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Full text of "A history of Rome and Floyd County, state of Georgia .."

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Copy No ^85 



Properly of 



Date. 



FRIENDS, ROMANS, 
COUNTRYMEN: 

Help Yourselves! 

This book has not been subjected 
to the custom and formalities of 
copyrighting. Persons who C07i- 
sider parts of it worthy of repro- 
duction are requested to make 
suitable acknowledgment 



IV. 



EXPLANATION OF PICTURES ON "JACKET" 

The "jacket" or paper cover which encloses the cloth cover of the 
book is made up of the following pictures: 

At the top, a panoramic view of Rome taken about ten years 
ago from Myrtle Hill cemetery, showing the castle-like spires of old 
Shorter College, the city clock and the Floyd County court house; 
to the left, the Oostanaula River, and in the "foreground, the Etowah. 
This picture was obtained through courtesy of the Central of Geor- 
gia Railway Company. 

At the bottom are: Rome in 1864, shortly after Gen. Sherman 
had captured the town; the Confederate Soldiers' section in Myrtle 
Hill cemetery; the North Rome Baptist church; Broad Street and 
a column of Boy Scouts ready for a hike. 

On the front are: The grave of the first Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, 
in Myrtle Hill; the chapel of the Berry Schools; entrance to the 
old Rome driving park and fair grounds, near DeSoto Park; Rome 
boys enjoying a freshet; Col. Thos. W. Alexander, commander of 
the Berry Infantry. 

On the back strip is a silhouette of Col. Jos. Watters, a planter 
and state senator in the thirties. 

On the back are: Gen. Charles Floyd, father of Gen. John Floyd, 
for whom Floyd County was named (in the uniform of the St. 
Helena Guards, of Charleston) ; Gen. Charles Floyd assisted in re- 
moving the Indians from Cherokee Georgia (he is wearing in his 
hat a crescent bearing the words "Liberty or Death," which is in 
posession of Wm. G. McAdoo, a grandson several degrees removed) ; 
Donald Harper, of Rome and Paris (France) ; the Baptist par- 
sonage; Steve Eberhart (or Perry), mascot of Floyd County Camp 
368 of Confederate Veterans; Maj. Philip W. Hemphill, one of the 
four founders of Rome; left to right, little Misses Elizabeth Mor- 
ris, Eleanor Fuller and Juliet Graves; entrance to the Battey vault, 
in Myrtle Hill. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY 

Biography is the only true history. — Carlyle. 

History casts its shadow far into the land of song. — Longfellow. 

Succeeding generations should tote their own historical skillets. — 

COLEGATE. 

History, like true intelligence, consists in old ideas wrought over. 
— Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

Each generation gathers together in history the imperishable chil- 
dren of the past. — Bancroft. 

Out of monuments, names, traditions, private records and passages 
of books we do save and recover somewhat from the deluge of time. — 
Bacon. 

This I hold to be the chief office of history, to rescue virtuous actions 
from the oblivion to which a want of records would consign them. — 
Tacitus. 

God is in the facts of history as truly as He is in the march of the 
seasons, the revolutions of the planets or the architecture of the 
worlds. — Lanahan. 

History maketh a young man to be old, without wrinkles or gray 
hairs, privileging him with the experience of age, without either the 
infirmities or the inconveniences thereof. — Fuller. 

An historian ought to be exact, sincere and sympathetic, free from 
passion, unbiased by interest, fear, resentment or affection, and faith- 
ful to the truth, which is the mother of history. — Nai'OLEON. 





THE CLOCK TOWER. 



A HISTORY OF ROME 
AMD FLOYD COUNTY 

State of Georgia — United States of America 

INCLUDING NUMEROUS INCIDENTS OF 
MORE THAN LOCAL INTEREST 

1540 — 1922 

Volume I. 

By 
George Magruder Battey, Jr. 

AUTHOR OF -yO.OOO MILES ON A 
SUBMARINE DESTROYER" 



/ 




ATLANTA, GA. 

The Webb and Vary Company 

19 2 2 



DEDICATION 
To the Boy Scouts 
and the Girl Scouts of 
Rome and Floyd County, whose 
youthful enthusiasm and helpful, un- 
selfish spirit of service promise so much 
for the development of civic enter- 
prise and the advancement of in- 
terest in the wholesome life 
of the Great Outdoors, 
this book is affec- 
tionately dedi- 
cated by 
THE AUTHOR. 



VIII. 



Introduction 




OW AND THEN a queen pawns her jewels to advance the 
cause of civilization, and thus gives back part of what her 
admiring subjects have offered up. Similarly has a queen who 
wears no tiara or crown thrown herself into the breach and 
made possible the completion at this time of the History of 
Rome. Her rocking chair is "in soak" because she' believes 
the enterprise is worth while. If we will redeem the chair 
out of sales from the book, she will feel amply repaid, and can sit down 
again. It will be possible through a little unselfish sacrifice on the part 
of each and all of us. 

One thousand copies of the book are included in the first l)inding. 
More than half of these have been mailed to subscribers who spoke for 
them in advance. Additional sheets have been printed so that other 
Romans may have copies who desire them. Extra copies will be bound 
in accordance with the demand, so that the total issue will be just what 
Romans, former Romans and a select company of "innocent bystanders" 
make it. The compiler hopes that many will avail themselves of the 
opportunity to invest, for the double reason that the book contains a 
wealth of material which everybody should have, and a subscription does 
just that much to advance the interests of the town and section. He 
does not urge any support in the expectation of making a profit, for he 
has put far more into it these two years than he can possibly get out, 
except in mental satisfaction. He wishes to sell the book not on personal 
or sentimental grounds, but on the l)asis of whatever value the purchaser 
may see in it. No doubt the edition will be cjuickly exhausted, because 
material has been included which is expected to stimulate a heavy demand 
outside of Rome. Then there will be no more copies, for the number is 
strictly limited. 

The excuse for this work was found in the fact that the historians 
have systematically neglected the section known oi old as "Cherokee 
Georgia." The compiler went back to his birthplace Oct. 21, 1920, to 
supply whatever of the deficiency he could, realizing that he had had no 
previous historical experience, but believing that the subject was worthy 
of a literary masterpiece. He found a fertile field in which to labor ; 
the legend of DeSoto's visit in 1540, the Indian occupation and removal, 
the deeds of valor in war, the constructive enterprises following" the 
war's wake, all supplied an inspiration that was irresistible. On begin- 
ning his work, he saw the truth of the statement, "The South makes 
plenty of history, but writes very little of it." His task, therefore, con- 
sisted in laying a foundation as well as erecting a superstructure, and he 
realizes the imperfections that such conditions necessarily impose, and 
is fully conscious of his inability to handle the material as it deserves. He 
only hopes that the work may be considered from cover to cover, and 
thus criticized, rather than that any insignificant error of omission or 
commission may be allowed to obscure the whole in the estimation of 
the individual. 

It is manifestly impossible here to devote much attention to the 
entire Northwest Georgia section. Floyd's sister counties will no doubt 
eventually write histories of their own. However, there are numerous 
references to happenings elsewhere which are connected with cliaracters 



IX. 



or events in Floyd, and in certain instances the material is quite general 
in its character and application. 

Since the greater part of Rome's history existed in tradition and in 
scrap books and old records, it has been deemed advisable to go back 
as far as possible, and rescue the fragments of early Rome before they 
are lost in the dust of the past. The story of Rome's part in the removal 
of the Indians has never been adequately told, nor has the picture of con- 
ditions just before the Civil War lieen fully presented. The subject 
of Rome's part in the war of 1861-5 is all but ignored. The duty is man- 
ifestly to revert to the dim beginnings, to give "right-of-way" to the '"'old 
settlers," to suggest that the present generation keep newspapers and 
records liberally so our contemporary history may not suffer likewise. 

So much material has been developed that the necessity of a second 
volume is api)arent. Volume I contains half of the complete narrative, 
a great many pictures and a vast amount of miscellaneous data. Its 
faulty arrangement is due to the uncertainty, up to the last moment, over 
what was to be used. Volume 11, which it is intended should be pub- 
lished when conditions are more favorable, will contain many additional 
pictures and such biographical sketches and miscellaneous items as could 
not be included in the first. These two volumes will in a measure tell 
the romantic tale. 

The history started with a series of articles in the Rojne News, fol- 
lowed by "Rambles Around Rome." It has been augmented from many 
sources, and particularly from the files of the old Rome Courier, which" 
was the forerunner of Rome's daily newspaper, The Tribune-Herald. 
Both of these present-day newspapers have been unflagging friends of 
the history. In the collection of material, chiefly of a statistical nature, 
the most consistent individual has l)een Richard Venable Mitchell, of 
Rome. I\Ir. Mitchell, has worked with splendid spirit and without hope 
of reward ; Romans are certain to appreciate the accurate data he gives, 
them in his lists of the natural resources of Floyd, and of the state, city 
and county officials, various important and interesting dates and a vast 
quantity of odd information. ]\Irs. Harriet Connor Stevens has 
contributed liberally of her time in order that some of the Cave Spring 
pioneers might be remembered. ]\Iiss FVances Long Harper has also 
helped substantially at Cave Spring. In forcing the history upon public 
attention, the most valiant supporters have been H. H. Shackelton, presi- 
dent of the Chamber of Commerce ; Robt. H. Clagett, editor of the Rome 
News; W. S. Rowell, editor of the Tribune-Herald, and Lee J. Langley, 
writing for both papers. 

Thanks are due Hooper Alexander, of Atlanta ; W. R. L. Smith, of 
Norfolk. Va. ; Mrs. Mabel Washbourne Anderson, of Pryor, Okla. ; S. W. 
Ross, of Tahlequah, Okla. ; Judge Henry C. Meigs, of Ft. Gibson, Okla., 
and C. F. Hanke, chief clerk of the Indian Office, Washington, D. 
C, for much of the Indian data. (The biographies of the Indian leaders 
are omitted for further investigation of conflicting material). Substan- 
tial assistance has been given by Miss Tommie Dora Barker, librarian of 
the Carnegie Library. Atlanta, and by Miss Carrie Williams, of the ref- 
erence department: Mrs. Maud Barker Cobb, state librarian, the Capitol, 
Atlanta: Duncan Burnett, librarian of the library of the University of 
Georgia, Athens; Dr. Lucian L. Knight, director of the State 'De- 
partment of History, the Capitol, Atlanta, and Miss Ruth Blair, of the 
same department. Dr. Knight's valuable books have been consulted 
freely and credit generally given in each instance. Appreciation is like- 



X. 



wise expressed herewith of aid rendered by the Daughters of the .Vmeri- 
can Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and of 
the interest shown by Henderson L. Lanham, president of the Board of 
Education of the City of Rome, by Prof. B. F. Quig-g, City Superintendent, 
and Prof. W. C. Rash, County Superintendent, in a plan for teaching- local 
history in the public schools. While nothing definite has been done, the 
suggestion that a condensed school history be written out of the His- 
tory of Rome is being considered, and already has the moral support 
of at least one large Eastern publishing house. 

!Most of the maps are from Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago. 

The artistic pictures of the Berry Schools were taken by D. W. Dens- 
more, faculty member, and a number of pictures of landmarks by R. V. 
Mitchell. Several pictures and some text do not appear because they 
have been lost or misplaced ; a few typographical errors herein like- 
wise prove the intensely human character of the work of man. 

Loans negotiated through the assistance of John M. Graham and 
Wilson M. Hardy greatly helped the work at the outset, and $100 received 
near the close from a group of Rome business men, headed by E. R. 
Fishburne, averted an almost certain postponement. Air. W'alter D. Carr, 
of Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston publishers, loaned the cuts of John Ridge 
and Major Ridge. To all others who have helped wnth friendly advice, data 
or money the heartfelt thanks of the compiler are herewith given. Rome 
will thank them in her ow'n way. The list is a long one, and it cannot 
be extended here ; it will appear, perhaps, in the proposed Vol. H. 

There is a great deal that is left over for another volume simply 
because no funds were in sight to print it. Ample warning of this situa- 
tion was given from time to time. If Romans make Vol. II possible by 
an underwriting plan, or if a single Roman desires the opportunity of 
doing that much for the town he loves, the compiler will dig into his 
files again. Undoubtedly some Roman who wishes a send-off here below 
and a welcome above will remember Vol. II in his will. 

The rules governing the history campaign were very simple. Prac- 
tically everybody who showed as much as a passing interest has been 
given some notice in the book, either for themselves or their ancestors. 
Those who have ignored letters, personal or circular, or both, or have 
refused to "weep" while w^e "mourned," have erected a temporary barrier 
between us. Fortunately, there have not been many of these, alth>ough 
more have sat on the fence. They will have another chance if they want 
it — for Vol. II. No considerations of friendship have caused us to over- 
look a flagrant neglect of Rome and the history by those wlio in our opin- 
ion could have helped. At the same time, we feel friendly and hold the 
door open — for Vol. II. We consider it a duty to speak plainly so Romans 
will understand, and that we may do better next time. Let us make \'ol. 
II surpass Vol. 1. 

The original plan called for sections of text devoted to the Berry 
Schools, Shorter College, Ilearn Academy, the Georgia Sch(wl for the 
Deaf at Cave Spring, and the Floyd County and Rome public schools. 
Failure of the leading institutions in this group to pay a cost price for 
the printing (due largely to the general economic conditions) has put 
these sections over for further consideration. 

A few words about quoted articles. Most of the items with dates 
from 1920-22 affixed are from The Rome News, i)rior to that, after 1886. 
from The 'JVibune of Rome or The Trilnitie-Hcrald. and from 1850 to 1887 



XI. 



frum The Runic Tri-Wcckly Courier or Weekly Courier. An understand- 
ing of this scheme, it is believed, will assist the reader. 

It is hoped that the history will please the sul)scribers as well as prove 
of some use to them as a work of reference. A reading glass for aged 
eyes is recommended where type and pictures are small. In practically 
ail cases the biographies have been submitted to the families for correc- 
tion and ap])roval. A committee of Romans has kindly gone over most of 
the other data. Anecdotes are told — on our own clan, too — which we 
hope will be received in good part, for there is no intention to offend 
anyone. Romans are noted for speaking the truth fearlessly, and since 
we arc all in one big family and are blessed with a sense of humor, we 
can well afford to perpetuate the stories of our members for fireside en- 
joyment. A colorless story of Rome would be of no good and would find 
few willing consumers. 

With this much said by way of introduction, we salute our sub- 
scribers and friends, wish them a merry Christmas and a happy New 
Year, and unreservedly place our literary fate in their tender hands. 

GEO. M. BATTEY, JR. 
81 W. 14th St., 
Atlanta, Ga., 
Friday, Dec. 1, 1922. 

P. S. — Sinc-e the above was written, the decision was reached to include in 
Vol. I. no biojjfraphical sketches. It was believed best to hold over for considera- 
tion for Vol. II. all the 300 sketches rather than to print only a few to the ex- 
clusion of the many. A little extra financial support would have made possible 
the inclusion of all. Since it was not forthcoming, it seemed best to file this other 
valuable material. The recent vote by mail, by the way, was overwhelmingly 
in favor of holding the biogi'aphies for another time. The several persons who 
advanced money for sketches will be reimbursed or given extra copies of the 
present volume, as they prefer. We assure them and all others that we regret 
our inability to use this excellent data, which can only be improved with age. 
We will keep it intact in the confident hope that Romans will make its publication 
possible at some day in the near future. 

G. M. B. 




XII. 



Contents 



Frontispiece: THE CLOCK TOWER— By Virginia Robert Lipscomb, Girl Scout. 

Part I, 

Chapter Page 

I. The Spanish Cavaliers and Their Quest for Gold 17 

DeSoto lands at Tampa Bay. — Reaches the Savannah River. — Meets an 
Indian princess. — Takes the princess along as a hostage. — She escapes. — 
Arrival at Nacoochee. — Receives Indian dogs for his men to eat. — His 
route discussed. — Spends 30 da,ys at Chiaha. — Enjoys pearl hunt. 

II. John Sevier, John Floyd and the Indians 22 

Hostile Cherokees in massacre. — Sevier puts them to flight and burns 
their towns. — Gen. Floyd defeats the Creeks in Alabama. — Early laws of 
the Indians. — The "Widow Fool" and the ferry. — Wm. Mcintosh killed. — 
Sequoyah's alphabet. — Missionaries imprisoned. — Pressure on the Indians. 

Pari II. 

I. Rome's Establishment and Early Days Zi 

Three travelers decide to establish a town.- — A fourth pioneer.- — County 
site removal from Livingston to Rome authorized by legislature.- — The 
homes of Ross and the Ridges. — The gander pulling and other early 
amusements. — The Green Corn dances. — Geo. Lavender, trading post man. — 
Pioneer days at Cave Spring. 

II. The Great Indian Meeting- at Rome 43 

The Cherokees' biggest pow-wow at Running Waters. — Speeches by the 
Ridges, Ross afnd the United States agents. — The Indians withdraw to the 
woods. — Government men continue to speak. — Mr. Schermerhorn's determi- 
nation to have a treaty. — Major Currey reports to Washington. — Ross fac- 
tion supreme. — Ridge's men listed. 

III. John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard-- 53 

"Home, Sweet Home" author bears letters to prominent Georgians. — - 
Loves an Athens belle. — Departs for Indian country. — Is arrested with 
John Ross and guarded at Spring Place. — "Big John" Underwood, Rome 
grocer, one of his captors. — Payne's own account. — His arrest causes sen- 
sation. — "Old Hickory's" contribution. 

IV. Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 75 

"Rome Indians" in the Payne "picture." — Maj. Currey explains. — 
Frelinghuysen, Everett, Polk, Calhoun, Bell and White active. — "Lumpkin 
Press" lambastes Guard. — Legislature protests and Co). Bishop resigns. — 
Payne's anonymous letter. — A tragedy at the Vann house.- -The Indians 
removed and the Ridges and Boudinot slain. — A Payne memorial. 

V. Growth from Village to Town 91 

Pioneers establish bank, inn, newspaper, churches, schools and stage 
lines. — John Ross converted to Methodism. — Alfred Shorter casts lot with 
the new town. — William Smith and the scuttled steamboat. — E^arly political 
campaigns. — Lumpkin, Miller, Underwood, Hackctt and Wright. — Pickett's 
visit to Rome. — The Nobles, iron kings, aijpear. 

VI. Views and Events Leading U]) to War 113 

The slavery agitation and efforts to halt "gentlemen from the North." — 
Warnings sounded by Dwinell and Stovall. — Mass meetings and resolu- 
tions. — Trade boycott against the North. — Rome Light Guards active. — 
Stephens, Iverson and Hill speak in Rome. — Secession strongly favored. 

VII. Lincoln's Election Foretells Hostilities 125 

Feeling at fever heat. — Mayor thanks voters for "sober election." — Dr. 
Word elected. — Guns for Light Guards arrive. — Judge Wright on the in- 
auguration of Jefferson Davis. 

XIII. 



Part III. 

I. Opening- of the Ci\"il War — First Manassas LV 

Floyd companies depart.- Cannon and chvirch bells announce war. — 

Casualty lists. — Incidents of the battle. — Capt. Matrruder and Jeff Davis. — 

Death of Col. Bartow. — An illuminatinE letter from Richmond. — War 
profiteers rapped by the "home gruard." 

11. A Rome Rno-ine Chases the "General" 147 

Andrews' "Wild Raiders" steal state road engine in dash to burn 
bridges and tear up track. ^Fuller joins in thrilling pursuit. — "Wm. R. 
Smith" takes up chase at Kingston and aids capture. — Fugitives abandon 
engine.- — Are caught in woods. — Some are hanged and some escape. 

HI. Activities of the Folks at Home 153 

Women establish charity organization. — The Wayside Home. — A 
young "Rebel" with smallpox spreads terror. — Hospitals removed from 
Rome. — Hard times described back of the lines. 

IV. Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 161 

Federal commander tries foray of destruction. — Is engaged by Forrest 
with inferior force, and surrenders. — "Rebel" leader's strategy denounced 
by captive officers, who see Rome for first time. — Admiring women snip 
locks of Forrest's hair. — The "Battle of Rome," and John Wisdom's famous 
ride. — Forrest dodges Rome picnic. 

V. Sherman's Army Captures Rome 175 

Three forts are silenced and Davis, Vandever and Corse establish 
headquarters. — "Miss Lizzie's" adventure on Shorter Hill. — Sherman enters 
Rome twice and pursues Hood, who crosses the Coosa at Veal's ferry. — 
Hood flits through Texas valley. — Only a fiddle is needed as Rome burns. 

VI. Sherman's Movements asTuld by Himself 181 

The campaign outlined. — Movements around Dalton, Resaea, Cassville, 
Dajlas and Rome. — Sherman's narrow escape. — Why Johnston refused 
battle. — Corse at Allatoona. — Sherman on Fourth Avenue.--His message 
from Rome brings orders to march to the sea. 

VII. Extreme Desolation I^ictured in Diary 197 

Bridges burned by retreating Confederates. — Church pews used for 
pontoons. — Famine and despair.— Citizen killed by scouts. — Letter tells of 
Romans' plight. 

\'HI. Depredations of the Independent Scouts 205 

John Gatewood invades northwest Georgia. — Jack Colquitt's band. — 
John and Jim Prior take seven scout scalps. — "Little Zach" Hargrove 
to the rescue. 

Anecdotes and Reminiscences 211 

Miscellaneous 421 



Map 



s 

The Heart of Cherokee Georgia 2)7 

The World T 127 

The United States of America 155 

Rome in 1890 165 

The State of Georgia 387 

The Countv of Flovd 621 



XIV. 



PART I. 



THE DIM BEGINNINGS 

1540-1834 




CHAPTER I 
The Spanish Cavaliers and Their Quest for Gold 



M 



\XY years before the Eng- 
lish settled the first perma- 
nent colony in America at 
Jamestown, Va., in 1607, 
there existed a wild stretch of 
country at the southwestern end of 
the Appalachian Mountain chain, 
encompassing' what is now Rome 
and Floyd County, Ga., and which 
was inhabited only by tribes of In- 
dians who lived in wigwams made 
of bark and skins, and huts of 
rough pine and oak finished in red 
clay mortar. The waters of this re- 
gion, leaping through the moun- 
tain gorges in slender, silken 
streams, purled their way into the 
valleys and found outlets in the 
Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. 
They were alive with fish, especial- 
ly the upland streams with trout, 
and it used to be said that had the 
Indian possessed a hat, in many 
places he could have scooped up a 
hatful at a time. 

Large black bears went grubbing 
over the mountain tops in search of 
worms and roots, occasionally 
shambling into the fertile valleys 
below ; hungry wolves leaped free- 
ly through the forest trails ; deer 
penetrated the thickets and slaked 
their thirst at the sparkling brooks ; 
panthers and Avildcats slunk se- 
renely fr(im feeding ground tc^ 
cavernous lair ; snakes of huge size 
and great number infested the 
rocky fastnesses, the sun-baked 
river banks and the grassy plains ; 
wild turkeys clucked along the 
leafy bowers and smaller birds of 
l)eautiful plumage dotted the trees 
of hillside, valley and swamp. 

Upon this primitive stage at 
some uncertain date had a])peared 
the Indian, successor to the ill- 
fated Mound Ikiilder of North 
America. Agile, bloodthirsty and 
possessing a keen appetite, the In- 



dian pursued by foot and in his 
swift canoe, with his trusty bow 
and arrow, the animals, birds and 
snakes, killed them and ate the 
fiesh, sometimes cooked, some- 
times raw, and made the skins into 
rugs, wigwam covers, robes, ])a- 
l>oose bags and numerous orna- 
ments for his person. Idie Indian 
painted his face and, his body with 
a mixture of oil and clay, dressed 
himself in a wampum l>elt from 
Avhich depended a wildcat skin or 
kilt of limljer grass or hair, and 
with a headdress of feathers which 
hung down to his waist he joined 
in the big tril)al hunts or fared 
forth to fight enemy tribesmen. 
The Indian women, or squaws, did 
the routine work about the hut or 
wigwam settlements, took care of 
the children and strung beads and 
wove various materials into bas- 
kets, rugs and articles of clothing, 
and cultivated snirdl patches of 
grain. 

From the time when Christopher 
Columbus discovered America in 
1492 and took possession in the 
name of the King and the Queen of 
Spain, the Indian was forced to 
count on tlie paleface as a po- 
tential foe \\ho needed his himt- 
ing grounds and his towns for col- 
onization ])urposes. The Spanish 
are regarded as the i)ioneer ex- 
plorers of America through their 
expeditions to Florida, the Land of 
Flowers, whicli embraced vastly 
more territory than tlie State of 
Florida of the present day. juan 
I '(Mice DeLeon explored the coast 
of the Florida Peninsula in 151.\ 
])enetrate(l into the interior in 
search of the Fountain of J'crpet- 
ual Youth, engaged the savages 
and was killed with a poisc^ied ar- 
row. l'\)llowed the cruel Narvaez 
to the west coast of the peninsula, 



18 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



where he set an example for the 
savages hy loosing hloodhounds on 
the aged mother of an Indian chief, 
which tore her to pieces ; then he 
cut off the chief's nose and sent 
him to Cuba as a slave. The In- 
dians avenged this atrocity by driv- 
ing Narvaez to his ships ; a storm 
hit the vessels and Narvaez and all 
but fiiur '>\ his men were lost. 

Next in importance was Hernan- 
do (Ferdinand) DeSoto, who in his 
search of the Chiahan Kldorado in 
the hope of filling the treasure 
chest (if the King oT Spain is sup- 
posed to have spent nearly 30 days 
on the present site of Rome. 

DeSoto had fought successfully 
in the Si)anish wars of conquest in 
Central America and Peru, when 
called by the king to cut a path 
through Florida, to work the gold 
mines and the pearl fisheries which 
earlier explorers had assured the 
king existed. Having recently mar- 
ried Dona Isabel de Bobadilla, 
member of tlie Spanish royal fam- 
ily and his social equal, wdiose 
father was his superior in wealth 
if not in manhood, DeSoto set sail 
from Spain on April 8, 1538, tak- 
ing with him his wife, 600 soldiers, 
200 horses and a herd of swine for 
food. DeSoto's "noble vSix Hun- 
dred" carried arquebuses, match- 
locks, one cannon and a falconet 
(small cannon in general use at 
that time). The}' had plenty of 
ammunition, and led by tethers 
a pack of fierce bloodhounds. Plen- 
ty of iron chains, collars and wrist- 
lets were carried to put upon In- 
dian prisoners. Swine and cattle 
furnished a large part of the food, 
-while pack mules bore the provis- 
ions. The personnel was made up of 
mechanics, l)uilders and smiths 
monks, laymen and Catholic priests 
in robes. (Juite a number of the 
fighters wore light armor which 
readily shed the sharp darts of the 
red-skins. They landed at Havana. 
Cuba, but after a sliort stay pro- 



ceeded up Florida's west coast, 
leaving Dona Isabel behind as gov- 
erness of the island. On Friday, 
May 30, 1539, DeSoto landed at 
the present Tampa Bay, where he 
took possession of Florida as Ade- 
lantado (governor), and where he 
wrote the city fathers of Santiago 
de Cuba wdiat was supposed to 
have been the only letter he sent 
l)ack on his long and heart-break- 
ing journey. 

DeSoto immediately asked the 
Indians where gold and precious 
stones could be found ; they point- 
ed northward. He fought and dip- 
lomatized his way to the present 
Georgia-Florida line, encountering 
numerous physical difficulties ; 
thence he proceeded northwest- 
ward when told by a captured 
scout* of a i)rovince ruled over by 
a beautiful Indian princess, called 
Cutifachiqui. where his beasts 
might l)reak their backs under the 
load of pearls and gold. The home 
of the princess is supposed to have 
been at Silver Bluff", Barnwell Co.. 
S. C, 25 miles sovitheast of Au- 
gusta, Ga., on the Savannah river, 
where George Golphin later lived. 
Here DeSoto was jjresented with 
a handsome string of large pearls 
by the Princess Cutifachiqui ; he 
(lug heaps of pearls and relics out 
of Indian mounds, which the In- 
dians did not like, but they main- 
tained an appearance of acquiesc- 
ence. On leaving, he forced his gra- 
cious hostess to accompany the ex- 
])edition as a guide and protection 
against any possible attacks by her 
tribesmen. The indian maid's 
knowledge of trails and w'oodcraft 
enabled her to escape in a few 
days and return to her settlement. 
DeSoto pressed northward in 
forced marches to relieve his weary 
and starving horses and men, and 
to seize or unearth gold for the 
king. 



♦Juan Ortiz, who had been left by Narvaez 
and had since lived among the Indians. 



The Spanish Cavaliers and Their Quest for Gold 



19 



While accounts differ as to the 
route DeSoto took through North 
Georgia, the authorities generally 
agree that after leaving Cutifachi- 
qui, DeSoto went to the site of 
Yonah Mountain, in Nachoochee 
Valley, White County, where he 
mined a while and the Indians gave 
his troops many dogs to eat ; also 
that he crossed the North Georgia 
mountains to the Connasauga Riv- 
er, thence followed the Oostanaula 
River to the junction of the Etowah 
River, where the Coosa forms, to 
Chiaha province and town, the 
modern site of Rome ; also that he 
followed the Coosa southwestward 
into Alabama, whence in time he 
I)ushed on across West Tennesssee 
and discovered the Mississippi Riv- 
er, in which he was buried after 
dying of fever in 1541. 

It is possible to mention these 
differences of opinion only in brief 
here. James Mooney, a careful stu- 
dent of the subject, held that De- 
Soto followed the Chattahoochee 
River headwaters down the val- 
leys of Habersham County, sight- 
ed Kennesaw (Kensagi) Moun- 
tain in Cobb County, instead of the 
Connasauga River, (passing near 
the site of modern Atlanta), and 
instead of visiting Chiaha, visited 
Chehaw, a Creek town in Alabama 
below Columbus. It may be signifi- 
cant that Atlantans do not claim 
that DeSoto passed near their land. 

An understanding of the tojiog- 
raphy of the country, the aims and 
necessities of the expedition and 
the reasonable probabilities arc 
prerequisites to a reconciliation of 
the viewpoints. Some aid may be 
found in the reflection that DeSoto 
often divided his force; inuloubt- 
edly he let the main Ixxly follow 
the rivers in tlic valleys, while 
prospecting parlit-s i)enetrated 
through the mountains. Thus it is 
possible that his main force, with 
the heavy equipment and pigs, 
started down the headwaters of 



the Chattahoochee in Habersham 
County, bore to the northwest, 
crossed the headwaters of the Eto- 
wah and followed the Etowah to 
Rome, discovering and exploring 
the huge Indian mound on the 
Tumlin i)lace three miles south of 
Cartersville; also that the mining 
group, after exploring the moun- 
tains nearly to the Tennessee line, 
came to the Connasauga River and 
followed the Oostanaula River 
down to Rome, where he joined 
the other unit. Chiaha Town was 
described by the early chroniclers 
of the expedition as an island. That 
impression might easily be made 
on an explorer crossing the creeks 
north of Rome whose headwaters 
nearly touch, and passing on down 
the peninsula to the water on all 
sides. 

It is quite possible, moreover, 
that 382 years ago a canal con- 
nected the Oostanaula and Eto- 
wah rivers, passing through North 
Rome and making an island of 
the narrow neck of land between 







FERDINAND DeSOTO, Spanish cavalier who 
it is generally accepted visited the site of 
Rome in 1510, searching for gold for his king. 



20 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



the streams at their junction. An- 
other theory is that the DeSoto 
district (now l)etter known as the 
Fourth ward), which is sui)i)osed to 
have been where the Spanish camp- 
ed, was once an ishind, havinit>- l)een 
cut off by a break in the Oosta- 
naula near the mouth of Little Dry 
Creek. which found its way 
throui^h the lowlands and entered 
the Coosa above Horseleg' Creek, 
formings a l)ody of land of not less 
than 250 acres. 

JJoth of these suppositions hnd 
encouragement in freaks of nature 
Avhich are oliservablc in the life- 
time of the average man. Less than 
a decade ago Perkins Island, in the 
Etowah River, near the foot of 
Fifth Avenue, was yielding sand to 
a concern which for many years 
had sold to contractors who were 
erecting the most substantialbuild- 
ings in Rome. In 1920 suit was filed 
in the Superior Court of Floyd 
county by the Perkins heirs against 
Mrs. J. Lindsay Johnson to prevent 
her from removing the sand. Mrs. 
Johnson's answer recited that the 
island had stood opposite her East 
Rome farm, separated from the 
mainland by a narrow^ body of wa- 
ter. Accretions of sand and silt had 
filled up this channel and made the 
island part of the mainland ; there- 
fore, as she claimed, the former 
island 1)elonged to her. 

Another island A\hich has be- 
come ])art of the mainland in like 
manner was at Nixon's sand bar, 
Coosa River, just below and across 
from the mouth of llorseleg Creek. 
There are no examples as con- 
spicuous as these in which new 
islands have been formed, but ex- 
am])les are common elsewhere, 
nota])ly in the Mississippi Valley. 

Certain historians wdio do not 
believe DeSoto camped at the pres- 
ent site of Rome locate the island 
down the Coosa in Alabama, near 
the Georgia line. However, Pick- 
ett, Jones, Knight and others hold 



that Chiaha settlement and the 
])resent site of Rome are identical, 
and that the route proceeded down 
the Coosa. It is worthy of note 
that DeSoto resisted the suppli- 
cations of his men to turn back 
toward his ships and first landing 
place, and insisted on striking re- 
peatedly northward in search of 
gold. Although he follow^ed a zig- 
zag course, his trail was generally 
northwestward, allowing for a con- 
siderable zag toward Mobile, where 
he won a great battle with the 
Indians. At Chiaha he dispatched 
two cavaliers on a ten-day journey 
northward. There appears to have 
been no point in his going below 
Columbus, where in July it is much 
hotter than the North Georgia 
mountains. 

The Indians all along the route 
had told DeSoto of the rich prov- 
ince of Chiaha, the Eldorado of 
his dreams. To the principal 
towns of this province De- 
vSoto had sent scouts to de- 
mand of the chiefs a tw^o months' 
supply of maize (Indian corn). On 
June 4, 1540, DeSoto entered Chia- 
ha Town via the valleys of the 
west bank of the Oostanaula Riv- 
er, camped his cohorts along what 
has for many years been known as 
the DeSoto Road of the DeSoto 
District of Floyd County, and 
crossed the Oostanavda River 
(prol)ably in canoes) with his ad- 
vance guard. Here he w\as warmly 
received by the young chief, who 
spake substantially as follows as 
he handed DeSoto a long string of 
perfect ])earls :* 

Mighty Chief: Into this beautiful 
and beloved country which our fathers 
have hunted for the beasts and birds 
of the forest and handed down to us 
a long time ago, and in which we wor- 
ship the Spirit of the Sun with all the 
strength of our natures, we welcome 
you as friends and brothers. Stay 



♦This speech is supposed to be more nearly typ- 
icaJ of Indian nature and disposition than the 
polished versions of the chroniclers, which are 
unmistakably Spanish. 



The Spanish Cavaliers and Their Quest for Gold 



21 



with us as long as you desire; live in 
our houses, fish and hunt with us in 
our choice places, and accept our gifts 
offered you from our hearts. Tell us 
at once your mission, that we may 
serve you with the fidelity of the stars. 
You have asked of my good people 
supply of maize to sustain your power- 
ful tribe two months. Here you will 
find 20 barbacoas (barns) bursting 
with our best grain. Welcome ! May 
your people and my people enjoy a 
peaceful friendship that will be as 
strong as the mountains and last as 
long as the sun shines warm and the 
rivers of Chiaha run cold. 

Through an interpreter DeSoto 
thanked the chief cordially, then 
gave to him some trinkets and 
coins. 

"Chocklestee !— Sit down !" in- 
vited the chief, and turning to a 
group of copper-colored warriors, 



he said : "Talahi— chetawga — chis- 
(|ua !" The men ran to a picketed 
enclosure and brought many fowls 
and dogs for the hungry Spaniards 
to eat, after which the young chief 
announced that DeSoto would stop 
at "akwenasa" (my home). 

DeSoto is supposed to have spent 
26-30 days in Chiaha, after which 
he went through Alabama and 
Western Tennessee and discovered 
the Mississippi River at Chicka- 
saw Bluff, below Memphis. He died 
shortly after and was buried in 
the Mississippi to prevent the In- 
dians from destroying his corpse. 
His wdfe died in Cuba of a broken 
heart, following her husband short- 
ly. She had had no word from him 
since his departure. 




CHAPTER II. 
John Sevier, John Floyd and the Indians 



I 



\' SEPTEMBER, 1793, an 
event was catalogued in 
which the site of Rome was 
l)rought to the attention of 
the country. Gen. John Sevier* de- 
scended upon Cherokee GeorQ-ia 
from Tennessee, chasing with his 
800 men 1,000 Indians who had 
scalped and killed thirteen people 
at Cavett's Station, near Knox- 
ville, and had retreated southward. 
Gen. Sevier swept out of his path 
such resistance as was offered, and 
burned a number of Indian towns. 
Presently he arrived at Oostanau- 
la, near the forks of the Coosa- 
wattee and Connasauga rivers, and 
after burning this village, divided 
his force. With half he proceeded 
dow^n the Oostanaula, while Col- 
onel Kelly and Major Evans were 
detailed to take the other half 
down the Etow^ah river, and to de- 
stroy such towns as they found. 
On Oct. 17, 1793, the Battle of Eto- 
wah was fought. 

The Kelly-Evans force discov- 
ered the main body of the fleeing 
Indians at a rocky bluff across the 
Etowah. Some say this was where 
the Southern Railway now^ crosses 
the river, about a mile above Rome, 
while others hold it was quite a 
distance farther down the stream. 
The- Indians had felled numerous 
trees and behind these had sought 
protection, while a few hid in the 
rocky fissures of the bluff". Many 
others had been strung out down 
the river bank to protect a ford. 
A clever ruse dislodged the In- 
dians and brought about their de- 
feat. The two officers took their 
force below the crossing point. Col- 
onel Kelly and several others 
plunged their horses in and swam 
across. Thinking the wdiole force 
was coming into the water and 
hoping to shoot them with ar- 



rows and guns before they could 
get out, part of the Indians left 
their protection and bore down 
upon the Colonel and his squad, 
who quickly dashed back into the 
Etowah. In the meantime, Capt. 
Evans had back-tracked his force 
to the ford, and there crossing, fell 
heavily upon the surprised foe, and 
put them to flight with a heavy 
loss. For many years later Indian 
bones and relics could be found in 
the crevasses of the hill. 

Such of the Indians as escaped 
-swam the river at Myrtle Hill 
cemetery, and made a stand at the 
western foot of it. Gen. Sevier hav- 
ing come up with his force, the 
frontiersmen inflicted terrible 
slaughter upon the red-skins, and 
drove them in contusion dowai 
the Coosa Valley. Sevier is 
also said to have destroyed Coosa 
Old Town at this time. This was a 
village which has been located by 
certain people on the Nixon farm 
and by others below it on the Coosa 
River. 

It so happened that most of these 
Tennessee "squirrel hunters" were 
volunteers who had had a friend or 
relative killed at Cavett's Station, 
and among them we find a youth 
of tender years named Hugh Law- 
son White.** Historians relate that 
in this engagement the young pale- 
face shot a minie ball into the 
l)reast of Chief King Fisher, one of 
the leaders of the Indian horde, 
killing him instantly and causing 
the Indian ranks to break in con- 



*Gen. Sevier was a Tennesseean and the an- 
cestor of the Underwoods, the Rowells, the 
Novins, the Pattons. the O'Neills, the Wylys 
and others of Rome. The Cherokees called him 
"Nollichucky Jack." A monument glorifying 
his exploit at the site of Rome was erected 
at the western base of Myrtle Hill cemetery by 
the Xavier Chat)ter of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution. 

**A kinsman of Dr. James Park, of Knox- 
ville, and his descendants, including Mrs. B. I. 
Hughes and Mrs. T. F. Howel, of Rome. 



John Sevier, John Floyd and the Indians 



23 



fusion. Forty-two years later Hugh 
Lawson White became a noted man 
in Tennessee — a_ judge, Senator 
and friend and supporter of Presi- 
dent Andrew Jackson, with many 
of the Jacksonian attrilmtes. In 
1835 he was nominated for presi- 
dent by the Whigs, and carried his 
own state over Martin Van Buren, 
the Democratic nominee, by 10,000 
majority. It was said that Jack- 
son's support would have won for 
judge \\'hite, but it was captured 
by Van Buren. 

A more complete account of the 
Battle of Etowah is found in the 
Tennessee Historical Magazine 
(Nashville), 1918, Vol. IV, pages 
207-9-10: 

Finding the authorities powerless, 
the patience of the Cherokees gave 
v/ay, and the latter part of August, 
1793, provided unmistakable evidence 
of Indian hostility. The settlements 
were put in a posture of defense. Gen. 
Sevier was posted at Ish's station, 
across the river from Knoxville, with 
400 mounted infantry. . . . On the 
evening of Sept. 24, John Watts, at 
the head of a large body of Indians, 
estimated at 1,000 men or more, com- 
posed of Cherokees and Creeks, cross- 
ed the Tennessee river below the mouth 
of Holston and marched all night in 
the direction of Knoxville. They avoid- 
ed Campbell's station, passed within 
three miles of Ish's, and daylight 
found them in sight of Cavett's sta- 
tion, eight miles west of Knoxville . . . 

Col. Watts had with him some of 
the most intractable chiefs of the na- 
tion . . . The chiefs disputed whether 
they should kill everybody in Knoxville 
or only the men. Doublehead insisted 
on the former. An altercation be- 
tween Doublehead and Vann was long 
and heated. Vann had a little boy, a 
captive, riding behind him. Double- 
head became so infuriated that he killed 
the little boy. . . . 

In sight of Cavett's station there 
was a block house in which Alexander 
Cavett and family of thirteen people 
resided, only three of whom were gun 
men. The three made a brave resist- 
ance. Alexander Cavett, the father, 
died with bullets in his mouth, which 
he had placed there to facilitate load- 
ing. Five Indians fell dead or wound- 
ed before their rifles. This checked 



the assaults and brought on a parley. 
The Bench, Watts' nephew, who spoke 
English, agreed with the besieged 
that if they surrendered, their lives 
should be spared, and they should be 
exchanged for a like number of In- 
dian prisoners. These terms were ac- 
cepted and the little garrison sur- 
rendered. 

As soon as they left the blockhouse, 
Doublehead and his party fell upon 
them and put them all to death in 
the most barbarous manner, except 
Alexander Cavett, Jr., who was saved 
by the interposition of Col. Watts, 
though he . was afterwards killed in 
the Creek towns . . . 

Gen. Sevier being rernfoi'ced until 
his army numbered about 700, he 
marched rapidly southward until Oct. 
14, 1793, when he reached the beloved 
town of Estaunaula. The town was 
deserted, but since it contained abund- 
ant provisions, Sevier halted and rest- 
ed his men. The Indians undertook 
to disperse his camp at night, but the 
attack was unsuccessful. From some 
Cherokee prisoners taken at Estau- 
naula it was learned that the main 
body of the enemy, composed of Cher- 
okees and Creeks, had passed the place 
a few days previously, and were mak- 



.^^ 
n 



\. 




CKN. .JOHN SKVIKR, early jrovernor of Ten- 
nessee, who in 1793 routed a band of Indians 
on 'Rome's site and slew Chief KinBllsher. 



24 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



ing for a town at the mouth of the 
Etowah river. After refreshyig his 
troops, Gen. Sevier followed the enemy, 
reaching the confluence of the Etowah 
and the Oostanaula rivers on the eve- 
ning of the 17th. 

The Creeks and a number of Cher- 
okees had intrenched themselves on 
opposite banks of the Etowah, to ob- 
struct its passage. A happy mistake 
on the part of the guides, Carey and 
Findleston*, saved the day for the 
whites. They carried Col. Kelly's 
force half a mile below the ford, 
where he and a few others immediate- 
ly swam the river. The Indians, dis- 
covering this movement, abandoned 
their intrenchments and rushed down 
the river to oppose Col. Kelly. Capt. 
Evans, discovering the error, wheel- 
ed, and straining his horses back to 
the ford, dashed into the river. The 
Indians at the ford, under the com- 
mand of King Fisher, a Cherokee 
chief of the first consequence, saw 
their mistake, and, returning, received 
Capt. Evans' company furiously at 
the crossing of the bank. 

The engagement was hot and spirit- 
ed. The King Fisher made a daring 
sally within a few yards of H. L. 
White, afterwards the distinguished 
jurist and statesman. He and some 
of his comrades discharged their rifles, 
the King Fisher fell and his warriors 
abandoned the field. The whites lost 
three men in the engagement. This 
campaign ended the war and closed 
the military careers of Col. Watts and 
Gen. Sevier. 

Gen. Sevier's official report of 
the battle follows :** 

Ish's Mills, Tenn., 25 Oct., 1793. 
Sir: 

In obedience to an order from Sec- 
retary Smith, I marched in pursuit of 
the large body of Indians who on the 
25th of last month did the mischief 
in Knox County, Grassy Valley. . . . 

We directed our march for Esta- 
naula*** on the Coosa**** river, at 
which place we arrived on the 14th 
instant. . . . We there made some 
Cherokee prisoners, who informed us 
that John Watts headed the army late- 
ly out on our frontiers; that the same 
was composed of Indians more or less 
fi'om every town in the Cherokee na- 
tion; that from the Turkey's Town, 
Sallyquoah, Coosawaytah and several 
other principal ones almost to a man 
was out, joined by a large number of 
the upper Creeks, who had passed that 



place on their return only a few days 
since, and had made for a town at the 
mouth of Hightower river.***** 

We, after refreshing the troops, 
marched for that place, taking the 
path that leads to that town, along 
which the Creeks had marched, in five 
large trails. 

On the 17th instant, in the after- 
noon, we arrived at the forks of Coosa 
and Hightower rivers. Col. Kelly was 
ordered with a part of the Knox reg- 
iment to endeavor to cross the High- 
tower. The Creeks and a number of 
Cherokees had intrenched themselves 
to obstruct the passage. Col. Kelly 
and his pai'ty passed down the river 
half a mile below the ford and began 
to cross at a private place, where 
there was no ford. Himself and a 
few others swam over the river. The 
Indians, discovering this movement, 
immediately left their intrenchments 
and ran down the river to oppose their 
passage, expecting, as I suppose, the 
whole intended crossing at the lower 
place. 

Capt. Evans immediately w'ith his 
company of mounted infantry strained 
their horses back to the upper ford 
and began to cross the river. Very 
few had, got to the south bank before 
the Indians, who had discovered their 
mistake, returned and received them 
furiously at the rising of the bank. 
An engagement instantly took place 
and became very warm, and notwith- 
standing the enemy w^ere at least four 
to one in numbers, besides the advan- 
tage of situation, Capt. Evans with 
his- heroic company put them in a short 
time utterly to flight. They left sev- 
eral dead on the ground, and were 
seen to carry others off both on foot 
and on horse. Bark and trails of 
blood from the wounded were to be 
seen in every quarter. 

The encampment fell into our hands, 
with a number of their guns, many of 
vvhich were of the Spanish sort, with 
budgets, plankets and match coats, to- 
gether with some horses. We lost 
three men in this engagement, which 
is all that have fell during the time 
of our route, although this last attack 
was the fourth the enemy had made 
upon us, but in the others repulsed 
without loss. 



*Richard Finnolson. 

**Sevier's report was evidenth' made to Gov. 
Wm. Blount. It is here presented from Ramsey's 
Annals of Tennessee, ps. .587-8. 

'**Several miles east of Resaca. 

****Now Oostanaula. 

*****Site cf Rome. 



John Sevier, John Floyd and the Indians 



25 



After the last engagement we cross- 
ed the main Coosa, then proceeded on 
our way down the main river near the 
Turnip' Mountain,* destroying in our 
way several Creek and Chei'okee 
towns, which they had settled together 
on each side of the river, and from 
which they have all fled with appar- 
ent precipitation, leaving almost every- 
thing behind them. Neither did they 
after the last engagement attempt to 
annoy or interrupt us on our march, 
in any manner whatever. I have got 
reason to believe their ardor and spirit 
was well checked. 

The party flogged at Hightower 
were those which had been out with 
Watts. There are three or four men 
slightly wounded and two or three 
horses killed, but the Indians did not, 
as I heard of, get a single horse from 
us the time we were out. We took 
and destroyed nearly 300 beeves, many 
of which were of the best and largest 
kind. Of course their losing so much 
provision must distress them very 
much. 

Many women and children might 
have been taken, but from motives 
of humanity I did not encourage it to 
be done, and several taken were suf- 
fered to make their escape. Your Ex- 
cellency knows the disposition of many 
that were out on this expedition, and 
can readily account for this conduct. 

The National Encyclopedia of 
American Biography, Vol. II, page 
395, gives Hugh Lawson White 
credit for the death of the Indian 
chief mentioned above : "A war 
Avitli the Cherokees breaking out, 
he volunteered under Gen. Sevier. 

. . and at Rtowah shot and mor- 
tally wounded the Cherokee chief, 
King Fisher, thus ending the bat- 
tle.'' 

The next military event of im- 
portance to Cherokee Ge(jrgia 
was the invasion of Alabama by 
Gen. John Floyd in 1814. Gen. Floyd 
was a native of Sotuh Carolina and 
a descendant of noted fighting men. 
He owned Fairfield Plantation, 
Camden County, where he died 
June 24, 1839, after having served 
in the State Legislature and in 
Congress. He defeated the Creek 
Indians, allies of the I'.ritish, at 

*Site of Coosa villaRe. 



Autossee, Fort Defiance, and Chin- 
ibee, Ala., and so complete was the 
rout that the warlike Creeks as 
a nation never afterward became 
dangerous along the border, and 
the comparatively peaceful settle- 
ment of Northwest Georgia was 
made possible. 

Another civilizing intluence 
about this time was the invention 
of the Cherokee alphabet of 85 
characters by Sequoyah (George 
Guess or Gist), an uneducated In- 
dian who lived at Alpine, Chattoo- 
ga County, and who was a fre- 
quent visitor to Major Ridge's at 
his home on the Oostanatila. Se- 
cjuoyah wrote on bark with poke- 
berry juice, instructed his little 
daughter and any Indian who 
wished to learn. He went west to 
the Indian country in a few years, 
and presently his alpliabet was 
adopted by the Cherokee Nation 
and was used along with English in 
copies of the Cherokee Phoenix, 




GEN JOHN KLOYD, Indian fiKhter and Con- 
gressman, after whom in 1832 Floyd County 
was named. 



26 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



the paper edited at New Echota by 
Elias Boudinot. 

Several glimpses into Indian and 
frontier life are given in "The Laws 
of the Cherokees," published by 
the Cherokee Advocate at Tahle- 
quah. Okla., in 1852. One of these 
if contained in an order from the 
chiefs and warriors in National 
Council at "Broom's Town," Sept. 
11, 1808. (Broom's Town was 
probably Broom Town, Cherokee 
County, Ala., in Broom Town Val- 
ley, and about five miles from 
Cloudland, Chattooga County, Ga.). 
The order forms "regulating com- 
panies" of one captain, one lieu- 
tenant and four privates each, at 
annual salaries of $50, $40 and $30, 
respectively, for the purpose of 
arresting horse thieves and pro- 
tecting property. The i)enalty for 
stealing a horse was 100 lashes on 
the bare back of the thief, be he 
man or woman, and fewer lashes 
for things of less value ; and if a 
thief resisted the "regulators" with 
gun, axe, spear or knife, he could 
be killed on the spot. 







SEQUOYAH (Geo. Guess), inventor of the 
Cherokee Alphabet, who was born in Chat- 
tooga County, near Alpine. 



This law was signed by Black 
Fox, principal chief; Chas. Hicks, 
secretary to the Council ; Path 
Killer and Toochalar. These offi- 
cials and Turtle at Home, Speaker 
of the Council, drafted the follow- 
ing law Apr. 10, 1810, at "Oostan- 
nallah," a town supposed to have 
been located about three miles east 
of Resaca, Gordon County, on the 
east bank of the Connasauga 
(sometimes known at that point 
as Oostanaula) River, near the 
mouth of Polecat Creek : 

Be it known that this day the various 
clans and tribes which compose the 
Cherokee Nation have agreed that 
should it happen that a brother, for- 
getting- his natural affection, should 
use his hand in anger and kill his 
brother, he shall be accounted guilty 
of murder and suffer accordingly; and 
if a man has a horse stolen, and over- 
takes the thief, and should his anger 
be so great as to cause him to kill 
him, let his blood remain on his own 
conscience, but no satisfaction shall 
be demanded for his life from his rel- 
atives or the clan he may belong to. 

"Echota" was the Cherokee term 
for "town." The first capital is said 
by some authorities to have been 
originally in Virginia, the second 
in North Carolina and the third in 
East Tennessee. Prior to 1825, it 
appears, John Ross, principal chief, 
lived at Ross' Landing, Tennessee 
River, now Chattanooga. The first 
mention in the Cherokee laws of 
New Town (or New Echota) was 
under date of Oct. 26, 1819. This 
place was situated on the south 
l)ank of the Oostanaula River, in 
Gordon County, Ga., just below 
the confluence of the Coosawattee 
and the Connasauga Rivers and 
presumably three miles south of 
Oostanaula village. 

On Oct. 28, 1819, at Newtown 
the following order was passed: 

This day decreed by the National 
Committee and Council, That all citi- 
zens of the Cherokee Nation establish- 
ing a store for the purpose of vend- 
ing merchandise shall obtain license 
for that purpose from the clerk of the 



John Sevier, John Floyd and the Indians 



27 



National Council, for which each and 
every person so licensed shall pay a 
tax of $25 per annum, and that no 
other but citizens of the Cherokee Na- 
tion shall be allowed to establish a per- 
manent store within the Nation. And 
it is also decreed that no peddlers not 
citizens of the Nation shall be permit- 
ted to vend merchandise in the Nation 
without first obtaining license from 
the Agent of the United States for the 
Cherokee Nation, agreeably to the laws 
of the United States, and each and 
everyone so licensed shall pay $80 to 
the treasurer of the Cherokee Nation 
annually. 

This law was signed by John 
Ross, President of the National 
Committee ; Path Killer, Chas. R. 
Hicks and Alex McCoy, clerk. 
Three years later George M. Lav- 
ender encountered its provisions 
by establishing the first trading 
post near Rome, at the old home 
of Major Ridge up the Oostanaula 
River. 

The first reference to the pres- 
ent site of Rome appears in a law 
passed Oct. 30, 1819, at New Town, 
as follows : 

Whereas, the Big Rattling Gourd*, 
Wm. Grimit, Betsey Brown, The Dark, 
Daniel Griffin and Mrs. Lesley hav- 
ing complained before the Chiefs of a 
certain company of persons having 
formed a combination and established 
a turnpike arbitrarily, in opposition 
to the interest of the above-named 
persons, proprietors of a privileged 
turnpike on the same road, be it now, 
therefore, known 

That said complaint having been 
submitted by the Council to the Na- 
tional Committee for a decision, and 
after maturely investigating into the 
case, have decided that the said new 
company of the disputed turnpike shall 
be abolished, and that the above-named 
persons are the only legal proprietors 
to establish a turnpike on the road 
leading from Widow Fool's (ferry) at 
the forks of Ilightower (Etowah) and 
Oostannallah Rivers to Will's Creek by 

*Tho Rigr Rattline Gourd wns a snl)-chief 
whd lived at r.n«' tinip at Cave Si)ring. His wife 
proved unfaithful to him and in a moment of 
antjer he hit otf her nose and otherwise ro 
maltreated her that she died. AccordinR to Mrs. 
Harriet Connor Stevens, of Cave Sprinpr, Bho 
was buried on the spot where th^ Cave Spring 
postofRce now stands. 

**General route of thp present Alabama 
Road. Turkey Town was in P^towah County, Ala. 



v.ay of Turkey Town;** and the said 
company shall be bound to keep in re- 
pair said road, to commence from the 
first creek east of John Fields, Sr'a 
home, by the name where Vann was 
shot, and to continue westward to the 
extent of their limits; and that the 
Widow Fool shall also keep in repair 
for the benefit of her ferry at the fork, 
the road to commence from the creek 
above named to where Ridge's Road now 
intersects said road east of her ferry, 
and that the Ridges shall also keep in 
repair the road to commence at the 
Two Runs, east of his ferry, and to 
continue by way of his ferry as far 
as where his road intersects the old 
road, leading from the fork west of 
his ferry, and that also the High- 
tower Turnpike Co. shall keep in re- 
pair the road from the Two Runs to 
where it intersects the Federal Road, 
near Blackburn's. 

This law was signed by Ross, 
Path Killer, Hicks and McCoy. 

In 1820, also at New Town or 
New^ Echota, a law was passed di- 
viding the Cherokee country of 
Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee 
into eight territorial and judicial 
districts : Amoah, Aquohee, Chal- 
loogee, Chickamaugee, Coosewa- 
tee, Etowah, Hickory Log and 
Tahquohee. In a description of 
the Coosewatee District the ferry 
of the Widow Fool is again men- 
tioned. 

It would a])pear that for about 
six years, from 1819 to 1825, the 
Cherokee National Committee and 
Council held their meetings at New 
Echota. On Nov. 12, 1825, it was 
resolved to establish a town with 
suitalde buildings, wide streets and 
a park : 

That 100 town lots of one acre 
square be laid off on the Oostannallah 
River, commencing below the mouth 
of the creek (Town), nearly opposite 
to the mouth of Caunasauga River, the 
public square to embrace two acres of 
ground, which town shall be known 
and called I]chota. There shall be a 
main street of 60 feet, and the other 
streets shall be 50 feet. 

That the lots when laid off be sold 
to the highest bidder, the second Mon- 
day in February next, the proceeds 



28 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



to be appropriated for the benefit of 
the public buildings in said town. 

That three commissioners, Judge 
Martin. George Saunders and Walter 
S. Adair, superintend the laying off of 
the lots. 

That all the ground lying within the 
following bounds, not embraced by the 
lots, shall remain as commons for the 
convenience of the town: beginning 
at the mouth of the creek, opposite the 
mouth of Caunasauga, and up said 
creek to the mouth of the dry branch 
on which Geo. Hicks lives, up said 
branch to the point of the ridges, and 
thence in a circle around along said 
ridges, by the place occupied by the 
Crying Wolf (lately occupied by War 
Club), thence to the river. 

Signing; tliis document were John 
Ross, President of the National 
Committee ; Major Ridge,* Speak- 
er of the Council ; Path Killer. 
Chas. R. Hicks,** A. McCoy, clerk 
of the National Committee, and 
Elias Boudinot, clerk of the Na- 
tional Council. 

Thus we see the Cherokees, driv- 
en from j)illar to post by the en- 
croaching pale-faces, marshaling' 
their forces for a last ditch stand. 
Their first expedient Avas to estab- 
lish "a nation within a nation," 
hence the concentration of power 
in a Principal Chief, a National 
Committee and a National Coun- 
cil, and a regular seat of govern- 
ment at New Kchota ; their second 
expedient was resort to such force 
as they could command — highway 
assassination, attacks on isolated 
families, tribal uprisings — and 
finally, when state and federal gov- 
ernment pressure became too 
great, non-intercourse and passive 
resistance. Their newspaper pr(n'ed 
a feeble weapon. 

As far back as the presidency of 
George Washington (1794) we 'find 
pow-wows in Philadeljihia (then 
the national capital) with the Cher- 
okees and other tribes of the va- 
rious states in the east and the 
southeast. In 1803 Thos. JeiYerson, 
then President, suggested a gen- 
eral movement westward. In 1817 



and in 1819, during the Presidency 
of James Monroe, important trea- 
ties were signed with the Chero- 
kees, involving cessions of land. In 
1802, during the administration of 
Mr. JelTerson, Georgia had ceded to 
the United States government all 
the land she owned westward to 
the Mississippi River, now the 
states of Alabama and Mississippi, 
in exchange for the government's 
promise to extinguish the Indian 
title to land within Georgia's pres- 
ent boundaries. Twenty years 
passed ; nothing having been done, 
(jOv. Geo. M. Troup pressed the 
matter upon the attention of Presi- 
dent James Monroe, and the Presi- 
dent called a meeting in 1825 for 
Indian Springs. Here the Lower 
Creeks, led by Gen. Wm. Mcintosh, 
ignored the hostile Alabama 
Creeks, who did not attend, and 
signed away their Georgia lands. 
This act infuriated the Alabama 
Creeks, and 170 men volunteered to 
kill Gen. Mcintosh, who lived at 
"Mcintosh Reserve,"onthe Chatta- 
hoochee River, five miles southwest 
of Whitesburg, in what is now Car- 
roll County. The band lay in the 
woods until 3 o'clock one morning, 
;ind proceeded to the Mcintosh 
home with a cjuantity of pitch pine 
on the Ijacks of three warriors. 
Presently the pine knots were ig- 
riited and thrown under the house, 
and the structure blazed up 
brightly. From the second story 
Mcintosh fought ofif his enemies 
with four guns, but eventually the 
heat forced him to descend, and 
when he exposed himself he was 
shot, then dragged into the yard 
and killed with knives. 

The Alabama Creeks having 
claimed the Indian Springs instru- 
ment was "no treaty," the incom- 

*Major Ridge was a powerful orator, but it 
is said he was uneducated and could not write 
his name. The state papers of the Cherokees 
usually have after his name "his mark." Path 
Killer also signed by touching the pen. 

**Chas. R. Hicks became the first principal 
chief after the Cherokees had set up their re- 
vised structure of government at New Echota. 
He was succeeded in 1828 by John Ross. 



John Sevier, John Floyd and the Indians 



29 



ing president, John Quincy Adams, 
took their side and ordered Gov. 
Troup not to survey the lands just 
cedecl. The Georgia Governor de- 
fied Mr. Adams and told him if 
United States troops invaded Geor- 
gia soil, Georgia troops would put 
them off. Trouble was averted by 
a new agreement in which the In- 
dians were given about $28,000. 

The Creek settlement furnished 
a suggestion for the agents who 
ten years later negotiated with a 
minority faction of the Cherokees, 
as will be told more fully herein 
hereafter. Farther down, in South 
Georgia and Florida, were the 



such establishment. Samuel A. 
Worcester, a native of Worcester, 
Mass., had charge of a mission 
at New Echota. Missionary 
Station, at Coosa, Floyd Coun- 
ty, was in the care of Rev. 
and Mrs. Elijah Butler, who were 
sent out from South Canaan, Conn., 
by the American Baptist Commit- 
tee on Foreign Missions. In 1831 
Dr. Worcester, Dr. Butler and nine 
others were sentenced to a term of 
four years in the Georgia peni- 
tentiary, at Milledgeville, and 
served a year and four months. 
They were charged with pernicious 
activities among the Indians. 'IMieir 



KsovJ du rthti^nv (3)wj Hyo e\)s. 



THE CHEROKEE ALPHABFT 



Seminoles, who gave considerable 
trouble, but were generally less of 
a bone of contention than the 
Creeks and the Cherokees. 

The clan system among the 
Cherokees was abolished about 
1800. The clans were W\)lf, Deer, 
Paint, Longhair, Bird, Blind Sa- 
vannah and Holly. Jno. Ross was 
a Bird, Major Ridge a Deer and 
David Vann a Wolf. 

Prior to 1820 Congress appro- 
priated $10,000 yearly toward the 
maintenance of missions and mis- 
sionaries among the Indians of 
Cherokee Georgia and contiguous 
territory. The P)rainerd Mission 
was located on Missionary Ridge. 
Tenn., and was pro])ably the first 



release was brought al)out when 
they agreed to lca\c tlic Slate. 

Pressure on the IncHans may be 
said to have been exerted from two 
directions ; it proceeded from the 
oldest section of the State, the 
neighborhood of Augusta, Savan- 
nah and Darien, in a generally 
northwesterly direction, and from 
South Carolina, in a westerly di- 
rection. Various land si)eculators, 
adventurers, criminals and good, 
substantial ])eo])le began to over- 
run the Ciierokee country. Under 
letter date of Aug. 6, 1832, from 
the Council Ground at Red Clay, 
Whitfield County, the following 
red-skins ])roteste(l to Lewis Cass, 



30 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Secretary of War, against the pale- 
face encroachments :* 

Richard Taylor, President of Com- 
mittee; John Ridge. 

Major Ridge, his x mark, Geo. M. 
Waters, Executive Council. 

Wm. Roques, clerk of committee. 

John Ross, Going Snake, speaker of 
committee; Joseph Vann, David Vann, 
James Daniel, Thos. Foreman, Alexan- 
der McDaniel, his x mark; Fox Bald- 
ridge, Samuel Gunter; Chincumkah, 
his X mark ; Young Glass, hix x mark ; 
John Foster, Te-sat-es-kee, his x mark; 
Ed. Duncan, John Watts, his x mark; 
John Wayne, his x mark; Sit-u-akee, 
his X mark; Bean Stick, his x mark; 
Walking Stick, his x mark; N. Connell, 
Richard Fielding, John Timson, Wm. 
Doling, George Still, his x mark; Hair 
Conrad, his x mark; Sleeping Rabbit,"* 
his X mark; Archibald Campbell, his x 
mark; The Buck, his x mark; White 
Path, his X mark; John R. Daniel, 
Ruquah, his x mark; James Speaks, 
his X mark ; Sweet Water, his x mark ; 
Peter, his x mark; Soft Shell Turtle, 
his X mark; A. McCoy, George Lowry. 
U. S. Agent Elisha W. Chester, wit- 
ness. 



It was not until Oct. 23, 1832, 
however, that the situation became 
so acute as to call for the most 
delicate diplomacy from national 
and state governments. Then it 
was that the lottery drawings for 
the Cherokee lands were held, and 
the influx of settlers became gen- 
eral. Like a plague of locusts the 
new-comers alighted on the choice 
hunting grounds of the Cherokees. 
The territory was broken up into 
counties, and thus was also broken 
the friendship between the con- 
tending parties, Avhich for so long 
had been hanging by a slender 
thread. John Ross directed a pro- 
test to his tribesmen which caused 
tliem to fast for several days. The 
Indians assumed an ugly attitude, 
])ut it availed little, as we shall 
]^resently see. 

*American State Papers, Military Affairs, 
Vol. 5, ps. 28-9. 

**It was at his one-room log cabin, in Ten- 
nessee, that Jno. Ross and Jno. Howard Payne 
were arrested Nov. 7, 1835. 



<^i^ 



111 

3 9 ? a J g f 




PART II 

'ANCIENT ROME 
1834-1861 




CHAPTER I. 
Rome's Establishment and Early Days 



I 



X THE spring of 1834 two 
lawyers were traveling on 
horseback from Cassville, 
Cass County, to attend 
court at Livingston, the county 
seat of Floyd. They were Col. Dan- 
iel R. Mitchell, a lawyer of Canton, 
Cherokee County, and Col. Zacha- 
riah B. Hargrove, Cassville attor- 
ney, formerly of Covington, New- 
ton County. The day was warm 
and the travelers hauled up at a 
small spring on the peninsula which 
separates the Etow^ah and the Oos- 
tanaula rivers at their junction. 
Here they slaked their thirst and 
sat down under a willow tree to 
rest before proceeding on their 
way. 

Col. Hargrove gazed in admira- 
tion on the surrounding hills and 
remarked : "This would make a 
splendid site for a town." 

"I was just thinking the same," 
returned his companion. "There 
seems to be plenty of water round 
about and extremely fertile soil 
and all the timber a man could 
want." 

A stranger having come up to 
refresh himself at the spring, and 
having overheard the conversation, 
said: "Gentlemen, you will par- 
don me for intruding, but 1 have 
been convinced for some time that 
the location of this place offers ex- 
ceptional opportunities for l)uild- 
ing a city that would become the 
largest and most prosperous in 
Cherokee Georgia. I live two miles 
south of here. My business takes 
me now and then to George M. 
Lavender's trading post up the 
Oostanaula there, and I never pass 
this spot l)Ut T think of what could 
be done." 

The last speaker introduced him- 
self as Maj. rhilip Walker Hemp- 



hill, planter. Learning the mission 
of the travelers, he added : "The 
court does not open until tomorrow 
afternoon. You gentlemen are no 
doubt fatigued by your journey, 
and it will give me great pleasure 
if you will accompany me home 
and spend the night. There we can 
discuss the matter of locating a 
town at this place." 

Col. Mitchell and Col. Hargrove 
accepted with thanks. The three 
left the spring (which still runs 
under Broad street at the south- 
east corner of Third Avenue), 
crossed the Etowah River on John 
Ross' "Forks Ferry," and proceed- 
ed with Major Hemphill to his 
comfortable plantation home at 
what is now DeSoto Park. Here 
they went into the question more 
deeply. A cousin of Maj. Hemp- 
hill, Gen. James Hemphill, who 
lived about ten miles down Vann's 
Valley, had recently been elected 
to the Georgia legislature, and 
could no doubt bring about a re- 
moval of the county site from 
Livingston to Rome ; he was also 
commanding officer of the Georgia 
Militia in the section. 

After court was over, Col. Mitch- 
ell and Col. Hargrove spent an- 
other night witli Maj. llcmphill, 
;ind the next morning Col. Wm. 
v'^mith ^vas called in from Cave 
Spring, and l)ecame the fourth 
member of tlie company. It was 
there agreed that all availal^le 
land would be acquired immediate- 
1\'. the fcrr\- rights would be 
!)ought and the ground laid olt in 
lots. Gen. Hemphill was requested 
to confer witli his compatriots at 
Milledgcvillc and draw up a l)ill 
for removal. The projectors wcnild 
give sufiicient land for the imblic 
l)uildings and in time would make 
the ferries free and cause neces- 



34 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



sary bridges to be built, as well as 
to lay out streets at once. A con- 
tract along- these lines was signed 
with the Inferior Court of Floyd 
County. Since Col. Mitchell and 
Col. Ilargrove were fairly well es- 
tablished elsewhere, and it would 
be some time before they could 
move, they agreed to leave the le- 
gal matters in the hands of John 
II. I<uni])kin, of Oglethorpe Coun- 
ty, who was ready to resign as sec- 
retary to his uncle, Governor Wil- 
son Lumpkin, and to grow uj) with 
the new town. 

These five i)ii)neers put five 
names into a hat, it having been 
agreed that the name drawn out 
should be the name of the city 
they were to build. Col. Smith 
put in the name Ilillsboro, typify- 
ing the hills, and this later became 
the name of the suburb he develop- 
ed. South Rome ; Col. Hargrove 
suggested Pittsburg, after the iron 
?nd steel metropolis of Pennsyl- 




DANIEL R. MITCHELL, lawyer and one of 
four founders of Rome, who gave to the 
young city its name. 



\ania ; Col. Hemphill preferred 
Hamburg, after the great commer- 
cial city of Germany ; Col. Mitch- 
cll, recalling the seven hills of an- 
cient Rome on the Tiber, wanted 
Rome ; and Mr. Lumpkin favored 
Warsaw, after the city of Poland. 
The name Rome was extracted and 
became the name of the town. 

Among other early settlers of 
Rome or Floyd County were the 
following : 

Col. Alfred Shorter, who came 
from Society Hill, Ala., to finance 
the o])erations of William Smith, 
on a half interest basis ; Joseph 
Watters and John Rush, of the 
Watters District ; John Ellis, Jos. 
B'ord. judge W. H. Underwood, 
Alford B. Reece, Thos. G. Watters, 
Thos. S. Price, Wesley Shropshire, 
Edward Ware, Thos. and Elijah 
Lumpkin, Micajah Mayo, Elkanah 
Everett, of Everett Springs; A. 
Tabor Hardin, Wm. C. Hardin, 
Nathan Bass, Thos. Selman, Rev. 
Genuluth Winn, Dr. Alvin Dean, 
Isaac and John P. Bouchillon, Wm. 
Ring, John Smith, Shade Green, 
Dr. Jesse Carr, Jno. W. Walker, 
Henry W. Dean, Jno. Townsend, 
Jeremiah L. McArver, Sam Smith, 
Wm. Mathis, G. T. Mitchell, Fletch- 
er Carver, J. W. Carver, J. D. Alex- 
ander, Col. Jno. R. Hart, Gilbert 
Cone, Dr. IL V. M. Miller, Thos. W. 
Burton, A. D. Shackelford, Thos. 
C. Hackett, James McEntee, Wm. 
T. I 'rice, R. S. Norton, C. M. Pen- 
nington, Rev. Shaler (i. Hillyer, 
\\\u. E. Alexander, W. S. Cothran, 
A. B. Ross, Jobe Rogers, Jno. and 
Wm. Dejournett, Judge Jno. W 
Hooper, Ewell Meredith, Col. Jas. 
Liddell (or Ladelle), Alfred Brown, 
James Wells, Jesse Lamberth, Ter- 
rence McGuire, Dennis Hills, Dr. 
Thos. Hamilton, Samuel Mobley, 
Wm. Montgomery, Fielding Hight, 
Green Cunningham and Samuel 
Stewart. 

Jackson County appropriately 
bears the name "Mother of Floyd," 



Rome's Establishment and Early Days 



35 



l)ecaiise of the number and promi- 
nence of her citizens who settled 
i;i Cave Spring, Vann's Valley or 
Rome. Among these might be men- 
tioned Mrs. Alfred Shorter, Major 
Philip W. Hemphill and his brother, 
Chas. Jonathan Hemphill ; Col. and 
]\rrs. Wm. Smith and her brother, 
)no. Willis Mayo, and her kinsman, 
Micajah Mayo, after whom the 
Mayo Bar lock was named ; Col. 
Smith's brothers, Chas., John and 
Elijah A. Smith ; Gen. Jas. Hemp- 
hill, Walton H. Jones, Peyton Skip- 
with Randolph, Newton Green, 
Col. James Liddell (or Ladelle), 
and Wm. Montgomery. Most of 
these settled in Vann's \^alley or 
Cave Spring and thus furnished the 
inspiration for Rome. Generally 
they hailed from Jefferson, home of 
Dr. Crawford W. Long. 

In 1828 the Georgia Legislature 
liad passed a law extending juris- 
diction over the Cherokee country, 
thus ending the "nation within a 
nation" dream. On Dec. 3, 1832, less 
than two months after the lottery 
cu-awings, the Legislature passed 
an act providing for a division of 
Cherokee Georgia into ten large 
counties : Floyd, called after the 
Indian fighter, Gen. Jno. Floyd, 
of Camden County ; Cherokee, For- 
syth, Lumpkin, Cobb, Gilmer. Cass, 
Murray, Paulding and Lnion. 
Roughly speaking, this territory 
lay northwest of tlie Chattahoo- 
chee River, and was bounded on 
the north by the Tennessee line, 
nnd on the west b_\- the Alabama 
line. Graduallv more and more di- 
visions were made, until today the 
territory is composed of the fol- 
lowing additional ccranties : Dade, 
Walker, Catoosa. Chattooga, ]^>ar- 
tow, (jordon, Polk, Haralson, Car- 
roll, Douglas, Milton, Dawson, 
White, Fannin, Pickens, Rabun, 
'J'owns and Habersham, and parts 
of Hall, Heard and TroU]). 

*Acts, 1833, ps. 321-2. 
**Acts, 1834, ps. 250-1. 



Floyd was surveyed by Jacob 
M. Scudder, who in 1833 was em- 
ployed by the United States gov- 
ernment to ap])raise Indian lands 
and improvements near Cave 
Spring. Mr. Scudder's name ap- 
pears on the early records at the 
Floyd County courthouse in a real 
estate transaction, but there is no 
evidence that he ever lived at Rome. 
Livingston, a hamlet located on 
the south side of the Coosa River 
at Foster's Bend, about 14 miles 
below^ Rome, was chosen by legis- 
lative act of Dec. 21, 1833* as the 
county seat, and a log cabin court- 
house was erected at which one or 
more sessions of court, presided 
over ])y Judge Jno. W. Hooper, 
were held, and in which quite a 
numl)er of Indians appeared as 
jjrosecutors and defendants. 

The removal of the county seat 
from Livingston to Rome took 
place under authoritv of an act 
passed Dec. 20, 1834>* and was 




PHILIP WALKER HEMPHILL, planter and 
one of Rome's projectors, who in 1846 moved 
to Mississippi. 



36 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



consummated in 1835. However, 
a considerable settlement had 
sprung up prior to this in Vann's 
Valley. On the "pale-face side" of 
the Chattahoochee a large and 
restless element had been held back 
by the existing conditions, but 
when encouragement was given by 
the Georgia authorities to en- 
croachments on the Indian lands, 
this tide overflowed into the Cher- 
okee country. 

The countv site was removed 
to Land Lot 245, 23rd District, 3rd 
Section, Head of Coosa, Floyd 
County, the new place to be known 
as Rome.* The first Saturday in 
February, 1835, was set as the date 
for selecting five commissioners 
for one-year terms.** Parts of 
land lot 244, east of the Oostanaula 
and 276, north of the Hightower 
(Etowah), were also reserved for 
the growth of the town. The act 
further stated that nothing therein 
was to be considered in conflict 
with a contract made previously 
by Wm. Smith, ct al., with the In- 
ferior Court. 

An amendment*** to the act of 
1834, passed Dec. 29, 1838, provided 
for creation of the office of "in- 
tendant," which means "superin- 
tendent" l)y the dictionary, but 
probably meant "mayor" in those 
days; also included were commis- 
sioners, clerk, marshal, etc., and 
some salaries were fixed. 

David Vann, a Cherokee sub- 
chief, had settled near Cave Si)ring 
in the valle_\' wliicli was given his 
name, and in this valley between 
the present Rome and Cave Spring 
people began to "squat" several 
years before there was a Rome. 
In 1828, Major Armistead Rich- 
ardson, father-in-law of the late 
Judge Augustus R. Wright, of 
Rome, removed to Vann's Valley 
from Augusta and with the as- 
sistance of a number of enthusi- 
astic associates began preparations 



for the establishment of Cave 
Spring in 1831. 

Ridge Valley, seven miles north 
of Rome, had been settled simul- 
taneously with the Vann's Valley 
settlement. This valley was named 
after another Indian leader, Major 
Ividge. \vho is supposed to have 
lived in it. at the present Rush 
place, at Hermitage, a number of 
years before moving to the Oosta- 
naula near Rome. 

The period of John Ross' resi- 
dence in DeSoto (Rome's present 
Fourth ward) has not been deter- 
mined accurately. However, a sat- 
isfactory conclusion may be drawn 
from the fact that the Cherokee 
chiefs had been meeting at the 
New Echota Council ground since 
1819. that New Echota had been 
the capital since 1825, and Mr. Ross 
found DeSoto ("Head of Coosa") 
a central point to reside.**** Un- 
doubtedlv Mr. Ross was influenced 



*Acts. 1834, ps. 2.50-1. 

**Jas. M. CunninKham's place, at or near the 
present DeSoto Park, had been designated in 
the act of Dec. 21, 1S33, as the place to hold 
county elections. 

***Acts of 1838. 

****Persistent search has been made to reveal 
who it was that turned John Ross out of Jiis 
home, but his identity has net been estab- 
lished to a certainty. However, it is on record 
in the Secretary of State's office. State Cap'tol, 
Atlanta, and an old book knowTi as the Cher- 
okee Land Lottery says the Ross home site land 
(Land Lot 237. 23rd district, 3rd section) was 
drawn by Hugh Brown, of Beavour's district, 
Habersham County. Floyd County Deed Record 
D, page 40, recites that Brown sold the 160 
acres Nov. 23, 1835, to Samuel Headen, of 
Franklin County, for $.500 ; and on page 4.5 
it is set down that Samuel Headen sold it 
Feb. 21. 1844, for $3,000 to John B. Winfrey, 
of Hall. John B. Winfrey was the father of 
Jas. O. Winfrey, of Floyd. He sold 80 acres 
of it to Col. Alfre<I Shorter and SO to Daniel 
R. Mitchell. The part on which the Ross 
house stood is now between Mrs. James M. 
Bradshaw's home and Hamilton park, and in- 
cludes the home of County School Superin- 
tendent W. C. Rash. It is an eminence where 
a large sugar berry tree and a walnut are 
growing. Here, according to a memorial Ross 
and others sent to the United States Senate in 
183(5, was where one of his babies and his 
beloved father, Daniel Ross, were buried. Since 
Hugh Brown sold the land in November and 
Ross was dispossessed in April, 1835, it is 
likely that Brown was living there at the time 
the Indian leader and his family were turned 
adrift. Mr. Ross lived at Ross' Landing, Look- 
out Mountain, now Chattanooga, Tenn., and 
at Rossville, Walker County, Ga. He was 
born Oct. 3, 1790 : some authorities say at 
Rossville, some Turkeytown. Etowah Co., Ala., 
and some Tah-nee-hoo-yah ("Logs in the Wa- 
ter"), Ala., which last place and Turkeytown 
were on the Coosa. 



Rome's Establishment and Early Days 



37 



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THE HEART OF CHEROKEE GEORGIA. 

(Scale of miles, 18 miles to one inch.) 



by the fact that Major Ridge was 
living about a mile away, and they 
could hold their conferences much 
more easily, jolm Ridge, son of 
the Major and also a leader, lived 
about three miles from Ross, at 
"Running Waters," later the John 
Hume place. New Kchota was 
some 30 miles, and the Council 
Ground at Red Clay, Whitfield 
County, was 60 miles northward, 
as the crow flies. Seciuoyah, the 



man of letters and knowledge, was 
25 miles aw;iy. Klias B'.)udinot, 
Stand Watie and David Vann were 
readily available. Assuming that 
Ross moved to DeSot(-i in 1825, he 
resided there ten years, until fmally 
dispossessed of his home, lie used 
to start his letters "Head of Coo- 
sa." 

It will be seen, therefore, that 
the site of Rome was probably of 
nitirc inii)ortancc between 1825 and 



44G036 



38 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



the final removal in 1838 than even 
the capital itself; but at best the 
Indians were a nomadic race, liv- 
ing here today and there tomor- 
row, and their leaders hopped Avith 
alacritv between Rome, New 
Echota, Red Clay and Washing- 
ton. 

r.ut let us return to the pioneer 
pale-faces. 

Col. Mitchell surveyed the sec- 
tion between the rivers and made 
a map, dated 1834, copies of which 
are in existence today. This work 
was done from Third Avenue 
northward, since the farm below 
was owned by Col. Smith and at 
that time was considered unsafe 
for building on account of the high 
waters ; furthermore, it was re- 
served for race track and tourna- 
ment purposes. Col. Smith was a 
lover of horseflesh and he built a 
half-mile cinder track around the 
banks of the rivers, and placed his 
grandstand near the spring alluded 
to in tlie foregoing. There were 
special races between the best 
riders of the surrounding counties ; 
the Indians, who usually rode bare- 
back, carried off many a prize. 
Tournaments were held now and 
tlien, in which the riders, going at 
full s])eed on their mounts, ran 
tlicir lances through rings held 
lightly by a projecting wooden 
arm — the man who got the most 
rings in the fewest runs av(mi the 
contest. 

Another diversion, of a highly 
humorous nature, was the "gander 
pulling." The neck of a live gander 
was greased thoroughly and the 
bird hung up by the feet to a limlj. 
The game was to pull the gan- 
der's neck oft* or Ijring him down 
"whole." This was a (lifiicult feat 
because the gander dexterously 
dodged his head when the horse- 
man was about to "pull." Still an- 
other was the "greased pole." Any- 
body who could climb 15 feet to 
the top could have the bag of 



money suspended therefrom. The 
pole was of skinned hickory or 
oak and would have been sleek 
enough without any grease. If the 
boys could not make it to the top 
in a reasonable time they were al- 
lowed in put sand on their cloth- 
ing; then they went home to their 
"maws." "Catching the greased 
])ig" was another sport. 

In 1833 occurred an event which 
made Indians and many supersti- 
tious folk believe the world was 
coming to an end. One night the 
stars "fell." Such another display 
of pranks in the skies had never 
l)een seen ; for c^uite a while the 
stars shot this way and that, in 
graceful curves, then in uncanny 
zig-zags, until it appeared that the 
feeble little people of earth would 
surely be covered in a shower of 
stars. Indian mothers rushed about, 
gathering up their oft'spring, and 
rum old negro mammies and uncles 
hid under beds and houses, shout- 
ing, "Oh, Lordy! Oh, Lordy ! Dis 
nigger's soul am pure !" 

The task of forming the Rome 
l)ar fell to Col. ]\Iitchell, who pro- 
ceeded with a nucleus composed 
of himself, Mr. Lumpkin and two 
or three others. Tresently, in 1835, 
fluids were raised and a brick 
courthouse erected at Court (East 
First) Street and Bridge Street 
(East Fifth Avenue). Removal of 
the courthouse did not exactly suit 
Jackson Trout, who had built the 
first wooden dwelling at Living- 
ston. He kept up with the proces- 
sion by skidding his house down 
to the Coosa River, putting it on 
a barge and polling it to Rome, 
where he set it up again as the first 
dwelling there. Others followed 
suit, and they had considerable 
trouble when they reached Llorse- 
leg Shoals, which required "mule- 
hauling" of a high order, to use a 
nautical expression. 

Rome at this time was a "forest 
primeval." Everywhere were 



Rome's Establishment and Early Days 



39 



woods except at the forks, and 
that was swampy and full of wil- 
lows, with an occasional sturdy 
tree and hungry mosquito. The 
rivers were still alive with fish ; 
wild turkeys and deer were often 
seen ; snakes were numerous ; quail 
were abundant and squirrels skip- 
ped in their native element where 
Broad Street now extends ; the 
bushes were alive wnth wild birds 
of beautiful color; on Mt. Alto 
and Lavender Mountain, five miles 
away, bears could be found ; and 
at night the fiery gleam from the 
eye of a wolf was a common sight. 
It was a wild country, with trails 
for roads, and few conveniences. 

Squatters and Indians alike 
pitched their tents in suitable spots 
waiting" for some new word to 
"move on" or "move ofif." Small 
squads of Georgia Guardsmen, es- 
tablished by act of 1834, or of Unit- 
ed States soldiers, watching Guards 
and Indians alike, camped a while 
and then went on to other duty. 
Trappers and traders did a thriv- 
ing business ; so did the ferry- 
men who set people across at the 
forks or elsewhere. Everybody 
seemed to be going or coming, de- 
spite the efforts of the Town Com- 
pany to halt them at Rome. The 
Indians were unusually restless. 

Along would come a white fam- 
ily on horseback, carrying all their 
worldly goods. They had traveled 
from some neighboring county, or 
perchance as far as from North 
Carolina, ho])ing to better their 
material condition. The man would 
lead, the children would follow, and 
the mother bring up the rear, rid- 
ing sidewise. Any old port in a 
storm looked good. 

Many had definite ()l)jectives. 
many did not and would "scjuat" 
anywhere that looked like it held 
promise for the future. Others 
were definitely attracted by the 
prospect of pioneering in a live 
town. It is fair to sav that Rome 



and Floyd County received, along 
with many "floaters," a highly sub- 
stantial and even aristocratic cit- 
izenship. The founders were men 
of character and iron will — accus- 
tomed to blazing their way through 
one kind of forest or 'another. They 
started with little and made out of 
it much. There were no luxuries to 
be had, hence they worked with 
the things of nature, and fashioned 
out of them whatever they could. 

The old Alabama Road forked 
where the Central Railroad trestle 
now crosses it. One fork led to 
Major Ridge's Ferry opposite the 
Linton A. Dean place, and the other 
bent southeast to the Ross ferry at 
the confluence of the rivers. At 
the Ross ferry a man from Ala- 
bama could gain the Ilillsboro side 
or the Rome side, as he pleased. 
A little later the traffic became so 
heavy that Matt and Overton 
Hitchcock built for Col. Smith a 
covered wooden bridge at Fifth 
Avenue (over the Oostanaula), and 
from that point connected with the 
Alabama Road. Agricultural busi- 
ness gradually grew prosperous. 
George Lavender's trading post did 
a land office business. It used to be 
said that Lavender kept his money 
in a barrel or keg which was al- 
ways fairly well filled with gold 
and silver coin ; and that when his 
partnership with Afajor Ridge and 
Daniel R. Mitchell was dissolved, 
thev cut a melon estimated at 
$250,000 in 1922 coin. 

Perhai)s 5.000 Indians patronized 
this establishment, and they paid 
an}' j^rice for \\hat they \vantcd. 
They were especially fond of calico 
garments, and would buy extrava- 
gantly for their women, and often 
include enough for an odd waist 
^vhich the women would make for 
them. They wore outlandish 
clothes, never matching in an_\- par- 
ticular; buckskin or woolen trous- 
ers, well worn or ])atched ; hats 
that suggested the liat of today on 



40 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



a Chinaman, often with a squirrel 
tail tacked on it and hanging ilown 
the side or hack; some hats made 
entirely of skin, and therefore very 
warm in cold weather; moccasins 
or discarded white man shoes cov- 
ering their feet, but many l)are- 
foot ; cheap jewelry and trinkets 
whenever they could get it, which 
was often ; sometimes a ([ueer tur- 
han in place of a hat; usually no 
coat or jacl'.et, except in winter. 

The Indian was fond of tobacco 
and liquor, but as soon as the lead- 
ers saw what terrible inroads were 
being made on Indian territory by 
pale-face profiteers of various 
kinds, a strong Indian organization 
was formed to stamp out the evils. 
Liquor was obtained from stores 
that had a provision shop in front 
and a barroom or "doggery" in the 
rear, the entire establishment be- 
ing dignified by the name "gro- 
cerv." (ireen wooden screens ob- 
scured the occupants of the bar- 
room until a state law caused them 
to be abolished, and then every- 
body could peek in and see who was 
getting "lit up." Around these 
])laces loafed a gang of shiftless 
Indians and whites, bent on satis- 
fying their aI)normal appetites, and 
fit subjects for whatever mischief 
might be suggested by the Demon 




MA.IOR RIDGE, Cherokee chief, who, with 
his son John, was murdered June 22, 1839, 
in Indian Territory by vengeful redskins. 



Rum. These gangs were extremely 
j)rofane, and poisoned the atmos- 
])here for such a distance that 
ladies and young ladies would nev- 
er venture closer than across the 
street. Knife and pistol scrapes 
were frequent, especially late at 
night after the more peaceful in- 
habitants had retired to their beds. 
A calaboose soon became a crying 
necessity, and with it a town mar- 
shal who managed to keep it full, 
except when the inmates escaped 
and turned the thing over on its 
side. It was a log afifair, near West 
Second Street and Sixth Avenue. 

There is no certainty as to just 
what the early city government 
was like. Doubtless in the begin- 
ning every man was a law unto 
himself. Gradually, however, local 
laws were passed and irresponsi- 
l)le persons made amenable to 
them. In the thirteen years that 
Rome remained unincorporated it 
is likely that the intendant or the 
marshal acted as the executive ma- 
jor domo, and certain that local or 
inferior court judges meted out 
justice. 

Col. IMitchell, surveyor, evidently 
had in mind a future instrument 
like the automobile when he laid 
out the streets of the town. He 
made Broad Street and Oostanaula 
Street (Fourth Avenue) 132 feet 
wide, all other streets 66 feet w'ide 
and lanes 33 feet. Some modifica- 
tions of that scale, notably with 
regard to Fourth Avenue, have 
since been made, and a lawsuit of 
some imi)ortance and interest has 
resulted. 

A few more stores and shops 
s])rang up which carried every ar- 
ticle that could be ol)tained in such 
a limited market. The groceries 
would also ofl^er a line of retail dry 
goods, small farming implements, 
plug and smoking tobacco, pipes, 
lanterns and lamps, wax tapers, 
matches, candles, novelties for the 
Indians, snufif for the women, suits, 



Rome's Establishment and Early Days 



41 



hats and slioes, horse collars and 
harness, nails, hand tools, occa- 
sionally musical instruments. There 
were no soda water, ice, silver ciga- 
rette cases, bon-bons or chocolates, 
nail files, lip sticks, rouge, hair nets 
or beaver hats. Drug stores, banks 
newspapers, steamboats, crocker- 
ies and bakeries, schools and 
churches were to come along later. 

Gentlemen blacked their own 
boots and cut out of the forest with 
great cross-cut saws the wood that 
went into their homes. The}' wore 
the uniforms of the frontier and 
assumed the manners of frontiers- 
men. Rome was to 1:»e Iniilt, and it 
could not ])e l)uilt with kid gloves. 

The social life was very restrict- 
ed at first. It consisted of calls 
from neighbor on neighbor, afoot, 
on horseback or by ox-cart ; or 
maybe a country break-down on a 
rudely improvised platform. Since 
the Indians had no city to l^uild — 
since they needed only to get a 
little something to eat every day 
and keep out of the way of land- 
grabbers and the "state police"^ 
they had more time for frolics than 
the early whites. Around bonfires 
in their villages the red-skins made 
merry, rending the nights hideous 
with their A\ar-whoops ; and on 
these special occasions they put 
aside their semi-civilized garb and 
donned the ])uckskin, the flaming 
headdress of feathers and all the 
paint they could daul) on. 

Each year in summer came the 
Green Corn Dances at the various 
villages. The late Mr's. Robert 
Battey recalled one at Major 
Ridge's, held when she was about 
seven years of age. A large com- 
pany of Inchans gathered, and one 
thing that impressed lier j^articu- 
larly was that some of tlie men 
had mussel shells tied around tlieir 
ankles and Idled with gravel that 

'From this description it is evident that the 
games were played on the low, level spot which 
now comprises the campuses of Hearn Academy 
and the Georgia School for the Deaf. 



rattled when they danced. She re- 
membered that several remained 
over night until Sunday, and kick- 
ed up their heels in George Laven- 
der's store. Her impression of the 
Indian was the same as that ob- 
tained by anybody who knew his 
nature ; he Avas a silent, taciturn 
individual, deeply religious in his 
own way, ever faithful to the pale- 
face who befriended him and ever 
ihe foe of one who played him 
false. He seldom, if ever, broke a 
promise.' 

From Montgomery M. Folsom, 
\vriting in The Rome Tribune Nov. 
20, 1892, we have the following 
contribution on the pioneer days : 

I drove with Mr. Wesley O. Connor 
out to see Mr. Wright Ellis, one of the 
last of the old settlers of the Cave 
Spring region, and Mr. Ellis told many 
interesting stories of the early days. 
Mr. Ellis came to Cave Spring with 
his father as a little boy. Near his 
house at the end of Vann's Valley 
stood an old fort which pi'otected the 
settlement. He told me of a wolf 
found dead in the cave; it had lain 
there several years, and the mineral 
qualities of the cave had preserved 
it perfectly, until one day a band of 
Indian boys dragged forth the carcass 
and tore it to pieces. 

David Vann lived on the hill above 
the spring and the Indians used to 
congregate near his place for their an- 
nual ball play, as they called it*. They 
came from miles away to enjoy the 
sport. They would also form in two 




JOHN RIDC.K, who was also active in oppo- 
sition to John Ross's attempt to block re- 
moval of the Cherokeos from Georgia soil. 



42 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



lines (sides) and shoot arrows at 
rolling stones. The side which scored 
the most hits would win. 

A short distance west of Cave Spring 
was where the Indians of that neigh- 
borhood held their Green Corn dances. 
Mr. Ellis said he had seen crowds es- 
timated at 1,000 to 5,000. Out in the 
nearby mountains Capt. John Ellis, 
his father, went with a small party 
and captured two Cherokee chiefs who 
were giving trouble during the re- 
moval, and threatening a massacre. 
The chiefs were sent west. As the 
raiders approached, a sentinel cried, 
"Eastochatchee soolacogee!" meaning 
"much white man!" 

These were the days of the "pony 
clubs," whose members blacked their 
faces and stole horses from whites and 
Indians alike. A party of the law and 
order element, known as the "slick- 
ers," once caught two thieves and gave 
them lashes on their backs with a 
whip. 

Mr. Ellis also told how Col. Wm. 
Smith, known to the Indians as "Black 
Bill," because of his dark complexion, 
routed a crowd of drunken red-skins 



at Major Wm. Montgomery's spring in 
July, 1832. "Black Bill" lit into them 
with a hame, knocked them right and 
left and put them to flight. 

Capt. John Townsend, Maj. Armi- 
stead Richardson, William Simmons, 
Jackson Trout, W. D. Cowdrey, W. K. 
Posey, Carter W. Sparks, Major Wm. 
Montgomery and Gen. Jas. Hemphill 
were among the pioneers who possessed 
the Cave Spring land ere the print 
of the moccasin had faded from the 
soil. 

Life with the rugged settlers of 
Rome was just one murder, liorse 
theft or incendiary fire after an- 
other. The country was overrun 
with vigilance committees, out- 
la\vs, land speculators, soldiers, un- 
ruly Indians and plain people of 
respectability who wanted to farm 
and conduct their shops in peace. 
Peace and the social order that 
thrives in it was not to be attained, 
however, until the Indians were 
sent west lock, stock and barrel. 




JUL 




CHAPTER II. 
The Great Indian Meeting at Rome 




THE following item from the 
Georgia Constitutionalist, 
of Augusta, July 24, 1835, 
(Guieu & Thompson, pro- 
})rietors), announced the date and 
place of the important meeting of 
Ridge and Ross forces and Geor- 
gia Guardsmen and United States 
troopers near Rome. This meet- 
ing was vital because it paved the 
way for the Council pow-wow at 
Red Clay in October, which in turn 
brought about the New Echota 
meeting and treaty signed Dec. 29, 
1835, the instrument by which the 
Cherokees were removed :* 

The Cassville Pioneer says John 
Ridge and his friends will hold a Coun- 
cil in Floyd County six miles north of 
Rome 20th of July inst. It is expected 
this Council will be numerously at- 
tended. The cause of Ridge and his 
party is going ahead. 

The meeting actually opened on 
the 19th, a day ahead of schedule. 

The gathering was supposed, 
prior to discovery of the above 
item in an old newspaper file in 
the Library of the University of 
Georgia, to have been held at the 
home of Major Ridge on the Oosta- 
naula, but since the item says it 
was to be held six miles north of 
Rome, and several authorities as- 
sert the place was "Running Wa- 
ters," the conclusion is inevitable 
th?t it was held at the home of 
John Ridge, son of the Major, three 
miles north of Rome, at the ])lanta- 
tion later owned by John Hume, 
and now the property of F. L. Fors- 
ter. A bold spring at this domicile 
caused the name "Tantatanara," 

♦Allowing for women and children, Georpria 
Guardsmen, United States troops, officials and 
onlookers, it is probable that .3.000 peoide at- 
tended this meetinpr. It was estimated that 
600-800 attended the Red Clav Council in Oc- 
tober, 1835, and 300-.500 the New Echt.ta meet- 
ing in December, 183.5, when the treaty was 
accepted. 

**Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835). ps. 390-2. 



the Indian for "Running Waters," 
to be applied. 

All authorities agree that the 
Running Waters pow-wow was the 
largest the Cherokees had held up 
to that time, and its importance 
could not be overestimated. Major 
Currey's special correspondence is 
here given. 



**Cherokee Agency East, 
Calhoun, Tenn., 
July 27, 1835. 
Elbert Herring, Esq., 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : The people composing the 
council called for the purpose of ob- 
taining the sense of the nation on the 
subject of the annuity convened on the 
day before the period appointed. There 
were between 2,500 and 2,600 Indian 
men present. This number could not 
by any previous measures or meetings 
have been anticipated. Mr. Schermer- 
horn was present and obtained their 
consent to address them on the next 
morning. The first day was consumed 
in discussions, explanations and vot- 
ing on a proposition to divide the an- 
nuity among the people by ayes and 
nays. 

When the next morning arrived, Mr. 
Schermerhorn had a stand erected, so 
that he might by his elevation be the 
more generally heard ; aided by the Rev. 
Jesse Bushyhead, he went into a full 
explanation of the views of the Gov- 
ernment, and the relation in which 
the different delegations stood to one 
another; their people, the States and 
the general Government; which was 
listened to with much attention for a 
period of three hours. In order to 
insure attention, this resolution had 
been so worded that it would not dis- 
pose of the question further than the 
single proposition was concerned; and 
by addressing them before the vote 
was finished, Mr. Schermerhorn had, 
perhaps, the largest red audience of 
adult males ever before assembled to- 
gather in this nation at one time. 

The Cherokees had, until a few days 
before, been advised not to attend, but 
when Ross found that the money would 
be paid to the order of the majority 



44 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



attending, his head men were called 
together at Red Clay, when I am in- 
formed he told them the agents of 
Government, and the disorganized at- 
tached to Ridge, must be put down; 
and in order to do this, all the men 
of the nation must rally, and be there 
to sustain their nation and treasury. 

They came, some starving, some half 
clad, some armed, and scarcely any 
with provisions for more than one or 
two days. Under these circumstances, 
having a desire to be heard, Mr. 
Schermerhorn promised them rations 
for one day, on condition they would 
hear him as commissioner. On exam- 
ination, I found they might, under the 
iJth section of the regulations for pay- 
ing annuities, be furnished at public 
expense, if circumstances rendered it 
necessary. Arrangements were accord- 
ingly made, and requisitions drawn on 
Lieut. Bateman to meet the same. 

I took occasion to say to the Cher- 
okees, as they came up by districts, 
that let them vote the money in what 
way they would, it could not save their 
country; that their party had been in- 
vited to express their views and wishes 
freely; instead of doing this they had 
withdrawn themselves from the 
ground, and been counselled in the 
bushes. Why was this so? Were their 
chiefs still disposed to delude their 
people, when ruin demanded entrance 
at the red man's door, and the heavy 
hand of oppression already rested upon 
his head? 

To say the least of it, there was 
something suspicious in their with- 
drawal. The officers of Government 
were bound to report their speeches to 
the Secretary of War, and the chiefs 
had shown contempt to the United 
States by withdrawing themselves and 
their people into the woods beyond 
their hearing. If this was not the 
proper construction to be placed upon 
such a proceeding, the chiefs had cer- 
tainly carried them off to feed their 
feelings on false hopes and false prom- 
ises once more. 

When the resolution presented by 
Smith' was disposed of, which stood 
114 for and 2,238*'^ against, Gunter's 
resolution to pay to the Treasury was 
next in order. The whole people were 
called up and the resolution read. Mr. 
Gunter made a few remarks in its sup- 
port, when Major Ridge offered an 
amendment, directing that none of this 
money should be paid to lawyers. This 
was seconded by John Ridge, which 
gave both these latter gentlemen a full 



opportunity to be heard. They went 
into a most pathetic description of na- 
tional distress and individual oppres- 
sion; the necessity of seeking freedom 
in another clime; the importance of 
union and harmony, and the beauties 
of peace and of friendship; but said 
if there were any who preferred to 
endure misery and wed themselves to 
slavery, as for them and their friends, 
they craved not such company. 

The Indians had, by districts, in 
files four deep, been drawn up to vote 
on Gunter's resolution, that they might 
hear it read, and be counted the more 
conveniently. But when the Ridges 
were speaking, all the previous prej- 
udices so manifestly shown by looks 
appeared to die away, and the be- 
nighted foresters involuntarily broke 
the line and pressed forward as if at- 
tracted by the powers of magnetism 
to the stand, and when they could get 
no nearer, they reached their heads 
forward in anxiety to hear the truth. 
After the Ridges had procured the de- 
sired attention, they withdrew their 
amendment, and the vote was taken 
on Gunter's resolution, and carried by 
acclamation. Mr. Schermerhorn then 
requested each party to appoint com- 
mittees to meet him and Governor Car- 
roU*'''* at the agency on the 29th in- 
stant. Ridge's party complied. If 
the other party did, it has not been 
made known to the commissioner. 

By the next mail we will be able 
to give information of a more sat- 
isfactory nature, having reference to 
the future. 

I have no doubt, although the money 
went into the treasury of the nation, 
(as might have been expected from 
a general turnout), still, the informa- 
tion communicated in the discussions 
growing up on the occasion will be 
attended with the most happy conse- 

*Archilla Smith, one of the leaders of the 
RuIko Treaty party. He is referred to in Gov. 
Wilson Lumpkin's book "Removal of the 
Cherokee Indians from Georfria" as Asahel R. 
Smith, of Lawrenceville, father of the well- 
known Roman, Maj. Chas. H. Smith ("Bill 
Arp"), but members of the "Bill Arp" family 
state this was an error. The Smith resolution 
sought to divide the annuity among the tribes- 
men. 

**Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (18.^5), ps. 399-447, lists the voters, 
with their numbers, to a total of 2,27.3, but a 
printer's note states there are only 2,200 names, 
suggesting that duplications may have crept in. 
This list gives all who supported the Smith res- 
olution and 2,1.'J9 who voted against it, which 
would make a total of 2,270. The difference 
of three in two of the totals is the difference 
between the Currey estimate of 114 aye votes 
and the table's record of 111 votes. 

***Wm. Carroll, of Tennessee, co-commis- 
sioner with Mr. Schermerhorn, whom illness 
and a political campaign kept from acting. 



The Great Indian Meeting at Rome 



45 




JOHN ROSS, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Indians from 
1828 to his death in 1866, who fought with admirable courage more than 
25 years to keep his people in the hunting grounds of their forefathers. 



46 



-A History of Rome and Floyd County 



quences to the Cherokees, and great- 
ly facilitate a final adjustment of 
their difficulties. 

It is a matter worthy of remark 
that so great a number of persons of 
any color have seldom if ever met and 
preserved better order than was ob- 
served on this occasion. 

Most respectfully, I have the honor 
to be, your very obedient servant, 

BENJAMIN F. CURREY. 
Supt. of Cherokee Removal and Act- 
ing Indian Agent. 
P. S. — The report required by the 
regulations will follow this, so soon 
as it can be made out. 
Yours, 

B. F. C. 

*Cherokee Agency East, 
Calhoun, Tenn., 
July 29, 1835. 
Elbert Herring, Esq., 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Enclosed I have the honor to 
transmit copies of a report made by 
Col. C. H. Nelson and Col. Nathaniel 
Smith, who were appointed in June 
last by me to take the census of the 
Cherokees east, in conformity with a 
verbal request from the Honorable 
Secretary of War, as well as to com- 
ply with the requirements contained 
in a "circular" dated War Depart- 
ment, Office Indian Affairs, May, 
1835, addressed to me a short period 
before this duty was commenced. 
Runners were sent over the country, 
and some of Ross' messages were seen 
and read by the census-takers, direct- 
ing the Cherokees not to allow their 
numbers to be taken. 

In 1819 John Ross notified the In- 
dian agent that he had determined to 
reside permanently on a tract of land 
reserved within the ceded territory for 
his use; and in contemplation of the 
treaty, took upon himself all the re- 
sponsibilities of a citizen of the United 
States. Has he not, then, subjected 
himself to the penalties of the 13th, 
14th and 15th sections of "An Act to 
regulate trade and intercourse with 
the Indian tribes," etc., approved June 
30, 1834? 

One thing is very certain, that by 
sending his messages and holding his 
talks in the Cherokee settlements, he 
more effectually disturbs the peace, and 
defeats or delays the measures of the 
Government of the United States, than 
he could if he were the citizen of a 



foreign Government, and much better 
than one of our own citizens possibly 
could do?** 

Very respectfully, I have the honor 
to be, your very obedient servant, 
BENJ. F. CURREY. 

***Cherokee Agency East, 
Calhoun, Tenn., 
July 30, 1835. 
Elbert Herring, Esq., 
Commissioner Indian Affairs, 
Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Enclosed, I have the satisfac- 
tion to transmit to you a certified his- 
tory of the proceedings of the Run- 
ning Waters Council, held on the 19th, 
20th and 21st instant, to determine 
how the annuity of the present year 
should be disposed of. 

The names are recorded as the votes 
were presented on Smith's resolution. 
But all who were present did not vote 
on either side, and many of those who 
were in favor of dividing the money, 
finding that their wishes could not be 
caified, voted it to the treasurer. 
Some of the voters in favor of a 
treaty, having claims on the Cherokee 
nation, voted, and influenced many 
others to vote, in the same way; so 
that the vote on Smith's resolutio»n 
can not, properly, be considered a fair 
test of the strength of the parties. 

Ridge's party is increasing rapidly, 
and will, by raising the proper means, 
reach the majority of Georgia, Ala- 
bama and Tennessee, long before the 
adjournment of the next Congress. 

Most respectfully, I have the honor 
to be, your very obedient aervant, 

BENJ. F. CURREY, 
Superintendent, etc. 

p, s. — Ross has failed to meet the 
commissioners, for Jesuitical reasons 
assigned. The commissioners address- 
ed him a communication which has 
produced a proposition in writing from 
him on the Ridges to bury the hatchet, 
and act in concert for the good of their 
country, and inviting them to a cori- 
vention, to be composed of the intelli- 
gent of all parties, for the purpose of 
considering their natural condition. 
To this proposition Ridge's party have 
yielded their assent; but in the mean- 
time they are determined to redouble 

*Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835), p. 392. 

**Apparently the first open attempt to cause 
the arrest of Ross. 

*»*Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835), p. 395. 



The Great Indian Meeting at Rome 



47 



their zeal and diligence to accomplish 
the removal of their people. 

BENJAMIN F. CURREY. 

*Running Waters Council Ground, 

Floyd County, Ga., 

Monday, July 19, 1835. 

At an adjourned meeting, held pur- 
suant to notice from the acting agent 
of the United States for the Chero- 
kees east of the Mississippi river, for 
the purpose of ascertaining from the 
Cherokee people their wishes as to the 
manner and to whom their present 
year's annuity should be paid, by com- 
mon consent it was agreed and re- 
solved that the meeting be opened with 
prayer, and the Rev. Mr. Spirit and 
David Weatie'"* (Cherokees) officiated 
accordingly. 

After the solemnities appropriate 
to the occasion were performed, Benj. 
F. Currey, United States Agent, aid- 
ed by Lieut. Bateman, of the United 
States army, fully explained the ob- 
ject for which this meeting was call- 
ed; all of which was again fully ex- 
plained, in the Cherokee language, by 
Joseph A. Foreman, the interpreter. 

John Ross made some remarks in 
reply; said he was sorry that the 
agent had taken occasion to be per- 
sonal in his remarks, but that he was 
not disposed to take any notice of 
these personalities at this time; that 
he was aware that there was among 
us a description of persons who were 
called by party names; this he had not 
discouraged; that as for himself he 
was not disposed to quarrel with 
any man for an honest expres- 
sion of opinion, for the good of the 
people (for the truth and sincerity 
of which he called Heaven to wit- 
ness) ; and that if gentlemen were 
honest in their professions of benev- 
olence, he was ready, at any time, to 
co-operate with them, when it would 
appear that they were right and he 
was wrong. 

John Ridge, in reply, stated that 
so far as he was concerned he, too, 
discarded party views and sinister 
motives; that so far as he and those 
with him acted different from Mr. 

♦Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835). ps. 396-8. 

**David Watie (or Oo-wat-ie), full-blood 
Cherokee and only brother of Major Ridge; 
father of Elias Boudinot, editor of The Cher- 
okee Phoenix, and of Stand Watie, only Indian 
Brigadier General of the Confederate army, 
who did not surrender until June 23, 1865, 
nearly three months after the surrender of 
Gen. Jos. E. Johnston. Authority : "Life of Gen. 
Stand Watie," bv Mabel Washbouriie Anderson, 
Pryor, Okla., (1915). 



Ross and his chiefs, he had done so 
from an honest conviction that it was 
the only way in which the integrity 
and political salvation of the Cher- 
okee people could be preserved and 
effected, and that he was at any mo- 
ment ready to acknowledge Ross as 
his principal chief when he (Ross) 
could or would prove to him a better 
plan. But till then, as an honest man, 
sensible as he was of the difficulties 
and hazards of the crisis that sur- 
rounded them all, he must act on the 
-suggestions arising out of the case, 
though it should cost him the last 
drop that heaved his breast; that he 
had not understood the agent to in- 
dulge in or intend personalities, but 
his explanations, directed by the law 
and instructions from the executive, 
necessarily involved the actors them- 
selves; that he had and at all times 
would be open to conviction, when bet- 
ter and more conclusive arguments 
than his own were adduced on the 
points of difference. But he did not 
understand why it was, if Mr. Ross' 
declarations were sincere, that large 
bodies of Indians had been withdrawn 
by their chiefs from the ground, and 
were not permitted to hear. As for 
his part, he wanted the whole na- 
tion to learn, and be able to know their 
true situation; that he was ready to 
co-operate with Mr. Ross, or anybody 
else, for the salvation of his bleeding 
and oppressed countrymen. 

The Rev. Mr. Schermerhorn, com- 
missioner on behalf of the United 
States, took occasion, after being in- 
troduced as such, to rise; read his 
commission and expressed his satis- 
faction and gratification at the pros- 
pect of an amicable reconciliation of 
all party strife and animosity, and so 
far as he might be concerned in their 
affairs, he did not intend to know any 
party or distinction of parties; that 
he only meant to know the Cherokee 
people east of the Mississippi as one 
party in this case; and that he would 
avail himself of the present occasion 
to request that during this meeting 
they would select from among them- 
selves a number of delegates, at least 
twelve or more, or any other number 
they might deem expedient, to meet 
him and Gov. Carroll at the Chero- 
kee agency on Wednesday, the 30th 
instant, to arrange preliminaries neces- 
sary to a convention for the adjust- 
ment of their whole difficulties by 
treaty; the basis of which had already 
been fixed by Ridge, Ross and others, 
which he presumed they were all ap- 



48 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



prized of; and suggested the impor- 
tance of naming Ross and Ridge first 
on said committee. The commissioner 
then apprized the conductors of the 
election that he would, with their con- 
sent, occupy their time on tomorrow 
morning, so far as to read over and 
fully explain the treaty to be offer- 
ed the Cherokee people for their ap- 
proval, which was consented to by the 
agents and the chiefs present; where- 
upon, Commissioner Schermerhorn re- 
tired. 

The following resolution was then 
introduced by Archilla Smith and sec- 
onded by John Ridge : 

"Resolved, by the council of the 
Cherokee nation, that in consideration 
of the poor condition of our people, 
the aged, the infirm of both sexes, 
men, women and children, that the 
present annuity of $6,666.67 be now 
divided equally to the people, and to 
the poor particularly, as it is their 
money, accruing from old treaties with 
the United States. It is now a great 
many years since they have received 
the same." 

In support of this resolution. Major 
Ridge, John Ridge and Archilla Smith 
spoke at considerable length, to the fol- 
lowing purport : The people make a na- 
tion; no nation ever existed without a 
people. The annuity is payable to the 
nation, and Congress has given to the 
people full power to dispose of it as 
they may think proper. Have the peo- 
ple been benefited by the use made of 
the money heretofore, by their chiefs? 
Have those chiefs saved the country? 
Have they restored to you your fields? 
Have they saved your people from the 
gallows? Have they driven back the 
white settlers? No; but on the other 
hand, have you not lost your laws and 
government? Have you not been im- 
poverished and oppressed? And are 
you not bleeding and starving under 
these oppressions? If this be the fact, 
is it not time to take that which will 
give you some relief from want, rather 
than to vote it to those who can not, 
or, if they can, will not afford you 
relief? 

All that we insist on is that you ex- 
ercise your own choice in disposing of 
this money. It was in our power not 
long since, when but few attended at 
the call of the General Government, 
(last May council, held at Running 
Waters) to have done as we pleased 
with this money, but we would not 
condescend to take advantage of that 
absence which had been procured by 



the other chiefs. We preferred to 
have a full meeting of the people, if 
practicable, and leave the question to 
the majority. At that time our ap- 
plication was made to this effect, and 
agreed to by the agent for the Gen- 
eral Government, which has been read 
to you by him, and interpreted by Mr. 
foreman. It is the will of our peo- 
ple and not my will which it is now 
wished should control this money. 
While we make this declaration we 
wish the yeas and nays taken and 
registered, that all may have an op- 
portunity of understanding the res- 
olution; and that each and every one 
may vote as Cherokees should learn 
to vote, independently. 

Edward Gunter then offered the 
following resolution: 

"Resolved, That the present annuity 
now due to the Cherokee nation be 
paid to John Martin, treasurer of the 
Cherokee nation." 

In support of this resolution he 
' made the following remarks: That 
the nation was in debt; that their 
faith as a nation was pledged for 
money; that they had none wherewith 
to redeem that pledge; that they could 
not resort to taxation, for in that case 
the State laws would interfere. He 
hoped, therefore, they would vote the 
money to the national treasury. 

At this time a general call for the 
vote from the crowd (consisting of up- 
wards of 2,000 Cherokees) was made. 

The Government agents then opened 
the election to take the vote on Smith's 
resolution; those in favor, in the af- 
firmative, and those against, in the 
negative. 

(Here is omitted list of Indians and 
how they voted. — Author). 

The voting on Archilla Smith's res- 
olution being gone through, and on 
counting the state of the polls, it ap- 
pears that 114 voted in the affirma- 
tive, and 2,159'' in the negative; and 
consequently, Smith's resolution was 
carried.'-'* 

Edward Gunter then called up his 
resolution. It was agreed by the 
agents of Government, as well as by 
the Cherokee people present, that the 
vote on this resolution be taken by ac- 
clamation. Before the vote was taken 
on Gunter's resolution. Major Ridge 
offered the following as an amend- 

*.Tohn Ross and his associates said 2,225 ; the 
voting table, 2,273. 

**"Losf' was evidently intended for "car- 
ried." 



The Great Indian Meeting at Rome 



49 



ment of Gunter's resolution: "And that 
the treasurer of the nation pay the 
same to such persons of our nation 
as we owe for money borrowed, and 
not to the lawyers, which the nation 
has employed, who can be paid at some 
other time." In the discussion on this 
amendment, Major Ridge and John 
Ridge displayed their usual strain of 
eloquence, making a deep impression 
on a large portion of the crowd, if 
we take for evidence the rivetted at- 
tention and the press forward to catch 
the words that dropped from them, 
and more particularly that in the 
course of that evening and next morn- 
ing, the number who deserted from 
Ross's ranks and enrolled themselves 
with John Ridge and his friends for 
the western country. 

During the course of their remarks 
they spoke of the false hopes excited 
and the delusive promises held out by 
their lawyers ; the obligations they 
were under, first, to discharge debts 
contracted, for which a valuable con- 
sideration had been received by the 
people, and then afterwards and last, 
those which had been created without 
the hope of returning benefits. But 
discovering that the people had deter- 
mined to vote down their proposition, 
it was withdrawn. 

After these individuals had spoken 
generally of the causes which induced 
them to secede from Ross and his 
party, and the necessity of an early 
removal of the tribe, the vote on 
Gunter's resolution was taken, and 
decided by acclamation in the affirm- 
ative. 



Cherokee Agency East, 
July 30, 1835. 
The foregoing is a correct state- 
ment, so far as my memory serves 
and my knowledge extends, founded 
upon a constant attention, conjointly 
with Benjamin F. Currey, Indian 
agent, to the proceedings of the meet- 
ing, as one of the managers. 

M. W. BATEMAN, 
1st Lieut., Inf., Disbursing Agent. 
Cherokee Agency East, 
July 30, 1835. 
As Indian agent, under the direc- 
tions of the War Department, I su- 
perintended the foregoing election and 
proceedings, and do hereby certify that 
the election was as fairly conducted 
as the situation and circumstances of 



♦Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835). ps. 449-50. 



the Cherokee tribe would admit of, 
and that the proceedings and speeches 
by the chiefs are substantially cor- 
rect, as detailed by D. Henderson, 
secretary to the meeting. 

BENJAMIN F. CURREY, 
Indian Agent for the Eastern Cher- 
okees. 

Cherokee Agency East, 
July 30, 1835. 
I certify upon honor that in the 
foregoing transcript, detailing the pro- 
ceedings at the council called and held 
at Running Waters council ground, 
Floyd County, Ga., on the 19th, 20th 
and 21st instant, the votes are cor- 
rectly recorded and the speeches cor- 
rectly detailed as to substance. 

DANIEL HENDERSON, 
Clerk for Managers of the Said Elec- 
tion. 

The enclosures of Maj. Currey 
to the Commissioner of Indian Af- 
fairs end here. To Washington Mr. 
Schermerhorn wrote : 

* Cherokee Agency, 
Aug. 1, 1835. 
Hon. Elbert Herring, 
Commissioner Indian Affairs, 
Washington, D. C. 

Sir : I have the honor to inform 
you that I attended the meeting of 
the Cherokee council at Running Wa- 
ters on the 20th ultimo, and my pro- 
ceedings there I will transmit to you 
by the next mail. At the close of 
that council I requested a committee 
of the principal men from the Ross 
and Ridge parties to meet the com- 
missioners at the Agency on the 29th 
ultimo, to see if they could, in con- 
ference with each other, agree upon 
some modification of the proposed 
treaty which would be satisfactory to 
all concerned. Ross and his friends 
did not attend, and the commission- 
ers wrote him immediately to know 
whether he and his principal men 
refused to meet them at the place 
appointed, and also whether they were 
determined not to accept the award 
of the Senate, viz.: $5,000,000 in full 
for the settlement of all matters in 
dispute between them and the United 
States, and for the cession of their 
country. He evaded the last question 
(as will be seen by his letter, a copy 
of which will be forwarded to the de- 
partment), and prevaricated in say- 
ing that no notice was given of the 
meeting at the agency, although it was 
done in open council. He may, how- 



50 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




WHERE THE GREEN CORN DANCES WERE HELD. 

»u u^**^ *'*l'''ill'''"^'n°," ^^^ Oostanaula river road, two miles north of the court house, was 
the home of Major Ridge, and his lawn was the gathering place of hundreds of red-skir 



The Great Indian Meeting at Rome 



51 



ever, have meant he had no official 
notice of the meeting in writing. He 
sent a letter also to Major Ridge and 
John Ridge, inviting them and their 
friends to a conference with him and 
his friends to settle all the difficul- 
ties between them, and unite in pro- 
moting the common good of their peo- 
ple. This is an omen for good and I 
have been laboring while here to ef- 
fect this object. No doubt Ross has 
been hard pushed on this subject by 
his friends, and he is convinced that 
unless a reconciliation takes place, and 
a treaty is soon made, he will be for- 
saken by them, and a third party arise, 
who will unite with Ridge and carry 
the proposed treaty. I can not now 
go into detail, but will simply state 
overtures have been made by several 
of Ross's friends to unite with Ridge's 
party if Ross refuses to come to terms 
on the award made by the Senate of 
the United States. 

The best informed here entertain 
no doubt but that a treaty will be per- 
fected in the fall, if not sooner. 

It has been thought best by the com- 
missioners not to call a meeting by 
the nation until November, unless 
both parties should be brought to agree 
to articles of the treaty to be sub- 
mitted to the nation for their adop- 
tion. Ross's council meets in Octo- 
ber, and many of his principal men 
have agreed, if he does not come to 
terms by that time, they will leave him 
and treat without him. 

I have the pleasure to acknowledge 
the receipt of several communications 
from the Secretary of War, forward- 
ed to me at New Echota in May and 
July, and especially the last, contain- 
ing the letter of Mr. William Rogers, 
with the answer to it. I respectfully 
suggest to the Department, should any 
similar letters be received, whether it 
would not be best to send them to the 
commissioners, with such instructions 
in reference to them as may be deemed 
necessary, and refer the writers to the 
commissioners for an answer. I make 
this suggestion merely to prevent be- 
ing embarrassed by the crafty policy 
of the men we have to deal with. It 



♦Written June 28, 1835, from Chattahoochee, 
and sugKested that "Mr. Ridge" was not the 
only man of his party who could arrange a 
treaty. 

