Reconstruction Bartow County Following the Civil War, Article 6 – Dr. Keith Hebert

Reconstruction
Bartow County Following the Civil War

By Dr. Keith Hebert, Assistant Professor, Auburn University

At the end of the Civil War, John King, a Bartow County soldier who had served in the 40th Georgia Infantry Regiment and spent the last months of the war in a northern prison camp, returned home and discovered that “Sherman’s force of invading plunderers swept over the beautiful valley and green hills of my native land and . . . left utter ruin and devastation.”  Unable to contact his son for months, King’s father had almost abandoned all hope that his son had survived the war.  When John appeared on his father’s doorstep in May 1865 the two men openly wept and praised God for reuniting their family.  Following his return, uncertainty greeted John King, as well as thousands of local Confederate veterans, at every turn.  He returned too late to plant a spring crop.  His farm had been stripped of animals, tools, fencing, and almost anything else of value.  Many sights disturbed him.  While walking through Cassville he noted the many charred remains of hundreds of buildings that had been burned by Federal soldiers in the previous November.  Worse still he witnessed destitute men, women, and children combing “the grounds of the enemy and [feeding] upon the corn and fragments of food left” behind.  King later recalled that “the year eighteen hundred and sixty five will be ever memorable among the citizens of northwest Georgia, as one of privation and suffering.”

The situation got so bad that thousands of white residents left the county and headed west to Kansas and California in search of a fresh start.  In an effort to reduce the region’s poverty and decrease the demand for food during a period of prolonged drought, Federal officials offered to pay the rail passage of northwest Georgians willing to relocate west.  Believing that Bartow Countians might convert to their faith and relocate to Colorado and Utah, the first Mormon missionaries came to northwest Georgia and convinced nearly 1,000 locals to join their faith and relocate to Latter Day Saint colonies such as Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The future for Bartow County’s white population seemed bleak.

The results of the Confederate States of America’s defeat in 1865 turned the world upside down in the American South.  The Civil War emancipated over four million slaves and laid groundwork for freedpeople to make the unprecedented leap from chattel slavery to American citizen.  In Bartow County, the end of slavery was among the most shocking results of the war, at least in the eyes of many white residents.  In 1860, the county’s 425 slaveholders owned 4,282 slaves valued at approximately $3.5 million.  Large slaveholders, known as planters, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars–amounts that represented 80 percent or more of their total prewar wealth.  Meanwhile, white residents were equally shocked by the behavior of freedpeople following emancipation.  Julia Barnsley and Susan Howard, who lived in large estates located along modern-day Hall Station Road, were surprised when many of their slaves abandoned them at the end of the war.  Slaveholders falsely assumed that freedpeople would remain and continue to work for their former masters but this did not happen in most cases as former slaves looked to the road to locate separated family members and find better opportunities elsewhere.

During Reconstruction (1865-1877) freedpeople formed new social and cultural communities that became the bedrock for African American life in Bartow County.  Whereas large numbers of the county’s slaves had been members of white churches, such as Euharlee’s Presbyterian Church and Macedonia Baptist Church, freedpeople left those churches soon after the war’s end and formed their own independent black houses of worship such as Cartersville’s African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Freedpeople actively sought to develop schools that could train older former slaves how to read and write while preparing black children to nurture the duties of responsible citizens.  While Georgia created the state’s first publicly funded schools during Reconstruction, the state system was racially segregated and inherently unequal as black schools received less funding for teachers, books, and facilities than their white counterparts.  Most freedpeople entered Reconstruction with little more than the clothing on their backs.  Many hoped that the Federal government through the work of the Freedman’s Bureau would provide much needed assistance to help former slaves acquire land that could be used to develop farms and build their personal wealth.  Unfortunately, land ownership remained out of reach for all but 10 percent of the county’s black population.  White landholders often refused to sell freedpeople land even when former slaves made cash offers.

Freed slaves and local whites in Bartow County struggled to define their new post-emancipation relationship.  Whites sought to continue their control over black labor by seeking to sign freedpeople to abusive labor contracts that paid scant wages and set stiff penalties for black men and women who did not fulfill its requirements.  Georgia passed a series of vagrancy laws intended to arrest freedpeople who were without a labor contract and force them to serve lengthy and harsh prison sentences working for their former masters.  Freedpeople resisted white efforts to control them.  Many white men countered black resistance by forming bands of night riding terrorists, sometimes known as the Ku Klux Klan but often going without a name, that physically assaulted black men, women, and children in often humiliating and degrading fashion.  Whites used violence to keep freedpeople away from the polls and to keep them working under the terms of abusive labor contracts with white farmers.

