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Library of the Theological
Seminary,
PRINCETON, N. J.
SCC 6619 vil
Division-
Section
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library
http://www.archive.org/details/georgiaslandmark01knig
SACRED
C. J.
THE TOMB OF GENERAL "LIGHT HORSE HARRY" LEE AT DUNGENESS.
LIBRAR RY OF PRINCETUN
NOV 7 1914
THEOLOGICAL SEL ARY
Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends
COMPLETE IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME I (ILLUSTRATED)
BY LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT (M. A., Princeton) COMPILER OF THE STATE RECORDS OF GEORGIA
Author of "Reminiscences of Famous Georgians," in two volumes; "A Biographical Dictionary of Southern Authors"; " Historical Side-Lights "; Etc.
EDITION DE LUXE FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THE BYRD PRINTING COMPANY STATE PRINTERS ATLANTA, GEORGIA 1913
975.8 R.74
THE
YRD DPRINT
INS SO ITLAN
Copyright, 1913 BY LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT
DEDICATED
THE
TO PATRIOTIC WOMEN OF GEORGIA-WITH WHATEVER ORGANIZATION OR ORDER CONNECTED-IN THE LEXICON OF WHOSE LOVE THERE IS NO SUCH WORD AS FORGET; WHOSE UNWEARIED EFFORTS TO RESCUE FROM OBLIVION THE FAD-
ING RECORDS OF OUR GREAT COMMONWEALTH HAVE MADE THEM IN A PECULIAR SENSE THE GUARDIANS OF GEORGIA'S IMMORTALITY; WHO, REACHING BACK TO COLONIAL TIMES, HAVE TAUGHT US THE SOLEMN RESPONSIBILITIES OF A VIC- TORIOUS FLAG; WHO COMING DOWN TO CONFEDERATE DAYS, HAVE TAUGHT US THE NO LESS SACRED OBLIGATIONS OF A CONQUERED BANNER; WHO, WITH A MISER'S GREED BUT WITH A VESTAL'S HOLY CARE, HAVE HOARDED EVERY YELLOW GRAIN OF GEORGIA'S SHINING DUST; WHO, IN RECOVERING HER LOST GEMS, IN DEEPENING HER OBSCURED EPITAPHS, AND IN KEEP- ING VIGIL AT HER HALLOWED SHRINES OF DEPARTED GREAT- NESS, HAVE SWEETENED THE MEMORIES OF AN EMPIRE STATE WITH THE FRAGRANT SOUL OF AN IMPERIAL WOMANHOOD; AND WHOSE MISSION, IN AN AGE OF COMMERCE, MAMMON-MAD, IS TO REMIND THE PRESENT THAT LITTLE IN THE WAY OF LIFE'S TRUE RICHES CAN BE PROMISED TO US BY A FUTURE, HOW- EVER GOLDEN, AT THE EXPENSE OF AN UNREMEMBERED PAST.
PREFACE
To the task of compiling this work, the leisure hours of a somewhat busy life have been devoted for the past four years. During this period of time, every section of the State has been visited in person by the author. He has delved into the court- house records kept at the most important county-seats in Geor- gia; has gone through the files of old newspapers; has bent over crumbling tombstones in ancient church-yards and burial- grounds to decipher the almost obliterated epitaphs ; and, leaving the beaten highways of travel, has followed the obscure bridle- paths into many an unfrequented nook and corner of the State. Something over one hundred libraries have been consulted, in addition to which thousands of letters have been written. There is not a patriotic society in Georgia which has not contributed substantially to the progress of this undertaking. Much of the rare information contained in White's two priceless volumes- long since out of print-has been transferred to this work, with due credit; while the essential portions of Sherwood's quaint little Gazetteer have likewise been embodied in "GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS."
