The University of Georgia and the War for Southern Independence

Near the 1857 Arch which marks the main entrance to the campus of the University of Georgia, at the intersection of Broad Street and College Avenue, Athens, Georgia, this historical marker gives a brief history of the university and bears silent witness to the impact of the War of 1861-1865, which is here named the War for Southern Independence. The marker reads:

Endowed with 40,000 acres of land in 1784 and chartered in 1785, the charter was the first granted by a state for a government controlled university. After Louisville and the Greensboro were first selected, the current site was chosen.

The first president, and author of the school's charter, Abraham Baldwin, resigned when the doors opened, and was succeeded by Josiah Meigs. The University first began to thrive under Moses Waddel, who became president in 1819. Alonzo Church was president in 1829-1859.

During the War for Southern Independence, most of the students entered the Confederate Army. The University closed its doors in 1864, and did not open again until January 1866. After the war many Confederate veterans became students.

Famous pre-war professors were John and Joseph LeConte and Charles F. McCay, while famous students were Robert Toombs, Alexander H Stephens, Howell Cobb, and Crawford W. Long.

Plans for a modern university were first developed by Walter B. Hill and realized under Harmon W. Caldwell. The best known of the post-war presidents (now chancellors) was David C. Barrow. The Builder of the modern plant was Chancellor Steadman V Sanford.

The Tree that Owns Itself

This beautiful White Oak tree (Quercus alba), at the Corner of Dearing and Finley Streets, Athens, Georgia, owns itself. The tree was deeded to itself by Colonel William H. Jackson circa 1832. It may be the only emancipated tree in the world.


Upon giving the tree its freedom, Jackson wrote: "For and in consideration of the great love I bear (for) this tree and the great desire I have for its protection for all time, I convey entire possession of itself and all land within eight feet of the tree on all sides."

The curent tree pictured is actually a descendent of the original tree, in the same spot occupied by its predecessor. The scion of the original tree was planted by the Ladies Garden Club in 1946. In 1975 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1988 it has been officially designated as an Athens Historical Landmark.

Confederate Monument Erected by a Methodist Church

This white marble monument stands in the median strip of Green Street, in front of St. James United Methodist Church, Augusta, Georgia. The monument was erected by the "Sabbath School" of the St. James church in memory of local men who had lost their lives while defending their homeland from Northern invaders during the War Between the States.

The St. James Church, founded in 1854, was only seven years old when Lincoln's Union troops marched against the South. Twenty-four members of the church lost their lives during the ensuing "War for Southern Independence." Inscriptions on three sides of the monument list the names 285 Augustans, including the St. James members, who were killed in the war.

The cenotaph was unveiled on December 31, 1873. This was five years before the much larger Richmond County Confederate Monument was unveiled a few blocks away on Broad Street, in the center of Augusta. The primary inscription on the St. James monument reads:

THESE MEN DIED

IN DEFENSE OF

THE PRINCIPLES

OF THE

DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE

Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Augusta, Georgia

The Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity, on Green Street in downtown Augusta, Georgia, was constructed from 1857-1863. It is one of the oldest Catholic church buildings in Georgia.

The edifice was designed by J.R. Niernsee, who was also the architect of the South Carolina State Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. The original church building, constructed in 1814, served as the Sisters of Mercy hospital and orphanage during the Yellow Fever epidemics of 1839 and 1854. It was again pressed into service as a hospital during the War for Southern Independence (1861-1865).

Father Abram Ryan (1838-1886), the "Poet-priest of the Confederacy," was pastor of the church during the WarBetween the States. He also founded and served as editor of The Banner of the South, a religious and political Catholic weekly.

The Haunted Pillar of Augusta, Georgia

This "haunted" pillar stands on Broad Street, Augusta, Georgia, at the site of the The Lower Market, once the center of the agricultural and livestock trade for the city. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1829. The city rebuilt the market and topped it with a bell that could be heard throughout the city of Augusta.

In 1871, the newer market was destroyed by a cyclone. All that remained was this column which stands still today at the corner of Fifth and Broad Streets.

For more than a century, local folks have told and retold the story of an itinerant preacher who, upon being denied the right to preach in front of the market, prophesied that a great wind would destroy the place except for one pillar. The traveling "exorter" proclaimed that whoever tried to remove this remaining pillar would be struck dead. Many people swear that the prophecy has come to pass on more than one occasion.

The young lady in the photo works in a business next to the pillar. As I was photographing it we chatted a while. She told me that at least three people had died while trying to move the pillar. She agreed to pose for this photo, pretending she was trying to push the pillar over, but being very careful not to push too hard.

