Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsGrisly Griswoldville End of Line For Some Ocmulgee Soldiers
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
As we continue to tell about the boys and men of the state militia, we continue to find that the ogre of wounds and death followed them as it did the regiments of the regular army. In the previous article, we mentioned a part of the soldiers of the Georgia 7th. In this article, we will mention the remainder of these soldiers.
As the situation in Georgia became worse and the Yankee invaders tightened the circles of impending doom, little remained but to call upon all available manpower to defend the last bastion - the very soil of Georgia. These boys and men of the 7th Georgia responded with the same nod of affirmation and determination as did the other grays who went before them.
This time the killing field would be at a place called Griswoldville - not too far from Macon, just south of Gray. As fate would have it, the Southern forces marched toward Augusta to protect the gunpowder producing plant which had been so vital to the ability of the South to continue the struggle. Without it, the cause would be hopeless; by this time it was just about that anyway. Sherman's torches were leaving a path of destruction unparalleled in warfare. The South figured he would surely have the gunpowder works at Augusta as his prime target. This figuring was wrong. The prize pie for Sherman was Savannah and he meant to reach it in time to present it as a Christmas present to President Lincoln. Not only would it be a Christmas present but it would be a clear signal that the South had been penetrated and conquered. Such a Santa Claus was not what the South wanted. In the face of such reality, the forces of the Southland determined to make a last stand and to repel, if possible, the juggernaut of the dreaded Sherman. To accomplish this effort of futile desperation, they sent out the home guard and state militia of Governor Joe Brown.
And as these units marched toward Augusta to intercept Sherman and his men, they got a surprise. Marching south to Savannah, the Yankee troops were on a collision course with the Rebels hurrying toward Augusta. At an unlikely place called Duncan's Farm, or Griswoldville, the two forces suddenly faced each other. The grays could not stand up to the number of men and quality of weapons possessed by the North. They were cut down but continued to charge.
The following was gathered from the "History of Telfair County" - written by Floris Perkins Mann:
- Stephen Boney, the patriarch of his China Hill (near Jacksonville) family, went to battle as a 2nd Lieutenant but emerged as a Captain, cited for gallantry. He had been wounded in the Battle of Atlanta. He received another at Griswoldville. But death did not claim him and he made it back home to farm another day. He is buried in the family burying ground near China Hill.
- James L. Parker, also of China Hill, also returned to China Hill and married Katherine McRae; they had three children.
- John McKinnon died of measles in the army in 1864.
- Thomas J. McDuffie was killed at Griswoldville; promoted to First Lieutenant for gallantry.
- William McRae was brother of Major Daniel McRae.
- T.J. McRae was the son of Honorable M.N. McRae. T.J. moved to Florida and died there.
- G.M. McRae was born 1831 and died 1888. Outlived the War by 23 years.
- Arch McMillan and Mike Rushing are listed as private soldiers of Company I, 7th Georgia.
- T.S. Swain - a native of Jacksonville, Georgia.
- J.B. and G.T. Studstill were honorably discharged and farmed after the War.
- "Horse Creek" John Wooten went off to the War as an old man and got his nickname from the creek he lived on. He was probably a descendant of the old Revolutionary soldier, Joel Wooten, who died in 1813.
- John Wombles was honorably discharged in 1864.
- Jacksonville natives Jerry and J.S. Walker served with honor on the battlefield and were discharged in 1865.
- Thomas Varnadoe was born near Jacksonville. He was honorably discharged in 1865.
- John McLean was killed in the Battle of Griswoldville, 1864.
- William Clements died of typhoid, 1864.
- Alexander McEachin was honorably discharged in 1865.
- J.G. (Joe Gooden or Goodwin or Godwin) Williams was honorably discharged in 1865.
After the War, Joe Gooden Williams was attending church at Blockhouse and the time had come around again for Communion. The story goes that great-great-grandpa "Joe Good" had committed some infraction of a rule (or rules) and the pastor had to rise and reluctantly, but dutifully, announce that Mr. Williams would have to abstain from the taking of Communion until he had mended his ways. In short, he could not take Communion. Upon hearing this pronouncement, son Josiah commenced to rise also and said, "If Pa can't take Communion, d------ [expletive] if anybody is going to take Communion." Whereupon, a peace-loving pastor again got up and said, "Today everybody is going to take Communion." When I first heard this story, I was outraged (or at least, embarrassed) that my kin of yesteryear would take such a stance (an uncouth one at that) but after I thought about some of our religious indifference and apathy, I came to the conclusion that Providence might rather have one rough-edged defender of principle than a dozen who do not care which way the wind blows. Obviously, Josiah Williams favored an open Communion that allowed the participation of all God's children and would even resort to violent behavior to uphold that opinion. Josiah was not exactly a Simon Peter but he was probably lots closer to that image than lots of us today.
Griswoldville fell, along with many valiant warriors, and the pistol factory, too, that happened to be there. Mr. Griswold would make no more pistols. Pistols and other arms were getting harder and harder to procure and the supply of men to fire them was also dwindling.
But the 7th Georgia did not give up. They would reappear in South Carolina, forever trying to stop the inevitable - a Union victory and the end of the Civil War.
