Book Review: The 100 Day War: The Western Front of the Atlanta Campaign

Over the last few days I've had the honor to read Ray Henderson's latest work titled The 100 Day War: The Western Front of the Atlanta Campaign. Ray is a local historian, and the author of the much celebrated book The History of the Pony Club regarding Carroll County.

My initial reaction to The 100 Day War is pleasure. What a great resource for anyone who loves reading about the Civil War! My second reaction involves gratitude for the amount of research and writing that it took to put together all of the resources Mr. Henderson presents.

The book examines the days from July to November, 1864 when the Civil War was front and center in Campbell County (now Douglas) including mentions of Salt Springs, Dark Corner, Villa Rica and Campbellton.

Each chapter of the book zeroes in on just a few specific days giving the reader a broader picture of what was happening and when. Photographs of the military leaders and locations are included along with detailed maps.

Not only does each chapter include a narrative introduction to put things in perspective, Mr. Henderson also includes diary entries from Confederate and Union soldiers who were on the ground, as well as all of the dispatches sent back and forth between the leaders in charge. I was also pleased to see pictures of items found over the years that were left behind by the soldiers including canteens, stirrups and saddle buckles.

This book answers so many questions regarding events that occurred in Campbell (Douglas), Carroll, and Coweta counties during the war including:

*What really happened around the Bullard-Henley-Sprayberry house during July, 1864? Is a Union soldier really buried in the family cemetery that is visible along Highway 92?

*What part did the Dog River play in the movement of soldiers during the 100 days?

*Which families in the area made claims with the Southern Claims Commission due to the Union army confiscating property as they moved through the area?

*Why did the Union soldiers believe the Confederates on the Campbellton side of the Chattahoochee have more troops than they actually had?

*Why did Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America visit Palmetto in September, 1864?

Ray Henderson will be on hand reading sections of his book and signing copies this Sunday, November 10th from 1 to 4 p.m. at Pine Mountain Gold Museum at Stockmar Park located at 1881 Stockmar Road in Villa Rica.

You can also pick up a copy of the book at Douglasville Books located at 7191 Stewart Parkway in Douglasville. The phone number is 770-949-4363.

Hope to see you Sunday!!!

Illusions of Freedom

The picture I've posted above is Wilson Steverson.

He was born in 1838 on the Stephenson plantation in Coweta County. Wilson was one of fourteen children raised by Archie and Harriet.

I can't even imagine trying to cover all the bases with raising fourteen children, but of course, Archie and Harriet didn't experience many of the things I had going on as a parent. They didn't have any school activities, traffic, dinners out, money worries, etc. All they had to worry about was keeping their master satisfied.

Archie and Harriet were slaves. They belonged to Moore Stephenson who owned the plantation.

Yes, Archie and Harriet and their children belonged to Moore Stephenson. Of course, this means they were property. Think about your own dishes, the car, books, clothes....all property, right? Archie and Harriet were on the same level of thought as your computer or the rug on your floor.

The image below is taken from an inventory list Moore Stephenson created at some point. (You can click it to isolate and enlarge it)

Among the inventory you can see there is nine year old Wilson (down at the bottom). Notice he was worth $300. I think you can buy some brands and sizes of flat screen televisions for $300 today, can't you?

Moore Stephenson had owned Archie and Harriet for many years. Archie had helped his master clear his land when it had been nothing but a frontier full of rattlesnakes and an Indian here and there according to family lore. There is also a family story that tells how the master saved Archie's life when a panther was close by and ready to attack.

I'm certain that there was some degree of feeling on both sides, but when everything was boiled down...Archie didn't really have a choice in helping Moore clear his property, and Moore certainly had no choice in saving Archie's life.  He would be out a large investment.

The master's family along with his slaves were thrown into a tailspin when Moore Stephenson died in 1849. The slaves along with all of the property were divided into equal lots for the survivors. The estate handlers worked meticulously to make sure each lot was equal monetarily....around $1600. Slaves were listed along with horses, mules, chickens and farm equipment.

Archie went to Linnah, Moore's wife, but later on Linnah Stephenson fell on hard times, and Archie was sold to a man named Brewster. Archie was fortunate in that he saw his wife and a few of his children on the weekends, and there was always a little extra time at Christmas. Most slaves who were separated from their spouses, parents and children never saw them again.

