Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 50

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

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Marietta : A Nestling almost within the shadow of Ken- Brief Sketch. nesaw Mountain, the little city of Marietta is identified with some of the most heroic memories of the Civil War. On either side of the town there are beautiful cemeteries consecrated to the ashes

*Authority: Mr. Folks Huxford, Homerville, Ga.

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of the gallant dead, most of whom fell in fiercely con- tested battles around Marietta, in the campaign of 1864. The Federal Cemetery, a magnificently wooded area, to the east of the town, contains the graves of 12,000 Fed- eral soldiers; while over 3,000 wearers of the gray uni- form sleep in the beautiful enclosure of ground, known as the Confederate Cemetery, just to the west of the State Road.

But the history of Marietta antedates by more than a generation the titanic death grapple between North and South. It came into existence when Cobb County was erected out of a part of the territory wrested from the Cherokee Indians, and was made the permanent county- site by an Act of the Legislature, approved December 19, 1834, at which time the following pioneer citizens were named as commissioners : Leonard Simpson, Wash- ington Winters, James Anderson, George W. Cupp and Lemma Kerkly .* As a health resort, Marietta enjoyed from the start a peculiar prestige among the towns of the Georgia uplands. It furnished a delightful retreat in summer for scores of families from the coast and developed excellent schools, which made it a seat of culture and a center of refinement, long before the Civil War. .

John Hey- Perhaps the pioneer citizen to whose

ward Glover. constructive leadership the city of Mari- etta owes its largest debt of gratitude was Colonel John Heyward Glover, a native of Beaufort District, S. C. Settling at Marietta, in 1848, he became at once a dominant factor in the affairs of the town and was the first citizen to hold the office of mayor. He do- nated the land for the present court-house and public square: while his widow, in after years, donated the tract today known as the Confederate Cemetery, but used for general purposes of burial. He was one of

*Acts, 1834, p. 252.

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Marietta's earliest captains of industry; and his tire- less energies supplied an impetus from which much of the subsequent growth of Marietta has resulted. He died in the prime of life, on March 28, 1859, and his un- timely death was made the subject of resolutions adopted by the town council of Marietta and by the local Bar, at a meeting over which Judge George D. Rice presided.

Some Early But there were many other men of note Pioneers. connected with the beginnings of Marietta. Captain Arnoldus V. Brumby, who founded the Georgia Military Academy, famous in war times as our Georgia West Point, came to Marietta in the early fifties. He was followed, in 1858, by his brother, Prof. Richard T. Brumby, at one time a partner of the noted William C. Preston, of South Carolina, in the practice of law, and afterwards an educator of eminent distinc- tion. Dr. Isaac Watts Waddell, an early pastor of the Presbyterian Church, was one of the tall landmarks of his denomination in Georgia. Mrs. Lizzie Waddell Setze, his daughter, has lived in Marietta continuously since 1842. Dr. Scott, the first rector of St. James, af- terwards became a Bishop. On the present site of the Episcopal Church, John R. Winters helped to build the first house in Marietta. General A. J. Hansell built the handsome old home where Miss Sarah Camp now lives. on Kennesaw Avenue. Governor Charles J. McDonald was a pioneer resident of Marietta, and a part of his original home place is today owned and occupied by Governor Joseph M. Brown. Judge George D. Ander- son, Colonel George N. Lester, Colonel James D. Wad- dell, Colonel James W. Robertson, afterwards Adjutant- General of Georgia ; Judge David Irwin, one of the orig- inal codifiers of the law of Georgia; General William Phillips, who commanded a noted legion of cavalry dur- ing the Civil War; his brother, Colonel Charles D. Phil-

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lips, Hon. William Y. Hansell and many other men of note were identified with Marietta's early days.

The Georgia Mili- On December 8, 1851, an Act was

tary Institute. approved, chartering the famous Georgia Military Institute at Mari- etta, as a private enterprise, under the control of certain well-known citizens, to wit: David Irwin, Andrew J. Han- sell, William P. Young, John H. Glover, Martin G. Slaughter, David Dobbs, John Jones, Charles J. McDon- ald, William Harris, Mordecai Myers and James Bran- non.1 Some few years later it became an institution of the State. Colonel A. V. Brumby was the first superin- tendent. He was the father of the gallant officer of Dewey's flagship, Lieutenant Thomas M. Brumby, who raised the first United States flag at Manila.