**With duplications omitted ; 114 was the 
total. Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835). ps. 390-147. 

***Near Calhoun, Gordon County. 

****Site of Rome. 

*****Coosa. 



is believed Rogers' letter was written 
at the suggestion and the knowledge 
of Ross.* 

With respect, your obedient servant, 
JOHN F. SCHERMERHORN, 

Commissioner. 

The following 92** Indians lined 
up with the Ridge party in support 
of Arcliilla Smith's resolution, 
which if passed would have dis- 
tributed the $6,666.67 annuity 
among the common Indians in- 
stead of placing- it in the national 
treasury : 

Challoogee District — James Field, R. 
Raincrow, Beans Pouch, Na-too, Stay- 
all-night, Robin, Daniel Mills, Stand- 
ing, Tac-ses-ka, Archy, Trailing, Hog 
Shooter, Tais-ta-eska, Milk, Dick Scott, 
Hair Tied, Uma-tois-ka, Dick, George, 
Se-nah-ne, Owl, Chicken, Buffalo, 
Parch Corn, Jim Bear Skin, Coo-los- 
kee. Bread Butter, Stephen Harris and 
Elijah Moore. Total, 29. 

Cooseivattie — Charley Moore, Ham- 
mer, Nathaniel Wolf, Baesling, Tara- 
pin Striker, Te-ke-wa-tis-ka, John 
Ridge, Carnton Hicks, In Debt, Day- 
light, Matthew Moore, Standing 
Lightning, Wake Them, Morter, All- 
day, Bear Meat, Waitie, Mole Sign, 
Wat Liver, Huckleberry, Coon, Isaac, 
Ave Vann, Walter Ridge, Jac Nichol- 
son, Six Killer, John, Collin McDan- 
iel. Stand Watie, and Major Ridge. 
Total, 31. 

Hightowcr (Etoivah) — Ground Hog, 
Ezekiel West, Spirit, Hammer, Jac 
West, Catcher, Rib, Scou-tike, Road, 
Chwa-looka, Standing Wolf, Dave 
Scoute, John Wayne, Tookah, Frozen 
Foot, Ease, Nelson West, Red Bird, 
Wat Huskhe, and John Eliot. Total, 
20. 

Anioah — Jos. Foreman, Jac Bushy- 
head, Wm. Reed and Jay Hicks. To- 
tal, 4. 

Aqnohee, ChirkcDi'ciiign avd Trihqun> 
hee — None. 

Hickory Log — Charles and Buffalo 
Pouch. Total, 2. 

Miscellaneous — D. J. Hook, Turkey 
Town; J. L. McKay, Will's Valley; 
Tesataesky, Springtown; Black Fox, 
Oothcalouga**-; Henderson Harris, 
Forks of Coosa*'"-'^' ; Jno. Fields, Sv.. 
Turnip Mountain''^ '"•"■"■'. Total, (5. 



52 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




THE CENTRAL CHURCHES OF ROME 

The "Hill City" has long been noted for the influence of its religious institutions, and 
practically all denominations are represented. 1 — The new First Christian edifice. 2 — The 

First Methodist. 3 — The First Baptist, in snow of January 27, 1921, minus steeple demolished 
by lightning stroke in 1920. 4 — St. Peter's Episcopal. 5 — First Presbyterian. 



CHAPTER III. 
John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 




OHN HOWARD PAYNE, 
author of the famous song, 
"Home, Sweet Home," and 
a number of plays, got into 
a peck of trouble when he came 
to Georgia in 1835. He was plainly- 
unaccustomed to frontier life and 
the cruel ways of the Avorld. In 
August, 1833, he had sent out from 
New York, N. Y., to the newspa- 
pers of the country (including 
Georgia) a prospectus of a new 
weekly magazine to be published 
at London and to be known by the 
old Persian title "Jam Jehan Ni- 
ma/' or "The World From the Pn- 
side of the Bowl." He had an- 
nounced that he would visit every 
state in the Union to collect ma- 
terial on the wonders of nature, 
and also to collect such subscrip- 
tions as he could for this depart- 
ure in journalism. His funds were 
ample and the newspapers in many 
instances carried his announcement 
on their front pages, and com- 
mented editorially upon it. He 
traveled in style, and his own story 
shows that he was not a partner 
to rough treatment. 

His song having been written a 
decade before in Paris and sung 
in his play, "Clari, or the Maid of 
Milan," at the Covent Garden The- 
atre, London, he was given quite 
a reception on his return from the 
old country to New York ; and in 
certain of the larger cities on his 
"experience jaunt" he was received 
with a rousing acclaim — notably 
at New Orleans. Into seven states 
he went before he reached Geor- 
gia; he came to Macon from the 
Creek Nation in Alabama, and on 
Aug. 9, 1835, wrote from that city 
to his sister a long letter, elegantly 

*Mr. Payne was then a bachelor of 4.3, far 
from the ajie of insensibility to feminine charms. 

**Also author of the Dickens-like book of 
side-splitting comedy called "Georgia Scenes." 



expressed and describing a green 
corn dance held by the Creeks, at 
which a strong fascination was 
flung upon him by the beautiful 
daughter of an Indian chief.* 

At Macon he purchased a horse 
and traveled toward Augusta, there 
to confer with Judge Augustus B. 
Longstreet,** editor of the States' 
Rights Sentinel, with regard to 
furnishing stories of his travels. 
On the way he stopped at Sanders- 
ville, Washington County, and Dr. 
Tennille, a brother of Wm. A. Ten- 
nille, then secretary of state, ad- 
vised him to study the Indian re- 
moval problem. First he went by 
horseback to see the wonders of 
North Georgia — the Toccoa Falls, 
in Stephens County, and the Ami- 
calola Falls, in Dawson County ; 
visited Tallulah Falls and gazed 
on Yonah Mountain (White Coun- 
ty), from Clarkesville, in Haber- 
sham ; inspected the gold fields of 
Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, and 
finally went to Cass (Bartow) 
County and explored the Salt Peter 
cave near Kingston. 

It may be that Payne touched 
Floyd County on this trip. An old 
tradition has it that he and John 
Ross spent a night or so at Rome, 
and departing for New Echota, 
camped in a beech grove at Pope's 
Ferry, Oostanaula river ; and that 
here Payne carved his name on a 
beech tree. Also that they were 
entertained in the home of Col. 
Wm. C. Hardin, across the river. 
It is known that Payne stayed with 
the Plardins and played on the 
piano for the little girls of the 
family while they were stationed 
at New Ivchota, but nothing yet 
establishes that he visited Rome 
and Pope's Ferry. 

For a time it was l)clievcd he 
attended the July liuhan meeting 



54 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



at "Running Waters," near Rome, 
but since he did not enter the 
state until early August, this was 
impossible. He had a letter of in- 
troduction from an Athens mer- 
chant to a Floyd County lawyer,* 
but evidently never presented it. 
Presently, in September, he 
shook the dust from his boots and 
clothes in Athens, Clarke County, 
having been taken there by a let- 
tor to Gen. Kdward Harden, who 
as a resident of Savannah some 
time before had entertained Gen. 
I.aFayette. Payne was received 
into the Harden home, and quickly 
fell in love with the General's 
beautiful brunette daughter, Mary 
Harden, to whom he gave some 
handsome Indian relics from his 
portmanteau, and later wrote a 
number of impassioned letters tell- 
ing of his love. Strange to say, 
neither married, but that is an- 
other story. The University of 
Georgia was in session and Payne 
and ]\Iiss Harden mingled among 
the students on the campus. 

Tu company with Gov. Lump- 
kin, Gen. Harden and Col. Sam- 
uel Rockwell, Payne set off for 
the Indian country in the general's 
two-horse carriage, and was ready 
for the opening of the Red Clay 
Council of Oct. 12 a day or two be- 
fore it convened. John Ross 
pressed them to stay with him, 
and they did so. On Sept. 28 
Payne rode into Tennessee, and 
spent some days at the cabin of 
Ross. Then he proceeded back to 
Red Clay, arriving Sunday, a day 
prior to the council opening. 

Here it was that the well-inten- 
tioned "Tray" got into company 
of none too good standing, as the 
Georgia authorities viewed it, and 
with Ross was subjected to the 
humiliation of arrest.** He was 
taken in custody Saturday at II 
p. m., Nov. 7, 1835, and released 
Friday morning, Nov. 20, 12 ^/^ days 
later. Ross was freed Monday 



at 4 p. m., Nov. 16, hence had been 
detained 9 days. The Red Clay 
Council had adjourned Oct. 30, 
after a session lasting 19 days. 

Immediately after he reached 
"civilization" (Calhoun, McMinn 
County, Tenn.), Mr. Payne issued 
the following statement to the 
press, under date of Nov. 23, 1835 : 

John Howard Payne to His Coun- 
trymen — The public is respectfully re- 
quested to withhold their opinion for 
the few days upon the subject of a 
recent arrest within the chartered 
limits of Tennessee, by the Georgia 
Guard, of Mr. Payne, in company with 
Mr. John Ross, principal chief of the 
Cherokee nation. 

Mr. Payne can not of course iden- 
tify the state of Georgia with this 
gross violation of the Constitution of 
the United States, of the rights of 
an American citizen, and of the known 
hospitality of the South to strangers. 
But as he is conscious that every act 
which can be devised will be resorted 
to for the purpose of endeavoring to 
cover such an act from public indig- 
nation, he thinks it due to justice to 
premise that a full and honest state- 
ment shall be submitted the moment 
it can be prepared. 

Payne's own story of his trials 
and tribulations is best told by 
himself. So far as is known, this 
account has never been reproduced 
in any publication except the news- 
papers and journals that carried it 
at the time. It was found at the 
University of Georgia Library, 
Athens, in the Georgia Constitu- 
tionalist (Augusta) of Thursday, 
Dec. 24, 1835, having been reprint- 
ed from the Knoxville (Tenn.) 
Register of Dec. 2, same year. It 
sets at rest certain discussions 
l)caring on historic fact, and here 
it is: 

At the instance of Mr. Jno. Howard 
Payne, I hand for publication his ad- 
dress to his countrymen in the United 



♦Believed to have been Judge Jno. H. Lump- 
kin, nephew of Gov. Wilson Lumpkin, of Ath- 
ens. 

**At the one-room log cabin of Sleeping Rab- 
bit, an Indian underling of Ross. The spot is 
located at Blue Spring (Station), Bradley Co., 
Tenn., five miles southwest of Cleveland and eight 
miles north of Red Clay. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



55 



States, giving an account of his ab- 
duction from the State of Tennessee 
and of his imprisonment and brutal 
treatment in this state by the Geor- 
gia Guard. To none of his country- 
men is it so important as to those of 
Georgia to be acquainted with the 
facts of this outrage. Every man of 
patriotic feeling within its feel will 
regret that any power with the sem- 
blance of state authority should have 
acted in such a banditti-like manner 
toward the amiable and talented au- 
thor of "Home, Sweet Home" and for 
the credit of the state will desire that 
the principal actors may be made to 
suffer the punishment of crimes so 
flagrant and disgraceful to the coun- 
try. 

ROBERT CAMPBELL. 
Augusta, Ga., Dec. 18, 1835. 



(From the Knoxville,* Tenn., Regis- 
ter, Dec. 2, 1835.) 

John Howard Payne to His Country- 
men. — A conspiracy has been formed 
against my reputation and my life. 
From the latter I have just escaped, 
and very narrowly. I would protect 
the former, and therefore hasten to 
acquaint the public with the truth re- 
garding this extraordinary affair. 

It has long been known that in Au- 
gust, 1833, I published proposals at 
New York for a literary periodical. 
The prospectus stated as a part of 
m^; plan that I would travel through 
the United States for the double pur- 
pose of gathering subscribers and ma- 
terial; and especially such informa- 
tion regarding my own republic as 
might vindicate our national charac- 
ter, manners and institutions, against 
the aspersions of unfriendly travel- 
ers from other countries. In the pur- 
suit of these objects I have for up- 
wards of a year been upon my jour- 
ney. I have visited Ohio, Kentucky, 
Missouri, Illinois, Mississippi, Louis- 
ana and Alabama. In each of these 
states I have been honored with the 
most flattering hospitality and sup- 
port. Some time in August last I 
entered Georgia on my regular course 
northward through the Carolinas and 
Virginia. I was induced by the de- 

*JudKe HukH Lawson White and David A. 
Deaderick led a committee for a Payne mass 
meetinK at Knoxville, but Payne declined ap- 
pearing. He later attended a public dinner. He 
went to Knoxville via Calhoun and Athens, 
Tenn. 

**Wm. A. Tennille, ancestor of the Savannah 
Tennilles. 



scriptions I had heard of the beauty 
of its mountain region to turn some- 
what aside from my road in order 
to seek the upper parts of the State; 
for I was anxious in anything I might 
write hereafter to leave nothing which 
deserved admiration untouched. I went 
to Tellulah, Tuckoah, the cave in Cass 
County, the Gold Region and the Falls 
of Amacaloolah. A mere accident led 
me among the Cherokees. The acci- 
dent was this: 

In the course of my rambles I met 
Li. Tennille, of Saundersville, a broth- 
er to the Georgia Secretary of State.** 
This gentleman spoke to me of the 
Cherokees. He suggested that their his- 
tory for the last 50 years, could it 
be obtained, would be one of extreme 
irterest and curiosity, and especially 
appropriate to a work like mine. I 
knew next to nothing then of the Cher- 
okees. I had been in Europe when 
their cause was brought so eloquently 
before the public by Mr. Wirt, Mr. 
Everett and others. The hint I speak 
of led me to ask about them. The more 
I heard, the more I became excited. 
T obtained letters to their leading men 
and went into the nation. Circum- 
stances, however, had induced me to 
relinquish my first purpose of pro- 
ceeding so far as the residence of Mr. 
Ross, their Principal Chief. But I 
was told Mr. Ross possessed a series 
of letters which had been sent to him 
by his predecessor in office, Chas. R. 
Hicks, detailing memoranda for the 




JOHN HOWARD PAYNE, author of world- 
famous song, "Home, Sweet Home," who 
was arrested by the (JeorKia Guard in 1835. 



56 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



earlier history of his country, and that 
he himself had taken up the narra- 
tive where it was discontinued by the 
extending of it to the year 1835. I 
was encouraged to believe that were 
I to call on Mr. Ross he would not 
only readily allow me the use of these 
manuscripts, but be gratified in an 
opportunity of seeing them made pub- 
lic. I therefore resumed my original 
intention and on the 28th of last Sep- 
tember rode into Tennessee to the res- 
idence of Mr. Ross. 

By Mr. Ross I was received with 
unlooked-for cordiality and unreserve. 
I felt the deeper sympathy for him be- 
cause I found him driven by the hard 
policy against his nation from a splen- 
did abode to a log hut of but one sin- 
gle room, and scarcely proof against 
the wind and rain. He had a part 
of the letters by Mr. Hicks, but of 
a continuation by himself I had been 
misinformed. He told me, however, 
that any or all of the documents he 
had were at my service. I thought if 
he were disposed to let me take these 
with me and transcribe them at my 
leisure, he would have proposed it; 
but as he did not, I began to make 
copies where I was — intending to con- 
fine myself to very few. My first 
calculation was to limit my visit to 
a day, but I thought I should now be 
warranted in prolonging it three or 
four; my task, however, detaining me 
longer than I expected, Mr. Ross urged 
me to remain until the meeting of the 
Council. He told me that he could 
then show me all their leading men. 
He thought besides that two gentle- 
men who have made valuable re- 
searches into the antiquities and the 
language of the Cherokees would be 
present. To the arrival of the Reve- 
rend Commissioner, Mr. Schermerhorn, 
I also looked with interest. I believed 
him to be the same Mr. Schermerhorn 
who was in an upper class when I 
entered college' ; we had been intimate 
there; I had not met him in five and 
twenty years, and was solicitous to talk 
over things long past. In addition to 
these inducements, I felt a deep at- 
traction in the opportunity of witness- 
ing the last days on their native soil 
of the nations of the red men. I de- 
termined to see the opening of the 
Council. 

My stay with Mr. Ross having been 
so unexpectedly protracted, of course 
the range of my collections was ex- 
tended. In addition to the literature 
and the anecdotes of the nation I 



involuntarily became well acquainted 
with its politics, because I had tran- 
scribed nearly all the documents rel- 
ative to the recent negotiations for a 
treaty. I thought these curious, not 
only as historic evidence, but as spec- 
imens of Indian diplomacy, more com- 
plete than any upon record in any 
age or country. I confess I was sur- 
prised at what these papers unfolded 
regarding the system used by the 
agents and pursued by our govern- 
ment, and I thought if the real posi- 
tion of the question were once under- 
stood by our own country and its rul- 
ers, their ends would be sought by 
different and unexceptional means. 
Though no politician, as a philanthro- 
pist I fancied good might be done by 
a series of papers upon the subject. 
I conceived as an American that it 
was one of the most precious and most 
undisputed of my rights to examine 
any subject entirely national, espe- 
cially if I could render service to the 
country by such explanations as pecu- 
liar circumstances might enable me to 
offer. For this purpose I commenced 
such a series as I have spoken of, but 
having written one number, I thought 
I would lay it by for reconsideration, 
and forbear to make up my mind 
finally until I saw how matters were 
carried on at the Council then ap- 
proaching. The number in question 
was subsequently put aside and no sec- 
ond number ever written. It was sign- 
ed "WASHINGTON." The mention 
was brief and incidental. It was such 
a paper as we see hourly upon our pub- 
lic affairs, only somewhat more gen- 
tle and conciliatory. Among other 
things, it mentioned of necessity the 
Georgia Guard. It spoke of their out- 
ward appearance as more resembling 
banditti than soldiers, and alluded to 
the well-known fact of an Indian pris- 
oner who had hanged himself while 
in their custody, through fear that they 
would murder him. I wish the reader 
to bear this paper in mind, for it will 
be specifically noticed more than once 
again ; and at the same time let it 
be remembered that it was never print- 
ed** nor made known in any way, but 
kept among my private manuscripts 
until the proper season for publica- 
tion had gone by. Indeed, the very 
plan of which it was meant for the 
beginning was ere long merged in an- 

*Union, Schnectady, N. Y. Mr. Schermerhorn 
fjraduated in 1809. Payne entered in 1807, pre- 
sumably in the Class of 1811. and left after 
two terms and without completing his course. 

**Mai. Currey claimed it was printed by the 
Knoxville Register prior to the arrest. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



57 



other. It had been suggested that 
great service might be done by an ad- 
dress to the people of the United States 
from the Cherokees, explaining fully 
and distinctly all their views and feel- 
ings. I was told that no one had ever 
possessed such opportunities as mine 
had been for undertaking these. I 
took the hint, and felt gratified in the 
opportunity of enabling the nation to 
plead its own cause. I promised to 
prepare such an address, and if ap- 
proved, it was to be sent around by 
runners, for the signature of every 
Cherokee in the country. I confess I 
felt proud of an advocacy in which 
some of the first talent of the land 
had heretofore exulted to engage. I 
only lamented that my powers were 
so unequal to my zeal. 

The Council assembled. One of the 
first inquiries of the Reverend Com- 
missioner was for his former friend; 
and I felt happy to recognize in the 
wilderness one whom I had known 
so early in my life. I accompanied 
him by his invitation to his cabin. I 
found him strongly prejudiced against 
Mr. Ross. He introduced me to Ma- 
jor Currey, the United States' agent. 
Major Currey, as well as Mr. Scher- 
merhorn, proffered any documents or 
books or other facilities which might 
aid me in my search for information. 
They urged upon me to read some pa- 
pers they were preparing against Mr. 
Ross and the Council. I did read 
them. I entered into no discussion, but 
then, as at all other times, briefly as- 
sured Mr. Schermerhorn with the free- 
dom of an associate in boyhood that I 
conceived his course a mistaken one, 
and that I was convinced that it could 
not lead to a treaty. The same thing 
had been said to him by many. He 
replied in a tone of irritation that he 
"would have a treaty in a week." 

"John Ross was unruly now, but he 
would soon be tame enough," and on 
one occasion he asked a gentleman con- 
nected with the then opposition party 
in the nation "if the wheels were well 
greased," and informed me that an 
address in Cherokee was coming be- 
fore the people, which I inferred from 
his words and manner was expected 
to produce a sudden influence fatal to 
the cause of Mr. Ross. He also in- 
troduced me to Mr. Bishop, captain 
of the Georgia Guard, whose manner 
then was perfect meekness. A few 
half-jocose words passed between Mr. 

*New Echota, Gordon County, where The 
Phoenix was printed, was about 45 miles. 



Bishop and myself. He asked me how 
long since I "arriv," named the Cher- 
okee question, and I replied that I 
differed with him in opinion. 

"That is the case of most of you 
gentlemen from the north," he replied. 

"It is not that I am from the north 
that I think as I do," said I, "but 
because I am jealous of our national 
honor and prize the faith of treaties." 

"You would feel differently if you 
had the same interest we have." 

"I should hope I would forget my 
interest where it went against my 
principles," I observed. 

Mr. Bishop laughed and so did I, 
and thus we parted. After this I ab- 
stained from visiting the quarters of 
Mr. Schermerhorn, not wishing as the 
guest of Mr. Ross to expose myself 
to the necessity of being drawn into 
irritating discussions. The proceed- 
ings took the very course I apprehend- 
ed. Mr. Schermerhorn's plan defeat- 
ed himself, and when I next saw him 
it was upon the council ground; Lieut. 
Bateman, of the United States army, 
was standing with me when he came 
up. The conversation necessarily turn- 
ed upon the treaty. I repeated my 
doubts as to the policy of his course, 
and he again declared he would have 
a treaty — and forthwith. I asked him 
for some documents he had promised. 
He said he would gather them and 
send them to New York. I pressed 
him for them at once, because I had 
already everything from the other side 
and wished the entire evidence, for I 
meant to write a history of the Cher- 
okees; and added I, laughing, "Don't 
complain if I use you rather roughly." 

I saw that he was chafed, although 
he forced a smile. "No," replied he, 
"and don't complain if I return the 
compliment." 

"Certainly not," said I; "if you can 
show that I deserve it;" and he de- 
parted in apparent good humor, and I 
saw nothing more of the Reverend 
Commissioner. 

The negotiation was broken off. The 
Council adjourned. Mr. Ross pressed 
me to return to his house, which I did 
for the purpose of awaiting the jour- 
ney of a messenger whom he had prom- 
ised to send some 80 miles across the 
country'"' for a complete file of the 
Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, which, 
after long search, I had made the dis- 
covery and had obtained the offer. 
During the absence of the messenger 
I renewed the transcriptions of docu- 



58 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



merits. I also completed the address 
for the Cherokee nation. It was ap- 
proved, and measures were to be taken 
for obtaining the signatures of all the 
people. It was now Saturday evening, 
Nov. 7. I had determined on Monday 
morning to depart, taking in on my 
road back through Athens the Stone 
Mountain of Georgia, a view of which 
had been one of the leading objects 
of my journey. Some bustle had taken 
place that afternoon with a person 
from whom Mr. Ross had purchased 
his present place of refuge." The 
man had returned to plant himself 
within the boundaries of the estate 
with which he had parted. Mr. Ross 
sent out all his negroes and other men 
to throw up a worm fence and mark 
his limits; and some dispute was ap- 
prehended. It was supposed that the 
measure was a preconcerted one, for 
the purpose of showing the Indians 
that the threat of harrassing the In- 
dians more and more was real. All, 
however, seemed quiet enough. Mr. 
Ross and myself were engaged the 
v.-hole evening in writing. My papers 
were piled upon the table, ready to be 
packed for my approaching journey. 
About 11 I was in the midst of a 
copy from a talk held by George 
Washington in 1794 with a delega- 
tion of Cherokee chiefs. Suddenly 
there was a loud barking of dogs, then 
the quick tramp of galloping horses, 
then the rush of many feet, and a 
hoarse voice just at my side shouted 
"Ross, Ross!" Before there was time 
for a reply, the voice was heard at 
the door opposite, which was burst 
open. Armed men appeared. 

"Mr. Ross." 

"Well, gentlemen?" 

"We have business with you, sir." 

Our first impression was that there 
had been a struggle for the boundary 
and that these men had come to make 
remonstrance; but instantly we saw the 
truth. The room was filled with 
Georgia Guards, their bayonets fixed, 
and some, if not all, with their pis- 
tols and dirks or dirk knives. An 
exceedingly long, lank man with a 
round-about jacket planted himself 
by my side, his pistol resting against 
my breast. 

"You are to consider yourself a 
prisoner, sir!" said he to Ross. 

"Well, gentlemen, I shall not re- 
sist. But what have I done? Why 
am I a prisoner? By whose order am 
I taken?" 



"You'll know that soon enough. Give 
up your papers and prepare to go with 
us." 

And then a scramble began for pa- 
pers. I had not moved from my place 
when the long, lank man, whom I after- 
wards found was Sergeant Young,"'* 
leader of the gang, began to rummage 
among the things upon the table. 

"These, sir, are my papers. I sup- 
pose you don't want them," I observed. 

Young, his pistol still pointed, struck 
me across the mouth. 

"Hold you damned tongue!" he vo- 
ciferated. "You are here after no 
good. Yours are just what we do 
want. Have your horse caught and 
be off with us. We can't stay." 

It was useless to reply. I asked 
for my saddlebags. They said I might 
take them if there were no arms in 
them. I said there WERE arms, and 
my pistols were required. The ser- 
geant took them and was at a loss to 
manage the straps which confined them 
under my vest. 

"How the devil are these put on? 
Come, put them on me!" he exclaimed. 

This was too much. I turned upon 
my heel and this unfortunate ci'ea- 
ture seemed for a moment to feel the 
reproof, and blundred into the para- 
phernalia as best he could. A person, 
whom I afterward learned was mere- 
ly an amateur in this lawless affair, 
Mr. Absalom Bishop, a brother of the 
captain of the Guard, the one com- 
monly called Colonel, was exceedingly 
officious with Mr. Ross. He insisted 
on the correspondence, especially the 
recent letters of the Principal Chief, 
and was peculiarly pert and peremp- 
tory in handling the contents of Mr. 
Ross's portmanteau. There was an- 
other amateur in the affair, Mr. Joshua 
Holden, a big, sanctimonious-visaged, 
red-skinned man, whose voice I never 
heard, but who, from the evening of 
our capture I saw busy, moving to and 
fro on all occasions, apparently as a 
sort of factotum for the dirty work of 
the establishment. 

We set away. The greater num- 
ber of the horses had been left at a 
distance in the road. When we were 
all mounted, our cavalcade consisted, I 
believe, of six and twenty, Mr. Ross 
and myself included, and we two were 
permitted generally to ride together, 
the Guard being equally divided in 



*Sleeping Rabbit? 

**His first name was Wilson. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia'Guard 59 




HOME OF JOHN HOWARD PAYNE'S SWEETHEART 

"Harden Hoine," Athens (reconstructed), where Payne visited Gen. Edward Harden in 
1835 and fell in love with Miss Mary Eliza Greenhill Harden. In the oval are Indian mocca- 
sins, a beaded purse and a shark's tooth presented the young lady by her middle-aged lover. 
One of the moccasins has been donated to Rome by Miss Evelyn Harden Jackson, of Athens. 



front and i-ear of us. The earlier 
part of the night was bright and beau- 
tiful, but presently a wild storm arose, 
and then rain poured in torrents. The 
movements of our escort were ex- 
ceedingly capricious; sometimes whoop- 
ing and galloping and singing obscene 
songs, and sometimes for a season 
walking in sullen silence. During one 
of these pauses in the blended tumult 
of the tempest and of the travellers 
I chanced for a while to find myself 
beside the smooth and silky Mr. Ab- 
salom Bishop. My mind was absoi'bed 
in recollections of the many moments 
when abroad I had dwelt upon my in- 
nocent and noble country. I remem- 
bered that in one of those moments 
I had composed a song which has since 
met my ear in every clime and in ev- 
ery part of every clime where I have 
roved. At that instant I was startled 
by the very air on which I was mus- 
ing. It came from the lips of my 
companion. I could scarcely believe 
my senses. It almost seemed as if he 
had read my secret thoughts. 

"What song was that I heard you 
liumming?" 

"That? Sweet Home, they call it, 
I believe. Why do you ask?" 

"Merely because it is a song of my 
own writing, and the circumstances 
under which I now hear it strike me 
as rather singular." 

My partner simply grumbled that he 
was not aware that I had written the 
song; but added knowingly that it was 
in the Western Songster, and the 
verses generally had the authors' 
names annexed. 



We halted at Young's. It happened, 
curiously enough, that the Western 
Songster was the first object that 
caught my view upon the table, stand- 
ing open at "Sweet Home," and for- 
tunately for my character, with the 
"author's name annexed." I pointed 
it out to Mr. Ross, and we both smiled. 
This man Young, at whose house we 
halted, like others connected with the 
Guard, keeps a tavern. Excursions of 
this nature present favorable opportu- 
nities for taxing the state for ex- 
penses, and I am told they are seldom 
overlooked. Our band of six and twenty 
took supper at Young's. They had 
scarcely entered the room when some- 
one struck up : 

"We're crosfiing over Jordan, 
Glory Hallelujah!" 

And our sergeant landlord sprawled 
before the fire and began to talk liter- 
ary. He reckoned I had heard tell of 
Marryboy. I assured him I did not 
remember any such author. 

"What! Not his system of nater?" 

I replied that perhaps he might 
mean Mirabeau. 

"Ah, yes, that might be. He and 
Wolney and Tom Paine were great 
authors. Was Tom Paine any kin 
of yourn?" 

Something was said of the Bible, 
but of that our friend disclaimed much 
knowledge. He didn't believe he had 
ever read fifteen chapters, but Marry- 
boy he liked of all things. 

It was announced that we had lin- 
gered long enough, and the horses 
were brought out. Young himself re- 



60 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



mained at home, but most of the resi- 
due dashed recklessly onward. Our 
four and twenty miles through the 
forest was completed by daybreak. All 
were drenched in the heavy showers 
and covered with mud. As we enter- 
ed the enclosure, the Guard were or- 
dered into line; their musquets were 
discharged in triumph for their splen- 
did crusade against one little goose- 
quill, and we were directed to dis- 
mount. We went to our prison; it 
was a small log hut, with no window 
and one door. At one end was what 
they called a bunk, a wide case of 
rough boards filled with straw. There 
were two others on one side of the 
room, and opposite to them a fireplace. 
Overhead were poles across, on which 
hung saddlebags, old coats and various 
other matters of the same description. 
In one corner sat an Indian chained 
to a table by the leg, his arms tightly 
pinioned. We found it was the son 
of the Speaker of the Council, Going 
Snake. They had charged him with 
refusing to give in his name and the 
number in his family to the United 
States Census Taker. He denied the 
accusation, but his denial went un- 
heeded. He smiled and seemed pa- 
tient; they removed him and left us 
the only prisoners, but never alone. 
The door was always open; the place 
was a rendezvous for the Guard and 
all their friends. Two sentinels with 
musciuets loaded and bayonets fixed 
kept us always in view. The place of 
one was on the inside and the other 
on the outside. I was wet to the skin, 
fatigued and unconsciously sighted. At 
that moment I saw two of the young 
men exchange looks and laugh. 
Throughout the day I heard dark 
phrases which seemed to betoken some 
intended mischief. Several people 
came in to look at us and we were 
shown the largest bunk, which was set 
apart for our use, and there we tried 
to sleep. Presently my saddlebags 
were demanded, examined and after 
a while returned. 

I heard a guard say that not a soul 
ought to leave the lines that day, that 
all were bound to remain as witnesses. 
Another asked a companion what he 
would be doing were it not Sunday. 
The companion made a motion of 
wielding a scourge and with a grin 
declared, "That, and glad of a chance, 
too!" 

"Where's Tom?" asked one. 

"Gone to preachin'," was the reply. 

"Oh, hell!" rejoined a third, and a 



hoarse laugh followed. Then someone 
struck up 

"Jenny, will your dog bite? 
No, sir, no!" 

Which was responded to by 
"Jesus the Glorious 
Reigns here victorious!" 

And from another side came 
"I'll not go home 'till morning, 'till 
morning, 

"I'll not go home 'till ynorning!" 

And then there would be a hud- 
dling off to fire pistols, and thus pass- 
ed the Sabbath. I ought not to forget 
that in the course of the day I saw 
Mr. Absalom Bishop talking to some 
strangers. All stared frowningly to- 
wards me and I heard Mr. Absalom as 
I passed muttering low, "best leave 
the country." 

Towards evening I asked who was 
the officer in command. I was told 
the quartermaster. I sent for him, 
and he answered that he was busy, 
but would come by and by. When he 
appeared I asked if he would send 
a letter for us to an officer of the 
United States troops at the agency, 
provided we would pay the cost of an 
express. He asked why we wanted to 
send. I said perhaps a message would 
be returned which might set our af- 
fairs right. The quartermaster mut- 
tered "That would be rather contrary 
to o}'ders," gave a puff or two of his 
pipe and walked away, all the rest in 
the room following and leaving us for 
the first time a moment by ourselves. 

The long night came. Some ten 
or twelve remained in our room, the 
floor being paved with sleepers. I 
heard an order spoken of that night 
that nobody was to be allowed to en- 
ter that room; but that when the drum 
was tapped at daybreak, every man 
was to fly to his gun. Long before 
morning several got up and sat around 
the fire, smoking and talking. 

"Ah!" said one; "there must have 
been some beautiful slicking* done last 
night!" 

"First one timber fell, and the fam- 
ily tumbled on their knees." 

"Ha, ha, ha!" 

"And one began to beg." 

Here was another roar. 

"And the little ones squalled 'Mam- 
my! Mammy!' " 

Now they all mimicked crying chil- 
dren. 

♦Refers to summary punishment administered 
by vigilance committees. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



61 



"And then the old woman fell to 
praying." 

Here was a deafening shout of 
laughter, which was so long continued 
that they became exhausted, and we 
had some repose. Somewhere about 
this time a house in the town had been 
attacked, as far as we could gathet 
by a mob, and violence committed; but 
all knowledge of the rioters was de- 
nied by the Guard among themselves, 
though the attack was a constant theme 
of conversation, and all the particu- 
lars connected with it detailed. 

The time dragged on most drearily. 
In a day or two Young returned. He 
seemed in better humor. He brought 
me a couple of volumes of Gil Bias 
and the "Belgian Traveller." He also 
brought some clothes for Mr. Ross. 
He said, too, he had my pistols, and 
I could take them when I liked. He 
told me he wanted to subscribe for 
my periodical. He hoped if I ever 
mentioned him I would speak well of 
him. I assured him I would speak as 
well as I could, but I must tell the 
truth. 

"Ah," said he, "you've abused us 
already. We've got a letter where you 
say the Guard look like banditti." 

I replied that the letter was never 
published, and of course could form 
no part of the excuse for my arrest. 

"No matter," added he, "you oughtn't 
to have abused the Guard." 

I need not remark that this was the 
letter I have alluded to before. I 
pressed Young to let us know on what 
grounds we were arrested. 

"Why," he said, "I can tell you one 
thing they've got agin you, only you 
needn't say that I told you. They say 
ycu're an Abolitionist." 

I could not help laughing at the ex- 
cessive absurdity of this, and consid- 
ered it as a mere dream of the man, 
whose brain often seemed in the wrong 
place. At the same time, he told Mr. 
Ross that the charge upon him was 
that he had impeded taking the Cen- 
sus. Mr. Ross repelled the accusa- 
tion vigorously, and required to be 
heard, and to know his accuser. Young 
said all he could tell was that Major 
Currey gave him the order for our ar- 
rest; that he had not only a written 
but a verbal order, and upon that we 
were taken. What the verbal order 
was he would not tell to anybody. We 
asked how long we were to be con- 
fined. He said till Col. Bishop re- 



*Wm. Carroll. 



turned from Milledgeville. We re- 
quested to know when that would be. 

"About Christmas." 

I then asked to write the President 
of the United States. It was refused. 
I asked to write to the Governor of 
Tennessee. It was refused. I asked to 
write to the Governor of Georgia. It 
was refused. I was also denied my 
request to communicate with my 
friends at home. I asked Young if 
he was an officer of the United States. 
He replied that he was not. Mr. Ross 
then asked him if he were not an of- 
ficer of the United States, how he 
came to obey the order of Major Cur- 
rey by passing over the boundaries of 
Tennessee. He replied that in Geor- 
gia it was not law, it was all power. 
I then observed that the rights of an 
American citizen were sacred. They 
were secured to him by the Constitution, 
and that to trample upon them thus 
wantonly would render his, or any 
man's situation, a very dangerous one 
with the people of a country like ours, 
who must look upon it as their com- 
mon cause. 

"Pooh!" replied he; "that mignt 
have done very well once, but Lord! 
don't you know that's all over now?" 

This was of course unansw'erable. 

In the meantime, a suggestion was 
made to us in a very unexpected way 
of a plan of escape. We looked upon 
it with suspicion, and thought it best 
not even through curiosity to give it 
encouragement. It appeared to us 
that it might be a ])lan that, even 
should it succeed, would make us seem 
in the wrong; and we knew that at- 
tempts of that nature, which had not 
succeeded, had been fatal. We thought 
it safer to be patient. 

I contrived, however, to elude the 
vigilance of our watchers. I found 
among my clothes a letter of intro- 
duction from one of the first mer- 
chants in Athens to a lawyer in Floyd 
County, Ga. There was blank room 
enough in it to allow me to turn the 
sheet and to write inside. I had a 
pencil in my pocket. While pretend- 
ing to read a newspaper I scribbled 
by snatches an appeal to the Gover- 
nor of Tennessee.* It was conveyed 
out of the lines to a friend who inked 
the superscription and made a copy 
from the inside, which he afterwards 
gave me, but I have mislaid it. An 
express with the most kind friendship 
flew across the country with this let- 
ter to the Cherokee Agency, and thence 
it was forwarded by another express 



62 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



to Nashville. I have not yet learned 
the result. 

We now heard that a brother of Mr, 
Koss and another gentleman had in 
vain sought to see us. We next ob^ 
tamed information that a son and a 
friend of Mr. Ross had arrived. After 
much demur Mr. Koss was allowed to 
speak with his son, provided he only 
conversed on family affairs. The 
father and son met at the steps of 
one entrance to the enclosure. The 
steps were filled with curious listen- 
ers. When attempting to utter a syl- 
lable of domestic incjuiry to his son in 
Cherokee, Mr. Joshua Holden sudden- 
ly interdicted Mr. Ross from proceed- 
ing. 

Une afternoon subsequently there 
was an arrival which gave great joy 
to Sergeant Young. Some guards re- 
turned from furlough with Governor 
Lumpkin's valedictory message, with 
news that Mr. Bishop had got the bet- 
ter of an old enemy in a street affray 
at Milledgeville, and that a sort of 
patron of Young, by the name of 
Kenan,* had been elected Judge of 
the Supreme Court of Georgia. At 
this last intelligence, Young frisked 
about like a lunatic. He drew my 
pistols and fired them off in triumph. 
He whooped, he laughed, he capered. 
He ran into our room. 

"Aha!" exclaimed he. "He's the fel- 
low that will bring down the consti- 
tution!" 

I replied that I thought it would 
have been much better to have found 
a fellow that would bring it up — it 
was down low enough already. But 
Young seemed to look upon this elec- 
tion, especially when coupled with the 
appointment of two of his family con- 
nection to high places in the state, 
as a source of great hope for his own 
advancement, and was perfectly be- 
wildered with exultation. In the eve- 
ning, a newspaper was produced, con- 
taining Gov. Lumpkin's valedictory 
message. There were some envenomed 
passages in it against Mr. Ross. Young 
had already put it into the hands of 
Mr. Ross, and then desired me to read 
it aloud. I objected. I appealed to 
his own sense of decency, but he per- 
sisted and when Mr. Ross united with 
him, I read the passage and gave the 
hearers full benefit of this petty 
triumph over a prisoner in their power. 

The next change which occurred was 
the determination of the Sergeant to 
post off to Milledgeville. When he 
communicated this to us, Mr. Ross 
asked to be conducted with him thither, 



that he might learn from the Governor 
of the State why he was detained, 
and answer his accusers. This was 
denied, but the sergeant promised he 
would take a letter. Soon afterwards 
the polished Mr. Absalom Bishop made 
his appearance. He had understood 
from Mr. Young that Mr. Ross wish- 
ed to address the Governor. If on 
seeing the latter, Mr. Absalom Bishop 
should find it might facilitate the set- 
tlement of the Cherokee question, he 
would himself be the bearer. This 
seemed to me, especially in an unoffi- 
cial position, a piece of the most ar- 
rant impertinence I had ever heard. I 
took occasion myself at the same time 
to repeat my request for leave not 
only to write to the Governor of Geor- 
gia, but to the Governor of Tennessee, 
to the President and to my friends. 
I received this extraordinary reply: 

"Your fate will be decided and the 
result made nublic before you can 
reach either of the persons you have 
named." 

I pressed to know on what charge 
I was imprisoned. Mr. Absalom Bish- 
op remarked that I would learn ere 
long from the proper authority, and 
added with a simper. "Yon are not in 
so bad a fix as Arthur Tappan, for 
I see by the paners that they are 
parading him with a halter around 
his neck." 

Mr. Ross, with some warmth, ex- 
claimed, "I hope, sir, you do not com- 
pare our case with his!" 

"Indeed, sir," smiled the gentle Mr. 
Absalom, "Mr. Payne has for some 
time been under suspicion as an Abo- 
litionist." And still the charge seem- 
ed to me so ridiculous that I could 
not but join Mr. Absalom Bishop in 
his smile, and I answered: 

"Oh, if that's all, it can soon be 
settled!" 

"No," replied my comforter, "that's 
not the only charge, but you will know 
in time, and a fortnight can not make 
much difference." 

Mr. Ross was now supplied with 
paper, and Mr. Absalom Bishop re- 
mained to watch him. When the let- 
ter was completed, the Guards were 
already crowding the doorway, their 
eyes and ears and mouths distended 
with curiosity. Mr. Ross folded the 
letter and handed it to Mr. Absalom, 
who very deliberately opened and read 
it, and replied he thought it might 
do; he then went out, followed by 
Sergt. Young. After a while, both 

*Owen H. Kenan, of Newnan, judge of the 
Tallapoosa Circuit, Superior Court. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



63 



returned. Mr. Absalom Bishop ob- 
served that he wished a postscript, 
more distinctly assuring the Governor 
that he was desirous of making a 
Treaty speedily, and that he urged a 
release forthwith, merely in order to 
accompany the delegation to Washing- 
ton and accelerate the treaty. Mr. 
Ross pointed out a part of his letter 
Vi'hich already stated as much; but Mr. 
Absalom Bishop thought a postscript 
desirable, and so the postscript was 
added and pronounced satisfactory, 
and the letter and its bearer disap- 
peared. I could almost fancy the 
genius of this country exclaiming after 
him, "Oh, Absalom, my son, my son!" 

The departure was fixed for the 
next day, but in the meantime there 
arose trouble in the camp. Sergt. 
Young heard a guard complaining of 
him, and rushed at him with a club. 
The guard struggled and Young drew 
my pistol on him. The rest of the 
troop caught Young's arm and saved 
their comrade. Young afterwards 
was grumbling at his failure. "I have 
paid $1,500 already," said he, "for 
shooting and stabbing, and I think I 
can raise another .$1,500." He next 
entertained us with a story of revenge 
upon a negro slave of his whom he had 
caught stealing. He had shaved the 
fellow's ear off close with a razor, 
"and the damned rascal," added he, 
"said he never could hear after that, 
and it was a damned of a while before 
the place healed up." 

I confess it somewhat annoyed me 
to find my pistols in the constant 
wearing of this person. I had fre- 
quently given him hints after he had 
promised to return them, but he took 
no notice. One morning I remarked, 
"Those pistol straps will be worn out 
before I have a chance of putting them 
on." "I reckon not," said Young, 
"they'll last till spring, I take it." 

But now that he was preparing for 
a long journey and an indefinite ab- 
sence, I thought it expedient to re- 
quest their return explicitly. He de- 
murred; would take it as a great favor 
if I would lend them to him. He would 
be back long before I could get out; 
he would do as much at any time for 
me. Then suddenly recollecting him- 
self, he said: "I know I've behaved 
like a damned mean man to you." 
"Yes, you have," replied I; "you struck 
me." "I know I did, and I've hated 
it ever since." "I never named it," 
I replied, "but I never forgot it." "But 
you'd better let me have the pistols. 
I'll buy them — what did they cost?" I 



named the cost and he cried, "I'll leave 
'em. I'll give 'em to the quartermas- 
ter to keep." 

The pistols were eventually sent out 
of the lines to a son of Mr. Ross, from 
whom I have since obtained them; but 
their withdrawal seemed to sink deep 
mto the Sergeant's mind. In speak- 
ing of it to him I remarked: "My 
own things may as well be under my 
own command. I did not seek the pis- 
tols because I thought them of any 
great importance as a defense; what- 
ever may chance, I suppose our lives 
are safe enough." 

"Maybe not," observed the Sergeant. 

Soon afterwards, another conversa- 
tion arose. "Did I understand you 
rightly," observed I to the Sergeant, 
"or were you only joking when you 
said a while ago that our lives were 
m danger here? You surely could 
not mean that we are in danger." 

"You see the sort of company you've 
got into," replied he; "I can't an- 
swer for anybody when I'm once away. 
However, there's one honest man here 
and I'll put you under his charge. 
Riley Wilson's an honest man. I've 
plenty of enemies in these lines, but 
I'll not be made an instrument of by 
any man. When I go away now, I'll 
wash my hands of the whole concern. 
No man shall make me an instrument. 
I'll not bear the whole brunt of this 
affair, I'll assure you." 

I made a very serious appeal to him, 
but he took no heed of it, nor did he 
recall his words, but left us thus for 
Milledgeville. He had not long been 
gone when I chanced to fall into con- 
versation with a young man of the 
party, and asked him if there was any 
prejudice afloat against us. If there 
was, I should be glad to know what 
it was and whence it arose. He in- 
quired why I made the question. I told 
him Young's assertion of our being in 
danger. It flew like wildfire through 
the lines. The room was filled in an 
instant and I told the whole story, 
which was confirmed by Mr. Ross. 
Some proposed to pursue Young im- 
mediately, tie him to a tree and "give 
him the hickory." Others threatened 
to fling him over the lines whenever 
he should return. I assured them I 
did not believe he meant more than 
to annoy us; but they declared he was 
too fond of tormenting prisoners; that 
there was no person there at all in- 
clined to impose on a prisoner but 
Young, and it was time he be taught 
better or withdraw. They asserted 



64 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



there was not a man on the hill but 
respected both of us, and we might 
rely on their support. The burst of 
good feeling that appeared on this oc- 
casion convinced me that most of 
those persons, in conscientious hands, 
might be moulded into valuable char- 
acters. It is their misfortune to be 
governed by men whose fitness may be 
gathered from the facts I have detail- 
ed, and youths, as many of them are, 
of unformed principles and habits, can 
not but be endangered by such direc- 
tors, especially as their captain, for 
electioneering purposes, cajoles them 
into a blind devotedness to him and 
to anything he may propose, no mat- 
ter how outrageous. 

They now seemed for a moment to 
feel how much their reputation had 
been darkened by their leaders. "Yes, 
this is the way that that Indian lost 
his life. He was told by a man that 
talked Cherokee that the Guard meant 
to come in during the night and cut 
his throat, so he hanged himself on 
the pole there that crosses at the foot 
of your bed." 

In the afternoon of this day there 
came a great and unexpected revolu- 
tion in the affairs of our little world. 
There was a sudden announcement of 
the arrival of the Captain-Colonel 
Bishop. An express was instantly sent 
off to recall Young and Absalom 
Bishop, with their letter, from Mil- 
ledgeville. Next morning at breakfast 
time the mighty chieftain appeared. 
He is a dapper and well-dressed and 
well-made little man, with a gray head 
and blue coat, well brushed, and bright 
yellow buttons. I had already remark- 
ed that this Bucephalus seemed train- 
ed to curvet and plunge like circus 
horses, with a great show of mettle, 
but perfect safety to the rider. In 
manner his grandeur was somewhat 
melodramatic. 

I have seen Napoleon Bonaparte, I 
have seen the Duke of Wellington, 
I have seen the Emperor Alexander, 
the Emperor Francis, the King of Eng- 
land, the King of Prussia; I have seen 
Ney, Rapp, Blucher, Swartzenburg — 
in short, I have seen most of the con- 
temporary great men of Europe, as 
well as America, but I have never yet 
seen quite so great a man as the Tav- 
ern Keeper, Clerk of the Court, Post- 
master, County Treasurer, Captain, 
Colonel W. N. Bishop. He was now 
no longer the meek Moses of the Coun- 
cil Ground. He was all emphasis and 
frown to the poor prisoners in his 
power, but with a peculiar affection 



to his men of bonho)Ji))ue. He came 
into the mess room, exclaiming, "Ah, 
boys!" (for boys is the cant word by 
which they speak to and of each other 
in the lines). "Ah, boys, how are 
you?" and he walked around shaking 
hands with each of the boys, but to 
both of us he was especially cold and 
formal; to me he scarcely even deigned 
a specific nod. 

Mr. Ross expressed a wish, through 
one of our sentries, for an interview, 
but no notice was taken of the re- 
quest. On the evening of that day, 
as I was walking to and fro before 
my prison, reading, a voice bawled 
out, "Mr. Payne, that was a mistake 
of yours about what I said," and I 
saw Young bearing down upon me, 
flourishing a club. Someone called to 
the sentry, "Guard your prisoner!" 
and the sentry closed up towards me 
on one side, putting his gun in readi- 
ness for action, and about 30 of the 
Guard now drew nigh on the other. 
I did not conceive that there was any 
intention on the Sergeant's part to do 
mischief, although the Guard thought 
otherwise, and declared if he had 
struck, it would have been the un- 
luckiest blow of his life. He attempted 
to deny a part of his words and then 
to explain them away, but he saw it 
was of no use, and so the matter 
ended. 

The Sergeant's revenge, however, 
was rather amusing. He said Mr. Ross 
and I should turn out of the bunk of 
which he was part owner. The men 
laughed and gave us one of theirs. 
Here is another instance of their su- 
periority to their officers. If we were 
state prisoners, however, we ought not, 
for our miserable straw, to have been 
dependent, either upon the men or 
upon the Sergeant. 

Somewhere about this time a very 
extraordinary incident took place. A 
Dr. Farmer came into the room with 
one of the Guard. After sitting a 
while, he looked at me and said: 

"Parlez vous Francais, Monsieur?" 

"Qui, Monsieur," I replied. 

The doctor and the Guard now ex- 
changed looks, and both smiled. 

"Je parle Francais," continued I, 
"mais Je suis Americain." 

The doctor mused for a while and 
then departed with the Guard, leav- 
ing Mr. Ross and me alone. I ob- 
served, "This is a strange business. I 
think that man has something to com- 
municate which may be important, and 
he wished to know if I could speak 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



65 



French that he might tell me his er- 
rand more freely." 

Mr. Ross asked me what he had 
said. I replied that he only asked if 
I understood French, and I answered 
that I did, but was an American. Mr. 
Ross observed that he knew nothing 
of the man, but had heard bad stories 
of his connections. It then occurred 
to me that the doctor had merely 
meant to try his French upon me, and 
had soon got to the end of his stock. 
Nor did the scene return to my mem- 
ory until I heard, on my liberation, 
that he had become one of my most 
formidable accusers; that he had said 
I confessed to him that my parents 
were French, and that I myself was 
an Abolitionist! The doctor must be 
within reach of this narrative. If he 
is innocent of the falsehood, it is due 
to himself to seek and expose the in- 
ventor. 

The next thing we heard, Mr. John 
Ridge was in the enclosure and closet- 
ed with Col. Bishop. It was said that 
he was at first denied an interview 
with Mr. Ross, but at length Mr. 
Ross was sent for to meet Ridge and 
Bishop. After a few words. Bishop 
suddenly arose and left them together. 
When Mr. Ross returned, he exclaim- 
ed, "It's all out now; we are both 
Abolitionists and here for a capital 
offense. We are the agents of some 
great men, Mr. Clay, Mr. Calhoun, 
Judge White, Mr. Poindexter, and the 
Lord knows who; and we have both 
plotted in concert with them to raise 
an insurrection among the negroes, 
who are to join the Indians against 
the whites!" 

I could not even yet regard the 
charge as having been made seriously, 
but Mr. Ross was assured it had been, 
and he added: 

"Bishop wishes to screen Currey 
and take the arrest upon himself, so 
we had better say nothing about that." 

In the evening Mr. Ridge had an- 
other interview, and on Monday, Nov. 
16th, all were closeted for some hours. 
About four, Mr. Ross entered the room 
with a bundle in his hand. 

"I've got my papers!" exclaimed he, 
and dashing them into the bunk, we 
went to dinner. Bishop and his broth- 
er sat opposite. They were silent, 
and all the party appeared nettled. I 
will do the brace of Bishops the jus- 
tice to own that they both, from first 
to last, seemed in their hearts ashamed 
to meet my glance, notwithstanding 
much outward swagger. When dinner 



was ended. Col. Bishop, giving a sort 
of menacing look at me, exclaimed to 
the sentinel with an emphatic gesture, 
"Mr. Ross is discharged." 

I walked back to my prison. Mr. 
Ross, after some time, came for his 
things. He said he was under the 
necessity of getting home that night; 
told me to make myself easy — all 
would come out right. 

"You have never published anything 
about Bishop or the Guard in Lumpkin 
County, have you?" was his only re- 
mark. 

"Not a syllable," replied I, "either 
in Lumpkin County, or any other 
county in Georgia or elsewhere." 

"So I said," added he, "and you may 
as well explain that when you see Col. 
Bishop." 

Mr. Ross seemed in haste. I imag- 
ined he had been interdicted from com- 
municating with me, and therefore 
asked no explanations, especially as 
the sentry was watching; nevertheless, 
I requested he would solicit an inter- 
view for me with Bishop, and ask a 
speedy examination of my papers. He 
went out and after some conversation 
with Bishop came back, and stated 
that Bishop had business that after- 
noon which would prevent his attend- 
ing to me, but the next day (Tues- 
day) he would see me; and then my 
companion mounted his horse and left 
me alone and with feelings and un- 
der a suspense and doubt by no means 
to be envied. This event, I observed, 
produced an instantaneous effect upon 
the manner of the Guard towards me; 
but ere long some of them seemed to 
feel a deeper sympathy than ever, and 
were marked, though silent, in their 
civility. Others were unusually rude. 
One man in particular, who was to 
have been a sort of ruler during 
Young's intended stay at Milledgeville, 
became very coarse. 

"Here!" he bawled one day across 
the yard to me, after I had been for- 
gotten at the first table for dinner. 
"Here, you old prisoner you, come 
along and eat!" 

At one time I apprehended an in- 
tention to increase the rigor of my 
treatment. I heard one of the officers 
calling for the Indian chain. "Where's 
the Indian chain?" This is a chain 
they keep expressly for the Indians, 
and" the captive we found there, hav- 
ing been dismissed, as he was taken 
without law or reason assigned, the 
chain had been thrown under one of 
the bunks of our room and had been 



66 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



f 




^^ •^ ^1 111 



INDIAN RELICS FOUND ON FLOYD COUNTY FARMS 

The bludgeon, axes and short shaft spear at the top were used for war and other pur- 
poses. The pestles in the center were employed to grind corn in wooden mortars. The bowl 
was unearthed on the E. J. Moultrie farm in the Coosa Valley and the arrow heads picked up 
in bottom lands and on hillsides here and there. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



67 



a while without an occupant. But my 
impression was not realized. The chain 
was undisturbed. 

Although friends and acquaintances 
were rigorously excluded from my 
prison, there seemed no exclusion of 
any one who came out of mere cu- 
riosity. A drunken countryman stag- 
gered in one day. I was reading. 

"I've spent all my money," said he, 
"waiting in this town to see John 
Ross and that other fellow." 

I told him John Ross was gone. 
After a while he gave me a knowing 
wink and touched my elbow. "Aye, 
aye, mighty good books — I like 'em, 
too. I'm all for the ablutions." I ask- 
ed him what he meant. He then hint- 
ed that he had heard that John Ross 
was one of the ablutions, and so was 
he. I interrupted him; told him he 
was mistaken in John Ross; that I 
presumed I was "the other fellow," 
and that the story he had heard against 
us was all an invention, and if he 
wanted ablutions, as he called them, 
he must look for them elsewhere. 

He begged a thousand pardons. The 
Guard then said it was against or- 
ders to talk to the prisoner, and my 
friend of the ablutions reeled out, 
bowing and hoping he "hadn't given 
no offense to nobody, only he did just 
want to have a look at the ablutions." 

The time began to drag on more 
drearily than ever. I had read up 
all the books. I had no pen nor ink, 
nor paper to write with. My only 
amusement was parading before the 
door and mentally composing a dog- 
gerel description of my captivity, of 
which even the little that I remem- 
bered is not yet committed to paper. 
Scenes of extreme confusion were oc- 
curring hourly in my den. The eve- 
nings were almost insupportable. The 
room was thronged. A violin was tor- 
mented into shrieks and groans which 
were nicknamed music; there was 
dancing and singing until tattoo; and 
after that, conversation which ex- 
ceeded in vulgarity, profanity and filth 
anything I ever could have fancied. 
Almost the only exceptions which in 
the least could amuse were these : 

"Where's that St. Helena," said the 
Sergeant, "that Kill Blast belonged 
to?" 

"St. Helena," replied I, "is the place 
where Bonaparte died. Gil Bias be- 
longed to another part of the world ; 
Santillane in — " 

"Ah yes; well, you remember most 
everything. I wish you'd remember 



that I'm to take a dose of salts to- 
morrow morning at four, and tell me 
of it." 

"Are you anything of a silversmith?" 
asked one of the young men. "I want 
to get some silver work fixed." 

"Where's New York?" inquired an- 
other; "England, ain't it?" 

"No, it's the largest city in our own 
country." 

"But you must go to it over the 
ocean, mustn't you?" 

"You may if you go the right way 
to work," I replied. 

One day the sentry who was guard- 
ing me in a ramble round the grounds 
made a sudden halt, and dropping his 
musquet abruptly, stared me fiercely 
in the face. 

"What do you follow when you're at 
home?" 

I paused, returned the fierce stare, 
and replied, "Literature." 

The man looked astounded. He stood 
a while motionless, then took up his 
gun. "Go on!" cried he, and we pro- 
ceeded in silence, he no doubt imag- 
ining that I had made a full confes- 
sion of my sins. 

One evening the importance of 
knowing how to spell was discussed. 
"There's no use in it at all," said the 
oldest of the party, "because there's 
two ways to spell everything." 

"Yes," I observed, "there's a right 
way and a wrong one." 

"Come now," exclaimed one guard 
to another. "How would you spell 
axe? We'll leave it to the man (mean- 
ing me) to say which way's right." 

"Oh, that's easy enough : A-X." 

"No," was the reply, doubtingly, and 
with a glance at me. "There are three 
letters," observed I, "in the word." 

"I know," said a third: "W-A-X." 

"That spells ivax!" exclaimed the 
first in triumph. 

"E-A-X!" cried a fifth. 

"That's eax," called out the third, 
with a laugh, and they all looked at 
me. 

"There's the number of letters and 
the proper letters if they were only in 
the proper places. The E is at the 
wrong end," I observed. 

"Ah, I know!" replied two or three, 
clapping their hands. "A-X-E." And 
so the contest ended. 

The remainder of Monday, and then 
Tuesday, and then Wednesday passed 
off in the Colonel's paying arrearages 



68 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



to the men and settling accounts; and 
the men themselves were engaged in 
trafficking and settling up their lit- 
tle bills among themselves, and swap- 
ping. From first to last they had 
been wishing to swap for everything 
I had — my knife, my pistols, my horse, 
my saddle, my watch; in short, every- 
thing seemed to tempt them, but above 
all, a buffalo hide which I used over 
my saddle. My watch was a perpetual 
torment to me. Every five minutes, 
sometimes for hours, I was teazed to 
tell what o'clock it was; and at night 
I was desired to hang up my watch 
that the two sentinels might regulate 
their movements by it. Some of the 
Guards borrowed money from me, but 
except for a trifle, which was only 
withheld, probably because my sortie 
was unforeseen, all was punctually 
repaid. During all the remainder of 
the time, Bishop and his brother avoid- 
ed meeting me at table or elsewhere. 
And now all pretense of business 
appeared at an end. Everything of 
that nature seemed to wind up with 
an auction, in which the Captain-Col- 
onel performed as Auctioneer to his 
men. Some rifles belonging to Indians 
who had been shot in attempting to 
escape capture were bid off; then a 
coat; then the "boys" were asked if 
they had anything else which they de- 
sired to sell, and then the "gentlemen" 
were thanked for their attention, and 
dismissed. After this the Captain-Col- 
onel seemed closeted upon secret busi- 
ness. I inferred from some circum- 
stances that he was making copies 
from among the manuscript documents 
I had transcribed regarding Cherokee 
affairs. They were mostly the same 
with the papers returned to Mr. Ross, 
but fairly written and arranged in or- 
der and therefore most convenient for 
a transcription. During this employ, 
a fine of $20 was proclaimed against 
any guard who should approach the 
door of the sanctum sanctorum, and a 
sentinel was ordered to keep watch 
and prevent intrusion. 

All that I heard from without dur- 
ing the week was that Mr. Ross had 
sent a messenger, who was prevented 
from seeing me; and a guard apprised 
me that he had been requested by this 
messenger to say "my friends had not 
forgotten me; in a few days all would 
come right." 

I learned afterward that this in- 
formant had proffered to convey to 
me letters or papers, and a note was 
consequently given to him, but it never 
came to hand. I had been told that 



Mr. Schermerhorn was expected about 
this time, and I knew that if we met, 
decency would have rendered it im- 
perative on him to bring about my 
release. I asked Young, and he pre- 
tended not to know when the Rev- 
erend Commissioner would appear, but 
observed "he knew all about it, for 
news was sent off to him at once." 

On Friday morning, Nov. 20th, Ser- 
geant Young told me he was going to 
his home. I had already understood 
that Col. Bishop was preparing for 
a trip to Milledgeville. Young had 
several times bantered me about "when 
I expected my furlough" and "why I 
didn't get on my horse and ride off." 
He repeated his jeers this morning. 
He asked me if I had not seen the 
Colonel yet. I replied no; expressed 
a wish to see him and desired Young 
to name my wish. 

"The Colonel's got nothing agin you 
that I know of, except something you 
writ about us in Lumpkin." I replied 
I had written nothing in Lumpkin. 
"Well, then, in Habersham, when you 
was up there at Clarkesville." 

I said that was equally a slander 
and asked as a point of common jus- 
tice, at least, to be shown the articles I 
was accused of having written. But 
Young evaded the request by saying, 
"At any rate, you wrote a letter where 
you called the Guard banditti, for we 
found that among your papers; and 
you ought not to have wrote such a 
letter." 

"Have I not a right to make what 
private notes I please? The paper you 
speak of was never published. Even 
though it had been, no one can be 
justified in complaining of me for only 
exercising a privilege guaranteed to 
me by the constitution of my native 
country. But it was not published and 
could form no part of the cause of 
my arrest, nor of the pretext for my 
detention." 

"I mean to keep them letters," said 
Young, "in case you should ever print 
anything if you ever git out, so as to 
prove it agin you. I don't give them 
up. You oughtn't to have said the 
Guard looked like banditti." 

It was not above half an hour after 
this when I perceived preparations for 
something unusual. The men were all 
summoned to be ready at the roll of 
the drum. My horse was ordered out, 
as I understood, to be taken to water. 
But I was convinced from many signs 
that I myself was the object of the 
mysterious movements. A son of the 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



69 



Colonel kept staring around at me 
with intense curiosity, and many oth- 
ers looked on in silence, as persons 
look upon any one about to under- 
go some terrible ordeal. The Colonel's 
horse was saddled and put in read- 
iness, and another horse was also pre- 
pared, and Mr. Joshua Holden ap- 
peared, equipped for a campaign. At 
length the drum beat. I heard the 
sergeant say, recommending some one 
to the Captain-Colonel, "He may be 
trusted." 

And now one of the Guard ran to 
me: "Your saddlebags, your saddle- 
bags." "Why?" "You're going out." 
I went to the bunk. "Is there not 
some mischief intended?" asked I. "I 
can't tell, but you'd better make me 
a present of that buffalo hide." "No," 
answered I; "it was given to me and 
has been too good a friend to me in 
trouble." The guard took the saddle- 
bags and buffalo skin, and with it 
a very large and cumbersome cloak 
and some loose clothes. I found them 
heaped upon my horse. "The straps 
to fasten these are not here." "I 
can't help it," was the answer. "Get 
on, get on!" "I can not over this 
pile of things." "You must." "This 
is not my bridle; mine was a new one 
and double. Where are my martin- 
gales, my straps?" "Get on, get on!" 
I was compelled to mount, and the 
m.ass of unfastened things was piled 
up before me; the saddle was loosely 
girted, and the horse was startled, and, 
as if on purpose, covered with mud. 
I still claimed my bridle, but was con- 
ducted in front of the paraded Guard, 
he who led my horse muttering as he 
went, "That's the bridle they said was 
yours." 

The Captain-Colonel stood in front 
of his men. "Halt your horse there, 
sir, and beware how you speak a 
word." I attempted to speak, but he 
shouted : 

"Be silent, sir; look upon them men. 
Them's the men you in your writings 
have called banditti." 

Whether the eloquent Captain-Col- 
onel imagined I meant to reply, I can 
not say, but he repeated eagerly: 

"Don't speak, sir!" 

And I did not speak, but I did look 
upon the men, and if ever I compared 
them in appearance to banditti, the 
glance of that moment made me feel 
that I ought to ask of any banditti 
the most respectful pardon. Spirit of 
Shakespeare, forgive me too! For if 
thy Falstaff and his ragged regiment 



came into my mind at such a moment, 
it was my misfortune, not my fault. 
But I will proceed. 

"You've come into this country to 
pry, ever since you arriv, into things 
you've no business with. You're a 
damned incendiary, sir! You've come 
into this country to rise up the Cher- 
okees against the whites. You've wrote 
agin these worthy men (pointing to 
the Guards). You've wrote agin the 
State of Georgia. You've wrote agin 
the gineral Government of the United 
States. Above all, sir, you've wrote 
agin me! Now, sir — " 

Then turning with an aside speech 
to some bystander, I think it was Mr. 
Joshua Holden, "Hand the things," 
said the Captain-Colonel, and a bun- 
dle with a loop, carefully prearranged 
so as to let the arm through, was 
given to me. 

"Now, sir, take your papers; haug 
'em on your arm, sir, and I order you 
to cut out of Georgia. If you ever 
dare agin show your face within the 
limits of Georgia, I'll make you curse 
the moment with your last breath. 
With your foul attacks on me you've 
filled the Georgia papers." 

I could not well endure to hear as- 
sertions so utterly unfounded, and took 
advantage of the pause of the elo- 
quent Captain-Colonel for breath, and 
exclaimed rather vehemently: 

"Upon my honor, no, sir!" 

"Hold your tongue, I say," resumed 
my jailor. "The minute you hear the 
tap of the drum, I tell you to cut out 
of this yard, and I order you never 
while you exist to be seen in this state 
of ours any more, for if you are, I'll 
make you rue it! Let this be a lesson 
to you, and thank my sympathy for 
a stranger that you've been treated 
with such extraordinary kindness; and 
now, sir, clear out of the state forever, 
and go to John Ross, God damn you!" 

I looked on this pitiable exhibition 
with more of passion than resentment, 
and it seemed to me as if most of the 
Guard felt sorry for their leader. 
Never before did I so forcefully re- 
alize the truth of that beautiful' pas- 
sage — 

Frail man, frail man, 
Drcst in a little brief authority 
Plays such fantastic tricks before high 

Heaven 
As make the angels weep ! 

I claimed my bridle again, but in 
vain, and I then moved of necessity 



70 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



slowly from the place, because I had 
great difficulty in retaininp: the things 
that had been piled upon my horse. 
When I got outside the lines, some of 
the affairs dropped off, and I stopped 
to ask a person to hand them to me, 
and at the same time to inquire the 
route to Big Spring.* On turning a 
corner a stranger told me I had bet- 
ter stop and dismount and arrange my 
baggage; and just then a gentleman 
called to me that he wished a word 
with me, and approached. He said he 
had a letter for me. I asked him the 
direction towards the residence of Mr. 
Ross. I saw that the letter he hand- 
ed me was from Mr. Ross, and related 
to my route. At that moment Col. 
Bishop and Mr. Josiah Holden dashed 
up like fiends. Bishop cursed me, 
threatened me, if I dared speak to 
any "damned Nullifier," and menaced 
to make an example out of me if I 
did not get out of the State. I paused 
to return the letter and to ask the 
I'oad, but my pursuers continued to 
execrate and to roar. I went on and 
for the last time had the honor of 
again hearing the Colonel's eloquence, 
in a volley of oaths as he passed back 
towards the camp, threatening my life 
as a "damned old rascal" if he ever 
caught me daring to speak to another 
man in Georgia. 

I turned abruptly, entirely ignor- 
ant of the way, into a little wood. 
Descending a slippery spot, my horse, 
which had been startled by the rush- 
ing of the pursuers, stumbled. The 
saddle, which had been scarcely girt- 
ed on, turned, the large cloak caught 
around his legs and I found myself 
equally entangled in its folds with the 
horse, one of whose fore hoofs was 
planted on my breast. He snorted and 
stood in a sort of stupor of amaze- 
ment, his mouth open and almost 
touching mine, his ears erect, his nos- 
trils distended, and his eyes staring 
wildly into my eyes, for at least a 
minute. It is singular enough that I 
felt not the slightest sense of danger 
or even uneasiness; I only thought it 
best to remain quiet until I found 
what the horse meant to do ; and then 
I took his hoof, lifted it aside, dis- 
engaged myself, arose and with some 
difficulty got my cloak from around 
his limbs. He did not even stiffen a 
joint when I lifted his foot from my 
breast, nor did I feel, while it was 
planted there, the slightest pressure, 
although the form of the hoof was by 
the red clay in which he had been 
tramping, so strongly defined upon 
my shirt bosom that it might in New 



England have answered for a sign to 
keep away the witches. But no sooner 
was the danger wholly past than I 
felt feeble and faint and perfectly 
unmanned. I had never, from the be- 
ginning to the end of my misadven- 
ture, experienced any sensation like 
that which now came over me. 

I could scarcely move. Before me 
there was a muddy streamlet across 
which there arose a hill with a hut 
at its top. I determined to walk up 
to that hut and there seek assistance 
in adjusting my things for a journey, 
and purchase cords or straps of some 
sort. But I could scarcely drag my 
horse through the stream. He was 
ravenous for water and kept me stand- 
ing in the middle of it while he drank. 
The woman of the house was much 
agitated by my appearance. She ask- 
ed, trembling and in tears "if the 
Guard would not come to her and hurt 
her for speaking to me." She seemed 
exceedingly anxious for me to get out 
of sight. I answered that I could not 
think they would be so brutal. I now 
found that my buffalo hide was miss- 
ing. I promised to pay another wom- 
an for going back to look for it, as 
it must have fallen close at hand. She 
returned presently and said it was not 
there. 

I had by this time secured my things 
with ropes. In paying the one woman 
I gave silver to pay the other. I 
could not help being struck by the cir- 
cumstance, under all this alarm at 
the hut, of my being called to by 
the one of these people who had fail- 
ed to accomplish her errand, to know 
whether I had left any money for her 
too. 

It so chanced that I got upon the 
direct road to McNair's, some 15 miles 
off and within the chartered limits of 
Tennessee. It is an Indian family. 
Nothing could be kinder or more cor- 
dial than my reception and treatment, 
notwithstanding the strong probabil- 
ity they fancied of my being still pur- 
sued thither for fresh torment by the 
Guard. They looked upon me as one 
risen from the dead. At McNair's I 
was for the first time fully apprised 
of the dangers which had beset me and 
which were still to be dreaded. I found 
that during my thirteen days' captiv- 
ity the most industrious efforts had 
been made to excite the country against 
me as an Abolitionist and a Foreign 



♦Now in Meigs County, Tenn., 25 miles north 
of Blue Spring. He was trying to reach the 
latter after he was liberated, hoping to rejoin 
Ross. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



71 



Emissary. The most important step 
had been already taken. The minds 
of the country people had been fa- 
miliarized to the expectation of my 
being hanged, and they only waited 
for notice to assemble and enjoy the 
execution. The wife of a tavern keeper 
at Spring Place was reported to me 
by a traveller as having been heard 
to say I was a "very bad man," I was 
"sure to be hung," and one man had 
been hung thereabouts before for much 
less than I had done. I deserved the 
gallows and she herself would see me 
swinging with much pleasure — that 
she would, "wicked thing that I was!" 

This may be taken, I presume, as a 
fair specimen of the sort of excite- 
ment which had been got up. Those 
best acquainted with the neighborhood 
and with the spirit prevailing looked 
upon my situation from the first as 
the more perilous of the two; but when 
I was found to have been detained 
after Mr. Ross, it was considered as 
altogether desperate. That this was 
no idle belief may be inferred from 
a fact of which I was afterward ad- 
vised. A paper, belonging, as I un- 
derstand, to a friend of Bishop in 
Cassville — the only paper of the re- 
gion through which it was my long 
avowed plan to return — had sent forth 
the following tissue of impudent false- 
hoods, during the earlier days of our 
captivity, and the poison had taken 
effect : 

"Report," says the Cassville Pioneer 
of Nov. 13th, "has just reached us 
of the apprehension by the Georgia 
Guard of John Ross, together with a 
gentleman from the North. They were 
pursued by the soldiers stationed at 
Calhoun, Tenn., as far as the line of 
this state, where the chase was taken 
up by the Guard, who succeeded in 
overtaking them at an Indian's by the 
name of Sneaking Rabbit. The crime 
with which they are chai-ged seems 
to be an effort, making by them, to 
arouse the Cherokees and negroes to 
the commission of hostilities on the 
white citizens of the Cherokee coun- 
try. If information be true, the pa- 
pers found in their possession go far 
to prove the hostility of their designs. 
Their communications had in a great 
measure been carried on in the French 
language. For want of a knowledge 
of that language, the Guard was un- 
able to comprehend fully their designs. 
Time alone can develop the truth of 
the report, but we trust for the peace 
of the community at large that it may 

*A long but harmless exhortation and appeal. 



not prove as true as present appear- 
ances seem to indicate." 

On discovering these reports, I felt 
some anxiety to examine the papers 
myself, wondering what could have 
created the French part of the charge. 
I looked among the manuscripts re- 
turned. The French papers which 
have puzzled the Captain, Colonel and 
the rest seem to have been these: A 
numeration table, in Cherokee, by 
George Gist, the native inventor of 
the Cherokee alphabet ; a specimen of 
Gist's handwriting in Cherokee and in 
the characters he had invented ; an ac- 
count of his life, also in the same lan- 
guage and characters, and written by 
his relation, George Lowry, second 
principal chief; and a literary com- 
position by Mr. Lowry, in Cherokee 
words, but English letters, which I 
preserved as a remarkable curiosity, 
because Mr. Lowry had never learned 
to read or write in any way, until 
after he had attained in age nearly 
half a century. 

These were the French letters. This 
was the French plot. And I have rea- 
son to believe that in their eagerness 
to get some evidence against us the 
wiseacres by whom we had been kid- 
napped sent far across the country for 
some learned Theban to translate the 
aforesaid French out of the original 
Cherokee! 

My other papers consisted of tran- 
scripts of public documents, a book of 
private memoranda, some specimen 
copy books from the Missionary School 
at Brainerd, appeals, the latter already 
mentioned and never printed, signed 
"Washington," and the address which 
I had drawn up for the Cherokee Na- 
tion to the people of the United States. 
The former of these was not returned 
to me. If stolen, I can not conjec- 
ture wherefor. If it had been re- 
turned, although the publication had 
not been intended, events would have 
induced me to have enabled the public 
to judge of it, as I now enable them 
to do of the other paper''', which was 
meant for circulation, and only re- 
strained by its seizure and our deten- 
tion from being sent round for sig- 
natures by all the people. My coun- 
trymen will find it annexed. It will 
show them how far my accusers have 
been justified in attempting my de- 
struction as an exciter of the Cher- 
okees to rise and murder the whites ! 

I must not omit here to mention 
that often and often since this affair 
have I blessed the chance which kept 
out of my reach any of these aboli- 



72 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



tion pamphlets which have been so 
much talked about. I have never seen 
any and have had some desire to see 
one for I am in the habit of gather- 
ing scraps of that sort as curiosities, 
and if one had come in my way I 
should certainly have preserved it, as 
valuable for a future illustration of 
our times; and that would have sealed 
my fate, for had the slightest docu- 
ment of such a nature been discovered 
in my possession, no explanation could 
have saved me. A pretext, and not 
the truth, was wanted; and such an 
accident, and by no means an un- 
likely one, could ere this have cost 
my life upon a scaffold. 

Before I close my list of escapes, 
let me mention one more. Mr. Ross 
had told me during our ride when first 
captured how glad he was of the pre- 
cautions which had been taken a long 
time before to prevent any resentment 
on the part of the Indians of any 
wrong whatever to their nation or its 
chiefs. Some indignity to him had 
long been expected and he felt satis- 
fied that the Cherokees would be dis- 
creet. I learned afterwards, however, 
that the indignation of some of them 
at this enormity almost overpowered 
the efforts of their leaders to keep 
them patient. Had they attacked the 
camp for our rescue I am convinced 
that as a first step of the defenders, 
we should have been shot. A scheme 
was also on foot, I have been told, in 
the bordering counties of Tennessee, to 
raise a force and bring us and the 
Guard back over the line, and there 
punish the intruders. This attempt 
would equally have exposed our lives, 
and in either case we should have 
been branded as having caused a civil 
war, and the first bloodshed might 
have been made an excuse to extermi- 
nate the Indians. In more than one 
instance during our imprisonment I 
remarked some uneasiness in the camp, 
but have only since learned whence 
it probably arose. 

But to resume my story. I sent a 
messenger across the forest to Red 
Clay, for the purpose of knowing what 
had become of Mr. Ross. With the 
messenger next day Mr. Ross and his 
Assistant Principal Chief'' and Dr. 
Butler** came to congratulate me on 
my escape. Of Dr. Butler I ought to 
make some special mention. He was 
one of those who had been imprisoned 
in the Georgia penitentiary under the 
famous attack upon the Missionaries. 
He had deeply felt my danger, had 
written to my friends, though a 



stranger to them, in order that the 
result he secretly apprehended might 
not come upon their knowledge too 
suddenly, and had travelled a long road 
through a dreary night to seek influ- 
ence in my favor. His little family 
had implored Heaven for me with their 
prayers, and when I met them again, 
welcomed me with a touching enthu- 
siasm, which told the story of the peril 
I had escaped. It was when I went 
back with my visitors to the house 
of Mr. Ross that I saw them, and 
soon after, Mr. Ross and Mr. Lowry 
accompanied me as far as the agency. 
There the venerable Eena-tah-naah-eh, 
commonly called Going Snake, speaker 
of the Council, and one or two of its 
other members were in waiting to con- 
gratulate me. Old Eena-tah-naah-eh, 
though he could not speak a syllable 
of English, was eloquent with looks of 
joy. He had told Mr. Ross when he 
first called to see him after his eman- 
cipation, "It makes me happy to find 
you here. . But I am only half happy. 
I do not see our friend. I look at the 
chair where he used to sit, and it is 
empty. I look at the door and he does 
not enter. I listen for his voice, but 
all is silent." 

On hearing I was to be at the 
agency,*** the old man hastened thither. 
There, too, the officers of the United 
States army hailed me with the cor- 
diality of compatriots and gentlemen, 
feeling that the republic had been in- 
f:ulted in the treatment I had received, 
a spirit which appeared to prevail 
wherever I happened to pass people in 
my lonely ride to Knoxville, where I 
have had ample proof that Tennessee 
disdains the baseness of which I have 
been the victim within her sway. 

It may be asked whence this high- 
handed outrage of which Mr. Ross and 
myself have been the victims arose. 
There must have been some cause for 
it. The only cause I can guess for 
it is this : There was a wish to get 
possession of certain documents re- 
garding the treaty discussions from 
Mr. Ross, which had been asked for 
by the government agents and not 
given. It was known that I had made 
copies of all the recent public docu- 
ments of the Cherokee nation. The 
seizure of the papers of both Mr. Ross 
and myself would probably supply all 
that had been asked. Thei-e was no 



* George Lowrey. 

**Rev. Elijah Butler, who had charge of Mis- 
sionary Station at Coosa, and who had spent 
a year and four months in the penitentiary at 
Milledgeville for "interfering" with the Indians. 

***Calhoun, Tenn. 



John Howard Payne's Arrest by the Georgia Guard 



73 



force sufficiently lawless to undertake 
this but the Georgia Guard. Having 
adventured on the step, it was re- 
quisite to invent a pretext, and to 
cover themselves from indignation by 
keeping us out of view until the coun- 
try could be excited against us. The 
mad-dog cry of the day is Abolitionist. 
That was the most obvious mode of 
strangling complaint against the in- 
jury, for it was the most certain to 
get the injured themselves strangled, 
and "dead men tell no tales." Besides, 
if a mob rould be raised, mischief 
could be done without responsibility. 
In order to make "assurance doubly 
sure"* the slander was heightened 
by the imputations of a French and 
Indian, connected with a negro plot, for 
universal massacre. The scheme, how- 
ever, did not take the effect expected. 
Then was Mr. Ross set free, under the 
plea, probably, that he had more 
friends than I. He was even treated 
at the dismissal with a show of court- 
liness, that his story might discredit 
mine. 

I was probably detained after him 
for two reasons. My papers contain- 
ed fair copies of all such among his 
as might be wanted. Mine were fair- 
ly written and arranged and could 
more easily be made use of by the 
transcriber. It was convenient to keep 
me until copies could be made of what- 
ever Cherokee documents the parties 
concerned might think useful. 

The other reason appears very like- 
ly to have been this : Alone and a 
stranger in a strange place, I might 
be made the readier victim could a 
stir be raised against me, either with- 
in the camp or within the neighbor- 
hood. The frequent mention by the 
officers of my having "abused the 
guard" was intended to spirit them 
to do me an injury. I heard one of 
them intimate with some indignation 
one day that he himself so understood 
it. To them and to all, my continued 
imprisonment was doubtless meant to 
convey the idea of proven guilt. The 
mode of my dismissal was evidently 
intended to be understood as an en- 
couragement to any violence that the 
"boys" within might choose to perpe- 
trate, and the hostile pursuit by threats 
as an excitement to the "boys" with- 
out. By crushing me, my persecutors 
might crush a witness and prevent 
future inquiry. Perhaps I was only 
saved by taking a road which no one 



*A favorite expression used by Woodrow 
Wilson. 

**So far as is known, Ross remained silent. 



expected I w-ould take, though, in 
truth, as I said before, I think the 
"boys" considerably better than their 
leaders. 

But whatever the pretext for this 
enormity, there can be no excuse. If 
my visit to the house of Mr. Ross 
was objected to by the government 
agents, a hint would have been enough. 
If doubt were entertained of the na- 
ture of my memoranda, a request 
would have opened them to examina- 
tion. Violence would have been early 
enough when a disposition had been 
shown to respect gentleness. But that 
I was re-ally engaged in any plot of 
any sort, I am persuaded never was 
believed by those who have commit- 
ted this outrage. What could I gain 
by the Cherokees? Every moment that 
I have passed in their country has 
been a loss to me and an inconven- 
ience. Nothing which they can offer 
can render me services, and men do not 
contrive treason when they can gain 
no advantage. I have been swayed in 
the very little I have gathered re- 
garding the Cherokees by a pure and 
distinterested wish to render my own 
country service, in leading it to be 
simply just to theirs, and I have wish- 
ed to' supply myself with such mate- 
rial that the fairness which it might 
be impossible for me to excite for them 
from present legislation, I might my- 
self bestow on them in future history. 
In party questions I take no interest. 
I repeat again and again that I have 
looked into this matter as a philan- 
thropist, not as a politician. 

Mr. Ross will presently tell his own 
story.** His affairs have prevented 
him' from joining me here in time to 
give it to the world with mine. I have 
wished to put my portion of the facts 
on record as speedily as possible, be- 
cause I am aware that great false- 
hood must be resorted to by my op- 
pressors in order to prevent public in- 
dignation against a great wrong. In- 
deed, with such foes and such modes 
as they adopt for gaining ends and 
such a" long and lonely road to travel, 
who knows how soon the complaincr 
may bo yet silenced? It is but a week 
since I was a prisoner. But whatever 
may be the risk, I deem it a duty to 
my' country not to shirk from speak- 
ing the entire truth. 

People of Tennessee, to you I appeal ! 
I was a peaceful visitor to your state. 
I had dwelt in it some weeks. A band 
of armed men, who, in overpassing the 
limits of their own region, surely ren- 
dered themselves felons and banditti. 



74 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



burst into my retreat at midnight, 
dragged me four and twenty miles 
through a forest and during a drench- 
ing tempest. I was denied to com- 
municate with friends, with your gov- 
ernment, with our common protector, 
the President of the Union. I was 
denied a knowledge of the charge 
against me, or my accuser. After 
nearly two weeks of imprisonment I 
was insultingly and without examina- 
tion ordered back into Tennessee by 
the Captain of the outlaws who had 
laughed at your power of protection, 
your own chartered boundaries to 
scorn. People of Tennessee, will you 
bear these things? Will you see your 
hospitality thus dishonored? Will you 
know that the stranger who comes to 
visit you can not be safe, even in his 
blamelessness, from injury and in- 
sult within your domain? 

People of Georgia, I appeal to you! 
I came among you as a fellow coun- 
tryman. I came to make myself ac- 
quainted with your history and your 
character and with the numberless 
natural beauties and with the count- 
less riches of your domain. I came 
under the guarantee of the compact 
between the sister states of the Re- 
public, which secures to the citizens 
of each unobstructed communication 
with all. I came relying upon the 
spirit of hospitality which has distin- 
guished the South. I have told you 
how I have been treated. If any mem- 
ber of the Republic has been especially 
remarkable for her resistance to the in- 
trusion of one state upon the rights 
of another, it is Georgia. How, then, 
can I believe that she will uphold her 
officers, who have in the most glar- 
ing and the coarsest manner been 
guilty of such an intrusion? I do not, 
therefore, identify the state with the 
wrongs. I can not again enter the 
state until the people do the justice 
to tell me that I have judged them 
fairly in believing they feel themselves 
insulted by the insults which have 
been heaped in their name upon a 
neighboring power and upon the con- 
stitution, our common protector — in 
the person of a stranger, a country- 
man, a friend. 

My fellow citizens throughout my 
native land! To all of you alike I 
appeal, for there is not one in our 
Republic to whom this case is not of 
vital import. It is not a party, but 
a universal question, and I doubt not 



but that the Chief Magistrate of the 
Republic, whose government has been 
prophaned by being made by subal- 
terns to seem the source of the wrong, 
will be foremost in declaring this 
enormity. Insulting inquisitions, dom- 
iciliary visits, midnight intrusions into 
the sanctuary of homes, seizure by 
armed men of private papers, the im- 
prisonment and secreting of citizens, 
without the disclosure either of the 
charge or the accuser, contempt of the 
boundaries of the states, mockery of 
the hallowed privileges of the consti- 
tution — all these the worst deeds of 
the basest despotism have been per- 
petuated already in the instance now 
before you, and if you do not rise like 
men and declare such things shall not 
be suffered, not a citizen among you 
can say he sleeps in safety! 

This is no idle declamation. It has 
happened to me and it may happen to 
any one of you. The Rubicon has 
been passed. But think of me, think 
of yourselves, think of those most dear 
to you, to whom you would bequeath 
the freedom you inherited. Not for 
personal chagrin, but for the honor 
of our country I will tell you, and oh! 
let not posterity echo the assertion 
as a prophecy, if tamely you look on 
and see these things, unmoved ! I care 
not for proscriptions nor for bayonets; 
neither the Guards of Georgia nor the 
denunciations of reckless and wily and 
insidious hirelings shall frighten me 
into silence; for I will tell you and 
with my last breath, if tamely you 
behold these things you are only slaves 
— heartless, abject slaves, and un- 
worthy of the immortal ancestors who 
bravely fought and nobly died to make 
their country free. But for this, I am 
satisfied, you will give no cause. The 
spirit of your fathers is not dead with- 
in you. My country will not see even 
the humblest of her sons oppressed. 
JOHN HOWARD PAYNE. 

Saturday, November, 1835.* 



♦Evidently Nov. 28. Since he was released 
Friday, Nov. 20. he could not have reached 
Knoxville, 125 miles, in less than four days. 
Payne was born June S, 1792, at 33 Pearl St., 
New York, N. Y., and died at 60 years of age 
Apr. 10. 1852, while serving as United States 
consul at Tunis, Morocco. He lay buried there 
until W. W. Corcoran, of Washington, D. C, 
brought his body back to his native land late 
in March, 1883, and reinterred it in George- 
town, a suburb of Washington. He corre- 
sponded with such literary lights as Washing- 
ton Irving (who also died a bachelor), Samuel 
Taylor Coleridge and Chas. Lamb, and roomed 
with Irving in Paris for a while. 



CHAPTER IV 
Aftermath of the Payne- Ross Affair 



THE arrest of Payne and 
Ross stirred up a "hornet's 
nest" in Georgia and Ten- 
nessee and to a less extent 
at Washington and throughout 
the country. Governor William 
Schley had just come into of- 
fice at jMilledgeville as the suc- 
cessor of Wilson Lumpkin, and 
he was bombarded with protests. 
President Jackson was bombard- 
ed at Washington. A volunteer 
force of soldiers was organized in 
Tennessee to patrol "the border" 
and keep the rambunctious Geor- 
gians on their "own side." Con- 
gress and the Georgia Legislature 
prepared to review the case. The 
Georgia Guard began to "spew 
out." 

Major Currey explained to Presi- 
dent Jackson through Elbert Her- 
ring, commissioner of Indian Af- 
fairs, and called Payne a prevari- 
cator. He was supposed to have 
ordered the arrest, or at least to 
have inspired it. Some said the 
order came from Milledgeville. 
Schermerhorn contended that he 
was at Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he 
heard the news ; had nothing to do 
with it. l)ut \v(iuld have had Payne 
arrested had he knoAvn of his de- 
signs. 

Two Indians from near Rome 
figured in the afifair. Payne's ac- 
count mentions that one of them 
hung himself in the guard house at 
v^pring Place, which became his 
own "home" for nearly a fortnight. 
Combatting Payne's statement that 
the Indian was driven to despera- 
tion by the Georgia Guard, Major 
Currey offered this cxj^lanation : 

*The Howling Wolf was oC the Chickamaugra 
District, which included part of Rome. He was 
no dout)t identical with Crying Wolf. Rohbin 
was a member of Challoogee district, which in- 
clude<l half of Floyd County. Goth attended the 
Running Waters council in .luly, and Robbin 
voted with the faction U'<l by Ridge. 



The HowHng Wolf, charged with 
stabbing an Indian for supporting the 
treaty, and Lowny, or Robbin, charged 
with killing and robbing a white man, 
were being held at Spring Place. An 
old man named Trigg was arrested 
and confined with the Indians; he 
told them their own people would shoot 
them through the cracks of the cala- 
boose in the early morning. Lowny, 
or Robbin, tried to persuade the Howl- 
ing Wolf that they should hang them- 
selves. The latter refused, but the 
former committed suicide by hanging 
from a rafter with a small cord that 
had been tied loosely to his arms.* 

The occurrence was avcII calcu- 
lated to inflame public oj^inion. 
John Ross knew this, and he tact- 
fully refrained from rusliing into 
the discussion. Theodore Freling- 
huysen, Edward Everett, Jas. K. 
Polk, Jno. C. Calhoun, Sam Hous- 
ton, John Bell, Plugh Lawson 
White and other leading" friends 
of the Indians took up the cudgels 
at Washington. Mr. Bell, who be- 
came the candidate of the Constitu- 
tional Union party for President 
in 1860 (with Mr.^ Everett in the 
minor position) undertook to 
bring abcutt a Cmigressional in- 
vestigation. 

The Georgia Journal, of Mil- 
ledgeville, a consistent opponent of 
CjOV. Lumpkin and his "strong-arm 
gang," ])rinted tlie following pro- 
test under date of Tuesdav, Nov. 
24,1835: 

A rumor reached us sometime since 
of another outrage committed by the 
Georgia Guard. It was vague and 
uncertain, however, and as we did not 
wish to array in the catalogue of vio- 
lations of law committed by this arm- 
ed force a single outrage that was not 
.stated on good authority, we hesitated 
to give it publicity. This rumor has 
l)roved true. 

It seems that this Guard, under the 
command of one of the subalterns, 
crossed the line of the State and kid- 
napped from the State of Tennessee 
John Ross, the principal chief of the 



76 



A History of Rome and Fi.oyd County 




A FEW THINGS THE INDIANS LEFT BEHIND. 

Here is part of Wesley O. Connor's collection of relics at Cave Spring. These articles 
were mostly uncovered on the Moultrie farm, Foster's Bend, Coosa River, in the freshets of 
1881 and 1886. Included among the more obvious articles are a bone necklace, Indian money, 
spear points and arrow heads, pipes, pestles and bits of pottery. The skulls are undoubtedly 
Indian. 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



77 



Cherokees. They also arrested John 
Howard Payne, a gentleman of great 
celebrity in the literary world. 

The pitiful reason urged to palliate 
this gross enormity seems to have been 
that Mr. Payne "was conspiring 
against the welfare of Georgia." Mr. 
Payne's real offense, in the eyes of 
these vandals, was his copying certain 
documents relative to the manners and 
customs of the Indian tribes, which 
their wiseacre of a leader construed to 
be high treason against the State. 

It was indeed time that this scourge 
to the peaceful citizens of Murray 
County was removed ; it is high time 
the military rule and despotism was 
made to give place to the authority of 
the laws. We should like to inquire 
of the Governor by what legal author- 
ity these arrests were made, and why 
on the receipt of information orders 
were not immediately given for the re- 
lease of the prisoners? 

The officious members of this armed 
force ought to be made to smart in 
damages; an action on the case for il- 
legal arrest and false imprisonment 
will clearly be made against them.* 

John H. Underwood, Rome gro- 
cer, who was a member of the 
Guard in the arrest, did not give 
any interviews to newspaper ed- 
itors, so all he observed is lost save 
what little he told Bill Arp, wdiich 
is to 1)6 found elsewhere herein. 
Rut a number of others "writ upon 
time's immortal scroll." 

Thatcher T. Payne, a brother of 
John Howard, penned the follow- 
ing letter : 

**New York, N. Y., Nov. 27, 1835. 
Hon. Lewis Cass, 
Secretary of War, 
Washington, D. C. 

Sir: I have just received informa- 
tion that my brother, John Howard 
Payne, on the night of the 10th of 
November,'^** inst., while in company 
with John Ross, the Cherokee chief, at 
his dwelling in the Cherokee nation, 

♦Payne's effort to have something definite done 
at Washington failed, and in a letter from 
New York to C.en. Harden at Athens in 1S36, he 
said he would try to proceed against Col. Bishop, 
Major Currey and Sergt. Wilson Young. 

*'Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835), ps. 488-9. 

***.]ohn Howard's own statement says it was 
Saturday, Nov. 7, near midnight. 

****The brother estimated 21 miles. Blue 
Spring, Bradley County, Tenn., where the ar- 
rest took place, is eight miles north of the 
Georgia line, and about 10 miles from Spring 
Place as one would travel by horseback in 1835. 



was seized by a party of about 25 of 
the Georgia Guard, and conducted by 
them to their headquarters, at about 
20**** miles distant from the place of 
seizure, where, as I am informed, he 
is now imprisoned. 

Mr. Payne's general object, in a 
tour through the western and south- 
ern states, has been partly to obtain 
subscribers to a periodical work in 
which English and American writers 
may meet upon equal ground, and 
partly to collect such materials for his 
own contributions to the woi'k as a 
personal acquaintance with the various 
peculiarities of our diversified country 
may supply. To one acquainted with 
his pacific disposition and exclusive 
literary habits, the supposition of his 
entertaining any views politically dan- 
gerous, either in reference to Georgia 
or the United States in their respec- 
tive relations to the Cherokees if it were 
not accompanied with results pain- 
ful and perhaps perilous to himself, 
would seem ludicrous. My informant, 
a stranger, states that "it is there re- 
ported that he is considered by the of- 
ficers of Government to be a spy." 
Whether by officers of Government is 
meant those of Georgia or of the Unit- 
ed States I am not informed. He like- 
wise states that "Mr. Payne is sup- 
posed to have had some influence in 
producing the failure of a late treaty 
v/ith the Cherokees." 

In the present excited state of feel- 
ing in that section of the country, on 
subjects connected with the Indian re- 
moval, there may, perhaps, be serious 
danger to the personal safety of one 
coming under suspicions of the char- 
acter above alluded to, however 
groundless. 

I take the liberty, I hope not un- 
warrantable, to request and urge a 
speedy inquiry into the circumstances 
of the case, and the use of the means 
within the province of your depart- 
ment of the Government to procure his 
release, if, as will undoubtedly ap- 
pear upon investigation, he shall be 
found to have been wrongfully de- 
tained. 

I am, with great respect, your obe- 
dient servant, 

THATCHER T. PAYNE. 

Payne himself was making (luill 
and ink fly, to such an extent that 
Col. ilishop resigned his commis- 
sion in December. Soon thereafter 
the Standard of I'nioii threw Bish- 
op this l)ou([Uct : 



78 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Col. Bishop at Home. — Aftei' all the 
abuse that has been heaped upon Col. 
Bishop as a man and a public officer, 
the people of Murray have given an 
additional proof of their confidence in 
his capacity and integrity to serve 
them. From the returns of the elec- 
tion in that county on the first Mon- 
day in January last (1836), Col. Wm. 
N. Bishop received for the office of 
clerk of the superior court 158 votes, 
and his opponent 12. We are sincere- 
ly gratified at the support which Col. 
Bishop has received from his country- 
men, and hold it as the highest evi- 
dence of his value as a private citizen 
and a public officer. Well done, Mur- 
ray County; you know you are right 
— go ahead! 

As for Georgia, "Never again !" 
exclaimed the outraged playwright 
and budding historian in a letter 
of Dec. 5 from Knoxville to Gen. 
Harden :* 

My Dear Sir: You have no doubt 
ere this heard of my adventures. I 
sent you the statement by last post. 
Have you ever known of a more im- 
pudent enormity? There has been a 
public meeting here, spirited and dig- 
nified. The proceedings will, I hope, 
be printed at Athens. This example 
ought to be followed throughout the 
Union ; I hope especially, for these 
measures offer the only opportunity he 
has of casting the blame upon the de- 
linquents who deserve it. 

I have no time to write now, but 
could not allow myself to depart on 
my way homeward without a card of 
remembrance. It will perhaps be as 
well for me not to make my line of 
march generally known, but I want to 
go to Hamburg''* because my trunks 
are all in Augusta, Ga. I shall never 
enter again without a formal public 
invitation. I will go to the border and 
look in.*** 

It would give me sincere pleasure to 
find a line from you at the Augusta 
postoffice. 

Mr. Ross and many of the delega- 
tion are here. Many have made for- 
mal protest against their mission from 
Currcy, but of this they take no heed. 

Mj way must be made alone and on 
horseback. I should not wonder if 
these scoundrels made my journey a 
longei one than I have intended. But 
no matter if the worst happens — I shall 
not be the first who has not lived out 
his time in a free country, and unless 



the nation awakens, shall not be the 
last! 

Pray offer my best remembrances 
to Mrs. Harden, your daughter, son, 
to Col. Hamilton and family, to Judge 
Clayton, in short, to all. 

From Knoxville, Dec. 2, Payne 
had written S. L. Fairchild, of Phil- 
adelphia, Pa. :**** 

(Private.) 
Dear Fairchild : 

I write to you in great haste, and 
enclose the statement of a great wrong 
I have suffered. I wish you to exert 
your talent on this affair, not because 
I have been personally insulted, but 
because it is only by a strong expres- 
sion of feeling that any man's liberty 
can be secured. There is no freedom 
in America if these things can be tol- 
erated. 

If I reach Charleston, S. C, in 
safety, I shall be there just in time 
to have your answer, provided you 
wish further information. At any rate, 
it will afford me sincere pleasure to 
hear of you and your fortunes. 

With regards to all at home, and 
believe me, most truly yours, 

JOHN HOWARD PAYNE. 

In a communication from Wash- 
ington on Mar. 3, 1836, to Secre- 
tary of War Lewis Cass, Mr. 
Schermerhorn commented as fol- 
lows on the Payne-Ross af- 

Permit me also to make a few ob- 
servations in reference to the arrest 
of Messrs. John Howard Payne and 
John Ross by the Georgia Guard, 
which, I perceive from the public pa- 
pers, they charge or insinuate was 
done by the direction of the commis- 
sioner and agent of the Government. 

Although the statements of Mr. 
Payne in reference to myself were ex- 
ceedingly unjust and incorrect, I could 
not condescend to a newspaper con- 

*Courtesy of Miss Evplyn Harden Jackson, 
of Harden Home, Athens, a cousin of Miss Mary 
Harden and author of an interesting booklet on 
the love affair between the college beauty and 
Mr. Payne. 

♦♦Hamburg, Aiken County, S. C, across the 
Savannah river from Augusta. 

***Miss Jackson is authority for the state- 
ment that Payne came back in 1842 to Athens 
to "re-press his suit," but that he had no bet- 
ter success than before. 

****Courtesy of Mr. G. H. Buek, vice-presi- 
dent of the American Lithographic Co., New 
York, N. Y., and owner of the old Payne home 
(and collection) at Easthampton, Long Island. 

*****Report of Secretary of War on Chero- 
kee Treaty (183.5), p. ,5.38. 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



79 



troversy with him; therefore, I have 
passed it by in silence; but lest my 
silence should be interpreted by some 
of the members of the Senate, as I 
find it has been by some others, as 
a tacit acknowledgement of the truth 
of his statement, I now say that I 
had no knowledge or agency, directly 
or indirectly, in this matter. 

The first information I received on 
this subject was through the Geor- 
gia newspapers, while I was at Tusca- 
loosa, Ala.; and immediately on hear- 
ing it I left there, to use my best en- 
deavors to obtain their release, and I 
arrived at the agency only a few days 
after Mr. Payne had been liberated. 
It was owing to my interference that 
Mr. Ross was not taken by the Geor- 
gia Guard last July,''^ for some vio- 
lations of the laws of that State. 

I must, however, say that it is evi- 
dent from Mr. Payne's own state- 
ments, which he has given to the pub- 
lic, that he did interfere at Red Clay 
in a very improper and unwarrantable 
manner with the negotiations then 
pending between the Government and 
the Cherokee Indians, and I should 
have been perfectly justifiable to have 
had him arrested and removed from 
the treaty ground; and if I had known 
what he has since disclosed of the part 
he acted there, I should have done it. 

A Legislative conmiittee severe- 
ly scored the C.uard :** 

The committee to whom were refer- 
red the several communications of His 
Excellency, the Governor, on the sub- 
ject of the establishment of the Geor- 
gia Guard in the Cherokee Circuit, 
have had the same under considera- 
tion, and beg leave to make the follow- 
ing report: 

. . . Your Committee beg to proceed 
now to the further discharge of their 
duty, by enquiring, first, as to the con- 
duct of the Guard in the recent arrest 
and detention of John Howard Payne. 
. . . Your Committee greatly regret 
that they have not all the facts in 
such a shape that implicit credit might 
be given to them. They are compell- 
ed then, in the investigation of this 
branch of the subject, to discard all 
the contradictory statements found in 
newspapers, and to decide only from 
such facts as have been legitimately 
brought before them, in the commu- 
nications of the Governor. 

It is, however, admitted on all hands 



♦Concurrently with the pow-wow near Rome. 
**House Journal (1835), ps. 427-433. 



that the recent arrest of Mr. Payne 
was made in the State of Tennessee. 
Your Committee conceives that the 
Guard transcended their power in 
crossing the line of the State of Geor- 
gia to arrest an individual out of the 
limits of this State. And your Com- 
mittee believes that it was an act of 
which the sovereign State of Tennes- 
see has just right of complaint against 
the authorities of Georgia. The only 
testimony before your Committee rel- 
ative to the arrest of Mr. Payne will 
be found in the communication of His 
Excellency, William Schley, of the 10th 
instant. ... It appears then to your 
Committee that the Georgia Guard, in 
the recent arrest of John Howard 
Payne, trampled under foot the Con- 
stitution of the United States. . . . How 
long he was kept under guard before 
the arrival of Col. Bishop at Spring 
Place your Committee are uninform- 
ed. . . . But the commander of the 
Guard says, after examining his pa- 
pers, and finding him guilty of no 
offense for which he was answerable 
in our courts, I, the commander of the 
Guard, kept him in custody a few days 
and then discharged him. 

Your Committee would ask with 
feelings of mortification, why he was 
kept in custody one minute beyond the 
time when it was ascertained he had 
committed no offense. Was it to pun- 
ish him for his indiscreet statements 
in relation to the Georgia Guard? Per- 
haps so. But in so doing the Guard 
have violated every principle of the 
Constitution, which guarantees liberty 
and equal rights to the citizens of 
this country. They have jeopardized 
the character and reputation of the 
state of Georgia abroad, by this act 
of wanton and uncalled for vandalism, 
and will bring down upon the people 
of the State the inevitable and odious 
charge of inhospitality and cruelty to 
the stranger. . . . 

Resolved, That the Legislature high- 
ly disapproves of the conduct of the 
Georgia Guard in the recent arrest 
and confinement of John Howard 
Payne in the Cherokee Nation. 

Tlic ])n )-a(lministrati(>n press 
sounded a diUc-reiil note tm tlie in- 
cident. .\. Nashville Uaniier view 
proved good enougli lor the Geor- 
e-ia Telegraph (Macon) of Thurs- 
day, Dec. 24. lS.i\ and The Tele- 
graph reprinted it Ncrhatini : 

Mr. John Howard Payne, who, to- 
gether with John Ross, the Cherokee 



80 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



chief, was lately seized at the house 
of the latter by the Georgia Guard, has 
availed himself of the occasion to in- 
flict upon the public eight mortal col- 
umns of the dullest, most fatiguing 
narrative it was ever our fortune to 
encounter. A concise statement of the 
principal facts connected with the out- 
rage, if given in about half a column 
of an ordinary newspaper, would have 
been read with interest ; but to wade 
through this mass of verbiage merely 
to learn that Messrs. Ross and Payne 
were seized by a party of desperadoes, 
called the Georgia Guard, carried over 
the Georgia line, kept under duress 
for a day or two and then released, 
would be paying quite too much for 
the whistle. 

If Mr. Payne succeeds in making 
his intended "literary periodical" as 
uninteresting as he has this account 
of his capture, it will certainly be a 
remarkable work! 

Governor Lumpkin's explanation 
admitted the illegality of the seiz- 
ure, but gave Payne very much of 
a left-handed vindication :* 

It was while these efforts were mak- 
ing to induce the Cherokees to emi- 
grate that the literary pursuits of the 
celebrated John Howard Payne led 
him to visit the Cherokee people and 
country. He was known to be strong- 
ly opposed to the views of the Gov- 
ernment in regard to Indian emigra- 
tion and this led to his arrest by Col. 
Bishop, the State's agent. The arrest 
was both premature and illegal, but the 
impertinent intermeddling of Payne 
was very unbecoming a stranger, a 




"BIG JOHN" UNDERWOOD, Rome grocer, 
who was one of the Georgia Guard detail 
which arrested Payne. 



gentleman, or an author professedly 
collecting facts for history. He was 
the partisan, if not the agent, of North- 
ern fanatics, whose avocation is to re- 
pent for the sins of everybody except 
themselves. 

The charge made by Payne that 
President Jackson (through his 
agents) had offered Ross a bribe 
stirred Washington as mtich as the 
arrest itself.** This charge was 
carried in an anonymous commu- 
nication printed by several news- 
papers in the "Pr.yne Free-Serv- 
ice Syndicate," and is believed to 
h.ave been played up especially by 
the Knoxville Register, wi;h whose 
editor Payne's liaison was com- 
I'lete.*** The sum and substance 
was that Ross could have had 
$50,000 if he had stood out of the 
way of the Cherokee removal ; a 
Creek chief is said to have offered 
it to him, and to have been ordered 
from the wrathy presence of Ross. 

Here is the anonymous communi- 
cation attributed to Payne. It was 
undoubtedly written from the Red 
Clay Council ground in Whitfield 
County, one day before the council 
convened with Payne prominently 
present : 

****Cherokee Nation, 
Tennessee Border, 
Sunday, Oct. 11, 1835. 

Sir : I am no politician. Of this 
you are aware. I generally avoid, if 
possible, even thinking upon what are 
called political questions. Their dis- 
cussion is apt forthwith to become 
personal, and instead of eliciting truth, 
to produce brawls. But there are 
points of policy upon which we are 
sometimes forced to think; and when 
we are called upon to detest the Mus- 
sulman for his tyranny over the Greek, 
and to pity the exile from what once 
was Poland, we are at a loss to be- 
lieve that there are scenes passing in 
our free country at this very moment, 

*Removal of the Cherokee Indians from Geor- 
gia (Lumpkin), Vol. 2, p. 265. 

**Authorities: Letter of Apr. 16, 1836, Major 
Currey to Elbert Herring, Commissioner of In- 
dian Affairs, and Exhibit 14 as inclosure of 
Bame, both included in Report of Secretary of 
War on Cherokee Treaty (183.5), ps. 549-590. 

***Payne asserted it was never published, but 
Maj. Currey's report to Jackson claimed The 
Register editor used it anonymously. 

****E.xhibit 14 of Currey inclosures. 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



81 



to which both the Turk and the Rus- 
sian might triumphantly appeal, for a 
sanction to the despotism at which all 
have shuddered. Shall I tell you what 
they are? 

In travelling through Georgia I, of 
course, heard frequent mention of the 
Cherokees; but I took little heed of 
what I heard. I considered the Cher- 
okees as they had been represented, 
as but the miserable remnant of a 
broken race, given up to all sorts of 
degradation; and I thought the sooner 
they could be transported beyond the 
bounds of civilization, the better for 
the world. Accident, however, brought 
me to some very different views of the 
question. I inquired more thoroughly. 
I determined to judge them with my 
own eyes. I purchased a horse, trav- 
ersed the forests alone and went among 
them. 

Still I was perplexed. I was desir- 
ous of seeing the head men of the na- 
tion ; I was particularly desirous of 
seeing John Ross. Some Georgian told 
me I ought not to see him, that he 
was a selfish, and a sordid, and a si- 
lent man, in whom I should take no 
interest, from whom I should obtain 
no information. At one moment I had 
turned aside from my purpose, and 
was proceeding homeward. But I felt 
as if my errand would be a fruitless 
one if I went away. So, little instruct- 
ed, I changed my course, and travelled 
the wilderness for three days to the 
abode of Mr. Ross. 

I found Mr. Ross a different man 
in every respect from what I had heard 
him represented to be. His person is 
of the middle size, rather under than 
over; his age is about five and forty; 
he is mild, intelligent and entirely un- 
affected. I told him my object. He 
received me with cordiality. He said 
he regi-etted than he had only a log 
cabin of but one room to invite me to, 
but he would make no apologies. If 
I could put up with rough fare, he 
should be glad if I would stay with 
him. 

From a visitor I afterwards learn- 

*Fourth Ward, site of Rome. 

♦♦Lavender or Alto. 

***Al)out 10 o'clock, according to Ross. 

****SilaK and (um). W. R<jss were undoubtedly 
born at Rome, and an infant died there and 
was buried on the lot, as was Daniel Ross, 
father of John. 

*****Land Lot 237, Twenty-third, District 
Third Section (160 acres) was drawn by Hugh 
Brown, of Deavour's District, Habersham Co., 
Ga. The office of the Secretary of State, the 
Capitol, Atlanta, has the date Nov. 11, 183.'). 
Most of the lottery drawings were held in Oc- 
tober, 1H32. Land lot 244 was drawn by 
Stephen Carter, of Robinson's District, Fayette 
County. (The Cherokee Land Lottery, p. 288). 



ed how the principal chief happened to 
live in such discomfort. The story con- 
tains the story at this moment of the 
whole nation. Last winter he was 
delegated with others to Washington, 
in order to attempt a treaty upon 
available terms — such terms as his 
people would accept. He could not 
obtain such. It was evening when he 
had arrived, on his returning way, 
within twenty miles of the dwelling he 
had left, then a beautiful abode at the 
head of Coosa'% upon a rising ground, 
overlooking a luxuriant plain below, 
and rivers running through it, and in 
the distance a noble mountain.^'''' A 
friend desired him to remain all night. 
No, he was approaching home after a 
long absence; he was impatient to see 
his family. He hurried on. In the 
dead of night''' ''''•' he aroused the house; 
strange voices answered him. His fam- 
ily had just been turned from the spot 
where his children were cradled.**** 
and it was occupied by a Georgian. 
The land was drawn in the Georgia 
lottery,***** and though not claim- 
able until the Indians should be remov- 
ed by treaty, was seized in his absence 
to petition Congress for his country — 
seized under the delusion of that way- 
ward and selfish policy which has led 
Georgia to defy the General Govern- 
ment and all its solemn pledges to pro- 
tect the Indians and vindicate its 
honor, in not swerving from its treat- 
ies. 

It was this hard conduct which had 
driven the principal chief to one of 
the humblest dwellings in his nation. 
But he made no complaint, even after 
I had grown familiar with him. I 
learned this wrong from other lips. 

Some of your readers may have 
glanced, but lightly, as I did, at the 
real position of the Cherokee case. 
Though so often and so eloquently 
stated, I will recapitulate it in brief; 
disputes between the General Govern- 
ment and Georgia were a long time ago 
compromised by an arrangement for 
certain advantages for Georgia, in re- 
turn for advantages given by her to 
the General Government; and as a part 
of the compensation from the Govern- 
ment, Georgia was to receive the 
Cherokee lands, as soon as the Indian 
title could be peaceably extinguished, 
and upon reasonable terms. But the 
Cherokees are proverbial, and have 
been so for ages, for a peculiar devot- 
edness to their native soil. 

"The Cherokees, in their disposition 
and manners, are grave and steady; 
dignified and circumspect in their de- 



82 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



portment; rather slow and reserved in 
their conversation, yet frank, cheerful 
and humane; "tenacious of the liber- 
ties and natural rights of man; secret, 
deliberate and determined in their 
councils; honest, just and liberal, and 
ready always to sacrifice every pleas- 
ure and gratification, even their blood 
and life itself, to defend their terri- 
tory and maintain their rights." — Bar- 
haiii's* Travels, 1791, London Edi- 
tion, Page 483. 

"It may be remarked that the Cher- 
okees differ in some respects from 
other Indian nations that have wan- 
dered from place to place and fixed 
their habitations in separate districts. 
From time immemorial they have had 
possession of the same territory, which 
at present they occupy. They affirm 
that their forefathers sprung from 
that ground, or descended from the 
clouds upon those hills. These lands 
of their ancestors they value above all 
things in the world; they venerate the 
places where their bones lie interred, 
and esteem it disgraceful in the high- 
est degree to relinquish these sacred 
repositories. The man who would re- 
fuse to take the field in defense of 
these hereditary possessions is regard- 
ed by them as a coward and treated 
as an outcast from their nation." — 
Historical account of the rise and 
progress of South Carolina and Geor- 
gia, Vol. II, 201, London, 1777. 

This was known to the Georgians. 
This has been felt by the General Gov- 
ernment in the extreme difficulty 
which it has experienced in the at- 
tempt to persuade the Cherokees to 
part with their lands. Millions after 
millions of acres were reluctantly 
wrung from them, until at length 
they came to a pause: "We have not 
lands enough," exclaimed they, "for 
ourselves; we part with no more land!" 
A Creek chief endeavored to tamper 
with their councils and offered a 
bribe from the United States of many 
thousand dollars to their principal men, 
if they would countenance the sale of 
the country to our Government; but 
their principal men repelled the bribe, 
and drove the Creek from their terri- 
tory with scorn. 

Threats and gold and persecution 
and sufferings unprecedented have 
been equally incapable of overpower- 
ing their sacred love for the wild 
wood of their birth and the resting- 
place of their ancestors. Other Indians 
have been lured away, but the Chero- 
kee remains inflexible. And when the 
Georgian asks, "Shall savages infest 



our borders thus?" the Cherokee an- 
swers him, "Do we not read; have we 
not schools, churches, manufactures; 
have we not laws, letters, a constitu- 
tion; and do you call us savages?" 

The Georgian can only reply by 
pointing to a troop of border cavalry 
whose appearance reminds one of ban- 
ditti more than of soldiers, and ex- 
claiming "dare prate to us and these 
men's muskets shall be our spokes- 
men!" 

And true enough it is that they are 
not savages. Never has a tribe of the 
aborigines made such advances in civ- 
ilization. They have even produced 
among themselves an alphabet and let- 
ters of a fashion entirely original, and 
they have books among them printed 
with their own letters in their own 
language, and with this alphabet they 
daily communicate from one end of 
the nation to the other; they clothe 
themselves in stuffs of their own man- 
ufacture ; they have made roads, 
bridges, established a seat of Govern- 
ment. But Georgia has hated them 
the more because of their civilization; 
she has made it treason for them to 
keep up their courts and councils and 
laws; she has broken down their turn- 
pikes and bridges, and denies them the 
right of appearing to testify in her 
courts against any insult or injury 
they may receive. They have conse- 
quently removed their seat of internal 
government beyond her borders to the 
corner of another State,** and the de- 
crees issued thence are obeyed with rev- 
erence even by the offender, who 
knows if he were to resist, he would be 
upheld by the stronger power, to which 
he never will appeal, because he re- 
gards it as the irreconcilable foe of 
l;is country. 

This state of things has convinced 
all parties of the necessity for a set- 
tlement of the question, by the re- 
moval of the Cherokees from the neigh- 
borhood of those whose interests will 
not let them understand the Chei'okee 
rights. The Cherokees themselves at 
length acknowledge that it is better 
for them to remove. "But let us not 
remove," say they, "till we can be 
assured of a kindlier dwelling place. 
The Government of America has given 
us no reason to confide in its power 
to protect us against Georgia, and 
therefore, we must remove, for if we 
do not, we must perish. If we do re- 



*Bartram's. 

**Reference is to Tennessee, but the capital 
after New Echota was wherever John Ross 
happened to be. 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



83 



move, then let us remove not only 
from the country where we are 
wronged, but from the Government 
where we can not get our rights." 

The United States, on the other 
hand, wish the Cherokees to go to a 
country of their selection; they wish 
the Cherokees to sell their own coun- 
try (in which the United States are 
solemnly pledged to protect them, un- 
til they choose to select) upon such 
terms as the United States think fit 
to offer. 

"Take our price for your land," says 
Gen. Jackson, "and I will not insist 
on governing you; buy another coun- 
try with it." "We can not buy an- 
other country and be indemnified for 
our owTi by what you offer," says 
the Cherokee; "give us our price and 
you may have our land, if we must 
go; but we do not wish to go; no 
money can pay us for our homes." 
"You ask too much," answers Gen. 
Jackson; "you can not have your 
price." "Then let us remain," replies 
the Cherokee; "keep your money, and 
give us your protection ; take all the 
rest of the land we have, and leave 
us such portions as are connected, 
and incorporate us in counties with 
the states on which these poor frag- 
ments, which we ask to retain for our- 
selves, border; and let us belong to 
your nation, and send our representa- 
tives, like other countries, to Congress; 
and satisfy Georgia as you may for 
her disappointment, from the impos- 
sibility you find of purchasing all our 
land from us, on such terms as we can 
sell it for. Georgia has no fathers, 
mothers, children buried in the land. 
She has never seen it. She has no na- 
tion to establish. She would rather have 
money than the land. You can not 
give her the land. Give her the money." 
To this Gen. Jackson answers with a 
peremptory "No!" 

What is the next step taken? The 
agents of Government tamper sepa- 
rately with the Indians. They get to- 
gether a few unauthorized Cherokees ; 
make up a scheme of a treaty upon 
their own terms, and endeavor to in- 
veigle the men who possess the entire 
confidence of the nation: First, they 
withhold the annuity to the nation on 
frivolous pretexts, thus taking away 
their only resource for defiance in the 
courts of law, and for remonstrance 
in the House of Congress. A party 
is attempted to be conjured up in the 

*At Runnins Waters, near Rome. 
**Refert'nce to Mr. Schermerhorn's harrangue 
at Running Waters. 



nation by the acts of the Government 
agents; and twice attempts have been 
made to parade that little and reluc- 
tantly gathering party, and on both 
occasions the people, the great body of 
the people, have looked them down; 
on the last, especially, not three months 
since, when they poured their thou- 
sands upon a plain, upon which the 
agents of Government, with all the 
magic of their promises and their pat- 
ronage, could bring against them 
scarcely more than a miserable hun- 
dred.* 

The immediate position of the na- 
tion is this: The Government treaty 
has been exhibited to the Cherokees, 
and rejected. It has been attempted 
to shake their confidence in their prin- 
cipal chief, but in vain. The council 
established a newspaper, and the Gov- 
ernment agents have seized their press, 
avowedly for the purpose of changing 
it to a Government vehicle, for sway- 
ing the people to such a treaty as Gen. 
Jackson longs for. Here at once is an 
acknowledgment how base is the pre- 
tense that the Cherokees ought to be 
dealt with as a separate tribe! Were 
they truly looked upon as savages, 
would any importance be attached to 
their press? Were they not known to 
be much advanced in civilization, would 
the agents of the Administration have 
entered upon the perilous extravagance 
of seizing an instrument over which 
they had no legal power, for selfish and 
corruptive purposes? But the Jackson 
myrmidons have the press; and pos- 
session in law is like power in poli- 
tics—it takes the place of reason and 
of right. 

Then let us leave our Government 
the Cherokee national paper, however 
disreputably obtained, and proceed to 
the next point. Having juggled the 
written power into their hands, the 
agents are now seeking the oral power ; 
they are wandering about with inter- 
preters to talk up their cause. "You 
may speak, if you like," say the In- 
dians, "but must we listen?" "Let us 
speak," is the reply; and the commis- 
sioner rises, and the people walk away 
and leave him to listen to himself.'- 
The next measure is force; arrests 
are made upon the most absurb pre- 
texts; influential Indians are seized by 
the Georgia Guard and detained, and 
then set free, no reason being as- 
signed either for the capture or for 
the release. Some laugh and defy 
their fate; some are driven to de- 
spair, for the arrest is so often made 
a punishment that an innocent Indian 



84 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



a few days ago actually hung himself 
in the guard house* to escape the 
torture apprehended from the guard. 

