Stoneman’s Raid and the Battle of

Barber Creek

Presented by Dr. Goodloe Y. Erwin, M.D.

Athens Historical SocietyMarch 20, 2005

Photo of historic marker at the Holiday Inn in Athens by Ed Jackson, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/stonemanhistmarker2.htm

Brig. Gen. George Stoneman• A New Yorker, he attended

West Point and served in the U.S. Army under Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee

• His roommate at West Point was “Stonewall” Thomas J. Jackson

• After the Civil War, he went to California and was elected governor in 1882.

Peninsula Campaign – 1862-1863

• Stoneman was promoted to Brigadier General by McClellan

• He commanded the 3rd

Corps of infantry at the Battle of Fredericksburg

• He was promoted to Major General in May 1863 by Gen. Hooker and placed in command of the Union Cavalry Corps

Harper’s Weekly, Thomas Nast engraving, from Son of the South website – www.sonofthesouth.net

Battle of Chancellorsville, VirginiaMay 1-4, 1863

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/CRANE/chancellorsville/section2.html

Camp Stoneman Cavalry Depot near Washington

• While head of the Union Cavalry Bureau 1863, Stonemanpurchased land and established a cavalry depot near the Potomoc.

• It became known as “Camp Stoneman.”

Gen. William Gamble and officersat Camp Stoneman, May 1865

www.militarymuseum.org/Stoneman.html

Gen. Schofield and the Department of Ohio

• In April 1864, Gen. John Schofield of NY placed Stoneman in charge of the cavalry corps of the 23rd

Infantry Division.• They joined

Sherman’s forces in preparation for the push to Atlanta.

Gen. John SchofieldNational Archives photo

Sherman’s March to Atlanta

• In the 4th year of the conflict, Sherman brought the war to Georgia.

• Chattanooga fell in November 1863

• Atlanta was besieged July-August, and finally captured early September 1864.

• Savannah surrendered November 1864 –Sherman sent Lincoln a telegram offering him Savannah for Christmas.

McCook & Stoneman Unleashed on Georgia Railroads

• By July 1864 Union troops had crossed the Chattahoochee River and were setting up fortifications like this one around Atlanta to bombard the Confederate forces.

• On July 27, 1864, Sherman sent two cavalry brigades to destroy the railroads leading into Atlanta.– Gen. McCook and 2600 Federal cavalry

went around the west side of Atlanta and was defeated by 1400 Confederate Cavalry near Newnan on July 30th.

– Gen. Stoneman went east and south toward Macon.

General Sherman (at cannon breech)inspecting Federal Fort #9 outside AtlantaAugust 1864 (Gardner, National Archives)

Disrupt Supplies and Free Prisoners

Sherman’s orders to McCook and Stoneman were:

• Tear up railroad tracks between Atlanta and Lovejoy Station, then down to Macon

• Free Union officers imprisoned at Camp Oglethorpe near Macon

• Free Union prisoners at Andersonville (if Lovejoy Station was captured)

• Rejoin Sherman at AtlantaDestroying the railroads at Atlanta. Civil War photographs, National Archives, Library of Congress, etc. - www.civil-war.net

McCook at Newnan

Lt. Gen. EdwardMcCook

The Road to Macon

• After tearing up railroads and burning the stations at Covington and Monticello, Stonemanproceeded to Macon

• The bridge over the Ocmulgee River had washed away, thus preventing their attacking Macon with full force.

Home Guard Law• Drafted by Howell Cobb of

Athens, at the command of the Georgia governor, the Home Guard or Reserves could be called to serve anywhere in the state

• Allowed enlistment of boys and men too young or too old for active duty

• To be subject to combat duty in Georgia

From Stegeman, These Men She Gave, 1963

Breastworks at Barber Creek• Captain Edward P.

Lumpkin and the Wilson Lumpkin Artillery manned breastworks similar to these.

• The fortifications were dug into the hill overlooking the main road from Watkinsville, crossing Barber’s Creek and the Middle Oconee River.

Athens ’64 Breastworks

Bombarding Macon• Gen. Howell Cobb

commanded the forces at Macon

• Little damage was done to the city by the Yankees due to the distance across the river

• Only one cannonball hit Judge Hill’s home

Battle of Sunshine Church• Early on July 31st, the

Confederate forces under Gen. Iverson attacked Stoneman’sforces at Sunshine Church near Hillsboro in Jasper County.

• Stoneman and about one third of his command surrendered at Clinton, near Gray. Union General

George Stoneman

Pursuit & Capture• Stoneman’s Raiders

surrendered to a force of only 186 Confederates.

• Most of the prisoners were sent to Andersonville. Officers were taken to Fort Oglethorpe near Macon.

