mysterious look to it. It looked worn and tired and was quite scary looking especially on a rainy day. It was to say the least intriguing to me especially once I read and watched Gone with the Wind in middle school. I knew the Greek revival mansion had to have great stories to tell. I’d pepper my mother with questions. Who lived there a long time ago? Did anyone live there now? Was the land once part of a plantation? Do you think any of your people or Dad’s people might have known the folks who lived there?

Mother wasn’t sure, but she did know it had been a fine home in its day. I would have loved to see the inside, but in those d ays tours weren’t given, and my parents didn’t normally take up time with things of that sort.

Since my childhood I’ve learned a few things about the family that lived in Bulloch Hall, and if you have ever learned anything about President Theodore Roosevelt then you have inadvertently learned a bit about Bulloch Hall as well.

Major James Stephen Bulloch and Martha Stewart Elliot were similar to my mother and father in that they married and left their own childhood home of Savannah. Many have surmised that the Bulloch’s move north was the discovery of gold in North Georgia, but it was actually due to a bit of a scandal as as this particular site attests:.

Mittie's father, the "impetuous" Major James Bulloch, after his fighting days were over, married his stepmother-in-law, Martha Stewart Elliott, and in a flurry of scandal over the marriage left Savannah behind, packed up his wife, their children from previous marriages, and slaves, and moved to Roswell, Georgia. In Roswell the Bullochs settled on land which the Cherokees had recently held, before gold was discovered and President Andrew Jackson forced the native people to walk to Oklahoma on the infamous Trail of Tears.

Major Bulloch was well known because he had been a highly decorated soldier during the Texas War for Independence, and Georgia’s esteemed citizen, Archibald Bulloch, was a direct decendant. Archibald Bulloch had been the Speaker of the Royal Assembly, the President of the Provincial Congress, and was instrumental in Georgia signing the Declaration of Independence. Martha was well connected in her own right as she was the descendant of General Daniel Stewart of Revolutionary War fame. Both had been married before so their family was an early example of the Brady Bunch with his, hers, and ours offspring.

Another draw to Roswell was Bulloch’s friendship with Roswell King, the former overseer for the Butler Plantation in Savannah. He encouraged the Bullochs, as well as a few other Savannah families, to move north for economic opportunities. Roswell was a prime location for various types of mills due to the rushing waters of Vickery Creek that flowed into the Chattahoochee River.

So while the Bullochs of Roswell did own slaves they did not necessarily have a plantation. In 1851, records indicate there were 29 slaves at Bulloch Hall, and today the slave quarters have been restored. A plaque rests there that name all 29 slaves though there may have been as many as 31, but the names have not been verified. The slaves were mainly house servants or assigned outside duties to keep the property in order as Major Bulloch earned a large majority of his income through the mills of Roswell and other concerns.

After the Major’s death in 1849, Martha Bulloch continued his work, but it didn’t take long for some of her fortune to wane. The family was not destitute, however, by the time her daughter, Mittie, was married she had to sell four slaves just to pay for the wedding festivities.

It’s with the wedding that the story of Bulloch Hall becomes entwined with the Roosevelt family. Apparently Mittie was very beautiful and there is a story that when Martha Mitchell was writing Gone With the Wind she interviewed one of Mittie’s bridesmaids. It is said Mitchell used her research to model the character Scarlett after Mittie. Many years later Mittie’s second son, Elliott, would grow up to father Eleanor Roosevelt who eventually married her fifth cousin once removed, Frankin Delano Roosevelt. Elliott described his mother as “a sweet Dresden monument”, and her daughter Corinne remembered her mother as someone who wore white all the time no matter the season and commented on the beautiful skin her mother had.

So, it is no wonder that Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., the father of Theodore Roosevelt, the President, would fall under the Southern Belle’s charm. Mittie and “Thee” were married in the parlor at Bulloch Hall in 1853 in what has been described as the social event for many years to come in Roswell, Georgia.