But all the Indian hater's hate is 
concentrated against the inflexible 
chief of the Cherokees, John Ross. In- 
timidation has been attempted against 
him to no purpose; so has seduction. 
He has resisted bribery in every in- 
stance, even in one amounting to $50,- 
000; rather than enrich himself by his 
country's ruin, he will remain poor, 
but honest. The agents insult him; 
still he goes on. The Georgia guard 
watches for a pretext to make him 
l)risoner, but the pretext is not to be 
found, and in some cases, where they 
would not be deterred by the fear of 
wrong, they are understood to have 
been held back through the fear of the 
people. It is rumored, however, that 
some attempt of the sort is, even at 
this moment, in contemplation. 

Even the President himself has now 
and then lost his temper because he 
cannot shake Mr. Ross, and has called 
the impoverished and discreet patriot 
of the wilderness "wicked and selfish," 
and has swo n if he does not forego 




JOHN ROSS at age of (;:>, a lew years l>,-fore 
he died in WashiriKton, D. C. (Picture loaned 
by S. W. Ross, Tahlequah, Okla.). 



his policy and do as Andrew Jackson 
bids him, that Andrew Jackson will 
never listen to the Cherokees, but give 
them up to ruin. With internal dis- 
sensions attempted to be fomented by 
the agents of Government, and v/ith 
incessant external attacks from Geor- 
gia, and not only undefended by their 
legitimate protector, the United States, 
but threatened by the Chief Magis- 
trate of those states, the Cherokee na- 
tion now stand alone, moneyless, help- 
less, and almost hopeless, yet without 
a dream of yielding. 

With these clouds around them, in 
their little corner of Tennessee,*''' to 
which they have been driven fi'om 
Georgia for shelter, their national 
council holds its regular annual con- 
vention tomorrow. I can not imagine 
a spectacle of more moral grandeur 
than the assembly of such a people 
under such circumstances. This morn- 
ing offered the first foretaste of what 
the next week is to present. The 
woods echoed with the trampling of 
many feet; a long and orderly pro- 
cession emerged from among the trees, 
the gorgeous autumnal tints of whose 
departing foliage seemed in sad har- 
mony with the noble spirit now beam- 
ing in this departing race. Most of 
the train was on foot; there were a 
few aged men, and some few women, 
on horseback. The train halted at 
the humble gate of the principal chief; 
he stood ready to receive them. Every- 
thing was noiseless. The party, en- 
tering, loosened the blankets which 
were loosely rolled and flung over 
their backs, and hung them with their 
tin cups and other paraphernalia at- 
tached, upon the fence. 

The chief appi-oached them. They 
formed diagonally in two lines, and 
each, in silence, drew near to give his 
hand. Their dress was neat and pic- 
turesque; all wore turbans, except 
four or five with hats; many of them 
tunics and sashes; many long robes, 
and nearly all some drapery; so that 
they had the oriental air of the old 
scripture pictures of patriarchal pro- 
cessions. 

The salutation over, the old men 
remained near the chief, and the rest 
withdrew to various parts of the en- 
closure; some sitting Turk fashion 
against the trees, others upon logs 

*At Spring Place, where Payne was im- 
prisoned a month later. 

**Red Clay was so near the line, and the line 
30 poorly defined, that the impression was often 
given that it was in Tennessee. Ross had a hut 
there as well as at Blue Spring, eight miles to 
the north. 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



85 



and others upon the fences, but with 
the eyes of all fixed upon their chief. 
They had walked sixty miles since 
yesterday, and had encamped last 
night in the woods. They sought their 
way to the council ground. It was 
explained to them. At one moment 
I observed a sensation among them, 
and all arose and circled around their 
chief. Presently an old man spoke 
above the rest; each one went for his 
pack, and all resumed their way. There 
was a something in the scene which 
would have subdued a sterner spirit 
than mine. All who gazed stood rooted 
to the spot with involuntary awe. 

"Oh!" cried an old negi'o woman, 
wringing her hands and her eyes 
streaming with tears, "Oh ! the poor 
Cherokees, the poor Cherokees; my 
heart breaks and wnll not let me look 
on them!" 

Parties varying from 30 to 50 have 
been passing the main road, which is 
somewhat distant from the residence 
of Mr. Ross, all day. All seem to con- 
template the approaching meeting as 
one of vital import. I myself, though 
a stranger, partake in the general 
excitement. The first movements, 
which will probably be the most im- 
portant, I will communicate to you; 
perhaps I may find leisure to do more, 
for I wish our countrymen to under- 
stand this subject.* It becomes us 
as Americans, devoted to our coun- 
try's glory, not to slumber over the 
wrongs of a nation within our power. 
This people does not approach us de- 
nouncing vengeance; they do not, like 
the ferocious spirits we would repre- 
sent them, avoid lingering extermina- 
tion as exiles in the desert, by spring- 
ing up in a mass, and inscribing them- 
selves with a terrible lesson of blood 
among the illustrious martyrs to in- 
sulted liberty; but in the patient and 
meek spirit of Christians they come 
again, and again, and again, and 
again, imploring humanity, implormg 
justice, imploring that we will be hon- 
est to ourselves. 

Americans, turn not away from such 

*Here is a hint that Tayne mado arranfce- 
ments with certain editors to print his articles. 

**Paync claimed this original article was 
signed "Washington." 

***This is still standing in a good state of 
preservation. It was literally a "House of Trag- 
edies." On Sunday, Nov. S, 183.->. John How- 
ard Payne and John Ross arrived as prisoners 
of the Gua^d, and occupieii an outhouse used to 
quarter troublesome Indians. On Dec. 16, 1836, 
Major Henj. F. Currey, who had been active 
against Payne and Ross, died in the house of 
Vann or at a nearby house. 



a spectacle; be not deaf to such a 
l^rayer! 

(No Signature).** 
A true copy : 
Dyer Castor. 

The wilds of Cherokee Georgia 
were getting more and more dan- 
gerous as tlie whites sf|uatted upon 
the Indian lands. Murders and 
robberies were things of almf)st 
every-day occurrence. Spencer 
Riley, a sort of constable, formerly 
of Bibb County, then of Cass, had 
an exciting experience in 1835 with 
Col. Wm. N. Bishop and the Geor- 
gia Guard. It seems that Riley had 
a lottery claim on the Vann 
house*** near Spring Place, and 
Bishop sought to dispossess him. 
The Georgia Journal (Milledge- 
ville) of Tuesday, Apr. 7, 1835, 
printed Riley's side of the affair: 
March 11, 1835. 
To the Public: There being many 
erroneous reports concerning the trans- 
action detailed in the following state- 
ment, I have deemed it necessary to 
present to the public a succinct ac- 
count of the facts. I can not for a 
moment believe that this flagitious 
outrage upon the rights of the citi- 
zen under color of the law and under 
pretense of executive sanction can be 
viewed with indifference by my fel- 
low citizens, or approbated by the Gov- 
ernor. The facts are these: 

I became a boarder of Joseph Vann, 
a Cherokee residing near Spring Place, 
in Murray County, in October last, 
and continued to board with him up 
to the 2d March inst., when the out- 
rage hereinafter stated took place. 

On the 23d of February last, Mrs. 
Vann, in the absence of her husband, 
received a written notice to quit the 
possession of the lot, from Wm N. 
Bishop, one of the agents of the State 
of Georgia, appointed by the Governor 
under the law of 1834. This was done 
without the request of the drawer or 
any person holding or claiming under 
him. It was known that one Kinchin 
W Hargrove, brother to Z. B. Har- 
grove, had obtained a certificate from 
Wm N. Bishop with the view of ob- 
taining the grant from Milledgeville. 
in consequence of which the grant is- 
sued some time in February upon his 
application. This lot on which Joseph 
Vann lived is an Indian improvement 



86 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



and his right of occupancy is not for- 
feited by any provision of the laws of 
Georgia. It is known as Lot No. 224, 
9th district and 3d section, and was 
drawn by a Mr. Turley of Warren; 
it contains a spacious two-story brick 
house and many outhouses and is very 
valuable, particularly as a public 
stand. It had been returned as a 
fraudulent draw by Major Bulloch, 
â– whose scire facias had obtained pref- 
erence by being first filed. It was 
also returned by Z. B. Hargrove as 
informer in a second scire facias. 

Such was the situation of the lot 
on the 2d of March, when W. N, 
Bishop, as agent and acting under the 
state's authority, summoned some 20 
men and placed in their hands the 
muskets confided to him by the Gov- 
ernor for another purpose, and fur- 
nished them with ammunition, came 
over to Mr. Vann's at the head of 
his guard, resolved to clear the house 
and put his brother, Absalom Bishop, 
in possession, who afterwards opened 
a public house. Some articles of Mr. 
Vann were allowed to remain in the 
house and he was permitted to occupy 
at sufferance a small room. I occu- 
pied a room on the second floor at 
the head of the stairs. This armed 
force was accompanied by one Kinchin 
W. Hargrove, a sort of deputy to 
Bishop. When they approached the 
house, I inquired of W. N. Bishop 
what all of this meant, and stated 
to him that he had given Mrs. Vann 
until Saturday, the 7th, in which to 
move. He replied that Joshua Holden 
was the agent. This man Holden is 
notorious in the upper part of the 
state for his vices and subservience 
to Bishop. Upon receiving this re- 
ply from W. N. Bishop, I inquired 
of Holden if he was the agent for 
the drawer. He replied, "No, I am 
agent for Mr. Hargrove, and have a 
power of attorney from him." Mr. 
Hargi'ove did not claim to have any 
right or title to the lot as derived 
from or through the drawer. Con- 
vinced as I was that this was all a 
trick to get Vann out of the house, 
and to put him out unlawfully and 
fraudulently, in order to get posses- 
sion for Absalom Bishop, I demanded 
of W. N. Bishop to see the plat and 
grant and his authority for thus act- 
ing. He stated that Holden was seek- 
ing possession, but exhibited no au- 
thority, and there was no agent of the 
drawer or person claiming under him 
seeking possession. 

W. N. Bishop rushed into the house 



with his guard and commanded them 
to present arms. Having some things 
in the room I occupied, I went up to 
take care of them. I heard Bishop 
demand possession of Vann, who an- 
swered that he considered himself 
out of possession from the Monday 
previous. "Where is that damned 
rascal Riley?" inquired Bishop. The 
reply was, "He is in his room." By 
this time I had got to the head of the 
stairs* and called out to Bishop that 
there was no use for any violent meas- 
ures or for bloodshed, for if he would 
acknowledge he had taken forcible 
possession from me, he could throw 
my things out of doors. His reply 
was, "Hear that damned rascal; pre- 
sent arms and march upstairs, and the 
first man that gets a glimpse of him, 
shoot him down." Upon hearing these 
orders given to his guard, I thought 
it high time to defend myself as best 
I could, and exclaimed, "The first 
man that advances to obey Bishop's 
orders I will kill!" 

One man named Winters, an itiner- 
ant carpenter, advanced upstairs with 
a loaded musket, and his valiant com- 
mander behind him. As soon as they 
saw me they fired upon me and fell 
back ; I then fired, too. Their shot 
slightly wounded me in my hand and 
arms, and immediately after, ten or 
twelve muskets were fired at me, but 
being protected by the stairs, the shots 
did not take effect. I being out of 
sight, they aimed at the spot where 
they supposed I was and shot the ban- 
isters to pieces. I then presented a 
gun in sight to deter their further ap- 
proach, and prevent if possible the ac- 
complishment of their murderous de- 
sign. Then a rifle was fired by Ab- 
salom Bishop; the ball struck my gun 
and split, one part of it striking me 
glancingly on my forehead just above 
my right eye, and fragments of it 
wounding me on several other places 
on my face. I desired them to bear 
witness to who shot that rifle, for I 
had been severely wounded. Wm. N. 
Bishop called out tauntingly, "The 
State of Georgia shot the guns!" 
After I was thus wounded and bleed- 
ing freely, I opened the door of the 
room and called out to them that I 
was severely wounded, and they could 
come and take my arms. As soon as 
I showed myself, several more mus- 
kets were fired on me. One shot struck 
me on the left cheek, another wound- 
ed me severely on the head and one 

*A curious, winding architectural contraption 
with no visible support. 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



87 



went through the dooi' over my head. 

During this extraordinary outrage, 
W. N. Bishop was heard frequently 
exclaiming, "Kill the damned rascal ; 
we've got no use for nullifiers in 
this country!" and K. W. Hargrove 
also often exclaimed I should come 
down dead or alive. W. N. Bishop 
procured a flaming firebrand and 
threw it upon the platform of the 
stairs, exclaiming that he would burn 
him out or burn him up. After the 
fire had made some progress, and 
probably recollecting that if the house 
was destroyed, Absalom Bishop would 
have no house to occupy, Vann was 
requested to go up and extinguish the 
fire. 

Being much debilitated by the loss 
of blood, I laid down on the bed. They 
soon after entered my room and seized 
my desk and papers as if I had been 
a malefactor. I desired them to per- 
mit me to put up my papers in my 
secretary and to lock it. Hargi'ove 
replied, "Let him put what he pleases 
in the desk, but don't let him take 
anything out." I had $10 in money 
in the desk. After I had locked it, 
they took the keys from me and the 
desk also, under the pretext that they 
would secure the costs. The money I 
never saw afterwards. 

Just before the close of the con- 
flict, Hargrove called out to me and 
asked if I did not know that there 
was an officer who had a warrant 
against me. I answered, no, but if 
such were the case I would submit to 
the laws of my country and surrender 
to the sheriff. Bishop then abused the 
sheriff and cursed him. In a short 
time the sheriff, Col. Humphreys, 
came, and I was asked to show my- 
self, which I no sooner did than sev- 
eral muskets were levelled and fired at 
me, but happily without much injury. 

It afterward appeared that in order 
to give their conduct the semblance 
of law, they had procured this tool of 
Bishop, Holden, to make an affidavit 
to procure a warrant for forcible en- 
try and detainer. Both affidavit and 
warrant, upon being produced, proved 
to be in the handwriting of Z. B. Har- 
grove, and dated first in February, 
but that month was stricken and 2nd 
March inserted. It is believed that 
this notable proceeding was planned in 
Cassville, 4.5 miles oft', and given to 
Kinchin W. Hargrove when he went 
up to Spring Place. 

After my surrender to the sheriff, 

*SprinB Bank, the country estate of Rev. 
Chas. Wallace Howard. 



I was taken out of his custody, con- 
veyed before a magistrate, also under 
the control of Bishop, charged with 
an assault with intent to murder, and 
immediately ordered off in my wound- 
ed condition, 45 miles, in a severe snow 
storm under a strong guard, my 
wounds undressed, and filched of the 
little change I had in my pockets, and 
lodged in the Cassville jail in the 
dungeon. The guard received their or- 
ders from Bishop and Hargrove not 
to allow me to have any intercourse 
with my friends, and so rigidly were 
these orders observed that when I ar- 
rived at Major Howard's" in the neigh- 
borhood of my family and desired him 
to inform them of my situation, and 
not to be alarmed, the guard threat- 
ened to use their bayonets if I did not 
proceed. Bishop even designated the 
houses at which we were to stop on 
our way. I was placed in a dungeon 
until my friends at Cassville, hearing 
of my situation, relieved me on bail. 

The foregoing statement can be at- 
tested by many respectable witnesses, 
and is substantially correct. The 
transaction has created a great sen- 
sation in Murray County, and must 
have received the unqualified condem- 
nation of every law-abiding citizen. 
SPENCER RILEY. 

In the same issue The Journal 
commented editorially : 

We had flattered ourselves that the 
State had drained the cup of humili- 
ation to the dregs and had suffered 
all it could suffer from violence, fraud, 
proscription and misgovernment. But 
unhappily we were mistaken ; low Jis 
we had sunken, we find that there is 
a point still lower. The letter of 
Spencer Riley, Esq., in this paper dis- 
plays a state of things in a part of 
the country where the dominant fac- 
tion has had full sway that is abso- 
lutely appalling. 

We have personally known Mr. 
Riley twelve years as a freeholder and 
citizen, as deputy sheriff and high 
sheriff of Bibb County, where they 
have had no officer we know of whose 
l)ublic services were more generally 
approved. Since then, we understand, 
he has held a commission of the peace 
in Cass County, and his word, we 
think, will hardly be doubted by any 
to whom he is known. His statement 
presents a picture at which the most 
careless and the most thoughtless man 
must pause. It is one of the consc- 
(luenecs of subverting the judicial au- 
thority throughout one whole circuit 
in a new country. 



88 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Finally the toe hold of the Indian 
bei?an to s^ive way. For a decade 
the Indian^s had been going west in 
small detachments, under the dip- 
lomatic urge of the Ck)vernment. At 
the slow rate of moving, it was cal- 
culated that half a century would 
be required to be rid of them all. 
In 1829, the old records show, quite 
a number of Indians enrolled with 
the Government agents to go west, 
received their bounty and then 
failed to go, thinking, perhaps, that 
they might successfully pass 
around the hat again. Many of 
these Indians appeared in 1835 at 
the council at Running Waters and 
voted for the annuity measure 
proposed by John Ross. 

But the patience of Federal and 
State authorities was threadbare. 
If the Indians would emigrate 
peaceably, all well and good ; if 
they balked, bayonets would move 
them. The white man's necessity 
under the program of civic and 




DANIEL ROSS, Scotch father of John Ross. 
He died in DeSoto (Rome) and was there 
buried. 



commercial progress was the red 
man's misfortune. Gen. Winfield 
Scott, of the United States army, 
was selected to gather the Indians 
in stockades. 

Under the pressure from Gov. 
Lumi)kin, Alajor Currey, Mr. 
Schermerhorn and others, 2,000 of 
the Indians prepared to depart by 
Jan. 1, 1837; but the death of Ma- 
jor Currey, Dec. 16, 1836, at Spring 
Place, set the movement back se- 
riously. Hence the general round- 
up did not get under way until 
May 24, 1838. 

Numerous Indians submitted 
without protest ; many others se- 
creted themselves in the mountains 
and in caves, and were vigorously 
hunted out. A few resisted and 
shot or were shot ; some commit- 
ted suicide rather than leave the 
lands they had learned to love and 
the sacred bones of their departed 
ancestors. 

'i'he Rev. George White tells as 
follow^s of the removal in his His- 
torical Collections of Georgia (ps. 
152-3) and incidentally, defends the 
troopers who had this unpleasant 
duty to perform : 

Gen. Scott called upon the Governoi' 
of Georg-ia for two regiments, to which 
call there was an immediate response. 
On Friday, the 18th of May, 1838, a 
sufficiency of troops had arrived at 
New Echota, the place of rendezvous, 
to organize a regiment and warrant 
the election of officers. On the morn- 
ing of the 24th of May, the regiment 
took up the line of march for the 
purpose of collecting the Indians, Five 
companies, viz. — Capt. Stell's, Dan- 
iel's, Bowman's, Hamilton's, Ellis' 
were destined to Sixes Town, in Cher- 
okee County; two companies, Capt. 
Story's and Capt. Campbell's to Rome; 
Capt. Vincent's to Cedartown; two 
companies, Capt. Horton's and Capt. 
Brewster's, to Fort Gilmer. 

The collecting of the Indians con- 
tinued until the 3rd of June, 1838, 
when they started for Ross' Landing, 
on the 'Tennessee River, numbering 
about 1,560, under the immediate 
command of Capt. Stell. They arrived 
at Ross' Landing at 10 o'clock, the 
10th of June. The Georgia troops re- 



Aftermath of the Payne-Ross Affair 



89 



turned, and were afterwards regu- 
larly dismissed from the service of the 
United States. Both regiments were 
commanded by Gen. Chas. Floyd.* 

In small detachments, the army be- 
gan its operations, making prisoners 
of one family after another, and gath- 
ering them into camps. No one has 
ever complained of the manner in 
which the work was performed.** 
Through the good disposition of the 
army and the provident arrangements 
of its commander, less injury was 
done by accidents or mistakes than 
could reasonably have been expected. 
By the end of June, nearly the whole 
nation was gathered into camps, and 
some thousands commenced their 
march for the West, the heat of the 
season preventing any further emigra- 
tion until September, when 14,000 
were on their march. The journey of 
600 or 700 miles was performed in 
four or five months. The best ar- 
rangements were made for their com- 
fort, but from the time — May 24 — 
v/hen their removal commenced, to the 
time when the last company completed 
its journey, more than 4,000 persons 
sank under their sufferings and died. 

A tragic sequel followed the re- 
moval and the stirring events pre- 
ceding it. The anti-treaty or Ross 
party of Indians did not bury in 
the red hills of Georgia with the 
hallowed dust of their ancestors 
the resentment they felt toward 
the men who had signed away their 
lands. A band of several hundred 
Indians took a secret oath to 
kill Major Ridge and his clan 
brother (nephew by blood) Elias 
Lioudinot,*** and John Ridge, his 
son. They bided their time, and 
June 22, 1839, killed all three. 

Major Ridge was wa}'laid on the 
road 40 or 50 miles from home, and 
shot. His son was taken from his 
bed early in the morning and near- 
ly cut to pieces with km'ves. Air. 
Botidinot was decoyed away from 
a house he liad ])een erecting a 
short distance from liis residence, 

*The father of Gen. .lohn Floyd, for whom 
Floyd county was named. 

**Numerous complaints are of record today. 
The route has been called "The Trail of Tear^.'" 

***A native of Floyd county. 

****Stand Watie lived at Coosawattie Town, 
and later near Rome. 

*****Assuminf; that Ridge was born in 1771, 
as usually stated, he would have been 68. 



and then set upon with knives and 
hatchets. One version lias it that 
Boudinot was a sort of doctor, and 
that several Indians came to him in 
a friendly way and asked him to 
get some medicine for a sick com- 
rade. Thrown off his guard, he 
A\'as an easy prey. 

Mrs. Mabel Washbourne Ander- 
son, of Pryor, Okla., daughter of 
John Rollin Ridge, grand-daughter 
of John Ridge and great-grand- 
daughter of Major Rulge, tells on 
ps. 11-12 of her Life of General 
Stand Watie**** of this shocking 
tragedy : 

A demon spell now enveloped the 
Cherokee country, as is ever the case 
when feuds and factions arise within a 
nation. The members of the former 
Treaty party, headed by Ridge and 
Boudinot, were called traitors by the 
Ross party, and this continued "accu- 
sation became the platform of strife 
and bloodshed, turbulence and suffer- 
ing for a newly-divided people in a 
new land. Had bitterness and disa- 
greement been forgotten and a united 
effort made toward rebuilding the 
broken fortunes of a broken people 
the cruel history from 1838 to 1846 
might never have been written. 

If history had preserved for us a 
record of the ''Secret Council" of 
the anti-Treaty party, said to have 
been held at Double Springs, near 
Tahl.equah, in the spring of 1839, 
much that will forever be a question 
to the searcher for truth would be re- 
vealed. 

Passing hastily over this black page 
of Cherokee history, so closely allied 
with the life of Gen. Watie, it must 
be mentioned that secret police forces 
of 100 men each soon after this coun- 
cil were organized by the Ross party, 
with a commander for each company, 
whose purpose was to extinguish the 
leading men of the Ridge i)arty. And 
the pages of Cherokee history will for- 
ever be shadowed by the atrocious 
tragedy that took place in the assassi- 
nation in one night of Major Ridg", 
an aged man of 75;***** his son, John 
Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, three of 
the most powerful and inlluential men 
of the Treaty party. The murders of 
these three men, which took place 
within a few hours of each other, were 
most systematically carried out, 
though tliey were widely separated at 
the time. John Ridge was slain on 



90 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Honey Creek, Cherokee Nation, near 
the Missouri line; Major Ridge was 
slain in the Cherokee Nation near Cin- 
cinnati, Ark.; and p]lias Boudinot 
near Park Hill, Cherokee Nation. 

This opened an international wound 
of sorrow and bloodshed for the Cher- 
okee people, extending over a terrible, 
dark period of eight or ten years, and 
whose influence lasted for decades upon 
this nation. Stand Watie, Jack Bell 
and Walter Adair were slated to die 
at this same time, but were absent 
from home the night these foul mur- 
ders were committed. Thereafter they 
were constantly on scout and guard 
against some hidden plot to take their 
lives. A short time after this horrible 
event. Stand Watie organized a mili- 
tai'y force, stationed at Beattie's 
Prairie, to oppose the Ross police 
force. 

Despite opposition and oppression, 
Watie became after the assassination 
of his kinsmen the most influential 
man and the conceded leader of the 
Ridge party. Among the incidents 
current among his people today of the 
bravery of Stand Watie is one con- 
nected with this terrible tragedy. 
When his brother, Elias Boudinot, lay 
dead in the midst of his foes, Watie 
silently rode up unarmed. The crowd 
of his enemies suddenly drew back, 
making way for this grim horseman. 
Removing the sheet that covered the 
face of his murdered brother, he 
looked down long and earnestly upon 
the still features. Then turning to 
the crowd, he said in a voice that each 
could hear, "I will give $10,000 to 
know the name of the man who struck 
that blow!" 

All who knew Stand Watie were 
aware of his ability to pay this lee- 
ward, but not one in that guilty crowd 
answered him, and he rode away as 
fearlessly as he had oome, though 
there were fully 100 men in that same 
company who had sworn to take his 
life the night before. 

Thos. Watie and James Starr were 
killed by the Ross party in 1845, but 
the old tradition among the full-blood- 
ed Indians that "No weapon was ever 
made to kill Stand Watie," seemed 
verily to fulfil itself, and he success- 
fully passed through the dangerous 
and trying years from 1838 to 1846. 



A PAYNE MEMORIAL.— A patri- 
otic service was performed Saturday 
morning, Oct. 7, 1922, by the Old Guard 
of Atlanta in the unveiling of a hand- 
some marble tablet at Spring Place 



to John Howard Payne. The exercises 
had been planned for Friday, Oct. 6, 
but bad roads delayed the party, trav- 
eling in automobiles, and it was neces- 
sary to postpone the aff'air a day. The 
speaker of the occasion was Col. Geo. 
M. Napier, attorney general of Geor- 
gia and a member of the Guard. He 
was introduced by Jos. A. McCord, 
commandant of the Guard and Gov- 
ernor of the Federal Reserve Bank in 
Atlanta. Prof. Ernest Neal, school 
superintendent at Chatsworth, Murray 
County, recited his poem, "The Rivers 
of Cherokee Georgia;" the poem will 
be found in the poetry section herein. 

The Payne tablet stands within 200 
yards of the Vann house, at a con- 
spicuous road crossing where it will 
be beheld by thousands of tourists 
yearly. It is of rough gray Elbert 
County granite, mined at a place near 
which Payne journeyed in 1835 on 
horseback from Augusta to inspect the 
natural wonders of Northeast Georgia. 
It is sunk deep in concrete, and a 
concrete platform six feet in radius 
surrounds it. The inscrption follows : 

"John Howard Payne, author of 
'Home, Sweet Home,' suspected as a 
spy of the Cherokee Indians, was im- 
prisoned here in 1835, but released. 
Erected by Old Guard of Atlanta, Oct. 
G, 1922; Jos. A. McCord, command- 
ant." 

The Old Guardsmen were the guests 
of Mr. McCord at his apple orchard 
twelve miles to the north. Prominent 
in their entertainment was the Gov- 
ernor John Milledge Chapter of the 
D. A. R., of Dalton, and Dr. T. W. 
Colvard, at whose estate they enjoyed 
a barbecue. Prior to the exercises they 
inspected the home of Jos. Vann, the 
Indian chief, near which, in a log hut, 
Payne was incarcerated. It is said 
this hut now stands in the park at 
Chatsworth, near the L. & N. railroad 
station, having been removed from 
Spring Place. 

Other Old Guard members who at- 
tended were Robt. A. Broyles, Ossian 
D. Gorman, Jr., Sam Meyer, Jr., H. 
M. Lokey, G. A. Wight, W. E. Han- 
cock, Dr. L. P. Baker, Henry C. Beer- 
man, Fred J. Cooledge, E. H. Good- 
hart, W. M. Camp, Peter F. Clarke, 
W. S. Coleman, W. B. Cummings, Dr. 
Thos. H. Hancock, W. T. Kuhns, Ed- 
mund W. Martin, M. L. Thrower, Jas. 
T. Wright, A. McD. Wilson, G. G. 
Yancey, Jr., and Walter Bennett. 
Others included Jos. A. McCord, Jr., 
Walter Sparks, and J. A. Hall, of De- 
catur, formerly of Calhoun, an author- 
ity on Indian lore. 



CHAPTER V. 
Growth From Village to Town 



O 



NCE the Indians were out 
of the way and their lands 
thrown open to the white 
settlers, Rome and Floyd 
County began to grow with a vim. 
As early as 1837, according to a 
report from Capt. J. P. Simonton, 
disbursing agent of the Cherokee 
Removal, sent from New Echota 
to the Commissioner of Indian Af- 
fairs, and dated Sept. 27, 1837, Col. 
Wm. C. Hardin was president of 
the Western Bank of Georgia, of 
Rome.* Col. Hardin and Andrew 
Miller, agent of the Bank of Geor- 
gia, of Augusta, loaned the Govern- 
ment $25,000, transmitted through 
the Rome bank, toward the re- 
moval of the Cherokees. 

The Western was undoubtedly 
the first bank in Rome, and Col. 
Hardin its first president. It was 
located at the southwest corner of 
Fifth Avenue and East First Street. 
An old $10 bank note shows that 
William Smith was president on 
July 13, 1840, with R. A. Greene 
as cashier. Zachariah B. Hargrove 
had been connected with it prior 
to his death in 1839. The Bank of 
the Empire State, which also got 
into financial difficulties and was 
forced to suspend, was organized 
much later. In 1851 the Rome 
Weekly Courier expressed the hope 
that a bank would soon be formed 
at Rome. 

The first inn was kept by Wil- 
liam Quinn at "Cross Keys," as 
the local neighborhood at the pres- 
ent "Five Points." North Broad 
Street, was then known. A Mrs. 
Washington, descended from 



*Report of Secretary of W^r on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835), p. 995. 

**Destroyefl in 1864 by soldiers of the Union 
Army, accordintr to the late Mrs. Robt. Battey. 
No reason can be assigned for the destruction 
of this property except that Ross was in bad 
odor with the United States Government at the 
time. 



George, kept the Washington Ho- 
tel. The McEntee House was in 
operation in 1845 when Rev. and 
Mrs. J. M. M. Caldwell stopped 
over in Rome on their way to Sel- 
ma, Ala., where Dr. Caldwell had 
been ofifered the pastorate of the 
First Presbyterian church. James 
McEntee, the proprietor, and oth- 
ers persuaded the newdy-married 
couple to remain in Rome, and 
they taught one of the first schools 
of any pretensions in a part of 
their dwelling, the old John Ross 
House,** in which they had been 
temporarily settled by the owner. 
Col. Alfred Shorter. Aftei* as- 
suming charge of the Rome Fe- 
male College on Eighth Avenue 
in 1856, they taught on East Second 
Street. 

Another early hotel was the 
Choice House, built l^y John 
Choice, probably prior to 1850. This 
was conducted from 1855 to 1857 
by Wm. Melton Roberts, father of 
Frank Stovall Roberts, of Wash- 
ington, D. C. It was located where 
the Hotel Forrest now stands. For 
several years around 1857 it had 
six colonial columns of white in 
front. 

The Ijuena Vista, at the south- 
cast ct)rner of Broad Street and 
vSixth Avenue, was built in 1843 b}' 
an Irishman named Thos. Burke, 
who soon got into a serious diffi- 
culty and turned the property over 
to Daniel R. Mitchell as a fee for 
re|)resenting liim. 

.\l)out 1850 Will. Kctcham was 
pr(iprietor of the Ivtowah 1 louse, 
scjutheast corner of I'.ro.iil Street 
and Second Avenue, and in 1863 
the pi"oprit.lor was (icn. Geo. S. 
r.lack. 

The Tennessee llouse was start- 
ed at the end of the Civil War 1)V 



92 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Jas. A. Stansbury. It stood at the 
northeast corner of Broad Street 
and First Avenue, and later be- 
came the Rome Hotel. 

The first newspaper, according 
to The Weekly Bulletin of Thurs- 
day, Jan. 8, 1876, was the Western 
Georgian, published by Gen. Jas. 
Hemphill and Samuel S. Jack.* It 
was started in 1837, and Mr. Jack 
was the first editor. The location 
was at 602 East First Street, wdiere 
a hand ])rcss was installed. This 
was (Ml tlic s])()t where Mrs. Naomi 
P. Bale now lives. 

Pisgah Baptist church at Coosa 
is the oldest religious institution 
of its kind in the county. It was 
organized in the spring of 1833 by 
Rev. Hugh Quin and associates. 

The First Presbyterian of Rome 
was founded at Livingston Oct. 
29, 1833, and removed to Rome 
Apr. 17, 1845, by Rev. J. M. M. 
Caldwell. 

The First Baptist is the oldest 




REV. J. M. M. CALDWELL, Presbyterian 
minister and for about 40 years teacher of 
young women at Rome. 



church in Rome, having been 
founded May 16, 1835.** 

The First Methodist was organ- 
ized at Rome in 1840 by Mrs. Sam- 
uel S. Jack, Mrs. James Hammet. 
Mrs. Daniel R. Mitchell, Mrs' 
Jesse Lamberth, Mrs. Samuel 
Stewart and Miss Ernily McDow. 
The location was the southwest 
corner of Sixth Avenue and E. Sec- 
ond Street. The circuit of which 
Rome was an appointment in 1836 
extended from Knoxville, Tenn., to 
the Chattahoochee River, and Rev. 
J. B. McFerrin, of Tennessee, stood 
every four months on a stump at 
Fifth Avenue and W^est First Street 
(now the courthouse property) and 
preached to mixed crowds of In- 
dians, negroes and wdiites.*** On 
one of these occasions Dr. McFer- 
rin converted John Ross, wdio 
thereafter spread the doctrines of 
Methodism among his tribes- 
men.**** It is considered w^orthy 
of note in this connection that 
Sam P. Jones, the Methodist evan- 
gelist, went to preaching 40 years 
later four blocks from this spot 
and two blocks from the Fourth 
W^ard home of Ross. 

St. Peter's Episcopal church was 
first located at Fifth Avenue and 
E. First Street, and w^as establish- 
ed Mar. 31, 1854, by Rev. Thos. 
Fielding Scott, of INIarietta, and 
associates. 

The First Christian church was 
organized Feb. 13, 1896. 

Sardis Presbyterian church at 
Livingston and churches in Ridge 
Valley and Vann's Valley (such as 
the Baptist, the Methodist and the 
Episcopal at Cave Spring) and at 

*Mrs. Naomi P. Bale states that Mr. Jack's 
daughter, Amanda (the first white child born 
in Rome), said it was the Rome Enterprise. 
.J. O. Winfrey calls it the Northwest Georgian, 
and says Miles Corbin was associated with Mr. 
Jack. Mr. .Jack's father was a soldier in the 
American Revolution. 

**According to Acts, 1S37, p. 48, the trustees 
of the corporation on Dec. 25, 1837, were Wes- 
ley Shropshire, Elijah Lumpkin, Jobe Rogers, 
Thos. W. Burton and Alford B. Reece. 

***Directory, First Methodist Church, His- 
torical sketch by Mrs. Naomi P. Bale, 1918. 

****Authority : Belle K. Abbott in The At- 
lanta Constitution, 1S89. 



Growth from Village to Town 



93 



Armiichee, Chulio, Everett Springs 
and the other pioneer districts o-f 
the county are also very old. Some 
folks say Sardis Presbyterian is 
older tlian Pisgah Baj)tist ; others 
say it ain't. 

The Episcopal church at Cave 
Spring", by the way, was built 
through the generosity of Francis 
S. Bartow and his parents, Dr. and 
Mrs. Theodosius Bartow, of Sa- 
vannah, who maintained a summer 
home there a number of years be- 
fore 1860. The land for this church 
was given by Maj. Armistead Rich- 
ardson. 

The Baptist church of Cave 
Spring stands on the Hearn Acad- 
emy campus. The brick it contains, 
still in a fine state of preservation, 
were made of Floyd County clay 
by the slaves of Alaj. Armistead 
Richardson, Alexander Thornton 
Harper and Carter W. Sparks. 

The Prospect Baptist church, 
near Coosa, was foundefl in 1856. 

Undoubtedly the oldest religious 
agency in the county (now only 
a memory) was the mission at Coo- 
sa (then known as Missionary 
Station). This was established 
in 1821 by Rev. Elijah Butler and 
his wife, Esther Butler, of the 
North, who were succeeded in the 
work by Rev. Hugh Ouin, about 
1827. 

Such business e.staljlishmcnls as 
might be expected in a growing 
town sprang up between 1834 and 
1861. C<il. Alfred Shorter began to 
trade in cotton, merchandise and 
real estate, and was recognized as 
Rome's leading financier ancl l)usi- 
ness man. Col. Cunningham M. 
Pennington, a civil engineer, ap- 
peared on tlic scene as Col. v^hor- 
ter's agent, and also gave consid- 
erable attention to railroad enter- 
prises. Chas. M. Harper, a ne])hew, 
likewise was early associated with 
Col. Shorter. 

A postoffice was set u]) at a con- 
venient s])ot in the center of t<nvn 



and all the folks came for their 
mail. Tlie streets were bad for 
many years, and pigs and cattle 
roamed over them at will, and 
many a Roman of the period kept 
a pig-sty in his yard. The thor- 
( ughfares were lighted at night 
with oil lamps and the homes 
v/ith lamps or candles, and early re- 
tiring was the rule, and early ris- 
ing, too. 

Stage coach lines were estab- 
lished, with thrice a week service, 
leading to Cassville through North 
Rome, to New Echota via Oosta- 
naula River road, to Jacksonville, 
Ala., and Cave Spring via the Cave 
Spring road, to the towns of Chat- 
tooga County via the Summerville 
road, and to Livingston and points 
beyond through the r)lack's B>luit' 
road. 

Practically all these roads of the 
present were originally Indian 
trails, notably the Alabama road, 
which was the old Creek path from 




MRS. J. M. M. CALDWELL, of the old Rome 
Female CoIIokc, who taught Mrs. Woodrow 
Wilson and many others. 



94 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Alabama through northwest Geor- 
gia. These stages were joggling, 
rickety affairs, pulled by four 
horses. As we view it now, it was 
worth a man's life to undertake 
a long journey, but somehow they 
always reached their destination 
and the trouble of getting there 
was forgotten in a delightfully 
long sta}'. Mail was carried in 
pouches and the stage driver was 
res])onsil)le for its safe delivery. 
To facilitate this object, the driver 
usually went armed, and was sel- 
dom molested. Among the early 
drivers and proprietors might be 
mentioned John H. Wisdom, who 
in 1863 warned Romans of the 
approach of Col. Streight's raid- 
ers, and Esom Graves Logan, J. 
R. I'owell, Jos. H. Sergeant and 
other old timers. 

Connections were made by stage 
with more remote points, such as 
Athens, Covington, Milledgeville, 
Macon and Augusta. Atlanta did 
not appear until Dec. 23, 1843, when 
it was incorporated as Terminus.* 
Her name was changed to Marthas- 
ville, and then by an act approved 
Dec. 29, 1847, it became Atlanta.** 
Nine years before a village sprang 
u]) on the site of Atlanta, Romans 
had had a vision of a "terminus" 
on their own jmrticular spot. Rome 
was the frontier outpost of Chero- 
kee Georgia, as far as the rest of 
the state was concerned. It was 
the connecting link between "Old 
Georgia" and "Old Tennessee," the 
clearing house for the cotton, corn, 
wheat and produce of the rich Coo- 
sa Valley and the northeastern 
Alabama towns. 

Rome's strategic position was 
])erhaps l)cst realized jjy William 
Smith, who in 1836 was elected to 
the State Senate with the idea that 
he might have a bill ]xissed at Mil- 
ledgeville which would cause the 
proposed State Railroad io stop at 
Rome instead of at some ])oint in 
Tennessee, which later became 



Chattanooga. The people were not 
ready for such a radical step, how- 
ever. The Steamboat Coosa had 
ccMne all the way up from Greens- 
port, Ala., had given the natives a 
good fright, and this was enough 
of transportation improvements for 
a long time. When Col. Smith of- 
fered for re-election, he was de- 
feated by James Wells. Col. Smith 
bided his time, unloosed a new sup- 
ply of political thunder and defeat- 
ed Mr. Wells in 1838. Success still 
did not come, and in 1839 he was 
defeated by Jos. Watters, who 
served two years and then was 
defeated by Col. Smith in 1841. For 
tliree years, through 1843, Col. 
Smith pushed this project and oth- 
ers. He was given strong assur- 
ance that Rome would be made 
the terminus of the road, which 
would certainly have caused the 
place to boom like a mining town 
of the far West. vSuch a strong 
fight was made by Col. Smith dur- 
ing these years that an association 
of citizens at Chattanooga invited 
him to come there to live in a hand- 
some home that would cost him 
nothing. He was too strongly com- 
mitted to the place of his adoption, 
and continued the fight for Rome. 

When success seemed certain. 
Col. Smith and another founder of 
the town, Maj. Philip W. Hemp- 
hill, built a steamboat in anticipa- 
tion of the tremendous trade that 
would be created. The hull of the 
boat was made by William Adkms, 
father of Wm. H. Adkins, of At- 
lanta, formerly of Rome. It was 
eased into the Oostanaula with ap- 
propriate ceremonies and her flag 
raised, bearing the name of ^er 
projector, William Smith. The iv.a- 
chinery was not installed for a 
time, possil)ly due to a delay in 
delivery, or the desire of the ovvn- 

*Acts, 1843, p. S3. 

**Acts, 1847, p. .50. It was by this act that 
Rome advanced from the status of town to that 
of city, and the city limits were extended to 
include all territory in a radius of half a mile 
from the courthouse. 



Growth from Village to Town 



95 



ers to see the l)ill pass before they 
should increase their investment. 

Something- went wrong at Mil- 
ledgeville. The Whiteside interests 
at Chattanooga, augmented by a 
faction in Georgia who thought 
better of the Chattanooga termi- 
nus, proved too strong for the 
Cherokee Georgia contingent. Tb.e 
bill as passed included Chattatioo-- 
ga. Rome was to be isolated to 
some extent ; the road was to pass 
16 miles away, through Cass Coun- 
ty, from Marthasville northwest- 
ward. 

Col. Smith smiled his acquies- 
cense, but there was no estimating 
his disappointment. One night the 
William Smith sank, at the point 
wiiere tlie Central of Georgia tres- 
tle crosses the Oostanaula. Prat- 
tling tongues said Col. Smith bored 
holes in her bottom. He would 
never talk about it much, l)e- 
} ond saying that the action of the 
Legislature had greatly crippled 
Rome. He did not try to raise the 
boat, and up to 25 years ago her 
muddy hull could still l)e seen at 
"low tide." 

In these days of slave labor, lim- 
ited transportation facilities, heavy 
crops and lack of industrialism, 
the thoughts of the upper classes 
naturally turned to politics. The 
newspapers printed four pages of 
six columns each once or twice a 
week. The advertisements were 
usually small and the other space 
must be filled up. When people 
married, they remained married, 
and a divorce was a rarity and con- 
sidered a disgrace. There were a 
good many fights witli knives in 
grog shops, and an occasional duel, 
but news-gathering facilities had 
not ])een developed, and the papers 
were consequently filled with 
"views." Every editor was a savior 
of the countr}', and spread-eagle 
literary efiforts readily found their 
way into the newspapers from ])()li- 
ticians or statesmen. Presidential 
and Gul)ernatorial messages were 




DR. ELIJAH L. CONNALLY, Atlantan, Floyd 
County native, who as a baby was nursed 
by Indian Chiefs Tahchansee and Turkey. 



printed in full and were considered 
choice morsels for the head of the 
house. Greer's Almanac furnished 
weather predictions for everybody. 
Politics often consumed a page 
or two, and communications on 
topics that toda}- are of nnich less 
consequence often ran into two or 
three columns. As for the women, 
tliey religiotisly read "("lodey's La- 
dies' IU)ok," an eastern ])ul)lica- 
tion which met needs like tlie La- 
dies' Home Journal of today. 

It is not necessarily a reflection 
on Rome that in the lirst 26 years 
of her existence, Irmn 1834 to 1860, 
she elected more men to Congress 
than has the Rome ot the S7 years 
from 1865 to 1922. .V new country 
always develops rugged leadership 
and the fearless expression of opin- 
ion that goes with a daily light 
for existence, in this i-arly ])eriod 
l^ome sent fonr men ti> Congress. 
They were, in order, judge John 
It. Lum]:)kin, who had ]>reviously 
served his nncle, (lox'ernur Wilson 



96 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Lumpkin, as secretary, and had 
gone to the legislature in 1835; 
Thos. C. llackett. judge Lump- 
kin's law partner, ^vho succeeded 
him; Judge Augustus R. Wright, 
who had removed to Rome in 1855 ; 
and Judge ju". W. M. Underwood 
who was a member of the Georgia 
delegation which walked out of 
Congress early in 1861 without 
taking the pains to resign. Only 
two men living in Rome at the time 
of their election have since been 
sent to Congress — Judson C. Clem- 
ents and Judge Jno. W. Maddox. 
Judge Lumpkin came near put- 
ting Rome on the map as the resi- 
dence of the Governor of Georgia ; 
that is, assuming he could have 
h.een elected over the eloquent and 
])olished Benjamin H. Hill. Also, it 
is likely he would have been the 
War (governor. On June 24, 1857, 
the Democrats met at INlilledge- 
ville to nominate a candidate to 
oppose the new American or Know- 
Nothing part}-. Lumpkin led the 
balloting for some time, but he 
could not get the necessary two- 
thirds, and in a stampede, the nom- 
ination went to Jos. E. Brown. 
Alfred IT. Col(|uitt, later Governor, 
also missed it narrowdy. In the 
election held later, Brown defeated 
Hill, the American party nominee, 
by about 10,000 popular votes. 

This convention attracted the 
leading men of the state, and 
Rome's re])resentatives were Judge 
Augustus R. Wright, who on one 
ballot received five votes ; Judge 
Jno. W. H. I'nderwddd and Daniel 
S. Printup. At all such gatherings 
Rome was prominently ]nit for- 
w^ard. Her leading men went to the 
national conventions on an equal 
footing with tlie large cities of the 
state; and on numerous occasions 
Governors, Senators and Congress- 
men came to Rome to seek the ad- 
vice of these noble Romans. Among 
the Governors were Chas. J. Mc- 
Donald, Llerschel V. Johnson and 
Jos. E. Brown. When judge Lump- 



kin died in the summer of 1860 at 
the Choice House, he was in com- 
pany with a group of statesmen. 

Quite often the Romans suited 
the convenience of their political 
friends ; quite often also they wrote 
a note saying, "Come up and let 
us talk it over." The Choice House 
veranda was a capital place for 
these gatherings, but occasionally a 
dignitary accepted an invitation to 
a private fireside and was treated 
t(^ social courtesies which had 
nothing to do with ])olitics. 

A contemporary writer said of 
Rome's "quartette" and Dr. H. V. 
M. Miller, United States Senator 
elected in 1868 while residing in 
Atlanta : 

John H. Lumpkin was the candidate 
of North Georgia, which section vig- 
orouf.ly claimed the right to have the 
Governor. Lumpkin had been a con- 
gresFman and a judge of the Superior 
Court and was a gentleman of excel- 
lent ability. 

Dr. Miller, though a physician, 
won the soubriquet of "The IDemosthe- 
nes of the Mountains" in his innumera- 
ble political encounters, for which he 
had the same passion that the Irish- 
man is popularly believed to have for 
a "free fight." Deeply versed in con- 
stitutional law and political lore, a 
reasoner of rare power and as fine an 
orator as we have ever had in Geor- 
gia, capable of burning declamation 
and closely-knit argument, he was the 
peer on the stump of any of the great 
political speakers of the last half- 
century in Georgia. 

Unfortunately for him, he had two 
perilous peculiarities — a biting sar- 
casm that delighted in exhibition of 
its crushing power, and that spared 
neither friend nor foe, and a contempt- 
uous and incurable disregard of party 
affiliations. He never in his life 
worked in harmony with any party 
or swallowed whole any single party 
platform. And no man ever had more 
stubborn independence and self-asser- 
tion.* 

Judge Wright, of Eome, was one of 
the brightest thinkers and most spark- 
ling orators we had, but an embodied 
independent."* 

Judge Underwood was a racy talker, 

♦History of Georgia, 1850-1881, by I. W. 
Avery, p. 40. 
**Ibid, p. 33. 




l^!>'^MSk^^ 




LITTLF, TEXAS^VALLEY— by Lillian Page C.ulrer 



Growth from Village to Town 



99 



a fluent, eff^ective speaker and a ^ood 
lawyer, with a portly, fine presence 
and manner; he would have made a 
far more commanding figure in Geor- 
gia politics, even, than he has with 
the possession of a greater quota of 
stability.* 

An evidence of the manner in 
which Romans kept pace with the 
poHtical trend is furnished in the 
following letter, dated at Rome, 
Jan. 18, 1854, from Judge Lump- 
kin to Howell Cobb :** 

Dear Cobb: — I was with McDon- 
ald*** a good deal while he was 
here, and he was in fine health and 
most excellent spirits. In fact, I have 
never seen him when he was on bet- 
ter terms with himself and the most 
of the world. He has not much fancy 
for our friend. Col. Underwood, and 
I think he has not a great deal of re- 
spect for Dr. Singleton. I had no con- 
versation with him in regard to the 
position of United States Senator, nor 
did he give me any intimation that he 
expected to go into Mr. Pierce's cabinet. 
But William Fort, of this place, a 
nephew of Dr. Fort, and who is the 
intimate friend and supporter of Gov. 
McDonald, informs me that Jefferson 
Davis is in correspondence with Mc- 
Donald, and that McDonald informed 
him confidentially that he would go to 
Milledgeville immediately this week, 
and if he could conti-ol some three or 
four of his friends and induce them 
to go into your support for United 
States Senator, that he would then 
tender back to the party the nomina- 
tion and go in publicly for your elec- 
tion; and if this was successful, he 
had no doubt of your election to the 
United States Senate,**** and that 
he would be appointed Secretary of 
War in the place of Jefferson Davis, 
would would also go into the Senate 
from the State of Mississippi. He 
further informed me that Brown was 
an applicant for the Senate from Mis- 
sissippi, and that this difficulty would 
have to be accommodated by provid- 
ing for Brown in some other way. I 
feel confident that this arrangement 
will be carried out, and if so, the i)arty 

*Avery's History of Gcortria, p. ^2. 

**Georgia Historical Quarterly, .June, 1922, 
ps. 148-9. 

***Chas. J. McDonald, Governor from ls:V.) 
to 1843. 

****The election was held .Jan. 23, 18.54. 
Wm. C. Dawson, Whig incumbent, McDonald 
and Cobb were lieaten by a Southern Ritjhts 
Democrat, Alfred Iverson. of Columbus. 

*****GeorKia's Landmarks, Memorials and 
Legends, Vol. IL i>. 1.5. 



in Georgia will be once more thor- 
oughly united and cemented. 

Locally, politics was active, but 
it was not confined to local offices 
or questions. The newspaper ed- 
itors saw to it that their readers 
were well posted on national mat- 
ters and characters. To inspire 
Georgians and Romans there stood 
the examples of Wm. H. Craw- 
ford, United States Senator and 
minister to France, who might 
have occupied the Presidential 
chair except for an unfortunate 
stroke of paralysis ;***** Howell 
Cobb, Georgia Governor, speaker 
of the National House, and Sec- 
retary of the Treasury; John For- 
syth, Governor of Georgia, United 
States Senator and Secretary of 
State ; Wm. H. Stiles, minister to 
Austria ; Benj. C. Yancey, minister 
to Argentine ; John E. VVard, min- 
ister to China ; Herschel V. John- 
son, United States Senator' and 
candidate for vice-president on the 
ticket of Stephen A. Douglas 
against AI)raham Lincoln in 1860; 
and a number of others Avho bore 
Georgia's banner in the front of 
the procession. Georgia did not 
|)lay "second fiddle" to any state or 
the village of Rome to any city. 

Few of Rome's early records 
\vere kept, and apparentl}' no news- 
paper files before 1850 are in ex- 
istence. Several copies of the Rome 
Weekly Courier of 1850-51-52 were 
made available through the cour- 
tesy of IT. 11. \\'imi)ee, of South 
Rome, and from these we get the 
best view of the political condi- 
tions up to that time, and looking 
ahead into the dark days of 1861-5. 

P.y 1850 wc lind the old Whig 
party beginning to disintegrate, 
but its adherents lighting grimly. 
Tn that year its last President. Mil- 
lard Fillmore, was inaugurated. 
Democrats were holding their own ; 
after iMllniore they elected I'rank- 
Im I'ierce and James lUichaiian. 
The Republican party was rising in 
])o\\er. The American 1\irty 



100 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



JOSEPH WATTERS, a member of the State 
Legislature in the forties, for whom the 
Watters District was named. 



sprang up at the expense of the 
Whigs ; they were the "middle of 
the road" host, or "Know Noth- 
ings." The States Rights Demo- 
crats, often called "Fire-Eaters," 
were a wing of the Democratic 
jjarty, in the main. The Constitu- 
tional Unionists were formidable, 
North and South. Smaller factions 
likewise existed. 

An idea of the intense heat issu- 
ing from the political pot may be 
gained from the statement that 
meetings at this time were at- 
tended ^^y 10,000 to 20,000 people. 
The slavery and states' rights is- 
sues were fast coming to a head. 
Elections held in Georgia showed 
a large majority of people favora- 
ble to maintaining the Union. On 
Oct. 24, 1850, Jos. Watters and 
Edward W^are received 882 and 809 
votes, respectively, and Dr. Alvin 
Dean 121 votes, in a Floyd County 
election for two delegates to the 
state convention Dec. 10, 1850, at 
Milledgeville. Dr. Dean represent- 
ed the disunionist element, or 
"fire-eaters." The vote of the del- 
egates on secession measures w^as 
heavily in favor of preserving the 
status quo. The eyes of the nation 
were focused on Georgia, and a 
difi^erent result, it is believed, 
would have hastened the Civil War 
by a decade. 

The following political letters 
were published in A. M. Eddie- 
man's Rome Weekly Courier on 
Thursday morning, Oct. 24, 1850: 

Hermitage, 
Floyd County, Ga. 
Oct. 15, 1850. 
To Messrs. H. V. M. Miller, Jno. H. 

Lumpkin and W. T. Price, Union 

Party Committee: 

Gentlemen: Your letter of the 10th 
inst., notifying me that at a very 
large meeting of the citizens of Floyd 
County, held in Rome on the 10th, I 
was unanimously nominated as one of 
the candidates to represent the coun- 
ty in the convention which is to as- 
semble in Milledgeville, Dec. 10, has 
been received. You enclose a copy of 
the resolutions adopted by the meet- 




3 
O 












P 

O 
Ui 

I 

O 
H 

< 

H 
iz; 
P 
O 



Growth from Village to Town 



103 



ing, expressing its opinion on the pend- 
ing issues, and calling my attention to 
them. 

I have carefully examined the reso- 
lutions and do approve of them as 
adopted by the meeting. As such, I 
accept the nomination received, and 
should I be elected by the voters of 
the county, I will oppose any measure 
leading to a dissolution of the Union. 

Should Congress at any time exhibit 
its purpose to war upon our property 
or withhold our just constitutional 
rights, I as a Southern man stand 
ready to vindicate those rights in the 
Union as long as possible and out of 
the Union when we are left no other 
alternative. 

Respectfully yours, 

JOSEPH WATTERS. 

^Courtesy, Floyd Co., Ga., 
Oct. 16, 1850. 
To Messrs. H. V. M. Miller, Jno. H. 
Lumpkin and W. T. Price, Union 
Party Committee : 

Gentlemen : I received your polite 
note of the 10th inst. yesterday eve- 
ning, informing me of my unanimous 
nomination by a large and respectable 
meeting of the citizens of Floyd Coun- 
ty as one of the two candidates to 
represent them at Milledgeville Dec. 
10. I consent to represent them if I 
should be elected. 

I am requested by your honorable 
committee to give a pledge to support 
the resolutions submitted to me for my 
consideration. I pledge myself to suu- 
port no measure leading to a violation 
of the Constitution of the United 
States or dissolution of the Union. 

Gentlemen, I have the honor to be 
your most obedient servant, 

EDWARD WARE. 

Editor Kddleman was a staunch 
Union man himself, and his views 
were shared by many, as the fol- 
lowing- editorial item from the 
same issue of his paper will show : 

Kivgston Maf<s Mcetivrj. — Let no one 
forget the gathering of the friends of 
the Union at Kingston on Nov. S. Am- 
ple accommodation will be provided for 
20,000 persons, and we hope to see at 
least that number in attendance. The 
noblest fabric of government ever 
purchased by the blood of patriotism 
or formed by the wisdom of man is 
threatened with destruction. Is there 
public virtue enough in the hearts of 

♦Supposed to have been located at Six Mile 
Station, Vann's Valley. 



the people to save it? If the assault 
were made by a foreign foe, 100,000 
bayonets in Georgia would bristle in 
its defense. Shall the enthusiasm be 
less warm, the determination less firm, 
to hazard all in its protection, because 
the enemy is in our midst? 

Come out, then, to the meeting at 
Kingston, and let us mingle our voices 
in loud and long huzzas for the glo- 
rious old government of our ancestors, 
endeared to us as it is by the remi- 
niscences of the past, the incalculable 
blessings of the present and the bright 
anticipations of the future — spreading 
before the imagination a career of 
prosperity, of greatness and grandeur, 
to which all history affords no parallel. 
Let us meet and firmly resolve at any 
cost to maintain it pure and inviolate, 
as we received it. Come, people of 
Cherokee Georgia, and partake of the 
hospitality of your fellow citizens of 
Cass and Floyd. Come and listen to 
the eloquence of Stephens, and Cobb, 
and Toombs, and Andrews, and Petti- 
grew, and a host of others who are to 
be there to address you. Come and 
enjoy a "feast of reason and a flow of 
soul." Let the wisdom of age be there 
to moderate and control the fire and 
impetuosity of youth. Let the pres- 
ence and the smile of woman, as in 
every contest of patriotism the world 
over, be ready to cheer and encourage 
the hardier sex in the performance of 
its duty. 

Let no one stay away because of 
the supposed weakness of our adver- 
saries. They are more numerous than 
many suppose. They have talents, 
courage, cunning and money, and 
evince a determination to spend them 
freely in the desperate cause in which 
they have embarked. Come and show 
by your spirit and numbers your res- 
olution to permit no sacrilegious hand 
to render asunder the Glorious Flag 
of your Country. It has formed the 
winding sheet of many of your patriot 
ancestors. It has been to Americans 
in every land and on every sea, as far 
as human foot has trod, the Aegis of 
Safety. Proudly has it waved over a 
thousand bloody but victorious battle- 
fields, and it is for you to say whether 
it shall be transmitted unsullied to 
your posterity. Let there be for cen- 
turies no stain upon it, no erasure; 
but on its bright field let every STAR 
and every STRIPE forever shine re- 
splendently in glorious equality! 

'I'hns were the war clouds as- 
suming;- shape. The next ten years 
was to l)e a period of preparation 



104 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



ill tliuught and to a considerable 
extent at its close i)reparation in 
arms and munitions of war. Some 
years before this, statesmen and 
military leaders saw the prospect 
clearly! In 1844 Lieut. Wm. T. 
Sherman, just out of West Point, 
was ordered to go by horseback 
from Charleston to Marietta to 
assist in hearing claims of Georgia 
volunteers in the Seminole War for 
lost horses and equipment. After 
finishing at Marietta, he passed 
through Cass (now Bartow^) 
Cdunty. and examined the Tumlin 
Indian mound near Cartersville 
with Col. Lewds Tumlin ; then pro- 
ceeded to Bellefonte, Jackson Co., 
Ala., to continue his duties. He 
made a thorough study of the 
country from the military stand- 
point, especially Kennesaw Moun- 
tain, Allatoona Pass and the Eto- 
wah riv^er.* After spending two 
months at Bellefonte, he returned 
to Ft. Moultrie, Charleston Har- 
bor, on horseback via Rome, Alla- 




COL. ALFRED SHORTER, whom William 
Smith induced to come to Rome from Ala- 
bama, and who gave Dixie Shorter College. 



toona. Marietta (and Kennesaw), 
Atlanta, Macon and Augusta, fol- 
lowing closely parts of the route 
he took 20 years later on his 
"March to the' Sea."** 

x\nother distinguished gtiest of 
Rome who came on a different 
mission was Jefferson Davis;*** 
and still another, on Tuesday, Oct. 
29, 1850, was Col. Albert J. Pick- 
ett, of Alabama, concerning whose 
mission the Rome W'eeklv Cotirier 
of Thursday, Oct. 31. 1850, printed 
the following notice : 

Col. Pickett On DeSoto's Route. — 
Col. Albert J. Pickett, of Montgomery, 
Ala., author of the History of Ala- 
bama and incidentally of Georgia and 
Mississippi, entertained a large num- 
ber of our citizens for two hours Tues- 
day evening at the courthouse, giving 
an interesting account of the invasion 
of Georgia by DeSoto, more than three 
ctnturies ago. Col. Pickett is in pos- 
session of a more minute account of 
this remarkable adventure than any 
man we have ever seen. Upon the site 
of our city, he asserted, DeSoto en- 
camped with 1,000 men for 30 days, 
during which time a battle was fought 
between the Spaniards under his com- 
mand and the Indian tribes then in- 
habiting this country. Evidences of 
this battle still exist in the shape of 
human hones dug out of a mound near 
the junction of the Etowah and the 
Oostanaula. 

From 1840 to 1861 Rome grew 
fast. Tn this period Wm. R. Smith 
(called "Long l»iH" because he 
wore his hair in a queue down his 
back). Col. W^ade S. Cothran and 
Col. Daniel S. Printup appeared. 
All engaged in railroad enterprises, 
and in addition. Col. Printup at- 
tended to a large law business, and 
Col. Cothran acc^uired an interest 
in the steamboat lines, for wdiich 
Capt. F. M. Coulter had built a 
number of handsome and service- 
able boats. 

*Sherman's Memoirs, 1875, Vol. 11. 

**U. S. Senate Documents, Vol. 40, "Sher- 
man — a Memorial Sketch." 

***AccordinK to Mrs. Hiram D. Hill, Mr. 
Davis visited her parents, Col. and Mrs. Danl. R. 
Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell was a member of the 
Mann family, to whose members Mr. Davis was 
also related. Mr. Davis and Mrs. Mitchell were 
second cousins, according to Mrs. Hill. 




/L 



y 



Growth from Village to Town 



107 



The Rome Railroad (originally 
the Memphis Branch Railroad and 
Steamboat Company of Georgia) 
was chartered Dec. 21, 1839, and 
the whole town turned out several 
years later when the first train 
pufifed in from Kingston, 16 miles 
and a good hour away.* In 1855 the 
Nobles came from Reading, Pa., to 
give Rome a decided boost in iron 
manufactures. The LeHardys ar- 
rived from Belgium to found their 
Belgian colony, an experiment 
which added much to the agricul- 
tural interest and the social, edu- 
cational and cultural importance 
of Rome. Major Chas. H. Smith 
("Bill Arp") moved over from 
Lawrenceville in 1851, and thus 
Rome accjuired a literary expound- 
er who could proclaim her glories 
abroad, a sweet-voiced singer who 
could put her wonders into type 
and an artist who could paint her 
rude characters in the colors of 
their native abode. 

Rome soon acquired a case of 
"growing pains." The editors began 
to call for better things than what 
Rome had had. The flickering 
street lamps and the house lamps 
and candles were an al)omination. 
An enterprising firm advertised 
"camphine" as better than any light 
except the sun ; ten years later, in 
1860, a local firm started selling 
machines to make gas out of pine 
logs. 

In 1850 a volunteer fire company 
was formed, with a reel that would 
carry buckets of water. Robt. Bat- 
tey was president and David G. 
Love secretary. "Water, water" 
was everywhere, but there were no 
pipes to carry it in. and there was 
no ])um]) to send it into a gravity 
tank. Luckily, the early fires were 
usually small, exccjit one in 1858, 
which took most of the block on 
the west side of Broad Street be- 
tween Fourth and Fiftli Avenues. 



The volunteers called for extra ap- 
paratus, but none was forthcoming 
for a while. Rome was not to be 
built in a day. 

Soda water and ice cream ap- 
peared in 1850, and created a sen- 
sation. There was no great de- 
mand for them ; the people needed 
such money as they had for more 
urgent necessities ; most of all, per- 
haps, they were new and untried. 
In 1860 the druggists attempted to 
make soda water go again, and 
gave away quantities to introduce 
it. The name of it at that time 
was soda pop. The two drug stores 
were conducted by Dr. J. D. Dick- 
erson and Battey & Brother. The 
senior member of the latter was 
Dr. Geo. M. Battey, and the junior 
member Robt. Battey. Dr. Dick- 
crson not only ran his drug store, 
but found time to act as the first 
mayor, which position he filled two 
terms, until December, 1850, when 
he retired in favor of Jas. P. Per- 
kins. Mr. Perkins was followed by 
Nathan Yarbrough in 1852. Other 
early mayors, of uncertain date, 
were Wm. Cook Gautier Johnstone 
and Jas. M. Sumter. In 1857 Judge 




*JudKe John W. H. Underwood used to say 
it was the only railroad in the country that a 
man could ride all day for a dollar. 



MRS. ALFRED SH0RTP:R, lonsr prominent in 
the work of the 1st Baptist Church, and an 
able assistant to her remarkable husband. 



108 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Robt. D. Harvev was mavor. and 
in 1859-60 H. A. Gartrell,' lawyer 
and uncle of Henry W. Grady.* Old 
newspapers state that Dr. Thos. 
Jefferson Word was elected mayor 
in 1861 and succeeded liimself in 
1862. 

The proprietor of The Courier, 
an occasional traveler, informed his 
readers as follows, Jan. 30, 1851 : 

Mail Change. — We are informed by 
Thos. J. Perry, Esq., postmaster at 
this city, that he has received a com- 
munication from the Department at 
Washington giving assurance of a 
speedy and salutary change in the 
transportation of the mail and pas- 
sengers between this place and Gun- 
tersville, Ala. A four-horse stage 
coach will soon take the place of the 
spring wagon. Very well. 

And he piped this summarizing 
panegyric to the young city under 
date of Feb. 5, 1851 : 

Rome, Its Prospects. — It is grati- 
fying to watch the gradual but certain 
growth of our young and vigorous city. 
Buildings of various kinds are rap- 
idly going up and valuable accessions 
are being made to our population. 
Since the completion of the "Rome 
Railroad," business has steadily in- 
creased, and under a wise and liberal 
policy will be largely augmented dur- 
ing the next few years. If we are not 
greatly deceived, Rome will double its 
population of more than 3,000 in the 
next four years, provided its resources 
are properly directed and its inter- 
ests prudently fostered. Its popula- 
tion with the exception of some 20 or 
30 very clever doctors and lawyers, 
(who, we are happy to say, have but 
little to do), is made up mostly of sub- 
stantial business men who are per- 
manently identified with the place and 
deeply interested in its prosperity and 
reputation. 

Surrounded by a country of unsur- 
passed beauty and fertility, occupied 
by an unusually dense and valuable 
agricultural population — at the ter- 
minus of railroad and steamboat 
transportation — Rome is and must even- 
continue to be a place of considerable 
commercial importance. 

We hope before the commencement 
of another business season we shall be 
able to record the establishment of a 
bank in our City.** Such an institu- 
tion under proper regulations will 
greatly promote the convenience and 



prosperity of every class of our citi- 
zens. Our business men should take 
this matter under immediate consider- 
ation, or a large and profitable interior 
trade may be forever diverted from 
their control. 

"Ye call us a small town?" cpioth 
Editor Melville Dwinell Mar. 3, 
1860. "Harken ye!": 

A person living in Middle or Lower 
Georgia, who has never visited the 
"Metropolis of Cherokee," has an idea 
that it is like all other up-country 
towns, composed of a courthouse in the 
center of a square, surrounded by two 
taverns, a variety store, a ten pin al- 
ley, a blacksmith shop and three gro- 
ceries. He therefore expresses great 
surprise on coming to our City for the 
first time, to discover what an egregi- 
ous mistake he has made. One eye is 
opened slightly when he arrives at the 
depot and beholds those city institu- 
tions, church steeples, and an omnibus, 
and by the time his baggage is seized 
and violently tugged at by zealous 
drummers, from our two large rival 
hotels, that eye is wide open. The lids 
of the other begin to part company, in 
order to give a better view of the long 
line of fine brick stores, stretching 
away up Broad Street, at the head of 
which, upon an eminence overlooking 
the city, is the handsome residence of 
our Ex-M. C.,*** and the imposing 
building of "Rome Female College." 

At night, when our stores and street 
are illuminated with gas, the rays of 
enlightenment begin to shine in upon 
his benighted mind. 

If he be here on the Sabbath, and is 
not a "heathen or a publican," he at- 
tends one of our four churches, and 
finds it filled with an intelligent and 
attentive congregation, and hears a 
sermon that would be listened to with 
interest and profit by any similar as- 
sembly in the State. On Monday 
morning, his curiosity being aroused, 
he strolls down one side of Broad 
Street, and up the other to observe the 
style and extent of our business. While 
he stands wondering at the number of 
cotton and produce wagons "coming 
to town," and our energetic business 
men hurrying to and fro, if it be a 
pleasant day, and he an unmarried 
man, his heart leaps as he hears tiny 

*This list of before-the-war mayors is the 
completest and most accurate that it has been 
possible to obtain. 

•''Several small banks of a fly-by-night char- 
acter had been established and had gone out of 
business prior to 1851. 

***Judge John H. Lumpkin. 




BARNSLEY GARDENS (Bartow County)— by Lillian Page Coulter 



Growth from Village to Town 



111 



heels, (bless their little soles), patter- 
ing on the pavement behind him. He 
turns, and his gaze is fixed upon a 
sweet and intelligent face, just as far 
in advance of "a dear love of a bon- 
net" as the most enthusiastic admirer 
of "beauty when unadorned" could 
wish. 

If not transfixed, he, like one of 
Dame Nature's loyal subject.^, obeys 
her "supreme law," and immediately 
steps off the sideivalk, to make room 
for the widest circles of fashion that 
are "trundling" his way. Drawn ir- 
resistibly, he follows, and entering one 
of our many large dry goods houses, 
he sees several industrious and smil- 
ing clerks, energetically employed in 
pulling down and unrolling, and then 
rolling and putting up again, an ex- 
tensive assortment of calicoes, bereges, 
silks, satins, muslins, delaines, etc., 
etc., to accommodate the fair custom- 
ers, who throng the counters "only to 
see the latest spring styles." All doubts 
that may have been excited by the in- 
formation that Rome has furnished the 
last three Congressmen from the Fifth 
District* are dispelled, and he is 
"convinced against his will" that we 
have reached the highest point of civ- 
ilization. 

But he has yet to learn the impor- 
tance of Rome, in a business point of 
view; for although he has iobserved 
that we have a number of fashionable 
dry goods establishments, various 
clothing stores, large grocery houses, 
three livery stables, two extensive 
hardware and four drug stores, also 
one of jewelry, another of crockery and 
a third of "books and stationery," he 
is surprised to learn that besides the 
"college," we have a "Cherokee In- 
stitute" for boys and girls together, a 
high school for the former by them- 
selves, and two or three others, where 
the younger ideas are just taking aim; 
that we have two "carriage reposito- 
ries," where fine buggies and other ve- 
hicles are made, and that two cabinet 
shops, with steam motive power, giv- 
ing employment to about 50 hands, 
are daily manufacturing on an exten- 
sive scale neat and durable furniture 
of the latest and best styles.** 

Upon enquiring the cause of so 
much blowing and whistling of steam 
engines, some one of our obliging citi- 
zens takes his arm and conducts him 
down to the foundry*** and shows 

*No\v thd seventh. 

**Mayor Sumter conducted one of these. 
***Nobles'. 

****In 1847 it was 3,000. 

*****From the Southerner and Advertiser of 
alx)ut Aug. 26, 1860. 



him a large number of mechanics 
busily engaged in the manufacture of 
machinery of all kinds. 

He is informed that they built the 
first, and one of the best locomotives 
in the State, besides numerous engines 
for mines, mills, steamboats, etc. He 
is then taken to the "Nonpareil Mills," 
and sees meal and flour in large quan- 
tities, ground by machinery, set in mo- 
tion by one of these same engines. 

He is still unprepared for the most 
astounding discovery of all. When told 
that Rome, away up in the northwest 
corner of the State, surrounded by the 
mountains of Cherokee, is situated at 
the confluence of two streams, upon 
one of which, and upon the river which 
they form, four steamboats are con- 
stantly arriving and departing, he 
smiles and shakes his head incredu- 
lously. In order to convince him, it is 
only necessary to take him down to 
the wharves, and point with honest 
pride to the floating witnesses. Three 
of them, he is informed, make weekly 
trips down the Coosa river, to Greens- 
port, Ala., and the fourth, three times 
a week, up the Oostanaula to Calhoun, 
Gordon County. Each leaves her wharf 
with a heavy cargo of merchandise, 
and returns laden with cotton, grain, 
lumber, etc., etc. 

The "chief among us taking notes," 
walks thoughtfully away with the con- 
viction that Rome is "no mean city," 
and if in the course of a year or two 
he returns and hoars the "Iron Horse" 
snorting through Vann's Valley, bring- 
ing its living freight from Mobile and 
New Orleans, on their way to the 
Northern cities, he will find that it is 
making rapid strides to the position of 
influence and importance to which the 
hand of Nature points. 

The Tri-Weekly Courier of .Vti.s: 
8, 1860, stated that the population 
of Floyd County in 1840 was 4.441, 
and presented the following census 
table ci)mi)arisons :**** 

Year. Whites. Slaves. Free. Total 
18,50 5,202 2,999 4 8.205 

1860 9,200 5,927 K? 15,233 

James I. Teat, Floyd Comity tax 
receiver, presented the tolU)\vinj:;' 
county tax return figures for 1859 
and 1860:***** 

Number of polls in 1859, 1,651 ; in 
1860, 1,738— gain, 87. 

Legal voters over 60 years of age, 
118. 

Total number of voters, 1,856. 



112 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Lawyers and physicians in 1859, 57 
in 1860, 56. 

Free persons of color in 1859, 13 
in 1860, 16. 

Value of land in 1859, $2,652,003 
in 1860, $2,807,435. 

Town property in 1859, $446,680; in 
1860, $537,951. 

Value of slaves in 1859, $4,454,207; 
in 1860, $3,755,184. 

Amount of money, etc., in 1859, 
$1,937,849; in 1860, $2,104,490. 

Merchandise in 1859, $309,559; in 
1860, $340,565. 

Capital in steamboats in 1859, $6,- 
400; in 1860, $14,910. 



All other capital invested in 1859, 
$23,776; in 1860, $11,784. 

Household, etc., in 1859, $35,283; in 
1860, $36,805. 

All other property in 1859, $496,365; 
in 1860, $524,667. 

Total aggregate, 1859, $9,363,132; 
in 1860, $10,133,791— total gain, $770,- 
669. 

Average value of land per acre, 
$9.30. 

Average value of slaves, $651.70. 
Number of men over 60 years of age 
in proportion to polls, 14%. 




CHAPTER VI. 
Views and Events Leading Up to War 



LTHOUGH Floyd had been 
overwhelmingly a "Union 
county," her citizens, al- 
most to a man, were willing 
to go with the majority in any sit- 
uation affecting the interests of the 
South. Thus we see the local sen- 
timent gradually changing, until 
in 1860 the anti-secession forces 
had lost considerable ground. This 
was brought about in general by 
the drift of the times, in particular 
by the abductions of slaves, the 
propaganda of traveling emissa- 
ries, and the literary efforts of 
Northern leaders opposed to 
slavery. The w^ritings of Wm. 
Lloyd Garrison, who edited an abo- 
litionist paper, Harriet Beecher 
Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's 
Cabin," and Hinton Rowan Helper, 
author of "The Impending Crisis," 
greatly inflamed sentiment and 
tended to knit i)nl)]ic opinion more 
closely. 

The Rome Tri-Weekly Courier 
gives a good view of some of these 
influences and the incidents which 
were the outgrowth of them. Says 
Capt. Dwinell in The Courier of 
Jan. 10, 1860: 

Loolc Out For Him.— The Knoxville 
Whig gives the following description 
of an abolition emissary who, it says, 
intends "spending the winter at the 
South." His ostensible business seems 
to be selling and putting up gas burn- 
ers, and as Rome will very soon have 
need of such articles, he may honor 
us with a visit. 

He is about 23 or 25 years of age, 
weighs about 135, has light hair, sort 
of gray> or blue eyes; his height is 
about 5 feet, 6 inches; he is fond of 
music, is a scientific fiddler; goes about 
as an agent for gas burners; is an in- 
cessant talker; is well informed for a 
man of his age, talks up freely on all 
subjects. Has letters addressed to 
him at different points, sometimes Jolm 

*John Brown ; hanged Dec. 2, 1S59, at Charles- 
town, Va., for raid on Harper's Ferry. 



Jenkins, at other times to J. P. Jen- 
kins, and again to J. W. P. Jenkins. 

The Whig says he spent some time 
in Jacksboro, Tenn., and on his return 
to his home, Brooklyn, N. Y., he wrote 
a long letter on the subject of slavei-y 
to a citizen of the former place. We 
subjoin an extract, and hope a strict 
watch may be kept for him: 

"Depend upon it, when Brown* dies, 
the ghost will haunt many that may 
gloat upon the sight, or imaginary one 
of Brown and his party, as they see 
them dangling on the scaffold paying 
their desire of revenge! And ere long 
there will be a howling in their ears, 
with thunder tones the snappings and 
crackings of those long-forged chains, 
until they awake as from a dream at 
last, in which they shall see their folly 
in having executed men for their feel- 
ings of iDcnevolence. 

"I see that the institution is getting 
very sick. It has the ague in its worst 
form in Virginia. It has the consump- 
tion, and almost a galloping one, in 
Missouri. So it has in portions of Ken- 
tucky and many parts of the South. 
The seeds of discontent are being 
sowed broadcast, even to the most re- 
mote regions. Not through the in- 
fluence of emissaries from the North 
particularly, but by the force of the 
power of emigration and civilization." 

There are too many of these scoun- 
drels prowling about through the 
Southern states. Their object is the 
same as is proclaimed in the "Impend- 
ing Crisis," and attempted to be car- 
ried out by John Brown and his con- 
federates—emancipation of our slaves 
— attended by murder, arson and all 
that is terrible and revolting in a ser- 
vile war. We are no advocates of mob 
law, but we believe in the first law of 
nature, and in such instances as these, 
freciuently our only safety is in sum- 
mary proceedings. 

We learn from the Atlanta i)aper9 
that last week in that city one of these 
vile incendiaries, named Newcomb, a 
clerk in a dry goods house, drank a 
toast to the health of John Brown, and 
eulogized his character. He was al- 
lowed to escape without just punish- 
ment for his temerity. We are op- 
posed to rashness and precipitancy in 
such cases, but when guilt is fully es- 
tablished, these fellows should hv dealt 



114 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



with in such manner as will cause them 
to remember the lesson the balance of 
their days, and enable them to recite 
it with earnestness and eloquence to 
such of their friends as may seem in- 
clined to embark on similar enter- 
prises. 

The Impendmg Crisis. — We find the 
subjoined extract from this notorious 
book in one of our exchanp,-es. South- 
erners can infer from it the purpose 
and character of the work : 

"So it seems that the total number 
of actual slave owners, including their 
entire crew of cringing lick-spittles, 
against whom we have to contend, is 
but 347,525. Against the army for the 
defense and propagation of slavery, we 
think it will be an easy matter — in- 
dependent of the negroes, who in nine 
cases out of ten would be delighted 
with an opportunity to cut their mas- 
ters' throats, and without accepting a 
single recruit from the free states, Eng- 
land, France or Germany — to mus- 
ter one at least three times as large 
and far more respectable, for its utter 
extinction. We are determined to abol- 
ish slavery at all hazards — in defiance 
of all opposition of whatever nature, 
which it is possible for the slaveocrats 
to muster against us. Of this they 




CAPT. MELVILLE DWINELL, native of Ver- 
mont, bachelor and noted Rome newspaper 
editor, who gave Henry Grady his first "job." 



may take due notice, and then govern 
themselves accordingly." 

It is nothing more nor less than a 
declaration of war against the South 
and her institutions, in which we are 
warned to "take due notice" that our 
slaves will be given the opportunity 
of cutting our throats. And this trea- 
sonable document is recommended by 
68 Northern men, including Congress- 
men, Governors and clergymen. It is 
endorsed by leaders of the Black Re- 
publican party, among them John 
Sherman, of Ohio, their speaker of the 
House of Representatives ; Wm. H. 
Seward.* Senator from New York, 
says of it: 

"I have read 'The Impending Crisis' 
with deep attention. It seems to me 
a work of information and logical anal- 
ysis." 

And Mr. Seward will in all proba- 
bility be the candidate of his party for 
the presidency. These facts will do for 
Southerners to ponder well. 

The Courier of Jan. 19. 186C, re- 
prodticed the following from the 
Montgomer}' Mail as embodying 
its own sentiments: 

Somefhivg, Something, Anything! — 
Now that the state convention of the 
dominant party has adjourned, the gen- 
eral hope is that the Legislature will 
do something — anything — by way of 
preparing to meet the requirements of 
the war that is almost upon us. Let 
no man accuse us of disunion purposes. 
The question is not, will not be, left 
to the South for decision. The forces 
of Abolition intend to leave us no op- 
tion but to fight for our firesides, or 
do as cowards do. As they moved at 
Harper's Ferry, so they are prepar- 
ing to move all over the South. Plots 
have already been detected and stifled 
in Missouri. "Irrepressible Conflict" 
means the knife at your throat and 
the torch at your house, reader, and 
both at the dead of night. Whenever 
you take up and drive off^ an Abolition- 
ist fi'om your neighborhood, he goes 
to the next county, and another takes 
Ins place. The dead ones cease to act. 

The following of Jan. 24, 1860. 
illustrates a habit of traveling 
salesmen from the North : 

The Latest Dodge. — The Yankees are 
never at a loss for expedients. During 
this "impending crisis" they have se- 

*Mr. Seward became Lincoln's Secretary of 
War. As a young man ne taught school a 
while at Milledgeville. 



Views and'^Events Leading up to War 



115 





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A PAGE DEDICATED TO THE HORSE. 

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on'e^ode one of thos""'""' ""'"' °"* *° *''"'' '*'"''''^" ^"""^ '"''''■ "'^'' '""^ ^^•"^'■'^- "' 



116 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



cured a large amount of Southern cus- 
tom by sending out their drummers 
dressed in homespun! The ruse pays, 
and as drummers are generally expect- 
ed to be an accommodating set, per- 
fectly free and perfectly persuasive, 
they never lose an opportunity to talk 
humorously conservative, as if the po- 
litical hubbub now rampant was all a 
meaningless fudge, and the North and 
the South are as firmly linked as ever. 
But yet, when a serious discussion 
arises they are intensely Southern, and 
their homespun is proof positive! — 
Petersburg Express. 

The Courier of Jan. 26, 1860, ap- 
prizes us of an attack on "The Im- 
pending- Crisis" from the floor of 
tlie House by a Roman :* 

The following is an extract from the 
speech of the Hon. John W. H. Under- 
wood, of Rome, in the House of Rep- 
resentatives, Washington, on the 16th 
inst. It places John Sherman's rela- 
tion to the Helper book in a new and 
strong light: "Mr. Clerk, when we as- 
sembled in this hall on the first Mon- 
day in December last, we found upon 
the floor of this House 40 members who 
had 'cordially endorsed' Helper's 'Im- 
pending Crisis of the South,' a book 
which proposes arson, murder, rapine, 
insurrection and servile war. Among 
the signers of that 'coidial endorse- 
ment' is the honorable gentleman from 
Ohio, Mr. Sherman, the candidate of 
the Black Republican party for speak- 
er. .. . That man Helper, 
some months prior to this 'cordial en- 
dorsement,' was exposed by the honor- 
able Senator from North Carolina in 
the Senate, and denounced as a thief, 
and this was put into the records of 
Congress; and not only that, this same 
Helper assaulted a member of this 
House (Mr. Craige, of North Caro- 
lina) in his seat, about this same work; 
and I respectfully submit, the hon- 
orable gentleman from Ohio was too 
careless, too unmindful of public events 
when he endorsed this author's work 
without knowing the contents of the 
book. Sir, if ever there was a clear 
case of criminal negligence, this is the 
one, if it were a crime to endorse cor- 
dially that Helper work!" 

Judg^e Underwood shortly passed 
throu.g'h Athmta : 

We find the following in the 
Atlanta Intelligencer and cheer- 
fully transfer it to our columns as a 
merited compliment to our immediate 
representative and fellow townsman. 



We commend the concluding paragraph 
J to the consideration of the Floyd Cav- 
alry, "quorum ille magna pars," and 
also to those interested in the organi- 
zation of the new foot company: 

"Hon. John W. H. Underwood, the 
representative of the Fifth Congires- 
sional District, passed through our city 
yesterday morning. He was looking 
in fine plight, and so far as looks are 
concerned, is an ornament to the Geor- 
gia delegation in CongTess. But he has 
mental ability as well as looks. More- 
over, we find from his conversation that 
he is fired up with a just sense of 
the perils impending over the South. 
He is in favor of arming the South, 
and advocates on the part of Georgia 
a preparation to meet the 'irrepressi- 
ble conflict' which he says must sooner 
or later come upon us. We cordially 
respond to his recommendation. Let 
the State of Geoirgia arm her military 
forces, encourage volunteer companies, ' 
provide arms and ammunition, and in 
times of peace prepare for war. This 
is what prudence demands. We are 
for peace as long as we can preserve 
our rights by adherence to it, but when 
forbearance ceases to be a virtue, we 
say let the fight come on. We have no 
fears of the final result of such a con- 
flict."— Courier, Feb. 9, 1860. 

While the polemics of stump and 
I^rinting- press were raging, the 
boys were busy currying their 
mounts and polishing their old 
squirrel guns : 

Floyd Cavalry — An Infantry Corps. 
— The Floyd Cavalry, under command 
of Capt. W. S. Cothran, paraded in 
our streets on Saturday. We are glad 
to see that notwithstanding the dis- 
couragements this company have met 
with, they have persevered in their de- 
termination to succeed. Their ranks 
were not very full, but we hope the 
election of Col. Cothran to the cap- 
taincy will excite additional zeal. We 
a're rejoiced to learn that an infantry 
company is about being organized in 
this place. 

We call the attention of all the citi- 
zens interested in the safety of the 
country to the fact. In the name of 
patriotism and in view of the exigen- 
cies of the times we entreat them to 
render all the aid they can. The spies 
sent out by the Abolition leaders of 
the North to pry into the conditions of 
our military system speak in the most 

*Since this was launched a week before the 
Georgia delegation left Congress, quite likely 
it was Judge Underwood's parting shot. 



Views and Events Leading up to War 



117 



contemptuous terms of them. They 
have doubtless thereby been embolden- 
ed in their attacks upon our rights. 
An ample preparation for the worst is 
the surest way to avert it. Let us not. 
be behind the rest of the state in the 
work, but let us place these two com- 
panies in a position second to none. — 
Courier, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 1860. 

Failure to recognize the South 
as the "white man's country" 
caused keen embarrassment to a 
.sojourner in Rome, as told vmder 
date of Feb. 9, 1860: 

An Excitement. — An individual who 
claimed to be a drummer for a New 
York house arrived here from Mari- 
etta Tuesday afternoon. He was un- 
derstood by passengers on the car to 
utter heretical sentiments on the sub- 
ject of negro equality; and upon in- 
formation being given to this effect to 
some of our citizens, he was waited 
upon and none too politely requested 
t(t leave. He seemed to be very earn- 
estly desirous of complying immediate- 
ly, but was left by the evening train 
and compelled to wait over until yes- 
terday. At one time he was in im- 
mediate danger of being roughly 
treated, and was so badly scared that 
he was heard to express a preference 
for a climate usually considered much 
warmer than the tropics. He evidently 
thought Rome too hot for him! 

It is a most astonishing thing to us 
that a Northern man at this juncture 
will permit an anti-slavery opinion to 
escape his lips in the South. They must 
be most stupid folks if they cannot 
learn under the experience of such 
teachings as they have had. 

This incident suggested to the 
citizens of Rome a mass meeting 
two days later to pass resolutions 
outlawing Northern-made goods. 
The Courier account and its edito- 
rial comment of Saturday, Feb. 11, 
1860, are herewith presented: 

Non-Interconrse Meeting. — In an- 
other column we publish the proceed- 
ings of this meeting held in the City 
Hall on last Thursday. It is an impor- 
tant step in the onward march of the 
South to independence and greatness. 
Now the question arises, do 
we intend to abide by these resolu- 
tions? Or will the persons, compris- 
ing a large number of our wealthiest 
and most intelligent citizens, who 
adopted them with such unanimity, 
utterly disregard them, as was inti- 



mated in the meeting, whenever they 
can save a few dimes by giving the 
preference in the purchase of thein 
goods to those merchants who may 
bring them from the North? If so, the 
whole affair will be a most absurd fail- 
ui-e, a ridiculous farce. We have 
greater confidence in the sincerity and 
the self-sacrificing patriotism of the 
people of Floyd County than to enter- 
tain such a thought for a moment. 

Citizens' Non»Intercourse Meeting. — 
Pursuant to a call from a committee 
made up of W. S. Cothran, J. H. Lump- 
kin, J. R. Freeman, J. M. Spullock, W. 
A. Fort, C. H. Smith, J. B. Underwood, 
F. C. Shropshire, Alfred Shorter, Dr. 
J. King, T. W. Alexander, Dr. T. J. 
Word, Thos. G. Watters and J. H. Mc- 
Clung, a portion of the citizens of 
Floyd County met at 11 o'clock at the 
City Hall, and on motion of Dr. Alvin 
Dean, his honor the mayor, Henry A. 
Gartrell, was called to the chair. The 
chairman then stated the object of the 
meeting to be to assert our Commer- 
cial Independence of the North. On 
motion of Hon. J. W. H. Underwood. 
Dr. Alvin Dean and Col. Jos. Watters 
were named vice-presidents, and J. W. 
Wofford and Geo. T. Stovall were re- 




MAJOR and MRS. CHAS. H. SMITH— "Bill 
Arp's" "open letter to Abe Linkhorn" in 
April, 1861, proved a sensation in the South. 



118 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



quested to act as secretaries. The 
chairman appointed the following to 
act as a steering committee: Thos. E. 
Williamson, D. B. Hamilton, F. C. 
Shropshire, J. R. Freeman, Green T. 
Cunningham, J. F. Hoskinson, B. F. 
Hooper, J. P. Holt, Jos. Ford, C. P. 
Dean and B. F. Payne. 

While the committee were out, Col. 
Underwood set forth in an able and 
eloquent speech the relations existing 
between the two sections of the coun- 
try — the aggressive and unconstitu- 
tional policy of the North on the one 
hand and the degrading dependence of 
the South on the other, and earnestly 
urged upon those present the duty and 
importance of throwing off the finan- 
cial shackles by which the South is 
bound. 

The following resolutions were 
passed: 

"Resolved, first. That the merchants 
and mechanics of this city and county 
be requested to patronize Southern 
manufacturers. Southern markets and 
direct importations to Southern ports, 
to the exclusion of all others. 

"Resolved, second. That in the pur- 
chase of our dry goods, groceries, hard- 
ware and other merchandi.se we will 
support and sustain those who comply 
with the foregoing resolutions. 

"Resolved, third. That while we have 
an abiding confidence in the patriotism 
and fidelity of some of our Northern 
friends, yet duty to the South requires 
that we should stand to and abide by 
the foregoing resolutions until the 
Northern states demonstrate at the bal- 
lot box their fidelity to the Constitu- 
tion and the laws, by driving from our 
national councils the leaders of that 
demoniac crew known as the Black Re- 
publican party, and by repealing all 
their local laws which militate against 
the common Constitution of our coun- 
try. 

"Reso/ved, fourth. That the people 
of the whole country, irrespective of 
party affiliation, are requested to meet 
at the City Hall on the first Tuesday in 
March, next, for the purpose of ratify- 
ing the foregoing resolutions." 

The resolutions were adopted with 
only one dissenting vote. Mr. C. H. 
Smith then offered the following res- 
olution: 

"Resolved, That all persons who 
voted for the foregoing resolutions sign 
the same." 

Unanimously cai-ried. Messrs. W. 
B. Terhune, R'. D. Harvey, G. S. Black, 
H. Allen Smith, F. C. Shropshire, T. 



E. Williamson and J. W. H. Undei-- 
wood had discussed certain features of 
the matter. Meeting then adjourned 
after thanking the officers. 

On Thursday, May 10, 1860, Capt. 
Dwinell sounded this warning, 
which, by the way, was highly 
prophetic of 1922 : 

There has, perhaps, been no time 
since the organization of our govern- 
ment when the public mind has been 
so completely in confusion as it now is 
throughout this section of the country. 
The great party that has for years 
claimed to be the only national one in 
existence is disrupted and thousands 
of its members now stand aghast, in 
confused amazement and know not 
what to do. A fearful struggle be- 
tween love of party and patriotism is 
going on in their breasts, and cow- 
ardly demagogues with timid haste and 
pale-faced alarm are clambering up on 
the neutral fences and getting ready 
at the first safe moment to jump to 
the stronger side. The people should 
mark these miscreant polti'oons who 
now with cringing cowardice sneak be- 
hind; they will soon appear upon the 
side of the majority and ask to be made 
leaders of the victorious hosts. 

A fearful responsibility now rests 
upon the shoulders of every citizen of 
the South. Political parties are to a 
great extent broken up and disorgan- 
ized and every individual now has to 
advise himself without the aid of po- 
litical leaders. Under these circum- 
stances every man should be cautious 
and prudent, but unwaveringly deter- 
mined to do right and perform his 
duty whatever that may be. Old party 
names and distinctions should be 
thrown to the dogs, and, actuated by 
pure patriotism, all men should buckle 
on their armour and volunteer to fight 
for our unmistakable constitutional 
rights and the permanent prosperity 
of our most sacred institutions. 

In these times of political excite- 
ment there is danger that the people, 
being exasperated, may be carried to 
extremes; therefore be on your guard, 
and "let all the ends thou aimest at be 
thy country's, God's, and truth's." Bear 
in mind that you are now at least com- 
pletely untrammelled, and it is your 
most imperative duty, with patriotic 
zeal, boldly to contend for justice and 
the rights of your section. Think not 
too much of "choosing between evils," 
but rather make a determined choice 
between right and wrong. "If the Lord 
be God, serve Him, if Baal, serve him." 



Views and Events Leading up to War 



119 




120 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



The election of President of the 
United States was to be held Tues- 
day, Nov. 6, 1860. The tickets in 
the field were Abraham Lincoln, of 
Illinois, and Hannibal Hamlin, of 
Maine, nominated by the Repub- 
licans, or "Black Republicans," as 
they were called at the South ; 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and 
Herschel \'. Johnson, of Georgia, 
put forward by the "Squatter Sov- 
ereignty"* hosts ; Jno. C. Breckin- 
ridge, of Kentucky, and Jos. Lane, 
of Indiana (a native of Buncombe 
County, N. C), running on the 
American or "Know Nothing" plat- 
form ; and John Bell,** of Tennes- 
see, and Edward Everett, of Mass- 
achusetts, representing the Consti- 
tutional Union party.*** 

The Courier supported Bell and 
Everett and carried Floyd County 
for them ; the rival newspaper, the 
Southern & Advertiser, backed 
Breckinridge and Lane and got 
them second place. Douglas and 
Johnson were a poor third; they 
split the Democratic vote of the 
United States with Breckinridge 
and Lane, else Lincoln might have 
been defeated. 

On Monday, Apr. 23, 1860, the 
various factions held a national 
convention at Charleston, S. C. 
This proved to be a hot session for 
the delegates; the disunionists 
\vithdrew, and it was voted to ad- 
journ the convention to Baltimore 
Md., for June 18, 1860. Editor 
Dwmell attended the Charleston 
meeting, and sent back to his read- 
ers some vivid accounts of the tur- 
nioil and strife. 

The Romans, always ready with 
mass meetings and resolutions, met 
Tuesday, May 3, 1860, to adopt a 
policy. Here is an account of the 
proceedings, as presented in The 
Courier of two days later : 

Democratic Meeting. — We publish 
in another column the resolutions 
adopted by the Democratic party of 
Floyd County on last Tuesday. They 
fully sustain the seceders from the 



Charleston Convention and deal a 
death blow to Squatter Sovereignty in 
this county. 

F. C. Shropshire, Esq., offered a 
substitute, according honesty and pa- 
triotic motives to the seceders, but re- 
fusing to say whether they acted right 
or wrong. Hon. J. H. Lumpkin re- 
viewed the history of the party for 
four years past; from the adoption of 
the Cincinnati platform to the deser- 
tion of Douglas ; from the rise of 
Squatter Sovereignty to the adjourn- 
ment of the Charleston Convention. He 
gave a succinct, clear and correct re- 
cital of the action of this body; the de- 
termination of Judge Douglas' friends, 
the enemies of the South, to force him 
upon us, and repudiate the Constitu- 
tional rights of the South so clearly 
defined by the Supreme Court, and pre- 
sented in the majority platform by 
seventeen Democratic States — fifteen 
of which were slave states. He showed 
that no course was left for Southern 
men who respected the rights and 
equality of their section but to with- 
draw from the Squatters. 

Mr. Shropshire followed in support 
of his resolutions. He exhorted Dem- 
ocrats to harmonize. He told them 
that the party had been pledged since 
1847 to abide by the principles of non- 
intervention by Congress with slavery 
in any way, and they should be faithful 
to their pledge, and stand by their 
Northern friends who had stood by 
them. He wound up with a most af- 
fecting appeal. He assured them the 
party would be ruined unless there was 
a compromise; he begged his friends 
opposed to him to yield a little — just a 
little — and the great Democratic party 
would once more unfurl its proud ban- 
ner, etc., etc. 

W. B. Terhune, Esq., made a few 
pointed remai-ks in favor of the ma- 
jority report; read the resolution 
adopted by the December convention; 
said the seceding delegates had acted 
in accordance with the principles there- 
in laid down and they should be sus- 
tained by the party. He moved to lay 
Mr. Shropshire's substitute on the ta- 
ble, which was carried by an over- 
whelming vote. 

*According to Avery's History of Georgia, 
p. 103, the "squatter sovereignty doctrine 
claimed the right of territorial legislatures to 
determine the question of slavery in the terri- 
tories." 

**As a member of Congress in 1835, Mr. Bell 
was requested by John Ross to call for an in- 
vestigation of the arrest of Ross and John 
Howard Payne by the Georgia Guard. 

***It appears from this line-up that a delib- 
erate effort was made to split the vote of the 
South and throw the plum to Lincoln. 



Views and Events Leading up to War 



121 



The report of the committee was 
then adopted with only four or five 
dissenting voices. 

We observed the same distinction 
between the speeches of Messrs. Lump- 
kin and Terhune on one side and Mr. 
Shropshire on the other, which char- 
acterized the debate in the Charleston 
convention and the letters of distin- 
guished Democrats in reply to the Ma- 
con committee. 

The two former spoke for principle, 
for the Constitution and Southern 
equality, while the latter spoke for 
party and nothing but party. 

Resolutions Adopted. — First. That 
the protection of all the rights, both 
of person and property of all citizens, 
is the sole legitimate purpose for which 
Grovernments are instituted. 

Second. That the Federal Govern- 
ment of the States of the Union is 
bound, to the full extent of the powers 
delegated to it by them, to protect all 
citizens of all the states, in all 
their rights of person and property, 
everywhere, and more especially upon 
the public domain, their common prop- 
erty. 

Third. That a large and increasing 
majority of the people, under the 
name of Black Republicans, of the 
Eastern, Middle and Northwestern 
States, are striving to get control of 
the Federal Government, with the 
avowed purpose of withholding this 
protection from more than three thous- 
and 7nillions of Southern property, and 
of thus putting this property in a state 
of outlawry, in a government which 
derives from it more than two-thirds of 
all its revenues. 

Fourth. That, therefore, the demand 
made by the Southern delegates to the 
Charleston convention of a distinct 
recognition of the equal right of South- 
ern citizens and property to protection 
by the Common Government, upo(n 
common soil, was highly expedient, 
reasonable and just. 

Fifth. That the obstinate refusal of 
the delegations from the sixteen States 
now under the control of the Black 
Republicans, to make this recognition, 
demanded by the seventeen Democratic 
States of the Union, and recognized 
as just by many individual delegates 
from all the States, gives painful evi- 
rip.ric.e that a majority of those delegy 
tions already sympathize with the 
Black Republicans in their unrelenting 
hostility to our Constitutional rights. 

Sixth. That the withdrawal of a 
large portion of the Southern delegates 
from the convention upon this une- 



quivocal manifestation of sectional 
hostility to our rights was tvise, manly 
and patriotic, and entitles them to the 
thanks of the tvhole Southern people. 

Seventh. That we will appear by our 
delegates in the convention, to be' held 
at Milledgeville, on the 4th day of June 
next, to deliberate upon the course to 
be pursued by the Democratic party of 
Georgia, in the present condition of po- 
litical affairs. 

Eighth. That if a majority of that 
convention shall deem it expedient that 
Georgia should be represented at the 
adjourned meeting of the Charleston 
convention, to take place at Baltimore, 
on the 18th of June next, we will con- 
sent to it for the sake of harmony, but 
upon the express condition that we will 
not be bound by the action of that 
body unless it shall give its assent in 
sincerity of purpose and good faith to 
the principles contended for by the 
Democratic states at Charleston, and 
give us in addition a sound candidate. 

The lightning-rod salesman was 
another "gentleman from the 
North" for whom Floyd County 
citizens kept peeled an eager eye. 
The Courier of Aug. 30, 1860, stat- 
ed that a correspondent of The Sa- 
vannah News, writing under date 
of Aug. 10 from the Steamship 
Montgomery, declared a man on 
board by the name of John Owens, 
of Erie County, N. Y., who had been 
putting up lightning rods in Geor- 
gia and West Florida, had asserted 
that John Brown died in a good 
cause, and he (Owens) would be 
\villing- to lay down his life for the 
same ; also that he announced his 
intention of returning to the South. 

"Last year a man by the name 
of Owens, selling patent lightning 
rods, passed through this county 
and met with considerable success," 
continued The Courier. "He had 
much to say against abolitionists, 
wdiich was a suspicious circum- 
stance. Let us be on the watch for 
him, and when he returns, have an 
investigation, ^^'ill not The Savan- 
na li News olitain from its corre- 
spondent a description of John 
Owens, in order that he may be 
identified on his return?" 



122 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




MINIATURE PORTRAITS OF TWO 'OLD TIMERS." 

Dr. and Mrs. Jno. Wesley Connor, the parents of Prof. W. O. Connor, of Cave Spring. 
Mrs. Connor was Henrietta Mayson, of Ninety-Six, S. C. As a girl she met Gen. LaFayette, 
who pronounced her the prettiest young lady he had seen in America. She lies buried in 
the Cave Spring cemetery. 



A "Lincoln defeat" was seen by 
The Courier of Thursday, Sept. 1, 
1860: 

Lincoln's Defeat Certain. — Hereto- 
fore we had little hope that the Black 
Republican candidate could be defeat- 
ed. With the opponents of that party 
divided and belligerent we saw no pos- 
sible chance to avoid the disgrace of a 
Black Republican Administration. But 
our fears have vanished, for the defeat 
of Lincoln is now fixed. 

The Rome Light Guards received 
their caps by July 4, 1860, and by 
Sept. 22, 1860, one of the l)rilliant 
sample uniforms appeared. This 
uniform was of blue cloth, scarlet 
fimmings and gold buttons, and 
made the boys of the other com- 
panies extremely envious of the 
wearers. 

The desire of the political lead- 
ers for the Cherokee Georgia vote 
was emphasized in the autumn of 
1860 by the appearance in Rome of 
some of the "biggest guns" in the 
state and section. No such an ar- 



ray of orators has ever declaimed 
against Rome's mountain slopes. 

On Thursday, Sept. 20, 1860, 
Wm. L. Yancey, of Alabama, whose 
speeches did as much as any other 
agency to stir the war spirit in 
the South, spoke at Kingston, and 
a large crowd of Romans went on 
a Rome Railroad excursion to hear 
him. 

On Thursday, Sept. 27, 1860, Sen- 
ator Alfred Iverson, of Columbus, 
addressed a crowd at the City Hall. 
Alexander H. Stephens sat on the 
platform at this meeting, but de- 
clined to make a speech. He spoke 
on the day following at a barbecue 
at Floyd Springs, after an intro- 
duction by Judge Augustus R. 
Wright. 

On Saturday, Sept. 29, 1860, Benj. 
H. Hill spoke at Sloan, Berry & 
Company's warehouse. On Mon- 
day. Oct. 22, 1860, Mr. Hill spoke 
again. On this latter occasion he 
was proceeding to Cedartown to 



Views and Events Leading up to War 



123 



assist in the defence of Col. J. J. 
Morrison, charged before the Polk 
Superior Court with kilHng Thos. 
W. Chisohn on the day of the last 
general election. 

On Monday, Oct. 29, 1860, Steph- 
en A. Douglas ("The Little Gen- 
eral"), spoke for his presidential 
ticket at Kingston, and was heard 
by many from Rome. 

The county was on the brink of 
the war precipice, ready for a head- 
long tumble in. 

From the Tri-Weekly Courier 
of Tuesday morning, Dec. 4, 1860, 
we quote to illustrate the rising 
war sentiment : 

"Georgia's Only Hope of Safety Is in 
Secession.'' — A large portion of this 
paper is devoted to an extract from a 
letter with the above heading. We 
publish this instead of the speech of 
Judge Benning, believing that it pre- 
sents a clearer and stronger argument 
in favor of secession than the speech 
alluded to. In the statement of our 
grievances the writer makes out a very, 
very strong case and proves very con- 
clusively — what we believe most peo- 
ple are ready to admit — that Georgia 
ought to resist abolition encroachmerits. 

Our Legislature in calling the con- 
vention state that fact and we have 
heard no man deny it; and the appro- 
priation of a million of dollars, which 
everybody favors, confirms the pur- 
pose of a firm, deterfuhied resistance 
on the part of Georgia. Now, if we 
admit what the writer's argument 
seems to imply, viz: that the entire 
North is irredeemably demoralized and 
not at all worthy to be trusted, then 
how is it that separate State action is 
to be more effectual against them than 
the united strength of all the parties 
aggrieved by their hostility? We are 
as much in favor of )-esista}ice as this 
letter writer or any one else, but for 
our life we can see no sense in each 
one of the fifteen States that have been 
aggrieved, setting up a separate and 
independent viode of retaliation; nor 
any propriety in separately running 
heiter skelter from the common enemy. 

As the matter now stands, the entire 
South is arraigned in solid columns 
against the North. There are fifteen 
independent brigades on our side and 
eighteen of the enemy. The enemy 
have been practicing a garilla warfare 
upon us until "forbearance has ceased 



to be a virtue," and now along our en- 
tire lines there is such a state of con- 
sternation and excitement as was never 
before witnessed in trying to deter- 
mine "what shall be done." Two or 
three brigades seem determined, re- 
gardless of the action of the others, to 
break ranks and retreat immediately. 
Nearly every brigade has called a coun- 
cil of war, while all are arming them- 
selves for a fight. 

What say you, men of the Georgia 
brigade? Will you retreat at once, and 
without even consulting the other brig- 
ades of this great army — those that 
have protected your right and left 
wings, that have been your "front 
guard and rear ward" during a cam- 
paign of 84 years? Most surely you 
will not. The generous bravery that 
swells the bosoms of Georgia's noble 
sons would not allow them to be 
treacherous to an enemy; then how 
niuch less to true and long tried 
friends. 

This vexed slavery question must 
and will be speedily settled, in some 
way or another. But whatever is done, 
let us not have a divided South. "A 
house divided against itself cannot 
stand." 

Floyd County Meeting. — The follow- 
ing are the resolutions passed in the 




i^H>^ 



HISHOP THOMAS FIEI.DINC SCOTT, of Ma- 
rietta, who was the leadinK light in the es- 
tablishment of St. Peter's Episcopal church. 



124 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



meeting of citizens at the City Hall, 
on Monday the 3rd instant: 

Resolved, That the time has arrived 
when it becomes the duty of every 
friend of Georgia to discard partizan 
feelings and purposes, and unite in an 
earnest effort to maintain her rights, 
secure her liberties, and vindicate her 
honor. 

Resolved, That this Union of South- 
ern heads and hearts being an indis- 
pensable pre-requisite to efficient ac- 
tion, v^^e pledge ourselves to do every- 
thing in our povi^er to promote, estab- 
lish and maintain it. 

Resolved, That we recognize the 
clearly expressed will of a majority of 
the people of Floyd county as the rule 
of action, binding upon their represen- 
tatives, in any convention of the peo- 
ple of Georgia. 

Resolved, That we hereby request 
our Senator and Representatives in the 
General Assembly of this State' to pro- 
cure the following demands by said 
General Assembly to be made by joint 
resolutions or otherwise, upon the Nor- 
thern States, viz: 

First. To repeal all personal liberty 
bills and other Legislative enactments 
to defeat the rendition of fugitive 
slaves. 

Second. The enactment in lieu there- 
of of "efficient laws to facilitate such 
recovery in accordance with their plain 
constitutional obligations." 

Third. The prompt and faithful sur- 
render of all fugitives from justice and 
violators of the laws of the slavehold- 
ing states. 

Fourth. The immediate release of all 
Southern citizens unjustly imprisoned 
for seeking to recover their fugitive 
slaves. 

Fifth. A distinct acknowledgement 
and faithful observance of the right of 



Southern citizens to settle with their 
negro property in any territory of the 
United States, and there hold it like all 
other property under the protection of 
just laws faithfully administered so 
long as the territorial condition shall 
last. 

Sixth. The repeal of all laws giving 
to free negroes the privilege of voting 
for members of Congress or for Elec- 
tors of President and Vice-President 
of the United States. 

Seventh. The co-operation of the Sen- 
ators and Representatives of said 
State in the Congress of the United 
States in procuring the repeal of a 
pretended law to prevent the slave 
trade in the District of Columbia. 

Resolved, That in the event the 
states upon which these just and rea- 
sonable demands shall be made by the 
Legislative Assembly in the name, and 
on the behalf of the people of Georgia, 
shall give unmistakable evidence of a 
determination to accede to them, in 
good faith, by or before the 16th of 
January next, Georgia shall abide in 
the Union, otherwise secession is the 
only adequate remedy left her for the 
maintenance of her interests, rights, 
liberties and honor. 

Resolved, That this Assembly will 
now proceed to select by general ballot 
three candidates to represent the peo- 
ple of Floyd County in a general con- 
vention of the people of Georgia to be 
convened at Milledgeville on Wednes- 
day, the 16th of January next.* 

The above resolutions, we are in- 
formed, were unanimously adopted. In 
accoi'dance with the last, the following 
gentlemen were nominated, viz: Col. 
Simpson Fouche, Col. James Word and 
F. C. Shropshire, Esq. 

*It was at this convention that Georgia se- 
ceded from, the Union. 




CHAPTER VII. 
Lincoln's Election Foretells Hostilities 




HIC following" accounts from 
The Courier set forth elo- 
quently the final act pre- 
ceding the war drama of 
1861-5. They were written partly 
by Mr. Dwinell, wdio had just re- 
turned to the editorial sanctum 
after a vacation at East Poultney, 
Vt., and partly by his brilliant as- 
sociate, George Trippe Stovall ; 
and they are arranged chronolog- 
ically as an aid to the reader. Mr. 
Lincoln was elected Tuesday, Nov, 
6, I860.' 



It has been suggrested that the 11 
O'clock service on Sunday, the 4th of 
November next be devoted to repent- 
ance, humiliation, and prayer to Al- 
mighty God, in all the churches of the 
land — that the country may be deliver- 
ed from the terrible crisis which 
threatens us, and that peace and har- 
mony may be restored to all sections.— 
Oct. 27, 1860. 



A Final Appeal. — Before the next 
issue of The Weekly Courier will be 
printed, the die will be cast, and the 
fate of this Union, it may be, will be 
doomed forever. All our efforts for a 
fusion in Georgia have failed, and now 
there is no patriotic course left for 
Union men but to concentrate their 
strength, so far as they possibly can, 
upon the best Union candidate that is 
offered for their suffrages. Is there 
any doubt but that this man is John 
Bell of Tennessee? 

Surely no candid and reasonable 
man will allow himself to be deceived 
by the numerous false and ridiculous 
charges as to Mr . Bell's soundness 
upon the slavery question. He is a 
Southern man, and a large slave hold- 
er, and a calm and impartial study of 
his true record, while it shows him to 
be a man of moderate and discreet 
counsel, it demonstrates that upon the 
question of slavery and Southern in- 
terests he is unquestionably safe, 
sound, firm and reliable. 

We appeal to Democrats, why can- 
not you vote for John Bell? We a.sk 
you to support him not as a Whig, a 
Know Nothing, nor as a representa- 
tive of any of the old defunct parties, 



but as a Constitutional man and a pa- 
triot. "The Union, the Constitution 
and the Enforcement of the Laws," is 
the motto inscribed upon his banner. 
Apart from his record it is his only 
platform. And what more do you de- 
sire than this? We know that politi- 
cians try to ridicule and have sought 
to throw contempt upon this platform. 
But does it not contain all the South 
has ever asked or desired? Such were 
the principles on which the early Pres- 
idents of the Republic were elected. 
They had no long-winded platforms to 
gull and to deceive the people. Why 
should we want them? For 50 years 
the Government was administered with- 
out platforms, and all portions of the 
country were harmonious and happy. 
On the contrary, since the adoption of 
platforms by party conventions, sec- 
tional animosities have continually 
harrassed the people, thousands of 
demagogues have sprung up like mush- 
rooms upon the body politic, the peace 
of the country is destroyed, and 30,- 
000,000 of people stand today trembling 
in view of the impending crisis which 
hangs like a muttering storm cloud 
above them, threatening to pour out 
upon the country at any moment all 
the appalling horrors of civil war, 
bloodshed and ruin! 

This is no false picture, but an 
alarming reality. Lincoln may, and 
probably will, be elected, and in tliree 
ueeks from today, little as you now 
think it, we will probably witness the 
outburst of the smouldering flames of 
one of the most awful civil conflagra- 
tions which the world has ever seen! 

Voters of Georgia, Look to Yo2(r hi' 
terest. — On next Tuesday, November 
6th, by far the most important elec- 
tion since the organization of our gov- 
ernment is to take place. In former 
strifes party success was the stake con- 
tended for; but now the very existence 
of the (jovernment is in jeopardy. The 
question as to how a man shall vote, 
always important, is now freighted 
with fearful responsil)ility. Every 
man should bring the question serious- 
ly home to himself and vote from his 
own conscientious convictions of duty, 
just as if he knew the fate of this Re- 
public depended on his individual ac- 
tion. 

The success or defeat of the Union 
ticket, will — if civil war should hinge 



126 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



upon this fact, as it may — make a dif- 
ference of at least 20 per cent in the 
value of all kinds of property througrh- 
out the country. A man then worth 
$1,000 has at stake a pecuniary inter- 
est of $200; if worth $10,000 he risks 
$2,000. If a man is largely in debt he 
will be utterly ruined; for, after the 
depression of property he cannot pos- 
sibly pay out. A laboring man will 
find his wages reduced from a dollar 
and a half a day to one dollar, and the 
chances for getting work at all will 
be greatly reduced. 

It may be said that pecuniary con- 
siderations are beneath the notice of 
patriots. This may be true or it may not. 
Interest should not be weighed against 
principle. But that is not the case 
now. We now have principle, patriot- 
ism and interest all on one side of the 
scales and on the other side, party ism, 
sectional strifes and animosities, and it 
may be civil war itself. No reasona- 
ble man in his senses has a shadow 
of a doubt but that John Bell, if elect- 
ed, would restore peace and harmony 
to the country by giving their consti- 
tutional rights to all sections; and this 
is all the South wants, or has ever 
asked for. It is almost certain that 
three-fourths of the Southern States 
will cast their votes for this noble pa- 
triot and pure statesman. Georgia can 
be carried the same way. Union men 
of Cherokee Georgia, what say you? In 
other sections of the State our friends 
ai-e striving earnestly and hopefully. 
Let us faithfully perform our duty and 
all may yet be well. 

Judge Doufjlas at Kingston. — On last 
Monday a large crowd, probably 3,000 
men, assembled to hear the celebrated 
"Little Giant" upon the political issues 
of the day. The very crowded state of 
our columns today prohibits any ex- 
tended notice of his speech. We be- 
lieve all parties were well pleased with 
the entertainment as an exhibition of 
popular oratory, were deeply impressed 
with the greatness of the man, and de- 
lighted at the beauty of his wife, who 
accompanies him in his Southern tour. 

The distinction between Squatter 
and Popular Sovereignty, the latter of 
which only he advocates, he made very 
clear. His whole argument sustaining 
his peculiar doctrines was, to say the 
least, very ingenious and plausible, 
and in many respects unanswerable. 
Douglas' speeches are everywhere es- 
sentially the same, and those who 
would know his position should read 
them in full.— Thursday, Nov. 1, 1860. 



Let Not Rash Councils Prevail. — If 
the election that takes place today re- 
sults in the choice of Abraham Lincoln, 
of Illinois, for President for the next 
four years, there will then rest upon 
the shoulders of every individual citi- 
zen duties of fearful magnitude and 
vital importance, both to himself and 
the commonwealth. There will, in that 
event, doubtless be a diversity of opin- 
ion as to what the South ought to do.| 
and every good citizen should calmly 
and coolly investigate the whole subject 
and decide for himself the proper 
course of action. There will be no 
need for hairbrained demagogues to 
be attempting to "fire the Southern 
heart." The chivalrous and patriotic 
citizens of the South are not stupid 
dolts that have to be "fired" up to a 
realizing sense of their own rights, 
honor or interests. The people need 
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
hut the truth, in order to arouse them 
to any reasonable course of conduct. 

The people should beware of rash 
counsels, and not suffer themselves to 
be inveigled into the support of im- 
practical and foolish movements, or 
"precipitated" into a revolution. If 
revolution must come, let us go into it 
deliberately, with clear heads and 
steady nerves, and because we know it 
to be our patriotic duty to do so. But 
if Lincoln should be elected, he will not 
have so much power as some people 
suppose, and it is reported that he is 
already tremendously frightened lest 
he should he elected!— Nov. 6, 1860. 



Fo)- Tax Receiver. — We are request- 
ed to announce the name of H. P. 
Lumpkin as candidate for Tax Re- 
ceiver of Floyd County at the ensuing 
January election. 

For Solicitor General. — We are au- 
thorized to announce the name of M. 
Kendrick, of Newnan, Coweta county, 
as a candidate for the office of Solic- 
itor General of the Tallapoosa circuit. 
Election first Wednesday in January 
next. 

H. A. Gartrell, Esq.— Mr. Editor: 
Please allow us to announce the above 
named gentleman as a candidate for 
Solicitor General of the Tallapoosa 
Circuit. MANY VOTERS. 

Rome Market Nov. 7. — Cotton is a 
little dull — 10 VL' cts. may now be con- 
sidered the top of the market. 

Unofficial Vote of Floyd Co.— The 
following statement, though not offi- 
cial, will probably not vary more than 
two or three votes from the exact re- 
sult: 



Lincoln's Election Foretells Hostitities 



127 




128 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Precincts. Bell. Breck. Doug. 

Rome 462 360 160 

N. Carolina 55 66 21 

Barker's 15 41 6 

Livingston 26 50 

Flat Woods 22 8 5 

Cave Spring 64 60 34 

Wolf Skin 63 60 34 

Watters 70 39 6 

Chulio 51 22 10 

Dirt Town 4 35 13 

Etowah 18 1 

Total 848 756 286 

We have compared the above with 
the official vote and find it accurate. 

A Card. — Mr. Editor: I desire 
through the city papers to return my 
sincere thanks to the merchants for 
refusing to sell spirituous liquors on 
the day of the election, but more espe- 
cially to those gentlemen engaged in 
the retail business. They closed their 
doors and did no business whatever. It 
was asking a great deal of all, it being 
a public day and a good one for that 
trade, but they made the promise and 
adhered to it with fidelity. To them 
we are mainly indebted for the peace, 
quiet and good order that prevailed 
throughout the entire day. Respect- 
fully. H. A. GARTRELL, 

Mayor City of Rome. 

Polk County. — A gentleman who left 
Polk County on Wednesday morning 
informs us that all the precincts but 
two had been heard from, and Bell was 
66 votes ahead of Breckinridge. Doug- 
las' vote would probably be 100. 

Chattooga County. — Sufficient re- 
turns have been received to make it 
certain that Bell will carry this county 
by a large plurality, probably 100 or 
more. 

Delegates. — F. C. Shropshire, Z. B. 
Hargrove and M. Dwinell have been 
appointed to represent the Rome 
"Light Guards" in the Military Con- 
vention to be held in Milledgeville on 
next Monday. 

The Evd. — The contest is over and it 
may be that the destiny of this gov- 
ernment is sealed. It now becomes us 
to hope for the best, but at the same 
time be making preparations for the 
worst. We do not wish to intimate 
that it is necessary to be organizing 
military companies, or enrolling minute 
men in case Lincoln is elected, with the 
expectation of immediately fighting 
our Northern enemies; but our prepa- 
rations should be constitutional and 
latvful in their character with a deep 
and unswerving determination to 



maintain our rights in the Union if 
possible, out of it if we must. The 
course pursued by the South should be 
firm and determined, but so clearly 
right and unavoidable for the main- 
tenance of her honor and essential in- 
terests that there shall be no division 
among her own people, but that all as 
one great harmonious whole shall in 
thunder tones demand not only of the 
North but of the entire civilized world 
a recognition of her clearly defined and 
unmistakable rights. 

While no spirit of base submission 
should be encouraged or even tolerated, 
yet at the same time any course of 
rash or precipitating conduct would be 
equally reprehensible and injurious to 
the prospects of our section. There 
are many men in the South who have 
for a long time believed that our sa- 
cred rights and untarnished honor 
cannot be maintained in the Union; 
and that it is both the interest and 
duty of the South to effect a separation 
as soon as possible. Many of these 
men are among our most wealthy, tal- 
ented and most highly respected citi- 
zens, and they are as conscientious in 
their convictions of duty as any class 
of men in the country. 

This class of persons, however, we 
believe is comparatively small and that 
the great mass of the people still cling 
to the Union, firmly believing that the 
Constitution will be enforced and the 
rights of the South maintained. This 
being the case and it being well knovim 
to all that these differences exist, it be- 
comes the representatives of each of 
these classes of opinions to be courte- 
ous and kind to the other and studi- 
ously avoid anything like crimination 
or the impugning of their motives. No 
class can rightfully arrogate to them- 
selves all the patriotism or chivalry or 
that they are more ready to make per- 
sonal sacrifice upon the altar of our 
section than others who do not agree 
with them as to the best plan of se- 
curing the greatest permanent good 
of us all. 

