Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 43

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274

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*Authority: Miss Ada Beck, now of Laredo Seminary, Laredo, Texas.

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It was on one of the hills around Kingston that Brig- adier-General Wofford, then in command of the Depart- ment of North Georgia, surrendered his army at the close of the Civil War. Three breastworks erected during the campaign of 1864 still stand within the corporate limits of the town. So compact is the clay of which these for- tifications were constructed that they have undergone no diminution since they were first built, nearly half a cen- tury ago; and on top of them today there are growing large trees. In the cemetery at Kingston 250 nameless Confederate soldiers are buried, besides two soldiers who wore the blue uniform. Years ago the Ladies Me- morial Association erected a shaft of marble in honor of these unknown heroes, placing it in the center of the consecrated area of ground. Since then the Women's History Club has marked each grave with a neat head- stone of marble. The Union soldiers are included among this number and are designated by the initials "U. S. A." For more than forty years the women of Kingston have cared for these graves. Consequently when it was pro- posed some time ago to remove the bodies to · Marietta they protested. The very thought was a nightmare to them. One of the earliest settlers in the neighborhood of Kingston was Mr. Levi Jolly, who came to this locality from North Carolina soon after the removal of the In- dians. His daughter, Mrs. E. K. Van Metre, still re- sides here. Major Charles H. Smith once lived at King- ston, and the original Bill Arp, from whom the great humorist derived his celebrated pen name, was likewise a Kingstonian; but a most nondescript character, "gin tales be true." The Reynolds home, commonly known as the Branson place, a mile and a quarter from Kingston, is an interesting old mansion of the ante-bellum type. It was built of brick made by slave labor on the planta- tion ; and with its large white columns in front it is not unlike the old home of General Lee at Arlington. The town of Kingston was named for United States Senator John P. King, of Augusta, one of Georgia's earliest rail-

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way pioneers and for years president of the Georgia Railroad.

Cassville : its Former Fragrant with the memories of a

Glories Recalled. past generation is the historic little town of Cassville, once the most famous seat of learning and the most important center of population in the whole of Cherokee Georgia. Here the Supreme Court held its first sessions and rendered its first decisions .* Here, in elegant homes, lived some of the wealthiest people of the State. Here flourished two noted schools: the Cassville Female College and the Cherokee Baptist College, both of which were formerly the scenes of gay commencements. It is doubtful if any community in the State has ever known an abler group of lawyers than Cassville boasted before the war, some of them men of the very highest eminence at the Bar. Here, it is said that the first brick sidewalks in upper Georgia were laid, and the first prohibitory measures against the sale of intoxicants were put into effect. Here sleep, in unknown graves, over 300 Confederate soldiers, over whom stands one of the oldest Confederate monu- ments ever erected ; and here one of the first memorial as- sociations in the State was organized. But Cassville was not a friend to railroads. Moreover, it lay in the track of General Sherman's fiery march to the sea, and when · he quit the town there was little left except blackened ruins. Today Cassville is only a small village, its former prosperity a dream of yesterday; but it still boasts some splendid citizens.

Cassville dates back to 1832. It was made the county- seat of Cass County by an Act of the Legislature creat-

*Authorities: Mrs. M. L. Johnson, of Cass Station; Mrs. W. H. Felton, of Cartersville; Mr. T. Warren Akin, of Washington, D. C.

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ing this county out of lands then recently vacated by the Cherokees; and some of the first settlers are named in the charter granted to the old Cassville Academy, to wit : John W. Hooper, William L. Morgan, Malachi Jones, Charles Cleghorn, and Thomas G. Barron.1 However, the town was not incorporated until December 27, 1843, when the following residents were named commissioners ; Samuel Morgan, William Latimer, Thomas A. Sullivan, George B. Russell and Julius M. Patton. The court- house was situated in a grove of magnificent oak trees, some of which still linger upon the square as stately re- minders of an era which has long since vanished.

The nearest depot-two miles and a half distant-is Cass Station. Prior to the war, Cassville's population numbered 2,000 souls, quite a large one for those days, when the population of the State was chiefly rural and nearly every one lived on plantations. In 1853, when her two famous schools were incorporated, Cassville, at the request of her own citizens, was placed under laws re- stricting the sale of intoxicants, and she was probably the first town in the State to adopt measures looking toward ultimate prohibition.