The first commandant was Colonel James W. Robert- son. In the wake of Sherman's march to the sea, the Georgia Military Institute became a blackened ruin; but during the fourteen short years in which it existed as an institution, it literally sowed the dragon's teetli from which an army of trained warriors was destined to spring. As a feeder for the Confederate ranks, it became famous throughout the land, and there must have been a thrill of peculiar satisfaction in the breast of the great Federal commander when he applied the torch to an institution which was the dread and terror of Yankeedom. The following account of the origin of this school is condensed from White." Says he: "Its first session opened on July 10, 1851, with only seven cadets; but before the close of the term the number was increased to twenty-eight. Since then the number has steadily and rapidly increased at each session until the present time; and now, having completed but two years

1 Acts, 1851-1852, pp. 298-299.

2 White's Statistics.

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of its history, it numbers one hundred and twenty cadets, five professors and one assistant professor. It was in- corporated by the Legislature as a college, during the session of 1851-1852. At the same time, the Governor was directed to make requisition upon the government of the United States for arms and accoutrements. These have been received. The government and discipline of the Institute are strict. The course of study is thor- oughly scientific and practical, and the whole is modeled after the United States Military Academy at West Point."

With the approach of General Sherman towards Marietta, in 1864, the cadets were organized into a bat- talion, under the command of Major, afterwards Bridga- dier-General, F. W. Capers, and there were no better fighters in Johnston's army than these beardless boys.

They served from May 10, 1864, to May 20, 1865. Scores of them were wounded in battle. Not a few of them were killed outright. In every action they gave a brave account of themselves; and, according to Judge Robert L. Rodgers, one of the gallant band, they consti- tuted the last organized body of Confederate soldiers on duty east of the Mississippi River. Under an order from General Lafayette McLaws, dated May 1, 1865, after both Lee and Johnston had surrendered, they ren- dered service to the Confederate government by guard- ing the military stores at Augusta, until relieved by a garrison of Federal soldiers, who came to take posses- sion.

Thus it was reserved for these cadets of the Georgia Military Institute to obey the last orders of a Confed- erate officer during the war between the States.

Where Two Gov- The town of Marietta has given the ernors Have Lived : State two Governors who occupied

An Historic Home. the same home site: Charles J. Mc- Donald and Joseph M. Brown. The latter, when an employee of the Western & Atlantic

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Railroad, in the capacity of traffic manager, with little thought of what the future held in store for him, pur- chased the old McDonald place at Marietta, and after his marriage, on February 12, 1889, to Miss Cora Mc- Cord, made this his home for the future. He purchased the property from General Henry R. Jackson, of Savan- nah, from whose name it borrows an added wealth of associations, and here, surrounded by stately forest oaks, he has since spent the greater part of his time, in the en- joyment of an ideal home life, semi-rural in character. The site was happily chosen by Governor McDonald dur- ing the early ante-bellum period. It included originally quite a large portion of the present town, and something like 110 acres were embraced in the tract conveyed to Governor Brown. The old residence, which was built and occupied by Governor McDonald, was burned to the ground by General Serman. But the comparatively new residence of the present Governor was built only a stone's throw from the old chimney piles which survived the general wreck.

The present Governor's father was a warm admirer of Governor McDonald. It is said that the former, after drafting his first inaugural address, submitted the manu- script to Governor McDonald for approval and was more than gratified by the fact that the old Governor could suggest nothing in the way of improvement or correction. As a further proof of the friendship which existed be- tween them, one of the sons of Georgia's war Governor was named for Governor McDonald. They, were both men of positive convictions, and were both trained in the Jeffersonian school of politics.

Governor McDonald was born in Charleston, S. C., but his sturdy virtues were cast in the rugged molds of the Scottish Highlands. He came to Georgia when a lad and lived for a while in Hancock. At the age of twenty-eight he was elected Judge of the Flint Circuit and two years later was made Brigadier-General of the State militia. From 1839 to 1843 he held the high office

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of Governor, and from 1855 to 1859 he wore the ermine of the Supreme Court of Georgia. He was an ardent advocate of State rights, a strict Constructionist of the Federal Constitution, and a devoted patriot. Due to his extreme views upon questions of the day, he was defeated by Howell Cobb for Governor in 1850, but scarcely more than a decade passed before the State came to his way of thinking and adopted the ordinance of secession. He died in Marietta, on the eve of the Civil War, at the age of sixty-eight.