We have said this much to be, per- 
haps, of service in case that Lincoln is 
elected, because, if that is the case, we 
desire above all things to see a united 
South, and that the deliberations of 
our section should be characterized by 
high-toned statesmanship that may re- 
sult in cool deliberations and harmo- 
nious action.* 

As it Should Be. — The election in this 
place passed off as quietly and peace- 

*This editorial and others like it caused Geo. 
T. Stovall to resign as associate editor of The 
Courier and buy the Southerner and Advertiser. 



Lincoln's Election Foretells Hostilities 



129 



ably and with as much good nature as 
possible. Every grocery was closed, 
and we did not hear of an angry quar- 
rel or see a drunken man in Rome on 
that day. Many men were much ex- 
cited but their deep interest was ex- 
hibited rather by their calm but firm 
determination than by noisy outbursts 
and senseless criminations of their op- 
ponents. The beautiful quiet that pre- 
vailed in our city was indeed a fact to 
be proud of, and we most sincerely hope 
that the same good sense and high ap- 
preciation of dignity and decorum will 
always prevail on similar occasions. 

There were nine hundred and eighty- 
two votes polled at this precinct, which 
is nearly two hundred more than at 
any previous election. — Nov. 8, 1860. 



To Whom it Concerns. — All indebted 
to us must pay immediately or be sued. 
JONES *& SCOTT. 

The Vote in Ga. — Of the 44 counties 
heard from, the vote stands: For Bell, 
20,483; for Breckinridge, 18,863, and 
for Douglas, 6,918. 

The Presbyterian Sabbath School 
will hold its anniversary next Sabbath 
afternoon at 3 o'clock in the Presby- 
terian church. Exercises — short ad- 
dress and singing. All are respect- 
fully invited to attend. 

Gordon Co. Vote.—BeW, 481; Breck., 
874; Doug., 97. 

( Communicated. ) 

Notice.- — All men, without distinc- 
tion of party, who are opposed to Abo- 
lition domination, and in favor of re- 
sisting the same in such manner as the 
sovereignty of Georgia may order and 
direct, are requested to meet at the 
City Hall in Rome on Monday, the 12th 
inst., at 2 o'clock to consider what 
course interest, duty and patriotism 
require them to pursue as good citizens 
and triie Soiithemers. 

We are requested to publish the fol- 
lowing ticket for Mayor and Council- 
men : 

FOR MAYOR 

DR. T. J. WORD 

FOR COUNCILMEN 

First Ward 

FRANK AYER 

J. C. PEMBERTON 

Second Ward 

O. B. EVE 
A. J. PITNER 

Third Ward 

WM. RAMEY 

JOHN R. FREEMAN 



The Die Is Cast. — The great strug- 
gle is over and our worst fears are re- 
alized. Abraham Lincoln, the sectional 
candidate, who was nominated and 
supported to a large extent because of 
his hostility to the institutions of the 
South, has been elected by a fair ma- 
jority. The present indications are 
that he will surely get 158 votes, and 
possibly 169, whereas 152 would elect 
him. 

And now this state of circumstances, 
for which the great mass of the people 
are almost entirely unprepared, sud- 
denly bursts upon them, and demands 
at their hands an immediate solution 
of a most difficult political problem 
and one that will probably forever fix 
the destiny of all this fair land of 
ours. The idea of Lincoln's election 
has been frequently talked about, it is 
true, but it has always seemed to be 
at vague distance with its hideous de- 
formities, and has rather existed as a 
creature of the imagination than as 
one that could possibly have a reali- 
zation in the practical working of our 
Government. 

But hard as it may be to appreciate 
the hateful truth, yet it is a fact, and 
with unmistakable sternness it stares 
us in the face. The issue is upon us 
and we have got to meet it. Every 
man in Georgia has got a solemn duty 
to perform and it is one that by its im- 
mense magnitude makes small all the 
other acts of his life. What shall be 
done? is now the question of awful im- 
port that hangs upon the mind of every 
thoughtful man. Various plans for 
relief have already been proposed and 
they each have their advocates who ap- 
ply themselves with zeal and earn- 
estness. Discussion is altogether right 
and proper, and is probably the most 
effectual method of bringing out the 
truth and correct principles. But there 
is one thing that should always actu- 
ate men in the discussion of any sub- 
ject if they would be profited — that 
they should be as willing to receive 
truth as to impart it. Our relations 
to the general government are very 
complicated and few men can at a 
glance take in all its various bearings 
and dependencies and it may be that a 
course of conduct supposed to be ad- 
mirably adapted to our present exi- 
gencies would be proved to be entirely 
impractical because of the want of 
some necessary element that had been 
overlooked. Let us then not be rash 
or inconsiderate, but calm, cool and 
deliberate and in a free and friendly 
manner counsel with one another in 
regard to these momentous questions. 



130 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



The recommendation that has al- 
ready been made, that a State Con- 
vention should be called immediately, 
we most fully approve and hope the 
Legislature will at once issue a call 
for delegates from every county. We 
would suggest the number of delegates 
be the same as the number of Senators 
and Representatives in the Legislature. 
Let such men as Joseph Henry Lump- 
kin, Chas. J. McDonald, Alex H. Ste- 
phens, Wm. Law, Robt. Toombs, Her- 
schel V. Johnson, Hines Holt, Hiram 
Warner and others of experience and 
wisdom compose this Convention and 
the people vdll be almost sure to rat- 
ify their action, whatever it may be. 

Things He Can't Do. — Bad as he 
may be to our institutions, there are 
many important things Lincoln can- 
not do. As the Congress now stands, 
there is a majority of eight against 
him in the Senate, and, if the recent 
telegraph reports are correct, 23 in 
the House. It will be remembered that 
all the appointments of Cabinet offi- 
cers, Ministers to foreign courts, Con- 
suls, Custom House officers, and all 
other offices of any considerable trust 
or profit in the United States have to 
be filled "by and with the advice of the 
Senate." The President recommends 
men for all these various places, but 
their appointment is not complete until 
confirmed by the Senate. 

The Black Republicans will not be 
able, of their own strength, to carry a 
single bill through either House of the 
next Congress and it is thought by 
some that in less than a year, even if 
Lincoln should be allowed to go on 
with his administration, that his party 
would be torn to pieces by its own in- 
herent fanaticism and corruptions. But 
yet it may be better to secede than 
to suffer the disgrace of a Black Re- 
publican rule. If Georgia so decides in 
her sovereign capacity we shall go with 
her, heart and soul.— Nov. 10, 1860. 

Mr. Dwinell: — Please announce the 
following as the People's Ticket for 
Mayor and Aldermen for the ensuing 
year, and oblige, 

MANY VOTERS. 

FOR MAYOR 

Z. B. HARGROVE 

FOR COUNCILMEN 

First Wa7-d 

N. J. OMBERG 

J. W. WOFFORD 

Second Ward 

O. B. EVE 

JOHN NOBLE 



Third Ward 

A. W. CALDWELL* 

A. R. HARPER 

FOR MAYOR** 

DR. T. J. WORD 

FOR COLNCILMEN 

First Ward 

W. F. AYER 

N. J. OMBERG 

Second Ward 

J. H. M'CLUNG 

C. H. SMITH 

Third Ward 

A. W. CALDWELL 

J. G. YEISER 

—Nov. 13, 1860. 



(From the Rome Southerner.) 

Meeting of the Citizens of Floyd 
County. — Below we publish resolutions 
and preamble passed at the citizens' 
meeting held in Rome on Monday, the 
12th inst. 

The attendance was large and very 
general from all parts of the county. 
We believe every district in the coun- 
ty was represented. We never saw 
resolutions pass more unanimously or 
more enthusiastically. To some of the 
resolutions there was one or two dis- 
senting voices. Most of them, however, 
passed unanimously. We were sorry 
to see even a single person in that 
large assembly who withheld his as- 
sent. If there ever was a time when 
the people of the South should be unit- 
ed, now is the time. If the Southern 
States, as one man, or even one or two 
of them, will show unanimity of senti- 
ment in opposition to Black Republi- 
can rule, and even if they withdraw 
from the Union as the last alternative, 
no gun of coercion will ever be fired 
by any power upon the face of the 
earth. Horace Greeley has already said 
in his paper, the N. Y. Tribune, that if 
any of the Southern States leave the 
Union by a vote of her people, he is 
in favor of letting her alone! 

Every man in the land, old and 
young, great and small, rich and poor, 
is interested in this question. Think 
of it. And if you can't go with your 
section, for Heaven's sake, and for the 
sake of your country, don't go against 
it! ' 

The resolutions: 

Whereas, the abolition sentiment of 
the Northern States, first openly man- 
ifested in 1820, has, for the last 40 
years, steadily and rapidly increased 

*Jno. M. Quinn was later substituted. 
•*Dr. Word was elected. 



Lincoln's Election Foretells Hostilities 



131 



in volume and in intensity of hostility 
to the form of society existing in the 
Southern States, and to the rights of 
these States as equal, independent and 
sovereign members of the Union ; has 
led to long-continued and ever-increas- 
ing abuse and hatred of the Southern 
people; to ceaseless v^ar upon their 
plainest Constitutional rights; to an 
open and shameless nullification of that 
provision of the Constitution intended 
to secure the rendition of fugitive 
slaves; and of the laws of Congress to 
give it effect; has led many of our peo- 
ple who sought to avail themselves of 
their rights under these provisions of 
the laws and the Constitution, to en- 
counter fines, imprisonment and death; 
has prompted the armed invasion of 
Southern soil, by stealth, amidst the 
sacred repose of a Sabbath night, for 
the diabolical purpose of inaugurating 
a ruthless war of the blacks against 
the whites throughout the Southern 
States ; has prompted large masses of 
Northern people openly to sympathize 
with the treacherous and traitorous 
invaders of our country, and elevate 
the leaders of a band of mid-night as- 
sassins and robbers, himself an assas- 
sin and a robber, to the rank of a 
hero and a martyr; has sent far 
and wide over our section of the Un- 
ion its vile emissaries to instigate the 
slaves to destroy our property, burn 
our towns, devastate our country, and 
spread distrust, dismay and death by 
poison, among our people; has disrupt- 
ed the churches, and destroyed all na- 
tional parties, and has now fully or- 
ganized a party confined to a hostile 
section, and composed even there of 
those only who have encouraged, sym- 
pathized with, instigated or perpetrat- 
ed this long series of insults, outrages 
and wrongs, for the avowed purpose of 
making a common government, armed 
by us with power only for our protec- 
tion, an instrument in the hands of 
enemies for our destruction. 

Therefore, we, a portion of the peo- 
ple of Floyd County, regardless of all 
past differences, and looking above and 
beyond all mere party ends to the 
good of our native South, do hereby 
publish and declare: 

First. That Georgia is, and of right 
ought to be, a free, sovereign and in- 
dependent State. 

Second. That she came into the Un- 
ion with the other states as a sover- 
eignty, and by virtue of that sover- 
eignty, has the right to secede when- 
ever, in her sovereign capacity, she 
shall judge such a step necessary. 



Third. That in our opinion, she 
ought not to submit to the inaugura- 
tion of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal 
Hamlin, as her President and Vice- 
President, but should leave them to 
rule over those by whom alone they 
were elected. 

Fourth. That we request the Legis- 
lature to announce this opinion by res- 
olution, at the earliest practicable mo- 
ment, and to communicate it to our 
Senators and Representatives in Con- 
gress, and to co-operate with the Gov- 
ernor in calling a Convention of the 
people to determine on the mode and 
measure of redress. 

Fifth. That we respectfully recom- 
mend to the Legislature to take into 
their immediate consideration the pas- 
sage of such laws as will be likely to 
alleviate any unusual embarrassment 
of the commercial interests of the 
State consequent upon the present po- 
litical emergency. 

Sixth. That we respectfully suggest 
to the Legislature to take immediate 
steps to organize and arm foi-ces of the 
State. 

Seventh. That copies of the forego- 
ing resolutions be sent without delay 
to our Senators and Representatives 
in the General Assembly of the State, 
who are hereby requested to lay them 
before the House of which they are 
respectively members. 

Obstructions in the Streets. — If it is 
not the duty of the City Marshall, it 
ovght to be, to see that the rubbish 
about new buildings, old boxes about 
the stores, and wood piles everywhere 
in the streets, should not be left to 
discommode the public, but should be 
removed in a reasonable time. There 
are a lot of old casks in front of Mor- 
rison & Logan's stable that ought to 
have been removed long ago, and there 
seems to be unnecessary delay in re- 
nioving fragments and other obstruc- 
tions on the sidewalks about several 
new buildings on Broad Street. 

Good Gnns. — The arms for the "Rome 
Light Guards" were received on last 
Saturday. The guns are the Minie 
Rifle, that has, we believe, the highest 
reputation as an efficient weapon in 
actual service of any gun that has been 
tried. Only fifty guns are received, 
and if there are men in this commu- 
nity who desire to join the company 
they will do well to make early appli- 
cation. The company now numbers 
45, and is, in every way, in a prosper- 
ous condition. — Nov. 24, 1860. 



132 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



On Jan. 16, 1861, the Georgia 
counties sent delegates to tlie fa- 
mous secession convention at Mil- 
ledgeville. On Jan. 18, Judge Eu- 
genius A. Nisbet, of Macon, intro- 
duced a resolution calling for the 
appointment of a committee to re- 
port an ordinance of secession. This 
brought on a fight and a test of 
strength between the union and 
disunion factions. The resolution 
passed by a vote of 166 to 130.* At 
2 p. m., Jan. 19, 1861, the secession 
ordinance was passed by a vote of 
208 to 89, 44 anti-secessionists vot- 
ing for the measure to give it force, 
and realizing that further resist- 
ance was useless. On this ballot 
Benj. H. Hill voted for secession, 
Ijut Alexander H. Stephens and his 
brother, Judge Linton Stephens, 
Herschel V. Johnson, Gen. W. T. 
Wofford, Hiram Warner and oth- 
er leaders opposed it. 

South Carolina had seceded Dec. 
20, 1860; Mississippi Jan. 9, 1861; 




JUDGE JAMKS M. SPULLOCK. ,,nc,. mijhi-- 
intendent of the W. & A. railroad and a 
power in North Georgia politics. 



Alabama and Florida Jan. 11, 1861. 
Consequently, it was felt that 
Georgia's action would either split 
or cement the South. The forensic 
giants were there — a galaxy never 
seen before or since. Col. Isaac W. 
Avery gives us in his History of 
Georgia (ps. 149-50) a correct 
])icture of the scene, and incidental- 
ly, emphasizes the opposition to 
secession among the more con- 
servative t3'pe of citizens : 

The eyes of the whole Union were 
upon this most august body. There 
was an interest in its deliberations 
that was both profound and wide- 
spread. It was felt to be the turning 
point of the real commencement of the 
revolution. If staid, self-poised, delib- 
erate, powerful Georgia held back from 
the woi"k of disintegration, it would 
have been such a substantial check to 
the destructive movement as would 
have done much to stop it. Georgia's 
co-operation rendered the revolution, 
sure. The Federal administration 
looked anxiously to our State as the 
crucial agency of the agitation. The 
people of the North focalized their at- 
tention upon this arbiter of an impend- 
ing and incalculable convulsion. 

It was known that a majority of the 
people favored secession, but the mi- 
nority in favor of co-operation and de- 
lay was a very large and powerful 
body of public sentiment, ably and pa- 
triotically headed. The vote taken in 
the election for members of the con- 
vention showed an aggregate of 50,243 
for secession and 37,123 against, giv- 
ing a majority of only 13,120 for im- 
mediate disunion, out of 87,366. This 
was a much smaller majority than Gov. 
Brown had obtained in his last elec- 
tion. 

In many counties the anti-secession- 
ists had heavy majorities. Such strong 
counties as Baldwin, Floyd, DeKalb, 
Cass, Franklin, Gordon, Gwinnett, 
Lumpkin, Murray, Walker, Walton 
and others went some of them over- 
whelmingly against disunion. In many 
counties it was the closest sort of a 
shave, giving either way only a vote 
or two. The most one-sided secession 
county in the whole state was Cobb, 
Vv'hich gave 1,035 votes for and only 
7 against disunion. Chatham was also 
nearly unanimous for secession. In a 
very few counties no opposition can- 
didate to secession was run. In Tal- 

♦Avery's History of Georgia, p. 153. 



Lincoln's Election Foretells Hostilities 



13 



iaferro and Tatnall no secession can- 
didate was put up. 

These figures will show how much 
the people were divided on this issue, 
and yet, in the crazy fever of the war 
excitement and the more noisy demon- 
strations of the secession champions, 
the opposition was almost unheard and 
absolutely impotent. A few brave 
spirits spoke out fearlessly, and cour- 
ageously endeavored to stem the rush- 
ing and turbulent tide of disunion. 
But the generality of conservative men, 
feeling powerless to do anything, and 
unwilling to incur a certain odium that 
clung to men alleged to be lukewarm 
or opposed to Southern interests, went 
quietly along simply voting in the op- 
position. 

The secession convention was the 
ablest body ever convened in Georgia. 
Its membership included nearly every 
leading public man in the State, the 
leaders of all parties and shades of 
political opinion. 

As for Georgia's contribution in 
men to the Confederate cause, Col. 
Avery's history (p. 267) states : 

The Second Auditor at Richmond 
published the following statement of 
soldiers' deaths to Dec. 31, 1863: Geor- 
gia, 9,504; Alabama, 8,987; North 
Carolina, 8,261; Texas, 6,377; Vir- 
ginia, 5,943; Mississippi, 5,367; South 
Carolina, 4,-511; Louisiana, 3,039; Ten- 
nessee, 2,849; Arkansas, 1,948; Flor- 
ida, 1,119. 

It was an old custom in Geor- 
g-ia to illuminate houses brightly 
at night on the receipt of good 
news of a national or sectional na- 
ture. Consequently, the houses of 
Rome were Ht up, guns discharged 
and the church bells rung merrily. 
A few Northern families compro- 
mised by lighting their candles, 
and Mrs. Robt. Battey was said 
to have been the only Southerner 
whose house was dark. Gen. Brax- 
ton Bragg soon passed through 
Rome on a tour of inspection, and 
meeting Mrs. Battey on Broad 
Street, said : "I understand Mrs. 
Battey is a Union woman." 

"So I am, General," she re]:)lied 
promptly. "I believe in fighting 
this war under the United States 
flag. Southerners were largely in- 
strumental in foundino- our Gov- 



ernment, and if anybody must get 
out of it, I say let not the first oc- 
cupants be the ones to go !" 

"You are not far from right, Mrs. 
I)attey," observed Gen. Bragg as 
he hurried on about his business. 

There were many such incidents, 
and they showed the inherent in- 
dependence of thought and action 
of Georgians and the State of Geor- 
gia — an independence that has al- 
ways enabled Georgia to assume 
the initiative among her sister 
states, and to occupy a conspicu- 
ous and respectable position in the 
forum of the nation. Georgians 
can always be depended upon to 
fight among themselves (like Bill 
Arp's Romans — old man Laub and 
his wife and family), and to get 
together at a moment's notice to 
repel any foreign foe, such as In- 
dians, Yankees, Spaniards, Ger- 
mans or what not. 

During three terms, covering the 
Civil War, Gov. Jos. E. Brown, one 




MRS. .lAMK.S .M. SrUl.LUCK, who assisted 
her husband in the entertainment of some of 
the most noted men in Georgia. 



134 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



of the most ])ci)i)ery "Rebels" on 
earth, occupied the gubernatorial 
throne. 

"Cherokee" or Northwest Geor- 
gia had not long before staged a 
miniature war with the Indians, 
and it is significant that the dele- 
gates from the 21 counties in the 
Cherokee nation voted 35 against 
secession to 14 in favor, or 2% 
votes to one :* 
County. Yes. No. 

Cass 3 

Catoosa 1 1 

Chattooga 2 

Cherokee 3 

Dade 2 

Dawson 2 

Fannin 1 1 

Floyd 3 

Forsyth 1 1 

Gilmer 2 

Gordon 2 1 

Hall 3 

Lumpkin 2 

Milton - 2 

Murray 2 

Pickens 2 

Polk 1 1 

Union 2 

Walker 3 

White 1 1 

Whitfield 1 2 

14 35 

It will be noticed by the above 
table that Floyd and her neigh- 
boring counties of Cass, Chattooga 
Gordon, Polk and Walker voted 
six for and ten against. The dele- 
gates and the way they voted are 
given below : 

Cass— W. T. Wofford, No; H. F. 
Price, No; Turner H. Trippe, No. 

Chattooga — Wesley Shropshire, No; 
L. Williams, No. 

Floyd — Col. James Word, Yes; Col. 
Simpson Fouche, Yes; Frank C. Shrop- 
shire, Yes. 

Grordon — Wm. H. Dabney, Yes; Jas. 
Freeman, No; R. M. Young, Yes. 



Polk— W. E. West, Yes; T. W. Du- 
pree. No. 

Walker— G. G. Gordon, No; R. B. 
Dickerson, No; T. A. Sharpe, No. 

A lively glimpse of the inaugu- 
ration of Jefferson Davis as presi- 
dent and Alexander H. Stephens 
a'j vice-president of the Confeder- 
acy was given by Judge Augustus 
R. Wright, one of the organizers 
of the Government, in a letter of 
F'^b. 21, 1861 from Montgomery, 
Ala., to his daughter, Mrs. Mary 
Wright Shropshire, of Rome : 

My Dear Daughter: — We had a gay 
time at the President's inauguration. 
The President and Vice-President rode 
in a most superb carriage, glittering 
all over with silver and drawn by six 
iron gray horses driven by two coach- 
men on the same seat. They** were 
fiery and impatient and beautifully 
caparisoned. The military companies 
with full bands preceded the several 
committees in fine carriages, and then 
followed the crowd. 

The Zouaves performed most won- 
derfully their new military exercise of 
vaulting, lying down and firing, falling 
on their backs and loading, and divers 
other most wonderful gymnastics. 

The oath taken by the President in 
the presence of that vast concourse 
was most solemn. When Mr. Cobb, 
who administered the oath, said, "So 
help me God," the President lifted his 
face to Heaven in the most solemn 
and energetic manner and said, "So 
help me God!" The band then played 
the Marseillaise hymn, after which the 
vast crowd gave three cheers for "Jeff 
Davis and Alexander Stephens," and 
began to disperse. 

"Sic transit gloria mundi!" How 
the mind turns from those pageants 
and panoplies of war to that peaceful 
reign of our King "when the wicked 
cease from troubling and the weary 
are at rest." 

Affectionately your father, 

AUGUSTUS R. WRIGHT. 

*Georgia"s Landmarks, Memorials and Leg- 
ends, Vol. II, ps. 567-570. 
**The horses. 



PART III 

THE CIVIL ^ArAR PERIOD 
1861-1865 



CHAPTER I. 
Opening of the Civil War^First Manassas 



^ 



I 



T IS memifestly impossible 
in a work of this size to 
present more than a 
gHmpse here and there of 
the wartime activities of Floyd's 
military companies and life of the 
people at home. All that can be 
done is to hit the "high spots" and 
trust that a historian will come 
along some day who will devote 
to the period an entire book. 

The principal events of the 1861- 
65 ])eriod herein treated are the 
First Battle of Manassas (Va.), 
July 21, 1861 ; the chase Apr. 12, 
1862, after the Confederate engine 
General, in w'hich a Rome locomo- 
tive was used at Kingston ; the 
capture of Streight's Federal raid- 
ers Sunday, May 3, 1863, by an in- 
ferior force under command of 
Gen. Forrest ; and the defense and 
occupation of Rome May 18, 1864, 
by Gen. vSherman. 

Rome itself was a concentration 
point for recruits from Northwest 
Georgia. Broad Street was a drill 
and parade ground. The newspa- 
pers and the churches were used to 
inflame the war spirit, and we 
have it on the authority of Hilliard 
Horry Wimpee,* who was then a 
boy of ten, that stump speakers 
sought to dissipate the impression 
of small numbers in the South by 
the flamboyant declaration that 
one "Reb" could whip ten 
"Yanks." In some of these speech- 
es the "Reb" could even suffer his 
left hand to be tied behind him. 

More than 2,000 men of Floyd 
County (including an occasional 

*Mr. Wimpce relates how he saw blood-drip- 
ping freight cars come into Rome with hundreds 
of wounded soldiers after the fall of Ft. Donel- 
son. 

**Co. G, First Ga. Cavalry. The name was 
undoubtedly taken from a company which op- 
erated under Gen. Jas. Hemphill and Maj. Chas. 
H. Nelson in 1835 and captured Chief Fosach 
Fixico. 



contingent from an adjoining 
county) went out to protect their 
homes during the period of 1861- 
65. Including the home guard of 
ten companies (five of which were 
from Floyd) there was a total of 
20 companies of an average of 
more than 100 men, including re- 
cruits and replacements. The com- 
panies went to the front in ap- 
proximately the following order: 

Floyd Infantry, commanded by 
Capt. Jno. Frederick Cooper, who 
died at Culpepper Courthouse, Va., 
several weeks after he had received 
a serious wound at First INIanas- 
sas; Rome Light Guards, Capt. 
Edward Jones Magruder ; Miller 
Rifles, named after Dr. H. V. M. 
Miller, Capt. Jno. R. Towers; 
Floyd Sharpshooters, Capt. A. S. 
Hamilton : Flovd Springs Guards, 
Capt. M. R. Ballenger; Co. D, 65th 
Ga. Infantry, Capt. W. G. Foster; 
Berrv Infaiitrv, named after Capt. 
Thos'. Berry, Capt. Thos. W. Alex- 
ander ; Sar'dis Volunteers, 6th Ga. 
Cavalrv, Capt. Jno. R. Hart ; Fire- 
side Defenders, Capt. Robt. H. 
Jones ; Mitchell Guards, named 
after Danl. R. Mitchell, Capt. 
Zachariah B. Hargrove ; Co. G, 
1st Confederate regiment, Ga. Vol- 
unteers, Capt. Jno. B. Bray; Co. 
A, 8th Georgia Battalion, Capt. W. 
H. H. Lumpkin; Floyd Cavalry, 
Capt. Wade S. Cothran ; Gartrell's 
Cavalry (in 1863 a part of Forrest's 
command), Capt. Henry A. (.ar- 
trell; Cherokee Artillery (later 
Corput's battery), Capt. Marcellus 
A. Stovall, Lie'uts. Jno. H. Law- 
rence, Max Van Den Corput, J. G. 
Yeiser and Thos. W. Hooper , sur- 
geon. Dr. Robt. Battey, orderly 
sergeant. T. D. Attaway ; High- 
land Rangers (Cave Spring). Capt. 
M. H. Haynie ; Highland Rangers** 



138 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



(Rome), Capt. J. L. Kerr; Booten 
and Harkins' Cavalry Company, 
Capt. Daniel F. Booten, Lient. Jno. 
Harkins. The Rome Volunteers 
was a company in existence before 
tlie war. 

When the fighting at Chatta- 
nooga in 1863 threatened Rome, 
five home-guard companies were 
formed, and they were command- 
ed by Capt. J. H. Lawrence, Jack- 
son Trout, S. D. Wragg, Marcel- 
lus L. Troutman and C. Oliver 
Stillwell. 

Few survivors came back from 
any of the front line companies, 
and the valor in no war of history 
exceeded that of the Boys in Gray, 
who fought wath extreme despera- 
tion against overwdielming odds 
in men and resources. The Floyd 
Sharpshooters surrendered ten 
men at Appomattox, whereas 110 
had gone out. Of 24 Cherokee 
Artillery members imprisoned at 
Indianapolis, onl}^ eight answered 
the roll call at Rome just after the 
war, and most of the others are 
supposed to have died in prison. 
Jas. E. Mullen, late cemetery sex- 
ton, was one of this command. 

The Rome Light Guard organi- 
zations kept going many years, 
and the Hill City Cadets sprang 
into existence and was active dur- 
ing the Spanish-American war dis- 
turbance. 

The Floyd Cavalry was prob- 
ably the first to ofi'er its services 
to Gov. Jos. E. Brown. This was 
done Friday, Nov. 9, 1860, as soon 
as the members could hold a 
meeting after the election of Abra- 
ham Lincoln to the Presidency. 
Three days before the First Bat- 
tle of Manassas, the oflr'er having 
gone by the board, the company 
met and passed resolutions as fol- 
lows : 

Whereas, the Floyd Cavalry ten- 
dered its services to His Excellency, 
Jos. E. Brown, Commander-in-Chief of 



the State of Georgia, on Nov. 9, 1860, 
and 

Whereas, the services of the com- 
pany have not yet been called for, be it 

Resolved, That in view of active hos- 
tilities that the company renew their 
tender with the assurance that it holds 
itself in readiness to meet any emer- 
gencies whenever and wherever they 
may arise. 

The officers at this time w^ere 
Jno. R. Towers, captain ; E. W. 
Hull, first lieutenant ; Dunlap 
Scott, second lieutenant, and J. H. 
Walker, third lieutenant. Contin- 
ued inactivity caused the three 
first named to transfer to the Mil- 
ler Rifles in the same offices. Arm- 
istead R. Harper took the place of 
Lieut. Walker. 

The Floyd Infantry left Rome 
first; it went away May 10, 1861. 

The Light Guards left Rome 
Monday morning, May 27, 186L 
after having heard on the day be- 
fore an inspiring speech at the 
First Presbyterian church by the 
pastor, the Rev. John Jones. They 
marched to North Rome and 
caught their train, and half the 
town marched with them, scatter- 
ing flowers in their way and bid- 
ding them God-speed \vith fervent 
prayers from the women and lusty 
huzzas from the "home guard." 
Capt. Magruder, of this company, 
was the first man in Rome to don 
the blue cockade of secession. He 
was among the first to marry, 
choosing as his bride several days 
before the departure the beautiful 
Miss Florence Fouche, daughter of 
Col. Simpson Fouche. When the 
Guards left Rome, Mrs. Magruder 
marched with her husband at the 
head of the column, appropriately 
rigged out for the occasion — pistol 
and dagger in her belt, and a stride 
full of belligerency. Let Miss Bes- 
sie Moore (Mrs. Lawrence S 
Churchill) describe the wedding: 

It was a novel and inspiring cere- 
mony, from all descriptions. The 
handsome groom was in full dress mili- 
tary coat, and his trousers were of 



Opening of the Civil War — First Manassas 



139 




PROMINENT IN REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS. 

At left is Brig. Gen. Jno. E. Wool, U. S. A., of Troy, N. Y., who had charge of car- 
rying out government policies prior to the exodus. In the center is Lewis Cass, Secretary 
of War in Andrew Jackson's cabinet, who was the storm center of the diplomatic negotia-V 
tions. Next is Gen. Winfield Scott, hero of the Mexican War and later adviser of the Union 
War Department, who gathered up the red-skins in stockades at New Echota and Sixes Town 
to facilitate removal. 



white silk, brought from the Orient 
by his friend, Col. Chas. I. Graves, in 
a naval cruise. The blushing bride 
was dressed in snow white, including 
her veil. They rode up to the First 
Baptist church (which was located at 
the same site as today) in a carriage 
pulled by two spirited white horses. 

Descending from their conveyance, 
they passed through an arch of up- 
lifted sabres of 80 members of the 
Guards. As the couple reached the 
church door, they stood aside a mo- 
ment; the Guards came in and formed 
a second column, through which the 
two again passed to the altar. Rev. 
Chas. H. Stillwell, pastor of the church, 
then made them man and wife. 

Mrs. Magruder accompanied Capt. 
Magruder to Orange County, Va., the 
place of his birth, and took up her 
lesidence with his people at "Fres- 
cati" (the Italian for "Green Fields"), 
the ancestral home. This mansion was 
converted into a hospital for sick and 
wounded Light Guards and other Con- 
federate soldiers. 

Orderly Sergeant Jim Tom 
Moore, member of the Light 
Guards and grand-father of Mrs 
Churchill, was married shortly be- 
fore the command left to Miss Le- 
titia Hntchinsfs. The ceremony 



was performed at the old Buena 
Vista, which for a time was Rome's 
leading hotel. Theie were numer- 
ous other military marriages, and 
some of the husbands came back 
to their wives, and some did not. 

The Rome \\'eekly Courier of 
Friday, April 26, 1861, announced 
the opening of the Civil War as 
follows : 

Glorious Neirs — Virginia Seceded. — 
Gen. Scott resigns, and fighting at 
Harper's Ferry and Norfolk! 

The news of the secession of Vir- 
ginia was received in Rome at 11:30 
o'clock on yesterday, together with the 
announcement that (Jen. Scott had re- 
signed and was in Richmond and that 
the Virginians had attacked the army 
at Harper's Ferry and the United 
States fort and navy yard at Norfolk. 

This news caused the greatest ex- 
citement we have ever seen in our city. 
Cannons were fired and small arms 
without number, and all the church 
bells were rung, and all possible dem- 
onstrations of extreme joy were every- 
where to be seen. Not a few eyes 
were moistened by the joyous overflow 
of grateful feelings. The eighth star 
was put upon it and the flag raised. 



140 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



On Tuesday morning-, May 28, 
1861, the Tri- Weekly Courier bade 
farewell to the Light Guards as 
follows : 

This company left our city yesterday 
evening' at 6 o'clock. The muster roll 
may be found in another column. Our 
heart fails us as we attempt to write 
upon the subject. The company is 
made up almost entirely of young men 
— only five married, and, with two ex- 
ceptions, these quite recently. Most 
of the members have lived in the city 
or in the immediate vicinity; they are 
connected with the best families and 
of course are greatly beloved. 

We are sure there will not be in the 
army a more gallant company of brave 
men than compose this corps. They are 
armed with the Windsor rifle. They 
have no accoutrements, but in all else 
they are fully provided. The pro- 
visions for health and comfort in camp 
are quite complete. That they may all 
safely return is the fervent and earn- 
est prayer of the entii-e community. 

The Courier Thursday morninq-. 
May 30, 1861, gave the' Miller Ri- 
fles this send-oft": 

This company left yesterday at 11 
o'clock on a special train for Richmond. 
It consists of a larger number than 
either of the other companies that 
have left.* It is made up of the best 
kind of fighting men, mostly from the 
country, and though but little used to 
drill at present, they are inured to 
many hardships that will enable them 
to drop into camp routine with com- 
parative ease; and Capt. Towers is 
just the man to make this company 
one of the most efficient in the serv- 
ice. 

And now the author again steps 
aside and l)o\vs to pens that are 
more trenchant than his own. The 
quotations are from The Courier, 
with the dates as indicated : 

Northern Men's Sacrifice. — Those 
citizens of Northern birth who enlist 
in our army and who demonstrate on 
the battlefield their fidelity to our 
cause are entitled to the lasting grat- 
itude and remembrance of our people. 
To the foreman and others in charge 
of The Courier, it is a source of grati- 
fication to hear on frequent occasions 
the name of Mr. Melville Dwinell, now 
in the army, who participated in the 
recent glorious achievement at Manas- 
sas, spoken of in terms of the warmest 



respect and regard. He was in the 
hottest of the column led by the la- 
mented Bartow. We hope that he 
escaped death. 

We grieve to learn that Frank La- 
throp, our young friend and fellow 
citizen, from the house of Sloan, Har- 
per & Co., is no more. He, too, was a 
Northern man, and fell at Manassas, 
battling for our rights. 

Floyd Companies' Loss. — As there 
has been no official report publkshed of 
the killed and wounded of the Eighth 
Georgia Regiment in the First Battle 
of Manassas, we are only enabled to 
give the following report from a list 
sent by Rev. John Jones, pastor of the 
First Presbyterian church of Rome, 
who has been visiting the companies 
and is now at Richmond: 

Rome Light Guards — Killed: Chas. 
B. Norton, Geo. T. Stovall, D. Clinton 
Hargrove, Jas. B. Clark and Dr. J. T. 
Duane ; badly wounded, M. D. McOs- 
ker, J. H. Anderson (Ringgold), J. A. 
Stevenson (Jacksonville) ; slightly 
wounded, Capt. E. J. Magruder, G. L. 
Aycock, A. J. Bearden, J. Dunwoody 

Jones, J. F. Shelton, Shackleford 

and Jett Howard; missing, John J. 
Black, Wm. A. Barron, M. A. Ross and 
John R. Payne. 

Miller Rifles— Killed, Thos. Mobley, 
Frank Lathrop and Lewis Yarbrough; 
badly wounded, O. B. Eve, Thos. J. 
Hills and Wm. A. King; slightly 
wounded, John M. Berry, B. F. Cornut, 
W. D. Corput, S. H. Chambers, M. D. 
Funderburk, N. S. Fain, Maj. John 
Minton, Jourdan Reese, T. C. Sparks, 
J. H. Silvey, W. P. Trout, W. W. Ware, 
the two Easons and D. C. Harper; sick, 
W. J. Barrett, G. Carroll, R. F. Car- 
roll, B. F. Price and T. R. Glenn. 

Flovd Infantry — Killed, George 
Martin, W. J. Chastain, A. W. Har- 
shaw and J. H. Dunn; badly wounded, 
Capt. Jno. F. Cooper. Full list not re- 
ported. 

Manassas Battleground Camp, Tues- 
day, July 23, 1861, 8 p. m. 
Dear Courier: Since writing this 
morning I have gathered some particu- 
lars of the glorious victory of July 21. 
As the facts are made known, the com- 
plete rout of the enemy and the utter 
confusion into which they were thrown 
becomes more and more evident. In- 
stead of getting 42 of their cannon, 64 
have already been brought in, and 
there is reason to believe still more 

*The Floyd Infantry, under command of Capt. 
Jno. Fretlerick Cooper, is referred to here with 
the Light Guards. It is supposed to have left 
several days ahead of any other company. 



Opening of the Civil War — First Manassas 



141 



will be found, provided this number 
does not include all they had. Our 
troops detailed for that purpose have 
been finding them all day, run off in 
concealed places by the roadside. In 
addition to the cannon, it is reported 
that the road leading- to Alexandria is 
literally lined with muskets, rifles, etc., 
etc. This morning 27 of Lincoln's com- 
missioned officers, including several of 
the stafi:', were sent to Richmond as 
prisoners of war. 

The sneaking cunning and perfidious 
meanness of our enemies was exhibited 
on the day of battle by their use of a 
flag, one side of which represented the 
colors of the Confederate States and 
the other those of the United States. 
It was by the use of this that our regi- 
ments were so badly cut up. The col- 
umn that flanked us showed the Con- 
federate flag until they got to the po- 
sition where they could do us the great- 
est possible injury, then turned to us 
the Federal side of the flag. For doing 
this when they sent a flag of truce to 
Gen. Beauregard, asking for the privi- 
lege of gathering up and burying their 
dead, it was denied them. How can 
they expect any courtesy when they 
thus set at defiance all the rules of 
civilized warfare? The low spirit that 
governs them and their miscreancy 
was also exhibited on the 18th, when 
they made use of the truce in throwing 
up barricades and breastworks. 

A. J. Bearden was taken prisoner 
and carried some four miles from the 
battleground. This was after our reg- 
iment had fallen back. He was car- 
ried to the headquarters of the ene- 
my, and there saw a large number of 
gentlemen from Washington City, New 
York and other places, drinking and 
carousing over "their" victory. Not 
long after, news came that their army 
was retreating, with our cavalry in hot 
pursuit. Then ensued a scene of in- 
describable confusion among this white 
kid gentry in their efforts to secure 
their personal safety by flight. When 
our cavalry came up, Bearden claimed 
his own freedom, and took captive the 
captain who had been guarding him. 
Chas. M. Harper, of the Miller Rifles, 
was taken prisoner, and with two or 
three others was guarded by six of the 
Hessians. After a while, more pris- 
oners were put in care of the same 
guard, so that their number exceeded 
that of the hirelings holding them. Our 
boys watched their opportunity, 
snatched their guardians' guns and 
took them all pi'isoners. Another in- 
stance in which the tables were turned 
occurred with a member of our com- 



pany, Robt. DeJournett. He was on 
the retreat when a mounted officer, 
supposed to have been a colonel, rode 
up to within 15 or 20 paces and cried 
out, "Your life! Your life, you young 
rebel!" DeJournett turned, raised his 
gun and shot him through while the 
officer was attempting to draw his pis- 
tol. DeJournett made a hasty retreat 
in safety, though a volley of muskets 
was fired at him. 

It is now certain that John J. Black, 
Marcus A. Ross and John Payne were 
taken prisoners and carried off. Mc- 
Grath came in today, unharmed. This 
accounts for all the Light Guards. No 
prisoners were carried off from the 
Miller Rifles. Seven of the Federal 
prisoners have told us they expected to 
be hung as soon as the battle was over. 
They have been taught to believe that 
the Southerners are a set of complete 
barbarians. Geo. Martin, of the Floyd 
Infantry, died last night. Howard Mc- . 
Osker and Anderson, of our company, 
have been sent to Gordonsville. They 
were doing well. 

Our regiment has not yet reorgan- 
ized, and we did not move today, as 
was anticipated. We were all very glad 
to see Rev. John Jones when he came 
into camp today. It is said that the 




CE0H(;K TlillM'K STOVAI.l,. .'.iilor and 
Methodist Siindjiy School superintendent who 
was killed at l'"iisl Manassas. 



142 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Lincolnites have taken Washington 
City. They certainly hold no place 
this side of Alexandria. — Courier, 
Aug. 1, 1861. 

Thos. J. Hill'^. — History will delight 
to honor the heroes of Manassas and 
the bravery of our boys; "in the dead- 
ly thicket" long will be a fireside 
theme ! 

In our exultation over the great vic- 
tory at Manassas it is well to pay a 
passing tribute to the memory of those 
who freely gave their lives to gain it. 
He whose name heads this article was 
not among those whose life sped ere 
victory was won; lingering until Fri- 
day night, he died peacefully in the 
full realization of the promises so 
sweet to the Christian heart. 

Of modest, unassuming manner, he 
was well known only to his intimate 
friends, who knew him but to love him. 
As superintendent of the Sabbath 
School at Running Waters (the Hume 
place north of Rome), he had re- 
cently entered upon a life of Christian 
usefulness, where he was becoming 
better known and more widely appre- 
ciated. In him we mourn a devoted 
son, an afl'ectionate brother and faith- 
ful friend. Truly, death loves a shin- 
ing mark, and in the loss of our prom- 
ising young men we see God's ways 
are past finding out. — M., Aug. 9, 
1861. 

Rehirned.— Gen. Geo. S. Black, Col. 
W. A. Fort, H. A. Gartrell, N. J. Om- 
berg, R. S. Norton and G. R. Sandefer 
returned home a few days ago from 
Manassas, where they had gone to visit 
their sons and friends. 

Wm. Higginbotham, a well-known 
free man of color, also returned on 
Saturday morning. He reached Ma- 
nassas on the morning of the battle, 
but was denied the privilege of taking 
a gun and falling into the ranks. He 
then assisted in removing the dead and 
wounded, amid the shower of balls that 
fell around. Such deeds are highly 
meritorious and deserve much credit. 

Accide7it on Rome Railroad. — On 
Tuesday evening last, as the down 
train reached a point about two miles 
this side of Kingston, it struck a cow 
on the track, which threw the engine 
and part of the train off. The engi- 
neer saw the cow, but too late to stop 
the train, and fearing the result, 
jumped off and broke his leg. This is 
the only serious accident that has oc- 
curred on this road for several years. 
A number of the Cherokee Artillery, 
vho were home on furlough, were 



forced to walk from the spot to King- 
ston, as their train from Rome could 
not pass. They were going to Camp 
McDonald, and thence will go to Vir- 
ginia. — Aug. 9, 1861. 



Soldiers Returned. — John M. Berry, 
of the Miller Rifles, who had two of 
his fingers shot off at Manassas, and 
who received an honorable discharge, 
returned a few days ago. M. A. Ross, 
of the Light Guards, who received a 
wound in his arm and hand, was taken 
prisoner and escaped, arrived Thurs- 
day on a two months' furlough. L. G. 
Bradbury belonged to no company, 
though fought with the rest of the 
boys. He went out for the purpose of 
joining the Light Guards, but was not 
received on account of being a cripple, 
it.— Aug. 16, 1861. 
He went to see the elephant and saw 

A survivor's account of the First 
Battle of Manassas has l)een 
gleaned from the records of the 
United Daughters of the Confed- 
eracy :* 

It was on a bright, beautiful Sun- 
day morning that one of the world's 
most remarkable battles was fought. 
Gens. Gustave T. Beauregard and Jos. 
E. Johnston were the Confederate 
leaders, and Gen. Winfield Scott com- 
mander of the Northern army. Jef- 
ferson Davis was on the field, cheer- 
ing the hosts in gray. It was here 
that Gen. Thos. J. Jackson got his nick- 
name "Stonewall." Francis S. Bartow, 
colonel of the Eighth Georgia Regi- 
ment, had our command, and Gen. Ber- 
nard E. Bee was also there, with his 
South Carolina battalions. 

Predictions had been made by the 
Washington contingent that the flag 
that carried in its folds the love of 
these hotly patriotic Southerners would 
be furled forever. A large crowd of 
spectators came out from Washington 
in their fine carriages, with nice 
lunches and plenty to drink in cele- 
bration of the expected Union victory, 
and the festivities were to be continued 
that night in the capital. 

The tides of battle surged back and 
forth. Units of the Southern army 
were cut to pieces, and the remnants 
retreated. Seeing some men turning 
to the rear, the gallant Bee shouted, 
"Look at Jackson there; he is stand- 
ing like a stone wall!" The men ral- 
lied. Reinforcements for us came up, 

♦Related by Virgil A. Stewart. He and B. J. 
Franks, of Armuchee, are the only survivors 
of the Rome Light Guards. 



Opening of the Civil War — First Manassas 



143 




FOUR INTREPID CONFEDERATE LEADERS. 

At top, left to right, are Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy, who 
was captured near Irwinville, Ga., in 1865, after a flight from Richmond with Colonel and 
Mrs. C. I. Graves, of Rome; and Gen. Jos. Eccleston Johnston, famed for his well-ordered 
retreat from Chattanooga through Rome. At the bottom are Gen. Jno. B. Gordon, who 
attended Hearn Academy, Cave Spring, and Gen. Jno. B. Hood, commander in the Atlanta 
campaign, who crossed the Coosa River at Veal's ferry, Coosa Village. 



and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon the 
rout of the Union army was complete. 
Beauregard and Johnston wanted to 
push on to Washing:ton in the hope of 
ending the war, but Davis said no. 

Practically half of the Eighth's 
1,000 Georgians fell dead or wounded, 
or were captured or lost. The Fourth 
Alabama was also well decimated. Bar- 
tow led his men to an exposed emi- 
nence which was too hot to hold. 

When the command to retire was 
given, I did not hear it, and soon found 
mvself with none but dead and wound- 



ed around me. I fell back to a thicket 
and met Jim Tom Moore, who said he 
did not know where were the rest of 
the men. Ike Donkle sang out, "Rally, 
Rome Light Guards!" About a dozen 
came out of the thicket and were im- 
mediately fired upon by a regiment in 
a protected position. The Romans re- 
turned the fire, then fell back to cover. 
My hat and coat were well riddled, 
but my skin was untouched. 

Among our dead were Jas. B. Clark, 
Dr. J. T. Duane, a native of Ireland, 
who had come to Rome only a few 



144 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



years before and opened a dental of- 
fice; Geo. T. Stovall, a bachelor, su- 
perintendent of the First Methodist 
Church Sunday School, and perhaps 
the most beloved young man in the 
town; Charles B. Norton, a clothing 
merchant, and D. Clinton Hargi'ove, a 
lawyer, my uncle and a brother of Z. 
B. Hargrove. Charlie Norton was the 
eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Reuben 
Norton and a brother of Mrs. Wm. M. 
Towers. Among our wounded were M. 
D. McOsker and L. T. ("Coon") Mitch- 
ell,* son of Dan'l. R. Mitchell, one of 
the four founders of Rome. 

When Charlie Norton was shot, he 
pitched forward and fell across me, 
for I was on my knees firing. He was 
the first Light Guard member to be 
killed. It was a horrible sight; men 
falling all around, some dying quickly 
and the others making the day hideous 
with their groans. Considering that 
so many were our boyhood friends, it 
v/as all the harder to bear. 

Bartow fell mortally wounded, and 
was attended by Dr. H. V. M. Miller. 
A short time previously he was at- 
tempting to rally his men. Frenzied 
at his heavy loss, he seized a flag from 
the hands of a color bearer. It hap- 
pened that these were the colors of a 
South Carolina unit under Bee. The 
incident was noticed by Bee, who 
rushed up and snatched the colors from 
Bartow. Bee also lost his life in this 
fight. Had he and Bartow been spared, 
it is quite likely they would have 
fought a duel. 

As the Eighth Georgia marched off 
the field at the conclusion of the battle. 
Gen. Beauregard saluted and cried: 
"I salute the Eighth Georgia with my 
hat off. History shall never forget 
you!" 

Capt. Magruder received two wounds 
at First Manassas. Later, at Gar- 
nett's farm, near Richmond, he was 
wounded twice on the same day. Part 
of his nose and right jaw were torn 
away, and his shoulder was badly shot. 
Having had his face bandaged, he was 
rushing back to the front when a mid- 
dle-aged man in homespun suit and 
broad-brinnned hat stopped him and 
said: 

"Major, you are more seriously 
wounded than you realize. You must 
take my carriage and go to the hos- 
pital." 

Capt. Magruder pushed on abruptly, 
telling the man to mind his own busi- 
ness. A soldier who saw the meeting 
asked Capt. Magruder a moment later 
if he knew it was Jefferson Davis he 



was talking to. Capt. Magruder turned 
quickly and apologized, explaining that 
nearly all the officers had been inca- 
pacitated or captured, and that he 
must take command. He went through 
the thickest of the fight, fainted and 
was borne from the field. After a while 
he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. 
At Petersburg he was wounded twice; 
once slightly and suffered a broken 
arm. Surgeons insisted on amputa- 
tion but he refused and his elbow was 
always stiff thereafter. He was sent 
to "Frescati," the Magruder home- 
stead in Virginia, which he had helped 
put in order to receive his wounded 
comrades. 

Judge Augustus R. Wright, 
Federal and Confederate Congress- 
man, contributed the following to 
the discussion of intrigue at Rich- 
mond : 

Richmond, Va., Feb. 26, 1862. 

Francis C. Shropshire, 

Rome, Ga. 

My Dear Frank: On Saturday last 
we had the ceremonies of the inaugu- 
ration. Imposing, very. A gloomier 
day never settled upon the capital of 
Virginia. The rain fell in torrents. 
Notwithstanding, the crowd was im- 
mense. President Davis made his 
speech and took the oath at the eques- 
trian statue of Washington. The com- 
mending of himself and his country 
into the hands of God at the conclu- 
sion of the ceremony was a sublime 
scene. Emaciated and careworn, with 
a deep feeling of sadness pervading 
his pale, intellectual features, there 
v/as anearnestness and solemnity in 
his mannr that satisfied the beholder. 
His spirit was even then in deep com- 
munion with his God. There were 
no Christian doubts that he had prayed 
before in the deep humility of a trust- 
ing and faithful heart. 

Mr. Davis, in my opinion, is a Chris- 
tian President, and if he is, Grod will 
take care of him and the young suf- 
fering country which he rules for the 
next six years. 

The vileness of our race is being ex- 
hibited here every day in the efforts 
of some of those who were first to 
overthrow the old Government,** to 
shake the confidence of the people in 

*Mitchell told later how Stovall had men- 
tioned to him the night before the battle a 
premonition of death. Stovall was humming 
at the time his favorite song, "Jesus Lover of 
My Soul." His last words were, "Tell my 
mother I have gone to Heaven." 
**Presuniably at Montgomery. 



Opening of the Civil War — First Manassas 



145 



their rulers in the hour of misfortune 
and public calamity, the time when of 
all others we should stand by the Gov- 
ernment with the most heroic forti- 
tude, and strengthen by every means 
in our power the confidence of our peo- 
ple in our rulers. 

Some already declare Congress is 
bound by no Constitution in time of 
war, others that we must change the 
organic law again ; the best way to 
get clear of incompetent rulers is for 
the people to rise in their might and 
overthrow them. 

It is fearful to hear the talk in Con- 
gress and out of it. If we are not 
careful, and meet with a few more re- 
verses, we shall have the revolution 
all over again. 

I shall stick to the President because 
it is right, because he is worthy, and 
because it is the only course to secure 
law and order and any Government 
at all. 

There are a great many currents 
and undercurrents here — demagogues 
v^orking like maggots on the body pol- 
itic; the body of the people are like a 
seething caldron — traitors in great 
evidence that glory in the news of our 
defeat. Upon requiring the office- 
holders to take the oath of allegiance, 
I understand there were 40 who re- 
fused. 

The situation at this time: The 
Federal army numbers 500,000, the 
Confederate army about 350,000. Mill 
Spring surrendered Feb. 6; Gen. Jolli- 
coffer, a favorite Southern general, 
killed. Fort Donelson, on line of Mis- 



sissippi River, surrendered Feb. 16, 
with about 15,000 men. 

"God is my refuge and my 
sti^ength;" out of the darkness He will 
bring light, and upon these shadows 
His spirit will move in strength, and 
we shall have a new Government to 
shed its blessings, I hope, upon a free, 
intelligent and Christian people. 
Yours truly, 
AUGUSTUS R. WRIGHT. 

The Civil War, like every other 
war, was not free of profiteering. 
Occasionally the boys at the front 
would write back their opinions of 
money grubbing and hoarding, and 
as early as a year after the open- 
ing the home folks were sniping 
at its pudgy form. The Tri-Week- 
ly Courier of Tuesday, Apr. 8, 1862, 
printed the proceedings of a county 
mass meeting at the City Hall, in 
which strong resolutions were 
passed against extortionate prices 
which were crippling the men on 
the firing line and working a hard- 
ship on non-combatants. Col. 
James Word was chairman of the 
meeting and R. D. Harvey secre- 
tary. The resolutions were drawn 
by a committee composed of Dan- 
iel R. Mitchell, H. Aycock, B. F. 
Hawkins, Kinchin Rambo and J. 
W. Dunnahoo, and they were 
I)assed unanimously. 




146 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




FINE DWELLINGS OF HILL AND COUNTRYSIDE. 

The elegant simplicity of Rome homes has often been remarked. Here we see a few of 
ihe finer structures in their artistic settings. At top, the Second Avenue home of C. Wm. 
King; next, "Beverly Hall," the country estate of J. Nephew King, near DeSoto Park; center, 
the Fourth ward dwelling of the late J. A. Glover. The two bottom pictures are of "Hill- 
crest," East Rome dwelling of Jno. M. Graham. 



CHAPTER II. 
A Rome Engine Chases The "General 



ALTHOUGH the story of 
"Andrews' Wild Raid" of 
Apr. 12, 1862, is well known 
to followers of Civil War 
history, the part played by a Rome 
engine in the chase and capture 
of this band of desperate men has 
remained buried in oblivion. This 
engine was the "Wm. R. Smith,"* 
a small, "wood-burning" affair 
named after Col. Wm. R. ("Long 
Bill") Smith, first president of the 
Rome Railroad. Her engineer was 
Oliver Wiley Harbin,** and the 
conductor of the Rome Railroad 
train to which she was attached 
and which awaited the arrival of 
the Atlanta train at Kingston was 
Cicero A. Smith, also of Rome, son 
of Jacob Smith, an uncle of "Bill 
Arp."*** 

The following account is taken 
partly from an illustrated folder 
issued in 1903 under direction of 
W. L.. Danley, of Nashville, Tenn., 
general passenger agent of the N. 
C. & St. L. railway, lessees of the 
Western & Atlantic (state) rail- 
road, and partly from "Georgia's 
Landmarks, Memorials & Leg- 
ends," Vol. H, ps. 230-234.**** 

James J. Andrews, a Union spy and 
contraband merchant of Flemingsburg, 
Ky., was commissioned by Gen. O. M. 
Mitchel to lead a raid into Georgia and 
burn the railroad bridges between Big 
Shanty (Kennesaw, Cobb County), 
and Chattanooga, Tenn. Gen. Mitch- 
el's division of Buell's Union army 
was in camp near Shelbyville, Tenn., 
and it was from this point that An- 
drews took 21 men in civilian clothes 
and made his way through the Confed- 

*Georgia's liandmarks, Memorials & Legends, 
Vol. n. p. 233. 

♦♦Authorities : Judge Jno. C. Printup, Mrs. 
Susan Cothran Smith, of Birmingham, daugh- 
ter of Col. Wade S. Cothran, superintendent of 
the road ; H. H. Wimpee, of Rome. 

*** Authority : Mrs. Smith. Cicero A. Smith 
was a brother of Miss Mollie Smith, Henry A. 
Smith and James Smith, of Rome. 

****Contributed by Willier (i. Kurtz, of Chi- 
cago, who married a daughter of Capt. Wm. 
A. Fuller, one of the principals in the es- 
capade. 



erate lines to Mar-ietta, seven miles 
south of Big Shanty. Mitchel was to 
capture Huntsville, Ala., on the same 
day that Andrews' raiders were tear- 
ing up the road, and supplies being cut 
off from the South for the Confed- 
erate garrison at Chattanooga, Mitchel 
was to march from Huntsville on re- 
ceiving word from Andrews, and over- 
whelm the Tennessee town. Reinforce- 
ments sufficient to hold Chattanooga 
were to be rushed to Mitchel's aid. 

Andrews was familiar with the road, 
but heavy rains delayed him a day and 
he decided to make his dash Apr. 12 
instead of the 11th, reasoning that 
the rains would hold up Mitchel's force 
a day as well. Consequently, he did 
not reach Marietta until the night of 
Apr. 11. At Marietta the presence of 
this group of strangers attracted some 
attention, but they explained that they 
were Southerners who had made their 
way through the Northern lines and 
wanted to join the Confederate army. 

At 6 o'clock on the morning of Apr. 
12 Capt. Wm. A. Fuller, conductor of 
the northbound passenger train, pulled 
the bell cord that sent the engine puff- 
ing out of the Union Station in At- 
lanta. This was the engine "General," 
built by the Rogers Locomotive Works 
at Paterson, N. J., in 1855, a trim 
wood-burner with a sharp cowcatcher 
and bellows stack, which for some 
years has been on exhibition at the 
Union depot, Chattanooga. The en- 
gineer was Jeff Cain, and Capt. An- 
thony Murphy, well-known Atlantan 
and superintendent of the W. & A. 
shops, went along. Three empty box 
cars were carried next to the engine 
to bring commissary stores from Chat- 
tanooga to Atlanta. 

When the train reached Marietta, 20 
miles northwest of Atlanta, two of An- 
drews' party for some reason failed 
to get aboard, but the other twenty 
clambered on, having bought tickets 
for various points l)eyond Big Shanty. 
It was customary foi- this train to stop 
20 minutes at Big Shanty so the train 
crew and passengers could get break- 
fast at Lacey's Hotel. This was done 
on this occasion, and Capt. Fuller sat 
with his face toward his engine, where 
he could see through an ojien window, 
40 feet from the train. 

In Andrews' party were four en- 
gineers and firemen, some couplers and 



148 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



others familiar with railroad work, and 
practically all of them were armed 
with pistols, and several carried pliers 
for cutting: telep:raph wires. Although 
Big Shanty had 3,000 Confederate sol- 
diers in training (at Camp McDon- 
ald), it did not boast a telegraph sta- 
tion. The commanding officer had i*e- 
quested Capt. Fuller to take in tow 
several deserters who might board his 
train, hence when the conductor saw 
the strangers uncouple the engine and 
the three empty box cars from his 
train and start off, he thought they 
were Confederate undesirables. 

"Some one who has no right to do so 
has gone off with our train!" shouted 
Capt. Fuller. The sixteen men in the 
last box car waved defiantly as they 
turned a curve and were lost to view. 
The alarm was sounded through vil- 
lage and camp. 

A bugler called together the High- 
land Rangers, a horse troop com- 
manded by Capt. J. L. Kerr, a Rome 
tailor, which was Co. G, of the First 
Georgia Cavalry, commanded by Col. 
J. J. Morrison, of Polk County. The 
horsemen dashed away in hot pursuit. 
Among them were four Roman broth- 
ers, M. A. J. (Matt), Wm., George and 
Dave Wimpee.* 

Capt. Fuller used the tools at hand. 
He pitted leg power against steam. 
Mr. Cain and Capt. Murphy followed 
closely. At Moon's Station, two miles 
away, they got a hand car off a side- 
track. The men at the station had 
had their tools taken forcibly by the 
raiders. They reported that the 
strangers had cut 100 yards of wire 
from the telegraph poles, and carried 
it with them. Capt. Fuller then com- 
prehended the design, and put new de- 
termination into his efforts. He had 
arrived here ahead of his companions, 
so pushed the hand car back and picked 
them up. Two of them shoved the rude 
conveyance while the third rested and 
kept a sharp lookout ahead. Rain was 
falling in a gloomy drizzle. 

Capt. Fuller figured that the down- 
grade to Etowah Station, at the Eto- 
wah river, would probably enable him 
to get to that point (fifteen miles from 
Moon's) by the time "The General" had 
climbed the grade thence to Kingston, 
and that at Kingston freight trains 
were due to hold up the raiders a while. 
A pile of crossties was removed from 
the track a mile north of Moon's. At 
Acworth they got pistols and wei-e 
joined by Steve Stokely, of Cobb Coun- 
ty, and a Mr. Smith, of Jonesboro, 
Two rails had been removed just be- 



fore reaching Etowah, so the hand- 
car had to be lifted along some 75 feet. 

After a heroic effort, Etowah was 
reached, and there, justifying the 
hopes of Capt. Fuller, stood the old 
engine "Yonah," the property of the 
Cooper Iron Works. The engine was 
standing on a sidetrack near the Eto- 
wah trestle, and the tender, detached, 
was on the turn-table. The tender was 
turned around and attached to the en- 
gine, and off they went. No further 
impediments were encountered up to 
Kingston, fifteen miles from Etowah. 
By this time the countryside was in 
a fever of excitement. Andrews was 
telling curious station masters and 
trainmen that he was running an am- 
munition train to the relief of Gen. 
G. T. Beauregard, at Corinth, Miss. 
He also stated that Capt. Fuller's pas- 
senger train was coming along behind ; 
but when the people saw Capt. Ful- 
ler's bedraggled crew, they knew the 
truth. 

The "Yonah" pawed up sparks as 
her wheels slipped in starting; then 
she made record speed to Kingston. 
Andrews had just left. He had per- 
suaded the freight engineers to give 
him right of way, and was off with a 
mocking laugh. The "Texas" found 
the freights so arranged that she was 
hopelessly pocketed, but on the left- 
hand prong of the "Y," pointed toward 
Rome, was the "Wm. R. Smith," steam 
up and waiting for the Atlanta trans- 
fer passengers. Capt. Fuller pressed 
this engine into service, and her en- 
gineer, O. Wiley Harbin, ran her a 
distance of five miles, faster than the 
"stringers" and flat rails of the Rome 
railroad would have stood. In the cab 
of the Rome engine were also seated 
the Rome train conductor, Cicero A. 
Smith, Capt. Fuller, Mr. Cain, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Stokely and Mr. Smith. 
Four miles south of Adairsville (Cass 
County), 60 yards of track was found 
to have been torn up. The "Smith" 
was stopped with a jerk and Capt. Ful- 
ler and his four companions ran ahead 
after thanking the crew from Rome. 
The Romans remained behind to look 
after their engine, and slowly steamed 
back to Kingston and took up their 
previous position. 

Capt. Fuller pressed on two miles as 
fast as his legs would carry him, again 
leading his crowd by several furlongs. 
After half a mile Murphy was the 
only one he could see. Presentb?^ an 
express freight train came puffing 
along with 20 cars. Capt. Fuller stood 

♦Authority : H. H. Wimpee. 



A Rome Engine Chases the "General" 



149 



on the track, brandished his pistol and 
brought the train to a stop. The en- 
gineer, Peter Bracken, recognized him 
?nd heard his hastily-told story. They 
waited for Capt. Murphy to arrive, 
then backed up the road as fast as pos- 
sible, Capt. Fuller standing on the last 
box car, 20 lengths away, and giving 
signals so the engineer could tell how 
to run. Others now on the train were 
Fleming Cox and Henry Haney, fire- 
man of the freight, and Alonzo Mar- 
tin, wood passer. Smith and Stokely 
had been left behind. The train was 
now being pushed by the Danforth and 
Cook engine "Texas." 

When within 200 yards of the switch 
at Adairsville, Capt. Fuller jumped 
down, ran ahead and changed the 
switch so as to throw the 20 cars on 
the sidetrack. He then reversed the 
switch and hopped on the "Texas," 
which sped on her way. So quickly 
had this change been effected that en- 
gine and cars ran side by side for near- 
ly 1,000 feet. The "Texas," it should 
be borne in mind, was still running 
backward, whereas the "General" was 
pointed ahead. This gave the "Gen- 
eral" quite an advantage because the 
instability of a tender running fast 
ahead tends to throw it off the track. 
Calhoun, Gordon County, ten miles 
from Adairsville, was reached in 
twelve minutes. Here Edward Hen- 
derson, 17, telegraph operator at Dal- 
ton, had arrived on the morning pas- 
senger train, to see what was the mat- 
ter with the telegraph wires. Running 
at 1.5 miles an hour, Capt. Fuller 
stretched out a hand to him and pulled 
him aboard the engine. 

While they sped along as fast as an 
engine with 5 feet, 10-inch driving 
wheels could run, Capt. Fuller wrote 
the following telegram to Gen. Ledbet- 
ter at Chattanooga, handed it to young 
Henderson and told him to hop off 
quick at Dalton and put it through: 

"My train was captured this morn- 
ing at Big Shanty, evidently by P^ed- 
eral soldiers in disguise. They are 
making rapidly for Chattanooga, pos- 
sibly with an idea of burning the rail- 
road bridges in their rear. If I do 
not capture them in the meantime, see 
that they do not pass Chattanooga." 

Two miles north of Calhoun the fly- 
ing raiders were sighted by the pur- 
suers for the first time. They de- 
tached the rear freight car at a point 
where they had made a fruitless effort 
to tear up a rail with a crow-bar. This 
car was coupled in front of the "Tex- 
as" without stopping, and Capt. Fuller 
mounted it and signalled to the en- 



gineer, who could not see ahead. The 
end of this car had been punched out 
so crossties could be strewn along the 
tiack, ties having been taken from the 
roadbed at various points. Two and a 
half miles farther, Capt. Fuller en- 
countered another loose freight car. 
This was taken on in front, and the 
gallant captain moved up a car length. 
The bridge over the Oostanaula River 
was crossed safely and at Resaca Capt. 
Fuller left the two cumbersome freight 
cars on a siding, and sped onward with 
the "Texas" only. At a short curve 
tw^o miles north of Resaca a T-rail 
diagonally across the track was seen 
too late to stop. Capt. Fuller was 
standing on the tender, and he clung 
to the side and closed his eyes a mo- 
ment in anticipation of a crash. The 
right fore wheel swept the rail off the 
track like it had been a straw, and 
they were safe again. They were said 
to have been making 55 miles an hour. 
This was undoubtedly one of the rails 
whose removal halted the engine from 
Rome. It was probably dropped off 
the third and last box car, hence there 
was no time to place it straight across. 
Only two or three times were obstruc- 
tions met with between Resaca and 
Dalton, a distance of fifteen miles; 
these were quickly removed. At Dal- 




COl.. WADI-: S. COTHKAN. banki-r an. I pro- 
moter, who, with John Hume, caused the 
Nobles to move to Rome. 



150 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



ton the telegraph operator was drop- 
ped, and he managed to get his mes- 
sage on the line a few seconds before 
the wires were snipped up the road. 
The customary acknowledgment at the 
end of the message was not received 
from Chattanooga because the pliers 
had been used so quickly. 

Two miles north of Dalton the des- 
perate fugitives were seen frantically 
attempting to tear up a rail. Col. Jesse 
A. Glenn's regiment was camping 
nearby, and its members also noticed 
the work of Andrews' men. Before 
the soldiers could come up, the An- 
drews band had made off again. The 
fifteen miles from Dalton to Ringgold 
(Catoosa County) was made in faster 
time than Capt. Fuller had ever made 
it in his 22 years as a conductor. At 
middle distance between these two 
points stood the long tunnel at Tunnel 
Hill, Whitfield County. Here was a 
fine opportunity for the pursued to 
wreck the determined pursuers. Had 
they stopped a short distance beyond 
the tunnel and sent their last box car 
into the dark passageway, a shocking 
tragedy might have been enacted. 
However, they were too hotly pursued 
to try such an experiment. 

The intervening distance had been 
eaten up by the "Texas" until, half 
way between Ringgold and Graysville 
(a mile and a half north of Ringgold), 
the "General" was only a quarter of 
a mile in the lead. The "General" was 
weakening perceptibly, due to complete 
exhaustion of her wood and water sup- 
ply. The last splinter had been shoved 
into the firebox and the last drop of 
water squeezed from her tank. The 
once white smoke belching from her 
clumsy but business-like stack had 
been transformed into a hot breath. 
The 20 reckless mutineers who had 
commandeered her would have chucked 
in their hats, shirts and shoes except 
for the job of tearing through bram- 
bles and streams. Several pine knots 
had been passed back to the box cars 
to set them on fire and send to the rear 
a flaming messenger of death. Had 
this sortie been successful, the chance 
of escape might have been greatly 
heightened, for the flames would have 
closed around the chugging "Texas" 
like a snare. A small fire was started 
in the car, but the dampness madd the 
attempt a failure. It was probable 
that the plan was to fire the car and 
leave it on the next bridge, but the 
"General" could not pull the grade, 
and the car was cut loose. Capt. Ful- 
ler picked it up, and put out the fire. 
The fugitives now abandoned the 



"General" and ran through the woods 
to the west. "Every man take care of 
himself!" shouted Andrews, and they 
scattered in squads of three or four. 

At Ringgold Capt. Fuller had sight- 
ed 50 or 75 soldiers and had shouted 
word for them to mount their horses 
and come forward in the chase. At a 
fork in the Chickamauga near Grays- 
ville four of the raiders were captured, 
and one of them was forced to tell who 
they were. The neighborhood was 
thoroughly awakened, and within a 
fortnight all of the 22 had been round- 
ed up, including the two who had failed 
to take the train at Marietta. Although 
badly tuckered out, Capt. Fuller, Capt. 
Murphy, Fleming Cox and Alonzo 
Martin took to the woods in pursuit of 
the raiders, but soon left the chase to 
the men on horseback. Some of the 
pursued hid out in mountains and 
canebrakes, but were turned up when 
they applied at farm houses for food. 

The following Kentucky and Ohio 
men participated in the raid:* 

Jas. J. Andrews, leader, citizen, 
Flemingsburg, Ky. ; Wm. H. Campbell, 
citizen, of Kentucky. 

Marion A. Ross, sergeant major; 
Wm. Pittinger, sergeant. Company G; 
Geo. D. Wilson, private, Company B; 
Chas. P. Shadrach, private. Company 
K, all of Second Ohio Infantry. 

Elihu H. Mason, sergeant, Company 
K; Jno. M. Scott, sergeant. Company 
F ; Wilson M. Brown, corporal. Com- 
pany F ; Mark Wood, private, Com- 
pany C; Jno. A. Wilson, private, Com- 
pany C; Wm. Knight, private. Compa- 
ny E ; Jno. R. Porter, private, Com- 
pany G ; Wm. Bensinger, private, Com- 
pany G ; Robt. Buff um, private, Com- 
pany H, all of 21st Ohio Infantry. 

Martin J. Hawkins, corporal. Com- 
pany A; Wm. H. Reddick, corporal. 
Company B ; Daniel A. Dorsey, coi'- 
poral. Company H; John Wollam, pri- 
vate. Company C; Samuel Slavens, pri- 
vate. Company E ; Samuel Robertson, 
private, Company G; Jacob Pari-ott, 
private, Company K, all of 33rd Ohio 
Infantry. 

Eight of these men, whose names ap- 
pear below, were executed by the Con- 
federate authorities at Atlanta, Ga., in 
June, 1862; Andrews on June 7, and 
Campbell, Ross, Geo. D. Wilson, Shad- 
rach, Scott, Slavens and Robertson on 
June 18. On Oct. 16, 1862, the eight 
following named made their escape 
from prison at Atlanta: Brown, Wood, 

'•'Letter, Feb. 18, 1903, from F. C. Ainsworth, 
chief of Record and Pension office, Washing- 
ton, D. C, to W. L. Danley, Nashville, Tenn. 



A Rome Engine Chases the "General' 



151 



John A. Wilson, Knight, Porter, Haw- 
kins, Dorsey and WoHam. The re- 
maining six members of the raiding 
party were paroled at City Point, Va., 
March 17, 1863. Their names follow: 
Pittinger, Mason, Bensinger, Buffum, 
Reddick and Parrott. Congress gave 
medals to all the survivors, who erect- 
ed a monument to their comrades in 
the National cemetery at Chicka- 
mauga, Ga. The N., C". & St. L. rail- 
way erected tablet stones at the points 
where the "General" was captured and 
was abandoned. The "Texas" stands 
in the southeastern part of Grant 
Park, Atlanta, defying the wind and 
the weather. The "Yonah" and the 
"Wm. R. Smith" are supposed to have 
been scrapped.* 

Sergt. Pittinger testified at his 
trial that wlien the "General" 
"broke down," they were burning 
oil cans, tool boxes and planks 
ripped off the freight car. As they 
abandoned her they reversed her 
in order to bring on a collision with 
the "Texas," but in their haste and 
excitement they left the brake on 
the tender, and there was not suf- 
ficient steam to back the engine. 
In his book, "Capttiring a Locomo- 
tive," he says : 

We obstructed the track as well as 
we could by laying on crossties at dif- 
ferent places. We also cut the wires 
between every station. Finally, when 
we were nearly to the station where 
we expected to meet the last train, 
we stopped to take up a rail. We had 
no instruments but a crowbar, and 
instead of pulling out the spikes, as 
we could have done with the pinch 
bars used for that purpose by rail- 
road men, we had to batter them out. 
Just as we were going to relinquish 
the effort, the whistle of an engine in 
pursuit sounded in our ears.** With 
one convulsive effort we broke the 

♦Georgia's liandmarks. Memorials & Legends, 
Vol. II, p. 234, says Andrews was hanged at 
Ponce DeLeon Avenue and Peachtree Street, 
followinp: his conviction at Chattanooga as a 
spy : that the seven others hanged were tried 
alt Knoxville, and were talten from the old jail 
at Fair and Fraser Streett-, Atlanta, and 
hanged near Oakland cemetery, on land now 
owned by the street railway company ; and that 
the eight escai)ed the Atlanta jail in l)road 
daylight and made thei^ way to the Union lines. 

'*The whistle they heard was on the Rome 
engine, the "Wm. R. Smith." According to the 
N., C. & St. L. booklet, p. 9, 60 yards of track 
was torn up at that point. 

***N., C. & St. L. booklet, ps. 21-23. 

****P^ather of Robt. F. Maddox, former mayor 
of Atlanta. 



rail in two, took up our precious half 
rail and left. 

We were scarcely out of sight of the 
place where we had taken up the half 
rail before the other train met us. 
This was safely passed. When our 
pursuers came to the place where the 
broken rail was taken up, they aban- 
doned their engine and ran on foot 
till they met the freight train, and 
turned it back after us. 

We adopted every expedient we 
could think of to delay pursuit, but as 
we were cutting the wire near Cal- 
houn, they came in sight of us. We 
instantly put our engine to full speed, 
and in a moment the wheels were 
striking fire from the rails in their 
rapid revolutions. The car in which 
we rode rocked furiously and threw 
us from one side to the other like 
peas rattled in a gourd. 

I then proposed to Andrews to let 
our engineer take the engine out of 
sight, while we hid in a curve, after 
putting a crosstie on the track; when 
they checked to remove the obstruc- 
tions, we could rush on them, shoot 
every person on the engine, reverse it 
and let it drive backward at will. 

The vSouthern Confederacy, a 
paper published in Atlanta at the 
time, wrote :*** 

The fugitives, not expecting pur- 
suit, quietly took in wood and water 
at Cass Station, and borrowed a 
schedule from the bank tender on the 
plausible pretext that they were run- 
ning a pressed train loaded with pow- 
der for Beauregard. 

They had on the engine a red hand- 
kerchief, indicating that the regular 
passenger train would be along pres- 
ently. They stopped at Adairsville 
and said that Fuller, with the regu- 
lar passenger train, was behind, and 
would wait at Kingston for the freight 
train, and told the conductor to i)ush 
ahead and meet him at that i)()int. 
This was done to produce a collision 
with Capt. Fuller's train. 

When the morning freight reached 
Big Shanty, Lieut. Cols. R. F. Mad- 
dox**** and C. D. Phillips took the en- 
gine, and with 50 picked men, follow- 
ed on as rapidly as possible. Capt. 
Fuller on his return met them at Tun- 
nel Hill and turned them back. Peter 
Bracken, the engineer on the "Texas," 
ran his engine 50 '^ miles — two miles 
backing the whole freight train up to 
Adairsville; made twelve stops, cou- 
pled the two cars dropped by the fu- 
gitives, and switched them off on sid- 



152 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



ings — all in one hour and five min- 
utes." 

The ])ai"t ])la\e(l l)y the Rome en- 
j^'ine and her ere\\- was Avarmly 
l)raise(l I)y the citizens and the 
military authorities. Indeed, not 
only was an important link sup- 
plied, l)ut tile api)earance of the en- 
gine at the point of broken track 
no doubt prevented a wreck of the 
southbound freight piloted by En- 
gineer Bracken. Ihul a wreck oc- 
curred, Capt. Fuller would have 
]Hished on to Adairsville afoot, and 
the raiders would probably have 
been able to carry out at least a 
part of their design. 

Out on his farm in North Rome 
Col. Wade S. Cothran, superin- 
tendent of the Rome Railroad, 
always took note of the time when 
the train passed the Rome brick 
3^ard, not far to the southeast. On 
this occasion no train came, and 
Col. Cothran remarked to his fam- 
ily that something must have hap- 
pened. Next morning a messenger 



arrived with news of the capture 
and Col. Cothran announced with 
a great deal of pride at the break- 
fast table that Wiley Harbin and 
'"Little Cis" Smith had written 
their names on history's everlast- 
ing scroll. 

As for the Highland Rangers 
and the Wimpee brothers, of 
Rome, they made a praiseworthy 
dash through the hills by horse 
but could not keep up with the fly- 
ing Fuller and his daredevil pace- 
makers. 

Frustation of this daring sally 
and plot postponed until August 
1863, the capture of Chattanooga 
by the Federal general, Wm. S. 
Rosecrans. 



*It appears that the total distance traveled 
by Capt. Fuller was about 85 V^ miles: afoot 
two miles to Moon's, 12 miles by handcar to 
Etowah, 14 miles by the "Yonah" to Kingston, .5 
miles beyond Kingston on the "Wm. R. Smith," 
two more afoot, and then 50 1-> miles on the 
"Texas." Although practically all the partici- 
pants were armed, there is no evidence that 
any shots were exchanged. The Tri-Weekly 
Courier recorded the fall of Huntsville Apr. 11, 
but did not mention the Andrews Raid. 




CHAPTER III. 
Activities of the Folks at Home 



WHILE there was such a fe- 
verish activity at the front, 
what were the "Home 
(iuarcl"and the women do- 
ing far from the sound of musket 
and drum ? 

Mrs. Mary Turnley Reynolds, 
historian of the Rome Chapter, 
United Daughters of the Confed- 
eracy, contributed the following 
to the archives of that institution 
m 1900: 

The woi"k accomplished by the ladies 
of Rome for the gallant men who sac- 
I'ificed the comforts of home and fire- 
side, donned the suit of gray to fight 
for native land and Southern rights, 
is a part of the history of our South- 
land that is too noble to be for- 
gotten ; and the names of the heroines 
who figured behind the lines must be 
recorded along with the names of the 
heroes who sacrificed their all for 
Southern rights. 

Of those who were prominent in the 
work for their country during those 
troublous times, your historian finds 
many who have passed into the beau- 
tiful and far-away land. Some have 
removed their homes to other states. 
Some are living at a ripe and happy 
old age among the families and friends 
of their youth. Included in these 
might be mentioned Mrs. J. G. Yeiser, 
widow of Col. Yeiser, who also served 
in the Mexican war; Mrs. J. M. Greg- 
ory, widow of Dr. Gregory, once mayor 
of Rome and a surgeon in Company 
A, Eighth Georgia Regiment; Mrs. 
Martha Battey, widow of Dr. Robt. 
Battey, a surgeon in the 19th Geor- 
gia Regiment; and Mrs. P. L. Turn- 
ley, wife of Dr. Turnley, the drug- 
gist. From the above-named ladies 
and Mrs. Eben Hillyer, wife of Dr. 
Eben Hillyer, your historian has gath- 
ered valuable data which gives us a 
vivid picture of the times. 

The first thing to cheer the soldier 
to duty was an illumination of the 
town at night. This was very gen- 
eral in Rome. An exception was made 
by Mrs. Battey, who, with her native 
d( cision of character, refused to "light 
up," saying, "We should fight under 
the Stars and Stripes." But loving 
her country and her people, she soon 



joined in the serious part of the 
diama. 

Our first charity organization for 
war purposes was the Ladies' Benevo- 
lent Association. Mrs. Nicholas J. 
Bayard, mother of Mrs. John J. Seay, 
was made president, and Mrs. Wm. A. 
Fort secretary. Unfortunately, the 
minutes kept by Mrs. Fort have been 
destroyed. 

The vice-president was Mrs. Wade 
S. Cothran. 

Among the members were Mesdames 
J. M. Gregory, Jno. W. H. Under- 
wood, Robt. T. Hargrove, J. J. Cohen, 
Wm. Ketcham, Hollis Cooley, Eben 
Hillyer, Dan'l S. Printup, D. Mack 
Hood, H. V. M. Miller, Jas. Noble, 
M. A. Pearson, A. G. Pitner, O. B. 
Eve, Thos. W. Alexander, Thos. Haw- 
kins, Chas. H. Smith, Reuben S. Nor- 
ton, Nicholas J. Omberg, J. M. M. 
Caldwell, Mary Sullivan, Wm. Moore, 
Jas. W. Hinton, W. I. Brookes, M. H. 
Graves, Mrs. Booten, Mrs. Lawrence 
and Mrs. Johnson. 

The society was founded in Jan- 
uary, 1861, at the suggestion of Rev. 
Jas. W. Hinton, then pastor of the 
First Methodist church. Its main pur- 
pose at first was to make garments 
and attend to other physical needs of 
the soldiers. Edward C. Hough, a na- 
tive of the north, who had volunteer- 
ed for field service, was exempted in 
order that he might direct the making 
of these garments at home; Nicholas 
J. Omberg, another tailor, who was 
killed by a scout band in 18G4, as- 
sisted him. 

The city hall, southwest corner of 
Broad Street and Fifth Avenue, was 
occupied for garment making. How 
valiantly the ladies went at their task 
is thus told by Editor Dwinell in The 
Courier of May 17, 1861: 

"The Ladies at Worh:— The ladies 
of Rome are now engaged at the city 
hall in m.aking uniforms and articles 
of clothing for the volunteer compa- 
nies. Some 20 or 30 are there all the 
time; they work as their circum- 
stances will admit; some in the after- 
noon, some one day, others next, while 
still others are there early and late 
every day. Such zealous patriotism 
is worthy of the highest commenda- 
tion, and men who would not fight for 
tho defense and protection of such la- 



154 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



dies ought to be forever banished from 
the pleasures of their society." 

Another little notice reads thus: 

"The Work Goes Beautifully On. — 
There is quite a large number of la- 
dies still daily engaged at the city hall 
ir, the manufacture of clothing for the 
volunteers. They have a number of 
patent sewing machines, yet it is 
patent ('how Mr. Dwinell loved to 
pun!') to every susceptible gentleman 
that those with black or blues eyes, 
whose almost continuous chatter is 
like the soft, silvery tones of sweetest 
bells, are incomparably more interest- 
ing. We are requested to state that 
any lady wishing to assist in this 
patriotic work is expected to report at 
the city hall at once." 

Mrs. Underwood and Mrs. Fort were 
the first to remove their sewing ma- 
chines to the city hall, and others fol- 
lowed. The association did fine work 
among the poor, and furnished work 
for many women who would have 
suffered when winter came. 

On Aug. 19, 1861, a call was sound- 
ed for an organization of broader ob- 
jects and service, since it was seen 
that the war would be long and bloody. 
Four days later a meeting was held 
at the city hall and the Ladies' Aid 
Society formed. Rev. Chas. H. Still- 
well, pastor of the First Baptist 
church, was made president; Mrs. 
Geo. P. Burnett, Mrs. M. H. Graves, 
Mrs. N. J. Bayard, and Mrs. Booten, 
vice-presidents; and Rev. James W. 
Hinton, pastor of the First Methodist 
church, secretary and treasui'er. 
Among the members were the follow- 
ing: 

Mrs. Dr. Anderson, Mrs. Attaway, 
Mrs. J. W. M. Berrien, Mrs. Robt. 
Battey, Miss Florida Bayard, Mrs N. 
J. Bayard, Mrs. Billups, Miss Mol- 
lie Billups, Miss Mary Billups, Mrs. 
A. W. Caldwell, Mrs. J. J. Cohen, Mrs. 
Hollis Cooley, Mrs. Wade S. Cothran, 
Mrs. Wm. A. Fort, Mrs. Jno. R. Free- 
man, Mrs. Simpson Fouche, Mrs. A. 
E. Graves, Miss E. W. Graves, Mrs. 
M. H. Graves, Mrs. Dennis Hills, Mrs. 
Jno. W. Hooper, Miss Malinda Har- 
grove, Mrs. Robt. T. Hargi'ove, Mrs. 
Hale, Mrs. A. R. Harper, Mrs. Jno. 
Harkins, Mrs. John Hume, Mrs. D. M. 
Hood, Mrs. Jesse Lamberth, Mrs. C. 
H. Lee, Mrs. Lilienthal, Mrs. Morris 
Marks, Mrs. C. W. Mills, Mrs. L. 
Magnus, Mrs. Morrison, Miss M. E. 
Murphy, Miss V. A. Murphy, Mrs. J. 
H. McClung, Mrs. Wm. Moore, Mrs. 
Wm. T. Newman, Mrs. Jas. Noble, 
Mrs. Reuben S. Norton, Miss Mary 



W. Noble, Miss Parks, Mrs. M. A. 
Pearson, Mrs. C. M. Pennington, Mrs. 
A. G. Pitner, Mrs. Pepper, Mrs. Wm. 
Quinn, Mrs. Dr. Chas. Todd Quin- 
tard, Mrs. Wm. Ramey, Mrs. Jane 
Russell, Mrs. Rawls, Jr'., Mrs. Rawls, 
Sr., Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. 
A. M. Sloan, Miss Martha B. Spullock, 
Mrs. Samuel Stewart, Mrs. Samuel J. 
Stevens, Mrs. Chas. H. Stillwell, Miss 
Savannah E. Stillwell, Mrs. Mary Sul- 
livan, Mrs. Chas. H. Smith, Mrs. Jno. 
R. Towers, Miss Lizzie Underwood, 
Mrs. Jno. W. H. Underwood, Mrs. 
Jas. Banks Underwood, Mrs. Jos. E. 
Veal, Mrs. James Ware, Mrs. C. Wat- 
ters, Mrs. Whittesey, Mrs. Thos. J. 
Word, Mrs. Augustus R. Wright, Mrs. 
J. G. Yeiser. 

This society adopted a constitution 
and by-laws, and the members paid $1 
a year membership dues. Three wom- 
en in each county district solicited 
contributions. Mrs. Jas. Ware made 
some blankets that were very fine. 
Among things sent in were wool, 
socks, vegetables, red peppers, pepper 
sauce, tomato catsup, blackberry wine 
and cordial ; in fact, everything of a 
useful nature poured into headquar- 
ters, and was despatched as fast as 
limited transportation facilities would 
allow. Five carloads were sent to the 
front and training camps before the 
first year closed. 

Auxiliaries were formed in each 
district, and a Children's Aid Society 
came into being in September, 1861. 
Mrs. Easter, wife of the Episcopal 
rector, had charge. The children were 
a great help in running errands, and 
some of them could knit and sew. They 
sent many sheets, pillow cases and 
bandages to the Savannah hospital. 

Quite a number of beautiful tab- 
leaux were presented at the city hall 
under the management of Mrs. Daniel 
S. Printup and Mrs. D. Mack Hood, 
and the sum raised was $137.70. One 
of the scenes showed Kentucky in 
chains held by Lincoln, and another 
Maryland prostrate, and Lincoln bend- 
ing over her with a sword. Twenty- 
four girls in homespun from Rev. 
Chas. W. Howard's school at Spring 
Bank, Bartow County, attended this 
tableau. 

The Soldiers' Aid Association decid- 
ed in August, 1861, that a relief room 
was needed for the wounded soldiers 
who were coming back from the front 
as the excess from the crowded army 
hospitals. Mrs. Robt. Battey was 
elected president of this new organi- 
zation, and on Aug. 23 the "Wayside 
Home" was onened at the southeast 



Activities of the Folks at Home 



155 




156 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



corner of Broad Street and First Ave- 
nue, opposite the Hamilton-Shorter 
block, and quite convenient to the 
Rome railroad station, just across the 
street. Drs. T. J. Word and J. M. 
Gregory had charge as managers, and 
the committee on arrangements was 
made up of Col. Wade S. Cothran, J. 
M. Elliott, Robt. T. Hargrove, C. W. 
Mills and Daniel R. Mitchell. The 
v/omen's committees follow: Mrs. Fort, 
Mrs. Rawls and Mrs. Bayard for 
Monday; Mrs. Battey, Mrs. Sloan 
and Mrs. Yeiser, Tuesday; Mrs. Noble, 
Mrs. Marks, and Mrs. Hargrove, Wed- 
nesday; Mrs. Mills, Mrs. Hills and 
Mrs. Stillwell, Thursday; Mrs. Smith, 
Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. McClung, Fri- 
day; Mrs. Towers, Mrs. Freeman and 
Mrs. Russell, Saturday; Mrs. Roberts, 
Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Rawls, Sr., Mrs. 
Ramey, Mrs. Lilienthal and Mrs. 
Cohen, Sunday. 

A great deal of medicine, bandages 
and everything needed in a first-aid 
station, including considerable cloth- 
ing, was put at the Wayside Home for 
the use of doctors and committees, and 
quite a number of sick and wounded 
soldiers were served satisfactorily. 
Presently came a sick soldier who was 
little more than a boy, named Wil- 




MARTHA BALDWIN SMITH, 18, just after 
her marriage in 1849 to Dr. Robt. Battey. 
She died Sunday, Feb. 5, 1922, aged 91. 



liam Lynch, of Louisiana. During the 
days before a complete diagnosis could 
be made by Dr. Word, the lad was at- 
tended by Mesdames Smith, Harper, 
Stewart, Underwood, Spullock, Cooley, 
Harkins, Stillwell, Hale, Rawls, Sr., 
Lilienthal, Cothran, A. E. Graves, At- 
taway, Norton, Sanders, Moore and 
Quinn. After a week. Dr. Word said 
it was smallpox. That was Tuesday. 
Necessarily there was a great deal 
of alarm. The women were isolated 
at once; everybody was afraid to go 
near them. 

On Tuesday afternoon Mrs. Battey 
went to the room, having heard the 
news. She was warned by Dr. Greg- 
ory that a smallpox patient was on 
the inside, but she insisted on going 
in, and there she found the lad crying. 
She told him not to be troubled, that 
he would be cared for. Having en- 
countered the advanced stages, Mrs. 
Battey was requested to keep company 
with herself. Three or four days later 
she took sick, and she says the only 
person in town who was brave enough 
to come to her relief was Col. W. A. 
Fort. Col. Fort treated her for a se- 
vere cold and she was up again pres- 
ently. 

When Mrs. Battey fell ill, William 
Howe volunteered to take charge of 
William Lynch. Here is an extract 
from a letter written by Mr. Howe 
from the sick room: 

"Thinking that the public would 
like to hear what is going on in this 
dreaded chamber of disease, I feel a 
desire to gratify it. My friends may 
think that time rolls heavily with me, 
but such is not the case. However, 
the room is under martial law and I 
am monarch of all I survey. His 
Honor the Mayor (Dr. Thos. J. Word) 
has created me military dictator. 

"I have two patients to nurse, two 
of the most patient, gentle sufferers 
that were ever afflicted. I really love 
them. The boy who has smallpox is 
Wm. Lynch, who is only 17 years old 
and has been in six battles. He had 
been discharged on account of feeble- 
ness caused from a long spell of ty- 
phoid fever, and was on the way to 
his hoine in Louisiana when he took 
smallpox here. The boy soldier will 
yet be a man if careful nursing on 
my part and the skill of the doctor 
can save him. 

"God bless our women! Here their 
true worth is felt. Every comfort, ev- 
ery appliance to the wants of the sick 
is within my reach ; and when I have 
occasion for a clean pillow slip, sheet 



Activities of the Folks at Home 



157 



or towel, the closet is crammed full 
of them, and I involuntarily exclaim, 
'God bless them!' 

"I can not close this letter without 
furnishing a g^rateful acknowledgment 
to Col. Penning-ton, His Honor the 
Mayor, Dr. Gregory, Mrs. Wm. A. 
Fort, Mrs. Dr. Battey, Mrs. Dr. Un- 
derwood and Mrs. Omberg." 

The plight of the women and 
their sense of duty is expressed in 
the following card to The Courier : 

While we all lament the existence of 
this horrible war, shall we leave our 
brave defenders to suffer alone? Shall 
we not bravely endure our portion of 
the toil and danger? Oh, yes; let us 
not shrink from the duty that lies 
before us; and while we make use of 
every precaution for the safety of our 
families, go steadily forward trusting 
in God, thankful that we have only 
disease to contend with and have been 
spared the barbarous treatment which 
our bloody and deceitful enemies have 
inflicted on other parts of our country. 
It sometimes happens that those who 
flee are the first to perish, while God 
protects the faithful. 

As the Mayor of the City has taken 
charge of the Soldiers' Relief room, 
no more appointments will be made by 
the committee of ladies, who will now 
withdraw until again called upon by 
the gentlemen to perform their duties. 

The boy recovered ; two negroes 
contracted the disease from him, 
and one of them died. He soon 
left for his home, his heart grate- 
ful to the kindly Romans. As if 
echoing the prophetic words of 
Mr. Howe he used to lie on his 
cot and repeat, "Once a man, twice 
a child!" 

Airs. Re^'uolds continues: 

The doors of the Wayside Home 
were never opened again, and the con- 
tents were burned to prevent a spread 
of the disease. What the destruction 
of all this meant to those whose fin- 
gers had worked so ceaselessly to make 
it can scarcely be imagined. For sev- 
eral months the women contributed as 
individuals. An earlier donation by 
Mrs. Thos. J. Perry will give an idea 
of the extent: 1 quilt, 10 i)airs of 
woolen socks, 10 of cotton dravvers, 1 
of suspenders, 2 of gloves, 3 towels, 2 
pillow cases, 3 nubias, 1 bundle of 
bandages, G cakes of salve, 8 of soap, 
1 bottle of black pepper, 1 bunch of 



red pepper, 1 bundle of sage, and 6 
candles. In addition to the societies 
mentioned the St. Peter's Hospital As- 
sociation (of the Episcopal church) 
had been organized by Dr. Easter, and 
it sent forward a vast amount of hos- 
pital supplies. Prominent in the or- 
ganization were Mrs. Jos. E. Veal, 
Mrs. Geo. R. Ward, Mrs. Jno. W. 
Noble, Miss Mary W. Noble and Miss 
Palmer. 

On February 16, 1862, Fort Donel- 
son, Mississippi River, fell after a ter- 
rible battle, and hospitals in the South, 
already well filled, were taxed be- 
yond their capacities. This fact sug- 
gested that Rome open hospitals. The 
first was on Broad Street between 
Fourth Avenue and the old city hall, 
at Fifth; Dr. Fox had charge, and the 
matrons were Mrs. Reeves and Mrs. 
Merck. Several hundred injured were 
taken into Rome residences, but these 
were removed when the churches were 
converted into places of operation, 
treatment and convalescence. 

A hospital association was formed 
at the court house with Mrs. Nicholas 
J. Bayard president and Mrs. Wm. 
A. Fort secretary and treasurer. As 
usual, the entire county was canvass- 
ed for members and supplies. Mrs. 
J. G. Yeiser received much praise for 
her tireless efforts with the sick and 
the wounded. Part of the time of 
the women was spent cutting ban- 




MRS. ALFRED SHORTER, from an old minia- 
ture in the possession of Mrs. Waller T. 
Turnbull. 



158 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



dag-es out of old sheets and the like, 
and in combing old table cloths for lint. 
Dr. Robt. Battey was in charge of 
the hospitals at this time.* Gradually 
the Northern army came closer to 
Rome, and the hospitals were moved 
to Macon and elsewhere farther 
south.** 

Again, in 1867, we see our noble 
women rally with grateful and loving 
hearts in a tribute to their dead. The 
"Ladies' Memorial Association" was or- 
ganized with Mrs. N. J. Bayard as 
its first president; Mrs. D. Mack 
Hood was the second president, Mrs. 
Thos. W. Alexander the third, until 
her death; and then Mrs. Henry A. 
Smith — all kept bright like burning 
incense the deeds of our beloved broth- 
ers, scattered posies and twined the 
evergreen where our heroes lie. The 
Daughters of the Confederacy must 
not let such efforts go unsung. As 
long as time lasts we will weave gar- 
lands of myrtle and ivy for their head- 
stones, and moisten their graves with 
our tears. 

The struggle for food further 
exemplified the splendid fortitude 
and spirit of self-sacrifice among 
the women. It must be remem- 




MR. AND MRS. I. D. FORD, a beloved couple 
of Rome, the parents of the first Mrs. Joseph 
L. Bass. 



bered that the blockade of South- 
ern ports was almost "water 
tight," and that the absence from 
farm and shop of nearly all the 
younger men curtailed production 
enormously. 

Spinning wheel and loom were 
recalled to make thread so that 
socks might be sent the soldiers, 
and worn at home. 

Alany of the articles of food 
that had been abundant were ob- 
tainal^le no more, and various sub- 
.'ititutes were employed. For cof- 
fee they used rye, wheat, okra 
seed, dried apples, sweet potatoees 
and persimmon seed ; the rye and 
okra seed were simply parched and 
ground, and sweet potatoes were 
cut into small pieces, dried and 
parched. 

Salt was so scarce that it was 
priced the same as sugar in Con- 
federate money in 1862 — $10 a 
bushel. The salt from meats in 
smoke houses was used. This was 
obtained by wetting smoke house 
earth, and boiling' down the drip- 
pings until nothing but salt re- 
mained. Presently this gave out. 

Sorghum syrup made a poor 
substitute for sugar. 

People dipped tallow and made 
candles, or poured hog fat into tin 
moulds. Wicks were put in first, 
and when cold, the candles were 
drawn out. 

Dyes for clothing were cop- 
peras, bark stain and pokeberry 
extract. 

All the leather went into shoes, 
saddles and pistol holsters for the 
soldiers. Women's shoe tops were 
made of coarse duck and dyed 
l)Iack with oil and soot. Shoe 
strings were made of hard twisted 



*In 1863 Dr. Battey had charge of the Bell 
hospital, and it is presumed this was on Broad 
between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. He also 
had charpre of the Polk hospital, on the west 
side of Broad Street between Second and Third 
Avenues. Polk hospital was moved to Macon. 

**Accordinff to the war diary of the late 
Reuben S. Norton, the last hospital was moved 
from Rome Dec. 8, 18G3. 



Activities of the Folks at Home 



159 




A GROUP WHICH SUGGESTS THE LONG AGO. 

At the top is Mrs. T. J. Simmons, for a ;number of years, with her husband, the head 
of Shorter College; beside her are Dr. and Mrs. Robt. T. Hoyt; on the left at the bottom 
is Mrs. W. I. Brookes, then come John Locke Martin, journalist and poet, and Mrs. Mary> 
Eve, of Eve Station. 



thread. Squirrel skins made good 
shoe tops and caps. 

Good toilet and laundry soap 
were "manufactured" from lye 
extracted from ashes. 

For soda, corn cobs Avcre burn- 
ed intd aslies and lye made there- 
from, and this was mixed with 
sour milk. Butter l^ean hulls were 
used in the same war. 



I)urin^' the autumn, when the 
sorghum was being ground, 
]ieaches, apples, wild grapes and 
wild clierries furnished the "base" 
for jams and jellies. The sorg- 
hum was used as sweetening, ami 
the product after eooking was 
called preserves. 

If the invaders shot down sheep 
in tlie pa'-ture, the g(^(Ml woman 



160 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



went to the spot with her shears 
and got enough wool for socks 
and stocking's. 

Serviceable women's hats were 
fashioned out of corn shucks, and 
in fact, every product of nature 
was utilized in some way, and the 
people learned indelibly just what 
is necessary to sustain life, and 
just what contributes to "high 
life." 

The situation was helped with 
some families when the Northern 
troops captured the country. "We 
have the shelter," invited certain 
householders. "We have the 
food," responded many of the boys 
in blue ; so those who could not 
be accommodated in tents moved 
into homes, and shared their food 
with the occupants. Cooking was 
done in common. 

When the corn was gathered in 
the fall of 1864, it constituted the 
principal article of food. Families 
lived through the winter on lye 
hominy, grits and sorghum and 
what little bread they could find. 

Eventually the soldiers left and 
all semblance of authority col- 
lapsed. Little food was to be had, 
and blood-thirsty, plundering van- 
dals stalked through the prostrat- 
ed communities, robbing and mur- 
dering the defenseless inhabitants. 

The final surrender in the spring 
of 1865 brought the men home, 
and they agreed that the front was 
little worse ; so all set to work to 
make something out of little or 



nothing. How heroically and well 
they repaired their broken for- 
tunes is a story that furnishes one 
of the .most helpful chapters in 
the history of Dixieland. 

Many cases of extreme dan- 
ger and acute suffering were re- 
ported from the country districts, 
where women often stepped into 
the places of the men in the fields. 

"The most novel thing I have 
seen in some time u-as a woman 
l^lowing yesterday, with a pistol 
buckled around her," wrote "R.," 
a Courier correspondent, May 5, 
1863, from Bridgeport, Ala. ; and 
he continued : 

She is an intelligent woman, and her 
husband is in the army at Shelby- 
ville. I asked her why she carried 
a pistol and she said she knew the 
thieving disposition of the Federals, 
and had been dispossessed of every- 
thing but one horse and corn barely 
sufficient to make a crop, and she was 
determined to defend what was left 
to the last. One of our men, a noble- 
hearted farmer from Floyd County, 
was on picket, but being off post at 
the time, took hold of the plow and 
assisted her in laying off her corn 
rows. 

Sir, with such women, starvation is 
out of the question, and subjugation 
impossible. This woman, with her 
child sitting in the field, toils away, 
knowing that justice is God's empire. 
Let the faint-hearted and effeminate 
take courage at such examples. 

News of Forrest's great victory near 
Rome has just reached us and dis- 
appointment is seen in the countenance 
of every man of this battalion, be- 
cause we were not permitted to go 
on and participate in the brilliant af- 
fair so near our homes. 




CHAPTER IV. 
Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



Ax LXCIDENT of the war 
which vied in spectacularity 
with the Andrews' raid was 
the Hathaway-Streight in- 
cursion into /\lal:)ama and Georgia 
from Tennessee, in April and May, 
1863, and the capture of the com- 
mand by Forrest's force, less than 
one-third as large. Indeed, this 
incident was not surpassed by any 
similar occurrence during the con- 
flict, yet we find the historians 
(especially outside of the South) 
complacently sleeping on their 
pens with regard to it. 

There were two circumstances 
which called for proper exploita- 
tion from the native historians and 
for a degree of silence elsewhere ; 
410 men captured 1,466, and the 
event developed a hero whose ride 
in certain respects outstripped the 
well - sung Paul Revere — soldier, 
silversmith, electro-engraver and 
manufacturer of cannon. 

John H. Wisdom, stage coach 
driver and rural mail carrier, 
warned Rome of the enemy's ap- 
proach, and Gen. Forrest captured 
them almost at the city's gates. 
That was Sunday, May 3, f863— 
the first Union troops Romans had 
seen. Gen. Sherman later com- 
plimented Forrest with the state- 
ment that "his cavalry will travel 
100 miles while ours travels ten." 
It had been left to the intrepid 
Confederate general to demon- 
strate how a small band could 
pursue such a superior force 
through tlie mountains and over 
the streams of two states and 
make them lay down their arms. 
The feat was accomplished 
through strategy as well as force. 
After Forrest had sent in a flag of 
truce, demanding surrender. Col. 
Abel D. Streight, of the 51st In- 
diana Volunteers, asked the terms. 



"Unconditional surrender, your 
officers to retain their side arms 
and personal efifects," was the re- 
ply. "I have reinforcements and 
it is useless for you to sacrifice 
your men." 

Forrest met Streight at the 
meeting place. Streight wanted to 
argue, and Forrest wanted an an- 
swer. Capt. Henry Poynter dash- 
ed up, and Forrest gave him or- 
ders for the disposition of certain 
imaginary units of men ; the order 
had previously been given to 
march the artillery around a hill, 
then out of sight, and to keep them 
circling the brow. vStrcight was 
so impressed that he capitulated. 
The place was in Alabama near 
the Georgia line, about 20 miles 
below Rome. 

From the Tri-Weekly Courier, 
with dates as indicated, we get 
other details : 

Great Victory— Great Joi/!—The 
Yankees in Rome at last! Sunday 
morning last opened at half past two 
o'clock a. m. with an alarm. Mr. 
John H. Wisdom, of Gadsden, Ala., 
and a former resident of this city, 
reached here after riding with hot 
haste for eleven hours, and gave in- 
formation that the enemy wer€ at 
Gadsden when he left, and were bound 
for Rome. 

Preparations were begun with de- 
spatch, and by 9 o'clock in the morn- 
ing our soldiery and citizens were pre- 
pared to give them a warm reception. 
Two pieces of artillery were placed in 
position, commanding the roacl and the 
l)ridge, cotton barricades erected at 
all the defiles of the city, videttes 
sent out to watch the enemy's ap- 
proach. Everything was got in read- 
iness for determined resistance. Dur- 
ing the morning several couriers with 
despatches from (Jen. Forrest arrived, 
urging our commander here to hold 
them at bay for a few hours if possi- 
ble, at all hazards. About 2 o'clock 
another despatch from Gen. Forrest, 
saying he was fighting them at Gay- 
lesville, Ala., with an int'i'rior force. 



162 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



About 9 o'clock a. m. a small body 
of the enemy's advance (about 200) 
reached the environs of the city, and 
were actually bold enough to dismount 
and feed their horses almost in sight 
of the city. They picked up all the 
horses and mules in the neighborhood, 
took some citizens prisoners and re- 
connoitered the defenses of the city. 
Learning that we were prepared with 
artillery, they bivouacked, and seemed 
to await the arrival of the main body. 
For some cause they retreated about 3 
o'clock down the Alabama road. They 
were pursued by a small but resolute 
band of citizens, who were determined 
that the affair should not end thus. 

In the meantime. Gen. Forrest had 
overtaken the main body near Gayles- 
ville, and not far this side of Cedar 
Bluff. After some slight skirmishing. 
Gen. Forrest demanded a surrender. 
An interview was held under flag of 
truce and the terms of surrender 
agreed upon. The entire Yankee force, 
consisting of 1,800 men, were made 
prisoners of war, and as this included 
the bold adventurers who had looked 
with insulting eyes upon the church 
spires of the city, they, too, were turn- 
ed into disarmed infantry. They were 
met by Gen. Forrest's advance, about 
the same time that our citizen cavalry 
overtook them in the pursuit. 

Gen. Forrest arrived in the city 
with all the Yankee officers and the 
small body of troops alluded to on 
Sunday evening about 6 o'clock p. m. 
The rest of both forces reached here 
yesterday morning. But mark what 
remains to be told. 

Gen. Forrest accomplished this bold 
feat with less than 700 men, though 
the rest of his command were in sup- 
porting distance. Thus terminated the 
last Sabbath. Such a jubilee Rome 
has never experienced! Such raptures 
over Gen. Forrest and his brave men ! 

When it is considered what a dar- 
ing raid the enemy aspired to — what 
an extensive circuit they contemplated 
— what irreparable damage they had 
deliberately planned (being the burn- 
ing of the bridges on the State road, 
and the destruction of government 
property at Round Mountain, Dalton 
and Rome) it is wonderful how Gen. 
Forrest has managed to prevent the 
consummation of their designs. With 
more than 100 miles the start of him, 
he nevertheless has pressed them so 
hard with hot pursuit as to prevent 
material damage being done; except 
the destruction of the Round Moun- 
tain Iron Works in Cherokee County, 



Ala., they have done but little dam- 
age. Gen. Forrest has lost not exceed- 
ing 20 men in this glorious work. He 
killed and wounded about 300 of the 
enemy, among them Col. Hathaway, of 
Indiana. Col. Streight, of Indiana, 
was commanding the Federal forces. 

Heavy reinforcements arrived hei'e 
yesterday at noon from Atlanta, but 
owing to the peculiar nature of exist- 
ing circumstances, they will have noth- 
ing to do but guard duty. — Tuesday 
morning. May 5, 1863. 

The Greatest Cavalry Achievement 
of the War — We had hoped to have 
been able to furnish our readers with 
the full particulars of the brilliant and 
successful achievement of Gen. For- 
rest in this issue of our paper, but 
our own business engagements and the 
constant occupation of the General 
with his official duties have rendered 
it impossible for us to obtain all the 
facts necessary for the preparation of 
such an article. Our readers may ex- 
pect a full history in our next issue, 
and until we can give a full and suc- 
cinct account of this brilliant cam- 
paign and glorious victory, we will 
refrain from further comment. — May 
7, 1863. 

Picnic to Gen. Forrest and His 
Brave Men on Saturday Next — Con- 
tributions expected from all the citi- 
zens of the county who feel able and 
willing to give honor to whom honor 
is due. Bring sufficient supplies, ready 
cooked and prepared; bring for 20 
men if you can, or for 10 men, or for 
5, besides a sufficient supply for your 
own family who attend. Report your 
name, with the number you will pro- 
vide for, to one of the undersigned: 
A. G. Pitner, T. G. Watters, C. H. 
Smith, A. M. Sloan, T. McGuire; Rome, 
Ga., May 4, 1863. 

We learn that the number of 
Yankees paroled (by Gen. Forrest in 
the capture of Streight) was 1,466 — 
officers and men. They were all sent 
off on Tuesday last. 

Rumor, with her thousand tongues, 
has got every one of them going, and 
there is no end to the wild reports 
that are in circulation. Report is hav- 
ing it that all North Georgia and 
Alabama are swarming with Yankees. 

A large number of horses were in 
the streets on Tuesday, many of which 
were identified as having been stolen 
by the Yankees in their recent raid 
through the country. 

The Yankees captured by Gen. For- 
rest are said to have been the pick 



Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



163 



of Rosencrantz's army, and were really 
mounted infantry, having been drilled 
in both services. It is reported that 
Rosencrantz had offered them a boun- 
ty of $300 apiece and a discharge from 
the service to accomplish their object, 
which was to destroy Rome and the 
State road bridges. And better sub- 
jects for such infernal designs could 
scarcely have been selected, for a more 
villainous-looking set of scoundrels it 
has never been our misfortune to have 
seen before, and that, too, with scarce- 
ly an exception. What an escape a 
merciful Providence has vouchsafed to 
Rome! 

We noticed a telegram stating that 
the citizens of Rome met and fought 
the Yankees here on Sunday last. The 
only fighting was done by a few in- 
dependent scouts and videttes, who 
tried a round or two at them. But 
we learn that they were much sur- 
prised, as they expected to march in 
without any opposition. 

Tory Band — A citizen of Jackson 
County tells us that a number of 
Tories have banded themselves to- 
gether in Sand Mountain (Ala.) to 
resist conscription and the arrest of 
deserters — that they worsted a com- 
pany, more or less, of Confederate cav- 
alry who went there to arrest desert- 
ers and conscripts, some eight or ten 
days ago; that the facts have been 
reported to Tullahoma headquarters, 
and a force has been detailed suffi- 
cient to overcome the Tories. (Hunts- 
ville Confederate.) — Thursday, May 
7, 1863. 



The Most Brilliant Feat of the War 
— Soon after the fight between the 
Federals and Col. Roddy near Tus- 
cumbia, Ala., a column of 2,000 Fed- 
eral cavalry, all under command of 
Col. Hathaway, of the 73rd Indiana 
Cavalry, consisting of the 73rd and 
51st Indiana, 80th Illinois, and 3rd 
Ohio, diverged south, with two moun- 
tain Howitzers, with a view to cross 
the Sand Mountain and strike the 
Coosa River at Gadsden, Ala.; thence 
pass the Round Mountain and Chat- 
tooga River Iron Works, to Rome; 
thence to Dalton, Ga. ; thence through 
East Tennessee and join Rosenci'antz 
with a view to destroying the towns, 
bridges, iron foundries, railroads, com- 
missary supplies on this entire route, 
making a raid of some 1,500 miles. 

This was a daring, well-planned, 
well-executed expedition, as far as it 
went. The troops and commanders 
were regarded as select, and the in- 



ducements to success were strong and 
overwhelming with the well-known 
Yankee character. The plunder and 
stealage belonged to the capturers. In 
the event of success, each member of 
the raid was to receive a gold medal, 
$300 in gold, and a discharge from 
the service during the war. To ac- 
celerate their movements they seized 
every valuable horse and mule that 
they could find, taking them from 
wagons, buggies, stables or plows, and 
as their surplus increased, dropping 
out their own weak and broken-down 
stock, and by this means always keep- 
ing mounted on fresh stock. 

On Wednesday, the 29th, Gen. For- 
rest, with 500 mounted men and two 
brass cannon, started in pursuit, the 
Federals having taken a lead of about 
80 miles. On Thursday night he over- 
took them, fought and repulsed them 
on Sand Mountain; in this fight Gen. 
Forrest had his horse killed under him. 
From that time onward, until Sunday, 
the 3rd of May, the time of the final 
surrender of the Federals, he fought 
and drove them back, or rather, for- 
ward, about three times every 24 
hours. 

As they passed through Gadsden 
they destroyed part of the town and 
the depot, always destroying every 




GEN. NATJIAN i;i:pI(ii:ii i (ii;i;i-.< i', whose 
locks were cut li.v udniiiinK wniiuii when he 
saved Rome from Streight's raiders in '63. 



164 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



bridge behind them and otherwise ob- 
structing the road as best they could. 
P\)rrest fought them near Major 
Blount's plantation Friday evening or 
Saturday morning. Here their com- 
mander-in-chief, Hathaway, was kill- 
ed. The command then devolved on 
Col. Streight, of the 51st Indiana. As 
they passed onward they destroyed the 
Round Mountain Iron Works. Cross- 
ing Chattooga River, they destroyed 
the bridge. Some time during Sat- 
urday night. Gen. Forrest succeeded 
in crossing the river, and fell on them 
Sunday afternoon at Mrs. Lawrence's, 
about five miles east of Gaylesville, 
and here after a short fight, terms of 
capitulation for the entire Federal 
forces was agreed upon, and the Fed- 
erals stacked their arms. 

During Saturday evening a detach- 
ment of 200 had been sent ahead to 
reconnoiter and attack Rome, as cir- 
cumstances might indicate. 

The first intimation the people of 
Rome had of the raid was the arrival 
of Mr. John H. Wisdom, from Gads- 
den, giving information of the rapid 
approach of the Federals. Tremendous 
excitement, and be it said to the dis- 
credit of some, much liquor was wast- 
ed, doubtless to screw up their cour- 
age to the fighting point. By 8 p. m. 
two cannon, with barricades of cotton 
bags, were mounted and placed in po- 
sition on the river bank. The citi- 
zens from the country flocked in with 
their rifles and squirrel guns, and 
there soon were enough to make a 
pretty formidable fight, if they had 
been under any sort of organization. 
But the organization amounted to as 
near none as possible. About half past 
8 some pickets and videttes went out 
and a short distance from the city en- 
countered the enemy's advance pick- 
ets. Here some skirmishing for sev- 
eral hours took place between the 
enemy and these pickets and some 
citizens who had advanced on the 
enemy. About 2 p. m. the enemy very 
suddenly and apparently in a great 
hurry mounted and retreated down the 
road, followed by our skirmishers. 
They met Gen. Forrest and his party 
about 8 or 9 miles below Rome, Col. 
Streight and all the Federal officers 
being their prisoners. It is said the 
reason of the sudden departure of the 
Federals from Shorter's was a cour- 
ier from Col. Streight, their com- 
mander, informing them that they 
were prisoners of war, and had been 
for eight hours. 

About 6 p. m. Gen. Forrest, with 
120 Federal officers and this detach- 



ment reached the city, under such 
booming of cannon and rejoicing as 
has never been seen in Rome, and may 
never again. Indeed, it was right and 
just to him and his brave men. But 
for the noble and gallant Forrest and 
his equally noble and gallant men, who 
had pursued and fought this band of 
outlaws, robbers and murderers for 
five consecutive days and nights, al- 
most without eating or sleeping, our 
beautiful little Mountain City would at 
this hour be in ashes, and many of 
our best citizens robbed and murder- 
ed. A thousand blessings upon them, 
and a thousand prayers for them! 

In their vanity and folly some of 
our vain and swaggering people are 
trying to claim credit to themselves for 
this glorious success of the truly in- 
domitable and noble Forrest. If we 
did anything, it was clumsily done. 
Forrest has justly won for himself 
by this almost superhuman effort a 
title to a major generalship, and if he 
is not promoted, he will not have jus- 
tice done him, especially when it is 
remembered that with a picked force 
of Federals, four to his one, he dash- 
ed on them by day and by night, and 
in chasing them a little over 200 miles, 
he killed or captured the last one of 
them, with all their cannon, arms, 
horses, stores, etc., killing outright 
their leader and 300 men, with a loss 
of only 10 killed and 40 wounded. And 
he thereby saved millions of dollars 
worth of property from destruction by 
the hands of the cowardly scoundrels 
and vandals. 

We of North Alabama and North- 
western Georgia will cheer him and 
reiterate our cheers for him, and never 
cease until he shall receive a major 
general's commission. We have but 
one complaint to make. We thought 
he was a little too lenient to the im- 
pudent, boasting, threatening, coward- 
ly Federal officers. 

A CITIZEN OF ROME. 

To Arms! To Arms! — The citizens 
of Floyd and surrounding counties are 
requested to meet in Rome on Thurs- 
day next at 11 o'clock a. m.. May 14, 
to form a military organization for 
repelling the thieving, house-burning 
and vandal foe that may venture on 
our soil. Let everybody come and go 
to work in earnest. 

Defend Your Homes and Your Pro})- 
crty. — It will be seen from a notice in 
this issue of our paper that the citi- 
zens of Floyd and the surrounding 
counties are called on to meet at the 
court house in this city on Thursday 



Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



165 




^ 



A MAP OF ROME IN 1890. (Scale, one mile to the inch). 



night, the 14th inst., for the purpose 
of forming a military organization for 
the protection of their homes and 
their property. This is a highly im- 
portant movement and we give it our 
most cordial and hearty endorsement. 
Let every boy and man from 15 to (>() 
years old fall into line and stand up 
for the protection of their mothers, 



wives and sisters. If the love of coun- 
try does not move you, these sacred 
claims will surely spur you to action. 
It is plain now that the enemy, be- 
ing foiled and routed ui)on every field 
of general engagement, has determined 
to tui-n loose liis army in maraud- 
ing hands, to dash through our coun- 
try with torch and sword, to burn and 



166 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



plunder our citizens and homes, mur- 
der our men and dishonor our women. 

We are advised that good arms will 
be furnished to all who are not able 
to supply themselves. 

Let all the people in this and the 
surrounding counties meet in this city 
on next Thursday; and the ladies will 
do well to encourage this movement by 
their presence — they are all wanted. 
Come, ladies, and bring your sons and 
your husbands. — May 9, 1863. 

The Yankee Prisoners at Rome. — 
Among this batch of thieves and mur- 
derers was found two companies of 
North Alabama Tories; and amongst 
them a man by the name of Funder- 
burk, who was born and raised with- 
in three miles of Rome. This villain- 
ous whelp had a gallant brother in 
the Eighth Georgia who fell covered 
with honor and glory at the First Bat- 
tle of Manassas, July 21st, 1861. This 
scoundrel, with his widowed mother, 
moved to the Sand Mountain in 1852, 
and since the death of his brother has 
been here trying to get a share of 
his honored brother's estate. He ad- 
mits he piloted the Yankees to this 
place. He is safely under lock in jail. 
There was also found among them a 
man by the name of Phillips, who was 
raised in Forsyth County, Georgia. 
He is alleged to be a Confederate de- 
serter. He is with Funderburk, to- 
gether with a Methodist preacher, who 
says his name is Brown, who the 
Yankees say also piloted them, and 
many years ago was a circuit rider 
in Floyd. But no such a man ever 
rode the circuit in this county. 

The prisoners generally were re- 
markably impudent and insulting, es- 
pecially the officers. One of their of- 
ficers, a major, publicly cursed Gen. 
Forrest on the streets for a scoundrel 
and a rascal, stating that when For- 
rest demanded a surrender the Yankee 
negotiators were trying to get the best 
terms possible, and Forrest suddenly 
appeared to get very mad. Swore he 
would wait no longer, that he would 
rather kill the whole of them than 
not; ordered his couriers immediately 
to direct the commanders of four sep- 
arate batteries to place them on sep- 
arate points of hills; and ordered the 
commanders of four separate regi- 
ments to be formed immediately at 
particular points in line of battle, and 
that the couriers absolutely dashed 
off, as though they were going to 
have these orders executed. And as 
they dashed off, Forrest told them his 
signal gun would be fired in ten min- 



utes, when in fact (he said) the ras- 
cal had but two little cannon, and not 
more than a half regiment all told. 
Finally, that Forrest was nothing but 
a damned swindler. 

The impudent whelps, openly on the 
streets, avowed their intention to be 
back here in less than three months, 
burn up the town and hang every 
man in it because, they say, they were 
bushwhacked. This, of course, is an 
idle boast of the poor cowardly devils, 
to cover up their shame and disgrace. 
They said they did not come into Rome 
just as they expected; that they could 
stand all that; but such a number of 
them to be gobbled up by a little squad 
of "dirty, snotty-nosed butternuts" 
was past endurance. 

We regret to learn that Capt. For- 
rest, a brother of the General's, com- 
manding a company in his old regi- 
ment, was severely and it is feared 
mortally wounded in the recent run- 
ning fight with the Yankees from 
Courtland to Rome. 

Gen. Forrest has received a dispatch 
from Col. Roddy, announcing that the 
Yankees have evacuated Tuscumbia. 

The Steamer Laura Moore blew her 
whistle off yesterday morning as she 
was about signalling her departure. 
Her steam escaping prevented her de- 
parture.— Saturday, May 9, 1863. 



