Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsGen. Mark Willcox's Enemy, Nat Statham, Saved His Life
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
When Capt. John Willcox's company of men poled his boats up to old Hartford, Georgia (just across the river from present-day Hawkinsville), to deliver army supplies to General Thomas Glascock, Capt. John had no idea how quickly they would be involved in more violent activity.
And, remembering past articles, that violence became known as the Battle of Breakfast Branch. At the time, Capt. John did not realize that it would lead to a national topic of discussion and a heated one at that.
He probably also did not realize that the wound administered by the Indians to his son, Mark Willcox, would be, besides a serious injury, a badge of honor which would serve that son well in his future endeavors. Not that he planned it that way. It hurt too much.
Recalling that day, a citizen said, "In those days it did not take many hours to organize a force; every man had his own rifle and his shot-bag, containing his balls, patching and flints, and attached was his powder horn; and with three or four days' rations of parched corn and jerked beef in a haversack, he was ready for a march."
As was said, it didn't take long to get to the battle site. And once the Ocmulgee men got a good head-count of those Indians, it didn't take nearly as long to retreat because the odds were not favorable at all. The citizen went on to say that the shooting that day was according to Indian fashion, with both sides (settlers and Indians) firing their weapons from behind trees. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me. The bigger the tree, the better.
The Honorable H.H. Paine (the citizen) continues: "The firing was warm for an hour, when the Indians from their numerical strength outflanked the whites, compelled them to fall back. This they did in good order at first, but a part of the whites becoming panic striken fled, leaving the balance of the command to contend with five times their number. Mitchell Griffin fell while bravely trying to rally his men, and in his death the county of Telfair lost a good and true citizen. He was Senator elect from that county to the Legislature.
The killed, besides Lieutenant Griffin, were William Mooney, Mike Burch, William Morrison and ______ Nobles and the seriously wounded were Moses Roundtree, John Lawson and the late General Mark Willcox, then a youth not over eighteen years of age."
As a side note, it is observed that one of the killed was Michael (Mike) Burch. Mike's rifle, which he dropped while dying, was later found at Chehaw Village, the site of the Indian massacre by the retaliating forces of Captains Obed Wright and Jacob Robinson. This fact, the finding of the rifle in the village, probably weighed heavily in Governor John Clark's decision to reverse the guilty finding against Robinson. This action probably highly pleased Capt. John Willcox and continued to infuriate General Andrew Jackson who thought the villagers were friends.
But, Jacob Robinson had attracted a heap of attention when he left his fort to cross the river to get Capt. John Willcox to build a boat for him - one which probably never got built. There was too much going on.
But back to eighteen year-old Mark Willcox, probably a private at the time. There he was, lying on the trail in his own blood with the enemy (the Indians) in hot pursuit.
What happened then was a noble thing if ever there was one. Nat Statham came along. Now, Nat and Mark were not exactly on hand-shaking terms and weren't smiling at each other very much, if any. Quite the contrary. Someone said they were "carrying pistols for each other" because they had a common objective which could not be shared - the beautiful Jane Parramore of Jacksonville, Georgia. Romance, especially when three are involved, can get complicated and this one had arrived at that point.
Nat, approaching the wounded Mark, could have done three things: (1) he could have ignored him and saved himself (which probably would not have drawn a lot of notice because everyone else seemed to be heading for the river in record time), (2) he could have finished him off and claimed his act was one of mercy (which probably would have been in light of the chances of a pioneer captured by hostile Indians), or (3) he could try to save him, despite the bad odds. Hats off to Nat. He decided on Number 3. He and another soldier, Wiley Ellison, alternated in carrying Mark on their backs and holding off about twenty or more Indians until reaching the safety of the river - about five miles away! Needless to say, the "enemies" became bosom friends.
Anyone who doubts the power of fear and adrenaline should take note of the feat of Nat Statham and Wiley Ellison. It is further stated that Mark Willcox got the girl in 1823 but she died in 1824 and is buried at Old Concord Cemetery between Jacksonville and Rhine, Georgia. Mark next married General John Coffee's daughter, Sarah Ann Elizabeth. Mark died at about the age of 53. Nat Statham lived to be 97.
And Nat Statham's bravery did not end with this experience. While serving as a lieutenant under the command of a Captain Jernigan, he stepped forward to carry out a dangerous mission when no one else would go. Taking off his sword and handing it to a friend, he said, "Captain, I will go." "But you are my lieutenant," responded Jernigan, "and will be needed." Statham replied, "Any of the men can play the part of lieutenant, although they appear unwilling to act the part of scout and courier."
"Statham mounted his horse, dashed through a heavy fire from the Indians, reached Fort Mac Crary in safety, and piloted the reinforcements back in time to save Fort Jones. A braver or a kinder man than old Nat Statham does not breathe the breath of life."
As fate would have it, this outstanding man never got the pension due him. "General Cook made an effort
to secure a pension for the old soldier, but was unable to find a record of the company among the archives at Washington, and of course failed to secure the reward that is justly due the old man by the Government."
But, fate shined positively at times on Nat. In the Milledgeville Southern Recorder issue of Tuesday, October 17, 1820, we find this headline: "Fortunate Drawers In The Land Lottery." And Nat Statham was one of the winners. He deserved it. He was a winner. And those whose lives he touched and saved, such as Mark Willcox and the soldiers of Fort Jones, would be forever indebted to the old soldier who did his duty, and more, when the chips were down. Nathaniel Statham was a man of true nobility.
Credits:
Willcox Family History by Martha Albertson;
Pioneer Days Along the Ocmulgee by Fussell Chalker;
History of Telfair County (1807-1987);
Telfair Newspaper Clippings (1810-1892) by Tad Evans;
Hawkinsville Dispatch articles furnished by Chris Trowell;
info furnished by Gertrude Wilcox Williams and Diane Williams Rogers and others;
various other sources.