It was the author's plan originally to restrict the present work to a single volume of six hundred pages. But the magni- tude of the field was not realized in this early forecast; and to adhere to this original purpose would mean the sacrifice of more than half of the materials gathered through long and patient research. Two volumes, therefore, each of them con- taining one thousand pages, will be required to meet the neces- sary demands of this work. However, by eliminating an agent's commission, the cost of each volume is reduced to a nominal sum and placed within the means of every one who cherishes a just pride in the history of our great State. The first volume, which appears at this time, is divided into two parts, one of which is entitled : "Landmarks and Memorials," while the other con- tains "Historical Outlines, Original Settlers, and Distinguished Residents of the Counties of Georgia." The second volume-by far the richer of the two-will be apportioned into eight parts
VI
PREFACE
as follows : 1. "Landmarks and Memorials ;" 2. "Duels Fought by Noted Georgians;" 3. "Historic Burial-Grounds, Epitaphs, . and Inscriptions ;" 4. "Personal Recollections, Anecdotes, and Reminiscences;" 5. "Myths and Legends of the Indians;" 6. "Tales of the Revolutionary Camp-Fires;" 7. "Georgia Miscel- lanies ;" and 8. an "Analytical Index," containing every im- portant name in any wise connected with Georgia's history, Colonial, Revolutionary, and Commonwealth.
On the very threshold of this work, the author desires to make grateful acknowledgements to those who from the start have given him not only sympathetic encouragement but sub- stantial help, and whose generous co-operation, at each stage of the undertaking, has made an otherwise arduous task compara- tively light. The list includes : Mrs. J. L. Walker, of Waycross, whose research work on the subject of Georgia's buried towns has placed the whole State under obligations to her patriotic pen; Miss Mildred Rutherford, of Athens, Historian-General, U. D. C., whose authoritative writings have furnished a library of information, especially on topics pertaining to the War of Secession ; Miss Annie M. Lane, of Washington, Regent Kettle Creek Chapter, D. A. R., to whom I am indebted for much of the data contained in this work, relating to the historic old county of Wilkes; Colonel A. Gordon Cassels, of Savannah, who accompanied me on a personal visit to the famous Midway District, on the Georgia Coast; Mrs. Sheppard W. Foster, of Atlanta, State Regent, D. A. R., who has given me an abundance of rare information, especially in regard to the graves of Revo- lutionary soldiers; Mrs. John M. Graham, of Marietta, former State Regent, D. A. R .; Miss Ruby Felder Ray, State His- torian, D. A. R .; Hon. Otis Ashemore, of Savannah, Corre- sponding Secretary of the Georgia Historical Society and Superintendent of the Public Schools of Chatham; Hon. Wym- berley Jones DeRenne, of Wormsloe, who possesses the rarest collection of Georgia books and manuscripts in existence ; Judge Walter G. Charlton, of Savannah ; Right Reverend Benjamin J. Keiley, Bishop of the Roman Catholic See of Savannah; Hon. Emory Speer, of Macon, Judge of the Federal Court for the Southern District of Georgia; Mrs. Ella B. Salter, Hepzibah, Ga .; Mrs. Joseph S. Harrison. of Columbus, State Editor,
VTI
PREFACE
D. A. R .; Mrs. II. M. Franklin, of Tennille, State Editor, U. D. C .; Mrs. Maude Barker Cobb, State Librarian of Georgia; Miss Katharine H. Wootten, of Atlanta, Librarian of the Carnegie Library ; Mrs. Richard P. Brooks, of Forsyth, Regent Piedmont Continental Chapter, D. A. R .; Mrs. James Silas Wright, of Brunswick, Regent Brunswick Chapter, D. A. R .; Miss Helen M. Prescott, of Atlanta, Genealogist Joseph Habersham Chapter, D. A .R .; Mrs. Walter S. Wilson, of Savannah; Mrs. Richard Spencer, of Columbus; Mrs. H. H. Tift, of Tifton ; Miss Mary Crawford Hornady, of Dawson; Mrs. R. H. Hardaway, of