HISTORICAL RECORD 
ani iinlral iburnia, n) CONTAINING 
MANY INTERESTING AND VALUABLE REMINISCENCES CONNECTED 
WITH THE WHOLE STATE, 
INCLUDING 
NUMEROUS INCIDENTS AND FACTS NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED AND OF GREAT HISTORIC VALUE. 
BY 
JOHN C. BUTLER. 
MACON, GEORGIA: J. W, BURKE & CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 
1879. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
|ihe' y; tyjt j:--':e, in line 4th, read reminiscences, 
iine 10, should be Portuguese. 
' ''I v. (< 36, should be so profuse. 
:*4; " 12', should be. and many. :S<h " 35> should be Were made. 
." 10, shouid be locate the. : ft v;: ' ( 27, should be other relics. : : ;; :; " io, should be marched. 
; -4o;.''$; " 11, should be by Tomichichi. (t 14, should be discoverers. " 19, should be elliptical. 3-:Jj " 6, should be descriptions. : ^ifci " 16 should be human bones. :J " 30, should be there were. ; ;J3 ) " 31, should he burthensome. 
:s7; chapter ill., and page 112, chapter , v., refer to Table of Contents. &':'.j lines 9 and 20, should be port holes. :& should be drawn by E. D. Irvine. 
line 4, should be prominent post, > 69, "'..'ijoj -should \)&fen dejoie. 
S'3-> "' '-. ''5.. '-jhould ..be though the. 
": : ::: ;:>, should be: hygienic. 
; yfV ; i( 15;, should :,;e 1 would not. - 
1^2 " 3i> should^i.c other environs. 5.42'. * ' 361 should ^>e- cost $i5>ooo. 7. &, . " 17,. should be borne ou. i;y* , C( 36, should be were knocked. 
 
Page 170, line 6, should be was one quarter, 
 
" 2, should be was 145. 
 
" 180* (( 27, should be Telegraph Line. 
 
" T 95j " 21 and 22 are transposed. 
 
" 199. <( 6, should be Major Jas, Smith. 
 
" 24> " 31, should be Northern Legis- 
 
[latures. 
 
" 2 '5, " 11, should be artistes. 
 
" 217, " ii, should be were. 
 
227, " 27, should be Hannibal. 
 
" 232, ft 15, should be unprofitable. 
 
" 2 37. " 4, should be vacillation, 
 
" 241, " 32, should be of which. 
 
" 246, " 38, comma'after ballot box. 
 
" 269, " 9, should be dissensions, 
 
" 288, tf 19, should he led them. 
 
" 291, " 2, should be Sept. ist, 18^79. 
 
" 293, '* 29, should be $r.oo per share. 
 
" 299> " 2, should be exercise. " 3 5j " &> should he July ist, 1879. " 305, * 21, should be accommodate. 
 
"" 
 
331042,, 
 
" " 
 
23, should be 1836. 14, should he Seneca. 
 
", 3t7' ' 3*} should be Rev. Jos. Stiles. 
 
" 336,' " 3 1 ; should he particular. 
 
" " 
 
335511,, 
 
" 
(( 
<f 
 
17, should be-agricultural, 
15, should be resplendent. 
8, should be Heroic Dead, 
 
 DEDICATION AND PREFACE. 
To THE MEMORY of the Founders of the City of Macon, its Institutions and Enterprises, this volume is dedicated. 
While it has been an interesting labor to gather from our oldest citizens their reminisences of events occurring in the first settlement of Central Geor gia, and to carefully search the old volumes of newspapers whose editors were among the earliest founders of many of the enterprises and institutions of Macon, and like " sea shells found where the ocean has been, to tell that ::ihe great tide of life was once there," the task has been long and difficult, and accomplished only by the exercise of patient research and perseverance. 
;':> The Authors quoted from in the first and second chapters are of the highest isiandard, and the books were obtained with much difficulty. 
It has been the earnest aim of the writer to record only such facts as are /based on the most reliable and trust-worthy authority, and lo this end he has 
exhausted every available source of creditable information. No effort has ; been made at mere rhetorical embellishment. 
There may be found a few errors in the book. To say that it is perfect would be presumption. No mortals were ever perfect except Enoch and Eli jah, who were translated, and it is written that even the latter committed er rors. The few typographical errors herein are such as are liable to be found in nearly every publication, and the intelligent reader will find them no ob;;stacle to a clear and easy understanding of the subject before him. : There will be found but few biographical sketches, and such as are given :: : are confined to those who were among the most useful citizens. ;; :' : As there is so ranch matter introduced relative to Central Georgia, and Ma::con being the central city, hence the title to the book. 
.I';. Having an objection to extended prefatory remarks, the writer, in making : his parting salaam, would adopt the advice of an old Author " Forbear the : prelude and give the contents of thy tale." 
THE AUTHOR. 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER I, ... ..... ... ... PAGE 9. 
Origin of the name Indian--Opinions of the Ancients respecting the New Continent--Spanish discoveries--Ponce de Leon--Paufilo de Narvaez-- Jean Ortez--Hernando DeSoto's Expedition--His route through Florida and Georgia--The first baptism in North America--The beautiful maiden Indian queen--Temples and pearls--Silver Bluff--The accounts of Mr. Bartrum, the English botanist--The expedition in Upper Georgia--Gold Silver and Mica found--Bees and honey--More pearls--DeSoto in Alaba ma--Tuscaloosa, the Indian chief--Battle at Maubilla--Dry Mass--Dis covery of the Mississippi; the first cross erected and religious ceremony on its banks--Death of DeSoto--Fate of the expedition and the return of the survivors to Cuba--Death of Isabel, the wife of DeSoto. 
CHAPTER II. ........... ... PAGE 35. 
Character and condition of the Indians--Their dress and habits, ingenuity and mechanism--Temples--Ornaments--Religion--Marriage ceremonies-- Burials--The Creeks or Muscogees--The Uches--Milfort and McGillivray--A singular record inscribed on pearls --Mary Musgrove--Mr. Bartrum's visit to the Ocmulgee Fields--History of the Creek Nation--The mounds and the object of their construction--Skulls, bones and Indian ar ticles found in the mounds--Brown's Mount--Opinions of various authors-- The Ocmulgee River--Definition of Indian names--Important historical events connected with the Ocmulgee--Treaties with the Indians. 
CHAPTER III. ..... .... .... PAGE 57. 
Indian treaties --Col. Hawkins and President Jefferson--Origin of Fort Hawkins--The Old Ocmulgee Fields--Description of Fort Hawk; ns--Report of Secretary of War--Encampment at Fort Hawkins and Camp Hope in the War of 1812 and 1814--The origin of the war--Tecumseh--Grand Council of Indians--Battle of Autosse--General Weatherford--Christo pher B. Strong--Generals Blackshear, Mclntosh, Floyd and Andrew Jack son--Governor Early--Jackson's victory at New Orleans announced at Fort Hawkins--Reception of the news at Savannah--Jackson at Fort Hawkins--Seminole War--Ambrister and Arbuthnot--Sketch of Col. 
 
 vi 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
Hawkins--Ex-Gov. David B. Mitchell--Treaty of 1821--The " Ocmulgee Field's" Reserve acquired--John Crowell--Death of Mclntosh--The first colony of settlers around Fort Hawkins, 1818 and 1819--The first hotel-- The sale of the Fort property--The last of the Ocmulgee Indians, 
 
CHAPTER IV, .............. PAGE 75. 
Bibb county laid off--The first Inferior and Superior courts--Name--Macon-- Plan of the town--Tigertown--Sale of lots--The first frame house--The first county election--Macon incorporated a town--The first academy--Macon Lodge F. A, M.--Georgia Messenger--First death--House of worship and burial ground--The elections--The visit of Lafayette--The first Fourth of July celebration--Macon Volunteers--The first court-house built--First bank--Boats--Elections--Troup and Clarice--First railroad--Survey-- Cotton receipts--First bridge over the Ocmulgee--Macon Bank--Exten sion of the town--Capt. Basil Hall--A brig of war--Religious denomina tions--Remarkable winter of 1828 and 1829--Last sale of lots--Fort Haw kins, etc.--First steamboat--Statistics--Distinguished authors--Cotton av enue--New court-house--The first Agricultural fair--Census--Christian Repertory--The Macon Advertiser--Eatonton railroad convention--Ser vile insurrection--A blue sun--Religious revival--Great fire--Military en campment--Adventures--Name. 
 
CHAPTER V.. ............ .PAGE ii2. 
Macon a city--Steamboats--Bridge--Central Hotel--Railway meeting-- New academy--Sale of lots--First turf sport--Military encampment-- Building on the hill--City officers--Business prosperity--Female Col lege--Subscriptions to the Central, and to the Monroe railroads--Insurrec tion--Mails--Seminole war--Campaign of Macon Volunteers in Major Cooper's battalion--Interesting war incidents--Creek war--The Texan war--The Lone Star banner--Tribute of Texas to a Georgia lady--Massa cre of Ward's battalion and Fannin's command--City subscription to rail roads--Centrail Railroad Bank--Knoxville railroad convention--Macon convention--Masterly report of Hon. A. H. Chappell--Sale of lots--Im provements on the hill--Library--Death of Gen. Beall--Ocmulge Bank-- Statistics--Awful panic of 1837--Bank suspension--Frightful losses-- Speculations--Policy of Jackson and Van Buren--United States Bank-- Ice--Political excitement--Grand jury--Political temperance meeting-- Completion of the railroad to Forsyth--The jubilee--Rise in cotton--White Hall--Atlanta. 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
VII 
 
CHAPTER VI. ............. PAGE 152. 
The two Harrison freshets--Political convention at Milledgeville--The great Harrison convention at Macon--Alford, the war-horse of Troup, log cabins, procession, delegations, speeches, grand barbecue and oilier incidents-- Central Railroad depot--Fire--City election--Whig party--Statistics--In dian relics--The celebration of the completion of the Central Railroad-- Freights--Visit of Henry Clay--Military encampment--Fire--Democratic convention--Jawbone band--The city bankrupt--Cotton two and a half cents--Tribute to Andrew Jackson--Sale of the Monroe Railroad--Square cotton bales introduced--Census--Supreme Court organized--Annexation of Texas--Mexican war--Campaign of Macon Guards, and Col. Jackson's regiment of Georgia volunteers--The death and burial of Isaac Holmes-- Death of other prominent citizens--Trade improving--The Macon and Western Railroad--Origin of the Southwestern Railroad--Macon Regulars in Mexico--The Magnetic Telegraph--Daguerreotypes--Deaths--Visit of President Polk--First Horticultural Society--Macon and Augusta railroad convention. 
CHAPTER VII. ............. PAGE 191. 
Sale of lots in Oglethorpe--Destructive fire--Death of Calhouuand Taylor-Remington bridges and plank roads--The Lanier House--General Lopez-- Heated term--Census--Grand Lodge--Important political events-- South ern Rights mass meeting, and distinguished orators present--Clay's omnibus bill--Proclamation of Governor Towns---The Union party--Southern Rights party--Cobb and Stephens--Election in Bibb--Union party trium phant--Milledgeville convention and celebrated report of the committee of 33--Prosperity--City finances--Vineville tragedy--Academy for the Blind--St. Patrick's day--Judge Strong--A. H. Stephens--Planters' con vention and Georgia Agricultural fair--Interesting reminiscence--Cold weather--Fires--The Episcopal Church--Death of Clay and Webster--E, McCall--Commercial, Gas works, etc.-- Opposition to railroad consolida tion--President Fillmore--Yellow fever in Savannah--Governor Towns-- Passenger depot and Brown House built--Fires--Cold weather--Thack eray's lectures--Mrs. Hentz--Conventions--State military encampment-- Railroad officers--Memphis visitors--Panic of 1857--Banks--Governor Brown's veto--Concerts and theatricals--Religious services--Distinguished railroad officers--Little Mary Marsh--Macon and Brunswick Railroad-- The Bond cotton crop--Census--Macon and Western Railroad--Jackson Artillery--The Belgian Minister--Flag of fifteen stars--New railroads-- The Belgian fair--Visit of the Governor and Legislature--Cotton Planters' fair, etc., etc. 
 
 VIII 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. ............ PAGE 225. 
Political agitation--The Charleston Convention--Milledgeville Convention-- Richmond and Baltimore Conventions--Four Presidential CandidatesVisit of Douglas and Stephens--Election of Lincoln--Public meeting--One million dollars for defence--Secession of South Carolina--Major Anderson--President Buchanan--Seizure of forts -- Crittenden Commpromise-- Convention of States--All hope lost--Secession of Georgia--Poe. Nisbet and Lamar--The Confederate States--Mr. Lincoln and the Confederate Commission--Bombardment of Sumtef--Bibb County Troops--Macon du ring the war, arsenal, workshops, depository--Georgia Reserves--Ladies' Soldiers Relief Society--Wayside Home--Speech of Mr. Stephens--Battle near Fort Hawkins--Capture of Stoneman--Federal Politics--Reconstruc tion Policy--President TJavis and Governor Brown--Sherman's March to the Sea--Reports of Sherman and his army correspondent--The Hampton Roads Conference--Macon the Capital--The Legislature and Governor Brown--Separate State action--Davis, Hill, Lamar and Cobb--The sur render--Johnston-Sherman armistice, etc.--The surrender of Macon and incidents. 
CHAPTER IX. ............. PAGE 288. 
Macon as it is--Location--Temperature--Railroad center--Statistics--Com mercial, manufactures, water power and timbers--Banks and other institu tions--Educational--Schools, Academies and Colleges--Churches--Be nevolent societies--Newspapers and printing--Fire Department--Rail roads--Horticultural and agricultural--Judicial--County officers--Munici pal--Post Office--Rose Hill Cemetery -- Military--Ladies' Memorial Asso ciation-- Monument to the heroic dead. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
ORIGIN OF THE NAME INMAN--OPINIONS OF THE ANCIENTS RESPECTING : THE NEW CONTINENT--SPANISH DISCOVERIES--PONCE DE LEON--PAU: FILO DE NARVAEZ--JEAN ORTEZ--HERNANDO DESOTO'S EXPEDITION-- 
His ROUTE THROUGH FLORIDA AND GEORGIA--THE FIRST BAPTISM IN ; NORTH AMERICA--THE BEAUTIFUL MAIDEN INDIAN QUEEN--TEMPLES :.. AND PEARLS--SILVER BLUFF--THE ACCOUNTS OF MR. BARTRUM, THE 
ENGLISH BOTANIST--THE EXPEDITION IN UPPER GEORGIA--GOLD, SIL:' VER AND MICA FOUND--BEES AND HONEY--MORE PEARLS--DESOTO IN ;i ALABAMA--TUSCALOOSA, THE INDIAN CHIEF--BATTLE AT MAUBILLA-- :: : : BRY MASS--DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI ; THE FIRST CROSS ERECTED 
.AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONY ON ITS BANKS--DEATH OF DESOTO--FATE :; OF THE EXPEDITION AND THE RETURN OF THE SURVIVORS TO CUBA-- 
: DEATH OF ISABEL, THE WIFE OF DESOTO. 
Continent and Islands of America were originally called the West Indies, from the first discovery thereof; and the name INDIAN was misapplied to the aborigines by those discoverers. When the Islands were discovered by Columbus and the earliest navigators that followed, it was sup posed that they had arrived at the Eastern shore of the Continent tif India, and hence the people they found there were called Indians. In a very voluminous history of the North American Indi^ftSj by Samuel G. Drake, which, since its first issue in 1841, ilm passed through eleven editions, he remarks: "It has been itlw practice of almost every writer who has written about the ;{j?tii.tive inhabitants of a country, to give some wild theories :of -otliers concerning their origin, and to close the account with j&js own, which, generally, has been more visionary, if possible, than those of his predecessors. Long, laborious, and, as we may add, useless disquisitions have been daily laid before the world, from the discovery of America by Columbus to the present time, to endeavor to explain by what means the inhabitants got from the Old to the New World. To act, therefore, in unison with 
 
 10 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
many of our predecessors, we will begin as far back as they have 
 
done, and so shall commence with Theopompus, and others, from 
 
intimations in whose writings it is alleged the Ancients had 
 
knowledge of America and therefore peopled it.' ' . ...,, 
 
" Strabo said that Theppompus, a learned historian and orator, 
 
who flourished in the time of Alexander the Great, wrote a 
 
book giving a dialogue between Midas and Silenas, in which 
 
Silenas said that Europe, Asia and Africa were but islands sur 
 
rounded on all sides by the sea; but that there was a continent 
 
situated; beyond these which was of immense dimensions, even 
 
without limits; and that it was so luxuriant as to produce, ani 
 
mals of prodjgiotjs size, and men grew to double the height of 
 
ifeemselves, and that they lived to a far greater age; that they 
 
had niany great cities, and their usages and laws vwere different 
 
from s; tte: : HJ::6ne : <iity there was .more than: a. million <3f 
 
inhabitants, that gold and silver were there in vast quantities. 
 
This country was west of Europe and Africa. 
 
"' Hanno flourished when the Carthagenians were in their 
 
greatest prosperity, a hundred years before the founding of Rome, 
 
about eight hundred years before the Christian era ; having ex 
 
plored the coasts of Africa, he set out for the Pillars of Hercules, 
 
now called the Straits of Gibraltar, and sailed westward thirty 
 
days. Hence it is inferred by many he must have visited Ameri 
 
ca, or some of its islands. Many, and not without tolerably 
 
good reason, believe that an island or continent existed in the 
 
Atlantic Ocean about this period, but which disappeared after 
 
wards. "' '. ' '"  '  ' - .. ' " ' 
 
': 
 
: ''. '- 
 
" Diodorus Siculus, who.lived one hundred years B, C., says that some ' Phojnicmns were cast upon a most fertile island op posite to Africa.' Of this, they kept the most studied secrecy, which'was doubtless occasioned by their jealousy of the advan tage the discovery might be to the neighboring nations, and whicfe they wished to secure wholly to themselves. After hav ing passed the islands which lie beyond the Herculean Straits, they spoke of those which lie much: further in the ocean; to wards Africa and the west of it, is an immense island in the 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
11 
 
sea, many days sail from Lybia. Its soil is very fertile, 
 
iiits surface variegated with mountains and valleys. Its coasts 
 
identified with many navigable rivers, and its fields are well 
 
having delicious gardens, and various kinds of .plant s 
 
It is the finest country known ; the inhabitants have 
 
dwellings and everything in the greatest plenty." To 
 
Jttj. least of this account, it corresponds very well with that 
 
: iby the Mexicans when first known to the Spaniards. 
 
jj^tfe lived four hundred years B. C. He says ; ' In those first 
 
Atlantic was a broad island, and there were extant 
 
kings in it, who, with joint forces, appointed to 
 
Asia and Europe, and so a most grievous war was carried 
 
which the Athenians, with the common consent of the 
 
^ Opposed themselves, and they became the conquerors. 
 
; Atlantic island, by a flood and earthquake, was indeed 
 
||(|ietliy destroyed f and so that warlike people were swallowed 
 
ils'iiiiiJie adds in another place, 'an island in the mouth of the 
 
legj:H5f!:tiie; passage of those Straits, called the Pillars of Hercules, 
 
nd that island was greater and larger than Lybia and 
 
which there was an easy passage over to other islands, 
 
these islands to that continent which is situated out of 
 
region. 
 
. -' 
 
iil^toAfc, or the author of a book that is attributed to him, 
 
;an; island beyond the Straits of Gibraltar as follows: 
 
: say that beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the Carthagenians 
 
:|0i?n<i a very fertile island without inhabitants, full of 
 
rivers, and fruit in abundance. It is several 
 
from the main land. Some Carthagenians, charmed 
 
::6f' the country, thought to marry and settle there, 
 
&y that the government of Carthage forbid the settle* 
 
iit: *ip;o: patn of death, from fear that it would increase in 
 
'deprive the mother-country of her possessions 
 
yery country has claimed the honor of having been of America, and hence the progenitor of the In-he recent discoveries in the North, writers 
 
 12 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
say but little about getting over inhabitants from Europe, Asia, or Africa, through the difficult way of the Atlantic seas, as it is much easier to pass them over the narrow channels of the North in canoes or upon the ice." 
Various speculations prevailed in the old world as to the ex istence of a new continent west of the Atlantic, according to the records we have quoted, for two thousand and three hundred years, down to the time of its discovery by Columbus, A. D., 1492. In the early part of the following century, Brazil was discovered and taken possession of by the Portugese, and Mex ico and Peru were taken for the Spaniards by Cortez and Pizarro. As the North and South American countries were being popu lated and subjugated by the Spanish, French and English, con stant intercourse was kept up between the old and new countries, the former, became familiar with the character, habits and phy sical appearance of the American Indians, who were so different from any class of people on the globe. The subject of their origin was agitated by all of the enlightened nations in the Sixteenth Century, and has been discussed by the most learned scientists to the present time, without any satisfactory solution. It was claimed by many writers that the Indian was not a descend ant of Adam's race, because he could not have crossed the ocean to reach America ; the tribes were so populous when their country was discovered by the whites that they must have ex isted for many centuries before the compass was applied to navi gation ; again after the increase of their race they would cer tainly have made known to the world the results of their discov eries through the same mode of conveyance that brought them over the sea ; they were not only unable to give any account of their origin but were bewildered at the very appearance of a white man. 
On the other hand, the Christian and the Jew have proclaimed that the race of people found in America descended, like them selves, from Adam ; that, they assume as an infallible certainty, for any other theory would be, according to their religion, in opposition to the verity of the Holy Scriptures. Hence a vast 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
IS 
 
number of volumes have been written by the most eminent and honest authors to prove that there existed a pre-historic race in America, who came from the old countries, and that the Indians were their descendants; and they have devised various plausible methods by which they were transported hither. Prominent among these authors was Mr. Adair, who resided thirty to forty years among the Southern Indians, previous to 1775, and who published a large book upon their history, origin, etc. He finds in their usages, customs, and some words in their language, a similarity to the Hebrews. Other authors follow him and assume that the long lost ten tribes of Israel are identified with the American Indians. 
Though near four centuries have elapsed since the Red-man was first known to the civilized world, his origin is still uncer tain. The popular opinion of the unbiased mind is, that the Creator, who made the universe and holds it in " the hollow of his hand," could make a race of people on the Western as well as the Eastern Hemisphere; and that neither Moses nor any of his priests or scribes, with all the " learning of the Egyptians," had the most remote conception of the extent of the world. Having no desire to participate in the discussion, the humble writer will summarily dismiss the subject, leaving it in charge of the various historiologists, biologists, and physiological natu 
ralists. During the Sixteenth Century, all of the territory in the South 
ern portion of the Continent lying between Massachusetts and Mexico, was not known by any other name than that of Florida. 
In 1512, John Ponce de Leon, a Spanish soldier, who had once voyaged with Columbus, had received the impression com mon to those times, that there was a country in the newly dis covered world containing a fountain whose waters had power to arrest disease and produce immortal youth. The venerable Ponce set forth to seek it and to obtain by conquest a kingdom. On Easter Sunday, called by the Spaniards Pascua Florida, and a little north of the latitude of St. Augustine, he beheld, what he considered, the coveted land of flowers, so profusive were 
 
 14 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
the plants and numerous were the forest trees. The fountain of life was not there, but he took possession of the land in the name of Spain and called it Florida. He soon after returned to Spain to report' his adventures, and it was not until nine years had elapsed that he was enabled, with a small expedition, to return to Florida. He gave the Indians battle, was overwhelmed and wounded, and died while endeavoring to escape. 
In 1528, Paufilo de Narvaez had attempted to overcome Florida with an expedition of three hundred men, mostly moun ted cavaliers. He was at first civilly received by the natives, but by his cruel treatment to them, he, in return, was overpow ered, any many of his men wasted away; the remainder em barked for Cuba in rudely constructed boats which were swal lowed up : by the waves. Among the prisoners captured by the Indians was a young: man, Jean Otez, who came to Florida with some others in search of gold. He was about to be burnt to death, when he was fortunately saved through the entreaties of the beautiful daughter of Uceta, the chief--a coincident with:the subsequent similar escape of Captain John Smith, in Virginia, by the interposition of Pocahontas. In the earlier days of his captivity, Ortez was compelled to guard> night and day, a lonely temple in which the dead were deposited. After remaining a prisoner twelve years, he made his unexpected arid wonderful escape which will be referred to in its order. 
The first discovery of the present Georgia was made by Hernando DeSoto, a native of Spain, a commander of renown in the West -Indies and Nicaragua, and one of the first that went with Francis Pizarro, upon the conquest of Peru, and by whom, from his worth and valor, he was appointed Lieutenant General. Having:no property but his sword, DeSoto won high military distinction and acquired a : vast amount of wealth in Peru, Re turning to his native country, he found the wildest Stages pre vailing about.the: wealth of Florida in minerals and floors,: It had been represented to be the finest country in the world. Numerous applications were make to the King of Spain for an expedition to sail in conquest of Florida. DeSoto, with his 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
15 
 
acquired under Pizarro, presented an imposing appearthe court and proposed to fit out an expedition at 
i: iowo expense to invade and possess the lands of Florida had been led to .believe: were richer in .gold than those ir Mexico. About this time he married the beautiful 
i Isabel de Bobadilla, whose father had high influence with |&e::icr6wn. DeSoto's application was granted with the office 
upon him of Governor of Cuba, because that island the place for the deposit and distribution of arms for :OQ the conquest, and Adelantado of Florida. The : feeifig made public--from the high reputation of the 
the hopes of gaining much wealth--six hundred men of the best blood of Spain and Portugal ; :!:?} standard of the Adelantado, and more volunteered to el<s wanted. The young men of wealth sold their invest in the expedition. A fleet consisting of five four small vessels were assigned to the expedition, f||j-<|i was Nothing wanting which wealth could produce, in this 
 
;the salutes of artillery, the music of trumpets, the : of: thousands of Castilians, the waving of banners, the 
: the soldiers commanded by the Adelantado, who was Bd by his bride and a number of attendants, set sail ii.':the 6th of April 1538. The voyage to Cuba was &: Excursion of a royal bridal party than a hostile ex;As the sea was calm there was a revelry in music, 
cards. : Arriving safely at Cuba, DeSoto yjear in arranging the affairs of his government, and 
for the great enterprise before him. his wife,: de Bobadilla, Governess of. Cuba, 
three hundred and thirty splendid horses, :the number of his soldiers to one thousand, beMis ;rrmy was provided with helmets, breastplates, 
of steel, to repel the arrows of the Indians; t; erossbojvs, and one piece of artillery. His cav- 
two hundred and thirteen horses, were the 
 
 16 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
most gallant and graceful men of all Spain. Greyhounds, of wonderful fleetness, and bloodhounds of largest size and ferocity were taken along to turn loose upon the savages; also handcuffs, chains and neck collars, to secure the: prisoners,,. "Workmen, of every trade, with various tools, men of science, with appliances for refining gold were in attendance; also merchandise, tons of iron and steel, and provisions to last for two years, and three hundred live hogs were taken along. There were twelve priests with their robes, holy relics and sacramental bread and wine, connected with the expedition. After building the first fort at Havana, he sailed from that place on the izth of May, 1539, and arrived on the last day of that month at Espiritu Santo, subsequently known as Tampa Bay. On the following day he had a skirmish with the Indians and defeated them. All of the forces landed and marched two leagues to an Indian town, where the cazique had fled to another town, where a message was sent by forty horsemen from DeSoto. They were met by a party of Indians, among whom was their captive, Jean Ortez. The In dians, who never before saw a horse, imagined that the horse and rider was one animal, and quickly dispersed. Ortez recog nized his countrymen, though he was attired like an Indian and having been among them so long he had almost forgotten his na tive language. The spear of a Spaniard was lifted at him, when he made the sign of Roman cross and exclaimed, ". I am a Chris tian ! I am a Christian ! slay me not." Alvaro Nieto, the cav alier who was about to hurl his lance at Ortez, recognized that he was a Spaniard, dropped his lance and lifting the stranger upon his horse, took him to DeSoto, who was highly gratified at his rescue from a captivity of twelve years. DeSoto gave him clothes, arras and a fine charger; and as he had become familiar with the Indian language, made him his interpreter. After tra versing the surrounding country for many miles, having numer ous conflicts with the natives, the Adelantado cut his way to Apalache, in the neighborhood of where Tallahassee now stands. Here was a fertile country, abounding in fruits, corn, etc. The adventurers camped at this place for the winter, sending out ex- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
17 
 
in search of gold, but no trace of metal was found. ||iea:ming from two Indian slaves that a country to the Northf:|a5t, :about fourteen days journey, abounded in gold, silver and ::p;g,f:k, and afterwards hearing confirmation of the pleasing reaOrt by others, DeSoto concluded to march his army in search ijjjijijpitJMj place. One of his exploring parties returned, and re- 
the discovery of the fine bay of Pensacola. He ordered to return to Cuba for supplies and sail for Pensacola 
-October, where he expected to meet them. ;:itjpfe: season being favorable for a march to the golden region, as 
by the slave, on March 3d, 1540, the camp was broken at Apalaehe and the army advanced northward. On the 
siay they discovered Indian towns of the province of j where they remained two days. From thence they So the province of Allapaha, and remained three days ; 
Ka:proceeded ten days northward along the banks of a river, Ifttijtfttl country with peaceful Indians. They came into the i:::j>t;0yinee,of Achalaqui, which was poor, barren and thinly seti:HJIeg|:;:::: : They came next to a province of the cazique Achalaqui. 
gave the cazique some swine to breed, as his stock was very heavily and none had been killed, for provis- 
: found plentiful. Thence they came to the province :CJosa's, :where they rested five days. The next province was 
; Rafaqui, who gave his village to them to camp in, and rovisions. The cazique Cofaqui offered them eight 
: Indians to pass a wilderness of seven days' journey on :!tO:tUa province of Queen Cofachiqui, where they ex) find a country abounding in mines of gold and silver. : itiipusand Indians were armed to act as defenders, and four ; Bipre were to transport the burdens of the Spaniards, 
aM;: everything being provided. The armies then fijtrt in excellent order; the armed Indians making 
rear guard, and those carrying the burdens, placed The third day's journey from Cofaqui brought 
desert, through which they traveled in six days, rivers. On-the seventh day both Spaniards 
 
 18 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
and Indians became confused, as the great road was at an end, 
 
so that they did not know which trail to continue. Four ex 
 
ploring parties were sent out in different directions to return in 
 
five days and report their discoveries. 
 
Before crossing the rivers a singular incident occurred : Two 
 
favorite Indians who had been with the Spaniards along time, 
 
and had become familiar with their customs, were called by 
 
them, the one Mark, and the other Peter. They cried out one 
 
night that Peter was in danger of being killed. All of the forces 
 
were immediately at arms, and found Peter quaking, who said 
 
that "the devil, attended by many of his companions, had threat 
 
ened to kill him ia case he conducted the Spaniards, as he had 
 
ipromised, to the Jandof gold; that they had dragged and beaten 
 
him so unmercifully, had they not come to his assistance lie 
 
would base: Killed; hiTny and : :sioce \ the great devil hatl: fled' from 
 
.two Christians,1 ; he ;dtired that: they would baptize him, that he 
 
might be a Christian as well as they." By the bruises and 
 
swelling on Peter's body, his story appeared to be no fiction, 
 
whereupon the Adelantado" delivered him to the priests, who 
 
nursed him all night and baptized him with water from theriver 
 
the following day ; and we may with safety say that, from the 
 
high authority from which we trace the record of his march, 
 
Adelantado DeSoto was the discoverer Of the Ocmulgee river; 
 
that he Journeyed with Ms army of Spaniards along its western 
 
bank ten days; and that the first ordinance of baptism recorded 
 
in; the :New World, was administered in its crystal waters in the 
 
month of March, 1540, at the; feet ef those meriiorabletelKS of 
 
antiquity^ the Indian mounds that majestically overlook the 
 
present city of Macoh. : : : : 
 
"'. ; 
 
'''" 
 
The province df :th fcazique Cofaqui extended to the Oconee river. The wilderness, or desert spoken ofji laid between the ::Oconee and "the Savannah river, on which was the objective ;;point:M the:excursfen r the province of the maiden Queen C6fachiquij who presided at Silver Bluff. Here was where they expected to find the mines of gold and silver. 
Herrera relates that when DeSoto was at the province of 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
19 
 
the: latter came out to meet him with many of his peo- 
 
||$ig: iali;;feieiy dressed with plumes and feathers, and rich mantles 
 
Ii|f j 
 
and other valuable furs. When the Spaniards were 
 
j, the cazique went away to another town, leaving that 
 
!Jatirely- to them. The next day the caziqueGofaqui re- 
 
ii; offering the armed Indians, etc;, to escort the strangers 
 
: the desert. The cazique had an abundance of stores of 
 
: which was used by the Indians, as wheat was used by the 
 
, and other provisions and dried fruits. It was not the 
 
;ta. cure meat, and for flesh they depended on fresh meat, 
 
: they obtained daily by hunting and fishing. The two 
 
iljidiaris that had told of the lands of gold and silver, 
 
ei:r and Mark. After passing the wilderness, they also 
 
e ^irail. DeSoto asked the Indian general, whom the 
 
placed in charge of the eight thousand Indians to de- 
 
:Srftiy and carry his freight, why no one of them knew 
 
to their destination ? He answered: "That no man 
 
had ever been there, and that their wars had never 
 
with complete armies, but that they killed and 
 
tolother prisoners whensoever they happened to meet 
 
on the rivers, or in hunting; wherein those of 
 
having proved most successful, his countrymen did 
 
was the reason of their being in the country." 
 
the:, exploring parties having been out six days, re- 
 
to report the discovery of a town seated on the 
 
:<>f the great river to which DeSoto had advanced and 
 
fbfi tewn was reported small, but. contained stores of 
 
i arsd that higher up stillthere were several towns, and 
 
:aowed. The party that made the pretended dis- 
 
thousand of the cazique's men under his general, 
 
'ion the night after they entered the town, fell 
 
s,: killed all they could lay their hands on, plun - 
 
ej which was the place of burial, where they had 
 
their effects. The town was in the province of Go- 
 
that part of it much mischief was done by the 
 
^The Adelantado now dismissed all of the eight 
 
 20 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
thousand Indians to prevent any further depredations while they were under his protection, and having given their general, and other commanders, some provisions, they went away well pleased." 
Cofaqui, whom we shall call the Ocmulgee cazique appears to have been a wily man himself. He had been at enmity with the Indians in the domain of Queen Cofachiqni. His proffer to DeSoto of his thousands of warriors to accompany him thither, was a cunningly devised plan to make war upon that people, who, when they beheld the horsemen, would regard the " horse and rider as the same animal," and the infantry as men " with fire in their hands," would surrender from terror. 
DeSoto continued his march three days up the broad river, and was perplexed as to the means he should devise to cross it, when the two Christian Indians, Mark and Peter, discovered at night, from the barking of dogs and lights from houses, that there was a town on the opposite side of the river. The next morning DeSoto advanced with one hundred horsemen and as many on foot, to the shore to view the town, when the Indians on the opposite side fled at the sight of the Spaniards. Finally six of them crossed in a canoe, and according to custom, the Adelantado was seated in a chair to receive them with state. The six Indians approached, bowed first to the Sun, then to the Moon and next to the Adelantado, and said : " Sir, are you for peace or for war?" He bid the interpreter tell them, "he was for peace, and required nothing but provisions, and desired they would excuse him in asking for them." They replied that " they accepted peace, but were concerned about provisions, as they were scarce, there having been a plague, that they were subjects of a maiden queen, to whom they would return and report. Soon as the message was delivered to her, two large canoes were covered with awnings and decked with choicest feathers, etc., in which the Queen glided over the water with many attendants. On reaching the camp of the Adelantado, she sat upon a stool that had been brought for her, and after some compliments, said : " While she was sorry for the scarcity of provisions in the 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
country, she had two store houses for the relief of the needy, one of which she gave them and desired they would leave her the other; that she had two thousand bushels of maize in another town which she would also give them, and would quit her own house and half of the town to quarter the men in, if they needed it." The Adelantado replied in a most courteous manner, re turning thanks, saying he would be satisfied with what she would be pleased to give him. While he was speaking she took a string of pearls from her neck and delivered it to the interpreter, John Ortez, to hand to the Adelantado, saying the transgression against modesty forbid the presentation from her own hand. The handsome Adelantado stood erect, received it with appro priate respect, and presented her with a ruby he wore on his fin ger. Thus the peace was ratified ; the young Queen Cofachiqui, whose country was the goal DeSoto so long sought, went away, the Spaniards admiring her youth and beauty, grace and accom plishments. 
The Spaniards crossed the Savannah river in canoes and floats and quartered in the middle of the town. They found the country was extraordinarily fruitful. Exploring parties with en gineers and miners were sent out in search of the precious metals. " They found much copper, some of a golden color, and great plates of ore, bright like silver, but mouldered like the earth." The golden colored metal was pyrites, and the other was mica. A vast quantity of pearls were found. The pearl bearing mus sels were abundant in the river; the Indians were unfamiliar with their value. The Queen gave the Spaniards leave to go to a house held as sacred, being the burial place of the nobility, and to the temple, which was the burying place of her forefathers, in another town, both containing immense quantities of pearls which were at their disposal. There were found chests laid by in the temple, in which were the bodies of the dead. In baskets made of reeds there were an abundance of large and seed pearls, also garments made of furs and skins, for men and women. The officers measured out five hundred weight of pearls. The Ade lantado ordered that the forces should not be encumbered with 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
loads and that only half a hundred weight of pearls should be taken which should be sent to Havana, to test their quality and value. Proceeding to another town they found a similar temple containing large strings of beads and quantities of pearls, furs, etc.; and in the charnel rooms there were a great number of pikes with copper heads, that resembled gold, and axes of the same metal, clubs, staves, bows, arrows, targets and breast-plates. 
It was discovered that the queen mother, a widow, lived re tired, in a town twelve leagues distant, and had been sent for by her daughter to come and see the pale faces, and that she declined, reprimanding the queen for remaining among such strangers. At the request of the queen two more escorts were sent for the mother, who said she would not come. The escort visited a similar temple, as described, in her town with the same character of contents. DeSoto and his lordly army of Castilians, though highly pleased with the prosperity of the surround ing natives and their hospitable treatment, were sorely disap pointed in not finding the country abounding in the precious metals. After remaining in the province of the maiden Indian queen near three weeks, they began to make preparations for continuing their search for mines of gold in another direction. 
Mr. Bartrum, a celebrated English botanist, visited Georgia, Alabama and Florida in 1744, on a tour of investigation, for sev eral years. He published, in London, a large volume of his travels which has passed several editions. On his visit through Carolina he refers to a place called " Silver Bluff " as being very celebrated, and says, " It is of considerable height upon the Carolina shore of the Savannah river ; its steep banks discover various strata of earth ; the surface,, for a considerable depth, is a loose sandy loam with a mixture of sea shells." After describ ing the various stratas, he found among them "pyrites and sul phurous nodules, shining like brass, lying in this flaky-like, mi caceous earth ; also sticks, acorns with their cups, limbs and trunks of trees, all transmuted or charred black, hard and shin ing as charcoal ; also animal substances petrified, and that the surface of the gruond upon this bluff extends a mile and half or 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
23 
 
two miles on the river, and a mile in breadth with good soil, which is evident from the fine trees and shrubs in the old fields spreading abroad to a great distance. There are also vestiges and monuments of the residence of the ancients, as Indian mounds, terraces, etc., as well as remains or traces of fortresses, which are supposed to be the camps of the Spaniards in search of silver." 
In 1736 George Galphin established himself at this point as an Indian trader, and gave the old site of Cofachiqui the name of Silver Bluff. All Indian traditions locates the old site. The most ancient Indian informed Galphin that this was the place where DeSoto found the Indian queen. Galphin was an influ ential man in Georgia and Alabama. The wife of Governor Milledge was his daughter. The bluff is situated in Barnwell Dis trict, South Carolina, near Augusta, and was the property of Governor Hammond. The father of Governor Hammond was one of the earliest school-teachers in Macon, Georgia, where he died, and was buried in the old cemetery in that city. 
On the 3d of May, 1540, DeSoto, the discoverer also of the Savannah river, and South Carolina, broke up his camp at Sil ver Bluff. The atrocious requital he made to the beautiful young Indian queen for her generous treatment to him and his com mand, was to make her a prisoner and retain her person as a hostage to ensure obedience among her subjects. 
The army marched up the Savannah river, passing several Indian towns where they found the usual temples containing pearls and othes relics, until they reached a town in the present Habersham county, Georgia. From this place they marched in a Western course, tarrying in several towns on their route; being met by their caziques, with one thousand warriors wearing plumes and rich mantles of furs, by whom they were conducted to a town on the present Oostanaula which contained five hundred houses. The house of the cazique was situated upon a mound, and was surrounded by a terrace wide enough for six men to promenade abreast. The house and the town was tendered to the strangers for lodging during their visit, and was accepted. After march- 
 
 24 
 
HisTOkicAi, RECORD OF MACON 
 
ing through their towns where they were well received, they halted at Chiaha, the present site of Rome, Georgia. During the march to this place the noble young captive queen made her escape, doubtless with intense disgust at the perfidy of the pale faces. Two negro slaves and a Barbary moor accompanied Her in her flight; they were concealed by the natives who rejoiced to have anything remain around them that belonged to the white man. 
DeSoto kept his engineers prospecting for gold during his journey. They reported finding immense quantities of pyrites and copper, though but little silver or gold. Notwithstanding DeSoto had explored the richest portion of the auriferous re gions of Georgia, his disappointment in discovering so little .gold was that he expected to find it: in large quantities and on the surface, and in deposits, as it was then, and : for a very long period afterwards, found in Spain, Peru arid Mexico. The American gold is found in veins of quartz, deep in the earth. The Virginia mines, in Colorado, are worked three thousand feet below the earth's surface, and their yield is greater than any mine in America, and probably in the world. 
In Mr, Pickett's excellent history of DeSoto's march through Alabama, Georgia, etc., he quotes largely from the standard authorities of Spain, who wrote their narative from the records of officers and surviving priests, and others, on their return from the disastrous expedition of DeSoto. 
Mr, Pickett quotes.;, " On the arrival of DeSoto a| .Chiaha, the; noble young Chief of: the town received him with unaffected joy, and made the following addresS : 
"Mighty Chief:,.Nothing could have made me so happy as to be the means of serving you and your warriors. You sent me word from Guaxule to have corn collected to last your army two months. Here I havs twenty barns : full of the best which the country can afford. If I have not met your wishes, respect my tender years, and: receive my good:: will to do for: you what ever I am able." 
The Adelaiitado responded in a kind manner, and .was then 
 
 CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
o the Chief's own house, which was prepared for n. Chiaha contained a great quantity of 
in gourds, and walnut oil clear as butter, and equally ')' and for the only time in the entire route were seen Of the honey Mr, Ekkett says j . ' ' I have often by bee hunters and Indian countrymen, that 
it&e : territory of Alabama became partially settled by an on, wild bees were much more abundant than 
their earliest recollection^ They were introduced orn. Georgia and Carolina, and after escaping 
:;hvves to the woods, became wild-- hence DeSoto honey at the early period in which he invaded itj ex- 
portion of Georgia has ever excelled in  f :feees, and in the quantity and superiority of honey. 
: ' State Fair the premiums are awarded for the in the vicinity of Rome, Georgia. ^ Spaniards rested in the romantic and delightful spot where iiflourishing town of Rome, for thirty days. . The : were reduced in flesh, now fattened upon the S;: and the men scattered about at will along the rivers ^searching for the coveted gold. The chief presented itado with a string of pearls two yards in length, and :: Alberts, for which he received in return velvet, silk ::;cli>ths, much prized by the Indians. He said the |iii|j||j:;'jcjf;:|hsg : t<jwn, where the remains of his ancestors were de- 
Quantities of pearls, etc. "The Chief, to : taantter of collecting these pearls, sent some of his ss>aa:io .fish all Bight for the oysters which contained 
fire :made upon the bank of the Coosa, i returned laden, the oysters were thrown :: coals; they succeeded in finding many pearls 
DeSoto pronounced beautiful, but for the ::|*ad: fobbed them of some of their brilliancy. A i gating: .some of the oysters, or rather mussels, found 
SJ*e uninjured, and offered it to the Adalantado for 
 
 26 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Donna Isabel. He declined the kindness intended his wife, and urged the generous fellow to keep it to buy horses with at Havana. Connoisseurs in camp valued it at four hundred ducats." 
The oysters mentioned, was undoubtedly the mussel commonly known as the unio, a pearl-bearing mussel. The writer has seen vast quantities of them along the rivers in Georgia and Ala bama, particularly in the regions of the old Indian haunts, and below Macon, in the cotton fields contiguous to the Ocmulgee; many of these shells have been turned up in the plow furrows. Mr. Pickett says : " But as thousands of the shells lie banked up, some deep in the ground, we may also suppose that the In dians, in DeSoto's time, everywhere in Alabama, obtained pearls from them. There can be no doubt about the pearls found in the State of Georgia in 1540, but they were of a coarser and less valuable kind than the Spaniards supposed. The In dians used to perforate them with a copper spindle and string them around their necks like beads ; others made toy babies and birds of them. Old warriors have informed me that their an cestors used the shells to temper the clay with which they made their vessels." 
Before breaking up camp in the picturesque and delightful country surrounding the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula Rivers, DeSoto, at the solicitation of some of his unprinci pled officers, demanded of the noble young Chief a number of Indian girls to accompany them in their explorations to the West. Upon which demand all of the inhabitants, on the night following, quietly left the town and secreted themselves on the mountains. Summoning the horsemen, DeSoto scoured the country, and, provoked at not finding the fugitives, destroyed their flourishing fields of corn. Learning afterwards that men only would be required for the purpose of bearing the baggage of the Spaniards, the fugitives returned. It had been the custom of DeSoto to capture Indians and impose the servile labor of bearing upon their backs the burdens of the army. 
About the last of June the Spaniards marched down the west 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
27 
 
side of the Coosa, leaving the hospitable Indians of Chiaha many presents, and entered the lands of the present State of Alabama, in the county of Chefokee. Of their arrival Pickett says: " Never before had our natives beheld white faces, long beards, strange apparel, glittering armor, and stranger than all, the singular animals bestrode, by the dashing cavaliers." Here DeSoto received the same hospitalities from the chiefs and their subjects that had been extended to him since his march from Apalache in Florida. Throughout Georgia his march was peace able and agreeable, and it would have been the same elsewhere had he not taken both chiefs and natives as hostages. He jour neyed through several Indian towns, exploring the country to the mountains, finding little gold, but the country abounding with huge rocks and lofty hills. The Chief of a mountain town presented him with a buffalo robe, which the Spaniards supposed was the skin of a tremendous animal, partaking of the qualities of the ox and the sheep. The result of the mining prospect was an abundance of the highly colored copper, such as is found in Georgia. In Alabama DeSoto met with many fortified towns and a number of mounds; " the trail was lined with towns, vil lages and hamlets, and many sown fields which reached from one to the other." The climate was delightful, and as in Geor gia, abounding in fine meadows and beautiful little rivers. The numerous barns were full of corn, while acres of it were ripened on the fields. In the fields " were plum trees, peculiar to the country, and others resembling the fruit in Spain. Wild fruit clambered to the tops of the trees, and lower branches were laden with delicious Isabella grapes." After meeting with a Chief dressed in a mantle of martin skins, his head adorned . xnth a diadem of brilliant feathers, and who was escorted by a thousand warriors, DeSoto accepted his invitation and visited his town ; it contained five hundred houses and was the capital of this flourishing province. The Chief offered him any place : in his extensive domain that he might select, to establish a Span ish colony. In return for this kindness, DeSoto, on leaving, seized the Chief and kept him as a hostage to extort slaves and 
 
 28 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
provisions. Some of the Indians taken here were placed in irons as slaves and made to bear the baggage of the army to the Mississippi river. The village of the Chief was the capital of Coosa. Here DeSoto left a young Christian negro slave who had taken sick, after having been with him since his departure from Cuba. The Indians made a pet of him on account of " his peculiar hair and sable complexion." He recovered, and was doubtless the distant ancestor of " dark-colored savages seen in that region in modern times." The march continued to Ullehabale, " a town surrounded by a wall composed of two rows of posts driven deep in the ground, with poles laid horizontally be tween them, the inner and outer side of the frame work neatly stuccoed with clay and straw. Port holes were left at proper distance as high as a lance. Such was the character of the forti fications from this place onward. DeSoto left some hogs and cattle among the towns, and such is the origin of these animals among the Indians. 
On the 18th the Spaniards passed the town of Tallassee, which was an extensive one, and well fortified. The Spaniards were next met by the son of Tuscaloosa, a potent Chief whose prov ince extended thirty miles to the Tombigby and beyond. The son bore a message from Tuscaloosa inviting DeSoto to visit his capital, where great preparations were made for his reception. Tuscaloosa was a Chief of great power : " He was lord of many territories and much people, and was feared by his neighbors and subjects." He was forty years old, of gigantic stature, with a small waist and heavy limbs. He was well proportioned and very handsome. He received DeSoto with respect, and ob served his dignity. After accepting his generous hospitality two days, and the Spaniards supplying themselves freely from his store of provisions, DeSoto selected the largest and strongest horse in his army, captured the cazique, Tuscaloosa, placed him astride of the animal and bore him off as a hostage. He was more than a head taller than any of the attendants, and mount ed on the horse his feet nearly trailed the ground. But Tus caloosa was determined to be revenged. He was Chief of the 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
29 
 
tribe, and succeeded in getting messages to his subthe treachery of the Spaniards. The capture of so their Chiefs and making slaves of the captured natives, many thousands of the various tribes. DeSoto now throiigh the center of Alabama, and was the discoverer fiji::ii*J great river that bears that name. Passing through many ;S|iijt>k>us towns he found quantities of corn, beans, pumpkins Sjiiij: other provisions. ::::::::;<3a the i8th of October the Adalantado and the Chief, Tusa; entered the capital, of the Mobilians at the town of )iia. on the Alabama river, twenty-five miles above its con- 
the Tombigby. " The town was surrounded by a fti> made of immense trunks of trees set deep in the 
close together, strengthened with cross-timbers and Sij^lefwoven with large vines. A thick mud plaster, resembling 
( masonry, concealed the wood work, together with fs: capable of containing eight men each, at the distance of 
apart. An Eastern and Western gate opened into the contained eighty handsome houses, each capable of 
one thousand persons. They all fronted a large public DeSoto and Tuscaloosa were ushered into this square ;:sfigs, music upon Indian flutes and the graceful dancing se Beautiful brown girls. They alighted from their chargers 
themselves under a 'canopy of State.' Remaining time, Tuscaloosa requested that he should no longer 'a, hostage, nor required to follow the army any further, 
hesitated in his reply, which brought the Chief :|i^sHsg:|eet; who walked off with a lofty and independent bear|j:8|j:l<a;oa:e of the houses. In the meantime one of the spies of ::::|||Sot<3::tviifbrmed him there were ten thousand Indian warriors 
s, arid that other houses were filled with clubs, stones, :StrOws. .DeSoto was surprised and deeply solicitous, 
sent word to his men to be ready for an attack. Sft^ious to avert a rupture, by regaining possession of the ;)ie approached him with smiles and kind words, but lSosa. scornfully turned his back on him, and was soon lost 
 
 30 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
among the host of excited warriors." And now commenced a most horrible carnage. An Indian excitedly rushed from one of the houses, denounced the Spaniards as robbers and assas sins, and drew his bow at one of them, when a swordsman, with a powerful sweep of his blade, split his body and let out his entrals. The Indians now emerged from the houses and rushed upon the Spaniards. They retreated fighting face to face with DeSoto in front, until they passed the gate into the plain. A party of Indians succeeded in capturing all of the baggage and other effects of the Spaniards, which they deposited in a house in the town. They released the Indian slaves, except a few that were with the Spaniards. The remainder of the army now arrived and the battle was renewed, with awful destruction to the Indians. The cavalry and infantry charged, and drove them behind their walls. Here they showered arrows and stones upon the Spaniards with considerable effect, until the latter suc ceeded in breaking down the gates and entering the town. The Indians were driven into the large houses which were fired by the Spaniards, and four thousand men and women perished in the flames. Tuscaloosa was killed in the battle, and DeSoto severely wounded. The loss of the Indians were fifty-five hundred in killed and burnt; that of the Spaniards eighty-two in killed, and every man was wounded; the most of them re ceived several different wounds. Among their slain were all of the surgeons except one, who estimated that there were one thousand seven hundred wounds on the bodies of the survivors. All the medicines, oils, bandages and surgical implements were destroyed by the fire in the large house, where nearly all of the baggage and equipments of the army had been deposited by the Indians. The relics and robes of the priests, their flour and wine used in the sacrament, and a thousand other things which the wilderness could not supply, were burnt. Forty-five horses were also lost. The Spaniards wore their armour in the battle, which was impenetrable against the arrows of the natives. 
This was the first of a long series of conflicts that DeSoto af terwards had with the Indians, after leaving Georgia. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
31 
 
The ships from Cuba had arrived at Pensacola with supplies, DeSoto was within a week's march of that port. He remained in camp near the battle ground until the wounded had recovered. A large number of his men were anxious to return to the ships, being reduced in health and without the actual comforts and even necessities for further service. Joy prevailed throughout the camp when the news of the arrival of the ships was con firmed. DeSoto discovered that some of his men were conspir ing to return to Spain. He became perplexed and gloomy. He knew that his means were exhausted, his pearls and all his effects had been lost by the fire, and his hopes of finding a country abounding in gold, thus far, blasted. He, therefore, determined to thwart his conspirators and changed his course to an opposite direction, turning his back upon the ships laden with provisions, clothes and other supplies. 
The priests held a convention with the laymen and concluded that corn meal could not be substituted for flour, and that there was no substitute for wine in the celebration of mass. After this, in place of the chalices, altar dresses, chasubles and other sacred articles, which had been lost by the fire, the fathers made some robes of deer skins, built rustic altars, and read the prayers of the mass on Sundays, omitting the consecration. This epi sode was called "Dry Mass." 
On Sunday, the i8th November, 1540, the astounding order to march north, and that the first man would be put to death who attempted to return to the ships, was issued. The disap pointed cavaliers reluctantly obeyed. After many battles, ad ventures and hardships, attended with sickness and loss of life, the Spaniards, in May, 1541, reached a village called Chisca. It was located near a wide and rapid river, the largest they had discovered. This was the " Father of Waters," the mighty Mississippi, and DeSoto was the first European to look upon that turbulent stream and be buried in its waters. 
Mr. Theodore Irving, who studied all of the Spanish authori ties while at Madrid, and wrote a valuable book of the expedi tion of DeSoto in America, recalls " a religious ceremony on 
 
 32 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
the banks of the Mississippi" at an Indian village, as follows : " The army remained tranquil in this village during three days, with much good feeling on both sides. On the morning of the fourth the cazique, accompanied by all his principal subjects came into the presence of DeSoto, and making a profound obeisance, ' Senor,' said he, ' as you are superior to us in prowess and surpass us in arms, we likewise believe that your God is bet ter than our God ! These you behold before you, are the chief warriors of my dominions. We supplicate you to pray to your God to send us rain, for our fields are parched for the want of water!'' 
DeSoto replied, that although he and all his followers were but sinners, yet they would supplicate God, the Father of mer cies, to show mercy unto them. In the presence of the cazique, he ordered his chief carpenter to hew down the largest and highest pine tree in the vicinity and construct of it a cross. 
They immediately felled one of such immense size that a hun dred men could not raise it from the ground. They formed of it a perfect cross, and erected it on a high hill on the banks of the river, which served the Indians as a watchtower, overlook ing every eminence in the vicinity. Everything was prepared in two days, and the Governor ordered that the next morning all should join in a solemn procession to it, except an armed squadron of horse and foot, who should be on the alert to pro tect the army. 
The cazique walked beside the Governor, and many of the savage warriors mingled among the Spaniards. Before them went a choir of priests and friars, chanting the litany, while the soldiers responded. The procession, in which were more than a thousand persons, both Spaniards and Indians, wound slowly and solemnly along until it arrived before the cross, where all sank upon their knees. Two or three prayers were offered up  they then arose, and two by two, approached the holy emblem, bent the knee before it, and worshipped and kissed it. 
On the opposite shore of the river were collected fifteen or twenty thousand savages, of both sexes and all ages, to witness 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
33 
 
this singular but imposing ceremony. With their arms extended and their hands raised, they watched the movements of the Spaniards. Ever and anon they raised their eyes to heaven and made signs with their faces and hands, as if asking God to listen to the Christian prayer. Then would they raise a low and wail ing cry, like people in excessive grief, echoed by the plaintive murmuring of their children's voices. DeSoto and his followers were moved to tenderness, to behold in a strange and heathen land, a savage people worshipping with such deep humility and tears, the emblem of our redemption. Observing the same order, the procession returned ; the priests chanted forth Te Deum laudamus, and with it closed the solemnity of the day. 
God, in his mercy, says the Spanish Chronicler, willing to show these heathens that he listeneth unto those who call upon him in truth, sent down, in the middle of the ensuing night, a plenteous quantity of rain, to the great joy of the Indians. * * 
It is a reflection replete with interest that three centuries ago the cross, the -type of our beautiful religion, was planted on the banks of the Mississippi, and its silent forests were awakened by the Christian hymn of gratitude and praise. The effect was vivid but transitory. The " voice cried in the wilderness," and reached and was answered by every heart, but it died away and was forgotten, and was not to be heard again in that savage re gion for many generations. It was as if a lightning gleam had broken for a moment upon a benighted world, startling it with sudden effulgence, only to leave it in tenfold gloom. The real dawning was yet afar off from the benighted Valley of the Mis sissippi. 
DeSoto advanced into Arkansas, and returned the first of June, 1542, to the great river, where, sick, and exhausted in materials, clothing, etc., he commenced the construction of two brigantines to communicate with Cuba. This grand army, once composed of one thousand of the best blood of Spain, and equipped with all that wealth could command, was now reduced to three hundred and twenty men, and apparaled, like the na tives, in the skins of animals. DeSoto was taken with a violent 
 
 34 
 
HISTORICA! RECORD OF MACON 
 
fever] he had met with nothing but disappointment, and his proud spirit was subdued. After appointing Moscosco to the command he bade his companions farewell, entreating them " to keep together and return to that country which he was destined never to see, and then closed his eyes in death." To conceal his death from the Indians his body was placed in a trough made of a hollow oak, and on a dark night sunk into the bosom of the Mississippi, "Long did its waters wash the bones of one of the bravest sons of Spain ! He was the first to behold that river--the first to close his eyes in death upon it--and the first to find a grave in its deep and turbid channel." 
The Spaniards used bridle bits, saddle stirrups and every par ticle of iron that could be made into a nail, skins of Indian man tles for sails, and made several rough brigantines for their de parture down the river. Five hundred Indian slaves were left behind; one hundred were taken with them; amongst them were the beautiful girls captured at the battle of Maubila. Af ter descending the river, the remnant of the army reached the Mexican coast September ioth,.i543. The Cuban ships found them at Vera Cruz. They had been well cared for at the city of Mexico by the Viceroy and the elegant Castilian ladies of the court who were enthusiastic in admiration of the beautiful Indian girls--the original daughters of Alabama. The an nouncement of the ill-fated expedition under DeSoto cast a deep gloom over Havanna, and the fair Dona Isabel, so long dis tracted in mind over the long and unaccountable absence of her husband, became overwhelmed with grief and died with a broken heart. 
 
NOTE.--The authorities from which the foregoing narratives are written are Col. A. J. Pickett's history of the Aboriginees :of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The Spanish authors he drew from wsr Garcilaso, De la Vega, the last of the line of the Peruvian Incas, a most distinguished and reliable historian; Antonio De Herrara, historiographer to his Catholic Majesty, Charles V., of Spain, Bfiedma, the commissary of DeSoto, and the writings of a Portugese eye witness. Also the history of DeSoto's conquest of Florida, by Theodore Irving, a nephew of Washington Irving, who spent several 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
TEU -AND CONDITION OF THE INDIANS--THEIR DRESS AND HABITS, 
 
UlTY AND MECHANISM--TEMPLES--ORNAMENTS--RELIGION--MAR- 
i CEREMONIES--BURIAL--THE CREEKS OR THE MUSCOGEES--THE 
 
Ei -- MlLFQRT AND McGlLLIVRAY -- A SINGULAR RECORD INSCRIBED 
iteLS--MARY MUSGROVE-- MR. BARTRUM'S VISIT TO THE OCMULiKi.DS-- HISTORY OF THE CREEK NATION--THE MOUNDS, AND THE <t' : t>sf THEIR CONSTRUCTION--SKULLS, BONES AND INDIAN ARTICLES 
 
:i IN THE MOUNDS-- BROWN'S MOUNT--OPINIONS OF VARIOUS AU- 
 
X~-~TH E OCMULGEE RlVER--DEFINITION OF INDIAN NAMES--IM- 
 
*??:}'^ HISTORICAL EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE OCMULGEE-- 
 
THE INDIANS. ' 
 
'. 
 
HAVE been constrained to write more on the inter adventures of DeSoto than is usual to a history of , for several reasons : He was the first white 
is troops, to discover the greater portion of Florida its most important harbors. He was the discoverer, : of the important rivers between the Savannah River :eky Mountains; he watered his horses from them his camps upon their banks. Other early adveniheir discoveries by sailing along the coast, but De- 
to penetrate the wilderness, and marching Indian settlements for several thousand miles. i ibises veries of DeSoto we conclude that the Indian :'?Ss larger at that date than at any subsequent period. g their hospitable treatment to them in Alabama 
JfiM.::an4 translated from the Spanish accounts written by the :feas: which Col. Pickett founded his narrative. Col. Pickett CK '-wri^ng:his book--had lived from boyhood amongst the IriJio.ii his father. He exhausted every source of information in ftits. and Indian traditions. He traveled over the country, and of : ais investigations established the route of DeSoto's jour- 
 
 36 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
he destroyed them by the thousand. It is also believed that the natives were in a higher state of civilization then than at any time following. The reception and introductory speeches of the chiefs, though brief, were, chaste, appropriate, unaffected, and evinced a generous sentiment. In respect to their language, they had but few words.; their wants were few, and as nature supplied them all, they had no use for words. They could, in a degree, express their ideas by signs, motions and by pointing to objects. Their illustrations were ever by natural objects ; with in a few years of two centuries afterwards, the same characteris tic will be observed in the speech made Tomichichi in offering the Indian emblems to Oglethorpe : " Here is a little present ; I give you a buffalo skin, adorned on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle, which I desire you to accept, because the eagle is the emblem of speed and the buffalo of strength; the English are as swift as the bird and strong as the beast; since like the former, they flew over vast seas to the uttermost parts of the earth, and like the latter, they are so strong that nothing can withstand them; the feathers of the eagle are soft and sig nify love, and are emblems of peace in our land, so we leave them with you as a token of everlasting peace. The buffalo's skin is warm and signifies protection ; therefore, I hope the English will love and protect their little families." 
The dress of the males were of a mantle "made of the inner bark of trees and a species of flax interwoven. It was thrown over the shoulders with the right arm exposed ; skins of deer were also used. Orie of these mantles encircled the body of the female, commencing below the breast and extending nearly to the knees, while another was gracefully thrown over the shoulders, also with the right arm exposed. Both sexes were fond of ornament, and frequently wore rich feathers, strings of beads, pearls and shining shells, and the better classes wore mpeasins extending to the knees, made of dressed deer skins; plumes of beautiful feathers adorned the heads of the warriors." 
They had skill in some of the mechanical arts. They made axes, hatchets and arrow heads from copper. These wonderful 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
37 
 
tS: were found among them ; wonderful indeed ! The fefice of the old world for three thousand years have 
to harden copper so as to make it useful like .the Indians performed the process is as great a mysof the building of the pyramids by the ancient Egyp||>;ii:::J:::VVrithin: those ancient monuments have been found, in t^pjp^irs, ; chisels and other tools made of copper, which were kan any other metal. With these, the ancient artificers ei.oldest known and most wonderful river in the world, pe to the vast stones of which the pyramids were built. fe civilized and enlightened world have failed to dis8:'valuable art of utilizing copper in cutting stone, as W%>S :used it; their tools were superior to any other class 
since that time. Yet the same art, or a similar the same effects, was common to the natives near all history have called savages ! 
Ingenuity of the Indians in the making of arms, houses, fortifications, was considerable and adequate to Some of their towns were surrounded by 
;S84: : Souses were surmounted with towers. At Pacha, west :; Mississippi, DeSoto discovered a large ditch around the 
ugh for two canoes to pass without the paddles nine miles long, communicated with the Misthe waters with fish and afforded them the navigation." They excelled in the construction barges. A chief approached DeSoto at the Mis. the west side with two hundred handsome canoes isi^i^ bearing over the stream more than a thousand :plt;med warriors, standing erect to protect those >::,.:;The canoes of the chiefs and principal men had p,:'(|ec'orated like those of the Georgia Queen on the .; with waving flags and plumes. :|ffg|i:e;t!:t:'inference has been made to their temples. They ly similar in construction and for the purposes for used. Garcilaso gives the following description iiiar Silver Bluff: "It was more than one hun- 
 
 38 
 
HISTORICAL.RECORD OF MAGON 
 
dred feet in length and forty in width. The walls were high in proportion; the roof steep and covered with mats of split cane, interwoven so compactly that they resembled the rush carpeting of the Moors, (the inhabitants in this .section...all,..covered their houses with this matting.) Shells of different sizes, arranged in an ingenious manner, were placed on the outside of the roof. On the inside, beautiful plumes, shells and pearls were suspend ed in the form of festoons from one to the other down to the floor. The temple was entered at the three gates, at each of which were stationed gigantic wooden statues, presenting fierce and menacing attitudes. Some of them were armed with clubs, maces, canoe paddles, copper hatchets, and others with drawn bows and long pikes. All of these implements were ornamented with rings of pearls and beads of copper. On the side of the walls were benches on which sat boxes containing the deceased, chiefs and their families. Two feet below these were statues of the persons entombed, the space between them being made of strong wooden reeds adorned with pearls and colored tassels. Three rows of chests, full of valuable pearls, occupied the mid dle of the temple. Deer skins, of a variety of colors, were packed away in chests, together with a large amount of clothing made of the skins of wild cat, martin and other animals. The temple abounded in the most splendid mantles of feathers. Ad joining was a storehouse, containing eight apartments, abound.ing in valuable relics." 
At a town in Arkansas, salt was made into small cakes and sold among the various tribes for skins and mantles; it was made from the shores of a lake, and at several saline springs. " Pro ductions were abundant; peas, squashes, beans, pumpkins and corn grew with but little labor throughout the whole country ;. persvmons, which were made into large cakes, were eaten in winter, with walnut and bear's oil. Pumpkins were roasted in the einbers, and resembled in taste bailed chestnuts. The gra naries: ^w<jfe sometimes erected in the woods near navigable streams, and were constructed with stone and dirt, and covered with Cane rnats, Here were deposited corn, fruits, and all 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
39 
 
lp|i|s:af cured meat for subsistence during the winter hunts. tliilltiiversal honesty of the people was a guarantee that the 
iof these granaries would remain undisturbed until con- 
, . Indians were a sociable people, and at certain periods illi|<Hl in large feasts. At other times they indulged in bow iiiisipitisg; singing, music, ball playing and dancing." IHStt Spanish authorities make no mention of the religions of lip; :IMians during DeSoto's expedition of five years among 
than in the West there was a tribe of Sun-worDeSoto said to the chief, " I am a child of the Sun ; ' ' he chief replied, "If you are, command the Sun to waters in the great river, (the Mississippi,) and then 
you." At another place on the same river, De|lilisi8si: surrounded by a chief and his subjects. The chief fflilpjiilioudly; when the subjects bowed their heads, opened |itt<ii:<:>safi their arms, and saluting him said, " May the Sun 
j may the Sun be with you; may the Sun shine upon the Sun prosper and defend you," 
e tells of a ceremony that was observed by most of : " In March annually, they select the skins of the r, with the head and legs attached. They filled it with of -fruit and grain and sewed it up again. The horns hung with garlands of fruit. The skin resembled a 
it was taken by the tribe to an open plain, placed post, and just at the rising of the sun, the Indians 
. knees around it and implored that luminary to e ensuing season, an abundance of fruits and pro- 
as those contained in the skin of the deer." l4fe5iffe(i. to marry, he was accustomed to send his aji to select from the girls of the nobility one of the el most beautiful. Painted with colors, and adorned aad pearls, the chosen one was then placed in a sedan as)^of which formed an arch of green boughs. When 
i;s:::Side, on an elevated seat, great pomp and cere:of ornaments of all kinds, and music and danc- 
 
 40 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ing, characterized the affair, while she and her lord were fanned with beautiful feathers. 
When the chief desired to build a tower, he would settle a site near a river and throw up a mound thirty to fifty feet high, round on the sides, but flat on top; on which he would build houses for himself and family. Those who were able would build houses in squares at the base of the mound, and the lower class build wigwams on the suburbs. 
When married Indians died in battle it was the custom of the women to visit the graves of their husbands and deposit upon them the arms which they used in hunts and in war, and the shells out of which they were accustomed to drink. They would Cut off their flowing hair and lay it over the graves ; they Would not marry again until their liair regained its former length. They would surround tiie chief, stoop at his feet, cover their faces with their hands, weep, and implore him to be reveiiged for the death of their husbands, and to grant them a support during their widowhood, and to permit them to marry again when the time appointed by law expired. 
Such were the customs of the natives in 1540-42, when DeSoto was between the Savannah and the Mississippi. Though very many of the tribes spoke different languages, their habits were very similar. The names of the tribes, with a few excep tions, seemed to have been called after that of their respective caziques. History tells us little of the Georgia Indians from the time of the expedition of DeSoto down to the arrival of Oglethorpe at Yamacraw Bluff, on the Savannah river, in 1733, and during that long interval, within ten years of two centsries, of which we have such scant records, we will call the " dark ages " of our history, and proceed to the ground upon which the city of Macon stands. 
None of the rivers seem to have been nanied. when DeSoto crossed them. The length of his march from one Indian tribe to .another, the towns his own reports refer to, the relics of these towns, their proximity to rivers that he crossed, and the tradi tions of Indians partially enable the historians to locate ais 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
41 
 
3|li!$ '-& very large tribe of Indians inhabited the country on liiptStbank of the Ocmulgee river, occupying a great extent IfflSiory. Their Chief, Cofachi, owned two towns;, the first, 
.river, he gave to DeSoto to recruit at, five days, with W^o were attended by nine hundred Indian slaves to :he; burdens of the army, when he furnished him with H'thousand of his subjects for the same purpose, to escort 
the wilderness to the Savannah river. There was tribe below that of Cofaqui's, which has been re.'. - Whether the tribe of Cofaqui, which was located on cf Ocmulgee Fields," and the identity of those fields is fi^iti history as that of the river and tribe that bears the iHe,.was.the Ocmulgee nation or not, we are unable to plM^Jiaany circumstances strongly indicate that it was. jflj|;:C3ree&s *ere originally named Muscogees, and were only :Maseogees until the British had possession of the ncl named them Creeks, from the many small streams ived upon. The earliest accounts of the Muscogees 
are" for the most part traditional, locate them 
and powerful tribe of Indians who came from 
the conquest of that country by Cortez, in 1519 Soothe Muscogees, having lost many of their own warM^lJSing unwilling to remain in a country nnder the do8;;i:<f/:foreign invaders and assassins, determined to seek 
: The whole tribe left Mexico for the East, and, abounding in fruits and wild animals, settled at itiHei; Red : river. Here they built a town and laid out yiexplored the country, finding other tribes of In- 
fought and conquered, taking the larger il>e:w:jth them, and by this means increased 
:yii:til: iMy reached the Ohio river, where they 
afd.^or the first time of DeSoto, and 
clothed in garments of metal,- which 
.would not penetrate, and having "fire 
l! t:Hey:hried.like.lightning :with the noise 
destroyed the country. 
 
 42 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
In 1620, the Muscogees marched through Alabama, continu ing their conquests, adding other tribes to their ranks, proceed ed into Georgia, crossed the Ocmulgee, Oconee and Ogechee, arrived at the Savannah river and built a town where Augusta now stands. Conquering all the tribes in Georgia on their route, they then went to near the mouth of the river, where Savannah now stands, met a powerful and numerous tribe called the Uchees, whom, after a long conflict, they conquered and brought to the Chattahoochee. 
The first and only instance of the Indians ever keeping a re cord of their history was discovered by Leclerc Milfort, a young Frenchman and adventurer, and a man of high talents, who lived twenty years among the Creeks, commencing in 1776. Milfort was associated with that most extraordinary Indian chief Alexander McGillivray, and married his sister. Both of these men were renowned for their talents and acted a very important part with the French, Spanish and British governments in their relations with Southern Indians during the revolutionary war. They were afterwards employed by President Washington, with high rank and responsible trusts. 
Pickett says of Milfort: "When he arrived among the Creeks, the old men often spoke of their ancestors, and they exhibited to him strands of pearls which contained their history and constituted their archives. Upon their arrangement de pended their signification; and only principal events were thus preserved. One of their chaplets sometimes related the history of thirty years. Each year was rapidly distinguished by those who understood them. The old men, therefore, with.the .assist ance of these singular records and strong memories, were ena bled to impart to Milfort a correct tradition," etc. The won derful record was a summary of the route and adventures of the Creeks from the time of their departure from Mexico to their settlement in Ohio. The names Ocmulgee, Oconee and Ogechee first appear about 1620, when the Creeks . invaded the country from the:west. Many of the Indian names have been cor rupted. The first mention we find of the word Chattahoochee, 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
43 
 
SJIiicaJted from the Indian " Chafta," sparkling' or flowered, and 'W:jMiee" rocks ; the bright colored rocks found in the river at l||p;-{alls suggested the name, though the earliest record of it was ^jj^:hatta-Uchee>3s, if called; .in, part.after the Uchees. Upon Iplsi fiver, at the town of Coweta, in 1700, was Mary, an Indian Iplicess, born ; she was by maternal descent one of the Queens Iffiitifc? Creeks, and married John, the son of Col. John Mus|j;|iri&y, an Indian negotiator in the service of the British. She s i^SMrwards presided near the mouth of the Savannah river, and 
Jjl corrupted by her husband, of eminent service to Oglehis transactions with the Indians. 
:Hf!:gisth&rpe visited Coweta shortly after his return from Euiti x.737-38, crossing the Ocmulgee at the site of Macon. pfe: a treaty with eight tribes of Indians who had assemii (Srvveta. His crossing the Ocmulgee is the first mention ie "found of that name by a white man, in our Indian 
 
4j Mr. William Bartram, who spent several years among ns in the South, stopped on the Ocmulgee in the neigh of the mounds, near Macon, and published the followlliiis interesting history: "After crossing the Oconee, a 1 3<>Srhey brought us to the Ocmulgee. This river is the 
of the beautiful Altamaha. On the east bank of the famous "Old Ocmulgee Fields," where are yet very wonderful remains of the power and grandeur 
of this part of America, in the ruins of a capital , as vast artificial hills, terraces, etc., already through lower Georgia. In the evening the banks of Stony Creek, a large rapid the river. The nextday we travel^ having crossed two considerable creeks 
^at;a<:i Littfe : Tobosochte, and at evening camped at ; failed: S^veet Wiiter," etc. Continuing, he mentions : liiiii?: Flisit. &ft<3 : Cftaitahoochee rivers. While on another 
'gia:,. Bartram says : . "About eighty miles above 1:te Qemulgee and Oconee, the trading path 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
from Augusta to the Creek Nation, crossed these fine rivers. On the east bank of the Ocmulgee, this trading road runs two miles through ancient Indian fields, called '" Ocmulgee Fields :" they are the rich low lands of the river. On the heights of these law lands are visible monuments, in traces, of an ancient town such as artificial monuments or terraces, squares and banks, en circling considerable areas. Those old fields and planting land extend up and down the river fifteen or twenty, miles from this site. If we are to give credit to the account the Creeks give of themselves, this place is remarkable for being the first town or settlement, when they sat down, as they term it, or established themselves, after their emigration from the west, beyond the Mississippi, their original native country. On this long journey they suffered great and innumerable difficulties, encountering and. vanquishing numerous tribes of Indians, who opposed and . retarded their march. Having crossed the river.; stilli pushing eastward, they were obliged to make a stand and fortify them selves in this place, as their only remaining hope, being to the last degree persecuted and weakened by their surrounding foes. Having formed for themselves this retreat, and driven off the inhabitants by degrees, they recovered their spirits and again faced their enemies, when they came off victorious in a memor able arid decisive battle. They afterwards gradually subdued their surrounding enemies, strengthening themselves by taking with the confederacy the vanquished tribes." 
Of the religion of the Creeks, Bartram says: " These Indians are by no means idolaters, unless their puffing the tobacco smoke toward the sun aiiii rejoicing at the appearance of the new moon, may be termed so. So far from Idolatry are they that they have no images amongst them, nor any religious rite or ceremony that I could perceive; but adore the Great Spirit, the giver and ta'ier ajway of the breath of life, 'with the most profound and s-espggtnil homage. They believe in a future state, where the spi#?t exists, which they call the world, of spirits, where they 
different degrees of tranquillty or comfort, agreeably to spent here. 'A person who, in this life, had :been an 
 
 AND CENTKAL GEORGIA. 
 
45 
 
hunter, provided .well for his family, an intrepid and warrior, just, upright and did all the good he coald, will, y, in the world of spirits live in a warm, pleasant cou-nspfjiinhere are expansive, green, flowery savannas and high forfe|fsi:Mfered with rivers of pure water, replenished with deer lipj^esgry species of game; a serene, unclouded and peaceful IS&J^-M: short, where there is fullness of pleasure uninterrupted." 
 
