USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 16
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To the foregoing estimate of the battle by General Gordon, it may be of interest to add the scholarly opinion of Professor John Fiske, of Cambridge, Mass., one of the most eminent of American historians .* Says he : "The name 'Chickamauga' has been said to mean 'Valley of Death,' perhaps in allusion to some wholesale Indian slaughter of long ago. However that may be, the place had now fairly earned such a sombre epithet. In its dimensions and in its murderousness the battle of Chicka- mauga was the greatest battle fought by our western armies, and one of the greatest of modern times. In our Civil War it was exceeded only by Gettysburg and the Wilderness; in European history one may compare it with such battles as Neerwinden, or Malplaquet, or Waterloo. At Shiloh and Stone river there were about 80,000 men engaged, and in each the total losses in killed and wounded were about 20,000. the opposing armies and the losses in each case being nearly equal. At Chicka- manga there were not less than 130,000 men engaged, and the total losses in killed, wounded, and missing amounted to nearly 37,000." To General George H. Thomas. a Virginian, though a Federal officer, who saved the Union army from utter rout on this occasion and who acquired thereby the famous sobriquet which he afterwards bore, Professor Fiske pays this tribute : "The annals of war may be searched in vain for a grander spectacle ; and in the years to come, so long as American children are taught to love the flag, may they also be taught to revere the glorious name of Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga."
*The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War, by John Fiske, pp. 279-280. Boston, 1900.
CHAPTER XLIV
Kennesaw Mountain: Once a Peak of the Inferno
T WO miles to the north of Marietta, on the line of the Western and Atlantic railroad, looms one of the most conspicuous land-marks of Georgia : his- toric Kennesaw Mountain. There are few names, in the history of the Civil War, which have come to be more classic, by reason of the associations of battle. Even to the mere physical eye it is an object of intense interest. For miles in every direction it dominates the landscape. Its peculiar shape, not unlike the humps of a dromedary, its great height, and its singular isolation, give it an aspect of strange impressiveness. There is little to sug- gest bloodshed in the calm look of majesty which it today wears. But on June 27, 1864, General Sherman under- took to storm these heights. The result was a clash of arms to which, in the wild delirium of conflict, in the loss of blood, and in the superhuman courage displayed by the soldiers on both sides, there are few engagements which can furnish a parallel. From the gaping wounds of the thousands of brave men who fell in this terrific on- slaught it is said-perhaps with a touch of hyperbole- that streams of crimson rolled down the mountain in perfect torrents, cutting deep ruts in the soft earth and forming pools where they gathered at the bottom.
But the Federals were repulsed. In the plan of bat- tle, there were two assaults to be made upon the Con- federate lines. McPherson was to attack at Little Ken- nesaw and Thomas was to give battle at a point one mile
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to the South. General Sherman was growing desperate. Up to this point he had been outwitted by Johnston. Each day found him further removed from his base of supplies, without having inflicted any serious loss upon the enemy, while Johnston was hourly drawing nearer to the Confederate citadel. It was high time for some decisive and bold stroke to be made. The maneuverings about Kennesaw Mountain had been in progress for weeks. Johnston was well entrenched. But Sherman was determined to rout him from his stronghold. The following is his brief report of the battle: "The two assaults were made at the time and in the manner de- scribed, and both failed, costing us many lives, including Generals Harker and McCook. Our aggregate Ioss was 3,000, while we inflicted comparatively little loss upon the enemy, who lay behind his well-formed breast- works."
Professor John Fiske, of Cambridge, Mass., a North- ern man, in speaking of Sherman's march to the sea, contributes the following luminous paragraph to the story of Kennesaw Mountain. Says he :* "It remained for Sherman to avail himself of his numerical superiority to outflank his antagonist and push him back by turning his strong positions one after another. This work was done in masterly fashion until by slow degrees Johnston was driven back to Atlanta. During all this time, from May 5, to July 17, the two armies were almost in contact with each other and there was frequent skirmishing, but little waste of life, except at Kennesaw Mountain, June 27. On this occasion, mindful of his primary object, Sherman tried the effect of an assault but desisted when he saw that he was losing faster than Johnston. The Union army lost 3,000 men, the Confederates scarcely 500."
*The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War, by John Fiske, pp. 326-327, Boston, 1900.