"BILL ARP" ON ROME "BATTLE" 

(Southern Confederacy, Atlanta). 
Rome, Gorgy. 
Mr. Adeer & Smith: 

So many onreliable persuns will be 
sirkulatin spewrius akkounts of the 
"Grand Rounds" tuk by the infernal 
Yankees in these Roman-tik rejuns, 
that I think it highly proper you 
should git the streight of it from one 
who seed it with his eyes, and hearn 
it with his years, and a piece of it 
fell on his big toe. 

More than 200 years ago Genrul D. 
Soto had a big fight with the Injuns 
on or about these consekrated grounds. 
Since that time an oninterrupted peece 
hav rained around these classic hills 
and hollers. Flowers hav bloomed 
sweetly, lambs hav skipd about, dog 
fennel hav yallered the ground, and 
the Coosa river, which were then a 
little spring branch, hav grown both 
wide and deep, until now the majestik 
steamboat can float upon its bosom, 
and the big mud cat gobble up the 
yearthworms what chance to fall into 
its watters. 

But rollen years will change a pro- 
gram. Anno domini will tell ! Jest 



Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



167 



afore the broke of day, on Sunday, 
the third of May, 1863, eighteen hun- 
dred and 63, the cityzens of the eternal 
city were arowsed from their slumbers 
with the chorus of the Marsales hymn, 
"To arms, to arms, ye brave! Abe 
Linkhorn are pegging away, and the 
Yankees are ridin to Rome on a raid!" 
Ah! then were the time to try men's 
soles! But there were no panik, no 
skedadlin, to shakin of nees — but one 
universal determynation to do sum- 
thin. The burial squad organized fust 
and foremost and begun to inter ther 
money, and spoons and 4 pronged 
forks, and sich like about the prem- 
ises. Babies were sent to the rear. 
Hosses hid in the cane brake. Cows 
milked oncommon dry. Cashiers and 
bank agents carried off their phunds 
in a pair of saddle bags, which very 
much exposed ther facilities and the 
small compass of ther resources. It 
were, however, a satisfactory solushun 
of ther refusin to discount for the last 
3 months. Skouts were sent out on 
every road to snuff the tainted breeze. 
Kotton bags were piled up across ev- 
ery high way and low way. Shot 
guns and cannon and powder and ball 
were brought to the front. The yeo- 
manry and the melishy jined a squad 
of Confederate troops and formed in 
line of battle. They were marched 
across the Oustanawly River, and then 
the plank of the bridge torn up so 
that they couldn't retreat. This were 
done, however, at ther own valyunt 
request, because of the natural weak- 
ness of the flesh. They determined 
jintly and sevrally, firmly by these 
presents, to do sumthin. 

Two cracked cannon, what had holes 
in the ends, and two or three on the 
side, were propped up between the 
kotten bags, and pinted dead straight 
down the road to Alabam. They were 
fust loaded with buckshot and tacks, 
and then a round ball rammed on top. 
The ball were to take the raid in front, 
and the bullets and tacks to rake 'em 
in the phlanks. These latter it was 
supposed would go through the cracks 
in the sides and shoot around gener- 
ally. Everybody and everything de- 
termined to die in their tracks, or do 
sumtlmi. 

The steamboats dropped quietly 
down the river to get out of the thick 
of the fight. The sharp shooters got 
on top of semmetery hill with ther re- 
peaters and pokit pistols. The videttes 
dashed with spy glasses to the top of 
the court house to see a fur off. 
Dashin Comanchy couriers rode on- 
ruly steeds to and fro, like a fiddler's 



elbow. Sum went forward to rekenoy- 
ter as skouts. Everybody resolved to 
do sumthin. 

At this critical junkture, and pre- 
vious and afterwards, reports were 
brought into these Head Quai-ters, and 
all other quarters, to the effeck that 
10,000 Yankees were kummin, and 5,- 
000 and 2,000, and any other number; 
that they were ten miles from town, 
and 6 miles, and 2 miles, and any 
other number of miles; that they were 
on the Alabam road, and the Cave 
Spring road, and the River road, and 
any other road; that they were cross- 
in the river at Quin's Ferry, and Wil- 
liamson's Ferry, and Bell's Ferry, and 
any other ferry; that they had tuck 
the Steembote Laura Moore, and Chi- 
rokee and Alfaratta, and any other 
steembote; that they had shot at a 
Comanchy rider, and hit him in the 
coat tail, or his hosses tail, or any 
other tale; that they had seezed Sis 
Morris, or Bill Morris, or Jep Mor- 
ris, or any other Morris. In fak, a 
man could hear anything by gwine 
about, and more too. 

Shore enuf, however, the important 
crisis which were to have arriven did 
actually arriv, about 10 o'klock in the 
mornin, a. m., on May 3rd, 1863. I 
am thus portikler, Mr. Editurs, bekaus 




JUDGE JNO. W. MADDOX. who entered the 
Confederate Army at 15, and served several 
terms in Congress from the Seventh District. 



168 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



it are to be entered on next year's 
almynak as a remarkabul event. The 
head of the raid did aktully arriv at 
the suburban vilhi of Mr. Myers, and 
thar it stoped to rekonnoiter. Thar 
they learned as how we had 600 head 
of artillery, and 6,000 kotton bags, and 
a permiskous number infantry taktix, 
and we were only waitin to see the 
whites of their eyes. Also that the his- 
tory of Gen. Jackson at New Orleans 
wer red in publik, and that everything 
were inspired to do si())itliin; where- 
upon the head of the raid turned pale, 
and sent forward a picket. At this 
onspishus moment a foot skout on our 
side let fly a whistlen bullit, which 
tuk effek somewhat in those rejuns. 
It were reasonably suposed that one 
Yankee were killed, and perhaps two, 
for even to this time sumthing dead 
can be smelt in those parts, tho' the 
buryal squad had not been able to find 
it up to yestiddy. After right smart 
skirmishin, the head of the raid feii 
back down the road to the Alabam, 
and were persued by our mounted 
yeomanry at a respectabul distance. 

Now Mr. Adeer & Smith, while all 
these vaylunt feets were going on 
hereabouts. Gen. Forrest had been 
fighting the body and tail of the raid 
away down at the Alabam line. Final- 
ly he proposed to the raid to stop 
fightin and play a game or two of 
poker, under a cedar tree, which they 
aksepted. But the Ginerul were not in 
luck and he had a pore hand, and had 
stalked his last dollar. The Yankees 
had a Streight, which would hav tuk 
Forrest and raked down the pile, but 
he looked on rite in the eye and sed 
he would see 'm, and "4,000 better." 
The raid looked at him, and he looked 
at the raid, and never blinked. The 
raid trembled all over it boots, and gin 
it up. The Generul bluffed 'em, and 
ever since that game was played, the 
little town hard by has bin called 
Cedar Bluff. It were flush times in 
the Alabam, that day, shore! 

Well, Mr Editurs, you know the 
sequil. The Generul bagged 'em and 
broght 'em on. The planks were put 
back on the bridge. The river bank 
infantry countermarched and fired a 
permiscous volley in token of jew- 
bilee. One of the side-swipin cannon 
went off on its own hook, and the ball 
went ded through a house and tore a 
buro all to flinders. Sum sed it were 
a Niter Buro, but a potash man who 
examined sed he reckin not, for ther 
weren't no ashes in the drawers, nor 
naro ash hopper on the premises. 

By and by the Comanchy Skouts and 



pickets all kum in, and shuk ther am- 
brosial locks and received the congrat- 
ulations of ther friends. Then begun 
the ovashun of fair women and brave 
men to Gen. Forrest and his gallant 
boys Bokays and tears were all mixed 
up promiskous. Big chunks of cake and 
gratitude were distributed generally 
and frequent. Strawberries and cream, 
eggs and inyuns, pies and pancakes — 
all flew aroun amazin, for everybody 
was determined to do sKnithin. Gen. 
Forrest subsided, and General Jew- 
bilee tuk command, and Rome her- 
self again. The 4 pronged forks and 
silver spoons ros from the dead and 
even the old hen what one of our city 
aldemen had hurried with her head 
out, was disinterred and sacrificed im- 
mediately for the good of the koun- 
try. 

Thus hav ended the raid, and no 
loss on our side. Howsumever, I sup- 
pose that Mr. Linkhorn will keep "peg- 
gin' away." 

Yours truly and immensely, 

THE ORTHOR, 
Adjective Generul of Yeomanry. 



The Yankee cavalry roamed a little 
too far from home when they ventured 
a journey to Rome. The citizens there- 
of were Romans enough to meet them 
in battle array, and Forrest, at Rome, 
was the "noblest Roman of them all." 
—Rebel. 

Proclamation. — To the Citizens of 
Rome: A little more than a week ago 
our city was beleaguered by the most 
lawless band of incendiaries that ever 
disgraced humanity. This enemy came 
with "lust in his eye, poverty in his 
purse and hell in his heart. He came 
a robber and a murderer." But at our 
very threshold he was arrested by the 
Lord God of Hosts. Thus we were de- 
livered, and thus our city was saved 
from destruction. Under such circum- 
stances it is right, proper and our 
bounden duty as a people to bow down 
in adoring thankfulness to that kind 
F'ather whose everlasting arms have 
been around, about and underneath 
us, to protect us from harm, and it is 
our duty and privilege to ascribe to 
him all the honor of our deliverance. 

Now, therefore, I, John M. Gregory, 
mayor of the City of Rome, do issue 
this, my proclamation, setting apart 
Wednesday, the 13th inst., as a day of 
thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty 
God for the great mercies vouchsafed 
to us, and I do therefore earnestly in- 
vite the people of the city to assemble 
at their respective places of worship 



Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



169 



on that day, and to unite in render- 
ing thanks and praise to God. Given 
under my hand and seal of office, this 
May 11, 1863. J. M. Gregory, Mayor 
of the City of Rome. — Tuesday, May 
12, 1863. 

Gen. Forrest and the Citizens of 
Rome — As a slight appreciation of the 
services of the gallant Forrest in sav- 
ing our beautiful city from sack and 
flames, at the hands of the ruthless 
vandals, who lately came to lay our 
homes in desolation, a suggestion was 
made that it would be expressive of 
our gratitude to present the General 
with a fine horse, and in the course 
of an hour or two over $1,000 was con- 
tributed for this purpose. But. Col. 
A. M. Sloan, anticipating the move- 
ment, on his own private account pre- 
sented Gen. Forrest with his splendid 
saddle horse, for which he would not 
on any other account have taken the 
best negro fellow in the State. This 
was an appropriate and magnificent 
offering on the part of Col. Sloan.* 

We are advised that the money 
which had been contributed by the 
citizens for this purpose was turn- 
ed over to Gen. Forrest to be used for 
the benefit of the sick and wounded of 
his command. 

The Alabama Traitors. — We have 
had the pleasure of reading a letter 
from Gov. Shorter, of Alabama, to 
Surgeon P. C. Winn, in regard to the 
Alabama traitors captured by Gen. 
P"'orrest in North Alabama, in which 
the Governor says he has demanded 
"under the order of President Davis, 
all the officers taken in Alabama, 
found serving with armed slaves," etc. 

We greatly admire the spirit of Gov. 
Shorter in this matter and hope to see 
his example emulated in every state. 

Perhaps no event of the war has 
caused more profound regret through- 
out the Confederacy or more real sat- 
isfaction to the Yankees than the 
death of glorious old Stonewall Jack- 
son. After having made such hair- 
breadth escapes from Yankee bullets 
he has died at last at the hands of his 
own men. His memory is embalmed 
in the hearts of the people, and his 
name will live through all times. 

Some of our contemporaries are de- 
termined that the royal ape of Wash- 
ington shall have his proper cognomen 
of "Hanks," and "Hanks" let it be, 
and thereby free the respectable name 
of Lincoln from the odium attached to 

*A. M. Sloan, banker and warehouseman, 
formerly of Columbus. 



it from his bearing it. It is said that 
old Hanks has started the old pegging 
system of tactics. If so, we suppose 
the recent raid to Rome was one of 
the pegs driven in and broken off. — 
Thursday, May 14, 1863. 



The Meeting on Thursday — A large 
number of the citizens of Floyd and 
the surrounding counties met in this 
city on Thursday last to consult to- 
gether on the best means of defending 
our city and the approaches to the 
State road, against raiding parties of 
the public enemy. Major John Rush 
was chosen president and Mr. John M. 
Berry secretary. Col. Fouche explain- 
ed the object of the meeting, and 
moved the appointment of a commit- 
tee of five, who were himself. Col. 
D. R. Mitchell, Maj. J. G. Yeiser, Rev. 
J. W. Glenn and Col. Alfred Shorter. 
During the absence of the committee, 
Hon. John W. H. Underwood was in- 
vited to address the meeting, but de- 
clining to do so, called on Dr. P. C. 
Winn, of Alabama, who entertained 
the audience with a spirited plea for 
home defense. The committee report- 
ed stirring resolutions, which were 
unanimously adopted. 

We would appeal to every boy and 
man who has the pluck to defend his 
home, to join some military company. 
We know of but three excuses which 
any man could offer for not joining: 
utter physical inability, innate, incur- 
able cowardice and old age. But the 
man should be so old that he would not 
think of maiTying again if his wife 
should die. If any man will come out 
and establish his right to plead any of 
those three excuses, let him be perpet- 
ually exempt from all military serv- 
ice;" but let all others shoulder arms 
and fall into ranks for the defense of 
their native soil. — Saturday, May 16, 
1863. 



To Arms, Ye Romans! — We find the 
following astounding telegram to the 
Associated Press, which, if true, it is 
time Romans were looking to their lau- 
rels : 

Atlanta, May 16.— Quartermaster 
Polk's Corps arrived and passed 
through this morning. We have re- 
l)orts that 7,000 or 8,000 of the enemy 
are approaching Rome. All the avail- 
able force here is ordered to be held 
in readiness. 

There is a grape-vine telegram 
afloat that Jackson, Miss., has iK^en 
taken by the enemy, and that our 
forces have them surrounded and cut 
off.— Tuesday, May 19, 1863. 



170 



A'^HisTORY OF Rome and Floyd County 




NINETEEN DWELLINGS OF MANY TYPES. 

1 — Wilson M. Hardy; 2 — old A. R. Sullivan home; 3 — old Goetchius home; 4 — Dr. J. C. 
Watts (C. N. Featherston) ; 5 — part of old Battey infirmary; 6 — J. W. Rounsaville; 7 — 
Eliza Frances Andrews; 8 — A. B. S. Moseley; 9 — T. J. Simpson (J. L. Sulzbacher)S 10 — 
Ed. L. Bosworth; 11 — O. L. Stamps (C. Rowell) ; 12 — S. F. Magruder; 13 — old Harper home; 
i^ ii^ Reynolds (R. D. VanDyke) ; 15 — Hood-Cumming-Featherston (Rixie); 16 — Dr. 

T. R. Garlington (J. D. Hanks); 17 — Unknown; 18 — VanDyke-Maddox; 19 — Henry Stoffregen. 



Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



171 



To All People Who Are Able to Bear 
A^rms! — The question can no longer be 
blinked. You must either fight, run 
or take the oath of allegiance to Lin- 
coln. This call is made to the fight- 
ing men, young and old. If there be 
any of the other classes, we don't want 
them; the sooner they take care of 
themselves, the better. Daily develop- 
ments convince all thinking men of the 
immediate necessity of a strong mili- 
tary organization for self-defense. The 
people are invited, perhaps for the last 
time, to meet at the court house in 
Rome on Tuesday morning next, May 
26 at 10 o'clock a. m., to learn what 
has been done, and to determine, un- 
der a proper organization, what they 
will do in defense of their property, 
their wives and their children. We 
beseech you to come and to come ready 
to make all needed sacrifices for your 
country! — J. M. Gregory, mayor; S. 
Fouche, D. R. Mitchell, "j. G. Yeiser, 
A. Shorter, J. W. Glenn, Committee. — 
Tuesday, May 26, 1863. 



Rev. Georg'e Pierce, son of the 
bishop of that name who served 
the Rome district after the war, 
had intended to preach at one of 
the IMethodist chtirches on the 
Sunday Forrest appeared, but he 
quickly caught the war fever and 
shouldered a gun.* 

According to William Hardin 
and Jas. O. Winfrey, the well- 
known Confederate veterans. Col. 
Streight cried over his plight, and 
it was said on good authority at 
the time that he tried to get a pis- 
tol to shoot himself. He was de- 
scribed by all who knew him as 
an intrepid soldier. 

Reminiscences by the late Dr. 
P. L. Turnley, presented to the U. 
D. C, add this information : 

Col. Hathaway, original commander 
of the raiders, was shot through the 
neck and killed at the foot of Owl 
Mountain, near Turkeytown, Etowah 
County, Ala., while eating breakfast. 
Two young sharijshooters, brothers 
named Hall, had climbed to the top of 

♦Authority : 20th Contiiry Rome, Tribune In- 
dustrial Edition, Oct., 1902. 

**Accordin!j to Mrs. Robt. Battey, several 
younpr women snipped ofT lonK raven locks. 

***Authority : Edward C. Peters, of Rome. 
Since the total casualties are 1,T•>A^ by this esti- 
mate, there is a discrepancy of 453 men, the 
number at the start having been 2,000. 



the spur above the invaders and crack- 
ed down on the officer. Streight was 
then placed in command. 

The news that Streight was ap- 
proaching spread like prairie fire, and 
more activity was shown in Rome than 
for a long time. By noon the town 
was fairly well garrisoned by men and 
boys of all ages. The bridges were 
blocked with cotton bales, and the 
floors covered with straw saturated 
with oil. Every cellar and garret had 
been ransacked for arms and weapons 
of any kind. Col. J. G. "Yeiser obtain- 
ed two old honey-combed cannon, and 
placed the dangerous ends toward the 
enemy. These, with old rusty flint- 
lock rifles and a few pistols, were all 
the defenders had, but they were suf- 
ficient to turn back Streight's advance 
guard. 

Rome was so hilarious that Gen. 
Forrest could hardly attend to his du- 
ties; and it has been said by one who 
was present that the brave general 
would have been bald had he given 
locks of his hair to all the ladies who 
made the request.** 

Forrest's losses were said to 
have been ten killed and 40 wound- 
ed. Streight's losses from Apr. 
27 through May 3, 1863, from Tus- 
cumbia to Rome (including Day's 
Gap, Apr. 30, Black Warrior Creek, 
Mav 1, and Blount's Farm, May 2) 
were twelve killed, 69 wounded. 
1.466 captured. The captives were 
the 51st and 73rd Indiana Volun- 
teers, the 3rd Ohio, the 80th Illi- 
nois Mounted Infantry and two 
companies of the First Alabama 
Cavalry who were mostly desert- 
ers from the Confederate ar- 
my.*^=* 

Streight's men were worn out 
from their forced marches and 
loss of sleep, and when Forrest 
came up, many whtc sleei)ing on 
their arms, and their commander 
could make them hght no longer. 

In or<ler to get the facts of Wis- 
dom's ride. Ca])t. W. P. Pay. of 
Gadsden, visited Mr. Wisdom at 
Hoke's l-.luff, Ala. Capt. Lay re- 
lated the story to Walter Harper, 
who i)resented it July 29. 1909. in 
the Gadsden Daily Times-News, 
a (lav after Mr. Wisdom dicil : 



172 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



John H. Wisdom, long a citizen of 
Etowah County, Alabama, and for- 
merly of Rome, Ga., died at his home 
at Hoke's Bluff, ten miles east of 
Gadsden, on July 28, 1909. He was 
89 years of age and one of the sub- 
stantial citizens of the county. He 
was extremely modest and for that 
reason but little has ever been said 
or known about the crowning exploit 
of his life, which saved a city, result- 
ed in the capture of a host of Federal 
soldiers and placed him in the class of 
heroes of the Civil War. 

John H. Wisdom and Emma Sanson 
were jointly responsible for the saving 
of Rome, Ga., and the capture of Col. 
Abel D. Streight's raiders by Gen. 
Nathan B. Forrest, yet neither of these 
heroes was aware of the part the other 
was playing at the time. 

Shortly after Emma Sanson had di- 
rected Gen. Forrest over Black War- 
rior Creek, Mr. Wisdom, then a mail 
carrier and 43 years old, left his home 
at Gadsden on a mail trip, and after 
crossing the Coosa river went several 
miles beyond. In the afternoon of the 
same day he returned to Gadsden, to 
find that the Federals under Col. 
Streight had been in the town and 
were proceeding toward Rome. The 
enemy had cut a hole in the bottom 
of the ferry boat of which he was the 
proprietor and had set it loose to 
drift down the Coosa. Consequently, 
Mr. Wisdom did not recross the river, 
but called to a neighbor to tell his 
family that he had gone to warn Rome 
of its danger. Still in his trusty buggy, 
he dashed toward Rome. This was at 
3:30 p. m. By changing steeds he 
made the 67 miles a few minutes be- 
fore midnight, or a little less than 
eight hours and a half. Deducting an 
hour and a half for changes of horses 
and other delays, he negotiated the 
hilly, river-crossing journey in about 
seven hours, or at the rate of 9.6 
miles per hour.* 

In the early Revolutionary days 
Paul Revere rode from Boston to Con- 
cord, Mass., a distance of 18 miles, to 
warn the citizens of the approach of 
the British soldiers.** His act has been 
the subject of song and story for more 
than 100 years, while the much more 
difficult and daring feat of John H. 
Wisdom is known to but a comparative 
few in Alabama and Georgia. 

Following is the story in Mr. Wis- 
dom's own words, beginning when he 
returned to the Coosa River at Gads- 
den on the afternoon of Saturday, May 
2, 1863:*** 



"It occurred to me at once that I 
could beat them to Rome and sound 
the alarm. I called across the river 
that I was going, and whipped my 
horse toward Rome. This was about 
3:30 p. m. I dashed by Hoke's Bluff, 
Gnatville, Goshen and Spring Garden, 
and at the last-named place turned 
into the Rome and Jacksonville stage 
road, which I had traveled often as 
driver of a stage from Rome to the 
Alabama town. 

"The first 'lap' of the ride was from 
the east bank of the river at Gadsden 
to Gnatville, 22 miles, which I drove 
in my buggy in a little more than two 
hours. Here my horse became ex- 
hausted and I left him and the buggy 
with the Widow Hanks,**** who offered 
me a lame pony on my promise to ride 
it only five miles, to Goshen, where I 
thought I could get another horse. On 
account of the pony's condition, I was 
obliged to leave him at Goshen, where 
I found Simpson Johnson coming in 
from his farm. He saddled two horses 
and let me ride one, and sent his son 
with me on the other horse to bring 
both back. I was delayed at Goshen 
only a short while, but it was not dark 
and I realized I must lose more time 
changing steeds. 

"We rode the Johnson horses in a 
swift gallop eleven miles to the home 
of Rev. Joel Weems, above Spring 
Garden, Ala., where I was delayed 
some time, but finally managed to get 
a fresh horse. 

"On the next 'lap' I stopped several 
times, trying to get a new animal. At 
one place I woke up a farmer and told 
him what I wanted. He replied gruffly 
that I couldn't get any of his horses, 
so I rode eleven miles farther to John 
Baker's, one mile south of Cave Spring, 
and after a short delay mounted an- 
other horse and asked him to keep for 
the owner the one I had discarded. I 
was now in Georgia, and Cave Spring 
loomed ahead, then I raced through 
Vann's Valley. While going down a 
long hill in a sweeping- gallop, Mr. 
Baker's horse stumbled and fell, throw- 
ing me in an ungraceful sprawl ahead 
of him. I got up quickly, remounted 
and made off. After proceeding 
twelve miles, to within six miles of 

*The Courier account stated that Wisdom 
arrived at 2 :3() a. m., after a ride of eleven 
hours. 

** Revere was bound for Concord, hut was 
held up about half way, at Lexington, by 
British soldiers. 

'**Mr. Wisdom lived prior to the war in a 
cottage with his mother at Second Avenue and 
East Third Street, where B. T. Haynes" home 
now stands. 

****Her first name was Nancy, it is said. 



Streight's Raiders Captured by Forrest 



173 



Rome, I changed horses for the last 
time. A gentleman whose name I do 
not remember loaned me a horse and I 
lost little time entering on the last 
'lap.' This horse carried me safely 
into Rome, where I arrived at four 
minutes before midnight, May 2, 1863. 
I thus made the ride of about 67 miles 
in slightly less than eight and a half 
hours, including delays. Lost time 
amounted to about an hour and a 
half. 

"On arriving in the city I galloped 
to the leading hotel, the Etowah 
House, then kept by Mr. G. S. Black, 
and told him the Yankees were com- 
ing. At his request, I rode through 
the streets, sounding the alarm and 
waking the people. Everybody jump- 
ed out of bed, and the excitement was 
great. The people ran in all direc- 
tions, but under the command of their 
leader got down to the business of pil- 
ing cotton bales in breastwork style on 
the Rome ends of the bridges. 

"There were few men in Rome at 
the time, most of them having gone 
away to war, but those who were left 
soon hauled out all the old squirrel 
rifles, shot guns and muzzle-loading 
muskets that could be found, and di- 
vided them among those able to bear 
arms. 

"The little railroad from Rome to 
Kingston fired up the engines and ran 
them every 30 minutes in and out of 
the city, carrying the news into the 
country districts and bringing to town 
the farmers with their old battle 
pieces. 

"The handful of convalescent Con- 
federate soldiers in Rome took charge 
of the home guard and lined them up 
behind the breastworks of cotton. The 
Bridge Street (Fifth Avenue) bridge 
across the Oostanaula River, a wooden 
structure, was filled with hay which 
was saturated with turpentine so it 
could be fired in case of defeat and 
a retreat. 

"About sunrise next morning. May 
3, (Sunday) six hours after my ar- 
rival, Streight's advance guard ap- 
peared on Shorter's Hill, one mile west 
of Rome. Through their field glasses 
they saw the 'fortifications' and the 
bustling activity in the town. An old 
negro woman, asked if there were any 
Confederates around, replied, 'Yassir, 
boss, de town am full of sojers!' 

"So impressive was the scene that 
the advance guard retreated without 
any attempt to take the bridge. A few 
shots were fired between the sharp- 
shooters. 



"About 3 or 4 o'clock that after- 
noon Forrest marched into Rome with 
Streight's command as prisoners. 
When the Yankees found out there 
had been no real soldiers in Rome, and 
that they had been captured by For- 
rest's inferior force, they became very 
angry, and it was feared that they 
would revolt, but Gen. Forrest's fore- 
sight in separating officers and men, 
imprisoning the officers in the court 
house and putting the privates under 
guard at the forks of the rivers, 
averted trouble. 

"It has been erroneously stated that 
I was sent to Rome by Gen. Forrest. 
I knew nothing of Gen. Forrest's pur- 
suit of the raiders until he marched 
into Rome with them. 

"The people of Rome made me a 
present of a silver service valued at 
$400, which I now have and prize very 
highly. They also gave me $400 in 
money and sent the Widow Hanks 
$400 for giving me the use of her lame 
pony." 

According to the oflficial reports of 
Col. Abel D. Streight. made after his 
escape from Libby prison to Union 
headquarters, Aug. 22, 1864, John H. 
Wisdom was directly responsible for 
his surrender to Gen. Forrest. The 
following from Col. Streight's report 
is significant: 

"After some maneuvering, Forrest 
sent in a flag of truce, demanding sur- 
render, so I called a council of war. I 
had previously learned in the mean- 
time, however, that Capt. Milton Rus- 
sell had been unable to take the bridge 
at Rome. Our condition was can- 
vassed, and although personally op- 
posed to surrender, and so expressing 
myself at the time, yet I yielded to the 
unanimous voice of my regimental 
commanders, and at about noon of 
May 3 we surrendered as prisoners of 
war. 

Col. Streight continued with the 
statement that he had dispatched Capt. 
Russell with 200 picked men to take 
the Rome bridge, and this officer had 
reported that it was held by a formi- 
dable force of Confederates, and in 
his opinion could not be captured by 
the forces available. 

Tn one ])art df :in orio-inal ac- 
count in his own liatul-writini^-, Ct^l. 
Wisdom staled tliat in addition to 
five horses, he used one mule. He 
recited that Miss l\mma Sanson, 
daus-hter of the W'itlow Sanson, 
\\h(") lived near T.lack Warrior 



174 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Creek l)ridi^e, two miles west of 
Gadsden, got up behind Gen. For- 
rest on his horse and directed him 
to ford the creek after Streight 
had burned the bridge. Streight's 
rear guard sent a fusillade of bul- 
lets tow^ard the double-mounted 
horse, and Forrest and Miss San- 
son were forced to dismount and 
hide behind a bank. The general 
finally rode back to the farm house 
with the brave girl, then crossed 
the ford with his men. 

During the delay, Streight's 
men had entered Gadsden and be- 
gun burning and plundering. They 
discovered Col. Wisdom's smoke 
house, in which had been stored 
a quantity of bacon by a crowd of 
refugees from Tennessee. While 
Streight's men tried to find the 
key to the smoke house and made 
preparations to batter down the 
door, Forrest's men arrived, 
chased them and devoured the ba- 
con. 



According to Col. Wisdom, 
Streight surrendered at Law- 
rence's Spring, four miles east of 
Cedar Bluff, Cherokee County, 
Ala., and 24 miles west of Rome. 
He confirms the statement that 
spirituous liquor flow^ed pretty 
freely in Rome that Sunday : "I 
thought a lieutenant would ride 
his black mare to death. He kept 
riding up and down the Oosta- 
naula from Battey's Shoals to 
towai and back, to keep the 
Yankees from crossing. They 
said he w^as 'tight.' " 

Gen. Forrest hurried down into 
Alabama to engage in a new chase, 
w^ithout waiting to attend the pic- 
nic Romans had planned for him. 
While awaiting orders in Rome for 
about four days, Forrest maintain- 
ed headquarters at the Choice 
House, wdiere the Hotel Forrest 
now stands, and the hospitality of 
the Temple of Justice a block to 
the east was enjoyed by the of- 
ficers he had corralled. 



TWO FAMOUS RIDES COMPARED. 

John H. Wisdom's famous ride, mentioned in the foregoing, is here 
compared with Paul Revere's : 



PAUL REVERE'S RIDE. 

Date— Apr. 19, 1775. 

War — Revolutionary. 

Starting Point — Charlestown, Mass. 

Destination — Concord, Mass. 

Place Reached — Lexington, Mass. 

Distance — Nine miles. 

Time — Two hours, 15 minutes. 

Miles per Hour — Four. 

How Traveled — Horseback. 

Object to Save — Lex. and Concord. 

Start of Ride — About 11:45 p. m. 

End of Ride— Two a. m. 

Horses Used — One. 

Road Condition — Fair. 

Riding by Dark — Two hours, 15 min. 

Riding by Light — None. 

Country — Undulating. 



JNO. H. WISDOM'S RIDE. 

Date— May 2, 1863. 
War— Civil. 

Starting Point — Gadsden, Ala. 
Destination — Rome, Ga. 
Place Reached — Rome, Ga. 
Distance^Sixty-seven miles. 
Time — Eleven hours (814 riding). 
Miles per Hour — Eight. 
How Traveled — Buggy, horseback. 
Object to Save — Rome, Ga. 
Start of Ride— About 3:30 p. m. 
End of Ride — Two-thirty a. m. 
Horses Used — Five (one mule). 
Road Condition — Rough. 
Riding by Dark — Seven hours. 
Riding by Light — Four hours. 
Country — Hilly. 



CHAPTER V. 
Sherman's Army Captures Rome 



HE climax to Rome's mili- 
tary successes and failures 
was Gen. Wm. Tecumseh 
vSherman, United States ar- 
my, of Ohio. In a chase after Gen. 
Jos. E. Johnston from Dalton and 
Resaca, the right wing of his ar- 
my (14th and 16th corps), under 
command of Gen. Jas. Birdseye 
McPherson,* also of Ohio, sent its 
scouts into Rome May 17, 1864, 
after an artillery duel for a day 
with Gen. Stuart's defenders.** 

Virgil A. Stewart, a sharpshoot- 
er wdio helped defend Rome, states 
that a spirited resistance was 
maintained for a day through the 
artillery but the superiority of 
the Federal force was so great 
that the Confederates were forced 
to retire, burning the Fifth Ave- 
nue and Broad Street bridges as 
they went. From him, Horry 
Wimpee, Wm. M. Hardin and 
others we get the following gen- 
eral description of activities : 

Gen. Sherman had sent Garrard's 
Cavah-y*'''* dotwn the Oostanaula 
River from Resaca, and Gen. Jefferson 
C. Davis' division of McPherson's Ar- 
my of the Tennessee in support of it. 
The Federals were advised that only 
a small garrison defended Rome, so 
they chose to go against the point of 
greatest resistance rather than lose 
the time involved in circumvention. 
They proceeded down the right or 
north bank of the river to Armuchee 
creek, where they found the Confed- 
erate skirmishers. Shots were ex- 
changed and one man was killed, prob- 
ably a Confederate. 

Cannon had been placed on Fort 

*KilIpd while reconnoitericiK near Atlanta 
some three months later by a Confocleratc 
sharpshooter named McPherson. 

♦♦Authority: Virpril A. Stewart. This Stuart 
was undoubtedly not Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. The 
Weekly Courier of Thursday, Aug. .â– ?!, 18G5, 
says May 17 was the day of ;nv<^tment. The 
diary of Reuben S. Norton says May 18. It is 
likely that the main body of ttie troops entered 
on the latter date. 

♦♦*The famous Black Horse Troop. 

♦♦♦*A trench two or three feet deep can still 
be found on the southeastern slope of the water- 
works hill : picture of it is shown herein. 



Jackson, the city pumping station site, 
on the top of a high hill in North 
Rome, then known as Fort Norton; on 
the ridge crossing the Summerville 
road one mile northwest of the court- 
house, at the rock quarry, then known 
as Fort Attaway, overlooking Little 
Dry creek; and on the crest of Myrtle 
Hill cemetery, then known as Fort 
Stovall. At the foot of Fort Norton 
a redoubt was built to impede the 
progress of the enemy in any attempt 
to scale the heights for a hand-to- 
hand encounter. In front of the pres- 
ent Second (or Fifth Avenue) Baptist 
church, on a slight ridge where John 
Ross used to live, was a trench to 
which the Confederate infantrymen 
fell back after their outposts had been 
driven in and Ft. Attaway silenced.**** 
The second fort to withdraw its fire 
was Fort Norton, and its garrison unit 
withdrew to points in the city and as- 
sisted the remaining unit on Fort Sto- 
vall (cemetery hill) to hold out. 

Gen. Davis had planted his artillery 
on the ridge above and southwest of 
Shorter's Spring, being the site of the 
new Shorter College, and particularly 
the location of the Selkirk home, now 
known as "Maplehurst," the residence 
of the president of the institution. 

The cannonading had started about 
daybreak. A column of Confederate 
cavalry had skirmished with the Fed- 
erals around Little Dry creek, but 
these retired before the hosts of Gar- 
rard. All but 42 of the non-combatant 
population had taken bag and baggage 
and selves away from Rome. The 
others preferred to remain and em- 
brace whatever fate awaited them, for 
it might be worse farther down, and 
home was home. One of those who 
remained was as staunch and militant 
a "Rel)cl" as ever lived — Mrs. Lizzie 
Roach Hughes, dressmaker and mil- 
liner and resident of the P\)urth Ward. 
"Miss Lizzie," as she was called all 
over Rome, used to do a lot of sewing 
for the soldiers, and the day was never 
too wet or cold or the night too dark 
for her to go foraging ifor "sumpin' 
t'eat." Her activities caused many a 
gray-jacketed heart to throb grate- 
fully. However, there were always 
people of low enough conscience and 
purpose to tell the invaders what Ro- 
mans were the most unflagging in 
support of the Southern cause, and 



176 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



those who were informed upon were 
forced to suffer. The Union troops 
cultivated "Miss Lizzie," and nuide 
life unbearable for her. Their first 
meeting: came when the soldiers en- 
tered West Rome. Gen. Davis and 
several officers "requested" "Miss Liz- 
zie" to go with them to the top of the 
hill to see if any more Confederates 
were on cemetery hill. The Confed- 
erates recognized "Miss Lizzie" 
through their field glasses, and waved 
a flag at her. 

"Thank you, 'Miss Lizzie/ " said Gen. 
Davis. 

In a minute there came a cannon 
ball screeching overhead, too close for 
conxfort. "Miss Lizzie," mad as a wet 
hen, shouted, "So THAT was why you 
invited me up here ! Evidently, Gen. 
Davis, some of our men ARE left, 
and they have the nerve to express 
themselves!" 

Grabbing up her skirts, "Miss Liz- 
zie" ran home, there to find that the 
invaders had ransacked everything 
had stolen her fowls and her eggs, 
and made her brother-in-law a pris- 
oner. The man was placed in the cus- 
tody of "Miss Lizzie" on her assurance 
that his wife was very ill, and on her 
promise to make him behave. After 
the occupation of Rome, "Miss Lizzie" 
got even with the "Yankees" by 
charging them top prices for fancy 
hats and flowers to send home to 
their wives. From an astute old wom- 
an of Rome "Miss Lizzie" had learned 
to make feathers into artificial flow- 
ers. Hidden out at Coosa were a few 
white ganders and at Floyd Springs 
some guineas and a peafowl or two, 
so "Miss Lizzie" went to these places 
after material. If she could get a 
horse, all right, and if not, she would 
walk, five miles, ten miles — it made 
no difference. Once she indignantly 
refused to let a Northern soldier help 
her mount a steed. This exhibition of 
lese majeste caused the soldier to call 
the corporal of the guard, who es- 
corted her with an armed squad to 
Gen. Davis' headquarters on Fourth 
Avenue. Some more of her privileges 
were taken away, including her lib- 
erty for a day, but this only served 
to make her increase the price of her 
wares. 

"Miss Lizzie" was also suspected of 
furnishing "underground telephone" 
information to the Confederates; she 
was undoubtedly guilty, as were most 
of the other women, and proud of it, 
but the "Yankees" couldn't get a thing 
on her, so she remained a privileged 



character and added greatly to the 
drab camp life of the uninvited guests 
of Rome. 

The cannon of the enemy were 
trained almost exclusively on the de- 
fending forts, and practically all the 
buildings and houses escaped destruc- 
tion at that time. No doubt many a 
shell could be found buried in the va- 
rious hills.* The figures as to losses 
are not available, but it is believed 
that the casualties were few. While 
the bombardment was at its height, B. 
G. Salvage, foreman of The Courier 
composing room, who had succeeded 
Capt. Dwinell as editor while the lat- 
ter laid aside editorial pellets for the 
real kind, was busy grinding out the 
last issue of the paper that Romans 
were to receive before Aug. 31, 1865. 
The makeshift editor pied his type and 
took to swamps and hills. The May 
16, 1864, issue is not available, hence 
much that took place on that stirring 
occasion is forever lost. 

However, we are told by the sur- 
vivors mentioned above that the Con- 
federates withdrew from the last fort 
(Stovall) under cover of the dark- 
ness of May 16, and took up sniping 
positions on Cantrell's Ridge, South 
Rome; on Tubbs' Mountain and other 
vantage points; also that the invading 
skirmishers cautiously entered on May 
17 after having crossed the Oosta- 
naula at or near Battey's Shoals, and 
by noon had advanced their line to 
Maiden Lane (now Third Avenue). 
On the following day. May 18, after 
awaiting orders and packing up, Gen. 
Davis' hosts, said to have been parts 
of the 14th and 16th Army corps, 
numbering pei-haps 30,000 men, cross- 
ed the Oostanaula at Printup's wharf, 
midway between the Second Avenue 
and Fifth Avenue bridges, six abreast 
and on pontoon bridges made partly 
of church pews. Their heavy wagons 
and artillery went over safely. Gen. 
Wm. Vandever tarried a short time, 
but soon pushed on to Kingston, and 
left Gen. John M. Corse in charge of 
the garrison of 1,054 men. 

The most serious infantry and cav- 
alry engagement took place at Fort 
Attaway, lasting from 3 to 5 p. m. of 
May 16. As the Confederates with- 
drew, they took with them everything 
that could possibly be used, and de- 
stroyed all that might benefit the ene- 
my. A Texas regiment is said to have 
removed $150,000 in provisions and 
clothing from Broad Street stores. 

*C. L. Kins, cemetery sexton, has several 
which were dug out of graves in Myrtle Hill. 



Sherman's Army Captures Rome 



177 




A PAIR OF GENERALS WHO "DROPPED IN" ON ROME. 

At the left is Gen. Jefferson C. Davis, commander of the Garrison, and at right 
is Gen. Wm. T. Sherman, who spent several days on Fourth Avenue, 



The new "tenants" finished the job. 
The few pigs, chickens and cows that 
were left were eagerly seized and 
killed, and it was "every Roman for 
himself." Things of no military value 
were smashed or burned. "Bulls" got 
into the "china shop" of the Buena 
Vista Hotel and had a lively time. 

Dr. J. M. Gregory had been mayor 
the year before. He had refugeed, 
but his good wife and her mother, 
Mrs. Hutchings, the kindly proprie- 
tress, wrung her hands vainly in pro- 
test. 

Mrs. John Choice remained behind, 
cheering the retreating Confederates 
as they passed. For the offense of 
keeping two buckets of water sitting 
at the front of her place to slake the 
thirst of the boys in gray, Mrs. Greg- 
ory's home was set on fire. The flames 
spread over the lower floor, and her 
aged mother had to be carried down a 
ladder from the second story. The 
colored maid, later a resident of Chi- 
cago, followed her just as the fire was 
entering the room. 

Mrs. Samuel Stewart's home on 
Eighth Avenue could be seen from 
afar, and clothing hung up in a cei-- 
tain way on the back porch gave sig- 
nals to the Confederates. Union sol- 
diers went to this home and carried 
away everything of value, and poured 
ink on Mrs. Stewart's wearing ap- 
parel. 



A lot of munitions of war and a 
cannon or two were thrown into the 
Oostanaula above Fifth Avenue by the 
Federals, who had more than they 
could carry. A little gunpowder and 
a few shells found in the arsenal at 
Myrtle Hill were destroyed. Zach 
Mooney, who had been employed to 
help make cannon at the Noble Foun- 
dry, took two old pieces and did away 
with them; one went "kerchug!" into 
the Etowah nearby, and another 
splashed into an old well. 

The Lumpkin-Holmes-Morris home 
on Eighth Avenue was used as a hos- 
pital for the wounded Union men. The 
Spullock home was made the head- 
quarters of Gen. Corse, and Gen. Van- 
dever occupied first the Hood-Cum- 
niing - Featherston - Rixie home on 
Broad, and then the Chas. H. Smith 
("Bill Arp") home on Fourth Ave- 
nue, which was used successively by 
Gens. Jefl'erson C. Davis and Wm. T. 
Sherman. A Gen. Cox is also men- 
tioned as having had charge foi- a 
short time at Rome. 

Horry Wimiiee and many others 
unite in praising Gens. Vandever and 
Davis as kind - hearted gentlemen 
whose treatment of Ronuins was all 
that could have been expected. Gen. 
Sherman ajipears not to have engaged 
in any atrocities at Rome. As for 
Gen. Corse, he was not possessed of 
the amenities bestowed upon the oth- 
ers; early in his career at Konie he 



178 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



caused the handsome Hawkins home 
on the Lindale road to be burned be- 
cause a crowd of his foragers were 
ambushed at that spot. He was a 
stubborn fighter, however; when near- 
ly overwhelmed by Gen. S. G. French 
at Allatoona, he signalled Gen. Sher- 
man: "I am short a cheek bone and 
part of an ear, but am able to whip 
all hell yet!" 

Gen. Sherman entered Rome from 
Kingston Oct. 12, 1864, on a chase 
after Gen. Hood, who, after the fall 
of Atlanta Sept. 2, rambled all over 
the old Cherokee nation in Georgia, 
Alabama and Tennessee, and proved 
as elusive as a Jack-o-Lantern. Hood 
had marched down the south bank of 
the Etowah, passing through or close 
to Cave Spring, and crossing the 
Coosa at Veal's Ferry, near the vil- 
lage of Coosa. He flitted through 
Texas Valley on the northwestern side 
of Lavender Mountain, with the pur- 
pose of destroying the W. & A. railroad 
and cutting off Sherman's supplies 
from Chattanooga. Part of Hardee's 
corps went to Mt. Pleasant Methodist 
church (now Oreburg) , turned to the 
left at Farmer's bridge, Armuchee 
Creek, and then went through Floyd 
Springs to Chattooga County, and 
hauled up near Dalton ; Gen. Stuart's* 
corps penetrated Robinson's gap, Lav- 
ender Mountain, then went through 
Texas Valley and crossed Little Ar- 
muchee Creek at Echols' Mill. A junc- 
tion of some of the units was ef- 
fected near Resaca and Hood demand- 
ed the surrender of the garrison there, 
but was refused. 

Hood had crossed the Coosa Oct. 10 
and left a part of Harrison's Brigade 
(being the 8th and 11th Texas Regi- 
ments, the 3rd Arkansas and the 4th 
Tennessee) strung from Lavender Mt. 
to Veal's Ferry; also Stuart's corps of 
four regiments at Sardis church, 
Coosa. A feint on Rome Nov. 12 from 
1,200 to 1,500 of these troops so alarm- 
ed Gen. Sherman that he wired At- 
lanta that Hood was turning back on 
the Hill City, and ordered 50,000 men 
from At'anta rushed to his aid!** This 
order was countermanded later when 
Sherman learned that Hood's main 
force was bearing down on Resaca. 
Sherman went on to Resaca the night 
of Oct. 12 and left Corse in charge at 
Rome; and Corse scouted into the 
Coosa Valley and brought back some 
prisoners and guns. 

Gen. Sherman returned to Rome the 
night of Oct. 28 with his staff, and 
again perched himself on Fourth Ave- 
nue ; and for four days and a half, 



until the morning of Nov. 2, directed 
operations from that point. On this 
occasion he was returning after a 
chase with Hood which had taken him 
down the Chattooga Valley to Gayles- 
ville, Ala. The grizzled West Pointer 
exhibited considerable chagi-in that he 
had been unable to corner the South- 
ern army and wipe it out with his 
superior force. On the retreat from 
Dalton, Gen. Johnston had scarcely 
lost a prisoner or a gun, nor had he 
left behind many loaves or fishes for 
the Federals to feed upon. As for 
Hood, his baggage was so light that 
he moved like the wind. Finally Sher- 
man gave up the chase, and set his 
course for the sea. The evacuation of 
Rome started Nov. 10, 1864, and was 
completed by 9 a. m. of Nov. 11. Act- 
ing on orders from Sherman, then at 
Kingston, Gen. Corse burned all the 
mills and factories and some other es- 
tablishments that might be of use to 
the Confederates. 

The burning took place on the night 
of November 10. Never had a scene 
of such wantonness and misery been 
presented to Rome. Dry goods boxes 
and trash were piled high in stores 
and set off, and the crackling of the 
timbers furnished a melancholy echo 
to the wails of women and children. 
Soldiers ran from place to place with 
fii-ebrands in their hands, setting the 
places designated here, and perfectly 
harmless places there. Necessarily 
the stores and shops next to the con- 
demned improvements went up in 
smoke. With hundreds of bayonets 
bristling, the 40 steadfast male Ro- 
mans could do nothing but watch and 
allow their souls to fill with regret. 

Here are some of the Broad Street 
or central establishments which were 
destroyed; both depots, Cunning- 
ham's cotton warehouse, the bank, 
David J. Meyerhardt's store house, 
Daniel R. Mitchell's houses, the Eto- 
wah Hotel (then at Howard Street, 
or Second Avenue). Cohen's gr'jst 
mill on Silver Creek, between East 
Rome and South Rome burnt mer- 
rily. The great brick smoke stacks 
of the Noble Foundry were blown 
up with powder blasts, and the build- 
ings then fired. Only isolated struc- 
tures escaped, until there was 
no place much to do business, and 
less business to do than places. A 
livery stable caught, and the odor of 
burning horseflesh could be detected 
for several blocks. The whinnies of 
the horses told of their awful plight. 

*Not J. E. B. Stuart. 
♦♦Authority : Wm. M. Hardin. 



Sherman's Army Captures Rome 



179 



With this kind of a gesture, Gen. 
Corse bade farewell to Rome. . Had 
he fiddled as well, the picture could 
have been little less complete. There 
was more work for him to do. As 
Sherman left Kingston, he said: 
"Corse, the torch." It was not always 
Corse who happened to be convenient. 
Gen. Davis was hard by when Gen. 
Sherman on Nov. 21 found himself on 



*Gen. Sherman no doubt traversed after tlie 
war a considerable part of his course throii-jh 
Georgia., to verify data for his book. He was 
interested in the Tecumseh Iron Works at Te- 
cumseh, Cherokee Co., Ala., two miles north of 
Borden-Wheeler Springs, and the manager of 
that concern. Gen. Willard Warner, a member 
of Gen. Sherman's staff, used to buy largj quan- 
tities of goods through the wholesile grocery 
house of IBerrys & Co. (later Montgomery, IVIe- 
Laurin & Co.), of Rome. On one occasion, 
about 18S0, Gen. Sherman came indnnounced 
to Rome, and spent some little time waiting to 
change trains at the Rome Railroad depot, 
going to or coming from Tecumseh. Several 
Romans recognized him by his stubby chin dec- 
orations and shook hands with him. It was 
too soon after the war, however, and most of 
the little crowd contented themselves with a 
look and grunt from a distance, and voted him 
the ugliest mortal they had ever daen. 



the Howell Cobb plantation in middle 
Georgia. Hardly a scrap of that place 
was spared, becau.se Cobb had just 
left a cabinet position at Washington. 
Although it is popularly accepted 
that Sherman's March to the Sea 
started at 7 a. m., Nov. 15, from At- 
lanta, the preliminaries were staged 
at Rome, Kingston, Cartersville and 
other points north of the capital. 

The stern injunction, "Leave 
not a blade of grass that a grass- 
hopper could subsist upon !" was 
likewise applicable to the conduct 
of the army in the upper section 
of the state. 

It was a devastating scourge, 
this march ; it left many a wrecked 
fortune, bleeding heart and broken 
spirit, but it was also the forerun- 
ner of a new era of development 
and progress for the entire South- 
land. 




180 



jA History of Rome and Floyd County 




CHAPTER VI. 
Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 




X DEFERKNCR to the 
feelings and preferences of 
a large majority of readers, 
an effort was made to ob- 
tain a complete and accurate ac- 
count of the troop movements 
around Rome, written from the 
Southern viewpoint. Gen. Jos. R. 
Johnston's story was consulted, 
but it contained such a scanty ref- 
erence to Rome that it was con- 
sidered unavailable for the pur- 
pose. Other works that have fal- 
len under the notice of the author 
have likewise failed to satisfy the 
curiosity for details, hence the ac- 
count by Gen. Sherman is present- 
ed herewith, in the belief that the 
fairness and accuracy of it will 
commend it to all. The extracts 
are from the "Memoirs of Gen. 
Wm. T. Sherman, Vol. II (D. Ap- 
pleton & Co., New York, N. Y., 
1875). 

On the 18th day of March, 1864, at 
Nashville, Tenn., I relieved Lt. Gen. 
Ulysses S. Grant in command of the 
Military Division of the Mississippi, 
embracing the Departments of the 
Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee and 
Arkansas, commanded respectively by 
Maj. Gens. Schofield, Thomas, Mc- 
Pherson and Steele. General Grant 
was in the act of starting east to as- 
sume command of all the Armies of 
the United States, but more particu- 
larly to give direction in person to 
the Armies of the Potomac and James 
operating against Richmond. 

In the early part of April I was 
much disturbed by a bold raid made 
by the rebel General Forrest between 
the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers. 
He reached the Ohio River at Padu- 
cah, but was handsomely repulsed by 
Colonel Hicks. He then swung 
down toward Memphis, massacring 
a part of its garrison, composed 
wholly of negro ti'oops. No doubt 
Forrest's men acted like a set 
of barbarians, shooting down the help- 
less negro garrison, but I am told that 
Forrest personally disclaims any 
active participation in tiie assault and 
that he stopped the firing as soon as 



he could. I was told by hundreds of 
our men, who were at various times 
prisoners in Forrest's possession, that 
he was usually very kind to them. 

Writing' from Nashville head- 
quarters Apr. 10, 1864, Gen. Sher- 
man outlined to Gen. Grant at 
Washington some of the plans for 
his campaign against Atlanta, via 
Ringgold, Dalton, Resaca, Rome, 
Cartersville, Kingston, Allatoona 
and Marietta : 

McPherson will have nine divisions 
of the Army of the Tennessee; if A. J. 
Smith gets here he will have full 30,- 
000 of the best men in America. He 
will cross the Tennessee at Decatur 
and Whitesburg, march toward Rome 
and feel for Thomas. If Johnston 
falls behind the Coosa, then McPher- 
son will push for Rome, and if John- 
ston falls behind the Chattahoochee, 
as I believe he will, then McPherson 
will cross over and join Thomas. 

On Apr. 28, Gen. Sherman re- 
moved his headquarters to Chatta- 
nooga, and on May 5 he took the 
field personally and marched with 
about 100,000' men into Georgia 
against Gen. Johnston, who re- 
treated from rX'illini after a brief 
skirmish stand. 

On May 11 the Federal com- 
mander, then at Tunnel Hill. Whit- 
field County, ordered Gen. McPher- 
son, in Sugar Valley, to anticipate 
Gen. Johnston's evacuation of Dal- 
ton by sending On. Garrard by 
Summerville to threaten Rome antl 
that flank. Instead of taking the 
small Confederate garrison at Re- 
saca. G.ordon County, Gen. Mc- 
riicrson fell back into a defensive 
position in Sugar X'alley. on the 
Resaca side of Snake Creek Gap. 
Sherman continues : 

Johnston, as 1 anticipated, had 
abandoned all iiis weil-pri'pared de- 
fenses at Dalton and was found inside 
(.f Resaca with tlie bulk of his army, 
holding his divisions well in hand, 
acting purely on the defensive, and 



182 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



fighting well at all points of conflict. 
A complete line of entrenchments was 
found covering the place, and this was 
strongly manned at all points. On the 
14th we closed in, enveloping the town 
on its north and west, and during the 
15th we had a continual day of battle 
and skirmish. At the same time I 
caused two pontoon bridges to be laid 
across the Oostanaula river at Lay's 
Ferry, about three miles below the 
town, by which we could threaten Cal- 
houn, a station on the railroad seven 
miles below Resaca. I also dispatched 
Oen. Garrard with his cavalry di- 
vision down the Oostanaula by the 
Rome road, with orders to cross over, 
if possible, and to attack or threaten 
the railroad at any point below Cal- 
houn and above Kingston. 

During the 15th, without attempt- 
ii'.g to assault the fortified works, we 
pressed at all points, and the sound 
of cannon and musketry rose all day 
to the dignity of a battle. Toward 
evening McPherson moved his whole 
line of battle forward, till he had 
gained a ridge overlooking the town, 
from which his field artillery could 
reach the railroad bridge across the 
Oostanaula. The enemy made several 
attempts to drive him away, but in 
every instance he was repulsed with 
bloody loss. 

Hooker's Corps had also had some 
heavy and handsome fighting that aft- 
ernoon and night on the left, where 
the Dalton road entered the entrench- 
ments, capturing a 4-gun entrenched 
battery, with its men and guns; and 
generally all our men showed the finest 
fighting qualities. Howard's Corps 
had followed Johnston dovvm from 
Dalton and was in line; Stoneman's 
Division of Cavalry had also got up, 
and was on the extreme left, beyond 
the Oostanaula. On the night of May 
15 Johnston got his army across the 
bridges, set them on fire and we en- 
tered Resaca at daylight. Our loss 
up to that time was about 600 dead 
and 3,375 wounded. 

That Johnston had deliberately de- 
signed in advance to give up such 
strong positions as Dalton and Resaca, 
for the purpose of drawing us farther 
South, is simply absurd. Had he re- 
mained in Dalton another hour it 
would have been his total defeat, and 
he only evacuated Resaca because his 
safety demanded it. The movement 
by us through Snake Creek Gap was 
a total surprise to him. My army 
about doubled his in size, but he had 
all the advantage of natural positions, 
of artificial forts and roads, and of 



concentrated action. We were com- 
pelled to grope our way through for- 
ests, across mountains with a large 
army, necessarily more or less dis- 
persed. 

Johnston having retreated, imme- 
diate pursuit was begun. A division 
of infantry (Jefferson C. Davis') was 
at once dispatched down the valley 
toward Rome, to support Garrard's 
Cavalry, and the whole army was or- 
dered to pursue — McPherson by Lay's 
Ferry, on the right, Thomas "directly 
by the railroad, and Schofield by the 
left, by the old road that crossed the 
Oostanaula above Echota or Nevrtown. 
We hastily repaired the railroad 
bridge at Resaca, which had been par- 
tially burned, and built a temporary 
floating bridge out of timber and ma- 
terials found on the spot, so that 
Thomas got his advance corps over 
during the 16th, and marched as far 
as Calhoun, where he came into com- 
munication with McPherson's troops, 
which had crossed the Oostanaula at 
Lay's Ferry by our pontoon bridges 
previously laid. Inasmuch as the 
bridge at Resaca was overtaxed, 
Hooker's Twentieth Corps was also 
diverted to cross by the fords and 
ferries above Resaca, in the neighbor- 
hood of Echota. 

On the 17th, toward evening, the 
head of Thomas' column, Newton's Di- 
vision, encountered the rear guard of 
Johnston's Army near Adairsville. I 
was near the head of the column at 
the time, trying to get a view of the 
position of the enemy from an eleva- 
tion in an open field. My party at- 
tracted the fire of a battery; a shell 
passed through the group of staff of- 
ficers and burst just beyond, which 
scattered us promptly. The next 
morning the enemy had disappeared, 
and our pursuit was continued to 
Kingston, which we reached during 
Sunday afternoon, the 19th. 

From Resaca the railroad runs 
nearly due south, but at Kingston it 
makes junction with another railroad 
from Rome, and changes direction due 
east (west). At that time McPher- 
son's head of column was about four 
miles to the west of Kingston, at a 
country place called "Woodlawn;" 
Schofield and Hooker were on the di- 
rect roads leading from Newtown to 
Cassville, diagonal to the i-oute fol- 
lowed by Thomas. Thomas' head of 
column, which had followed the coun- 
try roads alongside of the railroad, 
was about four miles east of Kingston, 
toward Cassville. About noon I got 
a message from him that he had found 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



183 



the enemy drawn up in line of battle 
on some extensive, open gi'ound, about 
half-way between Kingston and Cass- 
ville, and that appearances indicated 
a willingness and preparation for bat- 
tle. 

Hurriedly sending orders to Mc- 
Pherson to resume the march, to 
hasten forward by roads leading to 
the south of Kingston, so as to leave 
for Thomas' troops and trains the use 
of the main road, and to come up on 
his right, I rode forward rapidly over 
some rough gravel hills, and about six 
miles from Kingston found Gen. 
Thomas with his troops deployed ; but 
he reported that the enemy had fallen 
back in echelon of divisions, steadily 
and in superb order, into Cassville. 

I knew that the roads by which 
Gens. Hooker and Schofield were ap- 
proaching would lead them to a sem- 
inary near Cassville, and that it was 
all-important to secure the point of 
junction of these roads with the main 
road along which we were marching. 
Therefore, I ordered Gen. Thomas to 
push forward his deployed lines as 
rapidly as possible, and as night was 
approaching, I ordered two field bat- 
teries to close up at a gallop on some 
woods which lay between us and the 
town of Cassville. We could not see 
the towTi by reason of these woods, 
but a high range of hills just back of 
the town was visible over the tree tops. 
On these hills could be seen fresh- 
made parapets and the movement of 
men, against whom I directed the ar- 
tillery to fire at long range. 

The stout resistance made by the 
enemy along our whole front of a 
couple of miles indicated a purpose to 
fight at Cassville, and as the night 
was closing in. Gen. Thomas and I 
were together, along with our skirmish 
lines near the seminary, on the edge 
of the town, where musket bullets 
from the enemy were cutting the 
leaves of the trees pretty thickly 
about us. We went back to the bat- 
tery, where we passed the night on 
the ground. 

*The wonderful cave visited in 1835 by John 
Howard Payne. Col. Mark A. Hardin, mem- 
bei- of Morgan's Cavalry, had houjrht it in 
IKGl, and with several hundreds of slaves work- 
inpT, had sent (luantities of nitre to Knoxville 
to make (gunpowder for the Confederate Army. 
He refused an offer of .$100,000 for the cave, 
and shortly afterward, it was seized by the 
Confederate Covernment, which was in charge 
when (ien. Sherman captured it. Authority: 
Miss Virginia Hardin, of Atlanta. It is said 
this cave's tributaries extend several miles, and 
that they have never been thoroughly explored. 
The place is visited yearly by thousands, nota- 
bly by the Boy Scouts. 



During the night I had reports from 
McPherson, Hooker and Schofield. The 
former was about five miles to my 
right rear, near the "nitre caves;"" 
Schofield was about six mils:, north 
and Hooker between us, within two 
miles. All were ordered to clos'i down 
on Cassville at daylight, and to attack 
the enemy wherever found. Skirmish- 
ing was kept up all night, but when 
day broke the next morning. May 
20th, the enemy was gone, and our 
cavalry was sent in pursuit. These 
reported him beyond the Etowah Riv- 
er. We were then well in advance of 
our railroad trains, so I determined 
to pause a few days to repair the rail- 
road. 

Nearly all the people of the coun- 
try seemed to have fled with John- 
ston's Army, yet some few families 
remained, and from one of them I pro- 
cured a copy of an order which John- 
ston had made at Adairsville in which 
he recited that he had retreated as 
far as strategy required, and that his 
army must be prepared for battle at 
Cassville. The newspapers of the 
South, many of which we found, were 
loud in denunciation of Johnston's 
failing back before us without a se- 
rious battle, simply resisting by his 




COL. THOMAS W. ALEXANDKR, once M.iyor 
of Rome, in the uniform he wore as a Con- 
federate Army officer. 



184 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



skirmish line and rear guard. But 
his friends proclaimed that it was all 
strategic, that he was deliberately 
drawing us farther and farther into 
the meshes, farther and farther away 
from our base of supplies, and that 
in due season he would not only halt 
for battle, but assume the bold offen- 
sive. 

Of course it was to my interest to 
bring him to battle as soon as possi- 
ble, when our numerical superiority 
was at the greatest; for he was pick- 
ing up his detachments as he fell 
back, whereas I was compelled to make 
similar and stronger detachments to 
repair the railroads as we advanced, 
and to guard them. I found at Cass- 
ville many evidences of preparation 
for a grand battle, among them a 
long line of fresh entrenchments on 
the hill beyond the town, extending 
nearly three miles to the south, eii- 
bracing the railroad crossing. I was 
also convinced that the whole of Polk's 
corps had joined Johnston from Mis- 
sissippi, and that he had in hand three 
full corps, viz.. Hood's, Polk's and Har- 
dee's, numbering about 60,000 men, 
and could not then imagine why he 
had declined battle, and did not learn 
the real reason till after the wai: was 
over, and then from Gen. Johnston 
himself. 

In the autumn of 1865, when in 
command of the Military Division of 
the Mis.souri, I went from St. Louis 
to Little Rock, Ark., and afterward 
to Memphis. Taking a steamer for 
Cairo, I found as fellow passengers 
Gens. Johnston and Frank Blair. We 
were, of course, on the most friendly 
terms, and on our way up we talked 
over our battles again, played cards, 
and ouestioned each other as to par- 
ticular parts of our mutual conduct 
in the game of war. I told Johnston 
that I had seen his order of prepara- 
tion, in the nature of an address to 
his army, announcing his purpose to 
retreat no more, but to accept battle 
at Cassville. He answered that such 
was his purpose; that he had left 
Hardee's corps in the open fields to 
check Thomas and gain time for his 
formations on the ridge, just behind 
Cassville; and it was this corps that 
Gen. Thomas had seen deployed, and 
whose handsome movement in retreat 
he had reported in such complimenta- 
ry terms. Johnston described how he 
had placed Hood's Corps on the right, 
Polk's in the center and Hardee's on 
the left. He said he had ridden over 
the ground, given to each corps com- 
mander his position and orders to 



throw up parapets during the night; 
that he was with Hardee on his ex- 
treme left as the night closed in, and 
as Hardee's troops fell back to the 
position assigned them for the intend- 
ed battle of the next day; and that 
after giving Hardee some general in- 
structions he and his staff rode back 
to Cassville. As he entered the town, 
or village, he met Gens. Hood and 
Polk. Hood inquired of him if he had 
had anything to eat, and he said no, 
that he was both hungry and tired, 
when Hood invited him to go and share 
a supper which had been prepared for 
him at a house close by. 

At the supper they discussed the 
chances of the impending battle, when 
Hood spoke of the ground assigned to 
him as being enfiladed by our (Union) 
artillery, which Johnston disputed, 
when Gen. Polk chimed in with the 
remark that Gen. Hood was right; 
that the cannon shots fired .by us 
at nightfall had enfiladed their gen- 
eral line of battle, and for this reason 
he feared they could not hold their 
men. Gen. Johnston was surprised at 
this, for he understood Gen. Hood to 
be one of those who professed to crit- 
icize his strategy, contending that, in- 
stead of retreating, he should have 
risked a battle. Gen. Johnston said 
he was provoked, accused them of 
having been in conference, with be- 
ing beaten before battle, and added 
that he was unwilling to engage in 
a critical battle with an army so su- 
perior to his own in numbers, with 
two of his three corps commanders 
dissatisfied with the ground and posi- 
tions assigned them. He then and there 
made up his mind to retreat still far- 
ther South, to put the Etowah River 
and the Allatoona Range between us; 
and he at once gave orders to resume 
the retrograde movement. 

This was my recollection of the sub- 
stance of the conversation, of which I 
made no note at the time; but at a 
meeting of the Society of the Army 
of the Cumberland some years after, 
at Cleveland, O., about 1868, in a short 
after-dinner speech I related this con- 
versation, and it got into print. Sub- 
sequently, in the spring of 1870, when 
I was at New Orleans, en route for 
Texas, Gen. Hood called to see me 
at the St. Charles Hotel, explained 
that he had seen my speech reprint- 
ed in the newspapers and gave me his 
version of the same event. He stated 
that he had argued against fighting 
the battle purely on the defensive, but 
had asked Gen. Johnston to permit him 
with his own corps and part of Polk's 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



185 



to quit their lines and to march rapid- 
ly to attack and overwhelm Schofield, 
who was known to be separated from 
Thomas by an interval of nearly five 
miles, claiming that he could have de- 
feated Scho^'ield and got back to his 
position in time to meet Gen. Thomas' 
attack in front. He also stated that 
he had contended with Johnston for 
the "offensive-defensive" game, instead 
of the pure "defensive," as proposed 
by Gen. Johnston; and he said it was 
at this time that Gen. Johnston had 
taken offense, and that it was for this 
reason that he had ordered the retreat 
that night. As subsequent events es- 
tranged these two officers, it is very 
natural they should now differ on this 
point; but it was sufficient for us that 
the rebel army did retreat that night, 
leaving us masters of all the country 
above the Etowah River. 

For the purposes of rest, to give 
time for the repair of the railroads 
and to replenish supplies, we lay by 
some few days in that quarter — Scho- 
field with Stoneman's cavalry holding 
the gi'ound at Cassville Depot, at 
Cartersville, and the Etowah Bridge; 
Thomas holding his ground near Cass- 
ville, and McPherson that near King- 
ston. The officer intrusted with the 
repair of the railroads was Col. W. 
W. Wright, a railroad engineer, who, 
with about 2,000 men, was so indus- 
trious and skillful that the bridge at 
Resaca was rebuilt in three days, and 
cars loaded with stores came forward 
to Kingston on the 24th. The tele- 
graph also brought us the news of the 
desperate and bloody battles of the 
Wilderness, in Virginia, and that Gen. 
Grant was pushing his operations 
against Lee with terrific energy. I 
was therefore resolved to give my 
enemy no rest. 

In early days, 1844, when a lieu- 
tenant of the Third Artillery, I had 
been sent from Charleston, S. C, to 
Marietta, Ga., to assist Inspector Gen- 
eral Churchill to take testimony con- 
cerning certain losses of horses and 
accoutrements by the Georgia Volun- 
teers during the Florida War; and 
after completing the work at Mainetta 
we transferred our party over to 
Bellefonte, Ala. I had ridden the dis- 
tance on horseback, and had noted well 
the topography of the country, espe- 
cially that about Kennesaw, Allatoona 
and the Etowah River. On that oc- 
casion I had stopped some days with 
a Colonel Tumlin," to see some remark- 
able Indian mounds on the Etowah 
River, usually called the "Hightower." 

*Lewis Tumlin. 



I therefore knew that the Allatoona 
Pass was very strong, would be hard 
to force, and resolved not even to at- 
tempt it, but to turn the position by 
moving from Kingston to Marietta via 
Dallas; accordingly, I made orders on 
May 20 to get ready for the march 
to begin on the 23d. The army of 
the Cumberland was ordered to march 
for Dallas, by Euharlee and Stiles- 
boro; Davis's Division, then at Rome, 
by Van Wert; the Army of the Ohio 
to keep on the left of Thomas, by a 
place called Burnt Hickory; and the 
Army of the Tennessee to march for 
a position a little to the South, so as 
to be on the right of the general army 
when grouped about Dallas. The move- 
ment contemplated leaving our rail- 
road, and to depend for 20 days on 
the contents of our wagons; and as 
the country was very obscure, mostly 
in a state of nature, densely wooded 
and with few roads, our movements 
were necessarily slow. We crossed 
the Etowah by several bridges and 
fords, and took as many roads as pos- 
sible, keeping up communication by 
cross-roads, or by couriers through 
the woods. I personally joined Gen. 
Thomas, who had the center, and was 
consequently the main column, or "col- 
umn of direction." The several col- 
umns followed generally the Valley of 
the Euharlee, a tributary coming into 
the Etowah from the South, and grad 
ually crossed over a ridge of moun- 
tains, parts of which had been work- 
ed over for gold, and were conse- 
quently full of paths and unused 
wagon roads or tracks. 

A "cavalry picket" of the enemy at 
Burnt Hickory was captured and had 
on his person an order from Gen. 
Johnston, dated at Allatoona, which 
showed that he had detected my pur- 
pose of turning his position, and it 
accordingly became necessary to use 
great caution, lest some of the minor 
columns should fall into ambush, but, 
luckily, the enemy was not much more 
familiar with that part of the coun- 
try than we were. On the other side 
of the .\llatoona Range, the Pumpkin- 
Vine Creek, also a tril)utary of the 
Etowah, flowed north and west; Dal- 
las, the point aimed at, was a small 
town on the other, or cast side of this 
creek, and was a point of concentra- 
tion of a great many roads that led 
in every direction. Its possession would 
be a threat to Marietta and Atlanta, 
but I could not then venture to at- 
t(>mpt either, till I had regained use 
of the railroad, at least as far down 
as its debouch from the Allatoona 



186 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Range of mountains. Therefore, the 
movement was chiefly designed to com- 
pel Johnston to give up Allatoona. 

In his description of the "drawn 
battle" of New Hope Church at 
Dallas, Paulding County, May 26, 
Gen. Sherman notes that Gen. Jef- 
ferson C. Davis' Federal Garrison 
or Division of the Fourteenth Ar- 
my Corps had left Rome and come 
to his assistance. He says he or- 
dered Gen. Hooker to capture the 
New Hope position the night of 
the 25th, if possible, and goes on: 

The woods were so dense and the 
resistance so spirited that Hooker 
could not carry the position, though 
the battle was noisy and prolonged 
far into the night. From the bloody 
fighting there for the next week it 
was called by the soldiers "Hell-Hole." 
The night was pitch-dark, it rained 
hard and the convergence of our col- 
umns toward Dallas produced much 
confusion. I am sure similar confusion 
existed in the army opposed to us, for 
we were all mixed up. I slept on the 
ground without cover, alongside of ;. 
log, got little sleep, resolved at day- 
light to renew the battle. The battle 
was renewed, and without success. A 
continual battle was in progress by 
strong skirmish lines taking advan- 
tage of every species of cover, and 
both parties fortifying each night by 
rifle-trenches, with head-logs. Occ; 
sionally one party or the other would 
make a dash in the nature of a sally, 
but usually it sustained a repulse with 
gTeat loss of life. I visited personally 
all parts of cur lines nearly every 
day, was constantly within musket 
range, and though the fire of mus- 
ketry and cannon resounded day and 
night along the whole line, I rarely 
saw a dozen of the enemy at one 
time, and these were always skirmish- 
ers, dodging from tree to tree, or be- 
hind logs on the ground, or who oc- 
casionally showed their heads above 
the hastily-constructed but remark- 
ably strong rifle-trenches. On the oc- 
casion of my visit to McPherson on the 
30th of May, while standing with a 
group of officers, among whom were 
Gens. McPherson, Logan and Barry, 
and Col. Taylor, my former chief of 
artillery, a Minie ball passed through 
Logan's coat sleeve, scratching the 
skin, and struck Col. Taylor square 
in the breast; luckily, he had in his 
pocket a famous memorandum book in 
which he kept a sort of diary, about 
which we used to joke him a good deal; 



its thickness saved his life, breaking 
the force of the ball. 

Next are chronicled the bat- 
tles before the fall of Atlanta, 
Sept. 2, 1864. Gen. Johnston had 
now been succeeded in command 
in Georgia by Gen. John B. Hood, 
and Hood led Sherman a merry 
chase back toward Rome and over 
a considerable part of the terri- 
tory that had been traversed on 
the drive down. Atlanta was or- 
dered evacuated by the civilian 
population, and in reply to pro- 
tests. Gen. Sherman wrote Gen. 
H. W. Halleck, chief of staff, at 
Washington : 

If the people raise a howl against 
my barbarity and cruelty, I will an- 
swer that war is war, and not pop- 
ularity-seeking. If they want peace, 
they and their relatives must stop the 
war. 

By date Sept. 28, 1864, Gen. Hal- 
leck wrote Gen. Sherman, "I 
wotdd destroy every mill and fac- 
tory within reach that I did not 
want for my own use. This the 
rebels have done, not only in Ma- 
ryland and Pennsylvania, but also 
in Virginia and other rebel states, 
when compelled to fall back before 
our armies. In many sections of 
the country they have not left a 
mill to grind grain for their own 
suffering families, lest we might 
use them to supply our armies. We 
must do the same."* 

Hearing that Gen. Joe Wheel- 
er's Confederate Cavalry was 
threatening the railroad commti- 
nications in Middle Tennessee and 
that Gen. Forrest was coming up 
from Mississippi to join him, Gen. 
Sherman ordered Newton's di- 
vision of the Fourth Army Corps 
back to Chattanooga, Corse's di- 
vision of the Seventeenth Corps 
back to Rome, and warned other 
commands to watch out. 

"I take it for gi'anted that Forrest 
will cut our road, but think we can 
prevent him from making a serious 

*This message was received at Rome. 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



187 



lodgment," wired '^•en. Sherman Sept. 
29, 1864, to Gen. Halleck. "His cav- 
alry will travel a hundred miles where 
ours will ten. I have sent two divis- 
ions up to Chattanooga and one to 
Rome. Our roads should be watched 
from the rear. I prefer for the fu- 
ture to make the movement on Mil- 
len, Milledgeville and Savannah. Hood 
now rests 24 miles south, on the Chat- 
tahoochee, with his right on the West 
Point road. I can whip his infantry, 
but his cavalry is to be feared." 

The Union army under com- 
mand of Gen. Sherman had been 
radically reconstituted, and he 
claimed 60,000 infantry and artil- 
lery, with two small divisions of 
cavalry, in the pursuit after Gen. 
Hood, whose forces he estimated 
at 35,000 to 40,000 men, including- 
abotit 3,000 of cavalry under Gen. 
Wheeler. 

"We had strong railroad guards at 
Marietta and Kennesaw, Allatoona, 
Etowah Bridge, Kingston, Rome, Re- 
saca, Dalton, Ringgold and Chatta- 
nooga," continues the Sherman nar- 
rative. "All the important bridges 
were likewise protected by good block 
houses, admirably constructed, and 
capable of a strong defense against 
cavalry or infantry We crossed the 
Chattahoochee River during the 3rd 
and 4th of October, rendezvoused at 
the old battlefield of Smyrna Camp, 
and the next day reached Marietta 
and Kennesaw. On the 4th of Octo- 
ber I signalled from Vining's Station 
to Kennesaw, and from Kennesaw to 
Allatoona, over the heads of the enemy, 
a message to Gen. Corse at Rome, to 
hurry back to the assistance of the 
garrison at Allatoona, which was held 
by a small brigade commanded by 
Lieut. Col. Tourtelotte, my present 
aide de camp, who had two small re- 
doubts on either side of the railroad, 
overlooking the village of Allatoona 
and the warehouses, in which were 
stored over a million rations of bread." 

Here he comes to the Big Shan- 
ty neighborhood : 

Reaching Kennesaw Mountain about 
8 a. m. of Oct. 5 (a beautiful day), 
I had a superb view of the vast pan- 
orama to the north and west. To the 
southwest, aboiK Dallas, could bo seen 
the smoke of camp-fires, indicating 
the presence of a large force of the 
enemy, and the whole line of railroad 
from Big Shanty up to Allatoona (full 
fifteen miles) was mai'ked by the fires 



of the burning railroad. We could 
plainly see the smoke of battle about 
Allatoona and hear the faint reverber- 
ation of the cannon. 

The signal officer on Kennesaw re- 
ported that since daylight he had fail- 
ed to obtain any answer to his call 
for Allatoona; but while I was with 
him he caught a faint glimpse of the 
tell-tale flag through an embrasure 
and after much time he made out 
these letters: "C," "R," "S." "E," 
"H," "E," "R," and translated the mes- 
sage, "Corse is here." 

Later in the afternoon the signal 
flag announced that the attack at Al- 
latoona had been fairly repulsed. The 
next day my aide. Col. L. M. Dayton, 
received this characteristic despatch 
from Gen. Corse at Allatoona : "I am 
short a cheekbone and an ear, but am 
able to whip all hell yet! My losses 
are very heavy. A force moving from 
Stilesboro to Kingston gives me some 
anxiety. Tell me where Sherman is." 

Inasmuch as the enemy had retreat- 
ed southwest and would probably next 
appear at Rome, I ordered Gen. Corse 
to get back to Rome with his troops 
as quickly as possible. Gen. Corse's 
report of his fight at Allatoona is 
very full and graphic. It is dated 
Rome, Oct. 27, 1864; recites the fact 
that he received his orders by signal 
to go to the assistance of Allatoona on 
the 4th, when he telegraphed to Kings- 
ton for cars, and a train of 30 empty 
cars was started for him, but about 
ten of them got off the track and 
caused delay. By 7 p. m. he had at 
Rome a train of 20 cars, which he 
loaded up with Col. Rowett's Brigade 
and part of the Twelfth Illinois In- 
fantry; started at 8 p. m., reached 
Allatoona (35 miles) at 1 a. m. of 
the 5th and sent the train back for 
more men; but the road was in bad 
order and no more came in time. 

The gallant Major Gen. S. G. 
French, commanding some 4,000 
Confederates, surrounded the 2.0(X) 
Federals under Gen. Corse and Col. 
Tourtelotte, and sent in a demand 
for surrender "to avoid a needless 
effusion of l)loo(l." Gen. Corse re- 
fused to surrender ; he was badly 
wounded ; Gen. French withdrew 
at the approach of a superior force 
from Sherman's army. A bullet 
cut across Gen. C(irse's face and 
pimctured one of his ears ; Col. 
Tourtelotte was shot through the 



188 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



hips, but continued to command ; 
Col. Redlield, of the 39th Iowa 
regiment, was killed, and Col. 
Rowett, also of the Union army, 
was wounded. Corse's casualties 
were 707, or more than one-third 
of his command, (icn. Sherman's 
account continues : 

In person I reached Allatoona on 
the 9th of October, still in doubt as 
to Hood's immediate intentions. Our 
cavalry could do little ag:ainst his in- 
fantry in the rough and wooded coun- 
try about Dallas, which masked the 
enemy's movements; but Gen. Corse, 
at Rome, with Spencer's First Ala- 
bama Cavalry and a mounted regi- 
ment of Illinois Infantry, could feel 
the country south of Rome about 
Cedartown and Villa Rica, and report- 
ed the enemy to be in force at both 
places. On the 9th I telegraphed to 
Gen. Thomas at Nashville, as follows: 

"I came up here to relieve our road. 
The Twentieth Corps remains at At 
lanta. Hood reached the road and 
broke it up between Big Shanty and 
Acworth. He attacked Allatoona, but 
was repulsed. We have plenty of bread 
and meat, but forage is scarce. I want 
to destroy all the road below Chatta- 
nooga, including Atlanta, and to make 
for the seacoast. We can not defend 
this long line of road. 

And on the same day I telegraplied 
to Gen. Grant at City Point, Va.: 

"It will be a physical impossibility 
to protect the roads, now that Hood, 
Forrest, Wheeler and the whole patch 
of devils are turned loose without 
home or habitation. I think Hood's 
movements indicate a diversion to the 
end of the Selma & Talladega road, at 
Blue Mountain, about 60 miles south- 
west of Rome, from which he will 
threaten Kingston, Bridgeport and De- 
catur, Ala. I propose that we break 
up the railroad from Chattanooga for- 
ward, and that we strike out with 
our wagons for Milledgeville, Millen 
and Savannah. Until we can repopu- 
late Georgia, it is useless for us to oc- 
cupy it; but the utter destruction of 
its roads, houses and people will crip- 
ple their military resources. By at- 
tempting to hold the roads we will lose 
a thousand men each month, and will 
gain no result. I can make this march 
and make Georgia howl! We have on 
hand over 8,000 head of cattle, and 
.3,000,000 rations of bread, but no corn. 
We can find plenty of forage in the 
interior of the state." 



Meantime, the rebel Gen. Forrest 
had made a bold circuit in Mid- 
dle Tennessee, avoiding all forti- 
fied points, and breaking up the rail- 
road at several places; but as usual, 
he did his work so hastily and care- 
lessly that our engineers soon repair- 
ed the damage — then retreating before 
Gen. Rousseau, he left the State of 
Tennessee, crossing the river near 
Florence, Ala., and got off unharmed. 

On the 10th of October the enemy 
appeared south of the Etowah River 
at Rome, when I ordered all the ?irm- 
ies to march to Kingston, rode myself 
to Cartersville with the 23rd Corps 
(Gen. Cox) and telegraphed from 
there to Gen. Thomas at Nashville: 

"It looks to me as though Hood was 
bound for Tuscumbia. He is now 
crossing the Coosa River below Rome, 
looking west. Let me know if you can 
hold him with your forces now in Ten- 
nessee and the expected re-enforce- 
ments, as, in that event, you know 
what I propose to do. I will be at 
Kingston tomorrow. I think Rome is 
strong enough to resist any attacks, 
and the rivers are all high. If he 
turns up by Summerville, I will get 
in behind him." 

And on the same day to Gen. Grant 
at City Point: 

"Hood is now ci'ossing the Coosa, 
twelve miles below Rome, bound west. 
If he passes over to the Mobile & 
Ohio railroad, had I not better execute 
the plan of my letter sent you by Col- 
onel Porter, and leave Gen. Thomas, 
with the troops now in Tennessee, to 
defend the state? He will have an am- 
ple force when the re-enforcements or- 
dered reach Nashville." 

I found Gen. John E. Smith at Car- 
tersville, and on the 11th rode on to 
Kingston, where I had telegraphic 
communications in all directions. From 
Gen. Corse, at Rome, I learned that 
Hood's army had disappeared, but in 
what direction he was still in doubt; 
and I was so strongly convinced of the 
wisdom of my proposition to change 
the whole tactics of the campaign, to 
leave Hood to Gen. Thomas, and to 
march across Georgia for Savannah 
or Charleston, that I again telegraph- 
ed Gen. Grant: 

"We can not now remain on the de- 
fensive. With 25,999 infantry and the 
bold cavalry he has, Hood can con- 
stantly break my road. I would in- 
finitely prefer to make a wreck of the 
road and the country from Chatta- 
nooga to Atlanta, including the lat- 
ter city; send back all my wounded 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



189 




190 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



and unserviceable men, and with my 
effective army move through Georgia, 
smashing things to the sea. Hood may 
turn into Tennessee and Kentucky, but 
I believe he will be forced to follow 
me. Instead of being on the defensive, 
I will be on the offensive. Instead of 
my gTjessing at what he means to do, 
he will have to guess at my plans. The 
difference in war would be fully 25 
per cent. I can make Savannah, 
Charleston or the mouth of the Chat- 
tahoochee (Appalachicola). Answer 
quick, as I know we will not have the 
telegraph long." 

I received no answer to this at the 
time, and the next day went on to 
Rome, where the news came that Hood 
had made his appearance at Resaca 
and had demanded the surrender of 
the place, which was commanded by 
Col. Weaver, reinforced by Brevet 
Brig.-Gen. Raum. Gen. Hood had ev- 
idently marched with rapidity up the 
Chattooga Valley by Summerville. La- 
Fayette, Ship's Gap and Snake Creek 
Gap, and had with him his whole 
army, except a small force left behind 
to watch Rome. I ordered Resaca to 
be further reinforced by rail from 
Kingston, and ordered Gen. Corse to 
make a bold reconnoisance down the 
Coosa Valley, which captured and 
brought into Rome some cavalrymen 
and a couple of field guns, with their 
horses and men. At first I thought 
of interposing my whole army in the 
Chattooga Valley, so as to prevent 
Hood's escape south; but I saw at a 
glance that he did not mean to fight, 
and in that event, after damaging the 
road all he could, he would be likely 
to retreat eastward by Spring Place, 
which I did not want him to do; and 
hearing from Gen. Raum that he still 
held Resaca safe, and that Gen. Ed- 
ward McCook had also got there with 
some cavalry re-enforcements, I turn- 
ed all the heads of columns from Re- 
saca, viz., Gen. Cox's from Rome; Gen. 
Stanley's from McGuire's, and Gen. O. 
0. Howard's from Kingston. We all 
reached Resaca during that night, and 
the next morning (13th) learned that 
Hood's whole army had passed up 
the valley toward Dalton, burning the 
railroad and doing all the damage 
possible. On the 12th he had demand- 
ed the surrender of Resaca in the fol- 
lowing letter : 

Headquarters Army of Tennessee, 
In the Field, Oct. 12, 1864. 

To the Officer Commanding the Unit- 
ed States Forces at Resaca, Ga.: 
Sir: I demand the immediate and 

unconditional surrender of the post 



and garrison under your command, 
and, should this be acceded to, all 
white officers and soldiers will be 
paroled in a few days. If the place 
is carried by assault, no prisoners will 
be taken. 

Most respectfully, your obedient ser- 
vant, 

J. B. HOOD, General. 

To this. Col. Weaver, then in com- 
mand, replied: 

Headquarters Second Brigade, Third 

Division, Fifteenth Corps, Resaca, 

Ga., Oct. 12, 1864. 

To General J. B. Hood: Your com- 
munication of this date just received. 
In reply I have to state that I am 
somewhat surprised at the concluding 
paragraph, to the effect that if the 
place is carried by assault, no pris- 
oners will be taken. In my opinion, 
I can hold this post. If you want it, 
come and take it. 

I am, general, very respectfully, 
your most obedient servant, 

CLARK R. WEAVER, 
Commanding Officer. 

This brigade was very small, and 
as Hood's investment extended only 
from the Oostanaula, below the town, 
to the Connasauga, above, he left open 
the approach from the south, which 
enabled Gen. Raum and the cavalry of 
Gen. Edward McCook to re-enforce 
from Kingston. In fact, Hood, admon- 
ished by his losses at Allatoona, did 
not attempt an assault at all, but lim- 
ited his attack to the above threat and 
to some skirmishing, giving his atten- 
tion chiefly to the destruction of the 
railroad, which he accomplished all 
the way up to Tunnel Hill, nearly 20 
miles, capturing en route the regiment 
of black troops at Dalton (Johnson's 
44th United States, colored). On the 
14th I turned Gen. Howard through 
Snake Creek Gap, and sent Gen. Stan- 
ley around by Tilton, with orders to 
cross the mountain to the west, so as 
to capture, if possible, the force left 
by the enemy in Snake Creek Gap. We 
found this gap very badly obstructed 
by fallen timber, but got through that 
night, and the next day the main army 
was at Villanow (Walker County). On 
the morning of the 16th, the leading 
division of Gen. Howard's column, com- 
manded by Gen. Chas. R. Woods, car- 
ried Ship's Gap, taking prisoners part 
of the 24th South Carolina Regiment, 
which had been left there to hold us in 
check. 

The best information there obtained 
located Hood's army at LaFayette, 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



191 



•near which place I hoped to catch 
him and force him to battle; but by 
the time we had got enoug^h troops 
across the mountain at Ship's Gap, 
Hood had escaped down the Valley of 
the Chattooga, and all we could do 
was to follow him as closely as pos- 
sible. From Ship's Gap I dispatched 
couriers to Chattanooga, and received 
word back that Gen. Schofield was 
there, endeavoring to co-operate with 
me, but Hood had broken up the tele- 
graph, and had thus prevented quick 
communication. Gen. Schofield did 
not reach me until the army had got 
down to Gaylesville, Ala., about the 
21st of October. We quietly followed 
him down the Chattooga Valley to the 
neighborhood of Gadsden, but failed 
the main armies near the Coosa River, 
at the mouth of the Chattooga. 

On Oct. 19 I telegraphed Gen. Amos 
Beckwith, chief commissary in At- 
lanta : 

"Hood will escape me. I want to 
prepare for my big raid. On the 1st 
of November I want nothing in At- 
lanta but what is necessary for war. 
Send all trash to the rear at once, and 
have on hand 30 days' food and but 
little forage. I propose to abandon 
Atlanta and the railroad back to Chat- 
tanooga, to sally forth to ruin Geor- 
gia, and bring up on the seashore. I 
will go down the Coosa until I am sure 
that Hood has gone to Blue Moun- 
tain." 

On the 21st of October I reached 
Gaylesville, had my bivouac in an open 
field back of the village, and remained 
there until the 28th. At Gaylesville 
the pursuit of Hood by the army un- 
der my immediate command may be 
said to have ceased. During the pur- 
suit the Fifteenth Corps was com- 
manded by its senior major general 
present, P. J. Osterhaus, in the ab- 
sence of Gen. John A. Logan; and the 
Seventeenth Corps was commanded by 
Brig. Gen. T. E. G. Ransom, the senior 
officer present, in the absence of- Gen. 
Frank P. Blair. Gen. Ransom was a 
young, most gallant and promising of- 
ficer, son of the Col. Ransom who was 
killed at Chapultepec, in the Mexican 
War. He had served with the Army 
of the Tennessee in 1862 and 1863 at 
Vicksburg, where he was severely 
wounded. He was not well when we 
started from Atlanta, but he insisted 
on going along with his command. His 
symptoms became more aggravated on 
the march, and when we were encamp- 
ed near Gaylesville I visited him in 
company with Surgeon John Moore, 
who said the case was one of typhoid 



fever, which would likely prove fatal. 
I few days later, viz., the 28th, he 
was being carried on a litter toward 
Rome; and as I rode from Gaylesville 
to Rome I passed him by the way, stop- 
ped and spoke to him, but did not then 
suppose he was so near his end. The 
next day, however, his escort reached 
Rome, bearing his dead body. The of- 
ficer in charge reported that shortly 
after I had passed, his symptoms be- 
came so much worse that they stopped 
at a farm-house by the roadside, 
where he died that evening. His body 
was at once sent to Chicago for burial, 
and a monument has been ordered by 
the Society of the Army of the Ten- 
nessee to be erected in his memory. 

It had become almost an ob- 
session with Gen. Sherman that 
be should take up his proposed 
"March to the Sea," and now the 
opportunity was to be given him. 
Up to this time he had been kept 
pretty busy by Johnston, Hood, 
Wheeler and Forrest, and for them 
all had acc[uired a considerable ad- 
miration. He respected Johnston 
for his strategy and tenacious 
fighting against heavy odds; he 




JAMES NOBLE. SR., hoad of the Noble fam- 
ily, which added to Rome's advancement and 
later established Anniston. 



192 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



gave left-handed praise to Hood 
for his elusiveness ; he worship- 
ped the boldness of Wheeler's cav- 
alry ; and he took off his hat to 
Forrest May 3, 1863, when For- 
rest's handful of men captured 
Streight with a force three times 
as large and marched the captives 
into Rome. 

Sherman reports that on Oct. 31, 
1864, "Forrest made his appearance 
on the Tennessee River opposite John- 
sonville (whence a new raih-oad led to 
Nashville), and with his cavalry and 
field pieces actually crippled and cap- 
tured two gunboats with five of our 
transports, a feat of arms which I 
confess excited my admiration. There 
is no doubt that the month of October 
closed to us looking decidedly squally; 
but somehow I was sustained in the 
belief that in a very few days the tide 
would turn." 

Oct. 28, 1864, found Gen. Sher- 
man quartered in the comfortable 
two-story frame dwelling of Ma- 
jor Chas. H. Smith ("Bill Arp"), 
where the handsome modern home 
of Mrs. Chas. A. Hight now stands 
at 312 Fourth Avenue, Rome. The 
general was an exceedingly busy 
man. He did not have time for 
social entertainments, assuming 
that any of the "natives" felt in- 
clined to be sociable. He was 
busy writing some dispatches, de- 
livering others orally, penning tel- 
egrams to Grant, Halleck and 
Thomas, snatching a hasty meal 
here and there and dashing away 
on his trusty charger. Assuming 
that he arrived in Rome the night 
of Oct. 28 and that he remained 
until the morning of Nov. 2, when 
he left for Kingston, he spent 
three and a half days on this oc- 
casion in the City of Seven Hills. 
He had first visited Rome as a 
3^oung army lieutenant in 1844, go- 
ing to Bellefonte, Ala., from Ma- 
rietta and back two months later 
by horseback, presumably follow- 
ing the same route both ways ; and 
again, Oct. 12, 1864, he mentions 
that he went to Rome from King- 
ston, and on the 14th was before 



Resaca, hence on that visit proba- 
bly stayed several hours. Gen. Jef- 
ferson C. Davis, having been sent 
down the Oostanaula River from 
Resaca toward Rome, May 16, 
probably arrived at Rome May 17, 
and made his headquarters at the 
Smith home on Fourth Avenue 
until he executed orders issued 
May 20 by Sherman to March 
May 23 for Dallas via Van Wert, 
a dead town of Polk Cotmty. Per- 
haps 20,000 men and nearly 1,000 
wagons in Davis' command 
marched on Rome, which was gar- 
risoned by a small Confederate 
force. After firing on the invaders 
from a fort on Myrtle Plill Ceme- 
tery, the Confederates evacuated 
the town, and the invaders crossed 
the Oostanaula River at the old 
Printup Wharf, midway between 
the present Second and Fifth Ave- 
nue bridges, on pontoons partly 
constructed of pews taken out of 
the churches of Rome. 

The plan of Sherman's advance 
had been this : The Army of the 
Ohio (Gen. McPherson) made up 
the left wing, and marched south- 
ward from Resaca on the left-hand 
side of the Western & Atlantic 
(state) railroad ; the Army of the 
Cumberland (Gen. Thomas) made 
up the center and marched along 
the track and right-of-way; the 
Army of the Tennessee (Gen. 
McPherson) made up the right 
wing, and took the right-hand side. 
Davis' Division and Garrard's Cav- 
alry, dispatched to Rome, evident-, 
ly were a part of the right wing, 
or Army of the Tennessee. In view 
of the fact that Gen. Sherman was 
traveling with his center and left 
in the close pursuit of Johnston 
through Bartow County (Adairs- 
ville, Kingston, Cassville and Car- 
tersville) it is probable that dur- 
ing this period (May 18-20) the 
Federal commander did not come 
to Rome. 

"On the first day of November, 
1864," wi'ites Gen. Sherman in his 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



193 



Memoirs, "I telegraphed very fully to 
Gen. Grant at City Point (who must 
have been disturbed by the wild ru- 
mors that filled the country), and on 
the second of November (at Rome) re- 
ceived this dispatch: 

" 'City Point, Va., Nov. 1, 1864, 6 P. M. 
'• 'Major-General Sherman: 

" 'Do you not think it advisable, 
now that Hood has gone so far north, 
to entirely ruin him before starting on 
your proposed campaign? With Hood's 
army destroyed, you can go where you 
please with impunity. I believed and 
still believe if you had started south 
while Hood was still in the neighbor- 
hood, he would have been forced to 
go after you. Now that he is far 
away he might look upon the chase as 
useless, and he will go in one direc- 
tion while you are pushing in another. 
If you can see a chance of destroying 
Hood's army, attend to that first, and 
make your other move secondary. 

" 'U. S. GRANT, Lieut.-Gen.' 

"My answer is dated: 

"Rome, Georgia, Nov. 2, 1864. 
"Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant, City 

Point, Virginia : 

"Your dispatch is received. If I 
could hope to overhaul Hood, I would 
turn against him with my whole force; 
then he would retreat to the southwest, 
drawing me as a decoy away from 
Georgia, which is his chief object. If 
he ventures north of the Tennessee 
River, I may turn in that direction, 
and endeavor to get below him on his 
line of retreat; but thus far he has 
not gone above the Tennessee River. 
General Thomas will have a force 
strong enough to prevent his reaching 
any country in which we have an in- 
terest; and he has orders, if Hood 
turns to follow me, to push for Selma, 
Alabama. No single army can catch 
Hood and I am convinced the best re- 
sults will follow from our defeating 
Jeff Davis's cherished plan of making 
me leave Georgia by maneuvering. 
Thus far I have confined my efforts to 
thwart this plan, and have reduced 
baggage so that I can pick up and 
start in any direction ; but I regard 
the pursuit of Hood as useless. Still, 
if he attempts to invade Middle Ten- 
nessee, I will hold Decatur and be pi'c- 
pared to move in that direction; but 
unless I let go of Atlanta, my force 
will not be equal to his. 

"W. T. SHERMAN, Maj.-Gen." 

By this date, under the intelligent 
and energetic action of Col. W. W. 



Wright, and with the labor of some 
1,500 men, the railroad bi-eak of fif- 
teen miles about Dalton was repaired 
so as to admit of the passage of cars, 
and I transferred my headquarters to 
Kingston as more central. (Note: By 
this last statement it is inevitable that 
his headquarters had been at Rome, 
and he was not there merely on one 
of his "rounds"). From that place 
(Kingston) on the same day (Nov. 2) 
I again telegraphed to Gen. Grant: 

"Kingston, Ga., Nov. 2, 1864. 
"Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant, 
City Point, Virginia. 

"If I turn back, the whole effect 
of my campaign will be lost. By my 
movements I have thrown Beauregard 
(Hood) well to the west, and Thomas 
will have ample time and sufficient 
troops at Chattanooga and Atlanta, 
and I can stand a month's interruption 
to our communications. I do not be- 
lieve the Confederate army can reach 
our railroad lines except by cavalry 
raids, and Wilson will have cavalry 
enough to checkmate them. I am clear- 
ly of the opinion that the best results 
will follow my contemplated movement 
through Georgia. 

"W. T. SHERMAN, Maj.-Gen." 




J. A. (iLGVER, banker and loadintr citizen, 
for many years closely identilied with the 
commercial development of Rome. 



194 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



That same day I received, in answer 
to the Rome dispatch, the following: 

"City Point, Va., Nov. 2, 1862, 11:30 

A. M. 
"Major-General Sherman: 

"Your dispatch of 9 a. m. yesterday 
is just received. I dispatched you the 
same date, advising that Hood's army, 
now that it had worked so far north, 
ought to be looked upon now as the 
'object.' With the force, however, that 
you have left with General Thomas, 
he must be able to take care of Hood 
and destroy him. I do not see that 
you can withdraw from where you are 
to follow Hood, without giving up all 
we have gained in territory. I say, 
then, go on as you propose. 

"U. S. GRANT, Lieut.-Gen." 

Sherman's word to "go" was 
thus received while he was head- 
quartered at Kingston, and came 
in response to his urgent appeal 
from Rome, and in consequence 
of recommendations before. There 
is an evident error in the Grant 
message just above, dated Nov. 2 
and referring to Sherman's Rome 
message, also dated Nov. 2, as 
"your dispatch of 9 a. m. yester- 
day." The Grant dispatch date 
undoubtedly should have been 
Nov. 3. 

This was the first time that Gen. 
Grant assented to the "March to the 
Sea" and although many of his warm 
friends and admirers insist that he 
was the author and projector of that 
march, and that I simply executed his 
plans. Gen. Grant has never, in my 
opinion, thought so or said so. The 
truth is fully given in an original let- 
ter of President Lincoln, which I re- 
ceived at Savannah, Ga., and have at 
this instant before me, every word of 
which is in his own familiar hand- 
writing. It is dated — 

"Washington, Dec. 26, 1864. 

"When you were about leaving At- 
lanta for the Atlantic Coast, I was 
anxious, if not fearful; but, feeling 
that you were the better judge, and 
remembering 'nothing risked, nothing 
gained,' I did not interfere. Now, the 
undertaking being a success, the honor 
is all yours; for I believe none of us 
went further than to acquiesce; and, 
taking the work of Gen. Thomas into 
account, as it should be taken, it is 
indeed a great success. Not only does 



it afford the obvious and immediate 
military advantages, but, in showing 
Lo the world that your army could be 
divided, putting the stronger part to 
an important new service, and yet 
leaving enough to vanquish the old op- 
posing force of the whole. Hood's 
army, it brings to those who sat in 
darkness to see a great light. But 
what next? I suppose it will be safer 
if i leave General Grant and yourself 
to decide. 

"A. LINCOLN." 

On the 2nd of November I was at 
Kingston, Ga., and my four corps — 
the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Four- 
teenth and Twentieth — with one divis- 
ion of cavalry, were strung from Rome 
to Atlanta. Our raih-oads and tele- 
graph had been repaired, and I de- 
liberately prepared for a march to Sa- 
vannah, distant 300 miles from Atlan- 
ta. All the sick and wounded men 
had been sent back by rail to Chat- 
tanooga; all our wagon trains had 
been carefully overhauled and load- 
ed, so as to be ready to start on an 
hour's notice, and there was no se- 
rious enemy in our front. 

Gen. Hood remained still at Flor- 
ence, Ala., occupying both banks of 
the Tennessee River, busy in collect- 
ing shoes and clothing for his men 
and the necessary ammunition and 
stores with which to invade Tennessee. 
Beauregard was at Corinth, hastening 
forward these necessary preparations. 
Gen. Thomas was at Nashville, with 
Wilson's dismounted cavalry and a 
mass of new troops and quartermas- 
ter's employes, amply sufficient to de- 
fend the place. 

On the 6th of November, at Kings- 
ton, I wrote and telegraphed to Gen. 
Grant, reviewing th'3 whole situation, 
gave him my full plan of action, stated 
that I was ready to march as soon as 
the election was over, and appointed 
Nov. 10 as the day for starting. On 
the 8th I received this dispatch: 

"City Point, Va., Nov. 7, 1864, 10:30 

P."M. 

"Major-General Sherman : 

" i our dispatch of this evening re- 
reived. I see no present reason for 
changing your plan. Should any arise, 
you will see it, or if I do I will in- 
form you. I think everything here is 
favorable now. Great good fortune 
attend you ! I believe you will be emi- 
nently successful, and at worst, can 
only make a march less fruitful than 
hoped for. 

"U. S. GRANT, Lieut.-Gen." 



Sherman's Movements as Told by Himself 



195 



Meantime, trains of cars were whirl- 
ing by, carrying to the rear an im- 
mense amount of stores which had ac- 
cumulated at Atlanta and at the other 
stations along the railroad; and Gen. 
Steedman had come down to Kingston 
to take charge of the final evacua- 
tion and withdrawal of the several 
garrisons below Chattanooga. (Enter 
another "villain!" — Author.) 

On the 10th of November the move- 
ment may be said to have fairly be- 
gun. All the troops designed for the 
campaign were ordered to march for 
Atlanta, and Gen. Corse, before eva- 
cuating his post at Rome, was order- 
ed to burn all the mills, factories, etc., 
etc., that could be useful to the enemy 
should he undertake to pursue us or 
resume military possession of the 
country. This was done on the night 
of the 10th and next day Corse reach- 
ed Kingston. Maj. Gen. Jefferson 
Davis commanded the 14th Corps of 
the left wing, and Corse a division of 
the 15th Corps. 

On the 12th, with a full staff, I 
started from Kingston for Atlanta, 
and about noon of that day we reach- 
ed Cartersville and sat on the edge 
of a porch to rest, when the telegraph 
operator, Mr. Van Valkenburg, or Ed- 
dy, got the wire down from the poles 
to his lap, in which he held a small 
pocket instrument. Calling "Chatta- 
nooga," he received a message from 
Gen. Thomas. 

Gen. Sherman records that just 
after the message from Gen. 
Thomas had come, and he had an- 



swered "Dis])atch received — all 
right," some of the marchers burnt 
a bridge, which severed the tele- 
graph wire and cut all communi- 
cation with the rear. 

As we rode on toward Atlanta that 
night, I remember the railroad trains 
going to the rear with a furious speed; 
the engineers and the few men about 
the trains waving us an affectionate 
adieu. It surely was a strange event 
— two hostile armies marching in op- 
posite directions, each in the full be- 
lief that it was achieving a final and 
conclusive result in a great war; and 
I was strongly inspired with the feel- 
ing that the movement on our part 
was a direct attack upon the rebel 
army and the rebel capital at Rich- 
mond, though a full thousand miles of 
hostile country intervened, and that, 
for better or worse, it would end the 
war. 

Thus started the ruthless cru- 
sade of this modern Attila the 
Hun, in which all rules of war 
touching the destruction of prop- 
erty and the treatment of human 
beings in the broad swath of war 
were suspended. Thus did ^^^m. 
Tecumseh Sherman write his name 
in fire and blood across the pages 
of Georgia history ; justified, as 
he claimed, by the objects in view, 
l)Ut indelibly, as Georgians of to- 
day still attest. 




196 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




A NOTED SCHOOLHOUSE AND SEVEN DWELLINGS. 

At top left, is No. 6 E. Ninth Avenue, where Prof. Hay Watson Smith, brother of Dr. 
ij"u- '-""'^ Smith, president of Washington and Lee University, taught schooL Next is the 
old Hines Smith home; the homes of W. H. Pickling, Mather D. Daniel, Ed. L Bosworth J P 
Malone, Dr. J. D. Moreland and Mrs. Martha Battey, follow from left to right 



CHAPTER VII. 
Extreme Desolation Pictured in Diary 



Till'". Rcmic Chapter of tin- 
L'nited Daughters oi the 
Confederacy has preserved 
ill its archives a choice Ht- 
erary morsel in the form of ex- 
tracts from the diary of Reuben v^. 
Norton, which was placed at its 
disposal by Mrs. Wm. M. Towers, 
his only daughter, and which sheds 
a flood of light on the dark days 
between September, 1863, and the 
Confederate surrender in April, 
1865. These extracts follow : 

Mary Norton, then twelve years of 
age, was sent with friends of the fam- 
ily in 1863 to points of safety farther 
South, but her mother and 1 decided 
to remain in Rome and meet whatever 
fate might befall us. 

The autumn of 1863 found our citi- 
zens in a great condition of uneasiness 
because raiding parties had moved on 
Rome from various directions; and so 
the people began sending their fam- 
ilies and negroes to safer places. 
Heavy reinforcements came in fi-om 
Virginia and Mississippi, but as the 
Yankees were now in possession of 
Chattanooga, the worst was feared for 
Rome. In October, 1863, the com- 
mands of Gens. Walker and Grist 
passed through Rome, and having no 
means of transportation, impressed all 
the wagons and teams they could find 
v/ithin ten miles, leaving the people 
with no stock to make a crop. Such 
were the terrible straits to which our 
army was reduced at the time. 

On Dec. 8, 1863, all the government 
hospitals were removed from Rome. 
The people realized the town would 
soon be in the hands of the enemy, and 
numerous families left every day. Pro- 
visions were exceedingly high and 
scarce, and were preferred to money 
in all trading. Conditions grew stead- 
ily worse in January, 1864. All the 
schools were closed, and the Rome Fe- 
male College was moved away by the 
Caldwells. 

Four months later, on May 17, our 
forces began to evacuate the town to 
escape the heavy cannonading. About 
dark the men in gray drew into the 
town and began to move out. Think- 
ing the enemy would capture the 
available stores, clothing and food- 



stuffs, they cari-ied off whatever they 
could. Several Texas regiments sack- 
ed the stores of about .$1.50,000 in cit- 
izens' property. 

Early on the morning of May 18 
our men burned the Oostanaula River 
l)ridge. The Etowah bridge had also 
been burned. About 11 o'clock the 
Yankees pushed their outposts into 
town, but our battery on Myrtle Hill 
continued to fire throughout the day. 
The town was now at the mercy of 
ihe invaders, who started burning 
houses and making themselves com- 
fortable. Certain wooden structures 
were torn down so the lumber could 
be used to make temporary shacks for 
the Union soldiers. The home of Dr. 
Hicks in DeSoto (now the Fourth 
Ward) was burned because it was 
charged Mrs. Hicks had insulted 
Streight's men when they were 
brought in the year befoi'e as prison- 
ers by Gen. Forrest. Mrs. Choice's 
home also went up in smoke, and the 
family had a narrow escape. Several 
attempts were made to burn the Nor- 
ton home and barn, but the fire was 
put out each time. Many more fam- 
ilies left town in haste and confusion. 
Pillaging day and night was comnion. 
The Confederates were scattered 
through the country, and Yankee 
wagon trains on foraging expeditions 
were handled roughly. Scores of ne- 
groes were sent North by the Union 
army leaders; they were not only of 
no help to our people, but in the way. 
Free transportation North was given 
such people as wished to go, and a 
few took advantage of the opportu- 
nity; I think there were eight or ten, 
whom we could well spare. 

Homes were quickly turned into hos- 
pitals. Only three male members of 
the Presbyterian church were left: 
Nicholas J. Omberg, H. G. Peter and 
myself. The authorities took up the 
carpets of the church, and moved the 
furniture and i)rayer books; pews were 
removed and used to float ponttwn 
bridges across the rivers. The First 
Presbyterian was used as a store 
house." The Methodist church was fill- 
ed with anununition and the Baptist 
and Episcopal structures were con- 
verted into hospitals. 

A provost marshal's establishment 
was set up, and the civilians were vir- 
tually i)risoners. No mails were re- 



198 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



ceived or sent, and no person could 
pass the lines going' or coming with- 
out a permit. Thus four dreary 
months passed. 

On Sept. 18 the Confederates fired 
on the Yankees on the Cave Spring 
road, killing eight or ten and wound- 
ing others. The Federals, fearing a 
surprise attack, dug additional rifle 
pits. The people, in the meantime, 
remained in their homes as much as 
possible.* They were moved about, as 
their ch filings were needed for mili- 
tary purposes. They lived on what- 
ever they could hide out; sometimes 
cooked for the enemy and thus fed 
themselves. Miss Joe Stewart (later 
Mrs. J. A. Stansbury) told how she 
penned up a lot of chickens in her 
basement, and how their feathers were 
missing when they were finally turned 
out after the departure of the enemy. 

Oct. 29 was noteworthy as the date 
Gen. Sherman and his staff came into 
town. They entered at night. On 
Nov. 10 at 5 a. m. it became evident 
that the invaders were preparing to 
evacuate, for they started burning the 
places of military value. Several ad- 
ditional citizens went North. The last 
of the Federals left at 9 o'clock, a. m., 
Nov. 11, 1864, and they destroyed such 
stores as they could not take along. 
Two days later there was not a sol- 
dier of either army to be seen. The 
streets were entirely deserted. Every- 
thing was as still and quiet as if no 
war were in progress. The business 
section was dead; only a little drug 
store was left, and that kept by Dr. 
J. H. Nowlin. The 40 men left be- 
hind organized a patrol force for the 
protection of their homes. They were 
as follows: 

A. Tabor Hardin, postmaster; Dr. 
J. H. Nowlin, Geo. P. Burnett, mayor; 
Jas. Lumpkin, Wm. Quinn, A. M. 
Kerr, Lewis D. Burwell, Terrence Mc- 
Guire, Jesse Lamberth, M. Marks, 
Green Stewart, S. G. Wells, C. W. 
Mills, Reuben S. Norton, John De- 
Journett, Nicholas J. Omberg, Peter 
Omberg, Wm. Lumpkin, Solomon Mc- 
Kenzie, Jas. Langston, Jas. Noble, Sr., 
J. G. Dailey, A. P. Neal. Ben Thorn- 
ton, Lee Lumpkin, O. Wiley Harbin, 
Logan Graves, Peter M. Sheibley, C. 
H. Morefield, John B. Jenkins, Dr. 
Wm. Farell, Jno. T. Riley, Jas. Lee, 
Joe Norris, Dr. Brown, Mr. Porter, 
Mr. McGinnis, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Raw- 
lins, Mr. Galceren. 

Of these. Judge Burwell, Mr. Quinn 
and Mr. Lee were unable to bear arms. 
The ages of the men left were 18 to 
70. Among the women who remained 



at home might be mentioned Mrs. Liz- 
zie Roach Hughes, Mrs. J. M. Greg- 
ory, Mrs. Robt. Battey, Mrs. John 
Choice, Mrs. Peter M. Sheibley and 
Mrs. R. S. Norton. 

Different sections were assigned to 
the civilian guard. Mr. Omberg and 
Mr. McGuire were on duty in the 
Broad Street neighborhood north of 
the Buena Vista hotel (Sixth Avenue). 
Early one night they heard the shrill 
voice of a woman, calling for help. 
They rushed forward and discovered 
it was old Mrs. Quinn. Before they 
reached her, a ruffian of a Scout band 
held them up at the point of a pis- 
tol. Another ruffian placed them un- 
der guard. Conversation between the 
two robbers revealed that they had 
been hanging Mr. Quinn by the neck 
to make him give up money and val- 
uables. He surrendered what he had, 
so they did not kill him. Mr. Mc- 
Guire and Mr. Omberg were ordered 
to follow the gang leaders, who would 
'fix them' out of town. The two ran 
for their lives. A dozen shots were 
fired at them, one taking effect in 
Mr. Omberg's leg. Mr. OmTserg's vdfe 
was dead, and he and his children were 
living with his sister-in-law, Mrs. 
Thos. J. Perry. Mrs. Perry was in 
her yard when she discovered Mr. 
Omberg coming up lamely with his 
hat in his hand, and without a weapon. 
He told her he thought he was done 
for, and begged her to hide him, for 
he knew the marauders would follow. 
She got him upstairs into an attic** 
and ran to the nearest neighbor's to 
get aid for him. The neighbors were 
afraid to venture out, so Mrs. Perry 
returned to the sufferer and did the 
best she could.*** Later she went to 
the home of her neighbors and implored 
them to go for Dr. Nowlin. The doc- 

*This probably refers to an ambuscade at the 
Hawkins place, on the Lindale road one mile 
north of Lindale, by Colquitt's Scouts. Some 25 
wagons manned by soldiers and drawn by 
horses and mules were held up by fire from the 
bushes. The beasts broke into a wild stampede, 
several overturning the wagons. Colquitt's men 
escaped into the hills. Gen. Jno. M. Corse, com- 
manding at Rome, sent ambulances out and 
brought in the wounded, several of whom had 
been taken into the home of Mrs. Tom Hawkins 
and given first aid. Gen. Corse held Mrs. Haw- 
kins, her absent husband and her father, Roland 
Bryant, responsible for the attack, and burned 
her home while she looked on. 

**Some say it was a hay loft. 

***Judge John C. Printup is authority for the 
statement that Mr. Omberg was shot near 
Eighth Avenue and Broad Street, and died at 
the home of his brother-in-law, Thos. J. Perry, 
at the northwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 
E. First Street. It is generally accepted that this 
job was done by Colquitt's Scouts, and it is 
said that several young men of Rome were 
recognized in the crowd. Mrs. Judge Jno. H. 
Lumpkin was also robbed. 



Extreme Desolation Pictured in Diary 



199 



tor finally came, but could do little, 
and Mr. Omberg died about 9 the next 
morning. 

Getting him buried was just as dif- 
ficult. Everybody stayed cooped up 
in their homes for fear of being shot 
down by a hidden foe. Presently the 
men ventured forth, made a coffin out 
of pine boards and laid him away. 

Judge Burwell and Mr. Cohen were 
hung up until they agreed to hand 
over their valuables. '*' 

These robbers were deserters from 
both armies, and they banded together 
to prey upon defenseless citizens. They 
committed many atrocities in the coun- 
try, but did not come to Rome again. 

The steamboat (probably the Laura 
Moore) arrived from Gadsden to see 
how things were getting along at 
Rome, but went back the next day. 
Many country people came to town 
to avoid the Scouts; they crossed the 
rivers in batteaux. 

Postmaster Hardin arranged to get 
mail through the country in a buggy, 
and gradually the people began to cir- 
cumvent Sherman's army and to re- 
turn home. After the final surrender, 
the refugees came in large numbers 
and turned willing hands to the res- 
toration of their premises and their 
fortunes. Rome cotton that had been 
hid out was brought to town and 
made a little trade; it brought 25 to 
30 cents in greenback. 

On May 13, 1865, the condition of 
affairs was dreadful; negroes trouble- 
some, food scarce, very little specie in 
the country. Not a yard of cloth could 
be bought. There were no shoes, no 
groceries, no anything except a few 
drugs at Dr. Nowlin's, and they could 
not be eaten. All was used up, wast- 
ed away. That our people rose above 
these conditions is a splendid tribute 
to their stamina and light-heartedness. 

The Federal authorities came into 
Rome on June 20, 1865, and announced 
to Mayor Jas. Noble, Jr., that his of- 
fice was vacant and the town was un- 
der military rule. The Freedmen's 
Bureau was established with Capt. C. 
A de la Mesa in charge, and thus 
began the rule of the carpetbagger, 
under which our people endured life 
calmly until their country was once 
more restored to their keeping. 

The following- letter, sent from 
Rome Nov. 17- 1864, (one day aft- 
er Sherman started his March to 
the Sea from Atlanta), by Mrs. 

*Mr. Cohen's people deny he was hung up ; 
he may have been forced to give over his money. 



Rol)ert P>attey to her husband, 
then presumably at Selma, Ala., 
contains a graphic description of 
the privations endured by the few 
people left at home : 

My Darling: I have just received 
your letter from Selma. I am so 
sorry that you could not come home 
for a few days. I feel as if you are 
so far from me now; it may be a long 
time before I see you again, if ever. 
I'm feeling sad tonight. I have had 
a hard time for the last two months. 
The negroes all left me and went to 
the Yankees, and when the Yankees 
left, the negroes all had to "foot it" to 
Kingston, Aunt Cheney carrying her 
clothes and Belle the baby; Bill car- 
rying himself the best he could. Pagey 
got along very well, but old Mary had 
a hard time walking so far and by the 
time they reached Kingston they were 
sick of the Yankees and turned and 
came home. 

Two miles this side of Kingston a 
man took Belle and carried her to his 
home. Day before yesterday the ne- 
groes all returned except Belle. I 
heard that she was at Mr. Sheibley's 
place, so Mr. Sheibley went up, found 
her and brought her home today. Now 




MRS. WILLIAM SMITH (later Mrs. Anderson 
W. Redding, of Jamestown, Lee County, 
Ga.), mother of Mrs. Robert Battey. 



200 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



I have them all home. They lost all 
their bedding' and clothing. They have 
treated me very badly, left me sick; 
Bessie to nurse; cow^s to milk, cook- 
ing to do, washing and everything 
else. No one to help but George. We 
had a hard time. 

Willie went with Mrs. Hawkins to 
Columbus. I look for them back Sun- 
day. I need him very much. We 
have no wood, and no one to get it 
for me. My fences are all gone. You 
would not know our home. 

I was ready to go South when Mr. 
Maupin came home. He told me that 
you thought it best for me to stay at 
home, even if I had to live in one side 
of the house and burn the other, so I 
concluded to stay. I had no one to 
help me out with my children. I felt 
that I could not carry Bessie, so I 
hope it will all be for the best. 

I don't know how the negroes will 
treat me when I take to my bed. I 
miss poor old Coyle. I wrote you that 
he was dead. He died two or three 
months ago. 

Should I ever see you I will tell 
you what I have to go through. Don't 
have too much confidence in all of the 
negroes; some of them are mean. 

The Yankees are gone, I hear, to 
Macon. They have 60 days' rations. 
I fear we have no force there, and am 
so anxious to know what they are go- 
ing to do. I feel more discouraged now 
than I ever have before. 

Our people are doing so badly. They 
are in hei-e robbing and killing. They 
robbed old Mr. Burwell a few nights 
ago, and again last night they hung 
him until he was almost dead, for his 
money. They have it all now. They 
killed Mr. N. J. Omberg last. He was 
out in the yard, he and Mr. McGuire, 
and they heard somebody cry out, and 
ran to old Mrs. Quinn, and found they 
were hanging Mr. Quinn. They met 
Mr. Omberg and he asked them who 
they were. They replied, "Friends." 
Mr. Omberg put down his gun and 
they walked up to him and took all 
his greenbacks, then shot him. He 
lived until today. They robbed Mrs. 
Lumpkin of everything she had, and 
Peter Omberg, too. I look for them 
all night. 

I don't undress for fear they will 
come. I have no money for them to 
get, and hope they will spare me. 
Such a life to lead! No rest night or 
day! I had expected that when the 
Yankees left I would get to sleep some 
at night, but it is worse than ever. 
You don't know anything about it. 



The night the town was burned I 
was all alone, except for my little chil- 
dren. I can not describe my feelings. 
I did not know what to do, so I went 
to washing, and washed two or three 
dozen pieces. I had not had any done 
for four weeks. I passed the night 
away somehow and am still alive. But 
I must not write you all these things. 
I hope you will excuse me, as I can 
not think of anything else. 

Dear Grace, I am glad to hear she 
is well and wish so much I had her 
with me. The poor child would not 
feel at home here now; everything is 
so changed. I will write her tonight. 
She had better come home if I stay 
here. Oh, how I long to see you, to be 
near one who feels an interest in me! 
I don't know what I will do while I 
am sick, but I hope that you will be 
here or that something may happen 
to help me. 

Don't bother about money; if you 
can't get it you can do without it. I 
owe some greenback, but they will 
have to wait for it. I have tried to get 
along the best I could since you left. 

The children are all well. Little 
Bessie is well, but cannot walk; I feel 
very anxious about her and fear she 
never will. Reddy looks delicate, but 
keeps up and is a good little thing. 
George, Mary and Henry are well and 
help me all they can. They want to 
see their dear father very much. 

Mr. Norton and family are well. 
Aunt Cooley is not in good health. 
Georgia and Mary are well. Where is 
Mrs. Stillwell? I heard from Bailie; 
he was well but needed money. He 
wrote Mr. Moore for some. I sent 
him $5, all I had, but don't know 
whether he got it or not. I would 
write to Mrs. Stillwell if I knew 
where to write. Mrs. Lee and children 
are well. Some of their negroes are 
gone — old Annie, Richmond and Hay- 
good. Jack's wife has not gone. She 
had a baby and is doing well. I hope 
Mrs. Graves will get home soon now. 