Newnan ; Mrs. E. G. Nix, of LaGrange; Miss Nora Jones, of Elberton; Mrs. C. K. Henderson, of Lafayette; Mrs. S. J. Jones, of Albany ; Mrs. Jeff Davis, of Quitman; Mrs. J. S. Betts, of Ashburn; Miss Julia King, of Colonel's Island; Miss Belle Bayless, of Kingston; Miss Martha Reid Robinson, of Newnan; Miss Maud Clark Penn, of Monticello; Mrs. Rebecca L. Nesbitt, of Marietta; Mrs. Harriet Gould Jefferies, of Augusta; Mrs. Henry Bryan, of Dillon; Mrs. W. C. High- tower, of Thomaston; Mrs. E. W. Bellamy, of Macon ; Mrs. Joseph H. Morgan, of Atlanta, former Regent Atlanta Chapter, D. A. R .; Mrs. Sandford Gardner, of Augusta ; Miss Addie Bass, of Clarkesville; Mrs. Kate H. Fort, of Chattanooga, Tenn .; Miss Martha Berry, of Rome, founder of the famous Berry School ; Hon. Philip Cook, Secretary of State; Hon. Joseph H. Lumpkin. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia ; Hon. Gordon Lee, of Chickamauga, Member of Congress; Hon. William H. Fleming, of Augusta, Ex-Member of Congress; Hon. Paul B. Trammell, of Dalton; Dr. William B. Crawford, of Lincolnton ; Major James M. Couper, of Atlanta; Hon. Walter E. Steed, of Butler; Judge W. L. Phillips, of Louisville; Mr. James T. Vocelle, of St. Mary's; Hon. Q. L. Williford, of Madison ; Hon. Lawton B. Evans, of Augusta, Superintendent of Public Schools and Secretary of Board of Education ; Hon. Charles Edgeworth Jones, of Augusta; Colonel Charles J. Swift, of Columbus ; Dr. George G. Smith, of Macon ; Prof. Joseph T. Derry, of Atlanta ; Major Charles W. Hubner, of Atlanta; Hon. Thomas W. Reed. of Athens; Hon. A. Pratt Adams, of Savannah; Hon. E. H. Abrahams, of Savannah; Hon. Noel P. Park, of Greensboro ; Hon. F. E. Twitty, of Brunswick; Hon. L. A. Whipple, of
VIII
PREFACE
Hawkinsville; Hon. Warren Grice, of Hawkinsville; Hon. C. M. Candler, of Decatur; Judge C. W. Smith, of Reidsville; Mr. B. H. Groover, of Reidsville; Hon. J. W. Whitely, of Gibson ; Dr. W. B. Burroughs, of Brunswick; Dr. W. B. Cheatham, of Daw- son ; Capt. Thad Adams, of Moultrie; Hon. W. W. Stevens, of Maysville ; Dr. Howard Felton, of Cartersville ; Dr. R. J. Massey, of Atlanta; Judge Joseph Bogle, of Dalton; Colonel John R. Maddox, of Decatur ; Hon. William H. Hayne, of Augusta ; Hon. Joseph F. Gray, of Savannah ; Rev. A. W. Bealer, of Eastman ; Hon. Julian B. MeCurry, of Hartwell ; Judge W. L. Hodges, of Hartwell; Mr. H. C. Bagley, of Atlanta; Mr. P. M. Nixon, of Rome; Hon. D. S. Sanford, of Milledgeville; Hon. Walter A. Clark, of Augusta ; Mr. Mark A. Candler, of Atlanta; Hon. Drew W. Paulk, of Fitzgerald; Hon. J. H. Powell, of Camilla; Judge J. A. Cromartie, of Hazlehurst ; Judge P. H. Herring, of Cairo; Mr. Folks Huxford, of Homerville; Mr. P. H. Comas, of Baxley ; Mr. C. S. Grice, of Claxton; Mr. J. J. Gilbert, of Columbus; Hon. M. M. Moore, of Columbus; Hon. Peter W. Meldrim, of Savannah; Judge Horace M. Holden, of Augusta; Miss Eliza F. Andrews, of Rome, formerly of Washington, one of the South's most distinguished educators and writers; Mrs. M. A. Lipscomb, of Athens; Mrs. J. A. Montgomery, of Bruns- wiek ; Mrs. F. D. Aiken, of Brunswick; Miss Caroline Patterson, of Macon ; Dr. W. B. Cheatham, of Dawson, Ordinary of Terrell ; Mr. George C. Smith, of Lexington ; Mrs. J. J. Smith, of Lexing- ton ; Capt. C. S. Wylly, of Brunswick ; Miss Elizabeth Conger, of Canon ; Mrs. W. T. Hardee, of Quitman ; Judge C. M. Wise, of Fitzgerald; Mr. J. J. Taylor, of Cochran; the late Hon. Hugh Neisler, of Butler; and a multitude of others. Without the generous help of these patriotie Georgians to whom I hold myself an obliged debtor for unnumbered courtesies this task could never have been prosecuted to completion. The short- comings of the work are mine. Whatever it possesses of merit belongs to those from whom I have unremittingly received the most indulgent favors, and whose considerate and courteous treatment has been a perennial source of inspiration to the author.
