A HOSPITAL FOR HORSES

The Horse Infirmary on the Parsons Place

Up on the Buckeye Road in the northern part of Laurens County where Laurens and Johnson Counties join is the old Parsons Place, the sixty-five-hundred acre ante-bellum plantation of Dr. Thomas A. Parsons. In the latter months of the Civil War, Dr. Parsons leased a portion of his pasture lands to the Confederate government for the establishment of an infirmary for the care of sick and lame horses. The horse was critical for the cultivation of crops, transportation of troops, and scouting of enemy movements.

The infirmary was located on the southern end of the Parsons Place in northern Laurens County and the extreme western tip of Johnson County about a mile east of the Oconee River. The land was good for horses- plenty of good water, rolling hills, and good grasslands. Dr. Parsons, a native of Burke County, moved to the area in the 1850s. An exact date is impossible to determine since there are no extant records which show when and from whom Dr. Parsons bought the place. It is likely that Dr. Parsons moved to the area when it was a part of Washington County, prior to the creation of Johnson County in 1857. Oddly enough, there are no recorded deeds in the Clerk's office of Laurens County, even though a portion of the lands are inside the boundaries of Laurens County.

Dr. Parsons practiced medicine in Burke County for about fifteen years before moving to the banks of the Oconee River. As a doctor in Burke County he owned relatively few slaves, only about twenty. When he moved to what became the Ringjaw District of Johnson County, he purchased more slaves to maintain his large plantation. The 1860 census of Johnson County enumerated sixty four slaves on the Parsons Place. Dr. Parsons was the second largest slave owner in Johnson County, second only to his neighbor, John B. Wright, who owned one hundred fifty six slaves. Parsons and Wright together owned nearly one-fourth of all the slaves in Johnson County at the beginning of the Civil War. On May 15, 1861, a public meeting was held at the courthouse in Wrightsville for the purpose of forming a militia company for service in the Confederacy. Dr. Parsons took an active role in the meeting. His wife, the former Malvina Virginia Jones of Burke County, made a temporary flag for the company that later became the Johnson Grays, who were officially designated as Company F of the 14th Georgia Infantry.

The summer of 1863 was the time in which the armies of the Confederacy suffered mortal defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. During that summer, the Confederate Army changed its policy on the care of sick horses. Good horses were becoming hard to find. At all times before the change, sick or lame horses were either turned loose to fend for themselves or put out their misery. The government decided that it needed to maintain a good stock of horses and that new measures for the rehabilitation would be needed.

The three thousand acres on the lower edge of the Parsons Place was centrally located in the Department of Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. The climate was temperate. The land was located twelve miles south of the Central of Georgia Railroad depot at Oconee. The tract featured a good supply of sugar cane and nearly two hundred acres of Bermuda pasture. Immediately after the lease agreement was signed, the government began the erection of stables, lots, and feed houses, along with sufficient quarters for the men who would care for the horses.

Capt. J.G. McKee, characterized as a man of great zeal and fidelity was in command of the post. Capt. McKee, who had been disabled in the service of the Confederacy, was a former resident of Columbus, Georgia. W.P. Davis and J. Dasbrow were employed as farriers and surgeons to care for the horses. Capt. McKee initially had in his employment about fifty slaves and eight white men, who themselves were former soldiers, disabled during their military service. In the winter of 1864, the men were busily preparing the area for an additional twenty-six hundred horses.

Horses suffering from glanders, distemper, and other ailments were segregated into different sections, a safe distance from each other. Wounded or injured horses were placed in separate and roomy stalls to prevent further injury. During the day the horses were turned out into the pastures and exercised as much as possible. The workers curried, combed, and washed every horse each day. The sick ones got daily attention from the doctors.

Capt. McKee maintained a systematic and highly efficient operation. Glanders diseases was thought to be fatal to horses in most cases. On his visit to the Parsons Place, a Richmond newspaper writer found that over thirty five cases of the dreaded disease had been cured. He reported that the employees were dedicated to their profession and treated the horses with the same compassion shown toward wounded soldiers. Of the total number of horses sent to the infirmary until mid-January 1864, eighty-five percent had been returned to the army. No horse was sent back to service without a meticulous inspection. Those who weren't well enough to return were advertised and sold to farmers.

Unfortunately, no other records of the infirmary have been found. Although the operation was apparently successful, it is difficult to determine just how long the infirmary was operated. In November of 1864, the sixty thousand man right wing of Gen. William T. Sherman's Union Army passed within a few miles of the Parsons Place on their march toward Savannah. It is a reasonable certainty that Gen. Joseph Wheeler and the four thousand cavalrymen under his command would have made provisions for the removal of the horses when they passed by the area in their attempt to get in front of Sherman's army.

The Parsons Place has since been divided into several smaller tracts, although a large portion of the original place is owned by a single timber company. The Johnson County Boat Landing, which actually lies in Laurens County, is located near the southern end of the tract near the mouth of Deep Creek. Any sign of the haven for diseased and injured horses is gone. This is a story which might have been never discovered had it not been found in an obscure and distant newspaper by an avid historical researcher. It should serve as an example to us: that we should chronicle our lives so that generations to come will know us and how we lived.

DUBLIN HOSTS THE 1920 GEORGIA CONFEDERATE REUNION

When the hair of the “boys in gray” began to turn gray, the old soldiers of the Confederate Army gathered together each year to reminisce about the good old days and the bad old days they spent together on the battlefields of Virginia and the trenches around Vicksburg. Former Confederate soldiers organized the United

Confederate Veterans in the 1890s. Each southern state held a reunion every year, usually in the early spring. The national reunion followed a few months later. The site of the annual Georgia reunion rotated among the larger cities of the state. In 1920, Georgia’s aging veterans, now approaching an average age of eighty years,

gathered in Dublin.