Cassville was named for General Lewis Cass, of Michigan. At this time, the old soldier was widely popu- lar throughout the South, but his subsequent views on the subject of African servitude, alienated his former friends in the slave-holding States. In 1861, when the name of the county was changed to Bartow, an effort was made to change the name of the town to Manassas; but the United States postal authorities refused to ratify this legislative act.2 Cassville loved her colleges ; and it was due largely to the supposed harmful effect that the railroads were likely to have upon these institutions that she refused the State Road surveyors the right of way to her doors. Charters for both the Cherokee Baptist

1 Acts, 1843, p. 94.

2 Acts, 1861, p. 101.

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College and for the Cassville Female College were granted on the same day-January 10, 1854. According to Mrs. William H. Felton, the former of these schools was burned before she refugeed from Cassville, her old home; the latter was burned by the modern Attilla: General William T. Sherman.

It is not a little singular that a town like Cassville should have become the storm center of such bitterness as to warrant its utter destruction by the Federals. Various explanations have been given. One is that Gen- eral Sherman, in a spirit of retaliation, wished to re- buke the State Leigslature for its action in repudiating General Cass. Others assign as a reason for the town's destruction, its conversion of public buildings into hos- pitals and its stout loyalty to the Confederate cause. Still another ground for resentment is traced to the fol- lowing incident: When some Federal prisoners, on a certain occasion, were brought through Cass Station, one of a number of young ladies from Cassville attached her mourning veil to a cane and waved it at these prisoners, who, angered by the spectacle, swore to be revenged whenever an opportunity should occur. But whatever the reason for destroying Cassville, it became an accom- plished fact when General Sherman appeared upon the scene in 1864. We close this story of Cassville with the following eloquent apostrophe from a recent speech delivered by one of her sons on an anniversary occasion : "Dear classic, historic old Cassville, always held by the things of the past! She purposely and designedly iso- lated herself from the swift current of commercial life; refused to allow her peace, quiet and dignity to be in- vaded by the screech of the locomotive and the rumble of traffic; waived aside the coming of the State Road and retired within her classic shades to preserve her schools of learning and her home life from the raw and ruthless touch of commercialism. Alas, for her! The breath of

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war blasted her dreams and laid her homes in ashes. But her scattered people are still true to the past and revere the conditions that placed her upon the pinnacle of Cher- okee Georgia's ante-bellum achievements."

The Old Cemetery. In the old cemetery at Cassville, over 300 Confederate soldiers lie buried in unknown graves. But they are not forgotten. Over- looking the sacred area of ground, in which these knights of the Southern Cross repose, there rises an impressive monument-one of the earliest ever erected to Confeder- ate valor. This shaft was reared, at infinite sacrifice, by the devoted women of Cassville, out of the poverty of a desolated region. It is built of brick, in each of the four sides of which there is embedded a marble shield, bearing an appropriate inscription. The first Confederate sol- dier buried in this enclosure was a Mr. Carpenter, of Virginia, whose uncle lived at Cassville .* The latter,

*Intimately recalling Oliver Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," yet striking a distinctly original note in form and sentiment, Mrs. J. D. Carpenter, of Cassville, a kinswoman of this young man, wrote a lovely poem-now many years ago entitled: "The Ruined Village." It was first printed in the Quitman "Banner," and afterwards in the Cartersville "Standard," appear- ing in the latter paper on May 10, 1867. These verses are selected:

"Old Cassville, in thy early days, the Indian of the wood, Amid thy tall and stately oaks, in buckskin garments stood; By nature, they were savages, but 'twas not by their hands- Dear Cassville stands a monument of far more savage hands!

Thou wert a place of quietude and sweet domestic joys, Outstanding on the noble hills were school for girls and boys; And no mean poltroon trained the thoughts, but sages true and sound, Taught the young idea how to shoot, in science most profound. * * *

* * E'en thus it was in bygone days, when hopes were bright and fair; But now the lyre has changed its note, the minstrel changed his air; The winds, in whispering murmurs, creep, around the ruined walls, And owls and bats their vigils keep, amid those blackened halls. . *

* * * * * Sad desolation marks the spot, but still assemble there, A few to share each other's toils, or join in mutual cheer; Nor will they, as the years roll round, forget the appointed day, To strew with flowers those warriors' graves, from loved ones far away.

And will you, as you strew them wide, save each a little flower For one lone grave we stood beside, in Autumn's twilight hour? That hour, so fraught with loneliness, ere night her curtains spread, We laid our warrior down to rest, among the sleeping dead."

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on hearing of his nephew's serious wounds, caused him to be brought to his home, where he was given the best medical attention, but without avail. In this same burial- ground sleep Hon. Warren Akin and General William T. Wofford, two of Georgia's most distinguished sons.