LUCIAN LAMAR KNIGHT.
ATLANTA, GA., March 25, 1913.
CONTENTS
PART ONE. LANDMARKS AND MEMORIALS.
CHAPTER I
Dungeness: The Bivouac of "Light Horse Harry"
Lee for Nearly a Century
1
CHAPTER II
Jefferson Davis's Arrest at Irwinville: The True
Story of a Dramatic Episode.
13
CHAPTER III
The Old Creek Indian Agency: Where a Forgot-
ten Patriot Sleeps
18
CHAPTER IV
Barnsley Gardens: A Lost Arcadia
26
CHAPTER V
Shellman Heights:
A Romance of Sherman's
March
31
CHAPTER VI
The "Lone Star" Flag of Texas Woven by a
Georgia Woman
34
CHAPTER VII
"Little Giffen of Tennessee:" How a Famous
Ballad Came to be Written
39
CHAPTER VIII
James Ryder Randall:
Origin of "Maryland,
My Maryland!"
45
CHAPTER IX
Oglethorpe: His Monument and his Mission
50
CHAPTER X
Fort Frederica: 1735
59
CHAPTER XI
The Wesley Oak
66
CHAPTER XII
Coweta Town: Where a Treaty was Signed the
Effect of Which was a Death-Blow to France
on the Mississippi
69
CHAPTER XIII
Bloody Marsh: Where a Battle was Fought in
Which Spain Lost a Continent.
73
CHAPTER XIV
Christ Church, Savannah: Where the Georgia
Colonists First Worshipped God
77
CHAPTER XV
Bethesda: Where the Great Whitefield Founded
an Asylum for Orphans
80
CHAPTER XVI The Grave of Tomo-Chi-Chi 85
CHAPTER XVII
Wormsloe: The Home of Noble Jones
87
CHAPTER XVIII
Bonaventure: The Ancient Seat of the Tattnalls
90
CHAPTER XIX
Brampton: The Home of Jonathan Bryan
93
---
x
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
XX
The Jews in Georgia: An Outline History
97
CHAPTER
XXI
Savannah's Revolutionary Monuments
103
CHAPTER XII
Mulberry Grove: The General Greene Estate Where the Cotton Gin was Invented 108
CHAPTER XXIII Fort Augusta: 1736 113
CHAPTER XXIV
Historic Old St. Paul's
117
CHAPTER XXV
Meadow Garden: The Home of Governor Walton 122
CHAPTER XXVI
The Invention of the Cotton Gin: An Authentic
Account
125
CHAPTER XXVII
War Hill:
Where the Famous Revolutionary
Battle of Kettle Creek was Fought
131
CHAPTER XXVIII
Historic Old Midway: A Shrine of Patriotism ..
135
CHAPTER
XXIX
Franklin College: The Oldest State University
in America, Chartered in 1785
139
CHAPTER
XX
Louisville: Georgia's First Permanent Capital_
146
CHAPTER
XXXI
The Yazoo Fraud: An Episode of Dramatic In-
terest Recalled.