May 12, 1920: It was Dublin’s big day. The reunion in Dublin was made possible through the efforts of Dublin lawyer J.A. Thomas. Thomas, a native of Dublin, had been elected by his peers as State Commander of the Georgia Division of the United Confederate Veterans. The men in gray kept pouring out of the trains on Tuesday afternoon. At the office of the Chamber of Commerce, over sixty hundred and fifty veterans registered by mid-morning. Officials estimated that more than seven hundred veterans were in attendance. Those in attendance stated that it was the largest reunion in five years, a remarkable occurrence in that many

of the survivors had died during that period.

For over a month the people of Dublin had been preparing for the big event.  R.E. Braddy volunteered to barbeque all the pigs and sheep that could be donated.  Serving on the barbeque committee were B.A. Hooks, T.V. Sanders, H.A. Knight, E.B. Freeman, and C.F. Ludwig. Izzie Bashinski and N.G. Bartlett headed the Finance Committee which sought out and received the necessary monetary support.

Any event of this sort needed a lady’s touch to pull it off. Mrs. B.A. Hooks was named as chairwoman of the Open Air Reception Committee. Every lady in the city and the county was asked to contribute a basket of food to feed the soldiers and their guests. The women of the county greeted the men and their families as they arrived in the city. Among those women were Mrs. B.A. Hooks, Mrs. M.V. Mahoney, Mrs. Franklin Harold, Mrs. J.D. Prince, Mrs. T.J. Pritchett, Mrs. D.W. Shewmake, Miss Mamie Ramsay, Miss Clemmie Patton, and Miss Adeline Baum. Over thirty ladies served punch at four stations.

The opening session began on Wednesday morning, May 12th, at the courthouse. Dr. Asby Jones of Atlanta opened the meeting with a prayer, following remarks by the presiding officer, Brigadier General A. J. Twiggs. Mayor L.Q. Stubbs, who served as entertainment chairman of the event, welcomed everyone to the city and thanked the veterans for honoring the city by making it their choice for the annual reunion. Stubbs praised the men, stating that “no braver or greater band of men had ever been organized.”

Dr. J.G. Patton, minister of Henry Memorial Presbyterian Church, gave the welcome speech on behalf of the churches of the city. Mrs. T.J. Pritchett gave a welcome speech on behalf of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Mrs. Pritchett spoke of the debt the South owed its heroes for their bravery in the Sixites.

Miss Adeline Baum read an address on behalf the Adeline Baum Chapter of the United Children of the Confederacy.

Following an eloquent speech by Carl Hinton, Adjutant General of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, General Thomas stood up to respond to all of the addresses. Thomas turned the program over to Gen. Twiggs, commander of the Eastern Division of Georgia. The meeting was adjourned and everyone walked or

rode over to Stubbs Park for a barbeque dinner. A.L. Merritt of Forsyth stated that his only complaint of the reunion was the fact that he ate too much of the good food and got sick. The old soldiers reconvened back at the courthouse a 2:30. The Dublin Band, which had provided music at four national Confederate reunions in the last decade, provided the music. Lady officials, including Margaret Pritchett, the Matron of Honor, were saluted. Maj. General Thomas spoke first followed by all four of the regional brigade commanders: Gen. B. B. Morgan, Southern; Gen. B.N. Barrow, Western; George Hillyer, Northern; and A.J. Twiggs, Eastern. Remarks by Gen. E.E. Gilmore, commanding the Calvary, and Col. H. W. Powell, commanding

the Engineers, completed the program.

At five o’clock the veterans were treated to a car ride to the see the sites of Dublin. A large number of the veterans declined the invitation and chose instead to watch the horse races. Four hundred veterans came to the open air reception held on the lawn of the courthouse. The ladies of the United Daughters of the

Confederacy, including many state officials, decorated the courthouse with flags, strung lights in the color and shape of the Confederate flag, and illuminated the trees with brilliant lights. The Dublin Band played patriotic tunes all during the event.

Many veterans failed to resist the temptation to dance in public. Again there was a legion of ladies and young girls manning the punch bowls.

At nine o’clock that night, Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Garrett opened their Bellevue Avenue home for a reception sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

The last event of the night was the sponsor’s and maid’s ball at the Shamrock Club rooms. Chaperons for the event were Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Finn, Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Simons, Dr. and Mrs. J.L. Weddington, Mr. and Mrs. C.T. Watkins, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lawson, Mr. and Mrs. Hill G. Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. John S. Adams, Mr. and Mrs. R.T. Peacock, and Mr. and Mrs. E.G. Simmons.

The next morning, the men returned to the courthouse for a business session. Musical presentations were intermingled with the election of officers and the plans for next year’s reunion. The meeting ended with the song, “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again.” The men returned to Stubbs Park for a picnic.

The pinnacle of the two-day celebration was the Grand Parade through the streets of Dublin. Thousands of people lined the streets to see Georgia’s grand old veterans march or ride through the city. Brig. Gen. Twiggs served as Grand Marshal of the Parade. He was aided by his Chief of Staff, Capt. Cleveland Pope, the

commander of the local company of the Georgia National Guard. The grand events came to a close on Wednesday night at nine o’clock with a street dance.

The next morning the hundreds of visitors retreated. Everything was back to normal. The veterans had a grand time, thanking the people of Dublin for the food, the hospitality, and the opening of many homes to the veterans.