Early Settlers and Cassville, on account of its prestige

Noted Residents. as a seat of culture and as a center of refining influence, intellectual and so- cial, early became the home of some of Georgia's best families. Dr. H. V. M. Miller, afterwards a United States Senator from Georgia, resided here at one time, later removing to Rome. Here lived Judge Augustus R. Wright, a noted Congressman and jurist; Colonel Warren Akin, at one time a strong minority candidate for Governor; General William T. Wofford, a gallant Con- federate officer, who commanded the Department of North Georgia, at the close of the war; Judge John W. Hooper and Judge Turner H. Trippe, two strong judges of the Cherokee Circuit. The list also includes: Lewis Tumlin, Zachariah Hargrove, B. D. Hamilton, Major S. L. Chunn, Dr. Underwood, William Headen, John Word, Chester Hawks, Jesse P. Jones, Joseph Bogle, Dr. R. H. Patton, Thomas Dunlap, William Latimer, John H. Rice, J. M. Wilson, Hawkins Price, Nelson Gilreath, G. H. Gilreath, Richard Gaines, Abda Johnson, Mark Johnson, A. M. Franklin, H. W. Cobb, William Goldsmith, and a host of others. With the decline of Cassville, not a few of the old families removed to Rome.

Cartersville. Cartersville, the county-seat of Bartow County, was named for Farish Carter, Esq., perhaps the wealthiest landowner in the State during the ante-bellum period. The town was incorporated by

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an Act approved February 5, 1850, with the following commissioners : R. H. Cannon, W. W. Leak, William H. Puckett, J. F. Sproull, and Coleman Pitts .* Its earliest city charter was granted in 1872. Just after the first battle of Manassas, the name of the county was changed from Cass to Bartow, in honor of the gallant Francis S. Bartow, who perished at the head of his regiment, in this opening battle of the war. At the same time, without success, an effort was made to change the name of the former county-seat from Cassville to Manassas. Never- theless, when Cassville was destroyed by General Sher- man. in 1864, the county-seat was changed to Cartersville, then a thriving town on the Etowah. Due to its splendid railway facilities and its high altitude, Cartersville is today one of the liveliest trade centers of Georgia, with a promising future outlook. Some of the most distin- guished men of Georgia have been residents of Carters- ville, including Hon. Mark A. Cooper, General P. M. B. Young, Dr. W. H. Felton, Rev. Sam P. Jones, Major Charles H. Smith, better known as "Bill Arp;" Dr. Charles Wallace Howard, former United States Attor- ney-General; Amos T. Akerman, Hon. Lewis Tumlin, Hon. John W. Akin and many others.

BEN HILL

Volume I.

Ben Hill: Dramatic The most colossal figure in Georgia

Incidents in the during the days of Reconstruction Career of the was the man of consummate elo- Great Orator. quence for whom this county was named. He was a statesman of proven fidelity, of keen insight into governmental prob- lems, and of unquestioned moral courage. The spectacle which he presented in Davis Hall, in 1867, when oblivious

*Acts, 1849-1850, p. 103.

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to the presence of an armed soldiery, he hurled his ter- rific denunciations and his burning anathemas into the teeth of the men who represented the carpet-bag regime in Georgia, is wholly unique; and together with the dra- matic figure of the rugged old Governor who denounced fraud and tyranny in the earlier days of Georgia, it will be treasured in the enduring affections of the Common- wealth. The outlines of the picture will never need to be retouched.

Judge Hill, in the excellent biographical memoir which he has written of his distinguished father, thus narrates the circumstances :* "In 1867 the Reconstruc- tion measures were passed by Congress and submitted to the Southern States for ratification. It is not the pur- pose of the writer to enter into a discussion of these measures. It is enough to say that they were enacted by a fanatical body of law-makers in bitter hatred of the South and for the purpose of degrading her people. A few citizens of Atlanta met together for the purpose of taking such aetion as might be deemed necessary to meet the exigency of the hour. These men looked around for leaders. Brown was advocating the prompt accept- ance by the South of the terms proposed. Stephens was in silent despair at Liberty Hall. Toombs was abroad. Howell Cobb declined to give advice. Herschel V. John- son promised to write a letter reviewing the situation. Mr. Hill came to Atlanta to confer with his fellow citi- zens. After doing so, he secured copies of the military bills and promised to give advice in a few days, at the expiration of which time he notified the gentlemen that he was ready to make a speech in Atlanta at such time as they might wish. July 10, 1867, is an ever-memorable day in the history of the South. On the night of that day a voice was raised in behalf of Southern honor and manhood for the first time since the surrender. The speech of Mr. Hill put courage in the place of despair,

*Senator Benjamin H. Hill: His Life, Speeches and Writings, by Benj. H. Hill, Jr., pp. 50-51, New York, 1891.

