USA > Georgia > Floyd County > Rome > A history of Rome and Floyd County, State of Georgia, United States of America; including numerous incidents of more than local interest, 1540-1922, Volume I > Part 46
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"Your reporter is mistaken. I did not carry with me a pair of dueling pistols. I have never had a pair of dueling pistols in my hand, and have never seen but one pair in my life.
"In the report in your issue of today there are some inaccuracies in mat- ters of detail which I do not deem it necessary to correct. Reference to the dueling pistols is made only because I wish to correct the public impres- sion that I am supplied with such weapons. My connection with these matters has always been in the inter- est of peace and humanity. Though sometimes necessary to prevent certain bloodshed, duels are always to be de- plored by no one more than yours,
"HENRY JACKSON."
Under the caption "Hardly Fair to the Duelists," John Temple Graves commented as follows in The Tribune of Rome:
The idea is prevalent that public opinion is generally right, and this view has some foundation in fact; but a certain public opinion which has of late been expressed through the col- umns of the daily press must be noted as an exception to the rule.
There are few newspapers in this country that believe in dueling, and The Tribune is not one of them. It is a practice which few people can con- template in the abstract with approval, but it appears to us that the daily press, in its eagerness to condemn the practice, has done serious injustice both to the courage and the character of two brave and honorable gentlemen, and has failed to give proper emphasis to one of the few really noble episodes that ever occurred in a duel in the South.
The writer of his personal knowl- edge has been aware for many years that Pat Calhoun was one of the cool- est and bravest men that this country has produced. There have been few Americans possessed of more unques- tioned nerve and coolness, and these qualities, rising higher than a mere ab- sence of fear and indifference to dan-
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ger, are born of a loftiness of pur- pose and a devotion to interest which completely dominate the mere issues to person and to life. In this view, Mr. Calhoun is a man of phenomenal loftiness and self-abnegation in dan- ger, and this statement did not need the episode in Alabama to prove it, but has been tested upon other occasions of equal trial, and is characteristic of a family of brothers whose history and record, if told to the world, would read like a romance of daring and manly resolution.
Without knowing anything further of Mr. Williamson than the report of the duel which reliable witnesses have given to the newspapers, The Tribune has expressed its opinion of his cour- age and resolution in similar terms; but if one should found his opinion of these gentlemen upon the current comments of the newspapers, he would believe that they were both cowardly in their natures and fraudulent in their effort to palm themselves off as brave men before the public.
There were just three things that any thoughtful and truthful man ought to realize in the attitude of Mr. Calhoun upon the field of combat. In the first place, if fear had silenced his weapon when Mr. Williamson began to shoot, it is scarcely probable that he could have recovered his equanimity in time to address such calm, tran- quil and commanding words to the ad- versary who confronted him. Mr. Cal- houn's character and record justify the view that he was a man who, with his adversary's life in his hands, hes- itated to make the sacrifice upon a misunderstanding, and that his hu- manity triumphed over his indignation and vengeance and he parleved for the life that he had a right, under the code, to destroy.
An even stronger view is in the fact that Mr. Calhoun endeavored to estab- lish before that duel terminated the truth of the assertions which he had made before the legislative committee, and endeavored to fix upon the records that would go from that battleground the correctness of his position and the argument he had sought to make for the cause. And this view is also sus- tained in the minds of those who know him by the knowledge of his absolute and self-sacrificing devotion to all the great interests that he has from time to time represented. A third view, also probable to those who know the nature of the man, was that Mr. Calhoun hav- ing coolly received the fire of a cour- ageous antagonist, determined, with
his own life safe, to seek a nobler re- venge in sparing the life that he had a technical right to take, and to give back to the man whom he thought had insulted him the life which might be spent in usefulness hereafter.
The Tribune, that has something more than a casual acquaintance with these parties, believes that either one of these views might have actuated Mr. Calhoun, and that all of them did actuate him as he stood there upon this famous field of honor.
Moreover, while it does not approve of duelling, this paper is frank to ex- press the belief that a more genuine, honorable and bona fide duel was never fought by brave men with better faith, or terminated in higher honor than this.
THE VERDERYS AT CASS- VILLE .- Mrs. Susan Verdery Prath- er, of Atlanta, tells in the following manner the touching story of how Thos. J. Verdery, her brother, and other members of the family happened to be buried at Cassville, Bartow Coun- ty, once a flourishing town, now little more than a memory :
"My sister, Mary Verdery, married Col. Warren Akin in 1849 at 'Chief- tain's,' on the Oostanaula River, near Rome. He was a widower, his first wife having been Miss Eliza Hooper, daughter of Judge Jno. W. Hooper. When Miss Eliza died, a year after their marriage, she was buried in the cemetery at Cassville. In the early fifties, Col. Akin built a home in the suburbs of Cassville. Two colleges, the Cassville Female College, built by the Methodists, for young women, and the Cherokee Baptist College, built by the Baptists, for the young men, were situated on either side of his handsome home.