Generations of Bartow Countians, black and white, would remember Reconstruction as a dark period in local history.  While the county’s economy eventually improved by the mid 1870s, race relations would remain at a standstill for decades as freedpeople sought to expand the rights of their citizenship while whites viewed such expansions as a threat to their own liberty.  The issues left unresolved during Reconstruction continued to haunt the nation throughout much of the 20th century.

The Union Occupation of Bartow County, Article 5 – Trey Gaines

The Union Occupation of Bartow County


by Trey Gaines

Throughout the summer and fall of 1864, Bartow County experienced firsthand the devastation of the Civil War.  Just weeks before, in May, Union and Confederate forces cut a path of destruction through the heart of the county, when over 150,000 troops marched and fought across the county as the push toward Atlanta continued.  By summer, Bartow County became occupied territory by much of the 100,000 Union troops, and months of chaos, fleeing families, local resistance, and destruction of property followed.

Through journals, diaries, letters, official records, memoirs, and family stories, we can glimpse the changes that occurred to the landscape and the emotions of the populace throughout 1864.

One such description of the landscape came from the diary of Private Jenkins Lloyd Jones of the 6th Wisconsin Battery.  His unit remained in Bartow for months during the occupation.  On July 12, 1864, he wrote, “Passed through Cassville at 10 a.m.  A very pretty country town hid away among the hills.  A large college used as a general hospital by the [rebels] here.  Ascended to the observatory, had a splendid view.  A large library filled with books going to waste.”  By the end of 1864, much of Bartow County’s communities and farm land lay in ruins, and the county seat of Cassville was destroyed.

Communities were disrupted and citizens struggled to survive as resources were pillaged.  Many churches in the county had suspended services by the summer of 1864.  In her wartime reminisces, Frances Gaines wrote, “Ours was a miserable existence, in the power of a cruel enemy, cut off from all communication with friends, no social gatherings, no Sabbath bells, no preaching and the Sabbath scarcely observed at all.”  Families remained in constant fear of foraging soldiers and other encounters with the Union army.  Gaines recorded, “Late one evening three cavalry men from Illinois rode up and threatened to burn us out because we could not furnish them with whiskey and tobacco.  It frightened us very much and we sat up and kept a light all night….We were in constant fear of being burned out or murdered.”

In 1922, Joe T. Jolly submitted a letter to the Tribune News describing an encounter with Union soldiers when he was 10 years old.  “…a squad of General Kilpatrick’s men came to our house, and they were after food, whiskey and tobacco….  Father told them he had neither whiskey or tobacco.  They found a rope…(and) got it around father’s neck, led him off into the woods, found a tree, and even the limb to throw the rope over.”  Attempting to scare the information out of him, they eventually let him go.  As this was happening, other soldiers robbed the Jolly house of utensils, clothing, and provisions, including “all the sweet potatoes they could well carry on horses.”

While more stories of pillaging exist, encounters with more fair minded Union officers also occurred.  Again, in her journal, Frances Gaines wrote, “[o]n the 23rd (July) several ladies walked to Kingston, a distance of six miles.  Col. (Jabez) Dunbury treated them with marked politeness, said he was sorry we had been disturbed, and while he remained in command we should not be molested, tho’ his time would soon expire.  (On) Aug 2nd the old men that were left (three in number) went to Gen. Smith and told him how we had been treated.  He was very angry, and said they were acting without orders, and gave us permission to remain at home.  We had been (so) harassed and perplexed of late, that we felt by no means secure.”

Many Bartow families left their homes to seek refuge with family and friends.  Some packed up what possessions they could and fled, while others had to make hasty retreats, leaving behind their belongings hoping to return one day to find them intact.