Illsi;::;:!-;-  
 
THE MOUNDS. 
 
is&si&lHlQSt every writer upon Indian Antiquities refers at length to !||j|:inlands at the East of Macon, on the old Ocmulgee Fields. 
s: among the most remarkable tumuli in America. We feaely:stated; that during:the invasion of DeSoto his chron: discoveries speak of mounds, some with temples upon 
:others with the dwellings of thecaziques. Those disdescribe "the manner in which the natives brought the spot and formed these elevations." 
)(3|(>3el Charles C. Jones, jr., who has recently published a :fe?aef5siye and authentic history of Indian Antiquities in the 
es"a long account of the mounds at Macon, from : following is extracted : <b'.mounds on the left bank of the Ocmulgee River, ;fi city of Macon, the largest and most noteworthy, 
down the river, is located upon the summit of a i;ind occupies a commanding position. The earth of : composed was gathered in the valley and conveyed f fhe hill, so as in the end to increase its elevation 
:s>r: : fifty' feet. : The summit diameters of this :; shorthand south and east and west, are, res- 
eighty and two hundred feet. On a srlil about'eight feet high, severity-1 ree:wide. On the north and east are aplproachcsj over which, on : paths, the 
of the. mound, carried theirbctra5ikets^ and, by: means: of which, M, ascent to its summit was ren- 
 
 46 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
dered more facile. It is not improbable that this was a temple mound, used by priests and devotees in their established worship" of the sun." 
After describing minutely the other three mounds of this series, Mr. Jones says: 
" These mounds are all flat, and may be described as trun cated cones with the exception of the temple-mound which re sembles the form of an octagonal, truncated pyramid. The temple mound was erected for religious purposes; the others were heaped up, probably, in honor of the dead. In their vicin ity the fields are filled with sherds, shells of pearl-bearing Unio anfl fragments of articles of domestic economy. Upon the acclivity east of the central mound are the manifest remains of an aboriginal settlement. Here, in excavating for the new track of the Central railway, the workmen, a short time since, un earthed, a few feet below the surface, several skeletons, in con nection with which were found heads of shell and porcelain, a part of a discoidal stone, several arrow and spear points, two stone celts, a clay pipe, an earthen pot and other matters ot a primitive character fashioned for use or ornament. 
" This excavation for the line of the railway necessitated the removal of a considerable portion of the northern side of the central mound. In the conduct of this work the laborers, while cutting through the slope of the mound at a lower depth, exhumed several skulls, regular in outline and possessing the ordinary characteristics of American crania. Associated with these skeletons were stone implements--the handiwork of the red race--and Venetian heads and copper hawk-bells acquired through commercial intercourse with early traders and voyagers. The fact was patent that, at least, some of these inhumations had occurred subsequent to the period of primal contact be tween Europeans and the Indian. Passing below these inter ments--which were evidently secondary in their character--and arriving at the bottom of the mound, a skull was obtained which differed most essentially from those we have described as belong ing to a later inhumation. It was vastly older than those of the 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
47 
 
secondary interments and had been artificially distorted to such an extent that the cerebellum was quite obliterated, while the front portion of the skull had not only been flattened but irregu larly compressed so as to cause an undue elevation and diver 
gence to the left." After describing other skulls, Mr. Jones continues : " Among 
the relics found in the vicinity of this old, artificially compressed skull was a total absence of European ornaments. Here we have an interesting demonstration of the fact that these ancient tumuli were, in turn, used by tribes who perhaps had no knowl edge of the one of the other. The flattened and distorted skull belongs to the mound-building people to whose industry the erection of these tumuli is to be referred. It was in perpetua tion and in honor of such primal sepulture that this mound was heaped up. In the course of time these sepulchral and temple structures, abandoned by their own own owners, passed into the hands of other and later red races who buried their dead upon the superior surface and along the slopes of the ancient tumuli, having at the time, perchance, no personal acquaintance with, and frequently not even a distinct tradition of the peoples to whose exertions these evidences of early construction were at tributable. * * * The Creeks did not claim that these tumuli were erected by them. They declared that they were here when their ancestors first possessed themselves of the region. Who these flat-head mound-builders were, is matter for conjec ture. It may be that they were a colony of the Natchez, jour neying hither from their old habitat on the banks of the Missis sippi. Certain it is that these tumuli antedate the traditions of the Creeks who were native here at the period of the English colonization." 
The most remarkable eminence of which we have any record is BROWN'S MOUNT (not mound,) near the Ocmulgee river about seven miles below Macon. It is a very high hill, and upon one side is nearly precipitous. Upon this mount, named after Mr. George A. Brown, who first owned it, are many curiosities, among which are now slight traces of ancient fortifications. 
 
 48 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Forty to fifty years ago the stone walls, ditches and lines of the ancient works presented sufficient remains to identify the exact plan of the fortifications which had been located there, similar to those DeSoto found in Florida, North Georgia, Alabama and elsewhere. DeSoto never built any fortification. His business was to search for gold. He passed through Georgia without any resistance from the Indians. He stopped on the Ocmulgee only a few days. He was in less than thirty days marching from the present Tallahassee, Florida, to Silver Bluff, below Augusta, on the Savannah river, therefore, he had no time to erect forts. 
Of Brown's Mount, Mr. Jones says : " Following the natural conformation of the summit boundaries, and at'some points re tired a distance of twenty yards or more from the edge of the hill, are the remains of an old wall--constructed of boulders of rock and earth--which encircled and fortified the entire top of the mount. About sixty acres, I am informed, are thus enclosed. Attendant upon the wall are traces of both an outside and inside ditch, the former being originally about ten feet wide and four feet deep, and the latter some three feet wide and between two and three feet deep. The earth removed in the construction of these ditches was used in conjunction with the stone boulders in building this wall. Within the recollections of persons still living, this wall was four feet high and between four and five feet in thickness. It will be perceived that the height of the wall was practically increased by the depth of the ditch; so that the defenders standing in the ditch would be completely pro tected from the shafts of their assailants." * * * "Upon the wall trees are growing more than three feet in diameter. This was, without doubt, the work of the red men, and in an cient times constituted a fortified retreat. Similar structures exist within the limits of Georgia and in many portions of the United States. It will be remembered that, in the absence of any speedier mode of transmitting intelligence, the Indians sig nalled by means of fires kindled upon prominent points. Through their intervention the approach of danger was herald ed, and the lurid warning quickly repeated until the members of 
 
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49 
 
tribe, through all their abodes, were rapidly put on the alert. Such is the location of Brown's Mount, and so abrupt and com manding its exposure on the west, that signal fires kindled there could be readily seen and interpreted even by the primitive dwellers upon the banks of Flint river. From the side which looks toward Macon, kindred warnings--cloudy pillars of smoke by day and bright flames by night--would quickly summon the warriors of the upper Ocmulgee, and put those who there inhab ited, upon notice. Doubtless, during the forgotten past, this fortified hill answered important military uses in the conduct of the ever-recurring strifes which existed among the redmen. 
The impression entertained by some that it is the work of DeSoto and his followers, is erroneous." 
Col. Jones describes very accurately the great curiosity on the mount, which will be at once recognized by many of the older citizens of Macon, who in times past had so often spent the day in picnic excursions at this favorite sylvan retreat: "Within the enclosure are the traces of two small earth-mounds, and near the northeastern side is a pond or basin, eliptical in form, covering about a quarter of an acre. Of late years it has been drained, and at the time of my visit it contained no water. The statement was made that this was an artificial basin and that its bottom had been plastered with clay at some remote period, so as to more effectually retain the rain-water, which would from time to time accumulate in it. I had no means at command for making an examination and testing the truth of this assertion. The pond was overgrown with trees and filled with decayed leaves and loam. To all appearances it seemed a natural resovoir, although it may be that the natives originally made this excavation with a view to supplying themselves with water in the event of a seige. The natural supply of this fluid, upon ordin ary occasions, was probably derived from four springs issuing from the northern, eastern, southern and western faces of the hill, in each instance, not more than fifty yards of the wall. Indications still exist tending to establish the fact that the paths leading to at least some of these springs were protected by stone 
 
 50 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
walls, or partially covered ways. The summit of this hill is well adapted to cultivation, and in one locality I observed a circular depression, about forty feet in diameter, which suggested the belief that it might be the former site of one of those semisunken granaries in use among the Southern Indians, of which the early historians have given us substantial discriptions." 
The several tribes of Indians had different modes of burial, and their custom, in this respect, changed in different ages. With the early Choctaws, their custom was to place their dead upon scaffolds, where the body remained until the flesh decayed; regular undertakers would then strip the bones of the putrid flesh and deposit the skeleton in the bone-house. When these houses became full of bones they were taken to a plain and a mound raised over them. When the bone-house became filled again another layer of bones was placed on the surface of the mound, earth thrown over them and the mound increased in size. The same process was continued for a long number of years, un til the mound attained inconvenient proportions, when a new one was built near it in the same order. This no doubt ac counts for the different appearances of decay in the various strata of bones found in one mound. In Alabama, Mr. Pickctt says " the small mounds which have been excavated contain different stratas. Beginning to dig at the top, the operators first pass through a strata of earth about two feet thick, then they come to a bed of ashes and charcoal, and then a bed of human bones mixed with pieces of pottery, pipes, arrow-heads and various Indian ornaments. Mussel shells are also mixed with these. Continuing to dig downwards, the excavators pass through a strata of earth which is succeeded by a strata of bones, charcoal, pottery, Indian ornaments and arrow points," etc. 
The larger mounds, the same author says, " were sites for the dwellings of the chiefs, for council-halls and for the temples, which, fancy and conceit have constructed into various shapes and variously situated, one to the other. The same opinion is expressed by Dr. McCulloch, 1829, in his volume entitled Re searches, Philosophical and Antiquarian." 
 
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51 
 
Another distinguished American philosopher as well as states man, Mr. Thomas Jefferson, who in the course of his varied public life, had just about fifty years or more of personal knowl edge of Indian history, had a mound torn away for examination, wrote : "As to Indian antiquities, I would not honor with that name, arrow points, stone hatchets, stone pipes and half shapen images. Of labor on the large scale, I think there is no remains as respectable as would be a common ditch for the draining of lands, unless, indeed, it would be the Barrows, of which many are to be found all over the country. These are of different sizes, some of them constructed of earth and some of loose stones. That they were repositories of the dead has been ob" vious to all ; but on what particular occasion constructed was a matter of doubt." After giving a description of the various modes of burial, he describes the mound he had opened for ex amination and says, he found an abundance of human hones, which, from their position, it was evident had been thrown or piled promiscuously there together ; bones of the head and feet being in contact, "some vertical, some oblique, some horizontal and directed to every point of the compass." It was evident from these bones that they had been deposited at different periods of time and were made up of persons of all ages. The bones were found in stratas. Mr. Jefferson said the mound was about twelve feet in altitude, forty feet diameter at the base, around which was an excavation of five feet deep and width from whence the earth had been taken of which the hillock was formed, and that it was covered with trees twelve inches in diameter. 
The mounds around Macon were also covered with large oaks. They were cut away for timber about 1846 or 1847. There was up to that time fine walks on one of them and many roses and other flowers which had been planted there by the officers sta tioned at Fort Hawkins. 
In 1809, Capt. Robert McDougald, in command of the Fort, died and was buried on one of these mounds. Years after, his 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
brother died and at his request was buried by his side. Their graves were neatly enclosed for many years. 
In former years, before the establishment of the Park and other places of resort, the mounds were the favorite places for excur sions by the gay society of the villagers and afterwards citizens of Macon. 
Brown's Mount, though not visited now, still retains its many attractions, as described by Col. Jones, who was there only a few years ago. It, too, was once a favorite resort for the belles and the beaux of the city, while in the spring and summer melody and perfume filled its groves, dancing, singing and music of instruments, enlivened its lofty summit, interspersed with many a joke, as well as a decanter, which was cracked around the magic basin of its crystal fountains. 
 
THE OCMULGEE RIVER. 
The name Ocmulgee was said by Col. Benjamin Hawldns, to be of Muscogee origin and derived from the Indian Oc or Och which signifies water, and mulgee, boiling or bubbling. The streams in Georgia were all clear water until the country began to be thickly settled, the forest cleared and the land plowed. The name was applied from the many springs that were found along its course and whose pure waters flowed into its channel. 
Tobesofke creek, comes from Sofskee, an Indian dish, pre pared of meal or corn, and Tobe, I have lost. An Indian was crossing the creek in his canoe and lost his provisions ; hence the name. 
Icho-con-naugh (though now spelt Echaconna and was once also called Little Tobesofke) signifies a deer trap. At some places the banks of the creek were very steep and as the deer would go in at the fording places in summer to eat the moss from the rocks, the Indians would post themselves, some above and some below the ford, while others would wade in, attack and kill the deer. 
Towelaggee--The Indians had slain some whites in the month of July, and on returning home the scalps began to spoil through 
 
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intense heat; they encamped on the river, and dried the scalps over a fire, hence Tow-allagee, roasted scalps. Such are the derivations of Indian names to streams in this vicinity. 
The Ocmulgee rises in Fulton and Gwinnett counties. One head spring was traced, at an early date, where now a large and thriving city, the Capital of Georgia, has been built up around it, and the National Hotel, in Atlanta, marks the spot of that spring. The other two streams head in Gwinnett ; the three unite northwest of Monticello, about fifty miles above Macon. The course of the river is south for one hundred and fifty miles, when it heads almost into a semi-circle and unites with the Oconee in Montgomery county, about thirty-two degrees of latitude. The distance by water from Macon to the sea is esti mated by all of the old navigators, at not less than four hun dred miles. 
In 1540, DeSoto and his army journeyed ten days along the banks of the Ocmulgee. They tarried in the neighborhood of the mounds on the Ocmulgee Fields, several days. The first ordsnance of baptism recorded in the history of America was ad ministered on its banks in March, 1540. Eight thousand In dians escorted DeSoto from the Ocmulgee to the Savannah river, which was the largest body of American natives ever assembled in one army. The first permanent settlement of the powerful Creeks, with fortified towns, is recorded to have been made on the Ocmulgee Fields, upon which Fort Hawkins was built by order of President Jefferson. 
It was ia the neighborhood of this river that the first cannon was fired upon American soil. The Spanish authorities state "DeSoto had brought with him thus far, a piece of ordnance, but finding it exceedingly buthensome and of little use, he de termined to leave it with the cazique until his return. That the natives might have some idea of its use, he ordered it to be loaded and pointed at a huge oak without the village. In two shots the tree was laid prostrate, to the infinite amusement of the cazique and his subjects.'' 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Oglethorpe crossed and recrossed the river, through those fields, in 1739. Mr. William Bartram, the celebrated English botanist and historian, gathered rare plants from its banks which he sent to his father, who was President of the Royal Academy of Sciences in London, and wrote of the antiquities on the Ocmulgee river in 1774, and again in 1775. 
At the Old Fields, in September, 1789, the accomplished in triguer, Alexander McGillivray, and the famous Indian warrior, Weatherford, met and interviewed the Commissioners of Presi dent Washington, and rejected the Shoulderbone and Galphinton treaty made at Augusta. It was the place of meeting be tween the United States Commissioners and the chief of the Creeks for many years. |x..:in March, 1807, Aaron Burr, while under guard, crossed the river near Fort Hawkins, which had just been built and garri soned. Burr and his guards were drenched and chilled by the freezing rains when they reached the river. He was captured below the Tombigby river in Alabama, and was required to ride horseback at the rate of forty miles per day. The guards with their prisoner crossed all of the rivers in canoes, in which their camp equipage was placed and by the sides of which their horses swam, until they reached the Oconee, where, at Fort Wilkinson, they crossed in the first ferry boat they had seen on the whole route, and a few miles beyond that river they were sheltered by the first roof--a house of entertainment kept by Mr. Bivins. Generals Jackson, Blackshear and Floyd were at Fort Hawkins during the war of 1812 to 1814. The last large assemblage of Indians at Fort Hawkins occurred in 1819, when they met to receive their annuity from the United States. 
In 1818 and 1819 Roger McCall and Harrison Smith were the first white settlers in the neighborhood of Fort Hawkins. At the lower part of the Ocmulgee Fields they built a flat and loaded it with three hundred bales of cotton from Jones county; it was the first merchantable boat that floated down the river. 
In 1823 the first tree to build a house in the town of Macon was cut on the Ocmulgee banks. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
On the i8th day of January, 1829, the first steamboat, named the North Carolina, Captain Salter, commanding, arrived in Macon, which was hailed as a new era in the navigation of the Ocmulgee. Many of the young ladies and gentlemen of the young town made their first river excursion, with delight, on this steamboat. 
Of the trip of the steamer up the river, the Macon Telegraph said : "Many of the people along the banks were alarmed at the smoke and noise. Some mistook the noise for a roaring lion; others for the sneeze of an elephant. Some protested it was the hissing of the sea-serpent, or the groaning of an earth quake; others thought it was 'war, pestilence and famine,' but the most general opinion was, that it was the Tariff coming in propria persona to eat up our cotton and corn, and to drink up our rivers, and that was an infringement upon State rights. There was a climbing of trees, and a picking of flints, and had not the boat made its escape, it would have been hard to tell what the consequences might have been." 
The North Carolina made but one trip. The next boat was the "Pioneer," which was built in Macon, by Messrs. Charles Day and James R. Butts. It was a stern-wheel boat, drawing twenty-four inches of water. The celerity with which this boat was built and furnished was highly creditable to the owners. It was scarcely four months before her arrival that the timber was standing in the forest. In two months afterwards she was landed ; since which she carried a load of cotton to Darien, re ceived her machinery, and returned with a valuable cargo. One of the enterprising owners, Mr. Charles Day, is now living in Brunswick, and frequently visits his friends in Macon, by whom he has ever been held in the highest esteem. Mr. Butts died on July 2oth, 1869. He was one of the earliest pioneers in the navigation of the Ocmulgee by steam power, and was regarded as an active and enterprising citizen. Shortly before his death he prepared an excellent model, with drawings, for an iron-keel stern-wheel steamer, drawing only twenty inches water, capa ble of bearing five hundred bales of cotton. The wheel is so 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
located in the stern of the keel as to be protected from snags, or from being otherwise crushed. Several improvements have been made on the original design by Mr. Albert G. Butts, a brother of the projector; and it is earnestly hoped by the citi zens that the Ocmulgee will again be open to navigation, and that many "Pioneers" with "valuable cargoes," will glide over its classic waters, from near Covington, Georgia, to the seaboard, connecting with ocean steamers at all of the Georgia ports. 
The commerce of a large portion of the State was, before the establishment of the Railroad system,, transported by this river. From one hundred to one hundred and thirty-nine thousand bags of cotton were shipped from Macon to Darien and Savan nah. For several years eight first class steamboats, and sixty tow-boats were engaged in carrying cotton below, and returning with cargoes of merchandise. The lumber business on the river has so increased that its navigation by steamboats has be come a commercial necessity. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
INDIAN TREATIES--COL. HAWKINS AND PRESIDENT JEFFERSON--ORIGIN OF FORT HAWKINS--THE OLD OCMULGEE FIELDS--DESCRIPTION OF FORT HAWKINS--REPORT OF SECRETARY OF WAR--ENCAMPMENT AT FORT HAWKINS AND CAMP HOPE IN THE WAR OF 1812 AND 1814--THE ORIGIN OF THE WAR--TECUMSEH--GRAND COUNCIL OF INDIANS--BAT TLE OF AUTOSSE--GENERAL WEATHERFORD--CHRISTOPHER B. STRONG-- GENERALS BLACICSHEAR, MC!NTOSH, FLOYD AND ANDREW JACKSON-- GOVERNOR EARLY--JACKSON'S VICTORX AT NEW ORLEANS ANNOUNCED AT FORT HawKiNs--RECEPTION OF THE NEWS AT SAVANNAH--JACKSON AT FORT HAWKINS--SEMINOLE WAW--AMBRISTER AND ARBUTHNOT-- SKETCH OF COL. HAWKINS--Ex. Gov. DAVID B. MITCHELL--TREATY OF 1821--THE" OCMULGEE FIELD'S" RESERVE ACQUIRED--JOHN CROWELL--DEATH OF MC!NTOSH--FIRST COLONY OF SETTLERS AROUND FORT HAWKINS, 1818 AND 1819--THE FIRST HOTEL--SALE OF THE FORT PPOPERTY--THE LAST OF THE OCMULGEE INDIANS. 
i Y a Royal Charter of the King of England, dated June 9th, 1732, to General Oglethorpe, and other trustees, the 
lands between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers were granted on trust; and, in 1736, the lands between the last river and St. Mary's. In 1739 General Oglethorpe held a treaty of friend ship with the Creeks, at an Indian town on the west bank of the Chattahoochee, called Coweta, three miles above the site of Columbus, Georgia. Until 1828 the site where Columbus stands was called the settlement of " Chattahoochee Falls." 
By a treaty held at Augusta, in 1773, and again at the same place in 1793, additional territory was acquired to the Oconee and Altamaha. At Galphinton, in 1785, a treaty was made, acquiring more land from the fork of the Ocmulgee and Oconee, to the South stream of St. Mary's. A treaty was made at Shoulderbone in 1786, which ratified and permanently established all existing treaties, and provided for the punishment of all offenders; the object was not to acquire more land. In 1802, by a treaty held at Fort Wilkinson, on the Oconee, part of the land be- 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MAGON 
 
tween the Ocmulgee and the Oconee was obtained. The United States was represented at the council assembled by James Wilkinson, Brigadier General, U. S. A., Benjamin Hawkins, of North Carolina, and Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina, com missioners plenipotentiary of the United States ; and the Creek Nation by their Kings, Chiefs, head men, and warriors. The treaty was preliminary to the one of 1805, which secured the lands between the Ocmulgee and Oconee, except a portion of the Old Ocmulgee Fields, to be used as a trading post between the whites and the Indians. The ceremonies which took place at this meeting of the council were reported to Hon. Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War, as follows: 
"May 25th, 1802. The Chiefs sent to inform the commis sioners that on the next day they wished to receive them, ac cording to the ancient customs of their country, at the public square ; and they requested the commissioners to be ready to move from their encampment early in the morning, and as soon as the runners arrived, to inform them that everything was ready for their reception. 
May 24th. The commissioners went to the square, and were seated, with all their attendants. The Chiefs of the upper and lower towns, having met at some distance from them, moved on in a body ; two men in front, dancing the eagle tail dance, to music, accompanied by the voices of all the men and women. As soon as they arrived at the square, the commissioners moved to a place prepared for them, when they were touched by the wings in the hands of the dancers; behind General Wilkinson was a small pit, and a white staff standing by it; they brought a bow and arrows, painted red, showed them to the commis sioners, then broke them, put them into the pit, covered them with earth, and with a white deer skin; these great Chiefs, rep resenting the upper and lower towns, wiped the faces of the commissioners with white deer skin, spread the skins on a log, and then sat them down. With the other skins they covered the commissioners, and, after the embrace of friendship, ad dressed them : 
 
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Efau Haujo--for the Upper Creeks--" We, this day, a fine one for the occasion, a clear sun and sky, meet our friends, brothers and fathers to take them by the hand, according to the custom of our fore-fathers, as old as time itself. We have, at the foot of the General, buried the sharp weapons of war, which were in use in old times, and such as we have ; our white deer skins are placed on the seat af our friends, and cover them with the same; we add one more emblem, a pipe." 
The Convention met on May 23d, continued until June ist, adjourned until June 8th, when it reassembled and continued until June 3oth. Another Convention was held at the Agency, near Flint River, on November 3d, 1804, represented by Benjamen Hawkins and the chief men of the Creek Nation, which made other provisions, and all of which were signed, and more territory acquired, in December, 1805, at Washington City, and ratified in June, 1806, the chiefs representing the Indians, and Mr. Dearborn, Secretary of War, the United States, in presence of President Jefferson. This treaty reserved the track of land, five milesalong the river, and three miles in breadth, on a portion of the Old Ocmulgee Fields, to the creeks, while granting the United States Government the right to establish thereon, and continue a military post, and a factory, or trading house. It was also provided, "that the navigation and fishery of the Ocmulgee, from its junction with the Oconee to the Ulcofauhatche, should be free to the white people ; provided they use no traps for tak ing fish; but nets and seins maybe used, which should be drawn on the eastern shore only." 
 
FORT HAWKINS. 
Upon the recommendation of Col. Hawkins to the war de partment, in 1802, Mr. Jefferson insisted, in all the treaties, upon the privilege of establishing a fort and trading post on the Old Ocmulgee Fields. The right being now obtained, instruc tions were issued to the Commissioners to erect the necessary fortifications and buldings for the factory, or trading house, as it was commonly called. 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD or MACON 
 
Col. Benjamin Hawkins, who had been so long engaged as commissioner on the part of the United States, selected the site on the commanding eminence near the river, where but a solitary block house now remains. One hundred acres of ground were, for many years, reserved for the uses of the fort. The fortifications consisted of two large block houses, surrounded by a strong stockade. The stockade wag built of posts of hewn timber, fourteen feet long, and fourteen inches thick ; they were sunk in the ground four feet, with port holds for a musket in every alternate post. The area within the stockade was four teen acres. 
The block house which now remains, occupied the south-east ern corner of the stockade, and the other one, the last relics of of which was blown down several years ago, was located diago nally from the other, at the north-western corner. The block houses were similarly constructed--about twenty-eight feet square, two stories and a basement; thirty-four feet high, sur mounted with watch-towers. The basement was built of blocks of stone eighteen inches thick, ten feet high; the first story was of hewn logs, twelve inches thick, with port holds for cannon and musketry, and twelve feet high. Over the first story the second projected, on all sides three feet, with holes in the floors of the part projecting, so that if the Indians reached the house and attempted to scale the stone basement, in order to set fire to the wooden work, they could be shot down from the pro jecting floors. The second story was also twelve feet high, and the towers about eight feet. There were four long houses, one in the centre of each side of the stockade, their fronts forming part of the stockade to the width of each house, about twenty feet. These houses were used for soldiers' quarters, provisions, and for the factory goods to be sold to the Indians, and peltries received in return. In the centre, surrounded by oaks, were the officers' quarters. The ninety-six acres surrounding the stockade were pretty much cleared of undergrowth and large trees,except a few trees near the Fort, which were left for a shade to the soldiers when not on duty. The object of clearing the 
 
 FORT HAWKINS, FROM .806 TO 1821- DRAWN BV E. 0. ERV1NE, MACON, GEORGIA, 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
grounds was, in case of an attack, the Indians would not find a protection within gunshot, behind the trees. 
The Fort was, in Indian warfare, a very formidable one. The Indians had no artillery. Bows and arrows, the tomahawk, battle-axe, with the rifle, were their most formidable weapons. The Fort was built in 1806, and garrisoned by the removal of the troops at Fort Wilkinson, who occupied it in 1807. 
In 1812, Hon Wm. Eustis, Secretary of War, transmitted to Hon. Henry Clay, Speaker of the House of Representatives, a statement of the capital employed in the Indian trade, showing the state of the trade at each of the trading posts, or factories for four years, and through his report, he heads " Fort Hawkins, No. i," out of the twelve factories then in the United States, though the trade there was not so large as at other factories. In his report, the Secretary said : "It will be found that, generally, the Southern factories have lost, while the Northern factories have gained, The reason is obvious. At the first, peltries (deer skins) are in most part received from the Indians. The quantity of the article supplied in the country, greatly exceeds the home consumption. The market is on the continent of Europe. Since the obstruction to our commerce in that quar ter peltries have not only received a depression in price, in com mon with other of our produce consumed in that part of Europe, but are subject to a considerable loss by being kept over, because of the difficulty and expense of preserving from damage by vermin. 
At the latter, (the Northern factories) hatters, furs are gener ally taken; these not exceeding the home demand, are of good sale. Another consideration is, that at some of the Northern factories, the Indians of their respective vicinities have been en couraged to employ a portion of labor on objects that are not attainable near the Southern factories, such as preparing buf falo tallow and candles ; in making maple sugar; in digging the ore and melting down lead. The Secretary also speaks of Fort Hawkins being remote from the white settlements. The amount of business at the factory for four years, to September 
 
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30th, 1811, was $22,317.28. Jonathan Holstead was the agent 
of the factory. During the Creek war of 1812 and 1814, Fort Hawkins was a 
prominent port for the rendezvous and disposition of troops. At that time Capt. Phil. Cook, afterwards Major, was in com mand. Major Generals Mclntosh, Floyd, and Brigadier General Blackshear, were frequently at the Fort during the war, in con sultation with Col. Hawkins, whose quarters were at the old Creek Agency on the Flint river, near Knoxville. About two miles beyond the fort, on the Milledgeville road Camp Hope was located, where Floyd's army of nine hundred and fifty men  and four hundred friendly Indians encamped in the summer of 1812. Several skirmishes with the Indians occurred in this vicinity during the war, and a battle was fought on the opposite side of the river, when the Indians retreated beyond Singer's hill, northwest of Macon. 
The origin of this war, in which the Indians were induced to take part against the Americans, is attributable to the action of the British government, who in 1806 and 1807, issued a series of paper blockades, by which French ports were laid under em bargo, and American vessels bearing French products were de clared lawful prizes. The government of France retaliated by the famous Berlin decrees, which declared the British Islands in a state of blockade and all neutral vessels trading with them lawful prizes. Both of these decrees were ruinous to American commerce. One thousand American vessels, richly laden fell a prize to the British navy, which was followed by continued oppressment of American seamen. Endurance having become exhausted, the American Congress declared war on the i8th of June, 1812, 
The British sought and obtained a powerful ally in the in fluential and renowned Indian warrior, Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chief, who with the eloquence and power of his brother, the prophet, exhorted all the Indian tribes throughout the United States, from Canada to Florida, to unite in one grand confed eracy and seize the opportunity, while the Americans were at 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
war with Great Britain, to reclaim the original lands. Tecumseh's appearance among the Southern Indians was the precurser of the terrible war which was to follow. He harranged the In dians through the West, down to the Seminoles in Florida, and succeeded in uniting them with the Creeks to join his standard. He succeeded in obtaining the services of Josiah Francis, a half breed, whom he ordained as prophet of the whole Creek Nation and whose word was to be regarded as infallible. Tecumseh brought thirty chosen warriors with him, whom he sent through out Georgia, Alabama and Florida, to disseminate his doctrines and to consolidate all tribes of Indians. Returning from Flori da he entered the Creek country in October, 1812. Hearing that Col. Hawkins had assembled five thousand Indian warriors at Tookabatchka, Alabama, and was about to hold a grand coun cil, Tecumseh, with his thirty select warriors, hideously painted and adorned, boldly marched into the square. Col. Hawkins had made favorable terms with the council. Tecumseh kept quiet while Hawkins was present, but no sooner had Hawkins departed for his Agency on the Flint river, than another grand council was summoned at the great round-house. Tecumseh addressed the Indians in a most passionate and soul-stirring ap peal. He was followed by his brother, the prophet, who poured forth a strain of eloquence that was received with the highest veneration. The animosity of the Indians was aroused against the Americans. They were induced to abandon agriculture, throw aside the implements and clothing obtained from the whites and return to their primitive condition as warriors and hunters. The prophet assured them of the aid and support of the King of England, their old friend and ally, whose power he represented. Another prophet spoke, who endorsed the others and declared if the tribes would unite with the war party the Great Spirit would protect them even in battle, and that every Georgian would be driven to the Savannah river. 
It has been stated by many writers that to impose upon the ignorance of the Creeks, Tecumseh declared to them he would lend his bow of fire across the sky which would be a sign for their 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
outburst upon the whites, and until the sign appeared, they should secretly make their preparations for a combined attack. About the time for the predicted sign in the sky, a comet ap peared across the heavens, and the wild war shout rent the air through the province of every tribe. Tecumseh had read in the Eastern newspapers that a comet would appear at a stated time and used the information to delude the Indians. 
In the fall of 1812, the Indian war commenced in Georgia and Alabama, the territory of the latter being the principal bat tle ground. Tecumseh was slain in the battle of the Thames in the West, fought by General Harrison, but his death was un known to the Southern tribes. A terrible massacre occurred at at Fort Mims, Alabama, in which nearly three hundred whites, men, women and children, were killed. Shortly afterwards Gen eral Jackson, at the head of a body of Tennessee militia, marched against the Indians, and with General Coffee, fought two success ful battles. General Floyd, with nine hundred and fifty Geor gia militia, including a regiment which had been stationed at Fort Hawkins, and four hundred friendly Indians, encountered the hostiles at Autosse, which place was regarded by them as the holy ground. They fought nobly in its defense, but were over come. Their loss, in killed, was two hundred of their bravest warriors, including the kings of Autosse and Tallasee; four hundred of their houses were burned. Several other battles oc curred in which the Indians were defeated. Their last stand was made at the great bend of the Tallapoosa, called by the whites, " the Great Horse Shoe Bend." Here were more than one thou sand warriors, who, with their women and children, had assem bled in a strongly fortified fort. The Indians were surrounded, and relusing to surrender, fought with desperation until nearly all were slain. Five hundred and fifty were killed at the fort, and many were drowned, or shot while attempting to cross the river. The loss of the Americans were fifty-four killed and one hun dred and fifty-six wounded. The remaining chiefs of the Creeks seeing their power destroyed, afterwards surrendered. Among 
 
 66 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
them was the famous warrior, Weatherford, who was distin guished for his power and his courage. 
He approached the camp of General Jackson, unescorted, in troduced himself and said: "I am in your power, do with me what you please. I have done the white people all the harm I could. I have fought them and fought them bravely. There was a time when I had a choice. I have none now, every hope is ended. Once I could animate my warriors to battle; but I cannot animate the dead. They can no longer hear my voice. Their bones are at Tallasehatchee, Talledega, Emucfaw and the Great Bend. While there was a chance for success, I never sup plicated peace; but my people are gone, and I now ask it for my nation ; for the helpless women and children, who never did any harm to you ; if the white people want my life you can kill me, but spare them." 
Several voices cried out, in the tent, kill him, kill him. General Jackson remarked, " that any man who would kill so brave a chieftain would rob the dead." Jackson invited Weath erford to take a seat, and they took a glass of brandy together. Before Weatherford reached the camp he had shot a deer ; he brought it on his horse with him, and, after drinking with Jack son, presented it to him as a token of future peace. Colonel Hawkins and the Big Warrior were present at Weatherford's surrender. Here, in 1814, after having conquered the Creeks, General Jackson made a treaty with them, by which the lands between the Chattahoochee and the Altamaha were acquired. Peace was restored between the Creeks and the whites. Col onel Hawkins, who had so great an influence among all of the Indian tribes, again performed an important part in the execu tion of this important treaty. As a national mark of gratitude, the friendly Creeks be stowed upon General Jackson and his associate in the treaty, Col onel Hawkins, three square miles of land to each, with a request that the United States government would ratify the gift; but 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
this, though recommended to Congress by President Madison, was never carried into effect. 
Major Christopher B. Strong, afterwards an eminent lawyer and Judge of the former old Flint Circuit, and one of the early settlers of Macon and Vineville, won military renown in the army of General Floyd, and was highly complimented by him for skill and bravery in two sanguinary battles. Judge Strong was greatly attached to his old roan horse which was once wounded while bearing him in battle against the Indians. Shortly after young Hiram Warner was admitted to the bar Judge Strong was engaged against him in an intricate case at Monticello. The Judge complimented Mr. Warner before the court and jury upon his learning in the law, and predicted his future eminence in the profession, to which Mr. Warner replied with thanks, and said the compliment was the more appreciable, as it came from a distinguished soldier who had received the special compliment of his commanding officer for bravery in battle, and that he hoped the Judge and his war-horse, Roaney, would long survive the distinction predicted. Both horse and rider lived to good old ages. They were inseparable in life. Under any tree the roan was tied to, it was accepted that his master was near by ; and if the horse was not standing near the court-house, or his master's office, it was settled that the Judge was absent on the circuit, or had not come from Vineville. 
After the treaty of peace was concluded with the Creeks, Gen eral Jackson was appointed to succeed General Wilkinson in command of the forces at New Orleans, and on August 4th, fixed his headquarters at Mobile. Here he learned that three British ships had entered the harbor of Pensacola, had landed a small army, together with a large quantity of guns and ammunition to arm the Indians. Advices were also received by Governor Early, of Georgia, through Colonel Hawkins, that a number of British Vessels had arrived at Apalachicola, and that the British were using every stratagem in their power to induce the Indians to join them, and were training them and runaway negroes in military tactics, and that their purpose was to overrun Georgia. 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
General Floyd, who was still disabled from his wou,nds, was stationed with an army at Savannah to defend the coast. Gov ernor Early tendered the command of the State frontier to Brig adier General David Blackshear, who had been engaged in building a line of forts on the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers, and subduing the Indians in that portion of the State. 
In October, orders were received from the Secretary of War by the Governor of Georgia, to organize, arm and equip twen ty-five hundred militia to join General Jackson at Mobile. Gov ernor Early ordered General Blackshear to assemble at Fort Hawking, by the zist of November, the regiment detached from Major General Daniel's division, commanded by Colonel David S. Booth, and the regiment commanded by Col. Ezekiel Witnberley, including two companies from Brigadier General Lee's brigade, in Jones county, also a company of artillery command ed by Capt. James SafFold, in Clinton, Jones county. 
At Fort Hawkins they were furnished with arms and accou trements ; and also with provisions by the United States army contractor, Farish Carter. Major General John Mclntosh, and Brigadier General David Blackshear were appointed in com mand of this detachment of militia, which was inspected and mustered in by Major Phil. Cook. The rendezvous of the troops was at Camp Hope, near Fort Hawkins. 
On November 23d, Gen. Mclntosh, whose headquarters were now at Fort Hawkins, issued orders to Gen. Blackshear to or ganize the detachment into two regiments and a battalion ; but news having been received that the Seminoles were rising west of the Flint river, Gen. Blackshear was ordered to march with AVimberley's regiment of infantry to Hartford, on the Ocmul gee, and proceed from there to the Flint river and scour the country. 
The call from General Jackson being imperative for reinforce ments from Georgia, Gen. Mclntosh left Fort Hawkins with the remainder of his command for Mobile, sending orders to Gen. Blackshear to join him there with his forces as soon as he had quieted the Seminoles west of the Flint river. After considera- 
 
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69 
 
ble delay, Gen. Blackshear reached the junction of the Flint and Chattahoochee, and discovered that Major Blue had des troyed and captured an army of hostile Red Stripes, and that Col. Hawkins had one thousand friendly Indian warriors at Fort Mitchell, and that the Seminoles had become quieted, and the British vessels had sailed towards New Orleans. 
On the igth of January, 1815, Governor Early wrote to Gen. Blackshear stating that a great crisis in our State had occurred. It was actually invaded by the British in large force, in its most vulnerable point. Two of their ships-of-the-line. seven frigates and a number of smaller vessels had landed on the coast. Gen. Blackshear was ordered to retrace his march to Hartford and proceed to join Gen. Floyd ; additional supplies would be sent him from Fort Hawkins. General Blackshear's forces reached Hartford on January aist, and continued their march towards Savannah, having received information that the whole country below the Altamaha, was overrun by British. Fort Hawkins, at this time, was the principal depository for army supplies, and was distributing rations for the army of Indians under Colonel Hawkins at Fort Mitchell; General Blackshear near the Alta maha, and General Floyd's army below that point. 
On January 3ist, General Blackshear was one hundred and thirty-two miles below Hartford and in communication with Gen. Floyd. The latter informed the former that the British were two thousand strong on land ; that they had pillaged St. Mary's and withdrawn to Cumberland Island. 
On Monday, the 26th of January, the news was brought through a line of runners from Mobile to Fort Hawkins, of the brilliant victory of Jackson over'the British on the 8th instant. Kfue-de-joie of nineteen guns was fired in celebration of the great event, and it was the first salutation in its honor on Geor gia soil. General Blackshear received the news on February 4th, and sent it by courier to Gen. Floyd, concluding his letter, "nineteen guns were fired at Fort Hawkins on Monday last in celebration of the signal victory gained over the British, by Gen. Jackson, at New Orleans. The report is that General 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
Jackson killed one thousand dead, and took five hundred prison ers with only the loss of twenty men. Too good to be entirely true, I fear. Gloria Dei! Gloria facksani/" 
On February i4th, James Monroe, Secretary of War, announced that a treaty of peace was concluded between the United States and Great Britain, at Ghent, on the 24th of De cember last. The accounts were received in Savannah on the evening of the day which the Mayor had proclaimed should be celebrated by illumination, music, etc., in commemoration of the birthday of Washington. The coincidence of circumstances afforded an opportunity for the expression of redoubled joy by the troops and citizens. 
In 1817, by a treaty at the Cherokee Agency, and by another at Fort Laurens, on the Flint, in 1818, further lands were ac quired. In 1819, at Washington, more lands were acquired east of the Chestatee. 
There was peace between the whites and Indians after the treaty of 1814, until 1817, when the Seminoles and a few Creeks, at the instigation of Arnbrister and Arbuthnot, who claimed to hold Florida in the name of Spain, commenced depredations on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama. General Gaines was sent to suppress the Indians, but his force being insufficient General Jackson again took the field, leading one thousand patriots from Tennessee. The Governor of Georgia reinforced him with nine hundred militia and a number of friendly Creeks. On the loth of February, General Jackson arrived at Fort Hawkins with his Tennessee army, and received the Georgia troops, here and at Fort Early, where he made the plan for his Seminole campaign. He marched through Florida, capturing all of the Indian towns, taking many prisoners, among them the Scotchman and Eng lishman, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, whom he ordered tried by court-martial. Ambrister was sentenced to be shot, and Ar buthnot to be hung. Subsequently, the sentence in respect to Ambrister was reconsidered, and he was sentenced to be whip ped and confined at hard labor. This sentence Jackson reversed and ordered both to be executed according to the first sentence 
 
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71 
 
of the court. Previous to the court-martial, Jackson arrested two Indian chiefs whom he found engaged in insurrectionary acts among the Seminoles and Creeks. He ordered them hung without trial. The conduct of Jackson in constituting himself a high court was extensively discussed in the Congress of 1818 and 1819. The Military Committee of the House presented a report censuring his conduct, which, however, was voted down ; a similar result followed a report of like nature in the Senate. 
 
NAME. 
Fort Hawkins was named in honor of Hon. Benjamin Hawkins, a United States Senator from the State of North Carolina. He had been an officer in the Revolutionary war, and enjoyed the esteem of General Washington. In 1785 his name appears as joint commissioner with Andrew Pickens, Joseph Martin and Lachlan Mclntosh, to negotiate with the Creek Indians. They made the treaty of Galphinton, and of Hopewell the same year. 
In 1795, President Washington appointed Mr. Hawkins, then a United States Senator, George Clymer, of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina, as commissioners to treat with the Creek Confederacy. This appointment was brought about in consequence of the inconsistency between the two trea ties : the one at New York in 1790 placed the Creeks under the control of the Federal Government; while the one of Galphin ton made them members of Georgia and under the State juris diction. 
In 1801, Mr. Hawkins was appointed principal Agent of In dian Affairs, South of the Ohio, and together with General Wilkinson and Andrew Pickens, he made treaties with the Chickasaws, Choctaws and Natchez. He was the principal actor in all of the other treaties that have been mentioned, and in 1812 was the sole commissioner in Georgia. In 1816 he resigned his po sitions after thirty years' service among the Indians, and retired upon his farm at the Agency on Flint river, which was his resi dence and headquarters during his life in Georgia, While he had charge of all Indian Affairs, he was not a military command- 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OK MACON 
er, nor did he reside at the Fort which bore his name. He was a frequent visitor there, and negotiated much of his official busi ness at that place. 
During his long service of thirty years among the Creeks he accumulated a large amount of manuscripts, giving very valua ble information of the history and customs of the Indians. His house at the Creek Agency was destroyed by fire, and many of his papers were consumed. Many of his letters to the Govern ors of Georgia, during his term of service, and to the Presi dents and Secretaries of War, and other officials, are still ex tant. His remaining papers were collected by Mr. I. K. Tefft, of Savannah, and published in the collections of the Georgia Historical Society. He died on June i6th, r8i6, at his home, on the Flint river, seven miles from Knoxville, where he was buried. 
Ex-Governor David B. Mitchell was appointed to succeed Col. Hawkins, and in July, 1717, there assembled at Fort Hawkins over fourteen hundred Indians to receive their pay from the United States, through the newly appointed agent, and to transact other business. The Indians remained at the Fort sev eral days, the Chiefs dining with General Mitchell every day. During a frolic among them one of their warriors, the next in rank to Mclntosh, became intoxicated and killed his own nephew. According to the custom of the Indians the murderer was in stantly arrested and executed within an hour after the crime was committed. 
In 1821, the lands between the Flint and Ocmulgee, and the reserve on which Fort Hawkins stands, the remainder of the Old Ocmulgee Fields, was acquired by a treaty which was made at the Indian Springs, on January 8th, 1821, and ratified on the ad of March, the same year. The commissioners, on the part of the United States were David M. Forney, of North Carolina, and David Meriwether, of Georgia; and on the part of the Creeks, twenty-six of their Chiefs signed the treaty. 
General Mitchell was succeeded by Colonel John Crowell, of North Carolina. Crowell figured very conspicuously in the 
 
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73 
 
treaty made at the Indian Springs, on the i2th of February, 1825, between Duncan G. Campbell and James Meriwether, on the part of the United States, and a number of warriors and their Chief, General William Mclntosh. Crowell was a descendant of the famous Cromwell family of England. After settling in America they dropped the letter "m" in their name and as sumed that of Crowell. It was believed by Governor Troup, the United States Commissioners, and a vast number of Geor gians, that Crowell influenced a portion of the Indians to reject the treaty made at the Indian Springs, and created the dissen sions that led to the atrocious murder of General William Mcln tosh, one of the purest, noblest and bravest of Chiefs. 
The earliest white settlers upon the Old Ocmulgee Fields, in the neighborhood of Fort Hawkins, was the party under Roger McCall, in 1819. In 1818, Roger McCall and Harrison Smith settled upon Swift Creek. McCall sent to the North for his brother, Eleazar, to engage with him in the building of boats for the navigation of the Ocmulgee river. 
In 1819, E. McCall, David Flanders, Joseph Willett, John Minor, Seymour Murray, George Clark, James Minor, and a Mr. Beckwith, came to Swift Creek and built three cotton boats ; one went to Darien, under Roger McCall; the other two were poled to the ferry, at the site of the present Fair Grounds, and loaded with cotton from Jones and Baldwin counties, and sent down the river. 
Messrs. Flanders and Willett cut down the bluff and estab lished the first ferry where the city bridge has since stood for more than fifty years. 
The first house erected outside of the Fort was a wooden struc ture by Mr. Lyman, from Milledgeville, and used as a store where trade was carried on with the Indians. From this time, forward, other settlers began to come in and lease the lands around the Fort, and those which were contiguous to the river, until the treaty of 1821, when the Indians, except from fifty to one hun dred, removed to the West. The settlement was called Fort Hawkins until about 1821, when the name of Newtown was adopt- 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ed; but throughout Georgia, and at Washington City, the local ity was ever called Fort Hawkins. 
In 1820, a double-log house was built a few hundred yards beyond the Fort, and was the first hotel in the limits of the sec tion which was susequently part of Bibb county. The hotel was kept by Messrs. Charles Bullock and Nicholas Wells, who were also engaged in merchandising, and in 1822, they issued the first change bills in this section of the country. Several of the bills are now kept in the hands of our oldest citizens as relics of prim itive banking. 
In 1828, the Fort Hawkins property, embracing the original one hundred acres, was sold with the last of the reserved lands. Mr. Thomas Woolfolk was the purchaser; and by an act of the Legislature the whole reserve was surveyed, laid off into lots, and Newtown incorporated into the town of Macon in 1829. 
The Ocmulgee Indians dissipated among the Creeks, and amalgamated with other tribes until their history became ex tinct. During the Seminole wars of 1836 and 1837, according to the statistics of Indian tribes in the United States, the Ocmulgees numbered but two hundred souls. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
1773 TO "833--BIBB COUNTY LAID OFF--THE FIRST INFERIOR AND SUPE RIOR COURTS -- NAME--MACON--PLAN OF THE TOWN--TIGERTOWN-- SALE OF LOTS--THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE--THE FIRST COUNTY ELECTION--MACON INCORPORATED A TOWN--THE F'IRST ACADEMY--MACON LODGE F. A. M.--GEORGIA MESSENGER--FIRST DEATH--HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND BURIAL GROUND--THE ELECTIONS--THE VISIT OF LAFA YETTE--THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION--MACON VOLUNTEERS--THE FIRST COURT HOUSE BUILT--FIRST BANK--BOATS--ELEC TIONS--TROUP AND CLARKE--FIRST RAILROAD--SURVEY--COTTON RECEIPTS--FIRST BRIDGE OVER THE OCMULGEE--MACON BANK--EXTEN SION OF THE TOWN--CAPT. BASIL HALL--A BRIG OF WAR--RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS--REMARKABLE WINTER OF 1828 AND 1829--Layr SALE OF LOTS--FORT LIAWKINS, ETC.--FIRST STEAMBOAT--STATISTICS--DIS TINGUISHED AUTHORS--COTTON AVENUE--NEW COURT HOUSE--THE FIRST AGRICULTURAL FAIR--CENSUS--CHRISTIAN REPERTORY--THE MACON ADVERTISER - EATONTON RAILROAD CONVENTION--SERVILE IN SURRECTION--A BLUE SUN--RELIGIOUS REVIVAL--GREAT FIRE--MILI TARY ENCAMPMENT--MACON BANK--ADVENTURERS--NAME. 
By an Act of the Legislature, December pth, 1822, four new counties from the counties of Houston, Twiggs, Monroe, Jones, Henry, Fayette and Gwinnett, were laid out and the new coun ties attached to the Flint Circuit. The new counties were named DeKalb, Pike, Crawford and Bibb, and on the 22d day of the same month an act was passed to organize the new counties, and to define the places of holding courts, and to authorize the com missioners to lay off the town of Macon and to lay off four acres in said town for the public buildings- in the county of Bibb ; and to add the county of Newton to the Flint Circuit. ' Until a Court-house was built, the house of John Keener was appoint ed the place of holding the Superior and Inferior Courts. 
On February I5th, 1823, at a called court, held at the house of John Keener, Esq., being by appointment of the Justices of the Inferior Court, and being the first Inferior Court held for Bibb county, there were present their Honors, John Davis, Tarp- 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD or MACON 
 
ley Holt, C. W. Raines, D. Lawson, and L. K. Carle, Esquires. James Flewellen was elected clerk of the Court. 
The first acts of the Court were to lay out the county in six districts, the establishment of boundary lines, and the appoint ment of commissioners to superintend the few old roads and to contract for the construction of new roads. 
On March 2oth, 1823, the Honorable Superior Court of Bibb county met for the first time. Present, his Honor Eli S. Shorter, Judge. The sheriff returned his venire and the following per sons were sworn as Grand Jurors : 
 
1 Alexander Meriwether, 2 Josacher Bates, 3 Charles McCardle, 4 James Fitzgerald, 5 Henry Williams, 6 John H. Beard, 7 Charles Ingram, 8 Thomas House, 9 Hardy Harrold, 10 Lewis Foy, 11 Roland Bivins, 12 Redding Rutland, 
 
13 Jonathan A. Hudson, 14 Thomas Bates, 15 William Cummings, 16 Nathan Braddy, 17 Jonathan Wilder, 18 Henry Attdolph, 19 James Henderson, 20 John Douglass, 21 Claiborne Bateman, 22 Burrel Bullock, 23 George B. Wardlow. 
 
The following were empaneled as Petit Jurors : 
 
1 Jesse Palmer. 2 Richard Bullock. 
 
7 Peter Stewart. 8 Henry Turnage. 
 
3 John Bullock. 
 
9 Wade Harris. 
 
4 James B. Hamilton. 5 John Gafford. 
 
10 Zach. Williams, Jr. 11 Edmund Jones. 
 
6 Britton Brazill. 
 
12 Thomas Williams. 
 
Charles J. McDonald was Solicitor General, Nicholas W. Wells, Clerk, and E. C. Beard, Sheriff. 
 
The first presentments were against two individuals for gaming, 
 
and the first indictment was for stabbing. The residence of Mr. Keener, where the courts were held, was 
 
a double-log cabin on the lot afterwards occupied by the late 
 
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77 
 
Simri Rose, Esq., on BealPs Hill, and now adjoining Mount deSales Academy. 
NAME. 
The county was named in memory of Dr. William Wyatt Bibb, who was bora in Prince Edward county, Virginia, in 1780. He settled as a physician at Petersburg, Elbert county., Georgia, and ably represented that county in the Legislature several terms. Afterwards he removed to Wilkes county. At the age of twenty-five he was elected to Congress under the gen eral ticket system, by a large majority. He was a prominent leader in the House of Representatives, and an able advocate of the war of 1812, and a supporter of the administration of Mr. Madison. His contemporaries at his first election were Boiling Hall, George M. Troup and Howell Cobb. From his populari ty he came within a few votes of being elected Speaker of the House. He was afterwards elected to the United States Senate. He served in Congress from 1806 until 1816, when he was ap pointed Governor of the Territory of Alabama, and was elected by the people, in 1819, the first Governor of that State. Huntsville was then the capital. In Alabama he sustained the high reputation he had won in Georgia, and in all the stations which he filled he was eminently successful. While riding in the woods, the horse of Governor Bibb fell with him to the ground, the rider receiving an injury from which he never recovered. The State of Alabama had just been organized and was afflicted with the loss of their first Governor, who died at his residence in Autauga county, in July, 1820, age about forty years. After the death of Governor Bibb, his brother, Thomas Bibb, who was President of the Senate, became the acting Governor. 
After the acquirement of full possession of the Fort Hawkins reserve, the United States Agent was authorized to lease the land to settlers. From its central locality, and advantages of water transportation to the sea by the navigation of the Ocmulgee, it was destined to become a prominent mercantile point in the State; hence a number of immigrants, desirous of settling 
 
 78 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
in this vicinity, began to move upon the reserve. Others fol lowed, but were prevented from settling immediately upon the river, as those who preceded had attained an exclusive right to the most desirable lots, through their leases, for a term of years. Against this, complaint was made which induced the Legislalature to set apart a reserve of like extent to that of Fort Hawkins and opposite to it, on the western side of the river. This was accomplished by an Act of the Legislature, May I2th, 1821. The new reserve was to be disposed of by a future Legislature. Accompanying the same act, Governor Clarke sent to the House of Representatives a letter from Hon. John C. Calhoun, Secre tary of War, notifying him of the leases on the Fort Hawkins reserve which now reverted to the State. A resolution was im mediately passed authorizing the Governor to appoint an agent, under bond, to take charge of the leases and to protect both the old and new reserves. The Legislature, in December, 1822, in connection with the act to establish the county of Bibb, author ized the commissioners to lay off the plan for a town to be called 
MACON, 
On the west reserve on the Ocmulgee river. The survey was made in the early part of 1823, by James Webb, the appointed surveyor, in the form of a rectangle, with wide streets, running nearly north and south in parallels, and those in an opposite direction running nearly east and west. The first row of streets were named numerically one to eleven inclusive, and the oppo site row were named Wharf, Walnut, Mulberry, Cherry, Poplar and Pine. Both rows were made to alternate in width, first one hundred and eighty, then one hundred twenty feet. Between the two rows of streets, squares were laid off with two alleys in opposite directions and parallel with the streets, dividing the squares into four equal blocks. The alleys running north and south were ten feet in width, and those running east and west were twenty feet wide. The area of the square was four hun dred and thirty-seven by four hundred and twenty-seven feet; 
 
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79 
 
of the four blocks covered one acre and measured two hunand eight feet and six inches on the sides. :: : ;At the time that this survey was made there was not a single iiframe building within its limits. Thomas Tatum, in 1822, built "a"log: 'cabin, containing several small rooms, which was weatherboarded and used that year and in the early part of 1823 as an inn. At the upper ferry, just above First street, there was a single cabin where Mr. E. C. Beard lived; he had been in charge of the old ferry since 1821. The Federal road crossed at this place. In 1822 and 1823, a number of immigrants came upon the reserve, on the west side of the Ocmulgee. They were known as squatters, who, without authority, and before the lots were :seld, began the construction of what were called "board camps," which they inhabited. After the lots were sold they removed to the South-western commons, established an inde.pendent settlement, and became the first suburban neighbors of Macon. They named the suburb "Tigertown," after their ferocious leader, Tiger Jenkins, and well did he deserve the name. He is represented as having been a very rough and mus cular man, with a visage as ugly as it was frightful. Like Attila, the leader of the Huns, he could direct his followers to action by his grimaces, and without uttering a word in command. He was toothless, but was compensated therefor with an extra ordinary strength in his paws. He lustily boasted of the length and thickness of his nails, and woe unto the innocent wayfarer that chanced to fall within reach of his claws. There was con siderable rivalry between the inhabitants of Newtown and their new neighbors in Macon, and in dirision of the new settlers, the former called the settlement of the latter, "Tigertown." \': On the 7th -and 8th of March, 1823, the sale of the lots, which had been freely posted and advertised, took place. The bidding was spirited, and those situated nearest the river brought : the highest prices. Mr. Thomas Flewellen was the auctioneer. The axes of the pioneers were vigorously applied, and the forest /which had so long been the haunt of the Indian was now soon 
 
 80 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
cleared of its growth. The " first tree felled" for the con struction of a frame house was cut by Joseph Willet, one of six men who first came as settlers upon this portion of the Ocmulgee. 
The first frame house was located on the corner of Fifth, commonly called Bridge street, and Wharf street. It was built by Messrs. Henry G. Ross and Dr. S. M. Ingersoll; the first story was occupied for a store, and the upper story for a dwell ing. The house was neatly built, and, as it was painted white, it for several years, attracted the visits and attention of the sur rounding country, as the most ornamental building in the several counties. Fifth street was the first one opened and built upon, and its western extremity was, for a number of years, the "west end " of the aspiring denizens of the rising town. During the two first years that portion of Sixth street nearest the river, and the cross-streets squares above, on Wharf, Walnut, Mulberry and Cherry, between Fourth and Fifth streets, was next built upon. 
"The first election for members from Bibb county to the Leg islature was held in October, 1823, and resulted in the choice of Charles Bullock to the Senate, and Dr. Stephen M. Ingersoll to the House of Representatives. On the 8th of December fol lowing an Act for the incorporation of the town of Macon passed both Houses of the Legislature, and Oliver H. Prince, David S. Booth, Samuel Wood, Charles J. McDonald, and Seth Ward were appointed commissioners, to remain in office until the first Monday in January, 1825. The Act further provided that "on the first Monday in January, 1825, and on the first Monday in January, in every year thereafter, the citizens of the town who were entitled to vote for members to the General As sembly shall assemble at the Court-house of the town, and by ballot, elect five commissioners, who shall continue in office for one year, and that the said commissioners have full power and authority to make any by-laws, ordinances, or regulation, with power to enforce the same that they may deem best calculated to promote the general good of the citizens of said town." 
 
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In January, 1824, the commissioners appointed by the Legis lature were duly installed into office, and in less than one year after the first tree was cut in the wilderness, the village of nine months ago became an incorporated town. During this year the Macon Academy was started under the Rectorship of Rev. Oliver Danforth, who was the first school teacher in Macon. The Academy was founded under the auspices of the commis sioners of the trustees of the Bibb County Academy, who had been appointed by the Legislature in 1823. The first society in the town was Macon Lodge, No. 84, F. A. M-, which com menced work under dispensation July 28th, 1824. Dr. Ambrose Baber was chosen Worshipful Master, Eleazar McCall, the Senior, and Edward D. Tracy, the Junior Warden thereof. During the same year, the Macon Hotel was built, and rented the fol lowing year to George Stovall. The hotel is now standing be low Fourth street, on Mulberry ; it was used during the late war as a hospital for disabled soldiers, under the charge of a benevo lent and noble society of women, who called it the Wayside Home. In the rear of this hotel, with its front on Mulberry street, was erected a two story building twenty by forty feet. The first story was. used as a store, and its second story supplied the first hall for the Masonic Lodge. In this year the Georgia Messenger, which had been established by Major Matthew Rob inson and Simri Rose, in Newtown, now East Macon, on the northeast corner of the lot which twenty years afterwards be came the Central Railroad depot, was removed to Macon, and its office established just below the residence, then, of Major Robinson, on Fifth street, between Cherry and Poplar; the residence is still standing and is known as the Candler house. 
The first death among the citizens occurred in November, 1824, which was that of Mr. John Clark, a painter ; his burial was the first interment in the Cherry street burial ground. The commis sioners had appropriated the four acres between Sixth and Seventh and Cherry and Poplar streets, to lots for houses of worship, or meeting houses, as they were then most commonly called, with burial ground attached. The Legislature of 1826 donated 
 
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three other lots for church buildings and reserved the four acres for a burial place. 
On the first Monday in October the annual election for mem bers of the Legislature was held. Oliver H. Prince was elected to the Senate and Dr. S. M. Ingersoll returned to the House. 
On the first Monday in January, 1825, the citizens of the town assembled, for the first time, to elect their commissioners. The records containing the names of the commissioners elected, have been misplaced. It was the custom during the period of the township of Macon for the commissioners to elect the Intendent, Secretary and other officers. The elected commission ers selected for the year 1825, Mr. James H. Rogers, Intendant, and Thomas G. Bates, Secretary. The first ordinance passed by the board and published under the names of the Intendant and Secretary, was the prohibition of the sale of spirituous liquors, in quantities less than a quart, without a license, for which nine dollars were charged. This year was pregnant with exciting events in the State and throughout the twenty-four States in the Union, in which the young town of Macon participated at home and through their delegates in the Legislature. The first promi nent event was the arrival of General LaFayette. He visited Georgia on his tour through the United States, in acceptance of an invitation by the Legislature. He was met in Savannah by Governor Troup, the city authorities, the military and all of the citizens. In response to the eloquent reception address by the Governor, after being introduced to the citizens--some of whom had fought under him in the days of the revolution--he was conducted to his lodgings, and addressed by the Mayor. In his reply he said : 
" While I rejoice in the honorable and affectionate reception from the citizens of Savannah, in the prosperity and happiness which this city presents to a patriotic eye, I, for the first time, approach the spot where the blood of two nations has been shed in a common cause--where Pulaski fell, and Laurens planted the American standard. It is to me a cherished thought, that although the wounds of d'Estang, the gallant devotion of Lin- 
 
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coin, were not rewarded with success, the remembrance of that day must be one of the bonds of a mutual friendship and good wishes. There also is the tomb of my dear companion and friend, the great and good Greene. Amidst those sentiments, I am highly sensible of the kindness of the people of Savannah, in my behalf, and beg them and you, Mr. Mayor, to accept my respectful, affectionate acknowledgements." 
A banquet was given the General that evening, the igth of March, in the Council Chamber, where hundreds of guests were present. 
On the next day--Sunday--he attended divine service, with the Governor and their suites, at the Episcopal Church, and on Monday laid the cornerstone of monuments to Generals Pulaski and Greene. 
After visiting Augusta, where grand demonstrations were made, he proceeded to Milledgeville, and was received by the Governor and given the grandest ovation ever accorded in the State. 
Wherever a hoary-headed veteran of the Revolution was found, however long he had remained in obscurity, he was once more brought from his solitude and grasped the hand of the friend of Washington, and partook of the brilliant triumph accorded him by the people and the authorities of Georgia. 
When Lafayette left America, Milledgeville was unknown to the map of Georgia. Its site was in the wilderness and among the haunts of the Indians. Since that period a town has been built and settled by a population, combining both wealth and intelligence, which made it the capital of the State. But not far from Milledgeville, on the Western bank of the Ocmulgee> was another infant town, where, two and a half years before, there had not been a single -white settlement. Within that short space of time it numbered seven hundred and fifty souls, and had es tablished, from the very commencement of its existence, a newspaper called the Georgia Messenger, which continues until this day, and from which the following is compiled: 
 
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LAFAYETTE'S ARRIVAL IN MACON. 
On March the 3oth, at 12 o'clock, M., a signal gun announced his approach to Macon, when the ladies and gentlemen proceed ed to form in lines on Bridge street, near the ferry. He dis mounted from his carriage and crossed the river, when he was received by the committee appointed for that purpose, and the commissioners of the town, On ascending the bluff, he was wel comed to the town, in behalf of the citizens, by James S. Frierson, Esq., to whom the General replied in substance: "That he was thankful for the manner in which the citizens of Macon were pleased to receive him ; that he perfectly accorded in the opin ion that a Representative Democracy was the best calculated to secure the liberties of the people, and requested that the people of Macon would receive his thanks for the manner in which they had been pleased to receive him.'' 
A procession was then formed, and he was conducted to his quarters at the Macon Hotel, (now the old Wayside Home at the foot of Mulberry street.) During the moving of the proces sion, a national salute was fired. Soon after his arrival, he was waited upon by the ladies, who were individually introduced to him ; after which every citizen who wished was introduced, to whom he gave a cordial grasp of the hand. He was then waited on at his quarters by the brethren of Macon Lodge, No. 24, and addressed by Worshipful Ambrose Baber, Master of the Lodge : 
" Brother and General Lafayette : In our humble capacity as brothers of the Mystic Union, we welcome you to our infant vil lage. No triumphal arch, no tinsel show of earthly grandeur greeted your entry. We offer you a triumph more lasting and noble--the triumph of gratitude. 
" Admonished by that resplendent luminary which rules and governs the day, and imparts an equal lustre on all mankind twice in every year, that we have all once been and must again be on a level, we have ventured to hail your arrival among us, and to offer you a welcome in unalloyed gratitude, the spontaneous effusions of our hearts. 
 
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" Illustrious Benefactor of mankind ! What a splendid train of associations does thy wonderful life excite ! Companion and associate of our immortal Washington ! Thine efficient arm hath prostrated oppressive tyranny--succored and relieved dis tressed and agonized humanity, and established a nation in the full enjoyment of freedom. The glittering offering of Princes could not dissuade, nor the appalling frowns of Royalty deter you from a life of benevolent usefulness, the assassins of san guinary demagogues, nor the loathsome cells of the dungeon mar or destroy your feelings of philanthropy. Unaltered and un changed didst thou remain amidst the calamitous vicissitudes which harrassed thine own distracted country. 
'' Behold thy compensation ! The grati tude of ten millions of freemen, the applause and admiration of the enlightened of every nation ; even the wilderness smiles with joy and the savage is gladdened at thy presence. 
" Amidst this jubilee of feeling, permit me to offer you again the grateful rejoicings of my associates and brethren of the so ciety of Free Masons in beholding you among us. Royal tyran ny may condemn, ignorance may reproach and blaspheme the holy mysteries of our institution, yet with Lafayette for her sup port, the science of Masonry will continue to illumine and har monize mankind to endless ages. Gratitude must have fled from the breast of man, humanity lose its seat ere the virtuous deeds of the generous, amiable, distinguished and exemplary Lafayette shall be forgotten." 
To which the General replied : 
" The very grateful reception I have met among my brethren demands of me an expression of my most sincere and affection ate acknowledgments. Permit me to declare to you particular ly and the brethren of your Lodge, an unfeigned obligation for the very flattering words you have been pleased to speak for me. 
" The science of Free Masonry, to which I have for many years been an humble votary, is wonderfully calculated to alle viate the many distresses and calamities to which mankind are 
 
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exposed in their variegated and manifold duties in society, and when I recur to those scenes to which you have pleased so deli cately to allude I am constrained to acknowledge how much I have been cheered, sustained and animated in the various vicis situdes of my life by the holy precepts and examples of our in stitution. That you and your lodge may be blessed with pros perity and harmony, that the rising and improving town of Macon may continue in its successful advancement, that Mason ry may flourish, and the citizens enjoy all the social and intel lectual blessings it so eminently inculcates, I pray you, sir, to accept as my most sincere and ardent wish." 
He remained about two hours and a half, during which time, he, in company with a large number of citizens, partook of an excellent dinner prepared by Mr. Stovall. After dinner the fol lowing toast was given by Edward D. Tracy, Esq. : 
" Our illustrious guest: The friend of our country, of liberty, and of man." 
To which the General replied and gave "The town of Macon : May its prosperity continue to be one of the strongest arguments in favor of republican institutions." 
Very soon after dinner he bade an affectionate adieu to the ladies and gentlemen around him and resumed his carriage, at which time another salute was fired. 
He was accompanied by the committee, commissioners of the town, and a number of our citizens, en horseback, several miles on his way, and stopped for the night at the Creek Agency on Flint river. Having left Milledgeville early in the morning the whole distance traveled that day was sixty miles. There were relays of horses every ten miles throughout the country for the use of the Nation's guest and his movements were very rapid. 
He arrived here unattended by any military escort; the only persons with him were his son and secretary, and two of the Governor's aids--Cols. T. G. Holt and H. G. Lamar. 
His progress through the country had been a continued scene of triumph, such as had never before attended the movements of 
 
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any individual. Macon, at that time, in comparison with those towns through which he had passed, was what the country had been when he came to her help in the days of the revolution. 
The best arrangements were made for the reception that the village could afford, and what was wanting in style in honor to the accomplished French scholar, philanthropist and soldier, was supplied with patriotic ardor and genuine hospitality. 
There are several citizens in Macon who have lived here since its early settlement and were present at the jubilee given to Lafayette. 
Lafayette visited Mobile and New Orleans, went up the Mis sissippi and visited the Middle States on his way to Boston, where, on the i;[h of June, the semi-centennial anniversary of the battle where the first blood of the Revolution was spilt, he laid the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument. After visiting the Eastern States, he was ovated at Independence Hall in Phil adelphia. Returning to Washington, he was again made the "Nation's Guest." 
The most affecting scene on his triumphal tour was his visit to the grave of Washington. 
The first service of the frigate Brandywine was placed at his disposal to transport him to France. 
His tour through the twenty-four States occupied one year. Before his departure on the yth of September he remarked that during his whole travels he had not met with a person who could say what he could, that he had visited every State in the Union. 
There is framed in the Public Library of this city a letter of General Lafayette's written while he was in Milledgeville, March z8th, 1825. 
On the ^th of July, 1823, the first celebration, in Bibb coun ty, of the Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence oc curred. There being no hall or room for an assembly one of the old buildings at Fort Hawkins was appropriated for the cer emonies. The Declaration of Independence was read by John P. Booth, and the usual eulogium was pronounced upon the he roes of '76 in an oration delivered by the Solicitor General, 
 
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Charles J. McDonald. The company moved to the double-log house near the fort, known as the hotel of Messrs. Bullock & Wells, where, on the part of the juvenile assemblage, Richard T. Marks, a youth of thirteen years, and who was an apprentice in the Georgia Messenger office, delivered a pathetic address. The children were furnished a dinner by the proprietors of the hotel. The assembly then retired across the ferry to Macon, and were seated in a grove at the intersection of Fifth and Mul berry streets, which afterwards became the public square, and in which the first brick court-house was built, where, according to the phraseology of the day, "they partook of an elegant re past prepared by Major John Loving," such as was not too hard to prepare then--or now. The principal staples were an abund ance of roasting-ears, plenty of cucumbers and onions, some bacon and greens, and barbecued shote. Dr. Thompson Bird presided at the festal board, assisted by Robert Coleman as vicepresident. In due time, as there was no cloth to remove, thir teen toasts were drank in response to the "old gun" which fired a salute at every toast, and also bid them good night at sunset. 
The old gun, a four-pounder, was left a waif upon the com munity by the breaking up of the garrison at Fort Hawkins, and which was the principal speaker of the day. 
During the night previous there existed a very excited "bor der war," whether the gun should speak from Fort Hawkins or at Macon. The Macon boys, with some or more experience, had gotten possession of the prize, and having it well loaded, and with about forty muskets, left at the old fort, which they had captured without the effusion of blood, and with about as many lightwood torches, were prepared to defend it. 
The other party having control of the " Navy Department," consisting of the ferry and one batteau, crossed the river, reconnoitered like prudent soldiers, went to Tigertown for recruits. The clan of Tiger Jenkins, having an eye to the dinner that was to be spread in the grove, had formed an alliance with the Macon party. They were then denounced as "rebels" by the Newtown party, who recrossed the river, returned home much 
 
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disappointed, and were dismissed with no moderate amount of cursing from their leader. 
A celebration of independence took place in 1824, but there is no record of the ceremonies. 
On the 23d of April, 1825, the Macon Volunteers, a military corps, was organized, and a one-room wooden court-house had been built. Extensive preparations were made for the celebra tion of the coming anniversary by the citizens, town and coun ty officers and Captain Wright's military corps. The dawn of the 4th was announced by "a gun at daylight;" afterwards, a salute of twenty-four guns. A procession was formed at eleven A. M., and marched to the court-house. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Lot Jones, the Declaration read by Edward D. Tracy, with a speech, and an oration delivered by Benjamin C. Frank lin. The military paraded and dined at the Mansion House, where Chirstopher B. Strong presided ; a number of toasts were given, which were responded to by the "old gun," and inter spersed with martial music and a variety of patriotic songs by the guests. 
Every 4th of July was celebrated in Macon from its earliest settlement until the late war. At the first celebration in which the military participated, Mr. Tracy, then a young man, read the Declaration and delivered a speech. He afterwards married and reared an interesting family in Macon, and died in January, 1849. It is a remarkable coincidence that his oldest son should have made the last address on a similar occasion in Macon in 1860. That son fell at Sharpsburg in defence of the very principles, " a Union of equal rights," based upon the old Declaration his father had read and expounded thirty-seven years before. 
During this year two academies, Lake and Washington, had been built, rectors employed and pupils admitted. The Epis copalians formed a congregation and employed the Rev. Lot Jones, rector. They also elected wardens and vestrymen. A temporary court-house was constructed on the first court-house square, fronting Mulberry, and between Second and Third streets. The Branch Bank of Darien was opened on October 
 
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3oth, in the building on the corner of Cherry and Fifth streets. It was built for that purpose and was the first brick house in the town. Mr. Samuel Woed was the first cashier. 
Messrs. Roger and E, McCall, David Flanders and Joseph Willet were actively engaged in building boats for the river trade to Darien, with a capacity of loading three to seven hun dred bags of round cotton. A dozen trips had been made by a class of small crafts called mountain boats, from Henry county, bringing from fifty to one hundred bags of cotton down the river and returning with groceries and farmers' supplies. 
In September, a large hotel, the Mansion House, on Mulberry street, opposite the Macon Hotel, was completed, and that month was opened for entertainment by William Bivins, who was suc ceeded by Messrs. Bullock & Wells. 
On the first Monday in October, the regular election for mem bers to the Legislature, and the first election by the people of Georgia for Governor, took place. George M. Troup was the Governor, and a candidate for re-election, while his old an tagonist, General John Clarke, was again a candidate for the same office. The Troup candidates from Bibb were Benjamin J. Lamar for the Senate, and Samuel Gillespie for the House. The Clarke candidates were Timothy Matthews for the Senate, and Harrison Smith for the House. This was a noted day in Macon and at every voting precinct throughout the State. Never was party spirit so high and fierce. The excitement actually per vaded the family circle to an intensity that produced an estrange ment between relatives that lasted for years ; in many instances even the clergyman became unmindful of the obligations of his sacred office, and was infused with the zeal of the partisan. In every county there was more or less disturbance, resulting some times in the shedding of blood; but in Bibb it was confined to the pugilistic mode of warfare, and the greatest injury the combatants sustained was purpled eyes and dislocated noses. 
The vote cast for Clarke was three hundred and eighty-four ; and for Troup two hundred and four. Matthews and Smith were elected to the Legislature. The vote of the State gave Troup 
 
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seven hundred and fifty majority, and the enthusiastic popularity that he acquired during the last term of his administration, in the defence of the treaty made at the Indian Springs, in Febru ary, 1825, would have elected him by an overwhelming majority to any office in the gift of the State. 
On October ist, a survey for a railroad between Macon and Milledgeville was completed, and the distance by the route was forty-nine miles. It was found necessary to lay out two inclined planes. This was the first railroad survey recorded in the State. 
A market-house was built by the town authorities, situated in the center of Fifth street, between Cherry and Mulberry. 
On ad January, 1826, E. W. Wright, Wm. J. Dannelly, Rob ert Birdsong, Josiah Freeman and John Loving were elected Commissioners, and they elected Edward D. Tracy, Intendant, and Josiah Freeman, Secretary and Treasurer. The first acts of the new board were the renting of the stalls in the market, and the planting of shade trees along the sides and in the center of the streets. Many of the graceful elms aud majestic water-oaks that now adorn the city present a pleasing testimony of the taste and wisdom of the town authorities ; and in this connection it would be an unpardonable omission not to state that the sugges tion and plan of setting out the trees emanated from that enter prising and most useful citizen, Simri Rose, who planted, at various times, many trees on his own responsibility, and urged the importance of this essential ornament to the consideration of nearly every Council during the long period of his life in Macon. 
The receipts of cotton for the year 1825 were seventeen thou sand bags, and as the commerce of the town increased the pop ulation also increased. 
In January, 1826, the town contained seven hundred and fifty to eight hundred inhabitants, thirty-two stores, and was receiv ing cotton from sixteen counties, and trading with them. The Commissioners of Bibb County Academy had constructed a frame house for a school on the square assigned for that purpose, which was opened for pupils. The commissioners assumed control as 
 
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trustees, and appointed Rev. Lot Jones rector of the academy. Mr. Jones instituted the first Sabbath-school in the town. Re ligious services were held at the Court-house, academy, and oc casionally at the Masonic Hall. 
In November, the first bridge across the Ocmulgee was com pleted. It was built at the expense of the State, by Daniel Pratt and Alexander McGregor, and was a very creditable struc ture. The granite pillars upon which it stood still remain. Two bridges over them have been washed away, when they were raised several feet above the highest water mark. 
At an election for Congressmen, General John Floyd received three hundred and fifty-five votes, and Angus M. D. King, three three hundred and twenty-nine ; for the Legislature, Timothy Matthews was re-elected to the Senate, and John S, Childers to the House. 
On November igth, the Macon Bank commenced operations under G. B. Lamar, president, and James Rea, cashier, in the basement of the building on the corner of Wharf and Fourth streets. 
The Macon Telegraph was started November ist, Myrom Bartlett, editor and proprietor. 
1827, January ist, John T. Lamar, William J. Dannelly, Rob ert Birdsong, Washington Poe and N. W. Wells, were elected Commissioners, and they elected W. Poe, Intendant. Their ad ministration was characterized, in the conduct of its Intendant, by a strict regard for the majesty of the law, and the same reso lute spirit left its impress in every subsequent office that he so worthily filled. 
By an Act of the Legislature in December, 1826, a further sale of lots was granted, and the limits of the town common extend ed half mile on the northwest and southeast boundary of the town plat. At the former sales of lots, those lying immediately upon the river were reserved; but they were now directed to be sold. A sale took place in February, 1827. On the first day, ten half-acre lots on the river brought $9,880 ; the one nearest the bridge sold for $3,550. Nine others sold for $7,155, and 
 
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seven quarter-acre lots in the court-house square, between Wal nut and Mulberry, and Second and Third streets, sold for $4>59- 1^e town was now being built on all the streets up to Second street. It will be observed that there had been no sale of lots below Seventh street, through the original survey had provided for lots and streets to be extended as far as Eleventh street. Below the line for Eleventh street, the land was low and subject to overflow, and being heavily timbered it made a con tinual swamp. Dr. Ambrose Baber, a learned physician and eminently enterprising citizen, having the hygenic interest of the location of the town in view, earnestly recommended the preserva tion of the forest below Seventh street as essential to the health of the people. The Legislature of 1826 adopted the salutary recommendation, and passed an act "to reserve the timber in the vicinity of the town for the preservation of the health of the inhabitants thereof, setting apart all the land within the plat below Seventh street, together with a space of six hundred yards below, and a space of three hundred yards on the southwestern or outer side thereof, to be vested in the corporate authority of the town ; provided, that if any part of the land should be sold or leased it should then revert to the State." The"forest was then, and ever has been, a beautiful growth of trees, and upon a portion of it stands that admired landscape and beautiful grounds, Central City Park. 
In January, the bridge was rented for the year 1827, at $4, 600. In February, a new hotel, the Washington Hall, corner of Mul berry and Second streets, was opened by Moreland & Townsend. At this time, the Forsyth road and the Federal road were inter sected at Second and Mulberry streets. The Forsyth road was a continuation of Mulberry street, above Second ; the course of the road was up the hill in the direction of Lake Academy, three miles distant. In the rear of the hill, along its sides, the charm ing hamlet of Vineville was afterwards built. The course of the Federal road was from the Washington Hall towards Tattnall Square, thence towards the Old Agency, on Flint river, thence 
 
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to Fort Mitchell and the Falls of the Chattahoochee; the latter place was laid off the next year and named Columbus. 
Captain Basil Hall, of the British Navy, passed through Macon, March nth, 1827, on a tour through the United States, He was an eminent writer and voyager, and was highly praised and promoted for his services by the Lords of the Admiralty. He was the son of Joseph Hall, Baronet and President of the Royal Society of Edinburg. He wrote two volumes upon his travels in America, and referred to Macon and the Falls of the Chattahoochee. He called the latter place the " embryo city of the wilderness." Sir Walter Scott, in his Life of Napoleon, relates that Captain Hall visited the distinguished exile at St. Helena, and that he said to him: " Your father is the first Eng lishman I ever saw," and then explained the circumstances of their meeting. 
Captain Hall was highly complimented by the press of Macon during his visit through Georgia. He had been in the service of the British Navy more than twenty-six years, and had traveled more extensively than any other navigator at that time. The papers relate a curious circumstance attached to his history : " His motlfer, Lady Helen Hall, daughter of the Earl of Sel kirk, was actually in the house at St, Mary's Isle, and sitting at the tea-table, when the place was surrounded by the crew of Paul Jones' ship, and she remembers the whole particulars, and the delicacy with which the ladies were treated by Paul's officers. It is well known that Paul Jones bought up, with his own money, the whole of the plate which was taken away, and sent it back to Selkirk. It was not, however, till upwards of twelve years afterwards the boxes reached the place, and, upon opening them a curious proof was afforded that they had never been touched, for at the bottom of the tea-pot, which had been on the table at that time, was found a hard mass of dry leaves, just as they had been at the moment the plate was carried away." 
What a wonderful contrast with the conduct of the United States officers in the State of Georgia in 1864 ! A full account of these officers will be found at the close of this volume. 
 