While the manner of dividing Moore Stephenson's property seemed fair to his heirs, the process of dividing the estate had a huge effect on Archie and Harriet's family.

With the flick of a pen Archie and Harriet went to different owners and their children were divided as well. Wilson and his brother were given to Emily Stephenson, the master's daughter. At the time she was eleven.

Per the African American Encyclopedia of History edited by Paul Finkelman...."While some family members were merely hired out or rented, others were sold, mortgaged attached to satisfy debt or transferred to Texas with the expansion of the Cotton Kingdom."

A few years ago when I was still in the classroom, students would invariably puff up and tell me that IF they had been living during slave times they would have run away, they would have revolted, they would NOT have put up with slavery at all, but it just wasn't that simple.

In an article from The Herald, Roland Barksdale-Hall who happens to be a great-grandson of Wilson Steverson says, "Wilson and his family never considered running away as an option. Because of strong family ties, a runaway slave feared retribution from his family as well as from his master...Slaves wanted to be free, but with their whole family."

So, life continued for Wilson and his new owner Emily Stephenson. A few years later when she married George R. Fambrough, Wilson followed his new master to the front during the Civil War in the capacity of a body servant. You can find out more about the role of a body servant here.
 
With the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments Wilson and his family were finally free, and while they certainly celebrated that fact, we need to remember that freedom in 1865...and at least the next hundred years....wasn't freedom as you and I would describe it. As soon as the 13th amendment was passed southern states passed Black Codes which basically kept former slaves under constant scrutiny of the white community.

As the family reunited Archie changed his surname from Brewster to Stephenson to reflect homage of sorts to his former master, and they encouraged their children to do the same. Most did. However, somehow, Wilson went with the "Steverson" spelling.

After emancipation Wilson worked as a farmhand, logger and peddler in Coweta County. He saved 50 cents on every dollar he made to purchase 80 acres in 1885. The total cost was $600. 

The land he chose lay along the Georgia Pacific railroad in Salt Springs/Lithia Springs. Yes, I'm sure you were beginning to wonder where the Douglas County tie-in was going to come in. The property had a two-story house and six 3-4 room cabins. The Encyclopedia of African American History states, "The spacious grounds of Wilson Steverson's farm reflected a high standard of living with respect to the black family in the late 19th century." While it wasn't unusual for black men to own land at the time Wilson was certainly in the minority of his race, and according to Barksdale-Hall Wilson had to keep an independent relationship going with certain whites in order to keep the Ku Klux Klan from forcing him off his land. It was also helpful that Wilson Steverson was a mulatto having bi-racial ancestors.

Wilson and his wife Rilla raised nine children in Douglas County....three of which would become educators. Over the years Wilson planted cotton crop after cotton crop....a very successful money maker for Douglas County farmers, white and black alike, for many years following Reconstruction.

The picture below is Wilson's family taken during a family reunion on the Salt Springs/Lithia Springs property.  Wilson and his wife are to the extreme left.

Economically, things began to change in the 1920s....

While most of the country experienced a boom in the market place, the price of cotton began to fall in Georgia. The boll weevil had arrived in the state around 1915, but by the mid-twenties farmers were feeling the full effects of ravaged fields.

Faced with menial jobs here in the south as the only alternative, Wilson sold his land and along with his daughter Mary and son-in-law Joseph he moved to Pennsylvania.'

At the age of 80 Wilson became part of what we history types designate as the Great Migration.  From 1916 to 1930 over one million blacks left the South for better economic opportunities in the North.

Per his great-grandson, he also left Georgia to experience real freedom, "He knew how to play the game, but he was tired of it."

Wilson worked for the Erie Paper Mill and American Sheet and Tin Plate Company in Farrell. He also served as the caretaker for the Church of God campgrounds while Joseph and Mary also had a stand at the Farrell Curb Market where they sold butter, fruit and pork.

By 1921, Wilson's son Etania and his wife and children moved to Farrell. Suddenly, there were three generations living in a three bedroom house, but isn't that what family does when they need to?

Etania had been a sharecropper and cotton picker here in Georgia. He got a job in the Farrell works of Carnegie Steel.

While Wilson and his children did find more economic opportunities in Pennsylvania, it wasn't all a bed of roses. The house they lived in which was owned by the steel company was in poor shape. The bathrooms on the upper floors leaked...urine often dripped down the walls. Blacks were given the lowest paid jobs at the steel mill and other places even when they had high school diplomas while their white counterparts had not finished school.