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Perhaps the most satisfactory account of the battle, within a brief compass, is given by Lawton B. Evans. Says he :* "Early in June, the two armies were again face to face, the Federals at Acworth, the Confederates at Marietta. Johnston occupied a strong position among the mountains, and Sherman tried to break through his lines by assault. The fighting continued here for twenty- three days, from June 9 to July 3, in which Johnston drove back the Federal forces every time they were hurled against him. The Confederate General, Leonidas Polk, was killed on the summit of Pine Mountain, while looking over the lines. During part of the time, these extended across Kennesaw Mountain, from which the name of the battle there fought was derived. Satisfied that he could not win a victory by fighting, Sherman re- turned to his old plan and sent General James B. Mc- Pherson to flank Johnston by crossing the Chattahoochee River east of Marietta. But Johnston was not to be caught. Drawing his forces out of danger, he crossed the river ahead of his enemy, leaving naught behind. By this time he had been fighting for seventy-four days and had lost nearly ten thousand men, while Sherman had lost twenty-five thousand, a force equal to half the army of Johnston." Professor Joseph T. Derry in his "Story of the Confederate States" is substantially in accord with the foregoing account. Kennesaw Mountain was a Marengo for the Confederates but a Waterloo for the Federals.
*History of Georgia, by Lawton B. Evans, p. 270, New York, 1904.
CHAPTER XLV
The Old Heard House: Where the Last Meeting of the Confederate Cabinet Was Held
O N May 5, 1865, in the old Heard house, in Washing- ton, Ga., occurred the last meeting of the Con- federate Cabinet. It is a somewhat unique and singular coincidence that almost on the same spot- eighty-five years before-the State authorities of Geor- gia, refugeeing from the British, here found an asylum at Fort Heard-thus making the town of Washington a place of refuge for two separate and distinct govern- ments. This old land-mark of Washington formerly stood facing the present court-house square, but was demol- ished in 1904 to make way for the new court-house building-an act of desecration which shows the progress of commercialism even in this citadel of historic memo- ries. It was built in 1824 by General B. W. Heard, a descendant of one of the pioneer settlers of Washington; and for years the old building was used as a branch of the Georgia State Bank of Savannah. Here, in a room occu -. pied by Dr. J. J. Robertson, then cashier of the bank, Mr. Davis, met for the last time the members of his official household, prior to the final act of dissolving the "storm-cradled nation."
We quote the following brief account from Mr. Sto- vall's biography of General Toombs *. Says he: "Gen- eral Toombs repaired to his home in Washington, and,
*Life of Robert Toombs, by Pleasant A. Stovall, pp. 287-282, New York, 1892.
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on May 4, 1865, Jefferson Davis, his Cabinet and his staff, having retreated from Richmond to Danville, thence to Greensboro, N. C., and Abbeville, S. C., rode across the country with an armed escort to Washington, Ga. Here, in the old Heard house, the last meeting of the Confederate Cabinet was held. The members sepa- rated and the civil government of the Confederate States passed into history. There were present: John C. Breckinridge, Secretary of War; John H. Reagan, Post- master-General; and the members of the President's staff. Mr. Davis was worn and jaded. He looked pale and thin, but was plucky to the last. After the surrender of Lee and Johnson he wanted to keep up the warfare in the mountains of Virginia and in the country west of the Mississippi, but he was finally persuaded that the Confederacy must cease to struggle. On the public square of Washington, the little brick house, with its iron rail and its red walls, [1892] is still pointed out to the visitor as the spot where the Davis government was dis- solved. It was a dramatic fate which terminated its existence at the home of Robert Toombs. He had been present at its birth. His had been one of the leading spirits of the revolution. He had served in the Cabinet and on the field, he had been pressed for the position of its chief magistrate, and now, in the shadow of his own roof tree, its concluding council was held."
THE OLD HEARD HOUSE, IN WASHINGTON, WHERE THE LAST MEETING OF THE CONFEDER- ATE CABINET WAS HELD.