149
CHAPTER XXXII
Burning the Iniquitous Records with Fire from
Heaven
152
CHAPTER
XXXIII
The Old Slave-Market: A Solitary Remnant of
Feudal Days in Dixie
154
CHAPTER
XXXIV
Historic Old Milledgeville: Georgia's Capital for
More Than Sixty Years
156
CHAPTER
XXV
McIntosh Rock:
Where the Most Famous of
Georgia Treaties was Made with the Creeks_ 160
CHAPTER XXXVI
New Echota: The Last Capital of the Southern
Cherokees
170
CHAPTER XXXVII
Under the Lash:
Pathetic Incidents of the Re-
moval
176
CHAPTER XXXVIII
Harriet Gold: A Romance of New Echota
183
CHAPTER
XXXIX
Dahlonega:
Once the Center of Gold-Mining
Activities in America.
185
CHAPTER XL
Scquoya: The Modern Cadmus
190
CHAPTER XLI Woodlawn: The Home of William H. Crawford_ 197
CHAPTER XLII
Historie Old Wesleyan: The First Female Col-
lege in the World to Confer Diplomas.
200
CHAPTER XLIII
Chickamauga: One of the Bloodiest of Modern
Battle-Fields Becomes a National Park.
203
CHAPTER XLIV
Kennesaw Mountain: Once a Peak of the Inferno 208
CHAPTER XLV
The Old Heard House: Where the Last Meeting
of the Confederate Cabinet was Held.
211
XI
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XLVI The Old Chenault House: In the Neighborhood of Which Occurred the Famous Raid on the Confederate Treasure Wagons. 213
CHAPTER XLVII
Origin of the United Daughters of the Confed-
eracy
218
CHAPTER XLVIII Origin of the Southern Cross of Honor 222
CHAPTER XLIX Copse Hill: The Home of Paul H. Hayne. 224
CHAPTER L
Richard Henry Wilde: Augusta's Monument to
the Author of the "Summer Rose."
228
CHAPTER LI
Torch Hill: The Home of Dr. Francis O. Ticknor_ 231
CHAPTER LII St. Elmo: Its Memories of Augusta Evans Wilson 234
CHAPTER LIII
Sidney Lanier: Macon's Memorial to the Master-
Minstrel
236
CHAPTER LIV
Rome Pioneers the Way in Honoring the Women
of the Confederacy
241
CHAPTER LV The Mark Hanna Home: Where the Mckinley
Presidental Boom was Launched.
246
CHAFTER LVI
Mount Berry: How the Sunday Lady Won the
Mountains
250
PART TWO.
HISTORICAL OUTLINES, ORIGINAL SETTLERS, AND DISTIN- GUISHED RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTIES OF GEORGIA. (Pages 265-1065.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Tomb of General "Light Horse Harry" Lee at Dungeness. Frontispiece The Carnegie Mansion, Built on the Site of General Nathanael Greene's Home at Dungeness. Facing Page 8
Where President Jefferson Davis Was Arrested, on May
10, 1865, near Irwinville, Ga. Facing Page 16
The Monument to General Oglethorpe, Founder of the Colony of Georgia, in Chippewa Square, Savannah __ Facing Page
52
Ruins of the Old Fort at Frederica, on St. Simon's Island Facing Page 62
The Wesley Oak, near Frederica, on St. Simon's Island __ Facing Page
66
The Burial-Place of Tomo-Chi-Chi, Mico of the Yama- craws, in Court House Square, Savannah Facing Page 86
Ruins of Fort Wymberley, at Wormsloe, the Old Home
of Noble Jones, on the Isle of Hope __ Facing Page 88
Bonaventure, the Ancient Seat of the Tattnalls, near Savannah. Facing Page 90
1
The Pulaski Monument, on Bull St., Savannah Facing Page 104
The Jasper Monument, on Bull St., Savannah Facing Page 106 The Birth-Place of the Present City of Augusta Facing Page 114
Historic Old St. Paul's, in Augusta Facing Page 118
Where One of the First Cotton Gins Made by Eli Whit- ney was Operated, near Washington, Ga_ Facing Page 128
The Old Capitol at Milledgeville, Where the Famous Secession Convention Met Facing Page 156
Sequoya's Wonderful Invention: The Cherokee Alphabet_Facing Page 192
The Old Heard House, in Washington, Ga., Where the Last Meeting of the Confederate Cabinet was Held __ Facing Page 212
The First Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, on Broad St., in the City of Rome, Ga Facing Page 242
The Log Cabin in Which the Famous Berry School Orig- inated, near Rome, Ga. Facing Page 256
The Family Residence of the Late George W. Owens, Where General Lafayette Was Entertained, in Ogle- thorpe Square, Savannah Facing Page 394
The Gordon Monument, on Bull St., in Savannah Facing Page 404
The Lanier Oak, on the Outskirts of Brunswick, Facing the Far-Famed "Marshes of Glynn", Immortalized by the Poet. Facing Page 620
Tablet to General Leonidas Polk, in St. Paul's Church, Augusta. Facing Page 884