Before his death in 1948, Wilson Steverson was honored as one of fifteen centenarians in the state of Pennsylvania...at the time he was 109. Of the fifteen people honored he was the only one who had been born a slave.

Terry Harper, one of Douglas County's famous sons is the great-great grandson of Wilson Steverson!

Sources:
The Herald
The Post Gazette
A family newsletter....
A play by Roland Barksdale-Hall containing several family documents/pictures

Thomas Coke Glover: The Fighting Physician

One of the things I try to avoid as I share my research regarding Douglas County history is a dry recitation of someone's birth and death dates, where they are buried, who their parents were, their spouse's information and their children's names.

I wouldn't want to write it, and you certainly wouldn't want to read it.  Even when I was still in the classroom I thought of myself as a storyteller because that's what history is...a collection of true stories.

As I related in 2006 in a post I wrote for my blog History Is Elementary, "Thousands of people throughout history have gone to great lengths to record history through newspapers, diaries, journals, saved letters, family Bibles, and oral traditions."

I want to do more than just record a litany of facts.  I want to gather up as many of the bits and pieces of the story as I can from as many resources as I can to tell the story

Sometimes it's a real challenge, but in the case of Dr. Thomas Coke Glover or Dr. T.C. Glover depending on the source the story is just too compelling not to relate it. 

Though Glover was born in Augusta, Georgia he chose to make Campbell County his home.   The genealogy research of Joe Baggett indicates Glover was in Campbellton as early as 1850.  He was a medical doctor and evidence suggests he was highly respected and known across the state.

I obtained the following picture from Ancestry.com

The picture was posted by Harold Glover a descendant of Dr. Glover's and he advised this was the original office from which Dr. Glover practiced medicine from 1850-1861 in Campbell County.   I'm not sure of the exact location of the building, but following the war Harold Glover advises the building was used as a voting site and finally as a general store.  He also adds that if you look closely at the side of the building, just below the lower left corner of the drink sign, you will see a hole.  This is a result of an artillery shell fired by General Sherman's troops when his men marched from what would later become Douglas County and crossed the river into Campbellton.  

The building no longer exists, but it is said the cannon shell hole can be observed if you visit the History Room at the Old Campbell County Courthouse in Fairburn.

Now you may be asking yourself why I'm discussing a man from Campbell County when my focus is Douglas County history.  Please remember Douglas County was birthed out of Campbell and many of our citizens hold ties to the original settlers of Campbell County including Dr. Glover. 

Dr. Thomas Coke Glover interests me due to the choices he made during the days leading to the Civil War.  He was a respected physician who married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Susan Camp in 1852.   Glover was one of the original town commissioners of Campbellton in 1854 per the research of Joe Baggett.

Glover also served the people of Campbell County as one of the two delegates they sent to represent them at the Secession Convention held in Milledgeville from January 16 to March 23, 1861.  An image of the secession document is published below:

Not only did Glover vote for secession he also assisted with writing the new constitution for the Republic of Georgia.

Of course it was assumed Glover would serve in the Confederate Army, and it was naturally assumed he would serve as a medical doctor, but this is where Glover deviates from the expected.  By serving as an army doctor he would have been spared from actual combat, but Glover chose to fight and set about at once organizing a company of men.

Richard B. Stansberry writes in So Sings the Chattahoochee..."[Upon from the Secession Convention] Dr. Glover organized the Campbellton Blues which became Company A of the Twenty-first Georgia Infantry Regiment.   The men drilled on the streets and about the courthouse square [in Campbellton].  They received so much training they were dubbed the 'West Pointers' of the Georgia Twenty-first, and given the roster distinction of Company A."

The picture below shows the spot where the old Campbell County courthouse stood in Campbellton.....courtesy of Mark Phillips.    The site of Campbellton's old courthouse quare is is on your left...on the hill....as your cross the Chattahoochee River on Highway 92 entering Fulton County.

   

A complete muster roll of Company A including many men from Campbell County....ancestors of many of today's Douglas County residents can be found here.  

This might have been the end of my discussion regarding Thomas Coke Glover, but then I happened upon an interesting book titled History of the Doles-Cook Brigade by Henry Walter Thomas.  The book was published in 1903, and represents the history of four different regiments of the brigade - the Fourth, the Twelfth, the Twenty-first (Glover's regiment), and the Forty-fourth.  Thomas served in Company G of the Twelfth Georgia, and the book is an extensive  history provided mostly by the men who served.  