"Col. Akin was 36 years old when he married my sister Mary, just turned 18 years. He was a kind brother and son-in-law, and was devoted to the Ver- derys. After Brother Thomas was killed at Fredericksburg, Va., in 1862, Col. Akin insisted that he be buried at Cassville, and this was done. Dur- ing the war the Yankees burned the colleges and Col. Akin's home. They took special delight in destroying the Akin place because Col. Akin was a member of the Confederate Congress; he had refugeed to Oxford, and later to Elberton. After the war, Col. Akin built a home in Cartersville, near Cass- ville, and resided there. My mother was visiting the Akins when she died,
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and since she had expressed the wish that she should rest beside Brother George, her wish was complied with.
"Three years later-in 1875-when my father, Augustus N. Verdery, and his sister, Mrs. Pleasant Stovall, of Athens and later Augusta, were living with us in Atlanta, they went to visit the Akins. My father died there and was buried beside my mother and my brother. My aunt, Mrs. Stovall, lived with us some years longer, and before she died said, 'Please bury me by my dear brother Augustus.' She was laid at rest beside him. My sister, Vir- ginia (Mrs. Dr. Hezekiah Witcher, of Cedartown), who died in 1900, and Oriana were buried with the family at Cassville in accordance with their requests."
JUDGE WRIGHT AND
COL. SHORTER'S COTTON .- Partners of- ten fall out and go their respective ways thereafter. In ante-bellum days Judge Augustus R. Wright and Col. Alfred Shorter owned the bridges of Rome, and charged folks to cross them. An estrangement developed between the two men, and at a speech in Cedar- town, Judge Wright paid his respects to his former associate by declaring, "Alfred Shorter shears his sheep and turns them out to grow more wool."
The break did not come until after the war, for we find these old Romans in substantial agreement on business matters during the conflict. Col. Shorter owned fertile farms in Ala- bama, Mississippi and Georgia, con- ducted several mercantile establish- ments, and each year grew better off than the year before. He had no time to waste, no bump of folly, no extrav- agances, few luxuries; he had plenty of time for business, plenty of money for education and charity, lots of de- sire to listen to hard common sense. He could see an advantage or a disad- vantage in a trade in a minute, and was extremely cautious about going into enterprises; but once he was in, he put forward all his energies until success was assured. It has been said that the only man who ever worsted Col. Shorter in any kind of a large business transaction was Judge Wright.
Col. Shorter was above age (58) when the Civil War broke out; he made arrangements to help the Con- federacy financially, and in the darker days just prior to the occupation of Rome in 1864 by the Union army, refugeed to a safer place in Thomas
County. Naturally he couldn't carry his cotton with him, nor did he have time to dispose of it. Judge Wright was in the Confederate Congress, help- ing in an executive capacity to direct the war. The judge crossed the Po- tomac from Richmond on some kind of a pass and laid before President Lincoln the question of Col. Shorter's cotton and Southern cotton in general, saying he wanted to save as much of it as possible from destruction by the Yankee army. Mr. Lincoln was deeply moved and gave Judge Wright a pass back through the lines, but said in effect: "I am sorry I can't furnish you men to transport it, but if you can arrange that detail, I will probably be looking the other way."
Judge Wright had access to Rome and Col. Shorter's cotton. Alexander Thornton Harper, of Cave Spring, had made "contact" with the latter through the trust Col. Shorter reposed in him. The authority to dispose of the cotton was somewhat in doubt, but it was war times, and Judge Wright took the bull by the horns. Sherman was fast swooping down upon Rome with an appetite for material things, so Judge Wright loaded the cotton on freight cars, clambered aboard and set out for Savannah or other con- venient mart, and there disposed of it on a "commission" basis.
Cotton was extremely valuable then, worth nearly a dollar a pound, and it was said Col. Shorter's lot brought around $50,000. Judge Joel Branham was authority for the statement that Judge Wright was twitted about Col. Shorter's cotton in a post-bellum po- litical campaign, and with characteris- tic directness replied, "Well, if I did left steal Shorter's cotton, 1 him enough to go on!"
Col. Shorter was satisfied that he got anything at all, for otherwise the cotton would have been appropriated by the Yankee army to turn against the South, and he is said to have re- marked that under ordinary conditions neither Judge Wright nor any other man could do him up in a deal, and if Judge Wright would continue to transact business with him in peace times, he would consider the associa- tion highly desirable.