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and that night the glorious fight for political redemption was inaugurated."

One who was present on this occasion describes the scene from the standpoint of an eye-witness." Says he : "The hall was insufficiently lighted and the pallor of men's faces in the pit almost put to shame the lamps which here and there flickered. Mr. Hill appeared in a full dress suit of black. His superb figure showed to best advantage, his gray eyes flashed, and his face paled into dead white with earnestness. Just before he began, the Federal generals, in full uniform, with glittering staff officers, entered the hall and marched to the front, their showy uniforms and flushed faces making sharp con- trast with the ill-dressed crowd of rebels through which they pushed their way, and sat in plain censorship over the orator and his utterances. With incomparable un- concern, Mr. Hill arose. The threatening presence of the soldiers, the jails which yawned behind them, the dangers which the slightest nod from the officers might bring, had no effect upon him. Without hesitation he launched his denunciations upon them and upon the power which they represented. For two hours he spoke as mortal seldom spoke before, and when he had done Georgia was once more on her feet and Georgians were organized for the protests of 1868 and the victories of 1870."

BERRIEN

Nashville. In 1856 Berrien County was formed out of Coffee, Lowndes and Irwin Counties, and named for Judge John MacPherson Berrien, the "Amer- ican Cicero." The commissioners chosen at this time to select a county-site were: William Roberts, Josiah Parish, Cornelius Tison, Jasper M. Luke, and Owen

*Ibid., p. 294.

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Smith.1 Nashville was granted a charter of incorpora- tion on December 20, 1892, with W. L. Swindle, Esq., as Mayor, and with Messrs. John T. Taylor, W. E. Lamb, L. A. Carter, L. L. Albrittin, and T. I. Griffin as Coun- cilmen.2 In 1900, Nashville was reincorporated, this time as a city, with its area considerably extended. It has grown rapidly of late years; scores of strong busi- ness and professional men have located here on account of the splendid outlook of the town; and today Nashville is one of the most important trade centers and one of the most progressive communities of South Georgia.

Indian Fighting Captain Levi J. Knight was a cele- in the Swamps. brated Indian fighter. The following story, in which he figures with some prominence, was found in an old scrap-book kept by the late Judge Richard H. Clarke. It was told by Bryan J. Roberts, a wealthy pioneer citizen of Lowndes, who sev- eral years before his death divided a large estate between his children. It runs as follows: "In 1836 the rumors of depredations committed by the Indians in other portions of the State caused widespread alarm in this section, and the citizens organized companies for protec- tion. Captain Levi J. Knight commanded the company to which Mr. Roberts belonged. This company was on duty for 105 days, and was engaged in two bloody fights with the red-skins. Some time in the fall of the year mentioned, a squad of Indians raided Mr. William Parker's home, not far from Milltown, in what is now Berrien. They carried his feather beds out in the yard, cut them open, emptied the feathers and appropriated the ticks. They also robbed him of provisions, clothing, and money in the sum of $308.

"Captain Knight was soon on the trail of the squad and overtook them near the Alapalıa River, not far from

1 Acts, 1855-1856, p. 112.

2 Acts, 1892, p. 162.

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Gaskin's mill-pond. The sun was just rising when the gallant company opened fire on the savages. A lively fight ensued, but it soon terminated in an utter rout of the Indians, who threw their guns and plunder into the river and jumped in after them. A few were killed and a number wounded. One Indian was armed with a fine shot-gun. This he threw into the river. He also tried to throw into the stream a shot-bag, but it was caught by the limb of a tree and suspended over the water. Strange to say, it contained Mr. Parker's money, every cent of which was recovered. The fine gun was fished out of the river and was afterwards sold for $40, a tre- mendous price for a gun in those days.

Having driven the Indians from the dense swamp be- yond the river, Captain Knight marched his company as rapidly as possible in the direction of Brushy Creek, in the southwest part of the county [i. e., Lowndes]. In the distance they heard a volley of small arms. On arrival, they found that a battle had already been fought, and the volley was only the last tribute of respect over the grave of a comrade-in-arms, Pennywell Folsom. Mr. Robert Parrish, who became quite prominent and lived near Adel, had his arm broken in this fight. Edwin Henderson was mortally wounded and died near the battle-field, and there were two others killed. The In- dians lost 22, besides a number wounded. The battle was fought in a swamp where Indian cunning was pitted against Anglo-Saxon courage, and in five minutes after the engagement opened there was not a live red-skin to be seen. From this place Captain Knight marched his company into what is now Clinch. He overtook the Indians at Cow Creek, where a sharp engagement oc- curred. Three were killed and five made prisoners. Mr. Brazelius Staten was dangerously wounded, but finally recovered. This ended the Indian fighting in which Cap- tain Knight's company was engaged. More than three quarters of a century has since passed, and the actors in the bloody drama are now at rest.