JAMES A. KIRKPATRICK

A Friend in Need


"Gentlemen of the jury, Kirk is not a bad man. He takes his grog and will fight. Many have been sent away and carried off. He is as good as Bill Smallwood, the great drunkard. And, as sorry a fellow as Kirk is, ya'll know he has done some good things and Bill has never done anything good," so said James Kirkpatrick as he personally plead his case to the trial jury assembled to determine his guilt or innocence after he took a butcher knife and tried to cut Bill Smallwood's clean off.

James A. "Kirk" Kirkpatrick was a veteran of "The Oconee Grays," known as Co. K, 5th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A., during the late war, known to some around these parts as "The Late Great Unpleasantness." The deciders of his fate were made up primarily of men with whom he had fought the Yankees. So, when the alcoholic veteran asked permission to address his peers, they listened to see what ol' Kirk would tell them that would make them change the conclusions they had after the close of the evidence. Prosecutor Fleming Jordan had made out a prima facie case for Kirk's guilt. Everyone in the court room knew ol' Kirk had done it. After all, Kirk's lawyer M.N. Murphy put up no defense to the charges. With the court's permission, Kirk asked leave to make a statement in his own defense.

"Dick Hatfield, do you remember the night after the Battle of Baker's Creek? Kirk took your gun and stood at your post while you stood aside to eat corn. When you dropped the corn, a picket fired nearly hitting Kirk when it should have been you instead of Kirk. Remember when you were in a tight? Remember Kirk is in a tight. He wants you to stick, he does," Kirkpatrick added.

"Seaborn Fountain, you remember when you were marching to Corinth after Shiloh and you remember how hungry and foot sore we all were, asked Kirk. You told me you were starved and I gave you a chew of tobacco, my last piece, to chew on. Kirk had been saving it all day so that he could lay on his back and enjoy it. You looked around so pitiful and begged me for it so hard, you did, until I gave it you and went without myself. You said you'd remember me. You were in a fight and Kirk stuck. Now Kirk wants you to stick," Kirk concluded.

"Jim Jones, remember when we camped in the winter of '63? You went broke in a card game and you begged me for a stake and Kirk loaned you one. You remember you said that loan done more good than any favor you ever received and you'd always remember Kirk for it. Now Jim, you were in a tight then and broke and Kirk stuck. Remember Kirk is in tight and he wants you to stick sure," Kirkpatrick ended.

"Joe Johnson, remember the night when the army was driven from Missionary Ridge, you do and you had run out and lost your hat and was bareheaded and shivering from the cold. You came to Kirk and said you never wanted a drink so bad in your life. You told Kirk that you not only would pay him back, but you will stand by him to last. You said it Joe. Kirk handed his whole canteen and you came near to drinking the bulk of my quart. You did Joe. I didn't charge you nothing. Remember Kirk is in a tight now and he wants you to stick Joe," Kirk pleaded.

"Alfred Hall, you were always a good praying fellow and you and Kirk did not run together only when a fight was on. You remember the night after the battle of Resaca you came to Kirk afer our line had fallen back, and said, 'Kirk my brother is left behind, either wounded or killed.' You were wounded so that you could not go and you requested me to do you a favor, to go back and look after your brother. Then it was Kirk who told you he would do it. At the risk of his own life, Kirk went out and found him and he was mortally wounded, and took him on his shoulder and carried him for a mile or more, brought him into our lines, laid him down and saw him die. Now Alfred, you thanked Kirk then for his kindness and said you always remember him for it, and if you could ever do him a favor you would. Alfred, now Kirk's in a tight and he wants you to stick," Kirk begged.

"Bart Stevens, you remember the army fell back at Kennesaw Mountain across the Chattahoochee River. You was sick and begged Kirk to stay with you and take care of you, you did. Kirk did so and carried your gun and knapsack all night for you. The next morning you told the Captain what he had done for you and promised that you would always stick to Kirk, you did. Now Bart, the time is at hand to stick for Kirk and if you think well of what he has done for you, stick," commanded Kirk.

"Sam Hatfield, you remember the Battle of Atlanta. You got wounded, you did. We had to fall back and form a new line and you called to me, 'Kirk help me, don't leave me alone, the Yankees will get me.' I will do it. He took you on his back and carried you to a place of safety. You thanked him and said, 'If I can be of any service to you, call me.' Kirk doesn't remember whether he ever called on you before, but understand he is calling you now. He is in a tight and needs you to stick," Kirk shouted!

"Jesse Arrington you remember me on the return after the bloody battle of Nashville in 1865. It was sleeting and snowing and freezing and you were barefoot. You were. It was a terrible day, you and another soldier of some other command got in a scrap over a pair of shoes lying on the roadside. The other fellow was about to get the best of you when Kirk showed up. Jesse, Kirk reinforced you and you held on to the shoes. You sat down and put them on, and said 'Kirk, these shoes make my feet feel so much better and if it had not been for you that fellow would have defeated me and they would be on his feet. I assure you that I appreciate your assistance and whenever an opportunity is offered, I certainly will stand by you.' Now Jess, Kirk has never called on you before, and begorra, he wants you to stick," Kirk exclaimed!

James Kirkpatrick turned to the remaining four members of the Wilkinson County jury, the names of whom he did not remember, and said, "If I have not been of service to you, don't blame Kirk, for it was only the want of opportunity and your misfortune for not being with Kirk, for he certainly would have divided his last chew with you, and his only drink with you, had a chance came and a way to have done so. Kirk is nothing but a dirty drunk old Irishman who has lost all the caste blood and family gave him, but he carries a big heart and forgiving spirit. He loves mercy. It is only when he lost his head from drink that he is vicious and wants to fight. He is sorry that his neighbor was hurt, but it was not Kirk that hurt him, it was the grog he was carrying that he ran up against and got hurt. Now, if you gentlemen of the jury who know Kirk and for whom he has done something are willing to stick to him and relieve him and his good kin folks, and above all his bright little fellow from disgrace, then stand for Kirk and stick for him."