Nacoochee, the Cradle of the Chattahoochee River Facing Page 1030 The Home of Robert Toombs, in Washington, Ga Facing Page 1056
PART I
LANDMARKS AND MEMORIALS
1
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
CHAPTER I
Dungeness: The Bivouac of "Light Horse Harry" Lee for Nearly a Century
A T the extreme southern end of Cumberland Island, in a little private burial ground of the Greene family, there slept for ninety-five years an illus- trious soldier of the American Revolution: "Light- Horse Harry" Lee. At this point a wooded bluff over- looks a wide expanse of verdant marsh lands, surrounded on either side by the encircling waters of Cumberland Sound; and the shimmer of blue waves, caught in the dis- tance, through trembling vistas of luxuriant foliage, is most enchanting to the eye, especially when a storm at sea curls them into feathery white-caps. The little en- closed area in which, with military honors, the famous hero was laid to rest, in the spring of 1818, was then a part of the estate of Major-General Nathanael Greene, a dis- tinguished comrade-in-arms whose family he was visiting at the time of his death. Years ago a large part of the island, including the historic tidewater home of General Greene, was purchased by Thomas Carnegie, a kinsman of the great steel king of Pittsburg and himself a man of millions. With the ample means at his command the new owner proceeded to convert the famous estate into
2
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
one of the most beautiful retreats on the coast of North America. Magnificent walks and driveways were opened through a dense forest of live-oaks, festooned with long wisps of trailing moss; rare bulbs from remote parts were transplanted in the rich soil of Dungeness; and whatever was calculated either to please the eye or to promote the comfort of a cultured gentleman of leisure, was sought by this wizard of finance, regardless of cost, to enhance the picturesque environment.
Today the vast estate constitutes an independent com- munity within itself, possessing every luxury of present- day life and suggesting the modernized country-seat of some aristocratic old English baron. The palatial mansion in which the widow Carnegie spends the winter months is only a few yards distant from the little burial ground, in one of the brick walls of which a memorial tablet bears the name of the late owner. But the most historic spot on the whole island, around which for nearly a century has centered a wealth of patriotic associations and to which thousands of tourists have flocked annually in the heated months of mid-summer, is the grave in which "Light Horse Harry" Lee long rested. It was formerly marked by a plain marble headstone, on which the following brief inscription was chiseled :
Sacred to the Memory of General Henry Lee, of Virginia. Obit, 25 March, 1818. Aetat 63.
During a recent session of the Virginia Legislature a bill was passed appropriating the sum of $500 from the State treasury to defray the expenses incident to remov- ing General Lee's body from Dungeness to Lexington. At the same time a committee was appointed to whom the oversight of this sacred task was entrusted. It is most likely that the ashes of the Revolutionary patriot
3
DUNGENESS
will occupy a crypt in the chapel of Washington and Lee University, beside the remains of his renowned son, General Robert E. Lee, the South's great military chief- tain. The patriotic societies of Georgia have entered a vigorous protest against the proposed removal. But, the consent of Mrs. Lucy Carnegie having been obtained, the Commonwealth of Virginia cannot well be estopped from claiming the dust of an illustrious son to whom she now offers a receptacle in her own bosom. As this work goes to press, the transfer of General Lee's remains to Virginia is still an unaccomplished fact; but hope of keeping them in Georgia has been finally relinquished. It is not unlikely that the Daughters of the Revolution will mark the empty tomb with an appropriate memorial of some kind which, briefly reciting the facts, together with the date of disinterment, will serve to keep the hallowed spot perpetually sacred.