CHAPTER XLVI
The Old Chenault Home: In the Neighborhood of Which Occurred the Famous Raid on the Confederate Treasure Wagons
T WELVE miles east of Washington, on the old stage road to Abbeville, S. C., there stands a quaint but well preserved structure of the antebellum type known as the old Chenault home. It is one of the most noted landmarks in a region of country unusually rich in historic traditions. The events in which it figured during the last year of the Civil War are still freshly remembered in Wilkes, though the principal actors in the tragic drama have long since disappeared behind the scenes. Perhaps it is best to tell the story in the language of one who, if not an eye-witness of what occurred, was, at the time, a resident of Wilkes, old enough to recall the excitement occasioned by the incidents we are about to set forth. Our authority for this account is Mrs. T. M. Green, of Washington, Ga. Says she :* "I do not know how many generations have lived in the old Chenault home, but rep- resentatives of the family still occupy it. In 1805, old Dionysius Chenault, a Methodist preacher of high stand- ing, held sway over a large plantation, and, by virtue of his office was an oracle for the surrounding neighbor- hood. The house, a fine old ante-bellum mansion, crowns a gently rising slope, as one travels the old stage road be- tween Washington and Abbeville, S. C .; the same road- crossing the Savannah River at Lisbon-over which our
*Collections of Joseph Habersham Chapter, D. A. R.,
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ancestors of the Revolution travelled from Virginia and North Carolina into Wilkes County; the same road, too, over which Jefferson Davis took his flight from Richmond to the South; and it was here, at the old Chenault home, that Mrs. Davis was entertained as she preceded her husband by a few days.
"Dionysius Chenault was an old time Georgia planter. He lived in great affluence, surrounded by his broad, fertile acres, and served by his sleek, well-fed negroes. He was also much given to hospitality. His daughters were great country belles, and Chenault's tent, at the old Wheat camp-meeting grounds, furnished the head- quarters for whatever was going on in a social way. In short, no better people lived in Wilkes, or in the world, than the Chenaults.
"On a day in the latter part of April, 1865, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, a train of five wagons moved slowly out of Washington on the Abbeville road. They were bound for Richmond, Va., and were occupied by five well-dressed, city-bred men, besides five wagoners, one of which number was a negro. The wagons were covered with white canvass and looked for all the world like an emigrant train or a party of North Carolina apple venders. Slowly they toiled along, picking their way be- tween ruts and gullies cut in the road by the passing of two great armies. At night-fall, having come only 12 miles, they pulled up in front of the home of Dionysius Chenault. They asked permission to camp for the night and were given the use of a large horse-lot fenced in on all sides, with a double gate opening at one end. The sturdy old planter bade them welcome and offered them such refreshments as lay in his power, for it must be remembered that, at this time, Georgia was under the rule of a military depotism and Wilkes was trampled barren by the passing of both Confederate and Federal troops through her borders.
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"Our travellers prepared for the night by drawing their wagons close together in the center of the field and by stabling their horses in the empty sheds. Across the road and through the woods, campfires were glimmering. Bands of straggling Confederates were resting here and there, and troops of well-armed Union soldiers were moving hither and thither. By and by, the moon rose full and clear, and, outside the enclosure, a solitary horse- man was seen. He was in full Federal uniform, with bars on his coat denoting the rank of an officer. He was well- mounted, and the sabre of a cavalryman hung by his side. Our travellers noted his appearance with some alarm, for he was evidently taking an inventory of the camp. How- ever, he disappeared as quickly as he came, and after several hours of watching, the wagoners, overcome by fatigue, fell asleep.
"These wagons contained gold and silver coin and bullion, belonging to certain Virginia banks. It is not a part of this story to go into details of the affair further than concerns the Chenaults. Suffice it to say that the treasure had been concealed in Washington for weeks. The guardians of it had obtained from General Upton, at Augusta, an order for its safe conduct back to Richmond and, armed with this passport, they hoped to make their way quietly without arousing suspicion, across the gap, over to Abbeville, where they hoped to land it safely on board freight cars bound for Richmond.
"While they were wrapped in deep slumber, suddenly the camp was aroused by cries, and shouts, and cursings. At the same time, a party of horsemen dashed through the gate, up to the wagons, and upon the sleeping travel- lers. Resistance was useless. The surprise was complete Bankers and drivers were captured, and the treasure train plundered. It was said afterwards that the men waded ankle deep in gold and silver. The raiders filled their haversacks and their pockets. They tied bags of
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gold to the pommels of their saddles. They went away so heavily laden that they were compelled to throw away much of their booty by the wayside. The negro driver took to the woods and the rest of the party were released unhurt, after the robbers were surfeited with gold.