Members of the Young family of Walnut Grove found refuge in North and South Carolina.  In a July 1864 letter, Louisa Young wrote to her mother, “[p]rovisions here are very scarce… I have been trying to find out where I can purchase some meat or chicken, but so far have been unsuccessful.”  Months later, her mother responded, “God only knows what will become of us… I fear our army is not sufficient to contend with the enemy.  I fear we will lose all our men or the greatest part of them.”  And, finally, in December, Mrs. Young wrote to her son, Brigadier General PMB Young, “[w]e are still here (in North Carolina) …, the country is filled with thieves & deserters… I am glad you are in Georgia but tremble for you all the time…  I do pray that every Yankee may be made to surrender to our Army…, provisions are scarce & very high here(;) we cannot obtain it here with Confederate money.”

Some of the destruction wrought on the county during the occupation was the result of local resistance.  For example, on October 11, 1864, ten Union soldiers were killed by a band of guerillas, and their bodies were discovered thrown on the grounds of the Cassville Female College the next morning.  In retaliation, the Cassville Female College, the Cherokee Baptist College, a boys’ college located in Cassville, and several residences were burned by Union soldiers.

Guerilla activity in Bartow County had become such a problem for the Union Army that in early November General Sherman, after several Union soldiers were taken, ordered Brigadier General John E. Smith to “arrest some six or eight citizens known or supposed to be hostile.  Let one or two go free to carry word to the guerrilla band that you give them forty-eight hours’ notice that unless all the men of ours picked up by them in the past two days are returned, Kingston, Cassville, and Cartersville will be burned.”

Cassville suffered its final burning on November 5, 1864.  Frances Gaines again described the scene.  “They commenced firing the place between 2 and 3 o’clock.  All our tears and prayers availed us nothing.  We begged to hearts of stone.  In a short while the public square was one vast sheet of flames.  It soon spread all over town, and in a short time nothing was left but the smoky ruins and chimneys.”

In a number of telegraphs between General William T. Sherman and General Ulysses S. Grant in November, Sherman finally convinced Grant to allow his proposed campaign to march through the remainder of Georgia toward Savannah.  Grant wanted Sherman to focus his efforts on the Confederate forces under General John Bell Hood.  On November 1, Grant asked, “Do you not think it advisable…to entirely ruin (Hood) before starting your proposed campaign?”  Sherman responded the next day.  “We cannot remain on the defensive.  With twenty-five thousand infantry and the bold cavalry he has, Hood can constantly break my road.  I would infinitely prefer to make a wreck of the road and of the country from Chattanooga to Atlanta…and with my effective army move through Georgia, smashing things to the sea.”  Grant ultimately agreed and wrote, “…I do not see that you can withdraw from where you are to follow Hood, without giving up all we have gained in territory.  I say, then, go on as your propose.”

Sherman’s March to the Sea had been approved.  In his memoirs, Sherman recalled, “On the 12th (of November), with a full staff, I started from Kingston for Atlanta and about noon of that day we reached Cartersville, and sat on the edge of a porch to rest, when the telegraph operator… got the wire down from the poles to his lap… About that instant of time, some of our men burned a bridge which severed the telegraph wire and all communications with the rear ceased thenceforth.”  As they left Cartersville, his troops set fire to the depot.  Just a few short weeks later, Sherman reached Savannah on December 21, 1864.

References:

The author wishes to express a sincere appreciation to Mr. David Archer for advice and use of his personal research materials to make this article project a reality. Also, a special thank you to J. B. Tate for his reviews and notes. Among other references the author wishes to acknowledge a number of works used in researching the article series including: Lucy Cuynus’ History of Bartow County Georgia, Official War Records, William R. Scaffe’s Allatoona Pass: A Needless Effusion of Blood, Frances Thomas Howard’s, In and Out of the Lines , Papers/letters from the Bartow History Museum, Joseph B. Mahan, Jr., A History of Old Cassville 1833-1864, Dr. Keith Hebert’s dissertation, “CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ERA CASS/BARTOW COUNTY, GEORGIA” and Joe F. Head’s, The General – The Great Locomotive Dispute.

General William T. Wofford (1824 – 1884)

General William T. Wofford (1824 – 1884)

 

The son of William Hollingsworth Wofford and Nancy M. Tatum William Tatum, Wofford was born June 28, 1823. He had two sisters, Rachel and Martha. The family ancestors were Revolutionary War heroes who had migrated to north Georgia to settle in the Habersham County area.  William’s father died when he was three and the family decided to move to Cassville during the Land Lottery as the grandfather, Benjamin Wofford, drew a lot in western Georgia.