So often we have the information someone fought in the Civil war, but Thomas' book provides the details regarding where the men in Company A fought and contains eyewitness accounts of Dr. Glover's actions.

Thomas relates how Glover and Company A didn't reach Virginia until Second Bull Run, and soon after their arrival a feud began between some of the officers that grew and spread and lasted until death claimed the principal, Colonel John T. Mercer. 

When the order came to go to Manassas a large number of the regiment were down in their tents with measles.   When the order to strike tents was received the rain was pouring down in torrents, and Glover went to Colonel Mercer and asked that the tents be not struck down from over the men sick with measles stating the danger to their lives would ensue from their getting wet.  

Colonel Mercer refused to listen to him, and....Captain Glover refused to obey the order so far as his company's sick were concerned, and was placed in arrest...the tents were struck and about twenty men with measles were left in the rain.

Almost all the other company officers of the regiment took sides with Captain Glover, and the breach thus made was never healed as long as the principals lived.

On arriving at Manassas....the regiment went into camp and a few days later the arrested officers were returned to duty without any thing further having been done.

Glover and his men were soon caught up in assisting the Twenty-first North Carolina in capturing the Union supply at Manassas Junction.  Glover's commanding officer, Brigadier General Isaac Trimble gleefully said, "Give me my two Twenty-ones and I'll charge and capture hell itself!"

Glover and the Twenty-first Georgia took part in the Battle of Sharpsburg or Antietam in September, 1862.

One of the battle reports relates how the Twenty-first Georgia was ordered to wheel to the left, and, taking shelter under a low stone fence running at right angles to their former line, direct their fire upon the wavering Yankee regiment, with the view of breaking the enemy's line at this point.   They did so promptly, and a few rounds from them had the desired effect, and the enemy's line was entirely broken.

Discussing the same action Thomas' book states:

We were given orders to reach the fence.   In obedience to this command there was exhibited the most daring bravery that came under our observation during the war - a bravery not surpassed in the charge of the famous Light Brigade at Balaklava.  Volley after Volley was poured into the Twenty-first Georgia, mowing down the men by scores, yet they never faltered or wavered, but onward went, closing up the gaps in the lines as if on dress parade, with their gallant commander Colonel [Thomas Coke] Glover, in front with his sword in his uplifted hand calling for his men to follow.   And they did.   Oh God!  What a sight; what carnage.  What a feast of death was that!

....The fence was reached the work of death commenced at short range.  From this fence we poured volley after volley into them for some thirty to forty minutes....The regiment went over to the fence with one of its most blood-curdling rebel yells.

...Then they fled and the day was ours; but at what a cost!   ....Company A went into battle with forty-five men, nineteen were killed and twenty-one wounded, some of them fatally and others crippled for life. 

One of the wounded happened to be Glover himself who at some point during the battle realized ammunition was getting low and his men were wasting it on an enemy who was too far out of range.  The book Antietam: The Soldier's Story by John M. Priest relates how Glover sought out Colonel James Walker (C.O. Trimble's Brigade) to ask to move the men under his command.   

Walker gave the order for the Twenty-first Georgia to move out.   As his aide delivered the command to the regiment a ball struck Major Glover through the body and sent him to the ground - severely wounded.....but he did live to fight another day.

In fact, he lived to fight many fights before his death leading his men through 107 various engagements with the enemy.

When Colonel John T. Mercer of the Twenty-first Georgia was killed at Plymouth, North Carolina Glover rose to Lieutenant Colonel on April 18, 1864.  

Five months later on September 19, 1864 he was shot and killed instantly at Winchester, Virginia and was buried there.

Strangely, it is reported a few hours before his death, Lieutenant Colonel Glover heard about the fall of Atlanta and said, "Atlanta has fallen, and I fear all is lost, but I shall not live to see it."

How amazingly prophetic.

Thomas relates in The History of the Doles-Cook Brigade.....No braver or truer man that he ever drew the breath of life.  He was always at this post of duty ready to lead his men to battle.  His own safety was of no consideration to him when or where duty called  Not a single battle was ever fought by the regiment, but that this noble officer was with it, encouraging and leading his men to victory and glory...Colonel Glover was to the Twenty-First Georgia what Stonewall Jackson was to the army of the valley.