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The 4th of July of this year was celebrated with much eclat. Benjamin C. Franklin was the reader, and John G. Polhill the orator. Among the incidents, the Telegraph of that date an nounced being "highly gratified with an unusual exhibition in an inland town like ours. A brig of war, in miniature, the work manship of Wm. R., Israel F., and Eliphalet E. Brown, sons of Win. F. Brown, of this town, was exhibited as an object of much curiosity, and attracted the attention of every person present. It was represented as under full sail, and when it fired a broadside it perfectly electrified the whole company. It is an object of much curiosity, and the youthful architects are enti tled to much credit for their mechanical skill. It is hoped that they will continue to cultivate their taste for Naval Archi tecture." 
Two small schools were opened during the year. The Metho dists had held two four-days' camp-meetings, and a four-days' union meeting was called in October, by Rev. Joseph Stiles, a Presbyterian licentiate, at Harvey's warehouse, corner of Wharf and Walnut streets, in which ministers of every denomination participated. Subscriptions were raised by the Methodists, and preparations made by them for the building of a Church. The Presbyterians were also making efforts towards the same pur pose. 
A treaty having been executed, by which the lands between the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers were ceded, the bridge over the Ocmulgee presented a stirring scene in the passage of large numbers of immigrants with wagons, stocks, and all their house hold effects, prospecting for a new settlement. 
At the election in October, Ambrose Baber was elected to the Senate, and Henry G. Lamar to the House. The number of votes polled were seven hundred and fifty-four, 
In 1828 the election of commissioners for the town resulted in the choice of John T. Lamar, Robert Birdsong, John Corbitt, Marrnaduke J. Slade and John S. Childers, who elected Mr. Birdsong Intendant. 
The winter of 1827 and 1828 was the most remarkable one for 
 
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the mildness of the temperature ever recorded. Vegetables and flowers were abundant during the Christmas holidays, and in January following. A detailed account of this winter will be found in the chapter of meteorological changes. 
On the nth of April the first hanging took place. William Fields was hung for the murder of James O. Abbott, pursuant to his sentence, and within less than ten days after the crime for which he suffered was perpetrated. 
The last sale of lots took place in October, together with all of the reserve lands, in accordance with an Act of the Legisla ture of the previous year. A survey had been made of the re serve in Newtown, lots were laid off and sold; the highest oneacre lots bringing from $700.00 to $1000.00. The Fort Hawkins property, comprising one hundred acres of poor land, was purchased by Thomas Woolfolkfor$2,150.00. The highest halfacre lot on the West side brought $305.00, and no business lot remained unsold. 
The Methodist Church was sufficiently prepared for meetings in July, and completed in the fall. That church has ever re tained its original site on Mulberry street. The Presbyterians were building a church on Fourth street, between Plum and Poplar, which was completed the following year. 
The most prominent act of the town commissioners this year was to secure the right to purchase the bridge. It cost the State $9,200.00, and the Legislature sold it to the town early in 1829, for $25,000.00, to be paid in ten installments, within ten years. Corn and cotton were exempt from toll. 
At the October election, W. B. Rodgers was sent to the State Senate, and H. G. Lamar returned to the House. 
In 1829, the election for town commissioners, in January, re sulted in the choice of Joseph Washburn, William J. Dannelly, Isaac B. Rowland and David Ralston, who elected Mr. Washburn Intendant. The day of this election was signalized by the arrival of the Steamboat North Carolina, which was the first boat propelled by steam that had navigated the waters of Ocmulgee. The boat was commanded by Captain Salter, and 
 
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was from Cape Fear river. The arrival was hailed as a new era in the navigation of the Ocmulgee and the trade of Macon. There were, at this time, between thirty and forty flat-bottomed boats, propelled with poles, by muscular power, owned in Macon, for the trade in Darien. These boats could transport from four to seven hundred bags of cotton, and would return with from seventy to eighty tons of freight. Freights from Savan nah were three to four weeks on the pole boats to Macon. Steamers could make the trip in a less number of days, so a new field was opened for capital and enterprise. 
On the ist of February the population of the town numbered nearly two thousand. There were over one hundred wholesale and retail stores. Newtown was incorporated into Macon and there were two hundred inhabited houses, four banks, two weekly newspapers with job printing offices, three public schools ; the branch of the State Bank, had just been established in the sec ond brick house erected in the place, on Walnut, between Sec ond and Third streets; John T. Rowland was President and Jacob Wilcox, Cashier; also the branch of the Marine and Fire Insurance Bank, Harrison Smith, President, and Joseph Washburn, Cashier, which was located corner of Walnut and Fourth streets ; both of these houses are still standing and occupied; also four religious denominations, with one church already built and two others nearly finished. There were several drug stores, eight doctors, twelve lawyers, mechanics of all kinds, four hotels and several private boarding houses. Walnut street was being rapidly built upon by gentlemen with families. The offices of the three banks on this street were in the residences of the presidents. All of the warehouses in West Macon, were located on Wharf street and those intersecting Walnut, on ac count of the convenience afforded by their proximity to the wharves on the river, for the reception and shipment of freights. A neat hotel had been erected on the corner of Walnut and Third streets as early as April, 1827, which was patronized by the elite of the town. It was afterwards designated as the Yel low House. The firm and level ground, shaded by an abundant 
 
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foliage of choice trees, gave to Walnut street an additional at traction, and it remained for many years a favorite promenade for both citizens and visitors to the beautiful grove in Academy Square, from which point a fine view of the river was presented. All of the other streets were being improved, furnishing mechan ics and lumber men an abundance of work. There was in the county fourteen saw-mills and nine grist mills in successful oper ation. 
At the election for Legislators, Luke Ross was sent to the Senate and Wm. J. Dan nelly to the House. 
In January, 1830, Isaac B. Rowland, W. J. Dannelly, Thomas G. Bates, J. S. Childers and Alexander Meriwether were elected town commissioners, arid Wm. B. Dannelly elected Intendant for the year. 
In the spring, the notorious authoress, Miss Anne Royal, of Tennessee, during her tour through the Southern States, visited Macon. She was feted by the literati, politicians and others of the town. She acquired considerable notoriety by the publica tion of the 'Black Book," and her many contributions to the press in several States. She was delighted with her visit and hospitable reception, and in a subsequent communication re ferred to Macon as being the " Pink of the South, and the Rose bud of all little cities." 
The town was now expanding its dimensions beyond the original survey. Land upon the commons had been bought up and the streets were being extended. A road had been cut about a mile above the town from the Forsyth road leading into the Federal road beyond the head of Cotton Avenue, which name was given that section of the road, because small stores and houses had been erected along its sides to catch the cotton and other trade that was brought from Crawford and Monroe coun ties. It was determined to make a street on that portion of the road. As the road had already been partially settled upon, its course could not be changed, hence followed the diagonal line of that street, which was the first diversion from the uniform plan of squares and parallel streets of the city, which was after 
 
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the symmetrical plat of ancient Babylon. Cherry street was ad vancing as a business center, and its property holders, with a view to the Cotton Avenue, or Federal road trade, made strong remonstrances against the road being converted into a street which would intersect and terminate at Mulberry, though it seemed to be the natural line for a street, it being the nearest route to the wharves and warehouses on the river end of Sec ond and Third streets. An excited rivalry was begun between the Cherry and Mulberry street capitalists for the control of the Avenue trade in the determination of its route. Both parties began to bid high for lots along the Avenue, very greatly to the complaisance of the third party, who owned them and who vol unteered no other intervention than to dispose of the lots to the highest purchaser and realize a handsome speculation. Both parties commenced building stores; others came in, built along the Avenue, when Cherry street put forth its energies and ex tended up above Second and made an intersection with the much coveted Avenue. 
The new court-house was built in 1:828 and 1829, on the hand some square laid off for that purpose. The contractors were Elam Alexander, George Smith and Joseph Davidson. The cost of the building was $12,750. It was three stories high, ninety-three by forty-seven feet, with handsome porticos on two sides, and surmounted by a fine cupola. In the basement were offices of various descriptions ; in the second story was a large room for the Superior Court, and rooms for other county purpo ses ; in the third were offices for clerks. The elegant court-room was used as a hall, many years, for public meetings. The build ing was regarded, for a long period, the handsomest county edifice in the State. 
In December, the first agricultural fair was held ; the court house grounds were appropriated for the occasion. A liberal list of prizes were awarded. The first premium was decided in favor of Mrs. Penelope Bryan, of Twiggs county, for the best lot of cotton, eight bales; the prize was a silver tankard, worth one hundred dollars. 
 
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At the election in October, for members to the Legislature, Luke Ross was elected to the Senate, and Charles J. McDonald to the House. 
The census of the county and town was taken in November, with the following exhibit : 
BIBB COUNTY. 
White males, ................ 2,228 White females, ............... 1,932--4,160 
Male slaves, ................ 1,637 Female slaves, ............... 1,362--2,999 
Total, .................. 7,149 Free negroes, 22; blind persons, 6; over 160 years old, 5; deaf and dumb, 5. Population of Macon included in the foregoing table : 
White males, ................. 824 White females, ................ 628--1,452 Male slaves, ................. 694 Female slaves, ................ 489--1,183 
Total, .................. 2,635 Which number were exclusive of the number on the four-acre lots. 
In 1831, at the election for the commissioners in January, Isaac B. Rowland, J. T. Lamar, R. Turner, T. G. Bates and A. Darragh were elected, who chose I. B. Rowland Intendant, Simmons, Secretary, and Gumming, Marshal. 
The first Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Georgia, was held in Macon, and closed its session on the i3th of January. Under its auspices a paper, called the Georgia Christian Repertory, was started on the 2ist of January, by Rev. G. Capers. 
On the I5th of February, M. J. Slade issued a semi-week ly newspaper, under the name of Macon Advertiser, Mercantile and Commercial Intelligencer. 
 
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The subject of building railroads in Georgia had been dis cussed for eight years, and up to this time there had been no action further than discussion. The first appointment of delegates to a railroad convention occurred this year. From a manuscript of the late Stephen F. Miller, prepared January ist, 1870, of his reminiscences, we extract the following: 
" Among the topics discussed in the Macon Advertiser, in 1831, was the disadvantage to Macon of railroad communication with Savannah, the river being preferable in a commercial as pect. On the 3oth of August, 1831, a public meeting was held at the court-house to appoint delegates to the general conven tion to assemble at Eatonton during the next month. O. H. Prince was chairman, and W. P. Hunter, secretary. The sub ject was freely and ably discussed by Messrs. H. G. Lamar, W. Poe, C. J. McDonald, O. H. Prince and J. G, Polhill; after which O. H. Prince, Esq., and Dr. W. B. Rodgers were ap pointed delegates. 
"At that time not a mile of railroad had been constructed in Georgia. This step, in several counties, was the initial. In fact, public opinion had not decided what mode was preferable in a system of public improvement, whether railroads, turnpikes or canals. I was present at Eatonton as a delegate from Twiggs, and distinctly remember that the Secretary was directed, in making up his journal, to avoid committing the convention, by any formal style in the caption, to either place, which accounts for the official preliminary : 
"A considerable number of the delegates appointed to take into consideration the practicability and expediency of promo ting internal improvements in this State, convened in the Church in the town of Etonton, on Monday, September 26th, 1831." 
The committee of nine, of which Col. William Gumming, of Richmond, was chairman, charged with the main business of the convention, made a report, which, being amended, was agreed to as follows : 
"The committee appointed to suggest a course of proceed- 
 
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ing at this convention have the honor to report the following resolutions, the adoption of which it recommends: 
" ist. This convention earnestly recommends a system of in ternal improvements to the patronage of the State. 
" 2d. The convention recommends that the Legislature au thorize the Governor to employ a competent engineer or engin eers to make a minute and careful survey of the principal lines of commercial communication in this State, with reference to their fitness for railroads, turnpikes or canals, and to diffuse among our fellow-citizens generally, the topographical informa tion thus obtained. 
"3d. The convention recommends for survey the following lines : 
" ist. That from Savannah to Augusta, thence to Eatonton, and thence in a Westerly direction to the Chattahoochee. 
" ad. The line from Savannah to Macon, and thence to Co lumbus, and a line connecting Milledgeville with that route. 
"3d. The line from Savannah to the head of navigation on Flint river, and thence to Columbus. 
" 4th. The line from Augusta to Athens, and thence in the most advisable direction toward the North-western boundary of the State; together with any other- line or lines which may afford the prospect of important commercial advantage. 
" 4th. If the State is disinclined to undertake, with her own resources, these improvements, the convention recommends that subscription for stock, loans, or other pecuniary aid, she co-op erate with such companies as may be chartered for improving the whole or a part of the routes above mentioned." 
The whole number of counties in the State was seventy-eight, of which thirty-two were represented by seventy-seven delegates in the convention. 
I have been thus minute in order to refresh our memories with incidents which had a material bearing on the prosperity of Georgia, Macon included, which is now the most convenient and useful railroad center in the State, with every claim to still higher advancement. This consummation, with its " Empire" 
 
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significance, has been attained since the Eatonton Convention was held thirty-eight years ago. A new generation surrounds me, in which I can appear only as an humble chronicler of that 
which preceded it, etc. Major Prince was Chairman of the Eatonton Convention. On the 3d, 4th, and 5th of October, there was a wild excite 
ment in Bibb and the adjoining counties. A traveler on horse back from Jones county had circulated the rumor that the ne groes were in a state of insurrection, in Jones and Baldwin counties and that it was extending into Bibb. Some vague rumors of a disturbance in Laurens had previously been received, and everybody seemed prepared to credit the highly exaggerated story of the "solitary horseman" who came over the hill. Families from the country came into town for protection. The Macon Volunteers were placed as sentinels around the town ; a temporary cavalry company was organized with Dr. Baber as commander; every citizen that had a weapon was required to fall into line; every gunsmith or other establishment having pis tols, shot guns, rifles, or bowie knives, was required to deliver them to citizens who might be without arms. Many an old revolutionary relic, in the form of a sword, that had hung on the wall for years, was now taken from its resting place and by the application of oil or tallow, was made to unsheath its rusty blade which was instantly whetted to be used in defence of home and fireside ; and every old pistol was resurrected from its long inaction, its lock filed and greased, pan scraped and brightened, and flint renewed to give vitality to the spark. Scouts were sent out to investigate the status on plantations, crossroads, or wherever the blacks were accustomed to meet in small numbers. They reported to headquarters that they had never seen the darkies so orderly, and that they were actually ignorant of the meaning of the word "insurrection." This information but added fuel to the flame of excitement. It was believed that this ignorance was only assumed, and that the plan of the negroes was to conceal their motives in order that, at a preconcerted time, they might " insurrect" simultaneously. Upon the prin- 
 
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ciple to be forwarned was to be forearmed, Mr. George Lunsford was dispatched as courier, on the night of the ad, to the residence of General Elias Beall, at Forsyth, that he might pro claim the counties in his military division in an insurrectionary state and order the whites to arms. 
After riding at John Gilpin speed the courier reached For syth in two hours and a quarter, aroused the sleeping town at midnight, and after finding the lodgings of the Major General, declared to him the object of his hasty mission. The Com manding General instantly proceeded to write orders to all of the subordinate officers in his division to assemble the militia in their respective districts. The usual number of chivalrous gen tlemen offered their swords (wherever one could be borrowed) as "staff officers." The military orders, both general and special, were soon disseminated throughout General Beall's division of Georgia militia, and each county was placed in a state of defense, while details were being made to march to the front at Macon. 
While the people of Monroe apprehended no danger at home they prepared to reinforce the first bivouac of the citizen soldiery of Macon. On the evening of the 3d, a " reliable gentleman " arrived with authentic advices from Jones, stating that six negroes had been engaged in an affray which was confined ex clusively to themselves, and that there had been no other dis turbance. The scouts returned from all surrounding counties, and reported a peaceful state of affairs. Some disturbances had occurred at South-hampton, in Virginia, near the North Caro lina line, which were greatly exaggerated, and near about the same time a slight encounter took place between some Indian slaves and white traders, near Fort Mitchell, on the Chattahoochee, which, together with the little affray in Jones county, gave rise to the wildest rumors in Georgia. The excitement was now subsided, and the army of M icon militiamen discharged without pay or rations, the borrowed weapons returned, the sabres of '76 replaced upon the staples in the walls, and once more " quiet reigned in Warsaw." The surviving citizens who were under 
 
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arms three days and two nights during that memorable excite ment are Messrs. David Flanders, Joseph E. Wells, A. R. McLaughlin, J. Madison Jones, E. E. Brown, E. C. Bulkley and George Lunsford, and they about complete the list of the oldest male inhabitants of the city now living. 
There had been in Virginia, near the North Carolina line, a great excitement from an actual servile insurrection. Nat Tur ner, a famous negro preacher, had been instigated by abolition emissaries, to incite the negroes in those States to assert their emancipation and rise in rebellion against the whites. About ninety white people, mostly women and children, were slain by the negroes before the insurrection was quelled. The rumors of this insurrection spread throughout the South, and a general up rising of the negroes was apprehended by many. The people, therefore, in October, were easily excited by the least disturb ance occurring among the slaves. 
While Nat Turner was quietly disseminating his pernicious doctrines among the negroes, a solar, or rather atmospheric phenomenon occurred. About twelve o'clock, M., on the I3th of August, the sun was covered with a dark blue tint, and for seven hours, until it sunk below the horizon, it appeared blue. Turner seized upon this strange appearance of the " Blue Sun," as it was called throughout the country, to delude his race. He told them it was a sign made in the heavens for them to make a simultaneous strike for their freedom. Those in his neighborhood did rise, and they committed the murders men tioned, until they were overpowered by the whites, their leaders caught and hung. The Macon Advertiser, of August i6th, 1831, gives the following account of the phenomenon : 
THE SUN IN A "BLUE WAY." 
" There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreampt of in your phylosophy." 
"We had a constant series of cloudy weather during the last week. The sun was continually struggling and wading through huge masses of deep blue vapour, which rolled around his solar 
 
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majesty in fantastic shapes, dimming him of his lustre, and shearing him of his glory. Sometimes partially obscured, and anon peering through a fleecy volume of cerulean hue, his disk would catch the tinge of the cloud, and then apparently stag gering through the overloaded atmosphere, his face would look as blue as a midnight reveller returning from a festive carousal. This singular appearance soon attracted the attention of our wonder-loving Maconites, and in a moment our streets and win dows were crowded with men, women, and children. All the smoked glass, telescopes, and almanacs in town were immedi ately put in requisition--and then began a war of speculation among the agitated crowd, highly creditable to the astronomical genius of the age. A sage old gentleman from the country de clared as his firm belief that the phenomenon could be account ed for in no other way than by supposing the sun had been traversing some immense plantation of indigo, and by its pow erful attraction had extracted its colors, and thereby smooted his face ! This very reasonable conclusion quieted for a time the fears of the assembly, when they were aroused again by an el derly lady, who had cracked sixteen pair of specs, which she had been smoking for the purpose of assisting her visual organs. 'Indigo, indeed,' said she, raising her prophetic eyes, 'who ever heerd of the blessed Sun being dyed with indigo--no, no, it is the sea-sarpent's back, as I live. Don't you see 'tis fleeted upon it! and haven't you heerd of the devil's being in our wa ters ! and who knows but he's now in the ^Oakmulgy ! ' Here an unusual consternation prevailed ; but it was happity dissipated by the timely arrival of an eminent physician, who tranquilized the mob by convincing them their fears were idle, and that the sun was merely laboring under a temporary fit of the blue devils. Thus assured they calmly and peaceably retired to their homes." 
The learned men of the day were originating various theories upon the Solar phenomenon until a publication from Benjamin Hollowell, a famous mathematician, of Virginia, appeared, stat ing, in substance, that during the total eclipse of the sun, the moon had just passed its perigee, on that point in its orbit near- 
 
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est the earth, and consequently the combined action of the sun and moon upon the atmosphere produced a great tide in the equatorial regions and diminished the pressure of the air upon the whole of the surface of the earth. This diminution of press ure upon the surface of the water would occasion a great increase of evaporation, particularly when united with the high tempera ture that accompanied it. The blue color of the sun depended upon the red rays being reflected by the intervening body of vapor, while the other six passed to the eye and produced the observed appearance. As the sun descended below the body of vapor, which was about twenty minutes before its setting, the vapor reflected an intensely red light, the light that passed through it was therefore separate from the red, and would have produced the opposite or greenish blue appearance. 
The first servile insurrection of which we have any record oc curred in the slave-holding city of New York in iT^i, creating at the time an alarming though very unnecessary excitement. A number of negroes were hung after an informal trial. After their execution it was discovered that the trial, in the excitement of the moment, had been too hastily conducted, and that the negroes were innocent of the alleged crime for which they had been condemned to die. 
Of this cruel treatment to the New York negroes Miss Lamb, iii her late History of the City of New York, says--" Ever since the terrible affair of 1712 the citizens of New York have been more or less afraid of the negro slaves who comprised so large a part of the population of the city. Stringent measures had been adopted from time to time to keep them under surveillance; if three negroes were at any time seen together the penalty was forty lashes on the bare back, and if a negro was seen walking with a club in his hand outside of his master's grounds he was sure to receive a like number of lashes. Things grew worse in stead of better until the negro plot made the year 1741 mem orable in history." 
Of the executions in 1741 the authoress continues: " But the catalogue of victims had been fearful. One hundred and fifty- 
 
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four negroes had been imprisoned, of whom fourteen were burned at the stake, eighteen hanged, two gibbeted, seventy-one trans ported and the rest pardoned or discharged for want of proof. Twenty-four white persons were tried and imprisoned, four of whom were among the executed." 
Mary Benton, a young girl, was the chief witness against the accused parties. She certainly remembered that the Catholic priest, John Ury, a school teacher, was one of the conspirators, . etc. He was arrested, tried and condemned to the gallows, and on the zQth of August, 1741, was hung, denying his guilt to the last. 
The first great revival in the Methodist Church commenced on the zSth of June, and continued until July. The Rev. Mr. Campbell, of the Baptist Church, and other clergymen assisted with great zeal. The meeting was characterized by many in stances of fine pulpit oratory. One hundred and thirty converts became members of the Church. 
In October, a new road was opened above the Methodist Church to connect with the Forsyth road. There was no street above that Church up to this time. 
The first destructive fire occurred on the night of December  7 th, and destroyed two blocks on Mulberry, between Third and Fourth streets, with the exception of the law office of Tracy & Butler. The buildings were all of wood, and as there were no fire engines to control the fire, the conflagration only subsided when the material for consumption was exhausted. The build ings, though small, were all new ; for but two years before, the site where they stood was a fish pond which had been drained and filled up. Upon this site the first brick hotel was afterwards reared, and named the Central Hotel. While much of the property was insured, the loss sustained was about $50,0000.00. 
At the election in October, Dr. Ambrose Baber was elected to the Senate, and Tarplcy Holt to the House. 
The last board of commissioners of the town were elected in January to serve through the year 1832. The board consisted of 
 
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Levi Eckley, Isaac B. Rowland, David Flanders, Isaac G. Sey mour and Jeremiah Smith. Levi Eckley was chosen Intendant. 
On May the 8th, the Georgia Guards, of Milledgeville, and Monroe Musketeers arrived, and, with the Macon Volunteers, went into camp a mile below the city. This was the first en campment, and the place was named " Camp Newcomb." 
In July, the failure of the Macon Bank was publicly announ ced, with many hundred thousand dollars of its bills in circula tion, and nothing in the bank to redeem them with. The loss fell mostly upon the country people, among whom the bills had been circulated. The failure of this bank created as great an excitement as the preceding insurrection report, except that it was far more wide-spread, and lasted longer. The bills had been circulated throughout the State, and to some extent in con tiguous States. The bank had changed hands by selling out to a new party of stockholders, who were ignorant of its insolvency, a short time before the failure was made public. So intense was the excitement, and unaccountable the failure, that the Legisla ture, on its first session after the closing of the bank, appointed a joint committee from both Houses to investigate its affairs and report accordingly. The investigation occupied several days, as many witnesses were examined. Unfortunately and lament ably, the principal witness, Thomas M. Ellis, the late president, who was an innocent man, through the exasperation of some of the parties, lost his life. This tragic event increased the heat of the excitement. The committee made a majority and minority report; but both agreed that the bank had been carelessly and. improperly managed. 
An alarming state of lawlessness pervaded the town about this time. There was a large class of stragglers and adventurers who were headed by several noted desperadoes that bid defiance to the law and behaved as they pleased. In fact, many of the offi cers of the town and county were suborned to them through fear. 
In all newly settled frontier towns there has ever been a class of adventurers who depended more upon lawlessness than indus try for a. support, and for about five years in the early history of 
 
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Macon the town was inflicted with a due proportion of this class. The Macon Telegraph, of that date, comments as follows on the morals of the community : 
"The Superior Court of Bibb county is now in session, his Honor Judge Strong, on the bench. As usual, there are many prosecutions before the court for assault and battery with intent to kill, and such will be the case at every session, until public opinion have undergone a change. 
" Good citizens must unite and frown down that class of per sons, the pirates of society, who occasion the necessity for such prosecutions. The law is a dead letter, and Grand Jury present ments a mere nullity, while public opinion upholds and tolerates the perpetration and perpetrators of crime. Lynch law, in years back, did what the civil law could not effect, in ridding society of useless vermin, and the " Slicks" have done more than all the courts in the world in relieving the frontiers from the terrors of the Pony Club. But it is in aid of the law that good citizens should combine. When bad men combine to trample on its neces sary restraints and treat the courts with contempt, it is time for the good to unite in their defence and support." 
 
The patriot and statesman, in honor of whom the city is named, was the Hon. Nathaniel Macon, who was born in Warren coun ty, North Carolina, in 1757. He was a student at Princeton, N. J., at the commencement of the revolutionary war, but joined the army as a volunteer and served throughout the war as a pri vate, refusing any pay or promotion, and declined to receive a pension. He served in the North Carolina Senate five years, and though quite a young man, he was appointed to the most important committees in that body. He was a member of Con gress from 1791 to 1815, and Speaker of the House from 1801 to 1806, when he declined a renomination. He was promoted to the Senate in 1816, where he served until 1828, being president pro tern, in 1825 and 1827. He twice declined the office of Postmaster-General under Mr. Jefferson's administration. At 
 
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the general election in 1824, Virginia cast for him her twentyfour electoral votes for Vice President. In 1828, he resigned his seat in the Senate, and other ofRces, having been 'a member of Congress thirty-seven years. He presided over the Conven tion called to revise the Constitution of North Carolina, in 1835, and was a member of the Electoral College of that State in 1836. He was a member of the Baptist Church. Just before his death he gave directions to be buried in a plain coffin, to be paid for before his interment. Selecting for his burial place a barren ridge that would be undisturbed by the plow, he requested that a heap of stones from the field near by should be the only monument over his grave. He died June 2t)th, 1837, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. Mr. Jefferson called him "the last of the Ro mans," and Mr. Randolph declared him " the wisest man he ever knew." 
 
 CHAPTER V, 
MACON A CITY -- STEAMBOATS -- BRIDGE -- CENTRAL HOTEL -- RAILWAY MEETING--NEW ACADEMY--SALE OF LOTS--FIRST TURF SPORT--MILI TARY ENCAMPMENT--BUILDING ON THE HILL--CITY OFFICERS--BusiNFSS PROSPERITY--FEMALE COLLEGE--SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE CENTRAL, AND TO THE MONROE RAIROADS--INSURRECTION--MAILS--SEMINOLE WAR--CAMPAIGN OF MACON VOLUNTEERS IN MAJOR COOPER'S BATTAL ION--INTERESTIRG WAR INCIDENTS--CREEK WAR--THE TEXAN WAR-- THE LONE STAR BANNER--TRIBUTE OF TEXAS TO A GEORGIA LADY_ MASSACRE OF WARD'S BATTALION AND FANNJN'S COMMAND--CITY SUB SCRIPTION TO RAILROADS--CENTRAL RAILROAD BANK -- KNOXVILLE RAILROAD CONVENTION--MACON CONVENTION--MASTERLY REPORT OF HON. A. H. CHAPPELL--SALE OF LOTS--IMPROVEMENTS ON THE HILL-- LIBRARY--DEATH OF GENERAL BEAI.L--OCMULGEE BANK--STATISTICS-- AWFUL PANIC OF 1837--BANK SUSPENSION--FRIGHTFUL LOSSES--SPEC ULATIONS--POLICY OF JACKSON AND VAN BUREN--THE UNITED STATES BANK--ICE--POLITICAL EXCITEMENT--GRAND JURY--POLITICAL TEM PERANCE MEETING--COMPLETION OF THE RAILROAD TO FORSYTH--THE JUBILEE--RISE IN COTTON--WHITE HALL--ATLANTA. 
By authority of an Act of the Legislature in December, 1832, an election was held on the lyth of January, 1833, for five Al dermen, whereupon Isaac B. Rowland, Isaac G. Seymour, David Flanders, Jeremiah Smith and David F. Wilson were elected a Board of Aldermen. Isaac G. Seymour was, by the Board, chosen Mayor, William Gumming, Marshal, John H. Ofiut, Clerk of Council, H. A. Candler, Clerk of Market, and Thomas G. Bates, Sexton. 
By authority of the same Act that incorporated the city, its jurisdiction of limits were denned to extend on the east side of the river from a line drawn parallel with First street, northward, as far as the then authorized jurisdictional limits, thence on a line eastwardly until it intersected a line running parallel with Seventh street. 
 
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On January goth, 1833, the steamboat Pioneer arrived from Darieiij being the second boat that rode the Ocmulgee propelled by steam. The boat was built in Macon out of timber supplied by the forest on the river in the vicinity of Macon. She had taken a load of cotton to Darien, received her machinery there, and returned home with a large and valuable cargo, having drawn along with her two heavily laden barges, the Bonnets O'Blueand Lalla Rookh, consigned to her owners, Messrs. Day & Butts. It was the first steamboat confined to the trade of Macon on the Ocmulgee. Its successful tri%js soon induced other steamers to run to Macon, and within three years there were seven other steamers engaged in prosperous business, arriving at and departing from the wharves. 
On March aist, during a freshet, a serious accident occurred to the bridge, which destroyed it. A large boat broke loose from its fastenings, struck the center arch of the bridge with great force, carrying it away, together with an adjoining one, leaving the bridge a perfect wreck. 
In March, the Central Hotel, a handsome brick building, was finished, on the corner of Mulberry and Third streets. It was opened by John Carter, of Clinton. 
In the summer and early fall, the subject of railroad communi cation was receiving warm support. Augusta was moving in the matter with the assistance of Charleston. On October z6th, a railroad meeting of the citizens of Macon was held at the court house, over which Hon. C. B. Strong presided. A preamble, with forcible resolutions, prepared by Dr. Baber, was read and adopted. A committee was appointed to meet a like committee from Savannah, at Milledgeville, on the next session of the Leg islature, for the purpose of adopting some measures towards the construction of a road between Macon and Savannah. In De cember, the citizens of Forsyth held a meeting and prepared to unite with Macon in the building of a road to that place. 
The old Bibb County Academy having been destroyed by 61 e, a new one of brick, two stories high, with porticos and cu pola, was erected, and opened for exercises in December, under 
 
 114 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF M/VCON 
 
the control of Mr. and Mrs. Darby. The number of pupils was enlarged so that male and female departments were separately organized. The building was destroyed by fire in 1879. 
In March, 1834, at a sale of residence lots on the north com mon of the city, consisting of half-acre lots, forty sold for the sum of ^20,377.00, and twenty-three of less desirable situation sold for ^7,165.42. The entire proceeds went into the treasury of the city. 
The first turf sport commenced over the Central Course, in April, and lasted five days. The racing was splendid, and con cluded with sweepstakes purse best two in three. 
A new military company was organized, and the second en campment was formed in May by the Georgia Guards, Captain Cuthbert, the Washington Guards, Captain Schley, and the Macon Volunteers, Captain Newcomb. The two visiting corps were escorted into the city by the new company the Eibb County Cavalry, Captain Goddard. The tents were pitched on the lofty eminence '' Encampment Hill " which commanded a view of the whole city and surrounding country for many miles, and presented, with the tents spread among the trees, a beautiful and imposing spectacle. The encampment lasted four days, and on the last day a splendid medal was contended for, which was won by Mr. Juhan, of the Georgia Guards. 
The new Forsyth road above the Methodist Church was now widened and made a continuation of Mulberry street, up to the hill. The only frame house on the hill was a small onp-story house built by Dr. Robert Collins, and opposite to it was a dou ble log house owned by Rev. John Howard, in which he died in 1836. This property was sold to Judge E. A. Nisbet, who set tled in Macon in 1837, and built the present homestead upon it. Another old landmark in the same neighborhood which attained considerable notoriety on account of the eccentric character of its owner,, was the cabin of j;-.ob [. Todd, on the lot now owned by Captain A. O. Bacon. The place presented a very rural as pect for many years. In the rear of the lot was an excavation on the side of the hill, which contained a fine spring of cold 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
water, while all around abounded with luscious grapes and other 
fruit. The salary of city officials this year was fixed at $300.00 for 
the Mayor, $600.00 for City Marshal, $150.00 for City Attorney, ^300.00 for Clerk of Council, and $500.00 for Bridge-keeper. 
The Mayor had been elected, for the two first years of the city government, by the Board of Aldermen. By a change in the Act of Incorporation the Mayor, City Marshal and Clerk of Council, were, after the Act of 1834, to be elected by the peo ple. Accordingly, in 1835, Hon. Robert Augustus Beall was elected Mayor, Alexander McGregor, Marshal, and W, D. Pitts, Clerk. The Aldermen elected were David Ralston and T. L. Smith, First Ward ; Henry G. Ross and David B. Butler, Sec ond Ward ; Isaac G. Seymour and George Yigal, Third Ward, and Thomas A. Brown, East Macon or Fourth Ward. 
We are now approaching the most important era in the history of Macon and Central Georgia. Great enterprises were being inaugurated, in the development of which the bold and progres sive young city was destined to act so prominent a part. Cotton had been selling in this market during the greater part of the year at from twelve to sixteen and a half cents per pound. The receipts in 1834 were over sixty-nine thousand bags. Four steamboats were running regularly up the river ; others from Darien and Savannah were making occasional trips, and between forty and fifty pole boats were doing a lively business at the wharves. The population had increased to over three thousand, whites and slaves; three new banks were in operation, with a capital of about $1,000,000.00. The estimated value of mer chandise in store at one time was fully $1,000,000.00. The bu siness of the place was rapidly increasing; the back country was being settled up with thrifty farmers, who, for more than sixty miles around, in various counties, came to Macon as the center of trade. Money was plentiful; the city debt at this time was small, and flush times generally were dawning. The advantages of Macon in a commercial point of view and its location in thecenter of a thickly settled, healthy and fertile country were be- 
 
 116 
 
RECORD OF MACON 
 
coming generally known and appreciated. A large number of intelligent and respectable families from other portions of the State from less progressive towns were coming here to settle. Planters of wealth were establishing homes for their families. Many industrious and enterprising men from the North and "Down East," were also among the mercantile portion of the inhabitants. Some, who were among the most substantial citizens remained, but others, to increase their fortunes, returned to enjoy its fruits in their native, more congenial and  more frigid clime. 
The citizens began to look to the educational interests of the rising generation. The Trustees of the Bibb County Academy had constructed a new two-story brick edifice for educational purposes, which was presided over by competent preceptors in both the male and female departments, and though there were other schools, it was discovered that the accommodations for the large number of pupils, and the facilities for instruction were in adequate to a thorough and accomplished system of education. The opinion in the old world which had been settled for ages that the education of woman should be confined to the mere ru diments of learning, and to domestic application, had obtained in America. For fifteen years the subject of a more liberal sys tem of female education had been discussed and proclaimed by a number of the wisest and most honored fathers in the State. Many of the mothers were aroused in behalf of the interest of their daughters, and evinced to the world the power of the fe male mind by the splendid communications and essays they pub lished in the gazettes throughout the State. The most irresisti ble argument was made by the lovely and blooming daughters themselves, and when they both "put in an appearance," the citadel of opposition was demolished and the girls triumphantly "held the fort." 
The citizens were contemplating building a seminary for fe males, independent of the male academy, with grades of classes similar to a college course, when the Georgia Methodist Confer ence assembled in Macon, and it was ascertained that the Con ference had under consideration the establishment of a perma- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
Ill 
 
nent and thoroughly organized institution for the education of females. The citizens of Milledgeville had raised a subscription of three thousand dollars for the same purpose, which they ten dered, together with a lot of land, as a site for the seminary, if the Conference would locate it at that place. 
A meeting of the citizens of Macon was held early in June of this year, 1835, at which it was resolved that Messrs, R. A. Beall, Jerry Cowles, Robert Collins and Henry G. Lamar, be appoint ed a committee to secure the influence of Revs. John Howard,, Sinclair and Tally, resident ministers at this place, and members of the Conference, to represent to that body the intention of the citizens of Macon to establish a female college. They pre sented the following communication : 
 
1 ' Messrs. Howard, Sinclair and Tally : 
 
In the ardent desire of many of our most respectable fellow- 
 
citizens, that there should be established in our city an amply 
 
endowed institution for the education of females; and as it is 
 
believed your Church possesses facilities for carrying through so 
 
favorite a scheme beyond that of any other in the State, we take 
 
the liberty of proposing that you will name some suitable per 
 
sons of the Georgia Conference who shall be associated with a 
 
suitable number of our citizens, to act as trustees to such an in 
 
stitution. This will enable us to ascertain at once to what ex 
 
tent this benevolent object will be patronized by our fellow- 
 
townsmen and the public. 
 
Respectfully, 
 
ROBT. AUG. BEALL, 
 
J. COWLES, 
 
ROBERT COLLINS, HENRY G. LAMAR. 
 
The Conference having adjourned before all the members could be communicated with, Bishop Andrew, Lovick Pierce, I. A. Few, Wm. J. Parks, Charles Hardy, William Arnold and Ben jamin Pope were appointed to fill the place of trustees to commu nicate v/ith the citizens' committee, until the subject could be brought fully before the next Conference in January, 1836. 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF IViACON 
The first prominent action taken upon this subject was during the session of the Legislature in November, 1825, when, accom panying the Report of the Committee on Public Education and Free Schools, Hon. Duncan G. Campbell offered the following : 
"ABlLL 
It is the distinguishing happiness of the present generation to live in an age of improvement, and enjoy the means of amelio rating the condition of all classes of society. In a review of the progress of literature throughout the country in which we live, we are furnished with the fact that in no %^art of this vast Con federation has the education of females been the object of public munificence. To this class of society is entrusted the early in struction of both sexes, and our feelings and our principles are of maternal origin. How necessary, then, that a department so high and charged with duties so delicate and important should early be placed under the regenerating hand of science and re ligion. These are the strongest safeguards, under Providence, of political security and of individual excellence. To direct them in their appropriate destinies is the grateful duty of those who wish well to the national prosperity. For the acquirement of solid and useful female education our sister States will afford but incompetent reliance. And if we were but satisfied of their sufficiency, the resort would be too humiliating for the generous ambition of Georgia and her means of indulging it. For the purpose, therefore, of rescuing from comparative obscurity the fairest portion of our community, and of enabling them to con tribute to the valuable store of literature, philosophy and reli gion, 
That the general su perintendence and regulation of female education throughout this State, and particularly of the public seat of learning hereby es- 
 
 CKNTUAL GEORGIA, 
 
1 1'j 
 
tablished for that purpose, shall be committed and entrusted to 
 
one board of trustees to be denominated 'The Board of Trus 
 
tees of the Female Seminary of Georgia.' Said Board shall 
 
consist of fifteen males and fifteen females, and that the semina 
 
ry may be carried into effect as speedily as possible, the follow 
 
ing persons are hereby appointed trustees : 
 
"Joseph Stiles, Win. T. Brantley, Rev. Mr. Howe, Freeman 
 
Walker, Alonzo Church, Lovick Pierce, Joseph Eryan, B. B. 
 
Hopkins, E. IT. Burritt, David A. Reese, Win. Turner, Joseph 
 
H. Lumpkin, Peter Gaulier, John Schley, Charles J. McDonald, 
 
Mary Smelt, Mary Wayrie, Calender Lumpkin, Eliza Longstreet, 
 
Ann W. Cook, Narcissa Boykin, Martha Fort, Elizabeth Smith, 
 
Louisa Cuthbert, Mary G. Campbell, Margaret Telfair, William 
 
Minor Terrell, Sarah M. Andrews, Catharine McDonald, Martha 
 
Gibson." 
 
There were seven other sections to the bill defining the author 
 
ity of the board, and making all the necessary provisions for the 
 
permanent establishment of the institution. The bill passed the 
 
House by a large majority, but contrary to expectation, met with 
 
strong opposition by the Patres Conscripti in the Senate. Mr, 
 
Campbell was properly called the father of female education in 
 
Georgia. Five years prior to the introduction ot this bill he had 
 
* 
 
labored in his district of the State, and before the Legislature, in 
 
the interests of female education. His object was the establish 
 
ment of an institution wherein females could enjoy the same ed 
 
ucational advantages as were afforded in male colleges. Upon 
 
his death, in July, 1828, the bar and the press, and the State 
 
University, at Athens, rendered the highest eulogies upon his 
 
public services, and in no instance did they omit his efforts in 
 
behalf of female education. 
 
The following is an extract from an eulogy published in Wash 
 
ington, Georgia, August gth, 1828 : 
 
" 'KNOW YE THAT A GOOD MAN HAS l-'ALLEN TO-DAY,' 
" The chamber where a good man meets his fate, Is privileged beyond the common walk Of virtuous life." 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
"That spot so sacred, so instructive, commands from all a sol emn reverence. When presented to the vision of the roost thoughtless, it is heeded; and he who disregards the high and holy principle of our religion will ' approach with awe ' this con secrated ground. 
"The recent death of our lamented citizen, Hon. Duncan G. Campbell, of Washington, Wilkes county, while it has exhibited the brilliant meridian setting sun of a Christian, has spread a gloom which will extend far beyond the sphere of his intimate friends. 
" What he was as a husband and parent, the agonized hearts of his family circle will long feel. The Christian community mourn a support, while one star will ever shed its mild and tranquil light on his memory. It was that which was lighted, when, amidst the prejudices of the age, he called on his country to elevate the standard of female education, and by ' an en lightened female community to add strength to the State and per petuate the blessings of a free government.' 
"Female gratitude would record this philanthropic, though unsuccessful effort, in indellible characters; and many a tearful eye will attest how those whom he would have served, sorrow that his sun has descended ; that a 'good man has fallen.' " 
After the death of Col. Campbell, the interest which he had aroused in a higher standard of the education of females, began to decline, until 1834, when, at the Annual Commencement of the State University, at Athens, Daniel Chandler, Esq.. deliv ered his memorable address upon female education before one of the largest and most refined audiences that had ever convened in those classic halls. The address was a most eloquent and brilliant effort in behalf of the intellectual capabilities of the fe male mind. Upon its conclusion, Hon. John M. Berrien offer ed a resolution of thanks to the speaker, in behalf of the trustees, which was unanimously adopted, together with a request for a copy of the address, that the board might circulate five thousand printed copies throughout the State. The address was accordingly publish- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
ed in pamphlet form and distributed throughout the State. It pro duced a wonderful change in the minds of the people who had ever been opposed to a college for females, and the production of " an equality in the intellectual culture of the two sexes." 
When the lots were laid off two years before on the common, for the purpose of sale, the five acres on Encampment Hill were reserved for a college or some public building. The citizens now made an application to the City Council for a grant to the reserve for the Macon Female College. Council agreed to dis pose of it for that purpose for $2,500.00. At a called meeting on the 8th of July, in a few hours, $9,000.00 were subscribed to wards the college, which amount was afterwards increased. 
The Conference reassembled in Macon in January, 1836, and by a unanimous vote accepted the tender of the people of Macon, and took the Female College under its fostering care. 
This year Augusta and Savannah were putting forth their en ergies in the construction of railroads for the trade of interior Georgia, and were looking for a divergence of roads from some point to reach the Chattahoochee and Tennessee rivers. Augus ta had a powerful ally in the capitalists of Charleston, who were ambitious to draw the Georgia trade to their own port. A tem porary survey of the route from Savannah to Macon had been made at the expense of the City Council of Savannah, and books of subscriptions were opened at both places. On the first three days in June seven hundred shares were taken by the citizens of Macon in the stock of the Savannah and Macon Road, and up to this time over a million dollars had been subscribed in Sav annah. 
In October the books of subscription were also opened for the road from Macon to Forsyth, and 200,000.00 were taken here in a few days, which was about the full amount of the capital stock. In December, Monroe Railroad stock sold in Macon at ten per cent, premium. On the same day (December roth,) intelligence was received of the passage of the Central Railroad. bill by the Legislature, and the first grand demonstrations in general illumination of the public buildings, private houses, bon- 
 
 122 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
fires, ringing of all the church and steamboat bells, firing of cannon, etc., took place on the night following. The new mar ls et house, a very neat and handsome building, had just been erected in the center of the intersection of Mulberry and Fourth streets. This building, together with the court-house, just below it, were brilliantly illuminated. On the Court-house Square a large banner was floated, bearing the inscription, " the Central Railroad--the salvation of Georgia," and on either end the names of "Baber, of Bibb, and McAllister, of Chatham," the two Senators who so ably struggled for the passage of the bill. There was no State aid in the bill, for none was asked; though it was liberal in its provisions, granting banking privileges and the right to issue bills. The same privileges were at the same time granted to other railroad companies. 
During the summer, plans for another servile insurrection were discovered. Young men were called upon to enlist in the ranks of the Bibb County Cavalry, or Macon Volunteers, and to be ready for any emergency. Vigilance committees were necessa rily organized. After strict investigation, it was learned thatincendiary publications from the abolitionists at the North were being disseminated by emissaries in the State, and that much of this matter was conveyed through the mails. Efficient remedies were adopted, and the evil suppressed without any violence being committed. 
In chronicling the instances of the progressive spirit of Young America, the papers boastingly make mention of the fact that, at the close of the year, the New York Journal of Commerce had been received in Macon in five and a half days after its issue, and steamers' accounts, bringing the Liverpool cotton market, came through in twenty-six clays ! 
The year of 1835 closed with exciting news of an Indian wasupon the borders of the State. The hostile Seminoles were massing in large numbers in Florida, headed by Osceola, alias Powell, their chief, who was a half-breed of the Creek Indians and Red Stick tribe. His father, Powell, was an Englishman, and settled among the Indians between the Flint and Chattahoo- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
123 
 
chee rivers, where Osceola was said to have been born. In per son Osceola was slight, well proportioned and active, complex ion rather light; he had deep, restless eyes, and a voice remark ably clear and shrill. Possessing a love for daring, lie obtained notice, and raised himself to his position by his superior talents, courage and ambition, not having inherited any title or com 
mand. Major Wiley Thompson, who had been a distinguished mem 
ber of Congress from Georgia, was deputized by the Federal Government as an agent to treat with the Indians in Florida. After an interview with Osceola and other chiefs, his terms were rejected. On the day following, while at dinner, Osceola, with over a hundred warriors, surrounded his house, poured a volley upon the party, which pierced the body of Major Thompson and his comrades, except one who escaped, with fifty bullets. 
On the morning of December 28th, the horrible massacre of Major Dade's command, took place. A detachment of one hun dred and twelve men, under Major Bade, Captain Gardner, Lieutenants, Mudge, Henderson, Bassinger and Kean, were des patched on the 23d to join General Clinch, at Fort King. At eight o'clock, A. M., on the 28th, they were attacked by an over whelming number of Indians. Major Dade was immediatelyshot. Capt. Fraser rode forward and was also cut down ; the remainder maintained the contest for an hour, until they were reduced to thirty in number. The Indians then retired, and the survivors, almost all wounded, threw up a slight breastwork. The Indians returned to the attack at eleven o'clock, and com pleted the slaughter of the whole corps, except three men who were wounded and concealed in the grass. The three survivors reached Tampa Bay after traveling sixty miles through the woods, and reported that the fugitive negroes who had joined the In dians, rushed in and butchered the wounded. They described the conduct of the noble men who perished in the fight, in the highest degree gallant ; they obeyed every order and held their ground to the last. The contest was so close that the Indians cut them down with knives. 
 
 124 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Further intelligence "that the merciless Indians were ravaging, in bloody triumph, the whole country east of the Suwanee river," was received at the Executive Department in Milledgeville. Governor Schley, in anticipation of a requsition from the War Department, at Washington, issued the following order : 
"HEADQUARTERS, GEORGIA, 
"Milledgeville, January i3th, 1836. 
" To the Commanders of Volunteer Corps ; 
" The hostile conduct of the Indians on our western frontier, and the actual state of war now existing in Florida between our fellow-citizens of that territory and the Seminole Indians, render it proper that Georgia should place herself in a state of defense to meet any emergency that may grow out of this state of things. 
"You will, therefore, immediately proceed to cause the vol unteer company under your command to be prepared to serve their country if they should be required, and to hold themselves in readiness at a moment's warning. 
" You will also, without delay, make report to Headquarters, of the effective force under your command, with the names of the officers and privates, and of the number, nature and condi tion of their arms and accoutrements. 
"By order of the Commander-in-Chief. 
" BOLING H. ROBINSON, "Aid-de-camp." 
At the same time it become known at the Executive Depart ment that the Creeks were preparing for hostilities in Alabama, and along the Chattahoochee river. It was apprehended that a combination would be formed by the hostile Creeks in Alabama and the Seminoles in Florida. While some depredations had been committed by the Creeks in Alabama, a general war was not commenced by them until May ; hence, the first Georgia troops were ordered to Florida. The Macon Volunteers, under Captain Isaac G. Seymour, were among the first to respond to the call of Georgia for service. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
125 
 
The companies of infantry ordered into service from the inte rior of the State by the Governor were five in number, viz. : The Monroe Musketeers, Captain Cureton, sixty-seven men; the Hancock Blues, Captain Brown, sixty-three men; the Morgan Guards, Captain Foster, sixty-one men; the State Fencibles, of Putnam, Captain Meriwether, seventy-six men, and the Macon Volunteers, Captain Seymour, ninety-two men. 
The five companies were formed into a battalion at Macon on February 4th by the election of Mark A. Cooper as Major. On that day the hospitalities of the city were extended to them in a splendid entertainment. On the 5th, the battalion was reviewed and addressed on the field by Governor Schley. On Sunday, the yth, at ten o'clock A. M., all the boats were ready, and they departed in the presence of a large concourse of citizens. 
The following touching verses were written by the accom plished Mrs. Caroline E. Seymour, after the departure of the battalion: 
TO MY HUSBAND. 
On being ordered to march to Florida against the Seminoles, Feb. jrSjb. 
Thou shalt riot know the grief that wrings My bursting heart, at thought of thce-- 
The thought of parting EVER, brings I3ut heartfelt gloom and woe to me. 
And parting how--oh not as those From hardship, danger, death seeure ; 
Whose bright'nijig tears fond hopes disclose, Of absence brief, and meeting sure. 
 
Thou goest the helpless to defend, From cruel death the weak to save; 
T' avenge the blood of fallen friendj And prove thy heart both true and brave. 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OK MACON 
Thou gocst with those whose noble minds Will bravely dare to " do or die;" 
Oh may tliy banner to tlie winds Float proudly, swell'd with victory ! 
I cannot, must not, bid thce stay, Though dearer far than life to me ; 
Alas ! I can but hope and pray In this mine bitter agony. 
That freed from " foes and death's alarms," Thou'It come again thy home to bless, 
Again tlrou'lt (ill my circling arms, Again restore past happiness. 
1 would not thou should see the tears That cease not secretly to flow; would riot thou should'st feel the fears That iill my anxious breast with woe. 
With tranquil brow on thee I gaze, And meet lliee still with ready smile ! 
Thou little know'st the grief that preys Upon my inmost soul the while. 
Shall hourly rise to heaven for thee; Husband, farewell! All other cares 
Are nothing--less than naught to me. 
Our children--oh, I may not dwr ell, Upon their cries and tears for orie 3 
Who soon will breathe a sad farewell, And far from them and me be gone. 
Go, my beloved---arid pitying Heaven, In mercy grant the boon I crave, 
In answer to my prayers be given Thy life--Great God who hearcst, save. 
The battalion reached Picolata, East Florida, on the i8th of February, and were mustered into service by LieutenantColonel Bankhead. General Scott arrived at Picolata on the azd instant, and on the following day his first orders were 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
read to the army; also, the articles of war. On the loth of March, the battalion received an accession of strength by the arrival of three companies of cavalry from Hancock, Washington and Jefferson counties, Georgia. They were ordered to Fort Drane on the igith, and joined the army of Generals Scott and Clinch, which numbered two thousand men. On the 2 6th, they moved to Tamrja Bay, and had a battle at the Ouithlacoochec, in crossing that stream. The battalion was in advance, and the Macon Volunteers acted as the advance guard. The river was crossed under fire from the Indians, and after a sharp battle they were put to flight. Three of the Volunteers, privates Dannelly, Williams and Flewcllcn, were wounded. 
After proceeding about thirty miles General Scott proceeded to Tampa Bay with the army, leaving Major Coo%)er's battalion to build a fort and remain in charge until further orders. They built a two-story block-house, with a stockade around it, in three weeks; during which time they were under constant fire from the Indians, and had several engagements with them. The fort acquired considerable celebrity during the short campaign. It was named Fort Cooper, and was further knosvn as the "Post uf Honor." The rations became exhausted and the battalion were using their last tallow candles for food, when Major Cooper or dered his horse to be killed to supply food for the sick. At this time a courier arrived announcing that General Scott was re turning from Tampa with a supply of commissary stores. On the same day, stores were received, when there was joy at the "Post of Honor "once more. The battalion had experienced many hardships and successfully resisted the attacks of the In dians, for which it was highly complimented by Generals Scott and Clinch. 
Before reaching the Ouithlacoochee the camp of the battalion was aroused at midnight by the arrival of an express from Picolata. It was at first thought from the signals of the sentinels that there was to be a midnight attack, and preparations were made for action. To their surprise it was discovered that the foe was but one man, and that he was a member of the Volunteers, who 
 
 128 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
had been left at the Picolata hospital, with several others, on account of sickness. The invalid was Corporal E. E. Brown, who, learning that important dispatches had been received at Picolata for General Scott, which required immediate delivery, volunteered to perform the perilous duty of riding ninety miles through the enemy's country to deliver them. The young cor poral was, en reaching the camp, conducted to the marque of General Scott. After reading the dispatches the General inter rogated the bearer upon the particulars of his perilous expedition. He then gave him a draught of Old Holland from his private flask, and announced him the " bravest man in the army." 
On the ayth of April the battalion joined the army and evac uated the Post of Honor. They were then assigned to duty at Fort Drane, to guard trains and improve the fortifications, until they were relieved by United States Regulars, in the month of May. 
On the morning of May agth a salute from the " old gun " on the banks of the Ocmulgee, at Macon, announced the return of the Macon Volunteers and Monroe Musketeers, who, on their arrival, were met by the Macon Guards, Captain Poe, and a committee of citizens. On the following day a complimentary dinner was given them, at which thirteen regular and seventy volunteer toasts were delivered--mostly in honor of the returned heroes of Ouithlacoochee, and to the memory of the massacred Georgia Battalion in the Texan Army. 
The survivors of the Macon Volunteers in the Florida cam paign are--E. L. Shelton, E. E. Brown, B. F. Ross, William Holmes, J. C. F. Clark, E. C. Bulkley, Joseph E. Wells, Rich ard Bassett, Thomas H. Blount, James E. Cain, Horace Fitch, James M. Field, D. R. Rodgers, James L. Saulsbury, and A. R. McLaughlin. 
THE CREEK WAR. 
At various times during this year, 1836, the Indians were com mitting many depredations in Alabama, and along the Chattahoochee river, until about the last of April that part of the State 
was in an alarming condition, and an open war was made upon 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
129 
 
the whites. There were a very large number of families arriving daily in Columbus, seeking protection from the torches, rifles and tomahawks of the Indians, who had slain more than one hundred persons, plundered plantations, destroyed settlements, seized the stages, robbed the mails, and murdered the passen gers. Governors Clay, of Alabama, and Schley, of Georgia, called out the militia of their respective States. The Georgia companies, forty-four in all, and numbering near twelve hun dred men, quickly rendezvoused at Columbus. 
The Bibb County Cavalry, under Captain Eleazar McCall, left Macon on the 27th of May for the scene of action. Governor Schley passed through Macon on the 2()th for Columbus, accom panied by Generals Scott and Jesup. 
After disposing of the troops at Columbus, General Jesup se lected the Bibb and Talbot cavalry as an escort for a reconnoisance of the Indian camps between that place and Tuskegee, Alabama. They passed within three miles of Neah Micco's camp, which contained seven hundred Indian warriors, and came upon a large body of them. The two companies were formed for action and fired, killing two Indians and wounding several others. After riding sixty miles they reached Tuskegee that night, and the next day proceeded to within twenty five miles of Montgomery, Alabama. Upon their return the follow ing order was issued, which is copied from the original manu script in the possession of the family of Capt. McCall, of Bibb county: 
 
HEADQUARTERS WESTERN DIVISION or THE ARMY OF THE SOUTH, 
 
Order, No. 2. 
 
Tuskegee, June 5th, 1836. 
 
Major General Jesup returns his thanks to Captain McCall and Captain Bush, and the officers and soldiers of their commands, for their good conduct and soldierly deportment on their march from Columbus to this place ; and particularly for the prompt ness with which they formed for action, and the firmness they evinced when the enemy were reported to be in their front. 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
This gallant bearing on that occasion is sufficient evidence of their determination to do their duty; and that should occasion offer they will do honor to themselves and their country. 
M. S. JESUP. 
The two companies made a perilous circuit of one hundred and sixty miles, and found but two white families, and they were under the protection of the forts. On the- loth of May they reached Columbus, where over two thousand soldiers were encamped. On the isth, the Bibb Cavalry were detailed as a guard to the Governor to Fort Mitchell. Returning, they en camped three days at Camp Starvation, which was given that name in the absence of rations for two days. On the soth, they struck tents and joined the expedition to Roanoke ; meeting General Scott at Fort Mitchell, they gave him a salute. On the 25th, they arrived at Roanoke and found that place had been re duced to ashes by the Indians. Orders were given to pursue the body of hostiles that had crossed the Chattahoochee, and were committing great outrages in Georgia. On the ayth, they reach ed Concord, twenty-five miles from Cuthbert, and near the place where thirteen persons, including women and children, had been massacred, and a large number badly wounded. On the 2pth, they arrived at Chickasawhatchee swamp, where the Indians were secreted. The cavalry dismounted, and leaving their animals under a guard, formed as infantry, and went into the swamp. On the 30th, they were reinforced by two companies from Thom as and Decatur counties. On July 2d, the trail of the hostiles was found. A battalion was- formed of the companies, under Col. Beall, and orders given to march through the swamp. After wading water several miles, the Indians fired upon them, killing one and wounding seven. The battalion gave a simulta neous yell and war-whoop, and fired. An order was given to charge, when the Indians fled, leaving everything in their camp upon a hammock except their women and children. Fifteen bodies of their dead were left in their flight, 
On the 4th of July, the Bibb, Monroe, Talbot and TJpson 
 
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i;:p|jpa:nies celebrated the birthday of liberty in ancient style, W&& : prepared a sumptuous dinner, which Sergeant M. E. Rylani^tir tells the writer consisted of three fine hogs, one mutton, the 
ni ever slaughtered, and the best corn-bread a soldier ate. i|I!ll<tta the izth, the battalion was stationed outside of the swamp* :;>ii<hiile Paddy Carr, with his friendly Indians, and four companies, iiirbye the swamp. The camp of the hostiles was again found, iifef they had fled. On the iyth, the battalion returned to CoJijmbus where they remained until discharged on the 226.. iiiileHiral Scott was ordered to Washington City early in July, iiiaS :jf:he whole command fell upon General Jesup, who succeed;ifii: tiii conquering the Indians in Alabama. Most of them sursSggifefed. W:^M.Bibb Cavalry returned to Macon on July 25th, and were ^Wleomed by the citizens in the warmest manner. A salute was !Hjf?Si^ and a collation given them by the Macon Volunteers. siSaptain Seymour welcomed the " heroes of Chickasawhatchee " :;:;ii:i:0ie : festive board in a stirring speech, alluding to the hardiiSltpis : they had undergone, and the glory they had acquired in iitifeSft: brief, but successful campaign. They had lost none of StiKsiiiriifaembers by war or disease. ;H:h.;:;$:ha survivors of the company are Matthew E. Rylander, Ber:!pSM;:M. Campbell, James Richards and Solomon R. Johnson. 
lil: ;;;:;.:.,. .. THE TEXAN WAR--MAJOR WARD'S BATTALION. 
jillljllfise: sympathies of many of the Southern cities were much sd in behalf of Texas in her struggle against Mexico for sndence as a separate Republic. isi Scries of our fellow-citizens of Texas reached Georgia ear: 'November, 1835, calling for help against the tyrant and 
 
meeting of the citizens of Macon was held on NovlSsSeij-: s 2th, and was addressed by Hons. Robert Augustus Beall, :|ei|p:3Jdtherford, Samuel M. Strong, and others, in advocacy of :|^: ieMffis of Texas upon the people of the United States for 
 
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aid in their struggle for independence. Lieutenant Hugh McLeod, recently from the Military Academy at West Point, ad dressed the meeting in a spirit-stirring appeal, pledging himself to resign his commission and embark as a volunteer, saying-- " The struggle of Texas needed soldiers and not resolutions; that we should tender her our persons and our arms on the con tested field, and that these would best express our sympathies in her behalf." 
Captain Levi Eckley, of the Bibb Cavalry, presided over the meeting, with Simri Rose, Esq., of the Macon Volunteers, as Secretary. Colonel William Ward, of Macon, proposed to form a company of infantry to enlist in the army of Texas, where upon thirty-two gentlemen came forward and enrolled their names as volunteers. 
On motion, the chair appointed Gen. Robert A. Beall, Col. Henry G. Lamar, Col. T. G. Holt, James A. Nisbet, Esq., and Dr. Robert Celling, a committee to solicit subscriptions, and before the meeting adjourned $3,150.00 was handed in to the committee, Dr. Robert Collins paying in cash the greater por tion of the amount. 
As the company passed through Knoxville and Columbus, Georgia, more recruits were added. At Knoxville, Miss Joanna E. Troutman (late Mrs. Vinson, of Crawford county, and daugh ter of the venerable Hirarn B. Troutman, of Bibb county, made and sent a beautiful banner of white silk, with a blue lone star upon it, to Lieutenant McLeod to present to the company at Columbus. The following is a copy of the letter acknowledging the receipt of the flag : 
" COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, November 23d, 1835. 
'' Miss Joanna, : 
" Colonel Ward brought your handsome and appropriate flag as a present to the Georgia Volunteers in the cause of ' Texas and Liberty.' I was fearful from the shortness of the time that you would not be able to finish it as tastefully as you would wish; but I assure you, without an emotion of flattery, that it is beau- 
 
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133 
 
tiful, and with us its value is enhanced by the recollection of the 
 
donor. ;- "I thank you for the honor of being made the medium of 
 
presentation to the company, and if they are what every true 
 
Georgian ought to be, your flag shall yet wave over fields of Vic 
 
tory in defiance of Despotism. I hope the proud day may soon 
 
arrive, and while your star presides none can doubt of success. 
 
" Very respectfully, your friend, 
 
(Signed) 
 
"HUGH McLEOD." 
 
This patriotic standard was the first banner ever made in Crawford county, and was renowned in the history of the gal lant "Young Republic" as being the FIRST FLAG OF THE LONE STAR STATE that was unfurled upon its soil. 
Colonel Ward proceeded with his followers to Texas, where they were organized according to regulations, as they were not permitted to organize in the limits of the United States. He .gathered about one hundred and twenty men, who formed into three companies, a.nd then organized a battalion. The officers of the battalion were Wm. A. Ward, Major; Wm. J. Mitchell, Surgeon; David I. Holt, Q. M.; Henderson Cojart, A. Q. M. The Captains were W. A. O. Wadsworth, James C. Wynn and Uriah J. Bullock. . After several successful engagements with the Mexicans the battalion joined the command of Col. Fannin, and formed areg..jitnent by electing Fannin, Colonel, and Ward, Lieutenant-Col onel. The regiment numbered five hundred and were stationed ;:at Fort Goliad. : On March I3th, 1836, the original battalion, under Ward, was Sent thirty miles to the relief of Captain King, who had thirty men protecting a number of families in the neighborhood of a church at the Mission of Refugio. On the arrival of the battal ion, they found Captain King surrounded by a large force of Mexicans, who disappeared on discovering that he was reinforced. xAfterwards, on leaving the Mission, King and his command were captured and killed. 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
The Mexicans were reinforced to the extent of fourteen hun dred men, and intercepted Ward, who retired to the church. Breastworks were made by the battalion of pews, gravestones, fences, etc., and the fire of the Mexicans resisted for two days, with a loss of six Americans and one hundred and fifty of the enemy. The ammunition of the battalion was exhausted on the third day of the battle, when Colonel Ward was reluctantly forced to capitulate, signing the regular articles according to the rules of war. It was stipulated that the battalion would be re turned to the United States in eight days. In the meantime, Colonel Fannin had sent four different couriers to ascertain the cause of Ward's delay, each of whom were captured and shot by the Mexicans. 
The Mexicans were again heavily reinforced and advanced upon Fort Goliad. Colonel Fannin had become near about ex hausted in provisions and ammunition, when, discovering the advance of the Mexicans, he determined to destroy the fort and cut his way through to General Houston's army, one hundred and thirty miles distant on the Colorado river. After advancing about eight miles from the fort he met the enemy, and a san guinary battle took place in which he was severely wounded. The next day he was compelled to capitulate, the terms being made according to the usual forms of honorable warfare. He was to lay down his arms, return to Fort Goliad, where he and his command were to remain prisoners of war eight days, and then be shipped to New Orleans from Copano. Ward's battal ion was now brought in as prisoners on the same conditions. 
On the ninth day, on being assured that a vessel was ready to receive them at Copano, on which they were to embark for New Orleans, Colonel Fannin marched his men out in file, the Mexi cans being stationed each side of them along the road. They had marched about five miles when the order was given for the Mexicans to fire upon the prisoners. At the first fire nearly every man fell; but four men escaped who belonged to the bat talion and only eight of the remainder. Among the former was Samuel G. Hardaway, a lad of sixteen years of age, of Macon, 
 
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135 
 
Georgia. On his return home, the Creek war had commenced in Alabama, and he met with another perilous adventure. Tak ing the stage at Chehaw, Alabama, with five other passengers ..they, were fired upon by a party of Indians. The horses were seized and three of the passengers were killed. Hardaway, with a fellow-passenger, again made his escape, though closely pur sued and shot at by the hostiles. Mr. Hardaway was afterwards a prominent merchant in Montgomery, Alabama, and a gallant officer in the Confederate army. 
An old copy of the Galveston News contains the following in teresting account of the origin of the name " Lone Star State," as applied to Texas, and will be read with a deep interest and a glow of pride by every Georgian : 
" The Flag of the Lone Star " that was first unfurled in Tex as was that borne by the Georgia Battalion, commanded by the late Lieutenant Colenel Ward, who, with almost his entire com mand, was massacred at Goliad in the Spring of 1836, in what is known as " Fannin's Massacre, he being next in command to : the lamented Col. James W. Fannin. 
"The flag was presented to Colonel Ward's command as they passed through Knoxville, Crawford county, Georgia, by the fairest daughter of the State--the beautiful, gifted and highly accomplished Miss Joanna E. Troutman. 
'* It was made of plain white silk, bearing an azure star of five points on either side. On one side was the inscription in rich, but chaste colors--' LIBERTY OR DEATH !' and on the other the patriotic Latin motto--' Ubi Libertas habitat, ibi nostra patria 
i:!M." 
The flag was first unfurled at Velasco on the 8th of January, i: 5:836, and proudly floated to the breeze from the same LibertyIpole with the first "Flag of Independence," which had just :been brought from Goliad by the valorous Captain William Brown, who subsequently performed such daring and effective service in the Navy of Texas. : There is something singularly romantic in the history of these two flags. The " Flag of Independence " came from Goliad, 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
where it was first hoisted, just in time to be flung to the breeze from the same staff with the beautiful "Banner of the Single Star" on the occasion of its being first unfurled in Texas. 
Proudly they floated together. The crimson-dyed sword, in fearful aspect, grasped in a sinewy hand, waved boldly over the placid star as it reposed on its broad field of virgin white, as if to emblematize the chivalric vow of a gallant knight-errant to his lady love, " Thee will I protect wherever thou goest !" 
What became of the " Flag of Independence " we know not; but the beautiful star of azure was borne by Colonel Fannin's regiment to Goliad, and there gracefully floated from the same tall staff which first bore the blood-red sword that waved over, as if to protect it at Velasco. On the 8th of March, 1836, an express arrived at Goliad from Washington, on the Brazos, of ficially announcing that the Convention then in session had formally made solemn declaration that Texas was no longer a Mexican province, but a free and independent Republic within itself. On the receipt of this thrilling, this glorious intelligence, the greatest demonstrations of joy were made in the fort--loud and spirit-stirring strains of martial and patriotic music from "trumpet, drum and fife" resounded through the "ancient confines of the fortress," and the shadowy aisles of the venerable chapel La Sahia. Amid the roar of artillery, the beautiful "Banner of the Lone Star" was hoisted to the top of the iden tical flag staff which first bore the broad ensign of that political independence, the glad tidings of the declaration of which, by a general convention of the people's representatives, there assem bled, had just been been received. It proudly streamed over the hoary ramparts and time-shattered battlements of the antiqua ted fortress of La Bahia, until the last rays of the setting sun were casting their " lessening light " against the gray turrets of the old chapel. Just as the "sunset gun " thundered forth its hoarse announcement of departing day, the usual attempt to "lower the colors" was being made, when, by some unlucky mishap, the beautiful silken banner entangled in the halyards and was torn into pieces. Only a small fragment remained ad- 
 
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137 
 
justed to the flag-staff; and when Colonel Fanniu evacuated Goliad to join General Houston, in accordance with received orders, the last remnant of the first " Flag of the Lone Star " was still fluttering at the top of the staff from which first floated the " Flag of Independence." 
At the defeat and capture of Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto, the silver service of the wily commander was also cap tured, and some of the trophies of the victory, consisting of his massive spoons, forks, etc., were forwarded by General Rusk to Miss Troutman " in token of the regard she had inspired in the hearts of the stern, scarred patriots of the revolution, as they gazed upon the virgin ground and lone blue star of the flag she had wrought, and which had led on many of their brave com patriots to death, themselves to victory." 
On the meeting of the first Congress the "Flag of the Lone Star '' was adopted as the flag of the Republic, and the seals of office were required to be engraved with the " star " upon them. A public recognition of the maternity of the " Frst Flag of the Lone Star" as belonging to Georgia, was made by General Memucan Hunt, the first Minister from the Republic of Texas to the United States. 
Notwithstanding the excitement from two wars upon the bor ders of the State in 1836, the growth of the city was increasing and its commercial prosperity exceeding that of the previous propitious year. 
On January the 2oth, at a meeting of the Council, the Mayor was instructed, by a unanimous vote, to subscribe to twenty-five hundred shares in the stock of the Central Railroad Company. The subscription was recommended by a previous meeting of the citizens, in which that enterprising citizen, Jerry Cowles, was the prominent advocate of the measure. 
On the 22d, the Georgia Methodist Conference assumed charge of the Macon Female College, and accepted the beautiful and spacious grounds tendered them on Encampment Hill for the erection of the College building. 
In February, the books of the Central Railroad Company 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
were again opened, and four thousand seven hundred and eigh teen shares were subscribed in Macon. In April, a branch bank of the Company was established in Macon, and Isaac B. Row land elected cashier. The presidency was tendered to Dr. Baber, who having declined the office, Jerry Cowles was then elected the first president. The Company erected, this year, the hand some building for bank purposes, on Mulberry street, recently converted into a Medical College. On September i5th, the survey of the road commenced from this place under L. O. Rey nolds, assistant engineer, and R. W. Ellis. Virgil Powers, so long and prominently identified with railroads centering at Macon, commenced his first service on this survey. 
The Monroe Railroad was now being pushed forward, and on October 3ist, at a meeting of the stockholders, General L. L. Griffin "was re-elected President of the Company. On Decem ber 3ist, the House of Representatives, by a large majority, passed a bill extending the Monroe Road to the Chattahoochee, with banking privileges; the principal bank to be established in Macon. A large building was erected for that purpose, which, on the failure of the Company, was sold to Jerry Cowles, and converted into the first fire-proof warehouse in the city. It is now the property of the town and used for Council offices and police barracks. 
The cities of Georgia were now thoroughly enthused with the spirit of railroad enterprise. A number of Western and Middle States were seeking a line of transportation with the Southern Atlantic ports through Georgia and Carolina. The Georgia Road had been started in its construction from Augusta, but its terminal point had not been determined; and as the Charles ton and Augusta Road was about completed, these two cities were encouraging a route leading to Knoxville, Tennessee, turn ing the contemplated route of the Georgia Road through Athens to that place. 
On the 4th of J uly, an important convention of delegates from seven States were called to meet at Knoxville, to determine the route from Cincinnati to a Southern port. A public meeting of 
 
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139 
 
the citizens of Macon was held, and Messrs. Chappell, Poe, Butts, Cbwles, Tracy and Lamar, were appointed delegates to repre sent the interests of Central Georgia in the Knoxville Conven tion- The first 1 four delegates went on horseback, making a sur vey through the wild and mountainous country. 
On arriving at Knoxvilie they tound a large body of delegates, representing the wealth, intelligence and enterprise of seven States. It was reported to be the largest and most influential meeting of capitalists that had assembled down to that time. But they were uninformed as to the topography, resources and en terprise of Georgia. Some of them had visited Savannah and Augusta, and, from the character of the lowlands around those cities, formed the opinion that the whole State was of a similar formation, and that the entire cotton crop was made on the low lands in the rice growing sections. The Macon delegation in formed them that they had come from interior Georgia on horse back, and personally surveyed the country by different routes, passing through many fertile valleys, over lofty hills, crossing many rivers, and that there were actually many mountains in the upper part of the State; and, further, that the great cotton belt was in the middle and Southwestern portion of the State, where the richest lands were located. The convention recom mended the building of roads to Knoxville by the Cincinnati and Western towns to connect with the two roads in course of construction, the one from Macon and Forsyth, and the other from Augusta. :!: OH the return of the Macon delegates it was determined to : call a convention of all the counties interested, in the State, to .establish a uniform system for the routes of the projected roads, and to recommend the building, by the State, of a main trunk line between the Chattahoochee and Tennessee rivers. In No vember the convention assembled, with thirty-seven counties . .represented, by as able a body of delegates as ever were gathered for the public interest. A committee of thirty members were : .-;appointed to prepare business for the convention. A masterly 
was made through their Chairman, Hon. A. H. Chappell,, 
 
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HISTOKICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
which received the unanimous endorsement of the convention, and was pronounced the ablest effort of his distinguished public career. The Legislature, at their next session in December, adopted the recommendations in the report; extended the char ters of the several roads, and passed a bill to build the State Road as a main trunk between the Chattahoochee and Tennessee rivers. 
To the action of the citizens of Macon in assembling the convention of delegates from all parts of the State to co-oper ate with them in their efforts to connect the Tennessee river with the seaboard by a line of railroad through the interior of the State, are we indebted for the present system of railroads. This system gave birth to the city of Atlanta, by making a place called White Hall, around which Atlanta was subsequently built, the connecting point of the three roads. 
On the 18th of December, fourteen more of the lots were sold on the common in the vicinity of the Female College; five oneacre lots bringing $13,925 ; three one-acre rear lots brought $3,270. The other six lots were of two acres each, at the west of the College, and brought $17,950; total, 1535,145. The hill lots were in demand for residences. The first frame house was built upon the hill by Dr. Robert Collins ; it was removed, and an elegant mansion erected by him on its commanding site of four acres. The same property is now in the hands of the Ralston estate, and adjoining it was erected, at the same time3 by Jerry Cowles, that equally elegant and conspicuous mansion, now owned by Samuel T. Coleman. The contractor who built these residences and the Female College was Elam Alexander. 
The new brick market-house was completed this year ; dimen sions, one hundred by forty feet, containing Council-room, clerk's and other offices in the second story. On the center of the building was a fine cupola, in which was the town-clock, with a bell weighing twelve hundred pounds. A contract was made for building a new jail below the court-house. 
The community was afflicted with the loss of two among the most prominent and useful citizens, whose deaths occurred in 
 
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141 
 
the summer of this year. The Hon. Augustus Beal! expired on the i6th of June, and the Rev. John Howard, on the 220! of August. General 13eall had been Mayor of Macon, a distin guished znember of the Legislature, and had filled other offices with honor. He was an able leader in the organization of the State Rights party, and was one of its candidates for Congres sional honors. At the bar, he was a peer of any of its members. No man in the State had earned so brilliant reputation at so early an age; he was but thirty-two when he died. At the great Meth odist revival of June, 1835, just a year previous to his death, he was one of the weeping penitents among the vast number that knelt around the altar. He joined the Methodist Church un der the influence of Mr. Howard, and instantly rose to be one of its most active members. The name of Mr. Howard is in separable from the history of Methodism in Georgia. 
A very creditable and important enterprise was inaugurated on the terminal day of this remarkable year, with one hundred mem bers ; it was the organization of the Macon Lyceum and Library Society, which took place on the 3ist of December, 1836, by the election of Dr. Ambrose Baber, president ; Washington Poe and Jerry Cowles, vice-presidents, and twelve substantial directors. 
The year 1837 was the most memorable one in the history of American commerce. The great "panic," that was so wide spread and ruinous to all classes of trade and produce, came as unexpectedly upon the people, after a highly prosperous winter's business, as a thunderbolt from a serene sky. It was wholly un expected here, as the prosperity of the community was never brighter. 
On the 4th of February, another sale of city lots on the com mon, in the neighborhood of the hills, was made. One hundred and seventy lots were sold, amounting to $110,000 more for the city treasury, relieving that department from debt, with a. surplus of that great desideratum--"cash on hand." 
The Ocmulgee Bank was organized on April loth by the election of Jerry Cowles, Henry G. Lamar, E. Hamilton, James Rea, Eugenius A. Nisbet, W. B. Johnston and Elijah Sin- 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
clair, directors. The board then elected Jerry Cowles, presi dent, John T. Lamar, cashier, Joseph A. White, book-keeper. It was contemplated to have the whole capital, half million, paid in by the end of the year. 
On April igth, a list of the stockholders of the Monroe Rail road and Banking Company was published, one hundred and thirty in number, and shares, six thousand, amount, $300,000. Most of the stockholders were planters. 
There were now in Macon seven regular steamboats for the river trade, and two coming up to the juncture of the Ocmulgee and Oconee; sixty tow boats were entered at the wharves. There were fifteen lawyers, ten doctors, three dentists, one hun dred merchants, seven blacksmith shops, seven master masons, ten master carpenters, and two to three hundred journeymen, nine cotton warehouses, eight banks and one agency with a capi tal of $1,500,ooo, which was inadequate for the trade of the city. Five merchants this year had obtained 8600,000 from abroad to meet the demands of the business offered. The esti mated value of goods in store was over $1,500,000. Goods were not sent to any towns from this place. No wholesale busi ness was then carried on; the sales were principally to farmers and country merchants, which system was regarded as favorable to the safety of business transactions. There were six daily stages, one every day, and three lines of hacks every other day; two weekly newspapers, three printing offices, two bookstores, and two book-binderies, ten confcctionaries, three drug stores, three jewelry stores, two auction houses, three livery stables, and four hotels, also hardware, hat stores and several millinery estab lishments. The population of Macon within the incorporate limits was four thousand; of Vineville, five hundred, and the outer environs five hundred. The number of families west of the river, two hundred and seventy-five; East Macon, thirty, Vineville, forty, environs, forty. There were four church edi fices, and the Presbyterians were erecting a new meeting house near the new market-house, of Philadelphia brick, built after the Northern style, at a cost of $5,000, and capable of seating 
 
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over eight hundred persons. There were also six schools, well patronized. There was also one furnace for casting and repair ing steamboat machinery, and one lathe for turning iron, owned by that enterprising citizen, James Goddard, Esquire. In the months of January and February cotton was selling at fourteen to sixteen cents per pound, and advanced in March to fifteen to sixteen and a quarter. The entire country seemed on the high tide of prosperity, until the steamers' accounts from Europe early in April, announced heavy failures in England, a great stringency in the money market, and a heavy decline in cotton. The quotations fell in Macon, on April 6th to ten cents, and on May 6th to six cents. In May the market dropped to seven cents for the highest grades, and until the next crop, in the fall, was without quotations. 
The country was now wrapped in clouds of gloom. The panic originated in England. The Bank of England had been compelled to contract its operations, which produced many heavy failures, depressed trade, and caused for a while almost a suspension of business. There was no money sent from Eng land to pay for American products, and thus the panic com menced in this country. In the South, while all interests were affected, the shock fell heaviest upon the mercantile class of business. Banking business was a new institution in communi ties of recent settlement, and where cotton was the predominant product and its prices high, there was frequently a want of funds sufficient to remove it, how great soever might have been the demand for the staple. The money of capitalists was first in banks, it then went to the merchant, and through him to the planter. The consideration received was cotton, and the loss by its terrible depreciation fell in the main upon the middle man, the merchant, for whether he bought or advanced, he was the actual sufferer. The depressed condition of all financial affairs compelled the banks to be very close and extremely cir cumspect in making new engagements. 
The deficiency between the former price paid for the cotton and the then selling price, left the merchant entirely to his own 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
moderate resources and to what assistance he could get from his only friend, the planter. At this time the Georgia planter was master of the situation, so far as the comforts of life, and if the crisis continued, even life's necessities, were concerned. The ground was fresh and productive; artificial stimulation of the soil, except the occasional application of the offals of the barn yard, was unknown, as was also the expense of the more recent commercial fertilizers. The planter had no heavy bills to meet for Western corn and bacon; he raised his own "hog and hominy;" his farm was a home-producing and self-sustaining institution, and whatever might be the depression in the world's trade, he could luxuriate upon the fruits of his own vine and fig tree. The planter, however, met with heavy losses, as all others, but he was better able to stand them. 
The great bank excitement in this section commenced in May on the announcement of the stoppage of the Farmers' Bank of Chattahoochee. The farmers had not forgotten the failure of the Macon Bank, leaving hundreds of thousands of its valueless bills in their hands, and a general feeling of distrust in all pa per money began to pervade among them. This excitement was intensified by the mails bringing in the news that a suspen sion of specie payments had taken pla,ce by banks in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Mary land, Virginia, and in many of the Western States; also in Charleston, Augusta, Savannah, Mobile and New Orleans. The act of suspension of specie payments by a bank was not under stood by the greater portion of the people, who regarded it as an actual failure of the bank. The news of so many suspensions spread like a prairie fire through the country, and every coun tryman who had a bank bill came to town and made a rush on the banks for specie redemption. To allay the excitement, pro tect the banks, and in order to diffuse more intelligent informa tion of the condition of the country among the masses of the people, a public meeting was held ; speeches were made by the prominent men of the place, and resolutions adopted recom mending that the banks all suspend the payment of their bills 
 
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in specie for the present; and as there was a great demand for o-old in Europe, the banks were urged to hold on to their de posits and keep them from the hands of bill-shavers, who wanted the gold for speculation, there being fourteen cents premium offered for it. Five of the banks in Macon accordingly sus pended, without injury to the value of their circulation. Busi ness was very dull until the fall, when the new crop came to market, and was sold during the remainder of the year at eight to nine and a quarter cents. A large crop was made this year, and trade was improving. In November the following consoli dated statement was published: 
The capital stock of the Georgia Banks, $10,307,633 ; circu lation, $4,854,870; specie, $2,374,921. 
The whole country was now in a terrible state of excitement. All of the banks had suspended and immense failures were occur ring daily in commercial circles throughout all of the important cities. The capitalists and politicians attributed the crisis to the management of the National Treasury, and the removal of the deposits from the United States Bank as far back as 1833, by President Jackson, who had an old republican antagonism to paper money, and the corruption of a large monied corporation being attached to the government. He called the National Bank, "the scourge of the people." The effects of the panic lasted about seven years. 
An awful calamity occurred at sea on the gth of October. The splendid steam-packet, Home, on her second voyage from New York to Charleston, in consequence of stress of weather, became in a leaky condition and was wrecked six miles north of Ocracock bar, North Carolina. A gale commenced on the 8th, and continued two days. The boat commenced leaking on the 9th ; all hands and the passengers were at work at the pumps and con tinued without intermission until she grounded. The water gained so fast that at eight o'clock, p. M., the fire was extinguished and the engines stopped. A sail was hoisted, but was imme diately blown away. The ladies had been requested to go for ward, as the place where they were most likely to reach the shore. 
 