Confederate Monument, Augusta, Georgia

Standing in a park in the middle of the 700 block of Broad Street, Augusta, Georgia, the Richmond County Confederate Monument soars seventy-six feet tall. It has a granite base topped by a shaft of pure Italian marble. The monument was commissioned by the Ladies Memorial Association of Augusta in 1875 at the cost of $17,331.35 – a princely sum at that time.

Around the base of the monument are the life size statues of four Southern generals in the War Between the States: Thomas R. R. Cobb, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and William Henry Talbot. A Confederate private is depicted at the top of the shaft. The model for this statue was Private Berry Benson of Augusta. An inscription at the base reads, “In honor of the men of Richmond County who died in the cause of the Confederate States.” A crowd of ten thousand people turned out for the dedication of the monument on October 32, 1878. On one side of the monument is this inscription:

-
IN MEMORIAM
"No nation rose so white
and fair
and none fell so pure of crime."
-

The inscription on the other side is even more eloquent:

WORTHY

to have lived and known

our Gratitude:

WORTHY

To be hallowed and held

in tender remembrance

WORTHY

the fadeless fame which

CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS

WON,

who gave themselves in life

and Death for us:

for the Rights of the States,

for the Liberties of the People,

for the Sentiments of the South,

for the Principles of the Union

as these were handed down to

them by the fathers of

OUR COMMON COUNTRY

Richard Henry Wilde Monument

Greene Street, Augusta, Georgia

Richard Henry Wilde, born in Dublin, Ireland in 1789, came to Augusta Georgia as a child. He grew up in Augusa to become an an attorney and later attorney-general of Georgia. He also served in the United States Congress where he spoke out in opposition to the Force bill and to the removal of the deposits from the United States bank, and those on the tariff and the currency.

His opposition to President Andrew Jackson led to his defeat, after which he moved for a while to Europe and engaged himself in scholarly pursuits. After returning to America he was a member of the Whig state convention at Milledgeville, Georgia, in 1842.

In 1843 he left politics for good and moved to New Orleans, where he became a professor of constitutional law at the University of Louisiana. He filled that post until his death from yellow fever in 1847.
In addition to his careers in politics and education, Wildes was also a poet. Today he is best remembered as the author of a verse which was later set to music by Stephen Foster and published in 1860. It became a wildly popular song during the era of the War Between the States. Titled, "None Shall Weep a Tear for Me," the first four lines of the verse are on the front of the Wilde Monument:

"My life is like a summer rose,

That opens to the morning sky,

But ere the shades of evening pose,

Is scattered on the ground to die."

James Ryder Randall Statue, Augusta, Georgia

This statue is on Greene Street, Augusta, Georgia.

Front Inscription:

JAMES RYDER RANDALL1839 - 1908

Better the fire upon thee roll,

Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,

Than crucifixion of the soul,

Maryland, my Maryland

Back Inscription:

Erected by the

Randall Memorial Committee

of Chapter "A"

United Daughters

of the Confederacy

Augusta Georgia

May 28, 1936

James Ryder Randall, called the "Poet Laureate of the Lost Cause," is best known for writing the poem "Maryland, My Maryland," The poem was set to music by Jennie Cary, a member of a prominent Maryland and Virginia family. It became a war hymn of the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Today, "Maryland, my Maryland " is the state song of Maryland.

Although Maryland remained loyal to the Union during the War Between the States, it was only because Abraham Lincoln illegally arrested and imprisoned many members of the Maryland legislature before they could vote on secession. State Representatives and Senators from Maryland remained incarcerated throughout the duration of the war, without charges or trial. Maryland was occupied by invading Union troops and was under the military dictatorship of Abraham Lincoln during the war.

Among the state legislatures who were imprisoned was Francis Key Howard, a grandson of Francis Scott Key, author of the "Star Spangled Banner," America's national anthem. While imprisoned, Francis Key Howard wrote a book about his ordeal "to show how men who were guiltless were treated in this age, and in this country"

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

On the northern outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, Kennesaw Mountain offers splendid views for miles around. During the Civil War, as northern troops advanced toward Atlanta, The Army of Tennessee fortified the hill in an effort to halt General Sherman's march. Atlanta was a vital supply house for the Confederate States. The National Battlefield Park preserves the key points of this crucial battle, and in so doing also serves as a sanctuary for wildlife - and for humans - in the northward march of Atlanta's ever expanding suburbs.

On a clear day the 24-mile-distant skyline of Atlanta, Georgia, can be seen from atop Kennesaw Mountain. And that is precisely why this spot was so strategic to both the north and the south during Campaign for Atlanta in the American Civil War.

Although blood of brave young men once ran on these north Georgia slopes, the 2.2 mile moderate hike to the top of the mountain today is a particularly pleasant one. I've walked up Kennesaw several times, most recently last November, on Thanksgiving weekend. Along the way you will see earthworks, old cannons, interpretive markers and other reminders of America's tumultuous past. It is also an oasis of green and tranquility on the northern edge of the ever expanding megapolis of Atlanta.