Governor Brown was first elected to the office of Gov- ernor in 1908. He had previously been a member of the State Railroad Commission, an office to which he was appointed by reason of his familiarity with railroad matters. But he took a position in regard to port rates at variance with the views held by Governor Smith, in consequence of which there occurred an open rupture between them. The Commissioner's resignation was demanded. To vindicate himself before the people, Mr. Brown became a candidate for the office of Governor, and in the ensuing election was victorious at the polls. There is a story told to the effect that Mr. Brown had sent a communication to Governor Smith voluntarily relinquish- ing his office as commissioner, but that Governor Smith had refused to open it, thereby hurling a fire-brand into Georgia politics, which ultimately compassed his defeat. It is certain that Mr. Brown sent a letter to Governor Smith, which the latter returned to him with the seal unbroken ; but what it contained has never been divulged.

The whole State was divided into Brown and Smith camps, and the political feud between Clark and Craw- ford was re-enacted upon a wider stage of politics. Though Governor Brown was successful in the first elec- tion, Governor Smith opposed him in the second cam- paign, and was again elected to the office of Governor. But, during his term of office, the Legislature elected him to fill the unexpired term of Senator Clay, a race in which he defeated Hon. Joseph M. Terrell, who was tem-

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porarily filling the vacancy under an appointment by Governor Brown. Thus the fight was still on. Upon the election of Governor Smith to the United States Senate, the friends of Governor Brown urged him to re-enter the field for Governor. He did so; and, on December 7, 1911, was re-elected. The interval of sixty days between the retirment of Governor Smith and the inauguration of Governor Brown was filled by the President of the State Senate, Hon. John M. Slaton, who became ad in- terim Governor of Georgia. The only instance on record in the history of the State, where father and son have held the office of Governor, is furnished by the Browns. The library of the present Governor contains a number of rare books, and is particularly rich in works which deal with early American antiquities. Several years ago, he published a romance, entitled "Astyanax," in which he portrays the ancient civilization of Mexico. Though not an orator in the forensic sense, he wields an effective pen, and is characterized by much of his father's far-sighted- ness of vision. Besides the home place at Marietta, Gov- ernor Brown cultivates an extensive plantation in Cher- okee.

Governor Charles J. Judge Spencer R. Atkinson, a McDonald: An Epi- grandson of Governor Charles J. sode of His Career. McDonald, and himself a Georgian of distinguished attainments, has preserved the following dramatic incident in the life of the illustrious statesman. Says he :

"Governor MeDonald came into office under trying circumstances. The State treasury was empty. The evil effects of the great panic of 1837 were still pressing upon the people, like a nightmare. The great work of building the Western and Atlantic Railroad was languishing. The publie debt had been increased to one million dollars-an enormous sum in those days. Worst of all, the State credit was at a low ebb, because of the pro- test of an obligation of three Imndred thousand dollars, which had been contracted by the Central Bank under authority of the General Assembly of Georgia. Commerce and business generally were paralyzed. In 1837

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the Legislature had passed an act allowing the counties of the State to retain the general tax, the same to be applied by the inferior courts to county purposes. As might have been expected, the counties frittered away the money. The bank was nearly destroyed by putting upon it a burden which did not belong to it, and the State was. left without resource or credit.

"Governor McDonald had inherited from his Scotch ancestors a hard head and a sound judgment. Never did he need his inherent qualities more than he did in the situation which then confronted him. He first recom- mended that the State resume the entire amount of the State tax which had been given to the counties, with but little benefit to them and greatly to the injury of the State. This recommendation prevailed, and a law was enacted ordering the State tax to be turned into the treasury. Almost im- mediately following this necessary action, the Legislature, in 1841, passed an Act reducing the taxes of the State twenty per cent. This Act Governor McDonald promptly vetoed, with an argument, brief and pointed, and a statement which made his veto message unanswerable. He had been re- elected in 1841 and. on November 8, 1842, in his annual message urging upon the Legislature the only effective remedy for relieving the State from its difficulties, he used these words: 'The difficulty should be met at once. Had there been no Central Bank the expense of the government must have been met by taxation. These expenses have been paid by the Central Bank and have become a legitimate charge upon taxation. This must be the resort, or the government is inevitably dishonored. The public faith must be maintained, and to pause to discuss the question of prefer- ences between taxation and 'dishonor would be to cast a reflection upon the character of the people, whose servants we are.'