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being nearest the beach, but a heavy sea struck the packet there and swept nearly one-half into the sea, and they were drowned. A life-boat and another boat were put out, both loaded with pas sengers, mostly women and children, but the sea broke over the boats and but few escaped. There were ninety passengers and a crew of forty-three persons. Only twenty of the former were saved. There were thirty-five ladies among the passengers, only two of whom were saved, Among the lost was Major Prince, formerly of Macon, and his wife. The name of Major Prince has been frequently mentioned in this volume. He was one of the founders of Macon, and a brief sketch of his career is given: 
The Hon. Oliver Hillhouse Prince was born in Montville, Connecticut, in 1782. He moved to Washington, Wilkes coun ty, Georgia, in his fourteenth year, and assisted his aunt, Mrs, Hillhouse, who was an extraordinary woman, to edit a newspa per. Upon the death of her husband she took charge of his paper, the Monitor and Impartial Observer, and conducted it for several years. The Journal of the House of Representatives was printed in her office and sent to Louisville, then the seat of government. At the same time Mr. Prince studied law, and without help or patronage, became a prominent member of the Northern Circuit. Having been appointed by the Legislature the chief of the commissioners to lay off the metes and bounds of the county of Bibb and the town of Macon, he made the county his home. He settled in Howard District in 1822. It is to him that the city is indebted for its wide streets and ave nues. He soon after opened a law office and practiced with his usual success. In 1824 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1829 he was appointed to the United States Senate. He presi ded over the first railroad convention in Georgia and became deeply interested in the railroad system, and was one of the first stockholders, and directors in the Georgia Railroad Company. He was among the founders of the first educational and literary societies of Bibb county. He was remarkable for his genial wit and was the author of some of the-" Georgia Scenes " and other fugitive humorous articles. In 1832, he abandoned the practice 
 
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of the law, and became the editor of the Georgia Journal, the leading print of one of the political parties in the State. In the conduct of this paper he exercised, during a period of unex ampled party excitement, that dignified moderation which con stitutes one of the three cardinal virtues of Georgia, and is as well a part of the motto of the State as it was of that paper. In 1835, he retired to Athens, Georgia, to devote the remainder of his life to the domestic circle and the education of his children. He left Athens in May, for Boston, to superintend the printing of a Digest of the Laws of Georgia, which he had recently com piled by authority of the Legislature, and having completed his labors, was returning home with his charming wife when the awful accident occurred to the packet, and, they both perished in the same wave. 
" They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death they were not divided." 
In 1838, the country was favored again with a fine cot ton crop. Up to May ist, one hundred and two thousand one hundred and seventy-four bags had been received and sold, extremes, six to nine cents, and in the fall the prices advanced to eleven to twelve and half cents. 
Among the noted events of the year was the arrival, on the zoth of April, of one hundred tons of ice for summer comfort. Heretofore that luxury had been transported in blocks in the boot of the stages and sold at ten to twenty cents per pound. So scarce had been the article that in saloons where it was kept forbibblers, the block was seldom broken ; it was wrapped in stout blankets, and when the patron wanted " a little ice" in his, "with or without sugar," a jack-plane being always in proximi ty, the block was shaved and the snow-like shavings inserted into his (i forty drops" or more, but never less. 
The political excitement during the last year now revived, as the election for State officers was approaching, between the Democratic or Union party, and the State Rights, Republican or Anti-Van Buren party--the latter was called by three names, 
 
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though many of its most influential members were Democrats, but were strongly opposed to Van Burcn and the Jacksonian bank 
policy. The evils practiced at exciting elections had been complained 
of by a recent grand jury, and a large number of citizens call ed a public meeting to consider the complaint and adopt some remedy. In June the meeting was held at the court-house, and largely attended by the most influential citizens of the county. Major Edward D. Tracy presided, and John J. Gresham acted as secretary. The chair stated the object of the meeting was to approve and enforce the recommendations of the late grand jury for the suppression of the alarming evil of electioneering by treating in spirituous liquors, public barbecues and bribery. The following resolutions were adopted : 
" .Resolved, That we will support no candidate for the Legis lature or other office in this county who will himself electioneer by treating in liquors of any kind, or by giving barbecues, or who will place money in the hands of others to do so for him. 
'' Resolved further, That we will countenance no individual who will, either by false argument or by force, endeavor to in duce another to vote contrary to that which his untrammelled conscience shall dictate to him. 
"Resolved, That we will subscribe a pledge to the foregoing effect, and that a committee of four from each Captain's Dis trict be appointed by the chair to obtain similar pledges from the citizens of their respective districts, and that the names of all such be published in the public gazettes of this city. 
"Resolved, That a central committee of three be appointed by the chairman of this meeting, to whom the district commit tees shall report on ro before the first day of August next. '' 
All of which were unanimously adopted. The committees were appointed, and reported and published the names of over three hundred subscribers to the resolutions. The election in October passed off quietly, and resulted in the election of a State Rights Senator, Dr. Baber, and one State Rights Representative, Colonel H. G. Lamar, who ran without 
 
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opposition, and one Union Representative, E. D. Tracy, who received twenty-seven majority over his opponent. 
On October gih the first bar of iron was laid on the Monroe Railroad. The first locomotive arrived in November, and on the 22d was put in operation by the Master Machinist, Robert Findlay, by way of trial, and was run five miles. The name given the locomotive was "Ocmulgee." The first passenger car was placed on the road on December 3d, and drawn by the Ocmulgee to Section Seven. On December gth the track was completed to Forsyth, and on the following day, the loth of December, 1838, the first train ran from Macon to Forsyth, con veying a large delegation of citizens from the former place to attend a public festival given by the citizens of the latter place iii celebration of the completion of the road. The train was drawn by the locomotive "Ocmulgee," and its arrival was greeted by the cheers of the gentlemen, the waving of handker chiefs and smiles of the ladies. After the usual reception speeches and responses, the company repaired to partake of a sumptuous banquet which had been prepared, at which many regular and volunteer toasts were delivered, a few of which are reproduced as a reminiscence of the railroad spirit of the day: 
" The Monroe Railroad-- Has the first finished link in the great chain that will connect the Western with the Atlantic wa ters. To its opponents we would say, are we not all Georgians ?'' 
" Macon--Our neighbor, and one in whose interest we feel identified. Her citizens will make her equal to any, and to be Unsurpassed by none." : " To the Editors of the Georgia Messenger--The steadfast friends of social order and faithful advocates of useful internal improvement; their persevering efforts in advancing these have placed their fellow-citizens under grateful obligations ; may they :: iive long to enjoy the fruits of their labor." 
" General Lewis L. Griffin--The practical patriot, who has erected for himself a monument that in Georgia will forever perpetuate his fame." :.: This brought out General Griffin, who after congratulating 
 
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the company on the completion of the road as far as Forsyth, urged the necessity of its immediate extension to the main trunk, and closed : 
" To the City of Macon--Central in the State, for beauty, commerce and enterprise, she stands without a rival in the South. Other cities, envied by some, and courted by others, she lacks nothing but the united efforts of her citizens to make her the seat of science, and place her commerce beyond the reach of opposing interest." 
By the ladies--" To Our Guests: Honored by the first ride upon the Monroe Railroad, may they not rest satisfied until they extend their pleasure ride trips to the Tennessee river.'' 
By John J. Gresham--" The Georgia Railroad: When her first locomotive reaches the main trunk may the puff of the ' Ocmulgee ' be there to greet her.'' 
By the President of the Monroe Railroad and Banking Com pany--Daniel Griffin, Chief Engineer, L. N. Whittle, As sistant Engineer, and Robert Findlay, Principal Machinist: The ability and unprecedented perseverance with which these gen tlemen have performed the duties assigned them in their several departments entitles them to the highest approbation of this company." 
The year 1839 opened with bright prospects. The banks were solvent, and cotton was bringing fourteen to fifteen cents ; the lowest price for the lowest grade during the year was eight cents, and the highest grades frequently brought fiteen to sixteen and a half. The crop was large and trade very active until there was again another decline of cotton in the Fall. 
On August 29111, the location of the route for the continuation of the Monroe Railroad was completed, and contracts made for its extension from Forsyth to the State Road end in DeKalb, now Fulton county. The survey of the State Road had been completed. The Georgia, Western and. Atlantic and Monroe Railroads were to concentrate at a relay post on the Federal Stage Road known as White Hall. At this point a town was started named Atlanta, which, in 1864, numbered twelve thou- 
 
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sand inhabitants. It was pillaged and destroyed by fire on the 14th of November, 1864, by order of General Sherman, com mander of that portion of the Federal army known throughout Georgia as the " fire and plunder division." The city has been rebuilt, has, for eleven years, been the capital of the State, and contains near forty thousand inhabitants. The other end of the Western and Atlantic Railroad was located at Ross' Landing on the Tennessee river, where another thriving and populous city was since founded called Chattanooga. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
THE TWO HARRISON FRESHETS--POLITICAL CONVENTION AT MILLEDGEVII.LE--THE GREAT HARRISON CONVENTION AT MACON--ALFORD, THE WAR-HORSE OF TROUP, LOG CABINS, PROCESSION, DELEGATIONS, SPEECH ES, GRAND BARBECUE AND OTHER INCIDENTS--CENTRAL RAILROAD DE POT--FIRE--EXCITING CITY ELECTION--WHIG PARTY--STATISTICS--IN DIAN RELICS--CELEBRATION OF THE COMPLETION OF THE CENTRAL RAIL ROAD--FREIGHTS--VISIT OF HENRY CLAY--MILITARY ENCAMPMENT-- FIRE--DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION--JAWBONE BAND--THE CITY BANK RUPT--COTTON TWO AND A HALF CENTS--TRIBUTE TO ANDREW JACK SON--SALE OF THE MONROE RAILROAD--SQUARE COTTON BALES INTRO DUCED--CENSUS--SUPREME COURT ORGANIZED--ANNEXATION OF TEX AS--MEXICAN WAR--CAMPAIGN OF MACON GUARDS, AND COL. JACKSON'S REGIMENT OF GEORGIA VOLUNTEERS--DEATH AND BURIAL OF ISAAC HOLMES--DEATH OK OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS--TRADE IMPROVING-- THE MACON AND WESTERN RAILROAD--ORIGIN OF THE SOUTHWESTERN RAILROAD--MACON REGULARS IN MEXICO--THE MAGNETIC TELE GRAPH--DAGUERREOTYPES--DEATHS--VISIT OF PRESIDENT POLK--FIRST HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY--MACON AND AUGUSTA RAILROAD CONVEN TION. 
There were no events of interest in the early part of the year 1840, except that cotton continued on the decline, and sold in March at five to seven and a half cents, which was the ruling price throughout the year. Two memorable freshets occurred, one in March, and the other in the latter part of May. The freshet of May continued while the convention at Milledgeville that nominated General William H. Harrison for the Presiden cy, was in session, and it was, therefore, called by the people east of the Oconee river the Harrison freshet. In that portion of the country, and beyond the Savannah river and in Carolina, the rivers and streams were higher, and the overflow and destruc- 
 
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tion greater than by any other freshet since the Yazoo freshet in 1796. The cities of Augusta and Hamburg were submerged. 
In the early part of March, 1841, after President Harrison's inauguration, the big fresh occurred west of the Oconee, and the Ocmulgee, Flint and Chattahoochee rivers, and all other smaller streams, contained more water and produced greater damage than ever known. In this section the last inundation was also called the Harrison freshet; hence the confusion that arose many years afterwards in distinguishing which was the proper Harrison fresh. The discrimination was, how ever, distinctly recorded at the time of the occurrences. The fresh of May and June, 1840, while the convention was held at Milledgeville, was named by the Democrats, "The Nomination Freshet," and the fresh of March, 184.1, was also named by the same "unterrincd" authority "The Harrison Inauguration Freshet." An iron spike was driven into the western abutment of the city bridge by Mr. Albert G. Butts, denoting the highest water ever in the river down to that time, March, 1841. The spike still remains, and is inspected at every freshet in the Oc mulgee. 
This year is noted as an epoch in the political annals of the country. The Anti-Van Euren party in Georgia, assembled in convention at Milledgeville, and nominated General Harrison, the hero of the Tippecanoe and many other battles against the Western Indians, as their candidate for the Presidency, and John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice-President. Many Democrats joined in the convention and supported the nominees in preference to Mr. Van Euren, who had endorsed the overthrow of the United States bank policy of his predecessor, Andrew Jackson, and favored, during his administration, the hard money system, which his opponents stoutly proclaimed had aggravated the financial panic throughout the land, and brought distress upon the people. Mr. Van Burcn was not an advocate of the peculiar Southern institutions. General Harrison, being a Southron, was in full accord with the Southern people. He had acquired considerable fame as a gallant, successful officer in the armies 
 
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of his country, and while he made no pretensions to high lite rary accomplishments, he was awarded the credit of being a safe and sagacious statesman. When not engaged in the pub lic service he lived upon his farm in his log cabin, cultivated his orchards and produced a great quantity of hard cider. His nomination was hailed with much enthusiasm by the Southern people. 
Before the adjournment of the Milledgeville Convention, General Elias Beall, on the part of his constituents in Bibb, of fered a resolution recommending that a grand convention be held in Macon on the 13!!! day of August, to ratify the nomin ations that had just been made, which was unanimously adopted. Tippecanoe Clubs were organized in every county in the State, aud arrangements were made by a large number of counties to send full delegations to Macon. 
The delegations to the Great Harrison Convention began to arrive on the I2th of August. It was the largest gathering of the people, in numbers and in strength, that had ever assembled in the State. There were but a few miles of railroad in the State, and delegations came from the extensive counties North, South, East and West in hundreds, on horseback or in vehicles. Some of the delegations built good sized log cabins, sufficient for a dozen men to sleep in, placed them on wheels, with mules or horses attached, and they were drawn fifty to eighty miles over the highways to Macon. On these cabins were cider bar rels, representing chimneys, and strings of red pepper hanging on the door latches. The first delegation that arrived was from Troup and Coweta, amounting to three hundred men, well mounted, and riding two abreast, preceded by a log cabin and band of music, with " ALFORD, the war-horse of Troup," ahead. The delegations were followed by fifty-four baggage wagons. The Bibb county delegation numbered five hundred and fifty, with three banners : First device, a Rattlesnake. Motto: "Gen eral Harrison--the Rod of Aaron among the Magicians.'' Sec ond device, Portrait of Harrison, encircled by a wreath of oak, with two American flags. Motto : " The Last Hope of the Re- 
 
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public." Reverse motto: "A Southern Man, with Southern Feelings." Third device, a log cabin and eagle, with military emblems. Motto: " Harrison and Tyler," Reverse; "We will Teach Palace Slaves to Respect the Log Cabins"--(both presented and painted by Mrs. Dr. Wood, of Macon.) Badge : A Rattlesnake--"Harrison, the Rod of Aaron Among the Ma 
gicians." The Houston delegation, five hundred delegates, bore a Log 
Cabin. Inscription: " Houston Tippecanoe Club." Reverse, an eagle bearing the American flag. They had six other ban ners, with inscriptions on each side. The first: "Purge the Public Offices." "Clear the Kitchen," was followed by twelve men with brooms, which closed the procession of that county, and excited much attention and amusement. These are fair specimens of the delegations that arrived. There were seventy-one counties represented by delegations in procession, thirty-eight of which bore attractive devices ; some log cabins and banners, others flags, revolutionary weapons, cider barrels, agricultural productions and implements, or some device typical of the life of old Tippecanoe, and many a caricature of the "Sly Fox of Kinderhook." The total number of delegates was four thousand two hundred and five. There were more present who were not delegates, and the number estimated in. all was fourteen thousand five hundred to fifteen thousand. The trains of horses and every conceivable variety of vehicles were immense, and the wide streets of Macon have never been so crowded for the period of three days. 
Colonel William B. Parker was Grand Marshal of the occasion, supported by twelve assistants. The arrival of each delegation was announced by the firing of the " old gun," and escorted by one of the Marshals to their quarters. Each delegation handed in a list of their members to the Marshal. On the I3th, the del egations assembled for conventional purposes, at, and in the vicin ity of the warehouse of Hamilton & Reynolds, between seven and eight o'clock, A. M. 
General Beall, chairman of the Bibb county Tippecanoe Club, 
 
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called the convention to order, and Hon. John M. Berrien was made permanent chairman. Prayer was offered by Rev. George F. Pierce, after which Mr. Berrien made a brief and powerful address. At the conclusion, he introduced Hon. Mr. Preston of South Carolina, "when the shout of welcome from the assem bled thousands that greeted his appearance on the stand, pro claimed the high estimation in which he was held by the people of Georgia. For two hours he enchained the multitude in breath less attention, and though the crowd was exposed at times to the inconvenience of sun and rain, none became weary." 
The procession was then formed, the Grand Marshal in the lead with the President and twelve Vice-presidents, followed by the musicians, orators and clergy, soldiers of the revolution, delegates from other States, and delegations from most distant counties, first in order, each one having at its head the log cab ins, banners, devices, etc. From the vastness of the multitude, the procession formed in columns extending the width of the street. It proceeded down Cherry to Bridge, down Bridge to the Court-house square, thence up Mulberry to Second street, and down that street to the warehouse of Hamilton & Hardeman, opposite academy square, where the dinner tables were spread. The tables were a few yards short of a half of a mile. They were arranged in four parallel lines, thirty-two in number, each one measuring eighty feet, containing in all two thousand five hundred and sixty plates. The bill of fare of the substantials consisted of three thousand pounds of baker's bread ; twen ty-three hundred pounds of corn bread; one hundred and fiftyfour hogs and sheep, averaging sixty pounds each--nine thou sand two hundred and forty pounds ; sixteen beeves, averaging three hundred pounds each--four thousand eight hundred pounds ; twenty-five hundred pounds of bacon hams ; ten quar ter casks of wine, etc., etc. Tables were also set in Wrigley & Hart's establishment, where five hundred female visitors dined. Extensive as the preparations were, a great part of the delega tions brought provisions and all the culinary utensils. 
After dinner the crowd separated into five divisions, each one 
 
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with a bevy of orators, as it was impossible for the whole num ber to hear one speaker, and were addressed by Judge E. Y. Hill, of Jasper; Iverson L. Harris and A. H. Kenan, of Bald win ; J. C. Alford, the war-horse of Troup; Robert Toombs, of Wilkes; Eli Warren, of Houston ; H. W, Hilliard, M. Hutchinson and Mr. Gunn, of Alabama; A. R. Moore, of Henry; Judge Law, and Frank Bartow, of Chatham; A. J. Miller, of Richmond; Roger L. Gamble, of Jefferson; Rev. J. H. Davis, of Coweta ; Wm. C. Preston, of South Carolina ; Judge Strong, A. H. Chappell, E. A. Nisbet, Washington Poe, A. S. Wingfield and S. R. Blake, of Bibb, 
On Friday morning, the I4th, Mr. Preston addressed a large crowd from the portico of the Central Hotel for an hour and a half. A. H. Chappell, of Bibb, introduced a lengthy and for cible preamble and resolution, opposing the corruption and mis rule of the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and advocating the election of Harrison and Tyler. The acts of the administration were fully set forth in the preamble, when it was, therefore 
Resolved, That it be recommended to the citizens of Georgia to lay aside, in the present alarming emergency of the country, all pre-existing party divisions, and to come to the examination of the issues involved in the existing contest, with minds un biased, unprejudiced and determined to consult no end but their country's good, and its deliverance from the maladministration and misery with which it is now overwhelmed, etc. 
The question being upon the adoption of the preamble and resolutions, Mr. Toombs, of Wilkes, offered the following amend ment, which was carried by acclamation : 
"Resolvedly this Convention, That while as State Rights Re publicans we must ever repudiate and condemn the principles em braced in the Proclamation and Force Bill, yet we feel ourselves called upon as patriots to forego our peculiar opinions of the means to secure the great ends of STATE RIGHTS, popular liberty and honest administration of the property of the Government of the People, and extend a cordial invitation to our country men of the Union party to unite with us in the deliverance o^ 
 
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our common country from the hands of 'the spoilers.' In this great struggle we proclaim to the world that we stand upon the great platform of Popular Rights, which is wide enough, and long enough, and strong enough for every friend of his country to stand upon without any sacrifice, except PARTY TO COUNTRY!" 
The question then being upon the adoption of the resolutions with the amendment, the Hon. C. B. Strong, of Bibb, intro duced the following additional amendment, which was by a unanimous vote superadded to the main resolution : 
"Resolved, That this Convention of the People approve of the able and patriotic conduct of the faithful Six of our Rep resentatives in Congress, to-wit: Alford, Dawson, Habersham, Nisbet, King and Warren ; and will support them, with Foster, Gamble and Meriwether, and use all honorable means to pro mote their election." 
The resolutions, with the amendments, were supported in able speeches by William Law, Robert Toombs, Andrew J. Mil ler and Henry W. Milliard. The amended resolutions were unanimously adopted. Judge Berrien then delivered a closing address, and the Convention adjourned amidst the wildest en thusiasm. 
The location of the depot for the Central Railroad was the local subject of excitement in the fall of this year. The Com pany desired to locate it on the west side of the river, to which many of the citizens objected, believing that a connection with the Monroe Road would be injurious to the interests of the city. At a meeting of the citizens and the officers of the road, it was finally determined to locate it in East Macon. On December yth the contract for building the road between Macon and the Oconee was given to Messrs. Robert and Charles Collins, and Elam Alexander. 
The year 1841 was marked by two disasters from opposing elements, water and fire. The Great Harrison Inauguration Freshet, in March, has already been referred to. On Septem ber 15th and i6th there was another freshet, and the Oconee 
 
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rose within eighteen inches of the high water mark, in March. The damage to fencing, mills and bridges was very severe and 
extensive. In October a very destructive fire occurred, destroying the 
entire northwestern block of the square on Cherry street, in cluding the handsome building occupied by the Columbus In surance Bank; and the Ocmulgee Bank, on Second street, and sixteen other buildings, principally wooden stores, outhouses, and two livery stables. 
On New Year's Day of 1842 the annual election for city of ficers was held at the court-house, and for the first time in many years a serious disturbance occurred at the polls. A number of excited men, whose votes during the day had been challenged, just at the close of the election broke through the windows, seized the ballot box and destroyed it with the ballots. The of fenders were afterwards arrested and made to suffer the penal ties inflicted by the law. 
The cotton receipts in 1841 and 1842 were over forty thou sand bags short of 1839 and 1840, and the prices ranged at three to seven cents, averaging about five cents during the year. The effects of the panic of 1837 were more severely felt this year than at any previous date. There was a drag in commercial matters for several years, and the ruling price paid for cotton did not begin to improve until 1844 and 1845. The expansion of the city and its growth was gradual, but not marked with that vigor and rapidity of the preceding years. 
On the yth of June the State Rights Convention assembled at Milledgeville, and continued two days. Hon. Win. C. Dawson was elected Chairman, and Peterson Thweatt, Secretary. Among the delegates who addressed the Convention, were Dawson, Wilde, Nisbet, Toombs, Stephens, Billups and others. Henry Clay was nominated the choice of the Convention for the next Presidency. Afrer the adjournment of this Convention the name of WHIG was then adopted, and for the first time by any party in Georgia. 
;. The year 1843 entered with no improvement in commercial 
 
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affairs. Cotton was selling in the winter at three to five and a quarter cents. Country produce--butter, twelve to fifteen cents j bacon, hog round, five and half to six cents; lard, six to eight cents, and scarce ; beef, fresh, three to four cents; corn, thirty, seven to forty cents; corn meal, forty to forty-five cents, in de mand and scarce; eggs, six to ten cents ; flour, three to four dollars per barrel ; fodder, sixty-two to seventy-two cents j pota toes, thirty-seven to fifty cents. 
On June ipth, the first Convention of the Whig party took place. It assembled at Milledgeville, and Hon. John M. Berrien was unanimously made the President. The Convention, by acclamation, nominated George W. Crawford as their candidate for Governor, A. H. Stephens, for Congress, and Mr. Berrien, their candidate for Vice-presidency. 
The new cemetery was attracting universal admiration, as the committee in charge had laid off the walks, roads and lots. It was founded in May, 1840, and named by the City Council Rose Hill Cemetery, in honor of Simri Rose, whose plans for the burial grounds were adopted by that body. 
The Central Railroad was now approaching completion to Macon. For several years, as the road advanced from Savan nah, the route by the stages from Macon, was shortened. On August ist, the first passenger car arrived from Savannah, at McCall's Mill, two and a half miles from the city, where a tem porary depot was established. In September and October, while Messrs. Collins and Alexander were cutting through the edge of the mounds near the city, for the road track, a number of In dian relics were exhumed, consisting of a large earthen pot, ca pable of holding eight gallons, in which was contained a consid erable quantity of burnt corn which appeared to have been re duced to charcoal; also, a number of skeletons and human bones ; a variety of spoons ; a singular formed stone, translucent, and resembling amber, and a stone axe ; also, five feet below the sur face, a brass spoon in a bowl of Indian earthenware. At about thirty to forty feet below the surface was discerned the trunk of a tree, supposed to have been poplar, twelve inches in diameter. 
 
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It was encrusted with stone two inches thick, beneath which the wood appeared to be converted into hard coal, and was black and heavy. What was very singular, pieces of pine bark were found in the same locality that were sound and bore the distinct marks of an axe. 
On the I3th of October, 1343, a grand festival was given by the Company in honor of the surviving projectors of the great enterprise, many of whom arrived on the first train that passed over the entire length of the road, which, for many years, bore the historic fame of being the longest railroad in the world built and owned by one company. Many congratulatory speeches were made. Highly complimentary letters were read by Hons. C. B. Strong and J. J. Gresham, the two chairmen of commit tees on reception. A handsome letter from Hon. Henry Schultz, of South Carolina, concluded with the following sentiment: 
" The City of Macon: The Queen Inland City of the South. At the head of the longest railroad in the world, and to be ere long the key-stone of the roads grappling with the ocean at the East and with the waters beyond the mountains at the West. ' The Central Railroad Company,' whose name it bears at the city of Savannah, but was completed by a Collins and an Alex ander, at the city of Macon; a stupendous structure, a monu ment to the State of Georgia and its patriotic projectors, and will so remain until rivers and railroads are no more wanted." 
The Georgia Messenger, of Macon, which had been, since 1834, a steadfast and earnest advocate of the enterprise, com mented on its completion as follows : 
" It is strictly a Georgia road, projected by Georgians and carried through by Georgia enterprise and capital. The master spirit of the work was the lamented Gordon; he was the life and soul of it; his indomitable energy, persevering industry and untiring devotion overcame every obstacle, and triumphed over difficulties which would seem to ordinary minds insuperable. Embarrassments of every kind came thick and fast upon him. A panic in our monied affairs, unparalleled in the history of the country, popular odium, sectional jealousies, ignorance and 
 
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prejudice, with all their fertile consequences; the elements themselves at one time seemed to concentrate their powers to arrest the progress of the road ; but the genius that presided over its destinies and gave life and spirit and action to all its parts rose triumphantly above the disheartening and appalling obstacles. 
" Honor, then, imperishable honor to the memory of William W. Gordon. His native State owes him a debt of gratitude which time can never cancel. 
" The admirable management of the Central Railroad and Banking Company has very materially facilitated the progress of the road. By the employment of the bank capital the re sources of the company were judiciously invested and made auxiliary to the prosecution of the work; and throughout the whole period of the existence of the company the bank has been made subsidiary to the main object, the completion of the road ; in this particular the end and design of the charter of the com pany have been faithfully fulfilled.'' 
Before the completion of the road, and while the depot was at McCall's Mill, the first bale of new cotton received in Sa vannah that year arrived by cars on August 24th. It was raised in Houston county, and was a square bale. This season square bales were beginning to be adopted, and many planters were having screws built. 
On the 4th of December the first seaboard shad of the season arrived in Macon by railroad, and salt-water fish and turtle soup were getting to be common luxuries in this market. An abund ance of shad, however, had been caught in the Ocmulgee, above Macon, every year since its earliest settlement. Ice was now reduced to four cents per pound. 
The first of January, 1844, dawned with brighter prospects for the ensuing year. Cotton advanced from seven and a half to eight and three-quarter cents. Freights to Savannah by boats $ I -37//z Per bale, and forty cents per one hundred pounds by railroad; and in March freights were further reduced to $i;2$ 
 
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per bale by boats, and thirty-five cents per one hundred pounds 
by rail. .The hospitalities of the city having been extended to Henry Clay, on his tour through the South, he arrived by railroad from Forsyth on a special train, accompanied by his son, John Clay, Hon. T. Butler King, a committee from Columbus, and a large number of citizens from Macon. A national salute of twentysix guns announced his arrival, when "The Man of the Age" was escorted by a large cavalcade of horsemen and citizens in carriages to rooms prepared for him at the Centra! Hotel, where the citizens were introduced until nightfall. Mr. Clay received his many visitors at the hotel, though he was the guest at the residence of his old friend in Congress, Hon. E. A. Nisbet. Sunday following his arrival he attended worship at the Pres byterian Church, and on Monday, the i8th, received the wel come of the vast assembly in a short and most felicitous address by Hon. Washington Poe; to which the great orator responded in a speech which received the uninterrupted attention of the multitude for an hour and forty minutes. After the speaking, which took place from the rear portico of the court-house, he went to the hotel, and was introduced to many ladies and gen tlemen, Locofocos, as well as Whigs. 
A soiree and ball closed the evening where many bewitching smiles and pretty flowers were tendered and which the far-famed Sage of Ashland acknowledged with courtly compliments. The dancing was of the primitive order--the old cotillion sets, to which " the beauty and the chivalry" of the day seemed to be .confined. The more progressive art of the polkas, redowasand other dizzy pirouettes, in which one of each sex engage by pairs, and gracefully whirl along the floor, encircled in fond embraces, was an unknown accomplishment at that time. 
Mr. Clay left for Milledgeville on the ipth, accompanied by a committee from this place. 
The Legislature of last year having granted twelve acres of ground on the southwestern portion of the reserve for the use of : the volunteer corps of the city as a parade and camp ground, 
 
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and the work of improving and clearing the same having been finished, an invitation was extended to the military of Savannah to visit their comrades in arms at this place. The invitation was accepted, and on the zgth of April, the Republican Blues, Phoe nix Riflemen, Savannah Volunteer Guards and Chatham Artil lery, arrived by the Central Road. They were welcomed by Mayor Nisbet, who was replied to by Frank S. Bartow, of the Blues; after which, they joined the Macon Volunteers, Bibb Cavalry and Floyd Rifles and encamped upon the new grounds. The command of the battalion was tendered to Colonel White, of Savannah, and accepted. In the General Orders of the 3oth, the name of the place of rendezvous was designated " Camp Oglethorpe." The encampment lasted three days and was a brilliant and gala event. The Chatham Artillery dated its ori gin to 1786. Among its three pieces of brass ordnance one was the gift of Washington, which was captured with Cornwallis, at Yorktown ; the other two were presented by Lafayette, and were captured at the same time. 
A large and destructive fire occurred on the iQth of August, between twelve and one o'clock, commencing in the block, cor ner of Mulberry and Third streets. The whole of the block was consumed, and extended to the adjoining block on Mulberry street, where it was checked by the fire-proof building now oc cupied by Thomas Wood who then occupied the same. None of the buildings were insured except the Darien Bank. Twelve buildings were destroyed, and a number of outbuildings. At the fire a worthy citizen, James Willingham, who was at that time the foreman of the Macon Telegraph, lost his life in pulling down a parapet of a wooden building which fell over him. The city erected a monument over his grave in Rose Hill, as a tribute to his noble efforts to save the property of his fellowcitizens, by which he lost his life. 
A great Democratic mass meeting took place on August zzd. Forty to fifty counties were represented with banners. There was a considerable delegation from South Carolina. A proces sion was formed at the court-house at eight o'clock, A. M., un- 
 
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der Major James W. Armstrong, Grand Marshal, and fourteen assistants. The inscriptions and mottoes on the banners were expressive of the subjects and carricatures of the day, such as Young Hickory, Dallas and Victory, Hickory Trees, Polk, Dal las and Texas, A Lone Star, Texas and Oregon, a Lone Star and Annexation. Texas and Oregon carried on a young hickory tree and thousands of poke-berries staining the innumerable 
coon skins. The procession proceeded to Campbell & Moultrie's ware 
house where they were called to order by Col. D. C. Campbell. Hon. Charles J. McDonald was elected Permanent President, and twenty-six Vice-presidents were appointed. The President made a brief address, and closed by calling on Rev. Dr. Leland, of South Carolina, to open the proceedings with prayer. The Convention was addressed by Wm. F. Saraford, William Alston Hayne, General James Hamilton and James Smith Rhett, of South Carolina. Adjourning for dinner, they reassembled at half past three o'clock, and were addressed by Wm. D. Porter and Robert W. Seymour, of Charleston, and A. H. Chappell, of Bibb. The venerable Thomas Spalding then presented the prize banner to Green county, it having the largest delegation ; after which Henry R. Jackson and Walter T. Colquitt delivered spir ited speeches. A dozen other speeches were made in various parts of the city, and at night, at the various encampments, speeches were made by H. V. Johnson, R. W. Flournoy, Colonel Safford, Geo. W. Towns, H. L. Banning, and Mr. Hall, of Bibb. The nomination of Polk and Dallas was ratified by the Conven tion. The Texas and Oregon question was principally discussed by the orators, and the annexation of the "Lone Star Republic" enthusiastically recommended. 
The political excitement between both parties was kept up until the Presidential election in November. Both parties held conventions in various portions of the State, and candidates and politicians of opposite parties frequently met in public debate, during which all the virtues and every evil of each party, or its candidate, as is usually the case, was the burden of the speeches. 
 
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At Macon, a Locofoco Club was organized. One of its ad 
 
juncts was the noted " Jawbone Band " formed by a dozen ama teurs in the eity. Their instruments were principally jawbones and ribs of animals, with a few string and brass pieces. Many of the campaign songs were set to the favorite air, " Old Dan Tucker/' which had just been introduced. Every meeting of 
 
the club was opened, interspersed and closed with music from the Jawbone Band. At every gathering of the party throughout the district, the band was sent for to enliven the people by ren dering the "concord of sweet sounds" from the rattle of dry 
 
bones. 
 
THE CITY BANKRUPT. 
 
The Mayor, James A. Nisbet, on the ist of July published a lengthy statement of the debts of the city; its revenue and all 
 
expenses. The indebtedness was $287,842. The annual expenses of the city government amounted to $7,700; annual interest ac count $23,000 ; the resources were $17,000. The Mayor attribu ted the financial embarrassment to the heavy investment made by the city in the construction of railroads, and no dividends derived 
 
therefrom. The Council authorized an agent to be sent to New 
 
York to borrow $75,000, and hypothecate the railroad stocks or other property the city owned. The Mayor pronounced the 
 
city bankrupt. 
 
In his annual report in December, the Mayor showed an im proved condition in city finances, and said : 
"The debt has been reduced $35,278.15, which had been 
 
accomplished by economy in city expenses, and the settled policy of Council in appropriating assets of every description belong 
 
ing to the city that could be made available in paying debts. The negotiations made last summer had not been consummated. There was an entire willingness on the part of the bondholders, 
 
with one exception, to accede to the liberal propositions made them. The refusal of that individual defeated the arrangement and it remained for the successors of the board to prosecute the settlement of the large public debt. He indulges the hope that the recent improvement in Central Railroad stock, with a pru- 
 
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dential management of city finances, will, at no distant day, extricate Macon from embarrassments which a short time since seemed overwhelming. The change bills issued by the city have constituted an annoying obstacle in the administration of its affairs, but it will not much longer exist, for during the last and present year there have been redeemed and burnt $27,110.75 of them. Those out will gradually come in, and can be met without great embarrassment.'' 
The country had not entirely recovered from the old panic, which by this time had assumed a chronic state. The national patients, the State Banks, to which the deposits had been re moved, had been bled entirely too freely, and left the circula tion too thin for the body politic. Much money taken from the State Banks was never returned. The productions of the country were rapidly increasing and the cause of stagnation in commerce, low prices and many failures, was the want of suffi cient circulating medium in the country to meet the demands of commerce. Cotton drooped again at four and five cents. The bonds of the city were given for its subscription to stock in the construction of railroads, and the interest had to be met. Since 1836 the interest on the bonds for the two thousand five hundred shares of Central Railroad, and five hundred shares in the Monroe Railroad stocks was at the rate of $23,000 per an num. Seven years had elapsed before the road was completed, and no dividends paid after its operation. By selling the Cen tral Railroad stock at a greatly reduced rate, and the exercise of most rigid economy in the city expenses, the debt of the city was in a few years much reduced. 
The year 1845 was signalized with a further decline in cotton, which sold in January at two and a half to four cents. The debt of the State was published on the ist to be $i, 640,138.72. The topics of the new year were the low price of cotton ; and politically, the Texas and the Oregon question. In February the National House of Representatives passed the bill for the annexation of Texas, and a war with Santa Anna was appre hended on the Texas frontier. 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
On the 2ist of June a large meeting was held at the court house to make the preliminary arrangements for an extensive 
 
public demonstration to the memory of the late Andrew Jack son, who died at his Hermitage on the 8th instant. Several 
 
speeches were made, and resolutions appropriate to the occasion were adopted. A committee of twenty-seven were appointed to select an orator to deliver a eulogy upon the character and eminent services of the distinguished hero and statesman. 
On the I5th the ceremonies took place. A national salute was fired at sunrise. At nine A. M. all the bells oi the city com 
 
menced tolling as the procession formed, and continued until it arrived at Cowles' Warehouse, where the platform was draped in mourning. The procession formed with a band of music in the lead, followed by the Bibb Cavalry, Volunteers, Rifles, Gen 
 
erals of Division and Brigade with their respective Staffs, the Colonel and his Staff, the Orator of the day and Clergy; an urn enveloped in a canopy of crape, bourne on a bier drawn by four 
 
horses, and attended by eight pall-bearers in crape ; a horse, properly caparisoned, and led by two grooms ; soldiers who had served under General Jackson ; Mayor and Council of the City; Judges of the Superior and Inferior Courts, Masonic and Odd Fellows' Lodges and citizens generally. 
The eulogy was pronounced by David C. Campbell, and was a faithful review of the public life and high character of one of the most remarkable and successful men the world had ever pro 
 
duced. 
 
SALE OF THE MONROE ROAD. 
 
By virtue of a decree of the special jury in relation to the 
 
bankruptcy of the Monroe Railroad and Banking Company, a sale of all the effects of the Company, from Macon to White Hall, in DeKalb county, including both the part thereof which had been completed and in operation and the part in an unfin 
 
ished condition, was made on the first Tuesday in August. The Company was declared insolvent and wholly unable to pay its debts, and from its many embarrassments were unable to com 
 
plete the road and keep it in operation. The superstructure had 
 
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been completed on the whole road, except four and a half miles, and trains were running to Jonesboro, eighty miles from Macon, The cost of the road with its equipment was $3,000,000.00. 
On May ad a convention of the stockholders was held in Macon. L. N. Whittle, the President of the Company, submitted a report showing the indebtedness of the Company to be $847,409.35, while, the assets were only $323,677.33--one half of which were valueless. Again, it would require all the income of the road for three years to complete it to the junction with the State and Georgia Roads, and upon those portions already requiring rebuilding. The interest on the debt was at the rate of $75,000.00 per annum. The stockholders had paid in very near $1,500,000.00 on their subscription, and were unable to ad vance any more. There were judgments against the Company for $130,000.00. There was no alternative except to sell the road for the benefit of the creditors. The stockholders despair ed of the most remote hope of ever benefitting themselves. The debt of $800,000.00 was an appalling obstacle which they could not surmount. William B. Parker was appointed by the special jury, trustee in charge of the road from, May apth, the date of the decree, until the 6th of August, the day of sale. 
The sale had been advertised for two months and it was ap prehended that a company of capitalists would purchase the property and divert its course towards a lower point on the Georgia Road, to the injury of both Macon and Savannah. The enterprising managers of the Georgia Road, and some rep resentatives from Charleston, were among the spirited bidders. They went as high as $153,000. The whole road and equip ments was knocked off to Jerre Cowles, who was representing a Northern party, for $155,100, which with the redemption of liens on the road to the amount of $50,000, made the sum real ized by the creditors $205,100; and for this sum the new company received property which cost over $2,000,000, located through one of the best sections of country in the State for a railroad, and most easily kept in order. The road was one hundred and 
 
 170 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
one miles in length, without a single bridge or any trestle work on its route. 
The receipts of the cotton year to September ist, amounted to one hundred and thirty-four thousand bales and bags, a great portion of which was packed in square bales. The price of cotton in square packages were one quarter of a cent more than that in round bags, and the planters were now induced to abandon the old system of packing in round bags. The receipts were the largest ever recorded in Macon as to the number of bales and bags. 
The census of the county and city was taken in October. Population of the county ten thousand five hundred and fiftyeight, of the city four thousand one hundred and eighty. 
On December 19111, the election for Judges of the Supreme Court, by the Legislature, resulted in the choice of Joseph Hen ry Lumpkin, of Oglethorpe, for six years ; Hiram Warner, of Meriwether, for four years, and Eugenius A. Nisbet, of Bibb, for two years, which established the first organization of that high tribunal. Its second term was held in Macon on the gth and loth of the next month, January, 1846. No case was brought up. The Court was engaged in admitting attorneys and estab lishing the rules of practice. 
The annexation of Texas, in 1846, brought forth, as had been predicted, a war with Mexico. The proclamation from the War Department at Washington, calling on Georgia for her quota of troops to enlist in the American army on the Rio Grande, was promptly responded to. The Macon Volunteers, under Cap tain Holmes, offered their services for six months, and'were making preparations to leave for that length of enlistment; the Floyd Rifles also tendered their services but they were declined. In the meantime, there were large numbers of young men who were connected with no military organization that were ambi tious to serve in the army. In reply to the tender of his compa ny, Captain Holmes was informed that the War Department had determined not to receive troops for less than a year's service, unless the war closed prior to the expiration of that time. He 
 
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then immediately commenced the organization of an indepen dent company which was named the Macon Guards, and over which he was unanimously chosen Captain. In three days one hundred men were enlisted in the company and their services ac cepted. Before their departure, on the 4th of June, they were presented with a standard by the ladies, through J. T. Hardeman, who delivered it in a handsome address, which was followed by a soul-stirring speech from Hon. A. H. Chappell, which was reponded to briefly and most feelingly by that universally beloved and gallant soldier, Captain Isaac Holmes. 
The Guards were escorted out of the city by the Macon Vol unteers and Floyd Rifles, and encamped that night near Bibb Camp Ground, where Judge Bailey had prepared for them a bountiful repast. At that place a sword was presented to Cap tain Holmes by a number of his admiring friends and a stream er, with the inscription, " Macon Guards--Remember the Ala mo," was also presented to the company in an appropriate speech by Samuel R. Blake. The citizens raised for the company, eight hundred dollars, and the Council donated two hundred more. 
On the 5th, the Guards proceeded to Columbus, where they remained for a short time with other corps for the formation of a regiment. On the aoth, ten companies met and organized the " Georgia Regiment of Volunteers " by the election of officers ; the vote being : For Colonel, Captain Henry R. Jackson, three hundred and ten votes ; Captain Isaac Holmes, two hundred and ninety-eight ; James S. Calhoun, two hundred and sixty-four; Colonel J. J. Hoxey, thirty-six ; scattering two--total, nine hunhundred and ten votes. 
The office of Lieutenant-Colonel was offered to Captain Halmes, which he declined, and Thomas Y. Redd was elected. 
Captain John Forsyth was elected Adjutant, and Lieutenant Charles J. Williams, Major. 
The regiment marched from Columbus to Chehaw, Alabama, where they were transported by railroad to Montgomery, thence by steamer down the Alabama river to Mobile. In passing the 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
wharf at Selma the pilot gave a blast from the steamer's whistle, the sound of which a company aboard from Cherokee county had never before heard. They instantly concluded that the boiler had exploded, and, in their fright, a number jumped overboard, several of whom were drowned. As they approached Mobile, on the Fourth of July, and while the boats were in mo tion, an improviso celebration of the day took place. A spir ited address was delivered by Lieutenant Phinizy, of the Au gusta company. The honor was awarded the regiment of having introduced the first celebration, on the waters of the Alabama, of the nation's natal day of freedom. 
The regiment remained in Mobile two days, disposing of the $40.00 allowance which had been paid to each member for clothing, blankets, and other necessaries, when they embarked on the steamer Joseph Day, for Brazos Island, near the mouth of the Rio Grande. One night after twelve o'clock, during the voyage on the Gulf of Mexico, private Robert Bridges, of the Augusta Blues, who had been asleep on the wheel-house, rolled off and fell into the Gulf. The steamer had proceeded half a mile before it was discovered that a member had, as was supposed, accidentally evacuated his roost on the wheelhouse. The boat was halted and slowly returned, while the life-boats were low ered into the water and sent in search of the missing man, William King, of the Macon Guards, was in one of the yawls, and heard the sound of a familiar voice at some distance; he headed for that direction, when he soon discovered his missing comrade, who had been swimming more than an hour upon the briny deep. Upon being rescued and delivered aboard the steamer, Bridges sought the Captain of the vessel and politely apologized for having delayed his boat on its important mission. 
After arriving at Brazos Island the regiment encamped about two weeks and then marched to Camp Belknap, up the Rio Grande, where they were encamped several weeks. They then proceeded to Camargo; a portion on foot and others by the first steamboat that ascended the Rio Grande to that point. There were no landings with supplies of fuel along the river, 
 
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and when the supply for the boilers was exhausted the boat would tie up until the troops could cut wood from the forests. On arrival at Camargo a most unfortunate emeute occurred be tween a portion of an Illinois regiment and the Irish Jasper Greens, of Savannah, which arose from a mistake in the inter pretation of an order. Five of the Illinois Regiment were killed, and one member of the Georgia Regiment, Sergeant Whalan, of the Greens. The officers of the regiment soon quelled the riot and all differences were satisfactorily settled. 
During the encampment at Camargo, which was a very un healthy place, there was much sickness in the regiment, and many died. A new supply of guns were received here and the boxes containing them were used as coffins for the dead. The regiment marched to Monterey, guarding a money train con taining $200,000, under Colonel Taylor. A letter from Major Charles J. Williams, dated, Georgia Regiment, Camp Monterey, October nth, 1846, was published, in which he wrote: "The ranks of our regiment have been terribly thinned. We marched across the Chattahoochee river with nine hundred and ten men and officers, and to-day the regiment, all told, barely numbers six hundred. Though we have discharged many from sickness and disability, still we have deposited nearly seventy beneath the Chaparral, all in the short space of four months. We have now arrived at a healthy place, and health blooms on every cheek, though seven thousand soldiers, from every part of the United States are here, encamped within the short space of two miles." 
On December ist, there was sorrow and weeping throughout the regiment. After an illness of eleven days, Captain Isaac Holmes died in Camp Monterey. He had been for many years a member of the Macon Volunteers, and served with them through their campaign in the Florida war, and on the resignation of Captain Seymour, succeeded him as commander of the com pany. He had been an officer in the State Bank in Macon, and was Mayor of the city when he engaged in the war against Mex ico. There was no man that possessed more of the people's af- 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
factions than Captain Holmes. His kind, genial nature, noble bearing and chivalrous character won for him hosts of friends wherever he went. He was by nature a soldier, and was one of the few officers who could command discipline without austeri ty. He was as much beloved in Florida, and in the service on foreign grounds in Mexico, among the officers of the armies, as he was in own command at home. 
His remains were sent to Macon under the escort of private George Robinson, of the Guards. In passing through Colum bus, a detachment from the Columbus Light Guards, Columbian and Oglethorpe Lodges, and Muscogee Lodge of Odd Fellows, joined their escort to Macon. They reached here on the i8th of January, 1847, and were taken in charge by the Macon Vol unteers, and under a military escort conveyed to the Town Hall which was tastefully decorated with mourning paraphernalia for their reception. Detachments, with officers commanding, from the Chatham Artillery, Savannah Volunteer Guards, Republican Blues, Phcenix Riflemen and German Volunteers, under Colonel William Bowen, arrived, to attend the funeral. All of the Mil itary, Societies and Orders of Macon, and the escort from Co lumbus, formed in the procession. The remains were placed upon a funeral car dressed in crape and plumes, drawn by four black horses, flanked by twelve pall-bearers, four each from the Volun teers, Masons and Odd Fellows, and on the 2ist were interred in Rose Hill Cemetery. 
Of the tribute paid by his fellow-citizens and soldiers at the burial, the Messenger said: "Nothing was wanting to impress the deep solemnity of the scene upon the mind of the beholder. The waving plumes of the richly finished car which contained his mortal remains, displaying the habiliments of the soldier in which he had so often appeared, the measured tread of the many footsteps moving to the low and dirge-like music of the military band, and the heavy beating of the muffled drum, the slow-toll ing bell, and the startling minute-guns, whose echoes struck upon the heart, all spoke the language of homage to the departed, and of regret for his early doom." 
 
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.regiment remained on guard duty at Monterey until E, frequently detailed for service in guarding trains and service. They were sent to Tampico, and on a voyage to .''Cruz came hear being lost in a tempest at sea. iiii^Jig following account is extracted from a Georgia paper of 
fip.t period : i'iii:i : *< :T:pE VICTORY--THE GEORGIA REGIMENT.--While the peo: :p4 of Georgia are heartily rejoicing over the brilliant victory of 
o, they cannot but regret the sad fate of the Georgia t, in not being able to reach the ground before the rout 
The brave Georgians have been peculiarly unAfter having traversed one-half of Mexico, endured rigors of the climate, and obtained the reputation of being 'the best drilled regiments in the service, it appears to be ' to be always hard-by, but never in a fight. When Monterey they were advancing from Camargo-- : to adverse winds they were thrown into the second line at z, and only a handful of them had an opportunity to iii||K;.;;jK)wder,' Scott allowed them to march to Alvarado, esy: for a fight, when the cowardly Mexicans ran away be:gan was fired. Returning to Vera Cruz the command to :they were attached was delayed by the landing of the :df the Tennessee Cavalry, and they were again thrown. fl rear and probably did not reach Cerro Gordo until the is over. This was no fault of theirs, nor of their gallant liecause a braver set of men or men more anxious for |ff|f$$tjet|!oh are not to be found. We would not be surprised if t, under such circumstances, were to resolve, regard; the expiration of their time of service, to pay at least a 
'Halls of the Montezumas ' before returning 
 
i;!t'&e:i-egiment had been reduced by deaths and discharge from from nine hundred and ten men to less than five hun- 
; After the battle of Cerro Gordo, on the march to the ;||$!!j|:0f: :: Mexico,, their term of service expired, and they were 
On returning to New Orleans, there were only four 
 
 176 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
hundred and fifty regularly mustered out of service. The num ber of deaths were one hundred and forty-five during the year's campaign. 
On the departure of the regiment from the banks of the Chattahoochee, it was presented with a United States flag by Miss Mary Ann Howard, of Columbus, Georgia. The name of this patriotic, talented and most estimable woman will again appear in this volume. 
On June iyth the guards returned home, and on the igth a complimentary dinner was given them by the citizens. 
The survivors of the Guards in the Mexican war are : Elisha S. Shelton, John B. Gumming, John A. McGregor, Albert B. Ross, Wilson J. Aderhold, Isaac Domingoes, Robert Milton, Sebastian Shaw, Robert T. Walker, Timothy D. Wood, and William A. Harris. 
A company of Regulars--one hundred men--under the com mand of Captain Alexander Scott, was raised in Bibb county, and left for the Mexican war under Second Lieutenant Oliver H. Prince, on the 2Oth of June. The company was organized in Macon, by the election of Alexander Scott as Captain, Joseph A. White, First Lieutenant, and Oliver H. Prince, Second Lieu tenant. These officers were taken severely sick and were com pelled to resign; we have no record of their successors, though the company served in Mexico under Captain Duncan L. Clinch until the close of the war. 
The community was afflicted with the loss of one of its oldest citizens during this year. On March ist Dr. Ambrose Baber died suddenly from an overdose of physic, which he had pre scribed for a patient, who being warned of the inaccuracy in the quantity declined to take it until the next visit of his physician. When Dr. Baber repeated his visit the patient notified him of the fact; but so certain was the Doctor of the correctness of the quantity prescribed that he swallowed it himself, and suddenly expired from its effects. The prescription was a dose of cyanide of potassium, compounded by Majendies' Recipe, as published in the Seventh edition of Ellis' Formulary. 
 
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Dr. Baber came to Macon within a year after its settlement, in 1823, and was the leading physician in this section of the country for many years, and ever commanded the most extended practice. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and in the Indian war he was a Surgeon in the army under General Jack son. He represented Bibb county with distinguished credit in the Senate of 1826, 1831, 1835 an d 1836, and was the author of many important acts that passed the Legislature through his energy and influence. In 1841 he was appointed by President Tyler Charge d' Affaires to Sardinia. In compliment to his long services, both in a professional and civic capacity, previous to his departure the citizens gave him a public dinner, at which they appropriately expressed their appreciation of the loss they were about to sustain in his absence. He returned in 1844, and resumed the practice of his profession. His health began again to decline. In a sketch of his life by Dr. C. B. Nottingham, that eminent physician said : " From a post mortem examina tion of the body of Dr. Baber he could not have lived longer than a month, even if he had not taken the unfortunate pre scription." He was devoted to the sciences, literature and politics. He was deeply interested in the prosperity of the young place in which he had settled, and was ranked among its most enterprising and public-spirited citizens. He was the ear liest advocate of the building of railroads to Macon, and among the first projectors of the Central Railroad. He was the foun der of Macon Lodge, No. 32, (now No. 5,) and of Constantine Chapter, No. 4, and served for many years as Worshipful Mas ter of the one and High Priest of the other. In 1831 he was elevated to the position of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Georgia. A marble monument, erected by the Masonic brotherhood, marks the spot of his repose in Rose Hill Ceme tery. 
The year 1847 entered with a bright prospect of the return of the prosperous times at the beginning of the past decade. The effects of the panic of 1837 lasted nine years, and the cloud that hung over the commercial world was vanishing before the 
 
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dawn of a new era. Cotton was selling in January at from eight and a half to ten and a quarter cents. The lowest price during the year was seven cents and the highest eleven cents. -The merchants had generally recovered from the great pecuniary re vulsions of the period between 1837 and 1843, were sound in credit, and had a surplus of funds to invest in improvements, while the farmers were gladdened at the permanent increased advance in the sales of the staple, and King Cotton being " him self again." To add to the increase of business a new tribu tary had been opened. On the ist of January, 1846, the new railroad company, for which Jere Cowles had purchased the Monroe Road, commenced its work of rebuilding and complet ing the road to Atlanta, under the name of the Macon and Wes tern Railroad Company, with Daniel Tyler as President. Heavy new iron rails were laid over the whole road, an entire new out fit of engines and cars furnished, and the road open for freights and passengers on the first day of October of that year. In nine months this immense work was performed, and over $600,ooo.oo in cash, including the purchase money, was expended in that short period. The total cost of the road to the new com pany was $627,091.25. At the close of the business season, in May, 1847, the statistics showed that the freight on goods sold in Macon and shipped beyond Atlanta, from October ist, 1846, to May ist, 1847, amounted to more than one-half as much as the freight on goods from New York, Savannah and Charleston by the river and the Central Railroad. 
Macon was now preparing by another railroad for the trade in Southwestern Georgia, and to connect with the waters flow ing into the Gulf. To this end Jerre Cowles, the irrepressible Railroad "Man of the Age," had called a public meeting in the summer of 1845, to take some action upon the matter. The meeting was to take place at the Council Chamber. The night was dark and the rain falling rapidly. Mr. Cowles attended and found no one in the hall except Mr. Freeman, the Clerk and Treasurer of Council, whom he requested to remain and keep the hall lighted up while he would go out and summons 
 
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attendants. The night being so inclement, he found no one who would accompany him until he met Simri Rose, in his printing office, who agreed to go with him to the "Public Rail road Meeting." The trio mentioned were the only persons in attendance. They soon determined upon a programme, and drew up a preamble, with the usual resolves. Mr. Cowles was unanimously elected Chairman, and Mr. Freeman Secretary of the meeting. On the part of the audience, Mr. Rose presented the business for the meeting, which was already prepared, and the resolutions were adopted amid much enthusiasm, without a dissenting voice ! 
The ensuing Legislature in December granted a charter for the building of the road. The charter was placed under the control of six commissioners, of which Elam Alexander was made chairman. The duty of the commissioners was to have sub scribed a certain amount of stock and a portion of each share paid in. In the meantime funds were furnished by the Central Railroad and Banking Company to defray the expenses of the survey which was made in 1846 and 1847 by F. P. Holcombe, Chief Engineer. The Central Railroad and Banking Company and the City Council of Savannah each subscribed $250,000.00 to the stock of the Southwestern Railroad Company, which was the name in the charter, payable as soon as the completion of the road was placed beyond contingency. An amendment to the charter was granted in 1847, allowing the commissioners to or ganize the Company as soon as $200,000.00 could be obtained. The requisite amount being obtained, a meeting of the subscri bers was called and the Company organized on the loth of Feb ruary, 1847, when Elam Alexander was elected the first Presi dent, and Henry L. Jewett, Secretary and Treasurer. 
During the year 1848 the Electro-Magnetic Telegraph was in troduced into Augusta and Savannah, and through the public spirit of Elam Alexander and Dr. Robert Collins, the main line was brought to Macon, and through the enterprise of Daniel Griffin, of Columbus, it was conducted to that place on the route from Washington to New Orleans. 
 
 180 
 
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The distance of the contemplated line from Washington to New Orleans, was, at that time, seventeen hundred and sixteen miles. The contract for raising the'money from Southern sub scribers, and for building the line, was given to John D. Haley, of New York, who, in some instances, sub-let contracts and ap pointed agents. The stock being raised as far as Augusta, ef forts were made to secure subscribers in Macon without success. The necessary amount had been subscribed from Montgomery to New Orleans. Mr. Haley, who had failed to get any subscrip tions in Macon, was about to establish his line on the upper route, via Atlanta and West Point to Montgomery. At this time the Chamber of Commerce, of Savannah, agreed to take $15,000 of the stock. Mr. Alexander was then on a visit to Sa vannah and liberally proposed to take the whole subscription alone from the Chamber of Commerce if the line was brought to Macon. $10,000 of the stock was transferred to Mr. Alexander, who at once saw Mr. Haley and subscribed for $7,500 more, of which amount, on his return to Macon, Robert Collins took from him $2,250. The citizens in Savannah, and the Central Railroad Company increased their stock list to over $25,000. Daniel Griffin, of Columbus, toe-k $6,500, which induced other citizens to take $4,000 more. 
It is a remarkable coincidence that Messrs. Collins and Alex ander, who were so prominently identified in the construction of "the longest railroad in the world," and were builders of thirty miles of that road, nearest to Macon, should have been the only subscribers to the stock, in the same city, of the longest TelLine, built by one company, at that time, in the world. 
.The line was completed to Macon and the office opened in the second story of the Floyd House, on the corner of the alley, on Third street, on the 8th of April, by David M. Ring, of Charleston, the operator in charge, with Master J. C. Butler, clerk and office boy, who, in three months, became assistant op 
erator. On the igth clay of July the several contractors to New Or- 
 
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Jeans completed the work, and the line was opened to New Or leans and. Washington City. 
The first meeting of the stockholders was held in Washington City in September, and the " Washington and New Orleans Tel egraph Company " organized by the election of Daniel Griffin, of Columbus, Georgia, President ; Amos Kendall, of Washing ton, Treasurer, and George Wood, of Washington, Secretary. Alfred Vail, of Washington, and Charles S. Bulkley, of New York, were appointed Superintendents. In July, 1849, Elam Alexander was elected President, Mr. Kendall, Treasurer, and Henry L. Jev/ett, Secretary. Mr. Jewett resigned in a few months, and Daniel F. Clarke was appointed Secretary. This administration continued four years, with Charles S. Bulkley, General Superintendent, who resigned during the fourth year, and was succeeded by Thomas R. Hopkins, of Virginia. In July, 1853, Mr. Hopkins resigning, J. C. Butler was Acting Su perintendent. In 1854, Amos Kendall was elected President, and the system of management was changed. Heretofore the line had been kept up by contractors, under forfeit, fora certain amount, every hour it went down on their respective sections. Mr. Kendall abolished the contract system, and divided the en tire line into four sections, and appointed four Superintendents : J. R. Dowell, over the first section, embracing Virginia and a portion of North Carolina; W. H. Heiss, over the second, a por tion of North and South Carolina; J. C. Butler, over the third, Georgia and a portion of Alabama, and J. K. Mingle, over a portion of Alabama and Louisiana, which was the fourth section. Mr. Mingle resigning shortly afterwards, the fourth section was merged into the superintendency of the third. Mr. Kendall continued President until July, 1856, when the lines were leased for ten years to the Magnetic Telegraph Company, located be tween Washington and New York. Under the contract, the lessees were to pay annually to the lessors four per cent, divi dend on their stock, rebuild their line whenever necessary, with the most improved and substantial materials, and to transfer the route along-side of railroads so soon as they were built. 
 
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In 1859 the Magnetic Company transferred the lease, together with their own property, to the American Telegraph Company, who retained the Washington and New Orleans line under their title until the war between the States. 
The yield of the Southern lines was a vast tributary to the treasury of the American Company, and they were loth to part with it when the many interests in the sovereign States under the aegis of E Pluribus Unum became no longer " many as the billows, and one as the sea." 
In 1861 the Confederate Congress, at Montgomery, for the protection of the privacy of official dispatches and the opera tions of the Confederate Departments generally, passed the tele graphic oath, which all officers and employees on the lines were required to take or leave the Southern country ; and the lines became a portion of the War Department, and the employees subject to be detailed for such telegraphic service in military operations as might be required of them to perform. There were none others than the professional telegrapher who could perform such service ; hence they were enrolled as an indispen sable adjunct to the War Department. Mr. Lincoln's Govern ment adopted the same course. The fall of Sumter and the hoisting of the standard of the young Confederacy over the ramparts of that Fort was announced to the Northern people over Southern wires. It is probable the intelligence was not ac ceptable to Mr. Lincoln, and he concluded to cut further tele graphic acquaintance with the South; for shortly after the reduction of Sumter he ordered all of the wires crossing the Potomac and leading into the Confederate Domain to be severed. In order to retain control of the lease of the Southern line, the American Company made a bogus contract with a party in Vir ginia who owned stock in the Northern, but none in the South ern lines, to establish themselves as a new company ostensibly, but were virtually only secret agents. For the security of con fidence among the credulous and unsuspicious Southerners, the new organization assumed, without a charter, the popular title of "The SOUTHERN Telegraph Company." The Confederate 
 
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War Department, however, during the whole war exercised, for military purposes, a partial control over the lines. After the close of the war "The Southern Telegraph Company," socalled, as naturally as at night-fall " young chickens go home to roost" repaired to the office of their masters, on Wall street, and rendered a report of their faithful stewardship for the four preceding years. The remarkable and anomalous spectacle was now unfolded to the world of a corporation whose only execu tive office and whose entire energies and sympathies were upon the Northern side, should, during the very heat of war, furnish their opponents with the only rapid medium of communication for army purposes, and which was so indispensable an adjunct to the operations of their War Department. It was a skillful act of diplomatic wire-working, and was executed in all the expec tations of its projectors with dexterous magnetic management. After the close of the war the United States military extended their surveillance over the offices of the Southern lines, though all reports and deposits were sent to the treasury of the Ameri can Company. 
The last extension of the Morse patent expired during the war, and the Federal Congress refused to grant a renewal. The excitement in speculations incident to the superabundance of Greenbacks and bonds which had been issued, and the neces sity for military purposes produced a greater demand for tele graphs at the North ; and as the expense for the patent right was extinguished, many new companies were formed and lines built. Previous to the war the Western Union Company had been established, and had become one of the leading companies in the North and West. They were buying out the new com panies and were looking towards the South as a territory for more business. The great competition between the large com panies crowded out the smaller ones, who were forced to sell out to them. In 1866 the American company amalgamated with the Western Union, under the title of the latter, which forced several others to follow the same policy, and within the last ten years their lines have extended almost as thick as mail routes 
 
 iS4 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
throughout the entire Union, and for extensiveness of operations it is the leading company throughout the world. 
The first nation to award Professor Morse a national tribute was the Ottoman Empire, twenty-three years ago. The tribute was a compliment from the Sultan in return for his view of the telegraph. It consisted of a decoration in diamonds of a Turk ish Order of Honor; such as was given to Pachas of two tails, and was accompanied with the Royal Diploma. Since that time the Morse patent has been adopted throughout every populous part of the civilized world. 
Professor Morse was formerly a portrait painter. In 1838 he visited Europe in the interest of his telegraphic invention, and early in the spring of 1839, he made the acquaintance of M. Daguerre, of Paris, whose discovery of fixing the image of the camera obscura was creating a great sensation in the scientific world. At the same time Morse's telegraph was exciting a simi lar sensation. Daguerre exhibited his first experiment at his diorama where he had his laboratory, to Professor Morse. Three hours afterwards, while Morse was exhibiting his telegraph to Daguerre, the diorama, laboratory and all of the results were destroyed by fire. Daguerre had applied to the French Cham ber of Deputies for a pension, on condition the process was given to the public; he abstained from any publicity to his re sults until his pension was secured. He promised Professor Morse so soon as he received the pension to send him a copy of his work, and in the summer of 1839, the first copy was sent to Morse, in New York. From this copy the Professor made the necessary apparatus, which was the first introduced in the United States. The first picture taken was that of the Church of the Messiah on Broadway, from the back window of the New York City University. Professor Morse practiced the art for many months and formed a class of pupils, among whom was Mr. Broadbent, who became famous in the art, and during a South ern tour established the first Daguerrean gallery in Macon, in 1842 and 1843. 
The following sketch of Judge Tracy was prepared, for the 
 
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most part, by his intimate friends, at the request of Stephen F. Miller, to be published in his work--" The Bench and Bar of Georgia." Unfortunately, it was received by Mr. Miller too late for publication. Judge Tracy was one of the fathers of Macon, and this tribute to his memory is now reproduced with peculiar appropriateness : 
" Edward Dorr Tracy was born at Norwich Connecticut, March 23d, 1791. He was the second son of Dr. Philemon Tracy, a physician of that place, distinguished for his profession al attainments andextensive and successful practice. His fath er's ancestors were among the original purchasers, from the Mohegan Indians, of that tract of country, a part of which now con stitutes the town of Norwich, Connecticut, and were lineally de scended from the Tracys of Gloucestershire, England, a family not unknown in history. 
"The subject of this memoir was peculiar, even in childhood, for his quick perceptions and intellectual vivacity. His oppor tunities for scholastic acquirements were limited to a free public school, where only the common branches of an English educa tion were taught, and far more imperfectly than at this day. 
"Before Edward had reached the age of fourteen, he was con sidered competent to do something for his own support, and was placed with a trader who rejoiced under a sign of ' Dry Goods and Groceries,' to learn the art and mystery of retailing. He remained here about two years, during which time he began to develope that peculiar tact and address for which afterwards he was distinguished, and which, even in his boyish days, attracted notice, and probably induced his employment in a more exten sive concern owned by a Mr. Huntington, an accurate, saga cious and energetic merchant, with whom he remained near four years. 
" During this period, notwithstanding his labors were con stant, and often excessive, such was the energy of his spirit, and his desire for knowledge, that he continued, in addition to a large extent of general reading, particularly history, to make considerable advance in Latin, and to acquire such knowledge 
 
 18G 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
of French, that afterwards, with some further opportunity, he read, wrote and spoke it with uncommon fluency and accuracy. He also, at this time, commenced the study of Spanish, which afterwards he attained so as to speak it like a native. 
"In 1811, being anxious to enlarge the sphere of his mercan tile knowledge, he was recommended to the employment of Perritt & Lathrop, of New York, then one of the most extensive commission and shipping houses in the city. Here he remained about two years, having in that time perfected himself in book keeping, and acquired thorough knowledge of the business in which he was engaged. 
" It being now the period of the war with Great Britain, and the port of New York being strictly blockaded, the commercial house to which he was attached decided to establish a branch at New London, for the purpose, particularly, of conducting a trade in Spanish bottoms, which was becoming a lucrative business. The charge of the business at New London was committed to Edward, who repaired to that place with every prospect of speed ily realizing a fortune. But unfortunatrly for these prospects, not long after his removal to New London, Commodore Decatur, with his fleet, in attempting to get to sea from New York, was chased by a much superior British fleet into New London, and there closely blockaded, and all ingress to neutral vessels denied. Still, the business for which he went there, although greatly em barrassed, was not utterly destroyed, and he continued at New London till nearly the close of the war. It was, while at this place, that he formed intimate personal relations with Decatur, Jones and other naval heroes, who all seemed to regard him with personal esteem. 
" From New London, he returned to New York, and became a partner in a shipping .house, doing a very large business. In the course of this relation, he visited Novia Scotia, New Bruns wick and the West India Islands. The business in which he was engaged, although prosecuted with energy, not promising favorble results, he withdrew from it, fully determined not longer to devote himself to pursuits so hazardous and uncertain, but to di- 
 
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1ST 
 
rect his attention to a profession where less was committed to chance, and more could be hoped for from effort. Accordingly, having satisfactorily made disposition of his commercial inter ests, he returned to his father's house in the winter of 1818 and 1819, and soon after commenced the study of the law, which he pursued afterwards at Windham, in a celebrated law school taught by Chief Justice Swift, then regarded the most learned jurist of Connecticut. After having completed his legal studies, and at the same time having made a great addition to his knowledge of the Latin, Spanish and Italian languages, he was duly admitted to the bar of New London county, and shortly afterwards re moved to Georgia, where he settled in the town of Macon, in 
1824." 
In 1825, he was appointed on the committee to receive Gen eral Lafayette on his visit to Macon. He conversed with the distinguished visitor in French and Spanish. Lafayette was surprised to find so accomplished a linguist in a recently settled town, which but three years before had been a wilderness and the abode of Indians. Having learned a few words of the lan guage of the Red Men, Mr. Tracy facetiously repeated them to Lafayette, who replied : "You are the only Anglo American that I have met with who could speak the true American vernacular." 
In 1826, Mr. Tracy was chosen Intendant of Macon, and during the same year he became associated with Major Oliver H. Prince in the practice of the law. This firm was dissolved in 1828, and David 13, Butler became a partner with Mr. Tracy. In 1835 Mr. Butler retired, and was succeeded by John. J. Gresham. The firm of Tracy & Gresham continued until 1841, when Mr. Tracy was elected, for four years, Judge of the Supe rior Court of the Flint Circuit. In 1838, he was elected by the county of Bibb to the State Legislature. On the expiration of his term as Judge, in 1845, he returned to the bar and resumed his former partnership with Mr. Gresham, which continued until his death. His predominant characteristic was his indescribable wit; in this particular he was not excelled by that famous jurist, Judge Dooly. He ranked as the leading commercial lawyer of 
 
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his circuit, and as such was not surpassed in the State. Much of his success at the bar was attributed to the thorough mercan tile education attained in his youth. After his retirement from the Bench, his successor reversed nineteen of his decisions. They were taken up to the Supreme Court, which in every in stance, sustained the decisions of Judge Tracy, which was the highest compliment that could be paid to his judicial acumen. 
At a called meeting of the Bar, February zoth, 1849, His Honor Joseph H. Lumpkin, was called to the chair, when Hon. A. H. Chappell announced to the meeting the death of Hon. Edward D. Tracy, which had occurred on that day, Six mem bers were, on motion, appointed by the chair to report suitable resolutions upon the opening of the court the following day. On the 2ist, the Honorable the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, met pursuant to adjournment; present, their Honors Joseph Henry Lumpkin, Hiram Warner and Eugenius A. Nisbet, Judges. Colonel Chappell, Chairman of the Committee, made the report, from which the following from the several reso lutions, is extracted: 
"Resolved, That the members of the court and of the bar, as sembled at the Supreme Court in Macon, deeply feel the loss they have sustained in the death of their brother, Edward D. Tracy, and now record for him their appreciation as a law yer of high attainments, a gentleman of warm heart and re fined feelings, the chosen and refined friend of his constituency, the upright and profound Judge ; whether in his private or pub lic capacity, still the same true hearted, energetic, honorable man." 
Upon resolution the court and bar attended the funeral in a body. 
Ex-President James K. Polk, his wife and two nieces, Miss Rucker and Miss Hays, and Mr. Walker, ex-Secretary of the Treasury, and his wife, on invitation from the citizens and city authorities, arrived in Macon by the Central Railroad on the evening of the 12th of March. A committee from Macon met the distinguished visitors at the ninety mile station to escort 
 
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them to the city. An immense crowd greeted them at the East Macon depot, and the military, with a large concourse of citi zens, on horseback, in carriages and on foot, formed a proces sion and escorted the party to the Floyd House, where lodgings had been prepared for their reception. On the passage of the procession the ex-President and suite received every demonstra tion of respect and applause; and without regard to former differences of political opinion, every one essayed to do honor to the city's guests. 
On the following day at n o'clock, the Mayor and Council called on the President and party, and the Mayor, George M. Logan, welcomed them to the hospitalities of the city. Mr. Polk and Walker, accompanied by the Mayor and Council, pro ceeded to the balcony in front of the hotel, where they were again welcomed to the city in a glowing speech by Hon. A. H. Chappell, to which both the President and Mr. Walker replied. The party returned to the parlors and were visited by the ladies and gentlemen of the city. In the afternoon Mr. Polk, his nieces and others visited the Female College, and were intro duced by the President and Professors to the young ladies of the institution. In the evening a " complimentary fete" was given to the party, which Mr. Polk and his accomplished nieces attended until a late hour. The party left the city the next morning, amidst the roar of cannon and the cheers of the many hundreds who had gathered at the depot to witness their depart ure. 
The first exhibition of the Central Horticultural Society was held at the store of Charles Day & Co., on July gth and loth. The display of fruits, flowers and vegetables was far better and more extensive than was expected. Among the premiums award ed, the recipients were : Mrs. Shivers and Joseph Bond for peach es ; Simri Rose, for apples; Iverson L. Harris, for pears ; Dr. H. K. Green, for grapes ; Miss Mary E. Rose, for the most beau tiful bouquet; Robert Nelson, for variety of flowers ; Mrs. Wm. Gray and Charles Collins for green house plants, etc. , A large and enthusiastic Convention met on August ist, to 
 
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consider the building of a Railroad direct to Augusta from Macon. There were delegates from Charleston, Augusta, and all of the intervening counties. Committees were appointed to canvass for subscriptions to the stock. 
General Clinch died in this city, November 27th. His re mains were escorted to Savannah under a guard of honor from the Macon Volunteers and Floyd Rifles. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
SALE OP LOTS IN OGLETHORPE--DESTRUCTIVE FIRE--DEATH OF CALHOUN AND TAYLOR--REMINGTON BRIDGES AND PLANK ROADS -- THE LANIER HOUSE--GENERAL LOPEZ--HEATED TERM--CENSUS--GRAND LODGE-- IMPORTANT POLITICAL EVENTS--SOUTHERN RIGHTS MASS MEETING, AND DISTINGUISHED ORATORS PRESENT--CLAY'S OMNIBUS BILL--PROC LAMATION OF GOVERNOR TOWNS -- THE UNION PARTY -- SOUTHERN RIGHTS PARTY--COBB AND STEPHENS--ELECTION IN BIBB--UNION PARTY TRIUMPHANT--MILLEDGEVILLE CONVENTION AND CELEBRATED REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF 33 -- PROSPERITY--CITY FINANCES --VINEVILLE TRAGEDY--ACADEMY FOR THE BLIND--ST. PATRICK'S DAY -- JUDGE STRONG--A. H. STEPHENS--PLANTERS CONVENTION AND GEORGIA AG RICULTURAL FAIR--INTERESTING REMINISCENCE -- COLD WEATHER-- FIRES--EPISCOPAL CHURCH--DEATH OF CLAY AND WEBSTER--E. McCALL--COMMERCIAL, GAS WORKS, ETC--OPPOSITION TO RAILROAD CON SOLIDATION--PRESIDENT FILLMORE--YELLOW FEVER IN SAVANNAH-- GOVERNOR TOWNS--PASSENGER DEPOT AND BROWN HOUSE BUILT-- FIRES--COLD WEATHER--THACKERAY'S LECTURES--MRS. HENTZ--CON VENTIONS--STATE MILITARY ENCAMPMENT--RAILROAD OFFICERS--MEM PHIS VISITORS--PANIC OF 1857--BANKS--GOVERNOR BROWN'S VETO-- CONCERTS AND THEATRICALS ---RELIGIOUS SERVICES -- DISTINGUISHED RAILROAD OFFICERS--LITTLE MARY MARSH--MACON AND BRUNSWICK RAILROAD--THE BOND COTTON CROP--CENSUS--MACON AND WESTERN RAILROAD--JACKSON ARTILLERY- THE BELGIAN MINISTER--FLAG OF FIFTEEN STARS--NEW RAILROADS--THE BELGIAN FAIR--VISIT OF THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE--COTTON PLANTERS' FAIR, ETC., ETC. 
On January ijth, 1850, the sale of lots in Oglethorpe for the purpose of building a city, took place. The sale was largely at tended. There were many purchasers from Macon. 
A very destructive fire broke out on Cotton Avenue, on Feb ruary 19th, between Mulberry and Cherry streets, destroying all 
 
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of the buildings ; also, a number on Triangular Block. The loss was over $100,000.00, of which $30,000.00 was recovered by insurance. The buildings were of wood and not very valuable. The work of rebuilding commenced in the Spring, and the erection of the handsome new brick stores was a great improve ment to the city. 
On March I2th, the death of John C. Calhoun was announ ced. On the 4th of July, after the exercises of the Sabbathschools were over, by appointment, the Rev. Dr. Ellison deliv ered a eulogy, at the Methodist Church, upon the life of the Great Carolinian--the military companies, societies, and a large concourse of citizens attending. 
On the loth of July, the wires announced the death of Presi dent Taylor. at Washington, which occurred at thirty-five min utes after ten o'clock, P. M. At a public meeting of the citizens a preamble and resolutions were adopted in regard to his melan choly death, and a committee appointed to select an orator to deliver a eulogy and make other arrangements for a public de monstration. On October ist, an imposing display of the mili tary and several societies were made ; the citizens joining in the procession, which proceeded to the Presbyterian Church, where Judge E. A. Nisbet delivered an admirable eulogy in honor of the lamented hero and President. 
The Remington Bridge and Plank Roads were the prevailing subjects of enterprise throughout the State during this year. I The Lanier House was opened June 12th for the reception of guests. 
General Lopez, of Cuban memory, was in the city on July 2ist, and found many sympathizers. 
The weather during July and August was very warm ; the ther mometer ranging from ninety-five to one hundred, and as high as one hundred and four during the afternoon. The important subject, "Union or Disunion/' increased the animal heat. The press and politicians throughout the whole country were deeply agitated. 
 