THE TRAGIC DEATH OF VON GAMMON .- Few events have touched more profoundly the hearts of Ro- mans than the death of Von Albade
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Gammon* following a football game played at Brisbine Park, Atlanta, Sat- urday, Oct. 30, 1897, between the Uni- versity of Virginia and the University of Georgia teams.
Von Gammon was born Dec. 4, 1879, at Rome. His paternal grandfather was Col. Wm. Gamble Gammon, Ten- nessee farmer and banker, who died in 1895 at Rome and was there buried. His maternal grandfather was Maj. Jno. T. Burns, State Attorney General in 1869, who moved to Texas. His father was Jno. Aiken Gammon, Rome clothing merchant, and his mother was Rosalind Burns. An uncle was Wm. Melville Gammon, the first chairman in 1916 of the city commission. His older brother, E. Montague Gammon, was for several years principal of the Rome City Schools, and is now teach- ing at Savannah. Wm. G. Gammon, a younger brother, was killed more than 20 years ago at Cartersville after playing a game of baseball with the Rome team, by falling under a freight train. Will lies buried in Myrtle Hill, Rome, by the side of Von.
The Gammon home was a comfort- able two-story frame structure at 420 Third Avenue, one block west of the Etowah river and a wash-hole which drew the Gammon boys and their young friends like a magnet. The home was on the upper edge of a lot that extended about 100 feet below the dwelling to the old Rome railroad tracks, and to the rear 300 feet to an alley. At the lower corner front, un- der a large sycamore tree, were two parallel tennis courts, which were al- ways full of players, and at the upper side was a green-carpeted bank which held the "audience."" Nearby was a grassy spot where the boys tried their skill at wrestling, French and Amer- ican style. Of his age, Von Gammon was the best wrestler; in fact, he was best at everything he tried-a typical young Greek god, and admired ex- travagantly as such without an ex- ception anywhere. "Ros," his young- est brother, sometimes known in fun by the nickname of the "Polk County one-eyed giant," was the best wrestler in his class, and game little Hunter McClure was not far behind him.
The parents of the Gammon boys provided them with the latest things in the athletic line. On the back porch were the parallel bars and the punch- ing bag and boxing gloves; a down- stairs locker kept skates, baseballs, bats and mitts, football togs and bath- ing suits, tennis racquets, etc .; and
any boy who came without his own could dig into the Gammon collection and have what was there. In the back yard was the high-jumping and pole- vaulting apparatus, and nearby could be found the 16-pound shot which Von and "Monty" used regularly in practice. In the barn was located the flying trapeze for wet weather use. Once a year the barn was cleaned out, the boys of the neighborhood brought their shinny sticks, moved bales of hay and sacks of feed, and mowed down rats. In 1896 they killed 40-odd in 15 minutes.
The favorite game for the crowd was shinny, the forerunner of hockey and golf. Two sides tried to knock a wooden block through goals with wooden sticks. This game was played in a vacant lot near the Gammon place, across the railroad. Occasion- ally the tennis courts were cleared and all engaged in the games of "foot- and-a-half," "follow-the-leader" and "stinga-ma-ree." The grand climax came in two ways. Somebody would yell, "Let's go in washin'!" That was enough to break up any game except the one Mrs. Gammon favored, ex- pressed in this query as she appeared at the end of the porch:
"Boys, do any of you eat pineapple sherbet?"
Yum, yum-what good frozen things Mrs. Gammon did make, and nearly every time chocolate or cocoanut cake went with it! Truly, the Gammon place was the "honey pot" for the boys' of Rome. The East Rome gang came occasionally, the Uptown gang, the South Rome gang and the West Rome gang; but the Downtown gang lived there, almost. The "mascots" of the Downtown gang were Archie McClure and Sam (Robt.) Maddox. Among the members were Walter, Wade and James Cothran; Barry and Laurie Cothran, Bob Harper, "Pat" Cline, Jim Jones, Ed., Linton, Dick, Frank and Jim ("Skinny") Maddox, Glover, Pierce, Ralph, Morgan and Frank Mc- Ghee, Carl Yeiser, Millard Parrish, Marshall Scott, Linton and James Vandiver, Ralph Carver, Claire J. Wyatt, Mayfield and Wm. Wimberly, Tom Quinn, Manning Marshall, Donny Hancock, Joel B. Peniston, Will Hoyt, George Pitner, Lindley and Hunter McClure, Wurts, Langdon and Hal Bowie, Cliff Seay, Claude and Johnny Saunders, Muff, Rob and Fox Word, George, Roy and Rob Rounsaville,
* He was christened thus and the name ap- pears on his headstone, but he preferred to call himself Richard Von Gammon.