....and a final note regarding the Twenty-First Georgia including Company A from Campbell County......Of all the regiments engaged in the war between the states, North and South, the Twenty-first Georgia was the third in number of men killed in battle.  The regiment that lost the greatest number was the Eighth New York, and they were killed by the Twenty-first Georgia.  

Next Monday I'll continue the Glover saga with a post concerning his wife and her importance regarding how we remember the Civil War...not just here but across the South.

Dr. R.J. Massey: The Man Who Saved Georgia's State House

Through my months of research I’ve come to the conclusion that Douglas County history is packed with interesting people who contributed to our area and to our state in very important ways.   

Some of those people were born in Campbell/Douglas County, lived here and died here like Joseph S. James.   There are others who lived here for a time and then left to make their mark on the world like Hugh Watson, and still others who arrived in Douglasville for a brief time and then moved on like Dr. Robert Jehu Massey.

Dr. Massey was born near Madison, Georgia in October, 1828 and grew up near Penfield, Georgia.  He received his degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and began a medical practice in Penfield before moving to Atlanta, Georgia.  He married Sarah Elizabeth Copeland on June 16, 1850.

During the Civil War Dr. R. J. Massey assisted the Confederacy by serving as a surgeon.   He often worked right in the field.   In fact, an Atlanta Constitution article from 1908 concerning Dr. Massey’s 80^th birthday has him recalling his efforts to save the life of General John Bell Hood when he was severely injured at Chickamauga.   The article states, “When General Hood was operated on at the old Alexander bridge hospital……Dr. Massey administered the anesthetic.”  In fact, several sources indicate Dr. Massey performed approximately 2,000 surgeries using anesthesia.  Hood had been wounded so severely his right leg had to be amputated four inches below his hip. General Hood’s leg was sent along with him in the ambulance because it was thought Hood wouldn’t live much longer and at least his leg could be buried with him. 

Of course, Hood did live to fight another day….

As the focus of the war shifted towards Atlanta Dr. Massey ended up at the Brown Hospital and helped it relocate further south to Milledgeville as Sherman’s men advanced on the city.  Dr. Massey’s position was surgeon in charge. 

This website advises [Governor] Brown and other state officials fled the [Georgia state] capital ahead of General Sherman’s army.  The Union soldiers occupied the city of Milledgeville on November 23, 1864. 

Lee B. Kennett in Marching through Georgia: the Story of Soldiers and Civilians during Sherman’s Campaign confirms Brown Hospital and Midway Hospital were the only public institutions still functioning when Sherman’s men entered the city.

Basically…..you could say that Dr. Brown and the doctor in charge of the Midway Hospital were the only officials….of sorts…..available to Sherman during his brief stay in Milledgeville.

Kennett recounts how Massey asked for Union guards at the hospital to keep soldiers from ransacking it.   He had to do this more than once because the guards kept disappearing. 

Apparently Dr. Massey kept his eye on what the Union soldiers were doing in other parts of the city and in particular at the state house even though he had no power to stop them.   

  

It would seem that Dr. Massey’s visibility during the brief Union occupation of Milledgeville and his interaction with General Sherman helped save the state house from the torch.   Though the building was in great disarray when citizens returned to the city, important documents and records belonging to the state of Georgia were saved. 

Years later the Georgia General Assembly acknowledged Dr. Massey’s actions.

Kennett also advises how General Sherman left twenty-eight of his injured men with Dr. Massey.   Sherman told the doctor to give them a decent burial if the soldiers died, or if they lived to remand them over to the care of the prison at Andersonville.   In return for taking care of the soldiers Dr. Massey received ten gallons of rye whiskey that had been discovered.  

Apparently the whiskey had been hidden by the owner of the Milledgeville Hotel in hopes the soldiers wouldn’t get it.   Instead….Dr. Massey was able to use the whiskey at the hospital.

Another book…..Civil War Milledgeville:  Tales from the Confederate Capital of Georgia by Hugh T. Harrington discusses Dr. Massey’s efforts during the Milledgeville occupation and states Dr. Massey wrote his own articles in The Sunny South and the Atlanta Constitution regarding his war experiences that were published in the early 1900s. 