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BIBB

Fort Hawkins: the One of the special features of the

Cradle of Macon. Sixteenth Annual Conference of the State D. A. R. in Macon was the unveiling by Nathaniel Macon Chapter of a handsome marble tablet on the site of old Fort Hawkins-the birth- place of the present city of Macon, and the most impor- tant stronghold on the Georgia frontier in pioneer days. Following an elegant repast at the Hotel Dempsey, over which the newly elected State Regent, Mrs. T. C. Parker, most graciously presided, the visiting daughters and invited guests, promptly at 3 o'clock, on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 17, 1914, were conveyed in auto- mobiles to the site of the old fort, some three-quarters of a mile from the town center. It was underneath a cloudless sky and on an afternoon balmy with the breath of opening spring-time that the following program was rendered :

Invocation.

Song, "The Red Old Hills of Georgia," by the School Children. Remarks by the State Regent, Mrs. S. W. Foster, introducing the orator of the day.

Address, by Hon. Lucian Lamar Knight.

Song, "Georgia," by the School Children.

Benediction.

On an eminence overlooking the city of Macon and the sinuous bed of the Ocmulgee River, the site of old Fort Hawkins commands a prospect unsurpassed lin the State for magnificence of view. But nothing today remains of the ancient stronghold which once stood upon these heights, except a few broken fragments of rock. The handsome memorial tablet is a work of art. Chiseled into the polished face of the tablet is a sculp- tured design of the old fort as it looked when first built in 1806, while underneath is inscribed in large letters :

FORT HAWKINS.

The base is formed of original stones used in the con- struction of the old fort. These are said to have been

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dragged from the bottom of the river. On the reverse side is this inscription :

From 1806 to 1828.

Capt. Benjamin Hawkins Capt. Philip Cook

Major-General John McIntosh Major-General John Floyd

Brigadier-General David Blackshear

Major Christopher Strong

Colonel David Booth

Colonel Ezekiel Wimberly

Capt. James Saffold

The McIntosh trail began here.

It was during the Regency of Mrs. Edgar A. Ross, who founded the Nathaniel Macon Chapter, that a move- ment looking toward a memorial for old Fort Hawkins was first launched. Between Mrs. Ross and the late Colo- nel Charles R. Pendleton, editor of the Macon Telegraph, there waged a controversy relative to the date of Macon's birthday, the latter contending for 1823, when lots were first sold in Macon, the former for 1806, when Fort Haw- kins was built on an eminence overlooking the Ocmul- gee River, from a site included within the present city limits. Since the Macon Telegraph began its career at Fort Hawkins, Colonel Pendleton was forced in the end to surrender, and some time afterwards the Macon Tele- graph ordered a lot of post-cards to be printed contain- ing a picture of old Fort Hawkins, described as the birth- place of Macon.

Major Philip Cook. One of the early commandants at Fort Hawkins, was Major Philip Cook, of the Eighth United States Infantry, who was sta- tioned at this point on the frontier at the outbreak of the War of 1812. His father, Captain John Cook, was

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an officer in the famous legion of cavalry commanded by Colonel William Washington; while his mother was Martha Pearson, who came of a noted Revolutionary household of Virginia. Major Cook married a famous beauty, Ann Wooten, whose father, Major John Wooten, lost his life at Fort Wilkinson. As an Indian fighter, Major Cook won early distinction. But he was also a most accomplished gentleman and a man of wide in- formation. His knowledge was almost encyclopedic. On the topics of the day he was so well versed that ques- tions were often referred to him which no one else on the frontier could answer. Two of his sons attained dis- tinction : Dr. John Raiford Cook, a Confederate surgeon, and General Philip Cook, a gallant soldier and civilian, who served Georgia on the tented field, in Congress and as Secretary of State, succeeding in this last position the lamented Nathan C. Barnett. The present distinguished Secretary of State, Hon. Philip Cook, Jr., is the grand- son of Major Philip Cook, the commandant at Fort Haw- kins.

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 43

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co. Number of Pages: 1274

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274