Kirkpatrick returned to his chair and sat down. Judge George T. Bartlett instructed the jury to retire to the jury room and deliberate the case of assault against Kirkpatrick. Within a few minutes, the jury returned and announced their verdict of "not guilty!"

APPOMATTOX

Where the Nation United

One hundred and forty five years ago this week, the killing stopped. The dead, estimated to be around six hundred twenty thousand, if laid end to end would span a distance of more than six hundred and sixty miles. For four years, the young men of the United States and the Confederate States battled each other, often in hand to hand combat, from Pennsylvania to Texas. The majority of the people in Laurens County did everything they could to avoid the bloodshed. The people of eastern Middle Georgia favored remaining in the Union. However, when the time came, they left their homes and families to fight for Georgia.

The Battle of Gettysburg was so bloody - fifty thousand men were killed and wounded in three days - that the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac under George Meade had to rest for ten months. A new Union General, Ulysses S. Grant took command during the winter of 1863-4. Grant launched one assault after another on Lee's Army. The number of dead, especially Grant's people as they were called by General Lee, soared. During the summer of 1864, when Atlanta fell, Grant laid siege to the Confederate capital of Richmond and its sister city, to the south at Petersburg. Lee allowed many of his men to come home on leave during the last winter of the war. Fighting in winter was simply not an option. Many of the men never came back. As the sun crossed the equator and headed north, both armies knew the end was near.

Grant's final thrust at Fort Steadman broke the Confederate lines. Lee's only hope was to move west and then south in hopes of joining Gen. Johnston's Army of the Tennessee. Johnston's army was moving away from General Sherman's army, who was pursuing them from the south. Petersburg fell on April 2, 1865. Company G of the 49th Georgia Infantry, "The Laurens Volunteers," was occupying the last line of the Confederates. When the Union army broke through, John W. Barnett, Jesse A. Bracewell, Thomas D. Dixon, Henry Hollingsworth, James B. Jones, James L. Kinchen, William H. Kinchen, Samuel Y. Lee, William H. Mullis, Thomas B. Towson, Byron Whitehead, and William H. Wright were captured. Each of the men were taken to prison camps where they remained for nearly three months. Samuel Y. Lee was the exception. He died before he could be released. The "Blackshear Guards," known as Company H, 14th Georgia Infantry, were along the side of the "Guards." Both of the companies were assigned to Gen. E.L. Thomas's Brigade. William G. B. Faulk, Henry Gay, John McCant, Josiah Padgett, T.S. Register, and Benjamin Shepard were taken to the coast for imprisonment, primarily at Point Lookout, Maryland.

Lee's Army pulled away from the trenches around Petersburg - a place they had called home for more than eight months. Leroy J. Collins, a future resident of Laurens County, was taken prisoner at the High Bridge over the Appomattox River on April 6th. James N. McLeod, a native of Telfair County who subsequently moved to Laurens County, was the last Laurens Countian in the Army of Northern Virginia to suffer a battlefield wound. He was wounded on the 8th of April as Lee's Army was cut off near the tiny county courthouse village of Appomattox, Virginia. Lee's Army had no where to go - Yankees in their front, Yankees in their rear. Their food was almost gone. Their uniforms and their shoes, if they still had them, were shredded.

April 9th, 1865, was a Sunday, Palm Sunday. Gen. John B. Gordon, a future U.S. Senator from Georgia, a Georgia governor, and an extremely popular politician with the voters of Laurens County, led one last gallant attempt to break the Union lines in Lee's front. Gordon broke through only to realize that a sea of blue was approaching his men from three sides. There was nowhere to go. When he reported back to Lee, the gray-haired general remarked, "There is nothing left for me to do but go to see Gen. Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths."

Robert E. Lee, who had brought the southern army to within sight of a complete victory over the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, decided that it was over. He sent messages announcing his intentions across the lines to General Grant. The two antagonists arranged a meeting in the home of Wilbur McLean near the courthouse. McLean had only lived in the house for a little less than four years. He moved there to get away from the battlefields of Eastern Virginia. His previous home was at Manassas, Virginia, where the first battle of the Civil War was fought in July, 1861. The original home no longer stands. It was dismantled in the 1890s with the idea of reconstructing it on the mall in Washington, D.C. as a monument to the end of the war. The financiers of the project ran out of the money and the parts of the house were left on the site, for every souvenir hunter and do-it-yourself home builder to come by and spirit away. Thankfully, detailed plans of the house were made during the dismantling phase, and a duplicate house was constructed by the National Park Service.

Lee arrived first in his best and cleanest dress uniform. Grant sauntered in a half hour later in a uniform spattered with mud and dirt. The two men reminisced with each other about their days in the Mexican War. Grant was uncharacteristically generous in his surrender terms. After all, he had viciously attacked the Rebel army for more than three years every time he could. Grant allowed the Confederate officers to keep their side arms and personal possessions. Those men who had horses could keep them for the long journey home. Each man was paroled with a promise of not being detained on their way back home. Lee and Grant shook hands, and Lee rode away on his horse "Traveler." These men worshiped General Lee. They would follow him to their deaths without any question. Tears trickled down Lee's cheeks into his white beard. "Cheers changed to choking sobs as with streaming eyes and many cries of affection they waived their hats. Each group began in the same way with cheers and ended in the same way with sobs, all the way to his quarters. Grim-hearted men threw themselves on the ground, covered their faces with their hands and wept like children. Officers of all ranks made no attempt to hide their feelings, but sat on their horses and cried," said a witness to the event.