"When a report of the outrage reached Washington next day General E. P. Alexander raised a company of men and went to the rescue. But it was too late to do anything except to gather up the fragments. Many Con- federate soldiers who were camped in the neighborhood, hearing the noise and believing the stories circulated by the raiders that it was Confederate treasury money, helped themselves liberally, but, when told that it was private property, much of it belonging to widows and orphans of Virginia soldiers, they at once turned it all over to General Alexander. The money was kept under guard for several days, and it was hoped that the bankers might be able to take it back to Richmond. But, alas, The town was soon put under Federal control and one General Wilde made commander. He no sooner heard of the existence of the treasure than he took possession of it, and not one dollar was ever returned to the rightful owners.
"Stories began to circulate about this time concerning fabulous sums of money concealed on the Chenault plan- tation. It was said that boxes and bags of gold had been sunk in the Savannah river. It was told that the Chen- aults had thousands of dollars. These tales were brought by negroes, and, of course, the yankees believed them. Hundreds of arrests were made. These were the days of the freedman's bureau and if a negro entertained a grudge against a white man, all that he needed to do was to make a report to the bureau. General Wilde set up his court. A detail of soldiers was sent to the Chenault home for purposes of search. Things were done which I blush to tell. One feature of the inquisition was the
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stripping of helpless and innocent young women, who were thus exposed to the insults of the soldiers. The whole Chenault family, besides many others, were brought to Washington and imprisoned. Mrs. Chenault at the time was carrying a young infant, but no mercy was shown her on account of her condition. The citizens went to General Wilde and besought him to allow Mrs. Chen- ault and the other female prisoners to be taken to private homes and held under bond, but the request was refused. Old Dionysius Chenault, his son and his brother, were strung up by the thumbs, in order that treasure which they never possessed might be extracted from them. This torture of the men took place in the hearing of wives, mothers, and sisters; and Mrs. Chenault, in her unhappy condition, was forced to witness the sufferings of both her son and her husband. With their hands tied behind them, they were racked by cruel treatment until their arms reached over their heads. Old Dionysius Chenault fain- ted, and they cut him down to keep him from dying, under the ordeal.
"What became of the money? About $75,000 was re- covered by General Alexander. Also $10,000 or more was found secreted among the negroes, and the raiders are supposed to have carried off an equal amount. The wagons started with $250,000 or $300,000. Great excite- ment prevailed for years and reports were constantly starting up of the discovery of hidden treasure. Even to this day negroes may sometimes be seen plowing among hollow stumps and fallen trees, or fishing in the Savannah river for bags of gold. For it was told at the time that the robbers had concealed much treasure, expecting to return for it when the opportune moment arrived; but if they ever came they left no tracks by which they could afterwards be traced.
CHAPTER XLVII
Origin of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
G ENERAL John B. Gordon, on April 30, 1886, first used an expression which was destined to become historic-"The Daughter of the Confederacy." He was escorting to Georgia's capital the aged ex-Presi- dent of the Confederate States who was to be the city's guest of honor at the unveiling exercises of the Ben Hill monument. Mr. Davis was accompanied on this trip by his gifted daughter, Winnie, then in the prime of her youthful beauty but still unknown to fame as an author. From Beauvoir to Atlanta the journey was one continu- ous ovation. Enthusiastic crowds everywhere greeted the distinguished party; and at each stop calls were made for the President to speak. He was too feeble to respond to these requests, but he always gave the people an op- portunity to see him. When the train reached West Point, Ga., Mr. Davis was quite exhausted. Here General Gordon stepped to the rear platform holding Winnie Davis by the hand and after explaining why Mr. Davis could not speak in response to a call said: "But I wish to introduce to you, Winnie Davis, the Daughter of the Confederacy." It is said that loud cheers rent the air on the presentation of Miss Davis to the assemblage at West Point; and dating from this dramatic moment she was ever afterwards known by this familiar soubriquet.