From a web article by Lu Hickey:

The young Mrs. Roosevelt, who had written her fiancé just weeks earlier [before their marriage] that he was the "only person who could so suit me and I put every confidence in you," now gamely set out with her new husband for the trip north. During the journey--partly in a carriage and partly by ship, Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt had plenty of time to think about what she was leaving behind. She may have had some doubts about the family she was marrying into, but not because of any feelings of inadequacy about her own family tree. Quite the contrary, she had reason to sense a slight edge on her part, especially if she ignored money and counted up the many achievements of her ancestors. An unbiased observer might have backed her up. Seven generations of Roosevelts had lived in America without achieving much fame, but their star rose quickly after she married into the clan.
This post first appeared here at Georgia on My Mind in August, 2007 .

Changing Pockets....Again

It seems appropriate that I would re-run this post today....tax day... since it begins with a discussion regarding how money seems to go from pocket to pocket, but actually this post is about a pocket that can exist in geography....

Money…it does make the world go round. It also seems to move around at a fast pace. Money hops from pocket to pocket to pocket. A famous quotation states, “Money is always there, but the pockets change.”

I agree. Pockets do change, but what you might not realize is the word pocket can mean more than a place to keep your money before it flies out into another’s pocket.

Sometime ago over at History Is Elementary I posted Historians Observe Their Surroundings. The post centers around an activity I use at the beginning of the year to help students understand our geography is constantly changing. Twenty years ago would you recognize the place where your home or office sits? Fifty years ago? One hundred years ago? Two hundred years ago? Mother Earth is constantly changing due to natural and human circumstances.

Do we give the past a second thought as we drive through our state? Do we wonder what might have once been in a pine thicket we zoom by along the interstate? Look at the picture I’ve posted above. It seems like a very rural, natural setting. Notice the ridge line. It’s important to my point.

Geographically speaking a “pocket” is a plain surrounded entirely by mountains and amazingly Georgia has one of these rare geographical features. GeorgiaTrails.com advises a pocket is a geologic formation that was formed when most of Northwest Georgia was covered by a vast sea.

Imagine that!

Weaker limestone was eroded and left the surrounding iron ore ridges. Out west this type of formation is known as a “hole”, and two of the most famous are Jackson Hole and Hole in the Wall.

An article entitled Remembering the Pocket by Daniel M. Roper from the Winter, 1994 issue of North Georgia Journal explores the history of Georgia’s pocket enclave that is now virtually abandoned except for hikers and fishermen who make the trek inside.

Hardy settlers first reached the pocket following the land lottery that was a result of the Treaty of New Echota which provided for the sale of the remaining Cherokee lands in Georgia. Many who received the right to own land in the area were elderly and they simply sold their right to settle to younger and hardier pioneer stock.

Between the 1840s and 1860s settlers carved out a settlement in The Pocket which had several farms as well as a gristmill and sawmill located on Johns Creek in the narrow gap between Johns and Horn mountains. A blast furnace also existed which utilized the iron ore from Horn Mountain and formed wash pots and skillets.

Researchers have been able to learn many things about the life of The Pocket settlers from journals and letters. James Elijah White and his son L.P. White maintained a journal from 1835 until 1935. The article refers to several entries that are just simply observations of daily life in The Pocket. Here is a sampling:

“Their was the greatest yield of hickory nuts in 1895”
“The night of May the 24 (1908) it rained a frog down the chimney.”

“On September 1913 John Blasengaines left for Oklahoma for the charge of fornication”

“1919 January the 12, Sunday morning a aroplane flew over this valley today about ½ after 9”

“Me and Sarah Elizabeth went to Villanow to hear holy rollers.”
The article advises by the 1890s there were several hundred people living in the valley. Farming and logging were the primary industries with tan bark being the most lucrative. Chestnut oaks were in abundance. The bark was hauled to the rails at Hill City to be taken to a tannery in Chattanooga. The tannin was then used on animal hides.

