(Macon, Georgia - December 28, 2012) A
monument commemorating the men who defended Georgia at the Battle of
Griswoldville near Macon now stands completed in the Griswoldville
Battlefield Park in Jones County, Georgia.
The
battle was the last major engagement during Sherman's "March to the
Sea" between Atlanta and Savannah and was fought on November 22, 1864.
The Home Guard, Georgia's militia during the War for Southern
Independence, was all that stood between Sherman and a clear path to
Savannah as Union forces neared Macon in middle Georgia. In the face of
concentrated fire from the newly acquired Spencer repeating rifles among
Yankee troops, the young boys and old men which made up most of the
Home Guard charged the enemy with only muskets a number of times
throughout the day in an attempt to drive the enemy from their nearby
homes. Despite their heroism on the field of battle, the militia was no
match for the heavily armed invaders; and the Confederates ended the day
with 50 killed, 500 wounded, and nearly 600 captured of their number.
The defeat marked Georgia's last chance to survive the War and to stave
off Sherman's scorched earth policy for which he was accused of war
crimes against humanity.
The newly erected monument at Griswoldville is an obelisk standing
14 feet tall and bears the names of the Georgia Home Guard units
involved in the battle, as well as the seal of Georgia and an emblem of
the Confederate States of America. Funding for the monument was raised
by the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and totaled
nearly $30,000. The local SCV camp, the Gen. Edward Dorr Tray Jr. Camp
#18 of Macon, spearheaded the effort and designed the monument which now
sits on the grounds in one of Georgia's state parks.
The
Griswoldville Monument is the latest project by the Georgia Division of
the Sons of Confederate Veterans during the ongoing Sesquicentennial
Commemoration of the War and is a project funded in large part by the
sale of SCV license plates in Georgia. The specialty plates are
available to the general public by request from their local tag offices
and are used to fund other similar projects by the Sons of Confederate
Veterans throughout Georgia.
For
interviews regarding the Battle of Griswoldville or for more
information on the Sesquicentennial commemoration of the War, please
call Jack Bridwell, Division Commander for the Georgia Sons of
Confederate Veterans at 1-866-SCV-in-GA or online at www.GeorgiaSCV.org