I might write you a more interest- 
ing letter and tell you how I fared 
with the new commander we had here. 
I will write again when I feel more 
cheerful. I will finish this in the 
morning. 

Your devoted wife, 

M. BATTEY. 

Mrs. Naomi P. Bale (Rome's 
venerated "Grandma Georgy"), 
tells in a contribution to the U. 
D. C. this graphic story of war 



Extreme Desolation Pictured in Diary 



201 



trials and tribulations in Dirttown 
Valley, Chattooga County, about 
fifteen miles from Rome: 

The first real sorrow that came to 
me during the Civil War was when 
my only brother was brought back 
home in his coffin from Cumberland 
Gap, Tenn., Dec. 1, 1862. It had never 
occurred to me that his home-coming 
would be so sad, that with my dear 
old father, whose life was bound up 
in his promising son, and whose heart 
never recovered from this stroke, and 
with the broken-hearted young widow 
and the five little children, I would 
stand beside the form of a strong 
young soldier, cut down in the hey- 
day of his youth. 

Nearer and darker grew the war 
cloud in 1863. Marching and coun- 
ter-marching was the order of the day. 
Wheeler's and Forrest's cavalries 
dashed in and out of our quiet little 
Dirttown Valley. Thousands of cav- 
alry camped on my father's extensive 
plantation; the commanding officers 
quartered in our home, and often sat 
at our table. 

In the latter part of the summer of 
1863 nearly every family of promi- 
nence in our neighborhood refugeed. On 
Sept. 20 and 21, 1863, the thunders 
of artillery from Chickamauga battle- 
field startled us, and from then until 
the capture of Kennesaw mountain 
the roar of cannon reverberated over 
this section of Georgia day and night. 
Then came the lull before the storm. 
For six long weeks everybody in our 
neighborhood kept close at home; not 
a human outside our own family did I 
see, save my step-brother-in-law as he 
passed twice a day going to and from 
his mill. 

One bright moonlight night I was 
awakened by a low, rumbling sound; 
the sound came nearer and nearer 
until I recognized the hoof beats of 
cavalry. In a short time the noise 
increased and I heard the command, 
"Halt!" given. Instantly the quiet 
became intense. I raised up in bed 
and peered through my window. The 
whole front grove seemed full of 
mounted soldiers, whether friend or 
foe I could not tell. In a few moments 
a trim, soldierly fellow rapped loudly 
on the front door. I threw uj) a win- 
dow and asked, "Who knocks?" He 
replied, "I am Capt. Harvey, of Mis- 
sissippi, and I have been ordered by 
Gen. Johnston to his rear to tear u]) 
the railroad between Chattanooga and 
Kingston. I am here in command of 
100 men. We have ridden 100 miles 



out of our way just to forage on 
Wesley Shropshire's farm." 

In the meantime, my father remain- 
ed in his room listening to the con- 
versation. His life had been threat- 
ened often, and for this reason we 
never allowed him to appear at the 
front door until some of the family 
had first reconnoitered. I said to the 
captain, "Step out into the moonlight 
and let me see your uniform." He 
jumped lightly over the bannisters 
and jocularly remarked, "Are you sat- 
isfied?" I made him promise on his 
honor as a soldier and a gentleman 
that my father should suffer no vio- 
lence from him or his men. He sol- 
emnly gave his word, and I then di- 
rected him to a window in my father's 
room. He and father had quite a 
chat; he gave father several Confed- 
erate newspapers and father presented 
him with a number of Northern pa- 
pers that a neighbor had secured in 
Chattanooga. Father then directed 
Capt. Harvey where he could find corn 
and fodder for his horses. 

Capt. Harvey and his command re- 
mained in our neighborhood six weeks 
or more, raiding the railroads up about 
Ringgold and Dalton, and capturing 
many Federal prisoners, many of 
whom could not sceak a word of Eng- 




Ri:V. (;. A. NUNNALLY. Baptist minister 
who once ran for Governor of (leorRia on 
a liquor prohibition platform. 



202 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



lish intelligibly — these were foreign- 
ers imported by wealthy Northerners 
as substitutes in the Federal army. 
The prisoners were taken to Cedar 
BluflF, Ala., and as a member of Capt. 
Hai-vey's command told me, "were lost 
in the Coosa river." 

I can say that Capt. Harvey was a 
gentleman, and we suffered no violence 
from him or his command. He was 
very fond of music and liked to play 
whist, and was a frequent guest in 
our house. Thus he whiled away his 
time with my step-sister and myself. 
Once when I sang "The Officer's Fu- 
neral," he leaned his head on the table 
and sobbed aloud. He begged me to 
overlook his apparent weakness, for 
he had a wife and a little boy in Mis- 
sissippi, and the chances were he 
would never see them again. 

On Sept. 15, 1864, we met a different 
band of men. These were the "Inde- 
pendent Scouts." Yes, write the name 
in blood, drape it with the pall of 
death, trace it with fire, and then you 
cannot conceive the full meaning of 
the term. A horde of these marauders 
made their camp in our neighborhood, 
committing the most outrageous atroci- 
ties on old and feeble men. A gang 
of perhaps a dozen came to our home, 
and took everything they could carry 
away. Before leaving they laid violent 




MAX MEYERHARDT, once judge of the City 
Court and for many years prominent in 
Masonic and civic affairs of Rome. 



hands on my father, swearing he 
should be hung unless he gave them 
money, either gold or silver. A rope 
was thrown over his head, and with 
an oath one of them started to drag 
him off to a limb. I threw up my 
hands and begged for my father's life 
with all the fervor of a pent-up soul, 
assuring them he had no specie. The 
ring-leader looked me steadily in the 
face and said, "I believe you are tell- 
ing the truth." I answered, "On my 
honor as a lady, as sure as there is a 
God, I am!" The rope was removed 
from my father's neck, the leader re- 
marking, "Old man, you owe your life 
to your daughter; but for her we 
would have hung you as high as Ha- 
maan." 

On Oct. 10 and 12 Hood's weary 
horde appeared and passed in hot re- 
treat. It was ragged, worn, foot-sore 
and dejected in spirit. Yet they plod- 
ded on their weary march, some bare- 
foot, others with raw-hide tied over 
their bleeding feet. "Lost Cause" was 
stamped on every face. I knew then 
the Confederacy was doomed. 

On Oct. 14 and 15 the center of 
Sherman's army passed, following 
Hood. I think this part was com- 
manded by Gens. Slocum and Frank 
Blair. What the "Scouts" left was 
appropriated by the Federals. Again 
our home was pillaged from founda- 
tion to attic. Large army wagons 
were loaded to the brim vdth corn, 
fodder and wheat; cows and hogs were 
driven off or shot, smoke houses strip- 
ped, pantries cleaned of every mova- 
ble article, and such as could not be 
carried off was broken or damaged. 
The negroes huddled together in their 
houses, like sheep among wolves, 
scared out of their wits and fright- 
ened almost white. 

P'ather and several neighbors had 
left a few days before for Blue Moun- 
tain, Ala., to procure salt, all of this 
commodity having been exhausted 
some time before from the smoke 
houses. My step-mother, a woman of 
unusual courage, was so prostrated 
with fear that she took to her bed. 
Thus I again had to run the household. 
Capt. Hall, of Kentucky, kept guard 
over us for four hours, and after he 
left we were at the mercy of "wagon 
dogs." Three of these prowlers shut 
my step-sister, Em White, and myself 
in a room, swearing they would 
search us. Em collapsed in a large 
rocking chair. One of the marauders 
stood with his back to the door, while 
another ransacked bureau drawers, 
wardrobes, turned up the mattress, 



Extreme Desolation Pictured in Diary 



203 



etc. I engaged the third in conversa- 
tion, holding in my hand a heavy 
wrought iron poker, with which I oc- 
casionally poked the fire, but really 
kept in readiness to give the fellow 
a whack if he dared lay hands on me. 
That "dog" never made a movement 
to touch me, although he said he had 
"stripped many as damned good- 
looking women as I was and searched 
them." One jerked Em from the 
rocker and pretended that he would 
strip her. I begged for her and he 
let her go. They left very much dis- 
appointed that they found little of 
value. 

Hoop skirts were in vogue then, and 
so were full skirts. I had several 
thousand dollars in Confederate money 
in a bustle around my waist, and my 
small amount of jewelry and a few 
keepsakes in huge pockets under my 
hoops. Em had her jewelry and sil- 
ver forks and spoons in pockets under 
her hoop. 

After the Federals had passed, des- 
olation was writ throughout the val- 
ley. For three weeks a hundred in 
our family (including slaves) literally 
lived from hand to mouth. We picked 
up scraps of potatoes left in the fields, 
small scattered turnips and meat from 

*JudKe John W. Maddox declared in a speech 
early in 1921 at the City Auditorium that all 
the Yankees left in Chattooga County was a 
broken-down steer that was not fit to be eaten 
by man or beast. 

**Mr. Lincoln's proclamation was issued in 
1S63, but news of it evidently hadn't reached 
Georgia. 



the carcasses left by the Yankees and 
dragged in by the negroes. The new 
corn left was sufficiently soft to be 
grated on graters constructed from 
mutilated tinware.* 

Oh, those were strenuous, perilous 
times. I will say in justice to our 
faithful slaves that only four left us; 
they stood by us nobly until my father 
came in from Rome and announced 
that Lee had surrendered. My father 
called them all up and told them they 
were all free.** He employed some; 
others "spread wing." None went 
away empty-handed. Father helped 
them to the extent of his ability. 

When Gen. Lee furled the Stars and 
Bars, sheathed his sword and shook 
hands with Gen. Grant, I did the same 
and on that day I buried every feeling 
of animosity, never to resurrect the 
dead past. With thousands of other 
Southern women I had my baptism of 
fire and blood that tears cannot efface. 

Standing on this mountain-top of 
three-score and eleven years (she is 
now well around 80), and looking back 
through the vista of time, I see how 
lovingly my Heavenly Father led me 

"Sometimes through scenes of deepest 

gloom, 
Sometimes through bowers of Eden 

bloom." 

I exclaim with the Psalmist, "Bless 
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not 
all His benefits." 




204 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



SS«L 




PRESENT-DAY ROMANS IN STRIKING ATTITUDES 

1 — Rev. J. E. Sammons. 2 — E. E. Lindsey. 3 — Rev. H. F. Saumenig. 4 — W. C. Rash. 

5 Rev. E. F. Dempsey. 6 — F. W. Copeland. 7 (Top) — Judge Moses Wright, addressing Easter 

crowd, Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Sunday, March 26, 1921. 8 — B. F. Quigg. 9 — Mrs. Bessie B. 
Troutman. 10 — Wm. A. Patton. 11 — Mrs. Robt. Battey at 90. 12 — Young folk in Washington s 
Birthday fete. 13 — Virgil A. Stewart. 14 — Miss Lilly Mitchell. IS — Miss Martha Berry. 
16 — E. P. Treadaway. 17 — Miss Marion Moultrie. 18 — Burnett Norton. 19 — Miss Helen Knox 
Spain. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Depredations of the Independent Scouts 



V 



ARTOUS roving- bands, or- 
o-anized for good purposes 
and bad, added substantial- 
ly to the misery which hov- 
ered like a spectre over the people 
at the close of the Civil War. Pri- 
marily, these bands separated 
themselves from the main body of 
the Confederate forces in order to 
impede the i)rogress of the Union 
troops (or they were cut ofT), and 
to this extent their existence Avas 
justified. P\arts ot the forces ot 
Gen. Johnston and Gen. Hood had 
been forced steadily back into 
Georgia by the driving power of 
Sherman's army, and they never 
rejoined their regular commands, 
but carried on a bushwhacking 
campaign from the hills. As long 
as opposition to the invaders re- 
mained their object, they acquitted 
themselves with l^ravery and 
credit, but once the Union army 
had passed, certain of these bands 
fell behind and plundered the coun- 
tryside ; they stole, destroyed and 
murdered, and for a time the peo- 
ple were completely at their mer- 
cy. 

These organizations were usu- 
ally made u]) of liorsemen, 30 to 
50 in number, l^'xcellent riders 
thev were, and well heeled. They 
had a rather definite range, but 
no ])articular headquarters. When 
the men l)ecame hungry, they 
would swoop down upon a ])lan- 
tation or small house and take 
v^ hat tliey could find : they were 
always looking for saddles and 
riding boots as well as mone\' and 
food, v^ometimes they paid tor 
things ai)propriate(l, but this was 
not often. 

Now and then the scout organi- 
zations clashed with each othor 
to determine which crowd should 
subsist on a certain section. As a 



general rule, however, they were 
content to prey upon the defense- 
less. 

In the "uj) ccjunties" near the 
Tennessee line, perhaps the best- 
known gang was Gatewood's 
Scouts, organized and led by John 
Gatewood, of Tennessee, assisted 
by his brother, Henry Gatewood, 
who kept the books and accounts 
of the company. John (kitewood 
was an illiterate mountaineer 
whose red hair fell In long fronds 
down his back, like Daniel Boone 
and David Crockett ; and when he 
wished to escape detection in a 
tlaring dash, he would cram his 
locks into the crown of his soft 
felt hat. He was a man of won- 
derful physique, tall and angular, 
with the fire of \'ulcan in his eye ; 
and it used to be said that while 
galloping" on his horse he could 
shoot a partridge off a rail fence 
with his pistol in either hand. His 
reason for taking the saddle inde- 
pendently against the Union men 
was that the>' had killed his old 
father in Tennessee, and he was 
pledged to vengeance, .\fter the 
Federals had left, however, his men 
terrorized llie country from 
Gaylesville. Ala., as far northeast 
as LaFayette. Walker Co., Ga., and 
touching Al])ine, Summerville and 
Trion. Chattooga County, Ih-- 
tween. it was nnchnibtedly (".ate- 
wood's Scouts who visited the 
W'eslev Shroi:)shire ])lantation in 
Dirttown X'alley. Chattooga Coun- 
tv, Sept. 15. 1864: but so far as is 
Ivuowii tliey ]iai(l only one \isit to 
i\( inie. 

bihn ('latt'wood had an Indian 
who looked after his horse. One 
lav he sent the Indian to a grist 
mill near Trion, to have some corn_ 
ground into meal. .\ band of 
"scouts favorable to the Union, led 



206 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



I y John Long', killed this Indian 
by way of defying Gatewood. The 
challenge was accepted, and a 
pitched battle was fought near 
the spot at night. Later Long 
was convicted of kilHng Blev. Tay- 
lor in Alabama near Frix's Mill, 
McLemore's Cove, Chattooga Co., 
and died in an Alalxima peniten- 
tiary camp near Wetumpka while 
serving a life sentence. 

Gatewood is said to have killed 
Green Cordle, another independent 
scout leader and a man of some 
years, in Walker County, after 
running him out of a house where 
he was enjoying a meal. It was 
Gatewood's policy to exterminate 
the other leaders and bands wher- 
ever he could, but in several in- 
stances he found strong opposi- 
tion. His gang gradually broke up 
and he left Gaylesville on horse- 
back, riding over Lookout Moun- 
tain to Texas, where he established 
himself on a ranch. Maj. John T. 



,<5«i»*» 






-w \., kM ' 






WM. SMITH, one of the four founders of 
Rome, who contributed much to the young 
city's growth and progress. 



Burns, of Rome, state comptroller 
general in 1869, who also went to 
Texas, once ran across Gatewood 
after the war, and found him en- 
gaged in peaceful pursuits. 

Gatewood's Scouts participated 
in one of the most spectacular 
events of the war at Chattanooga, 
probably early in 1864. They rode 
boldly into the Northern army 
camp at night (this time with no 
less than 100 men) and stampeded 
and drove away 2,000 cattle and 
horses which they took to Gayles- 
ville and sold or turned over to the 
Confederate army. 

The scout band best known to 
Rome was that of Capt. Jack Col- 
quitt, a member of a Texas regi- 
ment who remained behind in 
1864 and married a daughter of 
Jerry Isbell, of Polk County, near 
Etna and Prior's Station. Its clash 
with the Prior boys and its daring 
incursion into Rome in November, 
1864, will long be remembered by 
the older Romans. Reference has 
already been made to the gang's 
murder of Nicholas J. Omberg and 
its hanging of Judge L. D. Bur- 
well and Wm. Ouinn to make them 
give up their money and valua- 
bles ; also of its robbery of Mrs. 
[no. H. Lumpkin and J. J. Cohen. 

Judge Burwell was keeping a 
c[uantity of gold (said to have been 
at least $1,800) for a Jewish mer- 
chant named Wise, of the firm of 
Magnus & Wise. He was afflicted 
with some physical deformity that 
caused him to bend far forward 
when he walked, and the scouts 
told him if he didn't give up the 
gold they would "straighten him 
out." He didn't surrender it until 
the noose began to cut into his 
neck. They said "We've got 
Wise's gold ; now tell us where 
yours is, or we'll hang you up 
again." As it happened. Judge 
Burwell had entrusted $500 in gold 
to Mrs. Robt. Battey, who had put 
it in her stockings. When the scouts 



Depredations of the Independent Scouts 



207 



came to her house the same night, 
they stole a lot of small things, 
but did not get the money. They 
also intended to hang up James 
Noble, Sr., on Howard Street, but 
were scared off by the determined 
attitude of his daughters. 

There appear to be two versions 
as to what brought the Priors into 
conflict with Colquitt's Scouts, 
with such disastrous results to the 
latter. One says that Capt. Jack 
Colquitt was killed by the Priors 
in the presence of Hayden Prior, 
the father, near Prior's Station, 
because he had driven off some of 
the cattle of the family when he 
stocked the farm of his father-in- 
law, Jerry Isbell. The other, more 
generally accepted, is that Col- 
quitt's men first killed Hayden 
Prior, better known as "Hayd" 
Prior, and the sons then took up 
the feud and accounted for seven 
r»f the scouts, including their 
leader. At any rate, Hayden 
was shot oft' his mule between Cave 
Spring and Prior's Station, and 
fell face forward into a branch 
where the animal was drinking. A 
brother of Capt. Jack Colquitt is 
supposed to have been in this am- 
bushing party, as well as the ca])- 
lain himself. 

Capt. Col(|uitt was found one 
day in 1864 in Cedartown by the 
brothers, John T. and James j\I. 
Prior. He was in a grocery store, 
and pretty well loaded with mean 
liquor as well as his brace of ])is- 
tols. The brothers took him by 
surprise and got his pistols away 
by covering him with their own. It 
was apparently their intention to 
put him under arrest and get him 
a trial, but he showed fight. 

"Cimme a chance with my gun 
nnd I'll clean all of yer up, one at 
a time !" he roared, at the same 
instant drawing a long Bowie 
knife out of his right boot. 

Quick as lightning Jim Prior 
shot Colquitt over John's shoul- 



der, and the two pumped bullets 
into his chest until there were 
eight. John explained as follows 
to a friend and hunting companion 
some time later : 

"I was so close when I fired my 
first shot that I saw smoke come 
out of his mouth." 

The men in the store removed a 
ham and box of baking powder 
and stretched Capt. Jack Colquitt 
otit on the counter. He wore a 
red-spotted calico shirt ; the white 
spots were now dyed deep in the 
red of his own blood. 

The Prior boys went quietly oft' 
and were not arrested, nor did they 
ever answer in court for taking 
seven scout scalps. They had 
sworn to exterminate the Colquitt 
gang as a service to the commu- 
nity. 

John Prior was a man of iron 
will and nerves in a knotty bundle. 
He had little beady, black eyes 
that danced as he talked, and he 




JOS. L. BASS, merchant and i)r(imuter. who 
was head of the old dummy line at Rome 
and a constructive fo- ce in many ways. 



208 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



^vasn't afraid of the devil. He was 
loval to his friends and an impla- 
cable foe to his enemies. Men who 
hunted with him said he was the 
deadest shot for miles around; he 
could lay his double-barreled shot- 
gun on the ground, flush a covey 
of partridges, pick up his gun and 
kill two every time. Jim was of 
more even temper, regular build, 
but he also took no foolishness 
from any man, and he contributed 
his part toward a genuine pair in 
those stormy days. 

The brothers quit the corn and 
cotton fields and hunted scouts. A 
man named Tracy and several oth- 
er friends joined them at various 
times. Tracy later went to Texas 
to live. The Priors came upon Col- 
quitt's Scouts in camp near Ball 
Play and Turkeytown, Etowah 
County, Ala., on the Coosa River ; 
gave them a surprise at night and 
put them to flight. The scouts 
scattered and the Priors found 
two of them eating at a 
house by the road. John 
killed one as he hopped oft the 
near end of the porch and the other 
as he left the far end. On their 
persons w-ere found a number of 
$20 gold pieces (Wise's money cap- 
tured in November, 1864, at 
Rome) ; when things had quieted 
down John Prior sent one of these 
coins to New York and had a cav- 
alry battle engraved on the ob- 
verse side, and wore the trinket 
as a watch charm. 

Near Cave Spring the Priors 
came upon two scouts riding along 
the road. Surrender was de- 
manded. One young fellow held 
up his hands and came in. The 
other wheeled about, dug his spurs 
into the flanks of his horse and 
sped away like a flash. John was 
carrying the shotgun his father 
had used so long. As the fugitive 
turned a sharp curve in the road, 
he cracked down. It was impos- 
si1)le to tell the result, and the 



young captive said : 

"I believe you missed him." 
"We'll see," responded the 
marksman; "if I missed him. Til 
turn you loose !" 

The poor devil was dying in the 
bushes ; his horse kept going. Sev^ 
tral buckshot had entered the 
man's back, and several the base of 
the saddle. It is supposed, but not 
definitely known, that the fellow 
taken captive met a violent end. 

The next victim was a farnier 
of the neighborhood. John Prior 
walked up to this man's house and 
asked his wife where he was. The 
woman replied that he was plow- 
ing in the bottom. John went 
down there and told the farmer to 
unhitch his horse and send him in 
a canter to the house; to say his 
prayers if he w^anted to, because 
he was going to be killed. The man 
begged for his life ; he w^as re- 
minded that old man Prior was 
shown no mercy. A shot in the 
breast finished him. 

The hunter next heard that one 
of the marked men was living in 
the West, maybe Arkansas, maybe 
Texas. He went to the man's 
residence and executed his design. 
After living a while out there. 
Prior returned to Prior's Station, 
and later removed to the territory 
of Washington, on the Pacific 
coast, where he died. Jim died 
at his Prior Station home. 

A farmer named Ritchie, killed 
on the Carlier Springs road about 
five miles east of Rome, was 
charged up to Colquitt's Scouts. 
Isoni Blevins, a young Texan, was 
killed at night by a Rome crowd 
at Flat Rock, where the Southern 
crosses the N., C. & St. L. (or 
Rome) Railroad. His boots and 
spurs were removed and his body 
w^as thrown some 50 feet off the 
blufl: into the Etowah River. Sev- 
eral days days later the body w^as 
found lodged against a willow 
snag at the foot of Myrtle Hill 



Depredations of the Independent Scouts 



209 



cemetery, and was buried on the 
river bank. A scout, sometimes 
known as "The Lone Soldier," was 
waylaid and killed on the Ala- 
bama Road between Coosa and 
Beech Creek, and lies buried on 
the Rogers place, near the road, 
about five miles west of Rome. The 
grave is surmounted by a head- 
stone, and residents of the neigh- 
borhood have kept it green for 57 
years, and have maintained around 
it a neat picket fence. 

In these fierce depredations 
Romans were reminded of the 
lawlessness of the Indian days ; 
and as if to answer their prayers, 
a local scout organization was 
formed by "Little Zach" Har- 
grove. Many people thought "Lit- 
tle Zach's" crowd would prove to 
be as bad as the test, but Horry 
Wimpee and others testify that it 
was organized for protective pur- 
poses, and did much to drive the 
camp - followers and deserters 
away. It was reported that "Little 
Zach" attracted the attention of 
John Gatewood, and that Gatewood 
brushed by Rome with an invita- 



tion to fight ; but the result is not 
known. 

The Ku Klux was also active 
soon after this period, especially 
around Coosa, so the anxiety of 
the civilian population, who were 
bent on making crops and a liv- 
ing, can well be imagined. One 
night the Ku Klux called on Prof. 
Peter J\I. Sheibley, a Northerner 
by birth and a non-combatant in 
the war. When Mr. Sheibley 
opened his front door, a wooden 
coffin fell into his arms. 

The political views of Judge Jno. 
W. H. Underwood caused the Ku 
Klux to play a gruesome joke on 
this sparkling humorist. A young 
fellow well disguised by a turned- 
up coat collar and a turned-down 
hat walked up to Judge Under- 
wood after dark and ofifered him 
a cordial greeting. The extended 
hand was left with him, and it was 
made of wood ! 

Such incidents added a piquant 
touch to the lives of Romans, 
wrung the hearts of many, and 
brought a strong desire for peace, 
ci. helpful understanding and a con- 
structive program. 




210 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




WHEN MAN TAKES HIS PADDLE IN HAND. 

Batteau and canoe trips on the rivers of Rome afford endless pleasure. Dr. Hugh I. Bat- 
tey of Atlanta, native son of Rome, here forgets incisions and bandages. His "voyage" was taken 
in October, 1920, from Carter's Quarters, Murray County, down to "Head of Coosa," 105 miles, 
and was made leisurely in three nights and two days. He brought a string of pearls for the 
Home-coming queen, Miss Penelope Stiles. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



ROSS-RIDGE FACTIONS FIGHT. 
— The following item from the Georgia 
Constitutionalist (Augusta) of Friday, 
Aug. 21, 1835, will give an idea of the 
feeling between the factions repre- 
sented by Ross and Ridge: 

More Indians Murdered. — The Cass- 
ville Pioneer of the 7th inst. says: 

"We have just learned of another 
murder having been committed in this 
country on the 3d of August, inst. The 
names of the Indians killed were Mur- 
phy and Duck. It occurred, we un- 
derstand, at an Indian dance on the 
Oostanaula river, where a considerable 
number of the town or clan had col- 
lected to enjoy the customary pastime. 

"Sometime within the night the In- 
dians murdered were seen standing 
conversing in apparent friendship. A 
few minutes later Murphy exclaimed 
that he was stabbed, and expired im- 
mediately. 

"Duck was heard to say at the time 
that there was but one other Ridge 
man on the ground, and that he would 
inherit the same fate if he did not 
leave the place instantly. 

"Duck was found dead on the en- 
suing morning, murdered, it is be- 
lieved, by the friends of Murphy. 
Neither man, it is thought, was drunk. 

"Is it not manifest from the many 
outrages of the kind that it is the set- 
tled determination of Ross' myrmidons 
to silence opposition by the knife of the 
assassin, and unless they are kept in 
awe by the Guard will go far to ex- 
ecute their hellish purpose?" 
* * * 

In 1835 (or 1837) an atrocity that 
was typical of the others committed in 
the section occurred in Floyd County 
near the Polk line. The body of Eze- 
kiel Blatchford (or Braselton), a land 
trader from Hall County, was discov- 
ered in a lime sink; he had been mur- 
dered, it was believed. A single gold 
button was found on one of his coat 
sleeves, and it was of odd design, pi'ob- 
ably having been worked out of a nug- 

*Authority : Hilliard HoiTy Wimpee. Virgil 
A. Stewart statetl that the name of the In- 
dians' victim was White. Mrs. Robt. Battey 
stated his name was IJraselton. The name Eze- 
kiel Buffinston appears on the real estate rec- 
ords of that period at the courthouse. The name 
Blatchford war- taken from an account in 1H89 
by Belle K. Abbott, written for The Atlanta 
Constitution. 

**At Rome: Cherokee Indians, ConKi-essional 
Documents (1835-6), Doc. 120, p. 593. 



get extracted by the wearer from a 
gold mine in Hall. With the button 
as a clue, the local authorities and 
friends of the deceased went to work. 
The police in Indian Territory arrest- 
ed two Indians wearing bottons similar 
to the one found on the sleeve. Bar- 
ney Swimmer and Terrapin were 
brought back to Rome, were given a 
fair trial at the old court house, found 
guilty of murder and sentenced by 
Judge Owen H. Kenan, of Newnan, to 
die by hanging. This was the first 
capital punishment meted out to In- 
dians in Floyd County, and it was a 
coincidence that a cousin of the mur- 
dered man, Wm. Smith, who was serv- 
ing temporarily as sheriff, should 
have met the duty of sending them to 
their happy hunting grounds. The 
hanging took place at a tree at Broad 
Street and Ninth Avenue, and was wit- 
nessed by practically everybody in the 
town, and by hundreds from the coun- 
ty. Several hours before the Indians 
were due to have been hung they re- 
quested permission to take a last swim 
where the Etowah and the Oostanaula 
join. This was the place they had often 
swum as boys. Judge Kenan granted 
the request, and a strong guard watch- 
ed them from the various banks. They 
thanked the court and the officers for 
the privilege, and went to their death 
with the courage of Stoics. It was 
said that Terrapin was full of whis- 
key during his trial and up to the time 
of his execution.* 



A LETTER FULL OF NEWS.— 
The following letter from Geo. M. 
Lavender, trading post man at Major 
Ridge's up the Oostanaula, gives a 
picture of pioneer life around Rome: 
*-Major Ridge's Ferry, May 3, 1836. 
Mr. John Ridge: 

Dear Sir: I have received but one 
letter from you since your departure, 
and that was received some time since 
and should have written you, but ex- 
pected, for some weeks back, that you 
were on your way home. I have con- 
cluded from the " last letters received 
from you that you remain at Wash- 
ington some time yet. 

I have but little news of impor- 
tance to communicate to you. Mrs. 
Betsy Waitie, con.sort of Stand 
Waitie. Esq.. died four or five days 
since from the delivery of a child, 



212 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



which also died, it is said. She had 
medical aid, but died under great af- 
flictions.^'^ 

One of the emigrants, named Seek- 
atowwa,** of Hightown, was shot two 
or there weeks ago by a white man 
at a little whiskey shop, one mile from 
Artsellers or Dun Steers, '="=^* said to 
be an accident; he is, however, dead 
and no more. 

Your family are all well and every- 
thing about vour crop appears to be 
going on finely. Major Ridge's fam- 
ily are all well, and your mother is 
going on in her usual and fine way 
in making a crop, though frequently 
a little unwell, but no ways danger- 
ous. No person, except a Mr. Cox, 
has taken any of the cleared land; he 
has taken one-half of the long field 
on the west side of the river .*-=='^' 
She has lost none on the side we live. 

Our season for planting has been 
very bad, owing to so much rain; but 
all appears to be getting on very well 
except the poor Cherokees, of which 
there is not a few who have been dis- 
possessed of their fields and dwellings, 
and turned out to seek refuge in Ala- 
bama and Tennessee, without any kind 
of support, moneyless and nothing to 
buy provisions. I know of a number 
of families destitute of provision, or 
money to buy it, and wandering and 
eating from them that has a little sub- 
sistence, and many of whom are emi- 
grants. The circumstance calls aloud 
on the authorities of Government for 
relief of these people. It seems im- 
possible for them to last through the 
season. Corn is scarce and worth $1 
per bushel by the quantity, cash ; flour 
could now be had, and bacon at toler- 
able moderate prices. You can scarce 
have any idea of the suffering your 
Cherokee friends are now encounter- 
ing. Every week we have lots of men 
hunting stolen property, and smoke 
houses robbed of bacon, and every kind 
of stealing going on. 

Your friend Knitts, of Donehutta, 
received 120 lashes a few days ago, 
supposed to be concerned in robbing 
a smoke house; but I think he will 
be proved innocent. 

I see my Cherokee friends, emi- 
grants, within this vicinity every week, 
inquiring what is doing at Washing- 
ton, and trying to find out what will 
be done as regards their perilous sit- 
uation. 

Many families in our neighborhood 
would "be glad to emigrate if the Gov- 
ernment would enable them to do so. 



Please give my respects to the Ma- 
jor and all your delegation. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
GEO. M. LAVENDER. 

(Note: Referred to the Indian Of- 
fice by Major Ridge.) 

CAVE SPRING INDIANS.— Now 
and then a roving band of Creek In- 
dians would descend upon the newly- 
created Floyd County to fight or treat 
with their ancient foes, the Cherokees. 
It was probably in 1832 that a group 
of them pitched camp close to the white 
settlement at Cave Spring, prepared 
to go into a pow-wow the next day 
with their more intelligent neighbors, 
whose camp was situated not a great 
hark away. 

Among the old settlers living at 
Cave Spring then was William Smith, 
who removed to Rome two years later. 
Mr. Smith was away from home when 
the Creeks appeared, and his wife was 
badly frightened. The visitors look- 
ed so dark and villainous, and they 
crept about like snakes. When night 
came, Mrs. Smith gathered her baby 
Martha (Mrs. Robt. Battey) m her 
arms, and taking a negro nurse, stole 
out of the house into the underbrush, 
where, wrapped in shawls and an In- 
dian blanket, they spent thfe night. 
Mrs Smith had feared the Creeks 
might break into her house during the 
night; they could be seen moving 
stealthily and keeping a close watch, 
but they attempted no outrage. 

Included in the Cherokees fc CfY^ 
Spring was a young fellow called Lit- 
tle Meat. He was in the habit ot 
scaring wee Martha Smith now and 
then by appearing suddenly and grunt- 
ing "Ugh!" and at the same time lift- 
ing her up into his swarthy arms. He 
was a playful rascal and never meant 
any harm, but he nearly scared the lit- 
tle' girl out of her wits many times. 
They called him Little Meat because 
he killed so many small birds and 
roasted them on a spit. 

The country was wild, sparsely set- 
tled full of bad Indians and adventur- 
ous whites, a few soldiers at isolated 

♦Should be Watie. „, 

**Sukatowie's enrollment number was biS. 
He was of the Chickamaugee district and votea 
with Ross at the Rome council 

***Probably intended for Dirtsel ler s Chat- 
tooga County. A map dated 1810, m the Car- 
negie Library at Atlanta, places .Hightown 
between the rivers where Rome ""^ 'S- H^gh- 
tower" is probably a variation of Hightown 
and may have referred to an Indian signal 
station on the present Tower HiU. 
^ *iUNow part of the bottom land on the 
Linton A. Dean farm. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



213 



posts, and here and thei-e a rough In- 
dian trail that sufficed for a road. 
As settlers came in they were chosen 
by mutual consent for certain duties. 
William Smith was usually in "saddle 
and boots," prospecting- a mine down 
the Coosa, trading in land up the 
Oostanaula, attending court at Living- 
ston, hence acted as "sheriff" before 
the county machinery had been set up 
(and perhaps afterward). On one oc- 
casion an Indian charged with a se- 
rious offense was caught and brought 
to Cave Spring behind Mr. Smith with 
hands tied. They rode a horse. There 
was no secure place to keep the In- 
dian, so Mr. Smith lashed him with 
rope to a bed-post at the foot of the 
bed, after which Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
retired, and Mr. Smith slept soundly. 

Once several years later at the 
Forks Ferry, Rome, a sullen Indian 
provoked the wrath of Mr. Smith, who 
knocked the man unconscious with a 
heavy stick. The condition of the In- 
dian for a time was serious, and Mr. 
Smith, following the advice of friends 
that he should be careful of violence, 
went for a week to live with Philip W. 
Hemphill at the place now known as 
DeSoto Park. Most of the Indians were 
his friends, however, and they sent 
him word that no harm would come 
tij him. 

David Vann, the sub-chief, was the 
most powerful member of his tribe 
around Cave Spring, and Vann's Val- 
ley was named after him. On July 
28, 1850, he was living temporarily 
at the Lake House, Cave Spring. He 
was very well educated and wrote a 
pleasing hand with occasional mis- 
spelt words, like most of the Indian 
leaders. He had two handsome, pleas- 
ant mannered sons called Cooey and 
Clem, who in 1851 were living in 
Crandsalem, Cherokee Nation, Arkan- 
sas, and about that time visited Dr. 
and Mrs. Robert Battey on Second 
Avenue on their way to a law school 
in Baltimore. Other sons were said 
to have been Augustus and Washing- 
ton. Under date of Aug. 27, 1850, Da- 
vid Vann wrote William Smith at 
Rome from Washington, D. C. : 

"Dear Sir: I wrote to you some 
time since infoi-ming you that I would 
be glad to hear from you respecting 
our silver mine in Alabama, but have 
not yet received anything from you. 
Will you be kind enough to write me a 
few lines and let me know how you 
are getting along? I have determined 
to go that way when I leave here foi- 
home. I can not say when that will 
be. It may be some time in October. 



I have no idea that I can get away 
before Congress adjourns & there i's 
no time set yet for the adjournment 
of Congress, though I will let you know 
before I leave when I will be at your 
house. I wrote a few lines to M*ajor 
Richardson a few days ago requesting 
him to save me some peech seed from 
my old orchard (those large white 
peeches). I have no news but what 
you see in the papers. Mr. Clay has 
got back this morning. He has" been 
absent ever since his Compromise bill 
was defeated. The Senate has passed 
all the measures that he had in his 
Compromise bill separately with very 
slight alterations. Give my respects 
to your family and accept for your- 
self my best wishes for your health 
and prosperity. 

Your friend and obt. svt., 

"DAVID VANN." 
(In haste.) 

Under date of July 28, 1850, Chief 
Vann wrote Mr. Smith from Washing- 
ton and stated that he was having 
some trouble getting his patent to 40 
acres of land containing the silver 
mine, and adding: 

"I presume the water is now low 
enough to examine the ford of the 




MONTt;OML0KY M. J 01..SUM. cUwr uriUr ui 
vcrsp, in his rPKalia aa an orticer of Chorokee 
LocIkp 66 of Masons. 



214 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



creek. By looking in the ford you 
will find where old Campbell cut the 
hole in the rock and filled it up, and 
just below the ford he said there was 
a deep hole, evidently dug out by 
some person." 

Shortly after this the two, accom- 
panied by Col. Cunningham M. Pen- 
nington, of Rome, visited the mine on 
Sand river, but failed to find anything 
of special interest. 

From Rome, Feb. 2, 1851, Mr. Smith 
wrote David Vann at Grandsalem, 
Ark. : 

"My apology for delaying to write 
you before this time is hardly suffi- 
cient excuse. I have been run to death 
of daylight and so tired of nights that 
I have put it off from time to time, 
till I have got through with the bridge 
and have some leisure. 

"After you left Gunter's Landing, 
I went up to where they were to run 
their horse race; there I found all 
parties concerned in that lot we want- 
ed. I took Collins and fixed things 
with him to bring about the trade with 
D. A. Smith. He managed it as I di- 
rected it and I got the lot for $125 
cash. . . . Pennington is in high spirits, 
though he had very bad luck in the 
matter. He took some eight or ten 
pounds of the best ore we could get 
and took it to Washington, or I should 
have said started with it at Wilming- 
ton. He had his trunk stolen and lost 
his specimens and all his clothing and 
has never heard of them yet. He was 
on other business at Washington and 
has just returned. We will consult 
as soon as this awful cold weather 
breaks and make a thorough examina- 
tion and write you immediately. There 
is great excitement about it. I give 
them no satisfaction. I shall take a 
good geologist with me, D. A. White, 
of Savannah; he I have seen and he is 
anxious to accompany us over there. 
I shall lie low; it must count. I am 
in hopes you will be able to get the 
old man Campbell to come out with 
you soon. Don't count the expenses if 
you can prevail on liim to come. It 
will do more good to have him here 
looking than anything. We must bare- 
ly let the people know he is here. 

"Well, I have no news to write you 
more than you have seen by the pa- 
pers. Georgia has killed the Disun- 
ionist in the South. Our Convention 
was composed of the best talent in 
Georgia; there were but 18 Disunion- 
ists in the convention out of nearly 
300 members. They have broken up 
all old party lines and left the Dis- 



unionists to themselves, with Colquitt 
and Towns to manage; they are dead 
letters in Georgia; you can't get one 
of them to talk about it. 

"What is to hinder Clem from com- 
ing? I think he would like to stay a 
year or two with us and read law 
with Judge Wright or Judge Under- 
wood. 

"You have no idea how our town 
has grown in the last three months. 
They have built all around me clear 
to the railroad and back to the bridge. 
We have but a few lots left and I 
don't expect to keep them two weeks. 
It is a lively business at last, though 
it was a long time coming. My wife 
joins me in our love to your wife and 
children and says she remembers her 
kindness to her in bygone days. Ac- 
cept for yourself my best wishes. 
"WM. SMITH." 

DANCE AT CHIEFTAIN'S.— Mrs. 
Jno. S. Prather (Susan Verdery), of 
Atlanta, who once lived at the old 
home of Major Ridge, contributes the 
following: 

"It was evening and the night was 
bright, with a galaxy of stars bending 
their pale beams through a wealth of 
climbing roses, clinging woodbine and 
white star jessamines. Candle light 
sent a glimmer through the windows 
to the front porch, and shadows from 
the tall Colonial pillars fell across the 
mossy lawn. A swish of satin could 
be heard here and there and the gleam 
of white muslin and a more somber 
contrast of black broadcloth and white 
vests as the couples lined up for the 
dance. 

"A scraping of the preliminary 
chords and the popping of a fiddle 
string made known that the plantation 
orchestra was nearly ready to begin 
its part of the performance. The two 
black fiddlers were the property of 
the owner of the mansion. 

"Ah, there went the light footsteps 
in perfect unison with the music of 
the cotillion! They danced for half 
an hour. Occasionally a couple for- 
sook the crowd and repaired to the 
veranda through the leafy screens of 
honeysuckle, there to exchange words 
of understanding and to pluck a nose- 
gay that carried its silent message 
straight to the heart. 

"Milady sounded the gong; the danc- 
ing ceased and supper was enjoyed in 
the dining room. What a supper! Of 
quality and variety the choicest, and 
prepared after Aunt Lindy's favorite 
recipes. Then Augustus Nicholas Ver- 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



215 



dery, son of a French planter of the 
West Indies and master of the planta- 
tion, struck a martial air on his fine 
violin. The couples formed again, and 
the son of the house, Thos. Jefferson 
Verdery, and a fair young lady from 
Charleston led the gay company out 
into the ball room again. The colored 
fiddlers played 'Oh Miss Nancy, Don't 
You Cry! Your Sweetheart Will Come 
to You Bime By!' 

"A specialty was introduced by Mr. 
Chas. De I'Aigle, of Augusta, whose 
polkas and schottisches set the young 
feet patting and young hearts palpi- 
tating; and Tom Verdery and his lit- 
tle sister, Susan, danced steps that en- 
joyed a wide vogue more than 50 years 
later. 

"At 11 the guests climbed into the 
barge 'Mary Berrien' and were poled 
down the Oostanaula to Rome — all 
save the guests of the house. A lone 
figure drew into the shadow of a giant 
sycamore as the merrymakers passed. 
It darted near the mansion, peered in 
with a vengeful look and was swallow- 
ed in the gloom of the nearby forest. 
'Twas an Indian woman left behind 
when her sister and brother redskins 
departed for the west, an inhabitant 
of a cave in the hills who had stolen 
down into the lowlands to gaze on the 
Cherokee retreat of the olden days 
with a prayer for the return of the 
tribe to its happy hunting grounds." 
* * * 

CREEK CHIEF IS CAPTURED.— 

White's Historical Collections of Geor- 
gia (p. 151) and an old Rome news- 
paper clipping furnish data for an in- 
teresting story of the capture in 1835 
of old Fosach Fixico, the Creek Indian 
chief, by Georgia and Alabama troop- 
ers, part of whom were recruited from 
the Coosa Valley near Rome. Historian 
White records: "Very soon after the 
ratification of the New Echota treaty, 
an apprehension was entertained by 
many citizens in Georgia that the 
party who had opposed the treaty 
would become hostile, and petitions 
for arms, troops and ammunition were 
presented to the Executive, and grant- 
ed. Orders were issued to Brig. Gen. 
James Hemphill to raise a battalion 
of militia and place them at Lesley's 
Ferry, on the Coosa River, for the pur- 
pose not only of keeping the Chero- 
kees in check, but also of preventing 
the Creeks from swarming into (ieor- 
gia, which orders were executed, and 
the battalion was organized under the 
command of Gen. James Hemphill and 
Maj. Chas. H. Nelson. A part of the 
Cherokees were disarmed, and 500 



nmskets and accouterments were or- 
dered and sent to Cherokee County, 
in case of any hostile movements on 
the part of the Indians. These prep- 
arations on the part of Georgia, to- 
gether with the appearance of the 
Tennessee troops under Brig. Gen. 
Jno. E. Wool, of the United States 
army, quieted the fears of the citi- 
zens." 

The clipping referred to states that 
Capt. Mitchell was placed in charge 
of the expedition down the Coosa, hav- 
ing heard that the Creeks were mov- 
ing down toward the Cherokee country 
from the head of Terrapin Creek, Ala., 
to excite their tribal cousins in the 
Valley of the Coosa. A scout. Fields, 
was sent out, and reported that the 
Indians were concentrated and ready 
to strike from the mountains at the 
head of Terrapin, which empties into 
the Coosa just below Centre, Cherokee 
County, Ala. Without waiting for re- 
inforcements, on scout duty or fur- 
lough, Capt. Mitchell left Rome with 
20 men mounted on horseback and 
muleback, some with saddles, some 
with blankets and others riding bare- 
back. They galloped down the Ala- 
bama road through the Coosa Valley, 
gaining recruits with squirrel guns as 
they went. At dusk the command, now 
120 men, was within six miles of the 
Indian camp, and at sunrise the next 
morning they were on the spot, ready 
for an attack. In the meantime, the 
good women of the neighborhood had 
sent in breakfast rations for all of 
the troopers. The expectation was 
that there would be a bloody fight. 
These Coosa farmers and Georgiji Vol- 
unteers were determined to strike a 
telling blow in defense of their wives 
and children, and this determination 
was not any less sharp from the fcict 
of their crude arms and scanty equip- 
ment. 

About 200 warriors, practically 
naked and well daubed with paint, 
swarmed from their wigwams like 
bees, until a side of Craig's Moun- 
tain was well dotted with them. As 
the Georgia troops were about to close 
in, a clatter of hoofs was heard and 
up dashed Capt. Arnold with a com- 
pany of fiO cavalry from Jacksonville, 
Ala. Capt. Mitchell cried out: "No 
time for consultation ; you fight to the 
right and occupy the creek above the 
camp!" 

Capt. Arnold's men sped to the point 
indicated, while Capt. Mitchell's swept 
to the left, crossed Terrapin Creek, 
dismounted and deployed in skirmisli 
line and ajiproached to within 40 yards 



216 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



of the camp. Orders were not to fire 
until fired upon. Suddenly a long 
strip of white canvas was hoisted on 
a pole as a flag of truce, and an in- 
terpreter was sent out to declare, "I 
am directed by Chief Fosach Fixico to 
say that he is not hostile." 

The Indian was ordered to return 
and direct that the chief appear in 
person. Fosach quickly appeared, the 
finest diked-out Indian ever seen be- 
fore or since; he wore a red and blue 
turban, with crimson and white war 
gown of velvet that extended to his 
knees, and hung profusely with beads 
and tassels of all kinds; his face and 
neck were ablaze with war paint. He 
came forward with an elastic and 
somewhat defiant step. As Capt. 
Mitchell met him a few paces in ad- 
vance of the line, he repeated through 
his interpreter: "I am not hostile." 
Capt. Mitchell asked him if he surrend- 
ered, to which he replied: "I am not 
hostile, but if you require it, I do." 

At this juncture Capt. Luckie dash- 
ed up with a troop of farmers from 
near the mouth of Terrapin Creek, ar- 
riving on the west side. He and Capt. 
Arnold were consulted and the terms 
of capitulation agreed upon. Fosach 
was to deliver all his arms to Capt. 
Luckie. who was to march the In- 
dians forth to Mardisville, whence they 
were to proceed under additional guard 
to Arkansas. Twenty-four hours was 
given for the red-skins to gather up 
their ponies, women and children. Such 
of the Coosa River Volunteers as wish- 
ed to remain with Capt. Luckie could 
do so, and the others were free to re- 
turn to their homes. Five hundred 
muskets and accouterments surrender- 
ed by the Indians were sent to Chero- 
kee County. 

Shortly afterward, three cavalary 
companies from Floyd and one from 
Cherokee were organized into a bat- 
talion at Rome and were put in camp 
at Lashley's Ferry, eighteen miles be- 
low Rome, on the north side of the 
Coosa. These were under direction of 
Gen. Hemphill and under direct charge 
of Maj. Nelson and Capt. Mitchell. 
The command was known as the High- 
land Battalion, and was sworn into 
the United States service by Capt. 
Paine, U. S. A., and served until after 
most of the Indians had been removed 
to the west. On the resignation of 
Lieut. Carter, Joseph Watters was 
elected to the vacancy, and when Capt. 
Mitchell resigned, Watters was named 
in his place. This was undoubtedly 
the same Joseph Watters for whom 



the Watters district of Floyd County 

was named. 

* * * 

RIDGE'S LUCKY SHOT.— The fol- 
lowing anecdote, summarized from the 
Cartersville Courant of Apr. 2, 1885, 
(by Judge Jno. W. H. Underwood) 
will show how a red-man would now 
and then befriend a pale-face: 

"In old Pendleton District, South 
Carolina, lived Col. James Blair, a 
Revolutionary soldier, last commander 
of Oconee Station and one of the con- 
stables of Col. Benj. Cleveland, a hei'O 
of the Revolution, colloquially known 
as 'Old Roundabout.' For 20 years 
Col. Blair had rounded up Tories and 
thieves and had swung many a 'bad 
man' to the gate gallows in front of 
Col. Cleveland's plantation home. 

"On this occasion. Col. Blair was 
following Wiley Hyde and Tom Phil- 
lips, half breed Indians who had stolen 
two fine horses from Benj. Mosely, 
who lived near Oconee Station. He 
was equipped with a horse in leash as 
well as his saddle animal, and two 
large horse pistols. At Reece's Spring, 
a mile east of the home of Major 
Ridge, the Cherokee chief, and two 
whoops and a holler from Ft. Jack- 
son, Col. Blair came upon the Indians, 
drinking at the spring. They were 
also fairly full of fire-water, and as 
he approached (having tethered his 
horses nearby), they covered him with 
their rifles. 

"Col. Blair threw up his hands, but 
quickly said, 'Don't shoot! I am a 
friend with some good whiskey! Don't 
shoot a friend with some whiskey on 
his hip!' 

"The Indians relented and began to 
question him in their maudlin way. 
He told them he wanted to join a 
crowd and go over into Vann's Valley 
and steal some horses. The suspicions 
of Wiley Hyde were aroused, and he 
said, 'Tom Phillips, you are a fool. 
He's from over the line, and he'll be 
shooting us full of holes in a minute. 
Let's kill him and throw him in the 
river.' 

"Hyde raised his gun, cocked it and 
was about to crack down on CoL 
Blair's chest when 'Bang!' came from 
the nearby forest. Hyde fell face 
forward into the branch, and as he 
went down. Col. Blair seized his gun 
and covered Wiley Hyde, who threw 
up his hands. 

"Major Ridge rushed forward from 
a clump of underbrush and explained 
that he had been out hunting wild tur- 
keys when the pantomine was re- 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



217 



hearsed before his eyes. He knew the 
two men to be worthless scoundrels, 
and was glad to do Col. Blair and the 
state the service of dispatching one of 
them. John Ridge, the Major's son, 
Stand Watie, John's cousin, and Sally 
Ridge, the Major's pretty young 
daughter, came running up, and with 
a courtly bow. Col. Blair presented 
his handsome gold watch to the little 
girl. John and Stand Watie got the 
stolen horses together for Col. Blair; 
Tom Phillips was tied securely and put 
on one of them, and Col. Blair went 
back to the Pendleton district of 
South Carolina. The dead Indian was 
buried 150 yards below the spring, 
without even a tear from Miss Sally 
to damped the sod. 

"This act gained for Major Ridge 
an honorable name among the pale- 
faces, who ever after looked to him 
to redress wrongs committed by mem- 
bers of his clan; and when he fought 
so bravely at the Battle of the Horse- 
shoe, Ala., several years later, under 
Gen. Jackson, all felt that his laurels 
were lightly worn." 



TROUBLES OF THE CHIEFS.— 
That life was not a bed of Cherokee 
roses for the Ridges and their kins- 
man, Elias Boudinot, is evident from 
the following letters : 

*Washington City, Mar. 13, 1835. 

To Hon. Lewis Cass, 
Secretary of War, 
Washington, D. C. 

Sir: I read this letter this morn- 
ing, advising me of the progress of 
intrusion upon my plantation and 
ferry within the chartered limits of 
Alabama. The damage done to me 
v/ill be considerable if this is suffered 
to proceed. Deplorable will be the fate 
of the Indians if lawless men, without 
the authorities of the States, are suf- 
fered to throw free people out of their 
houses while they are preparing to 
leave the land of their forefathers. 
This is not a solitary case, but these 
aggravating cases are transpiring al- 
most every day. The Government 
should give instructions to its agents 
upon this subject without delay. 

I am, sir, respectfully your friend, 
JOHN RIDGE. 



(Enclosure.) 
**Childersville, Ala., Dec. 23, 1835. 
Mr. John Ridge, 
(Washington, D. C.) 

Dear Friend: It has been some 
weeks since I wrote to you. I have 
been expecting to receive a letter from 
you, but have not received any yet. I 
now write to give you the times here. 
We are all well. I have commenced 
clearing up my ground for a crop. I 
shall start my ploughs in a few days. 
Jno. W. Garrot'-'*"' is here on the other 
side of the river; has got large dou- 
ble houses built, and has taken those 
old houses that Pathkiller used to live 
in, and made kitchens of them. He has 
moved part of the fencing there and 
says he intends to hold all the pos- 
sessions, and that he will take the 
ferry as soon as you return. I for- 
bid him to build there, before wit- 
nesses. He threatens to shoot any 
man that would interrupt him. He 
says he can raise a militia force any 
time to protect himself. Major B. F. 
Currey was here shortly after Garrot 
first came, and ordered him off. Gar- 
rot now says they had a private con- 
versation, and Currey had told him 
that he should not be interrupted, and 



♦Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (183.5), p. 357. 

**Ibid. Uncioubtedly the present Childersburp. 
Talladega County, on the Coosa River, 125 
miles below Rome. 

***A man named Garrett is supposed to have 
molested Major Ridge's ferry at Rome. 




DR. GAMALIEL W. HOLMES, who estab- 
lished a reputation as a family physician 
after the Civil War. 



218 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



that they (Currey and himself) had 
made a compromise of the business. 
I hope you will be able while you are 
there to make arrangements from Gov- 
ernment to have him put off from this 
place. If you can not do that, it will 
injure you more than one thousand 
dollars. If he was away from here 
I could get $2,500 for the place at any 
time, but it will not sell for half that 
amount under the present circum- 
stances. 

I have bad news to tell you about 
the money business here. My share 
this winter is but little. The small- 
pox turned the people away in the 
fore part of the winter, and now and 
for some time back the people are 
afraid to travel on account of the 
highway robbers. The travellers are 
getting killed and robbed in all parts 
of the country. Between Mr. West's 
and Spanish John's old place there 
have been found a man and two horses 
killed. On the mountain between here 
and Mr. Bell's a man has been robbed 
of a horse. Down at Mill creek, on 
this road, a man was robbed of $192. 
On the mountain near Cox's, a man 
was killed and robbed of his horse and 
money. In Chattooga Valley there 
were two men shot, but neither of 
them killed. Near Montgomery, a few 
days ago, a man was killed and rob- 
bed of several hundred dollars. 

I heard from Mrs. Ridge a few days 
ago. They were all well. Today I 
shall send Mrs. Ridge $45 of cash. I 
must conclude by saying to you that 
I still remain, 

Your sincere friend, 

WM. CHILDERS. 
"'Headquarters, Army Cherokee Na- 
tion, Valley Town, N. C, Aug. 12, 
1836. 
Brig. Gen. Dunlap,** 
Of the Brigade of 
Tennessee Volunteers. 

Sir: Captain Vernon, stationed at 
New Echota, informs me that John 
Ridge has complained to him that some 
white man is about to take forcible 
possession of his ferry on Coosa River. 
You will without delay inquire into the 
case, and if you should find the com- 
plaint to be just, you will, until fur- 
ther orders, protect Ridge in his rights 
and property. This order will apply to 
all cases of similar character in the 
Cherokee country. 

You are further directed that in 
case you should find any troops with- 
in the limits of the Cherokee nation, 
whether in Georgia, Alabama, Tennes- 
see or North Carolina, not belonging 



to the East Tennessee brigade, to no- 
tify them that they are exclusively 
subject to my authority, and unless 
they report to me without delay, and 
become subject to my orders, will 
either leave the nation or be disband- 
ed. In your proceedings, you will be 
governed by your instructions of the 
4th instant. 

I am, very respectfully, your obe- 
dient servant, 

JOHN E. WOOL, 
Brigadier General Commanding. 

In September, 1836, Gov. Lumpkin 
wrote as follows of the Ridge ferry 
seizure at Rome to Gen. John E. 

Wool:*** 

"I herewith enclose you sundry pa- 
pers placed in my hands by Mr. Gar- 
rett, on the subject of Ridge's ferry. 
From these papers it would seem that 
Garrett is willing to yield his claims 
to the civil authority, and yet to obey 
and respect any military orders to him 
directed by you. 

"Garrett alleges that he will cease 
to run his ferry boat provided Ridge 
will keep up the ferry and not disap- 
point travelers, but further states that 
Ridge is like the dog in the manger — 
that he will neither run his own boat 
nor suffer him to run one. The pa- 
pers, however, will place you in pos- 
session of the facts and relieve you 
from further trouble in the case. 

"With gi-eat respect, your obedient 
servant, 

"WILSON LUMPKIN." 

****New Echota, June 15, 1836. 
Hon. Elbert Herring, 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

Sir: By the last mail I addressed 
a letter to Mr. Schermerhorn, to your 
care, which you have probably perused. 
What I there stated in regard to the 
state of feeling among the Cherokees 
has only been confirmed to my satis- 
faction. Indeed, I will venture to say 
there has never been a time for the 
last five years when appearances were 
so favorable as at present. I know 
of no hostility to the treaty. I hear 
now, on the contrary, the Cherokees in 
this region will receive it with cheer- 
fulness. They say the matter is now 
settled and they are glad of it. I 
speak of the mass of the Cherokees. 

*Secretary of War's Report on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835), p. 640. 

**W. C. Dunlap. 

***Removal of the Cherokee Indians from 
Georgia, (Lumpkin), Vol. II, p. 43. 

****Report of Secretary of War on CheroTcee 
Treaty (1835), ps. 600-1. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



219 



There is a portion who, no doubt, feel 
far otherwise; but they are those 
whose ambition has been disappointed. 
Without their interference there will 
be no excitement. I trust they will not 
endeavor to excite the people. 

The white inhabitants of this coun- 
try are in a state of great alarm, 
founded upon some unfounded appre- 
hensions. I believe it is owing a great 
deal to what is transpiring in the 
Creek nation. Our people are not even 
aware of the state of feeling among 
the whites, much less are they think- 
ing of making war. I trust, sir, that 
no exaggerated rumors, which, no 
doubt, will go out of this country, will 
induce the Government to believe the 
Cherokees are in a hostile attitude. 
They are not, nor do I believe, even 
with Ross's influence, will a portion 
of them ever assume such an attitude. 

Our people are greatly suffering 
for food. It is very important that the 
necessary appropriations should be 
made soon for their relief. If I had 
authority to do so, I would begin to 
supply them in this neighborhood. 

In my letters to Mr. Schermerhorn 
I have referred to the speculations that 
are going on upon the Indians by 
whites and half breeds. Strong meas- 
ures are necessary to prevent it. The 
president ought to have the right of 
deciding what are the just debts of 
the Indians, for the protection of that 
class. If not, they will go to the west 
deprived of every cent of their prop- 
erty, and the money will go into the 
hands of the whites and such Indians 
as have opposed the very treaty by 
which they are now trying to amass 
wealth. I say again, strong measures 
are necessary. 

I trust the President will think it 
best to send Mr. Schermerhorn again. 
I think he is a suitable person be- 
cause he is a terror to speculators, and 
understands the situation of these peo- 
ple and their affairs. 

With sentiments of high esteem, I 
remain yours, 

ELIAS BOUDINOT. 

*New Echota, Ga., June 16, 1836. 
Hon. Elbert Herring, 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

Sir: I addressed a letter to you yes- 
terday, giving you a favorable account 
of the state of feeling among the 
Cherokees. I have since then i-eceived 
the enclosed letter, which would seem 
to contradict what I have stated. I 

*Report of Secretary of War on Cherokee 
Treaty (1835), ps. 602-3-4. 



wish to be understood as speaking of 
the Cherokees in this region, and from 
which I have direct information. There 
are neighborhoods where I have every 
reason to presume there is hostility 
towards us as a treaty party, and there 
are individuals who would willingly 
take our lives if they could. I have 
no idea that the danger is as great 
as is apprehended by the writers of 
the two letters enclosed. 

I came through the neighborhood 
where hostility is said to exist, and 
the frolic or dance spoken of was held 
before I came along. I saw Thos. 
Taylor there, and he told me that he 
found the people better satisfied than 
he expected. 

I yet think there may be some mis- 
take about Welch being waylaid. Fos- 
ter, one of our delegation, was here 
the other day, and he told me every- 
thing was going right for the treaty. 
But as I have before stated, inflam- 
matory statements from the other side 
may change the state of feeling. I 
shall not be excited, and shall take 
the matter coolly and deliberately, and 
shall endeavor to keep you apprized of 
what is happening. I shall repeat 
again what I have said, that matters 
have never appeared so favorable 
within the compass of my observations 
within the last five years, as at pres- 
ent, and if Ross would only keep away, 
the nation would almost be unanimous 
for the treaty. 

To give you an instance how these 
poor people are deluded and misled, it 
is said that one of Ross's delegation on 
his return reported that the Cherokee 
countries here and in Arkansas have- 
been sold, and that the Cherokees will' 
have to go to a far country, infested 
by man-eaters. The people protested' 
going there, but are willing to go tO' 
Arkansas. 

I should have addressed these let- 
ters to Mr. Schermerhorn, if I thought 
he was still there. Please give my 
respects to him, and let him see these 
letters. 

Very respectfully, 

ELIAS BOUDINOT. 

(Two Enclosures.) 
Coal Mountain, June 8, 1836. 
Mr. Elias Boudinot, 

Sir: There was an Indian frolic or 
dance on Saturday night last, and 
there was some white men went to 
the same. They have rei)<)rted that 
the Indians said that they had no 
malice towards the white people, but 



220 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



that they intended killing Ridge and 
yourself.' I have written you that you 
"might be on your guard, which no 
doubt you are. The citizens of this 
county had a meeting yesterday; they 
are resolved to punish all offenses, if 
any. I would recommend for your 
safety for you and family to leave the 
country until the excitement is over a 
little. ' Please to accept for yourself 
and family my best wishes. 
Truly yours, 

GEORGE KELLOG. 

Chattahoochee, June 8, 1836. 

My dear Boudinot: I have just re- 
ceived a letter from Welch, informing 
me that his house has been waylaid 
by the Indians, who are seeking an 
opportunity to kill him. Our friend 
Tom Taylor is scattering the fire- 
brands. All my friends are well 
pleased that our treaty has been rati- 
fied and are ready to pledge their lives 
in defense of the treaty party. We 
have thousands of friends amongst the 
Georgians, ready to do the same. 

If you are at all apprehensive of 
danger, let me advise you to collect 
all your friends and form an encamp- 
ment at Ridge's; arm but act on the 
defensive; make any contracts neces- 
sary to your support. The treaty must 
meet them. I have just written to 
Schermerhorn, informing him of Tay- 
lor's conduct. Write to me often. I 
am much concerned for your safety. 
Sincerely your friend, 

WILLIAM RODGERS." 

ROSS DRIVEN FROM HOME. 
—In April, 1835, it would appear, 
Ross returned from Washington to his 
home at "Head of Coosa," Rome. On 
Mar. 14, the Ridge party had signed 
with the Government the preliminar- 
ies of the New Echota treaty, giving 
the Indians $5,000,000 for Cherokee 
Georgia. In order to reach Washing- 
ton in those days it was necessary to 
travel by stage or horse to Charles- 
ton, and' there take the steamer north 
or go the entire way on horseback. 
He had come in on his trusty charger, 
tired and hopeful of a kiss from his 
wife and children. Instead, he found 
his family gone — thrown out with a 
few scant things they could carry 
with them, and making for Tennessee 
ever the dusty road. 

The following statement was signed 
by eight leading Cherokees,** including 
Ross, and it was undoubtedly written 
or dictated by Ross himself. Although 
the ejectment seems to have taken 



place in April, complaint was not made 
to Washington until June 21, 1836, 
more than a year later. Here is the 
summary of grievances, including the 
tale of the ejectment; it states that 
Ross's father, Daniel Ross, was buried 
at Rome, whereas members of the 
family in Oklahoma have always 
thought the parent and certain others 
were buried at Lookout Mountain, 
Tenn. 

"The Cherokees were then left to the 
mercy of an interested agent. This 
agent, under the act of 1834, was the 
notorious Wm. N. Bishop, the captain 
of the Georgia Guard, aid to the Gov- 
ernor, clerk of court, postmaster, etc., 
and his mode of trying Indian rights 
is here submitted: 

" 'Murray County, Ga., 
Jan. 20, 1835. 
" 'Mr. John Martin: 

" 'Sir — The legal representative of 
lots of land No. 95, 25th district, 2nd 
section, No. 86, 25th district, 2nd sec- 
tion, No. 93, 25th district, 2nd section, 
No. 89, 25th district, 2nd section. No. 
57. 25th district, 2nd section, has 
called on me, as State's agent, to give 
possession of the above described lots 
of land, and informs me that you are 
the occupant upon them. Under the 
laws of the State of Georgia, passed 
in 1833 and 1834. it is made my duty 
to comply with his request, therefore, 
prepare yourself to give entire pos- 
session of said premises on or before 
the 20th day of February next; fail 
not under the penalty of the law. 
"'WM. N. BISHOP, 

" 'State's Agent.' 

"Mr. Martin,='^='-* a Cherokee, was a 
man of wealth, had an extensive farm, 
large fields of wheat growing; and 
was turned out of house and home, 
and compelled, in the month of Feb- 
ruary, to seek a new residence within 
the limits of Tennessee. 

*Usually spelled Rogers. 

**John Ross, John Martin, James Brown, 
Joseph Vann, John Benpce, Lewis Ross, Elijah 
Hicks and Richard Fields. Authority: Cher- 
okee Indians, Congressional Documents 
(1S35-6), Doc. No. 286, ps. 5-6-7. After Ross 
was dispossessed, he went to live in Bradley 
County, Tenn., where he and John Howard 
Payne were arrested a few months later. 

***Martin had been a judge of one of the 
Cherokee districts (Amoah). On Aug. 10, 
1835, he was arrested by I-ieut. Jno. L. Hooper, 
commander of Co. F, 4th Inf., U. S. A., at Ft. 
Cass, Calhoun, Tenn., and confined at the home 
of Lewis Ross at that place, whence he soon 
made his escape. A spirited tilt then took 
place between Hooper and Major Currey. Mar- 
tin was charged with having threatened the 
life of John Ridge for negotiating with the 
Government. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



221 



"Mr. Richard Taylor was also at 
Washington, and in his absence his 
family was threatened with expulsion, 
and compelled to give $200 for leave 
to remain at home for a few months 
only. 

"This is the 'real humanity' the 
Cherokees were shown by the real or 
pretended authorities of Georgia, dis- 
avowing any selfish or sinister motives 
towards them. 

"Mr. Jos. Vann, also a native Chero- 
kee, was a man of great wealth ; had 
about 800 acres of land in cultivation; 
had made extensive improvements, 
consisting, in part, of a brick house, 
costing about $10,000, mills, kitchens, 
negro houses, and other buildings. He 
had fine gardens, and extensive apple 
and peach orchards. His business was 
so extensive he was compelled to em- 
ploy an overseer and other agents. In 
the fall of 1833 he was called from 
home, but before leaving made a con- 
ditional contract with a Mr. Howell, 
a white man, to oversee for him in the 
year 1834, to commence on the first 
of January of that year. He returned 
about the 28th or "29th of December, 
1833, and learning that Georgia had 
prohibited any Cherokee from hiring a 
white man, told Mr. Howell he did 
not want his services. 

"Yet Mr. Bishop, the State's agent, 
represented to the authorities of Geor- 
gia that Mr. Vann had violated the 
laws of that State by hiring a white 
man, had forfeited his right of oc- 
cupancy, and that a grant ought to 
issue for his lands. 

"There were conflicting claims un- 
der Georgia laws for his possessions. 
A Mr. Riley* pretended a claim, and 
took possession of the upper part of 
the dwelling house, armed for battle. 
Mr. Bishop, the State's agent, and his 
party came to take possession, and be- 
tween them and R*ley a fight com- 
menced, and from 20 to 50 guns were 
fired in the house. While this was 
going on, Mr. Vann gathered his trem- 
bling wife and children into a room 
for safety. Riley could not be dis- 
lodged from his position upstairs, even 
after being wounded, and Bishop's par- 
ty finally set fire to the house. Riley 
surrendered and the fire was extin- 
guished. 

Mr. Vann and his family were then 

♦Spencer Riley, of Cass County, formerly or 
Bibb. The fipht took place Mar. 2, 1835 ; au- 
thority : Georgia Journal, Milledgeville, Apr. 7, 
1835. 

**Tallapoosa River, with Andrew Jackson 
and Major Ridne. 

***Reference to the Ridges, Boudinot and 
others of the Treaty party. 



driven out, unprepared, in the dead of 
winter, and snow on the ground, 
through which they were compelled 
to wade and to take shelter within 
the limits of Tennessee, in an open 
log cabin, upon a dirt floor, and Bishop 
put his brother, Absalom Bishop, in 
posession of Mr. Vann's house. This 
Mr. Vann is the same who, when a 
boy, volunteered as a private soldier 
in the Cherokee regiment in the serv- 
ice of the United States, in the Creek 
war, periled his life in crossing the 
river at the Battle of the Horse 
Shoe.** What has been his reward? 

"Hundreds of other cases might be 
added. In. fact, nearly all the Chero- 
kees in Georgia who had improve- 
ments of any value, except the favor- 
ites of the United States agent,*** 
under one pretext or another have 
been driven from their homes. Amid 
the process of expulsion, the Rev. John 
F. Schermerhorn, the United States 
commissioner, visited the legislatures 
of Tennessee and Alabama, and im- 
portuned those bodies to pass laws 
prohibiting the Cherokees who might 
be turned out of their possessions from 
within the Georgia limits, taking up 
a residence in the limits of those 
states. 




WADE SAMUEL COTHRAN, Icadinj? spirit in 
the First Presbyterian church, who removed 
from Rome to Anniston. 



222 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



"The same summary process was 
used toward Mr. John Ross, the prin- 
cipal chief of the Cherokee Nation. He 
was at Washington City, on the busi- 
ness of his nation. When he returned, 
he traveled until about 10 o'clock at 
night to reach his family; rode up to 
the gate; saw a servant believed to be 
his own; dismounted, ordered his horse 
taken; went in, and to his utter as- 
tonishment found himself a stranger 
in his own home, his family having 
been some days before driven out to 
seek a new home. 

"A thought then flitted across his 
mind — that he could not, under all the 
circumstances of the situation, recon- 
cile it to himself to tarry all night 
under the roof of his own house as a 
stranger, the new host of that house 
being the tenant of that mercenary 
band of Georgia speculators at whose 
instance his helpless family had been 
turned out and made homeless. 

"Upon reflecting, however, that 'man 
is born unto trouble,' Mr. Ross at once 
concluded to take up his lodgings 
there for the night, and to console 
himself under the conviction of having 
met his afflictions and trials in a man- 
ner consistent with every principle of 
moral obligation towards himself and 
family, his country and his God. 

"On the next morning he arose early, 
and went out into the yard, and saw 
some straggling herds of his cattle and 
sheep browsing about the place — his 
crop of corn undisposed of. In cast- 
ing a look up into the widespread 
branches of a majestic oak, standing 
within the enclosure of the garden, 
and which overshadows the spot where 
lie the remains of his dear babe and 
most beloved and affectionate father, 
he there saw, perched upon its boughs, 
that flock of beautiful pea-fowls, once 
the matron's care and delight, but now 
left to destruction and never more to 
be seen. 

"He ordered his horse, paid his bill, 
and departed in search of his family. 
After traveling amid heavy rains he 
had the happiness of overtaking them 
on the road, bound for some place of 
refuge within the limits of Tennessee. 
Thus have his houses, farm, public 
ferries, and other property been wrest- 
ed from him." 

* * * 

JOHN RIDGE IN NEW YORK.— 
Martin Grahame, of Briarlea, Sas- 
katchewan, Canada, who for some 
years lived on the East Rome place 
owned by J. Paul Cooper, sent the fol- 
lowing in 1921 to Linton A. Dean 



from the diary of his father, W. R. 
Grahame : 

"New York, N. Y., Feb. 2, 1832.— 
Was also with Testes Dwight to the 
City Hotel and was introduced to and 
had conversation with two Indian 
chiefs, the first and only I have seen — 
Mr. John Ridge and another chief 
whose name I do not remember. They 
were well-dressed men in surtouts, 
(wide-skirted coats reaching below the 
knees. — Webster's New Standard Dic- 
tionary) , spoke good English and be- 
haved themselves like gentlemen. Ridge 
is the son of an orator, the greatest, 
Mr. Dwight said, among the Cherokees, 
a chief of the Deer Tribe. The other 
Indian was of the Wolf Tribe, of the 
Cherokee Nation, both of them. They 
had beautiful, small hands and feet, 
especially Ridge, who is married to a 
New England lady. They have come 
to New York to raise the sympathy of 
the public in behalf of their country- 
men who have deputized them with 
that design, for the purpose of getting 
them allowed to remain in their lands 
guaranteed them in Georgia, Tennes- 
see and North Carolina in their treaty 
with the United States. 

"The Cherokees consist of 16,000 to 
20,000 people, the women more numer- 
ous than the men. The Sequoyan al- 
phabet, according to Ridge, can be 
learned in three days by a quick schol- 
ar, and in six days by a slow one. 
They have left ofl; the chase largely of 
late and devote themselves to agri- 
culture. Mr. Ridge said superstition 
kept the Indian from gaining more 
information. He stated that legend 
had it that God first made the 
Indian and then the white man. The 
Indian was offered the choice of a 
book or a bow and arrow, and while 
he hesitated, the white man stole the 
book; thus the bow and arrow was left 
to the Indian, and*, he has made good 
use of them ever since. Mr. Ridge's 
father's home is a two-story one, 52 
by 28 feet, and there are many others 
of handsome design which show the 
wealth and civilization of the owners. 

"Tonight at a public meeting in 
Clinton Hall, Mr. Ridge mentioned 
that the chiefs of the Cherokees had 
voluntarily resigned their ancient pow- 
ers and modeled their state into a Re- 
public on the general plan of the Unit- 
ed States, with frequent elections (uni- 
versal suffrage there is also, but he 
did not mention that) . 

"In the morning he mentioned that 
among the Creek Nation women are 
monthly put out of the house to purify, 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



223 



and at these seasons men do not ap- 
proach them, even to speak, except 
from a distance. Adultery in high or 
low deg'ree is punished with beating 
until the criminals faint, and then cut- 
ting the ears off. Formerly, passing 
between a woman and the wind or 
bathing higher up a stream at the same 
time with her was held adultery, com- 
municated of the water or the wind. 
After punishment is inflicted, how- 
ever, the off"ender resumes his rank, 
and if he can escape until after an an- 
nual jubilee, he may save himself en- 
tirely from punishment. 

"A married man may have as many 
wives as he pleases, if they are not 
the wives of others. The ladies have 
not that privilege." 



WHEN THE RED MAN LEFT.— 
(By Jno. W. H. Underwood, in The 
Cartersville Courant, 1883). — The 
County of Floyd is perhaps the most 
interesting locality of this section of 
the state. Situated on the confluence 
of the Oostanaula and Etowah rivers, 
it has attracted the attention of many 
people. It was the favorite resort of 
the Red Man, and when the treaty of 
Dec. 29, 1835, was made, the influx 
of population was greatly increased. 

The Cherokee country was surveyed 
by the authorities of the State of 
Georgia in 1830 and 1831. The lots 
were 160 acres and 40 acres in size. 
That supposed to be the gold region 
was laid off in 40-acre lots, and that 
where there was supposed to be no 
gold was laid off in 160-acre lots. The 
whole of the Cherokee country com- 
prised in the chartered limits of Geor- 
gia was made into one county, called 
Cherokee County. The extent of the 
territory embraced was very consider- 
able, beginning at the point where the 
35th parallel of N. Latitude comes in 
contact with a point on the Blue Ridge 
fixed by James Blair and Wilson Lump- 
kin that now divides Towns and Ra- 
bun counties, running thence west to 
Nickajack Cave, the northwest corner 
of Georgia, thence due south, nearly 
in the direction of Miller's bend, on the 
Chattahoochee River, two miles south 
of West Point, Ga., until it strikes 
the north of Carroll County, thence 
east until it reaches the Chattahoochee 
River, thence along said river to the 
mouth of the Chestatee, thence up the 
Chestatee River to the head and then 



*Not at Princeton University. It is generally 
accepted that he attended the mission schools 
at Spring Place, Murray County, and at Corn- 
wall, Conn. 



due north to the top of the Blue Ridge, 
then in an easterly direction to Hick- 
ory Gap, then with the meanders of 
the Blue Ridge to the beginning. 

Cherokee County was organized early 
in 1832. The courthouse was located 
where the town of Canton now is. A 
judge and solicitor general were elect- 
ed. The Hon. Jno. W. Hooper was the 
first judge of the Superior Court. He 
was the father of Mrs. Thos. W. Alex- 
ander and John W. Hooper, long a 
resident of Rome. Hon. Wm. Ezzard 
was elected the first solicitor general. 
He now resides in Atlanta, Ga., a hale 
and hearty, well-preserved man be- 
tween 80 and 90 years of age, an orna- 
ment to mankind, an honor to his race, 
a connecting link between the past and 
present. Jacob M. Scudder, who had 
long resided among the Indians as a 
licensed trader, under the new inter- 
course laws of the United States, res- 
ident in the nation, was elected sena- 
tor, and a man by the name of Wil- 
liams representative. Scudder was a 
highly intelligent and able man, and 
very soon made a favorable impres- 
sion upon the legislature. Early in 
the session he introduced a bill to lay 
off the country into ten counties, as 
follows: Forsyth, Cobb, Lumpkin, 
Union, Gilmer, Cherokee, Murray, 
Cass, Floyd and Paulding. Murray 
County embraced the territory that is 
now in Whitfield, Catoosa, Walker, and 
one-half of Chattooga. It would per- 
haps have been best if the original 
counties had remained as they were, 
with slight exceptions. Mr. Scudder 
laid off Floyd County with the view 
of the existence of a city where Rome 
now is. John Ross, the principal chief 
of the Cherokees, resided immediately 
north and opposite the junction of the 
rivers, and called his place "Head of 
Coosa." I have seen his letters to my 
father often. 

Major Ridge, who was made a major 
by Gen. Jackson at the Battle of the 
Horseshoe on the Tallapoosa River, in 
TMabama. for gallant conduct, resided 
up the Oostanaula River nearly two 
miles north of the courthouse, on the 
east bank of the river. Major Ridge's 
son, John, was educated at Princeton, 
N. J.,* and John's sister, Sallie. at Mrs. 
Elsworth's School. John Ridge was 
flic great rival of John Ross, and Sal- 
lie Ridge was the first wife of George 
W. Paschal, deceased, who was once 
one of the judges of the Sui)reme Court 
of Texas. Ridge Paschal, their son, is 
a distinguished lawyer in Texas. 

There exists no record of the first 
settlers of Floyd County. The site 



224 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



was at first located down the Coosa 
River, ten miles from Rome and called 
Livingston. In 1834, however, there 
was a very heated contest, and the seat 
of justice, the courthouse, was moved 
to the junction of the rivers and the 
place named Rome. Among the early 
settlers were the two Hemphills — 
James and Philip W. Hemphill. One 
of them resided at the Mobley place, 
now owned by Col. Yancey, and the 
other in Vann's Valley, at what has 
been for many years known as the 
Montgomery farm. 

Walton H. Jones was the brother- 
in-law of Hemphill and was an early 
settler. So was Edward Ware, who 
resided eight miles south of Rome, 
where Mr, Alexander White now lives. 
Joseph Ford, the father of I. D. Ford 
and Arthur Ford, was another, and 
resided in Vann's Valley where Mr. 
W. S. Gibbons now lives. He built the 
brick residence there. John Rush was 
another early settler, and resided on 
the Calhoun Road, seven miles north- 
cast of Rome. Joseph Watters was an 
early settler, settling eight miles north- 
east of Rome at the "Hermitage." Wal- 
lace Warren was here early, and re- 
sided on the west side of the Oosta- 
naula six miles from Rome. Dr. Alvin 
Dean, the grandfather of Linton Dean, 
was another one of them. He resided 
about nine miles down the Coosa at 
the residence of John W. Turner, who 
married his daughter. Thos. S. Price 
was another striking man, for sixteen 
years sheriff and deputy sheriff with 
Thos. G. Watters, now of Rome. The 
Loyds were heard of at an early date, 
and so were Thomas and Elijah Lump- 
kin. John H. Lumpkin was here in 
1834. Joseph Watters was many times 
a senator from Floyd. John H. Lump- 
kin was for three terms a member of 
the Superior Court. Among the men 
of mark who were here at an early 
day may be mentioned Daniel R. 
Mitchell, Wallace Mitchell, A. T. Har- 
din, Elkanah Everett, and Thos. Sel- 
man, the father of the numerous and 
highly respected Selmans. 

Perhaps the most far-seeing man 
devoted to the interests of Rome that 
ever lived in our midst was William 
Smith. He was of great energy and 
very full capacity, with the will 
and courage of Andrew Jackson — 
warm in his friendships and attach- 
ments. He saw at an early day the 
prospective commercial importance of 
Rome. He was very far in advance of 
the place and the people. He caused 
to be projected and built the first 



steamboat. He was born to command 
and generally had at least one-half of 
the voters of the county under his 
control. He was often honored with 
positions of trust by the people of the 
county, and was once state senator. 
He died at comparatively an early age. 
He was a close and intimate friend of 
Col. Alfred Shorter. 

Of the earliest settlers, few if any 
remain — alas, alas! they have gone 
to that bourne whence no traveler re- 
turns! Melancholy reflection! The 
writer knew them all — they were his 
friends and are now in the grave. 

Among the later settlers were Wm. 
H. Underwood. Dr. H. V. M. Miller, 
A. D. Shackelford, Wm. T. Price, R. 
S. Norton, Wm. E. Alexander, Pente- 
cost and Ihly, the Alexanders, the 
Smith family. Col. Alfred Shorter and 
Wade S. Cothran, active-minded and 
public-spirited men. 

A. B. Ross, clerk of the Superior 
Court, the father of our present clerk, 
was here at an early day. He held 
the office of clerk until his death, and 
was as good a man as ever lived in 
the county. 

Jobe Rogers, John DeJournett, 
Ewell Meredith and the Berryhills 
were sterling men. The Rev. Geo, 
White, of Savannah, Ga., published two 
books, history and statistics of Geor- 
gia, and there is very little said of 
Floyd County. Floyd is now the fifth 
or sixth county in point of population, 
and Rome is the sixth city in the state. 
The future of Rome is very promis- 
ing. The growth has been gradual and 
it is a remarkable fact that Rome has 
built up by money made in the place 
principally. Very little capital from 
abroad has been used. 

Rome ought to be the great manu- 
facturing, commercial and financial 
center of this northwest Georgia. We 
have considerable manufacturing in- 
terests here now, and with the ore, 
slate, marble, and other precious and 
valuable stones near enough to us, the 
future of Rome must be upward and 
onward. 

There is no collision of interests be- 
tween Rome, Dalton, Rockmart and 
Cartersville. The interest of one is 
the interest of the whole. Let there 
be no jealousy and no rivalry. Let 
each and all push forward the wheel 
of our progress, and make this section 
in point of fact and development what 
the god of nature intended, the most 
prosperous and lovely section of this 
great country. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



225 



AN OLD RAMBLER.— The follow- 
ing Floyd County humor is from Bill 
Arp's Scrap Book, Chapt. 1, The Orig- 
inal Bill Arp, by Chas. H. Smith, At- 
lanta, Jas. P. Harrison & Co., 1884: 

"Some time in the spring of 1861, 
when the boys were hunting for a fight 
and felt like they could whip all crea- 
tion, Mr. Lincoln issued a proclama- 
tion ordering us all to disperse and 
retire within 30 days, and to quit ca- 
vorting around in a hostile and bellig- 
erent manner. I remember writing an 
answer to it, though I was a good Un- 
ion man and a law-abiding citizen, and 
was willing to disperse, if I could, but 
it was almost impossible, for the boys 
were mighty hot, and the way we made 
up our military companies was to send 
a man down the lines with a bucket of 
water to sprinkle 'em as he came to 
'em, and if a fellow sizzed like hot iron 
in a slack-trough, we took him, and if 
he didn't sizz, we dident take him; but 
still, nevertheless, notwithstanding, 
and so forth, if we could possibly dis- 
perse in 30 days we would do so, but 
I thought he had better give us a little 
more time, for I had been out in an 
old field and tried to disperse myself 
and couldent quite do it. 

"I thought the letter was pretty 
smart, and read it to Dr. Miller and 
Judge Underwood, and they seemed to 
think it was right smart too. About 
that time I looked around and saw Bill 
Arp standing at the door with his 
mouth open and a merry glisten in his 
eye. As he came forward, says he to 
me, 'Squire, are ye gwine to print 
that?' 

" 'I reckon I will. Bill,' said I. 
'What name are ye gwine to put to 
it?' said he. 'I havent thought about 
a name.' Then he brightened up and 
said, 'Well, Squire, I wish you would 
put mine, for them's my sentiments!' 
And I promised him that I would. 

"So I did not rob Bill Arp of his 
good name, but took it on request, and 
now at this late day, when the moss 
has covered his grave, I will record 
.some pleasant memories of a man 
whose notoriety was not extensive, but 
who filled up a gap that was open, and 
who brightened up the flight of many 
an hour in the good old time, say from 
20 to 30 years ago. 

"Bill Arp was a small, sinewy man, 
weighing about 130 pounds, as active 
as a cat, as quick in movement as he 
was active, and always presenting a 
bright, cheerful face. He had an 
amiable disposition, a generous heart 
and was as brave a man as nature 



makes. He was an humble man and 
unlettered in books; never went to 
school but a month or two in his life, 
and could neither read nor write; but 
.;till, he had more than his share of 
common sense, more than his share of 
ingenuity, and plan and contrivance, 
more than his share of good mother- 
wit and humor, and was always wel- 
come when he came about. 

"Lawyers and doctors and editors, 
and such gentlemen of leisure as who 
used to, in the good old times, sit 
around and chat and have a good time, 
always said, 'Come in. Bill, and take 
a seat.' And Bill seemed grateful for 
the compliment, and with a conscious 
humility squatted on about half the 
chair and waited for questions. The 
bearing of the man was one of rever- 
ence for his superiors and thankful- 
ness for their notice. 

"Bill Arp was a contented man — 
contented with his humble lot. He 
never grumbled or complained at any- 
thing; he had desires and ambitions, 
but they did not trouble him. He kept 
a ferry for a wealthy gentleman who 
lived a few miles above Rome, on the 
Etowah River, and he cultivated a 
small portion of his land; but the 
ferry was not of much consequence, 
and when Bill could step off to Rome 
and hear the lawyers talk, he would 
turn over the boat and poles to his 
wife or children, and go. I have known 
him to take a back seat in the court- 
house for a day at a time and with a 
face all greedy for entertainment, 
listen to the learned speeches of the 
lawyers and charge of the court, and 




^\^ . 






THE ORIGINAL BILL ARP. 



226 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 







TESTING THE ROME BOYS FOR WAR DUTY. 

"Bill Arp's" book, "Peace Papers," tells how the recruiting officers at Rome 
poured water on candidates who were hot over Mr. Lincoln's "disarmament proc- 
lamation." If "sizzling" resulted, they were sworn in. The author's several books 
reflect vividly the humorous incidents and philosophy of the times. 



go home happy, and be able to tell to 
his admiring family what Judge Un- 
derwood said and what Judge Wright 
said, and what Col. Alexander said, 
and what the judge on the bench 
said; and if there was any fun 
in anything that was said, Bill always 
got it, and never forgot it. When 
court was not in session, he still slip- 
ped off to town and would frequent 
the lawyers' offices and listen to 'em 
talk, and the brighter the talk, the 



faster Bill would chew his tobacco, and 
the brighter his little, merry eyes 
would sparkle. 

"He had the greatest reverence for 
Col. Johnston, his landlord, and always 
said he would rather belong to him 
than to be free; 'for,' said he, 'Mrs. 
Johnston throws away enough old 
clothes and vittles to support my chil- 
dren, and they are always nigh enough 
to pick 'em up.' 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



227 



"Bill Arp lived in Chulio district.* 
We had eleven districts in the county, 
and they had all such names as Pop- 
Skull, and Blue Gizzard, and Wolf- 
Skin, and Shake-Rag, and Wild-Cat, 
but Bill lived and reigned in Chulio. 
Every district had its best man in 
those days, and Bill was the 
best man in Chulio. He could 
out-run, out-jump, out-swim, out- 
rastle, out-ride, out-shoot anybody in 
Chulio, and was so far ahead that 
everybody else had given it up, and 
Bill reigned supreme. He put on no 
airs about this, and his neighbors were 
all his friends. 

"But there was another district ad- 
joining, and it had its best man, too. 
One Ben McGinnis ruled the boys of 
that beat, and after a while it began 
to be whispered around that Ben 
wasn't satisfied with his limited terri- 
tory, but would like to have a small 
tackle with Bill Arp. Ben was a pre- 
tentious man. He weighed about 165 
pounds, and was considered a regular 
bruiser; and he, too, like Bill Arp, had 
never been whipped. When Ben hit a 
man, it was generally understood that 
he meant business, and his adversary 
was hurt, badly hurt, and Ben was 
glad of it, and vain of it. But when 
Bill Arp hit a man he was sorry for 
him, and if he knocked him down, he 
would rather help him up and brush 
the dirt off his clothes than swell 
around in triumph. Fighting was not 
very common with either. The quicker 
a man whips a fight, the less often he 
has to do it, and both Ben and Bill 
had settled their standing most effec- 
tually. Bill was satisfied with his 
honors, but Ben was not, for there was 
many a Ransy Sniffle** who lived along 
the line between the districts and car- 
ried news from the one to the other, 
and made up the coloring, and soon 
it was norated around that Ben and 
Bill had to meet and settle it. 

"The court grounds of that day con- 
sisted of a little shanty and a shelf. 
The shanty had a dirt floor and a pun- 
cheon seat and a slab for the Squire's 
docket, and the shelf was outside for 
the whisky. The whisky was kept in 
a jug — a gallon jug — and that held 
just about enough for the day's busi- 
ness. Most everybody took a dram in 
those days, but very few took too 
much, unless, indeed, a dram was too 

♦According to Miss Virginia C. Hardin, of 
Atlanta, Chulio was called after an Indian sub- 
chief who lies buried on the Stubbs place, ad- 
joining the Hardin plantation, near Kingston. 

**A busy-body character in Longstreet's 
"Georgia Scenes." 

***W. Frank Ayer, once Mayor of Rome. 



much. It was very uncommon to see 
a man drunk at a county court ground. 
Pistols were unknown, bowie-knives 
were unknown, brass knuckles and 
slingshots were unknown, and all 
other devices that gave one man an 
artful advantage over another. The 
boys came there in their shirt sleeves 
and galluses, and if they got to quar- 
reling, they settled it according to na- 
ture. 

"When Col. Johnston, who was Bill 
Arp's landlord, and Maj. Ayer*** and 
myself got to Chulio, Bill Arp was 
there, and was pleasantly howdying 
with his neighbors, when suddenly we 
discovered Ben McGinnis trapoosing 
around, and every little crowd he got 
to, he would lean forward in an in- 
solent manner and say, 'Anybody here 
got anything agin Ben McGinnis? Ef 
they have, I golly, I'll give 'em five 
dollars to hit that; I golly, I dare any- 
body to hit that,' and he would point 
to his forehead with an air of defiance. 

"Bill Arp was standing by us, and 
I thought he looked a little more se- 
rious than I had ever seen him. Frank 
Ayer says to him, 'Bill, I see that 
Ben is coming around here to pick a 
fight with you, and I want to say 
that you have got no cause to quarrel 
with him, and if he comes, do you just 
let him come and go, that's all.' Col. 
Johnston says, 'Bill, he is too big for 
you, and your own beat knows you, 
and you haven't done anything against 
Ben, and so I advise you to let him 
pass — do you hear me?' 

"By this time. Bill's nervous system 
was all in a quiver. His face had an 
air of rigid determination, and ho re- 
plied humbly, but firmly, 'Col. John- 




BEN McGINNIS. 



228 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




BILL ARP, OF CHULIO, TRIUMPHS OVER BEN M'GINNIS. 



stone, I love you, and I respect you, 
too; but if Ben McGinnis comes up 
here outen his beat, and into my beat, 
and me not havin' done nothin' agin 
him, and he dares me to hit him, I'm 
gwine to hit him, if it is the last 
lick I ever strike. I'm no phist puppy 
dog, sir, that he should come outen his 
deestrict to bully me.' 

"I've seen Bill Arp in battle, and he 
was a hero. I've seen him when shot 
and shell rained around him, and he 
was cool and calm, and the same old 
smile was on his features. I've seen 
him when his first-born was stricken 
down at Manassas, and he was near 
enough to see him fall headforemost 
to the foe, but I never have seen him 
as intensely excited as he was that 
moment when Ben McGinnis approach- 
ed us, and addressing himself to Bill 
Arp, said, 'I golly, I dare anybody to 
hit that!' 

"As Ben straightened himself up, 
Bill let fly with his hard, bony fist 
right in his left eye, and followed it 
up with another. I don't know how it 
was, and never will know; but I do 
know this, that in less than a second. 
Bill had him down and was on him, 
and his fists and his elbows and his 
knees seemed all at work. He after- 
ward said that his knees worked on 



Ben's bread basket, which he knew 
was his weakest part. Ben hollered 
enough in due time, which was con- 
sidered honorable to do, and all right, 
and Bill helped him up and brushed 
the dirt off his clothes, and said, 'Now, 
Ben, is it all over 'twixt you and me; 
is you and me all right?' And Ben 
said, 'It's all right 'twixt you and 
me, Bill; I give it up, and you are 
a gentleman.' Bill invited all hands 
up to the shelf, and they took a drink, 
and Bill paid for the treat as a gen- 
erous victor, and he and Ben were 
friends. 

"I was not at the big wrestle be- 
tween Bill Arp and Ike McCoy, and 
had heard so many versions of it that 
one night, while we were sitting 
around the camp fire in Virginia, I 
insisted on hearing it from Bill's own 
lips. Said he, 'Well, gentlemen (he 
always accented the men), my motto 
has been to never say die, as Ginrul 
Jackson said at the Battle of New Or- 
leans, and all things considered, I have 
had a power of good luck in my life. 
I don't mean money luck by no means, 
for most of my life I've been so ded 
pore that Lazarus would have resign- 
ed in my favor, but I've been in a 
heap of close places, and somehow al- 
ways come out right-side-up with care. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



229 



" 'You see, Ike McCoy was perhaps 
the best rasler in all Cherokee, and 
he just hankered after a chance to 
break a bone or two in my body. Now, 
you know I never hunted for a fight 
nor a fuss in my life, but I never 
dodged one. I didn't want a tilt with 
Ike, for my opinion was that he was 
the best man of the two, but I never 
said anything, but just trusted to luck. 

" 'We was both at the barbycu, and 
he put on a heap of airs, and strutted 
around with his shirt collar open clean 
down to his waist, and his hat cocked 
on one side of his head, as sassy as 
a Confederate quartermaster. He took 
a dram, and then stuffed himself full 
of fresh meat at dinner. Along in 
the evening it was norated around that 
Ike was going to banter me for a ras- 
sle, and shore enuf, he did. The boys 
were all up for some fun, and Ike 
got on a stump and hollered out, 'I'll 
bet ten dollars I can plaster the length 
of any man on the ground, and I'll 
give Bill Arp five dollars to take the 
bet!' 

" 'Of course, there was no gettin' 
around the like of that. The banter 
got my blood up, and so, without wait- 
in' for ceremony, I shucked myself and 
went in. The boys was all powerfully 
excited, and was a bettin' every dollar 
they could raise, and Bob Moore, the 
feller I had licked about a year before, 
said he'd bet twenty dollars to ten 
that Ike would knock the breath outen 
me the first fall. I borrowed the money 
from Col. Johnston, and walked over 
to him and said, 'I'll take that bet!'" 

" 'The river* was right close to the 
spring, and the bank was purty steep. 
I had on an old pair of copprass 
britches that had been seined in and 
dried so often they was about half 
rotten. When we hitched, Ike took 
good britches-holt and lifted me up and 
down a few times like I was a child. 
He was the heaviest, but I had the 
most spring in me, and so I jest let 
him play around for some time, lim- 
ber like, until suddenly he took a no- 
tion to make short work of it with one 
of his back-leg trip movements. He 
drawed me up to his body and lifted 
me into the air with a powerful twist. 
Jest at that minit his back was close 
to the river bank, and as my feet 
teched the ground, I give a tremendous 
jerk backwards and a shove forwards, 
and my britches split plum open in 
the back and tore clean offen my 
bread basket, and Ike fell from me 

* Etowah. 



backwards and tumbled down the bank 
into the river — kerchug! 

" 'Sich hollerin' as them boys done 
I reckon never was hearn before in 
all them woods. I jumped in and 
helped Ike out as he riz to the top. 
He had took in a quart or so of water 
right on top of his whisky and bar- 
bycu, and as he set upon the bank, 
it all come forth like a dost of ippe- 
cack. When he gotten over it he 
laughed sorter weakly and said Sally 
Ann told him afore he left home he 
had better let Bill Arp alone, for no- 
body could run against his luck. Ike 
always believed he would have thrown 
me if britches holt hadent bx'oke, and 
I reckon he would. One thing is cer- 
tain; it cured Ike of braggin', and it 
cured Bob Moore of bettin', and that 
was a good thing.' 

"Bill was full of mischief and his 
indulgence in practical jokes some- 
times led him into trouble, but he al- 
ways managed to get out. Col. John- 
ston says that one time a young man 
stayed over night at his house, and 
had occasion to cross the ferry next 
morning. He was from Charleston, 




BILL ARP "LOW RATES" M'COY. 



230 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




THE YOUNG MAN FROM CHARLESTON. 



and had on a pair of fine boots and 
a fashionable hat and a white vest 
and kid gloves, and was altogether 
quite dandy-like in his appearance. Bill 
came over with the ferry boat and 
eyed the man with a look of surprise 
and contempt. The young man asked 
him if his boat was entirely safe, and 
insisted on having every drop of water 
bailed out for fear of muddying his 
boots. Bill showed great alacrity in 
complying, and when the boat was 
nearly across, and the young man was 
standing near the gunnel, looking 
down into the water, the long pole 
that Bill was managing came sudden- 
ly against his shoulders and keeled 
him overboard. Bill did not hesitate 
a moment, but jumped in after him, 
and quickly pulled him up into the 
boat again. The youth was dread- 
fully alarmed and grateful for his 
safe deliverance. He went back again 
to the Colonel's house for some dry 
clothes, but before he left he insisted 
on rewarding Bill for saving his life, 
but Bill modestly refused to receive 
anything. 

"When we went into camp near Ma- 
nassas, while Gen. Wm. M. Gardner, 
later of Rome, was in command. Bill 
took the general a lot of beautiful 
honey, which was highly appreciated, 
and while he was enjoying it at the 
breakfast table an old man came up 



and in pitiful language informed him 
how some soldiers came to his house 
last night and robbed him of all his 
honey, twelve hives in all, and they 
worth five dollars apiece, and now he 
was a ruint man, and the girls couldn't 
git no clothes, and the cofee was out, 
and the old 'oman was sick, and so 
forth. 

"The general was a West Pointer 
and a strict constructionist, and he 
was proud of his regiment; so that 
evening at dress parade he made them 
a nice little speech about a soldier's 
honor, and about this honey business, 
and wound up by saying that he didn't 
know who stole the honey, and didn't 
vv^ant to know, and he wasn't going to 
try to find out, but he wanted every 
man who was willing to help pay the 
old man for his loss to step five paces 
to the front. 

"Bill Arp was the first man to step 
out; he threw up his hat and hollered 
'Hurrah for Ginrul Gardner!' The 
whole regiment stepped forward and 
joined in cheers for their noble gen- 
eral, while Bill, without waiting for 
orders, went down the line with his 
hat, saying, 'Put in, boys, put in; the 
general is right; let's pay the old man 
and git the gals some clothes. I golly, 
the gals must have some clothes!' 

"They made up about ninety dollars 
and the old man was paid and went 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



231 



his way rejoicing, and the remainder 
of the fund was turned over to the 
hospital. 

"While in camp at Centerville dur- 
ing the bitter winter of 1861-2, the or- 
ders against contraband whisky were 
very strict, but still, the soldiers man- 
aged somehow to keep in pretty good 
spirits. One day a six-horse team from 
Page County drove into camp, loaded 
down with sixteen barrels of very fine 
apples. The hind gate was taken off 
and a barrel set down and the head 
knocked in, and the boys bought them 
quite freely. After a while another 
barrel was set down, and in course of 
time Col. Jno. R. Towers, another no- 
ble Roman, of the Miller Rifles, ob- 
served that Bill and some others were 
quite hilarious, and he suspected there 
was something wrong about that 
wagon, and procured an order from 
Gen. Sam Jones to examine it. On 
inspection he found there was a five 
gallon keg of apple brandy in each of 
six of the barrels, and the kegs were 
packed around with apples. The gen- 
eral ordered a confiscation. He sent a 
keg to each of the five regimental hos- 
pitals, and had the sixth keg sent to 
his tent and put under his cot. 

"Bill Arp did not seem to be pleased 
with the distribution, and wagged his 
head ominously. He was on the de- 
tail that was to guard the general's 
headquarters that night; and so, the 
next morning, when the general con- 
cluded to sample the brandy, and sent 
down for a few of us to come up and 
join him in a morning cocktail, he 
discovered that the keg was gone. Col. 
Towers was there, and sent for a list 
of the guard, and when he saw Bill 
Arp's name, he quietly remarked, 'I un- 
derstand it now.' All doubts were re- 
moved; no search was made, for the 
general enjoyed the joke; but that 
night the keg was replaced under his 
cot with about half its original con- 
tents. Bill said he was always will- 
ing to 'tote fair and divide with his 
friends.' 

"This is enough of Bill Arp — the 
original simon pure. He was a good 
soldier in war, the wit and wag of 
the camp-fires, and made many a 
home-sick youth laugh away his mel- 
ancholy. He was a good citizen in 
peace. When told that his son was 
dead, he showed no surjirise, but sim- 
ply said, 'Major, did he die all right?' 
When assured that he did, Bill wiped 
away a falling tear and said, 'I only 
wanted to tell his mother.' 

"You may talk about heroes and 



heroines. I have seen all sorts, and 
so has most everybody who was in 
the war, but I never saw a more de- 
voted heroine than Bill Arp's wife. 
She was a very humble woman, very, 
but she loved her husband with a love 
that was passing strange. I don't 
mean to say that any woman's love 
is passing strange, but I have seen 
that woman in town, three miles from 
her home, hunting around by night for 
her husband, going from one grocery 
to another and in her kind, loving 
voice inquiring 'Is William here?' or 
'Do you know where William is?' 

"Blessings on that poor woman! I 
have almost cried for her many a time. 
Poor William — hdw she loved him! 
How tenderly would she take him 
when she found him, and lead him 
home, bathe his head and put him to 
bed. She always looked pleased and 
thankful when asked about him, and 
would say, 'He is a good little man, 
but you know he has his failings.' 

"She loved Bill and he loved her; he 
was weak and she was strong. There 
are some such women now, I reckon; 
I hope so. I know there are some 
such men." 

* * * 

"BIG JOHN" UNDERWOOD.— 
" 'Big John' was one of the earliest 
settlers of Rome, and one of her most 
notable men. For several years he 
was known by his proper name of 
John H. Underwood, but when John 
W. H. Underwood moved there, he was 
identified by his superior size and 
gradually lost his surname, and was 
known far and near as 'Big John.' 
Col. Jno. W. H. Underwood, who came 
to be distinguished as a member of 
Congress, and afterward as a judge, 
was a man of large physiciue, weigh- 
ing about 225 pounds, but 'Big John' 
pulled down the scales at a hundred 
])oun(ls more, and had shorter arms 
and shorter legs, but his circumfer- 
ence was correspondingly immense. He 
was noted for his good humor. _ The 
best town jokes came from his jolly, 
fertile fancy, and his comments on 
men and things were always origi- 
nal, and as terse and vigorous as ever 
came from the brain of Dr. Johnson. 
He was a diamond in the rough. He 
had lived a pioneer among the Indians 
of the Cherokee, and it was said fell 
in love with an Indan maid, the daugh- 
ter of old Te.stenuggee, a limited chief, 
and never married liecause he could 
not marry her. But if his disappoint- 
ment preyed upon his heart, it did 
not prey upon tlie region that enclosed 
it, for iie continued to expand his pro- 



232 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



portions. He was a good talker and 
earnest laugher. Whether he laugh- 
ed and grew fat, or grew fat and 
laughed, the doctors could not tell; 
which was cause and which was ef- 
fect is still in doubt, but I have heard 
the wise men affirm that laughing was 
the fat man's safety valve, that if he 
did not laugh and shake and vibrate 
frequently, he would grow fatter and 
fatter until his epidermic cuticle could 
not contain his oleaginous corporosity. 
Dr. Chisolm, of Charleston, is said to 
have put this matter beyond all dis- 
pute, for he had seen a fat man 
weighed but a few hours before Ar- 
temus Ward lectured in that city, and 
this fat man laughed so hard and so 
continuously at Ward's wit that he 
overdone the thing, and died in his 
seat. The coroner sat upon him, and 
the doctor weighed him and found he 
had lost eighteen pounds of flesh that 
night — laughed it away, which would 
seem to settle the vexed question. 

"Big John had no patience with the 
war, and when he looked upon the 
boys strutting around in uniform and 
fixing up their canteens and haver- 
sacks, he seemed as much disgusted as 
astonished. He sat in his big chair 
on the sidewalk in front of his gro- 
cery and liquor shop, and would re- 
mark, 'I don't see any fun in the like 
of that. Somebody is going to be hurt, 
and fightin' don't prove anything. 
Some of our best people in this town 
are kin to them fellers up North, and 
I don't see any sense in tearing up 
families by a fight.' He rarely looked 
serious or solemn, but the pending 
fight seemed to settle him. 'Boys,' said 
he, 'I hope to God this thing will be 
fixed up without a fight, for fighting 
is mighty bad business, and I never 
knowed it to do any good.' 

"Big John had had a little war ex- 
perience — that is, he had volunteered 
in a company to drive the Creeks and 
Cherokees to the far west in 1833, 
just 50 years ago. It was said that 
he was no belligerent then, but want- 
ed to give the Indian maiden he loved 
a safe transit, and so he escorted the 
old chief and his clan as far as Tus- 
cumbia, and then broke down and re- 
turned to Ross's Landing on the Ten- 
nessee River. He was too heavy to 
march, and when he arrived at the 
landing, a prisoner was put in his 
charge for safe-keeping. Ross's Land- 
ing is Chattanooga now, and John 
Ross once lived thei'e, and was one 
of the chiefs of the Cherokees. The 
prisoner was Ross's guest, and his 
name was John Howard Payne. He 



was suspected of trying to instigate 
the Cherokees to revolt and fight, and 
not leave their beautiful forest homes 
on the Tennessee and Coosa and Oosta- 
naula and Etowah and Connasauga 
rivers. He brought Payne back as 
far as New Echota, or New Town, as 
it was called, an Indian settlement on 
the Coosawattee, a few miles east of 
Calhoun, as now known. There he 
kept the author of 'Home, Sweet 
Home' under guard, or on his parole 
of honor, for three weeks, and night 
after night slept with him in his tent, 
and listened to his music upon the 
violin, and heard him sing his own 
sad songs until orders came for his 
discharge, and Payne started afoot on 
his way to Washington. He said Payne 
was much of a gentleman. 

"Many a time have I heard Big John 
recite his sad adventures. 'It was a 
most distressive business,' said he. 
'Them Injuns was heart-broken. I al- 
ways knowed an Injun loved his hunt- 
ing-ground and his rivers, but I never 
knowed how much they loved 'em be- 
fore. You know, they killed Ridge 
for consentin' to the treaty. They kill- 
ed him on the first day's march and 
they wouldn't bury him. We soldiers 
had to stop and dig a grave and put 
him away. John Ross and Ridge were 
the sons of two Scotchmen who came 
over here when they were young men 
and mixed up with these tribes and 
got their good will. These two boys 
were splendid looking men, tall and 
handsome, with long auburn hair, and 
they were active and strong, and could 
shoot a bow equal to the best bow- 
man of the tribe, and they beat 'em 
all to pieces on the cross-bow. They 
married the daughters of the old 
chiefs, and when the old chiefs died 
they just fell into line and succeeded 
to the old chiefs' places, and the tribes 
liked 'em mighty well, for they were 
good men and made good chiefs. 

" 'Well, you see, Ross didn't like the 
treaty. He said it wasn't fair, that 
the price of the territory was too low, 
and the fact is, he didn't want to go 
at all. There are the ruins of his old 
home over there now inDeSoto, close 
to Rome, and I tell you, he was a king. 
His word was the law of the Injun 
nations, and he had their love and re- 
spect. His half-breed children were 
the purtiest things I ever saw in my 
life. 

" 'Well, Ridge lived up the Oosta- 
naula River al30ut a mile, and he was 
a good man, too. Ross and Ridge al- 
ways consulted about everything that 
was for the good of the tribes, but 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



233 




"BIG JOHN" UNDERWOOD'S RETURN TO ROME AFTER THE WAR. 



Ridge was a more milder man than 
Ross, and was more easily persuaded 
to sign the treaty that gave the lands 
to the state, and to take other lands 
away out in Mississippi. You see, our 
state owned the territory then clean 
out to the Mississippi River. 

" 'Well, when the whole thing 
seemed to be settled with the chiefs, 
we found that the Injuns wasn't go- 
in' to move. We couldn't get 'em 
started. They raised a howl all over 
the settlements. It was just like the 
mourners at a camp meeting. The 
families would just set about and 
mourn. They wouldn't eat nor sleep, 
and the old squaws would sway back- 
wards and forwards and mourn, and 
nobody could get 'em up. 

" 'Well, it took us a month to get 
'em all together and begin the march 
to the Mississippi, and they wouldn't 
march then. The women would go out 
of line and set down in the woods and 
go to grieving, and you may believe it 
or not, but I'll tell you what is a fact: 
we started for Tuscumbia with 14,000 
and 4,000 of 'em died before we got 
to Tuscumbia. They died on the side 
of the road ; they died of broken 
hearts; they died of starvation, for 
they wouldn't eat a thing. They just 
died all along the way. We didn't 
make more than five miles a day on 
the march, and my company didn't do 
much but dig graves and bury Injuns 
all the way to Tuscumbia. They died 
of grief and broken hearts, and no 
mistake. 

" 'An Injun's heart is tender and his 
love is strong; it's his natur. I'd a 
rather risk an Injun for a true friend 
than a white man. He is the best 
friend in the world and the worst 
enemy. He has got more gratitude 
and more revenge in him than any- 
body. I remember that Dick Juhan 
swindled an Injun out of his pony, and 



that night the Injun stepped up to 
Vann's Valley and stole the pony out 
of the stable and carried him off, and 
Dick followed him next day and 
caught him and tied him, and brought 
him up to old Livingston before a 
magistrate. I was there and took the 
Injun's part and got him discharged; 
and he kept his pony, and he was so 
grateful to me that I couldn't get rid 
of him. He just followed me about 
like a nigger and waited on me; hunt- 
ed for me and brought me squirrels 
and deer and turkeys, and when time 
came for 'em all to go west, he hung 
around camp and wouldn't leave me. 
When I left him at Tuscumbia, he 
cried and moaned and took on, and I 
don't reckin he ever got to the prom- 
ised land.' 

"Big John was a stout and active 
man, considering his weight. He was 
patriotic, too, and when he found that 
the fight had to come, he came up 
manfully to the cause and declared he 
was ready to join a buggy regiment 
and fight until they plugged him, 
which they were sure to do, he said. 
if they pinted any ways down South. 
When Joe Brown called for state vol- 
unteers, he responded promptly, and 
seemed proud that he was in the lino 
of military service, and was enrolled 
on the Governor's staff. He said that 
he couldn't march, but he could set 
on one of the hills around Rome and 
guard the ramparts. 

"Nevertheless, notwithstanding, it 
.so turned out that old Joe got fight- 
ing mad after while and ordered all 
his staff and his militia to the front, 
and Big John had to go. The view 
he took of his now departure in mili- 
tary strategy will appear in the sequel, 
and also his remarkable retreat bo- 
fore the foul invader when Sherman 
took the Hill City and dispersed the 
home guard to remoter regions. 



234 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



"Big John is dead. The last time 
I saw him he had lost his fat, and 
his old clothes were a world too big 
for him. He said he was juicing away 
so as to fit a respectable coffin and 
save a winding sheet or two in his 
shrouding. He owed no man anything 
and no man owed him a grudge. Fat 
men die like lean ones, but they rare- 
ly die fat. Their fat is their vitality. 
Fat men are generally good men, kind 
men, peaceable men, and they axe 
honest. Their fat makes them good- 
natured, and their good nature keeps 
them from swindling or cheating any- 
body. If I was thrown among 
strangers and wanted a favor, I would 
pass by all lean and hungi-y strangers 
and sit down by the biggest, roundest 
man I saw. 

"Big John's special comfort was a 
circus. He never missed one, and it 
was a good part of the show to see 
him laugh and shake and spread his 
magnificent face. I saw the clown 
run from the ring-master's whip and 
take refuge close by Big John, and as 
he looked up in his face he said, 'You 
are my friend, ain't you?' and Big 
John sniiled all over as he replied, 
'Why, yes, of course I am.' 'Well,' 
then,' said the clown, 'if you are my 
friend, please lend me a half a dol- 
lar.' The crowd yelled tumultuously 
as Big John handed over the coin, 
and the joke of it was worth half a 
dollar to him. 

"Big John took no pleasure in the 
quarrels of mankind, and never back- 
ed a man in a fight, but when two 
dogs locked teeth, or two bulls locked 
horns, or two game chickens locked 
spurs, he always liked to be about. 
'It is their natur to fight,' said he, 
'and let 'em fight.' He took delight 
in watching dogs and commenting on 
their sense and dispositions. He com- 
pared them to the men about town, 
and drew some humorous analogies. 
'There is Jimmy Jones,' said he, 'who 
ripped and plunged around because 
Georgia wouldn't secede in a minute 
and a half, and he swore he was go- 
in' over to South Calliny to fight; and 
when Georgia did secede shore enuf he 
didn't jine the army at all, and always 
had some cussed excuse, and when con- 
scription come along, he got on a de- 
tail to make potash, con-ding 'im, and 
when that played out he got a couple 
of track dogs and got detailed to 
ketch runaway prisoners. Just so I've 
seen dogs run up and down the fence 
palings like they was dyin' to get to 
one nuther, and so one day I picked 
up my dog by the nap of the neck 



and dropped him over on the outside. 
I never knowed he could jump that 
fence before, but he bounced back like 
an Injun rubber ball, and the other 
dog streaked it down the sidewalk 
like the dickens was after him. Dogs 
are like folks and folks are like dogs, 
and a heap of 'em want the palings 
between. 

" 'Jack Bogin used to strut around 
and whip the boys in his beat, and 
kick 'em awful, because he knew he 
could do it, for he had the most mus- 
sle; but he couldn't look a brave man 
in the eye, mussle or no mussle, and 
I've seen him shut up quick when he 
met one. A man has got to be right 
to be brave, and I'd rather see a bully 
get a lickin' than to eat sugar!'" 

Author's Note — The above highly 
interesting and entertaining account 
contains a number of historical er- 
rors, particularly with regard to John 
Howard Payne and the Indians, 
against which the history lover should 
guard himself. It is well to remember 
that Big John was apt to depart now 
and then from the path of historic 
rectitude. 

"BILL ARP" TO "ABE LINK- 
HORN."— Maj. Chas. H. Smith wrote 
a saucy open letter from Rome to 
Abraham Lincoln at Washington on 
the eve of the opening of the Civil 
War. It was this letter which caused 
him to write thereafter under the pen 
name of "Bill Arp." The original Bill 
Arp happening along, Maj. Smith said, 
"This letter is so hot, I don't know 
whose name to sign to it!" Arp said: 
"Them's my sentiments. Major; just 
sign mine." And he did. The letter 
was widely copied and made Major 
Smith famous and uncomfortable as 
well. Here it is:* 

"Rome, Ga., Aprile, 1861. 
"Mr. Linkhorn, Sur: These are to 
inform you that we are all well, and 
hope these lines may find you in statue 
ko. We received your proklamation, 
and as you have put us on very short 
notis, a few of us boys have conklud- 
ed to write you, and ax for a little 
more time. 'The fact is, we are most 
obleeged to have a few more days, for 
the way things are happening, it is 
utterly onpossible for us to disperse 
in twenty days. Old Virginny, and 
Tennessee and North Carolina are con- 
tinually aggravatin' us into tumults 
and carousements, and a body can't 
disperse until you put a stop to sich 



"From Bill Arp's "Peace Papers." 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



235 













WHEREIN MAJOR SMITH TRIES HIS HAND AT FARMING. 
When "Bill Arp" emei-ged from the war, all he had was a bolt of cotton 
cloth and a hunk of gum opium, which he quickly swapped for food. He tried to 
raise vegetables for a while, and here he is seen turning a few furrows. His 
boys are enjoying' the sport, and the eldest advises him to keep at the law. 



onruly konduct on their part. I tried 
my darndest yisterday to disperse and 
retire, but it was no go; and besides, 
your marshal here isn't doing a darn- 
ed thing — he don't read the riot act, 
nor remonstrate, nor nothing, and 
ought to be turned out. If you con- 
klude to do so, I am authorized to 
rekummend to you Col. Gibbons or 
Mr. McLung, who would attend to 
the bizness as well as most anybody. 
"The fact is, the boys round here 
want watchin, or they'll take sumthin. 



A few days ago I heard they surround- 
ed two of our best citizens, because 
they was named Fort and Sumter. 
Most of 'em are so hot that they fair- 
ly siz when you pour water on 'em, 
and that's the way they make up their 
military companies here now — when a 
man applies to jine the volunteers, 
they sprinkle him, and if he sizzes, 
they take him, and if he don't they 
don't. 

"Mr. Linkhoni. sur. privately speak- 
in, I'm afeered I'll git in a tite place 



236 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



here among these bloods, and have to 
slope out of it, and I would like to 
have your Scotch cap and kloak that 
you traveled in to Washington. I sup- 
pose you wouldn't be likely to use the 
same disgize agin, when you left, and 
therefore I would propose to swap. I 
am five feet five, and could git my 
plow breeches and coat to you in eight 
or ten days if you can wait that long. 
I want you to write me immegitly 
about things generally, and let us 
know whereabouts you intend to do 
your fitin. Your proklamation says 
somethin about taking possession of 
all the private property at 'All Haz- 
ards.' We can't find no such place on 
the map. I thot it must be about 
Charleston, or Savannah, or Harper's 
Ferry, but they say it ain't anywhere 
down South. One man said it was a 
little Faktory on an iland in Lake 
Champlain, where they make sand 
bags. My opinun is that sand bisness 
won't pay, and it is a great waste of 
money. Our boys here carry thei-e 
sand in there gizzards, where it keeps 
better, and is always handy. I'm 
afeered your government is givin you 
and your kangaroo a great deal of on- 
necessary trubbul, and my humble ad- 
vice is, if things don't work out bet- 
ter soon, you'd better grease it, or 
trade the darned old thing off. I'd 
show you a slite-of-hand trick that 
would change the whole concern into 
buttons quick. If you don't trade or 
do sumthin with it soon, it will spile 
or die on your hands, sertain. 

"Give my respects to Bill Seward 
and the other members of the Kanga- 
roo. What's Hannibal doin? I don't 
hear anything from him nowadays. 

"Yours, with care, 

"BILL ARP." 

"P. S. — If you can possibly extend 
that order to .30 days, do so. We have 
sent you a check at Harper's Ferry 
(who keeps that darnd old ferry now? 
It's givin us a heap of trubble), but 
if you positively won't extend, we'll 
send you a check drawn by Jeff Da- 
vis, Borygard endorser, payable on 
sight anywhere. 

"Yours, 

"B. A." 



"BILL ARP" AND THE LOT- 
TERY. — We publish in another col- 
umn a letter from the managers of a 
lottery establishment in Baltimore to 
Chas. H. Smith, Esq., of this place, 
and his reply. . . The public owes 
Mr. Smith a debt of gratitude for ex- 
posing this iniquitous scheme. 



( Correspondence.) 
"Gilbert & Co., Bankers and Brok- 
ers and General Agents for the Dela- 
ware State Lotteries. 

"Baltimore, Md., Jan. 10, 1860. 
"C. H. Smith, Esq., 
"Rome, Ga. 

"Dear Sir: We take the liberty to 
enclose you a scheme of the Delaware 
State Lottery, for which we are gen- 
eral agents, our object being to try 
and sell you a prize so as to create 
an excitement in your locality that 
will tend to increase our business. 
With this end in view, we offer you 
the preference to purchase a very fine- 
ly arranged package of 25 tickets, 
which we have selected in the lottery 
drawing Feb. 11, Class 72. This pack- 
age gives you the advantage of $31.25 
worth of tickets for the cost of only 
$20 ; and to convince you of our con- 
fidence in its success, we will guaran- 
tee you another package of our extra 
lotteries free of charge if the above 
fails to draw a prize, the lowest be- 
ing $200 (see full scheme within). We 
make this offer in good faith, with 
a desire to sell you the Capital, $37,- 
000. Should you think favorably of 
it, enclose us $20, and the package 
will be sent by return mail, the re- 
sult of which we confidently think will 
be satisfactory to you. 

"Yours truly, 

"GILBERT & CO." 

"(This is confidential.)" 

"Messrs. Gilbert & Co., Gents.: I 
acknowledge receipt of your kind let- 
ter of the 10th. I send you my note 
for $20, instead of the cash, as it will 
save exchange, and there is really no 
necessity of sending money to Balti- 
more and having it sent back again in 
a few days. This arrangement, I 
confidently think, will be satisfactory 
to you, for it is done in good faith. 