The Pocket was touched by the Civil War when the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Sherman’s lieutenant, Major General James B. McPherson, marched through Snake Creek Gap—the strategic route between Horn and Rocky Face Mountains—and flanked the Confederate army at Dalton. The Confederates retreated to Resaca where they engaged the Federal army in a major battle on May 14 and 15, 1864.

GeorgiaTrails.com advises when advancing through the area during the Civil War, men under the command of General James McPherson “discovered” the road, which was not on their maps. A great deal of concern was expressed in the Official Records about the accuracy of the maps.

Samuel Pilcher was a Pocket resident who served with the “Wright Infantry”. He was one of the lucky Confederates who made it home and lived along life farming on his land in the valley. He died in 1897 and his grave is maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. A nearby pond, Pilcher’s Pond, is named for him and many anglers have sought this secluded spot to wet a hook.

George W. Bailey was a Confederate from The Pocket who experienced being a prisoner of war. He served with the “Calhoun Blues” and was captured by Union troops in August, 1864 during the Battle of Atlanta. He was finally released from Fort McHenry nine months later where he returned to The Pocket and raised a large family.

The Pocket experienced many years of prosperity following the Civil War, however, by the 1940s most residents had left the area creating a virtual ghost valley. The combination of the boll weevil and The Great Depression hit The Pocket’s agrarian economy hard. Many residents were lured away by the offer of jobs in the factories and mills of Rome and Dalton.

The Pocket is a valley south of the community of Villanow, surrounded on three sides by the steep rocky ridges of Horn and Johns Moutains. To reach The Pocket you need to travel north on I-75 to the exit for Resaca (Highway 136). Travel 15 miles to the town of Villanow and take a left on East Armuchee Road. There are signs to follow by the byway that is known by hikers and bikers as the Pocket Trail”. Eventually if you follow the signs you are led back to the famous general store. Some sites mention that the signs at the left turn onto US 27 and the left turn onto Floyd Springs Road might be missing. Additional information regarding the location of the pocket can be found at North Georgia Scenic Drives.

GeorgiaTrails.com advises the area is rich in Native American, Civil War, and Civilian Conservation Corps history. Other attractions include Keown Falls, the Johns Mountain Overlook, Johns Creek, Johns Mountain Wildlife Management Area, and the Pinhoti Trail.

This post first ran in June, 2006.
Find out why I’m re-running old postings HERE

Another View of the Red Oak Train Depot

I grew up in Red Oak, Georgia…..a little strip of real estate between College Park and Fairburn. I attended elementary and high school while living there…..I made life-long friends there…..I did the Girl Scout thing there…I was baptized there…..I learned to drive there……I LIVED there , and it was a fantastic place to grow up back in the early 70s.

I loved that place…..I still do even though most everyone I knew is long gone including me, my home, and even the train depot.

Of course….the train depot seen with this post was long gone before I ever moved to Red Oak, but I rode by its location at least twice a day for many years.


I originally wrote about the train depot in December , 2007 when I was lucky enough to locate the original building plans for the depot which you can see HERE along with some of recollections of my daily visits to downtown Red Oak.

Go on….click through….you KNOW you want to read that post as well. :)

At that time someone by the time of C.E. Waltz commented and advised his grandfather had been the postmaster until the mid 60s and his grandmother had run a store out of the depot as well. He also advised that instead of the building being demolished it had been torn down and moved….and it had become a restaurant.

So , now the plot thickens. I wonder if any of my Red Oak friends I’ve hooked up with on Facebook or new friends that find me through Google searches know where the old depot building wound up and if it is still a restaurant…….
I’m waiting, and I'd love to know the rest of the story…:)

I snagged the depot picture from the Atlanta History Center site……HERE. I hope they don’t sue me for posting it……I’m giving full credit though.

And……it’s the season of the mulligan here at Georgia on My Mind while I’m busy telling myself I can write a book I'm revisting some of my older postings…..for an explanation see the link HERE.