Dr. Massey’s obituary  from the Atlanta Constitution (March 19, 1915) states, “He possessed a wonderful memory, stored with vast knowledge of the pioneer history of the state, and his writings, which are written in a pleasing style dealt largely with this period.”

He was a great friend to Georgia’s Governor William J. Northern (1890-1894) and contributed over one hundred biographies to Northern’s book…Men of Mark in Georgia.   The Library of Southern Literature also advises Dr. Massey wrote for Uncle Remus Magazine at frequent intervals.

After the war Dr. Massey practiced in Gainesville, and St. Simons, followed by a move to Douglasville.   Dr. Massey’s son….Robert A. (Alexander) Massey….was an attorney, judge and Douglasville postmaster in the late 1800s.   I’ve written about him here.

In the book From Indian Trail to I-20 Fannie Mae Davis relates how Dr. Massey had a kitchen lab in his home which he used to concoct cures from herbs and roots he collected across the county.   One such extract he marketed was Compound Georgia Sasparilla which was billed as….”The best, cheapest and most complete blood remedy in the world.”  The extract could be bought directly from Dr. Massey at his office and at area stores for the sum of one dollar.   Apparently, Dr. Massey also operated a drugstore in Austell before selling it to Dr. C.C. Garrett around the turn of the century.

While he lived in Douglasville Dr. Massey cultivated his love of history and exercised his writing skills.   He was an early editor of The Weekly Star per Mrs. Davis.  She states, “He…added great interest in the early paper which gave away to The New South a few years later.....and…..of several legends, giving the original source of the Skint Chestnut name.  Dr. Massey’s story has been the most acceptable by lovers of local history.”

Thought he spent his last years writing Dr. Massey still practiced medicine.   He returned to Atlanta in 1893 and served as the lead physician for the Confederate Soldier's Home.  

Dr. R.J. Massey’s grave can be found in Douglasville’s City Cemetery.

The Brockman Boys of Douglas County

During my years as a fourth and fifth grade teacher I managed to have my fair share of parent conferences.   One thing remained the same no matter the needs of the child – every parent wants their children to achieve and experience certain goals and dreams.

 

Some parents want their child to maintain As and Bs while others have a particular college in mind and begin planning early.  Some parents have smaller goals such as getting through the week without receiving a bad behavior note from the teacher.

Other parents seem to be very comfortable planning out the lives of their children including which career path they will choose.  Yes, I had my fair share of parents tell me little Johnny was going to be a doctor or little Susie would be an attorney one day, and the wants of the child rarely figured into the picture.

I always had to wonder how those goals would turn out.  What would happen if the child inevitably rebelled and went his or her own way?  However, there are plenty of people who have their careers foisted upon them or want to please their parents so much they follow the plan.  Those children seem to do just fine including the Brockman boys of Douglas County.

You probably aren’t familiar with them – they all moved away many years ago.

All three of the Brockman boys followed their mother’s fervent desire – they all became missionaries.

The Brockman story begins before the Civil War when Rev. Henry D. Wood of the Virginia Methodist Conference came to Georgia with his wife and daughter.  They took possession of Glennwood, a plantation along the Chattahoochee River which encompassed the land across from the Bullard-Henley-Sprayberry house along Route 92.   Basically the cotton plantation lay on the left side of Route 92 as you head towards the river.

Unfortunately, Rev. Wood passed away in 1863 before the war’s end leaving his daughter, Rosa Emory Wood to run the plantation.  His grave can be found at Campbellton Methodist Church across the river.

During July, 1864, as Sherman’s men approached Glennwood to cross the river Rosa and her mother decided to head to relatives in Virginia for the duration of the war. Rosa road out to meet Sherman’s men and explained her plight.  She requested an escort to help her get to the train in Atlanta so she could leave.   I wrote about that here.

My source for this story was the excellent book regarding Douglas County history compiled by Fanny Mae Davis, however, she identifies the mistress of Glennwood as “Rossleigh”.   My recent research including the birth records of her children indicate her name was Rosa Emory Wood.

She spent the end of the war and the early years of Reconstruction in Virginia only returning after Glennwood had become part of Douglas County in 1870.   Rosa brought along a husband when she returned named Willis Allen Brockman who had been born in Albemarle County, Virginia.  His family had been long associated with the families of Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Madison.