At the unveiling exercises in Atlanta, on May 1, 1886, Dr. R. D. Spalding led Miss Davis to the front of the platform, where Henry W. Grady, as master of cere-
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monies, introduced her once more to the people as the Daughter of the Confederacy; and the newspapers of the country, seizing upon the felicitous expression, soon made it famous from ocean to ocean. It was most peculiarly appropriate by reason of the fact that she was not only the daughter of the great ex-Confederate chieftian but was born in the old Confederate White House, in Rich- mond, during the last year of the Civil War. The dis- tinction which she enjoyed, therefore, was unique; and after her death, some twelve years later, when ambitious candidates for her title were multiplying in number, with the prospect of serious complications, it was finally settled, by a pronounced public sentiment, that as the Daughter of the Confederacy she could have no successor.
The movement to organize the daughters of Confed- erate soldiers and sailors into patriotic orders, separate and distinct from the various Memorial Associations, was first launched sometime in the early nineties; and the credit for having pioneered the movement is quite gen- erally attributed to Mrs. Caroline Goodlett, of Nashville, Tenn. It is probably not true that Mrs. Goodlett organ- ized the first chapter of the Daughters of the Confeder- acy. There is reason to believe that Mrs. Cassidy, of St. Louis, anticipated her by several months in organizing a chapter under this particular name.1 Several other movements to organize the daughters into local bands
1It is true, that Mrs. Cassidy, of St. Louis, Mo., had several months be- fore organized a Chapter of Daughters of Confederacy, and she should have the honor of organizing the first Chapter under that name. Mrs. L. H. Raines, of Savannah, Ga., was then preparing to organize, the thought having come to her unsuggested .. yet it was Mrs. Goodlett's public notice in a Nashville paper that started the movement, and she should be entitled to the honor and given the name of Founder. Authority for this statement, Mrs. Raines' letter to Mrs. Goodlett, dated Savannah, Ga., April 29, 1894. Article in the Athens (Ga.) Banner, of April 26, 1912, by Miss Mildred Ruth- erford, historian-general, U. D. C.
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were also made about this time.1 But Mrs. Goodlett was the first to attract public attention in anything like a general way to the work in which she was engaged. This she did in the spring of 1894, through the medium of an article in the Nashville papers; and her conspicuous prominence in the movement from this time forward, especially in urging the daughters throughout the South to organize themselves into local chapters, seems clearly to entitle her to the pioneer honors.
But the idea of federation-the germal suggestion out of which grew the vast order today known as the United Daughters of the Confederacy-was first made by a Georgia lady : Mrs. L. H. Raines, of Savannah.2 It. was she who brought forward the comprehensive plan of welding the scattered chapters into one compact and powerful organization; and, while the priority of Mrs. Goodlett's claims as the forerunner of the movement and as the first executive head of the national order are not to be questioned, it seems that Mrs. Raines is clearly entitled to be called the founder of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.3 The suggestion that one badge
"It is also true that Mississippi, under the leadership of Mrs. Josie Frazer Cappleman, had organized the Fidelia Circle, Daughters of the Confederacy, and Mrs. Kate Cabell Currle had a Chapter of Daughters of the Confederacy organized at Dallas, Texas, to build a Confederate monument, and Ports- mouth, Va., had a band of children named Daughters of the Confederacy, and there was a Chapter at Albemarle, Va., all formed about the same time, in 1894, but as far as can be ascertained no movement to extend the work to other states was made until Mrs. Raines suggested and Mrs. Goodlett seized the thought, and she and Mrs. Raines carried it into execution. Article in the "Athens (Ga.) Banner" of April 26, 1912, by Miss Mildred Rutherford, historian-general, U. D. C.
2So while the movement started with Mrs. Goodlett, the Founder of the Daughters of Confederacy Chapters, to Mrs. L. H. Raines, of Savannah, Ga .. must be given the credit for suggesting the uniting of Chapters of all states into one body, hence, she should be given the name of the Founder of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and for suggesting one name and one badge.
'The authority for this statement is Mrs. Goodlett's letter to Mrs. Raines, Nashville, Tenn., April 24, 1894:
"It affords ine great pleasure to send you a copy of our Charter, Regula- tions and Rules of our Ladies Aux'l. of the Confederate Home, and am delighted to hear that you wish to organize an Aux'l. under the name of the Daughters of the Confederacy, which I think is the proper name, and as
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