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193 
 
I! I The census ef the county and city was taken in September, i:isM;; report made in November. 
11;?)!|the county, Whites, ........... 7,004 SH.;; : ; " " Slaves, ........... 5,633 ll-l " " Free negroes, ........ 51--12,688 
;; : ; : The exact population resident within the corporate limits of 
 
;|Whites, .................. 3.323 iiiSisye's, .................. 2,352 i i iffcee Negroes, ............... 88--5,763 
ISjI'fhe population of Vineville, eight hundred and fifty. Six; ;;>;f the population of Macon, three hundred and fifty resided illllEa&t Macon, which was included in the Macon census. lll'ltfe Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons closed its Annual l;:!<|SSffiunication, October 3ist, after a session of three days. In lijiia Absence of Grand Master William C. Dawson, Deputy Grand llpster. John Hunter, presided. The meeting was well attended. Illjsere were three hundred members in the procession. The ad- 
as delivered by A. G. Mackey, Grand Secretary of the Lodge of South Carolina. 
 
' 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
: year 1850 is memorable in the history of the whole counp '.'. The result of the war with Mexico was the acquirement, |:;:gtj5;hase, of avast and rich extent of territory westward, emrafc:iiig all of New Mexico and Upper California, and several 
;fi:aht,privileges. The slavery agitation was again revived ||a|^e; Thirtieth Congress, in 1848, by an effort to organize terfifjpja!::;governrnents for Oregon, California, New Mexico and jlHi&fej'-: A:bill was passed for Oregon with slavery restrictions, ll^fcaiJ; efforts failed as to the other territories. The anti-slavery ||pg? insisted on the enactment of the Wilmot Proviso of 1846, l^vseh;excluded " slavery or involuntary servitude in any terri- 
should be hereafter acquired or be annexed to the s) otherwise than in the punishment of crime, where- 
 
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HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
of the parties shall have been convicted." The pro-slavery par ty were willing to compromise on the old proposition of 1820, known as the "Missouri Compromise," which excluded slavery in all of the territory lying north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes; but it was rejected by the abolitionists. 
The Thirty-first Congress commenced its first session on De cember ist, 1849. I* was 'ne longest and most excited Con gress that had ever before convened. Again was in the Senate the renowned " trio of statesmen," Calhoun, Webster and Clay. Repeated offers were made by the South for the adoption of the Missouri Compromise line, which was as often rejected. The South maintained that she had an equal right to the new terri tory, having contributed in blood and treasure as much as the North. While the discussions were pending, the whole country was agitated to an alarming extent, and the safety of the Union was imperiled. Mr. Clay again brought forward a series of compromise measures in what was known as the " Omnibus Bill," which embraced the five disturbing subjects before Con gress, and which he denominated the " Five Bleeding Wounds." As there seemed to be no hope for a reconciliation in Congress, the Legislature of Georgia had authorized its Governor to call a Convention to consider the state of the country, and, if neces sary, to act in her sovereign capacity. The excitement through out the State was intense. Two parties were formed--the South ern Rights and the Union party ; the first were called by their opponents "Fire-eaters," and the latter, in, turn, were called by the former, " Submissionists." 
A Southern Rights Mass Meeting convened in Macon on the 22d of August. It was attended by delegates from a majority of the counties in the State, and by distinguished representa tives of the party from Alabama and South Carolina. The Convention organized by electing ex-Governor Charles J. Mc Donald and the venerable Hon. Christopher B. Strong as Presi dents. Nine Vice-Presidents and two Secretaries were elected. After addresses by the Presidents, Hon. R. B. Rhett, of South Carolina, spoke for two hours in advocacy of the great prin- 
 
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ciples of State Rights. He was followed by Hon. William L. Yancey, the fiery orator of Alabama, in a most thrilling speech of equal length. Col. Cochrane, of Alabama, then followed .with much force. After an adjournment for an hour to par take ef a barbecue, the Convention re-assembled and was ad dressed by Hon. Walter T. Colquitt and W. H. Stiles, in able speeches. During the evening many other speeches were made in various parts of the city. 
The resolutions adopted by the meeting were firm and patri otic. They endorsed the proceedings of the Nashville Con vention, and insisted upon the adoption of the " Missouri Com promise Line. 
In Congress the excitement was unabated. An amendment was offered to Mr. Clay's bill relative to Utah, which provided that "when the said territory, or any portion of the same, shall be admitted as a State, it shall be received into the Union, with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the time of her admission;'' the same was applied to the Gov ernment of New Mexico. Under this agreement California was admitted as a separate State into the Union on the gth of Sep tember, 1850, and Congress adjourned on September joth, after 
On September 23d, Governor Towns issued his proclamation a session of nine months and twenty-five days, to the people of Georgia, appointing the 25th day of November for the election of delegates from the respective counties to at tend the Convention at Milledgeville, on Tuesday, the loth of :December, to consider the late Acts of Congress. . The political excitement, already intense, began now to in crease until the day of the election of delegates to the Milledge ville Convention. Public meetings were held in every county in the State by both parties, each proclaiming its respective platform with a declaration of principles. 
On the 28th of September the Union party of Bibb county :held a large meeting at the court-house, over which Hon. T. G. Holt presided, and in his introductory address he declared the issue to be momentous: The subject to be considered was 
 
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Union or Dissolution. After a brilliant address, Hon. Wash ington Poe submitted a set of resolutions favoring the Congres sional acts, which were passed with great enthusiasm. Large committees and a great many officers were appointed, consist ing of both Whigs and Democrats, to work for the interest of the party. 
The Southern Rights Party rallied in strength at the court house on October 8th. Thomas King, Esquire, was called to the chair, and J. H. Morgan and A. H. Colquitt appointed Secretaries. A committee of twenty-four were appointed to pre pare a preamble and resolutions. During the retirement of the committee Colonel T. C. Howard addressed the meeting in a bold and eloquent style. Colonel Bailey, Chairman, returned with the committee and submitted the platform on the basis of Southern Rights, with Union and Constitutional Equality. After the adoption of the platform and resolutions exciting speeches were made, and a committee appointed to select can didates to be supported by the Southern Rights Party of Bibb. 
On the 7th of October Hon. A. H. Stephens addressed the Union Party, and those opposed to secession or dissolution; and on November 5th Hon. Howell Cobb addressed a large Union meeting of the citizens of Bibb at Hardeman's new warehouse. Both parties had nominated their strongest and most available men, and the contest, which was wild all over the State, closed on the 25th of November by a large majority for the Union tickets. In Bibb one thousand two hundred and fifty-seven votes were polled. The Union delegates, Robert Collins, Washington Poe, A. P. Powers and William Scott, were elected. The highest Union vote was for Dr. Collins, being one hundred and sixty-one over the highest on the opposition ticket. 
On the loth of December the delegates met at Milledgeville, and the convention was organized by calling Judge Edward Y. Hill to the Chair and Robert S. Lanier, Secretary. Every county was represented and every delegate in his seat. The Hon. Thomas Spalding, the only surviving signer of the Con- 
 
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|fi!ittt:ion of the State, was chosen President by acclamation. l||0as> W. B. Wofford and Andrew J. Miller were chosen ViceIfiii&ldents and R- S. Lanier continued Secretary. A committee li|itJ5sirty-three was appointed to report business for the Convenl||sp: At eleven o'clock on the morning of the i3th, Hon. Chas. 1:|| Jenkins, Chairman of the Committee of thirty-three, presenSjfed: the report. After some little discussion the Convention ad- 
until three P. M., when it reassembled and adopted the by a vote of two hundred and thirty-seven to nineteen, report was written by Mr. Jenkins ; it was a masterly werful production, and compared favorably with the best 
of Jefferson and Troup. By its adoption the Conven||i*p;:i:U!elared that the State of Georgia will and ought to resist, 
a. last resort, to a disruption of every tie which binds hfi: Union, any action of Congress incompatible with the ^ii iSomestic tranquility, the rights and honor of the SlaveStates. iyi;&;;|fjkjom was cast over the community on the receipt of the piellgence that on the 4th of October, about two o'clock, A. M., ife;:&a*k, Isaac Mead, from New York, was run into by the steamllpiSsutherner, and sunk in five minutes. There were twentyliE!f)8^8engers on the Mead, all of whom except two, Mr. Brad|gj^::*f the firm of Wood & Bradley, of Macon, and a Mr. Stanlpgfljfirished. Among those who were lost were Mrs. Lyman :3.fid Mrs. Bradley, of Macon ; also, Mr. Hezekiah GranaHd:Miss Harriet L. Granniss, of Connecticut, who con- 
in Macon. : year 1850 closed, notwithstanding the tremendous politfti:tetnent, with very favorable commercial advancement. ' |>rpught from ten to eleven and a half cents throughout 
terprises were being introduced; the burnt districts built up, presenting a greatly improved and more sub:: Style of buildings ; the population of the city was increas: iiaany new and elegant residences were being erected. ig:: iSi; : of January, 1851, was the dawn of a bright decennial, history of the country no ten years were'more pros- 
 
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perous, particularly at the South. The people had entirely re cuperated from the effects of the panic during the last decade, and no population on the globe were in a more thriving condi tion than that in the Sunny South. 
The city finances had been wisely managed, and the heavy debt that once hung like a portentious cloud over the city was nearly extinguished. The official report of the Mayor, George M. Logan, was published on the pth of January, showing the gratifying statement that the debt had been reduced to $60,512.85, and from the resources of the city that $10,000.00 of the bonded debt could be paid annually without embarrassment to any of the city's interest. 
The citizens of Vineville were aroused about midnight, on Feb ruary yth, by an alarm of fire in the house occupied by Mrs. Swinden. The well rope was found cut, the bucket missing, and the doors of the house heavily barred. Suspicions were excited that Mrs. Swinden and the four children had perished in the flames. After the building had fallen in, and the fire had some what subsided, their remains were discovered. From the testi mony given before the inquest, and from other facts elicited, there was no doubt that Mrs. Swinden, in a fit of mental de rangement, murdered her four children by cutting their throats with a razor, then fired the house, and either cut her own throat or voluntarily perished in the flames. 
To the honor of the benevolent projectors, a movement was made this year for the foundation of a system for the Education of the Blind. On April the i8th, Dr. J. M. Green assembled a few citizens at the Council Chamber for the purpose of taking some action in regard to the education of the blind children of the State of Georgia. Hon. E. A. Nisbet was called to the Chair, and A. R. Freeman acted as Secretary. At this meeting measures were adopted that laid the foundation of the establish ment, in Macon, of the Academy for the Blind in the State of Geoi'gia. Upon this subject, an extract from a published letter, April 3oth, 1852, from the Rev. J. H. Campbell, says; "While I was acting as Commissioner for the Deaf and Dumb I naturally 
 
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had my attention turned to the blind, and in 1845 I had the happiness to secure an Act for the education of the former class, so as to include the latter. That amendment will be found in the Laws of 1845, Pafie 2 5-" Under the Act an appropriation was made for the purpose indicated. 
On May 5th, Mayor James Smith, formerly of Clinton, Geor gia, died at the age of sixty-six years. He had been a prominent lawyer and citizen of Macon for many years. He was a member of the Board of Commissioners to lay off the county of Bibb and town of Macon. The names of the Commissioners were James Smith, Oliver H. Prince, Abner Wimberly, Pleasant Phillips and William Hamilton. 
The anniversary of Ireland's Patron Saint was enthusiastically celebrated on March ryth. O. A. Lochrane established a repu tation for oratory by an address that he delivered on this occa sion. At nine P. M. a large party sat down to sumptuous tables at the Washington Hall, and "Hibernia" resounded in toast, speech and song until daylight. 
Hon. Christopher B. Strong died suddenly in Perry, on the night of the 3d of May. He was regarded as ".the Father of the Bar" in his circuit, and his death was deeply mourned. His remains were brought to Macon and with due honors in terred in Rose Hill Cemetery. 
Hon. A. H. Stephens addressed the citizens of Bibb at the court-house on September 22d. His speech was declared the most powerful effort during the campaign in vindication of the compromise measures, and the Georgia Platform. 
On October agth the Planters' Convention of the Southern States assembled in Macon, and a large number of delegates of prominent gentlemen from Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Missis sippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and a multitude from all parts of Georgia were in attendance. They organized by the election of ex-Governor Moseley, of Florida, President; eleven prom inent delegates from distant States and two Georgians VicePresidents; Nathan Bass and J. Knowles, of Georgia, and Wil liam P. Gould, of Alabama, Secretaries. 
 
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At the same time the Georgia Agricultural Fair was held, and continued three days. Ten States were represented by distin guished delegates. It was a gala week in Macon, and the large gathering was composed of the flower of Georgia and other States. This Society had its origin in a meeting of about sixty gentlemen, who met at Stone Mountain in 1846. Each of the gentlemen paid one dollar and made a premium list to the ex tent of the fund, $60.00, and had a Fair twelve months there after, which was held in a ten-pin alley near the mountain. At the first meeting for organization two jacks were the only articles exhibited. The display at the Exhibition of 1851 would have been creditable to any State in the Union. 
The following publication by one of the most worthy citizens of Georgia appeared in the Milledgeville Recorder, October of the same year, is reproduced as 
 
" AN INTERESTING REMINISCENCE. 
"In 1819,1 was attracted to Fort Hawkinsby the assembling of the Creeks in the neighborhood to receive the annuity due them from the Government of the United States. David Brydie Mitchell, a Scotchman by birth, who had been Governor of the State, was then Indian Agent. On the evening of my ar rival I saw the big warrior, the most striking specimen of Indian greatness, the Little Prince, the speaker of the tribe, and its greater orator, and General Mclntosh, its most gallant Chief. They were in consultation with the Agent about the affairs of their people. On the morning of the next day I crossed the Ocmulgee river and went into the encampment of the Indian people, who had assembled to be fed by the Government and receive their share of the annuity. It was in a forest of tall spread ing trees which covered the hills and valleys along the river; there was no undergrowth to mar the beauty of the landscape. Many thousand Indians were standing or squatted in little groups around fires which the coldness of the morning made necessary for comfort. I was invited to take breakfast with the 
 
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i ^family of the Little Prince. The speaker was employed in his official duty of getting together the chiefs for a council to be .held during the day. He could not, therefore, be present with his guests. His wives were engaged in cooking when I walked up to the place pointed out as the Little Prince's fire. The bed on which the great orator slept was close by, not made up. It consisted of a pile of leaves covered over with skins, and only wide enough for a single person. Whilst I and several others were around the food set before us, getting at it as we could with our fingers and knives, a deer was seen bounding through the groups. Every Indian was immediately on his feet. They gave such a yell as will never again reverberate along the banks of the Ocmulgee river. 
" Whilst I was in the encampment, standing on the bank, I saw several logs floating on the river, the middle of which had been scooped out so as to make them hollow. They were called ca noes, and were fastened by grape vines to snags or trees on the water's edge. An Indian occasionally got into one of them, .seated himself on the hind end, and with a board made small at one part for the grasp of the hand, and at the other broad to press against the water, paddled himself across the river, along whose current steamboats are now moving as if by magic. 
" The big warrior, at this meeting of the chiefs, wore a coarse, dirty cotton wrapper. An eagle's or other long feather, hung : from the heads of many of the young braves as they stood or I.;';stalked about. Strings of colored beads were around the necks : :of the squaws. Every head was bare and a moccasin was on every foot. :' " The Indians, their encampment, the bounding deer and fearful yell, has been brought distinctly to my imagination by the account of the Agricultural Fair proposed to be held at the same place. The dress, looks and manners of the Indian chiefs and squaws were very different from what will be exhibited by the gentlemen and ladies who will be assembled at the Fair. The place where the Indian encampment was, has undergone a wonderful change in thirty-two years It is probable that not 
 
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one tree which stood upon the hills and in those valleys when I saw them, now remain. Warehouses, bank houses, churches, colleges, splendid dwelling houses, shops of business and indus 
try now stand where trees then stood. "Our British ancestors, in times long past by, used to hold fairs 
in every precinct. The people went to them to barter what they had for what they wanted, to get drunk, bruise each other's faces with their fists, and break each other's heads with their cudgels. What a contrast between the fighting, bartering fairs of Old England and those of Young Georgia, where the beauty and refinement of the ladies vie with the science and skill of the gentlemen; the famous blooded and finely formed animals of the farmer, with the well made tools of the mechanic; the pro ductions of the agriculturalist, with the fabrics of the manufac turer; and where crowds of the courteous and the thinking con trol the rudeness of the uncultivated. The object of the Geor gia Fair is to improve agriculture, encourage the arts, extend knowledge and expand social feelings. They tend to give to many who would otherwise be careless of their country's good, interest in the thought, " this is my own, my native land." 
Upon which the Recorder made the following comment: "When the old man who writes was young, more than half the territory of the State was occupied by Indians, the least im provable of all the races of men. They are all gone. The places which once knew them is now occupied by the best popu lation of the most improved countries. If the glorious promise derived from the past shall be realized in the future, Georgia is destined to be the brightest star in the galaxy of the Union." The month of January, 1852, was noted for being the coldest period since the winter of 1835. On the I4th day of the month the thermometer fell to zero. On the igth a fire originated in a store on the west side of Cherry street, near Second. It was one of the most destructive fires that ever occurred in the city. It extended until the whole square was laid in ashes, except the brick residence formerly owned and occupied by Major James Smith, corner of Second and Poplar streets, and the warehouse 
 
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of Hardeman & Hamilton, corner of Poplar and Third; the latter contained six thousand bales of cotton. Eighteen stores, besides outbuildings were consumed. The night was extremely cold, and the water froze in the hose of the fire engines. In May another fire occurred on Third street, which was arrested by blowing up a building on the Cherry street alley ; eight buildings were destroyed. 
On May zd, the new Episcopal Church in this city was con secrated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott, and named Christ Church. 
On June zgth, Henry Clay died in Washington City, having passed the seventy-fifth anniversary of his birth. The papers were dressed in mourning on their next issue. Judge E. A. Nisbet was appointed to deliver a, eulogy upon his life and pub lic sevices. 
The death of Daniel Webster, the last of the "great trio," occurred at his residence at Marshfield, Massachusetts, on the 23d of October. Tiie Macon papers were draped in mourning, and measures were adopted to render a suitable tribute to -his memory. 
Died, in the vicinity of Macon, on the zoth of February, of pleurisy, Eleazer McCall, Esq., aged about fifty-six years. He was located at Fort Hawkins before the city of Macon was laid out, and had been a resident of the city, or vicinity, since 1819. He was the first Justice of the Peace elected in East Macon District, when the county was organized. He had ever been esteemed as one of our most upright and enterprising citi zens. He was interred on the 2ist at the burial ground on Fort Hill, by Macon Lodge, No. 5, of which he was Senior Warden when it was organized in 1824, and its Master in 1828. He was also captain of the Bibb Cavalry during its campaign in the Creek War. 
Cotton was selling at seven to eight and a quarter ; the ruling price throughout the last year was seven to ten cents. The re ceipts of 1852, and also that of 1853, had fallen off thirty thou- 
 
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sand bales. Nevertheless, there was a very active mercantile business, and new enterprises commenced. 
On March ist, the City Council subscribed $10,000.00 to the Macon Gas-light Company. The capital stock was first $4.2,ooo.oo, all subscribed to in the city. Mr. A. J. White was elected President of the Company. 
The attention of Council was engaged during the year in de vising plans to procure water for the extinguishment of fires, and the organization of a Fire Department with a superior class of machines to those in use, which were found to be totally in efficacious. 
Among the improvements by the citizens in the summer, James A. Ralston was erecting a handsome range of brick build ings on Cherry and Third streets; and on Scond street the Bap tists commencing the building of a new Church. 
The business over the Macon and Western Railroad had in creased wonderfully within the past five years. The trains on one day in January, 1854, were loaded with freights from Nash ville to Macon. The road between Nashville and Chattanooga had just been finished. The freight lists showed that there had been an immense business with Maccn, and that it was the most prominent depot ior the distribution of Tennessee produce in the State. Atlanta was now becoming a thriving city. 
Another war was inaugurated between the citizens and the railroads. There had just been a bill introduced in the Legis lature to authorize the consolidation of the Macon and Wes tern and the Central Railroad Companies. A meeting of the citizens of Macon convened on the i4th of January to give ex pression to the public opinion on the subject. His Honor E. L. Strohecker, Mayor of the city, was called to the Chair, and Simri Rose appointed Secretary. On motion, the Chair ap pointed L. N. Whittle, J. B. Lamar, George Patten, Peter Solo mon and Thomas C. Nisbet a committee to report business for the action of the meeting. The committee retired, and on re turning reported, in substance, that the consolidation or amal gamation of the roads would submit the commerce and interests 
 
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of Macon to the control of a monopoly, and permit it to dis criminate in the charges and transportation of freight against the city. Among other declarations it was 
"Resolved, That our Senator and Representatives are re quested to oppose the passage of any law the object of which may be to consolidate and unite the Central Railroad with any one or more railroads coming into Macon under one and the same charter; and that they urge the passage of a law repeal ing all acts now of force allowing the Central or any other rail road company to lease other roads or to use and work them with their own." 
A compromise was afterwards effected, whereby the railroads were connected, paying the city 15,000.00 per annum for the privilege. 
On April iyth Macon was visited with another very destruc tive fire, which swept the buildings on the block located on the southeast corner of Mulberry and Third streets. The two new engines that had been ordered by the Council had just arrived, and were baptized at this fire into their first service. There were many other fires in the county and city during the year. 
Ex-President Fiilmore, and his Secretary of the Navy, John P. Kennedy, honored Macon with a visit on the aoth of April, and received a lively demonstration of the gratitude of the peo ple for his unsectional and patriotic administration. A com mittee of citizens met him on the Muscogee Road and escorted him to Macon, where he was met by the military and a large procession of citizens and escorted in a carriage drawn by six splendid gray horses to the Lanier House. In the presence of a large multitude he was welcomed in behalf of the citizens to the hospitality of the city by Hon. Eugenius A. Nisbet. in an ad dress of characteristic grace and eloquence. 
In reply, Mr. Fiilmore expressed " surprise and gratification at the cordiality and enthusiasm which he had received through out his tour, which was more grateful to him as he held no offi cial position and was not a candidate for any. In referring to the circumstances under which he had assumed the responsibil- 
 
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ity of the Gerneral Government, and to the prominent events of his administration--the passage of the compromise meas ures--he claimed for himself simply an honest purpose and a sincere desire rightly to administer the Government according to the Constitution and laws of the land. With regard to the compromise of 1850, he remarked there was one feature of that settlement, the fugitive slave law, which was exceedingly odious to the people of the North which, when he opposed, he knew he was sacrificing himself to his best friends, but it was simply de signed to carry out the plain provision of the Constitution, the Constitution he had sworn to defend, and he signed the bill. There were other features in that settlement distasteful to the South, distasteful, perhaps, to many before him, but it was made; it gave peace and quiet to the country. If the discharge of that duty involved sacrifice, he had cheerfully made it, and was amply compensated for it, even by the cordial welcome he had received in Macon. 
"He was followed by Mr. Kennedy, (Horse-shoe Robinson,) in a lively speech, full of pleasant humor which produced much laughter and applause. He paid fine compliments to the State of Georgia, and particularly to the ladies, whom he declared were the ruling power in this good State without their knowing it, or at least caring to declare it; he recommended them to Mr. Fillmore, who possessed a kind eye and warm heart towards that class." 
Mr. Fillmore was a large, portly gentleman, with a handsome^ honest face, and very pleasing address. A grand soiree was given to the distinguished guests in the evening, at the Lanier House, where the beauty of the city was most smilingly, grace fully and elaborately displayed. The ex-President proved him self to be a very good judge of female beauty; in fact, he was a connoisseur in his gallant criticisms. He was also very popular with the ladies ; with some more than others, for besides his high and honest public character, good looks and pleasing manners, he was a fresh widower with a competency. 
In the month of August the city of Savannah was afflicted 
 
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with that terrible scourge, the yellow fever, which continued un til frost. The weather in the month of August was excessively hot. The thermometer at Macon was not less than ninetythree degrees; it stood generally at ninety-eight, and frequent ly at one hundred to one hundred and three degrees. Yet the city remained healthy during the entire summer. The citi zens of Macon united with the Council in extending aid to the sufferers during the prevalence of the pestilence. The sympa thies of the people in the country were aroused, and they nobly responded in sending in money and provisions to be sent to Sa vannah. Macon became a place of refuge for many of the famlies on the seaboard ; some members brought the seeds of disease with them and died in this place; and though there were often a dozen strangers sick with the disease in one day in Macon, it did not prevail as an epidemic. 
The Governor of Georgia appointed the zzd. of November as a day of thanksgiving. Macon having so miraculously escaped the ravages of the epidemic, the Mayor issued a proclamation simultaneously with the Governor, appointing the same day, to be specially observed. The Synod of Georgia being in session at the Presbyterian Church, that body supplied all of the pulpits in the city, and the day was religiously observed. 
Ex-Governor George W. Towns expired at his residence in this city on the isth of July, of paralysis, of which he was first attacked in 1851. He was born in Wilkes county, Georgia, in May, 1801. Soon after he attained his majority, he moved to Mongomery, Alabama, where, after fitting himself for admission to the bar, he devoted himself to the practice of the law. Re turning to his native State, he established himself at Talbotton, Georgia, where he resided until called to the Gubernatorial Chair in 1847. He frequently represented his county in the General Assembly of the State ; and was elected to Congress in 1834, 1836, and again in 1845, anc' before his term of office ex pired was elected Governor of his State, and re-elected to that office in 1849. He was buried on the I'/th of July, a large con- 
 
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course of citizens, the military and fire companies attending his remains to Rose Hill cemetery. 
On September 2ad, a great conflagration took place, burning more than one-half 'of the square between Second and Third streets, and fronting on Mulberry. The two blocks on Mulberry were totally destroyed, extending as far back as the alley divi ding the two blocks fronting on Cherry street. The buildings were nearly all of wooden structure. The greater part of the property was insured, and though the fire was the most exten sive that ever befell the city, the loss was not great. Among the buildings consumed was the old "Washington Hall." Upon its ruins, were soon built the handsome Washington Block, which, with the other buildings erected, are among the most creditable to the appearance of the city. 
The General Passenger Depot, on Fourth and Plum streets, for the accommodation of passenger trains of all the railroads, was completed in December, at a cost of $100,000.00. It is an elegant and durable structure well arranged for all its purposes. Opposite to it, at the same time, was completed Brown's Hotel, a first class establishment, named for its owner and proprietor, E. E. Brown. It was enlarged after the war, destroyed by fire in 1878, and rebuilt and reopened the same year. 
On March 2gth a fire broke out in a stable in the rear of the Floyd House. It soon spread over the whole square, and it was with great difficulty that the Floyd House and the Market House were saved. The latter was saved through the exertions and daring of a noted negro, popularly known as "Lit Young." For this gallantry he was made an honorary member of Protec tion Fire Company, No. i. The loss of property by the confla gration was $14.000.00, of which there was insured $8,950.00. 
On the 5th of August, Mr. L. O. Reynolds, President of the Southwestern Railroad Company since February, 1849, died at the Warm Springs, in Virginia. He was succeeded by R. R. Cuyler, who had been the President of the Central Railroad Com pany every year since the death of Mr. Gordon, its first Presi dent in 1842. The extent of the Southwestern Road in opera- 
 
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tion in 1855, was ninety-two miles. The report of George W. Adams, Superintendent, stated from the time the road was com pleted to Fort Valley, in July, 1851, down to August ist, 1855, that two hundred and sixteen thousand five hundred and sixteen passengers had been transferred over it, and only one person of that number had been injured, and the injury he incurred was the result of his own carelessness. 
Solomon Humphries, a free negro, age fifty-four, died in this city on the 8th of August. He was a resident of the city from its earliest settlement. For many years he was a prosperous mer chant and cotton dealer. He was one of the oldest merchants in the city and was respected for his uprightness and strict in tegrity in business by all of the Macon merchants. He was well known in Savannah, Charleston and New York as a merchant of reliability and honor. His funeral was preached by the Rev. Robert L. Breck, of the Presbyterian Church, (white,) of which he was an old member, and the oldest merchants of Macon at tended the ceremonies. 
A large fire occurred on November aoth. It broke out in the buildings of James A. Ralston, corner of Third and Cherry streets, and extended to the warehouse of Hardeman & Sparks, on Third and Poplar, and half way up the block on Cherry street. Loss $100,000.00, partly covered by insurance. 
January, 1856, was an unusually cold and disagreeable month. After heavy rains, snow and sleet fell, with much hail, such as had not been witnessed for many years. Thousands of the trees, which were the boast of the city, were either broken down or shorn of their branches. The storm was a general one, and ex tended through several States, from Virginia to Louisiana. The snow fell heavily, and remained on the earth several days. A number of impromptu sleighs were made for the occasion, and the streets, sidewalks and roads were enlivened by the novel ringing of the merry bells. 
A very exciting State election took place this year. There were three candidates for Governor: H. V. Johnson, Demo crat, Garnet Andrews, American, and Overby, a Temperance 
 
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candidate. The majority for Johnson was more than two thou sand over the others combined. In Bibb the American ticket was successful, electing their candidates to both the Senate and House. The American or Know-Nothing Party, as it was most commonly called, originated in 1853 an ^ 1854. It was a secret organization, and was very popular for a few years, particularly in the many cities. The party succeeded in carrying a large number of States. Its principal object was opposition to for eigners holding office, and its motto was; "Americans must rule America." After the death of Clay and Webster the old Whig Party became almost extinct, and their followers joined the Know-Nothing Party, which survived but a few years. 
Henry G. Ross, Esquire, died in this city on January 7th, 1857, fifty-six years old. At the time of his death it is believed that he was the oldest resident of this city, having settled at Fort Hawkins, then the frontier of Georgia, in the year 1818. He was the second Clerk of the Superior Court elected in this county after its organization, which office he held until 1856, and his books are a record that he was a model for system and cor rectness in the performance of the duties of his office. He was deputy clerk in the same office on the organization of the Court and County in 1823, and remained in it until succeeded by his son, Albert B. Ross, in 1856. The latter is the present incum bent, and has held, the office, except when in the service of the army during the late war, since the resignation of his father. 
The month of January, 1857, like the same month the last year, was very cold. On the iSlh snow fell, and on the igth the mercury fell to eight degrees above zero ; the lowest point last year was twelve degrees. 
The sad intelligence of the death of Major Matthew Robertson was received on February nth. He died at his residence in Harris county. He was the first proprietor and editor of the Georgia Messenger, at Fort Hawkins in 1823. 
Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz, the gifted authoress, died at Marianna, Florida, of Pneumonia, on the nth of February. As an authoress she had few superiors in the United States. She had 
 
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lived in Georgia, and secured the esteem of all who knew her. Her daughter, the wife of the Rev. J. O. Branch, inherits much of her mother's talent, and is now, (1879) engaged at her resi dence in Savannah writing an interesting narrative, entitled, "Anabel's Secret." The plot is developed in California, of which State the authoress was a recent resident. 
The amount of buildings this year was estimated at $400,000. Most of the burnt blocks of Mulberry, Second and Third streets were being rapidly built up with handsome brick stores, and the "Washington Block" of 1857 presented a pleasing contrast to the "Washington Hall" of 1856. 
In the month of June the stockholders of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad Company had their first meeting on the 26th, and effected an organization by the election of Hon. A. E. Cochran and Hon. James Houston, of Brunswick, George Walker, of Pulaski, E. E. Crocker, of Twiggs, Captain B. F. Ross, T. R. Bloom and L. N. Whittle, of Bibb, to complete the Board of Directors. At a subsequent meeting the Board unani mously elected Judge A. E. Cochran President, and E. C. Row land Secretary and Treasurer. The meeting passed a resolution of thanks to Elam Alexander, for valuable services in behalf of the road. No one in the community had manifested more zeal or greater energy in the enterprise than Mr. Alexander. 
The State Democratic Convention assembled in Milledgeville on June 24th, and after twenty ballots for candidates for Gov ernor, on the evening of the 26th Judge Joseph E. Brown was nominated. 
Governor H. V. Johnson having called a convention of the military companies of the State at the Capital for a grand re view on the 4th of July, there was no celebration of the day by the military in Macon. Eighteen companies and a vast crowd of citizens assembled at Milledgeville. The Cadets from the State Military Institute were present, and to their credit, when cigars and wine were handed to the soldiers, they, with one ac cord, refused to partake of either. A few enthusiastic patriots in Macon jubilated by the discharge of an immense number of 
 
 212 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
fire crackers, and an artillery practice with an old cannon, which they hauled around on every street. They made more noise than was heard at Milledgeville. 
In October the Southwestern Railroad Company completed their line to Cuthbert and Albany, and were making arrange ments to extend their prosperous enterprise to Eufaula and Fort Gaines. 
In September Mr. Wadley resigned the Superintendency of the Central Railroad. He was presented by the company and its operatives with a handsome tea service of twenty-six pieces, in testimony of their confidence in him as an officer, and their esteem for him as a citizen and friend. The set was of the most massive silver and chased in a style of elegance. It was hand somely ornamented with engravings of the principal objects of interest connected with the road, such as the depot and work shops in Savannah, a train of cars, etc., etc., with the initials W. M. W. engraved on each piece, and in the centre of the sal ver the inscription : " W. M. WADLEY, from the Officers, Me chanics and Employees of the Central Railroad Company, Sa vannah, September, 1857." 
Emerson Foote, the skilled and accomplished Engineer and Superintendent of the Macon and Western Railroad was ap pointed to succeed Mr. Wadley on the Central. Upon leaving the former road, the Board of Directors presented him with two splendid pieces of silver plate, as a testimonial to his able and faithful services as Superintendent of the Macon and Western Railroad for eleven years. The presentation was made in a highly complimentary speech by Nathan C. Monroe, of the Board. Mr. A. L. Tyler succeeded Mr. Foote. 
The 5th and 6th of June were the two greatest gala days ever in Macon. The Memphis delegation consisted of two hundred citizens, including many ladies, who had been on an excursion to Charleston and Savannah, and were en route home, via Ma con. The military, firemen, city officials, and citizens generally united in extending the visitors a most generous welcome. All of the carriages in the city were at their disposal, and the man- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
213 
 
sions of the wealthier citizens open to their service. The hotels were also open to their reception at the expense of the city, where a large number of the gentlemen were quartered and feasted. At night a grand soiree was given at the large and magnificent saloon over the Passenger Depot, and an elegant supper prepared at the Brown House. There were toasting and wincing, music and dancing, while sweet flowers and sweeter smiles were profusely interspersed. "A thousand hearts beat happily, and all went merry as a marriage bell." The delega tion was composed of the very flower of Memphis society, and on their arrival home the press of that city were exultant in high compliments to the city of Macon. 
The business season opened in the Fall with highly flattering prospects. The merchant and agriculturist had been alike suc cessful. Cotton in September readily sold from twelve to fifteen and a half cents per pound. But there was a financial storm arising in the North and West that burst as sudden upon the country as a thunder clap that follows the concussion of two clouds. There had been an immense jobbing in stocks on Wall street, an over-trading in the West, and a heavy speculation in Western lands. The largest Northern and Western Railroads were declared insolvent, with a loss of several hundred millions each. The largest firms in New York, Boston and Philadelphia were failing. Many banks that greatly extended their circula tion beyond the legal amount, at heavy rates of interest, were crowded with a rush for a redemption in specie on their bills; and during the month of October, the telegraph every day an nounced the suspension of banks and the failure of the largest Northern houses. At the North, factories were stopped, and many establishments, having a large force of employees, were forced to suspend operations. The panic soon reached the South, and the alarm became widespread. The South Carolina banks suspended, and by the first of November every bank in Georgia, except three, also suspended. Every enterprise and industry in Georgia had never been in a more prosperous con dition ; the people were generally free from debt, and they could 
 
 214 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
afford to stand the panic. But a powerful opposition was raised against the banks for suspending, and their action was brought before the next Legislature in December. A new Governor had just been inaugurated. He was unknown to the masses of the people, but was accepted and elected by his party upon the re commendations of his friends from the Cherokee Circuit over which he had presided as an upright Judge, and in which he had been a devoted and consistent Baptist. He acquired more fame for a short time during the first part of his administra tions, and more abuse and extensive notoriety afterwards than any other public man in the State. 
The suspension by the banks was a violation of their charter, and they asked indulgence for the act from the Legislature. After much discussion and legislation, the Legislature passed a bill similar in some respects to that of 1840, allowing the suspen sion for about a year, with some requirements, restrictions, etc. Governor Brown opposed the measure and returned the bill ac companied by a long and bold remonstrance, with his veto at tached. He believed in the simplest and most lucid way of book-keeping, with all of the debits on one side of the sheet, and the credits on the other, and that the balance on either side should show the amount to " a quarter of a cent," and he af firmed that he would use his every power to enforce the banks to comply with their charters. The Legislature, however, passed the bill over the Executive veto. The determination of the Governor acquired for him considerable popularity with the masses of the people. 
The panic did not last long. The effects for the short time were very disastrous at the North and West, but only moderate at the South. The banks near all resumed in six to eight months. The Northern Legislature required exhibits of their banks, and it was surprising to see what vast amounts of specie they had on hand. It was believed a "corner" had been arranged among them to contract so as to aggravate the financial panic and spec ulate largely by purchasing valuable property, whose prices were tumbling down. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
215 
 
On the 5th of February, 1858, Thalberg, the celebrated pian ist, and Vieuxtemps, the equally renowned violinist, performed before a very large and brilliant audience at Ralston's Hall. Both of the performers had reached the climax of. fame in Eu rope, and were considered beyond all rivalry. The splendid vo calists to the company were Madame Johanson, Signor Adavarini. The beautiful and charming Miss Kemp, a young Ameri can contralto, furnished an excellent variety to the performance. The combination was a famous event in musical history. 
On March igth, Keller's grand entertainment, the "Young America Ballet Corps," comprising sixty artiste, performed three nights at Ralston's Hall. They presented a pageant never before witnessed in the city, and carried the vast audience every night by storm. 
During the month of March there was much religious interest in the several Churches. The Presbyterians were holding daily prayer meetings. The Rev. Dr. Stiles, of New Haven, once the beloved pastor, and among the earliest ministers of the Macon Church, preached to large congregations. In the Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott was officiating, and at the Baptist Church, Mr. Kennedy, the eloquent Boy Preacher, at tracted a large crowd. He was logical, eloquent and interesting. 
The yellow fever again made its horrid appearance in Savan nah in the early part of the Fall of this year, and though not as extensively prevalent as in 1854, many valuable lives fell victims to its destructive work. Among them was the lamented Emer son Foote, who had been for one year residing in Savannah, as General Superintendent of the Central Railroad. He died on the 3oth of September, aged forty-eight years. 
On October ayth, Mr. George W. Adams, General Superin tendent of the Southwestern Railroad Company, and who held that position since the beginning of the operation of the road, in 1851, was called to succeed Mr. Foote on the Central Rail road. Upon resigning his old position the Directors of the Company presented him with a handsome and costly silver ser vice in appreciation of his long and efficient services. Mr. 
 
 216 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Virgil Powers, who had experienced twenty-four years of service as civil engineer, and chief of that department on the Southwest ern Railroad since 1852, was appointed to succeed Mr. Adams, retaining his position at the same time as engineer, which two positions he held in 1876, when he was, at the choice of a com bination of railroads, called to his present position over the Southern Railway and Steamship Association. 
The locomotive, " Wm. M. Wadley," accompanied by Dan iel Gugel, brought to Savannah, October 23d, from Macon, nineteen box and twenty-one open cars, making forty in all, with one thousand three hundred and fifty bales of cotton. The "Wadley" was considered the best locomotive on the road, and was manufactured, in every part, at the workshops of the Company, in Savannah, by Mr. William Burnes. 
While the Marsh children were performing at Ralston Hall, on December 2yth, in conclusion of one of the scenes of the Naiad Queen, little Mary Marsh, in the act of retreating back ward from the audience, came in contact with the flame of a light. It set fire to her gossamer dress, and so severely burned her before the fire could be extinguished that she died the fol lowing day. One of her companions and Mrs. Marsh were also burned in assisting her, but not dangerously. The alarm and excitement among the audience was very great, but was soon quieted and the performance stopped. Never had the death of a child created such universal sadness in the community. A monument was erected to her memory over her remains in Rose Hill, and at its base, in a glass case can be seen at this time the wreath the unfortunate little favorite wore on the evening of the 
fatal accident. At a meeting of the citizens, called by the Mayor and Coun 
cil on the 3oth of December, to ascertain the feelings towards a subscription to the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, it was 
"Resolved, That the Mayor and Council of the City of Ma con are instructed to subscribe $200,000.00 to the capital stock of that Company when a like sum shall be bona fide subscribed by other parties: Provided, the same be paid on the bonds of 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
217 
 
the city bearing seven per cent, interest, and the amount sub scribed by the city shall be expended in the construction of that part of the road nearest Macon." 
Some dissatisfaction having been expressed by a few citizens to the investment of so large an amount by the City Council to the new railroad project, another meeting was held on the 8th of January following, at Concert Hall, which was largely at tended. The original resolution offered by Mr. Whittle author izing the subscription of $200,000.00 by the Council was readopted, with only twelve dissenting voices. 
The effects of the panic was now (1859) subsiding, and cotton was selling freely in January at ten and eleven and a half cents. The largest sale made in Georgia by one planter occurred this month. Colonel Joseph Bond disposed of his entire cotton crop of 1858, amounting to two thousand two hundred bales, to Mr. T. R. Bloom, of this city, and the net proceeds amoun ted to over $100,000.00. This was the largest crop of one sea son made by one planter in the State. 
Soon after this unprecedented and important achievement in the agricultural history of the State, the community was shocked and pained to hear of the death of Mr. Bond, which took place near one of his many well regulated plantations in Southwestern Georgia, on the i2th day of March. A former overseer, whom he had discharged, had maltreated one of his slaves, and for re senting the offense the overseer shot him. He died half an hour afterward. His remains were brought to Macon and buried from the Presbyterian Church by the Bibb Cavalry, of which company he was an esteemed officer, and a large concourse of friends. He was the largest cotton grower and most successful planter in the State. Notwithstanding his devotion to his ex tensive planting interests, which he managed with the highest order of system in every department, he was a useful, liberal and enterprising citizen of Macon, and his death was greatly mourned. 
The Bar of the city held their semi-annual reunion at Home's, on November 2 6th, where an elegant dinner was provided for 
 
 218 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
them. In respect to the memory of young John Lamar, and the veterans, Hems. Peter Stubbs and A. P. Powers, no sentiment was proposed or spoken except to the beloved and esteemed de ceased. 
Died, in this city, on November 3oth, of pneumonia, Mr. : Robert Findlay, aged about fifty-two. He was a native of Scot land, and came to this city in 1836, in charge of steam machin ery for the Monroe Railroad. He put up and run the first loco motive on that road to Forsyth. Some time afterwards he start ed a little shop for castings, which expanded into a large busi ness, of which he was the founder in Middle Georgia, with the most extensive buildings for that purpose in the State. He was a man of much public spirit, intelligence and usefulness, and his death was a public loss. 
On August ipth, Mr. J. C. C. Burnett finished the census of the city and county. The population of the city was 7,453 ; county, 7,447; total, $14,990. Whites, 8,950; slaves, 6,003; free negroes, 37. There were about 2,000 inhabitants on the environs who were not included in the city returns. 
In the history of America, and more particularly of the South ern States, the period of which we now write, was the most re markable for general prosperity. It was the golden era of the Southern States. Wealth and happiness abounded. All com mercial institutions, agricultural and mechanical industries were in a thriving condition. The revenue derived from the products of Southern industries alone paid into the national treasury threefourths of the expenses of the General Government, though but a mite of the vast amount of the Congressional appropriations was expended upon Southern soil. Unaided by the Government, the South had acquired its unparalleled wealth and prosperity through its own energies and industries. The homes of the planters in the country abounded in comforts and luxuries, while the residences in the cities were embellished with the most orna mental productions of nature and of art; and in them a profuse hospitality was dispensed by as pure and refined society as the world ever witnessed. This period of the augmenting glory of 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
219 
 
iili may be compared to the brilliant and peculiar one of <hen under the administration of Pericles, that was the <ja light of Greece," and was the most splendid and pros:ai Grecian annals. But the laurels in the comparison awarded to the gallant Southern States from the fact their a$& by their individual energies and industry obtained m wealth, and in their enlightened advancement built yit cities and established their own refined and cultivated ;;I;while Athens was decked and ornamented at the ex- 
provinces, and the luxuries dispensed among 
were at the expense of the State. 
the ist, the cotton receipts at Macon reached 
eight hundred and ninety-five bales, which 
number of bales received since the opening of Cotton was now selling at eight to eleven. 
 
-published at this time five large weekly newspacity, and each of them well patronized with large ||lll|>issnii(sts,.and more than two pages of advertisements. lliliilii^^Mr. Isaac Scott, President of the Macon and Westcl: Company, submitted the Fourteenth Annual Re- 
d of January, the fiscal year closing on the last day It makes the extraordinary exhibit of a railroad 
i^of debt, not owing a dollar, either of floating or ; :aiid with a cash balance of $130,591.94 in the : dividend of nine per cen-t. was declared. |:sfes twelve years of his administration, the Presi- 
.L: ; : /: ' 
Jis whole period the credit of the Company has al- 
More than the entire capital has been Stockholders in dividends, and now, at the 
unencumbered by either floating or 
fully its cost to its owners." prepared under the auspices of Frank S. to the Jackson Artillery, by Messrs. L. N. 
r) .W..B. Parker, J. B. Ross, P. E. Bowdre, 
 
 220 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Ira H. Taylor, Albert Mix, Robert Collins, E. Alexander, p. Tracy, O. G. Sparks, J. M. Boardman and T. R. Bloom, was presented in due form in the presence of an admiring throng of ladies and gentlemen, in front of the Lanier House, on March i6th. Judge Phil. Tracy presented the standard in a beautiful speech, which was handsomely responded to by Captain Theo dore Parker in behalf the company. The flag was proudly waved to the music of the Star Spangled Banner. The corps, after a drill and salute, partook of a collation at Terpsichorean Hall. The company adopted the United States Regulars uni form. They numbered eighty-six members, and made an im posing appearance. 
The Annual Sabbath School Celebration took place May ist. The procession was over half a mile long, as follows: 
Baptists--Children . . 222, ..... Teachers . . 28. Methodists--Children.. 213, . . . . . Teachers . . go. Factory--Children . . 134, ..... Teachers . . 10. Vineville--Children. . 151, ..... Teachers . . 28. Episcopal--Children . 118, ..... Teachers . . 15. East Macon--Children. 58, ..... Teachers . . 9. Presbyterian--Children 182, ..... Teachers . . 16. 
Children ..... 1,078 ..... Teachers . . 136. Teachers ..... 1^6 
 
Total . . . 1,214 
On May ist, His Excellency Edward Blondeel Van Cuelebroeck. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, arrived in Macon from Washington City. The object of his mission was an interview with the Direct Trade Commissioners of the Cotton Planters' Convention, who were soon to take their departure to Europe. The Commissioners, Hon. Thomas Butler King, Colonel Thomas and Hon. Howell Cobb, of Houston, were also in the city. 
The Macon Volunteers presented from their Armory, on No vember 2oth, a national Hag, with but fifteen stars and the Coat 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
221 
 
of Arms of Georgia thereon. The Jackson Artillery paraded with a flag of the Southern Confederacy, with but fifteen stars, and their standard bore for its device the old arms of Georgia, " The Snake," and the motto : " Noli me tangere." 
The Cadets of the Military Institute passed through the city the same day, on a visit to the Capital. 
Within the last few years there was a growing desire on the part of the people of Augusta and Charleston to build a more direct line of railroad between Macon and Augusta, and the project found many friends in this city. On January 17th the City Council, at a meeting. 
"Resolved, That the city of Macon has seen with great in terest the movements of Augusta and Charleston to build a more direct line of railroad to this place, and that at the proper time Macon and her citizens will do their part of the work." 
On the I5th of February a vote of the citizens of Augusta was taken upon the propriety of their Council subscribing half a million of dollars towards the building of a Macon road. The total number of votes cast was eight hundred and thirty-six, of which eight hundred and twenty-three were favorable to the city's subscription, and only thirteen against it. 
On February 6th the first annual meeting of the stockholders of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad took place. The capital stock so far amounted to $565,525. , The President reported sixty-six and a half miles of the road to be under contract, and that the total cost of the road was estimated at $2,176,712. The former Board was re-elected. 
On May the idth and ryth the stockholders convened at Au gusta. L. N. Whittle, from the Committee on Subscription, reported the subscription lists showed $1,013,200.00 had been subscribed to the stock, and that the amount exceeded the re quirements of the charter for an organization of the company. A Board of Directors were then elected, and the Macon and Augusta Railroad Company was organized. Mr. S. D. Head was elected President. The survey of the route for the road was made by George H. Hazlehurst. The City Council of Ma- 
 
 222 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD or MACON 
 
con subscribed 150,000.00 and the citizens contributed about the same amount. 
Many disastrous fires occurred in the city during the year, which was the work of incendiaries. 
On December i2th the Belgian Fair was inaugurated in Macon, with a most varied assortment of Belgian and Southern wares and articles of innumerable descriptions. The city was crowded with strangers, and every available vehicle for many miles around was brought into requisition. At nine A. M., the Governor and Legislature arrived in a special train, under the care of the President of the Central Railroad. They were re ceived on the Fair Grounds at Camp Oglethorpe, by the " Jack son Artillery," with a salute of FIFTEEN GUNS. 
The inaugural ceremonies were introduced with an address from Colonel Nathan Bass, after which he introduced Judge Stone, of Alabama, the Orator of the Day, who gave a masterly address upon slavery, its origin and history, and its association with the agricultural and political destinies of the South. 
In the evening the Macon Battalion paraded under the com mand of Captain Robert A. Smith, and elicited great admira tion by their brilliant and soldierly appearance. 
At the exhibition Charleston and Baltimore were handsomely represented in every class of elegant goods that dazzle the eyes of the ladies, and of more substantial goods that attract the gentlemen. Baltimore displayed over $50,000.00 worth of goods. 
The foreign exhibition was a very large one, and to thousands of spectators was a very interesting novelty in the extensive va riety of useful, ornamental and curious things. 
The Cotton Planters' Fair was in session at the same time, and operated in connection with the Belgian Exhibition. The combined fairs lasted about two weeks, with most successful dis plays and operations. It was the grandest and longest display ever made in the State, and in variety the largest that had been made in the South. From the political agitations that prevailed throughout the country for six months and that was now shaking 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
223 
 
ithe prosperous system of Southern institutions, the planters were resolved upon the establishment of "direct trade " with Eu 
rope. At the close of this year the improvements which had been 
iaiade in the city were gratifying in every respect. The receipts of cotton were over one hundred and two thousand bales, the largest since the railroad had been opened to the seaboard in 1843- The contracts for building the Brunswick Road were be ing executed with energy and fidelity. The first cotton over that road was received on the zoth of December, shipped by W. R. Phillips, from Twiggs county, to Messrs. Coats & Woolfolk, of this place. For the last three years the sales of merchandise were far in excess of any previous period. The number of stores and handsome dwelling houses had rapidly increased, and pre sented a handsome appearance in their improved style of archi tecture. Several buildings of a public character had been erec ted of substantial and expensive nature. There were seven teen new stores built during the year, all of the first-class, and sixty-seven new dwellings, and not one of either class were ad vertised for rent or without a tenant. The increase of travel to the city required more hotel accommodations, and to meet the patronage the Granite Hall was having large additions made, and a new hotel, the Stubblefield House, was nearly completed. The Lanier House was also having an extensive addition and  expensive improvements which were nearly finished ; the work vof enlargement commenced on the 5th of June and comprised the addition of another story, together with sixty feet front, :snaking one hundred and twenty-five feet front in all, adding iibrty-eight new rooms, thirty of which were large rooms, for ;:i;nilies only; two commodious stores, barber saloon and bath ing-rooms, etc., were on the first floor. .''; The Georgia Conference, in 1859, established a large Book De pository in Macon, at the corner of Mulberry and Second streets, :: under the charge of Rev. J. W. Burke and a Board of Direc tors, from various parts of the State, which was now in a most nourishing condition and doing a very large and successful busi- 
 
 224 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ness. For a long time there had been but two prosperous week ly newspapers. Every effort to establish a permanent daily had failed. In connection with his mammoth weekly, Joseph Clisby, since the ist of February of this year, supplied the wants of the community with a substantial and interesting daily morn ing paper, and at heavy expense to his office, he gave the latest telegraphic reports. There were four other weeklies, well patron ized, which was a high evidence of the prosperity of the people. There were also four job printing offices doing a promising business. Every railroad company, bank, factory and corporate company was thriving and paying remunerative dividends upon the stock invested. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
POLITICAL AGITATION--CHARLESTON CONVENTION--MILLEDGEVILI.E CON VENTION--RICHMOND AND BALTIMORE CONVENTIONS--FOUR PRESIDEN TIAL CANDIDATES--VISIT OF DOUGLAS AND STEPHENS--ELECTION OF LINCOLN--PUBLIC MEETING--ONE MILLION DOLLARS FOR DEFENCE-- SECESSION OF SOUTH CAROLINA--MAJOR ANDKRSON--PRESIDENT BUCHANAN--SEIZURE OF FORTS--CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE--CONVENTION or STATES--ALL HOPE LOST--SECESSION OF GEORGIA--POE, NISBET AND LAMAR--THE CONFEDERATE STATES--MR. LINCOLN AND THE CONFED ERATE COMMISSION--BOMBARDMENT OF SUMTER--BIBB COUNTY TROOPS-- MACON DURING THE WAR, ARSENAL, WORKSHOPS, DEPOSITORY--GEOR GIA RESERVES--LADIES' SOLDIERS RELIEF SOCIETY--WAYSIDE HOME-- SPEECH OF MR. STEPHENS--BATTLE NEAR FORT HAWKINS--CAPTURE OF STONEMAN--FEDERAL POLITICS--RECONSTRUCTION POLICY--PRESIDENT DAVIS AND GOVERNOR BROWN--SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA--RE PORTS OF Sl-IERMAN AND HIS ARMY CORRESPONDENT--THE HAMPTON ROADS CONFERENCE-MACON THE CAPITAL--THE LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR BROWN--SEPARATE STATE ACTION--DAVIS, HILL, LAMAR AND COBB--THE SURRENDER--JOHNSTON-SHERMAN ARMISTICE, ETC.-- THE SURRENDER OF MACON AND INCIDENTS. 
The glorious prosperity of the last decade was not permitted to continue. Its doom had long been determined by the jeal ous sectionalists of the North, even at the peril of the dissolution of the Union and the most deplorable of all calamities--civil war. 
On different occasions, within forty years, had the Southern States submitted to the yielding of their rights as equal members of the Union, merely for the sake of its preservation. Embold ened by so many concessions the Black Republican party, com posed of abolitionists and religious fanatics who worshipped the spirit of the pirate John Brown as their god, adopted the ficti tious story of Uncle Tom's Cabin as their Bible, and proclaimed 
 
 226 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
the "irrepressible conflict " as being of divine origin, and there 
 
fore a "higher law" than the Constitution of their country, 
 
which they denounced as being a "league with hell and a cov 
 
enant with the devil," created new subjects and introduced ob 
 
noxious measures to provoke a more terrific sectional strife. 
 
Several of their States had passed acts prejudicial to Southern 
 
interests, and of decided unconstitutionality. ' 
 
The right of a Territorial Legislature to exclude the slavehold 
 
ers from settlement within its borders was among the prominent 
 
discussions in Congress and in the States, and it was again shale- 
 
ing the stability of the Union. The Republicans were gaining 
 
rapidly in political control at the North, and many of the Dem 
 
ocrats, it was afterwards discovered, for the sake of that popu 
 
larity which is courted for the security of promotion or contin- '.: 
 
uanee in office, were pandering to their sentiments. The posi 
 
tion of the Territorial agitation was the noted one to be explained 
 
by the respective parties in the choice of candidates in the Pres 
 
idential campaign of 1860. 
 
On the 23d of April, the Convention of the National Demo 
 
cratic party assembled at Charleston. Hon. Caleb Gushing was 
 
made Chairman of the Convention. On motion, he appointed 
 
a committee of one from each of the thirty-three States repre 
 
sented to draw up the usual platform and declaration of princi 
 
ples to be adopted by the party. The committee were in session 
 
three days with great dissensions prevailing among its members, 
 
and greater still in the body of the Convention. Two platforms, 
 
were submitted by the committee ; the first by a majority of sev 
 
enteen members, which readopted the Cincinnati platform of . 
 
1856, with an additional declaration upon the new issue, that 
 
" all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle : 
 
with their property on the Territory without their rights, either: 
 
of person or property, being destroyed or impaired by Congress 
 
sional or Territorial legislation." To this additional plank the:: 
 
greater part of the Northern delegates objected, and voted; 
 
against. 
 
':j 
 
The minority report of the committee, which was evasive of 
 
 ::::;j : :.: ; ' AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
227 
 
OfK explanation of the vital question, and less lucid eiiwas accepted by those who opposed the majority iGrtlhe ist of May, as there was no prospect for a re^aj the fifteen Southern States, with Oregon and Cali;a<ied from the Convention and organized independ:cHe election of Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, as Chairman, ptefi the name of the Constitutional Democratic Conii'I'feey resolved to assemble again at Richmond, on the ii&i, if their action was approved by their constituency 
l|f||i!|:raspctive States. 
Ber of the original Convention on the 3d of May atto;i to adjourn, and to meet in Baltimore on the and requested States unrepresented by the secedthe vacancies with delegates. In this Convention i -A- Douglas was the favorite candidate for, the 
 
': 
 
. 
 
: 
 
v Butler was one of the leading men in the Con- 
 
;?^AM vote sixty-three times for Jefferson Davis, 
 
or the Presidency of the United States. 
 
of the Georgia delegates meetings were held in 
 
: endorsing their action in seceding and appoint- 
 
d a State Convention, to be held at Milledgeville, 
 
f:iit|e Situation of the party. 
 
Sifeaialiae two other parties had held National Conven- 
 
Irrepressible Conflict" party assembled in Chicago, 
 
f-May, and nominated Hons. Abraham Lincoln 
 
anibal Hamlin for Vice-President. 
 
Party assembled in Baltimore on the gth of the 
 
:cifir the name of the Constitutional Union Party, 
 
: other platform than to pledge themselves to the 
 
hfi Constitution and laws of the country. They 
 
;>,: John Bell, of Tennessee, for President, and 
 
^i^:[o'l. Massachusetts, for Vice-President. 
 
s;ij>a meeting was held by a party in Macon who dis- 
 
:.:iffe ; .action of the seceders at Charleston, and 're- 
 
en delegates be sent from Bibb county to the 
 
 228 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Milledgeville Convention, not for the purpose of taking seats, but in the event that Convention failed to send delegates to Baltimore, and sent delegates to go to the Richmond Conven tion, with instructions to attend the Baltimore Convention, on certain conditions only, then the delegates from this county would act in concert with such portion of the Milledgeville Convention or other National Democrats in the appointment of a delegation to represent the National Democrats of Georgia in the Baltimore Convention.'' The Chair appointed the delegates. The meeting was ably addressed by Hons. E. A. Nisbet and Barnard Hill, declaring the necessity of a representation at Baltimore, to consolidate the Democratic Party on a satisfactory platform and selection of candidates. 
On June the 4th, the Convention assembled at Milledgeville, and on the 5th, the majority report passed by two-thirds, sustaintaining the seceders at Charleston, and reappointed them to the Richmond Convention with instructions to attend the Baltimore Convention; but if certain contingencies were not complied with they should withdraw and attend the Richmond Conven tion. The minority report recommended the appointment of twenty delegates to Baltimore with certain propositions, the adoption of which they would ask of that Convention. The minority delegates held a meeting at which thirty counties were represented by one hundred delegates ; Judge Hiram Warner presided. Governor H. V. Johnson, Judge Hiram Warner, Col. James Gardner and Hon. A. H. Chappell, were appointed to represent the State at large with ten other delegates at Bal timore. 
Both sets of delegates attended the respective Conventions at Richmond and Baltimore. The Richmond Convention met and adjourned over to await the action of the Baltimore Convention. The Georgia delegation to Baltimore, being appointed by a minority of their State Convention, were not admitted. As no unanimity could be produced between the two Conventions, they organized separately, and on the 25th of June the Baltimore delegates nominated Hon. Stephen A. Douglas for President, 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
229 
 
and Benjamin Fitzpatrick for Vice-President; the latter after wards declining, H. V. Johnson was nominated to the vacancy. The seceders nominated John C. Breckenridge for President and Joseph Lane for Vice-President. Hon. Caleb Gushing resigned his position as President of the Baltimore Convention during its session, joined the Richmond delegates and became their Presi dent; Benjamin F. Butler also seceded from the Baltimore Con vention and went to Richmond. Both Gushing and Butler af terwards became notorious supporters of Mr. Lincoln's party and conspicuously undistinguished officers in his army. 
On the reception of the telegrams announcing the nomina tion of Breckenridge and Lane, a very large meeting was held at the court-house endorsing the nomination, by a large majority of the Democrats of Bibb, and one hundred guns fired in honor of the occasion. Clubs were formed by each of these political parties, and they worked vigorously for their respective candi dates. The election of any of them would have been a blessing to the country, while the defeat of all proved its curse. 
On October 3131, Hon. Stephen A. Douglas visited Macon with his beautiful and charming wife. He was accompanied by Hon. A. H. Stephens. There was a large crowd assembled in Macon from the surrounding counties to hear the opinions of these two eminent statesmen upon the issues which were distract ing the country. Many persons were introduced to them at the Lanier House; but the crowd being so large, Mr. Douglas was brought to the balcony, where, after acknowledging the welcome extended, he merely remarked that they should hear from him and the great intellect and purest statesman of the country, Mr. Stephens, also, in explanation and defense of the principles upon which the equal rights of all citizens could be harmoniously maintained in the Union. 
The large passenger depot building and grounds were selected for the accommodation of the vast assembly to hear the two dis. tinguished statesmen. Over five thousand persons, irrespective of party, had gathered there and on the broad streets along the front and sides of the depot. Whatever may have been the dif- 
 
 230 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ference of political opinions, the people had a very high respect 
 
for the ability and patriotism of the two "little giants." The 
 
Breckenridge and Bell men were either largely in the ascendant 
 
in numbers and the appearance of the multitude was imposing, 
 
particularly in order and decorum. At two, p. M., Judge E. A. 
 
Nisbet introduced Mr. Stephens, who spoke an hour and a half 
 
in review of the political trouble for so many years, and advised 
 
calmness and deliberation in action ; recommended a co-opera 
 
tion for the preservation of the Union. He had every confi 
 
dence in the candidates of the Baltimore Convention, and be 
 
lieved all parties could unite upon them and embrace their prin 
 
ciples, for none possessed a higher degree of patriotism, honor 
 
and determination to maintain to the letter the Constitution and 
 
the laws. 
 
" Mr. Douglas followed, and spoke until five o'clock, p. M. 
 
He was again highly complimentary to Mr. Stephens and en 
 
dorsed all that he had spoken. He made a lucid explanation 
 
and vigorous defence of his Squatter Sovereignty theory. He 
 
made a sharp attack upon the Secessionists and argued with force 
 
against secession as a constitutional right. The speech was forci 
 
ble, plain, argumentative and national in its spirit. It was re 
 
ceived with respect and courtesy by all present and with much 
 
enthusiasm by his own friends and the advocates of Mr. Bell." 
 
On November 7th, the election took place throughout the 
 
country and never was there an election that excited more ear 
 
nest feeling. For the first time in thehistory of American Pres-.'i 
 
idents, the fate of the nation was involved. With four candi 
 
dates before the people, the result was by many gloomily antici 
 
pated. 
 
In Bibb county there were 2002 ballots cast for electors, of 
 
which Bell received 884; Breckenridge, 812, and Douglas, 306. 
 
The vote of the State gave Breckenri<;:ige:52,ooi; Bell, 43,884, j 
 
and Douglas, 11,606. 
 
.' 
 
The vote of all the States was 4,68o.:i93, of which Lincoln re-- 
 
ceived 1,866,452; Breckenridge, 847,953; Bell, 590,631, and 
 
Douglas, 1,375,157. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
231 
 
Illilp^P' 'Electoral College, Lincoln hadiSo; Douglas, 12; ||ll|feii<:ige, 72, and Bell 39, being a total of 303, of which lilpi&jyisi had a majority of 57 over the combined vote of his 
 
from all of the State were not known until ls after the election; but on the morning following i<?n, the 8th instant, sufficient returns had been received ijKQrthern States to indicate the triumph among them lif|liei Champion of the "irrepressible conflict" party, and that illiilSlimaSt prepare for her threatened subordination. Illlli^ilsj^af of the election, all hope in the South was even lli|P|$i$ii& 'public meeting of the citizens of Macon convened lffi||:'ifjul!i3:>e' of adopting measures to secure their political |||i|I||!iiesHc::Welfare in view of the election of Abraham Lin- 
Hon. Washington Poe was called to preside ^ infesting. He made a few introductory remarks and 
of calmness and deliberation, and advised, at firmness and determination in the action of the 
: potion, a committee of ten was appointed by business for the meeting. The meeting ad- 
seven o'clock, P. M. for the report of the 
a .reassembling in the evening, Captain Robert 
 
itted the following 
 
:.;'  
 
" REPORT. 
 
^rtiirteen States of the United States were orM thirteen distinct Colonies of Great Britain, ;i-ass:an*l independent of each Other ; and when they l|||ilii|||iifi}::t]);?;tnother country, they did it as separate con- 
and were in the treaty of peace so recog.fer'he treated with them by name, as thirteen : Bewers. These powers, or separate nations, ll||li|||ilil::aKd::!5;5:(t;ad by treaty and alliance for their mutual li|p|||l||:;iosge<:!5Bw/ to : each other as a whole certain specified 
dering the one to the other, or one 
0f the Confederacy, their sovereignty; 
- United States or Sovereign Confederated 
 
 232 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Powers,: and of course absolute equals without regard to size or!: 
 
population. The government which they formed for the Con- i 
 
federacy was only their agency to protect weak communities, not; 
 
a government for their populations, where majorities ruled ; for : \ 
 
had it been so, the six largest States would now be entitled to i 
 
govern all the rest, for these have a greater population than all TM 
 
the balance united. The Sovereigns were composed solely of.!'; 
 
white men, and they formed governments only for white men. 
 
"Blacks were numerous amongst them all:, but were every-i 
 
where regarded not only as servile subordinates, but as chattel 
 
property, and were so recognized by the laws of all and each of 
 
the Confederates, and so treated as commodities of commerce : 
 
in the Constitution of the Confederacy, and in all treaties be 
 
tween them and foreign powers. But slave labor soon proving : 
 
uprofitable in the inhospitable climate of the North, the slaves 
 
were transferred further South and slavery was prohibited by:! 
 
the States North. And no sooner was this done, than these!! 
 
States commenced, and have continued their aggressions upon 
 
the States further South ; and this they did, avowedly, to lessen 
 
the political power of the South, and enhance their own. This : 
 
was boldly proclaimed by their great leader, Senator Rufus!! 
 
King, upon the floor of the Senate. The men of that day were: 
 
too magnanimous and manly to conceal their designs under the : 
 
hypocritical mantle of philanthropy. 
 
! 
 
" That the Southern people have suffered and are suffering!! 
 
from the North, wrongs too grevious to be borne, let facts be!! 
 
submitted to the just judgment of a candid world. 
 
: 
 
" After the South had voluntarily surrendered to them the! 
 
vast empire northwest of the Ohio, they insisted upon the pro>!! 
 
hibition of slavery west of the Mississippi and kept Missouri out!!! 
 
of the Union until they forced the South, unwisely, to consent!!;! 
 
to a compromise, by surrendering to them territory enough far:!! 
 
twelve States and retain to herself territory only enough..'fori;'; 
 
three j and yet after enjoying its benefits they have ever siasft!!! 
 
repudiated the obligations of that Compromise whenever it migfet::. 
 
inure to the benefit of the South, 
 
. 
 
!! 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
288 
 
2ens, without rebuke and without punishment from , have for a long series of years stolen and carried 
when we have asked for redress they have re- 
 
tllf|'hM: Save by their State Legislature, nullified within their I|5il|OKe: most "explicit injunction' of the Federal compact lilliig: tSfei^ to surrender fugitive slaves, and their Courts have ||||gpisuch unconstitutional laws. 
r Citizens have uniformly mobbed, maltreated, and in : I Stances put to death Southern citizens when seeking to 
lost or stolen property within their dominion, and the wrong doers been tried or punished by 
 
s have, in several instances, come within the slave$ and stolen and carried away our slaves, and their 
e refused to surrender on demand the felons as - justice, on the ground that it can be no crime to ' 
t of their prominent members of Congress have subscribed for, patronised and encouraged the 
I|ii|ili0i!:%ct the circulation of a book that recommends to iie indiscriminate massacre of their masters and the 
siu of the horrors of St. Domingo upon our wives and 
 
s thief and murderer, John Brown, with his 
failing to effect such a massacre and paying law with his life --is canonized as a saint by rJi pulpits and thousands of their citizens, and t' is branded upon them but rather approba- 
patronage. 
is-fen out citizens by hired assassins with Sharp's {r: : :<J0mmon territory, purchased with the blood : mf citizens ; and then to deceive the world, :s;icS ; territory was not adapted to slave labor, i;M 'that such labor is more profitable in States ei5 territory than in any other part of the country. 
 
 234 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MA.CON 
 
"They have prohibited the common hospitality of civilized 
 
nations to our citizens traveling through or visiting in their 
 
State, by taking from them their domestic servants who may be 
 
in attendance upon their sick families, while citizens from the 
 
North annually travel through and remain in the South, unmolesU 
 
ed, with whatever servants they may prefer. 
 
" They have expelled our citizens from their most populous 
 
churches as too impure for their communion. 
 
"They have crowned their long series of insult and wrong, 
 
by putting over us, without our aid, and in contempt of our pro 
 
test and remonstrance, a man--as President^-whose sole claim 
 
to their popular regard, is his avowed pledge to maintain 
 
an "irrepressible conflict " for our destruction. 
 
"It therefore becomes our duty, a duty which we owe to our 
 
selves--our country--and our posterity--to arrest these aggres 
 
sions and take prompt and effectual measures for the protection 
 
of our rights. Therefore, 
 
" Resolved, That the Senator and Representatives of the coun 
 
ty of Bibb, be requested, at the earliest possible day, to intro 
 
duce into the Legislature of Georgia a bill for the speedy call 
 
of a Convention of the people of the State, to take such action 
 
and devise such measures as will protect themselves and families 
 
from impending ruin. 
 
"Resolved, That our Senator and Representatives be request 
 
ed to introduce and support a bill for the procuring of a suffi 
 
ciency of good arms to every male citizen subject to military duty. 
 
"Resolved, That we recommend to our fellow-citizens of 
 
Georgia in every county, to proceed at once to organize and:: 
 
arm themselves as well as they may be able for their protection : 
 
against impending dangers. 
 
Samuel T. Bailey, 
 
Joel R. Branham, 
 
Robert A. Smith, 
 
Edward L. Strohecker, 
 
Charles J. Harris, 
 
J. H. R. Washington, 
 
Lewis N. Whittle, 
 
James Mercer Green, 
 
John B. Lamar, 
 
T. R. Bloom, 
 
Committee.' 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
235 
 
recommended the adoption of resolutions, for l||||;:||jfi0intment of a "committee of safety," and.for the organ- 
i:0f: ''Minute Men." Resolutions for the organization of Minute Men were 4^as.w;eli.as the whole of the report, which was reread 
ted by sections, by a rising vote amidst deafening ap:Oa November 9th, the Constitution for the organizaif$S;M!;?$inute Men was adopted and published. illiM::;Lejpslature having convened, the Hon. Thomas R. R. ljI^ljlj^S'fc his first political speech in an address before that 
public on the i2th, in favor of prompt State action 
and on the isth, the Senate passed unani- 
g $1,000,000.00 to be used at the disCrovernor for putting Georgia in a state of military iVe. House with unanimity passed the same bill. .2:a^ a proclamation for a Convention of the people was issued from the Executive office. The election s according to the act of the Legislature was to take e zd day of January next, each county to elect the of delegates as it was entitled to members in the ;f||!ili:p;;embly. The delegates were to convene at Milledge- 
||ii|s|i::t|ie::j6th January.. lll|||jiii'i:p K great political storm was raging throughout the 
i>anks in all of the States commenced the suspension A bill was passed in the Georgia Legisla- 
:: relief. The Governor returned it with his veto. : Representatives passed it again on the ist of Dets of one hundred and eight to twenty ; the Sen- 
ii':*: again. 
*iaoy speeches made to the people of Bibb counsKnigt6:a Poe and E. A. Nisbet addressed the Min- 
til:|)a5>lic on December ist; Senator Toombs spoke dii:thfr3d,-and.T. R. R. Cobb, by special invita:i^l|l||l|l|ieiiM^H;fe : Men, addressed them at Concert Hall on the ||||:llll|Se:isisti;figi):ished speaker held the attention of his :audi- 
 
 286 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF M.ACON 
 
ence for four and a half hours. The hall had never before been 
 
so densely crowded. 
 
Precisely at the hour the ordinance of secession passed in 
 
South Carolina, twelve M,, December ist, one; hundred guns.; 
 
were fired in Macon amidst the ringing of bells and the shouts 
 
of the people. At night, a procession of fifteen hundred per 
 
sons was formed, with banners and transparencies, and as they 
 
marched, another salute of one hundred guns were fired, while 
 
the bells kept up a lively ringing. 
 
The year 1860 closed with another startling event, which pro 
 
duced an intense excitement throughout South Carolina and the 
 
whole country. There was an explicit understanding between 
 
Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, and President Buchanan, 
 
that no hostile operations .should occur on the waters around 
 
Charleston where the forts were situated; consequently, every!: 
 
courtesy had been extended by the noble Charlestonians to Major, 
 
Anderson, the commandant of the garrison at Fort Moultrie. 
 
On the 25th of December, under the cover of the darkness of 
 
night, Major Anderson spiked the guns, burnt the fort, and re-: 
 
moved to Fort Sumter with his command of ninety-eight men. 
 
This act was the ; first casus belli committed. It amounted to: 
 
nothing less than a declaration of war. The commissioners: 
 
from the young Republic of South Carolina had arrived at 
 
Washington to treat with the foreign Government of the United 
 
States, and complained in a respectful communication to the : 
 
President of the action of Major Anderson, and asked an expla 
 
nation of his unexpected removal to Fort Sumter. The Presi-i 
 
dent gave no satisfactory explanation ; his reply was evasive j he 
 
stated that "while Major Anderson had no orders to remove his 
 
garrison to Fort Sumter, it was in his discretion to make the : 
 
change." The President declined to remove the garrison:frorn:i 
 
Sumter, and refused to recognize the official capacity of the corn^: 
 
missioners. 
 