History of a Long Dirt Road

The following post details my love of meandering down Georgia’s dirt roads and a little bit of history regarding on in particular. This post first appeared here at Georgia on My Mind in December, 2007.
I love dirt roads, and Georgia is simply full of them.

Unfortunately you have to travel further and further from the environs of Atlanta to find them anymore.

When I was 18 and a newbie on the college campus of my parent’s choosing I was a member of the Dirt Road Club. The requirements were simple…..you had to have enough money to invest in either gas or an appropriate beverage or two for you and your fellow club members, you had to be willing to devote an occasional Saturday or Sunday to what could be an all day, all night road trip, and if you were the official driver for that trip you had turn off the main highway every time you came upon a dirt road and follow it until you couldn’t follow it any longer.

Needless to say I’m quite the expert when it comes to private drives and logging roads all over North Georgia.

Just like the explorers of the 1500s and just like those folks who brave the elements to climb Mt. Everest members of The Dirt Road Club ventured forth because they were compelled to.

Our club motto was “Because it’s there!”

Yes, there were some dirt roads that were a bit scary, some that had a Deliverance feel to them, and some were just plain dangerous. Others were pure gems. Once when riding along through a forest the trees suddenly cleared and we found ourselves on a ridge where you could see mountain rise after mountain rise in the distance. Another time we found a mountain stream complete with waterfall and on the hills rising up all around us were hundreds of mountain laurel in full bloom. Those were the moments that kept us going down all those dirt roads.

The road seen in my image at the beginning of this post has the distinction of being the longest and oldest dirt road still in use in America. It is located on Ossabaw Island, a barrier island along Georgia’s coast. The island contains over 26,000 acres and archeologists have determined humans have lived on or used the island for the past 4,000 years.

Thought it had two other prior owners Ossabaw Island was owned by John Morel during Georgia’s colonial years and through the Revolution. He purchased half of the island in 1760 and the other half in 1763. Morel was a Savannah merchant and Council of Safety member who with the help of slave labor used the island for timber cutting and agriculture. Indigo, cotton, and rice were main cash crops cultivated on Ossabaw.

During Morel’s ownership the avenue of oaks that remain today were planted along the long dirt road that traverses the island. To make it easier to manage agricultural operations on the island Morel divided the land into tracts. Following John Morel’s death in 1777 the island was divided among Morel’s three sons with each receiving a particular tract. Bryan Morel received North End Place, Peter Henry Morel received Middle Place, and John Morel II took control of South End. I would venture that they shared the fourth tract known as Buckhead. After the War of 1812 the highly sought Sea Island cotton was raised on Ossabaw because it has stronger filaments than cotton grown on the mainland and it was very desirable by textile manufacturers.

During the Civil War when the Union blockaded the South the Morel family abandoned Ossabaw Island. At one point during Reconstruction a Freedmen’s Bureau location was there. In fact, the Ossabaw Foundation site states that many of the former slaves from Ossabaw eventually relocated to Pin Point, Georgia which is the home of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The remains of three slave cabins can be found at the northern end of the island. One is thought to date from 1820 and the other two date from the 1840s. Archeologists have found alligator teeth and racoon bones in the area surrounding the cabins along with the makings of a mojo bag along with blue beads. It was thought that the color blue would ward off any spirits. It was believed that spirits didn’t like the color blue because it reminded them of heaven.

During the Gilded Age in the late 1800s the island was controlled by the Wannamaker family of Philadelphia. They used Ossabaw as a hunting club.

During the 1920s Dr. H.N. Torrey built a vacation home on the island that in reality is a mansion. The Torrey family had moved to Savannah from Grosse Pointe, Michigan in 1923 and when their Savannah home burned they moved to Ossabaw where they entertained many people. It has been reported that Henry Ford, who had his own Georgia plantation, was the first to sign the Torrey’s guestbook.