In July of 1861, the Blackshear Guards and the Laurens Volunteers began preparations to go to Virginia to begin the war. Each company contained between one hundred and one hundred and twenty men. They were proud. They were strong. The process of disarming the Confederate Army and issuing paroles took several days. The Guards counted only sixteen members. L.C. Perry was in command. His men, about 1/8 of their original strength were Benjamin Atkinson, O.J. Beall, Lewis Coleman, Henry Currell, T.R. Dixon, John Dominy, John Hutchinson, John Jones, Thomas Jones, Thomas Register, William Robinson, Jethro Scarborough, Wm. Scarborough, Wm. Smith, H.M. Stanley, W.A. Williams, and Bill Yopp, a former slave who was the company drummer. The Volunteers counted William H. Ashley, J. Barnett, Elijah Curl, Thomas Daniel, Valentine Fulford, Jefferson Fuller, Ben Fuqua, James Hester, Warren Johnson, Daniel Lee, Kinchen Massey, William B. Spivey, and Joshua Studstill. John B. Roberts was the company captain. Among the other Laurens Countians in other units were: Miles Brack, Allen Cowart, Wm. Tillery, Meredith Graham, Cicero Marchman, Henry Watson, John Dixon, John Ussery, Jackson Saturday, Henry Beacham, G.W. Belcher, Noel Camp, Ellis Johnson, Ervin Lovett, Thomas Pritchett, W.J. Stafford, Wade Wright, James Jones, John F. Nelson, John C. Parker, Drew E. Williams, John D. Sanders, Roland Tidwell, and James B. Duggan. It was a long walk back to Laurens County. Their strength was gone, but they remained proud, like one of their neighbors from Washington County, who said, "You may leave the South if you want to, but I am going to Sandersville, kiss my wife, and raise a crop, and if the Yankees fool with me anymore, I'll whip 'em again."

TEN CENT BILL YOPP

A Man to Whom Friendship Was Paramount

History will be made in Georgia's capitol building next week. For the first time ever, the State of Georgia will recognize and honor an African-American Confederate Soldier. Governor Sonny Perdue will sign his annual proclamation honoring Confederate Memorial Day by recognizing Bill Yopp, a native of Laurens County, for his contributions to the State of Georgia. Bill Yopp is more than just a black Confederate soldier. Bill's life was not just that of a soldier, a porter, or a servant. His life was centered on the essential element of human life. His friendships transcended slavery, racism and politics. To Bill, friendship was paramount to any barriers set in his path of life.

William H. "Bill" Yopp, the fourth of eight siblings, was born in Laurens County, Georgia. Like his parents, he was a slave belonging to the family of Jeremiah Yopp. The Yopp family owned two major plantations. One was located in the western part of Dublin centered around the Brookwood Subdivision. A second was located along the eastern banks of Turkey Creek near the community known as Moore's Station. Other small plantations were scattered over the county. Jeremiah Yopp assigned Bill to his son, Thomas. Bill once said that he followed Thomas like "Mary's little lamb." The two instantly became friends. They fished, hunted and played together. Bill's childhood, while stifled by slavery, was molded by education and religion within the plantation, which included regular church services.

On January 16, 1861, John W. Yopp attended the Convention of Secession at the state capital in Milledgeville. Laurens Countians voted to side with the Cooperationists who favored remaining in the Union. Yopp, the largest plantation owner in western Laurens County, was joined by Dr. Nathan Tucker, a wealthy plantation owner from northeastern Laurens County. Dr. Tucker, a northerner by birth, voted to remain in the Union. Yopp cast his vote with the majority who voted for secession.

The first company of Confederate Soldiers in Laurens County was organized on July 9th, 1861 as the Blackshear Guards. The company eventually became attached to the 14th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Thomas Yopp was elected First Lieutenant. Nine days later Lt. Yopp was promoted to Captain when Rev. W.S. Ramsay was elected Lt. Colonel of the regiment. Bill desperately wanted to join Lieutenant Yopp. So, he enlisted in the Blackshear Guards as the company drummer. Marching in front of company going into battle was not the best place to be, especially if you cared about living. After the company completed its training in Atlanta, they moved to Lynchburg, Virginia just after the Battle of the First Manassas. In August, the company was sent to West Virginia, where they fought under the command of Gen. John B. Floyd, a former Secretary of War in the Buchanan Administration. Gen. Robert E. Lee was in overall command of the West Virginia campaign.

Bill often found himself between the battle lines. He often said "I had no inclination to go to the Union side, as I did not know the Union soldiers and the Confederate soldiers I did know, and I believed then as now, tried and true friends are better than friends you do not know." On several occasions, Private Yopp was sent out on foraging missions. Bill ceased to forage for food because his Captain and friend found it to be "wrong doing." Bill obtained a brush and box of shoe blackening and began to shine the shoes of the men of the regiment. He soon began performing other services for the men. Bill charged ten cents, no matter what the service was. The nickname of "Ten Cent Bill" was penned on Bill. Bill often had more money than anyone in the company. His fellow company members took delight in teaching him to read and write. When he was sick, they took care of him.

Bill had a case of home sickness. Captain Yopp paid for his trip home. Bill realized that his place was back  ith Captain Yopp in Virginia. During the winter of 1861, the company became part of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The first battle of the peninsular campaign of 1862 took place on May 31st.  The 14th Georgia, under the command of Gen. Wade Hampton, got into a bloody fight with the Federal forces. Four Confederate Generals were wounded or killed.