: 
 
General Floyd, the Secretary of the War Department, at::: 
 
Washington, considered that his department had been dishon-:: 
 
ored by the duplicity of the Government, and resigned his of-;:: 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
237 
 
Cobb had also resigned, on the loth, the of the Treasury. President Buchanan's term of 
expire, and the closing part of his administra..with yaccilatipn and the determination to 
in the crisis that was overwhelming the 
 
||:33Himissioners published all of their correspondence with sat, which fully justified their course and exposed the ianvi temerity of the latter. tKiet'!;9. Republic began to increase the defence along iattB: her Legislature notified the United States GovfeaS: :aHy attempt on their part to reinforce Fort Sumter with resistance. af of New York had,' about this time, seized a ? property consisting of arms, etc., belonging to 
 
, on the 24th, ordered the militia at Augusta atto the United States Arsenal, near that place, and ssiiiOiJ vof it. j-igdaction of 1861 found the South preparing for a ;<l?:raicy of its own States, after every effort towards a f)&a:: :ia Congress had failed. On the 3d of January, : : Brown, of Georgia, arrived in Savannah, and des:::G>rpS:Of one hundred and fifty of the city military, :S^:Av :K. Lawton, to seize Fort Pulaski and the Savan- 
: : This was considered necessary, as the Harriet i iStates vessel of war, had attempted to run up to i:i'i; war supplies and reinforcements. As she ap- 
of one of the Carolina batteries, a shot iliar feow to notify her of her intrusion. She then fHJtBd; States colors and continued towards the Fort 
l:5 were fired, two of which struck with some <;! thsa wheeled and took to flight. She would have |||||:il::;i|^a:ttH;j:h ::afterwards, had not the Georgians anticipated 
 
month, while the agitation was so fearful 
 
 238 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
in the whole Union and civil war seemed imminent, Senator 
 
Crittenden, whose term would expire with the Congress in ses 
 
sion, made the most powerful efforts of his long and honored 
 
career to save the Union and avert the impending clash of arms. 
 
He offered a set of resolutions in Congress recommending that 
 
the alarming discussion between the Northern and Southern 
 
States, as to the rights of the latter in the common territory, be 
 
settled by constitutional provisions which shall give equal jus 
 
tice to all sections, and restore peace in the distracted country. 
 
The provisions were the extension of the old Missouri Compro 
 
mise Line, permitting slavery in all the new territory South, and : 
 
excluding it North of that line j and returning fugitive slaves ..to 
 
their owners. Thousands of petitions from all parts of the:- 
 
country, particularly from the most populous cities, were sent 
 
to Congress, urging the members to adopt the resolutions. Of 
 
the efforts of Mr. Crittenden a prominent Southern Gazette said: ; 
 
"We can scarcely conceive of a spectacle which has in it 
 
more of the moral sublime than this brave old man struggling : 
 
for the salvation of his country. If ' Pius s&nias' excites 
 
our admiration in bearing old Anchises from the flames, how 
 
much more this venerable Father of the Senate struggling to res 
 
cue from the scorching blaze of sectional fury the precious de 
 
posit of the Constitution and the Union. Oh, ( Old Man Elo 
 
quent, ' a thousand blessings on thy venerable head ! Surely 
 
the spirit of Henry Clay has decended on Crittenden; the-: 
 
mantle of that Elijah has come upon Blisha, and invested him;; 
 
with tenfold power. As we see this aged and patriotic states 
 
man pleading day after day for the salvation of his country, it: 
 
is no great stretch of the imagination to suppose that one of 
 
the sages of 1776 has arisen from the dead, and is interceding:: 
 
for the salvation of the Republic with those who are more diiiH 
 
gerous enemies of its peace and liberties than the minions of;; 
 
George the Third. Whatever betide the Union, the noble ^fr;;; 
 
forts of Crittenden will command the respect of mankind anc'::: 
 
the admiration of posterity." 
 
:;; 
 
Mr; Crittenden's resolutions were spurned by Congress. The::: 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
289 
 
sti:v& from this Congressional District, Hon. Thomas wrote to his friends of the Co-operation party in ai; MS last hope for a reconciliation had vanished; 'ose'.had refused to receive the resolutions, or to even .tlife poor boon of being printed. He urged Georgia 
iifiifej-operation with her sister States for their mutual pro.:: ; ::?ie iith of February, another effort was made by a Con: ;.';it)f ; States, which assembled at Washington, to arrange ^jjromise which would settle the political troubles. |a:|esJ : :j;e|jtesented were Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, |:y>: Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, with forty-three 
from the free States New York, Pennsylvania, , New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island 
esis;: with fifty-one delegates. The delegates from each e among their ablest statesmen. The conferon the ayth, after adopting a few proposed 
s 16-the Constitution; the one upon slavery being y: the same as the Missouri Compromise; even this ili;fey Congress, and the resolutions of Mr. Corwin ; : ; ''That the Constitution remain as it is," etc., 
 
i:gsei-; events were transpiring in Washington, the most iaefciQn in the history of Georgia was resolved upon 
 
GEORGIA STATE CONVENTION 
on January, i6th. Hon. H. L. Ben* was called to the chair for the purpose of :;T|i-j: proclamation of Governor Brown, calling S^iwa!;: read, .and the Secretary proceeded to call e litifidred and one delegates were seated. There l<3:: fleet a permanent President by ballot, when loas. George W. Crawford and Alexander H. 
Mr. Stephens withdrew his own name> nomination of Mr. Crawford should be 
 
 240 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
unanimously affirmed. Mr, Crawford was then declared Presi dent by acclamation. After a brief address by the chair, Mr. Albert R. Lamar was elected Secretary. A committee of three was appointed to wait upon Hon. James L. Orr, Commissioner from the foreign State of South Carolina, and Hon. John G. Shorter, Commissioner from the foreign State of Alabama, and invite them to seats on the floor. 
The proceedings of the second day, the morning of the iyth, were opened by prayer, as had been those of the first day. "Tears bedecked the cheeks of many a manly face, and a re sponsive 'amen,' followed the divine when he asked God to bless every conclusion, be it for peace or war, for union or dis union, to which the Convention shall arrive. He closed by asking God to bless the action of this Convention to the good of the people of Georgia, of the Cotton States of the South, of the North, and the whole world. He asked God to stand by us in this extremity to save our firesides, preserve peace and de fend our liberties." 
Communications were then read from the States of South Carolina and Alabama through their Commissioners, explaining the causes that led to the secession of those States, and inviting the co-operation of Georgia. On motion of Mr. Stephens the Commissioners were invited to address the Convention, which they did in a speech of half an hour, both recommending the co-operation of Georgia in the formation of a Southern Con federacy. 
Judge Nisbet, of Bibb, offered the following resolutions: "Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Convention, it is the duty of Georgia to secede from the present Union, and to co operate with such other States as have, or shall, do the same, for the purpose of forming a Southern Confederacy upon the basis of the Constitution of the United States. "Resolved, That a committee of seventeen be appointed by the chair to report an ordinance to assert the rights, and fulfill the obligation of the State of Georgia to secede from the Union." 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
241 
 
After some discussion the vote was taken, resulting in ayes, one hundred and sixty-five, nays, one hundred and thirty. The chair appointed the committee with Judge Nisbet as chairman. 
On the igth the Convention met, according to adjournment, and the committee of seventeen, through its chairman, present ed the following: 
AN ORDINANCE 
" To dissolve the union between the State of Georgia and other States united with her under a compact of Government entitled 'the Constitution of the United States of America.' 
"We, the people of the State of Georgia, in Convention as sembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance adopted by the people of the State of Georgia in the Convention of 1788, whereby the Constitu tion of the United States was ratified and adopted, and also all Acts and parts of Acts of the General Assembly, ratifying and adopting amendments to said Constitution, are hereby repealed, rescinded and abrogated. 
" We do further declare and ordain, that the Union now sub sisting between the State of Georgia, and the other States, un der the title of the United States of America, is hereby dissolv ed, and that the State of Georgia is in the full possession and exercise of all those rights of sovereignty which belong and ap pertain to a free and independent State." 
The yeas were two hundred and eight, and the nays eightynine, being a majority of one hundred and nineteen for the adoption of the ordinance. The President then said it was his pleasure to declare that THE STATE or GEORGIA WAS FREE, SOV EREIGN AND INDEPENDENT. 
Hon. Linton Stephens then offered a brief preamble and three resolutions, which passed unanimously, and which the following is the substance of the whole : 
"Resolved, That all members of this Convention, including those who voted against said Ordinance, as well as those who voted for it, will sign as a pledge, the unanimous determination of 
 
 242 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
this Convention to sustain and defend the State in this, her chosen remedy, with all its responsibilities and consequences, "without regard to individual approval or disapproval of its adop tion." 
All the members then signed the Ordinance as it passed, ex cept six, who only differed as to the mode of action, but pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to the support of the State. The objects of the Convention were therefore declared unanimously agreed to. 
"At half-past two o'clock, p. M., the firing of a gun from the Capitol grounds, and the hoisting of the Flag of Georgia on the flag-staff of the Capitol announced to the people the passage of the ordinance of secession. The whole city was in rapturous commotion. Tears of joy fell from many eyes, and words of congratulation were uttered by every tongue. The artillery from the Capitol Square thundered forth the glad tidings, and the bells of the city pealed forth a joyous welcome to the new-born Republic." 
The secession of the State of Georgia was not the result of the storm of political excitement. Resistance to Northern aggres sions had been agitated for more than forty years. As early as 1825, Governor Troup assembled the Legislature to take action upon the course of President Adams in setting aside the treaty, which had been made at the Indian Springs between the chiefs of the tribes and the United States Commissioners, Messrs. Campbell and Meriwether, which required the removal, ac cording to an obligation of long existence, on the part of the Federal Government, of the Indians from Georgia by that Government. The treaty had been ratified by President Monroe a day or two before the inauguration of his successor. The Legislature, though politically opposed to the Governor,, en dorsed the wisdom of his measures, and as the " argument was exhausted," they were ready to "stand by their arms .'" The bristling Federal bayonets on the soil of Georgia were with drawn, and in a short time, so were the Indians. 
The Convention of 1850 assembled to consider the Congres- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
248 
 
sional acts of that date, and only through a most ardent attach ment for the Union of their fathers, submitted, for the last time, to another compromise, in which they again yielded their rights. Among the resolutions to which they solemnly pledged them selves, was the following: 
"That the State of Georgia, in the judgment of this Conven tion, will, and ought to resist, even as a last resort, to a disrup tion of every tie which binds her to the Union, any action of Congress upon the subject of slavery in the District of Columbia, or in places subject to the jurisdiction of Congress, incompatible with the safety, domestic tranquility, the rights and the honor of the Slaveholding States; or any refusal to admit as a State any territory hereafter applying, because of the existence of slavery therein ; or any act prohibiting the introduction of slaves into the territories of Utah and New Mexico ; or any act repealing or materially modifying the laws now in force for the recovery of fugitive slaves." 
The Convention of 1861, like that of 1850, was composed of the best material in the State, in both wisdom and patriotism. There were but few young men in the assembly and these were guided by the experience and purity of the aged counsellors who had for a long series of years been an honor to the State, re nowned in the National Congress, and distinguished in public, as well as private life, for their unsullied deportment and exempla ry characters. Among the county delegations none were better known to the State, and enjoyed higher esteem from their fellowcitizens than the one from Bibb county. The names of Wash ington Poe, Eugenius A. Nisbet and John B. Lamar, are insepa rably associated among the most honored in the history of Macon, and are among the purest recorded in the galaxy of the State. 
Colonel Lamar was a gentleman of the noblest type of honor and chivalry, refined in manners and highly educated. He had served in the Legislature and been elected to Congress. The honors of office were forced upon him contrary to his inclina tions. Possessing much wealth, he preferred the ease of private 
 
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life to the honors of any public office. He was devoted to the works of the standard authors, and being gifted with a bright mind, he acquired high literary attainments. He was a most interesting and perspicuous writer, and his contributions upon various subjects ever attracted complimentary attention. Though possessing a great determination of character, he was noted for his modesty, which was of female delicacy. The most distin guished quality in his noble nature was his unostentatious be nevolence. No man ever lived in the community who had been more generous to the poor. He was also liberal to several im portant benevolent institutions and to the church, and exercised a deep interest in their success. 
Contrary to the urgent solicitations of his friends, who thought his services to his country more valuable at home, he entered the Army of Virginia as Aid to his brother-in-law, General Howell Cobb. On the i6th of September, 1862, during the battle at Crampton's Gap, where two thousand Confederates heroically held the pass against fifteen thousand Federals, in riding alone through a storm of the enemy's bullets to deliver an important command, a fatal minnie ball pierced his left breast, and he poured forth his blood as freely as he had most patriotically appropriated his purse, for the Confederate cause. 
Hon. E. A. Nisbet, before his removal from Morgan county to Macon, in 1837, had already acquired a State reputation as a polished scholar, learned in the law, and a prudent statesman. He was at this time but thirty-four years of age, and had served four terms in the House and three in the Senate of his State, and was one of the most influential members in either branch of the Assembly. At the session of the Senate in 1830, he, in a masterly speech, advocated the establishment of a Supreme Court; though the bill was lost it was renewed in 1845 anc' passed. Mr. Nisbet was elected one of the Justices on the organization of the court, and on the expiration of his term was re-elected. In 1838 he was elected to Congress, and on the very opening of that Body he made his maiden speech on the New Jersey con tested election, which gave him a high reputation in Congress 
 
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and in the country. Personal embarrassments, arising from a debt upon which he had become security, induced him to re sign his seat in Congress, and to devote his labors to the prac tice of the law. He was fond of literature, and as familiar with the writings of the most eminent authors as he was with the in tricacies of the law, and probably delivered more literary ad dresses and wrote more literary articles for the leading papers than any other lawyer in the State. In politics he belonged to the Jeffersonian school. He had been an advocate of the Union and the Constitutional rights of the States. In 1860 he sup ported Mr. Douglas for the Presidency, and favored some sys tem of co-operation, in the hope that the Union might be spared the horrors of civil war. When the last hope disappeared he submitted to the will of his native State, and introduced the ordinance of secession. He was one of the delegates represent ing his State in the first Congress at Montgomery, and at Rich mond. After the close of the war he continued the practice of the law until his health, worn out by a long and laborious life, began to fail, when he retired from the practice, and death soon followed. He professed religion in early life, and was made a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church in Madison, and on his removal to Macon, in 1837, was made an Elder of the same church in Macon, which office he held nntil his death. He was frequently Superintendent of the Sunday-school and teacher of the Bible Class, and a delegate to the Presbyterian Synods and General Assemblies. He was an early advocate of a high standard of education, and was a Trustee of the State Univer sity, at which institution he had graduated, bearing off the hon ors of his class. The degree of LL.D., was conferred upon him by both the State and Mercer Universities. He died in March, 1871. 
Hon. Washington Poe settled in Macon in 1825, just two years after the first trees of the forest were felled to build the town. Among the early lawyers at the Macon bar with Mr. Poe was Oliver H. Prince, John W. Campbell, Christopher B. Strong, Edward D. Tracy, and Charles J. McDonald. They were all 
 
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men of high character and distinguished for their varied intel lectual talents. Mr. Poe survived them all. Of all the mem bers of the Macon bar, or the bar of the Flint Circuit, Mr. Poe commanded the largest share of practice for the longest time. He was an indefatigable worker, and until his health began to fail a few years before his lamented death, he was laboring as in dustriously in his office as at any period of his life. Two years after his arrival in Macon, he was chosen Intendant of the grow ing town, and the administration of his first office was marked with that inflexible respect for the majesty of the law and the impartial application of its requirements that ever characterized the various offices that he so worthily filled. In 1831, he was elected Solicitor of the Circuit. It was at this notorious period that lawlessness was rife in Macon. There were a band of ad venturers headed by sharp and desperate men. Riotousness flour ished ; murders were committed and the assassination of the officers of the law was commonly threatened. The peace of society was disturbed and alarms pervaded the community. Mr. Poe, in his calm and dignified manner, but with all the firmness and eloquence for which he was distinguished, assailed before the courts these straggling transgressors of the law. He had taken a solemn oath as Solicitor General, to prosecute the violators of the law, and he regarded that his failure to comply with that oath was as an act of perjury and as great a sin as if he had been the perpetrator of the crime, or offence, committed. Threats at his own life did not deter him from his duty. On several occasions where the sheriff was intimidated from making arrests, the Soli citor, always unarmed himself, accompanied that officer to the armed lodgings of the trespasser, and without violence, secured his arrest. During the election riot in 1840, when a party of excited men broke through the windows of the basement of the court-house, overpowered the managers and destroyed the ballot box. Mr. Poe was Mayor of the city. He at once addressed the excited multitude, urging them to dispel all excitement and aid him in the exercise of his municipal authority. By prompt and determined action he quelled the disturbance, and, without 
 
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the use of a weapon, brought every unfortunate disturber of the peace to confinement, to await his trial before the proper court. The brandishing of weapons and the threats of assassination had no effect upon the Mayor; he had been " inured to danger " in the discharge of his solemn duty, and was "unknown to fear." * Mr. Poe was a citizen of Macon and a practitioner of law for more than half a century; as a citizen, he and Mr. Simri Rose, when others had passed away, were regarded the two remaining fathers of the city; and there is not a single year of that long period in which he saw two generations of useful citizens pass away, that the press of the city had not chronicled his name in honored association with many of the rising institutions, enter prises and events of interest in the course of its history. He was a natural orator, brilliant and impressive. In State or other conventions in which his counsels were so often sought as a dele gate, he was among the leading members in discussson upon the floor, or in arranging the most important business in the com mittee room. In 1844, he was elected to Congress; but to the deep regret of his constituency, he resigned the office as press ing business demanded his presence at home. He would credit ably have filled any office in the gift of his State, but the duties of his profession and his domestic attachments prevailed over the allurements of public honors which his numerous friends had often urged him to accept. His speech before the Georgia Convention of 1850, at Milledgeville, which was so highly ap plauded throughout the State at the time, was but one of the many he had delivered, so characteristic of his elegance of style, purity of thought and finished argument. His writings were clear, forcible and ornate. In 1828, he became a member of the Presbyterian church, in 1829 was made a ruling elder, and continued in the office until the day of his mournful death, the ist of October, 1876, having passed his seventy-sixth birthday on the I3th of July preceding. His connection with his church dated almost with its origin. In 1826 he was instrumental in the foundation of the first Bible Society in Macon and delivered an address in its behalf. His early life was a link in the chain 
 
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that connected the present with the last century. He was a par ticipant in the exercises in the first court-house, a small wooden room on Mulberry street, in honor of the memory of Jefferson and Adams, who died July 4th, 1826 ; and in that room he was employed in the trial of the first murder case in the county. He was active in the organization of the first schools, churches, rail roads and nearly every other institution that the city had en joyed--a history of his life and his experience would be a his tory of Macon. Apart from his family circle there is no place in his busy life where he is more missed than in the church and its prayer-room, where he and his beloved brother member in the eldership, Judge Nisbet, so long worshipped and aided in teaching the Divine word, and by their exemplary conduct, vin dicated the sincerity of their profession. By a mourning church and community, the remains of these two venerable citizens were deposited in Rose Hill Cemetery ; the remains of Colonel Lamar, after the close of the war, were brought home and laid in the same burial grounds on the banks of the Ocmulgee, where 
" Eacli little rill and mountain river, Roll mingling with their fame forever." 
In reviving our memory of the past, said the Southern Recot der, of 1861: 
"We notice that three members of the Convention now sit ting, to-wit: Messrs. Hall, of Clark, Nisbet, of Bibb, and Stapleton, of Jefferson, were in the House of Representatives in 1827, from their respective counties, except Judge Nisbet, who, then quite a young man, served his first session as a Representa tive from Morgan county. A new generation has grown up since, and we are happy to see so honorable a specimen of our public men thirty-three years ago still in service, vigorous in health, and fired with the patriotism of other days, when ' Troup and the Treaty ' was the watchword to victory. These gentlemen were present at the inauguration of Governor Forsyth, in 1827, and saw the illustrious Troup deliver his Seal of State to his successor, who afterwards became distinguished as a 
 
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Senator in Congress, and Secretary of State under the admin istrations of Presidents Jackson and Van Buren. Georgia, in her new position as a Republic, delights to cherish the names of her brilliant men who have passed away." 
The first disunion speech ever made in the United States House of Representatives was by josiah Quincy, of Massachu setts, in regard to the Louisiana Enabling Act, January 14th, 1811. He said: 
" I am compelled to declare it as my deliberate opinion that if this bill passes, the bonds of this Union are virtually dissolved; that the States which compose it are free from their moral obli gations, and that as it will be the right of all, so it will be the dutv of some to prepare definitely for a separation, amicably, if they can, violently if they must." 
He was called to order by Mr. Poindexter, of Mississippi, who considered the utterance as very nearly akin to treason. Mr. Quincy repeated his assertion, committed it to writing and left the matter with the Speaker, who decided it out of order. Mr. Quincy appealed from the decision of the Speaker, and was sustained by a vote of fifty-six to sixty-three in his right as the Representative of Ne\v England to invent disunion! ! 
 
THE CONFEDERATE STATES. 
On the 23d of January, the Convention elected delegates to represent the State of Georgia in the Congress of Seceded States, to meet at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 4th of February. The Representatives elected were Robert Toombs, Francis S. Bartow, Martin J. Crawford, Eugenius A. Nisbet, Benjamin H. Hill, Howell Cobb, Alexander H. Stephens, Thomas R. R. Cobb, Augustus R. Wright and Augustus H. Kenan. They were instructed to co-operate with the other States in forming a temporary or Provisional Government, not to extend beyond the period of twelve months, and to be modeled as nearly as practicable on the principles of the Government of the United States of America. The Congress met as designated, seven States being represented: South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, 
 
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Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Hon. Howell Cobb was elected President of the Congress. The new Constitution was made and adopted on the 8th. General Jefferson Davis was elected, on the following day, President of. the new Gov ernment, He was not a candidate for the high office, and was at his home in Mississippi, at the time the honor was conferred upon him. He preferred another office--the command of the army of the States. Mr. A. H. Stephens was elected VicePresident, contrary to his expectations, for he also was no can didate. A constitution for the permanent Government was adopted unanimously, by seven States on the nth of March. 
Mr. Davis arrived at Montgomery and was inaugurated Presi dent of the Confederate States of America on the. i8th. Shortly after his inauguration, President Davis, in accordance with an Act of Congress, sent three Commissioners to the seat of the United States Government, for the purpose of effecting friendly relations between the two Governments, and amicably adjusting all differences that existed. 
Mr. Buchanan's term was just about to expire, and the whole country were awaiting with great anxiety the inaugural address of Mr. Lincoln, that they might know the policy of his admin istration. The Commissioners arrived at Washington just be fore his inauguration. 
After the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln and the selection of his Cabinet officers, the Commissioners from the Southern Confed eracy, on the 16th of March, addressed his Secretary of State,. Mi-. Seward, a communication, frankly and courteously inform ing him of the object of their mission. Several days elapsed and no reply was received. The Commissioners then dispatched their Secretary to Mr. Seward, urging him for a reply. At this time Judge Nelson, of the Supreme Court of the United States, had informed Judge Campbell, an Associate justice of the same Court, of an interview he had just had with Mr. Seward, who expressed a "strong disposition in favor of peace, and that he was greatly oppressed with a demand of the Commissioners of the Confederate States for a reply to their letter, and that he de- 
 
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id making any at that time it possible." In the hope s the exalted patriot to make the last struggle to save from civil war, Judge Campbell and Judge Nelson 
.called upon Mr. Seward, without the knowledge liflif :flf :She Commissioners, and was gratified to be informed by lills<5S:^Sie desire of Mr. Lincoln and himself to avoid a collis- 
li&iJIigti'Jreen the two governments. llsffi^lJ'aited States had already sanctioned an act of war by :i;g|y^;3^ Major Anderson to remain in Fert Sumter after he had 
'1 the works at Moultrie, and. stole into Sumter under "f night. The great question to which the eyes of the !B try:-were directed, was: Would Mr. Lincoln attempt ^Fort Sumter, when such an effort would be, undoubtctiaf war on his part. From the assurances that he ree?Si>nally from Mr. Seward, Judge Campbell, on the ,..wrote to the Commissioners, " that he felt entire con- 
Sumter would be evacuated in ten days, and changing the existing status, prejudicially to ;S;'.te States, was at present contemplated, and the  a reply to the communication of the Commissioners award ought not to be pressed at that time." Mr. informed by Judge Campbell of this communication ?mssioners. Mr. Seward actually went further in his K'f he stated that Sumter would be evacuated before IlilllrpoH!; J;sdge Campbell could reach Montgomery informill|;i:|JKH:[fev!i5 that there was no intention to reinforce the Fort. ll|i|i;ii|||pssiK;i!5srs, therefore, from this high, authority, comy:tw0 of the purest men in the country, waited for fore making another demand for a reply to their .: communicated the statement to President Davis, 
& it to General Beauregard at Charleston. 
:.fhil'ten days had elapsed when General Beauregard 
Hat in place of preparing to evacuate Fort Sumter ?ppl|SjfK<i:a i iwiis employed' in strengthening "the fortifications;, fiflllllK-;?:pas -m*:Se known to the Commissioners at Washingl||ll||s*i:|;(;::G5rtj)lieirand Judge Nelson then again interviewed 
 
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Mr. Seward on twe occasions, and were by him informed "that the failure to evacuate Fort Sumter was not the result of bad faith, but was attributable to causes consistent with the intention of the engagement, and that as regarded Fort Pickens, notice would be given of any design to alter the existing status there." This was also transmitted to the Confederate President and to General Beauregard, as had been the other assurances. 
On the day of the last interview with Mr. Seward, Judge Nel son left Washington and expressed himself entirely satisfied with the assurances given him in relation to Sumter by Mr. Seward. Judge Campbell had another interview with Mr. Seward, and remained in his office until he (Seward) had gone on a visit to President Lincoln and returned with the information that there would be no attempt made to supply the Fort without informing Governor Pickens, and there had been no change in his former opinions. 
On the iyth of April it became known that the Relief Squad ron had left New York and was destined for Charleston. Judge Crawford, one of the Commissioners, called on Judge Campbell, who was induced to address the State Department again, refer ring to the unsettled conditions existing, and asking if the assu rances given in their intercourse which he had communicated to the Commissioners, had been changed. The only reply received was an enveloped paper with the words, " Faith fully kept as to Sumter; wait and see." On the same day, information had been received in Washington by the Commissioners that Gover nor Pickens had already been informed that Sumter would be provisioned, "peaceably if permitted, or otherwise by force." Several other efforts were made by Judge Campbell to have an explanation from Mr. Seward without avail; he called at his of fice and at his house, but he was absent. On the rath of April two letters were addressed to Mr. Seward by Judge Campbell, inquiring how it was the bombardment at Fort Sumter had oc curred. The first letter was delivered by its author at his own door. One week after, no reply being received, a duplicate was 
 
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also delivered by the author. No answer to either was ever re ceived. 
The whole country was astounded at the announcement of the base duplicity of the Lincoln Government--the President and Secretary of State practicing before the world such deceit and untruthfulness. The people now began to learn of what stuff the boasted leaders of the party of "high moral ideas" was composed. 
The Commissioners, on the 9th of April, addressed Mr. Seward a final letter, in which they set forth to the world a detailed and unanswerable statement of the abominable acts of deceit and willful disregard of truth. In this letter the Commissioners reminded the wily and unscrupulous Secretary of State that they had come to Washington on a mission of peace, and among other declarations, stated : 
"Whatever may be the result, impartial history will record the innocence of the Government of the Confederate States, and place the responsibility of the blood and mourning that may ensue upon those who have denied the great fundamental doctrine of American Liberty, that ' Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,' and who have set naval and land armaments in motion to subject the people of one portion of the land to the will of another portion. Your refusal to entertain these overtures for a peaceful solution, the active naval and military preparations of your Government, and a formal notice to the Commanding General of the Con federate forces in the harbor of Charleston that the President intends to provision Fort Sumter by forcible means, if neces sary, are viewed by the undersigned, and can only be received by the world, as a declaration of war against the Confederate States." 
Upon the approach of the United States fleet to Charleston harbor, General Beauregard demanded the evacuation of Fort Sumter by Major Anderson, who replied that his sense of honor and obligation to his Government prevented his compliance. By instructions from the Confederate Government, General 
 
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Beauregard notified Major Anderson that if " he would state the time he would evacuate, and agree that, in the meantime, he will not use his guns against us, unless ours should be employed against Fort Sumter, the effusion of blood would be avoided," Major Anderson again refused to consent to the terms. 
 
BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER. ' 
At daylight on the morning of the izth of April, fire was opened by Beauregard upon the Fort, which was returned. The bombardment continued for thirty-two hours. It was the grand est scene, with all of its surroundings, ever witnessed in America. The house-tops and every building in the " Queen City of the South" were covered with men, women and children, while every available foot of ground along the magnificent battery was occupied by the excited spectators. Visitors from various parts of Georgia assembled there to witness the first battle of the war between the States. There were no less than forty thousand persons beholding the fiery storm of shot and shell that belched forth from both sides, with volcanic profusion, grandeur and terror. At half-past twelve o'clock, P. M., on the 13th, the stars and stripes were lowered from the ramparts of Sumter, and the cannonading ceased. The shouts of joy that went up throughout the Confederacy and from other Southern States were unequaled. 
The Magnetic Telegraph had announced that the United States fleet of war of thirteen vessels were off at Charleston har bor, and that their intention was to reinforce Fort Sumter. It was also publicly announced that General Beauregard was di rected by his Government to resist their entrance in the harbor, and if Major Anderson declined to evacuate his position, to re duce the Fort. Hence, thousands of persons visited Charleston to witness the scene. On the announcement of the opening of the bombardment, every city and village, where a telegraph of fice was located, turned out near its entire population who as sembled around those offices to hear the progress of the Sumter engagement. The greatest enthusiasm was at Montgomery, 
 
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Alabama. The telegraph office there occupied the second story of one of the most prominent buildings in the city, located on the corner of two of the widest and most prominent streets, and at the head of another street. From eight o'clock on the morn ing of the 13th, the crowd began to swell until it had numbered many thousands in the vicinity of the office. The innumerable inquiries made over the wires about the fate of Sumter would have excluded all other business had not the Divisional Superin tendent instituted a plan of announcement to give the earliest result to the people. Near each office along the telegraph line from Charleston to New Orleans, a squad of drilled artillerists were stationed with one or more pieces of ordnance. The Fort was in view of the office at Charleston. So soon as the familiar, but then foreign flag of the United States, was lowered, a signal was to be given by the Charleston telegrapher, over the wires, to New Orleans, when a Confederate salute would be fired. At half-past twelve o'clock, p. M., of the memorable day, the Charleston office announced the falling of the old flag, and while the white flag was ascending in its place on Sumter, the news had reached New Orleans, and 
" Then louder than the bolts of heaven, Far (lashed the red artillery." 
The volleys fired in each city were as simultaneous as though each cannon had been touched by the same electric spark. In two minutes after the first announcement, Judge Walker, the Sec retary of War; received the laconic dispatch from General Beauregard : " Sumter surrendered. 'Nobody hurt' on our side." The dispatch was caught by all of the cities, and amid the glad shouts of the people and the ringing of the town bells, each river between Charleston harbor and the Gulf of Mexico reverberated the echoes of the thundering artillery upon their banks until it appeared like the roaring billows of the Atlantic had commingled with the great Father of Waters in proclaiming a loud halle lujah over the triumphant event. 
Major Anderson was alloweed to remain in the Fort with his 
 
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command until the following day, the i4th. He was treated with every courtesy by the Confederates, and, with his command, was permitted to retain all of their private effects, and to salute their flag with fifty rounds of fire. They were transported to the United States fleet which had kept at a respectful distance from the Confederate batteries. 
The intelligence of the fall of Sumter spread through the realms of "the best Government the sun ever shone on," socalled, as rapidly as it did through the South. The excitement at the North was intense, and such as can only be raised by the spirit that actuated it--revenge. The old flag was their shib boleth and their rallying cry, and the worshippers of the sainted John Brown swelled the shout of vengeance to the greatest grat ification of those " wise men of the East," the seven Governors, who had urged Mr. Lincoln to commit the overt act which cre ated the fire upon their flag. 
On the following day, the I5th, the telegraph conveyed over the country the notorious proclamation of Mr. Lincoln, calling for seventy-five thousand troops to suppress the rebellion in the seceded States, calling upon them to furnish their specified quota. But the unexplained action of the Administration in its decep tion of the country in regard to the mission of the Relief Squad ron, had already turned four States towards a union with the Confederacy, and they shortly afterwards united their fortunes with it. They spurned President Lincoln's authority, and four more States declined, also, at that time to recognize it. 
Such were the momentous events in the history of the coun try which brought about the war in 1861, and in which the citi zens of MACON AND BIBB COUNTY acted so prominent a part. 
No county in the Confederacy contributed more troops to the war during the whole period of four years, in proportion to its population, than Bibb. Before the first gun was fired in Char leston Harbor, Macon sent several companies to the seaboard of Georgia for State defense. Twenty-six companies of in fantry, artillery and cavalry were scattered on the hundreds of battle grounds (afterwards) from the navy yards, at Pensacola 
 
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and Fort Morgan, in Mobile Bay, throughout every State, to the Potomac River, and in Maryland and Pennsylvania, besides furnishing a number of companies for home defense. 
On the 4th of March, 1861, the Confederate Congress, in as sembly at Montgomery, Alabama, adopted the " Stars and Bars " as the flag of the Confederate States. At three o'clock, p. M., of that day, the first flag of the young Republic was hoisted over the Capitol of Alabama, where the Congress was in session, and received an artillery salute. It was on the same day that Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated President at Washington City. The design of the banner was telegraphed throughout the Confed eracy, and on the night following the same day, Mrs. Thomas Hardeman, with her accustomed patriotism and energy devoted her labor the whole of that night to the making of the first flag of the Confederacy which waved upon Georgia soil. It was presented to the Floyd Rifles early on the morning of the 5th, and thrown to the breeze from their armory, receiving from the proud recipients the first salute fired in the State in honor of the Confederate colors. 
On the igth of April, 1861, the Rifles and Volunteers were summoned to the defense of Virginia, in the Confederate service. They left on twenty-four hours' notice, and arrived at Norfolk in three days, having the honor of being the first troops outside of the boundaries of the Old Dominion to arrive in defense of her homes and friends. The two companies, in connection with two others from Georgia, were formed into the famous Sec ond Georgia Battalion, by the election of Captain Thomas Hardeman, of the Rifles, as Major. 
In May, 1862, the Arsenal at Savannah, under the charge of Colonel R. M. Cuyler, was removed to this place, and the ex tensive Foundry establisment of the Messrs. Findlay, with all of its machinery, was appropriated for the use of that important department, while a dozen of the largest storehouses and other buildings were occupied for the deposit of a great variety of ar ticles connected with the Ordnance Department. Over three hundred and fifty artisans and workmen, and, at one period, as 
 
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many as five hundred, were kept constantly at work in the manufacture of cannon, shot, shell, saddle harness, leather work, etc. The twelve pounder Napoleon guns made by the Arsenal were the pride of the army, and all of the work turned out was of a character that redounded to the merit of the establishment and the superior proficiency of the machinists. The Laboratory and Armory establishments kept as many more operatives en gaged in the manufacture of smaller weapons, cartridges, etc. Their work, too, was high testimony to the mechanical skill and ingenuity of the Southerners. It developed the fact that the Southern man was, when the occasion required, the equal in the science of mechanism to any other in the country. There were also numerous other smaller institutions, such as sword, button, enamelled cloth, match, soap and wire factories. 
Being in the center of the State, and at that time the center of the Confederacy, the Treasury Dspartment established a De positary in Macon, appointing W. B. Johnston, the Premier in conduct of its operations. At one time there was $1,500,000.00 in gold under the protection of this institution. This Deposito ry took the highest rank of any similar office outside of Rich mond, which being the Seat of Government and the centre of war, was naturally the greatest distributing point. The Macon Depository counted in and took up ^15,000,000.00 in seven days in February, 1864, during the funding of the first issue of Con federate notes. 
As the Federal standard had been planted on the coast of Georgia, and the invaders in overwhelming numbers were grad ually advancing into Tennessee, and so many Georgians were in the armies in defense of the frontier States, it became necessary to establish an army of reserved forces for the protection of the State, consisting in the greater part of the old men, the youths, the feeble and infirm, and the operatives in the departments. To the organization and command of this special military de partment, General Howell Cobb was detailed from the army of General Lee, who at once established his " Headquarters of the Army of Georgia Reserves" in Atlanta, in 1863, and removed to 
 
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Macon in 1864. The appearance of General Cobb in his native and beloved State, and by whom he was venerated for his valor, patriotism and prudence, infused a new spirit of zeal among the desponding. He soon organized armies throughout the State, and protected it from invasions by the enemy on the coasts, and from raiders in the mountains, besides acting as an important auxiliary to the armies in Tenneseee and North Georgia. 
After the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederacy was cut off from the sources of commissary supplies, and as the invaders advanced, Georgia was the main State to supply the Confederate armies west of the Alabama river with food. The tythe system of rais ing produce had been adopted, and the fertile lands in South western Georgia which had so long been whitened with fields of cotton to supply the many manufactures in Old England and New England, were now verdant with the waving corn, and be came like the Egyptian lands of Joseph and the Pharaohs, the granaries of food for the people and the armies. From its its many facilities, by diverging railroads, for transportation, Macon became an important point for Quartermaster and Com missary departments, which in a great degree swelled the milita ry operations of the post. 
The peculiarly favorable advantages of the location of Macon, surrounded with an abundance of wood for fuel, fountains of pure water, and healthy climate, unselfish, hospitable and patri otic families, whose earnest labors in their noble work for the period of four years, will challenge a better record from any community in the world, all conspired to render it a suitable place for hospitals. 
Early in the war a Society was organized by the noble and self-sacrificing women of the city, under the title of tiie " Ladies Soldiers' Relief Society." It was organized April 27th, 1861, by the election of Mrs. Washington Foe, President, Mrs. Thomas Hardeman, Vice-President, Miss M. E. Bass, Secretary, and Miss Julia Wrigley, Treasurer. The first public meeting was held on the ist of May, 1861, when the Constitution was adopted, and the efforts of the Society directed to the furnish- 
 
 260 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ing of "lint bandages and garments-to the sick and wounded soldiers in the field." An executive committee was elected and sub-committees appointed over the different classes of work to be performed. It was soon found necessary to amend the Con stitution and enlarge the field of operations, so as to supply clothing for the troops of Bibb county and furnish hospital sup plies to the sick and wounded. Two hundred and ' two mem bers had been added to the Society before the ist of September, including an auxiliary society, consisting of a little band of juvenile patriots, who completed and contributed in two months thirty-six pairs of drawers, twenty pairs of socks and thirtythree shirts. The presentation of the children were accepted and an appropriate resolution passed : 
" That the thanks of this Society are due and tendered to the band of ' little patriots' for their donation, as well as for the industry with which they ply their needles in the noble cause, and that we commend their zeal and patriotism as worthy of imitation." 
On the iQth of July Mrs. L. N. Boykin was chosen Secretary in place of Miss Bass, resigned, and held the office, with Mrs. Poe as President, until the close of the war. The amount of funds raised and disbursed by this Society during the first seven months of its operation and expended for the purposes intended, was $7,391-95, besides having a large quanty of useful material for camp and hospital service donated to it. As the war be came more extensive and more troops were sent to the field the duties of the Society proportionately increased. Daring the year 1862, Mrs. E. J. Johnston was made Treasurer of the So ciety and Chairman of the Committee on Hospital Supplies. 
In the fall of the same year another institution was founded, which continued in its most praiseworthy operation until after the close of the war. There were a great many sick and dis abled soldiers from the battle-ground and camps en route to their places of destination that were suffering for food on the trains. For their relief the 
 
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261 
 
::::;: 
 
WAYSIDE HOME 
 
:as established. A company of ten citizens purchased the old 
 
Macon Hotel, and placed it under the charge of the Relief So- 
 
ciety, who converted it into a hospital and eating house for the 
 
; disabled soldiers on the trains, and it proved to be one of the 
 
most useful and necessary works of the Society. 
 
During the first three years of the war, as numerous and ter 
 
rific as were the battles, the women of the South, to their eter- 
 
::nal glory, almost clothed their heroes, and supplied the hospitals 
 
iSrath: lint bandages and other articles. When their supplies at 
 
Jjome were exhausted there was another field of increased labor. 
 
Inhere was an army, in numbers, of disabled troops, crowding 
 
.jillse, hospitals. There were, in 1864 and 1865, no less than six 
 
hifiiousand in and around Macon, a number equal to the white 
 
:: population of the city, including the women and children. 
 
::Every State, from Maryland to Texas, both inclusive, had num- 
 
;bers of their gallant sons receiving the kindest ministrations 
 
iifi'&m the hands of the fair daughters of Macon, and to whom 
 
iifsKiny in their last hours gave the assurance of the hope of a 
 
iyVfctory more gloriously triumphant than that of any proud 
 
I;;.'*:Army with Banners." 
 
;'';. The following report of a speech made by Hon. Alexander H. 
 
iiStiiphens, of Georgia, in August, 1863, is descriptive of the pa- 
 
JKDtism and suffering of the armies at that time : 
 
: : : : :"Mr. Stephens said that soon after the first great battle of 
 
fsMJISViSsas, duty called him to our camps near that point. He 
 
SSvctit over the grounds on which that conflict had taken place. 
 
*|M: evidence of the terrible strife were still fresh and visible all 
 
The wide-spread desolation, the new-made graves, and 
 
animal remains not yet removed by the vultures, fully 
 
'jJaftfiKited what a scene of blood it had been. While surveying 
 
iiifiis: hills and defiles over which the various columns of our men 
 
iis-Kisi the enemy passed and were engaged on that memorable day, 
 
iiiafiiong other things that crowded themselves upon his mind, 
 
:::>'-Sre two dying expressions reported to have been uttered in the 
 
llifiidst of the battle. One was by a soldier on the side of the en' 
 
 262 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
cmy, who, falling and weltering in his blood, exclaimed : ' My God! what is all this for ?' The other was by the lamented Bartow, who said : ' Boys, they have killed me, but never give it tip !' These two exclamations were made at no great distance apart, and perhaps near the same time. ' What is all this for?' Mr. Stephens said he could but think the question was pertinent to both sides, and most pertinent from him who 'uttered it, ad dressed to all his invading comrades and those who sent them. Well might he there, in the agonies of death, in the din and dust of strife, in the clangor of arms and the thnnder of artillery, ask: 'What is all this for ?' Why this array of armies ? Why this fierce meeting in mortal combat ? What is all this carnage and slaughter for ? The same question is still as pertinent to those who are waging this war against us, as it was then. Why the prolongation of this conflict? Why this immense sacrifice of life in camp, and the numerous battles that have been fought since ? Why this lamentation and mourning going up from al most every house and family from Maine to the Rio Grande, and from the Atlantic and the Gulf to the Lakes, for friends and dear ones who have fallen by disease and violence in this unparalleled struggle ? The question, if replied to by the North, can have but one true answer. What is all this for, on their part, but to overturn the principle upon which their Government, as well as ours, is based--to reverse the doctrine that Governments derive 'their just powers from the consent of the governed?' What is it for but to overturn the principles and practice of their own Govern ment from the beginning ? That Government was founded and based upon the political axiom that all States and Peoples have the inalienable right to change their Government at will! * * 
" Well may any and every one, North or South, exclaim: 'What is all this for?' What have we done to the North? When have we ever wronged them ? We quit them, it is true, as our ancestors and their ancestors quit the British Government. We quit as they quit upon a Constitutional Right. That ques tion they determined for themselves, and we have but done the same. What, therefore, is all this for ? Why this war, on 
 
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263 
 
their part, against the uniform principles and practice of their own Government? It is a war, in short, on their part, against right, against reason, against justice ! 
"It asked on our side, 'What is all this for?' the reply from every breath is, that it is for home, for firesides, for our altars, for our birth-rights, for property, for honor ; in a word, for ev erything for which freemen should live, and for which all de serving to be freemen should be willing, if need be, to die ! " 
Until the last of July, 1864, Macon had escaped the attacks of the enemy's raiding regiments. While Sherman was pouring his storm of shot and shell into Atlanta, the country surround ing that place was frequently infested with raids, which extended their depredations into Alabama, and eastward, beyond Covington, Georgia, destroying railroad property and plundering the unprotected families in the towns and through the country. Raids were now the order of the day. On the zgth of July, Captain Dunlap, commanding a party of scouts, reported a large body of Federal cavalry on the Clinton road, who were rapidly approaching Macon. All of the militia at this place were immediately ordered under arms. Governor Brown, be ing in the city, issued a proclamation, calling upon every man, citizen or refugee, who had a gun of any kind, or could get one, to report at the court-house, with the least possible delay, to be formed into companies to aid in the defense of the city. The citizens responded promptly, and by seven o'clock, on the morn ing of the 3oth, two thousand men were posted in line of battle between East Macon and Walnut Creek. On the evening of the agth, a battalion of six hundred Tennesseans, under com mand of Major John W. Nisbet, had arrived from Andersonville, on their way to Atlanta, also about one thousand of State militia, who were destined to the same place. These bodies of troops were detained at Macon several days for its defense, and to their accidental arrival at that time, which swelled the little army of defenders of the city, may be attributed the retreat of two thousand five hundred Federal cavalry under General Stoneman. The Confederates, together with a battery of three pieces 
 
 264 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
under Captain Peschke, were placed under command of Colonel J. B. Gumming, who formed them, on the 2Qth, on the Clinton road, and they became the left of the line. A battery under Major Edwin Taliaferro, was stationed on a hill beyond Fort Hawkins. Lieutenant Colonel Findlay's Georgia Reserves were between this battery and Cumming's command. 
On the west side of the river, Company B, Macon Volunteers, under Captain B. F. Ross, a company of operatives from the Alacon Factory, under Major M. R. Rogers, a company of convales cents from the hospitals, under Lieutenant Colonel C. M. Wiley, the Fireman Guards, Lieutenant Nicoll, and the Silver Greys, (a full company of aged gentlemen) under Captain J. R. Arm strong, were posted on the Vineville road. On the morning of the goth, the cavalry of Stoneman made their advance within about three miles of East Macon. The troops on the west side of the river were ordered to march to East Macon, and on reaching the bridge heard the sound of battle to the left. They were under the command of Colonel Gibbs, and were marched to the right of Major Taliaferro's battery, leaving the Silver Greys to guard the Central Railroad bridge. Colonel Gibbs' command formed the right of the line. The enemy had placed, a battery at Dunlap's farm, and fired shot which fell freely around the suburbs of the city, without any serious damage. One shot fell into the heart of the city, on Mulberry street, tearing away a portion of a column in front of the house of Mr. Asa Holt. 
The battle commenced upon the left wing. Cumming order ed Peschke's battery to reserve their fire until the Federals were within two to three hunered yards of their front. They were then coming down the Milledgeville road. The battery opened with a well directed fire, when Nisbet's battalion was ordered to charge. The militia and Findlay's command were held in reserve to follow the battalion if necessary. On the charge being made, and the fire of Peschke's battery kept up, the enemy retreated towards Cross Keys. During this engagement Gumming lost seven killed and twenty-six wounded. Stoneman had formed a 
 
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265 
 
line of three hundred sharp-shooters, in the meantime, who en gaged the right wing under Colonel Gibbs, which, in marching between Fort Hawkins and the position they took along the farm of Mr. George W. Adams, gallantly stood their fire until order ed to return it. They fired with a good effect and put the ene my to a hasty retreat. During this engagement Colonel Gibbs' loss was two killed and nine wounded. 
General Stoneman, on leaving Atlanta, had distributed his command in three columns. One was to advance on Macon by coming down the road via Griffin and Forsyth, and engage the local forces at Macon in the rear, while he, with the other two columns, was to meet the first column at Macon. The firsc col umn was intercepted by a portion of Hood's army'jbetween Grif fin and Atlanta. When Stoneman arrived at Clinton he was surprised to learn that the city bridge at Macon had been carried away by a freshet a short time before, and that General Joseph E. Johnston was at Macon. He apprehended that Macon had been reinforced from Hood's army at Atlanta. On arriving near Macon his delusion was increased by the number of troops he saw in his front, and by the rapid and continuous fire from Major Taliaferro's battery. Finding that he could not capture the city, he kept one column of about eight hundred to one thousand men, principally sharp-shooters, with a couple of rifled pieces of artil lery, to make a feint on the town while he marched another col umn upon several undefended points on the Central Railroad, tearing up the track and burning the bridges over Walnut creek and the Oconee river ; destroying cars and locomotives at Gor don and Griswoldville, and committing the usual amount of de struction at those and other places along the route for which the raiders were noted. 
On the evening of the 3oth they retired from before Macon. On August ist they were met by a portion of Wheeler's cav alry, under General Iverson, at Sunrise Church, near Canton, and after a short battle, surrendered. The main body of theenemy was not in the battle at Sunshine, and succeeding in making their escape. Five hundred prisoners, with General. 
 
 266 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Stoneman, were marched into the city by General Iverson, and for several days a large number were caught in the woods and brought.in as.captives. All of Stoneman's artillery and over one thousand splendid eight-shooter rifles, and a large number of horses were captured. 
General JosephE. Johnston, in his "narrative" of the war, in referring to this attack on Macon, says : 
" It was attacked by a division of United States cavalry with the object, probably, of destroying the valuable workshops which had been established there by the Chief of Ordnance, General Gorgas. The place had neither entrenchments nor garrison. Fortunately, however, two regiments of the militia promised me while commanding the army, by Governor Brown, were passing on their way to Atlanta. Their officers were serving in: the army as privates, so they had none. 
" With them, and as many of the mechanics of the workshops and volunteers of the town as he could find arms for, in all fif teen or eighteen hundred, General Cobb met the Federals on the high ground east of the Ocmulgee, and repulsed them after a con test of several hours, by his own courage and judicious disposi tion, and the excellent conduct of his troops., who heard hostile shot then for the first time." 
General W, T. Sherman, in the second volume of his "Me moirs," refers to the raid on Macon, as follows : 
" Stoneman had not obeyed his order to attack the railroad first before going to Macon and Andersenville, but had crossed the Ocmulgee river high up near Covington, and had gone down that river on the east bank. He reached Clinton and sent out detachments which struck the railroad leading from Macon to Savannah, at Griswold station, where they found and destroyed seventeen locomotives and over a hundred cars; then went on, burned the bridge across the Oconee, and reunited the division before Macon. Stoneman shelled the town across the river, but could not cross over by the bridge, and returned to Clinton where he found the retreat obstructed by a superior force. There he became bewildered and sacrificed himself for the safety of his 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
267 
 
^Command. He occupied the attention of the enemy by a small : force of seven hundred men, giving Colonels Adams and Capron ;: leave, with their brigades, to cut their way back to me at Atlan :ia. The former reached us entire, but the latter was struck and : scattered at some place further north, and came in by detach ments. Stoneman surrendered and became a prisoner until he ;was exchanged some time after, late in September, at Rough and 
 
iii During this time another excitement was raging at the North. H'Fhe administration party met in Convention and nominated Mr. ;Oncoln for re-election, with Andy Johnson for Vice-President jl'I'Seir platform entirely endorsed, all of the acts of the Lincoln Kgdministration, urged a continuance of the war until the South :::wa3 annihilated, or subjugated to an unconditional surrender. ii'llie Reconstruction party, or Copperheads, as they were called,  iiWaounced many of the acts of Lincoln, declared the war a fail ure on his part, and favored a Convention of all the States in the :::<ld. Union to take measures to stop the war and effect a recon: Sjliation. This party united with another who professed, while : they favored the war, they were opposed to the extravagant, bar: barous and exacting spirit in which it-had been conducted. Upon this platform General McClellan was nominated for President, a;sd Mr. George Pendleton for Vice-President. This new party :.iir;iS rapidly gaining strength, and presented an admirable and formidable array of talent in its leaders. But the opposition ijiljseld: that all-important "arm of service" in war as well as peace-- jjiplS! Treasury Department; and the machines were set in motion SMyfe double-quick celerity for making new greenbacks and bonds, llj&a which the: Annihilation party "foraged" liberally, a custom, ;!;;]}#. the way, which they kept up quite as effectually for ten years SiSfer the close of the war, until a " Rebel House of RepresentaItJiVtes," so-called, at Washington, interposed its Archimedean p? fas :as a lever to check the fly-wheel of the ponderous machine. |::: The Convention which renorninated Mr. Lincoln recommend:;||id: the issue of $500,000,000.00 more to continue the war. 
the prospect of so much money to forage upon, an in- 
 
 268 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
creased supply of mercenaries from abroad, as well as at home, was easily obtained to reinforce the armies of " the best gov ernment the world ever saw," and to buy up the ballots neces sary to keep the heads of that government in power. 
Atlanta was evacuated on the night of the ist of September, and as Stoneman kept up telegraph communication to Chatta nooga and Nashville, the news was quickly sent to Washington, and spread with greater i^/g/ throughout the North, and had an important influence upon the political parties there, of which General Sherman said : "A Presidential election then agitated the North. Mr. Lincoln represented the National cause, and General McClellan had accepted the nomination of the Demo cratic party, whose platform was that the war was a failure, and that it was better to allow the South to go free to establish a sep arate Government whose corner-stone should be slavery. Suc cess to our arms was, therefore, a political necessity, and it was all-important that something startling in our interest should oc cur before the election in November. The brilliant success at Atlanta filled that requirement, and made the election of Mr. Lincoln certain." 
The Reconstruction policy was again revived in Georgia, un der the suggested plan of "Separate State Action." On the loth of September, Governor Brown addressed a letter to Gen eral Hood, withdrawing the State militia from his army, stating that they had been placed there for the defense of Atlanta, and that since the city had fallen, they were needed on their farms to gather.the crops of corn, sorghum, etc., which were needed for the maintenance of the people. This was telegraphed to Mr. Lincoln, as well as the rumors of a strong Reconstruction party being organized in the State, which was regarded at the North as a. " latent enmity in Georgia against the administration of President Davis." The President of the Confederacy called upon Governor Brown for his militia to be retained with Gen eral Hood's army. Governor Brown declined the request. On the 2gd of September, President Davis visited Macon, and at the solicitation of a large number of citizens, who had convened 
 
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269 
 
at the Baptist Church, on hospital and other benevolent pur poses, he appeared and made them an address. Though Mr. Davis' visit was unexpected, the meeting of the church was very large; the male portion of the audience consisted almost en tirely of the gray-haired sires of the community. The Presi dent expressed himself hopeful of the success of the Confed eracy, notwithstanding the fall of Atlanta; that he had removed General Johnston because he would not fight. He was very severe upon the campaign of that officer, and the dissentions which had been fomented in Georgia prejudicial to his own con duct of the war. He repelled the charge of sacrificing Georgia for the security of Virginia, and laid the charge to Governor Brown, whom he severely denounced. He stated that the armies had been reduced two-thirds by sickness of the troops and absence without leave. He made an eloquent appeal to the citizens everywhere, and the women particularly, to induce the absentees to return to their posts. He declared his purpose to retrieve the fall of Atlanta by sending Hood's army to the rear of Sherman to destroy the Federal source of supplies, etc., and 'thus force the enemy into starvation, or a retreat which would be worse than that of Napoleon from Moscow. The Macon papers containing a full report of the speech reached Atlanta in two days after its delivery, and was telegraphed to Washington, and thence throughout Lincolndom. The Radical press then teemed with publications of the "Civil war in the State of Georgia--the withdrawal of the militia by Governor Brown--the Reconstruction party in the State--two-thirds of the Rebel army absent without leave--the Johnston-Brown-Davis emeute," etc., etc., which was just the very information the Lincoln party wanted to influence their Presidential election. The announcement of the Davis-Hood programme gave the Federals time to prepare for its undertaking, and another army was raised under General Thomas to meet Hood in Tennessee. 
Sherman distributed forces along the State Road, and several battles occurred, until Hood inarched into Tennessee, where he 
 
 270 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
was eventually defeated. Before Hood went into Tennessee, Shemian sent the following telegram to General Grant: 
" It will be a physical impossibility to proteet the roads, now that Hood, Forrest, Wheeler and the whole batch of devils are turned loose without home or habitation. I propose that we break up the road from Chattanooga forward, and that we strike out with our wagons for Milledgeville, Milieu and Savannah. Until we can depopulate Georgia it is useless for us to occupy it; but the utter destruction of its houses, roads and people will cripple their military resources. By attempting to hold the roads we will lose one thousand men each month, and will gain no result. I can make this march, and make Georgia howl! " 
All of the Federal sick and wounded, and the immense amount of stores which had accumulated at Atlanta, and. at other places along the State Road, were removed to Chattanooga, and the work of destruction resumed when the army passed down the road to Atlanta. 
Here was a strange spectacle presented; two hostile armies moving in opposite directions, Hood into Tennessee and Sherman down into Georgia. Preparations were now made for the "Grand March to the Sea." All of the Confederate families which had sought refuge in Atlanta from the Tennessee line down the track of Sherman's devastation, together with the in habitants of that ill-fated city, had been banished from its lim its, about the middle of September, to seek a shelter wherever they might find it. In vain did General Hood and the munici pal authorities of Atlanta protest against such a barbarous order. They presented all the sufferings that would fall upon the women and children, the decrepit and the sick, in all of its horrors. General Sherman refused to revoke his order, and in reply to their appeals, originated the expression, that according to his conception, "war is cruelty, and you cannot refine it." To leave a monument to his cruelty, that the credit of his author ship of the expression might live in history, after expelling the innocent refugees and inhabitants of Atlanta from their homes, he, on the i/ith of November, witnessed the conflagration of the 
 
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271 
 
city by his own order, and remained over on the i5th to destroy such buildings as had escaped the day previous, that might be used for hostile purposes, which meant the return of the exiled women and children to their homes after he had left it. 
During the " March to the Sea " another attack was made on Macon. The march commenced on the i5th, with two diver gent lines to threaten Macon and Augusta, while the main column, of infantry, proceeded in the center, and all were to concentrate at Milledgeville, the objective point, and continue thence to the coast. General Kirkpatrick's cavalry, supported by Ostenhau's corps, was to feign on Macon. They made their appearance three miles east of the city on the zoth and sist, where they were met by the militia and the local companies, and after some sharp firing on both sides, retired to Griswoldville. 
On the 22d, a sanguinary battle occurred at that place, be tween General G. W. Smith, in command of the Georgia mili tia, and a Federal brigade, under General Walcutt. The Fed erals retired two miles from Griswoldville, where they entrench ed themselves. They were armed with Spencer repeating rifles. The Confederates advanced within fifty yards of the entrench ments under a most terrific fire, which they stood with great firmness. Six hundred and fourteen of them were killed and wounded, so rapid was the fire from the enemy. The loss of the latter was not known, though General Walcutt was severely wounded. The weather was intensely cold, and many of the wounded militia froze to death on the field. This battle was entirely unnecessary, and reflects no credit upon the officers in command of the Confederate forces. In his "Memoirs," de scriptive of " The March to the Sea," General Sherman states: 
"About seven o'clock, A. M., on November i6th, we rode out of Atlanta on the Decatur road, filled by the marching troops and wagons of the Fourteenth Corps, and reaching the hill just outside of the rebel works, we naturally paused to look back upon the scenes of our past battles. We stood upon the very ground "whereon was fought the bloody battle of July 22(1, and could see the copse of wood where McPherson fell. Behind us, 
 
 272 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
lay Atlanta smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city. Away off in the distance, on the McDonough road, was the rear of Howard's column, their gun barrels glistening in the sun, the white-topped wagons stretching away to the South, and right be fore us, the Fourteenth Corps marching steadily and rapidly, with a cheery look and swinging pace, that made light of the thousand miles that lay between us and Richmond. Some band, by accident, struck up the anthem of ' John Brown's soul goes Biarching on,' the men caught up the strain, and never before or since have I heard the chorus of 'Glory, glory, hallelujah' done with more spirit or in better harmony of time and place." 
After relating a number of humorous incidents along the march, his visit at Covington, etc., the destruction of railroads, and the burning of bridges, he says : 
" We found an abundance of corn, molasses, meal,, bacon and sweet potatoes. We took a good many cows and oxen, and a large number of mules. In all these the country was quite rich, .never before having been invaded by a hostile army. The re cent crop had been excellent, had been just gathered and laid in for the winter. As a rule we destroyed none, but kept our wagons full and fed our teams bountifully. The skill and suc cess of the men in collecting forage was one of the features of this march. Each brigade commander had authority to detail a company of foragers, usually about fifty men, with one or two commissioned officers, selected for their boldness and enterprise. This party would be dispatched before daylight with a knowl edge of the intended day's march and camp; would proceed on foot five or six miles from the route traveled by their brigade, and then visit every farm and plantation within range. They would usually procure a wagon or family carriage, load it with bacon, corn meal, turkeys, ducks, chickens and everything that could be used as food or forage, and then would regain the road usually in advance of their train. When this came up they would deliver to the brigade commissary the supplies thus gathered by the way. Often would I pass these foraging parties at the road- 
 
 Ill :.::;;-. 
 
AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
273 
 
Sgiftej" waiting for their wagons to come up, and was amused at ?;?i;}i<^f*: strange collections--mules, horses, even cattle, packed Ivfjth ;old saddles and loaded with hams, bacon, bags of corn liyeat, and poultry of every character and description. Although :::f5?ls; foraging was attended with great danger and hard work, :::tfe^ seemed to be a charm about it that attracted the soldiers, ij'ittk^it was a privilege to be detailed on such a party. Daily :::t|5a returned mounted on all sorts of beasts which were at once |:^a|n: from them and appropriated to the general use; but the 
ky they would start out on foot again only to repeat the of the day before. No doubt many acts of pillage, 
- and violence were committed by these parties of fora: usually called 'bummers,' for I have heard since of jewelry jfrom women, and the plunder of articles that never reach commissary ', but these acts were exceptional and inci- 
**** 
???;:;.;.;IC^iihthe aad, he camped within eight miles of Milledgeville llii^hly pleased with his adventures and the execution of one of ijas larders : "to forage liberally," when an unexpected incident 'ii&ccsrred at his camp, which he narrates as follows : ::: :," The afternoon was unusually raw and cold. My orderly ;;;wss -at hand with his invariable saddle-bags, which contained a ighaage of under-clothing, my maps, a flask of whisky and bunch sf Cigars. Taking a drink and lighting a cigar, I walked to a ijijpsisri^f aegro huts close by, entered one and found a soldier or ;!?p; i -warming themselves by a wood fire. I was talking to an i*t<l::K%ro woman, when some one came and explained to me ilsit^jif: I :would come further down the road I could find a better :?|fs<;e:.;-So--1 started on foot and found on the main road a good leMile-hewed log:house. I sent back orders to bring our horses 
::saddles up to.this house, and orders to conduct our head'i wagons to the same place. In looking around the room, 
?|?|lY?::;i.:-.-small box, like a candle-box, marked 'Howell Cobb,' ^Iii:aft:enquiring of a negro, found that we were at the planta- 
:eBer.al Howell Cobb, of Georgia, one of the leading the South, then a General in the Southern army, and 
 
 274 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
who had been Secretary of the United States Treasury in Mr. Buchanan's time. Of course we confiscated his property, and found it rich in corn, beans, peanuts and sorghum molasses. Extensive fields were all around the house. I -sent word back to General Davis to explain whose plantation it was, and instruct ed him to spare nothing. That night huge bonfires consumed the fence rails, kept our soldiers warm, and the teamsters and men, as well as the slaves, carried off an immense quantity of corn, and provisions of all sorts." 
General Sherman states that he left Atlanta with "sixty-two thousand two hundred and four effective men, and that the most extraordinary efforts had been made to purge this army of noncombatants and of sick men, for we knew well that there was to be no place of safety save with the army itself; our wagons were loaded with ammunition, provisions and forage, and we could ill afford to haul even sick men in the ambulances, so that all on this exhibit may be assumed to have been able-bodied men, well armed, well equipped and provided, as far as human fore sight could, with all the essentials of life, strength and vigorous action." He continues : 
" I reached Milledgeville oh the 23d, with the left wing, and was in full communication with the right wing, at Gordon. The people of Milledgeville remained at home, except Governor Brown, the State officers and Legislature, who had ignominiquly fled, in the utmost disorder and confusion; standing not on the order of their going, but going at once; some by rail, some by carriages, and many on foot. Some of the citizens who remained behind described this flight of the 'brave and patriotic ' Governor Brown. He had occupied a public build ing known as the 'Governor's Mansion,' and had hastily strip^ ped it of carpets, curtains and furniture of all sorts, which were removed to a train of freight cars, which carried away these things--even the cabbages and vegetables from his kitchen and cellar--leaving behind muskets, ammunition and the public ar*; chives. The only troops left to.defend; the Capital was a small; 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
275 
 
f  Cadets from the Military College under General ne, who retreated across the Oconee." Sherman remained in Milledgeville a day and enter!i!:ise<!: :h;xnself, reading newspapers from all the South, while f::th officers of his army (in the spirit of mischief) ^ el ner i n t'16 -^ a^ f Representatives, elected a M constituted themselves the Legislature of the State :L  A proposition was made to repeal the ordinance i;^; which was well debated, and resulted in a repeal i>ts.'! Meantime orders were made for the total deiiiif i the Arsenal and its contents, and of such public iasie>uld be easily converted to hostile use. On the :I?iderals left Milledgeville, two corps going down the iwa.rds Savannah, effectually destroying cross-ties, rails, epots and all other property of that road. Sherman : With the twentieth corps at Sandersville, where he tspme " rebel cavalry deployed before the town, which S in and through it by our skirmishers. I myself saw feivalry apply fire to stacks of fodder standing in the ;idrsville, and I gave orders to burn some unoccu- 
: close by. On entering the town I told certain would be sure to spread the report, that if the ted to carry out their threat to burn their food, , in our route, I would most undoubtedly execute J; general orders of devastation made at the out- 
. At Sandersville I halted the left wing uni!: the right wing was abreast of us on the railroad. sunga negro was brought to me who had that day ation, Tennille, about six miles south of the town. .feim: if there were any Yankees there, and he an' He described in his own way What he had , there come along some cavalrymen, and they p) ; then come along some infantrymen, and they rack:and burned it,' and just before he left they :to the: well!' On approaching the coast he dejSyas lij "good position and good condition, hav- 
 
 276 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ing largely subsisted on the country. Our wagons were full of forage and provisions." 
On his arrival at Ossabaw Sound, December I3th, the Com mander of the Grand March to the Sea reports to the Secretary of War, at Washington : 
" The army is in splendid order, and equal to anything. The weather has been fine, and supplies were abundant. Our march was most agreeable, and were not at all molested by guerrillas. We have not lost a wagon on the trip, but have gathered a large supply of negroes, mules, horses, etc., and our teams are in far better condition than when we started. My first duty will be to clear the army of surplus negroes, mules and horses. We have utterly destroyed over two hundred miles of rails, and consumed stores and provisions that were essential to Lee's and Hood's armies.'' 
The foregoing are the salient occurrences in the march from Atlanta to the sea by sixty-two thousand two hundred and four Federal soldiers, as related in the " Memoirs of W. T. Sherman--written by himself." 
Loud and wild were the paeans sung by the press and pulpit, Federal Congress and Cabinet, orators and politicians through out the United States over this "Grand March to the Sea." To the great credit to General Sherman's record of the "agree able" excursion, he makes no such boast of it as being a re markable military achievement; to the contrary, he says that he marched "unobstructed and without opposition to his in fantry column, while on the wings the cavalry had only occa sionally some slight skirmishes." 
A Northern correspondent who traveled with the army, thus relates its prowess in pillage and all acts of cowardly violence : 
" Such little freaks as taking the last chicken, the last pound of meal, the last bit of bacon, and the only remaining scraggy cow from a poor woman and her flock of children, black or white, not considered, came under the order of legitimate busi ness. Even crockery, bed covering or clothes are fair spoils. As for plate or jewelry, or watches, these were things rebels had 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
277 
 
iaj:for. Men with pockets plethoric with silver and gold 
 
i: soldiers sinking under the weight of plate and fine bed- 
 
iaterials'; lean mules and horses with the richest trappings 
 
Kissels carpets, and hangings of fine chenille; negro 
 
lies, particularly good looking ones, decked in satin and 
 
:and sporting diamond ornaments; officers with sparkling 
 
:.that would set Tiffany in raptures, gave color to the stories 
 
up or flushing an old ' old cuss ' to make him shell 
 
.'planter's house was overrun in a jiffy, boxes, drawers 
 
(oifes were ransacked with a laudable zeal, and emptied 
 
Contents. If they were ample the depredators were 
 
and went off in peace ; if not, everything was torn and 
 
I,: and most likely the owner was tickled with sharp 
 
liinto a confession where he had his treasures hid. If 
 
ed and was hiding in a thicket, this was prima facie 
 
that he was a skulking rebel, and most likely some 
 
.his zeal to get rid of such vipers, gave him a dose of 
 
ch cured him of his secesh tendencies. Sorghum bar- 
 
; knocked open, and beehives rifled, while their angry 
 
irajgiiriished frantically about. Indeed, I have seen a soldier 
 
Seii.is. planter down because a bee stung him. Should the 
 
SSeiilx; ^deserted the furniture is smashed in pieces, music is 
 
iigded : out of $400.00 pianos with the ends of muskets; mir- 
 
JSiSPett;; Wonderfully multiplied, and rich cushions and carpets 
 
!Jf|s|::<ifft<5 adorn teams and war-steeds. After all was cleared 
 
g^jftSiist likely some set of stragglers wanted to enjoy a good 
 
iiiaficl;^!:: the house, debris of furniture, and all the surround- 
 
gsi::?:S::ii:bJaze. 
psj-,'' -.; 
 
This is the way Sherman's army lived in the 
 
|^::|}is;<Dfficial report of this "agreeable march to the sea" 
 
8ii;).6: wrote: 
Widiihave consumed the corn and fodder in the region of sjjj?:':thirty, miles on either side of a line from Atlanta to S;^l^;as .also: the sweet potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep and SQr;::a:fi<:!: have carried away more than ten thousand horses lMJS:,::%$ well as a countless number of their slaves. I esti- 
 
 278 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
mate the damage done to the State of Georgia and its military resources at $100,pop,poo,op, at least $20,000,000.00 of which has inured to our advantage, and the remainder is simple waste and destruction.'' 
After sacking Milledgeville, the Capital of the State was tem porarily removed to Macon. The Legislature had been in ses sion two weeks before the near approach of the enemy, whe n it adjourned on the i yth of November. The Annual Message of the Governor expressed considerable dissatisfaction at the adminis tration of President Davis. It warmly advocated the calling of a Convention of representatives of all the States, in the hope that an armistice might result, and a peaceable solution of the troubles between the sections at war, attained. The Senate passed a resolu tion highly complimentary to President Davis, and endorsed his administration in terms of warm approval. Before the resolu tion reached the House the Legislature adjourned. At the same time the Governor had prepared, another message, in which he levelled a serious charge against President Davis, and urged the Legislature to censure the acts of the President. The message was published after the adjournment of the Legislature. 
Unfortunately there was no harmony between the President of the Confederacy and the Governor of Georgia. The latter be came offended at the action of the former as early as May, 1861, when the troops from Georgia were, over the head of its Gover nor, accepted into the Confederate:service and stationed in the defense of Virginia. 
Before the fall of Atlanta, while General Johnston was in com mand of the Confederate army at that point, Governor Brown implored President Davis for the aid of Forrest's or some other forces, to destroy Sherman's communication in the rear along the line of the State Road. The President replied he had no force to send to his aid; that every command was needed where it was operating and could not be spared. Then were hurled bitter denunciations against the President, which had an injurious influence upon the Virginia army. It was declared that Georgia had sent fifty regiments into the Virginia service, besides troops 
 
 CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
279 
 
;-: : States* and now she was being overrun and could not iv'iVijr own sons to defend their native soil. Governor 'insisted tnat Atlanta was as important to Georgia as Rich- 
%& to Virginia; the loss of Atlanta would be the loss of 
^.aBd that Georgia was as important to the Confederacy 
 
;.fe : ihe horrible fate of Atlanta before them, the people of ;:?::inspected to see their fair city laid in ashes. It was iyi:^i%wded with refugees from other cities, the families Jri-M Jiwmeless by the devastation of Sherman's army, and &i3^<f from the battles around Atlanta and in North ^L::: :$oeriaan was apprehensive that Hood, Forrest, WheelU3%Kwregard had united and would chase him with the M^tiNg him at Ossabaw Sound, hence he would not risk KSI ^destroy Macon in his eagerness to reach the sea. ik:#ct of Sherman's "howl" through Georgia was that it ih::i{?3Qple more resolute, and dispelled, in a great meas^i:3;japes of the advocates of the Reconstruction policy. iiQ 'February of the following year, Messrs. Stephens, ^Athd Hunter reported the result of their Hampton-road H^ir-e with President Lincoln and Mr. Seward upon the ;:#:: Reconstruction, which was far from being acceptable v%i#*Brn people. There was not a single just or liberal &|!K.&iade on the part of Lincoln and Seward. They ^;y#:'^at reduction of numbers in the Southern armies, :#&k:iioh of military stores and the destruction of the 
an of troops and supplies, and the exhaus- 
Richmond Treasury. Their utterance was ::&6 than "unconditional surrender" subject to the 
yi^fthe United States Executive. 
Cabinet and Congress declined to seek any 
looking towards any favorable adjustment 
Congress adjourned after making General 
i-.Chief of the military operations, and ex 
it epmplaint at the inefficiency of the President's 
%&a they adjourned they were fnade aware, in 
 
 280 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
March, of the feeble condition of every important department of the Confederacy by an able and correct report, from the War Bureau: 
"That the Treasury was without funds, and that $500,000,000 were needed to carry on the war. There was but, a small amount of gold in hand, and the Treasury had actually been buying up its own currency at $60.00 for $1.00 in gold." 
General Lee reported the armies were without force enough to do what was required of them; that he could neither main tain his own lines before Richmond nor remove from them. 
The Commissary General reported that unless the railroads south of Virginia were opened and gold furnished to purchase provisions, the army of Virginia could not be supported. 
The Quartermaster General reported the inability of the rail roads to transport troops and supplies. , 
The Ordnance Department reported heavy losses of workmen and machinery. The destruction being made by General Sherman in the Carolinas, made matters worse. 
The Legislature of Georgia convened in Macon about the middle of February. The Governor's message was an unusually long one, taking up two pages of the Macon Telegraph--fourteen full columns--of which by far the greater part was a review of the administration of President Davis, and arguing the necessity of a State Convention to urge the deposal of the President and a secession of Georgia from the Confederacy. 
Hons. B. H. Hill and L. Q. C. Lamar came from Richmond to Georgia, and addressed the citizens at Macon and throughout the State in defense of the administration of President Davis; they opposed the call of any convention as being unwise and impolitic, and denounced the reconstruction movement of Gov ernor Brown. 
At the special invitation of a large number of influential citi zens, General Howell Cobb addressed the people at Ralston's Hall, on the i6th of February. The hall was densely crowded. Every word that fell from the lips of the distinguished speaker, though he spoke for two hours, was received with profound at' 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
281 
 
frequently with prolonged applause. He made a *nest defense: of president Davis, and extolled the l self-sacrifice of the soldiers in his armies. He dedisasters which had befallen the country, and bea united action and firm resolve the South would be : He saw no good to arise from any State Conven;;& Confederacy was only a combination of States, with 'ts!::represent the wishes of the whole. As Mr. Lincoln 
recognize the Confederacy and to treat with its illiiijiisa^fjald not recognize one of its States, unless it turned tlliiS<|:i:ieJ:s :pori the others, and that no man could render Lin|$lii:i$M!r service than to destroy the confidence in our own 
ability and integrity of their Government. 
adjourned in March, rejecting the adoption recommendation to call a convention of dele- 
the policy of separate State action, 
of April, General Lee surrendered the Virginia having been evacuated by the President and 
fcC his. Cabinet a week before, who removed to GreensSh Carolina, to be in consultation with General Johnwas in command of twenty five thousand men, the 
:.'.of the old Confederate army. 
iiirBEh: of April an armistice of forty-eight hours was en Generals Johnston and Sherman, and terms of s8d, to be ratified by the heads of the two governiiihe igth, General Johnston returned to Greensboro ^fere was $37,800 oo in silver, the remainder of the 
s Treasury, deposited there. As the troops were Disbanded, he ordered the amount, which was in 
i^er":d:olIars, to be distributed among them, as they .service many months without pay. 
;: Bavis had removed to Charlotte, North Carolina, .(Members of his Cabinet, who approved of the terms 
Convention of the iSth. On the 24th 
a communication from General Sher- 
the authorities at Washington had disapproved 
 
 282 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
of the terms of psace agreed to between them, and that the ar mistice would cease. The two Generals then had another inter view, and on the 26th, concluded the terms tor a cessation of hostilities and the disbaadment of the armies. During this time occurred 
THE SURRENDER OF MACON. 
The following account of the occupation of Macon by General Wilson was prepared by the writer and published in the 2Wzgya/^ a(f.A/h\rz.g?/-, April zoth, 187$. 
"To-day ten years ago General Wilson entered and took posses sion of Macon. The ZJ^/Jy ?3/<?{,V7?/)A (z/z.^ C^M/^^rgA? was pub lished up to the zist of April, 186^. The editors and printers vacated the office on the entrance of the Federal cavalry. 
" There was no paper until the 4th of Miy following, when a small sheet was issued called ths Micon .ZTzwM/z.g' JV^zw, printed by a combination of printers. 
"The Macon Z?6//y 2^Z%77^,% made its appearance again on the nth of May under the control of Messrs. Clayland & Dumble. The J^^/^A accepted the situation, and being under military surveillance, made no reference to the exciting scenes during its suspension after the surrender of the city. We are, therefore, thrown upon the resources of memory for the information we now write, and though many important incidents may have es caped us our statement may be relied upon as correct as far as we give it. 
" General Wilson had the best equipped cavalry corps that had ever been in the United States service. It numbered, accord ing to his own report, when he reached Macon 13,500 strong, with splendid trains of provision wagons, pontoons and every appliance necessary for a destructive raid. His horses and mules were the best stock that could be produced in the country. He had marched through the wealthiest counties in Alabama and appropriated to his service the best animals that the rich planters of that State possessed, and was enabled to move at the rate of fifty miles per day. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
288 
 
" He met Genera,' Forrest with a small and exhausted force near Selnm, Alabama, and after a desperate fight succeeded in driving back the Confederate heroes. At this time Wilson's force amount ed to fifteen thousand troops. 
" At Selma, Wilson met with .stubborn resistance by Forrest's command and the citizens of the place. By overpowering num bers he stormed the city and entered it, and reached Montgom ery, forty-five miles from Selma, in twelve hours march. 
" There were some small forces of Confederates at Montgomery, who burnt all the cotton in the city rather than it should be de stroyed by the enemy. The cotton was taken out of the ware houses, piled on the river banks, and, the torch applied to one hundred thousand bales. On entering that city Wilson fired the railroad buildings and buildings which had been used for Con federate purposes. He continued his work of destruction on his march to Columbus, which place he reached in two days. Here he was opposed by General Howell Cobb with a small force of Georgia Reserves on the night of the I5th of April. General Cobb was on the field, commanding in person. His whole force did not amount to two thousand five hundred. It was so dark during the engagement that a squad of Federal cavalry rode up to General Cobb's position and had a conver sation with him without recognizing him. Our feeble forces there were scattered, and as soon as possible, were drawn off on a retreat. We chronicle the battle at Columbus as the last one of the war. 
"Wilson burned near one hundred thousand bales of cotton at Columbus. He burned three cotton factories, the railroad and other building,-;, besides some private property. After resting two days and provisioning his army, and gathering thousands of negroes, he proceeded on his march of devastation to Macon. He divided his army, sending a portion towards West Point and LaGrange, thence via Thomaston to Macon. The plan was for the two columns to meet at Macon, destroy the city, and pro ceed to Augusta, and thence to join Sherman's army in the Caroliiias. 
 