• Stoneman was paroled in September 1st and returned to Sherman’s headquarters.

Southern Banner, Aug. 10, 1864, p. 2

Fleeing Yankees• Two cavalry units,

under Col. Capron and Col. Adams, did not surrender with Stoneman, but fought their way northward toward Athens, trying to get back to Sherman’s headquarters.

• They looted and burned around Eatonton and Madison before reaching Watkinsville.

Civil War photograph, National Archives - www.civil-war.net

Excitement in Athens• The exhausted marauders camped

overnight (August 1st) outside of Watkinsville, and pillaged the town and surrounding countryside.

• Mrs. Laura Ashford cooked a meal for them.

• Several local citizens were detained, but later released.

• One, Mr. Klutz, was sent to a Yankee prison and his family never knew what happened to him until his death was found on a prisoner list in the 1980s!

Southern Banner, Aug. 3, 1864, p. 2

Battle of Barber’s Creek

• On Tuesday morning, August 2, 1864, a Yankee scouting party advanced up the road from Watkinsville to Athens

• The boards had been removed from the bridge over Barber’s Creek near the Pioneer Paper Mill (near Puritan Mill).

• Four cannon shots from the battery turned the raiders away from Athens.

Southern Banner, Aug. 10, 1864, p. 2

Locating the Battle Site

New

441

From Stegeman, These Men She Gave, 1963

Which Way Did They Go?• Col. Capron’s unit took Hog

Mountain Road from Watkinsville and was captured near Jug Tavern (Winder).

• Some men were drowned when the bridge over the Mulberry River collapsed.

• Capron and several men escaped into the woods and made it back to Sherman’s army, without most of his 800 men.

• Col. Adams’ forces eluded their Confederate pursuers and returned to Marietta.

http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/histcountymaps/clarkehistmaps.htm

Capture of Marauders

• Col. Breckenridge’s Kentucky Brigade, along with local militia, pursued the fleeing troops and captured over 400 men at the Battle of King’s Tanyard, near Winder.

http://www.visitathensga.com/civilwartrail/stoneman.htm

Prisoners on North Campus• Over the next few

weeks, over 430 Union prisoners were brought to Athens prior “being sent on a pilgrimage” to Andersonville.

• The Home Guard units were charged with guarding the prisoners.

• A local newspaper chided citizens for gawking at them.

Honoring the Kentucky Brigade

• A huge dinner was given by Athens ladies at the UGA Chapel to honor Col. Breckenridge and the units involved with the capture of Stoneman’s Raiders.

Burning of Atlanta Sept. 2, 1864

National Archives photographs from www.civil-war.net

Refugees from the War• Many families came to Athens

fleeing the war in Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and elsewhere.

• The Chapel became an infirmary specializing in injuries to eyes.

• Old College was turned into a hospital following the Battle of Atlanta.

• New College provided shelter for many refugee families.

Lantern slide of the Fall of Atlantahttp://members.aol.com/ larrykench/

Cost of Living• By 1864 the factories

were offering cloth and thread for corn and wheat.

• Confederate money was almost worthless.

• On August 8, 1864, merchant R.L. Moss paid $160 cash for 48 pounds of bacon and $800 for 60 bushels of wheat to feed their family and servants.

John D. Moss estate papers, executor’s returns book,Clarke Co., GA

Aftermath of the War

• Athens was placed under martial law in May 1865 with Federal troops stationed here.

• The job of rebuilding was a slow and arduous process.

Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library / University of Georgia Libraries

Local Units in Active ServiceCobb’s Legion:• Troup Artillery

1861-1865• Georgia Troopers

(Cavalry) 1861-1865

• Mell Rifles 1861-1865

• Athens Guards 1861-1865

• Highland Guards 1861-1865

• Clarke County Rifles 1861-1865

• Johnson Guards 1862-1865

• Oconee Troopers 1862-1865

Major Events for Athens Troops• Seven Days

June 25-July 1,1862• Crampton’s Gap, Md.

Sept 14, 1862• Sharpsburg, Md.

Sept. 17, 1862• Fredericksburg, VA

Dec. 13, 1862• Chancellorsville, VA

May 2-3, 1863• Brandy Station

June 9, 1863

• Gettysburg, PA July 1-3, 1863

• Knoxville, TN Nov. 29, 1863

• The Wilderness, VAMay 4-21, 1864

• Siege of Petersburg, VA, and the Crater June 1864-April 1865

• Lee’s Surrender at Appomatox, VA April 9, 1865

From Stegeman, These Men She Gave, 1963

Local Defense Units

• Athens Home Guard• Lumpkin’s Artillery Battery• Cook’s Armory Battalion• Mitchell’s Thunderbolts• Lipscomb Volunteers

From Stegeman, These Men She Gave, 1963

Athens Home Guard• Organized from

Athens Fire Company No. 1 in 1861 soon after Fort Sumter fell.