Fanny Mae Davis indicated in her book the Mr. Brockman “purchased the farm from the Wood estate and added land to the holdings.”   The Brockmans proceeded to live life and raise a family.    Mrs. Davis indicates the Brockman children were educated on the farm and biography sources for all three sons – Fletcher, Whitfield, and Francis verify this. 

Times were naturally hard for large landowners following the Civil War and most sources describe the Brockman boys as having grown up on an impoverished Georgia cotton plantation, but all three achieved their mother’s dream.   They were all educated at Vanderbilt University and all three – Fletcher, Whitfield and Francis – became well-known missionaries in China and Korea.

Fletcher Sims Brockman (pictured above)  graduated from Vanderbilt in 1891 and through the Young Men's Christian Association or YMCA he acted as Field Secretary and served as a missionary.    Fletcher reached China in 1898 just in time for the Boxer Rebellion, when the “Righteous Harmony Society” led an uprising opposing foreign imperialism and Christianity.  Whites were referred to as “foreign devils.” 

During the 25 years he spent in China Brockman and his wife, Mary, collected various relics and artifacts.   Recently Vanderbilt University opened an exhibit titled “Fletcher Brockman’s Missionary Life in Asia” showcasing many of the hundreds of items the Brockmans collected including “ancient coins, a bronze mirror, Japanese woodblock prints, and a Korean horsehair handbag.”   The exhibit’s webpage can be found here, and it includes an interesting biography of Fletcher as well.

Willis Allen Brockman passed away in 1898 at Glennwood. He is buried beside his and  Rosa’s children who did not survive to adulthood at Campbellton Methodist Church. Rosa ended up overseas with her boys heading to China in 1904.She died at the age of 75 and is buried alongside her son Francis in Seoul, Korea.

History of the Hume, Kennedy and Brockman Families: in Three Parts by William Everett Brockman has excellent entries for all three sons and discusses their sister, Florence De Allen Brockman who married Rev. M.L. Underwood.   Their son, Emory Marvin Underwood (pictured above) was born at Glennwood Plantation and grew up to become an Assistant Attorney General of the United States in 1914 and was a partner with the law firm King and Spalding. 

A website detailing the history for King and Spalding, an Atlanta law firm dating back to 1885, advises E. Marvin Underwood was a partner with the firm in 1909 and during that time the firm name included the name Underwood as well….at least until Underwood became Assistant Attorney General for the United States.  Underwood was also nominated by President Hoover to serve as a Federal Judge for the Northern District of Georgia where he served until his death in 1960.

Glennwood Plantation continued to pass into the hands of others – Herman Harper in 1921 and the most recent owners were Henry and Sally Rawlins per Fanny Mae Davis.   

Who the Heck Was Bill Arp?

The Bill Arp community can be found five miles south of Douglasville along State Route 5 or Bill Arp Road per the street signs. Fannie Mae Davis' history of Douglas County states, "No one is sure how the community came to be known as Bill Arp. The best guess is that many of the residents there in the 1880s and 1890s were subscribers to the weekly papers and The Atlanta Constitution, which published [pieces written by Bill Arp] for about 25 years, and in some manner the name came to be associated with the place."

So the question has to be asked - who the heck is Bill Arp?

Do a little digging and the name Charles Henry Smith keeps popping up.

During the Civil War and in the following years until 1903 he was one of the most famous writers in the South. He wrote popular pieces from the battlefields. He had a popular column for more than 40 years, wrote books and lectured. He also served as the mayor and alderman of Rome, Georgia and in the Georgia Senate.

Charles Henry Smith was born in Lawrenceville, and eventually attended the University of Georgia back in the day when it was known as Franklin College. He returned home to help his ailing father and later studied law with his father-in-law. He practiced in Lawrenceville for a time before moving to Rome, Georgia where he continued his law career and added politics to his activities.

During the 1850s while he lived in Rome, Smith inhabited the home we remember as Oak Hill. Today the estate is part of the campus of Berry College. When the Smith family lived there the home was a smaller Victorian-style farmhouse.

The Greek-revival mansion located on the grounds today was built following a fire in 1884 by Thomas Berry.

Smith was a Confederate and served on the committee in Rome that passed a resolution of non-intercourse with the North which was basically a call for a trade embargo. He served with the Eighth Georgia Voluntary Infantry also known as the Rome Light Guards with the rank of major. The soldiers from Rome saw action at battles such as First and Second Manassas, Gettysburg and Chickamauga as well as several others. It's no surprise that Smith volunteered for the army considering his own father was from Massachusetts and had seen action at Lexington during the American Revolution.