Waynesboro, Georgia: Bird Dog Capital of the World

Waynesboro is a small town in eastern Georgia, about 30 miles south of Augusta on U.S. Hwy. 25. It is the county seat of Burke County, the largest county in land area in the state of Georgia. Waynesboro lays claim to being the "Bird Dog Capital of the World."

Crawfordville, Georgia

Crawfordville, a small town in east central Georgia, is just off Interstate 20, about 93 miles east of Atlanta and 57 miles west of Augusta. It is the county seat of Taliaferro County, one of the smallest and poorest counties in Georgia. In fact, Crawfordville is almost a ghost town, with most of the buildings in the downtown area now standing empty.

Less than an hour's drive to the east is Columbia County, Georgia, and slightly further to the west, Gwinnett County, Georgia - two of the fastest growing counties in the entire United States. But time seems to have completely forgotten poor little Crawfordville.

Still, Crawfordville is rich in historic interest and holds a dear place in my heart for many reasons.

When you arrive in Crawfordville you just might get a Deja-vu feeling as if you have been here before. Actually, you have very likely seen Crawfordville before at the movies but just didn't know where it was. The town is "picture perfect" for film makers who want to find a small Southern town which time has forgotten. Nothing much has changed here in a hundred years, except that lots of people have either died or moved away and now the downtown area is mostly empty.

Hollywood has discovered Crawfordville as a great set for movies and several popular motion pictures have been made here. These include:

Coward of the County (Kenny Rogers)

Summer of My German Soldier (Kristy McNichol)

Sweet Home Alabama (Reese Witherspoon)

Paris Trout (Dennis Hopper)

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, (Dennis Quaid, Kristy McNichol)

and several others.

Prater's Mill, Whitfield County, Georgia

This beautiful old water-powered mill on the Coahulla Creek in the mountains of North Georgia was built by Benjamin Franklin Prater in 1855. For its time Prater Mill was a state-of-the-art facility with the latest in grain cleaning, grinding and sifting machinery.
Next to the mill the enterprising Mr. Prater built a cotton gin, a saw mill, a wool carder, a syrup mill, a general store and blacksmith shop. The place was a hub of activity for more than a century. Farmers came from miles around with their mule drawn wagons and lined up before dawn for their turn with the millers.

During the War Between the States, the mill was used as a campsite at different times by both Confederate and Union soldiers. Fortunately the mill survived the war. On some Civil War maps, Prater's Mill is listed as Barrett's or Russell's Mill. Barrett was a former owner of the property while Russell was probably a Prater relative hired as the miller.

The Prater family operated the Mill until the 1950's, and other millers ran it until the early 1960's. In 1971 the all-volunteer Prater's Mill Foundation took over the Mill and began its extensive restoration and preservation efforts. Today, the mill is best known for the arts and crafts festivals held twice each year. Throughout the year, the grounds are a popular site for fishing, and picnics.

Prater's Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fort Mountain, Murray County, Georgia

I love a good mystery and nowhere do I know of one more intriguing than that presented by the 855-foot-long rock wall, or fort, which stands on the highest point of Fort Mountain, Georgia. American Indians were not known to build such forts and its origin remains a mystery.

One of the most interesting theories finds support from a letter in the files of the Georgia Historical Commission, written by John Sevier, Revolutionary War hero and first governor of Tennessee. Sevier recounts a 1782 conversation with Oconosoto, a 90-year-old Cherokee Chief. According to Oconosoto the wall was built by a fair-skinned people with blue eyes and blond hair. "They were a people called Welsh, and they had crossed the Great Water," Oconosoto said. He called their leader "Modok."

This story fits with the legend of Welsh Prince Madoc, who departed Wales after the death of his father, King Owain Gwynedd. When Gwyned died he left his kingdom to his 7 sons, who were to fight over who would become the new ruler. Instead of fighting, Madoc chose to take 11 ships and 200 people with him to seek their fortune beyond the Atlantic. According to legend, Madoc landed in what is now Mobile Bay, Alabama. The ships were sent back to Wales for more people and supplies, and Madoc and the 200 Welsh people with him were never seen again. There is some archeological evidence to support this story.

Indian tradition tells of the "moon-eyed" people traveling north and eastward along the rivers of the southeast, pursued by hostile natives, until they finally made their home in the then unpopulated mountain fastness of what is now north Georgia. Other forts similar to that found at Fort Mountain are also known on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, and in other parts of north Georgia and Alabama. At Fort Mountain the Welsh settlers made their last stand. There they were pursued and slain by the Cherokees in large numbers, and the survivors were assimilated into the tribe.