He attended Franklin College (University of Georgia), studied law, was admitted to the Bar and returned to Cassville where he opened a law practice. He was a slave owner, held property, raised livestock and farmed. He practiced a thrifty life and encouraged others to do the same.

He first served in the military as a cavalry captain where he commanded a battalion of Georgia mounted volunteers in the Mexican War from 1847-49. His unit saw combat on two occasions. He returned home to become involved in politics and was respected as a hero. He was first married to Julia A. Dwight and had four daughters of which only one survived. Much later in his life he married Margaret Langdon.

Wofford became a strong voice in the community and a visionary for its economic future regarding the route of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. He negotiated legislation for the road to be laid through Cassville; however, for the rerouting change to occur the state required the community to fund the expense. Later the citizens deferred and lost the opportunity to become a vital trade and transportation center.

As the winds of war approached, Wofford often spoke against disunion as did much of north Georgia. However, once the final vote was taken January 21, 1861, Wofford stood firmly with the state and its conviction to secede.

Following the vote, he returned home and found that all were preparing for war. Companies were already being formed. The Etowah Infantry, Cherokee Cavalry, Rowland Highlanders and many others were mustered into service.

Wofford offered his services to the Confederacy and Governor Brown appointed Wofford as Colonel of the First Regiment, Fourth Brigade, Georgia State Volunteers at Camp Brown, Smyrna, Georgia.

Soon Wofford’s skills as an eloquent speaker and leader were needed to hold the troops together after a visit from Governor Joseph Brown and his stern demands regarding closing spirit shops and lengthening enlistments. Wofford made a trip to Atlanta to reason with the Governor, but with little success. Upon his return he made a grand and patriotic speech that convinced the troops to remain.

Wofford’s first major engagement was at the Battle of the Seven Days Campaign. When General Cobb was killed at Fredericksburg, Wofford assumed command and was promoted to Brigadier General. For a time he commanded Hood’s Texas Brigade. He was by many regards a “gentleman warrior” and participated in multiple engagements including: Yorktown, Second Manassas, Antietam, Sharpsburg, Overland, Battle of the Wilderness, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and others. He was wounded twice: once at the Battle of the Wilderness and again at Spotsylvania.

Wofford’s Brigade performed admirably at Gettysburg having fought July 2, 3, and 4th. His forces saw combat at the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard and at the foot of Little Round Top. Monuments to his Brigade commemorate action seen by the Georgia Infantry.

At the close of the war he had been charged to protect civilians from deserters, stragglers, bandits, looters and killer gangs who prayed on Georgians.  He was highly concerned with the lawlessness and starving families. After a desperate plea to President Davis, General Wofford requested to be reassigned to north Georgia and restore order. His request was eventually approved and the Department of North Georgia was established to restore order. He was instrumental in transporting a wagon train of corn through Union lines south of Dalton to starving civilians. The war was coming to an end and the Confederate government was in shambles. Wofford was compelled to negotiate terms with Federal troops from the position as an agent for the state of Georgia as President Davis was in flight and generals Johnston and Lee were cut off.

On May 12, 1865 Wofford surrendered the largest remaining Confederate troops east of the Mississippi of over 4000 men to Union Brigadier General Henry Judah in Kingston, Georgia at the McCarvey-Johnson home on Church Street.

Following the war General Wofford continued to bring relief to the suffering populace of north Georgia and was encouraged to enter politics. He was elected to Congress and promoted southern change. He lobbied on the behalf for Confederate veterans to receive tax exemptions and reliefs for widows and orphans. He is credited with reorganizing the Cartersville Van Wert Railroad.

Wofford worked to abolish the convict lease system and said that it was worse than slavery. He rose in the legislature to defend Georgia and opposed the emerging racism slander that eventually led to the “Jim Crow” laws. He also spoke out against the perception that blacks were uneducated and should not have a voice in state affairs. He advocated that blacks had been trained to Christianity and had become civilized. Wofford pointed out that the Georgia Legislature had taken steps to make education an equal privilege. He went on to say that “we are making a great experiment and we should stand up to what is right.”

Wofford was a generous man and often made many local contributions from his own resources. One of which was the donation of a parcel of land for the purpose of a school that was called the Wofford Academy.

He died May 22, 1884 and is buried with his family in the Cassville Cemetery beside some 300 unknown Civil War soldiers.