Eventually, the island passed to the Torrey’s daughter, Eleanor Torrey West. Along with her husband, Clifford West, the Ossabaw Foundation was created which launched many unique programs on the island, such as the Ossabaw Island Project. This interdisciplinary program supported recommended individuals “of creative thought and purpose in the arts, sciences, industry, education, and religion” to come to the islands to share their ideas with other creatives and pursue their work without interruption.
The island was turned over to the State of Georgia in 1978, and was designated as Georgia’s first Heritage Preserve with the written understanding that Ossabaw would “only be used for natural scientific, and cultural study, research and education, and environmentally sound preservation, conservation and management of the Island’s ecosystem.” The acquistition was made possible by the generosity of Mrs. West and her family, a personal gift to the State of Georgia from Robert F. Woodruff (Coca-Cola), the assistance of The Nature Conservancy, and the State’s commitment to preservation of the island.
Gee, just think…..all of that a dirt road to boot. Thanks, Mrs. West!

For further reading:

An AJC article from 2006 provides some interesting detail about life on the island for slaves and those that come later

This Smithsonian article also details slave life on the island.

A Georgia blog, Nature’s Harmony Farm, provides some information regarding Ossabaw pigs.

More history bits can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE.

…..and to find out why I’m re-running various posts see my link HERE

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.

A Georgian Gave Texas Her Lone Star

This post first ran here at Georgia on My Mind in March, 2007.
The little of town of Knoxville, Georgia is so small you wouldn’t have heard of it even if you drove right through it. It’s the county seat of Crawford County, but it only has about 800 people living there. Even John Pemberton, the founder of Coca-Cola left town as a young boy and moved to Columbus.

Who knew that small, unassuming Knoxville, Georgia would be the birthplace of one of the most recognizable state icons in the nation…dare I say the world?

Who knew that particular state icon would be the brainchild of a seventeen year old girl?

Earlier I wrote about the formation of the Georgia Battalion. As it moved through the Knoxville area on the return trip to Texas Johanna (Joanna) Troutman was moved by the romanticism of the moment and the fervor for independence….so much so she took one of her silk white petticoats and fashioned a flag…the FIRST Lone Star flag.

A San Antonio newspaper from 1934 mentions::

“on each side of the flag, in the center, was placed a large azure star of five points. Above the star on one side was the inscription, ‘Liberty or Death,’ and on the other the Latin motto ‘Ubi Libertas Habitat Ibi Patria Est’ (Where Liberty dwells, there is my country).”
Troutman presented the flag to Col. William Ward and it was raised high about the American Hotel at Velasco, Texas on January 8, 1836. Later it flew as the Georgia Battalion flag at Goliad. Col. James W. Fannin raised it as the Republic of Texas flag upon hearing the Texas Declaration of Independence had been signed.

Troutman never set foot in Texas, but an article by A.C. Greene advises two pieces of silver belonging to Santa Ana was sent to her after his capture in appreciation for her efforts. (Wouldn’t you like to know where the silver is?)

She died in 1879 and was buried next to her first husband near Knoxville. In 1912 her body was moved to the Texas State Cemetery where a bronze statue stands to honor her.

Johanna (Joanna) Troutman’s portrait also hangs in the Texas State Capital.

There’s more information about “The Betsy Ross of Texas” here.

…..and if you are wondering why I’m re-running some past posting my explanation can be found HERE

Mulligan Season...

Over at History Is Elementary I’ve declared this spring to be the season of the mulligan – see my explanation here.

Basically, it means I will be re-posting past articles here at Georgia on My Mind as well as History Is Elementary and Got Bible?. I’m doing this so I can concentrate on a book project with a looming deadline.

Don’t worry though….I’ll be checking in often, and I do have a few new Georgia blogs to add to the blogroll for your reading pleasure.

I also plan to get the Georgia Carnival up and running again in April….so look for the announcement and call for submissions soon.

Your continued attention to my meager efforts here is greatly appreciated….

….and I want you to keep Georgia on your mind because our great state is the jewel of the south, and it is always on MY mind.