Civil War Articles by Julian Williams3 Monuments For 3 Generals At Jacksonville, Ga.
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
Hardly had I gotten over the excitement of the Willcox Reunion when I got a message from my history friend, Ann Carswell, of Valdosta. Ann belongs to the United States Daughters of 1812 and is a Daughter of The American Revolution. She is also one of the Willcoxes.
Several weeks ago, Ann told me that she was quite concerned that General John E. Coffee, of Jacksonville, Georgia, did not have a marker in or near his hometown. Now, there is his original gravesite down near his old river plantation but I don't know a living soul who could take me to it. Supposedly, nearly a hundred years after his death, he was "disinterred" from his grave and "reinterred" at Oak Grove Cemetery in McRae. However, in redepositing the remains of his earthly frame, or effecting the symbolic effort thereof, his grave was somehow marked incorrectly, identifying him as the General John Coffee from Tennessee, close sidekick and family member of General Andrew Jackson (who subsequently became President of the United States). The two John Coffees were first cousins as we have tried to explain in previous articles. The grave marker miscue was probably inadvertent but still a miscue. And a miscue on a monument is not something a Willcox places high on their list of desirable outcomes. There had to be some sort of remedying action.
Ann was determined that the old road builder, surveyor, engineer, military general, state legislator and U.S. Congressman from Jacksonville should have a fitting memorial located somewhere near his home of Jacksonville, Ga., complete with correct information inscribed. Her spirit was contagious and I quickly became very interested in the endeavor.
For the uninitiated in such matters, these memorial markers, not at the burial site of the honored, is called a "cenotaph." Mr. Webster and his successors have agreed upon the following definition: "a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere." Cenotaph is an interesting word - comes from the French "cenotaphe" which comes from the Latin "cenotaphium" which comes from the Greek "kenotaphion," derived from "kenos" (empty) + "taphos" (tomb). If you don't like words I apologize for putting you through that.
A good example of the use of a cenotaph is the case of David ("Davy") Crockett, colleague of our General John Coffee in the U.S. Congress. Davy was killed at the Alamo (1836), the same year General Coffee died of brain inflammation at Jacksonville, Georgia. Davy's grave is near the Alamo but there is a cenotaph for him in Tennessee. Also interesting is the fact that Davy's wife, Elizabeth, is buried in the small town of Acton, Texas, and her monument, and only her monument, constitutes a state park there - the smallest state park in the State of Texas.
Ann ordered the cenotaph monument for General Coffee and she and I started discussing the most appropriate place for its location. After discussing several places, we agreed that an unencumbered corner of the high beautiful hill of the Jacksonville Cemetery would be just the place. We discussed this with Aunt Gertrude Wilcox Williams who lives very near the cemetery and monitors it as only a Willcox (Wilcox) can do and we decided that this would be a suitable place for the cenotaph of General John E. Coffee (1782 - 1836) of Jacksonville, Georgia.
So, back to Ann's message to me. The monument for General Coffee had arrived at her family farm in Tattnall County. Armed with directions and the company of my wife, Joanne, we will set out tomorrow on unknown roads in quest of the monument with the objective of bringing it to Jacksonville for its placing on the beautiful hill we mentioned before.
But all this got me to thinking. Wouldn't it be great if we could add two monuments to accompany that of General Coffee? Since he would represent the War of 1812, we could have a second cenotaph to honor General Mark Lea Willcox (Indian Wars) and a third for General John Clark (Revolutionary War).
General Mark Willcox is buried at the Old Willcox Burreying Ground near Rhine in a beautiful setting (beside his wife, a daughter of General John Coffee). At eighteen he was severely wounded by Indians at the Battle of Breakfast Branch and this probably contributed to his legend as a great Indian fighter.
General Willcox went on to become active in the governmental and military affairs of his state. He is even credited with being a co-founder of the Georgia Supreme Court. Because of this and other actions he gained many friends but also many enemies. His attitude seemed to be a lot like Davy Crockett's - "decide and go ahead!"
At the Willcox Reunion we were talking about General Willcox and his determination and one of the men in the group said he read somewhere where a fellow was asking the governor for help but said, "send anyone - just don't send Mark Willcox!" The General was known for putting the cards on the table. A villain was a villain and a horse thief was a horse thief, even if it happened to be a U.S. general taking his supplies at Hawkinsville or a U.S. colonel trying to take his horses at Chickasawhatchee. And what made it embarrassing for these folks was the fact that General Mark would call their hand. He did the same thing when people were shooting unarmed and peaceful Indians. He didn't like it and he told everyone so - including the Governor of Georgia! Yes, he was trouble to folks trying to pull something and it is no wonder they said, "don't send General Willcox." For such a man there needs to be a cenotaph at Jacksonville, Ga., the home of his headquarters and the home of his son, John Coffee Willcox, and his descendants. Willcoxes still live on these lands at Jacksonville, Ga.
A third cenotaph needs to be prepared for General John Clark, son of the old warrior, Gen. Elijah Clarke. John dropped the last "e" in his last name because it smacked too much of elitism. He wanted to be identified with the backwoods folks - like those at frontier Jacksonville, Georgia. That's why he established a plantation there and lived there some and that's why his brother, Gibson Clark, came to Jacksonville and became one of the county's first senators. General Clark also had a hard head and managed to work himself into some unique altercations. He even challenged William H. Crawford, who ran for President but was defeated by John Quincy Adams. Yes, they had the duel and John Clark wounded Crawford in the wrist. He challenged Crawford to another duel, but his enemy didn't want another bad wrist and refused. This incensed Clark somewhat and he horse-whipped Judge Tait, a Crawford supporter, through the streets of Milledgeville. While this conduct does not seem admirable to us today it seemed to be a way of life for the "gentlemen" of that day. Even Governor David Mitchell, Governor of Georgia who signed Jacksonville's charter in 1815, killed a man in a duel! Strangely, when he got to the Governor's Office, he outlawed dueling!
But, despite his weaknesses, strong drink amongst them, General John Clark (later Governor), was a mover and shaker of the elements of Jacksonville, Georgia, and similar environs across the developing state.
When he was defeated by George Troup, he was appointed as an Indian agent to Florida and was also "The Keeper Of The Trees" in Bay County near what we know today as Panama City (St. Andrews Bay). They say some of that timber reached 300 feet in height! The tall trees were used to make poles for the masts of ships. He died in 1832 and was buried there by the Gulf with his wife but they were later moved back to Georgia. He and his wife succumbed to the ravages of yellow fever while on a trip to Cuba.
But, notwithstanding all that, there needs to be a cenotaph for General John Clark at Jacksonville, Ga., for just up the road at Blockhouse Church is the ghost of old Fort Clark, named for this man who lived, off and on, on the acreage next to it. He, like Governor Mitchell, had not only an eye for fortifying the frontier but he had an eye for encouraging the men and women who held forth on that frontier. He had an admiration for the grit of the common man who never gave up hope and always worked hard and sacrificed so that future generations would have a place to call home.
And that's why we want to establish cenotaphs for these men - Generals Coffee, Willcox, and Clark. They will return to a home they once knew and were a part of.
Credits:
Telfair County History (1807-1987);
information furnished by the Willcox Family;
various sources on John E. Coffee, Mark Willcox and John Clark;
info furnished by Ann Carswell.
