Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsGeneral Mark Willcox Had More 'Horse Sense' Than Most Generals
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
General Mark Willcox did not like what he read in the newspaper that morning. Either those reporters in Columbus, Georgia, couldn't hear good (or write well) or Governor Schley was trying to pass a bad buck to the general. Confirming it was the latter, Mark Willcox "sat himself down with pen in hand" to straighten out the "Schley fox." Only days before, Governor Schley had ordered Mark Willcox to protect the lower frontier of Georgia in the vicinity of the headwaters of the Suwanee (down around the Okefenokee). Now he was putting the blame on him for not being at Chickasawachee Swamp, a full fifty miles away! Mark was about to tell His Highness (in so many words) that the horses were not fast enough, or the roads good enough, to cover the whole bottom end of Georgia with a few soldiers against a heaping bunch of Indians! Not that he had not pursued the fleeing Indians after the Battle of Chickasawachee Swamp and run them all the way back to Florida. Hemming them up was another matter.
But, really, this was all old hat with The General. Eight years before, in 1828, he had to send a letter to Governor John Forsyth, to set another record straight.
"Headquarters - Jacksonville, Georgia, July 3rd, 1828: Sir: In obedience to your orders I have to inform Your Excellency that the orders for the General review was not received until the 21st April (nor issued until the 18th). Consequently there was not time sufficient for the issuing of orders and the proper officers to receive them in time to meet the appointments of the Major General. I however issued the order immediately and urged the officers to try and have their respective commands at the place on time appointed for the General's review. I attended at the several courthouses on the days appointed and the excuse of all the officers I saw was that they did not receive this order in time -- which was the fact. From the immense size of the 2d Brigate of the 6th Division and the irregularity of the mails through this Brigade, it is necessary the orders should (be) issued according to law. I am very Respectfully Your obediant M. Willcox Brg Insp Of the 2d Brigate 6th Division G.M. (Above just as written, errors and all).
Again, it appears, the fastest horses and the quickest men could not meet those kinds of unrealistic timetables. I can imagine General Willcox saying: "If those governors up there in Milledgeville would personally come down here they would see that catching Indians is not something easy to do."
And, it was not only the governors who gave General Willcox a hard time. The regular army colonels and generals, obviously jealous of the versatile talents of The General, were always trying to undermine him. To begin with, they could not stand the fact that a Georgia militia general had risen to such heights of prominence as The General. He was or had been, or was going to be, a school trustee, a successful planter, a judge of the inferior court, a representative, a senator, and a major general. In addition to this, the noted Indian fighter was a statesman of great renown who advocated the establishing of a Supreme Court for Georgia. For all this, and his determination in meeting his goals, his enemies did not like him. On the other hand, everyone else did.
And another thing his enemies didn't like. He was a practical man of plenty of common sense - sometimes called 'horse sense.' On one occasion, The General and his men had captured some horses and it was his policy to try to get the horses back to their rightful owners or dispose of them in some other ethical way.
We remember how the Indians decided horse ownership. After crossing the Ocmulgee River and stealing a horse, the first thing the Indian would do was stop at a tree and carve his mark on the tree, signifying that he stole the horse first, thus establishing ownership. If another Indian tried to take his horse from him, he could take the chief back to the tree and prove that he owned the horse because he was the first Indian to have him (even though stolen).
At first glance, that all seemed pretty ridiculous but as we look below at the trouble General Willcox had with the regular army officers and men, we almost applaud the Indians for at least having a "system" of showing some sort of ownership of the horse.
The following is taken from a letter to Governor Schley:
"--during our pursuit through the hammocks we had taken some 20 or 25 head of horses and Indian ponies -- Here from the late hour of the day, the number of horses we had captured , the unknown distance we had to retrace, and a wish to join our friends, I determined to return to our horses which we effected after several hours hard marching through the mud and swamps. Here permit me to say that both officers and men done their duty as good soldiers -- I was call(ed) on to know what disposition should be made with the horses & ponies as we had nothing to feed them with the whole of us relying on our own resources. I ordered the Indian ponies to be sold and the amount arising from the sale to be equally divided amongst the men engaged in capturing them. The horses to be kept that they might be identified by their proper owners. Col. Bell seemed not to be satisfied with this order and thought I should have held them all subject to his order. I differed with him in regard to the Indian property. His men were extremely fortunate in identifying the horses taken from the Indians so much so that I had a horse brought forward belonging to one of my men which was proven without any difficulty to have been stolen by the Indians when in fact the Indians had never seen him. I am fearful the right owners will hardly ever get their horses. My men hold onto the Indian ponies and intend to do (so) until they are convinced they are not entitled to them, upon which subject I should like to hear from you as soon as possible. We considered it a free fight. We were all independent of Col. Bell and not subject to his command. We were volunteers not in the U.S. Service but while there relying entirely on our resources."
The General proved one thing to everyone who attempted to horse around with him. He had plenty of horse sense and would use it from time to time to show that his daddy, Capt. John Willcox, had taught him well. And even as an adult, The General didn't mind going back to the old home place and seeking the advice of Capt. John Willcox. After all, there was nothing like getting it "from the horse's mouth."
Credits:
Ann Carswell for letters of and notes on Gen. Mark Willcox;
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, local acts of Telfair County and other info furnished by Chris Trowell;
info furnished by Gertrude Wilcox Williams and Diane Williams Rogers and others.