Captain Yopp was also wounded in the Battle of Seven Pines. Bill comforted Captain Yopp and accompanied him to the field hospital. After a short stay in a Richmond Hospital, Bill went back to Laurens County with the Captain, who recuperated from his injury and went back to join the company by the fall of 1862.

At the bloody siege of Fredericksburg, Captain Yopp fell when a shell burst over him. Again Bill was there, coming to the aid of his friend. Captain Yopp recovered during the winter. The company saw Stonewall Jackson being carried off to a field hospital at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Bill witnessed the pure carnage of Gettysburg from the company's position on Seminary Ridge. The Blackshear Guards missed most of the fighting those three days in July, 1863. On August 31, 1863 Capt. Yopp cashiered, or bought out his commission. He returned to the ranks as a private until April 2, 1864. Captain Yopp transferred to the Confederate Navy on board the cruiser "Patrick Henry." Bill was not allowed to go with Thomas Yopp.

By some accounts, Bill returned home until the close of the war. By another, and more official, record, he was present at Gen. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. In May of 1865, he learned of Captain Yopp's return home. He left just in time to see the wagon train of Confederate President Jefferson Davis during his attempted escape through Laurens County.

Times were hard for people of both races. Bill worked as a share cropper until 1870. He went to Macon, taking a job as a bell boy at the Brown House. There he became acquainted with many of the influential men of Georgia. Bill accompanied the owner of the hotel back home to Connecticut. After his duties were finished, he was given train fare to return home. Bill became fascinated with New York City and worked there for a short time. In 1873, Bill returned home for a short time before taking a position with the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. He fell ill with yellow fever and returned home to recuperate and spend some time with Captain Yopp.

Bill returned to New York where he worked as a porter in an Albany Hotel.  There he again met the influential men of the state. He briefly served a family in California. In his travels, Bill visited the capitals of Europe. He worked for ten years as a porter in the private car of the president of Delaware and Hudson Railroad. Bill then worked for the United States Navy aboard the "Collier Brutus". His travels amounted to a trip around the world.

As the world was at war for the first time, Bill realized that old age had crept upon him. He returned home and found his friend Captain Yopp in poverty. Captain Yopp was about to enter the Confederate Soldier's Home in Atlanta. Bill took a job on the Central of Georgia Railroad. During World War I, Bill was given a place to live at Camp Wheeler near Macon. He made regular visits to the Soldier's Home providing Captain Yopp with some of his money along with fruits and other treats. Bill won the admiration of the officers at Camp Wheeler, who presented him with a gold watch upon his departure. Bill's generosity toward Capt. Yopp soon spread to all of the soldiers in the home. He enlisted the help of the editor of The Macon Telegraph for aid in a fund raising campaign. Bill and his friends were able to raise funds for each veteran at Christmas time. The campaign became more successful every year. The Dublin Courier Herald contributed to the campaign in 1919 when the amount given to each veteran was three dollars. Bill took time each  Christmas to speak to the veterans in the chapel of the home. The veterans were so impressed they presented him a medal in March of 1920. Bill had a book published about his life. The books were sold with the proceeds going to the soldiers in the home.

Bill and Thomas Yopp at Confederate Veteran's Home

Captain Yopp's health failed. The Board of Trustees voted to allow Bill a permanent place at the home. Bill stayed at his friend's side, just as he had done in the muddy trenches of Virginia nearly sixty years before. Captain Yopp died on the morning of January 23rd, 1920. Bill, now in his eighties, gave the funeral address.  He reminisced about the good times and his affection for his friend. Bill was a popular member of the Atlanta Camp No. 159 of the United Confederate Veterans, who held their meetings every third Monday at the capitol. Bill died on June 3, 1936. He was buried with his fellow soldiers at the Confederate Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia. After the body of Amos Rucker was disinterred to be laid next to the body of his wife, Bill became the lone African - American soldier of the Confederate Army to lie in the cemetery. His gravestone provided by the State of Georgia reads:

DRUMMER BILL YOPP, CO. H, 14TH GA. INF., C.S.A.

WILLIAM PHYSICK ZUBER

First Historian of Texas

William Physick Zuber had a talent for remembering the events in his life. He lived through many of the most remarkable events in the history of our nation and his state. Zuber was a German by his ancestry, a Georgian by his birth, and a Texan for eternity. During the last forty years of his life, he began writing historical articles for the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly and other historical publications.

William Zuber was born near the town of Marion in Twiggs County on July 6, 1820. His father, Abraham Zuber, Jr., came to Georgia from Pennsylvania during his childhood. His mother, Mary Ann Mann, came from South Carolina to Twiggs County in 1814 to live with her grandparents, Robert and Mollie Deshazo. The elder Zuber moved to Marion, the county seat of the infant Twiggs County, to establish a mercantile business. Abraham and Mary Ann married on February 16, 1816. They established a farm outside of town, where William was born.

The Zubers, like many other Georgians, moved to the new lands of Alabama following the end of the Indian Wars. They landed in Montgomery County, where they lived until 1824. They moved again- this time to East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Abraham Zuber began traveling and made several trips to the Mexican state of Texas. In the summer of 1830, the Zubers once again packed their worldly belongings and moved. After a temporary stay in the District of Aes, William's family moved to Harrisburgh in Stephen Austin's colony. They kept on moving. In Brazoria, their closest neighbors were two miles away. It was in Brazoria where William began to read historical literature. After he read "The Life of Gen. Francis Marion" and "The Life of Washington," Zuber was inspired to serve in the defense of his community against Mexican oppression. One year later the Zubers moved to the future site of Grimes County, which was even more remote than Brazoria.