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Will, Joe and Duke Fahy, Arthur and Bolling Sullivan.
If other parents wanted to get rid of their boys, Mrs. Gammon was al- ways glad to "mother" them. She was a tall lady with a fine head of auburn hair, a most kindly smile, a fine sense of humor and a whole-soulness that made her a friend to every boy. On her lawn and under her watchful eye a splendid spirit of sportsmanship and play was developed; and in a large de- gree she was responsible for the spirit that Romans have shown in the years that have followed. She urged her boys to do their best, no matter the consequences, and on every athletic field they excelled. "Monty" was known as the "strong man" of Rome. Some six feet six inches tall, he could throw the hammer or put the shot far- ther than anybody in town. At the North Rome Park field day in 1895 or 1896 he threw the hammer so far that it hit Capt. J. W. Ewing between the shoulders. Capt. Ewing was car- ried from the field in a cab, but soon recovered. Von exhibited his strength that day by lying on his back and lifting "Monty" (feet in hands) en- tirely off the ground.
Many a boy now a man remembers how "Monty" and Von took him in their arms, standing six feet apart, and tossed him from one to the other through the air, caught him safely and flung him back and forth. Von was of such heroic build and nature that many held it the highest privi- lege to stand in his presence, that they might do his bidding, or simply be free to admire his noble qualities. He never smoked, drank, cursed or got out of humor; he never lorded it over a boy of weaker build or took advantage of a fallen foe; his parents were in comfortable circumstances, but not wealthy, hence he was not proud of purse, nor would all the money in the world have changed him from the manly boy that he was.
Bicycling having been taken up en- thusiastically by the young people of both sexes, a racing club of amateurs was formed at Rome, and it included Von Gammon, Frank Bowie, Will Fahy and others. Von got away with the most prizes. That was in 1896 and the summer of 1897. On August 24, 1897, Von was due to have raced with the amateurs in Atlanta, but hurt his leg in practice and was unable to com- pete. R. D. Jackson won. In the pro- fessional class, Bobby Walthour, later national champion, defeated Anderson, and M. A. Elliott won the mile han-
dicap in 2:07 1-5. The Rome Tribune of Friday, Oct. 1, 1897, reported: "Mr. Von Gammon left yesterday afternoon to enter the University. He will go into training for the football team and will add great strength to it."
The year before, in the fall of 1896, Von had entered the freshman class at the University of Georgia, Athens, and had made the football team as quar- terback. He was regarded as one of the University's most promising ath- letes. In the autumn of 1897, W. Rey- nolds Tichenor, who had played quar- terback at Auburn the year before, entered Georgia. "Tick" was so small he could play quarter only, and Von's driving power was needed at fullback,
VON ALBADE GAMMON, who died Sunday, Oct. 31, 1897, from injuries received Oct. 30 in a Georgia-Virginia football game in Atlanta.
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so this change was made, and they were playing those positions when Von met his death. "Tick," now an attor- ney in Atlanta, and for many years a football referee, states that Virginia had scored 11 points and Georgia 4 when the accident happened. Virginia had the ball, and sent a mass play over Georgia's left tackle. Von was playing behind the line, and he went under the play like he had been thrown from a catapult. When the players had been disentagled, Von was uncon- scious, and a substitute slipped upon him "Tick's" Auburn sweater. Miss Mary Connally, now Mrs. John Spald- ing, sent him a carriage blanket. He was taken from the field to the Grady Hospital, where he lingered 11 hours, and died at 3:45 a. m., Sunday, Oc-
The game went on; Geo. Price* was shifted from right guard to fullback, and S. Ed. Bayless, of Kingston, placed at right guard. Virginia won it by the score of 17 to 4. After the game the Georgia players realized the con- dition of their comrade, and among a few of the alumni and supporters the cry of foul play was heard; a small crowd went to the Virginia hotel headquarters inquiring, "Where's Col- lier; we want Collier!"
Such an imputation, according to Mr. Tichenor, was entirely unjust. There was no foul play; the field was hard and it is likely that Von's head hit the sun-baked clay as he fell un- der the struggling players, or it may have been that his head was kicked by somebody's shoe, just as likely by one of his own teammates. Tichenor also received injuries which necessi- tated his removal.
The diagnosis of the doctors showed a fractured skull and concussion of the brain in the case of Von Gammon. He died at 18 years, in the flush of young manhood, and mourned by every- body. His father was with him a few minutes before the end, and his Spar- tan mother arrived shortly afterward.