"The issue was joined. The Legislature had rejected a measure calling for additional taxation to meet these just claims. The session was near its close. It was evident that unless some drastic action was taken the Legislature would adjourn, leaving an obligation of one hundred thousand dollars unmet. Governor McDonald acted with firmness and promptness. He shut the doors of the treasury in the face of the members of the Gen- eral Assembly of Georgia. Great excitement followed. The members of the Legislature denounced him as a tyrant worse than Andrew Jackson, who had gone beyond the limits of reason. Even his political friends, alarmed at the storm which had been raised, urged him to recede from his position and to rescind his order to the Treasurer. He resolutely refused. As a result, the necessary bill was finally passed, and at the next session he was able to report an improved condition of the finances and a revival of confidence in the Central Bank. It was without doubt a most fortunate thing for Georgia at this critical period in the history of the State that a man of Governor MeDonald's firmness, prudence, and business sagacity was at the head of affairs.'

Governor McDonald is buried in the Episcopal Ceme-

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tery, at Marietta. The grave is handsomely marked by a monument of marble, which consists of a solid column surmounted by an urn, the whole resting upon a pedestal of granite. The coat of arms of Georgia is chiselled into the column, while above the device is inscribed "McDon- ald." Underneath appears the following epitaph :

"Sacred to the memory of Charles James McDonald. Born July 9, 1793. Died December 16, 1860. Aged 67 years, 5 months, and 7 days. 'Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolation He hath made in the earth. ' "'

Cobb in the In 1845, when hostilities with Mexico be- Mexican War. gan, a company of soldiers was dis- patched from Cobb to the seat of war. It was called the Kennesaw Rangers, and was annexed to the Georgia Regiment of Volunteers, in command of Colonel Henry R. Jackson, of Savannah. Its officers were as follows : Captain, A. Nelson; First Lieutenant, James M. Dobbs; Second Lieutenant, W. J. Manahan; Ser- geants, J. H. Mehaffey, H. Trotter, Andrew B. Reed and Joseph H. Winters; Corporals, S. M. Anderson, William D. Neal, William D. Gray and William H. Craft. Ninety- two members enrolled.

The Little There stands in the Confederate Ceme- Brass Cannon. tery, at Marietta, a little brass cannon, concerning which there is a story of dra- matic interest. During the year 1852, the Georgia Mili- tary Institute, at Marietta, was presented by the State with four six-pounder guns, made of brass, to be used in the artillery drills. On the occasion of the inauguration of Governor Herschel V. Johnson, at Milledgeville, in 1856, the cadets were present. They took with them two of the guns, to be used in the inaugural ceremonies; but while a cadet was loading one of them it fired prema- turely, mutilating an arm of the gunner. The disastrous

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affair occurred on the Capitol grounds. Two years later the cadets witnessed the induction into office of Governor Joseph E. Brown, on which occasion they again took two of the guns with them; but fortunately this time there was no mishap.

When the Institute was closed, in 1864, by reason of the imminence of hostilities, due to the approach of Gen- eral Sherman, a battalion of cadets was formed. As the boys, however, were armed with Belgian rifles and were enlisted as infantrymen, they did not need the heavy guns. So the six-pounders were left on the parade grounds at the Institute. At the close of the war they were not to be found in Marietta.

Judge Robert L. Rodgers is of the opinion that they were brought to Atlanta, in the wake of Johnston's army, and that in the battles around the beleaguered citadel of the Confederacy, the guns fell into the hands of the Fed- erals. At any rate, they were captured by the enemy, whether at one place or at another.