 284 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
"The impression in Macon was, up to the igth, that Forrest 
 
was in the rear of Wilson, and was driving him forward. They 
 
had overestimated Forrest's force and greatly underrated Wil 
 
son's, until General Cobb made a hair-breadth escape, and ar 
 
rived in Macon. Every preparation was made for a resistance 
 
here. Every man capable of standing on his feet was ordered 
 
to the entrenchments, and arrangements made to barricade the 
 
streets with the many cotton bales in the city. In the event that 
 
we were overpowered, precaution had been taken by General 
 
Cobb to destroy all of the whisky in the city, so as to prevent 
 
the horrors of a drunken army among defenseless women and 
 
children. About two thousand five hundred barrels of corn 
 
whisky .was destroyed. 
 
"At twelve o'clock, M., April aoth, a telegram was received by 
 
General Cobb from General Beauregard, stating that Johnston 
 
and Sherman had agreed upon an armistice which would close 
 
the war, and to halt General Wilson's advance on the spot where 
 
this communication could reach him. 
 
"The telegraph lines had been frequently interrupted between 
 
Macon and Augusta, and beyond the latter point for several 
 
days, and no information was received about the armistice and 
 
the affairs in Virginia until Beauregard's dispatch came to hand. 
 
" General Cobb, and other officers with him, now regarded the 
 
war as closed. Under flags of truce officers were despatched 
 
upon every road leading into Macon from the West, bearing the 
 
following communication, which General Fry, commanding the 
 
Confederate forces at Augusta, had received from General Beau- 
 
regard, with directions to transmit it to .the Federal officers in 
 
Georgia: 
 
> 
 
' UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH, 
 
'RALEIGH, NORTH:,CAROLINA, April igth, 1865. 
 
' To Major- General Gilmore : 
 
' I have made an agreement with the Confederate Generals 
 
fer a suspension of hostilities until certain terms are approved at 
 
Washiagton. These terms embrace the disbandment of all the 
 
CosMIerate armies, and a firm and lasting peace. You -will, 
 
  AND 'CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
. 
 
285 
 
rSj cease all further depredations on public or private make dispositions looking ;to a general peace, 
 
:!::.:;::::: : ::' .: : 
 
W. T. SHERMAN, General Commanding.'' 
 
::::::: :Cs*l, J. L. Morgan, accompanied by several others, met the :; :iSg<jeral advance fourteen miles from Macon, and related the eb: ::p;t::oi' his mission. The advanced troops sent him and his party ;;;.;ji;.;eisj:: to ; tbe rear to communicate with General Wilson, who 
'his hat and shouted "peace," as soon as he heard the *S;;;!KS!; refused to halt on the ground. He said he would only ji;IwliiSh. he had reached and captured Maeon. 
Morgan, during the excitement, having a very fleet his escape, and reached Macon, by extraordinary Sjjjjfijjg^two hours in advance of the enemy, and related to General i'i |jcjM>y:Wilson's intentions. General Cobb had withdrawn all ::iis::|s>?:-c:es from the entrenchments, and they were disbanded. ;; the exception of a few companies of reserves, the forces sted of citizens, invalids from the various hospitals and artiin the various workshops, the whole not exceeding two five hundred men. -advance of the enemy arrived at Tattnall Square about six p. M., without any resistance. General Cobb sent 'CiSloael R, M. Cuyler, under a flag of truce, to General Wilson :S?j5;sii;h5:psicates of dispatches from Generals Sherman and Beauisgaai'ii, and to inform him that under the rules of war, when an |^i|js;Mse had taken place he had instructed his men not to fire :::^;g^'i::^:aM: ;that :as he considered the war at an end he had dis;|^:Sde::l: his forces. He insisted upon Wilson halting upon the j^^wA .where the first communication had reached him through |i^]<3:5:cil: iMorgan. Wilson replied that he would recognize no lpa!;i;c!j:c>hs from Sherman .through Confederate mediums of ijiriigfSStiinication ; that he would allow General Cobb five mimites lSisSarrender the city, or he would fire upon it. General Cobb Slfegniik-pied that as he was without the means of resistance, and y were within his entrenchments, he was compelled to 'i.i'iiui:.would do so under protest, and was ready to re- 
 
 286 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ceive General Wilson and his staff at his office. Colonel White, with several other officers, was sent by Wilson to make the terms of the surrender, and the Commanding General, with his staff, came in about two hours after, at nine p. M. Generals Cobb and Wilson discussed the propriety, at some length, of the . Federals entering the city under the rules of war. Wilson agreed to keep his troops out of the city, except such as were necessary for a military guard. General Cobb and staff were then paroled; but Wilson took very good care to keep a strict guard around General Cobb's house. Wilson asked what extent of commissary stores were on hand, and stated that the remain der of his army would reach Macon in three days, when he would require supplies for fifteen thousand men and twenty thousand animals. 
"This was the first information we bad ever received of the ex tent of Wilson's forces. General Cobb replied he did not have more than enough to last him three days. Wilson then tele graphed to General Sherman : ' The city of Macon and its gar rison surrendered to my command to-night. Besides many sub ordinate officers, I have captured Generals Cobb, Smith, Mackall and Robinson--four Generals in all--and a very large amount of government property, etc.' 
" General Wilson and staff took possession of the Lanier House as his abode, and on the following day they occupied the rooms opposite that hotel, which had been the headquarters of General Cobb, for his office. Many of the Federal soldiers entered the city the night of the zoth, and until their removal from Macon, committed many depredations by insulting the ladies, robbing their residences and pillaging generally. 
" On the night of the zzd, the soldiers set fire to two blocks on Mulberry street, and a portion of the buildings on each, com prising valuable property, was destroyed, including the Metho dist Depository and the printing establishment of Burke & Boykin. Several other attempts at incendiarism were made on the following day, but the fire was suppressed without serious damage. 
"The Federals expected to reap a rich harvest in the plunder 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
287 
 
c?iij and had there been a resistance to their entrance, would undoubtedly havebeen sacked and laid in ashes. : ! prudence of General Cobb in the destruction of the and the disbandment of his small forces are the citizens d for the escape of the city. some streets the whisky poured in streams, and as it settled ift, for days afterwards could be seen numbers of the in- 
g the fiery liquid in cups and buckets. The very was impregnated with its vapors. e!:ai 'Wilson's rule in Macon was that of a tyrant. He a;: possessed of a single magnanimous quality or liberal Kt.: - He was known in the Virginia army as " Spooney " ^aM: from his seizures of private property here, which ?apriated to his own individual use, he sustained the repuIxe had won in Virginia. e::boasted in his official correspondence of the capture of -as the grand achievement of his military career. If e any glory in it, there is certainly no true soldier who envy him in its enjoyment. He left Macon leaving not or a friend behind him." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
MACON AS IT is--LOCATION -- TEMPERATURE-- RAILROAD CENTER--STA TISTICS--COMMERCIAL, MANUFACTURES, WATER POWER AND TIMBERS-- BANKS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS--EDUCATIONAL--SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES AND COLLEGES--CHURCHES--BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES--NEWSPAPERS AND PRINTING--FIRE DEPARTMENT -- RAILROADS--PUBLIC LIBRARY--HOR TICULTURAL AND AGRICULTURAL--ROSE HILL CEMETERY--CENTRAL CITY PARK--MILITARY--LADIES' MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION--MONUMENT TO THE HEROIC DEAD. 
The situation of Macon upon both banks of the Ocmulgee river, near the centre of the county of Bibb, which is the cen tral county of the State, has always made the city known as the Central City of Georgia. There are but few cities in the Union where more of its enterprises and property are owned by its own citizens. The population, according to the last official census, within the corporate limits, was thirteen thousand five hundred. It is a difficult matter to determine, by its appearance, the city from its environs, as an invisible boundary line between certain marks is all that separates them. So intimately are their various associations, commercial and otherwise, that the suburbans are de facto citizens of the city, enjoying all of its social and mer cantile advantages, whilst they are relieved from a citizen's tax. If this class were incorporated into the city, its population would be fully twenty thousand souls. The business portion of the city occupies a plane a mile in length and near a half mile in width, surrounding which rises those eminences with their costly mansions and luxuriant flower gardens that delight the eyes of all visitors, and which has lead them to call Macon the "Seven Hilled City." The altitude of the plane is three hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea, and that of the eminences from five to five hundred and fifty feet. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
289 
 
i::::::'i['a climate is not surpassed in the country. The mortuary SKpi^iiides for fifty years will compare favorably with the healthiest mijify in the Union, and show that there is but one death to ijsg-iSSty-six inhabitants, which is about one and one-third per scfeiit; of the entire population. The number of interments for lltj&j; j&ay 1878 was, white adults, fifty-three, children, thirty-five ; ;jfei$0*ed adults, sixty-five, children, sixty-two; still-born, twelve; ?:M?::-rfcsidents, twenty-one. Total, two hundred and forty-eight, sfelueA^Mfcludes those who died by violence. ifsHiBsiSBj: situated equi-distant from the mountains and the sea, ::i|j^: israperaturfe is neither excessively warm in the summer nor IS|ssga?<5ably cpld in the winter. The atmosphere is dry, .invigis^ptialg: and peculiarly adapted to consumptives and those other?:*?:iS(i::aifiicted by the rigorous colds of Northern climates. SH:*:': JJiSfi.Bg the destructive epidemics from yellow fever along the iiciosst:, Macon has been a place of refuge to the fugitives from ililiat: scourge. While the citizens have received them with every ::l:i<j|?ii5ality, there has never been a case of yellow fever emanat: S';g: in the city from local causes. There has never been a case H<5f cholera in the city. 
 
I;.:; ; 
 
MACON THE RAILROAD CENTER. 
 
;HH;3|y: reference to the chronicle of events in this book, in 1836, H:|t: :mll be observed that the most important railroad meeting |gp?:::;heki :.in.the State convened in Macon that year. It was 
:|hat:the system of the three great lines of railroad was essaed to connect Savannah with Columbus via Macon, and :S.|?(ji&tconnectiBg northward with the Western and Atlan* voasl and with the Augusta Road. At that point the pres&5?'::Qf Atlanta was built upon. Macon became the center iai system. ^ihe building of the Central Railroad to Savannah the 
of Macon subscribed $250,000.00 and the citizens To the Monroe Railroad (afterwards the Maccm the city subscribed $50,000.00 and the citizens The Southwestern Road was commenced when 
 
 290 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
the city was loaded with a heavy debt, and could not subscribe; but the planters along the route made liberal subscriptions, and so did many of the citizens of Macon. The city has since sub-.. scribed $200,000.00 to the building of the Macon and Bruns wick Railroad, and the citizens as much more. The city sub scribed $100,000.00 to the Macon and Augusta Road, and the citizens $50,000.00. The number of main lines of railroads, with their branches, centering at Macon is sixteen, and accord ing to the railroad statistics of Georgia in 1877, there were 2,210^ miles of railroad in the State, of which 1,614^ miles center at Macon. 
CENTRAL IN POPULATION. 
Macon is also the center of a large majority of the populous counties in the State, which contain one hundred and thirtyseven counties. Of these counties and parts of counties, nearest Macon there are eighty, with 122,584 polls, and a population of 706,994, with a value of property amounting to $137,635,336. The total number of polls in the State in 1870 was 208,929 ; the population was 1,195,338, and property, $167,952,258.00. 
 
COMMERCIAL. 
As a cotton market, Macon, since its first existence, has been one of the largest interior cotton markets in the South, and the manner in which the cotton is sold will compare favorably with that of any other cotton market in the country. There is no : cotton bought or sold on the streets, as in other markets, but it is first warehoused and then sampled and sold by the factor or commission merchant. As soon as sales are made an account of sales is made out, and the planter is immediately paid by the factor for his cotton, without having the delay and inconven ience of waiting until it is paid for by the buyer, which is the case with the most of other markets; it is also much better for the buyer, as it enables him to fill his orders with much more dispatch. The factor's charges for his services are very small, and is an inconsiderable item when compared with the charges 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
291 
 
in other markets. The receipts for the year 
ist, 1878, were 60,000 bales, the smallest reyears, which has been attributed to railroad ifMgSt:SHscriminations, favoring through freights, to the disad' of the local trade of intermediate cities. The action 
 ''    
l^iliSSt Legislature upon this matter it is thought will restore ^Sxd?: usual heavy receipts. 
 
:!f!'l;::;: : ; ;  MACON AS A DRY GOODS MARKET 
:isS<Ia* :been surpassed in the State. Notwithstanding the lissjiafiSas/been a very unfavorable one to trade of every de:ifl<:!iij: snd prices were greatly reduced on nearly every article, vvrtSXzd I'cccipts of goods were near equal to former sales. :::i|r;y:ipseids business amounted to $3,000,000.00. 
 
; :;;:;;.;: :': ::: 
 
PRODUCE AND PROVISIONS. 
 
^:(&^w\ the exact amount of leading articles in this line Kifroads and consigned to Macon only, for the year, 
||Si:;S:ofe3^>f the various railroads were examined, which, added S|psi:;SS;>ali;'supply received from other sources, show, in bacon, !i:p;S;So pounds; corn, 10,250,971 pounds; flour, 9,140,256 ^8s^s:i;;whisky, brandy, high wines and other liquors, 2,850,|8:ip5i:5:uis:, including that which was rectified ; lager beer, 14,i|S;ii:(s::i5t:iimds; tobacco and cigars, 700,000 pounds. I:ili:::iijKH;t?ry market, to a great extent, is in the hands of those 
bacon, and the sales amount 10^4,500,000. yfi: and agricultural implements are so closely connec- 
of the stores that it is difficult to separate them, lllliestjaise H'ili reach $800,000. 
 
llliiJifiiiiii:.:^' . : . 
 
FOUNDRIES. 
 
lliii^ierei^e three large iron and one brass foundry, all of which 
 
lllsllsiSI a prosperous business, which is an evidence that the 
 
:::::iJ!;j|J|^::J;.:rg: learning to appreciate the value of their home in- 
 
:;:;:^ 
 
of serviceable steam engines, cotton 
 
liJIII^g^; ;.!soriiespowers, water or steam powers, wrought iron cot- 
 
 292 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ton presses, corn and wheat mills, syrup kettles and cane mills, pumps, water wheels, cotton gins, fence railings., Seats and other castings are made as substantial and at as low rates as can be ob tained elsewhere, 
 
THE BIBB MANUFACTURING COMPANY 
Now includes two establishments, the company having purchased the Macon Cotton Factory. One of the factories is confined exclusively to yarns; the other manufactures both yarns and cloth. The total number of pounds of yarns by both per day is 7,500; the amount of cloth made per day is 4,500 to 5,000 yards. 
Other manufactories, such as leather and harness, cotton gins, gas, saw mills, flour mills, brick, marble, candy, cigars, boot shoe, photographs, etc., etc., are all doing a successful business. 
A large amount of building has taken place during the last year, and when all of the foregoing is added to. the printing, coal, sewing machines, fish and oysters, confectionery, crockery and glassware, jewelry, clothing, hats and caps, etc., etc., the trade for the year ending September ist, 1879, will be fully $20,000,000. 
WATER POWER AND TIMBERS. 
Recent surveys of the Ocmulgee river by several different corps of engineers establish the fact that nine miles of canal, taking the water from the river at the place of Captain R. E. Park, will furnish a'fall of forty-two feet, and a force of 8,500 horse-power for factory purposes. The profiles show that the canal can be built for less than $250,000; that the route will cross but one small branch, and that there are no visible rocks to be blasted. Along its course is an abundance of good clay adapted to the manufacture of bricks, jug and porcelain ware; and at its head is a vast quantity of granite for building pur poses. The river is navigable from Macon to the sea. 
The character and supply of timber along its course is incal culable. The timber is of every size, consisting of a variety of hard woods for manufacturing purposes, such as white oak, cy- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
293 
 
, poplar, red and white bay, elms and the long leaf : eliestniit, as]} and other serviceable woods for Furniture, es and wagons, and agricultural implements. 
BANKS. re are five Banks in the city, and two Banking and Bro- 
 
i'iiifi'h^iseE First National Bank of Macon was organized in 1865, unKlejxflie: United States National Bank Act of 1863; Mr. I. C. Sillag^:: president, and W. W. Wrigley, Cashier. Capital, 
lillimac-s.oo. lsS;^tpi?fentTal Bank of Georgia organized andrcommenced opl||iiisa8::in :December, 1869; John E. Jones, President, and T. l^i'iilsjgjigham, Cashier. Capital, $130,000.00. The present i^iBeetS are John E. Jones, President, and T. O. Chestney, 
IpsSler. l|;::tl|!i: Exchange Bank of Macon. In April, 1871, a charter was :i :'^pasted tinder the name and style of the Central City Purchase ::;|tii^ Loan Association with Banking Privileges, S. G. Bonn, Presisi<i at,: /Each stockholder was to pay $1.00 each week on each ;;share until the: amount reached $100,000.00. The amount thus itafcd reached J2oo,ooo.oo, when early in 1872 the institution :ii:*iis; changed by a charter to the Exchange Bank of Macon, with ;:iS.::G>: Bonn, President, and R. F. Lawton, Cashier. The pres:::ii|lsiic:ers: rcfe.John C. Curd, President,: and J. W. Cabaniss, iSCxpfaar, :..-: Capital, $150,000.00. 
iaI Bank of Macon. In February, 1872, the Mutuc'iation was organized under a charter, H. L. Jewt, George S. Obear, Vice President, and N. M. Hodg- 
Each subscriber was required to pay$ioo per feach share of stock. In one hundred weeks $200,000 oo *;i in, when a charter was obtained, increasing the stock 66o oo, and changing the institution to the Capital Bank t,: Georgia ; Henry L. Jewett, President, and Nathan M, 
: -Cashier, Subsequently $100,000.00 of the stock was viag the capital stock $200,000.00. 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
Macon Savings Bank was chartered March, 1875 > J- M. Boardman, President, H. T. Powell, Cashier. Subscribed capital, $50,000.00. Capital paid in, $25,000.00. 
BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS. 
There have been five of these institutions since the late war; one of which has regularly wound up, one is now winding up, and two have suspended. The Bibb Building and Loan Asso ciation continues. It is worked on a new serial plan whereby Hew stock is raised every year that makes a permanent institu tion. These Associations have been of great benefit to the in dustrial classes in enabling them to secure homes for their fam ilies. 
INSURANCE COMPANIES. 
The Cotton States Life Insurance Company, organized in May, 1869, by a charter from the State. William B. Johnston. Pres ident, John W. Burke, Vice President, George S. Obear, Secre tary. Capital and assets over $600,000.00. The business ex tends through Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. It is a sound and conservative company, and has conducted its busi ness to the satisfaction of its patrons. 
EDUCATIONAL. 
The subject of education received the attention of the citizens of-Macon during the first year of its existence, and Commission ers were appointed by an Act of the Legislature in 1823, over three academies. A school was established by them in 1824, and Oliver Danforth appointed Rector. From the journal now in the possession of Hon. John J. Gresham, who for many years was a Trustee, and Secretary and Treasurer of the Bibb County Academy, the following is extracted: '" At the first meeting of the Trustees of the Academy, November pth, 1825, present, Charles J. McDonald, James S. Prierson and Mathew Robinson, Oliver H. Prince, absent. Rice Durrett having given notice of his resignation, Christopher B. Strong was appointed to fill the vacancy. Arrangements were made for the building of an 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
295 
 
ipMemy on the Academy Square, to be thirty-six feet long by ifMmty-four feet wide, and to contain one desk, four writing ta- 
!;$$^;iM,]JM}S benches." lid;pa'January nth, 1828, Mr. Jones having resigned, Elisha !l-;!a;Hmond was appointed to succeed him. The fees or rates of ;:iBpisn per quarter, were published, as follows: 
ii^or'Tvfiading, Writing and Arithmetic, ........ $4 oo ;;;}^F G;ography and Grammar, ........... $6 oo ;? lifiijjr; IGrireek and Latin Classics and the higher branches of i^i;;;;M;ithematics, ................. $8 oo d^spispiiordered that the building be raised two feet higher and B8g;:?%: }>illars made from the bricks forming the chimney ; and Ijilisp'iifJhdo.w panes be placed in the house. I;:s;;;Mj-,;'J:1;ammond died in Macon, March 4th, 1829, and was burjJIgijjisrth'e old cemetery. A marble slab over his tomb contains ;;;;su;f;;;ar[iressive epitaph to his memory. Is;I;Tb<j: Academy was destroyed by fire in December 1829. In lli;5>5i : it was'replaced by a handsome brick building; length, IIEsly-four feet, breadth, thirty-six feet, two stories high, finishliei^outside with a portico and Venetian blinds, inside hard plaslitsred j cost $3,500.00. It was now determined by the trustees to i:Haa>;2 :a fomale department in the Academy. Mr. John Darby, lafjtse South Carolina Institute, was employed as Principal, to life&liissisJed by his wife, who would preside over the female de;;;pi?:eH':5:t. Mr. Darby introduced a chemical apparatus at a cost lialiiiJHaoo, and arranged the curriculum into four classes, with ;;;;;:;f53|<B>; : of tuition "respectively at $9-00, $8.00, $7.00, and ;;;;;:;|;i;;f3<i: per quarter. Mr. Darby resigned the following year, and ;|fis;Succeeded by the Rev. John Mclntyre, who taught for many Ij^stS: :i;n Georgia... He was the friend and preceptor of the Rev. lif^iraomwell, a distinguished minister of South Carolina. The Si^sMiisajcf of the trustees contains a full history of the Academy. Illi^fMSy interesting incidents. The following were the Trusii|;||gS;i8;St:.already mentioned: Joseph Washburn, Isaac Harvey, lili;!;p;.: ;:|l;.i;riter, Robert Birdsong, Edward D. Tracy, Thomas: W. ||II|sJ;fi?v;;;N^ C, Monroe, Ambrose Baber, James Smith, W, B. 
 
 296 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Parker, Simri Rose, R. A. L. Atkinson, J. J. Gresham, Nathan 
 
Bass, A. H. Chappell, L. N. Whittle, John L. Jones, George S. 
 
Obear, James T.,Nisbet..... 
 
.................... 
 
Among the names of the teachers of note in the Academy not 
 
already mentioned are Rev. John O'Keefe, J. S. Ingraham, Rev. 
 
Mr. Strobel, Rev. George Hancock, Rev, J. .W. Miller, Freder 
 
ick Bates and E. H. Link. 
 
During the war the building and surrounding grounds were 
 
occupied as a Confederate hospital. In 1865 it was taken for a 
 
camp by a portion of General Wilson's army, and many of 
 
the beautiful oaks destroyed. In 1872 the school was dis 
 
continued and merged into the free school system. Besides the 
 
Academy, there were always a number of good private schools 
 
for both males and female. 
 
FEMALE COLLEGE. 
By reference to the important events in 1835 and 1836, the origin of this College will be found. It was chartered by the Georgia Legislature in 1836, under the name of the Georgia Female College, to be located in Macon. 
The buildings were completed early in January, 1839, at a cost of $85,000.00. The following description of this " Mother of Female Colleges," the first instituted in the United States, or in the world, "to burst the shackles of ignorance and super stition which had bound woman for three thousand years, and kept her in the false position of ia slave ;: whereas, she, of right, and by the command of God, should be man's equal," was published at the time : 
" The College is located on a commanding eminence midway between the business portion of the city of Macon and the vil lage of Viheville. Four acres are enclosed with a neat and handsome fence. The edifice is one hundred and sixty feet long by sixty wide, rising four stories high in the center, with wings three stories high; the roof is flat and covered with tin, and surrounded by a parapet. The front view is relieved from the .monotony of a plain surface, of brick by a recess of several 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
297 
 
which the roof projects, supported by massive pillars. &&;&; are fifty rooms in the building, with a spacious dining iia: attached,, library rooms, parlors,, etc. The rooms used as i?p8;j -rooms are usually eighteen feet square, with large win- 
;' ceiling high pitch, so as to allow a full and healthful vol>f air. The building can accommodate with comfort one iilijiiasl^^ and twenty boarders. The view from the cupola is ::etp!::<:>:f: the most picturesque to be obtained from any public ediiiiiiiiigijnvsbe State. The city of Macon is spread on the plain be5pigiiiiith its busy streets alive with the signs of bustling trade; Ssp:fjfJfel: :tnaosions are set upon the surrounding hills, and Vinelii|js;::fe:S<?fe?i stretching its quiet length until the pines that bori$g|Sit8;iJ*pr-e thickly settled portions hide from the gaze its more lilillis^'l.idw^llings ; the mighty sweep of horizon, with its radius llflliJaiiRiy; miles, round and round, without a break, until in the Ifgifeiiiiisiknce the very heavens seemed to have leaned for rest ::::|gH': : the: forest trees that tower up, young and old. in sturdy ilspHpS.,: as: if glad to bear the honorable burden ; the Ocmulijijgge^wih'diiig its current along, hid in the overshadowing forest, lltssl: leaving .the beholder to trace its route by the vigorous !|;K>s-ta: that: shoots heavenward from its fertile banks. It is a ISpiSg of : beauty and grandeur, of active life and of sober stillS^iissr Art amid her manufactures and her ornaments, and Nature lllsliMiiSitaplicity and repose." Ifltlihs: College building, with all its various fixtures, cost origin- 
o.oo. It commenced operations in the midst of a aeial panic throughout the country, with a debt of 
 
:-: Sheers were: Rev. G. F. Pierce, President, and Projo^.'ipnglish Literature; Rev. W. H. Ellison, Professor of ffi:avii;s; Rev. T. B. Slade, Professor of Natural Science; Jsk&tattison, Principal of Preparatory Department; B. B. iss, /Tutor; John Euhink, Professor of Music ; Miss Lord, l^ssist apt in: Music; Miss Massey, Second Assistant in ;:;:::Mri,: Shelton, Matron ; Mrs. Kingman, Department of 
A. R. Freeman, Steward. 
 
 298 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
The College was opened on the cjth of January, 1839. After a solemn prayer, ninety young ladies came forward and regis tered their names as candidates for admission. It was an occa sion of great interest and of deep and thrilling excitement. A large and respectable number of the citizens of Macon assem bled in the College Chapel to witness the opening scene. The hopes and the fears of its friends, the predictions of its enemies, and the eager delight of the congregated pupils, all conspired to invest the service with an interest additional to its intrinsic importance. Before the termination of the first term the num ber of pupils increased to one hundred and sixty-eight. 
In 1842 the College became embarrassed on account of its orig inal debt, and the building was sold by the creditors, who had a mortgage upon it. At this time George W. Persons, William Bailey, John Rawls, James Dean, William H. Ellison and Am brose Chapman took one share each at $1,000.00 per share ; and Tames A. Everett and William Scott two shares each, making in all $10,000. oo, and bought the claim and tendered it to the College for what it cost them. There were about $8,000.00 still due, which was advanced by James A. Everett, with the condi tion that the trustees would give him four perpetual scholarships in the Institution. In this manner the trustees obtained a legal title to the building. In December, 1842, a new charter was granted, and the name of the Institution changed to that of Wesleyan Female College. 
Man]' improvements have been made upon the original build ing. The rooms are lighted with gas and heated with grates. Chapel and recitation rooms were erected in 1860, at a cost of $20,000.00, and the enclosed grounds greatly improved. The number of graduates in the first degree in course is 771 ; honora ry graduates, 24; graduates in music, 7. The largest number of undergraduates for any one year, 244, in 1863-'64; the small est was 104. in the years i843~'44. 
One of the earliest laborers in behalf of the College, and who canvassed the State for two years in its interests in order to estab lish it, was the venerable Dr. Lovick Tierce, who still lives, at 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
299 
 
the advanced age of ninety-five years. He has attended every Commencement exercises of the College except one, (1879,) since its foundation. 
[Just as this form was going to press we learned that the ven erable Doctor breathed his last in Sparta, Georgia, at the resi dence of his son, the Bishop, on the gth of November, 1879.] 
The College has ever been under the control of the Georgia Methodist Episcopal Conference, receiving annually patronage from all denominations. Its past successful history is its high est recommendation for future patronage, and can proudly point to its graduates, and those who have been instructed within its halls, like the Roman mother to her children, and say, " These are my jewels." 
 
MERCER UNIVERSITY. 
Under the auspices of the Georgia Baptist Convention, this flourishing and popular institution of learning was founded. At its Annual Session in the Spring of 1831, at Buckhead Church, Burke county, Georgia, the Rev. Adiel Sherwood presented a resolution, which was adopted, to establish a Classical and Theo logical School. The School was called "Mercer Institute," in honor of Rev. Jesse Mercer, a Baptist divine and philanthropist, well known throughout Georgia for his zeal, liberality and piety, and who was also one of the earliest advocates of a thorough ed ucational system. The school was located at Penfield, a small village, named in honor of Mr. Josiah Penfield, a deacon in the Baptist Church at Savannah, who had bequeathed to the Con vention $2,500.00 for ministerial education, to be paid when an equal amount should be raised for the same purpose. 
Mercer Institute was opened as a Manual Labor School the second Monday in January, 1833, with thirty-nine pupils, (seven of whom were theological students,) Rev. B. W. Sanders, Principal, with one assistant. 
In 1836, $50,000.00 was subscribed for the establishment of a College at Washington, Georgia, which amount was increased to $100,000.00 the following year. The great financial panic 
 
 300 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
that overwhelmed the country in 1837, delayed the operations of some of the most solid institutions for several years. The es tablishment, therefore, of the Southern Baptist College, at "Wash ington, was abandoned by its projectors, at a meeting of the Board in Athens in 1837, in consequence of the embarrassments of the times, the inadequacy of the means in hand, etc. It was then determined to connect a Collegiate Department with the Mercer Institute, continuing at the same time its Academic sys tem. To this end, application was made to the Legislature, and a charter granted by that authority in December, 1837, with the usual privileges to Colleges. Under this charter^ the Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia, at its session in 1838, elected the first Board of Trustees. 
All of the funds of the University, its property and future management were placed under the control of this Board, and according to custom, a new Board is elected by the Convention at the termination of every three years. 
The late Thomas Stocks, so long a prominent member in the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives, was the first President of the Board, and continued in that office until de clining health, at a very remarkably advanced age, caused him to resign the position he had so creditably filled. 
The Manual Labor System of the Institution was, after eleven years' experience, found to be inefficacious, and, by a resolution of the Board, was abandoned in December, 1844. The Insti tution was advancing in prosperity until the commencement of the late war. Several Colleges having suspended operations, the Trustees of Mercer met at Atlanta, and resolved not to suspend, but to continue the University for the benefit of all of those who might be able to prosecute their studies; and, at a later period of the war, a resolution was adopted tendering tuition without charge to the disabled Confederate soldiers, many of whom gratefully availed themselves of the kind and patriotic offer. 
After the close of the war, the educational localities were, in common with all other enterprises, greatly injured, and changes became necessary in. order to meet the situation of the people^ 
 
 i:i:;;;:\' 
 
AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
301 
 
p.ii.'f'he City Council of Macon offered $125,000.00 and nine ii&icjaa' of choice lots in a most desirable locality, to the UniverHsity ; if: it .would remove to; this place. The Faculty opened the ipistifution in Macon, temporarily, on their own responsibility, iiijKii'^o, and in 1871 the Trustees resolved to locate the Uniii-srarHity permanently at Macon, and to sustain a High School un:::d?iSieir care, at Penfield, using the campus and such of the iitgHSllags as might be necessary. 
;;;;;; i'Cifoe. University now occupies a most delightful site upon a SiJiOmiaanding eminence in a most healthy locality. The main |it3;iiili:fig:is one of the most elegant and well arranged in the o^fiB*:*? country. The Street Railroad terminates immediately in S:||p&t:;of it. The dormitory and refectory for the students is ;:;|;if|8j; : well ventilated and situated near the extensive campus, I^Mcli is being adorned with handsome trees, walks, etc. Two HiOf&sr^buildings of handsome architectural style will be erected. gj^ijiaw: School, with able instructors and practitioners, is coniiJisftted with the Institution. The curriculum is not surpassed ::]% any College in the country. Among the graduates of Meriieer can be found men who have become distinguished in the ;':various professions and employments, from Virginia to Texas. ii: The people of Bibb county feel a deep pride in the Univer::&U:y, and particularly the citizens of Macon, who have a better 
of observing the morals and conduct of the students, 
ever been unexceptionable. As " the tree is known Sf0:ii:s/fruit,":the Faculty of Mercer can, with pride, point to iii|i::;iC(:Qmplishments of their pupils as the result of their discip- 
instruction. 
are several coincidences connected with Mercer UniMacon. In December, 1822, when the Legislature 
to establish four new counties, the Senate adjourned ie. House, and in naming the counties two names were S'd for one of them, Mercer, in honor of Rev. Jesse Mer- 
id TBibb, in honor of Dr. Bibb. The latter received the fV; of votes, hence the present name of the county. 
: Sherwood wrote the first history of Georgia while 
 
 302 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
he occasionally supplied the Baptist pulpit in Macon, in 1828, and 1829. In 1831, as stated, he offered the resolution to es tablish the School at Pen-field; which became Mercer University. It appears very appropriate, from these historic associations, that the College should be located in Macon, and receive the support of its citizens. 
Dr. Sherwood died in St. Louis, on the i8th day of August, 1879, near eighty-eight years of age. 
 
HO NONO COLLEGE. 
This Institution was founded in May, 1874, by the Right Reverend William H. Gross, D. D., Bishop of Savannah, and was chartered to confer degrees on the 28th of February, 1876. The Corner Stone was laid on Sunday, May 5th, 1874. The first event of the day was the celebration of a SOLEMN MILITARY .HIGH MASS, at which Bishop Gross assisted. The celebrant was Rev. L. Bazin, pastor of St. Joseph's Church. Military com panies from Augusta and Macon were present. After the im posing exercises at the church, a procession was formed, con sisting of societies from Macon, Savannah and Augusta, several military and fire companies, the Mayor and Aldermen of Macon, the clergy from Macon, Atlanta, Savannah and Dalton, and Key West, Florida, which proceeded to the site for the College, just two miles from the court-house, on the Vineville road, to lay the Corner Stone, in the presence of an immense crowd of strangers and citizens. A short address was made by the Bishop, thanking the vast crowd for the immense demonstration; they had come frpm every section of the State to give their encour agement to his efforts to build up Georgia. He had i ntended to make an address, but Heaven had jseen fit to shower its bless ings in a more sensible form -- (a shower of rain fell during the ceremonies.) After depositing the relics, the Bishop then, as sisted by the clergy, proceeded to consecrate the Corner Stone, according to the form of the Catholic Church. A large number of valuable and interesting deposits were made, when the stone was blessed and laid. The College building is one Hundred and 
 
 !!si:H!!!:;:;!> 
 
AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
303 
 
iSi'^li^gry 'five- feet in length, sixty-five in width, and is five stories SliiigS::: Within five months it was completed, with the exception :;:::^|":IKe front of one wing, and opened for patronage. The :{Op'MiM: of forty acres on which the College stands is the highest iiiiiisi^fee vicinity, being near six hundred feet above tide water. ;';;!;.^;:feaiX;tiful natural grove surrounds the College, and a fine cam::::JiM:;!5:ir the exercise of the pupils. No distinction is made in jll^l^j.ijipisijiiion of pupils on the ground of religious belief A !II:li$tiJ^^Museum and Chemical Laboratory :has been established iUilftii^:':'College. Athletic exercises and amusements are attend- 
 
;:|;$i| ;$&;;'/;,:. . 
 
||::0::j:P|e:::>t:aCients have formed a military organization, and have 
 
jgile^is;ifsriisshed with Spririfield rifles and accoutrements] there 
 
Isp^iSSgSlSr rauster days, and the company is drilled by compe- 
 
|:|g:8j;:::Sl8cSi'S. Surveying, engineering and book-keeping are 
 
: itiiight,,and lectures delivered on commercial law, besides the 
 
liiSSSaiiiietsn-iiGuliim in the Standard Colleges. 
 
iliiiiii^fecfiFmfflSsor of Sciences has had in operation for two years 
 
g;S!Meteorological Observatory in connection with the United 
 
JsB&ites Sifiiai: Setvice, and at the end of every month there is 
 
iiipsbHshed an accurate account of the climatology of the sur- 
 
|f8sKiiSg: country. The Commencement exercises take place 
 
!:Si:S::|3:sei arid have been highly creditable tt> the young lastitu- 
 
:;s!;sp:<;;; Til,September, 1877, the College was entirely re-organi- 
 
lileij'tfhe.JitvKsv,' Bishop himself assuming the Presidency. 
 
ili'lii'jlJei'Ofpiiains'' Home of the South Georgia Conference of the 
 
|;:||atl85(i:is.t Episcopal Church, South, is an Institution under the 
 
|i;s?iga;Sag ofiiiat Corilerence, supported by the voluntary cdhtri- 
 
;i;|8ipj:iri: of :its merhbers; and at present under the immediate su- 
 
:is||rv:jssoH ;6if the: :Rev. L. B. Payne, of that Conference, a'gehtle- 
 
-eeaiiayly fitted for the place. The Institution has provid- 
 
>ii!5:&S :fer'a large number of homeless children since its or- 
 
atisnu and has at present quite a family of orphans under 
 
arge^wlid/are receiving such an education and training as 
 
tiidi^m to; become not only self-sustaining hereafter, but ^to 
 
t:ft:Useful merhbers of society. 
 
 
 
 804 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
The Alexander Free School was founded shortly after the war, and is supported by a bequest in the will of. Elam Alexander. The school has no connection with the County Free School Sys tem, The school occupies the residence in which .Mr. Alexan der so long lived. The trustees are John J. Gresham, John W. Burke, Henry L. Jewett, George S. Obear and -L. N. Whittle, Charles J. Harris and the Mayor of Macon, for the time being, ex-officio, Mr. Sylvanus Bates is the Principal, and Miss Flora Smith, Assistant Teacher. There are annually educated one hundred pupils in the Institution. 
Mr. Alexander came to Macon in 1826, as a mechanic, and soon became a. building contractor. He built many of the handsome edifices that adorn the city. His connection with many of the largest enterprises in the growth of the city, have been mentioned in their order. He was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, and was a descendant of the two Alex anders that signed the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde pendence. The last enterprise in which he was engaged was the Empire State Iron and Coal Company, located in Dade county, Georgia. He died in Macon, at an advanced age, in the Spring of 1863. 
Mount de Sales Academy was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in August, 1876. The first Annual Exhibition took place at Ralston's Hall, in September, 1877. At present there are fiftyfive pupils in the Academy. The Reverend Mother Bonaventure is the Directress, assisted by several other Sisters. The Sisters supply the instructors for the Free School on the Catho lic Church lot, where a new house is .being erected for the pu pils at the expense of the Catholics in the city. There are 115 pupils in this school, and the number is constantly increasing. 
Hebrew School of the Congregation of Beth Israel is located in the vestry room of the Synagogue, with seventy-five pupils. Rabbi Benson, Principal. 
The officers of the Board of Public Education and Orphan age for Bibb County Public Schools, are--Joseph Clisby, Presi dent, j. T. Nisbet, Secretary, J. W. Burke, Treasurer, and B. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
805 
 
i'!M;,rZettler, Superintendent of Schools; twelve gentlemen com- 
 
Hfidsing the roll of members, with the Judge of the Superior 
 
:Sur.t,, the Ordinary, and the Mayor ex-officio members, also 
 
Committees on Finance, Teachers and Text Books, 
 
and School Districts. 
 
.. 
 
Annual Report of the Board to July ist, 1869, shows 
 
:<lii?ty-four schools, fifty-five teachers, and 2,939 white and col- 
 
: ;:Si;<i:d pupils, at an aggregate expense of $18,600.25, or an aver- 
 
;|p: cost of eighty-four cents per month per pupil. 
 
iiiH'he President of the Board reports: 
 
iiy^Ihe schools are each year attaining an increased efficiency 
 
I&M usefulness. People, teachers and pupils, are yearly becoming 
 
lijii&s- and more impressed with the value and indispensability of 
 
Ifchajrstem, arid displaying a greater skill and adaptability in 
 
lipadministration. Nearly all our teachers have now acquired 
 
li!sM experience in their duties, and their confidence in and 
 
ii: cooperation with our excellent Superintendent, Mr. B. M. Zett- 
 
Mia^sre perfect." 
 
is|S\rtii; city has built a large two-story brick school-house capable 
 
Hi'iaeconimodating three hundred and fifty pupils, and purchased 
 
SMSg-r property, the buildings upon which accommodates two 
 
|i|tsS8!:?ed and fifty more. 
 
I|:::::^ij5|xi8ton Church Home was founded in 1868, and named in 
 
:IIa6r: :Qf WILLIAM H. APPLETON, of New York, who donated 
 
lf:t2:,g:<>Q,ob for the erection in Macon of an Institution to be 
 
to the care and education of indigent orphans. A sub- 
 
t&Land comfortable brick building was erected and opened 
 
lliis: nuly benevolent purpose in 1870. The building con- 
 
^ffieen rooms, with the capacity for accommodating thirty 
 
iliieiis; There are usually twenty to thirty female orphans 
 
iitejiif orphans in the Institution, who are educated to be self- 
 
spug' under the instructions of the kind, energetic and ac- 
 
ipKbed Directress, Sister Margaret. 
 
'Mjiil'istitution is under the supervision of the Right Rever- 
 
:|ah:a:W:: Beckwith. Rev. Robert F. Jackson is the Chaplain, 
 
worthy Institutions in the State, and the 
 
 306 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
many little waifs that for generations will be reared within its walls will ever bless the memory of the noble benefactor whose name the Institution bears. 
The gentlemen who purchased the lot for the Home, are : W. B. Johnston, John S. Baxter, L. N. Whittle, Bishop Beckwith and Edward Padelford. 
 
GEORGIA ACADEMY FOR THE BLIND. 
In January, 1851, Mr. W. S. Fortescue arrived in Macon from Philadelphia, with letters of recommendation as a suitable person to introduce into Georgia a system for the education of the blind. The first publication on the subject occurred at a preliminary meeting of a few citizens on the i8th of April. Hon. E. A. Nisbet was called to the Chair, and A. R. Freeman acted as Secretary. The result of the meeting was the appoint ment by the Chair of five persons to solicit subscriptions for the purpose of enabling Mr. Fortescue to educate four blind child ren until the meeting of the next Legislature. The committee appointed were: W. S. Fortescue, Dr. J. M. Green, R. A. Smith, R. S. Lightfoot and Edwin Graves. A number of ladies and gentlemen subscribed liberally on the first call, and on the 4th of July, the subscribers met and called the Rev. Richard Hooker to the Chair, and Heman Mead acted as Secretary. Dr. Green, Chairman of the Committee, read his report, showing that $650.00 had been.subscribed. Application had been made fora copy of the Bible in raised characters; a piano had been purchased and an apparatus engaged; that application would be made to the Legislature for aid; that the statistics showed there were two hundred and twenty blind persons in the State without the rudiments of a mental education. The report was adopted. The Committee then submitted a-preamble and articles organ izing the Georgia Academy for the Blind, to be located in Macon. The meeting then elected seven trustees: J. M, Green, N. C. Munroe, E. B. Weed, John B. Lamar, R. A. Smith, Ed win Graves and A. H. Chappell. Before adjourning $152.00 more was subscribed. The Board elected N. C. Munroe Presi- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
807 
 
'iJesJ.' R. A. Smith Secretary, and W. S. Fortescue, Principal of s|!se : :Academy. S.i.H.iiDfe.Apr.il 3oth, the Rev. J. H. Campbell addressed a comviiJSBication to the editors of the Journal and Messenger, calling stji^: attention of the humane citizens of Macon to an amendlasftl to an Act for the Deaf and Dumb, which he had passed ::!):y::the Legislature in 1845, appropriating $4,500.00 for the eduiicatisn of the blind, and suggested that they apply to the Gov; ;&$* for the appropriation, as it had never been used. :::::::;'!&: 'School was sustained by the charitable donations of citi:::^K'fiS:';Si?.;lil a. meeting of the next Legislature, when an applicaH|S:SH : :Vf$s made by the Board for a charter and an annual apsijirSprsation of $5,000.00. The appeal and charter were written slip :tlia : .Secretary, Robert A. Smith, who was successful in his i^rs&Kp: efforts in having both passed by the Legislature. ;:i:i:i*-:|};i : January 22d, 1852, Mr. Munroe resigned the Presidency, : ^Jfj; -was elected Treasurer, and held the office with his charac|te;!istH; fidelity until April 8th, 1868, the day of his death. Dr. :::(Sreen was elected President on Jajiuary 22d, 1852, and has conijtuiued to hold the office to this time. : ; In July, 1853, ft16 Board presented their first Annual Report. jifllie President stated : iSiiiii'^The class of pupils was ten, three boys and seven girls, and :::hd::;made astonishing progress in Arithmetic, Geography and ii&tisSr departments of knowledge. Some of the female pupils ;ipi&:;3.8 equally remarkable progress in crotchet work, sewing, |8;8!i:!>ther:varieties in useful and ornamental needlework." jS'iSiifitlily after, Governor Cobb, in an eloquent lecture before :::i'Se:Jvlilledgevilie Lyceum, proposed that "one-third of the large 
sfoue'; of the State Road shall be devoted to the maintenance ::rhree great objects of the State charity--the Lunatic ,; the Deaf and Dumb Institute and the School for the 
 
:: ':!!'be; necessities of the School having so greatly increased, ap} itiStlsa Was made in 1855 for an appropriation of $20,000,00 
iepet^ystsble buildings, which was granted in 1856. Plans 
 
 308 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
for the building were adopted, but it was found that the sum was inadequate to the expense. The amount was not touched until the appropriation was increased to $60,000.00. 
On July 5th, 1858, the ceremony of laying the Corner Stone of the Academy, located on a beautiful lot on College Hill, was conducted with imposing effect, in the presence of two thousand spectators. Hon. Thomas Hardeman was chosen the orator in appreciation of his signal efforts in the House of Representatives to obtain the requisite increase of appropriation. After the usual deposit of coin, papers, records, etc., the stone was laid by D. G. M., William S. Rockwell, upon which a praiseworthy In stitution stands, and is also a proud monument to the benevolent gentlemen whose untiring labors were devoted to its origin and establishment. The Academy was finished and occupied by the pupils in 1859. 
During the war it was used for a Confederate hospital. The teachers and pupils moved to Fort Valley, where the school was kept in operation until they returned to the Academy, in 1865, when it was found that a portion of the Federal army, who had occupied the building, destroyed and removed $5,000.00 worth of property belonging to the Institution. The School was con tinued by loans until the State was in a condition to resume the payment of its accustomed appropriations. The Principals of the Institution have been : Mr. Fortescue, and in 1852, Miss Hannah Guillan, Assistant. The latter still remains. In 1853 and 1854, H.. Dutton was in charge; in 1855 and 1856, M. Home; in. 1856 and 1857, Miss Guillan-; in 1857 and 1858, Rev. W. N. Chaudoin. In August, 1858, the present incum bent, Professor W. D. Williams,, was elected Principal. 
The present trustees are: J. Mercer Green, Lewis N. Whit tle, Peter Solomon, Henry L. Jewett. : Virgil Powers, Charles A. Nutting and T. G. Holt. 
There were fifty-eight pupils in the Institution during the last session. 
 
 AND CENTRA^; GEORGIA. 
 
309 
 
; : ;|;:;:;.; ;;.;.; I:;.,:.- - 
 
 . CHURCHES.. 
 
, .- ' 
 
:::::: JiterHODiST CHURCH. Until 1826, there was.no"Society form- 
 
i:i^d;;L: There was preaching, however,. at the old. Mulberry street 
 
OgoStt-house, a small wooden structure below where trie Larmier 
 
;||se: &ow stands. 1827 was a year of revivals, and. during one 
 
iijsiiOctober, in which the Rev. Joseph Stiles, :a distinguished;Pres- 
 
;itipe:i;Ja;n: minister, took an. active part, that an effort was 
 
::J}53y^:ito erect the first hbuse of NV'OKhip in Macon. . The Hon. 
 
Htf'^|tey:HUj ;<i? Bibb, while : a member, of the Legislature; :had 
 
S|^cgsl<:y|iojs;i!;l-i*t:bpdy : two -acres .of ground," n<ifc :a:;branch sur- 
 
I;fl|gd:<ll I)}';: a beautiful gmve, .for the erectioR.ofs.a Methodist 
 
ii(2i;iiJi'C&.: : : The site was on the boundary line; of : First and Mul- 
 
||gj-|IS!;y<?.fe^::andfjUSt outside, at that .time, of the .town limits. 
 
Illiliiiiss:: Gardner, a carpenter, ..was the. local preacher;; Assisted 
 
s, a:plan was.devised to;::build.the :(3lmrch.. : The 
 
subscriptions in money, t;imber: and Sails. . .Mr. 
 
r, Alexander Richards, and Elliott Crews, all mechanics, 
 
ip!?jk!SE<?d; thfiir labors ;. when -.they could: .spare.-.,the, :tjme. : . In 
 
&tt'i the building: was completed, with a gallery within; on three 
 
;:ii|<:gfer;f:he:co5ored people. During the, .pastorship of Rev. I. A. 
 
m^l^i%s&,,- he founded -the Methodist Church Sunday School. 
 
:Sch<>f>ls and:CJ:<iirch exercises. had been : mostly on the 
 
until tlie population-: increased suffrciently.to estah- 
 
;liJi:.::Jiinuary, : .i8,3-ij the ^First Georgia Conference was. held in : ^a& after they, established a paper, G:. Capers, editor., revival: took place in the .Church, and 
}j<;!' Churches. All denominations met at the Ji, ;one hundred and fifty converts were added ^::and: a goodly number to the . other ; three 
, July 6th, 1835, by Rev. John. multitudes continually thronged 1 : 5-ch::.it every appointed preaching. The altar was at ev-:: oas: crowded with humble penitents; while . the .^ray.:s.ira^:w;K-:b:v: time and many infirmities,, received: by the 
 
 810 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
side of blooming youth, the hopeful consolations of our holy religion. Many of our best citizens are numbered by the differ ent denominations, who are the fruits of this most gracious re vival." 
The record of every Church then existing in Macon bears the names ot members who were converted at the Pentecostal event of 183$, and became zealous ofEcers in thcirrespective Churches. It was during that year, and in 1836, that the Female Col lege was founded, and in which Rev. John Howard took so active an interest. It was one of the closing services of his use ful life. He died in Macon, August 2znd, 1836, and was buried in the old cemetery. 
The first monument ever built in Macon was erected over his remains by the Methodist Church; the inscription on it was written by Dr. Few. The remains and the monument have since been removed to a more appropriate place in Rose Hill Cemetery. Another great revival took place in 1842, when the youthful Robert A. Smith joined the Church and became one of the most active members. In 1849. the Church building was too small for the accommodation of the increased membership, and a larger one was erected in 1850, on the same site, and is known as the MULBERRY STREET CHURCH, from which has sprung the other Methodist Churches in the city. 
FiRST STREET CHURCH. Efforts had been made for several years for the erection of a Church in the western part of the city. Before the building was completed it was destroyed by fire, in 1861. Another house for worship was partially built in 1865, but sufficient for occupation.; it was completed in November, 1871. 
JoNES CHAPEL originated from the Mulberry street Sunday School, as early as 1842. It was not until 1870 that a building was erected that belonged to the Chapel. It was built through the liberality, principally, of the late B. A. Wise, and named in honor of its zealous pnator. 
EAST MACON METHoms'r CiiURCH. This Church first com menced by holding meetings in an old school-house, and in the 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
511 
 
residences of families. The old school-house had been neatly fitted up with suitable fixtures in 1865, when it was burned down by the Federal soldiers, and the pulpit used as a horse trough. A lot was given the congregation by the late Mrs. Anna Cutter, and in 1868, after the Church was partially constructed, it was blown down during a storm. After many struggles, a new Church was built, principally through the liberality and exertions of Rev. John W. Burke. 
On the 5th to 8th of December, 1878, the Semi-Centennial Exercises of the Mulberry Street Methodist Church took place. The Church was crowded at each service. Memorials of Meth odism in Macon were collected, and afterwards published in a neat volume of one hundred pages, and sold by J. W. Burke & Co., at only fifty cents each, for the benefit of the parsonage fund. The volume is a very interesting one, and deserves general pa tronage. 
 
Names of Presiding Elders and Preachers who have been con nected with the Methodist Churches in Macon. 
Presiding Elders.--John Howard, W. J. Parks, William Ar nold, John W. Talley, Isaac Boring, J. W. Glenn, Josiah Lewis, Samuel Anthony, A. T. Mann, from 1832 to 1855. Since then: John W. Glenn, J. E. Evans, J. O. A. Clark, Josiah Lewis, Daniel D. Cox, Charles R. Jewett, Joseph S. Key, James W. Hinton, John W. Burke. 
Preachers Stationedin Macon.--Thomas Barley, S. K. Hodges, Charles Hardy, Ignatius A. Few, Benjamin Pope, A. H. Mitchell, John W. Talley, Alexander Speer, WillisB. Matthews, Elijah Sinclair, John P. Duncan, A. T. Mann, George F. Pierce, S. Anthony, James B. Payne, William M. Crumley. 
Mulberry Street.--G. Jefferson Pearce, W. R. Branham, J. E. Evans, S. Anthony, E. W. Speer, Thomas H. Jordan, L. G. R. Wiggins, J. W. Hinton, George G. N. MacDonell, J. Boring T. H. Stewart, H. H. Parks, G. G. Smith, George H. Patillo, E. P. Birch, J. S. Key, J. W. Burke, R. B. Lester, A. M. Camp bell, J. O, Branch, H. J. Ellis, A. Wright, William A. Parks, 
 
 312 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Vineville--William J. Sasnett, W. R. Braiiham, W. M. Crumly, John M. Marshall, W. ' R. Foote, Pastors Mulberry Street, O. P. Anthony, L..G. R. Wiggins. ' 
Colored Charge.--J. H. Caldwell, H. H. McQueen, J. M. Marshall,. W: A. Simmons, R. B. Lester, J. M. Bright, M. M. Mason, George H. Hancock, James M. Dickey, George G. N. KacDonell, L.; S. R. Wiggins, W.'S. Turner, George H. Patillo, Pas,tors M' ulberry Street, 'James H. Reese, Olin S. Means, J. W. 
 
.~-W. F. Cook, T. H. Stewart, J. M. Armstrong, 
 
W::P,: Pledger, W. C.Bass,; Thomas T, Christian. 
 
:Mci^Street.--Thomas. T.: Christian, Charles R. , Jewett, W, M. 
 
Crusily, W. F. Robinson, J. Blakely Smith, W. Watkins Hicks, 
 
G. jJfegesSon Pearce, George G. N. MacDonell,; Stephen D. 
 
CleingiitSj! Walker Lewis. 
 
East Maton Chnrch.--'S,, S, Sweet, R. B. Lester, J. W. Burke, 
 
R..M. Lockwqod, R. L. Honiker, 
 
...'.. 
 
Jones CfyapeL --James Jones, J. W. Burke, Richard Cain, R. 
 
M. Lockwood, S. S. Sweet, John W. Simmons, W. M. D. Bond, 
 
S. N. Tucker. 
 
CHRIST CHURCH PARISH. At a meeting of the citizens of Bibb county favorable to the establishment of a regular mode of religious worship, held in liiacbii, on March 5th,, 1823, at the Masonic Lodge rooms (there being no other hall, except the court-house,) it was . 
 
" -ResoIveS, We do hereby :agfee to associate ourselves as a cpngregation for the performance oi" public worsliip according to the rights and usages of the ISfttestant EpIsfeogal.ChHrcJl ia the United States of America., to: toe named and called Christ Church, in the, town of Macoti, Gieofgta. Thef^f(3fe; 
 
. l< Mesrtvftt^'Wwk the Rev. Lot : Jones be ap|jai)jted Rector thereof iTiiatiiithe^Hon, Christopher ,-B,: Strij;g.::an.d. : ;.Dr,- ABaber be appointed ;Wardeiis .thereof;; that fiikptain Luke J. Morgan, Charles J. Bullock, Geltersi GhaJles J, ; McDonald, 1 Edwa,rd:D. Tracy, : E. -McGally Robert Birdsong and Thomas Gamp-: 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
313 
 
be appointed Vestrymen thereof, Simri Rose, Treasurer, i'iivFid Nathaniel Barker, Secretary. 
 
.:.;; :".Resoh>ed, That we will be governed by the rules and edicts of: the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Georgia, iijsticl that a copy of these resolutions be forthwith forwarded to iitlie Standing Committee of the P. E. Church in the Diocese. 
 
: (Signed.) 
 
NATHANIEL BARKER, Secretary." 
 
: i The foregoing certificate of the incorporation of the Church :i:iip:;>aformity to the canons of the Diocese having been received, jilt; was unanimously 
iiii:ji-'" Resolved, That Christ Church of Macon be and is hereby ; j.ijfcscSved into union with the Convention of the P. E. Church :jjiKjitMs: Diocese." 
:i; .,tF:-ie Rector, Mr. Jones, entered upon his labors with great i'jiM, and within one year he formed a Sunday-school of eighty ife one hundred pupils. The first Covention of the Diocese asiJSeiiSbfed in Macon in April, 1826, in the small wooden court house. The Georgia Messenger, of April 25th, contained the : following editorial remarks : 
" Agreeably to previous appointment, a number of clergy and iife delegates from several of the Churches of the Diocese of ifJsorgia assembled in this place on the 24th. The Convention ii was rendered peculiarly interesting by the presence of the Right iijMverend Bishop Bowen, from the Diocese of South Carolina, !;$;*,; oh.rhe 23d, administered the Sacrament of the Lord's Supjijijjjfeiiaad delivered an able, solemn and impressive discourse. ii'Me.Convention Sermon was preached by the Rev. Hugh Smith, S|sasfcr of St. Paul's Church, Augusta, who was thoroughly imi^&sssed. with the importance of his subject, and anxiously solici;;ix3;>: ::i:!;at others should feel and act in conformity with their .jlliigtj; iind holy vocation. During the sitting of the Convention :: g'j?v:(ce was repeatedly performed, and several discourses deliviig^i: by the Rev, Abiel Carter, of Savannah, which was listened ;;;i$:iw5tbi':the. liveliest interest. Among the official acts of the 
 
 314 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Bishop were the administration of the Ordinance of Baptism 
 
and the Rite of Confirmation, etc." 
 
The subject of building a Church in Macon was at once pro 
 
posed and recommended to all of the Churches throughout the 
 
United States. A lot was donated by the State, which was 
 
afterwards disposed of. A law-suit was incurred to recover the 
 
amount, which was not settled until 1837. In the meantime 
 
another lot was purchased at $700.00, which is the same where 
 
the Church now stands. 
 
After the removal of Rev. Mr. Jones, the Church was without 
 
a Rector or regular house for worship. Services were frequently 
 
held in the office of William P, Hunter, Agent of the Branch 
 
Bank of the United States, corner of Third and Walnut streets. 
 
In compliance with a call, the Rev. Seriaca G. Bragg beeatne 
 
the Rector of the Parish. He preached his first sermon on 
 
.Sunday, January 6, 1833, and announced " that for the pres 
 
ent worship will be held every Sunday morning, at half-past ten 
 
o'clock, and in the afternoon at three o'clock, at the Masonic 
 
Hall, the use of which, in their characteristic spirit of benev 
 
olence, had been given by the Lodge to the congregation.'' 
 
Mr. Bragg commenced to raise funds for the building of a 
 
Church, and offerings came from different parts of the State and 
 
South Carolina, On Sexagesima Sunday, 1834, the first Epis 
 
copal Church was opened in Macon. It was built of brick, in 
 
the' form of a Roman cross, surmounted by a dome. In the 
 
following year a beautiful glass chandelier and an organ was in 
 
troduced, which was the first in the city. After a service of ten 
 
years, this instrument of novel church music having failed, a 
 
second organ was procured, which lasted twenty-five years, when 
 
the present and third one was purchased. The Church being 
 
free from debt, it was consecrated on the 25th of March, 1838, 
 
by the Right Reverend Jackson Keniper, of South Carolina; at 
 
the same time the Bishop administered the holy rite of Confirm 
 
ation to twenty persons. 
 
. 
 
In 1:842, the Church -w,a.s enlarged by the addition of nine 
 
teen pews, a new bell and belfry; a baptismal fount was pre- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
815 
 
:sd by the young men. The old bell, and all other Church siin the city, except the Presbyterian, which was attached to ; town Clock, were taken down on October 7th, 1863, and 
by the Macon Arsenal into cannon for the Confederate The present bell is the gift of Mr. A. A. RofT. The 
is still in use. 
1835 and 1836, Mr. Bragg instituted in the Parish a sys:Jc plan of Church offering, by the organization of the i$' Aid Society. During his ministry they contributed .00 to $300.00 annually towards missions and other objects. V the present Church was built their offerings ran up to :i3,oo. The present organ, which was obtained at a cost of >tj>oo, was almost, if not wholly, the result of their efforts; (li;Addition to this, they had raised more than $5,000.00 
;s';' the lot and building of the present Rectory. Mr. y, from declining health, resigned his charge in 1846. He m : New York, January aist, 1861. A marble tablet on the ;of the Church, near the chancel, commemorates his pure 
\Mi$ exalted character. o;:0n the death of Mr. Bragg, Rev. Joseph A, Shanklin became i'ii&e'Rector of the Parish. In January, 1851, Messrs. L. N. jlplijitle: and-N. C. Munree were appointed to raise subscriptions Ifeithe building of a new Church, the old one being inadequate Splits accommodation of the increasing membership. The : :|ttp:3:fai:ion of the city was increasing, and the untiring energy ^isC-iSfc Shanklin was devoted to the erection of a more commo- 
: Church.. The Corner Stone of the present Church was 3K the loth of March, 1851. The Church was finished and 
May 2d, 1852. It is of Gothic architecture, and cost There was a change made from the original de- 
the suggestion of William B. Johnston, who in order to !;$ispii:y<s the structure,-, liberally defrayed the expense of the 
 
!!;TM.l:pl:l(M summer of 1856, Mr. Shanklin resigned, to accept a silaSge'at Charleston, where he died on August nth, 18.56, a l||iiiSt';>'the ravages of yellow fever, while serving the distressed 
 
 816 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
of that community. A marble tablet on a wall of the Church denotes the veneration of his old flock to the memory of their zealous and eminently worthy Rector. 
Rev. H. K, Rees succeded Mr. Shanklin. In 1862, Colonel John B. Lamar bequeathed to the Church $6,000.00, which sum, by order of the officers, was invested in Confederate seven-thirty Treasury notes, which are kept in a sealed package among the archives of the Church. In December, 1866, the Church was draped in mourning on the death of its Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliot, D. D., LL, D. On Sunday morning,. April i8th, 1858, Nathan C. Munroe died. For more than a quarter of a century he had been Senior Warden of the Parish, and the vestry passed a resolution that they would place on the walls of the Church a tablet for the purpose of perpetuating his virtues and usefulness. The Rector, with the assistance of Mrs, I. C. Plant, who was devoted to the object, founded the St. Barnabas Mission in the Southwestern portion of the city. A neat chapel was erected, at a cost of $3,000.00, which was mostly paid by Mr. I. C. Plant. This Church was consecrated on Sunday pre ceding Christmas, 1872. Mr. Rees formed another Mission Chapel, St. Paul's, in 1868, of which he became the Rector, af ter resigning his charge of the Parish. In 1869, Rev. Benjamin Johnson was appointed Rector of the Parish, over which he con tinued until February, 1875, when he resigned and severed his connection with the Protestant Episcopal Church, and entered the service of the Reformed Episcopal Church. He was suc ceeded temporarily by the Rev, Dr. Jacob VonLinge, On the first Sunday in October, 1875, Rev. Chauncey C. Williams was called to the Rectorship of the Parish, and remained ;until Jan uary, 1878. He concluded his charge in a touching valedicto ry discourse, giving an historic review of the Church, from the manuscript of which this sketch is partly compiled. The Rev. Otis G. Glazebrook succeeded Mr. Williams, in February, 1878, and in April following founded the St. John's Mission in East Macon, by first establishing a Sunday School, which in a few months numbered one hundred and twenty-five pupils. The 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
iiliff<0ng used was one of the first wooden stores built in East ilpcon, as early as 1827. It is the property of David Slanders, ;;$!. oldest citizen of the county, who tendered it for the purpose iiisad. There : are now thirty communicants in the Missions The: Wardens of Christ Church in: Maconare: L; N. Whittle and: Jahn \W:.: Deitz. Vestry--G. R. Ba,rjceft:W. :Wi Carnes, Asher Ayres, ;:;i|pfc :Bacori, Albert Mix, T.vd.f-Chestney andS. T. Coleman. :::M:K:I*::: J; A, Griffith is the; Assistant Rector of theTarish. In ^faiy^S??. -the; Rev. Robert -B-^ Jackson succeeded Mr, Rees, ^i^&^i-gs^ttd:::|?5.6iRectorshirj;Of St. Paul's. 'The Convention of ::Il?I;MScese assembled ; in Macen, May nth, .1867, and elected S:i!i8;lev. JoKg'W. Beckwith, of New Orleans, Bishop; :S?;Liis aig historical coincidence it will be observed from the two 
|sg- sketches of Churches, that the first Georgia Conference Methodist Episcopal Church, and the first Convention of 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, was held in 
SKtSJSjv CHURCH,---After the town of Macon was laid ;{ in' ^-a small wooden building about thirty-five by fortyiifive: feet, nt ceiled or plastered, was erected on Mulberry 
: thij:G>3mer of Third. This, building was then used rt'/hiifese of the county.. For several years it was the j);ace of ministers of all the several denominations, JKKStH^ visited: or were thrown transiently in the :^-^S room, on the 8th of June, 1826, twenty-five "considerable portion of whom were .gathered from. 5E:iiKg. : -ount?Wj were: organized: into a Presbyteriaa >f Rev. Benjamin Gildersleeyer: under authority: ;of i'l^abyt&ry, of the then-Synod :of; South Carolina asa 
, Joseph Styles was present. : He was tfeen a g;jas.;an.fiyangelist through, this region, ;. :frejjfeaehed:iat Mg.con.for some time previous to : 1:826, .-:; : ; : , thereafter used, however.: ;'a.s ; tfoJ::p!;K:e for : for : seveJ'al : years. It- W?IB: a : :a>ip:.: ^e^i:S|: :'!:*i:iS:T  - 
 
 318 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Mr. Styles continued to be the only supply of the pulpit, making this one of the many points at which he preached, until the middle of November, 1827, a period of about eighteen months, during which the accessions were thirty-eight, and Samuel B. Hunter and Matthew Robertson became Ruling El ders. In 1828, Rev. James C. Patterson became minister, and. continued until the close of 1830. The accessions under his ministry were thirty-three; including Washington! Poe and Nath aniel Barker, who became Ruling: Elders. 
The first Church building was erected during Mr. Patterson's ministry, in 1829, which was a wooden building on Fourth street, between Poplar and Plum. It was afterward purchased by the Catholics. In 1831, .Rev. Edwin Holt became the first Pastor of the Church, and continued until the close of 1834. The accessions during this period were seventy-eight, ; and David B. Butler and Hugh Craft were added to the Eldership. Early in 1835, Rev. James Stratton became supply of the pulpit, serving until the end of April, 1836, during which time the accessions were forty-two, and Thomas King was added to the Eldership. The second house of worship was .commenced under Mr. Stratton's ministry, but was not completed and occupied until Mr. Cassels succeeded him. It is now occupied by the Catholics. It is situated on Fourth street between Mul berry and Walnut. 
The Rev. Samuel Cassels, in 1835, became the second Pastor of the Church, and served to the end of April, 1841. During this period the accessions were eighty-two, and Curtis Lewis, David C. Campbell, Edwin B. Weed, Eugenius A. Nisbet, Rich ard C. Randolph and Benjamin B. Hopkins were added to the Eldership. The Church had three Sabbath-schools for the whites, that in the Church building, one in East Macon and one on Windsor Hill, which, together, : reported one hundred and fifty-nine pupils and thirty-three teachers. It also established one for the blacks, and commenced those labors among them which gave in afterwards a large membership of this class, and resulted, after emancipation, in the Colored Presbyterian Church 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
319 
 
city. In 1841, Rev. Dr. Leland, of the Theological of Columbia, supplied the Church for about three 
Esivths, with one accession. iiila: 1842, Rev. Daniel Inglis became supply from February rsfc, for eleven months, with six accessions. Rev. Richard oaker became the third pastor, and served to the end of April, :8^ii nine years and three or four months, which is more than ^iiJKS long as the service of any of his predecessors. During ?pi;;:;iiine'the accessions were one hundred and eighteen. Edwin Krt*!S- Robert Carver were added .to the Eldership. Mr. S:feySr&ad been an Elder for five years before. iSlEiSv, Robert L. Breck became the fourth Pastor of the Church, g*vi:g from May, 1852, to the close of September, 1858, six $J$: &M'' four months ; during which time there were one hunRfec|;;aiKl' thirteen accessions. Elijah Bond and Sylvanus Bates (?3-t; added to the Eldership. Under the ministry of Mr. Breck, lieiifreesent Church on the corner of First and Mulberry streets, iM greeted, and his last act was to dedicate it, on the iyth of epeaaber, 1858, with a sermon from the text, "He loveth the SaJcS of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." The DediStTy Prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Boring, of the Methodist 'latch. The new edifice is a spacious and elegant house, capa- 
; of;; seating eight hundred auditors. :v.. Dr.. Hardenburg, of the Reformed Dutch Church, served apy from February ist, 1859, to June ist, with ten acces; Rev. Charles W. Lane, ot Oglethorpe University, served pjjly for July, August and September, with three accessions. : ; i&wid Wills became the fifth Pastor of the Church, servvsm : March ist, 1860, to October yth, 1870, a period often ^and seven months, over one year longer than any predei^ and extending through the trying times of the war and ^SMtrous years immediately following its fatal termination. ifij* : this time the accessions were two hundred and four, and rd Anderson, Samuel Hunter and Samuel D. Irwin were <:|i.tO:: the Eldership. Rev. C. R. Vaughn supplied the pi;loSJ: January ist, 1870, to August, 1871. Rev. William 
 
 320 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
McKay and other ministers supplied the pulpit occasionally un 
 
til 1873, during which period of three years there were kwenty- 
 
three accessions. Rev. A. W. Clisby, on February ist, 1873, 
 
became Tastor, and up to July ist, 1876, three years and five 
 
months, the accessions had been seventy-one, and Erastus H. 
 
Link, Patrick H. Wright and James Hoge had been added to 
 
the Eldership. To the original band of twenty-five members, 
 
eight hundred and twenty-two have been added exclusive of 
 
colored members, of whom two hundred and sixty-three are still 
 
on the roll, but several of them non residents. 
 
Of the original 25 members, 24 were received by letter, and 
 
one by profession; 14 were men and n women. Of the 823 ac 
 
cessions, 446 have been by profession and 376 by letter--274 
 
men and 348 women. Taking into account the original zg, the 
 
number stands, 847 members in all, of whom 447 were received 
 
by profession and 400 by letter; 288 were men and 559 women. 
 
The house begun in 1871, has been completed and occupied, 
 
and the Mission School on Windsor Hill transferred to the 
 
Chapel built this year, 1876, on Spring street, and has been 
 
adopted as the second Sabbath-school of the Church. 
 
The foregoing is compiled from an Historical Sermon by the 
 
present Pastor, delivered in 1876. 
 
The Sunday-school is, under the superintendence of G. B. 
 
Dettre, in a flourishing condition, numbering 160 pupils. 
 
THE BAPTIST CHURCH.. The: following is extracted from a 
 
sketch of this Church down to 1855, published .by the Rev. 
 
Sylvanus Landrum, Pastor at that time: 
 
' 
 
"The Constitution of this Church was recognized by.three 
 
Ministers, John M. Gray, C. A. Tharpe and Jonathan Ne.al, in 
 
the year 1826. The constituents of the Body were nine in 
 
number: Richard W. Ellis and wife, Austin Ellis, James Hpl- 
 
.liugsworth and wife:, William F. Brown and wife, Benjamin Rus 
 
sell .and wife. For some time:the Church had no. hoiise of wor 
 
ship, and was dependent upon the town, then in its infancy, for 
 
a place in which to hold its meetings. About 1828 or 1829 the 
 
Presbyterians generously offered the use of their house, where 
 
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321 
 
they continued to assemble until 1832, when a brick house on the corner of Second and Mulberry streets, was erected. The erection of that house and the death of an influential member, involved the Church in a debt which it could not pay. The house was sold and another built near the site of the old ceme tery, at the foot of Cherry street. About 1839, the Church sold this house and built another on First street, near Cotton Avenue, which house was occupied until the ist of October, 1854. During the years 1853 and 1854 the congregation erec ted a handsome and tasteful Gothic edifice on Second Street, in the heart of the city, at a cost of $18,000.00. 
This edifice was dedicated with appropriate services, on the i8th of March, 1855. Sermon by the Pastor, from Hab. 2-20: il But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." 
In 1826, Rev. J. D. Gray was the first Pastor. He sustained the relation for two years. In 1828, Rev. Adiel Sherwood, D. D., was Pastor for two years. In 1830, Rev. Jesse H. Camp bell, D. D., was Pastor. The late Rev. Josiah S. Shaw was next in the pastorate of the Church. He remained during a part of the year 1832. During the remainder of the year and the year 1833, Rev. C. A. Tharpe, of Twiggs county, visited the Church occasionally as a supply. In 1833, Rev. A. T. Holmes was ordained, and became Pastor in 1834, and continued for .four years. In 1839, Rev S. Hillyer, Professor of Belles Lettres in Mercer University, was Pastor. In 1840, Rev. Thomas Curds, D. D., was next settled with the Church for two years. In 1842, Rev. C. D. Mallory, D. D., then residing in Twiggs county, visited the Church monthly. In 1843, Rev. J. R. Kendrick commenced as Pastor, and closed in 1847. I n T 847, Rev. Albert Williams was Pastor to the spring of 1849. In 1850, Rev. S. Landrum became Pastor in January, and contin ued for ten years. In 1859, Rev. E. W. Warren took charge an December 2d, and remained until 1871. The pulpit was then filled by Revs. H. H. Tucker, J. J. Brantly, James McBride and others, until 1872. Rev. William H, Mclntosh, D.D., 
 
 322 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
became Pastor early in January, and continued until September 26th, 1875. On December of the same year, Rev. Thomas E. Skinner, D. D., became Pastor, and continued until October, 1879, when he was succeeded by the Rev. E. W. Warren, D. D., who now again administers to his old flock, after an absence of more than eight years. The Sunday-school is under charge of C. B. Ellis, and numbers, teachers and pupils, three hundred and fifty, being the largest Baptist Sunday-school in the State. 
THE SOUTH MACON BAPTIST CHURCH.--In, 1877, the First Baptist Church sent Rev. E. Z. F. Golden as a Missionary in South Macon. He held service in a small building erected by the First Baptist Church, where a prosperous Sunday-school was established under the superintendence of Mr. C. B. Ellis. The buildihg became known as the Baptist Chapel. On the third Sabbath in February, a Church was constituted by the, election of two deacons, a Church clerk and treasurer, under the name of the South Macon Baptist Church. Mr. Golden continued as Pastor until December, 1878, when he resigned. Is January, 1879, Rev. Benjamin H. Ivey was elected Pastor. The Sec ond Baptist Church having disbanded, and their new Church building being larger and having a more populous location., through the efforts of Mr. C. C. Smith of the First Baptist Church, and others, it was secured, repaired, refitted and occu pied by the South Macon Baptist Church in October. There is a flourishing Sabbath-school in connection with this Church. 
CATHOLIC.--ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH. In 1841, the Rev. James Graham came to Macon and became Pastor of the Catholic congregation, of about fifty members. Previous to this time, services were held at the residence of a few Catholic families and occasionally conducted by visiting priests. Soon after his arrival, Father Graham purchased from Elam Alexander, Esq., the old Presbyterian Church .building:,, with the large lot, for $i.poo.oo, to be paid in four payments within two years. Mr. Alexander bought the lot and building from the Presbyterians when they abandoned it to occupy their new brick Church on First street, near Walnut. The Catholics paid the $1,000.60, and' 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
323 
 
;.;jr*if!t!'ed:the building suitable to their purposes. In the midst of ii&fe:'usefulness, at th'S early age of thirty-four, on the i8th day of ::::|3^'f:;eiiab'er>''T8'42';'''Revv'''Father-Grahain. died. He was buried ilipfMr the altar of the Church he had founded, in the presence ::<s|::a;large number of citizens of all denominations, and when the jiiiijiSding was abandoned by the Catholics in 1867, his remains : : &:ee:'removed to the Mortuary Chapel in the Catholic cemetery at 
, where appropriate services were again held over them. the spring of 1841, the Rev. Thomas Murphy was appoints&ir of the Church, and continued until November, 1844, !blii"was succeeded by Rev. Patrick Joseph CofFey, who conj: :'until 1845. O n June aoth, 1844, Aloysius Reynolds a visit to the Church, and confirmed eleven males and six s;& Rev. James O'Connell became Pastor December 2ist, ,: extending .his labors to Milledgeville, Clinton and the iii^liSi River. In 1846, Rev. John F. Kirby was appointed assistHll^.j-'i'Sipr. In April, 1846, Bishop Reynolds made his second sllsi^to the Church, and appointed Rev. C. J. Crogan, Pastor, !;p!><3:remained until September roth, 1846; the Rev. John Kirby itgifiiSvM from Macon to the Church at Savannah. Until 1849, i.l'lltgl.lChtirch at Macon was supplied monthly from Savannah. On IpiHyaf'y yth, 1849, ^-ev - Thomas F. Shanahan was appointed l^asiSrby the Very Rev. J. Barry. The labors of Mr. Shanahan iifMsad:ed to Atlanta, and along the State Road to Tennessee. :;:|p&laj;;-1850, Rev. J. F. O'Neill was appointed assistant. The lljigsrKh. was visited this year by Fathers Birmingham, of Charles;!jp:aM:Pendergast, of Savannah. On November ist, 1850,: S:|?:B^;>::|3dw;ard Quigly was appointed Pastor at Macon and of '\'$i$y%&jl%cerit counties, with Mr. O'Neill as assistant. He re<;! until 1854. On a visit on the 25111 of April, 1854, Bishra!icis Xavier Gartland confirmed twenty-seven persons J pi;! in. May, 1862, he confirmed five more. In 1854, Mr. y was succeeded by Assistant O'Neill, who remained until : .1856. Rev. John Barry served one month, and was sucsi by Rev. James Hassan, who remained until March, 1859, 
: Thomas Riley was appointed, and continued until 
 
 824 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
June, 1861. He was transferred to Atlanta,;.and built the pres ent Catholic Church at that place, and at his death his remains were buried under its altar. In October, 1861, Father Michael Cullinan was regular Pastor, arid remained' until September, 1863, when Rev. William John Hamilton came and remained until June, 1865, when Rev. J. F. O'Neill, Jr., was appointed assistant, and became the Pastor. Mr. Hamilton was appointed Pastor of the Cathedral at Savannah. Mr. O'Neill remained Pastor until November. 1867, when the present Church, the second Church built by the Presbyterians, was purchased at $6,000.00, and about $10,000.60 was spent in repairing, refitting and making the necessary improvements. The old Ciiurch lot on Fourth street was sold to Mr. Beverly Thornton for $25,006.00, and the Church building for $800.00; the latter with the condition that every piece of timber should be taken down, in order that another denomination might not use the same structure for a Church. In December, Bishop Verot dedicated the new Church, and made the first baptism on December loth, 1867, Mary Dempsey being the infant baptized. 
The following is a copy of the Rescript from the Pope of Rome, granting permission to sell the lands on which the first Church stood, and also the Pastoral residence and the Church: 
Ex AUDIENTIA SANCTISSIMI DOMINI NOSTRI Pn IX. Die 16 Septembris, 1866. 
Sanctissimus D. N., Pius, Divina Providentia, Pontifex Maximus IX., referente me infrascripto, sacra congregatio de Propa ganda Fide Secretario, attentis expositis benigne annuit, pro gratia juxta preces, caute tarnen ut Ecclesia quae venditur non convertatur in sordidas usus,. ibique si fieri potest, crux erigatur et ut pretium quod ex venditione obtifl'abitur totum erogetur ad novam Ecclesiam cum domo parochiali in loco magis idoneo aedificandam. 
Datum Romse ex aedibus N.SS die et anno prsedictis. Gratis sine ulla solutione, quocunque titulo. 
H. CAPELLI, Secretarius. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
325 
 
Very Reverend Peter Defau, V. G., became Pastor in ii::|fev:gmber, 1867, and remained until March 25th, 1868, when :: SeVv; Louis Dennis Xavier Bazin, the present Pastor was apijointed to the charge. Father Bazin remained until May, 1874, : : <:!ic;a he went to Europe and returned in November. Rev. Mr. ; lliejltagh was appointed Assistant until July, 1876; he died in  j&rtiftacus. During the absence of Father Bazin in 1876 and ii:J:ij~j Rev. Father Gaboury filled his place. Rev, Father James illllxirphy was appointed Assistant in May, 1877, and remained ::Kj5:tli liis death occurred, at Pio Nono College, July apth. The ;'0|&y<v ; Pastor remained alone until 1879. Rev. P. McMahon was ::::ij:|?*mfed his Assistant until September. From the first congreijpilsoa-, with only fifty members, there had been goodly increase, ;3BpiI> at one time it numbered 1,200 members. In consequence ::*!:iateaths and many removals from the city, the number stands j'jji&Horiiing to the last Church census, 700 including men, women iii'pi; /children. 
 
