Stockbridge/McDonough/Jackson/Monticello/Eatonton
Through this general area marched the Right Wing of Sherman's
army, the 15th and 17th corps, as it made its way to the sea in late 1864. In
Stockbridge, Sherman 's army met its first resistance
when it clashed with the Orphan Brigade, approximately 1,000 men who had become
mounted infantry assigned to C.S. Gen. Joe Wheeler. Almost all of the battles
during the "March to the Sea" would be running cavalry fights between
Wheeler's cavalry and U.S. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry. In general, it
would be impossible for Wheeler's much smaller force to halt the flow of 60,000
Union troops to Savannah, but Wheeler, the native Georgian famous for fighting
with reckless abandon, would harass them nonetheless.
In McDonough, the Right Wing burned two churches,
slaughtered animals in another, and camped near town on Nov. 16, 1864. The Old
Globe Hotel on Jonesboro Street, constructed in 1833, remains
from this period. To the west, Georgia Militia, with 2,800 men under Maj. Gen.
Gustavus W. Smith, prepared for anticipated attacks at Lovejoy's Station, then
Griffin, then Forsyth, and eventually Macon, keeping pace with the Right Wing
but not engaging it. The Right Wing was protected by Kilpatrick's cavalry, whose
mission was to protect the western flank of the march
ing
column. Federal cavalrymen feigned at Griffin, Forsyth, and Macon, deceiving
the Rebels into thinking these were the targets of the Federal forces. On Nov.
17, the Right Wing marched to Jackson in Butts County, where they did an estimated
$1 million worth of damage, destroying everything on the courthouse square except
the Masonic Hall, and camped for the night. At High Falls State Park,
mill ruins can be found by an old bridge over the Towaliga River. Factories
were once located here, until Wheeler burned them as he retreated toward Forsyth.
The Right Wing, consisting of approximately 30,000 men, invariably had to split
up taking different routes as it worked its way southeastward. One part of the
Right Wing camped at Indian Springs on Nov. 18, 1864. They visited the Indian
Springs Hotel, located on Highway 42 near Jackson, which
was built in 1823 by Creek Indian Chief William McIntosh. The hotel is open
to tours. The entire Right Wing crossed the Ocmulgee River at Planters Factory
and continued its march through the Monticello area,
which today is the site of many beautiful historic homes. A tour guide is available
from the Chamber of Commerce.
Farther to the east, part of the Left Wing went through Eatonton and the surrounding
area. Eatonton was briefly looted by the fleeing Lt. Col. Silas Adams brigade
from the Stoneman-McCook Cavalry Raid on July 31, 1864, and on Nov. 20, 1864
Sherman 's men returned, tearing up track and destroying the nearby Eatonton
Factory. Today, Eatonton has some fine antebellum homes worth touring, but it
is best known as the home of Brer Rabbit and the Uncle Remus Tales. Joel Chandler
Harris was born in Eatonton in 1848, and growing up he heard wonderful tales
spun by slaves. Harris later became a newspaperman in Atlanta, and he wrote
down the stories which became classics of literature and popular Walt Disney
movies. His home, the Wrens Nest, is open to tour
in Atlanta at 1050 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. 404-753-8535. In Eatonton you
find the Uncle Remus Museum, a log cabin museum formed
from two original slave cabins, representing the home of Uncle Remus. The real
Uncle Remus is believed to be "Uncle" George Terrell, a Putnam County
slave who regaled local youth with his stories brought over on slave ships from
Africa.
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