"I really feel under many obliga- 
tions that you have chosen me as the 
object of your liberality and do assure 
you that when that $37,000 prize comes 
to hand, the excitement which it will 
raise in this community will swallow 
up and extinguish the John Brown 
raid, and you will sell more tickets 
here than traveling circuses and mon- 
key shows take off in 20 years. This 
is a good locality for such an experi- 
ment, for there is a vast number of 
clever people who are in the habit 
of racking their brains to devise some 
way to get money without working for 
it, and I know very well that when 
they are satisfied they can do so 



Anecdotes and Reminsicences 



237 



through your company, they will 
cheerfully give you that preference 
which you have shown to me. 

"Our court is now in session, and I 
very much regret you are not here to 
lay your proposition before our Grand 
Jury, for I have no doubt they would 
properly appreciate it, and out of grat- 
itude board you a while at public ex- 
pense. Our legislature, in its genero- 
sity, passed a special act, (which may 
be found in the 11th division of the 
Penal Code) to compensate such hon- 
orable gentlemen as you seem to be. 

"You are hereby authorized to de- 
duct the $20 and send the remainder 
to me by Adams & Company's Ex- 
press. 

"CHAS. H. SMITH." 

"(This is confidential.)" 

"P. S. — A friend of mine has just 
shown me a letter from your firm to 
him, making him the same proposition 
which you have made to me; and he 
professed some suspicion, but I as- 
sured him that you knew we were in- 
timate friends, and that we would di- 
vide the prize between us, or you 
thought that possibly one of us might 
be away from home. 

"C. H. S." 

"P. S. No. 2 — As I was about to 
mail this, another friend confided to 
me a similar letter to him. I am at 
a loss to know how to satisfy him. 
Please give me the dots. 

"C. H. S." 
THE NOTE. 
"$20 — On demand I promise to pay 
Gilbert & Co. twenty dollars, provid- 
ed the finely-arranged package of 
tickets which they have selected for 
me draws a prize of not less than 
$200. 

"CHAS. H. SMITH." 
— Tri-Weekly Courier, Jan. 17, 1860. 
* * * 

"BILL ARP" ON ROME.— (By J. 
D. McCartney, in Rome Tribune-Her- 
ald, July 2i, 1920).— Mrs. Harriet 
Connor Stevens came up from Cave 
Spring the other day and brought me 
some papers that had been the prop- 
erty of the lamented Prof. Wesley O. 
Connor, her father. They are very 
interesting. One of them contains a 
speech of Samuel J. Tilden made in 
September of 18G8 that is well worth 
reading today. The others are the 
last issue of the Rome Courier and the 
first issue of the Tribune of Rome, 
bearing date of Oct. 2, 1887. 



I shall have more to say about 
those papers from time to time, but 
the subject of today's sketch is an ar- 
ticle in the "Southerner and Commer- 
cial," a triweekly bearing date of 
April 10, 1870. It is entitled "Ancient 
History of Modern Rome," and is from 
the talented pen of Major Chas. H. 
Smith ("Bill Arp"). Older Romans de- 
lighted to read Bill Arp's writings and 
I am sure the younger generation, too, 
will enjoy the style as well as the sub- 
stance of his words about the begin- 
nings of Rome, quotations from which 
follow: 

"In the year 1832, the county of 
Floyd was laid off by the government 
surveyors, and in 1833 the county site 
was fixed at Livingston (a place about 
12 miles distant, and situated near 
the South bank of the Coosa). A few 
houses were built and one court held 
there by Judge John W. Hooper. About 
this time a number of the fortunate 
drawers in the land lottery were seek- 
ing to take forcible possession of the 
very homes of the Indians. Judge 
Hooper did not deem this just until 
the Indians were paid for their im- 
provements, and he therefore granted 
many bills of injunction at the in- 
stance of Judge Wm. H. Underwood, 
the leading counsel for the tribe. 

"In the year 1834 a Rome town^com- 
pany was formed, consisting of Z. B. 
Hargrove, Philip W. Hemphill, Wm. 
Smith and D. R. Mitchell. The upper 
portion of the town was surveyed and 
laid off into town lots. Favorable 
propositions were made by the com- 
pany to the county authorities, and 
Rome was made the county site in 
1835. The frames of some of the first 
houses erected were brought up from 
Livingston on keel boats, one of them 
occupied by Dr. G. W. Holmes, and 
another by Col. Sam Gibbons. The old- 
est house in the place is a small tene- 
ment next above the fire engine house. 
The first court was held by Judge 
Owen H. Kenan in a log cabin 16x18, 
erected on Academy Hill, and the 
grand jury held their first session in 
a lime sink a few rods distant. The 
diligence and energy of the town com- 
pany, and the many advantages of tlie 
location, soon began to attract men of 
education and means and connnercial 
influence. In a short time Rome be- 
came a market for a considei-ahle ex- 
tent of territory. Many of those who 
co-operated in giving vitality and im- 
petus to the place are long since dead 
and gone, but as long as Rome has a 
record, the names of John H. Lump- 
kin, William Smith, Dennis Hills, Jobe 



238 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Rogers and James M. Sumter will be 
remembered when her early history is 
recalled. 

"In the days of these pioneers, Rome 
was but a hamlet. From a single 
point a school boy's bow could send 
an arrow beyond the farthest house. 
All that portion of the city now known 
as 'down town' was a stately forest of 
aged oaks, and the best society of 
Howard Street were the owls who 
hooted from their hollows. Until about 
the year 1850, Mr. Norton's store was 
the extreme Southern boundary of all 
improvements. The first hotel was kept 
by Francis Burke, in the house now 
occupied by Dr. Holmes. Not long 
after, James McEntee built and kept 
up a public house for many years. 
His blunt Scotch ancestry made him a 
universal favorite, and we are glad 
to know that he still lives near us in 
the enjoyment of good health. The 
hotel built by him is now known as 
the residence of Dr. J. B. Undei-wood. 
Euclid Waterhouse, a man well known 
in commercial circles, opened the first 
store in the place. Nathan Yarbrough, 
Judge Lamberth and David Rounsaville 
were his competitors in the mercantile 
business. 

"Wm. Smith was the first sheriff 
of the county. In the year 1834 he 
had to perform the unpleasant duty 
of hanging two Indians, Barney Swim- 
mer and Terrapin, found guilty of the 
murder of Ezekiel Blatchford (or 
Braselton). He represented this coun- 
ty in both branches of the General As- 
sembly. He was defeated for re-elec- 
tion because of his bold and strenuous 
exertions to change the projected 
route of the Western & Atlantic 
(state) railroad between Chattanooga 
and Atlanta so as to include Rome. 
He was a man of wonderful energy 
and foresight, and it is universally 
conceded that he did more than any 
other person to insure the progress 
and prosperity of the little city. It 
was chiefly his influence that made 
Rome the county site; his urgent ef- 
forts that caused the building of the 
first steamboat, that projected the 
first railroad (the Rome), and that in- 
duced the coming of such men as Col. 
Alfred Shorter, A. M. Sloan, Wm. E. 
Alexander, John H. Lumpkin and 
others of like means and spirit. He 
died in 1850, and, as is too often the 
case, before the happy results of his 
foresight and energy were fully real- 
ized. 

"J. T. Riley and wife were the first 
couple married and now live in the 
town. Col. A. T. Hardin and Morris 



Marks are the old merchants who are 
still engaged in that occupation. Judge 
Kenan was succeeded by the following 
judges, in the order named: Turner 
H. Trippe, George D. Wright, John W. 
Hooper, John H. Lumpkin, Leander W. 
Crook, Dennis T. Hammond, L. H. 
Featherston, J. W. H. Underwood and 
Francis A. Kirby. John Townsend was 
the first foreman of the first grand 
jury, and the first bill of indictment 
found was against the Indians Choosa- 
kelqua and Teasalaka, charged with 
assault with intent to murder. 

"From the year 1840 Rome con- 
tinued to make substantial progress. 
In the year 1845 a steamboat was 
built at Greensport, Ala., by Capt. 
John Lafferty. For months the rude 
settlers in the adjacent counties had 
heard of the 'varmint,' as they called 
it, and when the time came for its 
first trip to the junction at Rome, the 
scattered inhabitants gathered in 
camps along the banks to see the 'var- 
mint' go. When it did come, it was 
to these rude settlers a show equal 
to a circus. At one point, more than 
100 people had congregated, the men 
all wearing coon-skin caps with coons' 
tails hanging down their backs. One 
very consequential and 'highly-educat- 
ed' patriarch. Squire Bogan, of Cedar 
Bluff, Ala., stood forward to make a 
reconnoisance and give the crowd the 
benefit of his vast learning. He saw 
the large letters 'U. S. M.' painted on 
the wheelhouse, and underneath them 
the letters Coosa. He spelled it over 
carefully, letter by letter, in a loud 
tone of voice, and after a third ef- 
fort, declared: 'I've got it, boys. Its 
name is Use 'em Susy!' The 'var- 
mint' never got rid of this nom de 
plume. In the course of time, other 
steamboats were built, and a branch 
road from Kingston to Rome project- 
ed. 

"Even the newspapers adopted the 
name. Bill Ramey and Tom Perry 
built a little boat that they said could 
snake its way thi'ough any shoal when 
the rivers were not a foot deep. In 
fact, Ramey used to swear his craft 
could run on dry land if there was 
a thick fog or heavy dew. 

"From the days of steamboats and 
raih-oads the history of our city is too 
familiar to be rehearsed, but I will 
venture to remind you in closing these 
remarks that the lamps which have lit 
her pleasing progress have not always 
been brightly burning. There have 
been shadows, and still are shadows, 
which set in mourning the happy pros- 
perity of our city. Dark lines are 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



239 



drawn around, and the stricken heart 
beats sadly the knell of our heroic 
dead. Noble sons, husbands and fath- 
ers are missing — missing from here 
tonight. They have been long missing 
from the fireside and the forum, from 
the farm, the shop and the counting 
room, from court, church and hall." 
=1= * * 

TURN ABOUT WANTED. — A 
Floyd County farmer, attacked by his 
neighbor's bull-dog, defended himself 
and badly wounded the dog. The irate 
neighbor said: "If you had to use 
that pitchfork, why didn't you go at 
him with the other end?" The farmer 
replied, "Why didn't he come at me 
with the other end of him?" 

SHERMAN'S GEORGIA SWEET- 
HEART. — In the Lucian Knight Geor- 
gia historical books and elsewhere is 
found a charmingly romantic story of 
Civil War days and before in which 
a Roman played an important part 
Marcellus A. Stovall, of Augusta, later 
of Rome, in 1836 had entered ithe 
United States Military Academy at 
West Point and chosen as roommate 
Wm. Tecumseh Sherman, an eagle- 
eyed lad of 16 from Mansfield, 0. 
Cadet Stovall was a brother of Miss 
Cecelia Stovall, a noted Georgia belle 
and beauty, who presently on a visit 
to her brother became a favorite 
among the dancing set at the academy. 

In the forefront of her admirers 
stood young Sherman, who did not 
fail to make capital out of the fact 
that he was her brother's bosom 
friend; and it was whispered that the 
Ohioan, highly diffident toward the 
average young lady, had been smitten 
beyond hope of redemption by the 
dark-eyed girl from Georgia. The his- 
torians record that on one occasion 
when he was diplomatically sparring 
for a snug place in Miss Cecelia's af- 
fections (it may have been a straight- 
out proposal), she said quite frankly: 

"Your eyes are so cold and cruel. I 
pity the man who ever becomes your 
antagonist. Ah, how you would crush 
an enemy!" 

To which he replied gallantly, 
"Even though you were my enemy, niy 
dear, I would love you and protect 
you." 

Joseph Hooker, of Massachusetts, a 
graduate of West Point in the class 
of 1837, was another who claimed 
many dances with Miss Cecelia and 
whose heart sank within him when 
she returned to her Southern home. 



Still another was handsome Richard B. 
Garnett, a West Point graduate in 
charge of the arsenal at Augusta, 
whose geogi-aphical position gave him 
a decided advantage over the others 
and who got to the point of acceptance 
of his proposal. However, parental 
objection was raised, and Dick Gar- 
nett went to his death at Gettysburg 
in 1863 with the image of lovely Ce- 
celia Stovall graven on his heai't; he 
had never married, and when the 
Grim Reaper cut him down he was a 
general and one of the bravest men in 
the army of Northern Virginia. 

It may have been a coincidence that 
Wm. T. Sherman, then a lieutenant, 
was assigned in 1845 to detached duty 
at this same arsenal at Augusta ; he 
may have wanted to see his old room- 
mate, but more than likely he pined 
for sight of Miss Cecelia. However, 
if he sang the old love song over again, 
her answer was the same, and here was 
one citadel, at least, that an irrepres- 
sible West Pointer could not take by 
storm. 

So with Dick Garnett, a noble son 
of old Virginia, who could trace his 
ancestry back to Adam; but he was 
on a salary that would little more 
than care for two. Miss Cecelia's 




GKN. MARCELLUS A. STOVALL, roommate 
at West Point of Gen. Wm. T. Sherman, who 
became the sweetheart of Miss Cecelia Sto- 
vall. 



240 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



proud parent, Pleasant Stovall, once 
a resident of Athens, desired that she 
should marry a man of wealth and in- 
fluence. She was forbidden the pleas- 
ui'e of young Garnett's company and 
sent to visit relatives in South Caro- 
lina. There she met Capt. Chas. Shell- 
man, whose suit was favored by daugh- 
ter and parent, and so they were mar- 
ried. 

Lieut. Sherman's stay in Augusta 
terminated abruptly; in 1850 he mar- 
ried his adopted father's daughter, 
Nellie Ewing, and his biographer re- 
corded many years later that she was 
his "first love." Marcellus A. Stovall 
moved to Rome in 1846, and he was 
soon joined by his young half-brother, 
George T. Stovall, who became asso- 
ciate editor of the Rome Courier and 
was killed at First Manassas. Here 
the beautiful sister visited them often. 

In 1861 Capt. Chas. Shellman built 
for his Augusta princess the mansion 
on the Etowah River, near Carters- 
ville, known as "Shellman Heights." 
Three more years passed, until Sher- 
man's army of human locusts swept 
down from Chattanooga, trampled on 
Rome and continued into Bartow 
County. As the torch brigade set fire 
to this establishment and that. Gen. 
Sherman's attention was directed by 
a fellow oflficer to a fine mansion on a 
hill. "Looks like the palatial retreat 
of an old plantation grandee," re- 
marked this personage. Sherman and 
his staff went to the place and ad- 
mired its Colonial columns and its at- 
mosphere throughout. An old negro 
mammy sat on the front steps moan- 
ing her life away. "Oh, Ginrul. whut 
yo' gwine do? I sholy is glad Missus 
Cecelia ain't here to see it wid her own 
eyes!" 

"Miss Cecelia?" queried Gen. Sher- 
man, as the little hob-goblins began to 
prance around his memory chest. "Who 
lives here, auntie?" 

"Missus Shellman, — Ceclia Stovall 
Shellman, sur, an' she's gone away 
now, bless her politeness!" 

"My God!" exclaimed the warrior. 
"Can it be possible?" 

Momentarily he bowed his head, a 
lump formed in his throat, he swal- 
lowed hard and his eyes became moist. 
On learning from the old woman that 
Mrs. Shellman had sought safety in 
flight, Gen. Sherman ordered his plun- 
dering soldiers to restore everything 
they had taken, and he placed a guard 
to protect the premises. Then he said, 
"Auntie, you get word to your mis- 
tress that she will be perfectly safe in 



returning here, and when you see her, 
do you hand her this card from me." 

On his card Gen. Sherman had writ- 
ten, "You once said I would crush an 
enemy, and you pitied my foe. Do you 
recall my reply? Although many years 
have passed, my answer is the same 
now as then, 'I would ever shield and 
protect you.' That I have done. For- 
give me all else. I am only a soldier. 

"W. T. SHERMAN." 

Later came Gen. Joseph Hooker, 
soon to be cited for bravery in the Bat- 
tle of Atlanta. Learning the situa- 
tion, he repeated the orders of Gen. 
Sherman, shed a tear over a boxwood 
hedge and departed on the chase which 
was the forerunner of the famous 
March to the Sea. 

The armies gone. Miss Cecelia re- 
turned to Shellman Heights, gazed out 
over the winding Etowah, and breath- 
ed a prayer and a poem to friendship. 
There she passed the rest of her days. 
On Jan. 1, 1911, fire took Shellman 
Heights, uninsured, and today the spot 
is but a shadow of its former self, but 
it will always live in memory. 

When Gen. Sherman approached Au- 
gusta from Savannah, the Augustans 
took their cotton out of the ware- 
houses and burned it, anticipating that 
he would destroy everything when he 
arrived, and preferring to do a part of 
it themselves. The surprise of every- 
body was great, therefore, when Gen. 
Sherman made a detour across the 
Savannah River into South Carolina 
and left their beautiful city unmolest- 
ed. There may have been military 
reasons, but Augusta folk to this day 
declare he spared the town because it 
had been the home of the heroine of 
his romance at West Point. 

In 1915, faithful to a promise he 
had made to Miss Cecelia and to him- 
self, old Uncle Josiah Stovall, the fam- 
ily slave and master's bodyguard, turn- 
ed up at the G. A. R. reunion at 
Washington to thank Gen. Sherman 
for sparing the home. This old "Ches- 
terfield in charcoal" carried a carpet 
bag grip, a heavy hickory cane, and 
wore a silk hat and a sleek broadcloth 
Prince Albert coat. His head and chin 
were full of African cotton and he 
attracted considerable attention as he 
tried to get out of the way of traffic. 
To a policeman he confided that he had 
come to find Gen. Sherman, and wanted 
to thank him "in pusson," and to claim 
a gift he vowed Sherman had promised 
him. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



241 



"You're out of luck, old man. Gen. 
Sherman won't be in the parade today. 
He's been dead nearly 25 years." 

"Oh Lordy, white folks, den dis nig- 
ger's sholy got to march back to Geor- 
gia!" 

* t- * 

MARTHA SMITH'S POLITICAL 
COUP.— In 1844 when pretty Martha 
Smith was 13 and riding a pony into 
town to school from her father's home 
on the Alabama Road, and was begin- 
ning to "dress up" and attract the 
boys, she was taken by Col. Smith on 
a trip to Milledgeville, then capital of 
the state. Colonel Smith was a mem- 
ber of the Legislature and as an ardent 
Whig was boosting the stock of Zach- 
ary Taylor for President. He was to 
make a speech at the town hall or 
opera house, and various speakers 
were to tell the virtues of Taylor to his 
Baldwin County friends and any oth- 
ers who might wish to be enlightened. 
Now, the indulgent father had bought 
his daughter a beautiful new hat, of 
which she was highly proud. He left 
her shortly before the meeting with a 
friend stopping at the hotel and the 
friend escorted her through the town 
square to a seat in the front of the 
hall. As the chairman rapped for or- 
der and introduced Colonel Smith, and 
a few enthusiasts yelled "Hurrah for 
Taylor and the Whig Party!" Miss 
Martha strode down the aisle. She 
was dressed in a becoming pink and 
blue frock, and her new hat was the 
cause of an uproar. Colonel Smith 
looked embarrassed ; halted for a mo- 
ment, and a wag rose in his seat and 
yelled, "Hurrah for Polk and the 
Democrats!" 

Miss Martha, being for Polk and 
having that afternoon raced through 
the nearby stubble fields, had trimmed 
her bonnet in a garland of pokeber- 
ries. The meeting broke up in con- 
fusion ; Polk eventually got the nomi- 
nation and was elected. The irate 
father did not speak to his little daugh- 
ter for a week. 

=!: * * 

JEFFERSON DAVIS ARRESTED 
BY ROMANS.— Miss Mary W. Noble, 
of Anniston, Ala., relates the follow- 
ing unpublished incident of May, 185.5, 
in which her family, traveling from 
Reading, Pa., to Rome, lost about 
$4,000, accused Jefferson Davis, then 
Secretary of War, of stealing it, and 
actually had him arrested at Augusta, 
and consented to his release only after 
he had shown papers establishing his 
identity. Mr. Davis had graduated 



from the United States Military Acad- 
emy at West Point, N. Y., in 1828, 
and had left his seat in Congress in 
1847 to enter the Mexican War. His 
service in this war was so meritorious 
that when Franklin Pierce was elect- 
ed President in 1853 he appointed Mr. 
Davis his Secretary of War, and Mr. 
Davis held that position until the elec- 
tion of James Buchanan to the Presi- 
dency in 1857. 

Miss Mary writes: 

"In 1855, while on a visit to the 
South, my father, James Noble, Sr., 
stopped at Rome. My brothers, at 
Reading, especially Samuel, were anx- 
ious to obey Horace Greeley's injunc- 
tion 'Go West, Young Man,' but my 
father had practically decided to set- 
tle at Chattanooga, Tenn. However, 
my father met two old-time Southern 
gentlemen, formerly of South Carolina 
— Col, Wade S. Cothran and John 
Hume, Sr. — who were so courteous and 
who advanced Rome's glories so ad- 
mirably that he wrote the boys to put 
the machinery at Reading on a sailing 
vessel and bring it to Charleston, 
whence it could be transported by 
train and overland to Rome. 

"In May of that year the older boys 
embarked from Philadelphia for 
Charleston, and my parents and my- 
self, Stephen N., then about 10, and 
my sisters, Jane, Susan, Eliza Jane 
(Jenny), Josephine and Elizabeth 
(Lilly), started from the same city to 
Charleston by train. On reaching 
Charleston, we discovered that the reg- 
ular train had left, but that we could 
be accommodated in a caboose at- 
tached to a freight train which was 
going as far as Augusta. It was Sun- 
day afternoon when we boarded the 
caboose. We were carrying a large 
carpet bag filled with valuables, in- 
cluding about $4,000 with which we 
expected to start our new inacliine 
shop and foundry enterprise at Rome. 
In the caboose with us was an English 
family on their way to the Duck mines 
of Tennessee, with whom our parents 
became friendly because of their own 
Elnglish birth, and at Branchville. Or- 
angeburg County, S. C, two quiet, 
well-dressed gentlemen in civilian 
clothes, about 50 years of age, board- 
ed the train as the last ))assengers 
before Augusta was reached. 

"It was at the suggestion of the 
conductor that we had determined to 
travel in the caboose. Our trunks were 
in the baggage room, and fearing lie 
would not have enough money to pay 
our way home, my father had opened 



242 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



one of the trunks, removed the carpet 
hag (which also contained jewelry and 
papers) and extracted enough in bills 
to see us all the way. On looking up, 
we noticed the conductor peering at us 
through a window. Then the conductor 
rushed into the baggage room and 
shouted, 'Hurry up; train's about to 
leave!' and at the same time grabbed 
the unlocked trunk and began to pull 
it out on the platform. My father 
stopped him long enough to lock the 
trunk; and then he took the carpet 
bag into the caboose and put it under 
the trunks in a compartment which 
was separated from the seating sec- 
tion by a thin partition. In the room 
with the trunks was a bench or a 
settee, and my sister, Jane, being tired, 
reclined on it. 

"When the two strangers got on at 
Branchville, one of them went into 
the room where my sister was. She 
arose and came back where we 'Were, 
and he took the seat behind her, leaned 
over and apologized for his intrusion, 
saying he was unaware the room was 
occupied. He talked pleasantly to her 
for about ten minutes. 

"About 6 o'clock the next morning 
we reached Augusta, when lo and be- 
hold, the carpet bag was gone, and 
with it our $4,000. Our parents were 
much excited, and accused the con- 
ductor, recalling that he had peeked 
at the valuables through the window, 
and that he had been in such a hurry 
to remove the trunk. The conductor 
denied the charge, and pointing at the 
two strangers, said, 'There are the 
thieves.' Suspicion seemed to involve 
the two, so they were arrested right 
there on the platform by an officer 
whom my father had summoned. The 
strangers politely but with some show 
of feeling proclaimed their innocence. 
Quite a scene had been produced and 
a crowd had gathered. The taller of 
the two declared, 'Sir, I am Jefferson 
Davis, Secretary of War, and my com- 
panion is an officer of the United 
States army.' They produced papers 
of identification and were released 
with an apology from my father, who 
then proceeded to press the original 
charge against the conductor. How- 
ever, the conductor had disappeared, 
and as our train for northwest Geor- 
gia was about to leave, we dropped 
the matter for the time. 

"On reaching Rome we consulted a 
lawyer, who promised to investigate, 
but we were strangers in a strange 
land, our father unknown save through 
short acquaintance with Col. Cothran, 
Mr. Hume and a few others; our story 



was doubted and nothing was done. 
Some time later we received a state- 
ment by mail, I believe from a Cath- 
olic priest, to the effect that he had at- 
tended a conductor following a fatal 
accident, who had confessed to him 
on his deathbed that he had passed the 
carpet bag out of a window to a con- 
federate between Branchville and Au- 
gusta. 

"When the Civil War broke out and 
Mr. Davis was chosen President of 
the Confederacy, with his headquar- 
ters at the seat of g'overnment at 
Montgomery, Ala., the Noble foundry 
at Rome was taken over for the manu- 
facture of cannon, and my father had 
to consult frequently with Mr. Davis 
at Montgomery concerning orders. Mr. 
Davis always alluded with a smile to 
the incident at Augusta and sent his 
regards to mother and the girls; and 
my father never failed to respond with 
a gracious apology and a nice compli- 
ment on Mr. Davis' fortitude and abil- 
ity in the trials of the war. 

"In connection with Confederate 
cannon it may be appropriate to men- 
tion that Col. Josiah Gorgas, father 
of Gen. Wm. C. Gorgas, U. S. A., 
whose engineering skill made possible 
the Panama Canal, visited Rome fre- 
quently as chief of ordinance for the 
Confederate States government, and 
occupied as the guest of the Noble 
family the front upstairs room at 304 
East First St., Rome, which overlooks 
the First Presbyterian churchyard, 
and we always called this 'Gorgas 
room.' Quite a friendship existed be- 
tween Col. Gorgas and my father, 
which in after years was cemented 
between Gen. Gorgas and Robt. E. 
Noble, a surgeon in the United States 
Army, and son of George Noble. Dr. 
Robt. Noble was closely associated with 
Gen. Gorgas for seven years in Pan- 
ama, then spent six months with him 
in South Africa, studying fever causes. 
The two were on their way to Africa 
again when Gen. Gorgas was stricken 
and died in London. My nephew re- 
mained until after the funeral, then 
took up his duties as assistant surgeon 
general of the army with the expedi- 
tion." 

* * * 

DE LA MESA AND THE TAB- 
LEAU.— Capt. Chas. A. de la Mesa 
succeeded Capt. Kyes as reconstruction 
officer of the United States Army at 
Rome, and opened up the so-called 
Freedman's Bureau at 530 Broad St. 
Here he tried to bring housewives and 
newly-freed servants into agreement 
as to what should be paid for services 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



243 



and wash. In the event agreements 
could not be reached privately, the 
contestants were hailed before Capt. 
de la Mesa. Naturally that official's 
life was full of misery. Clashes be- 
tween provost guard and citizens were 
frequent, but not of a serious nature, 
for it was bad policy for either side 
to carry a chip on the shoulder.* 

It was reported that Wm. Hemphill 
Jones had a spat with the captain. It 
may have been over wash or some- 
thing else, but Mr. Jones picked up a 
foot tub or a wash tub and slammed 
Capt. de la Mesa over the head with 
it, according to the report. The cap- 
tain enjoyed a considerable range. He 
once went to Summerville, and the 
picture of his leaving resembled that 
of Wm. J. Burns 50 years later, bid- 
ding farewell to Marietta. A young- 
man at Summerville claimed that Capt. 
de la Mesa insulted or mistreated his 
sister in some transaction, and pro- 
ceeded to arm himself. He was halted 
by the late Jno. W. Maddox, then a 
resident of the Chattooga town, and 
Capt. de la Mesa moved on. At Dal- 
ton Capt. de la Mesa was served with 
papers in a court action, but explana- 
tions were made and the case was 
thrown out. There were other similar 
incidents in the path of Capt. de la 
Mesa's duty, concerning which, hap- 
pily, there is no longer any feeling. 

Capt. de la Mesa hung out a large 
United States flag in front of the bu- 
reau, and forced all passersby to sa- 
lute it. Of course he was acting under 
orders; Romans made a wide detour. 
Then came the tableau in May, 1867, — 
an intensely "dramatic" affair. 

In order to replace pews in the local 
churches and to repair other damage 
done by the Northern soldiers,** the 
female members of the congregations 
had formed a society to present tab- 
leaux at the old city hall, southwest 
corner of Broad Street and Fifth Ave- 
nue, where the Fifth Avenue Drug 
Company is now located. On this par- 
ticular occasion the managers were 

*Capt. De ]a Mesa is supposed to have come 
from Brooklyn, N. Y., an<l to have been a 
nsilive of Spain. He had a dauprhter, Miss 
Leila de la Mesa, who married A. C. Fetterolf, 
of Upper Montclair. N. .J. At the time of her 
marriaKe. the family wrote to Rome for a 
picture of the old Kreedmen's Bureau, and the 
request was complied with by Mrs. Ed Harris. 
Capt. de la Mesa died a jrood many years aRo, 
and it is understood that his widow remarried. 

**Quite a while after the war, the Gov- 
ernment sent a representative to Rome to as- 
sess the damage done the First Baptist church. 
Hearings were held at this institution, and 
some spicy comments were made by the women 
who testified, notably Mrs. Eben Hillyer. An 
award of about .$600 was recommended to 
WashinRton, and this amount paid the church. 



Mrs. J. M. Gregory, Mrs. M. A. Nevin 
and Miss Mary W. Noble, and they 
received a surprise and shock when 
Capt. de la Mesa bought tickets for 
himself and his beautiful brunette 
wife, and planted himself in his mili- 
tary trappings on a front seat. The 
following is a summary of two ac- 
counts of the affair: 

"The audience filed in, some of the 
young women with noses pretty high in 
the air at sight of the 'intruders.' The 
tableau was 'The Officer's Funeral,' 
and all went well for a while. The 
de la Mesas enjoyed the first part and 
applauded liberally. A little play pre- 
ceded the tableau, in which " Mrs. 
Hiram D. Hill (then Florence Mitch- 
ell, daughter of Col. Daniel R. Mitch- 
ell), played the part of the Irish Maid 
of Coi'k, thrummed a piece on her 
guitar and was wooed by the hero. 

"Then — bless Patsy! — the fireworks! 
The curtain went up on the tableau 
in question. There stood 'Ferd' 
Hutchings, Dave Powers, 'Billy' Gib- 
bons, 'Tal' Wells and Leonidas Timo- 
leon Mitchell. 'Coon' Mitchell, by the 
way, was a son of old Daniel R. and 
the very man who had carried Gen. 
Neal Dow, the famous Maine aboli- 
tionist, to Libby Prison, Richmond, 
from Mobile. All the others had 
fought the 'Yankees' with the Rome 
Light Guards. And now they had the 
temerity to stand up before the 'Yan- 
kee' reconstruction officer in their uni- 
forms of gray! Furthermore, the of- 
ficer's casket was draped in a battle- 
torn Confederate flag, the property of 
Col. Sam Gibbons, father of Billy. Com- 
pleting the scene were Miss Belle Lo- 
gan as the widow, and Mrs. Hill's 
niece, little Irene Hicks, as the orphan. 

"Capt. de la Mesa began to boil; his 
wife reddened sympathetically as the 
boys began to sing that famous and 
heart-touching song, 'The Officer's Fu- 
neral :' 

'Hark, 'tis the shrill trumpet calling. 

It pierceth the soft summer air. 
And a tear from each comrade is fall- 
ing.— 
The widow and orphan are there; 
The bayonets earthward are turning 
And the drums' muffled sound rolls 
around. 
But hears not the voice of tlieir 
mourning. 
Nor awakes to the shrill bugle sound. 

'Sleep, soldier, though many regret 
thee 
Who stand by thy cold bier today. 
Soon, soon will the kindest forget thee, 



244 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



And thy name from the earth pass 
away ; 
The man thou didst love as a brother, 
A friend in thy place will have 
gained, 
Thy dog will keep watch for another 
And thy steed by a stranger be 
reined. 

'Though many now mourn for thee 
sadly. 
Soon joyous as ever shall be, 
Thy bright orphan boy will laugh 
gladly 
As he sits on some kind comrade's 
knee; 
There is one who will still pay the 
duty 
Of tears to the true and the brave, 
As first in the bloom of her beauty, 
She knelt by her boy soldiers' grave!' 

"Miss Ford stepped from behind the 
arras and sang 'The Jacket of Gray,' 
and as she concluded, with the line 
'Fold it up carefully, lay it aside!' 
she lifted a soiled and thread-bare coat 
into full view of the audience. A 
shower of applause followed. The de 
la Mesas boiled over, and trudged out 
of the hall, to the accompaniment of 
a perfect chorus of boos and cat-calls, 
and a shrill defi flung above the tumult 
by a young 'Rebel,' 'Go it; that's not 
the first time you ever ran from that 
flag!' 

"'Delia Meezer, lemon squeezer!' 
shouted an impertinent little boy. 

"This 'good riddance of bad rub- 
bish' (as the players expressed it) 
was thought to have ended the inci- 
dent, but not so. Capt. de la Mesa 
sent a hot message to headquarters in 
Atlanta, making a charge of high trea- 
son, and requesting a company of sol- 
diers to spirit away the culprits. In 
the meantime, the Federal commander 
had recognized all the ofl'enders and 
had clapped handcuff's on each and 
marched them to the guard room in the 
courthouse between files of troopers 
with fixed bayonets. Several of the 
young women went to the 'prison' to 
console the boys, and one of them, un- 
accustomed to Federal uniforms, asked 
quite audibly, 'Do all these dogs wear 
collars?' The cordon around the pris- 
oners was only drawn the tighter. 

"After the boys had spent a night 
thus, a company of 59 soldiers from 
Atlanta appeared at the Rome rail- 
road station, marched up Broad Street 
with bayonets fixed, and escorted the 
'prisoners' and Capt. de la Mesa to 
the station, where they caught the 
next train for the state capital. A 



tremendous crowd gathered and sul- 
lenly watched their friends and their 
enemies go away. De la Mesa turned 
back at Kingston. He had obtained 
the services of another company or 
part thereof somewhere, and these 
escorted him back to Rome, and for 
several days kept watch over him and 
his bureau, until the excitement had 
subsided. Henry A. Smith, bookseller 
who had lost an arm in the war, was 
due to have been arrested, too, but he 
had prudently gone to visit relatives 
up the Etowah river. The women, 
also, it was rumored, would be held 
as traitors. 

"Col. Mitchell got on the train with 
the intention of going to Savannah to 
protest with Judge Erskine, of the 
P'ederal Court. Instead, he wired 
Judge Erskine from Atlanta. The 
two got into touch with Gen. John 
Pope, commander of the district, and 
a release order came within three 
weeks. However, the order did not 
forestall serious indignities to the 
captives, who had been confined in a 
miserable pen or cage. They were 
taunted and cursed by their captors, 
who prodded with bayonets gifts of 
sweetmeats sent by relatives and sym- 
pathizing friends, and forced them to 
eat the poorly prepared food that had 
been provided for them. 

"A telegram announced the release to 
Romans, and a huge crowd welcomed 
the boys at the station, and a supper 
at the City Hall softened the sting of 
their humiliation and enabled them to 
chalk up the event as one of fate's 
weird pranks." 

Mrs. Hiram Hill adds the following: 

"Our home in the Fourth Ward had 
been divested of its sides, blinds, 
doors, plastering and everything that 
the Union soldiers could tear down or 
carry away, and we had gone to live 
at the old Buena Vista Hotel, south- 
west corner of Broad and Sixth Ave- 
nue, where Seale & Floyd's garage and 
a grocery store now are. My father 
owned this place and occupied a small 
one-story house on the west side of 
it as his law office. Mrs. de la Mesa 
had been coming to the hotel from next 
door to give instructions to a Rome 
woman who was sewing for her, and 
when I saw her after my brother's 
arrest, I told her to get out of the 
hotel and istay out. She sent nte 
word that she would march me up 
and down Broad Street in charge of 
two soldiers and under a United States 
flag. I defied her to try it, and she 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



245 




THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ON BROAD STREET. 

This structure, still standing near Sixth Avenue, was the headquarters of Capt. 
Chas. A. de le Mesa during the Civil War. Capt. de la Mesa participated in a number 
of hair raising episodes. Rome's oldest brick building is at the right. 



never did. There would have been a 
lot more trouble in Rome, Ga. 

"I suppose Capt. de la Mesa v\^as 
carrying out orders and ruled sternly 
for that reason. He and his wife im- 
pressed me as people of refinement, 
and I was especially struck with her 
beauty and the style of her clothes." 

:!: ^: :!: 

A DRAMATIC SCENE. — When 
William Smith entered his last illness 
in January, 1852, he summoned several 
friends whom he wished to transact 
certain business matters for him re- 
lating to his property in Rome. While 
they were still with him in the cot- 
tage on Howard Street where he died, 
he raised himself to his feet by hold- 
ing to his chair, and said: 

"Gentlemen, you will have to help 
me to my bed. I have done all that 
I can do for myself," 

They assisted him, and when he was 
comfortably stretched out, he con- 
tinued: 

"I am not a member of any church, 
but I have done the best I could in 
this life. Whatever I have had has 
belonged to the people of this commu- 
nity. No man has ever been turned 
away hungry from my door if I had 
anything to divide with him. 

"You gentlemen know that I have 
served this section, and if my body is 
of any use to science, I ask you to 
take it when I am gone." 

Col. Smith had waited for Col. Al- 
fred Shorter to come, so they could 
have a settlement with resi)ect to the 
property they owned equally. Col. 
Shorter sent his representative, Col. 
C. M. Pennington, to see Col. Smith. 



"I am glad to see you, Col. Pen- 
nington," declared Col." Smith, "but I 
sent for Col. Shorter." 

Col. Pennington delivered the mes- 
sage promptly a second time, and it 
was 24 hours before Col. Shorter found 
it convenient to come. When he ar- 
rived, Col. Smith raised himself on his 
left elbow, and with his right hand 
reached under his pillow. Col. Shorter 
drew back and Col. Pennington step- 
ped between them. During one of 
Col. Smith's naps Mrs. Smith, the 
wife, had removed his pistol. 

"Alfred Shorter, you are a rascal!" 
.shouted Col. Smith, the old-time fire 
flashing from his small, black eyes. 
"This is a fine time to come to see 
a man — on his death bed!" 

Shortly before noon the next day, 
Jan. 27, Col. Smith died. Only a few 
days before, his grandson, William 
Cephas, had been born to Dr. ami iMrs. 
Robt. Battey. 

The Widow Baldwin, whom Col. 
Shorter had married at Monticello, 
placed at his disposal .$10. ()()() in cash, 
a handsome fortune in tliose days of 
low values. Col. Shorter brought this 
to Rome with him at the instance of 
Col. Smith, and invested it in the land 
which Col. Smith had acquired, and 
made certain improvements thereon. 
Col. Smith's energy and Col. Shorter's 
long business head made an ideal 
combination, and their partnershii) 
interests grew rapidly- After the 
Civil War, Col. Shorter settled 
with Mrs. Battey, the daughter, for 
$1(),()00 cash, and took her receipt. 

It was a satisfactory ending of an 
unfortunate affair, and left Col. 



246 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Shorter free to conserve his part, 
most of which went to Shorter College 
for the education of young women of 
the South.* 

HENRY W. GRADY AT ROME.— 

As a youth, Henry Woodfin Grady 
had visited his uncle, Henry A. Gart- 
rell, in Rome, and thence had gone 
to see another branch of his family 
at Floyd Springs.** Capt. Gartrell re- 
moved' to Athens in 1865, after hav- 
ing served Rome as mayor in 1859-60. 
Pleasant recollections of Rome and a 
chance visit with the Georgia Press 
excursion in 1869 caused Mr. Grady 
to anchor his quill, paste pot and 
shears at the foot of Tower Hill for 
three years. 

Col. E. Hulbert, superintendent of 
the W. & A. (state) Railroad, had in- 
vited the Georgia press to send rep- 
resentatives for an excursion into 
Southeastern Tennessee, Northwest 
Georgia and Northeastern Alabama, to 
write up the natural resources of 
those sections. The excursion started 
from Atlanta at 7 a. m., Wednesday, 
August 25, 1869. At Cartersville the 
members were addressed on the sub- 
ject of minerals, agriculture and the 
new railroad to Van Wert, Polk 
County, by Mark A. Cooper, grand- 
father of J. Paul Cooper and father 
of John Frederick Cooper, of Rome. 
Thence they went to Chattanooga, 100 
strong. Then they turned southward, 
and arrived at Rome via the Rome 
Railroad, on their special train, at 
1:30 a. m., Friday, Sept. 3. 

True to the spirit of newspaper en- 
terprise, young Grady, then only 19, 
rushed to the sanctum of Editor Mel- 
ville Dwinell, of the Rome Weekly 
Courier. The hour was unearthly, yet 
the editor had remained at his desk to 
"cover" the momentous event of the 
arrival of the excursionists. Capt. 
Dwinell stated that he had left a col- 
umn open. Mr. Grady declared a col- 
umn would hardly start the story he 
bore, so Capt. Dwinell side-tracked 
some of his livest news and no doubt 
a few advertisements. Mr. Grady had 
been writing his "yarn" on the train. 
He continued it for an hour, and for 
good measure threw in an optimistic 
editorial squib. A faithful printer 
hand-set type the balance of the night 
and The Courier woke up the citizens 
with Mr. Grady's remarkable narra- 
tive. It was a sample of journalistic 
endeavor to which the quiet Hill City 
had not been accustomed. 

Grady's wonderful speech, "The 
New South," delivered before the New 



England Society of New York, N. Y., 
Dec. 22, 1886, is well known. At 
Rome on this occasion, however, he ap- 
pears to have struck his original "New 
South" note, as follows: 

"Every citizen of Cherokee Georgia 
has long been convinced that our min- 
eral resources are unsurpassed, and 
all that was wanting was for some- 
one to make a start, and induce men 
of means to come among, to aid in 
developing the same. . . . Our broth- 
ers of the quill will now have some- 
thing interesting to write about and 
for a while, at least, will devote their 
time to something more substantial 
than politics, and of infinitely more 
advantage to our bankrupt people. It 
is refreshing to see men of all politi- 
cal shades quietly traveling together, 
and for once making a united effort 
to forget political differences, and to 
lend their efforts to the more laudable 
cause of developing the great wealth 
that nature had bestowed upon us. 
Cuffee for once has been forgotten. 
The splendid scenery of our moun- 
tains and valleys, with the battlefields, 
which give us a prominent place in 
history, has made a deep impression 
upon the minds of all, and proclaims 
in thunder tones what men will do 
when pressed to the wall. Mutual 
forbearance seems to exist, and we 
predict that in future a better state 
of sentiment and feeling will prevail." 

At this time, maybe, Grady made 
arrangements to work for The Cour- 
ier. The preliminaries may have been 
started by letter a while before. At 
any rate, he soon came back. 

At 3 p. m., after a speech by Mayor 
Zach Hargi-ove and a serenade by a 
brass band and dinner at the Choice 
House, the party left for a trip down 
the Coosa River on the Steamboat 
Etowah as the guests of Col. Wade 
S Cothran. After inspecting the 
Round Mountain and Cornwall, Ala., 
iron works, they came back to Rome 
Sunday on the Etowah, put up at the 
Choice House and Monday morning at 
9 left by rail for Selma, Ala. Wed- 
nesday morning at 6:30 the editors re- 
turned to Rome, had breakfast at the 
Choice House and departed two hours 
later for Atlanta, where the "junket" 

*Col Pennington was authority for the por- 
tion of the above narrative relating to the 
pistol ; he told the story to Judge John C. 
Printup. Mrs. Robt. Battey was authority tor 
the statement that Col. Smith sent for Col. 
Shorter to make a settlement, and that the 
$10,000 was later paid to her. 

**Doyle A. Moore, of Rome, is kin to the 
Gradys through this branch. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



247 



ended. On both these stops Mr. Grady 
fraternized with Editor Dwinell. 

The impelling reason why Grady 
went to Rome lies largely in the realm 
of surmise. The lad was possessed of 
a proud spirit which he called ambi- 
tion and which a handful of sniping 
contemporaries, less talented, might 
have called bumptiousness. He was 
precocious to the extent that he had 
become an orator in his knee pants, 
and he was made to suffer more than 
once because he pitted his skill against 
older competitors. Through a politi- 
cal deal at the University of Virginia 
he had suffered a keen disappoint- 
ment, and it is likely that in associat- 
ing himself as "free-lance" corre- 
spondent with the Atlanta Constitu- 
tion he was inviting rebuffs that his 
gifts did not warrant. The Constitu- 
tion's editor was Col. Carey W. Styles, 
an experienced journalist, who, by the 
way, had been involved in the Yacht 
Wanderer affair nine years before at 
Savannah. Col. Styles had sat up with 
legislators at Milledgeville before 
Henry Grady had ever thought of 
them, hence when the dashing young 
collegian essayed to pass voluminous 
editorial sentence on a governor or a 
congressman, it was out of the ques- 
tion. 

Grady was trying to marry. He 
was fired with ambition to take the 
lead in molding public opinion. He 
enjoyed writing "from the street and 
hustings," but he preferred the dignity 
of a job at a desk. Brain work was 
one thing to Henry Grady, and "leg 
work" another. The Constitution was 
a new concern, having been founded 
in the summer of 18G8, had a full 
staff, and could not find a regular 
place for him yet awhile. Further- 
more, Henry was ambitious enough to 
believe that what he was writing, 
mostly of a political nature, was just 
about as important as anything in the 
paper, and had as much right to 
"front page" position as the other 
stuff they were printing. He believed 
that an excursion of the state's lead- 
ing editors was a big news event, and 
was worth writing columns every day, 
perhaps. Consequently, he wielded a 
loquacious pen. The Constitution's tel- 
egraph tolls became enormous when 
Press Excursion news started from 
Cartersville and continued through 
Chattanooga and Rome. Henry was 
shooting readable material, but they 
couldn't see it at the office ; they cut 
his doipe to the bone and dropped 
his pen name, "King Hans." In the 
following fashion did they knock liiiii 



off the limb in a squib of Sept. 10, 
1869: 

"We are compelled by pressure upon 
our space to abbreviate and condense 
the report of the Press Excursion pro- 
ceedings. Neither the editors nor the 
proprietors of this paper were pres- 
ent." 

Wow! that should hold any young 
man, no matter how brilliant or pro- 
gressive, in entirely reasonable bounds. 

"Damn 'em, I'll fix 'em!" muttered 
Henry, who had been introduced by V. 
A. Gaskell, of the Atlanta New Era, 
and J. S. Peterson, of the Atlanta In- 
telligencer, as the Constitution's "rep- 
resentative" on the editors' jaunt. He 
shot a wad of his copy at Melville 
Dwinell, editor of the Rome Weekly 
Courier, over the signature "Zip." Ed- 
itor Dwinell ate his contributions with 
a relish; sometimes they ran several 
columns long, but it was good read- 
ing, and it landed Henry a nice job. 
He put over three columns Sept. 3, 
and duplicated with three a week 
later — quite a contribution to a four- 
page newspaper. 

Right proudly did Capt. Dwinell 
pave the way for the young literary 
crusader under date of Friday, Sept. 
10, 1869: 

"To the Readers of the Courier: 
With this issue of our paper we pre- 
sent Mr. Henry W. Grady in the ca- 
pacity of associate editor. The vigor, 
versatility and polish of his pen has 
recently been exhibited in his corre- 
spondence for the Atlanta Constitution 
over the nom de plume of 'King Hans,' 
and we may reasonal)ly hope with his 
assistance to materially increase the 
interest of these columns. Feeling con- 
fident that this effort to interest and 
please will be successful, we let Mr. 
Grady make his own bow to the pub- 
lic— M. Dwinell." 

Mr. Grady's bow follows : 
"The above notice renders necessary 
the infliction of a salutatory upon 
you. We shall be as brief as possible. 
We are young and without editorial 
judgment or experience, yet we hope 
that the enthusiasm with which wo en- 
ter upon our new profession and the 
constant labor with which we are de- 
termined to bend to our work may par- 
tially, at least, atone for these de- 
ficiencies. 

"The Courier shall be in the future, 
so far as our management is concern- 
ed, devoted as it has l)een in the past 
to the dissemination of useful and in- 
teresting information, to the bold as- 



248 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



sertion and maintenance of correct po- 
litical opinions and to the development 
of the best interests of the commu- 
nity. 

"We enter the editorial ranks of the 
state with ill feeling' toward none, but 
with kindness toward all. We shall 
cheerfully and with vigor co-operate 
with the press in the furtherance of 
any project which tends toward good, 
and we shall endeavor with courtesy 
and politeness to adjust nicely any dif- 
ferences of opinion which may arise 
between us and any of our contem- 
poraries. 

"Begging in conclusion that the 
justice you render us may be tempered 
with mercy, we don our harness and 
enter the lists. 

"Most respectfully yours, 

"HENRY W. GRADY." 

The young journalist's "bold asser- 
tion of correct political opinions" found 
expression in the same issue of The 
Courier in the following editorial 
broadside leveled at Governor Rufus 
B. Bullock, who also was a guest on 
the Press Excursion : 

"His Accidency." — " 'We were de- 
lighted with Governor Bullock — he is 
the right man in the right place, and 
will do all that any man could do to 
restore Georgia to her former condi- 
tion of peace and prosperity.' " — Talla- 
dega Sun. 

"The above tribute to the accident 
that now occupies the Gubernatorial 
Chair, though clipped from a Radical 
paper and written by a Radical re- 
porter, whose official duty it was to 
become enamored of the Accident and 
all of his party, has a considerable 
significance notwithstanding. 

"The truth of the matter is that 
any man who knows nothing of Bul- 
lock's political filthiness will inevit- 
ably become 'delighted with him,' etc. 
We have never, in the whole course of 
our life, seen a man who was gifted 
with so great an amount of beguiling 
blarney as is this man. Present him 
to a Democrat and the sweetness of 
his countenance is absolutely appall- 
ing; infinite smiles ripple over his 
cheeks and break in soft laughter on 
his lips; a thousand and one benevo- 
lent sparkles are beamed from his 
eyes; his nostrils play with kindly pal- 
pitations, and — believe me, for I tell 
ye the truth — his whiskers resolve 
themselves into a standing committee 
to invite you just to walk down into 
his heart and take a place in that 



large and open receptacle. Oh, his 
face is tremendously delusive! 

"We were presented to him, and 
went to the presentation primed with 
about a dozen pardon proclamations, 
and about three of his reports on the 
condition of Georgia. We had serious- 
ly contemplated taking a friend along 
to prevent the murderous onslaught, 
which we were afraid our outraged 
feelings would urge us to make upon 
the Accident when introduced to it. 
And lo! when the crisis came we found 
ourself basking calmly beneath his ra- 
diant countenance like a rose beneath 
an April sky. A clear voice saluted 
us with a dreamy kind of tenderness, 
and we found ourself exclaiming, 
'Surely this man is not our enemy!' 

"We looked for the famous 'sinister 
expression' which, according to novel- 
ists, invariably resides about the nose 
and eyes of a villain. But we found 
it not; the nose possessed a very mild 
curvative, and the eyes were gushing 
with cheery good humor. Instantly, as 
a last resort, we had to commence 
recounting his crimes, in order to pro- 
tect ourself against his blandish- 
ments, and actually had to come down 
to the appointment of Foster Blodgett 
before we could sufficiently hate him 
to satify our Democratic conscience. 
How deep down and how effectually 
does this man hide his rascality! 

"So much the more dangerous is he. 
No man who visits him, without about 
one-third of his political villainies full 
in view, is safe. Beware, then, of this 
mermaid with a siren voice — he will 
laugh welcome in your face, and then 
pardon the brute that ravished your 
sister. He is far more dangerous than 
Swayze — though the latter is his supe- 
rior in force — for in the eye of the lat- 
ter there is a warning that puts us 
upon guard. 

"A child is never hurt by a poison- 
ous toad ; it is the bright serpent, with 
its spots of purple and gold, that 
charms and slays him. We do not 
fear the uncouth ruffian that is with 
hideous leer distorted, but the soft and 
supple gentleman scoundrel that 'can 
smile and smile, and play the villain 
still.' " 

Other public officials on the Press 
Excursion escaped the darts of young 
Mr. Grady. They included Mayor Hul- 
sey, of Atlanta, Comptroller General 
Madison Bell, R. L. McWhorter, speak- 
er of the house; and Senators Smith, 
Candler and Nunnally. 

Evidently the following item Grady 
wrote for The Courier on Friday, Sep- 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



249 



tember 10, was prompted by a pang 
of conscience: 

"We hereby announce to our read- 
ers that we shall not say another 
word about the Press Excursion. We 
enjoyed it and 'developed' everything 
we saw, and now we are done with it. 
Not another remark shall we make 
about it. If information about it is 
wanted by any who may not have seen 
our notices as yet, we refer them to 
our back files." 

It is significant that on the same 
day Grady penned the following in re- 
sponse to a jibe from the Savannah 
News: 

"This excellent but sometimes impru- 
dent newspaper makes a bold attack 
upon us concerning an article of ours 
on the Press Excursion. We would 
answer the charges contained therein, 
but we promised our readers in our 
last issue not to write anything more 
concerning the excursion. To this 
promise our contemporary owes its fu- 
ture salvation. For, were our hands 
not bound by that promise, we would 
just tear The News all to pieces! So 
return thanks. Brother Thompson, for 
your narrow escape." 

As a reporter he showed the same 
enterprise and aptitude as in his ed- 
itorial work. On Nov. 12, 1869, he 
published this : 

"Fights, Robberies, Shooting. — A 
sable son of Africa was tickled by a 
bullet from the pistol of Col. Sam 
Stewart, because he struck Col. Stew- 
art. Another African was perforated 
in four places, through the arm and 
shoulder, by a leaden messenger from 
Col. Stewart — cause, not known. 

"A Mr. Neph was robbed of $500 in 
money and a $1,000 check last night 
by a thief who entered his room at the 
Choice House. 

"A few episodical but very interest- 
ing fights took place last night among 
the 'boys.' No serious damage report- 
ed. Mr. C. W. Nowlin was robbed of 
his watch and chain Wednesday night. 
There were many other fights, rob- 
beries and drunks which happened 
around loose that we wot not of, and 
that deserve no mention in this paper. 
Verily, Rome is getting to be as nice 
a city as Atlanta." 

Although Mr. Grady was fond of 
Capt. Dwinell, he chafed at the su- 
pervision over his copy and destinies 
in The Courier office ; it is also re- 
lated that he became irritated that 
he was not allowed to expose a petty 
local political ring, so we find him 



leaving The Courier July 31, 1870, to 
assume the proprietorship of the Rome 
Weekly Commercial. So quietly had 
his plans been laid that his name ap- 
peared on the masthead of The Cour- 
ier as associate editor and on the mast- 
head of The Commercial as editor on 
the same date. 

Capt. Dwinell then wrote: 

"To the Patrons of The Courier:— 
By the following card it will be seen 
that a change has been made in the 
associate editorship of this paper. The 
relations of the paper with Mr. Grady, 
who now retires from The Courier to 
take charge of The Commercial, have 
been entirely pleasant and we regi-et 
to lose his valuable services. We wish 
him abundant success in his new field 
of labor. Col. B. F. Sawyer, for some 
time past editor of the Rome Daily, 
a gentleman of high literary reputa- 
tion and considerable editorial experi- 
ence, takes his place. We have no 
doubt The Courier will be fully sus- 
tained in its previous position as a 
readable newspaper." 

Col. Sawyer's salutatory reads thus: 
"I this day assume editorial control 
of The Courier. It shall be my con- 
stant aim to sustain The Courier in 




HF:NRY WOODKIN GRADY, omtor, who 
started his journalistic career in Ronio and 
brouKht his bride there to reside. 



250 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



the high position of popular favor it 
has heretofore enjoyed. Should I suc- 
ceed in this, I shall be contented, and 
the patrons of The Courier can ask 
no more." 

Mr. Grady wrote : 

"To the Patrons of The Courier: 
Having been called to another field of 
labor, my connection with The Cour- 
ier ceases with this issue. I will say 
nothing of the sadness I feel in break- 
ing loose from the old Courier — noth- 
ing of the honest courtesy and kind- 
ness of the proprietor, who has been 
my friend and counsellor through thick 
and thin; because these things be- 
long not to the public, nor do they in- 
terest the public. But I feel that I 
would be lacking in gratitude did I 
not express my thanks to those of you 
who have encouraged me with your 
kind words and approving patronage 
during this, the first year of my ed- 
itorial life. Tendering you my most 
sincere acknowledgments, I remain, 
"Yours very truly, 
"HENRY W. GRADY." 

Henry Grady and his younger broth- 
er. Will S. Grady, ran The Daily Com- 
mercial* as editor and business man- 
ager, respectively. Associated with 
them for part of this time was Col. 
J. F. Shanklin, the firm name being 
Grady Brothers & Shanklin. Some of 
Mr. Grady's best work appeared dur- 
ing this period. Col. Sawyer was a 
peppery old fellow, and he and Grady 
had many an epistolary interchange 
which old timers say came near re- 
sulting in a duel, but Mr. Grady's 
diplomacy turned trouble into smiles. 

A free-hearted fellow was Henry 
Grady. He gave liberally to old ne- 
groes to get their anecdotes or stories 
of their lives, and traversed many an 
untraveled thoroughfare to obtain a 
glimpse of types which the average 
man of his sphere seldom sees in their 
element. He had been accustomed to 
everything that money could buy, 
hence did not deny his friends any- 
thing he could possibly bestow upon 
them. He was fond of candy, and so 
were the neighborhood children; so 
was the blushing bride when she 
finally arrived; a confectioner kept all 
kinds near the newspaper office, so 
Henry would now and then run up a 
bill of $15 or more. 

It is noteworthy that, although he 
started using the nom de plume "King 
Hans" early in 1869, he did not ob- 
tain real authority to do so until two 
years later. This cognomen was a 



combination of his first name and the 
last name of his sweetheart in Ath- 
ens, to whom we can fancy hearing 
him say: 

"Well, Julia, I will use your name 
with mine, since you will not let me 
change it for a while." 

Henry worked industriously; he 
could afford matrimony, or thought he 
could, in the fall of 1871, and so they 
were married, and came to the old 
Wood home, at the northwest corner 
of Broad Street and Sixth Avenue, to 
reside. Some say they lived first at 
the southeast corner of Third Avenue 
and East First Street, where the of- 
fice of the Harbin Hospital now 
stands. At any rate, Henry had been 
"batching it" here and there, and at 
one time had boarded with Mrs. W. 
W. Watters; and his first cousin, Wm. 
C. Grady, Roman in the iron business, 
had boarded there at the same time. 
A Roman who had been his roommate 
at Athens also acted as a groomsman 
at his wedding — Col. Hamilton Yan- 
cey. Another Roman, Rev. George T. 
Goetchius, pastor of the First Pres- 
byterian church, had been his class- 
mate through four pleasant years. 

The newspaper business is not al- 
ways remunerative. The Gradys and 
Col. Shanklin had been publishing a 
paper that in that day would be call- 
ed "jam-up." Thev had bought it in 
July, 1870, from Mitchell A. Nevin, 
who appeared to be glad to sell. Soon 
it was "jam-up" against the wall, so 
they poured it back into the jug. 
Mitchell A. Nevin was willing to try 
it again. 

Just when the Gradys relinquished 
hold is problematical. The Atlanta 
Constitution recorded that on May 8, 
1872, Mr. Grady represented The Com- 
mercial and Capt. Dwinell The Cour- 
ier at the Press Convention in Atlan- 
ta. Col. Carey W. Styles had gone 
in June, 1871, to the Albany News 
from the editorial chair of The Con- 
stitution, and had been succeeded by 
Col. I. W. Avery, who later wrote an 
entertaining history of Georgia. On 
Nov. 5, 1872, The Constitution noted 
the sale of The Commercial by Grady 
Brothers & Shanklin to Nevin & Co., 
and a coup-d'etat by Capt. Dwinell 
in announcing the addition of Major 
Chas. H. Smith (Bill Arp) to The 
Courier staff. The Nov. 10, 1872, is- 

♦This was Rome's first daily, and it was es- 
tablished by M. A. Nevin. A number bearing 
date of Friday, June 28, 1871, with the mast- 
head carrying the names of the Gradys as ed- 
itor and business manager and Col. Shanklin 
as managing editor, is still in existence. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



251 



sue of the Atlanta Herald was vicious- 
ly attacked by The Constitution for its 
"sensational New York journalism." 
Since Mr. Grady started The Herald 
soon after his removal from Rome, it 
is more than likely that he left the 
Hill City and was presiding over the 
destinies of the new Atlanta paper at 
this time. 

In leaving Rome, this adventurous 
young journalist and budding orator 
managed to elude a battery of bill col- 
lectors and bailiffs by giving up his 
trunk. The trunk was finally re- 
leased and put in storage several 
months; John Webb, a friend, paid the 
storage charges and sent Henry his 
trunk and "wardrobe." The wedding 
silver escaped, for it had gone tem- 
porarily with Mrs. Grady to the home 
of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Battey at the 
easternmost end of First Avenue. Hard 
lines for the young couple, just start- 
ing life's struggle, but they never gave 
up, and lived to speak in a philosophi- 
cal and humorous vein of their early 
experiences. 

Henry was persistently hounded by 
this motley pack, to the point where 
his friends claim he was literally run 
away from Rome — to make famous an- 
other town. These incidents did not 
embitter him; they came to him as 
part of the game of life, and when the 
years had removed from his memory 
the grim faces of his nemesises, he 
often commented on his pleasant recol- 
lections of the sublimated Seven Hills. 

From the top of the editorial and 
oi'atorical perch, with the plaudits of 
the thousands ringing in his ears and 
his own image deeply graven on their 
hearts, it was truly a retrospective pic- 
ture in a golden frame. He thought 
of the time when he used to scribble 
news notes on his cuffs, which neces- 
sitated changing shirts every day; 
when "Uncle Remus" came unan- 
nounced to Rome and found him rid- 
ing a "flying Jenny;" when he bought 
a dozen pairs of scissors and set every- 
body in the office to clipping an ar- 
ticle out of each copy of the paper 
in order not to offend a lady. 

Rome reciprocated this feeling of 
love by sending a beautiful wreath 
May 24, 1921, to Atlanta to adorn his 
monument as orators extolled him; and 
Romans reciprocate it every day of 
their lives. 

ROME STORIES OF GRADY.— 
Mrs. Samuel C. Whitmire, of New- 
York, N. Y., formerly of Everett 
Springs, tells this one: "Mr. Grady 



used to visit a relative, a Mrs. Bal- 
lenger, at Floyd Springs. A neighbor- 
hood story has it that on a trip across 
the Oostanaula after he had failed to 
catch any fish he had found a net full 
that belonged to a farmer living near- 
by. Going to Farmer Corntassel's 
house, he said, 'My friend, I have 
taken your fish and I want you to 
take my dollar. I know better than 
to go home without any fish.' He had 
great consideration for older people, 
and spent much time talking to de- 
crepit darkies, from whom he received 
many inspirations for editorials." 

A. Rawlins, former mayor of North 
Rome, and father-in-law of Chas. T. 
Jervis, relates the following anecdote: 

"I came down from North Rome one 
day to pay my subscription to Mr. 
Grady's paper when his office was 
about the middle of the Hotel Forrest 
block on Broad. I found him standing 
in a stairway and I announced my in- 
tention. He looked at me hard and 
said: *Mr. Rawlins, you say you 
came to pay a subscription?' 

" 'Yes.' 

" 'Do you really mean that you vol- 
untarily want to pay a subscription to 
this newspaper?' 

'"That's right.' 

" 'Then I must say that you are to 
be commended as the first man I have 
met in this community who wanted to 
do that. I have worn out $49 worth 
of shoe leather calling on the others.' " 

Chas. W. Morris, real estate deal- 
er of 300 W. Fifth Avenue and father 
of Paul I. Morris, tells this story: 

"When I was a youngster, Henry 
Grady used to buy two cakes of soap 
every now and then and take me 
down to the wash-hole at the foot of 
Fourth Avenue, Etowah River, and go 
in washing with me. He was chunky 
and a good swimmer, but not much on 
diving. This was the shallow place 
where the downtown boys used to wade 
across after a session of play at the 
Gammon home nearby. Mr. Grady also 
went in at Seventh Avenue on the 
Oostanaula. Before he married he had 
a room upstairs near the newspaper 
plant, on Broad Stiect in the Hotel 
Forrest block." 

Judge Max Meyerhaidt relates this: 

"Mr. Grady was editor, reporter and 
everything that his brother Will (bus- 
iness manager) wasn't. He wore white 
shirts that he changed every 24 liours 
because his cuffs were full of news- 
paper notes taken during the day. He 
was liberal, even extravagant, and did 



252 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



not develop much business ability in 
Rome; he and his bride were fond of 
candy, and he often owed an indulgent 
confectioner $15 at a time. He was 
literally run out of town by bailiffs 
serving: attachments on him, and they 
even seized his trunk when he left for 
Atlanta." 

J. A. Rounsaville remembers him 
well because of an unusual incident: 
"My brother Wes' and I were conduct- 
ing our warehouse and grocery busi- 
ness when Mr. Grady came by and 
asked us to give him an advertisement. 
We told him good-naturedly that his 
old paper couldn't sell any more goods 
than we could, and that on general 
principles we didn't believe in adver- 
tising. He went away without say- 
ing any more about it, and the next 
day we were treated to a deluge of 
cats : every small boy in town, it seem- 
ed, brought from one to six cats, and 
when we asked them why they came, 
they said we had advertised in The 
Commercial. We bought a paper and 
found a small 'want ad' saying, 'Will 
pay good cash price for cats. — Rounsa- 
ville & Bro.' We sent for Mr. Grady 
and told him it was his duty to stop 
the applications. He said he could 
do that only by inserting a half-page 
ad. We replied, 'All right, but put in 
the center of it that we don't want any 
more cats!' " 

"Uncle Steve" Eberhart, the slavery 
time darkey character who entertains 
thousands at the convention of Con- 
federate Veterans and is a regular 
member of Floyd County Camp 368, 
revealed in dramatic fashion Feb. 5, 
1921, at the camp meeting in the base- 
ment of the Carnegie library that he 
used to be Henry Grady's valet while 
the great orator and former Roman 
was a student at the University of 
Georgia at Athens. 

When Mr. Grady's name was men- 
tioned, "Uncle Steve" jumped to his 
feet, shouted and clapped his hands, 
hugged himself until he grunted, and 
then exclaimed as tears rolled down 
his cheeks: 

"Lordy, white folks, I had the extin- 
gruished honor to dust off Mr. Grady's 
coat and black his shoes. He thought 
er whole lot of your yumble servant." 

"Uncle Steve" was "in college" with 
the younger Ben Hill and a long list 
of noted men. He lived in Athens un- 
til the dispensary times, he said, and 
then sought a better town, so settled 
in Rome. In Rome he fell in with 
the veterans, put on a stove-pipe hat, 
and tucked two frying-sized chickens 



under his arms for a parade. He has 
been dressing up and cutting up ever 
since. 

Comrade Treadaway told a story on 
the Grady brothers that brought a 
laugh. 

"Henry and Will had some prop- 
erty in Athens, and Henry sent Will 
from Rome to sell it. Will sold it and 
passed through Atlanta. When he re- 
turned to Rome, Henry said, 'Well, did 
you sell the land?' 

" 'Yep.' 

" 'Where's the money?' 

"'In the bank at Atlanta?' 

'"What bank?' 

" 'They called it the Faro Bank.' " 

Romans played a leading part in 
Mr. Grady's funeral, Dec. 25, 1889, in 
Atlanta. Gen. Clement A. Evans and 
the Rev. J. W. Lee, former pastors 
of the First Methodist Church of 
Rome, headed the funeral procession 
to DeGive's Opera House, where John 
Temple Graves, then a Rome editor, 
was one of the speakers. Montgomery 
M. Folsom and Frank L. Stanton, 
Rome journalists, wrote poems to Mr. 
Grady's memory, and the late Rev. G. 
A. Nunnally, father of Judge W. J. 
Nunnally, and then president of Mer- 
cer University, pronounced the bene- 
diction at a memorial meeting held in 
Macon.— Feb. 7, 1921. 

GRADY AS "CORRESPONDENT." 
— The following letter to the Rome 
weekly shows Henry Grady in a new 
role : 

"Macon, Ga., Nov. 17, 1869. 

"Dear Courier: Arrived here safe. I 
found it storming heavily, but soon 
after our arrival it cleared off beauti- 
fully and at the present writing the 
moon finds her full face reflected from 
a thousand rapidly evaporating pud- 
dles that dot the streets. All will be 
delightful in the morning. 

"The city is jammed; every profes- 
sion or handicraft in the world has 
many and vigorous repi'esentatives 
here, from the editorial profession 
down to the profession of pickpocket- 
ical — especially the latter. The gam- 
blers, the respectable, genteel class of 
gamblers, are in full force and atro- 
ciously energetic. 

"In company with certain other edi- 
tors, we paid a visit to a fancily fur- 
nished saloon, wherein these old gen- 
try plied their craft. The fascination 
that these places are said to possess 
was speedily dispelled as far as your 
humble servant is concerned. I fol- 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



253 




254 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



lowed my companions from table to 
table; in no case did I see a single man 
win save those who were evidently 
connected with the establishment. 
Teaching Sunday School in the north 
of Patagonia may be a profitable 
pecuniary venture, but I feel no hesi- 
tancy in asserting that gambling is 
not. Among the devotees of the tables 
I noticed many faces that I had seen 
migrating through Rome about the 
season of our fair. 

"As I did not get back here till after 
dark, I can report nothing interesting 
save the cardinal facts which have al- 
ready been given you by the telegrams. 

"The Georgia Press is largely repre- 
sented — almost every paper in the 
state. Joe Brown, the fragrant; Bul- 
lock, the bewitching; McWhorter, the 
accident; Hampton, the chivalric; Cap- 
ron, the Commissioner; and Gordon, 
the Governor, are in this house, and 
figured conspicuously in the parlor to- 
night. 

"Men who have attended fairs for 
years say they never saw a larger 
crowd than is gathered here now. 
Thousands of ladies, plenty of shows. 
enough to eat, too much to do, and 
more anon. 

"KING HANS." 
(Henry W. Grady.) 

"P. S. — The unanimous opinion is 
that there is a radical and shameful 
mismanagement of all things pertain- 
ing to said institution. The arrange- 
ments are huge, but unwieldly; im- 
mense, but muddled. ... I heard a 
man exclaim this morning while try- 
ing to get his goods entered. 'Oh, if 
we had them Joneses from the Rome 
Fair we'd get things straightened 
out!' Sensible. A villainous store- 
keeper today refused to take Rome 
money.* What must be done with 
him? 

"One of the prettiest and most hope- 
ful features of the fair is that the 
exhibitors all show an anxiety to get 
their advertisements in The Courier. 
Success will attend such sensible men ! 
Rome has many representatives here. 
Messrs. Noble and Cohen are attract- 
ing considerable attention. 

"K. H." 

HENRY GRADY TO GENERAL 
SHERMAN.— On Dec. 22, 1886, at a 
banquet of the New England Society 
at New York, at which Gen. Wm. 
T. Sherman sat at the speakers' table, 
Henry W. Grady declai-ed: 

" 'Bill Arp' struck the keynote when 



he said, 'Well, I killed as many of 
them as they did of me, and so I'm 
going to work!' A Confederate soldier 
returning home after defeat and roast- 
ing some corn on the roadside, said 
to his comrades, 'You may leave the 
South if you want to, but I'm going to 
SaTidersville, kiss my wife and raise 
a crop, and if the Yankees fool with 
me any more, I'll whip 'em again!' I 
want to say to Gen. Sherman, who is 
considered an able man in our parts, 
though some people think he is kind 
of careless about fire, that from the 
ashes he left us in 1864 we have built 
a brave and beautiful city; that some- 
how or other we have caught the sun- 
shine in the bricks and mortar of our 
homes and have builded therein not one 
ignoble prejudice or memory!"** 

AN OLD TIMER.— Virgil A. Stew- 
art, son of the late Samuel Stewart, 
Rome's first marshal before the Civil 
War, and grandfather of our own Capt. 
Henry J. Stewart, favored us with a 
call at the office yesterday afternoon 
that was greatly appreciated. Mr. 
Stewart was born Jan. 24, 1836, at 
Rome, consequently is 85 years of age 
and remembers more than most people 
around here. He is one of the two 
surviving members of the Rome Light 
Guards who went out to fight for the 
Confederacy in April, 1861, the other 
being B. James Franks, of Armuchee. 
Mr. Franks was a recruit, so that 
leaves "Virge" as the last surviving 
charter member. 

He is a nephew of his uncle name- 
sake, the late Virgil A. Stewart, of 
Lawrenceville, who under the guise of 
an "outlaw" joined the band of John 
A. Murrell and captured that notorious 
character at the Mississippi River in 
Arkansas. Murrell's gang operated 
through the South, as far as Florida, 
before the removal of the Indians to 
the west, and the Indians got the credit 
for many of their villainies. One of 
their hang-outs in Georgia was at Jug 
Tavern, now Winder, county seat of 
Bartow County. Murrell's capture re- 
sulted in a trial in Tennessee which 
pu^ him in the penitentiary for life at 
Nashville, and he died there. The 
original Virgil A. Stewart went to 
Mississippi before the Civil War and 
warned the people of a contemplated 
insurrection among the negroes. 

When asked how old he was, Rome's 

*This must have been some of the printing: 
px'ess money issued by Mayor Zach Hargrove 
in 1869 to relieve a local stringency. 

**Sherman joined in the general tumult pro- 
voked by these remarks. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



255 



Virgil A. Stewart replied that he was 
"thirteen." Somebody in the office 
remarked that he could pass for 60 
easily enough, which seemed to please 
him greatly. He said he did it living 
out in the open, "catching water moc- 
casins, eels and fish" from the rivers 
of Rome. 

"I see by the paper," remarked Mr. 
Stewart, "that Judge George Harris, 
of the Flat Woods, thinks he can walk 
anybody down in a day that ain't less 
than 70. You can just tell him for me 
that if he talks much like that I'll 
take him up the river banks and back 
again in a way he won't forget!" 

Mr. Stewart relates how a big crowd 
gathered about the year 1835 to see 
two Indians hung on Broad Street 
near Ninth Avenue. Somebody that 
wanted to see the spectacle lugged 
him along, although he was only two 
years old. The Indians were Bai-ney 
Swimmer and Terrapin, convicted of 
killing a pale face named Ezekiel 
Blatchford (or Braselton). They were 
strung from a piece of timber laid 
across two limbs, and for a long time 
afterward the tree bore notches to 
show the spot. 

Mr. Stewart is authority for the fol- 
lowing statements : 

He was at one time, at 2 years of 
age, the only boy in Rome; Arthur 
Hood started the first newspaper, and 
Howard Jack and a Mr. Walker fol- 
lowed him ; William Smith owned the 
first ferry, which served DeSoto, the 
peninsula and Hillsboro (South Rome) 
at the head of the Coosa, and hired 
William H. Adkins, Sr., to build him 
the first steamboat, and Matt and 
Overton Hitchcock to erect the first 
bridge, a covered affair, where the 
Fifth Avenue bridge now stands. 

Smith owned the land where the Al- 
fred Shorter (D. B. Hamilton) home 
is on the Alabama road, and kept a 
crib of corn open to the poor. He built 
on the hill across the Alabama road 
from the spring nearby. John Smith, 
a brother, went to California during 
the gold epidemic and died there. Chas. 
Smith, another brother, moved to Cass 
(Bartow) county and died there. 

Mr. Stewart says deer used to run 
wild through the woods around Rome 
in the thirties, and that Jim Ragan 
shot one near the Etowah River and 
the foot of Third Avenue, about the 
location of the John W. Maddox place, 
in front of the old J. A. Gammon 
home spot. 

Mrs. Robert Battey used to have a 
pet deer given her by her father, 



William Smith, and she had seen deer 
jump the fences while the dogs chased 
them. Her deer became enraged on 
one occasion, attacked a woman and 
had to be shot. 

* * * 

READY WIT OF THE UNDER- 
WOODS.— Many clever stories are 
told of the "absolution" with which 
the late Judge John W. H. Under- 
wood, Congressman from Rome before 
the Civil War and noted humorist and 
wit, dominated jury and bar. Rome 
lawyers of the old school like Judge 
Joel Branham, Judge G. A. H. Harris 
and Frank Copeland remember well 
his fine sarcasm, his rare good nature 
and the quickness of his intellect. 

A lawyer whose client had "gone up 
the spout— guilty" asked Judge Un- 
derwood for a light sentence because 
the defendant was somewhat dull, to 
v/hich the Judge replied: "Then it 
will take a heavy penalty to make an 
impression on him," and gave the man 
the limit. 

At a meeting in Pittsburg of the 
Tariff Commission to which President 
Arthur in 1882 appointed Judge Un- 
derwood, a Mr. Butler stated that pro- 
tection would increase the number of 
furnaces and thus reduce the price of 
pig iron. "Then," queried Judge Un- 
derwood, "you want a high tariff so 
you can sell your product at a low 
price?" 

At another time the elder Under- 
wood wrote to a friend: "I cheerfully 
recommend my son, John, for the job 
of Solicitor General. He has more 
ambition for office and fewer qualifi- 
cations than any man I ever saw!" 

A story is told locally which illus- 
trates the fine sense of humor and the 
quick perception of Judge John W. H. 
Underwood. A Rome man who was in 
a financial tight went to Judge Under- 
wood to obtain his endorsement. 

"If you will sign mv note I will go 
to the bank and get .$300," stated the 
caller. 

"Just make it $(iOO." shot back Judge 
Underwood, "I need that much my- 
self." 

Judge Nisbet wrote of tin' elder l^n- 
derwood, who was the block of which 
the son was a chip: "Judge Un- 
derwood, the elder, was a greater wit 
than Sheridan, but unfortunately, he 
had no Boswell to write liis biogra- 
phy or Constitution reporter to pub- 
lish what he said. He was once en- 
gaged in a case, and the judge, after 



256 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



chargfing very violently against him, 
locked the jury up for the night and 
adjourned the court. After tea the 
Judge and Underwood were walking on 
the piazza of the hotel near the court- 
house, and heard quite a movement of 
chairs and feet in the jury room, at 
which the judge remarked, 'I believe 
the jury have gone to prayers.' Un- 
derwood said: 'I suspect so. Failing 
to get any light from your honor's 
charge, they are seeking it from 
above.' " 

Governor John B. Gordon wrote: 
"When Underwood lived in Elbert, a 
man was abusing him roundly, and 
ended by saying, 'Yes, sir, and I un- 
derstand you were a Federalist!' To 
this Judge Underwood replied : 'In 
those times there were but two par- 
ties in this country: — Federalists and 
fools. I was a Federalist and I never 
heard you, sir, accused of being one.' " 

The following story is told of the 
elder Underwood: 

"Cooahullie Creek, near Dalton, was 
swollen from rains and Judge Under- 
wood and other lawyers were trying 
to reach a courthouse on the opposite 
side in buggies. The Judge hauled 
up in front and was urged on by his 
companions. He answered, 'No, it is 
appointed unto man once to die, but it 
shall never be said of Wm. H. Under- 
wood that he was drowned in Cooa- 
hullie Creek.' " 

John T. Boifeuillet, of Macon, relates 
the following: 

"In these prohibition times of court 
trials of liquor violations it may be 
apropos to tell of an incident that hap- 
pened when Judge J. W. H. Underwood, 
the celebrated Georgia wit, was on 
the Superior Court bench. Certain 
temperance regulations were in ex- 
istence. In the hearing of a liquor 
case the defendant said he sold the 
whisky on a doctor's prescription, 
which he was at the time holding in 
his hand. 'Let me see that paper,' 
said the judge. It was handed to him, 
and he read it aloud from the bench. 

" 'Let the bearer have one quart of 
whisky for sickness. 

'JOHN JOHNSON, M. D.' 

" 'Yes,' said the judge, 'M. D. in the 
morning means 'mighty dry,' and in 
the evening, 'mighty drunk.' " 

The following incident is related by 
Henry Peeples, Atlanta attorney: 

"The Tariff Commission appointed 
to visit the various sections of the 
country and report on the tariff work- 



ings came to Atlanta and sent out in- 
vitations asking any one interested to 
meet with them and point out unjust 
discriminations as they saw them. 
Judge J. W. H. Underwood was a mem- 
ber of the comm,ission. When the 
board assembled in the convention hall 
of the Kimball House they were greet- 
ed by a single man, come to talk over 
the tariff. For two hours or more he 
fired question after question at the 
tariff experts, turned the 'evidence 
meeting' into a debate between himself 
and the board and showed those gen- 
tlemen just what the situation was in 
the South. 

" 'What is your name?' asked the 
commission of the young man. 

" 'I am Woodrow Wilson, a lawyer,' 
he answered. 

"Mr. Wilson was a practicing attor- 
ney in Atlanta at the time of the visit 
of the commission, having been there 
possibly two years. 

"Judge Underwood's wit was caustic 
at times. He once made the follow- 
ing statement to which many persons 
may agree: 'Debt and death sound 
very much alike, and there is but lit- 
tle difference between them.' " 

UNDERWOOD'S FIRST FEE.— 
Mrs. Florence Underwood Eastman re- 
lates how her father, the late Judge 
Jno. W. H. Underwood, won his first 
"legal fee." Her grandfather, Judge 
Wm. H. Underwood, had been commis- 
sioned by John Ross to attend to legal 
matters connected with the removal of 
the Cherokee Indians westward. About 
the same time. Rev. Jno. F. Schermer- 
horn, of Utica, N. Y., was sent to 
Rome by the government as removal 
commissioner. A big pow-wow was 
held at the home of John Ridge, Cher- 
okee Indian, at "Running Waters." 
Near here the Cherokees held their 
Green Corn dances, at which the In- 
dians would gather from miles around, 
pin corn shuck aprons around their 
waists, and tie shells containing peb- 
bles around their ankles and dance for 
hours. 

Mr. Schermerhorn and Judge Wm. 
H. Underwood opened the meeting 
July 19, 1835, and were preparing for 
a continuation of the pow-wow at 
New Echota (New Town), Gordon 
County, north of Calhoun, where the 
treaty was finally to be signed (it was 
signed Dec. 29, 1835), and there was 
much "paper work" to be done. Judge 
Underwood and Mr. Schermerhorn 
pitched into the work. The Judge's 
son, John, was waiting nearby, watch- 
ing. "Why couldn't we put the lad to 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



257 



work?" inquired Mr. Schermerhorn. 
'Try him," suggested the father. 

Young John caught on readily, work- 
ed all night, and next morning Mr. 
Schermerhorn handed him $50. "Not 
bad for a starter in legal business!" 
chuckled young Underwood, as he 
crammed the bill down into his jeans 
and ran home. — Jan. 19, 1921. 
* * * 

A PEN PICTURE OF ROME.*— 
(H. W. Johnstone, in the Rome Trib- 
une Jan. 26, 1907) : 

"The man looks back on what the 
boy saw with his eager eyes before the 
Civil War. Among the boy's earliest 
recollections is a group around the 
old courthouse at court (East First) 
and Bridge Streets (Fifth Avenue), 
and the building itself, with its white 
medallions and red gables reminded 
him that here was a civilizing outpost 
in North Georgia which kept watch 
over the destinies of mankind. 

"The corner opposite the courthouse 
building was a two-story affair with 
a wide veranda across the front. 

"Down the hill from the courthouse 
on the west side of Broad Street was 
a two-story hotel known as the 'Amer- 
ican House,' with a wide veranda 
across the front. The postoflfice was 
in this building at one time. 

"South of this were the stores of 
Sanders, Sullivan, the two Ombergs, 
Henry Smith and R. S. Norton. The 
first brick store in this block was 
erected by Sanders, and is now oc- 
cupied by a hardware house. 

"This store, and the yard in its 
rear, was the scene of an escapade of 
which the boy may tell you later. It 
was so near a tragedy that he never 
divulged his knowledge of it for twen- 
ty years! 

"On the corner below Norton's was 
Miles and Riley Johnson's, then came 
Wimpee's shop, and White's har- 
ness store, which stood about where 
Todd's grocery now is. Thence it 
was vacant (being low and often 
ponded), with a bridge walk built 
several feet above ground to where 
Lanham's store stands. Here stood 
the 'Wells Hotel,' and in rear of this 
was a small frame building. Miss Liz- 
zie Smith's school. 

"Farther down Broad Street were 
other business houses, among them 
A. M. Sloan's, which stood alyout where 
W. H. Coker is now located. Thence 
it was low and swampy to Oostanaula 
and Etowah Rivers, the only building 

*The scene goes back to 185G. 



being the Rome Railroad depot, which 
was also used by the boats. This was 
located about where the Central depot 
now IS. It was an ordinary 'up and 
down' frame house raised several feet 
upon piling. The vacant space, sev- 
eral acres, was the 'circus gi-ound ' 
It was covered with grass and in wet 
seasons a pond was near the depot. 

"At the foot of Broad Street the 
new bridge connected Rome with 'Lick 
bkiiJet hills, now South Rome. On 
these hills the stage driver always 
wmded his bugle as signal for pas- 
sengers and mail. 

''Crossing Broad Street at the depot 
and coming north, the fir.st building 
he remembers was the Ketcham House 
on the ground now occupied by the 
Taylor-Norton Drug Co. Back of this 
was a field, and where Second Avenue 
now enters Broad Street was a gate 
thence along Broad Street was a fence 
to where J. J. Cohen's store stood— 
about where Fahy's now is. Thence 
to Fourth Avenue was vacant. 

"The rear of Rounsaville's ware- 
house covers a spring, the branch from 
it flowed through Douglas' stable lot, 
crossed Broad Street, formed a 'pond' 
and went through a deep ravine into 
Oostanaula River where Third Avenue 
ends. 

"Hardin & Smyer were on the cor- 
ner of Fourth Avenue, then came 
Johnson & Gwyn, next was Fried's, 
then vacant lots to the Choice House. 
About 1852 Wm. Ramey established 
the first livery stable on the site of 
the present Masonic Temple. A year 
later Wm. C. G. Johnstone built a ve- 
hicle repository where Kay's stable 
is and a large brick warehouse on the 
present Baptist church lot. 

"Wm. R. Smith's 'Continental Shop' 
was on the corner above the Choice 
House. Immediately fronting this was 
DeJournett's, a two-story frame struct- 
ure. In the upper story of this build- 
ing the first Masonic lodge was insti- 
tuted. Later, under the lead of Wm. 
Choice, Arm. Harper, 'Billie' Ross, and 
others, it became 'Thespian Hall.' This 
was used for theatrical performances 
and school exhibitions. Across the 
years the boy can still hear the 
voice of Billy Hills addressing the 
'Conscript Fathers.' The ringing in- 
quiry of Cooper Nesbit, 'Why is the 
Forum Crowded? What means this 
stir in Rome?' And the eloquent Jack 
Hutchings assuring us that he 'came 
to bury Caesar, not to praise him!' 

"Some of the little boys of those 
days are with us still. I am sui'e 



258 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Charlie H. could again entrance us 
with the 'Sailor Boy's Dream,' and 
Dolph R. could tell 'us of that dis- 
astrous 'Smacking in the District 
School, not far away.' 

"Memory fixes no residences south 
of Fourth Avenue and east of Second 
Street, except Cooley's, and one or two 
near the present site of the Baptist 
church. 

"From Third Street east, to the 
river, and south of Fourth Avenue, 
nearly to Second Avenue, was the fin- 
est grove of oaks he ever saw. A few 
of these trees were standing near East 
Fourth street lately. This was known 
as 'The Grove,' sacred to political bar- 
becues, and Cupid's delightful arch- 
ery. 

"Between Fourth and Fifth Avenues 
on the east side of Third Street were 
two residences facing west, their broad 
lots extending back to the Etowah 
river. Fronting these residences, and 
extending over the hill to the court- 
house, was nearly all a grove of field 
pines. The only residences on this 
space were Callahan's, where the 
Episcopal church now is, Duke's, on 
southeast corner, and Wm. C. G. John- 
stone's near the crest, just back of the 
courthouse. 

"On the crest of the hill stood the 
academy, a long one-story, two-room 
brick building, its west entrance 
guarded by an enormjous gnarled 
chestnut tree. If memory is true, this 
academy was built by' subscription 
under the auspices of S. J. Stevens. 
While it was being erected Mr. Ste- 
vens' school was located on a mound 
just beyond the Shropshire residence 
— all woods then — now Forrestville. 

"About 1853 Mr. Stevens built an 
academy in the valley between the 
residence of Major Ross and Reece's 
spring. This academy was a two- 
story frame structure. A long stair- 
way, built outside, gave entrance to 
the upper school room. This build- 
ing was burned a few years later. At 
this school the boy first knew Dick 
Cothran, Button and Ike Hume, Billie 
Ross, Tom Berrien, Wm. Hills, Wm. 
Tuggle, Jack Hutchings and Cooper 
Nesbit, and among the small lads were 
George C. Douglas, son of Dr. George 
B. Douglas, 'Randy' Mitchell, Sam 
liumpkin, Thomas Cuyler, T. J. Ver- 
dery (whose home was the old resi- 
dence of Major Ridge, chief of the 
Cherokees, which stood, and remains 
on Oostanaula River above Battey's 
Shoals). Henry Stovall rode his pony 
to school from his home on the Suni- 



merville road, where Mr. Brown now 
resides — just beyond the old Asa 
Smith home — now Willingham's. 

"The second principal at the Rome 
Academy was P. M. Sheibley, then a 
young man of fine appearance and 
pleasing manners. He was a finish- 
ed scholar, a firm, competent teacher. 
His pupils owe to him more than can 
be expressed here. At this school the 
boy first knew C. M. Harper, Dolph 
Rounsaville, John and 'Scrap' Black, 
Tyler Mobley, and that fine youth who 
was drowned in the Oostanaula, Albert 
Jones. 

"On the corner of Seventh Avenue 
stood Simpson's cabinet shop, where 
sash, doors and blinds were first made 
in Rome. West of this, on the emi- 
nence, stood the residence of R. S. 
Norton. What a home-maker he was, 
what a character builder! His sons 
were often welcome visitors at the 
homes of the boy's father and paternal 
grandfather. No finer gentleman ever 
tinted the 'grey' with the ultimate 
sacrifice than did Charles Norton ! 
Two of the great marts of the Central 
West and the iron metropolis of the 
South feel the impress of R. S. Nor- 
ton's character, through his living sons. 
His life-work was a benediction to this 
city! Even the flowers bloomed rapt- 
urously in tribute to his gentleness and 
care ! 

"Probably the oldest hotel in Rome 
stood on the corner of Eighth Ave- 
nue. It was constructed of hewn tim- 
bers, drawn shingles, split lathes and 
plaster. On a medallion sign, swing- 
ing over the road, was the legend, 
'Travelers' Rest — John Quinn.' 

"Across Broad Street, fronting 
'Travelers' Rest,' was the residence of 
Judge Nathan Yarbrough. Nestling 
far back in a shaded yard on south- 
v/est corner of Ninth Avenue was the 
home of Dr. Vernon, whose daughter, 
Helen, was the first 'belle' the boy re- 
members, but on the next corner above 
was a yardfull, where Hon. J. W. H. 
Underwood resided. 

"North of this, extending to the 
brick residence of Daniel R. Mitchell, 
located about where John Davis now 
resides, was a forest of oaks and pop- 
lars, enclosing Mitchell's Pond, fit to 
be 'God's first temples.' 

"The square as now bounded by 
First and Second Streets, Fifth and 
Sixth Avenues, was a deep ravine, then 
heavily wooded. On its southwest cor- 
ner was the Episcopal church, on the 
northeast was the Methodist 'meeting 
house.' In the bottom of the ravine 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



259 



stood the old gaol, built of logs, and 
the windows strongly grated. Near 
the gaol was a spring which flowed 
down the ravine, across Sixth Ave- 
nue and Broad Street and into the 
Oostanaula. 

"Ah! what memories — from boy to 
man!" 

* * * 

(Mar. 24, 1907.) 

The DeSoto chronicles describe the 
location of the Cherokee capital vil- 
lage as being on a long island — and, 
according to the Indian legends, the 
Oostanaula must have divided near 
Battey's Shoals, the "cut off" passing 
near the east foot of the Hills o'Ross 
across the bottom under the present 
Central railroad trestle to the Coosa. 
There are indications of this old 
course even now. Many changes of 
this nature could, and have, come in 
the 365 years since DeSoto passed. 

Let us go back to the early "fifties" 
and meet some of the old citizens. 

That tall man walking this way is 
Col. Pennington; he believes in rail- 
roads and steamboats. He always 
carries that cane and umbrella, but 
never uses either. 

Notice that nervous, quick moving 
man meeting him. He has a habit of 
bringing his hand to his waist, then 
swings it out as if to brush you aside, 
but Thomas Perry is a fine man "for 
a' that." 

That portly gentleman walking up 
the terrace is Judge Lumpkin. He 
had that mansion built in 184.3. He 
is big hearted, broad minded and de- 
serves his great popularity. You see 
John Quinn has changed his sign from 
"Travelers' Rest" to "Ci'oss Keys Ho- 
tel," and, you can buy ginger cakes 
from Mother Quinn — in the cellar. 

That's Mr. Lamkin's grocery store 
next to the Choice House. Just be- 
low it is A. M. Lamb's candy store, ad- 
joining Tom Perry's store, only a 
plank partition separates them. 

That's Jimmie Lee, he owns the 
fish traps above the ford on the "High- 
tower." He is the same fellow who 
nearly drowned Will Adkins. 

That flowered silk dress designates 
Mrs. Sholes. She watches Jimmie's 
"traps" and tells on every boy she 
sees near them. None of the boys like 
her. The boys and girls do not like 
that fancy dressed man with her — for 
he trades in negroes — his name is Jo- 
seph Norris. 

*Father of L. W. McCay, professor of chem- 
istry at Princeton University and native Roman. 



Look out for that short, stout, keen- 
eyed man with the "big stick." He is 
the town marshal, Samuel Stewart 
Ihat enormous creature following at 
his heels is "Wolf'-his terrible hound. 
Ho never failed to catch boys who did 
any devilment-but once! Sometime 
1 may tell you of that "once." 

That gentleman with the Alsatian 
face— who talks with his hands— is 
one of God^ helpers in beautifying 
the earth. We should not forget' Dr 
Berckmans. 

You will notice that Robt. T. Mc- 
Cay s- hardware store is on that cor- 
ner, the first hardware store in Rome 
Ihat stocky, earnest-faced man talking 
to McCay is an Englishman who is 
introducing the iron industry in Rome 
— Mr. Noble. 

Those six men sitting on the veranda 
of the Choice House are more or less 
politicians, yet each one has an inter- 
esting history. 

The tallest one with the smooth 
strong Scotch face is the "Iron King" 
of Georgia, Mark A. Cooper, a visitor. 
Next to him is Augustus R. Wright, 
a Congressman, a great lawyer and an 
impassioned forensic orator. His gifts 
have descended, in good measure, to 
his sons. The tall, clean faced man 
with the cane is James M. Spullock, 
one of the finest fingered politicians 
in the state. He is the man who as 
United States Marshal for Georgia 
seized the yacht "Wanderer" and sold 
her as a condemned "slaver." The 
"Wanderer" was Charles B. Lamar's 
private yacht — she was chartered by a 
party of Northern men to make a cruise. 
She returned to Savannah loaded with 
African slaves, was captured, con- 
demned and sold. Her owner, Lamar, 
was exonerated from all blame, but 
lost his yacht. The Northern men who 
made the cruise escaped to New York. 
This is the nearest the South ever 
became interested in "slave trade." 
Most of these Africans were seized and 
returned to their country. 

That stout, jolly gentleman was 
later a captain under Forrest. His 
memory will abide principally In^- 
cau.'^e he was Henry W. Grady's uncle 
— Henry A. Gartrell. 

The brown-eyed gentleman with 
black hair and moustache — so erect in 
carriage — and earnest in manner, was 
the first Mayor of Rome (the only 
public ofllice he ever held — except the 
Confederate marslialship of Georgia). 
He was appointed Colonel of a regi- 
ment of a Partisan Rangers, but was 
induced to resign it and head the com- 



260 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




STEAMBOATS AND THEIR HARDY "SKIPPERS." 

1 xu» l„Kn I Smv 2 The Clifford B. Seay; 3 — Capt. F. M. Coulter, who built a 

dozen"^Iats;' 4-The MUchell; ^-Tol;," V^ MarableV 6_The' Magnolia probably the nnest 
steamer on the river; 7-The Alabama; 8-The Gadsden; 9-Capt Frank Benjamm ; 1 0-Capt. 
J. M. Elliott; 11— The Resaca, with hunting party and game; 12— The Annie H. in a calm 
sea. All these vessels succumbed to gales, financial or otherwise. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



261 



pany which produced salt for the poor 
of the state, during- the war between 
the states. He is Wm. C. G. Johnstone 
(known familiarly as "Black Wm. 
Johnstone") . 

The last of the group, who appears 
so elegantly at ease, could claim dis- 
tinction in science, politics and liter- 
ature. He was a physician, a United 
States Senator, an author of note and 
an orator of exceptional power. During 
the war of 1812-15, two young men 
became close comrades and friends. 
When they parted it was agi-eed that 
their sons should bear the same names. 
Both were scholars and curiously they 
selected the names of the great poets. 
Time passed. Major Clem Powers, of 
Effingham County, named his three 
sons Homer, Virgil and Milton. Some 
years later he named his fourth son 
Horace. 

Meantime his friend had one son 
born to him, and he was named Homer 
Virgil Milton Miller. The second wife 
of Wm. C. G. Johnstone was a daugh- 
ter of Major Clem Powers, and her 
meeting with Dr. Miller is a vivid 
memory. 

Picture — Lumpkin, Hamilton, Mil- 
ler, Wright, Battey, Underwood, Smith 
("Bill Arp"), Spullock, with their 
ladies at our hospitable board — with 
Gartrell to fire the train — and you can 
imagine how humor flowed, wit spar- 
kled, whether the subject be politics 
or literature — and remember, litera- 
ture was mostly the "leather-bound" 
classics, also that the ladies often bore 
the palms. 

I do not say such people are not 
with us. But somehow I do not meet 
them. I may be "out of date" — but 
I enjoy recalling the days when hon- 
or was kept bright — a mortgage was 
a curiosity — and slander dared not 
touch a woman ! But I digress — yet 
I warned you that this — 

"Might, perhaps, turn out a song; 
Perhaps turn out a sermon!" 

Let us again go up the river. We 
will pass the service cottage erected 
by Dr. George Battey, "When you and 
I were young," and stop by those large 
trees about an hundred paces anent 
the old Ridge house. I hope the old 
trees are yet there. 

The Ridge house was then occupied 
by Mr. Verdery, one of whose daugh- 
ters married Warren Akin; another 
married Dr. George Battey. The fam- 
ily moved to Polk County, thence to 
Augusta, Ga. 



Under these trees (near the Ridge 
house) was located the earliest and 
liugest store in this section of Geor- 
gia — if not in the whole Cherokee 
country. It was operated in the name 
of George M. Lavender, Major Ridge 
(the chief) being a silent partner. An 
immense business was transacted and 
the owners grew very rich. The busi- 
ness was closed about 1837 and in the 
division Lavender received a large 
amount in money and property, esti- 
mated by some to have been more than 
a quarter of a million dollars. George 
Lavender never married. His estate 
passed to his sisters, one of whom 
married Ray, whose descendants live 
about Newnan and Atlanta. Another 
sister, Edith Lavender, resided on an 
eminence east of the present North 
Rome depot. She remained unniar- 
ried until about 1847, when a man 
appeared to take the contract to grade 
the Rome Railroad. This was Joseph 
Printup. He secured the contract, but 
had not the means to operate success- 
fully. Edith Lavender fell in love 
with the enterprising stranger, mar- 
ried him, and her money enabled him 
to make his venture a success. 

Joseph assisted his brother, Daniel 
S. Printup, through Union college, 
New York, and located him here, where 
his family remain. Major Joseph 
Printup had no children. Many years 
ago he was drowned in an insignifi- 
cant branch near his home. His prop- 
erty, including the "Printup Ferry" es- 
tate in Gordon County, passed to the 
children of Daniel S. Printup. 

Dr. Reece. the father of John H. 
and James Reece, was a delicate gen- 
tleman who was surgeon of the regi- 
ment of state troops sent here to re- 
move the Cherokees to the banks of 
the Tennessee. Miles Reece, an uncle 
of Capt. John Reece, came to Cher- 
okee before his brother. He became 
intimately conversant with legends and 
affairs of the Cherokees, and was an 
encyclopedia of Indian lore. 

An anecdote of Chief Ridge will 
serve to show how Indian traits clung 
to him. 

John Ridge, a son of Major Ridge, 
resided in Ri(lge's Valley. Chief Ridge 
had a handsome daughter; educated, 
proud and given more or less to van- 
ity. She induced her father to order 
her a fine coach. It was sent from 
New York and created a sensation. 
It was hung on leather swings at- 
tached to large "C" springs, the 
driver's seat being on top. 

This outfit arrived just before the 



262 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



annual "Green corn dance," which was 
held at Major Ridge's. The coach was 
ordered to convey Sarah to the dance. 
The horses were harnessed to it and 
the negro driver stood ready. Chief 
Ridge inspected the outfit, even shak- 
ing the wheels to be sure they would 
stand up. 

Sarah came out in silks and feath- 
ers; her father assisted her to climb 
the folding steps, closed the steps and 
door, then walked around to the driver, 
took the reins and ordered the driver 
to go back to his field work. Chief 
Ridge then mounted one of the horses, 
with the gathered reins in his hands 
and galloped away to the "Green corn 
dance." 

* * * 

DAYS THAT ARE GONE.— Maj. 
Chas. H. Smith (Bill Arp), sent the 
following letter to the Rome Tribune 
of Sunday, Sept. 2, 1894: 

"Cartersville, Ga., Sept. 1, 1894. 
"To Mr. W. Addison Knowles, 
"Editor The Tribune, 
"Rome, Ga. 

"Dear Mr. Knowles: 'Illium fuit — 
Illium est,' Rome was — Rome is, but 
it is not the same Rome we old Ro- 
mans used to know. Everything is 
changed but the rivers and Bill Ramey 
and old father Norton. 

"I moved to Rome in 1851, but for 
several years before that I used to 
visit there and prospect for a place 
to move to. I had a brother there 
practising medicine. It is nearly 50 
years since I made my first visit. The 
Rome railroad was finished to Eve's 
Station, and the hacks met us there. 
There were no bridges across the 
rivers and the ferrying was done at 
the junctions. All down town was in 
the woods. What magnificent timber 
covered the bottom where down town 
is now! 

"I went squirrel hunting there with 
Joe Norris. .Toe was clearing the low 
ground for Colonel Shorter and had 
deadened the timber. The road from 
the ferry was awful. I have seen six- 
mule teams stall in the gulch that was 
where the Lumpkin block was after- 
ward built. But you don't know where 
that is. It is the block opposite the 
Denson building. But you never heard 
of Denson. Well, the lowest part of 
the gulch was right in the middle of 
the street that comes down Cooley hill 
and crosses Broad. 

"Maybe you have heard of Hollis 
Cooley. He was an unpretending gen- 
tleman ; as honest a Yankee as ever 



lived. I went to school to his sister in 
Lawrenceville when I was a lad. Hol- 
lis Cooley never had a lawsuit in his 
life, and always declared that there 
was no necessity for anybody having 
one. 

"Old father Norton said, 'But, Hol- 
lis, suppose some rascal was to come 
along, and knowing your mind about 
going to law, should lay claim to your 
house and lot, when then?' *I would 
give up to him before I would go to 
law with him,' said Hollis. 'Yes, and 
you would play the fool,' said Norton. 
'By George, I would law him till his 
heels flew up.' 

"I was remarking about that awful 
pull up the little steep hill from the 
gulch to where Major Ayer's store 
was. But I forgot. The major hasn't 
got any store. Well, it was about op- 
posite Morrison's livery stable, or 
Flemming's saddle shop, or Tom Per- 
ry's law office, or somewhere there in 
the middle of the road. It's bothering 
me awfully to locate things. Bill Ra- 
mey will show you where it was. The 
hill was short and steep and sticky, 
and I have seen strong teams stall 
there and the wagon cut back and 
nearly turn over. Norton's store was 
then away down town. It was right 
where it is now, but it was down town, 
the lowest down of any, and was a lit- 
tle, low, long, narrow, one-story house 
with the hind end stuck in the hill so 
deep that you could almost step on the 
roof. 

"There were no houses down town. 
Old man Crutchfield was building the 
court house. The Western Bank of 
Georgia was doing a busting business 
in that office back of the Choice Hotel 
— that same little office on the corner 
as you go up the hill to the court 
house. Yes, it was doing a busting 
business, and it busted. Not long after 
it closed its doors I went there with 
$7,000 of its money and knocked at the 
door and demanded payment in bi- 
metallic currency, but there was no 
response and nobody opened the door. 
I had to make the demand at the 
bank's last place of doing business be- 
fore I could sue. But the dog was 
dead and my client never realized a 
dollar. 

"By the time we moved to Rome 
down town was looming up. C. T. 
Cunningham had a big cotton ware- 
house on the river bank, and Rhode 
Hill and Bill Cox were clerking for 
him. The first time I ever saw Rhode 
he was having big fun by hiding an 
egg under Jack Shorter's shirt collar, 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



263 



and he bet Cox a dime that he couldn't 
find it. Cox felt all about Jack's 
clothes, and accidentally broke the agg, 
and it ran down Jack's back. But 
Jack got the dime and that satisfied 
him. 

"Rhode found bigger game later on 
and is now a Peachtree nabob in At- 
lanta. Cunningham built a nice resi- 
dence at the end of Howard Street. 
It is the Woodruff place, and Wm. 
E. Alexander built the Rounsaville 
house, and Dr. Battey built where he 
now lives. Alexander was Norton's 
partner for a while, but he moved 
down town and took in Colonel Shorter 
as a partner. Mr. Norton never moved 
— neither his dwelling place nor his 
store. He improved both, but never 
moved. Before I moved I bought me 
a very nice home over there on the 
hill where DeJournett and Treada- 
way and Omberg lived. You know 
v/here that is. No, you don't, either, 
you are too young to know much about 
anything — anything antiquated, I 
mean. Well, it is not far from father 
Norton's house, the third house from 
the corner as you go down towards 
the river. Dr. Smith, my brother, lived 
in the first and Nicholas Omberg in the 
second. Old Mother Ragan lived right 
in front of Norton's, and Sumter & 
Torbet's machine works were down in 
the corner of his garden. 

"Jim Sumter was one of the best 
men I ever knew, the best mechanic, 
the best magistrate, the best mayor, 
the best alderman, the best citizen and 
the truest friend. He made for me a 
large and beautiful walnut book case. 
We have it now in our sitting room, 
and I prize it for his sake. It is the 
only piece of furniture the Yankees 
left me. It was so big they couldn't 
move it. They did move the books. 
They loved to read, but they didn't 
read their titles clear to my books. 
About that time the people who were 
the best off made their homes on 
the hills. Andrew M. Sloan, who was 
a big merchant and banker, lived in 
a one-story house on the hill where 
Hiles now lives. Dr. P. L. Turnley 
lived nearby. Mr. Thomas D. Shel- 
ton lived where Shorter College stands. 
Rev. J. M. M. Caldwell and his wife 
lived and taught school in the house 
adjacent to the old Methodist church. 
Old Judge Underwood lived on the 
Caldwell college hill with his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Wilson. The First Baptist 
church was nearby, on the same hill, 
and the old gi'aveyard is not far away. 

"I shall never forget that graveyard, 
for one time I was a Masonic pall- 



bearer there, and I did not stoop low- 
enough as we passed under some 
limbs of the crowded trees, and one of 
them took off my hat and my scratch 
with it, and my bald head showed no 
hair apparent to the crown, and ex- 
cited too much levity for the solemn 
occasion. I put the hat on my head 
with much alacrity and put the wig 
in my pocket. I have never worn one 
to a funeral since, nor anywhere else. 
It is one of the comforts of old age 
that a man is not expected to have a 
great profusion of hair, but when he 
is young a very small vacancy hurts 
his feelings mighty bad. 

"James McEntee had been keeping 
hotel midway of the block next above 
the Choice House in 1849, I think, and 
Colonel D. R. Mitchell acquired the 
Buena Vista soon after. Old Jesse 
Lamberth was one of the pioneers, and 
lived in a little house back of the Odd 
P'ellows' hall building, but he built a 
better house in front afterward, and 
lived there for many years. 

"Sam Stewart was a very notable 
character in those days, and had the 
reputation of being a cool and daring 
man. His brother, Virgil, helped to 
give Sam reputation, for it was he who 
ran down and caught John A. Murrell, 
the notorious horse thief and highway 
robber. Sam was city marshal for 
many years, and kept all evil doers in 
subjection. He was a good officer, 
but it is said that every man will 
sooner or later meet his match, if not 
his superior. One day Nicholas Om- 
berg broke down the gate of the city 
pound and took his cow out and drove 
her home. Someliody had opened Om- 
berg's gate and let his cow out so as to 
put her in the pound and get the fee 
for taking up stray cattle. Omberg was 
dreadfully mad when his wife told him 
about it, and, as he didn't favor the 
anti-cow ordinance nohow, he took the 
shortest way to recover his cow. 

"When Stewart found what Omberg 
had done he got mad, too, and forth- 
with went to the merchant tailor to 
arrest him. The Norwegian never 
winked or quailed, but seizing an enor- 
mous pair of shears, he rushed at 
Stewart like a mad man and ran him 
out in the street. Stewart said after- 
v.ard that he had either to run or 
kill him. 

"The city council fined Omberg $50, 
but he carried the case to the supreme 
court and gained it. Nic Omberg was 
a very superior man, and was highly 
esteemed as a citizen and a Christian 
gentleman. About the close of the war 



264 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 





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MISCELLANEOUS VIEWS RECALLING ROME. 

Here may be seen: a 1921 group of girl High School graduates emerging from the Auditorium 
with their beautiful nosegays; Billy King, 9, Rome's youngest and most famous cartoonist; Iho 
Second Avenue (E. Rome) Methodist Church; views around the courthouse; a group of young 
players; Gay Jespersen's Lindale band; and a tiny glimpse of Rome. 



Anecdotes and Reminsicences 



265 



some lawless scouts visited old man 
Quinn's house one night to rob him. 
The old man cried for help, and Om- 
berg ran over to defend him and was 
himself shot down and killed. 

"And that causes me to think of 
Tom Perry, at whose house poor Om- 
berg died. Tom Perry was perhaps 
the best known and most beloved cit- 
izen Rome ever had. He was raised 
poor and hard, and had but little ed- 
ucation. He used to haul wood with 
steers in the cold winter with his toes 
sticking out of his old shoes. He mi- 
grated from Lawrenceville to Rome 
before anybody, and when I first visit- 
ed Rome Tom was keeping bar for a 
free negro, Wm. Higginbotham. Next 
he hired to old William R. Smith to 
sweep out the store and knock around. 
Next he got to be clerk in the post- 
office for Nathan Yarbrough. Next 
he was postmaster and then a steam- 
boat captain. Next he was elected 
J. P. and held that office for many 
years. He was the chief promoter of 
the Masons and Odd Fellows. He was 
United States commissioner. He was 
the best friend the widows and or- 
phans ever had in Rome, the best 
chairman of the street committee. He 
was always at work doing something 
for somebody. He wrote much for the 
Rome Courier and pasted everything 
he wrote in a scrapbook, and would 
read it on Sundays. When he had 
planned any public thing he would 
write a piece and sign it Vox Populi, 
and then call a meeting at the court 
house to put his measure through. If 
nobody came he called himself to the 
chair and acted as secretary, and pass- 
ed a string of resolutions and had 
them published as the sense of the 
meeting. He never lost any space in 
his manuscript. If there was not room 
for an 'and' at the end of a line, he 
would divide the word and put the d 
at the beginning of the next line. He 
worked up to the full measure of his 
capacity and was everybody's friend. 
He looked like a Democrat, for he was 
pigeon-toed and loose-jointed, and chew- 
ed cheap tobacco, but he was an un- 
compromising Whig. 

"When your good father was edit- 
ing the Rome Courier, Tom gave him 
aid and comfort as best he could. I 
remember your father well. He was a 
courtly gentleman. His company was 
always welcome, for he was a good 
talker and never indulged in slang 
or vulgarity or intolerant assertions. 
His gold spectacles became his fea- 
tures and added grace to his individ 
uality. You were not then in the land 



of the living where peace may be 
sought and pardon found. May you 
emulate your good father's Christian 
example and make the world better 
with your presence. 

But I must not monopolize your 
space. It would take a book to tell 
of ancient Rome and the citizens who 
have gone to the undiscovered countrv. 
Of William R. Smith and Wm. Smith 
(Mrs. Dr. Battcy's father) and Johnny 
Smith, a good man who for the love of 
the beautiful planted water oaks and 
elms around the churches and along the 
down town sidewalks. The trees are 
there yet, and men and women walk 
and children play under their shade. 
Then there was McGuire and Hardin, 
and Quinn, and T. S. Wood, and 
Isham Wood, and Cohen, and Dr. Pat- 
ton, and Dr. Starr, and Dr. King, and 
Dr. Geo. M. Battey, who kept the drug 
store under the Choice House. Ram- 
sey Alexander was a leading lawyer 
there when I moved to Rome. Tom 
came later and so did Judge Under- 
wood. I formed a partnership with 
Colonel Underwood in 1852 and it con- 
tinued for thirteen long and pleasant 
years. 

"Then there appeared some lesser 
lights who kept the little town lively. 
Old Jake Herndon, for instance, the 
town loafer, who never lied from mal- 
ice, but only from habit. He used to 
tell about the big freshet that came in 
June, 1S40, and covered all the country 
save the top of court house hill, and 
how he tied his batteau to a gum tree 
on top of that hill, and seeing no place 
for the sole of his foot, he untied it 
and paddled to Horseleg mountain, and 
ic was hot, devilish hot. and his ther- 
mometer rose to 240 in the shade. He 
always said thermoneter for thermom- 
eter. Old Jake had told that lie so 
often that he believed it. I think he 
has a son now in the United States 
navy. If folks do 'laugh and grow 
fat,' I think that big John Under- 
wood took on his fat from his daily 
intercourse with old Jake Herndon. 

"And there was Old Man Laub, the 
inimitable cuss who was created just 
to fill uo the cracks, like siiralls in a 
stone wall. He was a little sassy, loud- 
mouthed rascal, who kejit a bakery and 
cake shop, and some blind tiger and 
oysters, just below Dr. Battcy's drug 
store. He had two front doors. Over 
one was painted "Laub's here.'' Over 
the other was painted "Laub's here, 
too." He drove a pair of calico ]ionies, 
and was always in a fuss with some- 
body, and especially with his wife. 
She would run him out of one front 



266 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



door wth a broom and he would dodge 
into the other. Big John's grocery 
was right opposite across the street, 
and it was a good part of his business 
to watch the antics of the Laub fam- 
ily and shake his fat sides with laugh- 
ter. When I first saw Laub's name 
and sign I thought that Laub's was 
something to sell — some kind of fish 
like oysters or shrimps. I had no idea 
that it was a man's name. 

"Of the notable men who moved 
away and still live, Dr. Miller was 
chief. He lived in a cottage where 
your new court house now stands, and 
his office was on Broad Street, near 
the McEntee house. He had a very 
smart cur dog named Cartouch, who 
laid in the piazza of the doctor's of- 
fice and watched for country dogs as 
they came to town behind farmers' 
wagons. Forthwith Cartouch would 
run to assault him, and would whip 
him if he could, and hurry back be- 
fore the waggoner could punish him. 
If the dog was too big and showed 
fight, Cartouch would hasten back to 
Dailey's house, which was next door, 
and get Dailey's big dog and away 
they both would go and jump on the 
country dog with irresistible violence. 
The doctor enjoyed it immensely, and 
declares to this day that dogs have 
a language and understand each other. 
Cartouch would say to Dailey's dog, 
'Come and help me, come quick, 
there's a big country dog out here that 
I can't manage by myself.' 

"But I will now forbear until the 
spirit moves me again, for I do not 
suppose there are a dozen men living 
who will enjoy these memories. This 
generation is moving forward, not 
backward. 

"Yours truly, 

"CHAS. H. SMITH." 

* * * 

A PROLIFIC BUILDER.— A news- 
paper squib of 1888 says: 

"Jos. B. Patton builds court houses, 
but does not patronize them, never 
having sued or been sued on any con- 
tract." 

Court houses he had erected up to 
that time included Trousdale County, 
Tenn., Benton County, Tenn., Russell 
County, Ky., Chattanooga, Tenn., Cen- 
ter, Cherokee County, Ala., Anniston, 
Calhoun County, Ala., LaFayette, 
Walker County, Ga., Gainesville, Hall 
County, Ga. In the same year he built 
the buildings near DeSoto park for the 
North Georgia & Alabama Exposition. 
Prior to that time and afterward he 
erected many other public buildings 



and residences, notably at Rome. In 
1892-3 he built the Floyd County court 
house, one of the most substantial 
structures anywhere. His work and 
materials were of such a high order 
that he made little money. He died 
comparatively poor, but he has left 
buildings which for a century more 
will silently sing his praises. 

;|: :i: * 

"GRANDMA GEORGY'S" "PEN 
PRATTLE."— Mrs. Naomi P. Bale 
contributed these reminiscences to the 
Rome News of Oct. 3, 1921: 

One by one they are passing away 
to give place to new structures, these 
old landmarks of Rome. When the old 
Bradbury house on the corner of Broad 
Street and Sixth Avenue was built, 
I don't know, certainly more than 
seventy years ago, such a thing as a 
"filling station" was not known in the 
wide world. 

This old building has stood the 
storms of more than three score and 
ten years. About forty years ago Col. 
Stokes (grandfather of Misses Estelle 
and Addie Mitchell) came in possession 
of it, put the old house in repair. At 
that time the name "Dolly Varden" 
was prominent — how it originated I 
don't know, but the name was stamp- 
ed on dry goods of every bright color. 
Col. Stokes had the old house painted 
and trimmed in bright colors, and it 
was called "The Dolly Varden." 

Later, Mr. J. L. Bass came in pos- 
session of it and added the "L" that 
jutted out toward Sixth Avenue. 
Neither Col. Stokes nor Mr. Bass ever 
lived in this house. All these years it 
has been occupied by tenants. The 
passing of this old Bradbury house 
brings to mind other localities of homes 
now passed into the "yesterdays" of 
Rome. Just across Broad Street from 
the Bradbury house, where the Audi- 
torium now stands, lived Dr. King (I 
think his name was Joshua), a den- 
tist and medical practitioner combined. 

The Carnegie Library occupies the 
old home place of Mrs. Fannie Moore, 
maternal grandmother of Miss Battle 
Shropshire. 

The west corner of Broad Street 
and Seventh Avenue, where a "filling 
station" has been recently built, was 
once the home of a Mrs. Mitchell. I 
think she was a dressmaker. 

Northwest corner of Seventh Avenue 
and Broad Street, part of the R. S. 
Norton lot, once stood a large furni- 
ture factory operated by Mr. Sumter. 
Mr. Sumter made everything from a 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



267 



pin-tray to a coffin. He was also an 
undertaker. Made the coffin and 
buried the people. Coming back down 
Broad Street where there is another 
"filling' station" southwest corner Sixth 
Avenue and Broad Street, stood the 
home of Mrs. Pierson; later, Col. W. 
S. Cothran, also Dr. J. B. Underwood 
and until a few years ago occupied by 
Mrs. Isham J. Wood. Mr. Waring 
Best's garage is where Col. Thomas 
Alexander lived right after the Civil 
war. On the enclosed lot adjoining the 
Best garage stood the old McEntee 
House — the first hotel in Rome. Sev- 
eral years ago this old building was 
sold to Dr. Robert Battey, who con- 
verted it into a hospital and it was 
known as the Martha Battey Hospital. 
I think the property is now owned by 
the Kuttner Realty Company. The 
old Buena Vista is yet fresh in our 
minds. This at one time was the lead- 
ing hotel in Rome, with Mrs. Choice 
proprietress. The Curtis Undertaking 
Company (colored) occupies the oldest 
brick building in Rome. I have been 
told that the oldest wooden house in 
Rome is the corner of Fifth Avenue 
and East Second Street, now occupied 
by Mr. Ward. Probably Misses Om- 
berg on West First Street are the only 
residents who occupy their ancestral 
home of ante-bellum days. The Spul- 
lock home on Broad Street, now occu- 
pied by Dr. Shamblin, was built about 
18.57. Judge D. M. Hood's home, ad- 
joining the Spullocks, has been moved 
nearer Broad Street, the lot divided 
and a bungalow built. Col. A. T. Har- 
din also lived here. 

Judge J. W. H. Underwood's old 
home has passed into stranger hands 
— the house raised, and the homes of 
Dr. McKoy and Mr. J. M. Lay have 
been built. 

Where Joe Jenkins and Mr. McKew 
now live was Judge Underwood's gar- 
den. Mr. Max Meyerhardt lives on 
the Quinn lot. The Quinn property 
was divided into building lots after Mr. 
Quinn's death and sold. Linton Van- 
diver, Mr. Keith and Mr. Berry have 
homes on what was once the Quinn 
garden. The large brick house now 
occupied by R. L. Morris was built by 
Mr. Crutchfield and given to his 
daughter, Mrs. J. H. Lumpkin, as a 
bridal present in the early forties. The 
homes of Mr. A. S. Burney and Mr. 
Fuller occupy the site of the Chero- 
kee Female Institute, built and man- 
aged by Col. Simpson Fouche. Later 
this building passed into the posses- 
sion of the Presbyterian church, and 
was known as the Rome Female Col- 



lege with Rev. and Mrs. J. M. M. 
Caldwell as president and dean. After 
the suspension of the college. Dr. J. 
B. S. Holmes converted it into a san- 
itarium. The building was burned and 
the property divided into lots and sold 
for residences. 

The First Baptist church, organized 
in 1835, yet stands on the corner of 
Eighth Avenue and West Fifth Street 
and is now an apartment house owned 
by Mrs. Griffin. My own home, 601 
East First Street, was the cradle of 
the first newspaper published in Rome 
— Samuel Jack, editor and printer. It 
was called the Rome Enterprise. This 
item was given me by Miss Amanda 
Jack, a daughter of Mr. Samuel Jack. 
My home was also the Methodist par- 
sonage before the Civil War. In 1906 
the old house went down in ashes and 
I had it rebuilt on practically the 
same foundation. My husband pur- 
chased it from the estate of Mr. Mc- 
Guire about thirty years ago. Thei-e 
are yet many old homes in Rome of 
historical interest. Col. Alfred Shorter, 
Daniel R. Mitchell, C. M. Penning- 
ton, Major Ayer and other prominent 
men did much in laying the foun- 
dation on which Rome now stands. 
Some of the statements herein given 
were told me by my father, Wesley 
Shropshire, Sr., and my uncle, Mon- 
roe Shropshire, both of whom came to 
Rome in 1835. Other items are from 
my own observations, for I have been 
in touch with this city for 71 years. 