Years elapsed without bringing any word in regard to the missing guns. Finally, in 1909, Governor Joseph M. Brown, who was then in office, was notified by the .War Department at Washington that in the arsenal at Watervliet, N. Y., there was a little brass cannon having on it the inscription : "Georgia Military Institute, 1851." At the same time it was stated that the trophy of war could be purchased for the sum of $150. In proportion to the sentimental value of the old relic, the amount was nominal. But Governor Brown was not authorized to pay the money out of the treasury of the State. More- over, the ex-cadets were scattered throughout the Union-the few who still survived the flight of fifty years. So the Governor referred the matter to the La- dies' Memorial Association, at Marietta. These patri- otic women immediately went to work. They enlisted the co-operation of Senators Bacon and Clay and of Con- · gressman Gordon Lee, the latter of whom represented the district. Together, they induced the Government to

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donate the cannon to the Ladies' Memorial Association, of Marietta. It was a generous act on the part of the Federal authorities, especially in view of the partisan role which such an engine of war is supposed to have played, but the cannon was never fired by the cadets against the United States flag.

Soon after the matter was thus happily settled the cannon arrived. In due time it was installed upon a pedestal of granite and placed in the Confederate Ceme .. tery, at Marietta, within sight of Kennesaw Mountain, to guard the heroic dust which here sleeps. On April 26, 1910, it was formally unveiled with impressive cere- monies. Judge Robert L. Rodgers, of Atlanta, welcomed the little cannon back home in an eloquent speech, while the veil was drawn by Miss Annie Coryell, the charming little granddaughter of Colonel James W. Robertson, the first commandant of the Institute. There were a number of the old cadets present, besides a host of distinguished visitors, including his excellency, Governor Joseph M. Brown. The site of the famous old school is in the imme- diate neighborhood of the spot where the little cannon keeps vigil.

Kennesaw Mountain.

Volume I, Pages 208-211.

Cheatham's Hill: On June 27, 1914-fifty years after the The Illinois battle of Kennesaw Mountain-a su- Monument. perb monument of Georgia marble was formally unveiled by the State of Illinois, at Cheatham's Hill, a part of the historic battle ground, near Marietta. Governor E. F. Dunne, representing the. State of Illinois, accompanied by a special delegation from the General Assembly of his State, and Governor John M. Slaton, representing the State of Georgia, with a special committee from the Georgia House and Senate, took part in the impressive exercises. One of the features of the day was a basket-dinner served by two of Mari-

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etta's patariotic organizations : Kennesaw Chapter, U. D. C., and Fielding Lewis Chapter, D. A. R. The monument is built of silver gray Georgia marble, twenty-six feet in height and nineteen feet wide at the base. It carries a bronze statue of a soldier, seven feet in height, inter- posed between two allegorical figures, and the total cost of the structure was $20,000, which amount was appropri- ated by the Legislature of Illinois. Miss Sara Sadely, eleven years old, of Anderson, Ind., a little granddaugh- ter of W. A. Payton, of Danville, Ill., the supervising architect, who constructed the monument, drew the cord which unloosed the veil from the handsome structure. Both of the chief executives delivered eloquent speeches, full of the spirit of reconciliation. Governor Dunne, in a beautiful word picture, paid tribute to the soldiers of the two great armies who here struggled for mastery; to the followers of Johnston, as well as to the men under Sher- man; and he closed his splendid address by quoting the following stanza from Finch's great poem :

"Under the sod and the dew. Waiting the judgment day ; Love and tears for the Blue, Tears and love for the Gray."

Lieutenant Brumby During the war with Spain, in 1898, Raises the American it was reserved for an American Flag at Manila. sailor, whose boyhood was spent in Marietta, to achieve signal distinc- tion. This was Lieutenant Thomas M. Brumby, whose father, Colonel A. V. Brumby, was the first superinten- dent of the Georgia Military Institute at Marietta, a sol- dier who followed the Stars and Bars, and a gentleman who was universally esteemed. "Tom" Brumby was a lieutenant on board the famous "Olympia," the flagship of Admiral Dewey. He is credited by one of the war correspondents, Mr. E. W. Harden, of the Chicago Tri- bune, with having suggested the plan of the battle, and

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since the Spanish fleet was completely annihilated by this exploit, while not an American boat was injured nor an American sailor killed, it is no slight honor to have planned such an engagement. However, there are other things to the credit of this gallant officer which cannot be questioned. It devolved upon him to hoist the American flag over the surrendered citadel, an act which not only announced the formal occupation of the Philip- pine Islands by the United States government, but also proclaimed a radical change of national policy, which, reversing the precedents of one hundred years, elected to keep the American flag afloat upon the land-breezes of the Orient.

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 50

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