William T. Wofford cemetery marker

Article by: Joe F. Head

Sources:

One of the Most Daring Men, Gerald D. Smith
History of Bartow County, Lucy Cunyus
J. B. Tate, Interview September 12, 2014

The Civil War Reaches Bartow County, Article 1

The Civil War Reaches Bartow County, Article 1

By Joe F. Head

 (A Civil War Sesquicentennial Article Series by the Etowah Valley Historical Society in cooperation with the Bartow History Museum)

 The Civil War first entered Bartow County on April 12, 1862, exactly one year to the day following the bombardment at Fort Sumter, SC. This brief episode, while not a skirmish or hostile action, was in the form of “The Great Locomotive Chase”. As a result of the Western & Atlantic Railroad’s (W&A RR) strategic war time value, Bartow was among 5 North Georgia counties that would witness what has been called the greatest and most daring railroad adventure in US history. Bartow enjoys perhaps the greatest portion of this story.  With over 40% of the chase having unfolded in Bartow between the old community of Allatoona and Adairsville on the state owned Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&ARR) line, the event produced our nation’s first Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.

Bartow citizens felt rather safe in the early part of the conflict and did not experience further intrusion until the final year as Sherman’s forces approached its borders from Chattanooga. Initially, Bartow voted largely not to secede and avoid dissolving the Union. Once the die was cast, Bartow faithfully joined the Confederacy and went to war. However, this pro-union vote was of little use when the war marched through the county. During the Spring through Fall of 1864 rear guard actions and skirmishes eventually occurred at Adairsville, Barnsley Gardens, Kingston, Cassville and heavy fighting at Allatoona Pass that led to the fall of Bartow.

Once again the W&ARR that runs directly through the heart of Bartow County plays a vital role in the Civil War.  Union General William Sherman was desperately dependent on the railroad to supply troop movements requiring that he cling close to the railroad for support. In contrast, Confederate General Joseph Johnston was under orders to break up Sherman’ supply line, inflict disruptive actions and hold his positions.

On May 17 General Sherman entered Bartow County with three Federal Armies deploying northwest of Cassville from Adairsville and Barnsley Gardens to Kingston and Cass Station. Confederate General Joseph Johnston prepared defense works east of Cassville near what is now Antigua Subdivision and the current Confederate Cemetery. Here is where he planned for the Army of the Tennessee to engage the Union forces. Even today, at these locations, ghostly earth works remain in the form of shallow trenches, trails and cannon emplacements.

The first fighting in Bartow occurred the late afternoon on May 17th  at a location known at the Octagon House north of Adairsville. (Also known as the Battle of Adairsville) The Octagon House stood on the east side of present day Highway 41, just a few feet from the Bartow-Gordon County line.  The unusual home was built by Col. R.C. Saxon, from Laurens County, SC, around 1850.

Octagon House Battle of Adairsville

There were four rooms on each of the two floors, and each room had a fireplace attached to one central chimney. This was an unusual structure with eight sides, two levels, constructed of one – foot thick walls made of cement and gravel. Confederate troops were well entrenched in the area and fought heavily until evening.

According to an eye witness account from Private Sam R. Watkins, CSA Army of the Tennessee, Co H, “We had stacked our arms and gone into camp and had started to build fires to cook supper. I saw our cavalry falling back, I thought rather hurriedly. I ran to the road and asked them what was the matter? They answered; matter enough; yonder are the Yankees, are you infantry fellow going to make a stand here? I could hardly draw anyone’s attention to the fact that the cavalry had passed us, and that we were on the outpost of the whole army, when an order came for our regiment to go forward as rapidly as possible and occupy an octagon house in our immediate front. The Yankees were about a hundred yards from the house on one side and we were about a hundred yards on the other. The race commenced as to which side would get to the house first. We reached it, and had barely gotten in, when they were bursting down and pouring in the yard on the opposite side. The house was a fine brick, octagon in shape, and as perfect about as could be desired. We ran to the windows, up-stairs, down-stairs and in the cellar. The Yankees cheered and charged, and our boys got happy. Colonel Field told he had orders to hold it until every man was killed, and never to surrender the house… At every discharge of our guns, we would hear a Yankee squall … Our cartridges were almost gone, and Lt. Joe Carney, Joe Sewell, and Bill Carr volunteered to go and bring a box of one thousand cartridges. They got out of the back window, and through that hail of iron and lead, made their way back with the box of cartridges. Our ammunition being renewed, the fight raged on… About twelve o’clock, midnight, the hundred and fifty fourth of Tennessee, commanded by Colonel Mc Geveny, came to our relief. The firing had ceased, and we abandoned the octagon house. Our dead and wounded- there were thirty three of them-were a strange contrast with the furniture of the house. Fine chairs, sofas, settees, pianos and brussel carpeting being made the death-bed of brave and noble boys, all saturated with blood. Fine lace and damask curtains, all blackened with the smoke of battle. Fine bureaus and looking-glasses and furniture being riddled by the rude missiles of war. Beautiful pictures in gilt frame, and a library of valuable books, all shot and torn by musket and cannon balls. Such is war.”