As the Mexican Army began to invade Texas in 1835, tensions there began to boil. William's thoughts were constantly turning to joining the local military company. His father, discounting his father's service during the American Revolution, tried to talk fourteen-year-old William from joining the militia. His mother would have no part of it.

News came to the community of Gen. Santa Anna's investment in the Alamo. Responding to the calls for help from Col. Travis, Capt. Bennett, the local militia commander formed a small company of a dozen men and boys. On the morning of March 6, 1836, the company left for the Alamo. Zuber's mother wept as she saw her son, a foot soldier in the company, on his way to what she knew would be his death. Before the company reached its destination, they heard the news of the fall of the Alamo. Capt. Bennett ordered his men to dig in and await further orders. On March 20th, Bennett's Company combined its forces with four other companies. On the 25th, the company received news of the massacre of Col. James W. Fannin and his men at Goliad. Fannin, another native of Twiggs County, was murdered after surrendering his men to Mexican forces. For the next several weeks, Zuber and his company patrolled along the Brazos River in anticipation of Santa Anna's crossing.

Just days before the showdown with Santa Anna, Zuber was detailed to care for the sick and wounded in camp. He desperately tried to find someone to take his place so that he could go into battle. Remember that he was still only fifteen years old. When Capt. Gillespie made his final decision and ordered William to remain, the young boy broke into tears.

William heard the reports of gunfire from San Jacinto on the 21st of April. He yearned to be there, in battle like the heroes in the books. Two days after the battle in which Texans defeated the Mexican Army and captured Santa Anna, William walked onto the battlefield, alone. The corpses of Mexican soldiers were strewn in the fields. The sights and smells of decaying bodies sickened him. William was allowed to peek under a blanket where Mexican General Cos was lying. After five days, the stench of death was unbearable. Zuber and his command were ordered to march to Goliad to bury the bones of Col. Fannin's command.

Zuber remained in the service for two years , protecting his home and community from Indian raids. Crops still had to be planted and harvested, so Zuber plowed with his gun lying in the row next to where he was plowing. For several years, Zuber participated in campaigns against Indian and Mexican invaders. In 1844, Zuber was astonished when he was asked to teach school in Walker County. He had very little formal education. He considered himself to be self educated. Zuber, as he had for years, diligently worked to improve his writing skills. His first published writing came in a short article in "The Galveston News" in 1855.

In 1861, at the beginning of what Zuber called "The Confederate War," the old desire to serve in the military came back. After making the necessary arrangements to protect his family, he enlisted as a private in Col. Carter's Lancers. Shortly after he left, Zuber received word that his youngest child was dangerously ill. Fearing the worst, he asked for a furlough, which was denied by Col. Carter. His captain, feeling sorry for him, detailed Zuber back to his home on a recruiting mission. Happily he found his family in good health and immediately returned to camp.

During the early months of the war, Zuber began praying with fellow soldiers. He also joined a Masonic Lodge within the regiment and achieved the degree of Master Mason in 1864. His Methodist faith and Masonic beliefs helped him to get through his second war. Zuber's Regiment, the 21st Texas Cavalry, campaigned in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri for the rest of the war. Zuber's accounts of his regiment and the army's activities are some of the best ever published. While he saw action, Zuber never faced the horrific armies of the Potomac and the Tennessee. When the news of the surrender of Generals Lee and Johnston came, the Texas cavalrymen were still making preparations to continue the fight. Zuber was wounded and had half of his left "pinkie" finger amputated after the pain became too intense. Zuber returned home, unable to tend to his farm. He taught school for a while before returning to his farm.

In 1870, the Texas Legislature authorized pensions for all Texans who served in the Texas military beginning July 1, 1836. Zuber got involved in and became a leader of the pension movement. He continued to teach. In 1873, he wrote a descriptive account of Moses Rose's escape from the Alamo. In 1904, following the death of his wife, Zuber moved to Austin, where he served as tour guide in the State Senate Chamber. Despite his failing eyesight and vertigo, Zuber continued to write. He had three rules: "Write about true and interesting facts. Search out and correct your own mistakes. Search out and correct the errors of others." William Zuber, like all historians, never finished writing about everything he knew. He died on May 22, 1913 and was buried with Masonic honors in the State Cemetery in Austin. Zuber's writings were compiled by his niece, resulting in his autobiography, "My Eighty Years in Texas."

THE SAVIOR OF SANDERSVILLE

Rev. James D. Anthony

Union army invades Sandersville.  Harper's Weekly, January 6, 1865.


Rev. James Dannelly Anthony was one of the great Methodist ministers of Nineteenth Century Georgia. He was dubbed “The Bishop of the Wiregrass” for his conversion of thirty thousand South Georgians to the Methodist faith. His father, Rev. Whitfield Anthony, was a leader of the Methodist Church in South Carolina.

His son, Bascom Anthony, was a minister in the Methodist Church for more than fifty years and a former District Superintendent of the Dublin District from 1912 to 1915.

Rev. J.D. Anthony served as Presiding Elder of the Dublin District from 1879 to 1880. He also served in that capacity in the Eastman District from 1881 to 1882 and 1891 to 1894. Rev. Anthony died on January 26, 1899. The South Carolina-born minister was first licensed to preach on October 24, 1846, twelve days after his twenty-first birthday. He spent seventeen years in North Georgia. While in North Georgia, he preached the gospel, farmed his land, and taught school. During the darkest days of the Civil War in 1863, Rev. Anthony and his family were transferred to Sandersville, Georgia. After the war, Rev. Anthony would serve as editor of Sandersville newspaper, “The Central Georgian.”