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Seldom had news cast such a pall over Rome. The word was received as the good people were on the eve of entering the churches for their de- votional services, and the announce- ment was made from the pulpits. James Cothran carried the sad intel- ligence to the central church neigh- borhood and broke it to Von's sweet- heart, who expressed her great grief through her tears. The body was re- moved to the residence at 4:55 p. m., Sunday, where many friends gazed for the last time on the fine features of their hero; then the funeral was held
at 11 o'clock Monday morning, Nov. 1, 1897, from the First Presbyterian Church, the pastor, the Rev. Geo. T. Goetchius, officiating, assisted by the Rev. S. R. Belk, pastor of the First Methodist Church, and the interment was in the Branham addition of Myr- tle Hill cemetery.
A number of college friends accom- panied the body to Rome, and mem- bers of the Bachelors' Club (or Pov- erty Hall Boys) acted as pallbearers between the station and the home, and as honorary pallbearers at the funeral. They sent a beautiful floral wreath, "Gates Ajar," a feature of which was a dove of pure white hovering over the lilies. The boys of the Virginia football team also sent a handsome of- fering, and the coffin was transform- ed into a bower of roses, carnations and their accompanying green. Offer- ings came from Atlanta and from the students at Athens and Auburn, Ala.
The active pallbearers were Edward E. Pomeroy, Sam Carter, Jim Mell and Ed Lyndon, representing the Uni- versity of Georgia; and Walter and Laurie Cothran, Charlie Hill, Reuben Towers, Clifford B. Seay and Boll- ing Sullivan, from Rome. The bal- conies of the famous old church were well filled, as well as the ground floor; a larger crowd had never attended a funeral in Rome, and few eyes were dry at the conclusion.
Von's teammates, led by the captain, Wm. B. Kent, occupied a pew in the center section near the front. The other players present were J. Threatt Moore, H. S. Walden, Brooks Clark, V. L. Watson and Lawton ("Cow") Nalley. Col. Chas. M. Snelling rep- resented the University faculty.
Dr. Goetchius was so overcome that he made his remarks very brief; but they expressed the feeling of every sorrowing heart. He had in mind the sad fate of his own son, "Arnie" Goetchius, who a year or two before had been killed when he skated off a balcony, as a student at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn. Misses May and Carrie Clark and Messrs. Horace King and Dick Coth- ran sang "Some Sweet Day." A vast concourse of people rode or trudged to the cemetery. The water sprites of the Etowah, the Oostanaula and the Coosa piped a melancholy requiem far below, and the spirits of his an- cestors and the ancestors of his friends opened up their arms and received
*Now connected with the insurance office of J. L. Riley & Co. in the Candler Building, Atlanta.
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him with a warm embrace as he en- tered their beautiful subterranean re- treat.
The following faced each other in the game:
Georgia- -Virginia
Clark, A., 1. e. Martin, I. e.
Walden, l. t. Collier, l. t.
Clark, B., 1. g. Templeman, l. g.
Bond, c. Wallace, c.
Price, r. g. Davis, r'. g.
Kent, (Capt.) r. t. Marsh, r. t.
Watson, r. e. Estes, r. e.
Tichenor, q. b. Walsh, q. b.
Jones, l. h. b. Hill, 1. h. b.
Moore, r. h. b. Carney, r. h. b.
Gammon, f. b ..... Morrison, (Capt.) f. b.
According to the Atlanta Constitu- tion of Oct. 31, 1897, Von was injured in the middle of the field, on the left hand side, at the beginning of the sec- ond half. After six and a half min- utes, Hill, of Virginia, scored the first touchdown by bucking yard. A touchdown counted four and a goal two at that time, and Templeman's goal made the score 6-0 in favor of Vir- ginia. After a punt to near the Vir- ginia line, Morrison punted and the ball hit Walden, of Georgia, in the breast, and rolled back of the line, where Capt. Kent, of Georgia, fell on it for Georgia's only score of the game. Tichenor failed at goal, and the score stood: Virginia, 6; Georgia, 4. From Georgia's 15-yard line Morrison kick- ed a drop-kick goal, which made the score 11-4. The half ended in a few minutes more. In the second half, Hill scored on an end run from the Geor- gia 25-yard line, and Templeman kick- ed goal. There was no further scor- ing, and the final was 17-4. After Von's injury, Tichenor retired; he got two hard clouts on the head, and Har- mon Cox took his place and played a good game. Kent made the longest run of the game, 40 yards, on a trick play in the first half. The accounts stated that the play was rough and injuries were frequent; that Georgia played gamely, but was outclassed by the heavy Virginians.
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