• Most of the men in this photo (taken about 1860 on the front campus of UGA) enlisted for active duty in other Athens units.

Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library / University of Georgia Libraries

Lumpkin’s Light Artillery

• Organized by Capt. Edward P. Lumpkin of Troup Artillery, son of Chief Justice Joseph Henry Lumpkin

• Eighty members established a camp on Mitchell Bridge Road

• Established “breastworks” at Barber Creek armed with cannon to guard the main road and bridges into Athens from Watkinsville

From T.W. Reed, The History of the University of Georgia. 1948

Cook’s Armory Battalion• Organized in Spring 1864

of employees from local mills and Cook & Brother Armory to protect the Armory and other Athens factories.

• John White, captain, Ferdinand Cook, major

• Joined the Confederate forces in September to harass Sherman’s troops on the “March to the Sea”

• Furloughed back to Athens in December 1864

From Stegeman, These Men She Gave, 1963

Lipscomb Volunteers• Organized in 1863 and named for Rev. Dr. A.A.

Lipscomb, UGA Chancellor, who joined as a private

• Infantry company comprised mostly of UGA professors with six month enlistment

• Dr. Patrick Mell, acting colonel, F.W. Adams, former “intendent” (mayor) of Athens, captain

• Served in Atlanta as guards of train cars assigned to evacuating ladies; then to Rome where they dug trenches; finally sent to Savannah to recuperate before returning to Athens.

From T.W. Reed, The History of the University of Georgia. 1948

Mitchell’s Thunderbolts• Captain John Billups recruited

many of the older gentlemen who had served in the Lipscomb Volunteers

• Many brought a servant to carry their muskets or shotguns, while they carried walking canes and umbrellas.

• They recognized no superior officers and argued with their captain over orders.

• Augustus L. Hull in Annals mentions standing on the town square in the August heat with the Mitchell’s Thunderbolts waiting to defend Athens against the Raiders.

Some privates in this company:• John Gilleland, designer of the

Double Barrel Cannon• Judge Junius Hillyer• William L. Mitchell, lawyer &

law professor• Henry Hull, mathematics

professor 1830-1846• William Hope Hull, law

professor• Edward R. Ware, M.D.• Asbury Hull, banker• H.R.J. Long, physician

From T.W. Reed, The History of the University of Georgia. 1948

Print Resources• Coleman, Kenneth. Confederate Athens. 1967: UGA Press,

Athens.• Fortney, Ben F. “Stoneman’s Failed Bid for Glory” in America’s

Civil War, May 1998.• Hull, Augustus L. Annals of Athens. 1906.• Redwine, M.R. “Learn more about Stoneman’s Raid” in the

Athens Observer, July 15-21, 19??.• Reed, T.W. The History of the University of Georgia. 1948,

manuscript online at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/reed/• Stegeman, John F. These Men She Gave: Civil War Diary of

Athens, Georgia. 1964: UGA Press, Athens.

NewspapersInformation about Stoneman’s Raiders and their capture

was gathered from these period newspapers:• The Southern Watchman, Athens newspaper,

microfilmed by Georgia newspapers Project, UGA Main Library (also in A-CC Library Heritage Room)

• The Southern Banner, Athens newspaper, microfilmed by Georgia newspapers Project, UGA Main Library (also in A-CC Library Heritage Room)

• New York Times newspaper, search digitized issues on www.ancestry.com

Photo Sources• Civil War photographs in the National Archives, Library

of Congress, etc. - www.civil-war.net• Harper’s Weekly & Thomas Nast engravings - Son of the

South website – www.sonofthesouth.net• “Professor Clark’s Virtual Magic Lantern Show” with

digitized lantern slides from the 1880s-1900s depicting life during Civil War - http://members.aol.com/ larrykench/

• Georgia’s Heartland of the Conferacy Civil War Trail interactive tour and maps -http://www.visitathensga.com/civilwartrail/

• Google’s images search function – www.google.com

AcknowledgementsAthens Historical Society wishes to thank these persons for

their generosity and assistance in the preparation of this presentation:

• Dr. Goodloe Yancey Erwin, grandson of Gen. Howell Cobb, past president of AHS

• Laura Carter and the Athens-Clarke County Library’s Heritage Room’s wonderful collection of research materials about Athens and Clarke County

• George O. and Charlotte T. Marshall, for resources and professional editing

• Rick and Eve Mayes, for preparation of these slides

Athens Breastworks ’64

If you would like to help to conserve the earthen breastworks from this episode in Athens’ history, contact Dr. Goodloe Erwin for more details.