It was November 25th, 1864. The left wing of General W.T. Sherman’s Union army was approaching Sandersville with its two corps and sixty thousand men. The other wing was only a few miles away below Tennille. Reports of explosions at Milledgeville, twenty-seven miles away, could be heard. Judge Hook presided over a meeting of all the town’s white males. With no defense against the oncoming hoard, the men decided it would be in the best interest of the town to surrender Sandersville to Sherman and beg for his mercy. One by one, those appointed to be chairman of the committee to meet the Union Army, came up with an excuse to leave. Rev. Anthony’s name was called. He announced that he would remain in town, mainly on account of his invalid wife and his small children. Anthony stated his acceptance of the mission was not out of bravery or foolishness, but because his wife was unable to feed herself or turn over in bed without his help. Anthony became a committee of one. A few hours later, a portion of Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry rode into town. That afternoon, Wheeler’s horsemen skirmished with Union cavalry three miles west of town. Thirteen Federal prisoners were brought into town. During the night all but one of the prisoners were sent away.

The sole Union prisoner was a calvary lieutenant who had his forearm broken by a mini ball. Captain Harlow told Rev. Anthony that the wounded prisoner would be shot on the outskirts of town. Anthony plead for the life of the man. A Confederate surgeon released the Union officer, who sprang to his feet and ran to Rev. Anthony. Anthony took the man to the church parsonage. The town doctor came by to comfort the lieutenant. At that moment, Wheeler’s cavalry formed a line with two thousand soldiers near the parsonage. After one volley, they galloped away.

Union forces fired back after a few minutes. The parsonage was struck several times, but the inhabitants were unharmed. In another few minutes, Union soldiers were swarming around the town and parsonage area. As soon as they entered the home, the wounded lieutenant ordered them not to harm anyone or anything in the house.


The man’s colonel obliged and placed an armed guard around the home. Word spread throughout the Union ranks of the rebel preacher’s deeds of kindness.


Union officers came in one by one to check on the wounded Illinois man. One was an officer by the name of Thomas Morris. Anthony told him he knew a Thomas Morris who was a former Methodist bishop. Morris was astonished. He knew of the other Morris, who was a cousin of his. Anthony said “ It always pays to do right. I was actuated by Christian principles. The good Lord blessed that act to the good of my myself, my family, and my town.”

Late that afternoon, a division commander told Rev. Anthony of the plans to burn the town at sunrise. The general suggested that Anthony go directly to Gen. Sherman’s headquarters to beg him to save the town. “Your house won’t be burned, because you saved Lt. Deason,” the general assured Anthony. Sherman had been wrongly informed that the musketry fire came from local citizens. The wounded man was carried away, telling Anthony of his eternal gratitude and promising to see him again. Anthony never heard from Lt. Deason. He presumed that he died of his wounds.

The general sent an escort to take Rev. Anthony to Sherman’s headquarters. Anthony met Sherman and Generals Logan and Davis two hundred yards from Sherman’s tent. Anthony was introduced as “the Rebel parson who saved one of our men from being shot.” The Reverend handed the bearded Sherman his credentials as a minister of the gospel. Sherman couldn’t decipher them, but took the authorization papers from the town government. “Why didn’t you show me this before we entered the town? I would have marched my men through the town and nothing would have been injured,” Sherman replied. Anthony, a little befuddled at Sherman’s question, told the General that it was impossible for him to ride out and meet the charging cavalry. Anthony asked Sherman if he planned to burn the town.

Sherman responded affirmatively. Anthony asked if all of the towns in the path of the Union army were burned. Sherman said, “no.” “Then why treat us more differently than others,” Rev. Anthony said. Sherman said that he had been informed that rebel citizens fired upon his men, a fact that was immediately denied by Anthony who stated, “There are only, besides me, four adult white males in town, three of which are old men.” Sherman intently stared the Reverend in the face.

Anthony stared back, trying to find a tender spot in the warrior’s heart. Anthony told of the hardships to the women and children that a fire would bring. Anthony tried to put Sherman in his place. Sherman chastised Anthony and other Southern ministers for not seeking an early end to the war. Anthony responded “that in the South, we ministers leave the politicians alone and preach the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Anthony begged again for the women and children, stating that the Federals had already taken all food in the town.


Anthony pleaded for Sherman to save the town for a fellow Mason. Members of the Masonic brotherhood rarely harmed the private property of other Masons unless in times of combat. The three Generals conferred in secret. Sherman said to Anthony, “Sir, upon your assurance that your citizens did not fire on my men, I will revoke the order to burn the town, but we will burn these two public buildings, viz., the courthouse and the jail.” Anthony, silently thanking God, told the feared and dreaded Union general, “Since you spare our dwellings, I ask no more.” Anthony left for home.

The next morning the elegant courthouse was torched and reduced to rubble by fire and artillery shells. It had served as a firing platform when the Federal forces first entered the town. Flames shot high the air. Buildings near the jail caught fire from the flying sparks. An Irish Federal soldier aided the townspeople in saving the buildings. Anthony’s relief soon turned into fear. Reports were coming in that former slaves and army stragglers would be following the Union army through town.

All of the buried guns were dug up. The town’s five remaining men and young boys formed a small army. They had twenty guns and patrolled the streets all night.

Foragers were sent out to recently vacated Federal camps to look for scraps of food. The looting and burning never came. Sandersville and its few remaining citizens were saved. According to Anthony, it was not by anything he did, but by the grace of God.”