 Another noted document is that of Major Arthur MacArthur (father of  WWII General Douglas MacArthur) recorded in the Official Record 38, I, 327.  “I immediately deployed two more companies on the right and the remaining four companies on the left side of the road. The united efforts of the two regiments (44th Illinois and 24th Wisconsin) made no visible impression on the enemy. The fighting was very severe and lasted from about 3:00pm until after dark.

When Johnston reached Adairsville he found the wide valley terrain would exceed the front of his army and he choose to not make a stand here. He decides to retreat toward Cassville in search of better conditions. Meeting only light resistance, Union forces moved into Adairsville and destroyed the Georgia State Arsenal.

Bartow experienced the wrath of war between May and November of 1864. According to Col. Thomas Spencer in an August 28, 1958, Tribune article a total of 36 engagements (skirmishes and battles) were fought in Bartow between Adairsville and Allatoona. The actual first war activity in Bartow was the Andrew’s Raid (Great Locomotive Chase), but it is not considered a battle or skirmish.

 

Engagements listed by Col. Spencer are as follows:

May 17, Battle of Adairsville/Octagon House    May 18, Skirmish at Kingston

May 18, Skirmish at Pine Log                                    May 18, Engagement at Kingston

May 20, Action at Cartersville                                   May  20, Action at Etowah River

May 21, Engagement at Kingston                            May 22, Action at Cassville

May 23, Action at Stilesboro                                      May 24, Action at Kingston

May 24, Engagement at Cass Station                     May 24, Skirmish at Cartersville

May 27, Skirmish at Cassville                                    May 30, Skirmish at Allatoona Ck.

June 1,   Skirmish at Kingston                                    June 1,   Engagement at Allatoona

June  6, Skirmish at Raccoon Creek                        June 9,   Skirmish at Stileboro

June 15, Skirmish at Allatoona Creek                    June 20, Skirmish at Cassville

June 23, Skirmish at Allatoona                                 June 25, Skirmish at Allatoona

June 30, Skirmish at Allatoona                                 July 1,    Skirmish at Allatoona

July 3,    Skirmish at Kingston                                    July 7,    Action at Adairsville

July 24,  Skirmish at Cartersville                              Aug.       16, Skirmish at Allatoona

Sept. 15, Skirmish at Etowah River                        Sept.      20, Skirmish at Cartersville

Sept. 29- Nov. 3, Federal oper. in NW Ga             Oct. 5, Battle of Allatoona Pass

Oct. 12,   Skirmish at Kingston                                  Oct. 22, Skirmish at Adairsville

Nov. 7, Skirmish at Cassville                                      Nov. 10-11, Skirmishes at Kingston

 

General Sherman announced his famous orders to march to the sea and departed Kingston on November 12, 1864 after which, battle actions in Bartow County ceased.

_____________________________________

 

References:

The author wishes to express a sincere appreciation to Mr. David Archer for advice and use of his personal research materials to make this article project a reality. Also, a special thank you to J. B. Tate for his reviews and notes. Among other references the author wishes to acknowledge a number of works used in researching the article series including: Lucy Cuynus’ History of Bartow County Georgia, Official War Records, William R. Scaffe’s Allatoona Pass: A Needless Effusion of Blood, Frances Thomas Howard’s, In and Out of the Lines , Papers/letters from the Bartow History Museum, Joseph B. Mahan, Jr., A History of Old Cassville 1833-1864, Dr. Keith Hebert’s dissertation, “CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ERA CASS/BARTOW COUNTY, GEORGIA” and Joe F. Head’s, The General – The Great Locomotive Dispute.

 

Joe F. Head

VP, Etowah Valley Historical Society

Updated March 12, 2017