Liberty Hall, Crawfordville, Georgia

The centerpiece of Alexander H. Stephens State Historic Park, Crawfordville, Georgia, is Liberty Hall the home of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, a United States Congressman, Governor of Georgia, and Vice President of the Confederate States of America. Stephens bought the estate in 1845 and made his home here until his death in 1883. He once owned several thousand adjoining acres.

The "Big House" has eight bedrooms - four on each level. It is now a National Historic Landmark and is maintained by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Behind the main house is a smaller building which contains many of Stephen's books and other personal items. He is said to have spent most of his time here after the War Between the States. During that time he wrote his classic two volume work: A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States: its causes, character, conduct and results; presented in a series of colloquies at Liberty Hall.

Stephens was a constitutional scholar and authority who maintained vigoriously - and I believe correctly - that it was the Confederacy and not the Union which was the true defeneder of the Constitution of the United States. Some historians credit Stephens with popularizing the name "War Between the States." The home is open for tours and I have personally taken the tour on a couple of occasions. The tourguides speak of Stephens as though they are old family friends - and perhaps they are - a few generations removed. Anyone with even a modicum of interest in history will find a visit here and the tour extremely interesting.

Behind the Big House are other outbuildings that were a part of the old homestead. Beside the house is a small but very interesting Confederate Museum.

Chief Van House, Chatsworth, Georgia

When I first saw this classic mansion it was a huge disappointment to me. That's because I was about 8 years old, and I was told we were going to see the home of an Indian Chief. I expected a tipi - not an elegant brick mansion with white columns.

I was at the Vann House most recently on the first week-end in March, 2005, and now in my 60's, I find the place utterly fascinating. It shatters the stereotypical image of American Indian life, and to visit it is both an eye opening and a moving experience.

Called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation," the Vann House is perhaps the best-preserved Cherokee plantation home. It was built by James Vann, the son of a Scottish trader and a Cherokee woman. Vann became an influential Cherokee and gained great wealth by placing various businesses along the Federal Road which forked through the Cherokee Nation in the early 1800s. Brick for the house was made of clay found on Vann's plantaion; lumber was cut from his own forest and sawed at his mills; nails were hand made from his blacksmith shops. The labor was provided by his more than 100 black slaves. At the time Vann moved into the mansion with his 2 wives and 9 children, March 24, 1805, he was one of the wealthiest men in America.

James Vann, who lived a rather violent life, was murdered in 1809, and his son, Joseph inherited the house. Joseph, called "Rich Joe," proved to be an even better businessman than his father. He became a leading and respected voice in the Cherokee Legislature.

Despite his wealth and influence, Vann was forced to leave his home and move to "Indian Territory" in present-day Oklahoma in 1832, during the inmamous "Trail of Tears," one of the darkest hours in American history.

Fort Lawton, Magnolia Springs, Georgia

Magnolia Springs State Park, Jenkins County, Georgia: Camp Lawton, also called Fort Lawton, was a Confederate military prison during the War Between the States. The stockade covered 42 acres and was considered to be the largest in the world. The prison was occupied on Oct. 10, 1864 to relieve the overcrowded conditions at Andersonville Prison in Macon County. It was abandoned on November 17, just five weeks after it was opened, because of the approach of Sherman's army.

Confederate Memorial Carving, Stone Mountain, Georgia

It's difficult to appreciate the size of the Confederate Memorial Carving from a photograph. The three men on horseback look almost small against the massive side of Stone Mountain. This magnificent memorial consists of three acres of chiseled granite making it the largest high relief sculpture in the world. For shear size it even surpasses the better known and more "politically correct" four heads on South Dakota's Mt. Rushmore.

In front is Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865. The central and most prominent figure is that of General Robert E. Lee, and behind him is his right hand man, General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

The carving, first envisioned in 1912, was not begun until 1923 and was finally completed in 1972. Three sculptors worked on the creation, the first being Gutzon Borglum, who later carved the Mt. Rushmore Memorial in South Dakota. Augustus Lukeman, the second sculptor, did the bulk of the work of carving the three central figures of the Confederacy on horseback. Lack of funding and other problems caused work of the sculpture to remain idle for 36 years. Then in 1958 the state of Georgia purchased the mountain and the surrounding land. Walker Kirkland Hancock of Gloucester, Massachusetts was chosen to complete the carving and work resumed in 1964. A new technique utilizing thermo-jet torches was used to carve away the granite. Chief carver Roy Faulkner did much of the fine carving, completing the work of art with the detail of a fine painting.

Dedication ceremonies for the Confederate Memorial Carving were held on May 9, 1970. Finishing touches to the masterpiece were completed in 1972.