"GRANDMA GEORGY" RECALLS 
STAR BOARDERS. — "Thank you 
very much, Judge Branham, for a 
copy of 'Sketches and Reminiscences 
of the Rome Bar,' compiled by your- 
self. After reading it with the aid of 
a reading-glass a reminiscent mood 
laid a canny hand on me and I began 
to count the faces of some of these 
lawyers who sat at my table three 
times a day when I kept boarders on 
Fifth Avenue where the courthouse 
now stands. Col. W. H. Dabney was 
an inmate in my home for several 
years. He was a quiet, unassuming, 
pleasant gentleman. When court was 
in session he ate sparingly — sometimes 
only a bit of bread and a glass of 
milk. He often asked me where to 
find certain passages of Scripture, 
saying he had need for them. 

"Capt. C. N. Featherston and Cols. 
E. N. Broyles and Dan'l. R. Mitchell 
were regular table boarders. Judge A. 
R. Wright a dinner guest when court 
was in session. All of these gentle- 



268 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



269 



men were very courteous to me and 
my housekeeper, Miss McCauley. Thir- 
ty-two young men sat at my table reg- 
ularly — business men and clerks. All 
have passed the Great Divide and 'left 
me counting on this spot the faces that 
are gone.' 

"In my young days I was often a 
guest in the house of Judge Wright. 
He was fond of music, and would lie 
on a sofa while I would play and sing 
for him. Sometimes tears would creep 
through his closed lids, especially when 
I sang 'Bonnie Doon' — sometimes he 
walked to and fro in the parlor and 
called for his favorite songs. 

"The curtain of years now veils my 
eyes, and the drum beats of time 
have sadly dulled my hearing, but 
memory lingers and I see again many 
beautiful pictures, and many sad 
scenes that have come into my stren- 
uous life of three score and eighteen 
years. 

"God is my Father and He leads me 
on daily nearer to the City that hath 
foundation. 

"Very truly, 
"NAOMI P. BALE." 

—Tribune-Herald, June 22, 1921. 

LOVE FOR OLD SLAVES.— The 
tender bond of sentiment existing be- 
tween master and slave in the ante-bel- 
lum days is an old story, and it has 
plenty of verification in fact. While 
it is quite true that there were oc- 
casional instances of cruelty and op- 
pression, as a rule master and mistress 
treated the slaves with great consider- 
ation. Few people would want slav- 
ery re-established, yet it is interesting 
to take note of instances in which 
slaves were treated almost like mem- 
bers of the family by the "white folks." 

When the war came, many slaves 
begged to accompany their masters as 
bodyguards, and were allowed to go. 
These faithful souls will never be for- 
gotten by the people of the South. 

H. W. Johnstone, of Curryville, Gor- 
don County, relates how "Aunt Mam- 
my Anne," his family's old slave, died 
at Rome in 1855, and was buried be- 
side the Johnstone family vault in 
North Rome. 

Philip Harper, a 10-year-old boy, 
was sold Aug. 3, 1854, with three other 
darkies from John Ilarkins to Alex- 
ander Thornton Harper, of Cave 
Spring, for $2,275 cash. Quite an 
attachment grew up betwoen master 
and slave, which found its highest ex- 
pression when Mr. Harper was forced 



to sell Philip in 1803 at the court 
house in Atlanta. The master attend- 
ed the sale and promised to buy him 
back at the first opportunity. Both 
wept as the auctioneer sold the boy, 
then 19. 

In 1908, when Philip Harper was 
G4 years old, he wrote Mrs. Harper 
from Marietta as follows: 

"Dear Madame: This missive leaves 
me as well as I will ever be again in 
this life. I fear I would have been 
up there before now, but my old wom- 
an keeps so very poorly until I fear 
to leave her. How are you and all 
the children? Well, I hope. My dear- 
est associaton as a boy began in and 
around old Cave Spring. It has been 
so long since I have been there that 
I believe I would not know the place, 
but if the good Lord will spare me a 
few days longer, I will in real life 
review my old, old home once more in 
this life. All the people that I once 
knew are gone, gone; and I have only 
a few days — then I shall join them in 
Heaven. I have thought a thousand 
times about the last meeting Mr. 
Alexander and myself had was in At- 
lanta in 1863 at the court house after 
the sale was made. Then it was I 
did my best at crying. He cried, too, 
but he promise to buy me back. 

"I know you will excuse the bold- 
ness I take in writing you. When I 
got sick, you was my doctor; cared 
for me in sickness. You remember 
how you cared for me when I got my 
finger broke? 

"WM. PHILIP HARPER." 

Mrs. Harper immediately sent the 
old darkey enough money to come to 
Cave Spring, which he did, and both 
of them cried as they reviewed the 
days that will return no more. As a 
member of the Harper family express- 
ed it, Philip's appearance was like the 
return of a long-lost son. 
* * * 

WES' ROUNSAVILLE'S BOY- 
HOOD.— The following extracts are 
from the autobiography of Jno. Wesley 
Rounsaville, who died at Rome Oct. 4, 
1910: 

"When my father, David Rounsa- 
ville, died, I was in my eleventh year; 
Sister Josephine was six. Brother 
'Dolph' five; these, with our mother, 
constituted the family. The question 
that faced us was how we were to 
get a support. Father had been sick 
a long time and the small amount of 
money he had accumulated with a view 
of entering the mercantile business 



270 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



again was soon spent and we were 
practically without means. Fortunate- 
ly, we had a home at Sixth Avenue 
and East First Street, and this was 
a great help because we didn't have 
to pay rent. 

"My first work was with ^r Mr. Bay- 
less, who kept a confectionery store in 
part of the old Exchange Hotel. I 
think my salary was $5 per month. 
Father left us a team which we hired 
out and from which we collected the 
hire every night, and this with my 
pay was our only means of support. 
Our mother was a very industrious 
and economical manager. 

"About this time a small affair 
probably changed the current of my 
life. Mr. Bayless told me one hot 
day to sweep out the store. I did 
so to my own satisfaction, but not to 
his; therefore, he ordered me to sweep 
it again. I demurred and he jjunch- 
ed me with the brushing part o^. the 
broom. I deliberately walked into the 
street and procured a good-sized rock 
and went into the store and threw it 
at him with all my might. He ran 
out the back door and I got my little 
red calico coat and left, and never 
went back again. 

"Mr. Bayless was a northern man. 
He continued to do a prosperous bus- 
iness, and finally went into groceries 
and wholesale liquors. He kept large 
quantities of liquor in barrels and cof- 
fee in sacks, and had them piled up 
in tiers against the walls of his store. 
One morning it was announced in the 
Rome Southerner that Mr. Bayless had 
sold his large business to Gen. Geo. 
S. Black and associates. It seems Mr. 
Bayless bantered Gen. Black into a 
trade, and sold on an inventory just 
taken by himself. A check for the 
money was given by Gen. Black (most 
likely on the Bank of the Empire 
State), and Mr. Bayless left imme- 
diately for the east. A few days later 
Gen. Black showed a customer a sam- 
ple of the fine whiskey, but the whis- 
key turned out to be water, and the 
bags of coffee were in reality corn or 
peas put up so as to deceive. The 
whole stock was that way, more or 
less. Gen. Black made a strong ef- 
fort to locate Mr. Bayless, but did not 
succeed. 

"About 44 years after this happen- 
ed, I was in New Yoi'k and getting 
ready to come home. I stepped into a 
railroad ticket booth in the hotel and 
saw a handsome, white-haired gentle- 
man standing behind the desk. I ask- 
ed the man what was the price of tick- 
ets to the South, and he asked me 



where I wanted to go. I told him 
Rome, Ga., and he inquired if I lived 
there. I replied in the affirmative, 
and he said, 'Do you know Col. Printup 
in Rome?' 

" 'I did know him, but he is dead,' 
I replied. 

"I inquired as to where he had 
known Col. Printup and he said in 
Rome, more than 40 years before. He 
stated in answer to my query that his 
name was Bayless, adding that he had 
just returned from Australia, where he 
had gone from Rome, and had never 
returned in the meantime to this coun- 
try. 

" 'Mr. Bayless, do you remember 
Gen. Black?' I asked. He hesitated 
a moment, looked me straight in the 
eyes, and then dropped his head. I 
said, 'I know you well. I clerked for 
you when you first came to Rome and 
opened your confectionery.' 'No,' he 
answered, 'you are mistaken; I was in 
the cotton business.' 

"I informed him that I was not 
leaving New York until the next day 
and would call back to see him. I 
called several times, but he was not 
there. 

"After leaving the confectionery 
shop, I went to work for Mr. O. A. 
Myers, a most excellent gentleman and 
editor and proprietor of the Rome 
Southerner. He took me in his office 
at $5 a month and my clothing. How 
well do I remember the first thing he 
gave me — a pair of fine gray cash- 
mere trousers. I thought they were 
the prettiest things I had ever seen 
and it seemed they never wore out. 
Mr. Myers appreciated my efforts so 
much in my thirteenth year that he 
sent me out to travel for the paper. 
I remember one night at Cave Spring, 
where I spent the day collecting sub- 
scriptions until I had a considerable 
sum of money. I was afraid to go to 
the hotel, lest I might be robbed or 
miss the stage coach, which was due 
to leave for Rome at midnight, so after 
dark I slipped into the coach, croucher? 
in a corner and waited until the driver 
climbed onto his box and made off. 

"Once I went to Summerville, and 
saw two men arguing politics in the 
town square. Buchanan was running 
for president. One man seemed to 
have the advantage of the other, and 
I championed the weaker side, asking 
the other man a question he couldn't 
answer. The crowd whooped and yell- 
ed, and the man turned on me and 
said, 'Look here, my little fellow, you 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



271 



ought to be at home with your 
mammy!' That year I made $450. 

"Mother soon decided that I must go 
to school on what Little Dolph and I 
had made, so I went two terms to 
Prof. Peter M. Sheibley, one of the 
finest teachers Rome ever had. In 
1858 we removed to the farm of Uncle 
Jimmie Meredith in Broomtown Val- 
ley, Cherokee County, Ala., and farm- 
ed there until the war broke out. The 
people were very kind to us, although 
the young farmers laughed at us be- 
cause we plowed in gloves and large 
straw hats, and could not lay off 
straight rows. I often amused a crowd 
telling them of schemes I had to make 
farming easier, like boring a hole in 
the end of the plow foot, and putting 
up an umbrella to plow under. 

"I also said a man ought to be able 
to ride while he plowed, and I per- 
fected a three-foot plow that would 
list land with two furrows, and save 
the labor of two men and one horse. 
For irons I used hickory withes and 
attached them to the front wheels of 
a tv/o-horse wagon and pulled the con- 
traption with two oxen, Mike and 
Bright. I demonstrated that this plow 
would work, but lack of means and 
the taunt from the Alabama farmers 
that it was a lazy, mean method, 
caused me to give it up. Years later 
I saw men patent this idea and de- 
velop it into some of our labor-sav- 
ing plows of today, and I have always 
thought my plow deserved the priority. 

"Our life in the country was not 
only a pleasant and happy one, but 
I verily believe it paved the way 
for our future success in business. 
It taught us to work and brought us 
a knowledge of the people from whom 
in after years we received our great- 
est help in building and maintaining 
our wholesale grocery and cotton bus- 
iness. 

"We learned nature and the sea- 
sons and the peculiarities of agricul- 
tural products of the section. We 
were taught the value of money, how 
hard it was to make, and at the char- 
acter-forming time, instead of carous- 
ing en the streets of a city until mid- 
night, we went to sleep soon after 
supper and slept the sleep of the in- 
nocent and the just. In later years 
we opened our store at daylight and 
closed it at midniglit." 



COST OF A COLLEGE EDUCA- 
TION.— The following letter was sent 
recently by a Floyd County man to his 
son at college : "I write to send you 



two pairs of old breeches, that you 
may have a new coat made of them; 
also some new socks, which your 
mother has just knit by cutting down 
some of mine. Your mother sends you 
$10 without my knowledge, and for 
fear you might not spend it wisely, I 
have kept back half, and send you only 
five. We are all well, except that 
your sister has got the measles, which 
may spread among the other girls. I 
hope you will do honor to my teach- 
ings. If you do not, you are an ass, 
and your mother and myself are your 
affectionate parents." — Rome Tri- 
Weekly Courier, Jan. 21, 1860. 

ROBT. BATTEY'S TROUBLES 
AT SCHOOL.— At 11 years of age 
and under date of May 12, 1839, Robert 
Battey wrote as follows to his mother 
in Augusta from Phillips-Andover 
Academy, Andover, Mass. His brother 
George, 13, was there with him at the 
time : 

"My dear Mother: We received a 
bundle from you not long since con- 
taining a letter, 4 dollars, some cot- 
ton seed, a pocket handkerchief, 2 
flags, 2 knives, 2 books, the violet and 
Juvenile Forget-me-not which I 
thought was very good and interest- 
ing. Brother goes to writing school 
to Mr. Badger and is improving very 
fast. As soon as he has done his 
coarse of lessons he will write you a 
letter so that you can see how much 
he has improved. Chas. Hall is here 
at present. We have got a new boarder, 
his name is Daniel E. Safford. Brother 
has five rabbits and one of them has 
or is a going to have some young ones. 
I have been reading Rolo Learning to 
Read and Rolo's Vacasion. I like them 
very much indeed. Last Tuesday we 
had a company of 100 Latin and Eng- 
lish students. They marched up and 
down town and then they had a re- 
ces of about 15 minutes. They had 
water and molasses and water. After 
that they marched around again; 
their dress was simply their Sunday 
best clothes, a cane and a role of paste- 
board with a blue ribbon tied around 
it. I have found a very great fait 
in brother, that is, tolling tilings 
arround town that I never told him. 
and when he gets caught in telling 
a lie he says that I told him some- 
thing like it". His object in doing this 
is to make folks think better of him 
and worse of me. Sometimes he is 
kind and affectionate. I believe you 
wrote me to tell Mrs. Green when he 
imposes uppon me, but I do not like 
to tell her but I do not do anything to 



272 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



him but stand and bare it. The other 
day I went down to Mr. Abbott's and 
bought some sugar to put in some 
chocolate as I and D. E. Safford used 
to go over in a field and build up a 
fire in an old tea kettle for a stove 
and had an old coffee pot which we 
found out there which we made our 
chocolate in. However one day I had 
the sugar in my pocket and Mrs. Green 
took it out and said it was hers. I 
told her it was not for I bought it 
down to Mr. Abbott's and if she was 
a mind to she might ask him but after 
that she got pretty cool about it. I 
have got a book called My Brother's 
Letters which I think is a very good 
book. Give my love to father, Aunt 
Mary Anna and all other inquiring 
friends and my best love for your- 
self. I hope you will write me soon. 
"Your affectionate son, 

"ROBERT." 

Shortly after the death of his father, 
Cephas Battey, from yellow fever, 
Robert wrote his mother from Ando- 
ver (under date of Dec. 8, 1839) : 

"My dear Mother: I received a let- 
ter from Aunt Susan last Thursday 
morning. Wednesday before last there 
was a great fire up town. Wednes- 
day before last the book bindery burnt 
it belonged to Mr. Wm. Waters there 
has been a subscription for him. 
Thanks be unto the Lord it was not 
our house for I was sick. I had eaten 
something that did not agree with me. 
Mr. Green had his hog killed last Wed- 
nesday. Some body set fire to our 
chicken house la-.3t Thursday. George 
lost 7 rabbits. My little pigeon is do- 
ing very well. Daniel came last Fri- 
day. Mrs. Green's flowers are doing 
very well. Tell me is cousin Miller 
alive. Tell aunt creasy I am well. 
Mrs. Blanchard, Rhoda & I all send 
their love. 

"Your son, 

"ROBERT." 

George added a postscript, saying: 
"You will see by Robby's letter that 
we have had a fire. I have been play- 
ing chess with Robby and he can play 
pretty well for the time he has been 
learning." 

FRANK L. STANTON'S SANC- 
TUM.— The casual visitor to Frank 
L Stanton's sanctum in the Atlanta 
Constitution building is deeply and 
lastingly impressed with the physical 
aspects of the place; a roll-top desk 
over in a corner; a swivel chair for 
the poet which he seldoms "swivels;" 



a cane-bottom chair for a friend; on 
the dark, smoky, spider-webbed walls 
a Lewis Gregg pen sketch of Joel 
Chandler Harris ("Uncle Remus") 
and cartoons by Opper and Fox past- 
ed up without frames; a sea of old 
newspaper exchanges, the accumula- 
tion of months, stacked so high on 
both sides of the desk as to obscure 
the pigeon holes, which are crammed 
with letters, papers and poems; the 
top of the desk burdened with daily ' 
and weekly journals from all over the 
country, and surmounting them a tan- 
gled heap of spider nests and ancient 
dust; on the floor a discarded shower 
of his literary sheaves; a single elec- 
trip drop globe and a clouded window 
to admit a little more light; a rat's 
nest in nearly every drawer of the 
desk. 

Stanton is always absorbed in plots 
for poems and paragraphs; he moves 
solitarily between office and home; 
year in and year out he grinds his 
daily grist, a column known as "Just 
From Georgia," and his political 
quips and a serious editorial daily; he 
is one of the most prolific writers in 
the United States; he is friendly and 
reminiscent, but he seldom invites any- 
body to his den, and when they come 
they do not consume much of his time. 
His office is in a rather remote part 
of the building; not so remote as it is 
"unsuspected" and undiscovered, for 
the human stream that flows out of 
the elevator and the stairway does not 
pass his door. 

In a sense, Stanton is comparable 
to Sir Walter Scott, who used to 
throw his manuscript over his shoul- 
der, to be picked up later by some- 
body and put into print. He exudes 
so much poetry that it sometimes gets 
out of his reach in the junk that sur- 
rounds him, and does not appear for 
days, weeks or months afterward. In 
a sense, he is comparable to Horace 
Greeley, who wrote such a miserable 
hand that but one compositor on the 
New York Tribune could read it. 
Stanton can write plainly and pleas- 
ingly when he takes the time. How- 
ever, he usually leaves much to the 
imagination, and unless the printer 
reads it who is accustomed to his style, 
there is trouble in the plant. 

A story is told of Stanton which 
will illustrate his accustomed environ- 
ment: 

John Temple Graves, editor of the 
Tribune of Rome, had hired a new of- 
fice boy, to whom these instructions 
were given: 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



1273 




274 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



"One of your duties, son, will be to 
carry the copy to the composing room. 
Whenever I write anything, you come 
in here and get it, and whenever Mr. 
Stanton writes anything, go in there 
and take it back. I think Mr. Stan- 
ton has some now." 

The boy returned in a minute to Col. 
Graves' desk and said: 

"I couldn't make him answer." 

"What's that?" 

"He just kept on working when I 
asked him if he had wrote anything." 

"Oh!" exclaimed Col. Graves with a 
twinkle in his eye. "Let's see." 

They went to the doorway and peek- 
ed in. There sat Stanton with his 
elbows aspread, his head low and his 
right hand fighting furiously with a 
pencil. He had dug so deeply into a 
mountain of papers that no part of 
him was discernible below his should- 
ers. He would make a great effort 
and out would come a sheet of long 
hand, suggestive of a doodle-bug play- 
ing in a sand hill or a mole starting 
a direct route to China. 

"I forgot to tell you the way you 
should approach Mr. Stanton. The boy 
that had your job understood it. You 
notice the rope on the hook here at 




FRANK LEBBY STANTON. Georgia's lyric 
poet, who served as night editor of The 
Tribune of Rome under Jno. Temple Graves. 



the door is attached to the chandelier 
in the middle of the room. The easiest 
and quietest way to get in there is to 
grab the rope and swing from the 
door to the table beside his desk, 
where you will be able to get the copy. 
Then you swing back. The idea is not 
to disturb his muse. Let's see how 
well you can do it.' 

"Colonel Graves, I ain't lost nothin' 
in there." 

"Why, what's the matter?" 
"A man from Mt. Alto just come 
out, sayin' he wanted a write-up, but 
saw Mr. Stanton was busy, so just 
left his box on the table and said he 
v/ould be back. No, sir, I ain't goin' 
in there!" 

"What sort of write-up did he 
want?" 

"He said he had broke the record at 
Mt. Alto for ketchin' the biggest rat- 
tlesnake!" 

Mr. Stanton was the owner of a 
small dog which had the distinction 
of having been named after a famous 
expression. Sam Jones used to come 
to Rome and exclaim at his great 
meetings, "My, my, man — can not you 
see the error of your ways?" So the 
dog was named "My-my." 

"My-my" was a product of the flood 
of 1886. He has been born in the 
Fourth Ward in February of that 
year; when the high water came, he 
swam into Rome proper for the first 
time, and anchored on Broad Street. 
It was cold and the puppy took refuge 
in a hallway, where he was found and 
adopted by Col. Graves, who carried 
him home to 402 First Avenue. Here 
the little dog forgot his late experi- 
ences, and his humility at the same 
time. He bit Dr. Henry Battey sav- 
agely on the ankle, so that ever after 
the "doctor bowed himself out of the 
house backwards. 

The dog soon became a pet at The 
Tribune office, and since Stanton fed 
him and kept him as a "paperweight" 
on his desk, he soon forsook his orig- 
inal benefactor. Presently Col. Graves' 
first wife died and they buried her 
over on Myrtle Hill. Bishop Warren 
A. Candler came to Rome, called on 
Col. Graves and proposed that they go 
to the cemetery for a silent word of 
prayer. As they approached the tomb, 
they saw Mr. and Mrs. Stanton, ac- 
companied by "My-my." 

"Even my dog seems to have de- 
serted me!" exclaimed Col. Graves dis- 
consolately. "My-my, you must choose 
this day whom you will serve." So 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



275 



saying, Col. Graves walked off, and 
Bishop Candler followed. "My-my" 
hesitated a moment, swallowed hard, 
smacked his lips meekly and tucking 
his tail between his legs, followed the 
Stantons. Col. Graves declared philo- 
sophically, "Thus it is with all earthly 
friends!" 

Stanton soon moved to Atlanta at 
the instance of Wm. A. Hemphill and 
brought "My-my" along, and the dog 
became a prime favorite around his 
sanctum. When "My-my" died at the 
age when all good dogs are supposed 
to die, The Constitution printed his 
picture and recorded that many of his 
friends among the children followed 
him sorrowfully to a decent burial 
place, and concluded: "My-my was in 
many respects a remarkable dog, but 
particularly so because he was the 
only canine we ever heard of who was 
knock-kneed in front and bow-legged 
in the rear." 

FRANK L. STANTON TO HIS 
MOTHER.*— The beloved Georgia 
poet once penned this beautiful son- 
net: 

Thou shalt have grave where glory is 
forgot, 
Thy star all luminous in the world's 
last night, 
Thy children's arms shall be thy neck- 
lace bright. 
And all love's roses clamber to thy 
cot; 
And if a storm one steadfast star shall 
blot 
From thy clear Heaven, God's an- 
gels shall re-light 
The lamps for thee and make the dark- 
ness write — 
The lilies of His love shall be thy 
lot! 
He shall give all His angels charge 
of thee, 
Thy coming and thy going shall be 
known, 
Their steps shall shine before thee 
radiantly. 
Lest thou shouldst dasli thy foot 
against a stone; 
The cross still stands; who will that 
love condemn 
Whose mother lips kissed Christ at 
Bethlehem? 

FROM A SHERMAN SCOUT.— 
Thos. D. Collins, of Middletown, N. Y., 
courier, guide and scout of the 20th 

*From The Mothers of Some Fa'inous Geor- 
gians. 

**SiKnal sent by Gen. Wm. Vandever, who 
for a time occupied the post at Rome. 



corps, Army of the Cumberland (U. 
S.), writes: 

"I was at Rome on the night of Oct. 
3, 1864, having been sent with orders 
to Brig. Gen. Jno. M. Corse to move 
his conimand at once to Allatoona Pass 
and reinforce the post there, where 
Sherman had stored 1,000,000 rations. 
We reached Allatoona on the after- 
noon of the 4th; John B. Hood, in com- 
mand of the Rebel forces, had got in 
our rear, and on the morning of the 
5th, Gen. S. G. French, in command 
of a division of Rebels, sent us by flag 
of truce information that if we would 
surrender, we would be treated well, 
but if he was forced to attack, every 
one of us would be massacred. To this. 
Corse replied after consulting the 
small force at hand, 'Come and take 
us if you can!' 

"On they came, and I assure you 
French paid dearly for his assault, 
and tov/ard night he began withdraw- 
ing his forces, or what was left of 
them. During the battle, a signal was 
seen flying from the top of Kennesaw 
Mountain,** telling us to hold out, 
that help was coming to us. Corse 
answered, 'I am minus a cheek bone 
and part of an ear, but am able to 
whip all hell yet!' Corse had been 
hit late in the afternoon by a rifle ball 
and knocked senseless. We thought 
him killed, but he soon rallied. We 
suffered severely for the number en- 
gaged. My horse was killed in the 
fracas. The gun I used that terrible 
day of slaughter stands this moment in 
my bedroom, and money couldn't buy 
it. It is an 8-shot Spencer repeating 
rifle. 

"French's troops were heroes, every 
one. They were in the open and we 
were behind strong breastworks. They 
had no chance to dislodge us. French 
had cut our wires. Americans against 
Americans, and I am glad to hope that 
North and South are now one united 
country." 

THE BARTOWS IN FLOYD 
COUNTY.— Comparatively few people 
know that the Bartow family, of Sa- 
vannah, once maintained (luite an es- 
tablishment at Gave Spring. It is 
likely that they removed to Floyd 
County prior to 1850, and that they 
lived "there part of the time for five 
years or more. Mrs. Bartow moved 
back to Cave Spring after the death of 
her husband and her .son. The head of 
the house was Dr. Theodosius Bartow, 
who was born at Savannah Nov. 2, 



276 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



1792, and married Frances Lloyd Feb. 
26, 1812. 

Says The Mothers of Some Famous 
Georgians: 

"After Francis S. Bartow's sad end, 
Mrs. Bartow returned to her home in 
Floyd, now endeared to her by many 
sacred memories, which threw a halo 
around her pathway, for it lay in 
shadows the rest of her days since the 
lip:ht of her life, her counsellor and 
friend, would no more ro in and out 
with words of peace. Her GOth birth- 
day was Nov. 1, 1852, and her son 
wrote : 

" 'I now take advantage of the clos- 
ino- hours of this day which completes 
your GOth year. It has been one of 
those bland, bright days, more like 
spring than autumn, neither warm nor 
cold, and I have thought of the green 
hills of Floyd and wished myself there, 
that I might walk with you through 
the quaint garden and see the sun, as 
he sets behind the mountains, light up 
the sky with golden radiance. How 
beautiful does nature present to the 
mind the evening of a well-spent life; 
how few are the dark hours between 
the mellow twilight, so full of peace 
and rest and the glorious reappear- 
ance of the rosy beams of morning. 

" 'For you I cannot wish those many 
years on earth which is the customary 
greeting. I know enough of life's 
meridian, of its fleeting joy and con- 
stant cates to feel that the happiest 
home is where the soul is freed. But 
for me my prayer would be that you 
who first held me up to the light of 
day should close my eyes. A selfish 
prayer, at least, that I may so live 
that, like you, some golden light may 
ba reflected in my evening days! 

"'God's will be done! May He guide 
you and me and all of us! My heart 
is with you always!'" 

For quite a while Mrs. Bartow's 
daughter, Theodosia (Mrs. Edward E. 
Ford) , was the principal of a girls' 
school at Cave Spring. This place be- 
came known as "Woodstock," and it 
was conducted by Mrs. Ford before and 
after the war; it was once owned by 
the Nobles, of Rome. The Bartows 
were the principal donors of the Epis- 
copal church at Cave Spring, and sev- 
eral of the old-time residents remem- 
ber them with deep affection. Mrs. 
Bartow died at about 80 years of age. 
She was a kindly and true Southern 
gentlewoman, typical of a race that is 
no more. 



GEN. NEAL DOW PRISONER OF 
A ROMAN. — It is not commonly known 
that Neal Dow, once Mayor of Port- 
land, Me., and a general in command 
of colored soldiers durinp- the Civil 
War, was taken to Libby Prison, Rich- 
mond, Va., probably in 1863, by Leon- 
idas Timoleon ("Coon") Mitchell, 
brother of Mrs. Hiram Hill, of Rome. 
"Little Neal" Dow, as he was known, 
had carried his negro troops against 
the Confederate works at Port Hudson, 
Mississippi River, La., May 28, 1863, 
had lost 500 in killed and wounded 
from his brigade, and himself had 
been wounded twice. Subsequently he 
was captured and put in prison at 
Mobile. Feeling was so intense against 
him there on account of the fact that 
he had led colored troopers that it was 
deemed best to remove him north. A 
Roman, "Coon" Mitchell, member of 
the Rome Light Guards of the Eighth 
Georgia Infantry, was selected to take 
him. 

The route, for sake of safety, was 
through New Orleans. Gen Dow, dress- 
ed as a private, was taken there, and 
lodged over night at a hotel. Some- 
how the secret got abroad and a crowd 
of angry people gathered at the hotel, 
demanding the body of the prisoner. 
The proprietor sent word to the 
room of captive and escort to flee. 
Mitchell had been guarding his charge 
and had had little sleep; had not re- 
moved his clothing; but in spite of his 
fatigue he smuggled Gen. Dow out of 
a rear passageway and caught a train 
at a way station and landed him at 
Richmond. Gen. Dow was later ex- 
changed for Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, neph- 
ew of Robt. E. Lee. 

Gen. Dow got his commission as 
brigadier from President Lincoln and 
was regarded as a capital prize by 
the Confederate hosts. He was a great 
temperance leader and as prohibition 
candidate for president in 1880 he re- 
ceived 10,000 popular votes. He died 
at Portland Oct. 2, 1897, at the ripe 
old age of 93. 

"Coon" Mitchell himself, it will be 
remembered, was imprisoned shortly 
after the war by Capt. Chas. A. de la 
Mesa for his participation in a Con- 
federate uniform in the tableau "The 
Officer's Funeral" at Rome. Capt. de la 
Mesa was in charge of the Freedmen's 
Bureau at that time, and objected to 
the presentation of the tableau as an 
insult to the United States flag. 

Mitchell was born in March, 1839, 
hence was 24 when he took "Little 
Neal" in tow. He died a good many 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



277 



years ago and was buried in the Sol- 
diers' Section of Oakland Cemetery, 
Atlanta. 

* * * 

"GINRUL" VANDEVER AND 
"THE WIDOW LUMPKIN."— When 
Maj. William Vandever, of Sherman's 
Army, took charge of Rome in 1864, 
one of the early callers at his head- 
quarters (whether by official invita- 
tion or otherwise it is not known) 
was the handsome widow of Judge 
John H. Lumpkin, congressman, who 
had died four years before. A state- 
ly ex-congressman from Iowa and 
a splendid gentleman. General Van- 
dever had been cited for bravery 
on many a battlefield, but he was 
a married man and there was undoubt- 
edly no justification for the gossip 
which wagging tongues soon spread 
concerning his "affair" with Mrs. 
Lumpkin, who, by the way, had been 
Miss Mary Jane Crutchfield, daughter 
of Col. Thos. Crutchfield, of Chatta- 
nooga. Mrs. Lumpkin lived on Eighth 
Avenue in Rome's finest home, five 
blocks from the General's headquar- 
ters. 

However, the tongues did wag, and 
on numerous occasions connected the 
names of the two in a way that must 
have been embarrassing to both, but 
furnished them considerable amuse- 
ment at the same time. 

Enter a mischievous young Rome 
woman determined to protest in her 
own way at the Yankee occupation, as 
General Vendever's carriage passed 
by. 

"Ginrul, Ginrul, may I stop you a 
moment?" 

"Hold up there. Bob; let's see what 
the lady wants. What can I do for 
you, ma'am?" 

"Ginrul, would you be kind enough 
to lend me a planner?" 

"Madam, I'm sorry, but I've got no 
piano." 

"Why, Ginrul, I hearn ye had seven 
at the Widow Lumpkin's!" 

Mrs. Thos. Hawkins, formerly the 
beautiful and cultured Miss Pauline 
Bryant, whose father was pi'osperous 
in a comfortable estate on the Cave 
Spring road, got a pass through the 
lines and appeared at General Vende- 
ver's headciuarters ("Bill Arp's" old 
home on Fourth Avenue) and asked 
for protection from maraud in o- bands 
of soldiers. Her husband was away 
with the "Rebels" and she was practi- 
cally alone in a great big house. 
General Vandever courteously offered 



her a guard, to which she replied feel- 
ingly: 

"Oh, General, I can not express my 
gratitude! I can only hope that be- 
fore you die you will succeed in win- 
ning the heart of the Widow Lump- 
kin!" 

Mrs. Hawkins went through trials 
second to none during the war. After 
the evacuation of Rome Capt. Jack 
Colquitt maintained a band of bush- 
whackers around Rome, Cave Spring 
and Cedartown who had formerly been 
members of a Texas unit opposing 
Sherman's attack on Rome. This band 
traveled under the name of Colquitt's 
Independent Scouts. A foraging party 
of Union soldiers having gone out in 
wagons toward the present site of 
Lindale the Scouts ambushed it in 
front of the Bryant-Hawkins home, 
killed several men and stampeded the 
horses. In retaliation Gen. Jno. M. 
Corse, of Pennsylvania, the Northern 
commander, claiming Mrs. Hawkins' 
husband and son had led the attack- 
ing party, caused the home to be burn- 
ed to the ground. It was stated by 
neighbors that Mrs. Hawkins had 
time to save only the family Bible; 
also that a soldier invited her to 
rescue the portraits of her ancestors, 
to which she replied contemptuously, 
"I would not lower myself to accept 
such an invitation! I will stand here 
and watch it all burn together! The 
piano and the funiture and the grand- 
father clock are equally sacred to 
me!" 

Mrs. Hawkins was then arrested 
and sent to share the roof and the 
scanty wardrobe of sympathetic 
friends. 

:{: :J: H« 

STORY OF THE WHITE PA- 
POOSE.— Mrs. Pattie Wright Stone, 
of Farill, Ala., contributes the fol- 
lowing story of Alexander Thornton 
Harper, of Cave Spring, who married 
Miss Elizabeth Whatley Sparks, the 
girlhood sweetheart of Gen. John B. 
Gordon : 

"On Mar. 28. 1832, there was born 
in Vann's Valley, near the beautiful 
Little Cedar Creek, to Thornton Har- 
per and his wife, Frances Long Rich- 
ardson, a baby boy named Alexander 
Thornton. On the night of the third 
day of the child's birth there came a 
knocking at the door of the Harper log 
cabin. At that time the valley swarmed 
with Red Men, and well did the in- 
mates of the forest home know when- 
ever a red knuckle rapped. 

"'Oh, dear, dear, it's the Indians,' 



278 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Mrs. Harper whispered, and with one 
hand she drew her baby nearer her 
breast, and with the other gathered 
up little Elizabeth, their only other 
child. 

" 'Don't be alarmed, "Chick," reas- 
sured the husband. 'There is no harm 
in them.' 

"Mr. Harper opened the door and in 
filed several Cherokees, the leader of 
whom said with a grunt and in gut- 
tural tones, 'Indians want to see white 
papoose.' 

"It was the first white child born 
in Floyd County. 

"'Give white papoose to Indian; In- 
dian hold him in his arms.' 

"Mr. Harper, confident of the In- 
dian's good intentions, placed his 
young son in the Red Man's arms, and 
then each Indian insisted on holding 
the baby in turn, and on scrutinizing 
the little fellow to determine how the 
Great Spirit had made him so pale 
instead of red. When the baby told 
them in his own peculiar way that he 
wanted to go back to his mother, the 
Indians knew it was not the sound of 
the brown papoose. They went away 
reverently and were swallowed up in 
the gloom of the nearby forests. 




THE HOTEL ARMSTRONG in fire of Mar. 
8, 1921. Note burning cupola and fireman 
at top of ladder. 



"Mr. Harper was a pioneer of the 
highest type, and his savage neigh- 
bors admired his hum^anizing quali- 
ties. On one occasion an Indian boy 
was sentenced to receive 40 lashes for 
horse theft, and he pleaded that Mr. 
Harper be allowed to apply the pun- 
ishment. 

"The valley was full of game and 
the Indian boys hunted much on their 
fleet footed ponies. Often they would 
expend a quiver of arrows at wild 
turkeys and come home laden with the 
great black birds; they also killed 
deer and exchanged the venison for 
beads and other things the settlers had 
to offer. 

"Mr. Harper built the first house of 
size in that neighborhood. It was a 
two-story affair and was known as 
the White House. Practically all the 
other establishments were log cabins, 
with a room on each end and a pas- 
sageway through the middle, or a sin- 
gle room without hall. He made his 
plantation blossom with slave labor 
brought from South Georgia. Pres- 
ently there were five white papooses 
instead of two, and when Alexander 
and Elizabeth had grown up some- 
what they used to play with the In- 
dian boys and girls. The boys played 
a game with thick stones shaped like 
wheels. These would be rolled across 
an open space and shot at with ar- 
rows, and the side which scored the 
most hits was declared the winner. 

"Once when Alexander and Eliza- 
beth were playing with a lot of pearls 
and wampum in a bureau drawer at 
David Vann's home they heard some- 
body ask Mrs. Vann if she were not 
afraid the pale-faces would drive the 
Indian out. 'No,' she answered scorn- 
fully, 'right now I could sound the 
war whoop and a thousand braves 
would answer from forest and field.' 

"Little did she realize how soon the 
Indians were to inarch sullenly by 
for the west as Alexander and Eliza- 
beth hung on the fence and waved 
them farewell. We have their val- 
leys, rivers and hills and they are gone 
to the land of the setting sun; but so 
has the little white papoose gone to 
the happy hunting ground of Heaven. 
On Saturday, Jan. 2, 1905, Alexander 
Thornton Harper died at his Cave 
Spring home. 'A noble man has gone 
to that reward promised the faithful 
in Holy Writ. He fought the good 
fight, he kept the faith throughout the 
allotted years of life and now enjoys 
that bliss accorded the righteous who 
die in the Lord.' " 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



279 



A FAMOUS LEAP-YEAR PARTY. 
The Rome News of Dec. 29, 1920, car- 
i-ied the following story: 

Only two more days of Leap Year, — 
two more days and then a lapse of 
four long years! 

Look before you leap, young ladies 
of Rome, but leap while ye may! Next 
year, 1921, is not divisible by four to 
a nicety, nor is it divisible by twos 
or couples if the plaints of the hard 
time croakers are to be taken seri- 
ously. 

'Twas the same in the old days, and 
'tis the same now. The love song is 
sung in season and out. Fair maids 
sing it one year in four and handsome 
men the remaining three. 

Back in 1860, just before the muffled 
drums started beating for the Civil 
War, there resided in Rome a young 
bachelor by the name of George T. 
Stovall, member of one of Georgia's 
most prominent families, who in ad- 
dition to being a lawyer, wrote ed- 
itorials for The Rome Courier. 

He was one of the first to fall in 
the First Battle of Manassas in 1861. 
His senior editor on The Courier was 
M. Dwinell, who was also a bachelor, 
and who went away with Stovall as 
a second lieutenant in the Rome Light 
Guards. The Courier having no so- 
ciety editor Jan. 27, 1860, a leap-year 
party was handled in the editorial col- 
umn as follows by Bachelor Dwinell : 

"It was our pleasure on last Friday 
night to attend a most delightful party 
gotten up and entirely managed by the 
young ladies of Rome. Everything was 
arranged in excellent good taste and 
the young ladies played the gallants 
most admirably. They showed that 
they not only knew how to gracefully 
receive the attentions of the sterner 
sex but also that they can most charm- 
ingly bestow them. It was a sweet 
season of joyous hilarity, mirth and 
social amusements, — a genuine 'feast 
of reason and flow of soul.' There are 
many more young ocntlemen than 
young ladies in the place, and if the 
former did not all get special invita- 
tions, we see no reason why they 
should be growling about it. The ladies 
deserve great credit for the pleasing 
exhibition they made of their 'rights' 
for the coming year. May they all 
live long and happily and each be the 
pure center of sacred household joys." 

Having read this squib in the proof. 
Bachelor Stovall wrote the following: 

"Now, we wish to say a word or two 
on the subject. All that sounds very 



nice and pretty coming from our ed- 
itorial senior, and although he insists 
we must not, we will say it, senior in 
years as well as editorial experience. 
He can aff'ord to write that way about 
Leap Year parties when he gets a spe- 
cial invitation to go and has an escort. 
But there are two sides to every ques- 
tion and we are on the other side of 
this one, for we did not have a 'pecu- 
liar institution' in embryo to come and 
hand us a sweetly-scented billet doux 
written in the most delicate chirog- 
raphy, respectfully soliciting the pleas- 
ure of our company. 

"It is true we did get through the 
postoffice a sort of general invitation 
or permission or something of the kind 
which seemed to say 'If you are not 
afraid to come by yourself, you can 
come, or you can stay away, just as 
you please; if you come you can take 
care of yourself, and if you stay away, 
nobody will miss you anyhow.' 

"We have never done anything we 
know of that makes us deserve such 
treatment. We have never been caught 
disturbing the midnight slumber of 
anybody's hen roost or in mistaking 
another man's pocket for our own. We 
don't recall ever having said that wom- 
en were intellectually inferior to Be- 
con, or Newton or Bonaparte or J. 
Caesar or Pompey or Solomon or Brig- 
ham Young or Joe Brown, and we are 
satisfied we have never compared them 
to a huge fodder stack with a little 
piece of ribbon or turkey feather flut- 
tering from the top of it. However 
much we have thought all this, we 
have prudently kept it to ourselves; 
but we vow we won't do so any longer! 

"On the other hand, ever since we 
had heard there was to be a Leap 
Year party we had been studiously at- 
tentive and polite to every one of the 
'Dear (Bah!) creatures.' Whenever 
we have met them on the street we 
have invariably tipped our hat as 
gracefully as we knew how and smiled 
a little sweeter than we ever thought 
we could before, and ever can again; 
and in one or two instances we fol- 
lowed them several lilocks hojiing we 
might have an opportunity of ])icking 
up and returning to its owner a glove 
or a handkerchief she may have 'un- 
intentionally' dropped. 

"And yet, after all this, not one of 
them otfercd to escort us to the party; 
and we waited as patiently as Job un- 
til 9:30 that night. Then hope and 
our fire going out about the same 
time, we concluded to follow their ex- 
ample and stroll up to the city hall, 



280 



A History of Rome and Floyd County. 




A TRULY COSMOPOLITAN ASSEMBLAGE. 

In this group are three physicians, a lawyer, a sheriff, a merchant, a mining engineer, a 
minister and a college professor. They are, left to right. Dr. Harry. Huzza, Dr. Geo. R. West, 
of Chattanooga, and Lyle B. West; Edwin Watters, Rev. R. B. Headden, long pastor of the First 
Baptist church; Judge Robt. D. Harvey, Jake C. Moore, Robt. D. Van Dyke, of Atlanta; Prof. 
Jos. Lustrat, of Athens, and Dr. Geo. B. Glover, of Monticello, Fla. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



281 



only to see how many and who were 
there. We very foolishly went in by 
way of testing the matter a little fur- 
ther, and just as we expected, nobody 
came to ask us to promenade or insist 
on our singing Jeremiah, or to play 
the elephant or any other animal, or 
to ask us how we were enjoying the 
evening, or even to inform us of the 
state of the weather. 

"One young lady (bless her sweet 
soul) did offer to take our hat, and it 
was such an extraordinary act of at- 
tention that we would have given it 
to her if it had not cost us five dollars 
and was the last one we had. We 
were satisfied from what we saw that 
our senior's rhapsodies are all put on, 
for he was a most neglected wall flow- 
er. It may be called spite or spleen, 
but to us the whole aff"air was a per- 
fect humbug. 

"We would rather eat sour grapes 
any time than attend one for half an 
hour. The man that started the idea 
of giving up for twelve months the 
dearest privileges of his sex to a par- 
cel of unappreciative and capricious 
women deserved a coat of tar and 
feathers, and on Friday night w^e had 
the great satisfaction of burning the 
wretch in effigy and singing his re- 
quiem. 

"So far as any advancement of our 
own from a state of single blessedness 
to one of double wretchedness is con- 
cerned, when we record in our journal 
the events of 1860 we will simply leave 
a blank page. 

"We think Patrick Henry could have 
made the expression a great deal 
stronger if he had said 'Give me Lib- 
erty or give me Leap Year!' We only 
wish it were 1861; we would see how 
far another Leap Year would catch us 
in this fix again. As it is we have a 
notion to spend the balance of this 
one in Utah. There we reckon the 
ladies are not so independent. Leap 
Year indeed!" 

Bachelor Dwinell read the proof on 
the above sally by Bachelor Stovall 
and tacked on the following: 

"Our junior has fully justified the 
fable of the Fox and the Grapes. We 
pity him; but since he wrote the above 
we discover unmistakable signs of 
convalescence and assure the ladies 
that he will be in his right mind in 
a few days." 

CARRYING ON.— The following 
items from The Rome Weekly Courier, 
Vol. 20, New Series No. 1, Thursday, 
Aug. 31, 1865, will give further in- 



formation on the status of Rome and 
Romans directly after the Civil War: 

To Former Patron.^. — Greeting: On 
the 16th of May, 1864, the last number 
of this paper was published. The Fed- 
eral forces occupied Rome on the next 
day, and since then, up to about the 
first of last May, it was not deemed 
prudent for such a 'Reb" as we have 
been to engage in any permanent busi- 
ness in Rome. 

Some three months since we returned 
to the old office and found it in great 
confusion. What a pickle it was in, 
to be sure! Stands, tables, cases, 
presses, stones and stove pipe, impos- 
ing stone, cabinets, racks and every- 
thing else all turned topsy-turvy; and 
then the whole chawdered up and 
beaten to pieces with sledge hammers 
and crowbars until the office looked 
like the Demons from the Infernal Re- 
gions had been holding high carnival 
there. 

Of course we felt bad. It looked 
very much like "Othello's occupation 
was gone!" It would do no good to 
think hard things and still less to say 
wicked words; we at once resolved 
that as for us and our house, we would 
arise and go back to the old fold again. 
Well, the first thing to be done was 
to take the Amnesty Oath. Now, about 
that we felt a little like the keeper of 
a cheap boarding house did about eat- 
ing crow, after he had foi'ced down 
a little for a wager. He said he could 
eat crow, but he "didn't hanker arter 
it!" We took the oath and have been 
feeling better ever since. It was prob- 
ably just the medicine needed. We 
would advise every citizen of tho state 
to embrace the first opportunity to 
take the Oath of Allegiance. It is as 
little as could possibly be asked of us 
after four years of most determined 
and earnest eff'ort to disrupt the Fed- 
eral Nation, and besides it is really 
our duty to give an honest jiledge that 
hereafter we will give a full and cor- 
dial support of that government, which 
after all our sins against it proposes 
now not only to pardon (with a few 
exceptions) but also to spread over us 
the aegis of its protecting wings. 

Having taken the Oath, we went in- 
dustriously to work and with tlie as- 
sistance of one good printer, by pick- 
ing up the debris, assorting the type, 
))atching some marhim'ry and buying 
a little (with borrowed money), we 
are now enabled to come out with the 
paper as you see it. It is our deter- 
mination to publish a first-rate family 
newspaper, giving the subscriber as 



282 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



much reliable and interesting informa- 
tion on Commercial, Political and Mis- 
cellaneous subjects as the columns will 
contain. All Military and Govern- 
ment orders and Proclamations that 
pertain to the people of this section 
will be published as soon as received. 
The paper will be neither partisan nor 
sectarian, but we shall do all in our 
power to support President Johnson 
and the Provisional Governor in their 
present policy of restoring the Empire 
State of the South to its once proud 
position in the great family of States. 

Wanted — One Thousand Subscribers 
to This Paper — Our rates are low. The 
paper will be the best News Paper we 
can possibly make it. Terms, $1 for 
three months; $2 for six, or $4 for 
12 months. We will take in payment 
currency or produce, anything we can 
eat, drink or wear, at market price; 
also clean cotton or linen rags at 2 
cents per pound. No name will be 
entered on the Subscription Book until 
the paper is paid for, and the paper 
will be stopped as soon as the time 
paid for expires. 

Bill Arp. — We are promised a series 
of communications from this inimitable 
wit and satirist. Probably we may 
have one article from him next week. 

Important Military Order. — Capt. 
Kyes, commandant of this post, re- 
ceived a telegraphic dispatch from 
Gen. Steedman on the 29th inst. or- 
dering that no cotton shall be shipped 
from this place after that date until 
further orders. It is supposed that this 
order is general throughout the cotton 
states, and that all cotton will have to 
remain where it is for the present — 
one object of this order is to prevent 
the stealing of cotton that is now car- 
ried on to such a shameful extent in 
some sections. 

Taking the Ooi/i.— While Capt. 
Heirs was Provost Marshal, from June 
10 to July 26, he administered the Oath 
to 342 persons; since August 14 Jesse 
Lamberth, ordinary of the county, has 
administered it to 770, making the 
total number up to noon yesterday 
1,112, and still they come. 

Schools ill Rome. — Arrangements 
are made for a good number of ex- 
cellent schools for the children of 
Rome and vicinity. Mrs. Dr. Brown 
still continues her school at the former 
place. Mrs. Reeves has returned and 
will reopen her school on Monday next. 
See Advertisement. Mrs. Susan Smith 
is also about to commence another 
school, and Misses Maggie Riley and 
Mattie Sawrie each have prosperous 



schools now in operation. Mrs. J. W. 
M. Berrien also has a fine school, and 
Mrs. Jennings, her sister, teaches mu- 
sic. Mr. Nevin has a school for boys 
that we understand is well patronized 
and doing well. 

Rolling Mill and Machine Shop. — We 
are pleased to learn that H. M. An- 
derson & Co. are preparing to rebuild 
their rolling mill. Messrs. Noble 
Brothers are also arranging to rebuild 
their Machine Shops and Foundry, and 
we hope ere long to hear the genial 
hum of machinery all along Railroad 
Street as in times before the war. 

Business of Rome. — The business of 
this place has increased nearly 100 per 
cent a week for the last three months. 
We now have twelve dry goods stores, 
nearly all keeping more or less hard- 
wai-e, crockery and groceries; seven 
family grocery stores, two wholesale 
and retail grocery stores, two hotels, 
three eating saloons, six bar rooms, 
two billiard rooms, two livery stables, 
etc., and all doing a good business. 

"Home Again." — Nearly all the for- 
mer citizens of Rome and vicinity have 
returned and others intend coming 
soon. Among those who are still ab- 
sent are Dr. H. V. M. Miller, who is 
now in Macon but still claims Rome 
as his home and will soon return; A. 
M. Sloan, now in Thomasville, but ex- 
pects to move back in October; D. R. 
Mitchell and Dr. Jas. B. Underwood, 
now in Valdosta, intend to return this 
fall; Wade S. Cothran, now at Valula, 
is expected soon; Jno. R. Freeman, now 
at Flat Shoals, Meriwether County, is 
due before Christmas; Asahel R. Smith 
expects to move here again in a short 
time. In fine, nearly every one of the 
former residents are certain to return, 
and before long Rome will be herself 
again. 

M^ist Ladies Take the Oath?— "The 
orders are very plain on this subject. 
The ladies are required to take the 
Oath before taking their letters. By 
command of Maj. Gen. Steedman, S. 
B. Moe, Adjutant." The above is an 
extract of an order received by our 
Postmaster in reference to ladies re- 
receiving letters by mail. 

Drouth. — This section is suffering 
from drouth to an extent almost un- 
precedented. Since July 16 there has 
been but one little shower here, and 
then only one-fourth of an inch of wa- 
ter fell. The consequence is that all 
corn is greatly injured, and the late 
corn nearly ruined. The garden vege- 
tables and potato crop are nearly cut 
off. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



283 



Coiinty Meeting. — A call has been 
published for a meeting at the City 
Hall in Rome on Saturday, Sept. 9, to 
nominate candidates for the State Con- 
vention at Milledgeville. The State 
Convention will be entrusted with the 
most important and vital interests of 
the people, and the very truest and 
best men should be sent from every 
county. 

Neiv Steamboat. — Our friends down 
the river and many others elsewhere 
will be glad to learn that fine progress 
is being made by H M. Anderson & 
Co. in constructing a new boat for the 
Coosa River. The boat is being built 
at McArver's Ferry, and we under- 
stand that a portion of the machinery 
of the old Alfarata will be used. 

Specimen Copies. — We send this 
number of The Courier to many of 
our old subscribers, in hopes that they 
will subscribe again. We can not fur- 
nish the paper on a credit. 

Garrison. — The military force now 
stationed here is Co. C, 29th Indiana 
troops, Capt. Kyes commanding. 

Hymeneal. — Married on the 20th 
inst., by Hon. Augustus R. Wright, 
Dr. Miller A. Wright and Miss Sallie 
Park, formerly of Columbia. On the 
24th inst., by the Rev. Jesse Lamberth, 
Mr. John Holland to Mrs. S. A. Stans- 
bury; all of this city. 
* * * 

A WAR-TIME LOTHARIO.— After 
having attended the Confederate Vet- 
erans' Reunion at Chattanooga, Curtis 
Green, of Oglesby, Tex., came to Rome 
Saturday, Oct. 29, 1921, to visit his 
relatives, Mrs. M. B. Eubanks and Ed 
A. Green; then developed a story of 
Civil War romance that it is the for- 
tune of few in a lifetime to hear or 
experience. Miss Sarah (Sallie) Wal- 
lace Howard appears as the heroine, 
and the meeting between the two, for 
the first time in 57 years, is staged 
at the home of R. E. Griffin, 101 West 
Eighth Avenue, where the circum- 
stances are recalled. 

In May, 1864, shortly after Rome 
was first occupied, Gen. Wm. T. Sher- 
man's headquarters for the Union Ar- 
my were at "Spring Bank," Bartow 
County, home of Capt. (Rev.) Chas. 
Wallace Howard, father of Miss Sallie 
Howard and of Miss Frances Thomas 
Howard, who in 1905 vividly recount- 
ed the family's war experience in a 
book entitled "In and Out of the 
Lines." "Spring Bank" was about 
midway between Kingston and "Barns- 
ley Gardens," the palatial estate of 
the Englishman, Godfrey Barnsley. 



The neighborhood was alive with 
"Yankees," but the confusion incident 
to the chase after Gen. Jos. E. John- 
ston's stubbornly retreating columns 
gave Curtis Gi*een an opportunity to 
come within 100 yards of Gen. Sher- 
man's headquarters and to speak with 
Miss Sallie, then a slip of a girl at 
18. Mr. Green had been detailed as a 
spy to obtain information of Gen. Sher- 
man's movements, and he had boldly 
walked through the lines in a Union 
uniform, using a stretch of woodland 
to cover the dangerous distance be- 
tween his own men and the enemy. 

Miss Sallie was incredulous at first, 
but when he told her in a decided 
Southern accent that he was a mem- 
ber of the Sixth Georgia Cavalry un- 
der command of Gen. Jos. Wheeler, 
she believed his story, and admiringly 
declared she was so glad to see a Con- 
federate soldier that she desired to 
make him a nice present. It was his 
privilege to choose what the gift should 
be. Quite possibly he exacted a for- 
feit expressive of the happiness they 
felt at meeting, but history must record 
simply the fact that he asked her to 
make him a suit of home-spun clothes 
— not a military uniform, but a habit 
that might serve him better in gath- 
ering information for his chief. 

"But, little lady, we have only a 
minute more to talk," he warned her. 
"I must hurry back. If you would do 
your honored father and the Confed- 
eracy a service, you will meet me at 
1 o'clock after midnight tonight in the 
clump of pines at the top of yonder 
hill. Lucky for our cause if the clouds 
obscure the moon!" 

Miss Sallie's heart beat warm for 
the boys in gray. Her father was bat- 
tling to save the home fron^ the in- 
vader. Her sisters and her mother 
were dyed-in-the-wool Rebels, and with 
all the strength at their command they 
had resisted the efforts of the foe. It 
was a perilous task but she could not 
be less brave than Curtis Green, for 
what is life without liberty and hon- 
or? Her smile told him she would be 
there, and he rushed away, as if to 
transact some important business at 
the front of the Union line. 

Miss Sallie took into her confidence 
Miss Fannie, who was 19, and undoubt- 
edly "Mother" Howard knew, for they 
never kept anything from her. At 
any rate, the young ladies dressed 
themselves in dark waists and dark 
skirts. If they were caught they would 
probably be "shot, but they might es- 
cape by pleading that they had ven- 



284 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 




ROMANS AND "NEAR ROMANS" HERE AND THERE. 

Wm. M. Hardin, Judge Harry Johnson, Chas. W. Morris, Richard Venable Mitchell and James 
D'Arcy; Miss Elizabeth Lanier and a group of Romans at "Oak Hill", home of Mrs. Thos. Berry; 
Col. Hamilton Yancey; George Rounsavillc on parade; Little Miss Jean Landrum; Ernest E. 
Lindsey; Hughes Reynolds and W. S. Rowell in a playful argument; Wm. J. Vincent; Little Miss 
Patti O'Neill; a Kiwanis Club group helping to dedicate the Municipal bandstand. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



285 



tured forth with heavy hearts, unable 
to sleep, to search for the body of 
kinsman or friend. These heavy hearts 
were in their slender, white throats as 
they approached the most advantage- 
ous point in the line. Sentries stalked 
heavily to and fro at intervals while 
the snores of the rank and file told 
that they were at peace with the world 
for the nonce. 

By dodging behind an ammunition 
wagon here and a friendly tree there 
the girls managed to get through, and 
how they did fly up the hill! They had 
reached the clump of pines before Cur- 
tis Green, and they crouched low, and 
held their breaths; the pine needles 
seemed to spring up around and half 
to envelop them. Presently the young 
Confederate appeared. He was 24 and 
handsome. He greeted them with a 
warmth that reflected his admiration of 
their courage; pressed them to make 
haste; received valuable pointers on 
the number of Sherman's men and 
their disposition; bade them foi'ewell 
with a promise to call presently for 
the suit of clothes, and bespoke the 
tender care of the Almighty in their 
return to the Howard home. The girls, 
having found the path one way, trod 
it safely again, and spelt soundly until 
morning. 

In two days the wool for Curtis 
Green's suit had been carded and spun. 
The outfit was ready, but lo! the hero 
v/as gone. Private arrangements with 
fair damsels in war are one thing, and 
stern army commands are quite an- 
other. Curtis Green's unit had been 
ordered on a scouting expedition near 
State Line, between Floyd County, Ga., 
and Cherokee County. Ala., and here 
he had been cut off and captured. After 
a considerable stay elsewhere, he was 
removed Sept. 23, 1864, to a rough 
wooden shack in Rome which stood at 
the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue 
and West Second Street, about 150 
feet north of the Floyd County jail and 
200 feet east of the Oostanaula River. 
A drum-head courtmartial had found 
him guilty of espionage and he had been 
sentenced to be shot Oct. 4 at sunrise. 

The prison was a rudely-improvised 
affair, either with a loose-plank floor- 
ing or a flooring of native earth. It 
contained a number of other prisoners 
whose capture had greatly increased 
their docility, and who did not become 
actively interested — at least not for 
themselves- — in Green's plan to escape. 
The prisoners were mustered and 
counted every hour during daylight, 
so Green was forced to do his digging 
quickly. 



On the night before his execution 
''"'iT^ -v ^ l^^^^*^' ^^ ^^'is singing that 
old familiar Confederate air, "The Bon- 
nie Blue Flag:" 

"We are a band of brothers, 

And native to the soil 
Fighting for our liberty 

With treasure, blood and toil 
And when our rights were threatened 

Ihe cry rose near and far: 
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag 

That bears a single star!' 
Chorus : 
"Hurrah, hurrah, for Southern rights 

— hurrah ! 
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag 
That bears a single star!" 

^u'^.^l'^^^'P^^'^^ °^ *h^ ^ai'd remarked 
that he would be singing a different 
tune at daybreak and asked if he had 
any request or statement to make The 
fiery "Rebel" lit into the petty officer 
with a volley of vituperative abuse of 
the Union army and cause. Then he 
went about his digging, and by mid- 
night or shortly after had scooped out 
with hands and an old soup spoon 
enough earth to permit of his crawling 
to freedom. It is only fair to his com- 
P^f'ons to say that they assisted him 
with the excavation, and as he was 
about to make his getaway, snored 
loud enough to prevent the' scraping 
of his brass buttons against the silh 
of the jail from being heard outside./ 
A miserable gas lamp at the corner 
flickered and sputtered; it shed a dim 
glow about the front of the prison and 
the sentry box, and cast a comforting 
shadow down a gulch that led to the 
Oostanaula River. Through this de- 
pression the escaped spy ran, tripped 
and rolled. He was greatlv handi- 
capped because they had handcuffed 
him in front, but liberty was sweet, 
and when he reached the river he slid 
into it and began to swim as best he 
could, kicking hard with his feet, 
working his hands together in a side- 
wise position, and occasionally turning 
over on his back and churning the wa- 
ter with his feet like the paddle wheel 
of a steamboat. His escape was soon 
detected, and the firing of muskets let 
Gen. Jefferson C. Davis' garri.son know 
something unusual had happened. 

When Mr. Green came to Cave 
Spring at 17 years of age he began 
swimming regularly in Big and Little 
Cedar Creeks; he possessed a strong 
and clever stroke; and he was so fa- 
miliar with Rome that instead of 
merely crossing the river and landing 
at the other side, as his guards be- 



286 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



lieved he would do, he set out for 
Black's Bluff, three miles down the 
Coosa, which in this day and time is 
considered a fair distance for a swim- 
mer to make with hands free. Here and 
there he could touch bottom, or he 
would snake himself on a half sub- 
merged log and admire the stars. Fi- 
nally, after several tedious hours, he 
reached the bluff, where he knew there 
were Confederate scouts or natives, 
and with the aid of a bit of soap sup- 
plied by a farmwife, slipped off the 
manacles from his wrists. 

In the meantime. Miss Sallie How- 
ard had been wonderng what could 
have happened to Curtis Green, and 
had been keeping the home-spun suit 
beyond any "Yankee" reach. Eventu- 
ally her father received a serious 
wound and was paroled to Athens, and 
Miss Sallie went there to attend him, 
charging her good mother that if the 
Confederate trooper returned, the suit 
should be delivered to him. One day 
a dust-covered traveler in a tattered 
gray uniform rode up on a limping 
horse. He had surrendered with the 
Sixth Ga. Inf. in North Carolina and 
was on his way to Texas, to grow up 
with the "new country." He was very 
sorry indeed that pretty Miss Sallie 
was absent, but said he with a note 
of hope in his voice, it would be some 
consolation in view of the eventuali- 
ties of 1865 if he could take with him 
the substantial garments she had 
made with her own hands the year 
before. It was Curtis Green. 

"God bless you, Mrs. Howard!" he 
cried as he mounted his steed and 
started for the Etowah ford; "and 
may your halls and lawn never again 
be defiled Vvith such a motley throng! 
I'll keep this suit as long as nature 
will spare it; and I'll save these hand- 
cuffs to remind me of a pleasant voy- 
age around Rome!" 

* :>= * 

SAM P. JONES AT ROME.— When 
Sam Jones was 9 his mother died and 
his father married Jessie Skinner; and 
in 1859 they went to live at Carters- 
ville. The young man was being pre- 
pared for college, but he developed a 
wild streak, started drinking heavily 
and by 21 had practically wrecked his 
health. Straightening up for a time, 
he studied law and was admitted to 
the bar, but never carried his practice 
far. His devoted father died in 1878 
and San' promised him on his death- 
bed to reform. His experiences had 
not broken his spirit and he saw in 
them an opportunity to benefit his fel- 
low men. A week after his father's 



death he preached his first sermon at 
New Hope church, two miles from Car- 
tersville. His first appointment was 
to Van Wert circuit, where he served 
three years until 1875, when he was 
assigned to the DeSoto (Rome) Cir- 
cuit as pastor of the Second Methodist 
(now Trinity) church and six small 
churches through the county, includ- 
ing Prospect Methodist at Coosa. He 
built his church in the Fourth Ward; 
when Trinity Methodist was erected, 
the old structure was moved to 402 
W. Fifth Avenue, next door to the 
Second Christian church, and was con- 
verted into a dwelling. It is standing 
today. He and his wife occupied the 
lower story of 733 Avenue A, south- 
west corner of W. Tenth Street, now 
the home of Varnell Chambers. 

Mr. Jones continued to fight the devil 
and also to tamper with the devil's 
firewater. He was not sensitive to the 
extent of excluding his own shortcom- 
ings fror: his pulpit discourses, and 
ofteJi told of this harrowing experience 
and that, and warned young men to 
go the other way. Rome was a wide- 
open barroom town, so Mr. Jones found 
many human wrecks to shoot at, and 
an occasional door that swung open 
for himself. On one occasion the 
Fourth Ward brethren discovered Mr. 
Jones unable to proceed with his du- 
ties and they wired Rev. Thos. F. 
Pierce, presiding elder of the district, 
asking what to do. Dr. Pierce wired, 
"Tell him to go to preaching." He 
went to preaching and recovered his 
mental and physical equilibrium. His 
lodge brethren expelled him from 
membership, but years later when his 
reformation was complete and fame 
crowned his brow like a benediction he 
accepted reinstatement with the grace 
of a prince. 

His first revival work was done at 
the First Methodist church (where the 
Candler Duilding now stands) in At- 
lanta, with Rev. Clement A. Evans, 
who had previously, in 1879, filled the 
pulpit of the First Methodist at Rome, 
but it was not until January, 1883, at 
Memphis, +,hat his fame began to grow, 
as thousands hit the "sawdust trail." 
Thereafter he preached all over the 
United States and converted countless 
sinners. It is estimated that he ad- 
dressed 1,000,000 people a year. Every 
now and then he would come back to 
Rome. The South Broad Methodist 
church sponsored his visit in 1897 and 
received its share of the proceeds of 
the collection. No church in Rome was 
large enough to hold the crowd, so the 
Howel cotton warehouse was selected. 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



287 



Romans will not soon forget his pow- 
erful arraignment of Satan and his 
works. 

"Shams and the Genuine" was his 
subject on this occasion. 

Several years before this Mr. Jones 
had come to Rome to conduct a two 
weeks' revival. On the very first night 
he painted a glowing picture of the 
sins of the community. Judge Jno. 
W. Maddox happened to be presiding 
officer of the Superior Court at the 
time, and when he read of Sam Jones' 
castigations on Rome and Floyd Coun- 
ty he laid the matter before the grand 
jury, with the demand that Mr. Jones 
be made to appeal'' and prove his 
charges. The evangelist cut his Rome 
engagement short. He explained later 
that he was dealing in generalities 
which he knew to be true, whether he 
could prove them or not. 

The story is told that one Saturday 
Mr. Jones left Rome to fill the pulpit 
at Prospect church, Coosa. There was 
a narrow gauge railroad known as 
the Rome & Jacksonville, which was 
"limited" to the Rome-Coosa reglion 
and at the latter point "quit." Mr. 
Jones drove horse and buggy along 
the railroad for several miles, mutter- 
ing that if a train could run on such 
a track, with the help of the Almighty 
HE certainly could, and his mare could 
hit the crossties like the devil in the 
ten-pin alley of irresolute souls. 

Mr. Jones was fond of telling stories 
incident to his travels. His favorite 
was the following from an old-time 
darkey, a compliment he always said 
was the highest he had ever received: 

"Well, Brudder Jones, you sholy does 
preach like a nigger! You may have 
a white skin, but I tell you, sir, you 
has a big black heart!" 

Mr. Jones' churchmen and neigh- 
bors at Cartersville were accustomed 
to gather yearly to celebrate his birth- 
day. They had made elaborate prepa- 
rations in 1906 to welcome him home 
from a swing through the west. He 
died Oct. 15, of that year while his 
train sped homeward, a day before 
the event, and the rejoicing was turned 
into a funeral dirge. The brave heart, 
the massive brain had worn themselves 
out in the strenuous effort to pilot sin- 
ful humanity through the heavenly 

gates. 

* * * 

RAZZING MR. GRADY.— Captain 
Dwinell reproduced the following squib 
in The Courier of Nov. 2G, 18(i9, and 
added a touch of his own: 

" 'Gloria MnncU — which, being inter- 



preted, might mean that Rome is to 
have glory on Monday, the 22d inst., 
from "G. G. Grady's old-fashioned cir- 
cus." As there seems to be a consid- 
erable number of the Grady family 
connected with this saw-dust enter- 
tainment, we beg leave to inquire if 
the immortal "six" or the prolific 
"King Hans," concerning which a vast 
amount of inky tears have been shed, 
have been retained. If not, the pro- 
prietor has lost a trump card. — Au- 
gusta Constitutionalist.' 

"Our junior is attending the fair at 
Macon, and since he is well known as 
a Hans-ome man, is doubtless think- 
ing more of diamond than of sawdust 
rings. As to the 'immortal six,' they 
may be tumbling around somewhere 
but whether it is 'ground' or 'lofty' 
tumbling we are not advised." 

* * :|: 

ONE WAY TO MAKE MONEY.— 
"Skinning a flea for his hide and tal- 
low" was a popular occupation 
throughout the South after the Civil 
War. There was little to eat and lit- 
tle money. Along came Zachariah B. 
Hargrove, Jr., in 1869 as mayor, and 
decided on an easy way to relieve the 
local money shortage. 

"Hell," exclaimed 'Little Zach" with 




SAM V. JONKS. f\aiiv,'i'list. who built a Meth- 
odist Church in Home and became its pastor, 
later removing to Cartersville. 



288 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



characteristic directness, "I'll PRINT 
some money!" 

And he did. An expert engraver 
was hired, and before he had ceased 
his operations he had gi'ound out $50,- 
000, which was considered sufficient. 
About the time the last $1,000 was 
being spent to "ease things," word 
came from the Treasury Department 
informing the Rome mayor that the 
money printing monopoly was located 
in Washington. After cussing out the 
"ti'oublesome Yankees," "Little Zach" 
reluctantly called the money in. Now 
and then a bill that didn't get caught 
in the call bobs up and is stuck in a 
scrap book as a precious relic of those 
palmy printing press days. 
* * * 

A PLEASANT HOUSE PARTY.— 
All kinds of entertainments were en- 
joyed by the guests of a house party 
at the F. M. Freeman home at Free- 
man's Ferry in 1898. A lawn party 
there, a band-wagon ride to Mobley 
Park for an evening theatrical per- 
formance and dance following, a swell 
supper at the Armstrong, then the 
ride by moonlight back to the banks 
of the gurgling Etowah, formed part 
of the entertainment 

Among the guests were Mrs. J. G. 
Blount, chaperon; Misses Lou Flem- 
ing, Eldith Carver, Julia and Edith 
Smith, Mary Berry, Hazel Adkins, Ce- 
leste Ayer, Clara and Ella Johnson, 
Laura Jones, Orie Best, Mayme Hud- 
gins, Lillian Hurt, Susie Freeman, Lil- 
lian Lochi'ane and "Merrimac" Arnold, 
and Messrs Harry Patton, W. Addi- 
son Knowles, Bernard Hale, Walter 
Ross, Sproull Fouche, Waring Best, 
Oscar H. McWilliams, Langdon Gam- 
mon, Dr. Wm. J. Shaw, Griff Sproull, 
Sam Hardin, J. A. Blount, John M. 
and Tom Berry, Nick Ayer, Paul 
Jones, Horace Johnson, Julian Hurt, 
R. S. Best, Wm. McWilliams and Hor- 
ace King. 

WROTE WHAT HE THOUGHT.— 
"Nathan Yarbrough, former mayor, 
was sheriff in 186(5-7," says Judge 
Joel Branham's booklet, "The Old 
Court House in Rome," (p. 65). "He 
was a stout, broad-shouldered, red- 
headed man, abrupt in manner, firin 
and fearless in conduct and opinion. 
He moved to Texas many years ago, 
and died there. His docket shows 
these characteristic entries: 

J. J. Cohen Admr. 

Vs. 

J. L. Ellis 

Judgt. 1866, $22.50. 



"Cost paid to J. M. Langston, clerk. 
Principal and interest of this fi. fa. 
paid by me at the request of the de- 
fendant. He has kept me out of this 
money two years by lying, and then 
swindled me out of $10" by lying. Fi. 
fa. given to him satisfied." — Docket, 
p. 4. 

Robt. T. McCay 

Vs. 

A. M. Kerr 

$93.87 and cost. Nov. 13, 1859. Nulla 
bona. 

"Bad eggs. Both gone up the spout. 
Kerr has since come to life, and like 
a good many of us, is kicking to make 
a living, but can't pay old debts. Let 
them go with the past. Feb. 3, 1860." 
—Docket, p. 40. 

Magnus & Wise 

Vs. 

J. J. Skinner 

$178 and cost. 

"Joe may come to it after a while, 

but the Radicals have released him. 

April 13, 1867."— Docket, p. 45. 



JUDGE BRANHAM ON OLD 
TIMES.— The Rome News of Oct. 3, 
1921, carried the following reminis- 
cences from the late Judge Joel Bran- 
ham : 

"The first time I ever saw the city 
of Rome was in April, 1861, and again 
on the 20th day of that month. The 
population then, I suppose, was about 
3,500. Sam Stewart was the marshal 
and had been for several years, and 
he ruled the discordant elements of the 
city successfully. He had no pistol. 
He carried a gold headed cane. When 
he said stop, they stopped. I wish we 
had his like again. 

"I came from Kingston to Rome on 
the Rome railroad, then the only rail- 
road to this city. The track was laid 
on stringers with bar iron a little 
thicker than the iron tire that goes 
around a wagon wheel. Holes were 
punched in the iron and it was spiked 
down on the stringers. Such a thing 
as a "T" rail was unknown. The depot 
stood where the Stamps wholesale 
fruit house now stands on the north 
side of Broad Street. The cars con- 
sisted of a little engine which burned 
wood, a baggage car. a passenger car 
with side seats such as is used on 
street railroads. The passengers faced 
one another in this little car. The 
depot building was as long as the train 
and no cars stood across Bi-oad Street. 
Wade S. Cothran was the president. 
He was a man of magnificent mind, 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



289 



the most progressive citizen of the city 
of Rome, and a man of strict hon- 
esty. C. M. Pennington, whose house 
stood where the Country Club now 
stands, was the superintendent. 

"The Shorter block between Broad, 
Second Avenue and the river was all 
vacant property except the depot 
building referred to. It was seven feet 
below the present grade. 

"The Etowah Hotel stood on that 
parcel of ground now embraced by 
the Norton Drug Store and all the 
buildings down to and including the 
Rome Hardware Store and extended 
back from Broad Street of the same 
width to East First Street. The hotel 
was a wooden building, three stories, 
with a veranda around it and stood 
back from Broad Street. I stopped 
there when I came to Rome to be 
married on the 20th of April, 1861. It 
was kept by Geo. S. Black. 

"The block between First and Sec- 
ond Avenue, East First and East Sec- 
ond Streets was vacant, and it was 
also vacant when I moved to Rome in 
January, 1867. I had a barley patch 
where the Cooper warehouse now 
stands and my cow grazed in that bar- 
ley patch. 

"The block on which I now live, 264x 
400, was vacant except for my resi- 
dence, then a six-room house, four 
rooms on the first floor and two 
above, and a little old dwelling on the 
extreme corner opposite the Methodist 
church. In the middle of this block 
v/here the Rounsaville warehouse now 
stands there was a pond of stagnant 
and green water. In the summer time 
the frogs croaked their 'jug-o'-rum,' 
'jug-o'-rum, 'jug-o'-rum,' an article 
which we do not now have in that 
neighborhood. 

"Asahel R. Smith, father of Bill 
Arp, my partner, resided on the lot 
where the Methodist church now 
stands. 

"The town was originally built on 
245, 23rd and 3rd; 276 belonged to 
Alfred Shorter. It contained the old 
farm house, a log building in the cen- 
ter of the north half of the block 
lying between Third and Fourth Ave- 
nues and East Second and East Third 
Streets. Only the farm house and the 
residence of P. M. Sheibley was on 
that block. There were no other 
houses on it. 

"Maj. Chas. H. Smith's home em- 
braced all the territory lying between 
Fourth Avenue, Shorter College alley 
and East Third and East Fourth 
Streets. Mrs. Charlie Hight's resi- 



dence and a number of other residences 
are now on this property. 

"I came through the country from 
Milner, Ga., with a friend of mine in 
a buggy in February, 1865. He 
brought $10,000 buckled around his 
waist; I had $12,000. We came here 
to buy land; we didn't buy it; we 
still have our money. We crossed on 
a ferry boat. There was not a man 
to be seen on Broad Street. The town 
was desolate. 

"I came to Cartersville just after the 
surrender of Lee in a wagon driven 
by Harrison Watters and owned by 
Z. B. Hargrove. They were running 
a passenger line between Atlanta and 
Cartersville. At Cartersville we took 
the railroad to Rome. It was then op- 
erated by Federal troops, and they 
were cursing and swearing and drink- 
ing on the train in the presence of 
my wife. Just before I left Macon on 
this occasion a company of lawyers 
were gathered at the corner of Zeiland 
& Hunt's drug store. There was but 
one dollar of green back in the crowd. 
Not a single one of us had a cent of 
money. I said, 'I am going to leave 
this country and go to a country where 
there are no negroes.' At this Clif- 
ford Anderson, who was afterwards 
attorney general, laughed heartily. He 
said it reminded him of a man who 
was sitting on a cart tongue and the 
steers were running away with him. 
Some man cried out, 'Why don't you 
jump off?' 'Hell,' he says, 'it's all I 
can do to hold on.' " 
* * * 

PAYING THE FIDDLER HIS 
MITE.— The following letter to E. F. 
Shropshire, clerk of the City Council, 
from Cave Spring, dated Feb. 24, 1871, 
will illustrate the penchant many peo- 
ple have of piping "economy notes" 
unto worthy "scops and gleemen:" 

"Dear Sir: Yours of 19h inst., en- 
closing check for $4, balance due Cave 
Spring Band for services rendered the 
citizens of Rome at the Waterworks 
Celebration, has been received. As 
that amount does not pay our leader 
(outside of the other performers), we 
very respectfully return it. 

"The hotel charges are wrong. Only 
six members of the band stopped at 
Mr. Graves', which number had two 
meals each with the exception of my- 
self, who had three meals. He also 
makes a bar bill which I am author- 
ized by each and every member of 
the band to say is false. 

"Hoping that when the city of Rome 
again needs the services of a band that 



290 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



it will procure those of one that will 
give it better satisfaction, I am, dear 
sir, as representative of the band, 
"Very respectfully yours, 
"P. E. ALEXANDER, 
"Secretary Star Cornet Band." 
"P. S. — Our understanding was that 
we were to receive $25 and all ex- 
penses. P. E. A." 

Mr. Shropshire eased the municipal 
conscience by appending on the outside 
of the sheet the trite notation, "Cave 
Spring Band Busted." 

:J; :t: =!: 

A RELATIONSHIP EXPLAINED. 
— Since many people are confused as 
to the relationship between Woodrow 
Wilson and the Bones family, once 
residents of Rome, a lady close to them 
offers the following explanation: 

"The Bones family are related to 
the Wilson family through Mrs. Bones, 
who before her marriage to Mr. James 
W. Bones was Miss Marion Woodrow, 
the sister of Miss Jennie Woodrow, who 
married Mr. Joseph Wilson, the father 
of President Woodrow Wilson. Hence 
Mrs. Bones Vas Woodrow Wilson's 
aunt, whom his mother, he and his 
brother Joseph used to visit when Mrs. 
Bones lived on upper Broad Street, 




ELLEN LOU AXSON. as she looked in 1882 
during the courtship of Woodrow Wilson at 
Rome, which included a Silver Creek picnic. 



in the house at 709 known as 
the Featherston place. When Wood- 
row Wilson later became a young man 
he visited Mrs. Bones, then living in 
East Rome, and his cousin, Mrs. A. 
Thew H. (Jessie Bones) Brower. It 
was at Mrs. Brower's home that he 
met Miss Ellen Louise Axson, who 
later became his wife in Savannah. At 
this time the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
Brower was on the hill just west of 
the Southern depot, and then was the 
only house on the hill, and the grounds 
extended down to the Terhune place 
(and may have included it) and em- 
braced the ground on which the Ted- 
castle home was built, now known as 
'Hillcrest,' the residence of Mr. and 
Mrs. John M. Graham. Mr. Brower 
was interested in the East Rome Land 
Co., which owned most of East Rome. 
"The Brower house was afterwards 
bought by Judge John W. Maddox, and 
when the Ragan home was erected next 
to it. Judge Maddox moved it some 
distance to the site it now occupies. 
The present occupants are Mr. and 
Mrs. Arthur D. Hull, and the location 
is 6 Coral Avenue. The Browers re- 
moved to Chicago in April, 1884." 

WOODROW WILSON'S COURT- 
SHIP. — The chance circumstance of a 
slack legal practice for a young law- 
yer quite possibly explains how Rome 
was put more prominently in the pub- 
lic eye than in any other chain of 
circumstances since the city's estab- 
lishment. Woodrow Wilson was born 
Dec. 28, 1856, at Staunton, Va., hence 
was 26 years old in 1882, when Judge 
George Hillyer, of Atlanta, and others 
signed his license to practise his pro- 
fession in that city, shortly before he 
paid a visit to Rome. Judge Hillyer 
is authority for the statement that 
Mr. Wilson first practised a short time 
in the Central building, southwest cor- 
ner of E. Alabama and S. Pryor 
Streets, and then on Marietta Street 
near the southeast corner of N. For- 
syth, where the Ivan Allen-Marshall 
Co. office supply store is now located, 
and in the second story. At this lat- 
ter place he was in partnership with 
Edward J. Renick, later assistant sec- 
retary of state in President Cleve- 
land's second administration, and still 
later special legal representative of 
th(- banking concern of Coudert Broth- 
ers. He had graduated at Princeton 
University in 1879 and in law at the 
University of Virginia in 1880, and 
after the usual preliminaries of pri- 
vate study a committee examined him 
two hours in the Fulton County Su- 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



291 



perior Court and decided he was well 
qualified. Attorney Gadsden, of South 
Carolina, was chairman of the bar 
committee, and Judge Hillyer was a 
member of it. 

The shingle of Wilson & Renick 
failed to produce business in spite of 
their earnest application, and in the 
summer of 1882 Mr. Wilson found it 
convenient to take a two-months' va- 
cation in Rome as the guest of his 
cousin, Mrs. A. Thew H. Brewer, 
and his aunt, Mrs. Jas. W. Bones, 
whose husband was maintaining the 
Rome branch of the well-known Au- 
gusta hardware concern of J. & S. 
Bones & Co. The Bones home was 
built by Mr. Bones, and is identified 
today as the residence of S. L. Han- 
cock, in Oak Park, East Rome, south- 
west of the Yancey place. Some years 
previously the family had lived on 
Broad. Half a mile away lived a first 
cousin, Jessie Bones, who had become 
the second wife of A. Thew H. Brower. 
Col. Brewer's first wife, Mary Mar- 
garet (Minnie) Lester, had died Feb. 
6, 1878. 

The Bones family were staunch 
Presbyterians. Mrs. Bones' father 
was Dr. James Woodrow, a teacher in 
the old Oglethorpe University at Mil- 
ledgeville, and whose championship of 
the Darwinish theory and other ad- 
vanced ideas after the war caused his 
suspension by the Presbyterian Synod 
of South Carolina from the faculty of 
the Columbia Theological Seminary at 
Columbia.* 

Mr. Bones was a high official in the 
Rome church, and Woodrow Wilson's 
father. Dr. Jos. R. Wilson, was a 
Presbyterian minister at Augusta; 
hence when Sunday rolled around 
there was no conflict as to whether the 
young barrister should attend services, 
and where. With Mr. and Mrs. Bones 
and his first cousin. Miss Helen Bones 
(who became Mrs. Wilson's White 
House secretary) , Mr. Wilson went to 
the brick church at Third Avenue and 
E. First Street. 

The sermon was not so engrossing 
that the visitor failed to notice the 
piquant beauty of a girl with brown 
eyes and hair that fell in graceful 
curls upon her forehead, sitting hard 

*The synod later exonci-atcd him by electing 
him moderator, the hishest office in its power ; 
and still later he became president of the 
University of South Carolina. Thus his own 
evolutions and theirs were of a pronouncea 
character. Dr. Woodrow tauprht Sidney Lanier, 
Southern poet, at OKlethorpe, and Mr. Lanier 
proclaimed his old teacher the greatest moral 
influence in his life. Authority: Dr. Thorn- 
tvall Jacobs, president of Oglethorpe University, 
Atlanta. 



by. He looked not once, but several 
times before the sermon was concluded, 
and stole a glance or so as the congre- 
gation were leaving for their homes. 
He was so fascinated by this young 
lady's beauty that he inquired as to 
who she might be and if by some 
chance he might not be privileged to 
meet her. He was told that it was 
Ellen Louise Axson, daughter of the 
Rev. Samuel Edward Axson, the pas- 
tor, who was living in a cottage on 
the Third Avenue lot where Jno. C. 
Glover now resides. 

Mrs. Brower found that she could 
do her Atlanta cousin a good turn, so 
proposed that they invite Miss Axson 
and several others to go on a picnic 
east of Lindale, to a spring which 
forms part of the headwaters of Silver 
Creek. The meeting place was at the 
Brower home, and when young Wood- 
row asked if he hadn't' better take 
some lunch. Miss Ellen Lou readily 
suggested that she had plenty for 
two, and this offer left no room for 
argument. Others who were invited 
and went were Edith Lester, 6 years 
old, now Mrs. Wm. P. Harbin; her 
nephew, Jno. Lefoy Brower, 4, de- 
ceased; Ella, Mary Florence, Harry 
and Frank Young, of East Rome; and 




(THOMAS) W'OODROW WILSON, about the 
time he first saw ?;ilen Lou Axson in the 
First Presbyterian Church, Rome. 



292 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



Helen and Marion M. Bones (died Mar. 
6, 1888). The distance was eight or 
nine miles, and two rigs were used; 
the more attractive of the two for the 
young folks was Col. Brower's wagon 
with side seats, in the body of which 
plenty of wheat straw had been piled; 
and then there was the buggy, which 
carried Col. and Mrs. Brower and their 
baby, and Mrs. B. S. Lester, mother 
of Edith Lester and of Mr. Brower's 
first wife. 

'Tis said Woodrow and Ellen Lou 
chose the back of the wagon that they 
might dangle their feet behind, and 
away went the future president of the 
United States and the future First 
Lady of the Land, caring little wheth- 
er school kept or law business were 
remunerative or not. 

After bumping along country roads 
for an hour and a half they arrived 
at the picnic ground. The lisping of 
the gentle waters and the droning of 
the bees in a nearby field of wild flow- 
ers furnished the systematic tremolo 
for the young lawyer's love sonata, and 
soon they strayed off from the crowd. 
Lunch time came and all were sum- 
moned to the well-filled baskets. All 
save two were ravenously hungry after 
a session of romping and wading. 
These two were industriously search- 
ing for four-leaf closers on the pasture 
greensward; playing "Love-me; love 
me not" with flower petals; blowing 
the downy tops off dandelion stems. 

"I wonder where Ellie Lou and 




A. THEW H. BROWER. 



Woodrow can be?" asked Mrs. Brower, 
as if aware of nothing. 

"I know," piped one of the chil- 
dren; "he's over there cutting a heart 
on a beech tree!" 

The preliminaries were all disposed 
of that day and fervent resolutions 
made if not promises exacted. The 
fates which had been cruel to Rome 
smiled upon the dilemma of the young 
Atlanta lawyer. A freshet in 1881 and 
swept away the first East Rome bridge 
(over the Etowah at Second Avenue). 
The river separated Woodrow and El- 
len Lou, so the former borrowed a bat- 
teau built personally by Col. Brower, 
and they not only crossed, but paddled 
up and down." We hear much of 
President Wilson's famous typewriter, 
and of how he would put on his old 
gray sweater of his Princeton days and 
peck away at it on the George Wash- 
ington; League of Nations "dope" 
ground out on the high seas, as well as 
Gay Paree and Washington. But 
again we must go back to Rome. He 
brought his typewriter with him in 
1882 and did some copying for Col. 
Brower in the Cothran-Brower suit 
over the East Rome land. 

However, all was not so smooth for 
the youthful lovers as the surface of 
the crooning Etowah; they would be 
obliged to wait until the wherewithal 
was forthcoming. Woodrow came back 
now and then. A year or two passed 
and Ellen Lou (who removed to Sa- 
vannah) went to New York with Anna 
Lester (older sister of Edith) and 
Florence Young. The girls were bound 
for the Art Students' League, to study 
art and kindergarten work. Mr. Wil- 
son may have been teaching at Bryn 
Mawr then, and again he mayn't, but 
he got on the train at Philadelphia 
and soon joined the young ladies and 
escorted them to the big city of the 
East. The three boarded at an es- 
tablishment similar to the Y. W. C. A. 
of the present time. Alas ! as long as 
they were here they were supposed to 
be hard at work and not to receive their 
gentlemen friends. This rule did not 
comport with the desires of Miss Axson 
or Mr. Wilson, so she found more con- 
genial surroundings. She was un- 
usually talented with the brush, and 
their homes wherever they lived in 
later years contained numerous evi- 
dences of her handiwork. On June 
24, 1885, they were married at Sa- 
vannah, at the home of the bride's 
grandparents, with whom she was then 
residing. On visits of Mrs. Wilson to 
Gainesville two of her daughters were 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



293 




RECALLING WOODROW WILSONS COURTSHIP. 

anriilver Creek, on which a picnic brought the young couple together. 



294 



A History of'Rome and Floyd County 



born; there she was the guest of her 
aunt, Mrs. Louisa C. Hoyt-Brown, 
mother of Col. Edward T. Brown, of 
Atlanta and Washington, D. C. Most 
of the time they lived in the North. 
From 1890 to 1910 they were residents 
of Princeton, N. J., the last eight years 
of which Mr. Wilson was president of 
Princeton University. Then he was 
chosen governor of New Jersey, and 
in 1912 became twenty-eighth Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

From the executive mansion at Tren- 
ton Mrs. Wilson engaged in welfare 
work throughout New Jersey, and she 
continued her efforts two years in the 
White House, where she died Aug. 6, 
1914. The grief-stricken husband ac- 
companied her to the Old Home Town 
and to Myrtle Hill cemetery, there to 
lay her beside her loving parents. On 
the hill above the depot stood the two- 
story frame dwelling where he had first 
met her, and beyond the hill Silver 
Creek murmured its old-time love-song 
as it -went tumbling on down toward 
the sea. 

::- * t- 

HOME GUARDS (THE ROME 
TRUE BLUES).— This military com- 
pany, with tents pitched July 6, 1884, 
at Camp DeForrest, Forrestville 
(North Rome), and Gov. Henry D. 
McDaniel looking on, received a hand- 
some flag from Mr. and Mrs. M. A. 
Nevin, containing on one side the 
Stars and Stripes, and on the other 
the Georgia coat of arms. 

The "ossifers" were Richard V. 
Mitchell, Jr., captain; Jas. B. Nevin, 
first lieutenant; Chas. J. Warner, Jr., 
first sergeant; Louis S. Rosenberg, 
second; Paul P. Fenner, third; Wm. 
Coleman, fourth; Jno. W. Bale, first 
corporal; Herbert T. Amos, second; 
Wyly Snider, third; Frank Omberg, 
fourth ; Dr. J. M. Gregory, surgeon ; 
Julius S. Mitchell, color bearer. 

The "privates," outnumbering the 
"ossifers" by two, were Dickson C. 
Stroud, George Snider, Baker and Wal- 
ter Weems, Gregory Omberg, Henry 
Adkins, Sam and Max Kuttner, Hugo 
Spitz, Ed Lamkin, Frank S. Bale, Ben 
Cooper, Wm. Harbour and Frank D. 
Edge. 

The company's captain tells the fol- 
lowing "tales out of school:" 

"Most of the boys were very young, 
and they were quartered in three large 
tents next to the state troops, who 
were in annual encampment in For- 
restville. During the night a terrific 
wind storm broke on the camp, making 
the tents behave like balloons, and caus- 
ing the True Blues to think of home. 



A faithful sentry was ordered to round 
up the scattered members, but could 
not find them until next morning, and 
then all were at church in Rome. The 
captain was found there, too, and after 
a while the bunch disbanded. 

"In the winter of 1884, several 
months prior to this incident, the ladies 
gave a bazaar in Noble Hall (the old 
City Hall) for the benefit of the Rome 
Light Guards or the Hill City Cadets. 
A prize drill at night was on the pro- 
gram for Broad Street, with the 
Guards, the Cadets, the True Blues 
and a Cave Spring company com- 
manded by Col. H. D. Capers as con- 
testants. 

"The True Blues were sure their 
drill was the best, and when they failed 
to receive even 'honorable m'ention,' 
they left for their armory in consider- 
able disorder. On passing an alley 
back of the Choice House, they were 
confronted by a Ku Klux 'ghost' in 
spooky white. The captain was seized 
by the 'ghost,' and the company left 
him for the light of a gas burner 
down on Broad. If the 'ghost' had 
taken full advantage of the situation, 
he could have had more guns and ac- 
coutrements than he could have car- 
ried. The captain got away by scratch- 
ing and biting the 'ghost.' " 



AN OBSTREPEROUS MAYOR.— 
A good many years ago, — it may have 
been before the Civil War and again 
it may have been after — Rome had a 
mayor who often wrestled with "John 
Barleycorn" and nearly always got 
"thrown." On this occasion he ate a 
little lunch and drank a lot of beer 
and licker at the bar at Fifth Avenue 
and Broad, and was trying to make it 
to the next "station" when a policeman 
accosted him. His "Irish" was now up 
and he pulled away from the officer, 
saying, "Don't you know the mayor 
of this (hie) town?" Then he went 
back into the saloon and loaded up 
good ; proceeded home with outraged 
feelings and armed himself to the 
teeth. 

Some said his gun was 30 inches long 
and weighed nine pounds; others that 
it was 18 and weighed seven. Anyway, 
he went back to town looking for po- 
licemen, and when he saw two, backed 
behind a telephone pole and shouted 
defiance. The officers took him in tow 
and chucked him into the "jug," where 
he became so noisy that they confined 
him in a sort of cage in the rear of 
the station. He obtained a hose and 
turned it on himself; Etowah water 



Anecdotes and Reminsicences 



295 



sobered him and he called for the turn- 
key to bring the "Black Maria" so he 
could go home again in style. 

It was said that on one of his sprees 
he "kissed the candy man's wife," no 
doubt thinking she was his own; and 
that he was "put in" on another occa- 
sion. When "at himself," said the old 
timers, he made one of the best mayors 
Rome ever had. 



A PEACE PRAYER IN 1898— Sup- 
plications for international amity did 
not start after the German Armistice 
Nov. 11, 1918. In the Rome Georgian 
of May 28, 1898 (Beulah S. Moseley, 
editor), we find the following from 
Capt. Christopher Rowell, a veteran of 
the Civil War: 

"There is much in the pomp of war 
to attract the multitude ; the noise of 
contending legions, the shouts of vic- 
tory, of strains of martial music. The 
outward panoply of war always com- 
mands close attention, more of those 
who are not familiar with the details 
than of those who in retrospect contem- 
plate the progi'ess of such a state of 
things. A war waged for humanity's 
sake would look like a contradiction, 
but it is through the ordeal of shed- 
ding blood that many of the changes 
in the progress of civilization have 
been brought about. A war of defense 
is jilways justifiable, but a war for ac- 
quisition of territory or political ag- 
grandizement, in fact, for any pur- 
pose except for defense of humanity's 
sake, must be of questionable pro- 
priety in this so-called civilized age. 
May we not hope that there will always 
be a redeeming spirit of law and hu- 
manity in war? It may be many days 
yet before 'gi-im visaged war shall 
smooth its wrinkled front,' but we hope 
it will not be long before our bugles 
will again sing truce, when the storm 
cloud of war has fled. It may be that 
the writer's views of war may not 
accord with the notions of this utili- 
tarian age; but the time is surely com- 
ing when the first streaks of morning 
shall broaden into the full fruition of 
the coming day — on some occasion, too, 
when the great Arch Angel standing 
with one foot upon the land and one 
foot upon the sea shall proclaim that 
time shall be no more." 
* * * 

BESSIE MOORE'S THRILLING 
FLIGHTS.— Miss Bessie A. Moore, 
former society editor of The Rome 
News, made the first flight taken by a 
Roman from Towers Aviation Field at 
the North Georgia Fair grounds, in 



West Rome, and was perhaps the first 
woman to fly over the Hill City. This 
was a day following the dedication of 
the field, Tuesday, October 11, 1919, 
by Commander John H. Towers of the 
navy. The flight was made at I'l a. m 
with Lieut. Kenneth B. Wolfe, U. S. 
A., in his Hispania Suiss plane, and 
lasted 30 minutes. 

In 1920 Miss Moore participated in 
fl- Piore mteresting and sensational 
flight. Major Lawrence S. Churchill, 

c ■ .r ^'- nS^'"^ "P ^« ^^^^^ fi-om 
bouther Field, Americus, to claim her 
for his bride. He flew to Rome in his 
airship and flew away after the cere- 
mony with the blushing Miss Bessie. 
Let her tell in her own words of what 
she saw in Rome on the first-mentioned 
flight: 

"Strapped in and ready to go! The 
feeling is indescribable. While the 
propeller raises a cloud of dust and 
sends a stiff wind into your face, your 
emotions are mixed. You are curious, 
pleased, anxious, filled with wonder as 
to how it will feel, if you will be fright- 
ened, if you will be sick, and every 
minute seems like five before you 
get away. 

"We took off facing town. The plane, 
once started, ran along over the 
ground, then got smoother. Pleased 
irfinitely, I was anxious to rise, 
and eager for the sensation that comes 
when you ascend in your first flight. 
I had waved my handkerchief to all 
the spectators and was sitting still 
waiting for the big thrill to come when 
we would actually go up, and looking 
from the side I caught a glimpse of 
telegraph wires and I knew we were 
already flying over the Land Company 
bridge. Then we crossed the river. To 
the right was Myrtle Hill cemetery. 
Then I saw Broad Street, and we went 
higher and higher, sailing toward East 
Rome at 100 miles per hour. What a 
sheer exquisite pleasure! I was actual- 
ly flying. It was delightful. I sat 
back, surprised that I wasn't fright- 
ened, my hands which at first held 
tensely to the sides of the car, were 
relaxed. I was flying higher and higher. 
A thing I had wanted for years had 
happened to me, and I was supremely 
glad. Thus I sat, musing and think- 
ing. I was up in an aeroplane. I had 
no knowledge of fear. The thing I 
had dreaded, getting sick, had not hap- 
pened. I never felt better. Then re- 
membering that I wanted to see more 
of Rome, I came out of my delirium of 
pleasure, and took a look over. 

"I saw a beautiful space of woodland, 



296 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



a wonderful panoramic view of the 
country beneath me, a stretch of moun- 
tain, blue and purple, whose top melt- 
ed into the low clouds of a damp Octo- 
ber morning. Yes, it was Rome, and 
how tiny everything was! I couldn't 
find out where we were, nor did I rec- 
ognize a single land mark. I knew 
by instinct it must be far out of the 
city, and later learned it was quite a 
distance east of the town. Then we 
circled around coming in the direction 
of Rome, but swinging far out toward 
West Rome. 

"It was nothing less than a beautiful 
canvas painting in tones of green and 
dull brown. Houses looked like minia- 
ture toys, straight, precise little rows 
of growing things on farm lands took 
on the aspect of a piece of striped silk, 
roof-tops of white, red and brown 
skirting the farm lands, nestled close 
to the trees, which were tiny green 
bushes. As I looked in wonder upon 
the town I knew so well, I laughed to 
think of a plane as strong and defiant 
as ours ever being caught or hung up 
on a tree-top like the little ones I saw. 
Then we crossed a river, and there was 
a great stretch of green velvet, much 
like a carpet. Presently I saw the 
George Stiles race track in West Rome, 
and growing directly in the center was 
a tree which looked larger than any I 
had seen. Around and around we fiew, 
then back toward town over Shorter 
College, which looked like a set of 
child's playing bricks. Circling high- 
er, climbing up, up, up, the car be- 
came filled with steam. A fine spray 
of rain pelted my face and hands and 
the wind roared by my ears like 
thunder. I attributed the steam to 
some exhaust or defect of the engine, 
but looking down saw a fine white veil 
between plane and earth and knew we 
were in the clouds. The indicator reg- 
istered 2,000 feet. The clouds were 
damp, cold and refreshing, with 
flecks of yellow and brown rolling here 
and there in the white. 

"Presently I felt myself hanging en- 
tirely to the plane by the support of 
my iielt. I learned later it had been 
a loop. Looking to the right I saw 
the great wings of the plane turn high- 
er and higher, and was told afterward 
we had done some king overs, which is 
a popular form of stunt. Above the 
city clock, which resembled a spool of 
brown thread, we came down in a 
spiral. I didn't know what particular 
feat we were performing, but felt the 
sensation one has when shot down to 
earth suddenly in a swift elevator. I 
did not look down as we did these 



stunts but kept my eye directly on the 
instruments in front of me. I had 
previously been told this would pre- 
vent the possibility of any sickness. 

"We came around to West Rome 
again. This time we were nearer 
Shorter College. The girls outside were 
taking exercise. We could discern that 
plainly. They stopped to wave their 
hands as we sailed overhead. 

"Then I recognized the circus ring 
of the Coosa Golf course, and saw a 
tiny trough of water which I knew was 
the swimming pool. The club house 
seemed entirely concealed by a tiny 
bunch of green bushes. Then over the 
cemetery we flew. The cemetery seem- 
ed flat and scattered with broken 
china. The extreme summit, where 
stands the Confederate monument, re- 
sembled a nicely browned dough-nut. 
Then over the Etowah River, a narrow 
winding strip of brown ribbon, laid 
in green velvet. I saw the perfect Y 
where the two rivers form the Coosa. 

"I was trying to place a certain queer, 
looking red brick house, and discovered 
it was the courthouse, and one inch 
away from it was Broad Street. None 
of the blocks in Rome appeared over 
one inch square. Around we circled 
again. The third time we came over 
Shorter we sailed at a low altitude. 
The girls were wearing white middies 
and blue bloomers; they looked up and 
shouted. We were closer than ever 
before. Then around again. This time 
above the fair grounds. Towers Field 
with its big white T could be seen 
plainly. We were approaching from 
East Rome. We were getting lower 
and lower, and just like a huge bird 
with out-stretched wings we sailed 
down smoothly, without a bobble, land- 
ed in the upper end of the field, and 
like the same big bird, hopped along 
the field, until two of the mechanics 
who had signaled a safe landing ran 
up and swung themselves on the 
wings. The engine stopped and we 
were down. The taking off and the 
landing, which I had always heard was 
most difficult, was the easiest, smooth- 
est part of the entire flight." 

Miss Bessie took part in a more in- 
teresting and thrilling episode Jan. 17, 
1920 — her flight from the state of sin- 
gle blessedness. Major Lawrence S. 
Churchill, U. S. A., aspired to be the 
pioneer in an airplane romance that 
would thrill Rome. He started in an 
airplane from Souther Field, Ameri- 
cus, with Lt. Perry W. Blackler as 
pilot. In an accompanying plane were 
Lieut. Wolfe, of the aforementioned 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



297 




ROME AS VIEWED FROM AN AIRPLANE. 

A daredevil aviator came buzzing over Rome in the spring of 1921. He was on his way to 
Texas and was willing to carry up a few passengers for the price of his gasoline. David A. 
Sparks flew and got some snaps. We see the Municipal Building, the business section, Myrtle 
Hill Cemetery (in center), the wings of the plane and Shorter College through them, and lastly, 
the beautiful Etowah. 



298 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



flight, and Sergeant Jones. The last- 
named pair landed at Towers Field, 
where they were received by City Com- 
missioner Ike May, with the keys of 
the city, and by a curious crowd. The 
other machine encountered unfavorable 
winds and was forced to land at King- 
ston, whence the remainder of the trip 
was made by Maj. Churchill in an au- 
tomobile. Lieut. Blackler flew the 
plane to Rome on Saturday morning 
of the wedding, and although the at- 
mospheric conditions were unfavorable, 
he thrilled the bride with a series of 
barrel rolls over her apartments at 
the home of Miss Camilla Fouche. Mr. 
Blackler was killed at Souther Field, 
Americus, May 10, 1920, when the 
wings of his German Fokker machine 
came off while he was executing one 
of these same aerial contortions. 



THE BOYS IN GRAY.— The recent 
story by Bessie Moore Churchill in the 
History Series on the Rome Light 
Guards in the Civil War was read by a 
good many people, but by none more 
appreciatively, perhaps, than Frank 
Stovall Roberts, a cousin of Judge Joel 
Branham, who wrote from Apartment 
312, "The Cordova," Washington, D. 

C, under date of January 7, 1921: 

"Thank you very much for the story 
of the Rome Light Guards. Many of 
the names given in the article are 
quite familiar to me. I knew many 
of them, a few having been my school- 
mates, though older than myself, back 
in 1855, 1856 and 1857. Geo. W. Fleet- 
wood was one of them who went to 
Mr. Stevens' school in these years. 

(Mr. Fleetwood died last fall in "Okla- 
homa and was buried in Myrtle Hill 
cemetery, Rome. — Editor). Virgil 

CVirge') Stewart was another. H. 

D. Cothran and "Coon" Mitchell also 
attended this school. 

"I do not recall Captain Magruder, 
who took the company to Virginia, but 
I remember, as a boy, Miss Florence 
Fouche, whom he married. I recall 
many members of that company: Mel- 
ville Dwinell, Geo. R. Lumpkin, Wil- 
liam ('Bill') Skidmore, Dr. J. M. Greg- 
ory (as memory serves, he married 
a sister of Mrs. Daniel S. Printup) ; 
R. D. DeJournett, F. M. Ezzell (he 
married Miss Lena Sherwood, of Ma- 
con, lived in Macon after the war and 
then went to Atlanta) ; A. R. Johnson, 
Chas. B. and George C. Norton, W. F. 
(Bill) Omberg (went to Mr. Stevens' 
school, and after the war lived in 
Louisville, Ky.) ; A. R. (Arch) Pem- 
berton, 'Zach' Hargrove, M. A. Ross, 



Geo. T. Stovall (my cousin) ; Henry A. 
Smith (he kept a book store before and 
after the war; I met him once early 
in the eighties) ; F. M. Stovall (my 
cousin, went from Athens to Virginia 
and joined the Light Guards) ; Chas. 
H. Smith ('Bill Arp'), Scott Hardin, 
and others. Clinton Hargro;ve was 
another one I knew. He was a friend 
of my half-brother, Wm. A. ('Bill') 
Roberts. 

"This story brings up memories of 
a handsome, gallant and brave lot of 
young men in Rome. I doubtless knew 
many more than are named, but nearly 
64 years have passed since I lived in 
Rome. 

"The Light Guards had their first 
taste of fighting at Firt Manassas, Va., 
July 21, 1861. The Eighth Georgia, 
under the gallant Francis Bartow, who 
was killed there, covered itself with 
glory and gave up many of its best 
members, including Chax'lie Norton, 
Geo. T. Stovall and 'Clint' Hargrove. 

"These recollections are very inter- 
esting, with a tinge of sadness to 
those who knew and were associated 
with these boys long ago. I daresay 
I am one of the very few of that day 
who are now living to recall them." 

Mr. Roberts was among the boys of 
Rome who sent their older brothers 
and cousins off to war with a shout 
and who stayed behind and helped their 
families care for still younger ones. — 
Jan. 12, 1921. 

* * * 

A LETTER FROM THE FRONT. 
— James Madison Gartrell, younger 
brother of Gen. Lucius J. Gartrell and 
Capt. Henry A. Gartrell (of Rome), 
wrote Mrs. J. D. Thomas, then Miss 
Mary Fort, under date of April 21, 
1864, from Dalton. (Mr. Gartrell, it 
will be recalled, was an uncle of Henry 
W. Grady). 

"I hope in my next to be able to give 
the details of a grand battle which re- 
sulted in the overthrow of Sherman's 
and Thomas' armies which will tend to 
a speedy termination of this unholy, 
unwise and unpleasant war . . . You 
need have no fears as to the safety of 
Rome. Those sacred hills will never 
be polluted by the foul tread of the 
Yankee soldiery until our army is 
crushed, which to accomplish Sherman 
with his present force is quite inade- 
quate. 

"The little tobacco bag you gave me 
is now in daily use. I have quit chew- 
ing and learned to smoke a pipe. 



Anecdotes and'Reminiscences 



299 



"You say you were expecting Henry 
Gartrell in Macon on the 8th. I should 
like to hear from the gentleman. If 
he is as prompt in the discharge of his 
military duties as he is in answering 
letters, he must be a splendid soldier. 
I don't see how Forrest has succeeded 
so well without him!" 

J. M. Gartrell was killed a short time 
later at New Hope church, near At- 
lanta. 

Capt. Henry A. Gartrell wrote Mary 
Fort January 1, 1865, from Johnson's 
Island, Ohio, where he was a prisoner 
of war: 

"A happy new year to you. I was 
captured near Nashville on the morn- 
ing of the 17th ultimo. I was cut off, 
made a desperate effort to escape on 
the night of the 16th by running over 
the Federal pickets. At least 20 shots 
were fired at me from not more than 20 
to 100 yards, but with the exception 
of a wound to my horse and a ball 
through my coat, they did no harm to 
me. I am going to write to Gen. For- 
rest in a day or two asking him to pro- 
ciire a special change for me. 

"I employ my time reading and vis- 
iting my friends and acquaintances on 
this ice-bound island. Major Printup 
is very well. He hasn't heard from 
home in five months. I never saw a 
braver soldier than Dick Fort. He and 
Joe Stillwell could not be beaten the 
world over. I don't know whether any 
of my men wei-e captured or not." — 
Sept. 16, 1921. 

* * * 

WHO ARE THEY?— The following 
letter has been handed us by Col. Stew- 
ai't, for publication. The name of the 
writer we suppress for obvious rea- 
sons. 

"Mr. Steward. 

"As you is the Mar- 
shal of this town I thoght I would tell 
you how I am treated. My husband is 
lying sick and one of my children 
to an yesterdy my cow dide, I had to 
come to town to git a little mele an 
when I was gone some boys from rome 
went huntin up the River and found 
my ducks an shot um — two of um dide 
this morning an one never come home 
yit and I ant got but one drake just by 
his self, a friend of mine said thay was 
three boys one boy was a big hi boy, 
and one was a little boy and one was a 
short thick set boy. if you can find 
out who was the boys tell them to pay 
m,e for the ducks as I have a mity hard 
time to git along. I ant mad much 
about it only I can't aford to loose my 



ducks after the cow dide and the fam- 
ily so sick, plea.se hunt up the boys 
and tell them how it stands and how 
pore I am. Respectfully, 



Col. Stewart informs us he has 
"hunted up the boys," and knows who 
they are, and requests us to say that 
unless they fully remunerate this poor 
woman for the injury they have done 
her, he will give their names to the 
public next week. We hope a sense of 
justice will prompt them to do this, 
and that such a case may never hap- 
pen again in a thousand miles of Rome. 

"TAKEN IN AND DONE FOR."— 
A young gambler from an adjoining 
county, who had made up a game of 
"seven up," in Rome last week, and 
desired a secret room to play in, was 
admirably accommodated at the sug- 
gestion of our City Marshal, Col. Stew- 
art. The gamester expressed his want 
in the presence of Col. S., who is a bit 
of a wag and loves a practical joke 
as well as any one, and he gave a slight 
wink to the person enquired of, and 
at the same time handed him the key 
of the Calaboose. The contract was 
soon made for the use of a small office, 
of which the gentleman, at that time, 
had the control, takes the gamester 
and his friends to the Calaboose — 
opens the door — and just then hap- 
pens to think that he has no matches, 
and he requests the young novice to 
remain there until he can go and get 
them. This he consents to do, and they 
all step out and lock the door after 
them and leave him there to play sol- 
itaire in the dark, until next morning. 
We hope this gavie will prove to be a 
profitable one to the young man. — • 
Weekly Courier, Feb. 28, 1866. 
* * * 

"PARSON" WINN'S "HELPING 
HAND."— Rev. Genuluth Winn was 
an old settler who "rode the circuit" of 
the Methodist church in the Coosa 
Valley during the Indian days. 

Dr. Winn was noted for his aggres- 
siveness in practical business affairs 
as well as the work of the Lord. He 
came to Floyd County with the early 
inhabitants and either bought or drew 
by lottery large tracts of land in and 
j>round Cave Spring, and lived on one 
of them five miles south of Rome on 
the Cave Spring road, where he owned 
m;iny .slaves. He was exempt from 
miitary service and went among the 
Confederate sodiers exhorting them to 
express their divine faith by slaying 
Yankees. 



300 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



The following story is told of his 
response to a call for help from a 
brother of the Methodist persuasion : 

D. R. Mitchell, a pillar in the First 
Methodist church, then located at Sixth 
Avenue and East Second Street, had 
picked a hardy settler or two to run 
his ferries where the eccentric char- 
acter known to the Indians as the 
"Widow Fool" had run them some fif- 
teen years before, at the forks of the 
rivers of Rome. One day a ferry- 
man went to Colonel Mitchell with the 
story that the "strong-arm" men of a 
rival pioneer had seized the ferries 
and driven off the Mitchell men. The 
old Colonel grabbed his stout hickory 
stick, called to the ferryman to follow, 
and gathering up a number of his sup- 
porters, charged the invaders on the 
ferry boat. The fight proved fast and 
furious. Reinforcements, including a 
number of half-drunken Indians, hav- 
ing also reached the other side, the 
Mitchell crowd were about to be 
worsted, when along happened Rev. 
Genuluth Winn in a buggy drawn by 
a somewhat broken-down pony, want- 
ing to cross the river. 

Seeing Rev. Dr. Winn, Col. Mitchell 
yelled, "Help, Bro. Winn! If you never 
did anything for the Lord and D. R. 
Mitchell, do it now!" 

Dr. Winn sprang out of the buggy 
seized a long pole fi'om the bank, and 
handled it so dexterously that in little 
more time than it takes to tell it he 
had knocked all of Colonel Mitchell's 
enemies, including the Indians, into 
the river, and Col. Mitchell had the 
ferry for keeps. 

* * * 

A SAILOR'S ODD "CRUISE."— A 
touching story is told of a lieutenant 
of the United States navy who lies 
buried in Myrtle Hill cemetery. Bayard 
E. Hand, a step-son of Col. Nicholas J. 
Bayard, had just graduated from the 
naval academy at Annapolis, Md., 
when he fell in love with a beautiful 
young lady of Virginia. His court- 
ship resulted in an early wedding 
and the honeymoon was spent in the 
Old Dominion. The budding young 
officer was on 30-day leave, at the ex- 
piration of which he bade his bride 
farewell and rejoined his ship, which 
immediately sailed for South America. 

While Lieut. Hand was on his trip, 
his wife came to visit Col. and Mrs. 
Bayard at Rome, anticipating that he 
would return ere long. The ship tied 
up at Wilmington, N. C, and the of- 
ficer hurried to Rome to rejoin his 
young wife. His second leave being 



up, he departed for Wilmington. In 
some manner he had contracted pneu- 
monia, and on July 16, 1855, he died 
at that city. Out of respect for the 
wishes of Col. and Mrs. Bayard, the 
Hands agreed that he should be buried 
in Myrtle Hill cemetery at Rome. Col. 
Bayard had his tombstone engraved 
with navy characters, and there he 
lay in peace several years. 

Soon came the Civil War, and in 
1864 a band of Sherman's men, read- 
ing that Lieut. Hand had been in the 
service of the United States, decided 
they would send him to a "better land." 
They dug up the coffin and expressed 
it to the National cemetery at Arling- 
ton, Va., across the Potomac River 
from Washington. This high-handed 
procedure did not suit the fiery Col. 
Bayard, who after the war went north 
and brought the body back to Rome at 
an expense to himself of $300. 

An appropriate line decorates the 
sailor's tomb: "The anchor of his soul 
was faith in Christ." 



REMINISCENCES OF 1886.— The 
late B. I. Hughes wrote in The Rome 
News of Dec. 10, 1920, as follows con- 
cerning the experience the First Na. 
tional Bank had in the flood of March- 
April, 1886: 

"At that time we had $55,000 in 
paper money in the vault, in $5,000 
packages, each package containing ten 
$500 packages. We opened the safe, 
and found that notwithstanding the 
water had seeped through two combina- 
tions, these packages were so covered 
with muck that you would not have 
known they contained money. We 
washed them off just as we would if 
they had been brick, and then the ques- 
tion was as to how we would treat the 
wet currency. 

"Finally, we hit upon the plan of 
building a big fire in the grate and 
setting in front of it, on a slant, a 
piece of glass, about three by four 
feet. The glass was soon hot and we 
opened up the packages and placed the 
separate bills on it. The space would 
take about the number of bills that 
were in each $500 package, and the 
heat of the glass and fire was suffi- 
cient to dry them out as rapidly as we 
could place them. 

"The result was that in less than an 
hour, we had dry currency that we 
could use, and as far as I can re- 
member, not a single dollar had to be 
sent to the treasury department. The 
year's business, as we have before 



Anecdotes and Reminiscences 



301 



stated, was perhaps the most prosper- 
ous that Rome ever saw. 

"Altogether, within a week's time, 
our business was running practically 
as smooth as before. Wasn't this a 
wonderful outcome for such condi- 
tions?" 



TO ARMS, ROMANS!— There may 
be more modern speakers than our 
friend Mrs. Beulah S. Moseley, but few 
can serve up an introduction better. 
It fell to Mrs. Moseley's lot to intro- 
duce Judge Max Meyerhardt to the 
League of Women Voters, (Mrs. An- 
nie Freeman Johnson, president) , and 
she said in effect the following: 

"I well remember an introduction 
which Judge Meyerhardt gave to Judge 
Branham at a meeting of the women 
of the Order of Eastern Star. 'Ladies,' 
he said, 'we welcome you to our city 
with open arms, which is with me 
merely a figure of speech, but with 
my young companion Judge Branham 
is a matter of action.' 

"So I say to Judge Meyerhardt that 
the women voters welcome him in the 
same fashion. With me that is a fig- 
ure of speech, but with our lovely 

president, !" — Rome News, Dec. 

10, 1920. 

* * * 

ANECDOTES OF MAJOR DENT. 
— Maj. Jno. H. Dent lived at Big Ce- 
dar Creek, Vann's Valley, two miles 
north of Cave Spring, and for quite a 
number of years contributed articles 
on farming and poultry to Northern 
agricultural journals and to Southern 
newspapers. Once upon a time, a 
Pennsylvania farmer, who had been 
reading the Major's wise rules for 
farming, visited Rome and took a hack 
down to Vann's Valley. The hackman 
stopped and announced that Maj. Dent 
lived up the hill in the two-story brick 
house. The traveler expressed some 
doubt that the Major resided there (for 
nothing out of the ordinary was grow- 
ing) , but he went to the door and 
knocked. 

"Is this Major Dent?" inquired the 
visitor. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Well, I came down from near Phila- 
delphia to see your chicken runs." 

"I'm sorry, sir, but I haven't got 
any chicken runs or chickens either." 

"But I've been reading your advice 
on chickens for several years." 

"Oh, I don't write for myself, but 
for the other fellow!" 



Walter D. Wellborn, formerly of 
New Orleans, now of Atlanta, and 
brother of M. B. Wellborn, relates how 
he visited his grandfather Dent many 
years ago as a boy. Young Walter 
wanted to go over and see Col. Benj. 
C. Yancey, a neighbor, and asked his 
grandfather if he didn't want to go too. 

"No, son," replied Maj. Dent. "I 
admire Col. Yancey very much, but he 
can talk a saint out of patience." 

Walter went over and met Col. Yan- 
cey, who was superintending the erec- 
tion of a barn. 

"How is your grandfather getting 
along, my boy?" asked the colonel. 

"He's doing all right, thank you." 

"Well, I am very fond of Major Dent, 
but he bores me to death; he could 
talk the wings off of an angel." 

PAT CONWAY AND THE 
"GOAT." — Patrick Conway, said to be 
residing in Texas, was a well-known 
and efficient tinner of Rome. In 1890 
he contracted to repair the stove in 
the hall of Cherokee Lodge No. 66 in 
the Masonic Temple, and also to fix the 
roof so the weather would not beat 
down upon the assembled brethren. He 
was due to start the job one morning, 
but decided he could mend the stove 
at night and thus save time. Climbing 
the long stairway with a repair kit, 
he opened the lodge room door, when 
out dashed a white object like a streak 
of greased lightning, upsetting the 
stove and sending clinkers and soot 
all over the floor. The stovepipe must 
have hit Pat, for he emerged with some 
fine smudges of soot. It was not known 
which got to Broad Sti'eet first— the 
biped or the quadruped — but neither 
hit the stairs many times coming down. 
Pat lost his hat and didn't stop until 
he had reached a corner light, there 
to "review" himself. 

It is said Pat never went back for 
his tools, nor did he mount the roof 
to complete his undertaking. Asked 
why by a committee from the Lodge, 
he "said, "Faith, 1 never bargained for 
to be chased out by the bloody goat! 
And now, begorra, he will nivver be 
caught again, and you will be foriver 
blamin' me!" 

The "goat" was a white bird dog 
left in the hall by a hunter member. 

* !(: * 

A RELIC OF LONG AGO.— Floyd 
County has a "show place," now some- 
what in a state of disrepair, that in 
some respects suggests Barnsley Gar- 



302 



A History of Rome and Floyd County 



dens in the neighboring county of Bar- 
tow. On a ridge about a mile north 
of Silver Creek Station, Southern rail- 
way, near Lindale, is a residence built 
like they used to build them: cement 
walls two feet thick, rooms approxi- 
mately 50 feet square, including re- 
ception and ball rooms, and a barn 
in keeping with the rest. It was the 
property of Elmer E. Kirkland, of 
Schenectady, N. Y. Rumor had it that 
the mansion and the beautiful and ex- 
tensive grounds would be converted 
into a country club, but the place was 
recently acquired by Will Collins, de- 
veloper of Collinwood Park, East 
Rome's residence subdivision, and will 
probably be used for manufacturing 
purposes. 

* :;: * 

GEMS FROM "UNCLE STEVE." 
— Steve Eberhart, the slavery time dar- 
key whose gyrations around Confed- 
erate veterans' reunions with live 
chickens under his arm always stir up 
the ebullitions of guilty bystanders 
and others, yesterday submitted to an 
interview as he filled a place in the 
picket line at their meeting at the 
Carnegie Library. 

"Steve, how does your corporosity 
seem to segashuate?" 




"Fine as split silk," promptly re- 
turned Steve, who had borrowed that 
expression in Cedartown. 

"Well, Steve, do you suppose your 
opsonic index would coagulate should 
the Republican administration at 
Washington send down here and try 
to get you to accept an office?" 

"It mout, boss, but dere ain't no 
chance to git dis here Steve to 'cept 
no place wid dem folks." 

"Wouldn't you like