;?::.::::ETH ISRAEL.--The congregation of the House of Israel iiisspnated from an organization named the United Hebrew 
and established June 25th, 1856, at which A. Mack i: iappointed chairman, and Elias Einstein secretary. The basiness was to raise funds to repair and improve the JewWurial ground in Rose Hill Cemetery, which was purchased S45, by the several Jews who were then residing in Macon, lilsad formed an association bearing the same name. On Ot'*: 6th a. constitution was adopted, and the United Hes?;Society, permanently organized by the election of A. Desipfgsident; A. Mack, vice-president; Elias Einstein, secre^:' S. Feuchtwanger, treasurer. Board of directors--E. ;:*;*y:R. Einstein and M. Landauer. After several changes in isScers, at ameeting in February, 1868, it was resolved that ;iSftf.ic.ty connect with Beth Israel, and turn over the burial )g:*l to them. The Society was then discontinued, 
ia Informal meeting of several Israelites was held at the fiii pf E. M. Brown, on October 3oth, 1859. E. Isaacs 
 
 326 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
was called to the chair, and A. Dessau was secretary. Pre liminary measures were adopted to form a congregation. At a meeting on November 6th, initiation fees and: a:plan of con tributing were adopted, and it was resolved that the congrega tion be called the "House of Israel, and the Minhag, or mode of worship, be of German orthodoxy." 
On February zd, 1860, the first meeting was held in Home's building on Cherry street. Rev. H. Lowenthal was appointed Chasan of the Congregation. In 1864 the place of worship was moved to a hall in Jewett's building, on Second street. In Oc tober, 1872, it was moved to Isaacs' Hall, on Cherry street^ where it remained until 1874, when the Vestry room of the Temple was occupied. The first service held in the Temple was on Rosh Hashonah, the New Year Day of the Jews. The Temple was dedicated the first Sunday of the Feast of the Taber nacles. The Rev. Mr. Lillienthal, of Cincinnati, preached the dedication sermon, text from Job, 8: 7---" Though thy beginn ing be small, thy end shall. greatly increase.'' There was a very large assembly present of all denominations, and the exer cises were very impressive. 
The present officers are: Joseph Dannenburg, President, D. Abraham, Vice-President, I. Thorner, Secretary, A. Binswanger, Treasurer. Rabbi, N. I. Benson. 
 
COLORED CHURCHES.--There are ten Colored Churches, each with large congregations and Sabbath-schools. On their annual celebration in May last, there were one thousand seven hund red pupils and teachers in the procession, and their exercises at the Park were highly creditable in every respect. 
 
BENEVOLENT! SOCIETIES. 
 
: 
 
Macon Lodge, No. 5, F. A. M., commenced work under 
 
dispensation, July 28th, 1824, charter dated August iyth', 1825. First officers were: Ambrose Baber, W. M.; Eleazer McCall; S. W,; Edward D. Tracy, J. W.; Ebenezer Keeney, Treasurer; Jonathan A. Hudson, Secretary ; George Jewett, S. D.j Thomas 
 
 m 
 
AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
327 
 
HSl'i iBstes, J. D.; James R. Bennett, Tiler. This was the first ;8s||sization of any society in Bibb county. The present offi;i:i^,ar6.-:.-.Jame&..Booae,...W,...M.j..N..E... Harris, S, W.; W, A. i'Ow&pbell, J. W., T. L. Massenburg, Secretary; Joseph E. iiiWalls,- Treasurer; Jacob Seisel, S. D.; F. E. Saunders, J. D.; ::G,::|-L: Freeman, Tiler. 
iii;:: :etlstantine Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M., commenced work under ::::::(|is;?S:ft&ation granted by Joel R. Poinsett, G. G. H. P., of the iiipKiiwi Chapter of the United States, dated Washington City, :::Jsne:2iSt, 1838. The charter was granted by the Grand ChapiiitgEisif the United States, at Boston, oil the I4th of September, H^i^sad signed by Paul Dean, G. G. H. P. of the Grand slpppsr of the United States. Officers: Ambrose Baber, ||llp:;Priest; James C. Morgan, King; Henry Wood, Scribe; giil^tliSaiel Barker, P. S., and others. The present officers are: ifSseph E. Wells, High Priest; George R. Barker, King; Albert ll&jj.jBlitts, Scribe; T. L. Massenburg, Secretary; Geo. >!S. Obear, !;;?$: rejijiiirer. 
::::::::;S^ ;Omer Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar, organized iijiiiJs: i8th, 1848. Present officers: John .G. Deitz, Eminent i;;?;i5tKi!;fi;ander; R. B. Hall, Generalissimo; M. S. Freeman, jjj'j^agliStia General] George R. Barker, Treasurer; O. F. Adams, 
; Rev. S. S. Sweet, Prelate; W. P. Baldwin, Senior O. N. Dana, Junior Warden; J. F. Greer, Standard |:':v'J. J. Cornell, Sword Bearer; J. L. Kennedy, Warder; lK,. Freeman, Sentinel. 
?i/^;?/%?ztts--~Franklin Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F. instituted ary; zoiti; 1843. Charter members: G. L. Warren, Free;;Hart, Charles S. Thomas, Albert Mix, Thomas Manson, sKa Sewell> Jr. Present officers: R.L.Henry, N. G.; J. 
&erg, V. G.; C. J. Stroberg, R. S,; S. H. Singleton, P. Mi::'E!; Rogers, Treasurer. 
(:5f<K,l Brothers Lodge, No. 5, I. O. O. F., instituted Novernets- 1843. James : M. Draper, N. G. ; E. C. Sherwood, V. p::(3^: C:; Burnettj Secretary; G. R. Barker, P. Secretary:; E, 
 
 328 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
C. Granniss, Treasurer. Present officers: J. M. Whittock, N. 
 
G.; James Boone, V. G.; George R. Barker, Treasurer; F. E. 
 
 Saunders, Secretary.. .:,.-.. 
 
..... 
 
..'.... .....................,,.../.., 
 
Germania Lodge, No. 59, I. O. O. F., instituted June 8th, 1870. Present officers: F. A. Schoneman, P.G. ; F. Wanke, N. G.; W. Peitzer, V. G.; P. Koch, Secretary; V. Kahn, 
 
Treasurer. 
 
Macon Union Encampment, No. 2, I. O. O. F., instituted July loth, 1850. Present officers: G. R. Barker, C. P.; James Boone, H. P.; J. F. Stroberg, S. W.; T. E. Knight, J. W. ; H. Spahr, Scribe ; E. C. Granniss,- Treasurer. 
 
Malachi Lodge, No. 146, I. O..B. B., organized May 22d, 1870. Present officers: Joseph Dannenburg, President; Wil liam Landsberg, Secretary. 
Hebrew Benevolent Society, organized 1873. Present of ficers : MJ-S. Jacob Harris, President, and Mrs. Julia Dannen. burg, Secretary. 
St. Vincent de Paul's Society, organized March 25th, 1868. Present officer : Dr. John Ingalls, President. 
St. Joseph Society, organized January, 1872. Thomas Burke, President; M. O'Donohue, Secretary. 
Knights of Honor, organized July, 1875. Present officers: W. E. Flanders, P. D.; Charles T. Holmes, Dictator; Robert Coleman, V. D.; J. D. Hudgins, Treasurer; J. W. Blackshear, Secretary ; J. W. Burke, Chaplain. 
 
Royal Arcanum, organized in August, 1877. ^- H. Flan ders, D. S. R.; Robert Coleman, P. R.; S. M. Subers, Regent; H. E. Rees, Treasurer; J. W. Blackshear, Secretary. 
 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, organized July 3tst, 1877. Present officers: S. M. Subers, P. M. W.; J. W. Blackshear, M. W.; H. Spahr, Secretary; M. G. Schwed, Treasurer; A. Gibian, Financier. 
 
Hibernian Society, organized 1852, to consist only of Irish men. : Patrick Crown, President. The Festival of St. Patrick, 
 
 :::::; 
 
AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
329 
 
^|ie Patriotic Saint of Ireland, is the anniversary day of the So-. ieietf. Present officers: Patrick Peyton, President; D. D. TraWj: Secretary ; Patrick Grown, Treasurer. 
illi;ilnights of Pythias, Central Lodge, No. 3, organized Febru^jy/jth, 1870. M. R. Rogers, V. P. ; D. B. Woodruff, W. C. iiFresent officers : William Schatzman, C. C.; J. F. Dasher, V. :;!. i. A. E. Seifert, K. of R. and S. ; C. J. Stroberg, M. of F.; i;pi:$L Barker, M. of E. ; J. H. Bremer, I. G.; M. G. Schwed, 11 llSt'A.; B. St. Paul Guerrardie, O. G. 
:.:.:.:: lection 77, Endowment Rank, Knights of Pytheas, organDecember rath, 1877. T. J, Carling, President; A. E. rSj. Secretary and Treasurer. 
;i;.;iipaeon Typogarphical Union, No. 84, was organized Decemfeaf;^3th, 1865. Present officers: James H. Smith, President; :J;^E.; Christian, V. P.; Robert McKay, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
|;iiii:-j ;-!:; 
 
NEWSPAPERS AND PRINTING. 
 
;.;.; ^Newspapers. The first newspaper published in Bibb county :^B:S : i:he Georgia Messenger. It was published by Major Mat|b;sy:R.obertson, at Fort Hawkins, March i6th, 1823, while the il^fS^'were being sold to build the town of Macon. Three weeks ester the first issue Simri Rose became the Senior partner, and 
a connection with the paper for near half a century, death. The press on which the paper was first printed e ^ame that printed the Louisville Gazette, published as s 179.6, at Louisville, the Capital of Georgia. The edi/Day and Healy. The name of the paper was changed American Advocate. It was sold to Mr, Wheeler, who -d the name to the Columbian Advocate. Mr. Wheeler solvent. In 1820, Major Robertson bought the press and t $30.60 at auction, changing its name to the Sentinel. exchanged the old type for new in Philadelphia, brought the ess: la Fort Hawkins, and established the Georgia Messenger, 
the Cotton Factory now stands. In 1824, the Mesas moved to Macon, and located on Fifth street. 
 
 230 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
The old press was made out of oak, in England. Having pur chased a new one, Major Robertson broke the old one to pieces. The .second..press.,.after..having, faithfully served itsproprietors through so many eventful years, is now doing good service in printing the Dawson Journal. 
In March, 1826, Major Robertson retired and sold his in terest to Marmaduke J. Slade. The firm was Rose & Slade. In 1830, Mr. Slade retired, selling his interest to Isaac G. Sey mour, who was the leading editor for near seventeen years. He was assisted in 1835 and 1836 by Hon. R. A. Beall, as Assistant Editor. In April, 1847, Colonel Seymour retired, disposing of his interest to S. T. Chapman, who had purchased the Georgia Journal, which was established at Milledgeville, in 1808, and united it with the Messenger, under the title of the Journal and Jlfessetiger. The Albany Courier was about the same time brought into the consolidation. In February, 1852, Mr. Chap man sold his interest to James T. Nisbet, and in 1855, Mr. Nisbet sold his interest t Joshua Knowles, formerly of the South ern Recorder. In 1863, A. P. Burr succeeded Mr. Knowles, and on the death of Mr. Burr, he .was succeeded by his son S. G. Burr in 1865. In 1867, Anderson W. Reese was employed as editor. The paper became a daily sheet after the close of the war. In 1868, Mr. Burr, who owned the greater part of the paper, and had changed it to a daily, sold to Messrs. J. W. Burke & Company in February, 1868, Mr, Reese continuing as editor for a short time, until succeeded by General William M. Browne, who continued until November, 1869, when the Mes senger united with the Telegraph. 
The Macon Telegraph was founded in December, 1826 by Dr. Myrom Bartlett, who was proprietor until 1844. On October ist, 1831, he published a small daily, the first in Maconj which con tinued until the last of December, 1833. ^n I 844> Oliver H. Prince, Jr., became editor and preprfttor. About this time the Republic, a weekly, was started and continued under Samuel M. Strong and H. C. Crosby until April 28th, 1845, when it was merged into the Telegraph. In April, 1847., Mr, Prince disposed 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
331 
 
::<af ; :the paper to Samuel J. Ray, who continued the sole editor ilaSKl proprietor until January, 1850, when Thomas L. Ross* ii iJiirehased one-half interest. The firm of Ray & Ross conhtmued until the death of Mr. Ray, in January, 1853. The paper !!&;&' then sold to Messrs. H. K. & J. M. Green & P. Tracy, iiiaiiid'in June, same year, Jackson Barnes purchased an interest, :::sad the firm was Green, Tracy & Barnes. The firm was soon I'is&arward changed to Green, Barnes & Co., with P. Tracy, editor. :::!!;% paper was in December, 1855, disposed of to Joseph Clisby, : ::S?fi, on February ist, 1860, commenced the publication of the '''iM0y-..Tflegraph, which continues. at this time. In 1864 or '65, iiiiMji;;: Clisby sold to Henry L. Flash, the editor of the Daily Con'^jj&x&ie, who united it with the Telegraph. On the close of the l^aij^Mr. Flash sold the paper to Messrs. Clayland & Durable, ilifffe'in 1866, sold to Reid & Boykin, who employed J. R. Ilii^eii as principal editor, The Confederate was a consolidation |;| ::>!: :Mo papers--the Georgia Citizen, established in 1850, by SSpiiHFy! W. Andrews, and continued until united with the W$>jilerate in 1863. In November, 1868, J. W. Clisby pur;!; ::sSife;d; Mr. Boykin's interest in the Telegraph, and the firm was !::iis8V$: Reid. In November, 1869, the Journal and Messen':.y.gM^vM amalgamated with the Telegraph under the title of the Wi$$8j$$& and Messenger, A. W. Reese becoming a partner IliplsIjV editor. On May ist, 1871, H. H, Jones purchased Mr. ||ilJeid:> s: interest, and the firm has been ever since Clisby, Jones 
 
m the foregoing it will be observed that the present paper o: 1 the representative of five other papers : The Journal, Cou'&tp'itllic , Citizen and Confederate, which have been merged it::sicethe foundation at Fort Hawkins, of the Messenger, in tt&i: : i&?3i' The venerable senior editor, Joseph Clisby, is H:;ivvledged Nestor of the press of Georgia. hK : printing establishment of J. W. BURKE & Co., com- 
: operations in 1862, under the name of Burke & Boykin. : 'destroyed by incendiaries in the Federal army on their 
ff of :Macon. In 1865, it was reorganized /ufi&st the 
 
 832 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
name of J. W. Burke & Co. The Wesleyan Christian Advocate 
 
weekly; Kind Words, weekly, monthly and semi-monthly, are 
 
published .by the...house, .Theestablishment is the most exten 
 
sive in the State, and there are few larger in the South. It exe 
 
cutes book and job work of every style and quality, employing 
 
eight presses--four by steam and four by hand. Number of 
 
employes about thirty. 
 
The Central Georgia Weekly was moved from Barnesville to 
 
Macon by the proprietors, Messrs. A. A. & A. O. Murphy, ill 
 
August, 1877. It was purchased by the present editor and pro 
 
prietor, J. D. Williams, in April, 1879. 3^r- Williams was the 
 
editor, during the late war, of that staunch gazette, the Meridian 
 
Clarion. He stoutly advocates Independent Democracy against 
 
rings and cliques, favors internal improvements and the green 
 
back policy. 
 
Two other printing offices are in operation ; one by George 
 
W. Wing, and the other by A. E.. Seifert, who execute a variety 
 
of neat job printing. 
 
The Macon Public Library and Historical Society was organ 
 
ized June, 1874. During the first year, sixteen hundred vol 
 
umes were collected. There are now over six thousand vol 
 
umes on the shelves, and fifty of the leading daily and weekly 
 
newspapers and magazines throughout the country are received. 
 
The institution contains the valable Munroe Library, comprising 
 
bound volumes of the oldest Macon newspaper and papers from 
 
other cities, which were carefully preserved and neatly bouad 
 
by the late N. C. Munroe; also, a number of standard histories, 
 
periodicals both European and American, organizations and an 
 
nual reports of many institutions in the city and State. It is 
 
from these records that this volume has been mostly compiled, 
 
and wre the writer to dedicate it to any particular person., the 
 
memory of no one would be more deserving the humble tribute 
 
than that of Nathan C. Munroe. 
 
. 
 
List of officers--L N. Whittle, president; Rev. A. J. Battle, 
 
D. D., and W. A. Lofton, V. P., on the organization, followed 
 
by Dr. Battle, W. B. Hill, R. E, Park and J. F. Hanson, res- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA, 
 
338 
 
ipecuively presidents. T. O. Chestney, elected treasurer, and C. : Merbst, librarian, in 1875; both continue in office. ;;;; : ; The Macon Fire Department was organized in 1854. In May, ::&?>bert Findlay was chief, and succeeded in September by B. F. HJ&Kise. In 1856, George S. Obear was elected chief, and coniiiiiiied until 1857, when he resigned, having been elected mayor i;Sf?he city. In 1866-67, H. P. Westcott was chief; 1868, John . ::<3:>: Deitz; 1869-' 70, L. C. Ricks; 1871-' 72, A. Patterson; i;!^'^'4' 74-' 75-' 76, R. A. Morris, when he resigned in August. iiijlp, and the year 1877, J- W. Truman; 1878, C. Machold ; iijigyt), T. C. Hendrix. The department is composed of six HigBtsipanies ; each is well equipped with apparatus and a neat two-. iiissoirj- brick house. Five of the companies are supplied with iigCiocS steam engines and one, a hook and ladder company, with tipiphe requisite fixtures. A full history of the department and iifeSfeh company has been published twice within four years. :::: Macon Gas Light Company was organized in 1853 ; capital iiSSOsfe .$43,000 ; increased in 1857 to $-65,000... The presidents ::^gra :; A. J. White, James A. Nisbet, E. J. Johnson, and in 
SS-8, J. M. Boardman was elected, who has been continued to iiitibss. time. Present secretary, treasurer and superintendent, A. i-ij&i.iBoardrnan. In 1876, a new charter was obtained, and the 
changed to Macon Gaslight and Water Company. 
 
RAILROADS. 
"'Central Road, Just at the conclusion of the war and the e of the Federal army into Macon, Richard R. Cuyler, r twenty-three years was President of the Central Rail<i Banking Company, died. He was also President of. itSinah.westem Railroad. General Sherman had destroyed as:: \m tir-e Central Road, from Gordon to Savannah, in 1864. ^e.: Autumn of 1865, William B. Johnston was elected the sissrtr :of Mr. Cuyler. George W. Adams continued as Gen: Biiipsrintendent. The principal duty of the President was Hs funds on the bonds of the Company to rebuild the.road. iSiKjertaking, when the country was in a distracted COn- 
 
 384 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
dition, Mr, Johnston was successful. The road was rebuilt at a cost of about $1,000,000.00, and resumed operations in the Fall of 1866. The purposes of Mr. Johnston having, been accom plished, he declined a re-election, and favored that of General William M. Wadley, who was elected President, and continues at this date. Mr. Adams resigned the Superintendency, and President Wadley filled that office in connection with his execu tive duties until in 1868, when William Rogers was appointed General Superintendent. The number of employees in Macon are about four hundred annually. 
The Southwestern Road--General William S. Holt was elected to succeed President R. R. Cuyler, in 1865, and remained ac tive President until the lease of the Road by the Central Rail road in 1869, and is still President of the Organization, which, includes the amalgamation of the Muscogee between Butler and Columbus, with the Southwestern. Virgil Powers continued En gineer and Superintendent until in 1876, when he was called to his present office, General Commissioner of the Southern Rail way and Steamship Association. Captain W. G. Raoul suc ceeded Mr. Powers as Superintendent. 
The Macon and Western Railroad was amalgamated with the Central in 1871,. making the extent of President Wadley's juris diction in Georgia from Augusta and Savannah, on the Savan nah river, to Columbus, Eufaula and Fort Gaines, on the Chattahoochee, including the road also to Atlanta, 771 miles. .Wil liam Rogers is the General Superintendent. In addition to the railroads in Georgia, General Wadley is also President of the Montgomery and Eufaula Railroad, 80 miles, in Alabama, and as President of the Central Railroad controls a half interest in the Western Railroad, 164 miles, from Columbus and West Point, Georgia, to Selma, Alabama, and the Vicksburg and Brunswick Railroad, 21 miles, from Eufaula to Clayton, Ala bama. He is also President of the Ocean Steamship Company, with six steamers plying between Savannah and New York, four of which are the finest on the coast. 
The grading of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad was com- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
335 
 
Hliiiseaced in 1859, under the direction of E. McNeill, engineer. l-j'he road was finished in 1869 ; George H. Hazlehurst, engineer. i't'bs first president was A. E. Cochran ; second and last, G. H. ::HaKiehurst. Length of main line 1 86 miles ; of Hawkinsville iiliViirs'ch, ten miles; total, 196 miles. It is difficult to give the pre:iSise cost of graduation, etc., a part having been paid in Confed::<-rss money. It is estimated that the cost of 196 miles was : btjilt at an average of twenty thousand dollars per mile, exclu;! live t<i"rolling stock ; or in round numbers, $4,000,000. The HifeScCSs of money beyond local subscription came from New iiiVioyk stockholders. The State endorsed bonds for $1,950,000. fi^lTae: road reverted to the State in 1873. Dr. E. A. Flewellen  i^aSi appointed receiver, and subsequently a board of commislisloaers consisting of E. A. Flewellen, W. A. Lofton and Geo. :::S:.:::|:Sjes, who continue to this time. For several years George ::W:i : :Adams has been general superintendent, and Colonel H. M. 
general ticket and freight agent. The road is now for -'with the privilege of purchase under certain conditions. icon and Augusta Railroad was first called theMtlledgeville 
d. It was first surveyed by William G. Bonner, civ-il enbut the line was not located. It was surveyed and loca::by G. H. Hazlehurst, C. E., in 1860, and grading comimmediately. First President, Henry Moore ; second, D. Heard; third, John P.. King; fourth. G. H. HazlesiefSt; fifth, W. J, Bullock; sixth, G. H. Hazlehurst; seventh, liB^iil-i :McGrath, who is now in office. The cost of the road, :::Sj?e|,:sive of outfit, was $2,500.000, or an average of a fraction ::<S:^r^30,ooo per mile, the grading being very heavy; the entire ::*||StsSee being eighty miles. Mortgage bonds amounting to ,:;.;|j;?<js??:ispp, endorsed by the Georgia Railroad, issued and out:::gtSacJiag. The road is operated by the Georgia Road. 
 
;.s;.;.;:;.; ; : ;; : : \ HORTICULTURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
;;;;;;;[}&? Georgia Horticultural Society was organized in 1875 ^7 iiffieieiection of P. J. Berckmans president, who has been annu- 
The annual sessions and exhibitions have been 
 
 336 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
held in Macon. The display in fruits, vegetables and flowers in variety and quality, particularly in peaches and grapes, were wonderful. The climate and soil throughout Middle and Lower Georgia is peculiarly adapted to the growth of nearly every class of fruits, and the making of wine is becoming quite remu nerative. In their seasons the Scuppernong, Isabella, Concord and a large class of other grapes, are abundant in the city mar* kets. The early peaches in May and June and the late crop in July, August and September, are abundant. No country in the world produces a greater variety for so long a time than the fruit belt ot Georgia. 
The Georgia State Agricultural Society now regularly hold their exhibitions in Macon. Hon. Thomas Hardeman, on the retirement of Governor Colquitt from the presidency of the: society, was elected his successor. Malcom Johnston continued secretary, and T. G. Holt, treasurer. Every year an increasing interest in the many agritultural, horticultural and mechanical departments is noticed by the improvements in every class of exhibits. The display in 1879, which was the Thirty-third Annual Fair of the Association, was highly creditable. The exhibits of the agriculturalist, horticulturalist, florist, mechan ician and stock raiser, redounded to the credit of the exhib itor and the glory of Georgia. The department of home indus try presented a gratifying exhibition, while the productions of art and science gave unmistakeable evidence of the skill and culture of the people. For five days the number of visitors varied from five to twenty-five thousand. The exhibitions prove that the lands in Middle and Southern Georgia are being an nually brought more into notice, and the value of their produc tions more appreciated. No better country exists for. sheep or cattle raising than what have been long known as the Wiregrass counties. The sugar-cane raised there is becoming a pro fitable crop, and the syrup brought to market is equal to the finest quality made elsewhere. No more convenient, spacious and.better arranged buildings and grounds for the large assem- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
337 
 
:|>ifes : and exhibitions of every description exists in the whole I: State than those at 
 
;;';'""""" """"""""""""""CENtE.AL"CitY''PARK,' 
 
. 
 
Ill I "Where these Fairs are "held. It is located within five minutes :s?alk of the principal hotels and places of business, embraces two fcyidred .and fifty acres of level land, the whole delightfully shaded by a native growth of monster oaks, and ornamented with liK?ers--wild and garden plants--smooth walks and fountains, liaise?'and river scenery; five large houses, four of which are two Isajxl: three stories high, besides a grand Amphitheatre, for the exIhlbition of stock, equine houses, stock pens, music pavilions, jyiiliea' cottages, editors' offices', visitors' cottages, etc. The llijSt;| mile track is upon a level plane, and is as perfect as art can Isljiike it, graded in strict accord with turf rules, with a gentle i'iileUne to the center, exactly a mile in the circuit, and of the :5:R8st consistence for making rapid time. At any position along lithe track the eye can, at a natural elevation, watch every step of Itlw racer. This track is pronounced by the most experienced iitftiifmen to be the best in America. Within the track is the paIJ'Avile ground for the military and athletic exercises. The whole lli'ark, with near six hundred acres mor.e, was given to the city Unstring its early settlements, as a reserve. The improvements 
made upon it in 1871, by the municipal authorities, at the 
expense of $300,000.00. 
 
Illl:'.-I.:-:;:,.. 
 
JUDICIAL----FLINT CIRCUIT. 
 
II11 I:\Jttifges---1822. Eli Shorter, followed by Charles J. McDonald, ii.plmi'tQpher B. Strong, Angus B. King, Edward Dorr Tracy, 
l:l|teJ. Floyd, James H. Stark. OlllllIS : ;t85i the Macon Circuit was formed. Judges: Abner P. lll?awers, .Henry G. Lamar, O. A. Lochrane, Carleton B. Cole, Illarniard Hill, W. L, Grice, Thomas J. Simmons. '^fMititors General-- 1822. Charles J. McDonald, followed by l:l|fe!):jamin F. Harris, Richard L. Sims, Washington Poe, Angus lllMil'l.^;;.,KjJlg, James H. Stark, Zachariah Harman, Augustus M. 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
Wingfield, Samuel Hall, Rufus W. McCtme, William K. de Graffenried, Theodorick W. Mumford, Joel R". Branham, Josiah F. Bass, T. J. Simmons, E. W. Crocker, Charles J. Harris, Charles L. Bartlett. 
Albert B. Ross, present Clerk, and George F. Cherry, Sheriff. Bibb County Court, established 1873, J onn B. Weems, Judge, succeeded by E. F. Best, who was succeeded by the present in cumbent, T. G. Holt. The new and elegant court-house was built with entire fixtures at a cost of $120,000.00. The Corner Stone was laid A. D., 1870, under the administration of Charles T. Ward, Ordinary, Joseph M. Boardman, Lewis N. Whittle and Gabriel B. Roberts, Building Committee. County Commisioners--James M. Board man, Lewis N. Whittle, John T. Boifeuillet, William P. Goodall, Gabriel B. Roberts, Daniel T. Driggers, William F. Wilburn, John W. Stubbs, Dennis Daly and Cicero A. Tharpe. The present County Commissioners are: W. H. Hazlehurst, Christopher Burke, John B. Giles, James Holmes and A. R. Tinsley; W. G. Smith, Clerk. Ordinary, John A. McManus. The County Hospital is under the charge of Dr. J. Emmett Blackshear, who is also City Physician. 
 
MUNICIPAL. 
 
Mayors of Macon since its incorporation as a city, in 1833, in 
 
order. A number were re-elected for several successive years; 
 
Isaac G. Seymour, Washington Poe, Frederick Sims, John J. Gresham, James A. Nisbet, Isaac Holmes, John J. Gresham, 
 
George M. Logan, James H. R. Washington, E. L. Strohecker, 
 
B. F. Ross, A. B. Adams, :0. G. Sparks, M. S. Thomson, O. G. 
 
Sparks, Stephen Collins, George S. Obear, and W. A. Huff, the 
 
present incumbent. 
 
: 
 
The Municipal Government for the term of two years, com mencing in December, 1878, consists of a Mayor and twelve 
 
Aldermen, a Clerk and a Treasurer, as follows: Mayor, W. A. 
 
Huff; Aldermen--B. Dub, W. L. Higgins, C. Masterson, John 
 
D.;.-. Hud-gins, P. Fitzgerald, J. L. Kennedy, T. C. Hendrix, W, : 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
339 
 
ig; panders, Hayne Ellis, S. S. Dunlap, Felix Corput, and W. :;>j?v; : C ;inB6ii. Clerk--A. R. McLaughtitt; Treasurer--Charles i|<:^Wiiiiamson. Also a Chief of Police, three Lieutenants, \\viyen Attorneys and a City Physician. 
 
'\\ ;;';; ; . 
 
POST OFFICE. 
 
: 
 
:i:::::The first Post Office in the county was established at Fort 
 
iiifiiaiij&hjs, in 1822-'23, with Mortimer R. Wallis, Post Master. 
 
i-'I'bff peSent officers are Henry S. Glover, Post Master, and A. 
 
:i:3|:;::8eifert, Assistant. In mail matter the Macon office is second 
 
;; OjKiiiy'.to Atlanta, which is the largest office in the State. 
 
::::::::: ::: : :: 
 
ROSE BILL CEMETERY. 
 
HiiiHii "' !;;:;!! ; ':!! ; : : ' 
i: S;i:::i: 
 
"I walk these silent haunts with reverend tread, And seem to gaze upon the mighty dead; Imginalion calls the noble train From dust and darkness back to life again." 
 
i : : la 1839, several plaiis and locations were submitted to the city iieo&!ieil for a new Cemetery. In 1840, Simri Rose submitted a Siflii^fam' for the present site, embracing fifty acres, which was ^cipited by the council and named Rose Hill Cemetery. The isssiitttai appointed Simri Rose, Dr. M. A. Franklin, John L. i!|&!3<JS> John D. Winn, Jere Cowles and James Williams comiiiissaoriers to control the Cemetery. Mr. Jones died on March iiphjiiiiS^g, being the last survivor of the original board, and :::liii:ci::te office until his death. He was ever active with Mr. 
:i ; beautifying that hallowed spot. It is, by nature, a Biftf rural beauty, and not inferior to any in America. In Mir. Rose wrote an accurate description of the Cemetery, ; :-as published in White's Statistics of Georgia, page 109, $!I deeply interest any one to read. Since that time there <;a :many additional improvements made. It contains ntints costing from one to fifteen thousand dollars, made e:::best sculptors in Italy and America, and the improye:.in; the Lots of families, with numerous flowers, all eo.nS:S^aake it a " Garden of Graves." There is scarcely a jiisfcsfe^r wild-flower that is known in our country JJaat 
 
 340 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
may not be found within its limits, while many shrubs may be found there which have been imported from countries beyond the ocean. 
The name of Simri Rose has been frequently mentioned in this book. He was born at Old Bradford, Conn., in 1799. At an early age he was apprenticed to the New Haven Cohimbian Register. Early in 1823 he came to Savannah, Ga., in quest of a new home. He settled at Fort Hawkins, a western military post, which was just on the verge of civilization, in March fol lowing. He went into the office, as a journeyman, of the Geor gia Messenger, which had just been established by Major Mat thew Robertson. The first paper was issued on March i6th, 1823. Three weeks after Mr. Rose bought a half interest, and continued with the paper until his death, on April 4th, 1869. In 1824. two streets had been built in the new town of Macon, and the Messenger was removed from Fort Hawkins settlement to one of them, Fifth street. During the long period of his event ful life, he was a true chronicler of all important current local and State events, many of which have been reproduced in this book, taken from his old files preserved and bound by Mr. N. C. Munroe. In 1825, the Blue Lodge of Masons was organized and he was elected secretary and treasurer and re-elected every year until his death. He was elected grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Georgia in 1845, and re-elected every succeed ing year. He was a natural horticulturalist and florist, and de voted much of his time to the culture of flowers, fruits, etc. At his death he was the oldest surviving member of the Macon Volunteers, and his attachment to the corps was like that of a parent to its favorite child. The stores and public offices were closed at the hour of his funeral. No marble column marks his resting place, but a greater monument is his--the whole of ROSE HILL CEMETERY. 
VOLUNTEER COMPANIES OF MACON. 
Macon Volunteers--Organized on April 2T,d, 1825. E. W. Wright was elected Captain, William J. Dannelly, First Lieu- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
341 
 
tenant, Robert Birdsong, Second, John Chain, Third, and Samuel J. Cooledge, First Sergeant. The corps consisted of about forty members. The following were the officers in com mand that succeeded Captain Wright: William J. Dannelly, Lemuel Newcomb, A. R. McLaughlin, Isaac G. Seymour, Isaac Holmes, Z. T. Conner, James Bivins, Robert A. Smith. Dur ing the war: Robert A. Smith, next George S.Jones, who was wounded and captured at Gettysburg. In the same battle the three Lieutenants--E. C. Grannis, first, was shot, from which he died; T. R. Campbell, second, shot, captured and died in pris on; L. H. Wing, shot, captured and in prison until the close of the war. Reorganized April 23d, 1872, George S. Jones, Cap tain, next C. M. Wiley, next W. W. Carnes, now in command. 
Floyd Rifles. Organized in 1840. Samuel R. Blake, Cap tain ; Samuel J. Ray, First Lieutenant, Robert Carver, Second, B. F. Ross, Third ; W. D. Griffin, First Sergeant. The follow ing officers have succeeded Captain Blake: B. F. Ross, T. Hardeman, Jr. During the war: T. Hardeman, Jr., George W. Ross, killed ; C. R. Redding, killed; the command then fell upon Lieutenant A. A. Freeman, who was afterwards taken prisoner, and then upon Lieutenant W. W. Richardson. Re organized May, 1872, by election of Colonel Thomas Harde man, Jr., Captain ; next, Colonel William H. Ross, next George F. Cherry, next J. L. Hardeman, who is now in command. 
 
Macon Guards. Organized first in May, 1846, Isaac Holmes, Captain. They served one year in the Mexican war, and then disbanded. On the 220! February, 1859, the Metropolitan Guards was organized, with Joel R. Griffin, Captain, and in De cember following the name was changed to the Macon Guards. In 1860, L. M. Lamar was elected Captain. In April, 1861, they were ordered to the defense of Savannah. They returned in May, remaining but one day, when they left for Virginia, and enlisted under Captain Lamar in the gallant Barlow's 8th Georgia Regi ment for the "period of the war." The following officers sue- 
 
 343 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
ceeded Captain Lamar: H. J. Menard, died ; C. M. Ballard, killed; T. G. Hodgkins, killed; J. H. Field, wounded at Get tysburg.The remnants of the company surrendered at Appomatox. Reorganized in 1874, with A. O. Bacon, Captain; next, George L. Mason. No Captain at present. 
Macon Cadets. Organized May, 1874, first under the name of Macon Volunteers, Company B, with George W. Findlay, Captain. The name was changed to the Macon Cadets in 1876. Thomas L. Ross is the present Captain. 
 
MitchelLight Guards. Organized May, 1874, by the election of John Ingalls Captain, who shortly afterward resigned, and was succeeded by John Griffin, who was succeeded by John A. McManus, at present in command. 
 
Second Georgia Battalion. Organized April, 1861, at Nor folk, Virginia, by the election of Captain Thomas Hardeman, Jr., of the Floyd Rifles, as Major. In March, 1862, Major Hardeman was elected Colonel of the 45th Georgia Regiment, and the Battalion was commanded by L. T. Doyle until May, when they returned to Georgia for a few days previous to re-en listing " for the war." Upon reorganization, Captain George W. Ross. of the Floyd Rifles, was elected Major, who was killed at Gettysburg, in July, 1863. Captain C. J. Moffett was then made Major, and remained in command until the surrender at Appomatox, when the remnant of the Battalion laid down their arms, Sunday, April 9th, 1865. The organization at Norfolk, in 1861, was composed of the Macon Volunteers, Captain R. A. Smith; Floyd Rifles, Captain T. Hardeman; City Light Guards, Captain P. H. Colquitt; Spalding Greys, Captain L. T. Doyle. The Battalion was reorganied in 1874, with the Macon Volun teers, Captain Jones; Floyd Rifles, Captain Hardeman; Macon Volunteers, Company B, Captain Findlay. Other companies were added to the Battalion, and in 1875, Major Jones was elec ted Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain William H. Ross, Major. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
343 
 
In 1876, Colonel Jones resigned, and was succeeded by Major Ross, and Captain C. M. Wiley elected Major. In 1877, Col onel Ross resigned, and was succeeded by Major Wiley, and Adjutant N. M. Hodgkins was made Major, and E. D. Huguenin appointed Adjutant, which officers continue at this time. The present companies in the Battalion are the Baldwin Blues, Macon Volunteers, Floyd Rifles, Macon Cadets, Macon Guards and Putnam Rifles. 
 
VOLUNTEERS IN THE WAR. 
Infantry--Macon Volunteers, Captain R. A. Smith ; Floyd Rifles, Captain Thomas Hardeman ; Brown Infantry, Captain George A. Smith; Independent Volunteers, Captain J. W. Aderhold; Central City Blues, Captain J. G. Rogers; Lochrane Guards, Captain Jackson Barnes; Ross Volunteers, Cap tain R. F. Woolfolk; Whittle Guards, Captain Jones; Huguenin Rifles, Captain C. A. Tharpe; Lamar Infantry, Captain T. W. Brantley; Rutland Guards, Captain J. W. Stubbs; Sparks' Guards, Captain J. B. Gumming; Thomson Guards, Captain J. D. VanValkenburg; Macon Guards, Captain L. M. Lamar; Gresham Rifles, Captain M. R. Rogers; Moughon In fantry, Captain C. J. Williamson ; Scott Infantry, Captain T. J. Pritchett; Lockett Infantry, Captain C. J. Harris. 
 
Artillery--Jackson Artillery, Captain Theo. W. Parker; Ger man Artillery, Captain F. Burghard ; Napier Artillery, Captain Leroy Napier--afterwards Macon Light Artillery, Captain H. N. Ells. The Jackson Artillery was put in State service ; it was reorganized, with George A. Dure as Captain, who took the company into the Confederate service, and was succeeded by Thomas L. Massenburg. The company was then known as Massenburg's Battery. 
 
Cavalry--Bibb County Cavalry, Captain S. S. Dunlap; Ocmulgee Rangers, Captain T. G. Holt, Jr. 
 
 344 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
THE LADIES MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION. 
" Stoop, Angels from the skies ! There is no -holier spot of ground, 
Than where defeated valor lies By mourning beauty crowned !" 
In 1846, Miss Mary Ann Howard, of Columbus, Georgia, presented the "First Georgia Regiment," with a banner on their departure from the banks of the Chattahoochee to the scene of war beyond the Rio Grande. That lady, of noble lineage and many accomplishments, was afterwards married to Charles J. Williams, who had been Major of the regiment dur ing one years' service in the Mexican war. Major Williams died in the Confederate service, while in command of the First Geor gia Regulars, with the rank of Colonel. Mrs. Williams permit ted her son to volunteer in the army at the early age of fourteen years. During the war she was one of the most active women in the South in administering to the comfort of the troops on the field or in the hospitals. In January, 1866, she suggested in an impressive article published in the Columbus Sun, the adoption of a Memorial Day, and that the 26th of April be that day ; and she also recommended the organization of the Ladies' Memorial Societies throughout the South. Her suggestions were heralded by the press and adopted by the people. After several .years of devotion to the cause, she died in Columbus, on April 3d, 1873, and was buried with military honors. On each Me morial Day, besides the tributes of love laid upon her grave by the hands of her own sex, the military of Columbus march around it, and each soldier deposits thereon a floral ensign in reverential memory of the once lovely votary at the shrine of the Confederate dead 
A Ladies' Memorial Association was organized in Macon, with Mrs Thomas Hardeman as President, in 1866 and 1867, and the first baptism of flowers over the heroic dead occurred on April 26th, 1867, at the old and new cemeteries. It was typical of woman's loving care, and her appreciation of the Day which her devotion has:made sacred in Georgia's calendar. A 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
345 
 
;; jprayef by a minister, the scattering of flowers and the repairing !;:pf mounds over the graves were the only ceremonies. The ::St:ate was under bayonet rule, and a number of Federal officers ::*Si'8 present. The objects of the Memorial Society was the ii.eare of the graves, their annual decoration, and the erection of ;4: jfjsionument so soon as practicable. At the decoration referred ftOj 'A, little girl made a tiny floral Confederate flag not larger iitiaii her own delicate hand. The writer noticed her as she ariitisiieally arranged the leaves of the violet and verbena in color .:.:a*!d; :forrii, and quietly plant it on an unknown soldier's grave, 
i; sentiment so,happily expressed by a Southern poet, was imy suggested: 
 
::::::^: :::::::::" :::;; 
 
"In seeds of laurel in the earth The bloom of your fame is blown, 
And somewhere, waiting for its birth The shaft is in the stone !" 
 
;;.;;;;::Ili..i868, the Memorial Association was permanently organized, : :iwiitfe ,a number of gentlemen as members. Mrs. Isaac Winship ii'was ra.ide President, and Miss Kate Fort, Secretary, their pre;'.;';(i#C6SSdrs having resigned. The reputation of Mrs. Winship for 
displayed during the war, at Atlanta, in charge of hos]^ was widely appreciated. During the battles around Atiishe established the extensive Atlanta hospitals in Vineville. 
'.;the' war, it was through her exertions that the bodies of the i.5Confederates that were hastily interred around Jonesboro were iiiC^Iiee&d and removed for more" appropriate sepulture. She SJf^fesd the greater part of the funds to build the monument in siC5*i|E, : :Georgia; also, collected and sent a large'amount to  il|wihmpnd, Virginia, as a contribution to the erection of the ::!SStiraent m Hollywood Cemetery in memory of the Georgians pJiislfeirand were buried on the soil of the Old Dominion. It .:.: sirias. natural that she should have felt a deep interest in the Maic<3rs: Association--she was the first child born in the vicinity of iiSiaCSft- .'.'.S-h'e was born within the ramparts of Fort Hawkins, }:J::iilie :year 1813, when her father, Major Philip Cook, was in 
 
 346 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
command of that frontier fortification, and during the dangers of the war with the Indians. 
The first labors of the new organization were directed to the removal of the bones of the soldiers in the old abandoned ceme tery to a more appropriate place. Every grave was exhumed of its contents, which were properly placed in wooden cases, and deposited alongside of their comrades in Rose Hill. The build ing of mounds, the erection of headboards, with the names and company of each body, was, together with the removal, an ad ditional labor and expense. After the accomplishment of this worthy .work, the efforts of the Association were devoted to the accumulation of a fund for "the shaft that is in the stone," The amount was finally secured, and on the 26th of April, 1878, in the presence of a vast assembly, a procession consisting of the military, lodges, societies, fire department, county and city officers, the Faculty of the Wesleyan Female College, the Faculty and students of Mercer University and Pio Nono College, and a large number of veterans, allunder the direction of Col. Wm. H. Ross, assisted by four mounted Aids, each of whom lost an arm in the war, formed around the base of the monument, and after the deposit of a large amount of valuable articles, and an address by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, the stone was laid upon which the shaft was to be erected. 'A letter from ex-President Davis, regretting his inability to be pres ent, was read by J. L. Saulsbury, Jr. It was in character with the hero and statesman, chaste, dignified and eloquent. Gov ernor Colquitt then delivered a handsome address, which was highly appreciated. A beautiful floral monument was tempora rily erected, designed by Mrs. Plane, the relict of Major W. F. Plane, who fell at Sharpsburg. The dense crowd repaired to Rose Hill, and the grave of every soldier covered with boquets, wreaths, crosses, mottoes, floral devices and incense breathing tributes. 
On the agth of October, 1879, 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
347 
 
;;::: 
 
THE MACON CONFEDERATE MONUMENT, 
 
iiof Carrara marble, having been planted upon its durable base 
 
iof :Georgia granite, was prepared to be unveiled. The Georgia 
 
:Si|te Agricultural Sbciety was holding a most successful Fair at 
 
itihat: time, and the wide streets of Macon were thronged with 
 
:visitors from every part of the State, and many other States. 
 
:TJie President of the Society was suddenly called upon to be 
 
the Orator on the unveiling of the monument. The ceremonies 
 
iiwarte very imposing. The pageant was grand, and the illurnin^ 
 
iiatSGNs at night were gorgeous. A number of military companies 
 
::|"fO:s. other cities united with their comrades in Macon to do 
 
iiihenors to the occasion. 
 
::;::::A.: procession was formed at ten o'clock, A. M. The Ladies' 
 
: Memorial Association and the Orator of the day in carriages in 
 
ii|ii:front, followed by Colonel C. M. Wiley, in command of all 
 
liliM: military, Macon Volunteers, Putnam Rifles, Floyd Rifles, 
 
i^Macon Cadets, Baldwin Blues, Mitchel Light Guards, Colum- 
 
:::lsjf>: Guards and Southern Rifles, under command of .Majar N. 
 
iiM-Hodgkins ; detachments of the Fernandina Light Infantry, 
 
ilawithe Gainesville, Florida, Guards, a company of the Savan- 
 
::i!:Sh Volunteer Guards' Battalion, Oglethorpe Light Infantry, 
 
:: Savannah Cadets, Republican Blues, German Volunteers, Irish 
 
::|3;>|}f Greens, under command of Captain J. W. Anderson; 
 
iiitjfiiiitham Artillery, with four guns, Nassau Light Artillery, of 
 
Femandina, and Howell's Battery of Sandersville, with two guns 
 
under command of their respective commanding officers ; 
 
k's Brigade of Veterans, commanded by General Cook, and 
 
? veterans of the Confederate armies, bearing a battle worn 
 
The procession proceeded to the monument, where the . 
 
i::C|;a:!tman Guards, Which had just arrived, joined it. The in- 
 
i.i&ijtJry. formed around the monument ; the artillery some distance 
 
:ii:fi: :i:he: rear, the Ladies of the Association, the gentlemen's com- 
 
:::!3ftiee> old Confederate officers, a few dignitaries and press re 
 
porters occupied the stand, also the Governor of the State and 
 
;;the: Orator. At meridian., as the signal gun was fired by the 
 
Artillery, the drapery simultaneously fell, and the 
 
 348 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
marble statue of a Confederate soldier was unveiled, amid the shouts of the multitude; ten other guns followed in quick suc cession, and as the smoke that encircled the monumental soldier passed away, a full view was afforded to the dense crowd of twenty thousand spectators. The height of the whole monu ment is thirty-seven feet; that of the soldier is eleven and a half feet. He represents " a private in the ranks," and is uniformed as privates were in the earlier part of the conflict, with a heavy coat and cape, and a broad brimmed hat, slightly turned on one side--front towards his own Sunny South. He wears as soldierly an expression as could be chiselled on stone. He stands upon a square pedestal, on the four panels of which are inscriptions in gilded letters, and emblems, first: The Coat of Arms of Geor gia; second, The Arms and Implements of War; third, The Great Seal of the Confederate States of America; fourth, as 
 
follows: 
 
ERECTED 
A. D., 1879. 
 
BY THE 
LADIES' MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION OF MACON, IN HONOR OF 
 
THE SOLDIERS OF BIBB COUNTY, 
 
AND OF ALL 
 
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES TO THE SOUTH IN THE LATE WAR BETWEEN 
 
THE STATES FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE. 
 
1861 ---- 1865. 
 
With piide in their patriotism, With love for their memories, This silent stone is raised, A perpetual witness of our gratitude 
 
The position of the soldier is that of "Rest." How typical the design. How appropriate to those who repose beneath the sod. 
" The muffled drum's sad roll has beat The soldier's last tattoo; 
No more on earth's parade shall meet That brave and gallant few. 
 
 irThe inscription on the South side of the Monument has 
 
been changed since its erection, and it now reads as follows : 
 
ERECTED, A. D., 1879, BY THE 
LADIES' MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION OF MACON, IN HONOR OF 
THE MEN OF BIBB COUNTY, And all who gave their lives to the South to establish the 
Independence of the 
 
CONFEDERATE STATES. 
 
1861. 
 
1865. 
 
With pride in their patriotism, With love for their memory, This silent stone is raised A perpetual witness of our gratitude. 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
349 
 
" REST ON ! embalmed and sainted dead ! Dear as the blood ye gave; 
No impious footsteps here shall tread The herbage of your grave; 
Nor shall your glory be forgot While fame her record keeps, 
Or honor points the hallowed spot Where valor proudly sleeps." 
 
After a graceful introduction by Governor Colquitt, Colonel Hardeman, the orator of the day, delivered an eloquent, pa thetic and highly sensible address. He paid a deserved tribute to the Memorial Association at its very commencement. In an swer to his own inquiry: "What means this grand pageant? This burnished armor, these nodding plumes, this martial mu sic?" he said, "we come to pay honor to our Confederate dead, and to accord heartfelt praise to the mothers and daughters of Macon for this beautiful and enduring memorial of the heroism and patriotism of our fallen heroes. The hope of its projection was born in woman's heart; it was watered by woman's tears ; it was sustained by woman's prayers, and reached its consum mation by woman's untiring efforts. Gratefully do I acknowl edge here her watchful guardianship over the ashes of our dead. The ' shaft' that took shape in their hearts has assumed sym metrical proportions in the polished marble that now lifts its polished summit--the sunlight of heaven gilding its top--the hopes and memories of earth clinging around its base." He also paid a high compliment to the committee of gentlemen ap pointed by the Association, for their zealous aid and energy, and closed with the hope that sectionalism might be forever lost in National union, and that peace and prosperity would reign throughout the country. 
On the conclusion, one hundred guns were fired by the Chat ham, Nassau Artillery and Howell's Battery. 
To add to the historical events of the day, the Chatham Ar tillery, organized in 1786, and probably the oldest corps in America, brought with them two valued relics, the WASHINGTON 
 
 350 
 
HISTORICAL RECORD OF MACON 
 
GUNS, captured by the surrender of Yorktown, 1781, and pre sented by General Washington to the company on bis visit to Savannah, in 1791. They are six pound brass pieces, of splen did workmanship, and quite ornamental. Near the muzzle of one is the inscription, La Popularie, in the center, Ratio Ulti mo Regum, behind which are two raised handles, and near the vent the inscription, Hie Pluribus Impar, and near the cascabel is the name of the maker and the date, 1756. The other piece, near the muzzle, has the inscription: "Surrendered by the capitulation of Yorktown, October ipth, 1781." In the center is a cut of the Crown, with the Garter, on which is inscribed: Honi soit qui maly pense ; and in the center of the Garter the letter M. Below is another Crown, and behind it in large let ters, G. R. (Georgius, Rex.) Near the cascabel is inscribed, R. Gilpin, Fecit, 175(1. The inscriptions on both guns are along the upper surface. The bore of the pieces have been much worn, and during later years they are only fired on important occasions. They first spoke in Macon in 1844, during an en campment at which the Chatham Artillery participated. Their voices were familiar to many of the citizens. They are the most venerable speakers in the whole country. They can in spire more enthusiasm in one volley than a silver tongued orator in a set speech. Consecrated by the triumphs of Yorktown, and hallowed by the names and memories of Washington and LaFayette, when their voices rang out in deep-toned welcome at the unveiling of the Macon Monument, they seemed to fill the air with praises of the dead. 
After the ceremonies of the unveiling were concluded, the crowd dispersed and assembled at the Park to inspect the Grand Exhibition of the State Agricultural Society, and the visiting military were escorted to the banqueting halls of the respective armories in the city. The city presented a handsome appear ance ; never had there been so much bunting and display of flags before. The old Star Spangled Banner was the ascendant in numbers, and was of all sizes. At night a grand illumination took place the most brilliant ever made in the State. ThOu- 
 
 AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. 
 
351 
 
'is&iilds of Chinese lanterns, flags, transparencies of numerous de vices were strung from the tops of houses, swung high in the air across the streets. The court-house, from top to base, all pub lic buildings, hotels and stores were illuminated with the greatest taste, some with variegated lights, which made the scene spark ling and blazing. Across the street, high in the air and near the Monument, thirteen transparencies were suspended, each representing a letter, which formed the legend--OUR HERO PK.\D; and directly over the head of the marble soldier was i suspended a beautiful wreath of immortelles, with two genuine :Iwhlte doves, with extended pinions, hovering over it, emblemiiStic!of the undisturbed REST which those to whose honor the ieolumn was raised now enjoy. From headlights and volumes of ::r<i:ljghts that were thrown upon the Soldier and on the monu!;rtt$fit,; he was resplendant with a halo of light. !!: :The design of the doves was by a young gentleman of the city, a son of a distinguished naval officer, first in the United iSiafcesi and afterwards in the Confederate Navy. The wreath or !eiswn was made by a young lady from Florida. 
 
!.:!!:!: !!:: !':"' 
!:':: :!!!!!! 
 
" And they who for their country die, Shall fill an honored grave; 
For glory lights the soldiers' tomb And beauty weeps the brave." 
 
  Via WILMINGTOH, N. C., 
IN CONNECTION WITH 
The Old Reliable Bay Line, 
AND 
The Old Dominion Steamship Co. 
OFFERS THE CHOICE OF THREE DISTINCT ROUTES BETWEEN 
Via WILMINGTON AND RICHMOND--(All Rail.) Via WILMINGTON AND PORTSMOUTH--(Bay Line.) Via WILMINGTON AND PORTSMOUTH--(O. D. Line.) 
FARE always as LOW, and TIME as QUICK As via any other Route. 
Passenger Trains Fully Equipped with Automatic Air Brakes. 
GOOD EATING HOUSES ALONG ENTIRE LINE. 
PALACE SLEEPING CARS ON ALL NIGHT TRAINS. 
Ask for Tickets "Via WILMINGTOJST, 1ST. C." 
A. POPE, Gen. Pass. Agent. 
 
 1879. 
MANUFACTURERS OF 
COTTON PRESSES, CANE MILLS, 
BOILERS AND GENERAL MACHINERY. Adjoining Passenger Depot, 
MACON, GEORGIA. 
 
 PHOTOGRAPH 
AND 
T! 
T. B. BLACKSHEAR, Artist, 
3STo. 13, O O T T O I-T 
MA.OON", 
Of all sizes, taken perfect as art can make them. Every thread of lace work and fold of drapery displayed. Particular attention given to shading, which makes an exquisite finish to the picture. 
Of all sizes, in Oil, Pastel or Crayon, made either from life or photographic copy, all true to nature. 
Strangers and citizens are invited to the Gallery to examine the many specimens of PHOTOGRA.PHS and PORTRAITS of well-known ladies gentlemen and children. 
 
  (For cut of building see opposite page.) 
 
SCIENTIFIC, CLASSICAL AND COMMERCIAL "- ' ' COURSE. 
: ENGINEERING, in all its branches, is taught. The finest tsia:ad praetica.1 'work in the field, being used.: 
g ^ I)JSCIPMNE is mild, but firm. Students of all Religious ..fflre -received on equal footing. 
 
, Washing, Bedding and Tuition, in all its branches, per 
 
'""' : 
 
annum, $230.00. 
 
lsM'kgv. WILLIAM H. GROSSED. D., President. V. ALEXANDERJ. SEMMES, A. M., -M; D., Vice 
r THOMAS F. CLARY, Prefect of Discipline. III: |. DALY, A. M.> LL. B., Director of Schools. 
 
 PRESIDENT! REV. A. J. BATTLE, D. D. 
 
PROFESSORS! 
 
SHELTON P, SANFORD, LL. D. 
 
JOSEPH E. WJLLBT, A. M., M. D. 
 
Rev. JOHN J. BRANTLY, D. D. 
 
Rev. E. A. STEED, A. M. 
 
Hon. CLIFFORD ANDERSON; ;A< M>:  
 
: WALTEU B. HILL, A. M. 
 
', 
 
JOHN C, RUTHERFORD, A. M. 
 
For further information, address the President. MERCER UNIVERSITY, MACON, GA. 
DES. J. P, & W, -E. HOLMES, 
 
* 
No. 84 Mulberry Street, Macpn, Georgia, TEETH EXTRACTED WITHOUT PAIN. 
BEAUTIFUL SETS OF TEETH INSERTED. 
ABSCESSED TEETH AND DISEASED GUMS CURED. 
Dealers in all lands of 
MATERIALS f i H Sf RU M ENTS. 
Constantly on hand a large a<i full assortment of 
nJLHJTjjrJTtlrjnXpTJr^or. V<^^JTDn JA\.jT^t.LTu JTt>?_"jLT-li>vJrT_L^JGc5i . 
GOLD OF ALL KINDS. AMALGAMS OF ALL KINDS. RUBBERS OF ALL KINDS. 
 
 J. T. CALLAWAY. 
WINSHIP & CALLAWAY, 
 
For twenty-two years the leading 
 
WHIG m HIT HIE 
 
THE 
 
Mo. 50 Second Street, - - - - -'- MACON, GEORGIA. 
 
HOUSE mssssm 
 
UIO. S. OBEAE, 
 
92 CHERRY ST., MACON, GA., 
 
Wholesale and Retail Dealer in 
 
C&OCKERY, CHINA, GLASS-WARE, CHANDELIERS, 
 
i i BALL LIGHTS, LAMPS, ETC., TABLE CUTLERY, 
 
POCKET CUTLERY, KITCHEN KNIVES, TIN- 
 
:M?I: WARE, AGATE-IRON-WARE, JAPANNED 
 
: 
 
TIN-WARE, WOODEN-WARE, BAS- 
 
] \ ;- 
 
KETS, WILLOW-WARE, AND 
 
; 
 
STOVES OF ALL KINDS. 
 
i: Agent for EXCELSIOR HOT BLAST COOK STOVES. Send in your : orders. Call and see me. Special inducements offered to merchants. 
 
 ISRAEL F. BROWN, PRESIDENT. 
 
EDWARD T.-:BROWN, TREASURER. 
 
COTTON GIN COMPANY, 
MANUFACTURERS OF THE CELEBRATED 
BROWN COTTON GINS, 
GIN FEEDERS AND CONDENSERS. 
Also, COTTON GIN SAWS, RIBS, and other GIN MA TERIALS, and Dealers in LEATHER and RUB BER BELTING, and Cotton Gin Makers' and Machinist's Supplies of all kinds. 
IffEW I*QMDOM, GOMM. 
From 1843 to '858 we manufxclured GINS at Columbus, Georgia, under the firm name of E. T. TAYLOR & Co., afterwards ("LEMONS, BROWN & Co., and made what was then known as the Taylor Gin. During the year 1858 we removed to this place, where we have been exclusively engaged in manufac turing Gins ever since. With this long experience, the best labor-saving ma chinery, Skilled workmen, and accessibility W the largest market in the coun try, it is believed we possess advantages not enjoyed by any other manufiCturer in our line for producing the BEST work for the LEAST money a.nd we believe all who favor us with their orders will have reason to agree with us. 
 
 ; MACON, GEORGIA, 
 
established December, 1855, simultaneously with and directly opposite to the 
QENERAL PASSENGER DEPOTS 
 
::Kisl5afgd after the war at great expense. It was burnt down1 'in "jl_8}#, And 
 
:::: 
 
rebuilt with all the modern improvements the sameM yi;filr.1. , ( ,,,,,., | 
 
.... 
 
, .. 
 
::::::SiKee the first opening of the HOTEL, on January ist, 1856, the Registers 
 
'$. Arrivals, which are open to inspection, show : att average list of daily arri- 
 
^tivi m sixty per day, which is more than all of ' tiie' dtn'er feo'tels: in the city 
 
^:!Ths:: patrons of BROWN'S HOTEI^ :irbugh'out l the whote'Tinion, are 
 
: itS: references. 
 
...::: ) ,M- . ; ; .M 
 
 GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT'S .OFFICE, MACON, GA., April igth, 1879. 
Until further notice Passenger Trains on this Road will run as follows: 
 
Cumberland Eoute via Brunswick Night Passenger No. 1, South. 
 
DAILY. 
 
Leave Macon, . . . . . 7.45 p. m. Leave Brunswick pr stmr, 6.15 a. m. 
 
Arrive Cochran,. . 
 
9.47 p. m. Arrive Fernandina, . . . 10.15 a. m. 
 
Arrive Eastman, . 
 
10.45 P- m - Arrive Jacksonville,. . , 2.35 p. m. 
 
Arrive Jesup,. ..... 3.27 a. m. Arrive Cedar Keys,. . . 8.35 p. m. 
 
Arrive Brunswick,. . 
 
6.00 a. m. 
 
Night Passenger No. 2, North--Daily- 
Leave Cedar Keys, , . . 5.25 a. m. Leave Jesup, ...... 10.35 P' mLeave Jacksonville, . . . 11,1.5 a. m. Leave Eastman,. .... 3.31 a. m. Leave Fernandina pr stmr. 3.45 ;p. m: Leave Cfichran) ... . . 4.333.01. Arrive-Brunswick, ... 7.45 pVm, Arrive Macon, .... . 6.45 a. m. Leave Brunswick, . . . 8.00 p. m. 
Close connection at Macon for all points NORTH, EAST and WEST via Atlanta and Augusta. 
 
Daily Accommodation No. 3--South, 
 
Via JESUP A.THD LIVH OAK--DAILY, EXCEPT SUNDAY. 
 
Leave Macon, . 
 
7.15 a. m. Arrive Jesup, . 
 
6.25 p. m. 
 
Arrive Cochran, . 
 
9.43 a. m. Arrive Jacksonville, 
 
7.25 a. m. 
 
Arrive Eastmcai, . 
 
.11.14 a' m ' 
 
. No, 4--North--Daily, except Sunday. 
Leave Jacksonville, .. . 5.15 p. m. Leave Coehran, . . . , Leave Jesup, . . . . . . 6.15 a, m. Arrive Macon, . . . . , Leave Eastman,. .... "t.zl p. m. 
Connects at Macon for points NORTH, EAST and WEST. 
 
2.45 P- m. 5.1-5 p. m. 
 
HAWKINSVILLE BRANCH, 
 
Freight and Accommodation---Daily, except Sunday. 
 
Leave Cochran,.... 10.00 p. in. Leave Hawkinsville, Arrive Hawkinsville, . 10.45 P' m' Arrive Cochran, . . 
 
3.30 a. m. 4 15 a. m. 
 
Connects at Cochran with trains I and 2, to and from Macon. 
 
Leave Cochran,.. . . . 10.00 a. m. Leave Hawkinsville, . . 1.45 p. m. Arrive Hawkinsville, . . 10.45 a - m- Arrive Cochran, .... 2.30 p. m. 
Connects at Cochran. with trains: 3 and 4, to and from Macon. 
 
GEO. W. ADAMS,......... General Superintendent. "W.  JAE7IS,   ........ . Master Transportation. 
 
 DEALER IN 
 
CORNER FIRST AND POPLAR STREETS. 
:; COFFEES parched fresh every day. ;:;; <C.A.IS"T>rEI> GOODS OF AX^L, :: HIGH FLAVORED TEAS, SYRUPS of all kinds, and best Brands of 
 
COTTON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, 
Office 97 Mulberry Street, Macon, Georgia. 
 
Policies Issued upon all Approved Plans. 
 
iiHiiii 
 
Endowment Policies at Life Kates a Specialty. 
 
osited with the Comptroller of the State Jloo.ooo, for special security of 
 
I;;;';:;!::!:; 1 : 1 
 
Policy Holders. 
 
ii^iip;ifOHNSTON, President. 
 
J. W. BURKE, Vice President. 
 
::::; ::: : i ' 
 
GEORGE S. OBEAR, Secretary. 
 
(Successor to W. W. JOHNSON,) 
 
IIILORHTG, CLEA1OT& AND DYEING 
OW SHORT MOTICE.  WM Street, rear of Presbyter/an Church, MA CON, GEORGIA. 
 
 F. S. JOHNSON, JR. 
 
HOLMES JOHNSON. 
 
Shot, Powder, 
Fairbanks' Scales, 
PARKER BREECH-LOADING GUNS, Grain Cradles, Carriage and Wagon Material, Belting, etc. 
ISfo. SI Third Street, MIA.CON, 
ft lft RlK a&wsl**^ *!> ^g S'^*/ '*)BlJ 
CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS. 9<P 
THIRD STREET, MACON, GA. 
MANUFACTURERS OF 
Doors, Sash, Blinds, Mouldings, Brackets, Etc., 
And all kinds of Building Material. 
Special attention given to the building of Houses and Public Buildings, Rough and Dressed LUMBER always on hand. 
All Repairing done at short notice. 
 
 '* 
CONTRACTOR AID BUILDER, 
Sash, Blinds, and Doors, 
AM kinds of Building Material. 
' Brick, Lime, Hair, Laths, Plaster, Cement, 
Paints, Oils, Putty, Glass, Locks, 
Hinges. 
Prices reduced to the very lowest point. Estimates and plans furnished for Buildings. 
.A-GrEirVT FOR BTJITIF'A.iLO "WA.Gi-O]V. Warerooms opposite ]. W. Burke & Co., Second Street, Macon, Ga. 
Q A A f^ ? bAJLU 
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. 
MULBERRY STREET, ADJOINING MASONIC TEMPLE. 
LUNCH served hot or cold, accprding to order. FRIED OYSTERS made a specialty. 
California, West India and Domestic Fruits of every variety. 
FRENCH CANDIES and all kinds of choice Cakes, plain and ornamen tal. Cake ornaments and information given for decorating. 
Ice Creams, Sherberts and Water-ices of all flavors. Also Jellies, Blanc mange, Charlotte-Ruse, and all other delicacies made to order. 
Weddings, Parties, etc., supplied on short notice. 
 
 WE 
 
The -Forty-Second Annual Session began on Wednesday, Sep tember I4th, 1879, with the following 
BOARD OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
REV, W, C. BASS, D; D., President, 
 
-..'._ 
 
Professor of Mental and Moral Science and Rhetoric. 
 
REV. C. W. SMITH, D. D., , . . Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy. 
 
JAMES F. HARRISON, M. D.,. .... . Professor of Natural Science. 
 
JOS. T. DERRY, A. M., . . Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages. 
 
MRS. ALICE CULLER COBB,. .... Assistant in Literary Department. 
 
Miss Z. COCKE,. ..... Conversational French, and Assistant in Music. 
 
Miss MARY E. MASON,. .............. Art Department. 
 
J. H. NEWMAN, ................. Professor of Music. 
 
Miss TACIE A, DANIEL, .......... Teacher of Vocal Music. 
 
Miss CLIFFORD COTTON, .... Teacher of Preparatory Department. 
 
MRS. MARIAN J. BLACKSHEAR, . Teacher m Preparatory Department. 
 
MRS. C. M. WALTHOUR, . . .............. . .Matron. 
 
MRS. MARY M. PALMER, ........... Domestic Department. 
 
For Catalogues and full information, address REV. W. C. BASS, Pres't, 
 
Or REV. C. W. SMITH, Sec'y. 
 
ESTABLISHED IN 1352. 
 
IH LAMER HOUSE 
SHAVING, HAIR-CUTTING, SHAMPOOING and DYE ING, all done iri Superior Modern Style. 
HOT, COLD AOT SHOWEE BATHS ALWAYS BEADY. 
 
 sss 
BINSWANGER & BROWN, 
PROPRIETORS OF THE 
Cherry Street, between Third and Foarth. 
The Proprietors have leased and newly furnished the Isaacs House. It is the most central Hotel in the city. The Tables are unsurpassed. Rates of board more moderate than any other. 
The Bar is always supplied with the best of Liquors and Cigars. 
W. M. GOOD, 
 
No. 4, BLAKE'S BLOCK, 
I)ealer in Dressed Poultry, and Tennessee Produce of every description. ; Call at No. 4 Blake's Block. 
 
. J. 
 
& 
 
Dealers in all 
 
PU, h. 
 
90 MULBERRY STREET, MACON, GA. 
A Specialty made of the WHITE, believing it to be the best Machine. It niris perfectly light and quiet, and is so simple that a child can operate it. 
 
 S, 8. ISUNIsAia & .GO. 
IMPORTERS AND DEALERS IN 
HARDWARE, IRON, STEEL, 
Buggy and Wagon 
MATERIAL, Cutlery, Plows, Etc. 72 Third and 58 Cherry Street, Macon, Ga. 
BOOT AND SHOE MAKEE, 
49 Mulberry Street, Macon, Georgia. 
All kinds of BOOTS and SHOES, hand-made. Orders filled promptly for Ladies and Gentlemen. Work oi Superior Style and the Best Material. 
Terms Moderate, 
Call and see'Specimens at 49 Mulberry Street, 
 
 &CO., 
 
SIGN AND COACH PAINTERS. 
 
BlACKSMITHfNC, 
: in all its branches ; Horse Shoeing, etc., under the direction of CHARLEY MOORE. 
 
Impairing of Wagons, Buggies and all Vehicles, 
 
Agricultural Blacksmithing Wood-work done. 
 
:. 
 
We have the best 
 
I^EaO^ SWEEP MAKER 
 
: 
 
In the State. 
 
: We are prepared to fill orders from the country at the lowest : figures, with promptness and dispatch. 
HARNESS REPAIRING a Specialty. 
 
Fourth Street, between Mulberry aM Cherry. 
 
 61 THIRD STREET,, MACON, GA, 
 
A,B.FARUUork,Pa,,""' " 
 
Cheapest and best for all purposes--simple, strong, and d.U" 
 
table. Also Fraction En gines for common roads. 
 
SAW, G-RIST AS RICK 
 
MILLS, GIN*, PS-ESSES 
 
MTI> M ACHrKERY gener- 
 
(tlly. Inquiries promptly 
 
snswered. 
 
-T_. ..-- ^fs^-,,^, .- . 
 
BOILERS, 
, ..,.. 
 
riA Vertioa3Eneines,witJJorwithout2.g- D3 P.,!, HitTM AMIJ RWR* Mi] 
 
".a* wheels, very conveni-^fc^ 
 
B" Z..S; jftW, Will ftllU Ifuili HlUlD 
 
ent, economical and 
 
EJ  
 
complete in every de- 
 
..tail, best and jfcheapest Vert 
 
MILL ROCK, 
 
ical in the 
 
, world. Fig. t is engine linuse.Tig. 
 
later Wheels, 
 
2ready for 
 
TirnhrrnentcFd)arauh--ar----Separator Peana. 
tgrfcalimala Worts, 
York, Pa. Bghtest draft, Kit liurable. J Implest, moat I 
TMrtef?o ^IS 
Sto^ifflS Send for IllustVattxl <v. 
*dyformarkot. Ad.&reSSA B Farrjuhar, 
 
Agricultural Implements, 
jg WAGONS, PLOWS, 
HARDWARE and Machinists' Supplies. 
 
ALL KINDS OF REPAIRING DONE. 
 
Address 
A. B. FARQUHAR, 
Macon, Georgia. 
il: 
JESSOP & SMITH, Managers. 
 
 .,.,,,,.*. 
 
B--S 
 
*=!- 
 
MANUFACT1JBED BF )> W, KASSEY, MACON, 
 
And for sale by CARHART & CURD, Agents, Macon, Georgia. 
 
Parties sending Gins for Repairs will please pre-pay freight, and put their names on their Gins to prevent mistakes. 
 
O. W- 
 
, Macon, Gra. 
 
GENERAL SOUTHERN AGENT 
 
;' 
 
FOR - . 
 
THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL SERIES OF SCHOOL AND COL LEGE TEXT-BOOKS PUBLISHED BY 
 
IVI80N, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & COMPANY, 
 
.: 
 
NEW YORK, CHICAGO AND MACON. 
 
; Their Publications comprise among others-- 
 
;:.- New Graded Readers, 
 
Wells' Scientific Works, 
 
: Jiobiason's Mathematics. 
 
Kiddle's Astronomies, 
 
'.. Spencerian Copy Books, 
 
Dana's Geologies, 
 
Webster's Dictionaries, 
 
Gray's Botanies, 
 
Smnton's Word Books, 
 
Fasquelle's French, 
 
Swinton's Histories, 
 
Woodbury's German, 
 
a's Geographies, 
 
Bryant & Stratton's Book- Keeping, 
 
The Educational Reporter, the Descriptive Catalogue and Specimen Pages will }jfi toirwar.ded to teachers on application. 
Correspondence respectfully solicited. Address 
 
; 
 
R08T. E, PARK, Gen. /igent, Macon, Ga. 
 
 IHXT 
PROVISIONS, ZDIRTZ" QOOIDS, 
Clothing, Hats, Boots and Shoes, 
Cotton Avenue, Above. Russell's Corner, 
A. MEG-RATH, 
PROVISION DEALER 
.A 1ST 3D 
LIQUOR MERCHANT, 
No. 6 HOLLINGSWORTH'S BLOCK, WACOM, GA., 
Is one of the oldest business men of Central Georgia. Your transactions with him will be sat'sfactory in every particular. 
He is always PROMPT AND RELIABLE. DON'T FORGET HIM. Also with MEGRATH you will find W. ]. TOT TEN. Mr. Totten, for years has been a general dealer in North Carolina and Virginia Tobacco. He handles mthing but reliable goods. Try him. 
 
 A. G. BUTTS, GEORGIA LAED AGENCY, 
MACON, GEORGIA, 
SELLS CITY PROPERTY, COTTON PLANTATIONS, FAC TORY SITES, MINERAL LANDS, YELLOW PINE TIMBER AND TURPENTINE LANDS. 
DEALER IN 
FRUITS, VEGETABLES, Etc,, 
NO. 104, CHERRY STREET, MACON, GA, 
ESTABLISHED 1S4O. 
BOOTS & SHOES. A COMPLETE LINE FOR GENTLEMEN, LADIES AND CHILDREN. A good stock of HATS, late styles, at our THIRD STREET HOUSE. MIX & K1RTLAND, 3 Cotton Avenue, and 66 Third Street, 
 
 MANUFACTURER OF 
TIN & SHEET IRON WARE, 
DEALER IN 
Stoves, Grates, Hollow-ware, Cutlery, Crockery, 
GLASS-WARE, WOQQ-WARE, 
HOUSE FURNISHING- G-OODS, ETC., 81 Cherry Street, Maeon, Georgia. 
1846. 
DEALER IN 
mlili?i AAiimn PDAAJ 
FINE WINES, LIQUORS, CIGARS, TOBACCO, Coffee, Sugar, Teas, Etc., 
Agent for C. B. BOSS & SON'S LUNCH MILK BISCUIT, 
46 COTTON A.VOB3NTDE, MCACOPf, 
CHILLS AND FEVER! 
Are you afflicted with this distressing evil, and suffer when you can be so easily relieved. 
Payne's Fever and Ague Tonic 
Never fails to cure, stops the Chills and Fever, increases the appetite and strengthens the system, and enables it to ward off subsequent attacks. This is no catchpenny advertisement. The medicine will do all that is claimed for it. Prepared and sold by 
GEORGE PAYNE, Apothecary, 
MACON, GEORGIA. 
 
 UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE 
SISTERS OF MEBCY. 
CHARTERED, FEBRUARY 98, 1876. 
MOUNT DE SALES, delightfully situated on the Heights of Macon, is ac knowledged to be the cheapest First Class Boarding School in the States. 
Special prize Gold Medals for the year have been donated by the friends of the Academy. 
Board and Tuition in all the English Branches, . . . . . . . . $75 oo Bed and Bedding, Washing, Light and Fuel, ......... 10 oo Tuition in Music, Piano or Organ, and use of instruments, ... 1 5 oo Vocal Music in Class, ................... 5 oo 
Painting, Drawing, and the Languages, are extra charges, r Catalogue and particulars, address 
DIEECTRESS OP MOUNT DE SALES ACADEMY. 
 
 [I \F  TP^ 
82 Third Street, Corner of Poplar, 
 
Sole Agent for the State of Georgia for 
 
FIVE YEAR OLD MILL CREEK 
 
[Y. 
 
ALSO, SOLE AGENT FOR 
Crescent Brewing Company, 
 
AND AGENT 
For all Brands of J. W. GAFF & CO.'S Distilled Liquors. 
 
 AND MANUFACTURER OF 
Doors, Sash, Blinds, Mouldings, Brackets, Etc., 
And all kinds of BUILDING MATERIAL. 
Rough and Dressed Lumber always on hand, 
WHARF STREET, WACOM, GEORGIA. 
 
 ISAIAH E FOOLE, 
PRACTICAL 
PAINTING IN ALL ITS BRANCHES, 
Fourth Street, between Cherry and Poplar, 
MA.OON'-* GKEORG-IA.. 
 
 GO 
 
H 
 
H 
 
Q 0 
 
u 
i 
 
MOST COMPLETE PRINTING OFFICE. P 
 
 FANCY GROCER, 
 
AND SHIPPER OF 
 
Schofield's Iron Front Block, Poplar Street, 
M1A.CON, 
 
W. H. MANSFIELD. 
 
L. W, HOLLINGSWORTH. 
 
DEALERS IN 
MONTEYALLO RED ASH 
TERMS STRICTLY CASH. 
Office and Yard Mulberry Street, Maeon, Ga. 
1833. 
DEALERS IN 
 
Metallic and Wood Burial Cases, 
Cotton Avenue, near Cherry Street, Maoon, ffa.