General Henry Lee was easily the foremost officer of cavalry in the first war for independence; and to his gallant blade Georgia owes a debt of gratitude which two centuries have not extinguished. At the head of an independent legion he took part in the siege of Augusta and became an important factor, under General Greene, in the final expulsion of the British from Georgia soil. Later he wrote an exhaustive account of his operations in the Southern Department, a work of great value to historians, comprised in two rich volumes. He also became Governor of the State of Virginia; and, on the death of Washington, pronounced upon his silent Com- mander-in-Chief the famous eulogium in which he characterized him in the often-quoted words: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."*
While taking the part of a friend, whom he was visiting at the time, in Baltimore, General Lee received
*"To the memory of the man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Eulogy on Washington, December 26, 1799.
4
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
injuries from the effects of which he never recovered. The circumstances which culminated in this tragic affair were as follows :* "In the stirring times of 1812, Alex- ander Contee Hanson, editor of the Federal Republican, strongly opposed the declaration of war against England. Feeling ran so high among the war party that the news- paper office was attacked and the editors driven to Georgetown. Later Hanson determined to return, and was accompanied by General Lee and other friends who volunteered to defend him. The residence leased by him in Baltimore was attacked, and to save the occupants from murder the authorities placed them in the old city jail for protection. But the rioters forced themselves into the jail, attacking Hanson, General Lee, and seven others in the party. They were beaten, mutilated, and according to an account in Scharf's history, were thrown down the steps of the jail, where they lay in a heap for three hours. General Lee's constitution was wrecked." In the hope of regaining his health, the old soldier embarked for the West Indies, where he remained for something over four years; and it was while enroute back to his home in Virginia that he was put ashore at Cumberland Island.
General Lee did not expect to find here his old com- rade-in-arms. The latter died at Mulberry Grove, near Savannah, more than thirty years prior to the time of General Lee's visit. The widow Greene, who afterwards married Phineas Miller, was likewise in her grave. But there was living at Dungeness a daughter, Mrs. Louisa Shaw, by whom the old invalid was most graciously and gladly received; and here he remained until the death angel released him from his sufferings. For the account which follows of the last moments of the old hero, we are indebted in the main to Colonel Charles C. Jones, Jr., of Augusta, who obtained from an eye-witness, Mr. Phineas M. Nightingale, a recital of the facts. Mr. Nightingale was a grandson of General Greene and a
*From a Baltimore newspaper.
5
DUNGENESS
member of the household at the time of General Lee's sojourn on the island. The story, with additional par- ticulars gathered from other sources, is as follows:
When the second war with England began, "Light Horse Harry" Lee-though the foremost survivor of the first struggle for independence-found himself an invalid, nursing an old wound. Thus prevented by physical disabilities from assuming an active command in the renewed contest, his disappointment only served to aggravate his condition. He chafed under this restraint; and, in the hope that a change of climate might restore his failing health he sailed in 1813 for the West Indies. It was the cherished purpose of the old soldier, while in retirement, to revise his "Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department" and to prepare biographies of his two beloved commanders-Greene and Washington. Says Colonel Jones :* "It will ever be a matter of regret that he failed to compass the execution of this plan. To his Memoirs he would doubtless have imparted additional value and interest but in their present form they possess the highest merit and constitute the best military record we possess of the heroic memories embraced within their scope. Lives of Washington and Greene have been carefully studied and well written; but for one I freely confess to the firm conviction that biographies of these heroes by their gifted and eloquent compatriot and friend would have far surpassed all others." More than four years were spent by General Lee in the mild climate of the sub-tropics. But the benefit which he derived from his long sojourn was only temporary; and he could do no writing while he here lingered among the ocean breezes. At length it became evident to the wan sufferer that the end was near at hand. 'Accordingly, toward the close of the month of January, 1818, he took passage in a schooner bound from Nassau to Boston, the Captain-
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