Smith wrote his first piece as the Rome Light Guards were assembling and preparing to depart for Virginia following the surrender of Ft. Sumter in April, 1861. Literary critics agree there were many writers during Smith's time who were far superior writers, but Smith gained popularity because he spoke to the average person, and his Civil War pieces utilized the Cracker dialect mixed with humor. His first piece was a satire addressed to President Lincoln titled "Mr. Lincoln, Sir" responding to the President Lincoln's pleas to southerners they should just stand down and go home following the events at Ft. Sumter. Smith wrote, "I tried my damd'st yesterday to disperse and retire, but it was a no go."

Smith read the piece aloud to a crowd who had assembled. When he finished he asked them how he should sign the response to Lincoln. A man in the crowd, an everyday simple man, told Smith he agreed completely with everything he had written. He directed Charles Henry Smith, "Sign my name!"

What was the common citizen of Rome's name?

Why, Bill Arp, of course!

From that moment, Smith used the name Bill Arp as his non de plume, or pen name for all of his writing. As a politician Smith had to weigh his words carefully. As Bill Arp he could use harsher language an be more free with his personal opinions.

The people loved it!

The Lincoln piece became very popular, and Bill Arp became a well known Southern voice during the war. Smith's wartime writing numbered at least 30 pieces where he attacked the Union for their policies and served to inspire the Confederates. He brought the war to the people in a way they could understand, feel, and respond to......


THANK YOU for visiting “Every Now and Then” and reading the first few paragraphs of “Who the Heck was Bill Arp?“ which is now one of the 140 chapters in my book “Every Now and Then: The Amazing Tales of Douglas County, Volume I”.

Visit the Amazon link by clicking the book cover below where you can explore the table of contents and read a few pages of the book…plus make a
purchase if you choose!


 

Drinking in the Dog River

I never know where I'm going with these columns until my deadline looms. I get a little frantic, and I finally sit down to write. This week I've been thinking about historical myths - those bits and pieces of historical lore that get mixed in with actual facts - and how the myths and true facts become muddled in the first place.

The muddling is easy for historians and educators to do. We seem to perpetuate the myths Don't get me wrong - I don't think we intentionally do this.

One reason has to do with new primary sources and how they are constantly being located and examined. The new information counter what we previously thought was fact. Another reason is the structure and content of classroom resources over the last two hundred years does not always set things straight for various reasons.

I don't want this column to perpetuate myths. Therefore, I've agonized over every word, sentence and fact wanting to make sure everything I share here regarding the history of Douglasville and the surrounding area is factual. However, we don't have many scholarly published sources. Mostly, what we have is a plethora of stories that must be waded through and measured very carefully against what we know regarding the facts.

This week I want to discuss the Dog River - the source for our drinking water. For some people it is hard to describe the Dog River as a river because it's more of a creek in places. It begins south of Villa Rica in Carroll County and flows into the western side of Douglas County. Then it travels south and eastward until it spills into the Dog River Reservoir in the southern end of the county. Finally, the water flows into the Chattahoochee River.

However, don't let the fact the Dog River is used for drinking water, and a quick glance at the quiet lake to fool you. Riverfacts.com advises, "[The seven mile stretch of the Dog River from Highway 5 down to the reservoir] is according to American Whitewater, a Class 3+ section of whitewater."

Many a Douglasville has gone to shoot the rapids along the Dog River on transfer truck sized tire tubes in past summers. However, it is important to remember they are classified dangerous by the experts. Many other Douglas County residents enjoy the 300-acre Dog River Reservoir lake for fishing and boating

I became interested in the Dog River as I began reading about the various mills in Douglas County during the 1800s. I found it interesting to discover the original name for the river was not Dog River but Trout Creek, the name Native Americans in the area prior to the 1870s had given it.

Then I had to wonder - how does a creek, a river-creek change from Trout to Dog? There are a few stories, and here is where the historical myth connection comes into play...



THANK YOU for visiting “Every Now and Then” and reading the first few paragraphs of “Drinking in the Dog River“ which is now one of the 140 chapters in my book “Every Now and Then: The Amazing Tales of Douglas County, Volume I”. 

Visit the Amazon link by clicking the book cover below where you can explore the table of contents and read a few pages of the book…plus make a purchase if you choose!